Happy 2007 Everyone!

From G and me to you all!

Our Daily Bread.....

Well, I must admit that I've been kicking back a bit after Christmas. Allowing my baking brain to come down from all those cookies I was baking, and relaxing with the back massager thingy that G gave to me (thank you, Honey!). But, there is one thing that needs to be baked each week, and the time has come for me to quit relaxing and mix up some dough. This thing is our toasting bread, our sandwich bread, our melt a piece of cheese on it and snack bread. I know, I know...normal people just buy a loaf of bread from the store for these purposes, but have you noticed how much it costs? One 5 pound bag of bread flour costs about the same as one loaf of sliced store bought bread. Why pay for the prebaked, presliced, full of preservatives, can squish the entire loaf into a 1"x1" cube, when for the same amount of money, you can make 6 or 8 loaves total of homemade, no need for potpourri (gosh it smells good in here, have you been baking bread?), you know what goes into it, slice as you go bread? This is so much better than the squishy stuff, that you will wonder why you ever bought it to begin with. I've found that I can switch this recipe around quite a bit depending on what I want. I can substitute up to half whole wheat flour (I haven't tried subbing more yet...as subbing half does affect the loaf a bit, yeilding a denser loaf of bread) if it is a wheaty bread that we are wanting. I can use honey instead of sugar, I can use butter or olive oil or vegetable oil for the fat, I can put in some wheat germ, I can add a few seeds, I can add cinnamon and raisins for a nice change....I guess what I'm trying to say in my long-winded run-on sentence, is that this is versatile, easy to make, and rewarding in a I-just-baked-my-own-bread kind of way (did I mention that I can sub milk for the water?). This would be a great starter bread for anyone wanting to get their hands in the dough for the first time. Ok, ok,I'll stop with my yapping now, and get on with the recipe!

Basic Bread: (makes 2 9x5" loaf pans of bread)

2 cups lukewarm water (or milk, or half milk/half H2O)
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar (or honey, if you are going to make this a cinnamon raisin bread, you can up the sugar a bit if you like)

6 cups unbleached bread flour (or sub in some whole wheat flour if you like)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil (or 2 ounces (4Tbsp) Butter, or fat of your choice I am using extra virgin olive oil for the bread this time around, the butter really does change the flavor up a bit)
4 Tbsp Wheat Germ (optional)
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-In a large bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer) whisk together the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until the yeast looks creamy.
-Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well blended (or on low for about 2 minutes with a dough hook).
-Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, and knead, adding more flour if you need, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and smooth (or mix on medium for about 8 minutes, until the dough has the same appearance).
-Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place in an oiled bowl that allows enough room for the dough to grow. Cover the bowl tightly with film wrap or a damp towel, and set aside to rise for about one hour, or until the dough doubles in size.
-Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, gently flatten the dough, and cut into two equal portions. Shape each portion into a log (I just roll the dough up somewhat tightly) and seal the seam by pressing on it. Place each piece of dough into a greased 9x5" loaf pan, seam side down,
lightly spray the tops with pan spray, and cover again with film wrap or a damp towel. Allow the loaves to rise about an hour to an hour and a half, until they are about doubled. Preheat the oven to 350f while the dough is rising.
-Bake the loaves for 30 to 45 minutes, or until they are a deep golden brown, and sound hollow when the bottoms are thumped (you'll have to tip them out of their pans to test this). I did gently brush the tops of the loaves with egg whites for shine before I baked them.
-Allow the bread to cool about 30 minutes or longer before consuming (very difficult to do!).

As I've said, this is a very simple basic bread. Nothing fancy, but it is still delicious. And I'm all about delicious.

Happy Baking! I do hope Santa brought you everything you wished for!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

That would be our tree, and our flaming Christmas pudding. Yum.

Nothing Says "Merry Christmas" Like Dried Fruit Soaked in Booze or Stollen!

Stollen is a Christmas tradition with my family. BarmyMom always made one or picked one up from the local bakery and it was our Christmas morning breakfast. Yum. I've decided to continue this tradition with G and Myself, except that I'm going to make the Stollen myself. Stollen is German in background and I have found a brief history of it on Wikipedia, if you would like to know a bit more about it. This is a slightly sweet yeasted cake full of dried fruits and almonds and is traditionally sprinkled with confectioners sugar (although I have seen it iced before). It is very good all by itself, toasted, or served with butter or jam. I do enjoy it naked sliced right off the loaf. This recipe is from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread, and I have to say, if you love baking bread or would like to learn how to bake bread, this is an excellent book to own. Enough said.

