Tag Archives: baking

Super Sourdough Success

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sourdough-loaf-n

Two loaves of sourdough bread fresh out of the oven. As soon as they cooled enough to cut, we were in. Delicious!

Every July, I make culinary goals for myself as this is the time of year we do our bulk shopping for our year in the Alaskan bush. My two big goals this year were to master working with sourdough starter and to make cheese.

I’ve tried making sourdough bread with starter before. A friend gave me some of hers which she had had going for several years. For whatever reason, my sourdough did not turn out. Jack called it an epic fail. I don’t remember it being epic. That would have involved tears, bread in the trash, and possibly my fists pounding the floor like a tantrumming child. Don’t ask me about the time I tried to hard boil eggs! That was an epic fail. I do remember that my last attempt making sourdough bread wasn’t good. So, it went on the goal list to try again.

Most people go to their local store to buy the things they need. If they are lucky, they live in a place with specialty shops where they can find unique tools to help them achieve their culinary goals. Out here in the bush, we rely on the U.S. Postal Service to deliver items we can find via the Internet. This involves lots of planning and lots of patience waiting for items to show up. Last week, my sourdough starter finally arrived. I’ve been diligently feeding it every day and it’s been bubbling away on the countertop in a nifty glass jar I bought especially for this purpose.

Today was the big day. The starter smelled nicely sour. I gathered my ingredients and set to work. Happily, the two loaves came out lightly sour and made for a great accompaniment to Jack’s clam chowder. Hurrah! It will be interesting to see if the starter changes flavor as it continues to age. I am also curious to see how the starter will taste in sourdough pancakes. Stay tuned to find out!

Homemade Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

  • 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ cups sourdough starter
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp water

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, and yeast. Whisk together.
  2. Place butter and milk in small pot on stove. Warm to about 110 degrees F.
  3. Whisk milk mixture into flour mixture.
  4. Whisk in sourdough starter.
  5. Stir another cup of flour into dough mixture.
  6. Stir and then knead in one more cup of flour and salt. (I actually knead in the large bowl.)
  7. Knead in final ¾ cup of flour. Dough should be well mixed and slightly sticky.
  8. Turn dough out of bowl and coat bowl with 2 tbsp olive oil. Place dough back in bowl.
  9. Cover with plastic wrap and rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  10. Punch dough down. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf-shaped log.
  11. Place loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  12. Cover and let rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.
  13. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  14. Mix egg and water and brush loaves generously with this mixture.
  15. Bake loaves for 25 minutes. Finished loaves will be golden brown and have a hollow sound when the bottom is tapped.

Lemon Tart for Two (or One)

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gluten free lemon tart n

Tart and sweet, just like a lemon tart is supposed to be. Bites to remind of us of Spring in the middle of Winter.

I’ve noticed that lemon tart recipes are showing up on some of my feeds. Deep in the heart of Winter (a low of negative 30-something Fahrenheit in Ulaanbaatar today) , I think many of us are longing for Spring. The bright yellow zest and the taste of fresh lemon does seem to bring the feeling of Spring into the house, even if only momentarily.

Last summer, I found some four-inch baking dishes that are the perfect size for the two of us to share. And if I happen to eat the whole thing (ahem), I shouldn’t feel too guilty. Tiny tart – tiny guilt. As a nod to my friends who can’t eat gluten, or eggs, or milk, I created this recipe without any animal products or wheat. I really wanted to see if I could make a tasty crust with a nut and oat combination. The tart filling turned out nice and custard-like with a lovely sweet and tart lemony flavor. The crust had a nice nutty crunch to it which paired perfectly with the filling. This dessert turned out delicious!

