A Babeiversary: Three Years of Breads, Bitchin’ and Buddies

Well, well, well…

How time flies when you’re having fun with twelve plus crazy women all wearing embroidered panties and aprons, up to your elbows in wet dough, wine, scotch, brandy, and the King Arthur flour catalog; not to mention changing jobs/careers (Karen, Gretchen, Sara, me), having a baby (Sara), getting married (Gretchen), becoming a grandmother (Tanna x 2, Lynn), losing a spouse (me), losing a beloved pet (Natashya, Katie), losing a sister (All of us when we lost Sher), losing our minds (all of us from time to time), moving homes (Gorel, Gretchen, Sara, and me), building a house in the Northern Michigan woods (Tanna), building a house in France (Katie), remodeling a house (Karen), building a brick oven in the backyard (Susan). Well, you get the picture…

In the past three years this little band of sisters has done a lot both in the kitchen and out of the kitchen but the one constant has been every month since February 2008, a bread has been baked in most of our ovens.

We’ve had some fantastic successes with the Royal Crown Tortano, Poilane style Miche, Challah, Asparagus Bread, Potato Bread with Chives, and Sweet Portuguese Bread. We’ve had some challenges with the Crocodrillo, Russian Black Bread, Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread, and the Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread. We’ve experienced international breads many of us had never tried or heard of with Ethiopian Injera, Sukerbolle, Sukkar bi Tahin, and Broa (Portuguese Corn Bread). We’ve had fun shaping with the Yule Wreath, Tanta Wawa, Viennese Striesel, and the Cornucopia.

To celebrate the Babes three year anniversary, I took advantage of a few down weeks at home in my Connecticut kitchen to pick one bread from each of the three years to make again or in the case of the last one, for the first time.

During our first year, the one bread that struck fear in the hearts of all us and still sends shivers down the spines of my sisters was the uber-wet dough Crocodrillo.

This bread not only was the wettest dough we’ve tackled to date (and tackling is the operative word when you are chasing dough off the end of the counter) but it also ended up one of the most satisfying when you got it right and out of the oven. The taste and the texture with the crispy, chewy crust and the large holes in the dough made all the cursing, crying, and pleading worth it.

In the second year, we made a bread sold on the streets of Beirut, the Sukkar bi Tahin. It surprised me when I sat down to pick the three breads that I was going to make for this post that this one kept popping up to the top of my mind. I wasn’t a huge fan of the bread when I made it in July 2009, mainly because I’m not a big fan of tahini except in hummus. But when I made it this time I was blown away by how wonderful the bread was. I did stray from the recipe by shaping the dough into one large serpent shaped loaf but the result was stunning.

My office mates were also impressed because exactly ten minutes after I announced at the Monday morning project meeting the bread was on the cutting board in the kitchen, the last piece was consumed.

In the third year of Babe breads, I have to admit there are several breads I missed baking owing to job schedules and some other life changes (i.e. golf), I left our collective kitchen to go on hiatus. So, I decided to bake one of the breads I missed for this anniversary post. Having been itching to use my brotform for several months, I decided the dough and bread from 2010 that best suited the wicker shape was the Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread.

Like my revisit to the Sukkar bi Tahan, this bread surprised me with how much I loved it. It reminded me in taste and texture to my beloved Anadama bread. I admit, I ate about half the loaf at various meals before I finally took the remaining loaf into the office. It too was devoured by my fellow workers and already, I’m hearing rumbling to make it again. It won’t be hard to twist my arm in that regards.

Of all the things the past three years that we Babes have enjoyed it has been inviting you, our readers (if I have any left) into our collective kitchen every month as Bread Baking Buddies.

So, this month there isn’t a single bread that we are baking and inviting you to bake with us but rather there are thirty-seven! That’s right, if you would like to help us celebrate three years of Babe Bread Baking, we would like you to select one of the breads in the below to bake, blog about and then email our host kitchen, our founder and den mother, Tanna (My Kitchen in Half Cups) with a link to your post by Feb. 29. She’ll email you a little something-something for your blog!

