Air Buns

I am always looking for better buns.  Both in the kitchen and in my mirror.  I never can resist jokes like that.  I am silly that way.  These buns really are the best.  I have made brioche buns before and these are even lighter than those.  Both are good mind you, but these are a bit more tender.  I really think it is the addition of vinegar.  It might seem weird that there is vinegar in the dough but this is the second recipe I have made that had vinegar in the ingredients and it came out stellar.  I want to say I made other recipes with vinegar but then my memory doesn't serve me that well. 

These are worth your every moment in the kitchen.  Really.  They are just that good.

I had some friends over and made my beet burgers.  I adjusted those beet burgers by replacing the sunflower seeds with walnuts because the sunflower seeds tend to repeat on me.  It was even better with walnuts.  I highly recommend beet burgers.  My husband who HATES beets, loves them.  You would hardly know they were made with beets.  Because they are red, they look like meat. Not that I need them to look like meat but they are pretty.

Air Buns
Printable here.

1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup lard or shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 1/2 + 3 cups bread flour, divided
1 egg whisked with a tablespoon of water for the wash

In a bowl of a mixer or a regular bowl combine 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 cup warm water.  Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit a moment until foamy.

Meanwhile melt lard and add to it the sugar, salt, and white vinegar. Add in 1 1/2 cups of flour.  Let sit fifteen minutes.

Knead intot he dough the remaining 3 cups of flour.  Knead until smooth and supple.  Let rise until it is doubled, about an hour.

Shape into 16 buns. Brush with egg wash. If you like sesame seeds on them, this is the time to do it.  Place on greased sheet and let rise for about a 1/2 of an hour.  Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.


Sometimes you make buns that are less than round.  Well, at least sometimes I do.  Not sure what happened there but it tasted the same.
 

Marbled Rye Bread

 Love rye bread. Love the flavor.  Saw this amazing recipe from Fine Cooking.

Marbled Rye Bread

Adapted from this recipe at Fine Cooking, Issue 127.  You can watch a video with Peter Reinhart demonstrating the technique.  If you want, you can even take a class from Craftsy from Peter Reinhart. It would be time well spent.  He is a great teacher in my opinion.

Printable here.

For the light dough
8 oz. (1-3/4 cups) unbleached bread flour; more as needed
4 oz. (3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs.) dark rye flour

1-1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. instant (quick-rise) yeast
1  tablespoon ground caraway seeds 

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. room temperature water (70°F to 75°F); more as needed
1-1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil; more as needed
1 Tbs. unsulfured mild molasses

For the dark dough
8 oz. (1-3/4 cups) unbleached bread flour; more as needed
4 oz. (3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs.) dark rye flour
2 to 3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. instant (quick-rise) yeast
1 tablespoon ground caraway seeds 

3/4 cup plus 3 Tbs. room temperature water (70°F to 75°F); more as needed
1-1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil; more as needed
1 Tbs. unsulfured mild molasses

For shaping
Nonstick cooking spray
Vegetable oil

For baking
1 large egg

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flours, salt, yeast, ground caraway seeds, water, oil, and molasses on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium low and knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth and tacky, about 4 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add more bread flour one tablespoon at a time, kneading to incorporate. If it’s very stiff, knead in water one tablespoon at a time.

Rub a little vegetable oil on a work surface to create an 8-inch circle, and put the dough on this spot. Using your hands, stretch and fold the dough up and over itself from all four sides into the center, pinching the seam where the folded ends meet, forming it into a tight, round ball that is smooth on the bottom.

Invert the dough ball, setting it seam side down in a lightly oiled bowl that’s twice the size of the dough. Tightly cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 hours.

Repeat this process with the dark batch of rye. The doughs should end up having a similar feel.  Read more about this at Fine Cookings original recipe here.
 
After rising remove doughs from bowls and divide each into two. Take a while piece and roll into a round. Take a dark piece and roll into a round.  Place dark round on top of white round and roll, pinching seam at the end.  Place in a greased loaf pan.  Repeat process with other half.

Cover and let rise for about an hour.

Brush loaves with egg wash.   

Bake in the middle of a 350F oven for about 20 minutes and then rotate.  Bake about ten minutes more.  The internal temperature should be about 190F.  I use a meat thermometer to check the temp.

Rye Boule

I love the churn dash design on top.

I am pretty jazzed about this bread.  I have tried to make bread like this before and was completely unsuccessful.  Not this time.  It worked.

