Easter Bread

Easter, a time of rebirth, renewal, and sweet breads to remind us of the sweetness of life.
This is one of my favorite sweet breads, easy and so beautifull as a braid to have Easter morning, or to offer as a gift.
The ingredients are basic, except for the anise seeds, which are readily available at most markets.
let's begin:

3 beaten eggs, 1 cup warm milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsps coarse salt ( or 1 tsp table salt),4 oz melted unsalted butter room temperature, 2 tbsps instant yeast ( rapid rise), 1 tbsp  fresh grated orange zest (peel),1 & 1/2 tsp crushed anise seeds, (use a motar and pestle to crush, coffee or spice grinder,or if you must,buy ground anise seed, it will not have the same rich flavor, but will do)

 In bowl of stand mixer,stir yeast into warm milk,add butter,eggs,orange peel,salt,crushed anise seeds

Stir in sugar

Weigh out 6 cups all purpose flour (27oz) , you might need a bit more or less

Usually you would add the flour as paddle is turning, but it will throw flour everywhere,so  hand mix the flour ( I held back 1 cup and then added as needed) till moistened, then  put bowl onto mixer and continue 

When dough comes together and is not sticky,attach dough hook and knead 6 minutes till smooth

After 6 minutes,I like to hand knead to be sure it is smooth and satiny

The recipe makes 2 loaves,I weighed the dough and then divided into 2 equal parts

Spray oiled the insides of 2 gallon zip bags and placed dough in to rise for 2 hours

After a 2 hour rise,  use one half, divide into 3 equail parts and roll into ropes about 30 " long, if the dough pulls back, cover it with plastic and let it relax 5 minutes, then braid, secure ends together, add 3-4 red dyed hard boiled eggs into braids,  line a baking tray with parchment , lightly coat with spray oil. Place braided ring onto tray.(Which I did not do, and added the eggs after the braid had risen for an hour,as it is in the photo.This deflated the braid slightly so I had to let it rise a bit more.)

After an hour ( plus the goof time) ready to bake, place in a preheated 350 degree oven, bake 30 minutes. Have a couple of tbsp melted butter ready when the bread comes out of the oven.You may also omit the  dyed eggs and serve as an every day bread. It can also be shaped into a boule, long braid, or  loaf. It makes excellent french toast.

Brush the bread with the unsalted melted butter , as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool completely on a rack. NOTE the loaf must be refridgerated due to the hard boiled eggs if not to be eaten within 3 hours, place in a large plastic bag or wrap with plastic.. Remove from fridge 1 hour before serving to warm to room temperature .This is delicious toasted!
ENJOY!   HAPPY EASTER !

Swedish Pancake Breakfast with Strawberry Compote

I had a little trouble sleeping soundly last night, finally got up about 8:45 ( hey it's Sunday!), the wife was  still sound asleep.While I was showering and planning breakfast, what you don't do that!, so ,I wanted something other than Sunday pancakes or waffles, already had my fill of English muffins.AH  HA, it came to me.. Swedish pancakes! I know I've got strawberries in the fridge,if they haven't spoiled by now, would be a great topping.Oh, I need to get a recipe! It's amazing how our lives have been transformed by the internet, in no time had several recipes, picked one and tweaked it a bit,ready to cook!
 Washed and cleaned the berries,cut off the leaves, sliced them in half ,threw them in a pot with a little sugar,covered them and let em cook, while I made the batter and put the sausage in a pan ( hey, I said it's Sunday).
 Swedish pancakes are very much a crepe, slightly sweet, some recipes use more eggs ,some less ,as it is a very personal preference I guess.
I have made many manicotti crepes and blintzes, Jewish crepes, this was no hassle to cook.
 So ,breakfast menu planned, I began:
The recipe:
1& 1/4 cup milk
2 large eggs room temperature ( place eggs in glass,let hot tap water run on them to warm)
3/4 cup ap flour sifted
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
 1 tsp vanilla
melted unsalted butter,  needed  about 6 oz for the 14 crepes 