2008 (from left to right) February: Karen Royal Crown Tortano (in Dutch) and in English:
March: Lien Coccodrillo
April: Tanna Sullivan Street Pizza
May: Sher – Poilane-Style Miche
June: Mary Breadchick’s Dark Onion Rye
July: - in memory of Sher who passed away July 20 2008; this month we made something from her blog, something that reminded us of the warm and witty personality Sher was. The news of her passing shocked us. She is our Angel Babe.
August: Ilva Whole Wheat Pita
September : Monique Sûkerbôlle
October : Sara Challah
November: Görel The Rosendal Crisp Bread
December: Lynn Yule Wreath

In our second year, the loaves of 2009;

2009 (from left to right): January Katie Croissants
February Tanna Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Nod (Five-Grain Bread with Walnuts)
March Sara Pane Francese
April Mary Ethiopian Injera
May Ilva Pane di Pasta Tenera Condita (Italian Knot Bread)
June Lien Asparagus Bread (in English and Dutch)
July Natashya Sukkar bi Tahin (Beirut Tahini Swirls)
August Görel Russian Black Bread
September Karen Chinese Flower Steam Buns
October Gretchen Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)
November Monique Brioche Mousseline
December Katie Viennese Striesel

And our third year 2010;

2010 (from left to right) January Lynn Curried Naan
February Karen Ensaimada
March Mary Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
April Sara Potato Bread with Chives
May Natashya Tunisian Spicy Breads
June Lien Korni (in English and Dutch)
July Lynn Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread
August Tanna Sweet Portuguese Bread
September Görel Brunkans Långa
October Elizabeth Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread
November Susan Cornucopia
December Ilva Taralli Pugliesi

And finally, just this past month

2011
January: Astrid Hildegard’s Spelt Bread

Now, I’m going to get a little sappy here so you might want to go grab a box of tissue. I want to take a few words to thank my Babe sisters for all the love and support of the past three years while I’ve made some major life changes including leaving the kitchen to pursue a dream of mine, to work on my golf game and get good enough to play serious competitive golf. You each have been so supportive of me and kept my spot on the back bench warm, a bottle of my Macallan 25 taped under the bench, sent me well wishes when I’ve been competing and helped pick me up when I’ve failed. I know I won’t be joining you every month in the upcoming year but I also know that when I drop into the kitchen and the classroom from time to time, you will welcome me back with open arms. Ladies, may your yeast always bloom, your flour always stay dry, and your loaves always rise.

To go see what my Sisters, The Bread Baking Babes did this month to celebrate three years, go visit their blogs. You can find them over there on the side bar of this blog.

Three Years of Babe Bliss

Three years ago a little email arrived in my mailbox from my dear friend Tanna asking if I would be interested in joining her in an endeavor: find a very small and intimate group of ladies to bake bread, share laughs, tears, drinks and bottles taped to the underside of back benches, and most importantly create life long friendships.

How could I refuse not to join such a group? Especially when Tanna told me we would have custom embroidered panties and aprons…

Just for kicks and giggles and because as I get older, I feel the need to wander down memory lane more and more, let”s revisit the breads the Babes have baked the past three years:

2008 (from left to right) February: Karen Royal Crown Tortano (in Dutch) and in English:
March: Lien Coccodrillo
April: Tanna Sullivan Street Pizza
May: Sher – Poilane-Style Miche
June: Mary Breadchick’s Dark Onion Rye
July: - in memory of Sher who passed away July 20 2008; this month we made something from her blog, something that reminded us of the warm and witty personality Sher was. The news of her passing shocked us. She is our Angel Babe.
August: Ilva Whole Wheat Pita
September : Monique Sûkerbôlle
October : Sara Challah
November: Görel The Rosendal Crisp Bread
December: Lynn Yule Wreath

In our second year, the loaves of 2009;