Stollen: (Makes one large or two small loaves)


The Sponge:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tsp. instant yeast
___________________________
-Warm the milk to about 100f, whisk in the flour and yeast. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment for 1 hour or until the sponge is very foamy and ready to collapse when touched. While this is fermenting, combine:

The Fruit:
1 cup golden raisins (I didn't have golden raisins and had to use regular raisins) plus a bit extra for sprinkling on the final dough.

1 cup candied fruit mix (I only had candied cherries and orange peel, so this is what I used) plus a bit extra for sprinkling on the final dough.
1/2 cup brandy, rum or schnapps
1 Tbsp orange or lemon extract (I had neither, so I skipped this ingredient)
_______________________
Now you should be ready to make the final Dough:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp grated orange zest (optional, but as I didn't have the extract, this will be going into mine, and I love orange zest)
1 tsp grated lemon zest (optional, I will have it in mine)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 large egg
5 Tbsp (2.5 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
about 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds (I only had sliced almonds)
melted butter for topping
powdered sugar for topping
_____________________________
-In a 4 quart mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the flour, sugar,
salt, orange and lemon zests, and cinnamon. Then stir in (or mix on low with paddle attachment) the sponge, egg, butter and enough water to form a soft, but not sticky ball. This should take about 2 minutes. When the dough comes together, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
-Add in the fruit and mix it with your hands (or on low speed) to incorporate.
-Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or mixing with the dough hook) to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed. The dough should feel soft and satiny, tacky, but not sticky. Knead for approximately 6 minutes (or 4 if by machine). LIghtly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
-Ferment at room temperature for 45 minutes. The dough will rise somewhat, but will not double in size.
-Sprinkle flour lightly on the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Flatten the dough with your hands into an oval shape. Sprinkle the top with the extra fruit and the almonds.

-Take a small rolling pin and press down the center of the oval, then roll the dough in the center only leaving one inch at the top and bottom of the oval as thick as they were originally (only roll out the center). The interior will be about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the extra fruit and the almonds over the indentation, and fold the dough in half, making the top fold slightly overlap the bottom, and press lightly to seal. Turn the dough over and plump up the shorter side of the fold to form a bit of a hump. Transfer the loaf to a sheet pan lined with parchment, shaping the loaf into a slight crescent. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and Proof for approximately 1 hour at room temp, or until the dough is 1 1/2 times its original size.
-Preheat the oven to 350f with oven rack in the center of the oven.
-Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, rotate the pan 180 dgrees for even
baking and bake another 20 to 50 minutes depending on whether you made one large or two small loaves. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
-Transfer bread to a cooling rack, brush the top with melted butter while still hot. Tap a layer of powdered sugar over the hot loaf. Wait one minute, then tap another layer over the first. Let cool for at least one hour before serving. When completely cool, store in a plastic bag, or leave out overnight to dry out a little bit.

Mine poofed up a bit more than I had expected it to, it resembles a bloated cresent moon more than anything else, but I'm very happy with that. I'm thinking that if I had wanted smaller more dainty stollen, I should have made two loaves instead of one! The apartment smells indescribably good, and I am just waiting until I can slice into this!

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year from the Barmy Household!

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Montelimar Nougat, (well, this girl's version), Holiday Candy Making Experiment , No Rain Today!

I fell in love with this candy when we made it in my chocolate and showpieces class back in 1999. I haven't made it since then, and I figured what better time to make it than now? I found this site which gives a bit more information about Montelimar Nougat if you are interested in checking it out. I remember it being wonderfully chewy, full of almonds and pistachios and (this is not a traditional ingredient, from what I know) candied orange peel. It was wonderful. We even dipped some in chocolate, and if it's possible, it was more heavenly. I just wanted to try out this candy again, to know that I am still able to make it. And what better excuse to use for my experimental holiday baking time in search of something to make next year to ship out. As my cookies have already been sent, it's the only excuse I can think of (not that I really need an excuse, but I might as well have one handy). This is ooey, chewy honey goodness at it's best. It may seem a bit tricky, but once you get over the fear of hot sugar, it's really not too bad. This candy is quite sensitive to humidity. You want it to be dryer outside when you make it, or it will be too ooey gooey (although maybe suitable for ice cream topping?). Anyway, if you are feeling up to a little challenge, I can think of none better to recommend.