 For the Strawberry Compote
 about 12 oz strawberries,washed hulled ,sliced in half,quarted if very large
 2 tbsp sugar
put all in small pot ,toss,cover cook over moderate heat, till as thick as you like,tasting ,adding sugar as desired,I did not add more.let cool  slightly,serve warm,reheat if needed
MY APOLOLY, DELETED THE FILE PRIOR TO FINDING OUT THE PHOTOS WERE NOT PUBLIC. WILL TRY TO RE SHOOT THE PROCESS IN THE FUTURE.

assembled ingredients,milk,eggs,sifted flour,salt,sugar,vanilla.had intened to use the electic griddle,but after pouring on two pancakes realized I had no controll over the shape,so switched to a 7" pan 

 

step one, beat eggs and milk

step two,gradually add flour beating in

step three,add salt ,then sugar,blend in

step four,add vanilla, mix in

step five, heat a pan, over medium heat, I used my 7" non-stick pan,coated it with some of the melted butter,wiping in on the pan with a paper towel.Using a 1/4 cup measure pour batter in pan ,tilting and swirling pan to coat evenly as possible.place back on heat and cook



 step six,  when edges look browned and top of batter looks dry( has lost that wet sheen) and is full of holes,using a heat proof spatula,lift and turn crepe



step seven, cook the other side about 30- 60 seconds, till slightly browned

step eight,when crepe is cooked,lift with heat proof spatula and place on a warmed plate,wipe out any crumbs with the buttered paper towel,and coat pan again lightly with the buttered towel

Step Nine,brush some melted butter on one side of crepe and roll up,placing on a warm plate

The most important step ten, placed rolled Swedish Pancakes on a warm serving plate,dust with powdered sugar and top with berry compote .In this case strawberries,blueberries,peaches anything you like may be used. They may also be spread with a filling before rolling, be creative and see what you can come up with! They are also a great dessert!
Did I mention they were delicious!

BBA#14 Frech baguettes

This is the 14th recipe of the 2011 challenge of the BBA.I made this one and over baked the loaves ,I think I did not allow the stone to reach full temp before putting on the loaves.I couldn't get them up to 205 degrees,probably because I already baked out the moisture in them. They very crunchy! with a good 1/8" crust! The flavor was very good though over baked. 
I decided to try again,saving the first loaves for dry bread crumbs
Once more ,I forgot to fix the date after putting in new batteries, trying to get it off the picture altogether but have been unsuccessful...




Removed the pate ferment after it overnight stay in the fridge,allowed to warm for an hour,and it rose also

made the final dough, tacky not sticky

shaped into a boule and put in oiled bowl to proof for 2 hours

after 2 hours ,it's ready

shaped into baguettes

placed on a cornmeal dusted parchment atop an upside down 1/2 sheet pan covered with plastic,proofed for about an hour, scored the tops.
my first attempt I used my pizza peel which was a little too narrow and I deflated the loaf trying to place it on the stone.
 Therefore I tried the upside down sheet pan method as illustrated in the book,and it worked perfectly!

after steam pan and water spraying 3 times at 30 second  intervals, lowered oven to 450 and baked the baguettes 25 minutes.they were 205 degrees, cooled a bit by the time I took the photo

This is actually the crust and crumb of the first batch,as we sliced the new loaf to have with dinner.Unfortunately ,rather our good fortune,it was soo delicious we kept slicing ,buttering and eating,finishing the whole loaf ,before I realized I hadn't done a photo  of  the crumb . We knew if I cut another...no control whatso ever with fresh bread from the oven!!The second batch had the same rich flavor and crisp a crust ,I can say it's better than any we ever bought!

