Sweet Fillings

Fillings for Sweet Breads and “Cinnamon” Rolls:

Almond Cream

Pastry Cream

Hungarian Sweet Cheese (Cream cheese, goat cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla)

Lemon  Curd

Preserves/Jams

Ganache/ Nutella

Chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows

Dried apricots & white chocolate (rosewater in the icing!)--I love this!

Cherry pie filing and sweetened creamcheese

Sweetened cream cheese and cranberry chutney with walnuts and golden raisins.

Ways to spice up your icing:

cream cheese

honey

almond or lemon extract

rose water or orange blossom water

crystallized ginger, etc...

What do you do??

What to do with Sweet Breads (besides eat them!)

Sticky Pecan Caramel:

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. brown sugar

`1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or equivalent

1/2 t. orange zest

3/4 c. finely chopped nuts

1 c. raisins (opt.)

Cream all except nuts and raisins.  Spread 1/2 on bottom of 9” cake pan, reserve the other half for filling the rolls.  Roll out dough to 1/8” thick (1/12 pound, size of grapefruit).  Spread reserved caramel, nuts, raisins.  Roll dough as with cinnamonrolls.  sprinkle pan with larger nuts, place cut rolls in, cover and let rise 30 min.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Unmold immediately.

Beignets:  Brioche or Challah dough.  roll out 1/2” thick.  cut in 2” squares, let rest 20 minutes while oil heats to 360-370*.  (If you’d like to stuff them with jam or ganache, roll out 1/4” thick.  Cook until golden brown on both sides.  Drain on paper towels, roll in powdered sugar.

Whole Wheat Indian Spiced Donuts:

Use the whole wheat brioche dough, roll out 1/4” thick

Cut out donuts, fry at 360-370*, drain on paper towels, while warm, dredge in spiced sugar:  1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 t. ground ginger, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground cardamom, 1/4 t. ground cloves.

Lemon Blueberry Wreath:  shape a boule, roll a rectangle, spread with lemon curd and fresh blueberries.  Roll it up, make a wreath.  when ready to bake, paint with eggwash, cut the wreath about 1/2 way through, and sprinkle with sugar.

Sweet Breads 101

Sweet Breads and Celebration Breads (also from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day)

Challah:

This is the traditional Jewish Sabbath bread. It can be made with oil, but it spreads a bit flatter.

1 1/2 c. lukewarm water

1 1/2 T. yeast

1 1/2 T. kosher salt

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

7 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

Egg wash for the top (1 egg with 1 T. water)

Poppy or sesame seeds for the top

The method is the same as for the regular breads, doing it in the order above helps distribute the different elements more efficiently.  Remember, mix just until the flour is incorporated, no kneading, no punching down.

This bread will take about 2 hours to rise on the counter.  Then put it in the refrigerator.  Since it has eggs in it, you’ll probably want to use it in 5 days or else freeze it. 

When you shape it (traditionally Challah is braided), you need to give it a longer rise on the counter (1 hour 2 min, or 40 minutes if you never refrigerated it.)  When you are ready to put it in the oven, brush with egg wash and then the seeds.  If you want it really shiny, brush with the eggwash, let it dry, then brush again and sprinkle with seeds.

You do not need to use steam with sweet breads.  Because of the higher fat content it will not develop a crackling crisp crust.  It will also brown more because of the sugars.

bake at 350* about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your loaf.

Whole Wheat Brioche:

(believe me, when your family tastes these they are not going to say, “You know, I think this bread needs more refined flour...”

4 c. white whole wheat flour

3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 T. yeast

1 1/2 T. salt

1/4 c. vital wheat gluten

2 1/4 c. lukewarm water

3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (or oil or “healthy” margarine)

3/4 c. honey

5 large eggs

Combine as with Challah recipe

Let it rise on the counter 2 hours.

After refrigerating (at least 2 hours), you can use it any time.  After shaping, let it rise 1 hour and 45 minutes before baking at 350*

Savings!!