Montelimar Nougat: (Makes a good amount of Nougat, it would fill a cookie sheet pan if you wanted it to. Please note, that I did use the metric measurements when I made this, as my lovely scale swings both ways)

8 ounces (200g) water (H2O)
1 pound 6 ounces (600g) sugar
10 ounces (250g) glucose (well, I use corn syrup for this, but if you can get glucose, go for it)
12 ounces (350g) honey (lavendar honey if you are going to be authentic, I just have lotus blossom honey on hand at this time, and if you don't like honey, or have an allergy, you can sub more glucose/corn syrup for the honey, it will just have a bit less depth of flavor)
4 1/2 ounces (120g) egg whites
4 ounces (100g) sugar
14 ounces (400g) roasted almonds (roasting the almonds on a sheet pan at 350f for 8 to 10 minutes really adds depth of flavor, not to mention an incredible smell in your home. I also roasted the pistachios for about 5 minutes)
8 ounces (200g) pistachios (just plain old unsalted pistachios out of their shells)
8 ounces (200g) candied orange peel, diced
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-In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring sugar, water and glucose to a boil. Add the honey and bring to 296f (147C). While you are boiling the sugar to 296f, whip the egg whites and 4 ounces of sugar to medium peaks (start out with just the whites, and whip them till foamy, then slowly add the sugar two tablespoons at a time, then whip till the egg white mixture forms soft peaks that stay upright) and mix on low speed to keep the whites moving until the sugar syrup reaches 296f.
-Once the syrup reaches its temperature, slowly add the syrup mixture to the egg white mix with the mixer on medium (just let it flow down the side of the bowl into the whites). The mixture will come up considerably when you are adding the hot syrup, and will come down a bit once it starts to thicken and cool.
Whip until the mixture begins to stiffen, add the nuts and orange peel and whip a bit more. Once the mixture is very thick(it will still be very warm), pour (who am I kidding? I had to scrape this out with a bowl scraper and a bit of muscle) onto a surface that has been sifted liberally with powdered sugar. Sift a bit of powdered sugar over the top, and roll out to about 1 inch thick (I remember in class we had some metal bars that were 1" that we rolled the goo out between to ensure even thickness, I don't have these at home, so I just winged it), the mixture may continue to try to ooze a bit (it is a slow mover though, if it is actually spreading itself out too much, then you didn't beat it quite enough) so you may want to push it back into place. Let the mixture sit out overnight, and then slice the next day. Coat in chocolate if you desire.

Take a bite of chewy nutty gooey Montelimar Nougat!

Happy Holidays! (I'll be posting pictures of the finished cut Montelimar as soon as it is set up (well, probably tomorrow) so stay tuned!

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I Foresee No Candy Making for You Today (Rained Out!)

I was going to make some lovely candies today, but the weather is not cooperating with me. It's rainy and humid, which tends to make for soggier candies than I would like. Fingers crossed for dryer weather tomorrow! If not, I'll have to bake something that won't be too affected.

Hope everyone is having a lovely day! And I leave you with some pictures of a strange and creepy fortune teller:

She was in the gift shop of the Winchester Mystery House which we visited with G's parents when they were here. And a few photos I snapped of flowers in the gardens there:

And a not-so-great picture of the front of the mystery house:



More baking to come in the next day or so!

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Going Boldly Where no Barmy Baker has Gone Before: Checkerboard Cookies (the last of the holiday cookies? Maybe, Maybe not..)

Well, I've done tons of favorite cookies for the Holidays these past few weeks, and I've decided to try out a cookie I've never made before. Sure I've seen it made by classmates when I was in the Baking and Pastry program I attended..well, one classmate, and the cookies were beautiful. I wanted to recreate this beautiful cookie to give out with all the other cookies I've been working on this season. I only hope they taste as good as they look.
I know many people ask why I take the time to make so many varieties of cookies this time of year. "What is the draw? What possesses you to do this? Why would you spend so much time on baked product?". There are many answers. The first being that I love to spread the joy that I feel when I make each cookie and when each turns out beautifully (and I have been blessed with every cookie turning out incredibly this year). Another reason is that I do just love to give, and this is a great excuse to do so. At this time in baking (about a day away from mailing everything) I feel fairly secure in the cookies I have already baked, and know that I have one day left to experiment. So, I am going to try out checkerboard cookies. I have meant to try them out before, but never got around to it (I figure my still being unemployed...sigh...this time of year has given me a bit of time to try them). So, without further yapping and hoo-ha..I bring you:

Checkerboard Cookies (this recipe is from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri).