2009 (from left to right): January Katie Croissants
February Tanna Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Nod (Five-Grain Bread with Walnuts)
March Sara Pane Francese
April Mary Ethiopian Injera
May Ilva Pane di Pasta Tenera Condita (Italian Knot Bread)
June Lien Asparagus Bread (in English and Dutch)
July Natashya Sukkar bi Tahin (Beirut Tahini Swirls)
August Görel Russian Black Bread
September Karen Chinese Flower Steam Buns
October Gretchen Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)
November Monique Brioche Mousseline
December Katie Viennese Striesel

And our third year 2010;

2010 (from left to right) January Lynn Curried Naan
February Karen Ensaimada
March Mary Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
April Sara Potato Bread with Chives
May Natashya Tunisian Spicy Breads
June Lien Korni (in English and Dutch)
July Lynn Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread
August Tanna Sweet Portuguese Bread
September Görel Brunkans Långa
October Elizabeth Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread
November Susan Cornucopia
December Ilva Taralli Pugliesi

And finally, just this past month

2011
January: Astrid Hildegard’s Spelt Bread

Visit back on the 16th of February to see the beginning of the next year….

Look Who’s Back!

After a two month hiatus to work on a few things out of the kitchen, I’m back for a little food blogging while I make some decisions about what the next stage of my life is going to be and where I’m going to be living for that stage.

A few things I’ve decided like where I want to be living: the Carolinas or southern Virginia. A few things I haven’t but I’m working on those and hope to have that figured out by late winter or early spring. So, next year at this time, I’m hoping to be out of New England and happily living someplace where it doesn’t snow that often and I can play golf year round.

For the past eight weeks I’ve been dedicating almost all my free time to improving my golf game. It has been break from blogging I needed and good way to re-center my life around an active and healthier lifestyle.

During my time away from blogging, I hired a fitness coach, swing coach and a nutritionist. I began a regime with a workout in the morning and evening while watching what I ate (cutting out white flour, sugar, etc. which made baking bread a very hard thing to do). I would go to work, go to the driving range and the golf course, and then come home and fall into bed exhausted. The work has paid off, not only am I almost thirty pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of September but I’ve got a pretty mean golf game these days.

So, now that the cold weather is setting in and besides doing drills on the golf simulator and working with my coaches inside, my time on the course is going to be very limited, I’ve decided it is time to see if I can find a way to slowly bring back into my life my love of bread making and not lose the good work I’ve done. The office and my neighbors is going to love me because nothing I’m baking is staying in the house. I’m giving it all away.

Now this doesn’t mean that I’m going to be updating every week but what it does mean that I am back in a place in my life where finding a balance and being in the kitchen amongst the baking pans and flour is as much of a place of peace and comfort as standing on the tee box and smacking a 3 wood 180 yards down the center of a fairway.

It also means that I’m going to try and find a way to participate a bit more with my sisters, The Bread Baking Babes who this month made the most stunning bread I think we’ve made, cornucopias.

One of the bread baking items I did purchase while I was away was a Pullman Loaf Pan.

I have been wanting one of these forever because who can resist the perfectly square loaf of soft sandwich bread you bake in these.

This bread went right into the office with the exception of two slices I used to make a turkey sandwich for lunch.

Right now, I’m working on some very zingy sourdough bread from my favorite starter, Groucho. Since I haven’t been baking much Groucho was pretty dormant.

To revive him, I started a few days ago by taking half of the dormant starter

Adding one half cup of luke warm (about 75 degrees)

and stirring in one half cup of flour

About forty minutes later, I had some bubbles.

I repeated this for three days and this morning, Groucho was bubbly and happy. Tomorrow, I’ll be baking a boule for the office.

The office is really glad I’m back in the kitchen because they have been missing things like this Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake on Gingersnap Crust I took in to work at the end of the week.

LB is pretty happy I’m spending more time at home too. So much so, when I’m sitting on the couch working on my laptop or watching some golf on TV, he immediately hops up and assumes his favorite napping position.

Have you ever seen such big feet on a cat?!

Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake on Gingersnap Crust

Crust:
1 2/3 C Gingersnaps, crushed
1/3 C Vanilla Wafer Cookies, crushed
1/2 C Confectioners Sugar
1/3 + 2 Tbsp Butter, melted

Cheesecake
3 8oz packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 C Dark Chocolate (66% or darker), broken into small pieces (or in chips)
2/3 C Milk Chocolate, broken into small pieces (or in chips)
2/3 C White Chocolate, broken into small pieces (or in chips)
4 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1 C Semi Sweet Chocolate, broken into tiny pieces (or in mini chips)

To Make Crust:
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and moisten with melted butter. Press crust into prepared 9″ spring form pan. Make bottom crust about 1/4″ thick and press any excess crust evenly up the sides of the pan. Set aside.

To Make Cheesecake Batter:

Using 1/8 cup of cocoa powder coat semi sweet chips and set aside.

In large bowl using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in sweetened condensed milk and continue beating until smooth.

Melt dark, milk, and white chocolate in a double boiler until completely smooth. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Add eggs in, one at time and combine until smooth. Stir in vanilla and semi sweet chocolate until combined.

Pour into spring form pan over the crust and gently shake pan to remove any bubbles.

Place spring form pan on a baking sheet with edges to prevent butter from the crust leaking out in the oven and bake cheesecake for 60 minutes at 300 degrees until firm in the center.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before gently loosening the outer ring of the spring form pan. If necessary, run a knife under hot water and run along side of outer ring to loosen cheesecake from outer ring.

Let cheesecake cool completely or overnight in the refrigerator.

To serve, shave dark, milk, and white chocolate over top.

WCB: A Fond Farewell For A Few

We’re hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this weekend and it is a bit of sadness that Mom is letting me announce that this will be the last time that we host WCB for this year.

You see, Mom is getting ready to take a break from blogging for the foreseeable future to pursue an outside venture that doesn’t involve food. Don’t worry, Mom is really excited and once she is in a place where she can tell you what she is going to be doing, I’m sure she’ll be back at The Sour Dough to explain and share her news.

Since I only get to use the computer when she is using the computer, it will be really hard for me to host as Mom isn’t going to spend much time on the computer.

Don’t worry, our really good friends Othello, Salome and Kashim have offered to take our slots for the rest of the year.

In the mean time, since this is our last hosting, we want to thank all the kitties over the years we’ve been hosting for all the purrs and friendship.

If you want to join us with this lovely early fall weekend and show us what you’ve been up to the past week. Leave us a comment and check back on Sunday to see all the kitties in comments.

Bread Baking Babes: Exploring the Portuguese Sweet Side

When Tanna first emailed me with a question about her bread for this month, Sweet Portuguese Bread

I almost peed my pants with excitement! You see, next to dark rye bread, Anadama bread and the perfect French baguette, there is no other bread in this world I love more than Sweet Portuguese Bread.

You see, I have had an almost 45 year love affair with Sweet Portuguese Bread ever since the first time my Auntie Nora took me to one of the many Portuguese bakeries Fall River, MA to help pick up the rolls for weekends at the summer house on Long Lake.

I remember walking into the bakery with the windows all steamed up from the summer heat, standing in line with all the other ladies from New Bedford, Fall River, Tiverton, and the surrounding communities waiting for our turn, the sweet lady behind the counter who would always give me a roll or cookie to “munch on” while I waited for my Aunt to have her rolls and desserts wrapped. I would then sit in the front seat all the way back to the summer house with a big box of still warm buns in my lap. Those buns were so yellow from the eggs and soft, shiny and melt in your mouth good.

We would have those rolls with fresh chunks of lobster in a light mixture of mayonnaise and lemon juice while sitting out on the back deck watching the sun go down over the lake and further out the distance the Atlantic Ocean.

The recipe that Tanna had us follow was an almost perfect match for those sweet rolls I remember from my childhood summers. The rolls I made from the dough (sorry Tanna, I wanted to be 10 again) were sweet without being over sweet like so many recipes for Sweet Portuguese Bread I’ve tried in the past. They were soft inside with a firm, slightly chewy crust that was dark brown, leading to a nice contrast to the yellowish insides.