Lemon Tart for Two

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/2 tbsp oats
  • 1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • tiny pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tbsp applesauce

Filling

  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • tiny pinch salt
  • ¼ cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • juice of one lemon juice (about 3 tbsp)
  • zest of one lemon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190C). Grease a 4-inch tart pan.
  2. Put the oats, pecans, and sugar into a food processor or blender and process until finely ground.
  3. Add the remaining dry ingredients and blend well. Transfer to a bowl and add the vanilla and apple sauce. Stir well until completely combined.
  4. Put the mixture into the tart pan. Press mixture with moistened fingers until it evenly covers the bottom and extends up the sides of the pan as far as possible.
  5. Put it in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until it is crisp but not overdone. Set aside to cool before filling.
  6. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan.
  7. Stir in the soy milk and water until completely combined.
  8. Heat until thickens over medium heat stirring constantly.
  9. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and zest (reserve a tiny amount of zest for garnish).
  10. Return to heat and continue whisking over heat for 2-3 minutes. Mixture should be smooth and lump-free.
  11. Pour mixture into the tart crust. Sprinkle reserved lemon zest on top of tart. Chill until set, about an hour.

 

 

Almond Matcha Snowball Cookies – A Green Tea Twist on a Classic

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almond match snowball cookies n

The light texture with the rich, complex flavors of matcha and almond put this cookie into the “favorites” category of my recipe file.

The tin of matcha green tea powder in my pantry continually inspires ideas. The powder is easy to use and has a distinctive flavor. I’ve made mini matcha cheesecakes, matcha butter cookies, and even matcha flavored ice cream. At this time of year, Jack always requests Russian tea cakes. He has fond memories of these delightful cookies tied to both Christmas and his grandmother. I thought I would create a recipe combining the texture and look of the traditional Russian snowballs with the inspiring flavor of matcha. This recipe is not shy on flavor. The small cookies give two bites with the pow of almond and the zip of matcha.

Almond Matcha Snowball Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tsp water
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tsp almond extract
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tbsp matcha tea powder
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling

Directions

  1. Mix butter, water, egg and extracts together in a small bowl.
  2. Sift together matcha tea powder, powdered sugar and flour in large bowl.
  3. Stir almonds into flour mixture.
  4. Stir butter mixture into flour mixture. Mix until dough forms. Add additional water if mixture is dry.
  5. Let dough chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
  6. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
  7. Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, scoop out dough and shape into balls.
  8. Bake on baking sheet for 20 minutes. Cookies should be lightly browned on the edges when done.
  9. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  10. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar.
  11. Store at room temperature in an air tight container.

Makes 48 cookies.

Onion Focaccia

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Focaccia Onion n

Ready for sandwiches or to accompany soups or salads, this flavorful and versatile belongs in your repertoire!

The base recipe for this scrumptious allows you to add different herbs and seasonings such as rosemary or even saffron. In this recipe, I used dried onions. But onions could be substituted with olives, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, or any number of savory add-ins. With a little imagination, focaccia could be turned from savory to sweet by using dried fruit and coconut. Today’s version features the traditional flavor and richness of olive oil with minced onions. I love onion flavor!

Onion Focaccia

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water (105 degrees F/40 degrees C)
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup dried onions
  • Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, stir together yeast, sugar, and water.
  2. Stir in 1/4 cup of the extra virgin olive oil.
  3. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and the salt.
  4. Stir in another cup of the flour and the dried onions.
  5. Add in another cup of flour and mix.
  6. Knead in the last cup of flour 1/4 cup at a time. Dough should be soft, smooth and slightly sticky.
  7. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.
  8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  9. Turn dough out onto the parchment paper. Press the dough to flatten to about 1 inch thickness.
  10. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about an hour.
  11. Make deep indentations with your your fingertips all over the surface of the dough.
  12. Drizzle remaining olive oil over top of dough. Let stand while you preheat oven.
  13. Set oven temperature to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  14. Sprinkle dough lightly with coarse sea salt.
  15. Bake bread for 20 – 25 minutes. Bread is done when bottom is lightly browned.
  16. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chewy Melty Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

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Double chocolate oatmeal cookies n

Some people enjoy warm chocolatey cookies with cold glasses of milk. We prefer ours with a splash of bourbon. 

This recipe adds to the already deliciously chewy texture of oatmeal cookies by including cocoa powder for another layer of flavor. A zip of cinnamon adds still another layer. We couldn’t wait for these to cool. We were rewarded with a scrumptious cookie with a rich melty center, thanks to the chocolate chips. Perfect on a day when a rare fog crept into Ulaanbaatar “on little cat feet” and froze to bare tree branches.

