One bread dough - three ways

One of the drawbacks of baking can be spending many hours in the kitchen and not have much to show for it, especially when baking bread by hand.

In my Intro to baking classes I have 3 hours where I have to demo the recipe then allow the students to create and bake the recipes. I use the following recipe to show my students that in less than three hours they can create a variety of items with one recipe. With this recipe I can make one loaf of white bread, a dozen cinnamon buns and a flat of foccacia. Try it and let me know what you think!!

White Bread – Three ways
Oven @ 350F

Sponge
6 ¾ tsp active dry yeast
3 cups warm water
4 1/2 cups bread flour or all purpose flour

Dough
4 ½ Tbsp sugar
4 ½ Tbsp shortening or vegetable oil, at room temperature
3 to 4 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp salt

Sponge (use paddle attachment): In the mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let dissolve. Add the flour and mix at first speed until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size (30 – 45 minutes).

Dough: Stir down the sponge with one or two rotations then add the rest of the ingredients (use only 3 cups of flour to start). **Switch to the dough hook.** Be careful to use LOW speed so the flour doesn’t get tossed out of the bowl. If the dough is too soft or sticky, add flour ¼ cup at a time. Run the mixer at 1st speed until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl – approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off machine and remove dough from the hook. Transfer dough to a clean and oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in volume. Once the dough has doubled, punch down the dough and divide into thirds.

You can make 1 loaf of white bread, 12 cinnamon rolls, and foccacia.

Cinnamon rolls
Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon. (you can add chopped up apples or dried fruit at this stage) Roll the dough up towards you and then slice into equal pieces. Place cut side down in a greased baking pan and brush with melted butter. Allow to rise for about 30 minutes and then bake.

Focaccia
To 1 cup of olive oil add a combination of your favourite herbs: garlic, basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley. Roll the dough into a rectangle and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Generously brush the olive oil mixture onto the dough. Allow the dough to rise. Just before you put the dough in the oven “dimple” the dough using your fingertips.

Brothers and Battenberg cake

My brother, Andrew, just finished a quick visit to us on the East coast. As always, even though we don't see each other everyday and we haven't lived in the same city for over 20 years, we quickly reverted to the big bro', lil' sis roles. Good natured teasing combined with a Mom cooked meal made it seem like we were kids again. I made him his favourite blueberry pie to show him how much I appreciated his visit and he gave me hugs like he never did when we were younger.

I reminded him of the Bakewell tarts we used to fight over as children and he reminded me how his favourite treat from the British relatives was Battenberg cake from M&S - a pink and yellow cake wrapped in marzipan. It was always a bit too sweet for me but I came across this recipe in Nick Malgieri's book "A Baker's Tour". He uses cocoa to make the contrasting checkers chocolate and vanilla while others use just food colouring for pink and yellow squares. I didn't make my own marzipan but used store bought to make the production quicker. Either way it is still delicious!

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

3 Tbsp Dutch process cocoa

3 Tbsp milk

Marzipan

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two loaf pans and line with parchment.

Cream butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time and then scrape down the bowl and mix another minute until well combined. Sift flour and baking powder together and then add it to the butter mixture in 3 batches. Beat at low speed for 2 minutes until well combined.

Pour half the batter into one of the prepared pans. Combine the cocoa and milk into a paste and then add to the remaining batter. Mix well and then pour this chocolate batter into the second prepared pan. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Once the cakes have cooled trim the sides and level the top of the cake to make a 9 x 5 x 2 1/2 inch slab. Cut the cake lengthwise down the middle to make two "bars". Repeat with the other cake.

Warm the raspberry jam. (Assembly on a piece of parchment paper makes this less messy). Brush the glaze on the side of a vanilla cake bar and press it to a chocolate cake bar. Paint the top of the vanilla cake with glaze and place a chocolate cake bar on top. Paint the side of the chocolate bar and the top of the bottom bar (confused yet?) and place the vanilla cake. You should have two layers of alternating coloured/checkerboard cake.

Roll out the marzipan so that it will fit around and the length of your cake. A little bit of cornstarch will make it less sticky. Brush the cake with glaze, place it on the marzipan and then wrap the marzipan around the cake. Trim the ends of the cake flat. Enjoy with tea and big brothers!

What to do with all those berries!!!

Living in my little corner of the world I am lucky to be able to enjoy the berries of summer growing right in my own backyard - well, down the street and around the corner - but local none the less!

I always get a bit over excited when I see the new season of berries arriving in the grocery store or at the little huts along the road. I come home with enough berries to feed an army but only a family of four capable of eating them. What to do with all the berries? I freeze a lot of them to enjoy in the winter in muffins and cakes. I also make jam if I have the time but I really try to use them up when they are fresh and full of sunshine.

This recipe is from delicious magazine - a magazine from Australia that I found in my local bookstore in Nova Scotia (how's that for a global reach!). I used raspberries and blueberries for the tart that is not too sweet and highlights the flavour of the berries extremely well. This is a must try recipe!!