I also strayed from the recipe by not marking the tops of my buns or long rolls like Tanna’s recipe, again wanting to recreate the rolls of my childhood. Because you see, I had a special plan for my rolls of Sweet Portuguese Bread. I wanted lobster rolls.

There is a lobster pound down the street from my apartment where the lobster boats from Long Island Sound come in and off load their catch for the area restaurants.

This morning, on my way to my coffee shop, I stopped by and spoke with one of the guys on the boat about buying a lobster from them. He said to come back at 3pm when they were back and the restaurants had picked up their catch and if there was an orphan or “damaged” lobster, it was mine.

At 3:35pm this after a 1 1/2lb lobster found its way into my kitchen and into my steaming pot and about 12 minutes later I had a lovely pile of lobster meat.

While the lobster was cooling, I formed four round rolls and four long rolls from the dough that had been rising all afternoon and put them in my oven/proofing chamber for their final rise. After the rolls had baked and cooled,

I pulled the lobster meat from the fridge, dressed it with a tablespoon of mayonnaise and squeeze of lemon.

I piled the lobster meat onto a sliced round roll, put a handful of Herr’s Creamy Dill potato chips on the plate

and sat down to watch the final few holes of the 2010 PGA Championship. I could almost see the back deck of my Auntie Nora’s when I bit into the lobster roll…

If you want to see what my fellow Babes did with their Sweet Portuguese Bread go visit the blogs over there on my side bar. You’ll notice a few new names there too! Last month we welcomed four new Babes, Astrid, Elizabeth, Elle, and Susan to our ranks to help keep our group lively. You’ll also notice that a few of us are on hiatus: Gretchen, Katie, and Monique. They will still join us from time to time to bake when their hectic lives allow. I’m trying to be a better Babe and bake more often as my crazy schedule allows as well.

If you want to be a Bread Baking Buddy, you can bake this fantastic tasting bread, post about it by August 29, and email Tanna, our Kitchen of the Month with a link to your post. She’ll email you a nifty badge for your blog and include you in her round up.

Sweet Portuguese Bread
Note: Requires an overnight sponge

Ingredients

Over night SPONGE

72 grams bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons osmotolerant yeast (instant worked just as well too)

114 milliliters potato water, or whey or water (potato water or whey really make it extra tender & soft)

DOUGH

6 tablespoons butter, room temp.

30 to100 grams brown sugar

lemon zest

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, room temp.

120 milliliters milk, room temp.

460 grams bread flour, I make approximately1 cup of the 460g whole wheat, you can use all bread flour if you like

2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground

Method
Mix together the sponge the night before baking the bread. Leave sitting at room temp 8 to 12 hours.

Beat sugar and butter until creamy.
Add zest and salt and beat.
Beat in each egg separately and completely; mix will appear curdled.
Stir in milk and sponge.
Stir in 2 1/2 cups flour and beat vigorously (in a stand mixer it would clear the sides of the bowl, by hand lifting the spoon up should stretch the dough about a foot.)
Add remaining flour to make stiff dough. Knead 5 minutes or more to incorporate all the flour:
Dough should be smooth, soft and very supple with a slight stickiness. Looks a little like very thick cake batter or a brioche dough.
Shape into ball, oil bowl and dough ball.
Cover and allow to rise about 2 hours, should almost or triple in size.
Divide into loaves, shaped into balls.
Allow to rest 20 to 30 minutes before final shaping with rolling pin.
See photos for shaping.

For best demarcation of indents be careful to dust dough ball well with flour.

Shape and place into well oiled cake pans seam side down.
Allow to rise an hour to 2 hours; more than double in size.

Brush with egg wash if you want that beautiful glossy finish.

Bake 350°
50 minutes as two loaves
35 minutes as four loaves

mine took less

Brush with melted butter when hot from the oven.