BBA#15 Italian Bread

This is the 15th recipe of the BBA2011 Challenge.This recipe has special appeal to me,after leaving NY, and of course ,won't find anything like real Italian bread in the south.I have made Italian bread from other recipes but was not overly happy with the results.The dough did not have the overnight cold ferment that Peter Reinhart utilizes, creating ,in my opinon, great depth of flavors.Having now made this bread, I am over joyed with the rich almost sweet  flavor, texture, crunchy crust of this first real Italian bread I have eaten in 5 long years!! Granted it is not the airy light interior and  crisp crust of NY  Italian Bread Bakeries ,different, a bit denser,but with more flavor and delicious as a real Italian type bread should be.Let's follow the preparation of this delicious bread:

Removed the biga from the fridge after it's overnight cold ferment,cut it up into many small pieces to warm  for 1 hour

Added to mixing bowl with yeast, flour,salt,sugar and water.Mixed with the paddle then kneaded with the dough hook for 10 minutes.The dough was still a little slack,so I hand kneaded adding flour as needed to make a pliable soft slightly tacky dough

The dough was at 78 degreees and past the window pane test,though not shown

Placed into a lightly oiled bowl to rise for about 2 hours or untill double

After 2 hours fully proofed

Cut the dough in half,eye balled it,with my dough scrapper

Shaped into two loaves,they were already full length,so no further shapping needed.Placed on a parchment paper lined sheet pan,which had corn meal sprinkled onto it.Covered with plasic to rise to 1 1/2 times it's size,took an hour.

  Scored the bread with a lame, baked on sheet pan in the 500 degree oven, had my steam pan on top rack ,added 1 cup hot water to it, sprayed water 3 times onto oven bottom and walls at 30 second intervals,then lowered temperature to 400 and baked 32 minutes for a crisper crust.

crumb shot,slightly out of focus,also the actual color of the crumb is a creamy color the lighting makes it appear white.We were very happy with this bread, it didn't make it in time for dinner on sunday,but we ate half the loaf sliced and buttered after dinner, it is delicious,with a hint of sweetness from the overnight proof ,airy crumb and crisp  crust. Definitely a great bread!

  

BBA13 Focaccia

This is the 13th recipe of the BBA challenge, Focaccia,which I have made many times before,using the recipes in Carol Field's book, aptly named Foacaccia.I had enjoyed her focaccia and sometimes used it as a base for a thick crust  Scilian pizza.
 Peter Reinhart's Focaccia recipe had a better flavor due to the overnight refridgerated ferment.But, 2 cups of oil!! I would not use 2 cups of oil, no matter what was written,or how he claimed ,do it ,do it!
 The recipe was simple enough having already made the Ciabatta with it's stretch and fold method,and thanks to Chris at  http://akuindeed.com/?p=3485, who put up a link to utube of how the stretch and fold method is done,we  all now have a better understanding of it.
 The only problem I had,actually just a misunderstanding of the directions,as I was doing 3 other projects at the time.After taking the 1/2 sheet pan of Focaccia out of the fridge after it's overnight ferment and let it warm for 3 hours, I then first dimpled it.Oh, I was supposed to do the oil and dimple 3 hours ago.So I preceded to oil and dimple the dough expanding it as I did to fill the pan as much as possible,but in no way would I add all that oil.There's already 1/4 cup under it, used only another 1/2 cup of herbed oil poured into the dimpled top of dough.At this point I let it rise 1/2 hour as I misread the directions,then baked it according to the recipe instructons.
 When it was done, topped it with sliced pepperoni,Italian turkey sausage, chopped homemade roasted sweet red peppers in garlic and olive oil,and shredded mozarella.I purposedly baked it fully before topping as I don't like a wet thick dough pizza.
 The flavor as I had said was awesome,the texture was light and springy,and still a little oily for me.This is definately the  tastest focaccia I've made so far.As for looking like the golden thin slices pictured in his book, I can't see how that would be possible with out squashing or rolling the dough.No matter,except it seems missrepresented and missleading as to what the finnished bread would be.Although nothing like pictured in his book,it still was delicious,and easily remedied next time with less oil. But it would be better to have photos closer to actual home results, than that shown.While we try to guess what did I do that it's not like that?