Hi Holly and Rebecca,

I really enjoyed the class and felt that there was benefit for my family.  I started looking into the supplies and found a few things that I thought were worth sharing.

Barns and Noble sells each book for roughly $30, yet it's $17 on Amazon.  Plus Amazon sells the containers, so if you buy both it reduces your shipping.

King Arthur was mentioned as a great resource for some of the supplies.  If you Google King Arthur coupons, it will link you to retailmenot.com  they have a coupon c9hp2 that allows for 10% off most items.  It worked for me.  (I was told about googling coupons a year ago and have saved a lot.)

I look forward to starting a few loaves next week and wanted to say thanks!!!!  The clerk at Crate and Barrel wants to come to the next class.... well she really wants to have her friends over and pay someone to each them how to make the loaves.  So Rebecca, you could be even busier...

Ciao,

Jenn

Culinary Club Poll and Cooking Topics

HI!  I'm going to try to insert a document here for people to make recommendations on our future classes.  Next Wednesday will be Sweet Breads!!

CULINARY CLUB POLL

Here’s your chance to escape from culinary oppression and let your voice be heard!!

What would YOU like to learn??

TOPICS	YES, Absolutely	No, I’d rather die
SWEET BREADS Cinnamon Rolls, Pecan Rolls, Pannetone, Brioche, Challah, Chocolate Dessert breads, Donuts and more...use our super method and enjoy the scents of home-baking.  Even your kids will be whipping up individual cinnamon-rolls and other treats.
VEGAN No meat? No eggs? no milk? no problem!!  Welcome to the truly delicious, celestial diet where we munch on seitan and indulge in every herb of the field and every fruit in its season! Bean and Veggie burgers, tempeh and beyond!
SAUCES Whip up a roux, alfredo, hollandaise, aioli or reduction sauce with the best of them.  Finish your dishes with flair.  Its all in the sauce.
SOUPS Learn the principles of making a stock and how to vary it for different soups.  We'll look at everything from fruit soups to bean soups to Sydney's Scrumptious Saturday Soup.  (Sydney is my mom!)
TOFU What do you do with it?  We know we should eat more soy but how do you cook it?  Can you make it? Terrific tofu dishes from around the world and from as close as the PunkRock Kitchen await.  My kids all "love" tofu and after this, so will you!  We can even make the tofu!
BEANS AND WHOLE GRAINS: Could you live just on your food storage?  Find out how to live an utterly healthy diet on pennies a day.  What are all these "new" ancient grains and how do you use them?  What else can I do with beans than soak and cook?  What about sprouts?  Grains and Beans can be the basis of the cheapest, completely filling, healthy, and kindest diet on the planet.  Come see marvels we can work up from salads and stews to dumplings and desserts!
EGGS The marvels of Eggs could take a whole year to explore.  We can look at basic baked eggs, shirred, poached, company scrambled eggs and souffles.   Meringues, Marshmallow, Divinity, Pavlova & Torrone also come to mind.  Not to be missed:  Custards, Ice Cream, Creme Brulee, Creme Anglaise, Pastry Cream and Pate a Choux (sorry there are no accents).
CHINESE!:  We have a great expert in Annie to guide us through dumplings, spring rolls and stir-fries
THAI SOUPS AND SALADS Exotic flavors of the orient in healthful, delicious dishes that warm the tongue and the belly.  We can also look at Cambodian Curries and unusual seasonings, vegetables and fruits.
SALADS, SPROUTS AND DRESSINGS Make Salad the main course, the heart, the centerpiece of the meal.  Principles of creating salads and dressings as well as some tantalizing recipes.   Indoor gardening?
SLOW COOKER MEALS AND SUNDAY SUPPERS How do you build a meal in the morning so you can walk in the door to dinner in the evening? We'll look at techniques and some superb stand-by recipes.
REGIONAL MEXICO Yucatecan (Maya) Cooking, Panuchos and Papadzules, salsas and treats. Oaxacan moles and other delights.
BRAZILIAN: Arroz and Feijao,  farofa, gluten-free cheese breads, sweet potato fries, appetizers, greens, healthy juices, desserts and avocado as you've never seen it before.
INDIAN Curries and spice mixtures, basmati, nan, chapati puffed poori breads.  Let's top it off with rose-scented gulab jamin or mehalliyabeh!
MIDDLE EAST BANQUET Pita, Fattoush, Fatet Jah, Gyro, Taboule, Hummus and more.  Belly-dancing optional.
TARTS, PIES, COOKIES pastry, tarts, hand-held pies and galettes.  Techniques of decorating sugar cookies.
CHEESE: Homemade cheese is easier than you think.  Mozzarella and Ricotta are a breeze.   We can even whip up so goat cheese from dried goat’s milk.  Our Old Testament mothers would be soooooo proud!

