MELLOW BAKERS: GRISSINI

Posted in Breads by sallybr

The Mellow Bakers challenge scheduled three breads for May: grissini, miche Point-a-Calliere, and cornbread. Today I jump-started myself by baking the grissini, which I’ve never made before. It was easy, in that I kneaded the ingredients in my Kitchen Aid for a few minutes until they formed a smooth and supple dough. After an hour at room temperature I divided, stretched and rolled the dough into sticks that went into the oven for 20 minutes. Piece of cake… 😉

I only made half the recipe, because neither my husband nor I are too crazy about breadsticks. I love bread, and I love crackers, but grissini have a personality conflict: they’re not quite sure what they are, bread or crackers. Still, I enjoyed the opportunity to learn a new method in bread baking.

Here’s the dough at the end of rising…

Divided into 12 equal pieces….

… that are formed into sticks, some left plain, some rolled in parmiggiano-cheese with a little black pepper

After baking, they’ll keep for several days in an air-tight container….

Comments: They were fun to make, but perhaps a bit too bland. The variations proposed in the book might be better (roasted garlic or cheese in the dough, instead of just used to roll the sticks before baking). If I make these again, I’ll use the alternative method of opening the full dough in a large rectangle and cutting the individual sticks from it, which will considerably reduce the time to stretch and roll each stick.

You can see how some of my fellow Mellow Bakers made their grissini by following these links….

Abby, from Stir it! Scrape it!

Anne Marie, from Rosemary & Garlic

Steve, from Burntloafer

Looking forward to miche Point-a-Calliere, a close relative of the amazing Poilane bread….

6May2010

HERB AND MUSTARD PORK ROAST

Posted in Pork, Weekend Dinners by sallybr

Suzanne Goin’s cookbook “Sunday Suppers at Lucques” is a collection of seasonal meals from her award-winning restaurant in Los Angeles. It is not uncommon that cookbooks by chefs of her caliber become coffee table books, that are rarely put to use, because either the recipes are too involved or the ingredients are too hard to find. That’s not the case for Sunday Suppers. Many of its recipes are uncomplicated, but their small details make them special. In this recipe for pork roast the double application of a simple mustard and herb marinade develops a delicious flavor. It’s hard to improve a classic, but this method does it.

HERB-ROASTED PORK LOIN with MUSTARD BREADCRUMBS
(adapted from Suzanne Goin)

1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 Tbs thyme leaves + 6 full sprigs
2 Tbs fresh parsley leaves, chopped
3 Tbs olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, smashed
pork loin (center cut, about 3 pounds)
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs sage
6 Tbs butter, sliced
salt and pepper

for mustard breadcrumbs
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp chopped parsley

Whisk the mustard, thyme leaves, parsley, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a shallow baking dish. Stir the garlic, and brush the mixture all over the pork loin. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours). Remove the pork from the fridge one hour before cooking, after 30 minutes season it well with salt and pepper. Reserve the marinade.

Heat the oven to 325 F. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet until it is almost smoking. Place the pork loin in the pan, sear it on all sides, until well browned (do not move the pork around too soon, you need to allow the browning to take place). The whole process should take 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pork to a roasting rack, and brush the reserved marinade all around it. Reserve the pan to make a sauce.

Arrange the rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs on the roast and top with 3 tablespoons of butter. Roast the meat until a thermometer reads 120F – about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let the pork rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

The pan sauce….
While the pork is roasting make a sauce: heat the pan you used to sear the meat on medium, add 1/2 cup water (or chicken stock if you prefer)and stir until it boils, also scraping the bottom of the pan. Reduce by boiling a few minutes, swirl 3 tablespoons of butter and reserve until time to serve.