  Well here are my photos of the process:

After kneading and shapped into a rectangle ,allowed to rest 5 minutes,did the first of 3 stretch and folds,covered with plastic and proofed 30 minutes
 

This is what it looked like after it's final 3rd stretch and fold and then covered and proofed 1 hour

oiled parchment with OMG 1/4 of olive oil!







placed the dough onto the oiled parched,spread  the herbed oil (  less than1/4 cup) on top







 

  

Well after unsucessfully trying to upload the photo of oiling and dimpling the dough prior to putting in fridge
you can see it was done!Let ferment overnight

next day removed from fridge, and let warm for 3 hours. That was my error,after 3 hours coated with about 1/4 cup of herbed oil, dimpled the dough to spread it as much as possible,covered it and let it rise 30 minutes before baking 

after baking topped with pepperoni,diced Italian turkey sausage,diced roasted red peppers (homemade of course) and shredded mozarella,put under broiler 5 minutes to heat and melt cheese

money shot! airy springy tasty  focaccia pizza!Albeit oily.





Tilapia With White Wine Mushroom Sauce

This was our Friday fish dinner, amazing what one can put together with what's already in the house.And if perchance you have herbs growing all the better. Granted ,not all of us may have some mushrooms in the fridge, but they are easily obtainable.My out look on food is make something different from what we already had,using the same protein.Just changing the seasoning will do it,the actual method of cooking also will change it to  something new.We had been out all afternoon visiting our widowed brother in law and then food shopping at our club store,which is near  his home.My wife suggested the remaining focaccia pizza for dinner (BBA13) ,but I had stuffed myself with it last night and did not want to visit it again!I told her I'll make something else,(we have  a great relationship,I cook,she cleans,sometimes I let her cook!) being Friday, it should be fish,after all it is lent for us.Although I don't observe all the customary traditions of abstinence, I do look forward to a seafood Friday,meager as it may be.
  I knew we had tilapia in the freezer ,bought on sale of course,and I know I could be creative with it, due to it's mild flavor.Instead of breading and frying it,my wife's preferred preparation.I decided baking it,with lots of fresh herbs.So here is what I did,nothing difficult,just a matter of using stuff on hand.

 From bottom middle,I minced about 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest,1 tbsp fresh parsley,1tsp fresh rosemary,1 tsp fresh thyme,1 tbsp fresh chives,all from the garden,and 2 cloves fresh garlic.Dried herbs may be used,just use half as much.

I patted the tilapia dry,brushed olive oil on them and then coated them with the herbs and garlic ,which I had mixed together, then lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.Placed one at a time on the plain bread crumbs (didn't want to distract from the already seasoned fish,with more seasoning) spooned crumbs over them and lightly pressed the crumbs onto the fish.

Covered a baking sheet with foil (easy clean up!) drizeled a little olive oil on and then spread it with a brush.Preheated the oven to 350 degrees using my convection setting ( regular oven setting works just fine also).The convection setting causes the oven fan to activate and blow the heat around the oven ,cooking  the food faster. set the timer for 15-20 minutes.

Placed the fillets on the baking sheet,and coated them with a generous amount of spray oil,so the crumbs would crisp in the oven.



While the fish was baking, placed 1/2 cup jasmine rice,7 oz of water,1 small pat of butter and a sprinkle of dried thyme,in a pot.Brought it to boil, lowered to a simmer for 15 minutes. OOPS ,forgot to photo it! I love the flavor of jasmine rice,it always comes out perfect in just 15 minutes.If you have never tried it ,I highly recommend it.Meanwhile I prepared the white wine mushroom sauce.Sauteed about 2 cups baby bella musrooms in 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter till tender .Removed from skillet to a warmed bowl.  Added 1 tbsp olive and 1 tbsp butter to skillet,when the fats were hot,added 1 clove minced garlic.Cooked the garlic till barely colored,and added 2 tbs flour ( could have used less for a thinner sauce) and stirred it into the fats making a rue,cooking 3 minutes.Then added about 1 cup plus chicken broth,and 1/4 wine, and a sprinkle of dried thyme,stirring constantly to blend smooth and simmered till thick and bubbly,then added mushrooms and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice,salt and pepper to taste.



Plated fish on a (always heated plate!) warmed plate ,with rice and topped with sauce.We had a green salad and a glass of chardonnay... Why would I want to go OUT to eat!!
Hope you try this,it's really easy!!