HAWAIIAN BREAD ROLLS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I have always flirted with the idea of baking these from scratch. This type of bread is popular in Brazil, although they don’t go as Hawaiian, they are just called pão doce, which translates as “sweet bread”. The shape, size, and taste is very similar, but the Brazilian concoction originates from Portugal. I adapted a recipe from Molly Yeh, the key component in this dough is pineapple juice, so go get some right away!

HAWAIIAN SWEET ROLLS
(adapted from Molly Yeh’s Girl Meets Farm)

390 grams all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
2 + 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 package)
1 + 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
160 grams pineapple juice, slightly warmed warmed (about 2/3 cup)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoons honey
1 large egg plus 2 yolks (egg white saved for egg wash later)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Add the flour, yeast, kosher salt and turmeric to a mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low to combine. Add the pineapple juice, brown sugar, honey, whole egg and yolks and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and mix to form a somewhat stiff, shaggy dough, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running, add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding more. Once all of the butter is added, mix on medium-high to make a smooth, glossy, somewhat-wet dough, 10 to 12 minutes. Oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal pieces. Butter a quarter sheet pan. Form each piece into a ball and roll on the counter encased in your palm to tighten up the ball. Lay the balls in a 3-by-4 grid in the buttered pan. Cover loosely and let rise until puffed but not quite doubled, about 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 350F. When the rolls have risen, beat the reserved egg whites with a splash of water and brush over the rolls. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until puffed and a deep golden brown; start checking at 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove to cool completely sitting on the rack.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: These are not only adorable to look at but dangerously delicious. Soft, not too sweet (I cut the sugar a bit from her original recipe), and the salt on top should not be omitted. They go well with pretty much anything, savory or sweet. What is even more important in our case, is that they freeze well, and defrost quickly. So after enjoying a couple on the day I baked them, I placed them in a bag in the freezer and whenever convenient, in a few minutes we had a delicious Hawaiian roll ready for us…

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25Apr2024

COCOA LATTICE SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I consider this a work in progress, but for a first time using this technique, I am happy with it. You can use pretty much any formula you like, but go for a minimum of 500g total flour, as you will be removing 150g of dough to make the lattice. To cut the lattice, consider getting this gadget. You can always try to cut it by hand, but I imagine that would be quite tricky… at least for me!

COCOA LATTICE SOURDOUGH
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

400g white bread flour
150g whole wheat
80g sourdough starter at 100% hydration
9 g salt
360g water (I had to add flour as I mixed the dough, it was too sticky)
30g cocoa powder (see comments about it in the method description)

After mixing the dough in the Kitchen Aid for 4 to 5 minutes as I normally do, I went through a series of folding/kneading at 45 minutes intervals for a total of 5 cycles. At that point, I removed 150g of the dough and added the cocoa powder, kneading it into the dough, as best as I could. Not all the amount was incorporated, but the dough was dark enough.

The main dough was shaped as a boule and placed in the fridge overnight. The dark, smaller portion was covered with plastic wrap and also placed in the fridge. Next morning the dark dough was rolled as thinly as possible and cut with the pie lattice gadget. That was carefully placed on top of the main dough right before baking. Keep in mind that the moment the lattice touches the dough you won’t be able to move it and adjust it.

The bread was baked at 450F for 30 minutes covered, and 15 minutes without a lid. Slice after completely cool.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The picture above was my first attempt at rolling the lattice, and it was too thick, it barely opened at some parts. So I gathered that dough and rolled it again. Try to go as thinly as possible, which was not very easy, the gluten tends to put up a fight. I definitely want to do it again, using other colors, but mainly making sure to roll the lattice thinner. Wish me luck! Why don’t you try it also and let me know how it goes for you? 😉

We did not detect any particular cocoa taste on the bread. The dark part gets a different texture, almost like a cracker. We both loved it… Stay tuned for more lattice adventures in the bread world!
.

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22Apr2024

APRICOT CRUMB COFFEE CAKE

Posted in Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Cake, Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Is it a cake? Is it a sweet bread? Is it heaven on a plate? Yes to all! Another amazing recipe from Helen Fletcher, this is a bit involved but absolutely worth it… Slicing through it to reveal the coiled pattern inside is just too cool!

APRICOT CRUMBLE COFFEE CAKE
(from Helen Fletcher’s Pastries Like a Pro)

¾ cup unsalted butter (170 grams)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons warm water
Pinch granulated sugar
2 ¼ cup bread flour (315 grams)
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup half and half (or heavy cream)

Filling
¾ pound dried apricots
1 cup water
5 tablespoons butter (75 grams)
½ cup powdered sugar (65 grams)
1 ½ teapoons vanilla
2 teaspoons cocoa

Almond Paste Crumb Topping
1 cup cake flour (125 grams)
½ cup almond paste (125 grams)
⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
½ cup unsalted butter (114 grams)

Assembly
1 large egg, well beaten

Make the brioche dough: Cut the butter into small pieces by cutting the stick in half lengthwise, the cutting it into half inch pieces. Place it back in the refrigerator to keep cold. Make a sponge by dissolving the yeast and pinch of granulated sugar in the 3 tablespoons warm water. Add 3 tablespoons flour from the measured amount of 2 ¼ cups flour. Stir together to completely mix the ingredients. Cover with film and set aside to double or more while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In the processor bowl fitted with the steel blade, place the remaining flour, salt and sugar. Process 5 seconds to mix. Place the cold butter in a circle over the flour. Process the butter until it is indistinguishable, about 20 seconds. Scrape down and process about 5 seconds more.
Place the eggs in a circle over the dry ingredients, pour the half and half or cream over the eggs, and add the sponge, also in a circle. Process approximately 20 to 25 seconds until the ball which initially forms breaks down into a creamy, evenly dispersed batter in the processor bowl. Do not stop processing until the batter is formed, as the motor may stall when you try to restart it. If the ball doesn’t break down, that’s fine as long as everything is mixed well.