The mustard breadcrumbs…
Heat the oven to 375F. Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the mustard, thyme, and parsley. Remove from the heat, let it cool slightly, and add to the breadcrumbs, tossing to coat. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

To serve, slice the meat, spoon the sauce over, and shower it with mustard breadcrumbs.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I’m picky about center cut pork loin, because it may become dry, even if I’m careful not to overcook it. It is indeed difficult to overcome the lean nature of today’s pork. This recipe joins the two or three tried and true methods that I trust, and I imagine anyone who makes it will feel the same way. With green beans, a little orzo on the side and my perfect match on the other side of the table…. life is good! 😉

4May2010

GOLSPIE LOAF, from the Scottish Highlands

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Different breads evolve around the world in harmony with the native cultures and environments: flat breads like Indian naan and Ethiopian injera, French baguettes, English crumpets, and the salt-less Tuscan bread. People everywhere bake bread with their local grains and flours, and according to their preferred diets. If I had money and time I’d travel the world and experience each one in person. Instead, I take virtual trips by baking the world of bread in my own kitchen. This past weekend I made a Golspie loaf from the Scottish highlands, based on an old grain called “bere“. Of course, this grain isn’t easy to find, but in his masterpiece “The Handmade Loaf” Dan Lepard created a recipe that mimics the original, using rye sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. Don’t be put off by its looks: Golspie is not the Jonny Depp of the Bread World, but it has the personality and charm of Sean Connery in his prime.

The Handmade Loaf is a must have book for bread bakers, and I highly recommend that that you get your own copy of Dan’s book. Because I bake so many of its breads, it’s unfair to the author to post all the recipes, and for Golspie I’m just providing the the basic formula, which I slightly changed from the original to introduce a small amount of white flour.

GOLSPIE LOAF FORMULA
(adapted from Dan Lepard)

75% rye levain
62% water
100% flour (3/4 whole wheat + 1/4 white)
25% bread flour
2% salt
0.5% instant yeast
coarse oatmeal (enough for dusting the loaf)

Comments: The dough is made with minimal kneading (a couple of 10 second-kneading cycles), allowed to rise for an hour, shaped into a circle, and placed in a springform pan (around 8 inches in diameter), coated with coarse oatmeal. Just before baking, score the dough all the way to the bottom in a cross-pattern that later allows cutting it into its characteristic quartered shape.

Some photos of the process of making Golspie….

The dough is rolled out in a circle..

Placed in the springform pan, and gently patted to fill it….

Once in the pan, coarse oatmeal is sprinkled on top….

Do not be afraid to do the crosscut…

ENJOY!

I am thrilled to submit this post to Yeastspotting….

1May2010

BITE-SIZED CHOCOLATE PLEASURE

Posted in Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Giada’s show can hit or miss with me, but the moment I saw her making these small chocolate meringue cupcakes I knew that my husband and I, and our entire lab group were going to profit from it in our early morning meeting.

MINI CHOCOLATE-MERINGUE CUPCAKES
(from Giada de Laurentiis)

2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup vegetable oil|
2/3 cup sugar, divided
2 Tbs cocoa powder (I used natural)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup cake flour
3 egg whites

for the topping:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 Tbs vegetable oil

Heat the oven to 350F.
Line a 24-count mini-muffin pan with paper liners (1.25 inch diameter).

Beat the egg yolks, vegetable oil, 1/3 cup of the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt, at high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in the melted chocolate chips and stir until smooth (mixture will be very thick).

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed until they hold soft peaks, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, gradually add the remaining 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir a small amount of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate, to lighten it up. .Using a spatula, fold the remaining egg white mixture. In batches, sift the flour over the batter and fold it in using a spatula. Fill each paper liner to the top with batter and bake for 12 minutes until puffed. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

For the topping: In a small bowl, combine the melted chocolate chips and oil. Stir until smooth.

Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate mixture over the cupcakes. Allow the topping to harden for at least 1 1/2 hours at room temperature before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This recipe really was a “piece of cake” in two ways: it was simple, and it produced cupcakes that look dense, but were light and moist in your mouth. The chocolate drizzle, which according to Giada should harden in a couple of hours, refused to cooperate. Even the next morning it was still sticky to the touch, making the cupcakes quite messy to eat. A brief stay in the fridge (about 15 minutes or so) helped a little bit, and also made it easier to remove the paper.

I’d make these again at the drop of a hat, but using a different recipe for the drizzle, to achieve the crunchy texture on top. Their size was perfect: people who are not wild about sweets will be happy with one; chocoholics may return for more. And more…. and more… 😉

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