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • generous pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • generous 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. Whisk together the following dry ingredients:  flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  4. In a medium pot over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is melted, remove pot from heat.
  5. Mix sugar and honey into melted butter.
  6. Mix egg and vanilla into sugar mixture.
  7. Stir dry ingredients into sugar mixture. Mix well.
  8. Fold oats into dough.
  9. Fold chocolate chips into dough.
  10. Place tablespoon-sized scoops of dough onto prepared baking sheets. Press dough down to flatten slightly.
  11. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy while still warm and melty.

 

The Yin and Yang of Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Yin Yang Chocolate chip cookies n

Which side is more delicious? The chocolate with white chocolate chips? Or the traditional chocolate chip side? 

Life is too short for just one kind of cookie. Combine two cookie doughs that take about the same amount of time to bake and you have a recipe for a cookie which will disappear in the blink of an eye! These cookies were as fun to make as they were to eat… play dough for a baker!

Yin Yang Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Dough

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Dough

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 10 tbsp dutch processed cocoa
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Make the chocolate chip dough.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
  4. Thoroughly mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
  5. Fold chocolate chips into dough.
  6. Turn dough out onto piece of plastic wrap. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  7. Make the white chocolate chip chocolate dough.
  8. In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
  9. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
  10. Thoroughly mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
  11. Fold white chocolate chips into dough.
  12. Turn dough out onto piece of plastic wrap. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  13. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  14. Take a tablespoon of the light dough and roll into a ball.
  15. Take a tablespoon of the chocolate dough and roll into a ball.
  16. Cut each ball in half and press the opposite doughs together, so you have a ball of half chocolate chip dough and half white chocolate chip dough.
  17. Press the balls slightly and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat process until the baking sheet is filled. I fit 20 cookies on a sheet.
  18. Bake cookies for about 10 minutes. I like mine soft, so they will appear slightly underdone at 10 minutes. Bake a couple of minutes longer for a crunchier cookie.
  19. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Good Morning, Ulaanbaatar! Carrot, Pineapple and More Muffins

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carrot pineapple muffins n

Moist, delicious muffins filled with carrots, pineapple, pecans, and currants.

Sometimes, I wake up and want muffins for breakfast. The beauty of this muffin recipe is two-fold. It’s a quick recipe. Fifteen minutes after they were popped into the oven, they were ready to eat! And the recipe is a great base recipe. So many of the ingredients could be swapped for others to result in another version of a moist, tasty muffin. The carrots could be swapped with grated zucchini or summer squash. The pineapple could be replaced by chopped apple or smashed banana. The pecans and currants could be traded with any kind of nuts and dried fruits. The variations can be as wild as you can imagine.  Just check your pantry and make a batch!

Carrot, Pineapple and More Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup grated carrots
  • 1 cup chopped pineapple
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/3 cup dried currants

Directions

  1. Grease 12-muffin tin. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients.
  4. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Stir carrots, pineapple, pecans and currants into flour mixture.
  6. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just combined.
  7. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tin.
  8. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown and spring back to the touch.

Rich and Beautiful Braided Swiss Bread – Züpfe

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zupfe bread n

Rich and buttery Swiss bread provides a beautiful and delicious centerpiece for brunch. 

My bread-baking goal upon moving to Mongolia was to bake all of my favorite breads without the aid of my trusty Zojirushi bread machine that I relied on heavily in Alaska. The tiny house we will eventually live in will not have room for such an extravagant machine, so it was time to wean myself off of this terrific invention. In Alaska, I enjoyed throwing all my ingredients into a machine, going for a walk and coming back to beautiful finished doughs ready to shape and bake. These days, I’m finding that I really enjoy the process of manually bringing all the individual ingredients together to form delicious and beautiful breads. There is something satisfying about kneading dough and knowing, by touch, if it needs more of something.