BREADS 101

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for coming to our first Cooking Group class!! The turnout was great, the bread was fabulous and I have heard wonderful reports of sisters cooking up bagels, naans, and boules for their families.  I hope everyone is enjoying it!!

Here's the recipe and a link for those who couldn't make it.

The recipe we used was based on Zoe Francois' and Jeff Hertzberg's book, Artisan Breads in Five Minutes A Day.  Their site is http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ and you will find helpful videos there as well.

I suggested that people start with the white boule until you learn to handle the dough and know what to expect.  It is an extremely moist dough.

Boule with white flour:

3 c. lukewarm water

1 1/2 T. yeast (any kind)

1 1/2 T. salt  (kosher is best, if you use table salt decrease it by a bit)

6 to 6 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour.  (KAF is high in protein so use a little less)

Mix in a bucket, leave on the counter for an hour or so, until the dough rises and then flattens on top.  Put in the refrigerator and use anytime in the next 14 days.

To use:

Do not punch down.

Do not knead.

Sprinkle dough with a bit of flour and then pull off a hunk, shaping it quickly (less than 2 minutes).  Leave it to rest on a parchment lined baking peel.  Preheat oven to 450*, with pizza stone in oven and broiler pan below it.

When the dough has risen (it won't rise much at this stage, give it 1/2 an hour to an hour), sprinkle the top with flour and slash it to allow the bread to rise further in the oven without cracking.  It also looks great.  

Slide the dough off the peel onto the stone.  Toss 1 c. hot water into the broiler pan and quickly close the door.  This step is essential to getting an attractively carmelized/brown and crusty crust!

Bake about 30 minutes or until the bread is well browned.

Bagels:  shape little boules (balls).  After letting them rise, or skipping that step, make a hole with thumbs and gently pull out the dough so that your hole is about 3x as big as the walls of the bagel.   Place the bagels in 3" of boiling water which you have laced with 1 T. sugar, 2 T non-diastatic malt powder, and 1/4 t. baking soda.  (or just some sugar if you don't have the powder).  Boil 2-3 minutes turning, and then retrieve, top with seeds and bake for 20 minutes at 400*.  Use steam as above.

Naan:  I just roll it out and cook it on a cast-iron surface  (you could also use the pizza stone).  When browned on both sides brush with ghee, butter, or some substiute.

Pita:  Roll at least 1/8" thin.  Bake 1-3 minutes on a well-heated (500*) baking stone.

The 100% Whole Wheat Recipe I use:

3 c. Water

1 1/2 T. yeast

1 1/2 T. kosher salt

5 1/2 to 6 c. White whole wheat (finely ground)

sometimes I add 2 T. vital wheat gluten.

The rest of the process is as above but the rise times for everything will be longer.  You can pretty much just substitute part of the white flour with whole wheat if you want a "light" whole wheat loaf.  Good Luck!!!

Check out the book for lots of wonderful recipes using this technique and the artisan in five website for videos and advice.  Feel free to ask questions here or call me as well!