Remove from the processor bowl and place in an ungreased bowl. Cover securely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in bulk about 2 to 2 ½ hours. Stir down and refrigerate overnight. Punch down and use as directed. It can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using.

for the filling:
Place the apricots and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and, stir frequently until most of the water is gone. Place the apricots and remaining ingredients, except the cocoa, in a processor bowl and process until smooth. Set aside to cool. Stir the cocoa in. This may be made a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Remove to room temperature before using.

for the crumb topping:
Place the flour and almond paste (either home made or bought) in the bowl of a processor. Process until the almond paste is indistinguishable. Add the sugar and butter and process until it begins to form crumbs. Switch to pulses and pulse only until large crumbs form. Remove them to a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

To assemble the coffee cake:
Spray a 9×3″ cheesecake or springform pan with a non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
Remove the brioche from the refrigerator, punch down, pat into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 20×11 inch rectangle so the long horizontally in front of you to make rolling up easier.
Spread the filling evenly over the brioche within ½” of the edges. Roll up tightly from the 20″side and pinch the seam securely together. Roll and gently stretch it until it is 30″ long. If it is very soft at this time, coil it up on a parchment line baking sheet and chill to firm up. Do not let it freeze.

Starting in the middle of the pan, coil the roll around towards the outer edge of the pan. Press it down to flatten and fill the pan. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk. Because everything is cold, this could take 4 to 4 ½ hours to rise.

Heat the oven to 375F. When the coffee cake is full risen, brush it with the beaten egg and distribute the almond paste crumbs evenly over the brioche. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is browned. A tester is difficult here because the filling stays moist and clings to the tester. If the top begins to brown too quickly, tent it with foil. Cool until barely warm and release the cake. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Helen’s method to make a brioche in the food processor is something I’ve been meaning to try for the longest time, and it works so well, I will keep it as my method of choice from now on. It considerably speeds up the preparation of the dough, and you cannot beat the texture. A pleasure to work with. I could have done a better job keeping the coil leveled on all sides of the pan, if you look at the bottom left photo of the composite above, you’ll see that my coil got a bit lopsided. Other than that, no issues. I highly recommend you visit Helen’s site (click here) because she goes over every little step with pictures and you get a better idea of what to expect as you make this recipe.

The crumb topping is irresistible, so I advise you to stop nibbling on it and use it exclusively to top the cake. I made my own almond paste, following Helen’s detailed recipe, and it turned out perfect! I used her simple syrup method. You can read her post about it clicking here. My little concoction looked exactly like hers – or the ones you can buy at the store – but my picture was badly out of focus, so you will have to take my word for it. I loved making this crumb cake, now I dream of variations, maybe some black sesame paste in the filling could be fantastic also!

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10Apr2024

FLOWER STENCIL SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Inspired by great bakers who share their work on Instagram, this is my version of sourdough decorated with wafer paper made into stencil thanks to a paper puncher. A special thank you to my friend Dorothy for bringing wonderful baking ideas to my radar…

You can use any bread recipe you like, mine was a very simple formula (480g bread flour; 20g whole wheat flour; 75g sourdough starter at 100% hydration; 350g water; 10g salt). Use the method described here.

To decorate the bread, you will need a paper puncher like one from this set. Cut two strips of wafer paper and punch the design. Make it in a way that they can criss-cross and keep the design flowing (I actually used scissors to make final adjustments. Once your bread is ready to bake, lay the wafer paper on top, dust with flour (I like to use tapioca flour for that), gently pull the paper out, and score some pattern with a razor blade. Bake as you normally do. Steps are shown below.

The possibilities are of course endless! You can paint the flowers, use different shapes to make your stencil, add it to batard shaped bread, so many things to try…

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31Mar2024

HAPPY EASTER TIMES THREE!

Posted in Breads, Chocolate Bonbons, macarons by sallybr

Sourdough, Chocolate-Covered Oreos and Macarons for you today…

EASTER SOURDOUGH BREAD
(recipe as published here)

For this sourdough boule, I made a decoration using wafer paper and food safe pens, with a little stencil to help me out. Then a bit of scoring with my Sonic blade, and into the oven it went…

I love how the colors stayed during baking, it was my first time using food pens, until now I have relied on colors designed for air-brushing.

HAPPY EASTER CHOCOLATE-COVERED OREOS

I had so much fun with these! First, I made fondant decorations as little Easter eggs, and used a new set of food pens to paint them (they will be featured in my upcoming In My Kitchen post). Then I dyed white compound chocolate with oil-based green food color, and covered the Oreos. Once that set, I used thick Royal icing and a grass tip as the base to glue the eggs on the surface.

This is the full batch, donated on Good Friday…

EASTER EGG LEMON MACARONS
(recipe as published here, filling as published here)

Sometimes a bake goes exactly the way I plan. It is rare, but it happens. These macarons turned out this way. I used a mixture of three colors (yellow, pink and blue), added them to the same piping back to get a tie-dye effect. After baking the details were piped with Royal icing, and in some I added sparkling sugar right away. Most were left plain, and got just a little spray with PME luster for some shine. That step is optional. They look nice without it.

I hate to pick favorites, but I must say of the three bakes I shared today, these macs might very well be the winners for me!

I hope you enjoyed this trilogy of bakes… The macaron design can be used on regular round macarons, piping flower shapes for a springtime version, so keep that in mind. I might just have to re-visit the method soon!