Makes 6

Ingredients
80g walnuts, toasted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 loosely packed cup (80g) brown sugar

12 sheets frozen filo pastry, thawed
100g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup (280g) thick Greek-style yoghurt
1 cup (240g) sour cream
raspberries or blueberries

Icing sugar, to dust
Honey, to drizzle

Method
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease or spray six 4 inch tart pans.
Pulse nuts, spices and brown sugar in a food processor to finely chop.
Lay 1 filo sheet on the bench (keep the remaining filo covered with a damp tea towel as you work). Brush with a little butter and sprinkle with 2 tsp nut mixture. Lay another filo sheet on top, repeat with butter and nut mixture. Fold in half to form a 24cm square, trimming edges if needed. Brush top with butter. Push pastry into a tart pan, then fold edges, crimping and folding to form a 1.5cm-wide rim. Brush with more butter, then cover with a damp tea towel while you repeat with remaining filo, butter and nuts to make 6 tarts. Place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool in pans.

Turn out tart cases and place on plates. Combine yoghurt and cream, then spoon into the tarts. Top with berries, dust with icing sugar, drizzle with honey and serve.

Egg and dairy free chocolate cake

I was invited to a barbecue this weekend and offered to bring the dessert. I normally would make a butter cake or some sort of cookie that would go over well with everyone. Then I remembered that one young boy at this particular party was allergic to eggs and I felt that it wouldn't be fair to him to bring a dessert that he couldn't eat. I didn't want him to miss out so I did some research and found an egg and dairy free chocolate cake.

I was curious to try the recipe because I had read how a lot of egg free cakes turn out like bricks because of the lack of leavening that that the eggs provide. However, this particular recipe uses baking soda and vinegar and anyone who has ever made a volcano for science class knows how much gas is produced when the two meet!! The original recipe calls for the addition of cold water but I substituted chocolate soy milk to boost the chocolatey flavour.

The results were terrific. People who didn't know it was egg free couldn't guess what they were missing. The cake is dense and very moist. One person thought it tasted like a chocolate Timbit (like a small donut for anyone not familiar with timbits). As for the boy with the egg allergy? Turns out he doesn't like chocolate so the cake was left for everyone else to eat - which was probably a good thing because there wasn't a crumb left by the end of the evening!!


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate soy milk, cold

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan or a tube pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Mix well with a fork, then stir in oil, vinegar, and vanilla extract. When dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened, pour in cold soy milk and stir until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

A trip to the East Coast of Canada - Blueberry Grunt

Nova Scotia is home to one of the largest commercial crop of wild blueberries in the world. Lucky for me I live not too far away from there so I have the luxury of having local, wild blueberries year round. During blueberry season I always buy 5 lb boxes of blueberries and freeze them so I can have my favourite fruit year round.

Blueberry grunt is a traditional recipe found in many Nova Scotia cookbooks. In other parts of the world it would be called a cobbler or fruit dumplings but here it's call grunt - possibly because of the satisfying noise that escapes the eater as they enjoy the first mouthful! Here's a common recipe that will satisfy the sweet tooth and perhaps encourage you to visit our fair province to enjoy this down home treat in person!!

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp each finely grated lemon zest and lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large saucepan, combine blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 min. Place in an 8 cup baking dish. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, remaining 1 tbsp sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Stir in just enough milk, about 1 cup (250 mL), to make a soft dough.

Divide dough into 8 equal portions and place them, evenly spaced, on blueberry mixture. Bake until biscuits are firm and no longer doughy and blueberries have thickened slightly, 20 to 25 min.

To serve, place a biscuit in each serving dish. Spoon blueberries on top, and top with a scoop of ice cream.

I won!! I won!!

I'm so excited! I just found out I won a scholarship from the Culinary Trust. I'm off to New York City for a week to study at the Institute for Culinary Education's Centre for Advanced Pastry Studies!! Any tips on where to stay and what to do would be appreciated!!

Spring Rhubarb

One of the first things I did when I moved in to my new house was plant rhubarb. Every house I have ever lived in had rhubarb growing in the backyard. I don't know if it's a Canadian thing but rhubarb is always a sign to me that spring is here and summer is on its way. The first harvest of delicate ruby stalks immediately end up in a pie or cake that is devoured by the day's end. Here's a recipe I used today to make a delicious coffee cake that stays moist for days (if it lasts that long!).

Rhubarb coffee cake

160g butter

350g brown sugar

2 eggs

500g / 1 pound rhubarb, sliced into 2cm pieces

finely grated rind of 1 orange

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300g flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

250ml or 1 cup sour cream

brown sugar and cinnamon for top

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Stir vanilla then the sifted flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Gently fold in sour cream. Pour half the batter into a greased and lined 9 or 10 inch round cake tin and then top with rhubarb and orange rind. Cover with remaining batter. Sprinkle mixed brown sugar and cinnamon over the top. Bake for 40 minutes until cake is puffy and golden. Let cool 15 minutes before unmolding. Enjoy!!