Recipe a combination of recipes found in Tanna’s books:
Advanced Bread & Pastry: A Professional Approach by Michel Suas pg 237
The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger pg 368
A Baker’s Odyssey by Gregg Patent pg 221
The Bread Book by Linda Collister & Anthony Blake pg 136
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart pg 215

WCB: Lazy Saturday Morning on the Porch

Guess What! We’re hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this weekend and we even remembered we were hosting!! (Thanks Astrid and the kitties for a reminder!)

I know, there was a bit of a snafu last month but don’t blame me. Blame Mom. It’s her fault.

Stupid work had her so crazy busy last month that besides one post about meatballs that I didn’t even get to help with because Mom doesn’t let me eat meatballs

(well, she doesn’t think she lets me eat meatballs but I snuck one off her plate).

But this month, Mom hasn’t been so crazy at work and she has even been home for most of it so far. Which means she has been able to not only spend lots of quality time with me but also spend some time in the kitchen baking.

She baked some cinnamon rolls for a friend at work who was leaving to go to a new job

and she baked some cookies, double chocolate mocha fudge drops and her Arnold Palmer shortbread,

for a friend who is a caddy on the PGA Tour.

Because Mom hasn’t been working so much this month, she has gotten to spend more time on the golf course too! Which makes both Mom and me very happy because she isn’t cranky.

Mom is going on a special golf trip next month with her friends from The Hackers Paradise at the PGA National Resort. She says there is a really tough golf course there that the PGA pros play a tournament on and that has three really scary holes called “The Bear Trap”. So she has been practicing really hard.

Mom is always telling me it isn’t just how you golf but also how you look when you golf so got this really pretty hat from The Hackers Paradise

to match her golf bag

She is golfing this afternoon with her upstairs neighbor and said she was going to show off her new hat. The weather is perfectly sunny and nice. Tomorrow she told me she was going to golf early in the morning and then spend the afternoon baking and catching up on laundry.

But morning Mom is sitting out on the back porch reading and working on a few recipes. She is also doing laundry which means I get nap in my favorite place

The laundry basket full of warm clothes!

If you would like to join us this for Weekend Cat Blogging and show us what you are up to or where you are napping or what food you are stealing from your Mom and/or Dad’s plates, leave a link in the comments. And, don’t forget to check back on Sunday evening and read the comments from all the kitties!

Weekend Cat Blogging: Meatballs and Golf Balls

First, I’m so sorry I had to miss last weekend’s host duties. I was asleep for most of the weekend on the pile of pillows and quilts Mom left on the floor

and Mom had to work all weekend on a stupid project. She worked 36 hours last weekend and by the time she got home on Sunday night she was really, really grumpy. So thanks to Othello, Kashim, and Salome for stepping in doing an emergency hosting!

They are hosting a special Weekend Cat Blogging this weekend in memory of Sher. Sher was very good friend of us here at the Sour Dough, a regular host of Weekend Cat Blogging, and one of the original Bread Baking Babes with Mom. (Did you know that one of the newest Babes is Othello, Kashim, and Salome’s momma Astrid?)

Mom has many recipes that she uses in her kitchen from Sher but the one recipe she uses almost every month is her recipe for meatballs. Mom has been cleaning out her freezer and found a package of lamb from a local farm. Mom has also been craving a meatball sub like she used to get this little hole in the wall diner in Watertown, MA.

So, last night, she made lamb meatballs using the seasoning from Sher’s recipe

and using a sub roll from the bakery down the street, made this wonderful looking meatball sub sandwich.

Speaking of balls, but not meatballs, Mom has been so busy at work she hasn’t been on a golf course or a driving range in over 14 days. The last time she golfed was July 5th!! She’s going to try and get on the course later this weekend but since it is also the weekend of the British Open or as it is called in the UK, The Open, she may not make it off the couch.

Of course, she cursed her favorite golfer by picking him to win in one of her golf pools and he had a horrible day yesterday and missed the cut. Mom really should know she is a jinx.

If you would like to join our hosts Othello, Kashim, and Salome this weekend in memory of Sher go visit their blog and leave a comment.