The final bread on the list from my Alaska days to make from scratch was züpfe. I was introduced to this braided Swiss bread when I was young. I loved it. It could have been because of its soft, almost creamy texture or the lovely Swiss braids. I would eat as much of it as I was allowed. As an adult, I still love the flavor and the texture. The braids are fun to create and give an impressive finish. Bring this bread to your next dinner party instead of the traditional bottle-of-wine and see what happens.

Züpfe

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 1/3 cups warm milk (105F/41C)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add the egg yolk, butter, 2 cups of bread flour and salt. Stir well to combine.
  3. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  4. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  5. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into about a 14-inch long log. Braid the pieces together and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Pinch the ends of the braids well so they don’t come undone.
  6. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
  8. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and water. Brush risen loaf with egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Mini Matcha Cheesecakes with Shortbread Crust

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Matcha cheesecake n

Delightfully green and chock-full of flavor, these mini desserts are sure to please a mini crowd. 

The smooth texture and familiar flavor of cheesecake draws us time and again to this delicious and decadent dessert. The beauty of homemade cheesecake is that it is a perfect canvas for so many creative ideas. The traditional vanilla flavor is sumptuous. But it is so easy to add, top, or infuse. I’ve been wanting to play some more with the matcha green tea powder I have in my pantry. I wanted to make a small sized cheesecake but I don’t have a small cheesecake pan. So I made small cheesecakes in a standard-sized muffin tin in order to turn out a small batch. These would be a lovely dessert to share at our next dinner party invite.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling

  • 1 package of cream cheese, 250 grams, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp matcha tea powder

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 8 standard-sized muffin tin cups with paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together crust ingredients.
  3. Evenly divide crust mixture into lined muffin tin cups. Press down to form bottom of cheesecakes.
  4. Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Let cool.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together filling ingredients. There should be no lumps and all ingredients should be mixed well.
  6. Divide filling evenly into paper lined cups.
  7. Bake cheesecakes until set, about 16 – 18 minutes. Centers should not jiggle.
  8. Refrigerate cheesecakes for 3 hours before serving.

Cranberry Banana Bran Muffins

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muffins cranberry banana bran nSuper moist muffins bursting with cranberry and banana flavor and , shhhh, healthful bran. 

I inherited a bag of bran from a friend who moved from Ulaanbaatar earlier this summer. Had she not explained that the cyrillic words translated to wheat bran, I would have never guessed. There is a section in most grocery stores here in Ulaanbaatar that houses a variety of mysterious products that, I think, come from Russia. Sometimes I can decode the cyrillic and figure out what the items are. In most cases, I leave them alone. Now that I understand the cyrillic word for wheat bran, I can see that this ingredient is readily available in the stores we shop.

A week or so ago, I made my first bran muffins with my new pantry. They came out pretty well. They definitely had a bran flavor, which is to sat that they tasted like they were good for us. Partnered with an egg and a freshly brewed cup of coffee, we enjoyed daily breakfasts with that batch. Our test question when rating our recipes is, “If you got this ____ in a restaurant, would you be happy?” The bran muffins I made were good, but not impressive by any measure.

By contrast, today’s bran muffins are absolutely impressive and we would be delighted were they served to us in a restaurant or café. While there’s still enough bran in them to warrant the title “bran muffin,” the ripe bananas provide moistness and flavor the former muffins lacked and the cranberries add much-needed texture. The soured milk also adds moisture and a buttermilk flavor. When I put all the ingredients together, I was concerned that the batter would be too liquidy. It turns out the bran absorbs some of the liquid, so the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients was perfect. Not only did the muffins pass our test question, we’ve already eaten four muffins in one morning. That’s the true test.

Cranberry Banana Bran Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 cup milk soured with 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup light oil, such as canola
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup wheat bran
  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

  1. Grease 12-muffin tin. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  3. In a small bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  5. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until smooth.
  6. Fold in cranberries.
  7. Pour batter into muffin tin. Each muffin cup will be full.
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Muffins will be lightly browned and a wooden pick inserted into the middle of muffin will come out clean when done.
  9. Let cool in pan on wire rack for about 5 minutes before removing.