 I had my doubts though.  I never worked with such a fluid dough before.

 The flavor is amazing. Add a little butter.  I called it my lunch one day.

 I think it has pretty good structure.  I know its not perfect.

Doesnt it look like it is calling your name?

Here is my big blow out on the side. Apparently I did not cut in deep enough on the top.  I think.  What I do know is that I will be making this again.

You know how I usually say, this is easy bread to make.  I encourage you all the time to make bread- its so much easier than you think.  I wont say that with this bread.  It was a PAIN in the neck.  You have to attend to it more regularly than other breads.  It is more liquidy making it a bit of a  challenge to work with.  It also requires a small amount of sourdough.  So you have to have that too.  Having said all that I will say this is one of the best breads I have ever had.  It ranks right up there near the top.

So, if you are up to the challenge, here goes:

If you want to original recipe, please refer to my new favorite bread book- Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree; John Wiley and Sons Inc. The recipe is called Organic Miche, page 139.

This recipe here is a largely adapted and truncated version. It is very different that the original because I used what I had on hand.

And in case you didnt know about Wild Yeast- Susan's blog is a fantastic resource for all things bread.  She has collected lots of peoples recipes for bread. There are video how to's and great information all around on her blog.  I really recommend it if you want to learn more about bread.

Rye Boule

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
3 (257 grams) cups warm water
2/3 cup (165 grams) sour dough starter
4 1/4 cups (635 grams) unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups (200 grams) rye flour
3 tablespoons (23 grams) kosher salt

Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixer.  Add water.  (Since I use instant yeast, I never proof it).  Mix for 1 1/2 minutes on low speed.  Scrap down sides and mix five minutes more.  Cover the bowl with plastic and let rest 10 minutes.

Mix again for two minutes on medium-low speed.  Place dough in oiled bowl and let rise for 30 minutes.

Remove from bowl and five bread a couple turns on an oiled surface.  Fold in from the right, left, top and bottom.  Place smooth side up in bowl and let rise for 30 minutes.

Repeat the previous step and let rise 30 minutes again.

Turn dough out again and this time fold in as above.  Keep working it this time in a circular motion.  At this point you are making a dough ball.  Place back in oiled bowl and let rise for an hour or more.

Thirty minutes before the bread is done rising heat the oven to 480F. Place ice cubes in a loaf pan in oven just before bringing bread in.  I spray the sides of the oven with water when I put the loaf in and quickly cloes the door.  After 20 minutes reduce temperature to 450F. Spray the sides of the interior of the oven again. Bake 50 minutes more.  It may take longer depending on whether or not you use a stone.  The internal temp should be between 190 to 200F.

As hard as it is, cool completely before cutting into it.

Check these videos out:

I love this guy on the left so gracefull forming the dough ball.

Here is another guy with detailed instructions.

Split Pea Soup II

A lot of soup here lately.  I did not make these all this week.  Its been over the past month or so. It sure had been soup weather.  Bitter cold temps.  A bowl of soup just warms you to the bone.  Its one of my favorite meals to make in the winter-  soup, with a nice loaf of bread and a salad.  Love it.  So easy.  And I can prepare it the night before, in the morning, whenever and just reheat before dinner. 

This is a classic, split pea soup.  I hated it as a child.  Hated peas.  Yes, thats all changed.  Except canned peas- I still can't stand them

SPLIT PEA SOUP
Printer version found here.

2 cups split peas
1 ham bone
2 cups carrots
1 cup onion, minced

1 bay leaf
2 quarts water
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup celery


In a soup pot combine split peas, water, bay leaf, one cup onion and a ham bone. Cover and gently simmer for about 30 minutes.  Remove ham bone and cut up any meat that may be in there.  Add carrots, thyme and celery to the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and discard before serving.

* I know this may sound strange to some but I dont like really sweet soups so sometimes I add vinegar.  If tomatoes or carrots or whatever makes my soup too sweet, I add in cider vinegar.  Maybe a tablespoon or two, depending.  Its a taste thing.

Moroccan Fava Bean Soup

 
I bought some dried, shelled fava beans and there they sat in my pantry for , oh, I don't know, nine months.  I bought more, not thinking I already had some.  Feeling guilty and wondering why I can not remember what is my pantry... Could it be that I have many dried beans... too many dried beans.  Anyway- time to use them.

This recipe really sounded good and am happy to report it really was good.  I had a cup of it for lunch the other day with a teaspoon of olive oil drizzled into it- delicious. 200 calories.  I ate banana yogurt mixed with applesauce after I ate the soup.  Boy did I feel so proud of myself for having sucha wholesome meal.  The whole meal 350 calories and it was so good.

