Sweet/Spicy Almond Flat Bread

I've always had a weakness for flat bread and focaccia. However, I've always struggled a bit with the spicy sweet combination. I used to deem fruit in my savory salads inedible. What I'm getting at is the fact that usually a recipe that includes honey mixed with red pepper flakes would not even get a once over from me. Problem is, this recipe had a picture next to it. It showcased golden crusts with toasted almonds, rosemary and a faint glaze. Since I was on bread duty for Thanksgiving, I decided to give it a go.

Adapted from Cooking Light:

1/2 C sliced almonds
1/2 olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (grows like weeds in Seattle)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup warm 1% milk
1 tsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
3 1/4 flour
1 tsp salt
1 large egg yolk
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 large egg white

Combine first three ingredients in small saucepan, boil one minute until golden (infusing the olive oil) and drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Drain, reserving oil and herb/nut mixture
Toss almonds with pepper flakes and sea salt
WARNING: While you might think you are just having a "few" of these before baking, a "few" quickly turns into half. Make extra, you won't be sorry.
Combine milk, sugar and yeast in large bowl until it bubbles (approx. 5 min.) Add 1 1/4 C flour and reserved oil, 1 tsp salt and egg yolk, beat at low speed until combined. Gradually add remaining flour, beat at low speed until elastic. Coat cookie sheet with oil and press dough out until it's about 3/4 inch thick.
Cover with a towel and let rise for about an hour or double in size.
Preheat oven to 350. Combine oil, powdered sugar, honey and egg white, brush half of mixture over bread.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remain egg white, sprinkle with almonds, bake for another 10 minutes.
Finito!

The Most Versatile Dough. Ever.

Last Thanksgiving I tried a new focaccia recipe, it involved two of my favorites: caramelized onion and rosemary. The dough is not fussy, it's forgiving, versatile, flavorful but not overpowering, crusty but moist. So, back to Thanksgiving. Holidays are generally a time to use an old and trusted recipe but for some reason, I always end up testing new ones that often result in disasters. Not this time.
Quality bread often gets forgotten on Thanksgiving and Christmas. When there's stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato pie, cranberry sauce (from a can-the only way to eat it), pie, cookies, bread tends to take the back burner. It's always the one that gets thrown together at the last minute. It's generally that person who can't really contribute to the meal in the home made sense. The guy (or gal) who offers, "I'll bring the rolls!" They get stripped from their plastic bag and thrown into a bowl to look semi-home made. Not this time!

It's true, bread may not have a place at the actual holiday meal, instead, it's time to shine comes in the days following. Hoard a couple of these rolls, you'll need them for leftover turkey, cranberry sauce and mayo. Alright, maybe the mayo isn't a leftover but who doesn't keep that in the fridge?

One of the reasons I love this dough so much is it's shelf life in the fridge/freezer. It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. The freezer? Fuhgettabout it, it'll last longer than you can keep it there. This dough has yet to fail me.

It's worked as the base for eggplant bruschetta:

Braided breakfast bread:

Steak sammies with goat cheese and wilted arugula:

Making the pizza dough takes a great amount of focus:
James is a little more relaxed:

And finally, the pizza:
Find out what this dough can do for YOU. Adapted from BakeorBreak.com

• 2 & 3/4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 & 1/2 packets)
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 6 & 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a bowl or lidded, non-airtight food container. Mix in flour using a spoon (I usually can't get it all incorporated without lightly kneading), food processor with dough attachment, or stand mixer with dough hook. Cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses or flattens on top (about 2 hours). After the initial rise, the dough can be used but it's easier to work with after it's chilled. Refrigerate in a lidded, non-airtight container.

Braided Bread

When I'm browsing through recipes, I often find myself ditching options that look too professional. Cakes with multiple layers, bagels that have to rise a dozen times and the dreaded, braided bread. I struggle enough trying to braid my own hair. Like always, Smitten gave me courage to conquer a "professional-looking" recipe.

It started with a sour cream dough that was divided into thirds and fringed at the ends.

Then it got filled with a cream cheese and lemon curd mixture. What is lemon curd? (I didn't know either.) Lemon juice/zest, sugar, butter and egg. If you're like me, you forget the key ingredients for most recipes and you'll have to sub in lemon jam.

The Braid. Why doesn't my hair ever look that pretty?

Let it do its magic in the oven.

Then put it in here. What is this, you ask?