Babes Getting Korni

I’d love to tell you that I baked this month. I’d love to tell you how fabulous this bread tasted and looked and smell. I’d love to tell you all about it but…

If the fact I’m typing this post about the bread I’d love to tell you about from my iphone in the Crown Room at Atlanta’s airport in Terminal C waiting to board my third airplane in as many days says anything about how my month has been.

hen you’ll understand I can’t tell you anything about this month’s bread other than it looks really interesting and my fellow Babes are reporting it has a hearty and delicious crunch and you should definitely try it as Buddy! To see the recipe and how to become a Buddy, go visit our host kitchen Lien of Notitie van Lien.

Then go see the other Babes on the sidebar and read about this bread. And maybe next month, I’ll actually get a chance to set up shop in my own house…

Weekend Cat Blogging Flashback for Our Fifth!

Mom’s been traveling again the past ten days. She was in Charlotte, NC; Houston, TX; and Las Vegas!

While she was away, she had a birthday too!! Her friends in Vegas took her out and let her have lots of fun.

She said she wasn’t feeling very well though after her night out on the town.

Anyways, Mom is still recovering from her birthday bash in Vegas. So, she is having me post a Weekend Cat Blogging Flashback picture with presents since we are hosting this weekend and Weekend Cat Blogging is celebrating our 5th Birthday!

If you want to join the Weekend Cat Blogging Birthday Bash, leave us a link and come back on Sunday to see how we all celebrated Weekend Cat Blogging’s Birthday!!

Bread Baking Babes: Twofer Breads from a Bad Babe

I’ve been a Bad Babe the past few months.

Between traveling over hill and dale for my crazy work schedule and well, being distracted trying to earn an exemption into the LPGA (yea, right..) I have to truthful and tell you that baking bread hasn’t exactly been at the top of my list lately.

It isn’t that the breads the Babes have been baking aren’t interesting and when I see the recipes posted in our secret clubhouse, I get all excited. BUT, by the time I find a few minutes to actually sit down and bake, I’m out of time before we are suppose to post. SO, I promise the gals that I will be a “buddy” that month. And you know what happens right? Yup, before I know it I’ve missed that posting date too! BAD BABE!!!

Anyways, last month my very good friend, twin sister and mother of just about the cutest little boy you have ever laid eyes on, Sara at I Like To Cook was our host kitchen and she gave us one of the best breads we’ve ever done, Potato Bread with Chives.

Now, I have to admit when I first read this recipe I thought to myself how can anything “vegan” be really that good. After all, I’m not a huge fan of soy milk but this bread is F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.

Sara gave us the option to shape the bread any way we wanted and I opted to make little knots.

I also added a bit of garlic to the dough to go with the chives and coated the knots with garlic butter when they came out of the oven. They were a HUGE hit when I took them to my watering hole. I love this bread so much, I actually keep single servings of soy milk on hand now so I can make it when ever I want to!

This month, Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies is our host kitchen and she has picked a humdinger of a bread for us this month: Tunisian Spicy Bread.

These are like empanadas but with those fantastic middle eastern spices and heat, Heat, HEAT baby!!

The dough is made from Semolina flour and is rich and eggy and frankly, really not my favorite dough we’ve made. But that is OK because it is the filling (chakchouka) that is the star of this bread.

A filling made of tomatoes, onions, peppers with chilies, cayenne pepper and harissa, it pushes the bread, which is a bit bland in taste to the background. Which, in my opinon is A-OK. I love the filling so much, I’m glad I made a big batch. I’ve been dipping corn chips, the leftover frozen Naan that was our January bread this year, carrots and anything I can think of into it.

If you want to be a Bread Baking Buddy this month for the Tunisian Spicy Bread visit Natashya’s blog for details. You have until May 24th to get her your post about your experience with the Tunisian Spice Bread and don’t worry about the spicy part, she let’s adjust the heat to taste.

Unfortunately, you can’t be a buddy for Sara’s bread because the deadline has passed but you should really give the bread a try. I even use the dough for pizza dough! It’s that good.