I did skip the sautéing part of the recipe since I had to cook the dried beans anyhow- I just started adding things to the pot. I would love to try this recipe again with fresh fava's I am sure it would be even more stellar.

Moroccan Fava Bean Soup
You can find the original recipe here at the NYTimes.The recipe is from
Martha Rose Shulman who is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”  It was my starting point.
Printable recipe here.

1 pound dried fava beans or 1/2 pound frozen double-peeled (2 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium or large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
4 cloves garlic
1 small potato (about 4 ounces), peeled and diced
2 quarts water, vegetable stock or chicken stock
2 teaspoons Lawry's salt
2 teaspoons sumac
A bouquet garni made with a couple of sprigs of parsley, a bay leaf and several sprigs of cilantro
freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/3 cup chopped cilantro plus additional leaves for garnish


Soak beans overnight.  Drain and place the beans in a soup pot.  Add enough water to cover the beans by about four inches.  Add in salt, garlic, pepper and onion.  Cook covered on low simmer for about 40 minutes until beans are tender.  Add in the carrots, celery, potato, salt, sumac, bouquet garni, pepper and turmeric. Cook for about 30 minutes.  Remove bouquet garni and puree the soup in a blender.  Spoon into serving bowls.  Sprinkle with cilantro and drizzle with olive oil.



If you want to make your own seasoned salt- which I will when I finish the bottle of Lawry's, combine the following:

2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

Hoppin John Soup

It kind of looks ugly but don't be fooled by its appearance- it's delicious.  Loaded with some really good things- it makes for an easy and nutritious meal. I make a lot of soups a day ahead of time. It gives it time to marry. 

So great to have soup after you spend any time out in the cold. Serve some cornbread with it for a complete meal.

Hoppin' John Soup
Printer friendly recipe found here.

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
2 medium onions, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups kale*
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 quart diced tomatoes
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside.

In a frying pan sauté onions, celery and peppers in oil. until lightly golden and add to the pot of soup. Also add in the rice, 2 cups water, kale, seasonings, tomatoes and salt. Cook for about 20 minutes.  Add green onions to the serving bowls.

*I used my kale that I had froze in the summer.  All cooked, I added about 2 cups.  If you buy it at the store- you may want to par boil in another pot because it sometimes can leave behind a bitter taste.  I have not found this with bagged baby kale though.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  My morning reading while having my cup of java.  I know, its kind of lame.  I should be reading the paper or something, right?  Eh, lots of sensationalism in the media.  I have come to distrust the news.  But that is rather tangential.  I am talking cookies here.  Anyway, on Pinterest I honed in on this recipe. I looked at several like it.  But they all seemed to be basically the same thing.  So I thought, it must be pretty good.

Well, I dont know what I did wrong.  The directions said it would take 20 minutes flat to make this cake- given a 9 inch round.  I had it in a ten inch round.  You think cooking time would be shorter, right?  Wrong.  30 minutes.  Honestly, I think it could have baked longer but who doesn't like gooey chocolate chip cookie dough.  So I warn you, it may not firm up like you might expect or maybe you should cook it longer but you may just get what you want- chocolate chip cookie dough- baked- kinda-...

Having said that.  I would make it again.  Disappeared mighty fast.  I cut up the last few slices into cookie sizes so that everyone could get a taste at my husbands work.  Off it went. From what I hear it disappeared pretty fast there as well.

I decorated mine with cherry flavored frosting.  And it was really cherry flavored.  The kids loved it.  My one daughter proclaimed, "its the best cookie cake I have ever eaten.  And Mom, that is saying a lot because everyone brings in one of these to class for birthdays. So I have had a lot of them." So there you go.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Printable here

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Prepare a 10 inch spring form pan.  Line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat butter and sugars together for five minutes- it will be nice and white and fluffy.  Add in vanilla, salt and egg.  In a separate bowl combine flour, corn starch, baking soda together.  Fold in chips with a spatula.  Spoon into the spring form pan and bake for about 25 to 35 minutes. The center will be rather gooey.  That was what the kids liked about it.  But if that is not your thing you could stick it under the broiler to toast is a little more.  Watch it very closely though.  Me and my broiler kind of have this love hate relationship going on.  When it works its wonderful when it doesn't its horrid...

Before decorating.

Cherry frosting here...