It's the number one reason we rented this house. It's a pie cooler, of course. A little cupboard with a screened window to let the heat escape. Every house/apartment/condo/yacht should have one.

Beware of the braid. You will find yourself wanting to braid everything. It's so fun! So sophisticated! It's easy to pull apart! So versatile!

Savory filling?

Yes, please. (Spinach, Gruyere and ham.) Use your favorite pizza dough recipe for a savory bread base.

Sponge
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
Sponge (above)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) sour cream or yogurt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, 1 beaten for dough, 1 beaten with 1 teaspoon water for brushing bread
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
Pearl sugar* or sparkling white sugar for sprinkling

Lemon cream cheese filling
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons (5/8 ounces) sugar
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (2 ounces) lemon curd

Make sponge: In a small bowl, combine the sponge ingredients. Stir well to combine, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.

Make dough by hand: Whisk together sour cream, butter, egg, sugar and vanilla in a large, wide bowl. Stir in sponge. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon as best as you can; you may need to get your hands in there to form it into a shaggy ball. Turn ball of dough and any incorporated scraps onto a counter and knead until a smooth, soft dough forms, about 5 to 10 minutes. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until quite puffy and nearly doubled.

Make the filling (while dough rises): Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free. Reserve the filling and lemon curd until ready to fill the braids.

Prepare bread: Gently deflate the dough and roll it out on a very well floured counter to a 10″ x 15″ rectangle. Transfer rectangle to a large piece of parchment paper, please; I did not and it led to all sorts of trouble. With the side of your hand, lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, dividing it into three equal columns. Spread the cream cheese filling down the center section, leaving the top and bottom two inches free of filling. Spread the lemon curd over the cream cheese filling.

To form the mock braid, cut crosswise strips one inch apart down the length of the outer columns of you dough (the parts without filling). Make sure you have an equal amount of 1-inch strips down the right and left sides. Be careful not to cut your parchment paper; if you have a bench scraper, this is a great time to use it. Remove the four corner segments. To “braid”, begin by folding top flap down and bottom flap up over the filling. Lift the top dough strip and gently bring it diagonally across the filling. Repeat on the right side, and continue down the entire braid, alternating strips until you are out. You can tuck the last couple that hand off decoratively under the end of the braid.

Carefully transfer the dough and the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic and set it aside to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, until quite puffy.

English Muffins

I've always been fascinated by recreating certain dishes or items I would usually buy from the grocery store or order from a restaurant. It usually comes in the form of a baked good. Every weekend, without a doubt, there's one morning that I'll toast an English muffin and top it with an over-easy egg. Even though it's not a gourmet breakfast, it takes a little more effort than the usual, Monday morning cereal. To make it feel a bit more like a luxurious Saturday morning breakfast, I decided to take a stab at English muffins.

Like any other worth while bread, it starts with a lot of waiting for the dough to rise and deflate.

Next, the dough is separated into the individual muffins, rolled in corn meal and left to rise again.

The most important step: brown in a pan until golden brown and admire.

Pop in the oven for 5-8 minutes and prepare your egg.

Recipe from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Located via Pete.

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 Tbsp shortening or butter (at room temperature)
3/4 – 1 cup milk (at room temperature)
cornmeal for sprinkling

1. in a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. mix in the shortening and 3/4 cup of the milk. add the remaining milk if the dough is too dry.

2. transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. place in a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour. divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. lay parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray or lightly coat with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. move the dough balls to the baking sheet evenly spaced apart (giving them room to rise more). cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for another hour.

*I added a 1/4C flax seed to mine which gave it more of a nutty flavor. Next up: cinnamon and raisins.

3. heat the oven to 350 F and heat up a skillet on medium heat on the stove top. brush the skillet with oil and gently transfer the dough balls to the skillet a few at a time. allow them to cook on the skillet for 5-8 minutes, until the bottoms are nicely browned. carefully flip and cook the other side for about 5-8 minutes more. they should flatten as they cook.

4. when the muffins look as if they are about to burn, remove them from the skillet with a spatula and transfer quickly to a baking sheet. bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes. do not wait until all of the muffins have been cooked on the skillet before moving them to the oven – as the first batch is baking, move the second batch of muffins to the skillet.

5. transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving. serve with lots of butter and jelly. store them as you would muffins you buy in the store – in a sealed ziploc bag in the fridge or freezer.

I added flax to these but I'll definitely be throwing in some raisins and cinnamon to the next batch.