First you will need to make two cookie doughs. They are:

French Vanilla Sables: (If you want to avoid washing your mixing bowl twice, then do what I did and mix up these cookies first, then mix up the chocolate ones in the same bowl after you have scraped out the vanilla dough. It won't harm the chocolate cookies, and it helps out with dishes)

12 Tbsps (or 1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temp
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
__________________________________

-Cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg yolk, continue beating until smooth , about 2 minutes.
-Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beater and add the flour, mix until combined.
-Press the dough into a 1 inch thick square and chill, wrapped, for 3 hours or several days.

Dark Chocolate Sables:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup alkalized (dutch process) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbsps or 4 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
__________________________________
-Combine in a bowl: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, stir well to mix, set aside.
-Cream together the sugar and butter for about 4-5 minutes on medium until it is light and fluffly. Then beat in the egg and vanilla for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth.
-Scrape down the bowl and beaters and add the flour mixture. Mix until combined.
-Press the dough into a 1 inch thick square, wrap and chill for a few hours or a few days.

Now that you have your dough made, the fun begins (well, some might call it fun, I might call it tedious...but when I say tedious I mean more time consuming and putzy, not difficult). At this point with the cookies, you will wish you had a dough sheeter, if a dough sheeter wasn't the size of a smart car, or a horse, then it would be on my wish list for Christmas...as it is, we have no room here for a horse, or a dough sheeter. But I digress...

Tedious Checkerboard Cookie directions:

You will need both of the doughs from above, and one egg white to bind the dough together (beaten).

-Remove the vanilla dough from the refrigerator.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 8x12 inch rectangle about 3/8 inch thick. Slide the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm again, about 30 minutes. Repeat this step with the chocolate dough.
-Remove the vanilla dough from the fridge again and coat it lightly with the egg white. Slide the chocolate dough on top of the vanilla, place a sheet pan over the top of this and press lightly to adhere the dough together.
-Immediately cut the layered dough in half, making two 8x6 inch rectangles. Paint the top of one rectangle with egg white and place the second one over it so you have 4 layers of alternating chocolate and vanilla dough. Gently press the top of this with a pan, and then chill for several hours before continuing.
-Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a cutting board. Using a long sharp knife cut the dough along the 6 inch side into 16 - 3/8 inch thick slices.

-Place one piece of the dough, alternating stripes facing upward, on a work surface. Paint the top of it lightly with egg white.
Place another piece of dough on top of this so that vanilla stripes are covering chocolate stripes and vice-a-versa, repeat this, making sure you are alternating colors, until you have a stack of four slices. Repeat with the remaining slices of dough, and you will have four stacks of alternating nummy dough.
-Gently press the sides of the stacks so they are squared off on the sides and wrap and chill these for several hours, they may also be frozen at this point.
-When you are ready to bake these, preheat oven to 350 degrees, slice the cookies 1/4 inch thick and lay them out on sheet pans lined with parchement paper or foil. Bake for about 8 to 12 minutes, or until they become dull in appearance and feel firm to the touch.
-Cool on a rack.
-Put your feet up, proudly gaze at your beautiful little checkered cookies, have an Irish coffee and relax. It is well deserved.

Whew!
As this is a new recipe for me, I just thought I would share what I noticed: The chocolate dough is a bit stiffer than the vanilla, but a bit easier to work with (not that either dough is very difficult to handle). There seems to be just a smidge more of the chocolate dough than the vanilla, so 3/8 of an inch thick was doable with the chocolate dough, the vanilla I rolled out to a bit over 1/4 inch, this didn't really effect the cookies too much. I also noticed that I had just slightly less than a 12x8 inch rectangle to begin with, but I think I was being more cautious with the rolling. If I make these again, and I believe I will, I think I will make another batch of the chocolate dough so I can wrap a border of it around the cookies. And I must take back what I said about this being tedious. It really wasn't that bad. Time consuming? Yes, if you are planning on starting and completing the cookies on the same day, but you can do them in stages with chilling a day or so between. Are they worth the time? Yes, I believe they are. They are a light cookie with nice flavor and are not as sweet as some festive cookies. What I really am saying is that these are more about looks than substance...maybe more vanilla or using some extract would help. Maybe orange extract in the chocolate dough? Maybe peppermint extract in the vanilla..but still..these are impressive in look if nothing else. Of course, sometimes it is just nice to have a pretty yet mellow cookie to offer amongst all the other very flavorful cookies, it makes for good contrast.

Happy Baking! Happy Holidays!

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