And don’t forget to visit the rest of the Babes listed over there on my sidebar to see how they shaped their Potato Bread with Chives and how spicy they like things with the Tunisian Spicy Bread.

May 2010 Bread Baking Babes Bread Recipe:

Tunisian Spicy Breads
Touarits
from Savory Baking from the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou

These are a Tunisian spin on r’ghayefs. Here the dough is made entirely with semolina flour and enriched with oil and egg, and the filling is enclosed between two circles of dough. The breads are usually pan-fried, but I prefer to bake them. Although the amount of harissa and cayenne pepper in the filling may seem excessive, the heat of the spices is tempered by the bread casing. The filling, which is called chakchouka, may also be served on its own as a salad or a dip. Harissa*, made by grinding chili peppers, garlic, and caraway seeds, is widely available in Middle Eastern markets and in some supermarkets.

*or feel free to make your own harissa! There are plenty of recipes online.

Makes 20-22 small breads

Ingredients:

For the dough
3 1/3 tsp (1 1/2 pkg) (16.5 ml) active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups (828 ml) fine semolina or semolina flour
1 1/2 (7.5 ml) tsp fine kosher salt or sea salt
1 1/2 Tbsp (22 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing the breads
1 whole egg
All purpose flour for kneading and shaping

For the filling
3 Tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped (about 1 heaping cup) (250+ ml)
1 medium bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped (about 3/4 cup) (178 ml approx)
2 small chili peppers, such as serranos, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) harissa
1/2 (2.5 ml) teaspoon cayenne pepper
Fine kosher salt or sea salt

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water and stir until creamy.

2. Combine the semolina and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the 1 1/2 Tbsps (22 ml) olive oil and the egg to the well. Gradually add the yeast and 2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsps (188 ml total) warm water, bringing in the semolina as you go along. Knead until you have a rough ball of dough.

3. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead for 3 minutes. Invert the bowl over the dough and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead for about 2 to 3 minutes more. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest while the filling is prepared.

4. Make the filling: Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add the tomatoes, chopped peppers, harissa, and cayenne. Season with salt to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bell pepper is soft and the sauce is very thick. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. Divide the dough into two pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place on a lightly floured work surface, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 400F (205C). Roll out one ball of dough until it is 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) thick. Using a 3 1/2 inch (8.9 cm approx) pastry cutter, cut out as many circles of dough as possible and set aside. Briefly knead the extra dough together, and place under the plastic wrap, next to the other ball of dough. Turn the circles over and place 1 tsp (5 ml) of filling in the middle of half of the circles. Cover with the remaining plain circles and press on the edges to seal. Flatten the breads slightly by hand and pinch the edges to flatten further and seal well. Brush with olive oil on both sides and transfer to a non-stick baking sheet, or to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone pastry mat. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. continue making the breads until the dough, including the scraps, is used up.

7. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly crisp and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Note: To pan-fry the breads, heat a little oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place as many breads as will fit in the pan, brush the tops with olive oil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden on the bottom, pressing on the breads if they puff up. Turn the breads over, brush the cooked bottoms with oil, and cook for 3 minutes more, or until golden all over. Serve immediately.

April 2010 Bread Baking Babes Bread Recipe:

Potato Bread with Chives
from Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson

“The addition of mashed potatos gives this bread a moist, dense texture and delicate flavor that is accented by that of the chives. This bread is best eaten slightly warm from the oven on the day it is made. It is also good toasted.”

2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar or pure maple syrup
2 Tb corn oil
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold mashed potatos
1 cup soy milk or other dairy free milk
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 Tb minced fresh chives

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of water, the corn oil and the salt. Mix in the potatos, then stir in the soy milk. Add about half the flour, stirring to combine, then work in the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board.

Lightly flour your hands and work surface. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary so the dough does not stick. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and turn over once to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with the chives, and knead until the dough is elastic and the chives are well distributed, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into one large or two small round loaves and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and cover with a clean damp towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400′F. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf or loaves. Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Tap on the bottom of the loaf or loaves – if they sound hollow, the bread is done. Remove from the sheet and let cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.