MINI-PULLMAN SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

First things first. Full credit to my dear friend Elaine, for inspiring me to use a pan I had bought a few months ago and was sitting in the basement, feeling neglected (the pan, not the baker). The gadget is a mini-loaf, Pullman style, that makes a cute cube-shaped bread. You can use any type of dough you like, but I went with a simple sourdough.

MINI-PULLMAN SOURDOUGH BREAD
(adapted from Elaine’s master recipe)

225g white flour
25g whole-wheat flour
40g sourdough starter at 100% hydration
175g water
5g salt

Lay a piece of parchment paper in the mini-loaf pan with a little overhang to make it easier to pull the baked bread later. Reserve.

Mix all ingredients for the dough in a medium-size bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Do a series of foldings every 45 minutes or so until you reach 5 hours bulk fermentation (so do folds for 4 more hours, don’t worry about timing, try to make 4 more cycles of folding. Shape it loosely as a ball, and place in the mini-loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight. It should fill a little more than half the volume of the pan.

Next morning, heat the oven to 425F. When it reaches that temperature, remove the plastic cover, shut the pan with the metal lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Open the lid, and leave in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, and invert to remove the bread. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: For this size of pan, you need to have enough dough so that during baking it will reach the top. However, if you add too much it will end up badly compressed at the top, and the texture of the crumb won’t be homogeneous. The picture above shows the dough before it went into its final fermentation in the fridge. It is perhaps 70% full.

I don’t think you need to add the parchment paper, but it was my first time using this method and I was afraid of the dough sticking to the pan. Not at all the case. I did not grease the pan, and the dough stayed inside overnight in the fridge without any issues.

This recipe makes a small loaf perfect for a family of two or three. Another great advantage is that leftovers will be perfect for cutting as croutons, something we do often. I know I will be using my pan all the time now, not only with sourdough but other types of bread too. I am thinking a marbled charcoal and white in the near future..

Elaine, thank you for that much needed push to put my baking toy to good use!

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6Jun2021

PASSION FRUIT MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Millionaire’s Bars are undoubtedly a classic. This version brings a bright tropical twist that works quite well. Very rich, a small piece will satisfy even those with a super sweet tooth.

PASSION FRUIT MILLIONAIRE’S SHORTBREAD
(inspired by this article)

for the shortbread base:
2½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (226g) unsalted butter, melted

for the caramel:
1 can (396g)sweetened condensed milk
1 cup (210g) brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup passion fruit pulp
1-2 tsp passionfruit flavor from Amoretti (optional)
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt

for the topping:
225g dark chocolate
1/4 cup Candy Melts, white dyed orange with food gel

Heat oven to 350F. Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and line it with foil, leaving pieces hanging on both the long and short sides of the pan, for easy lifting of the bar later. Make the shortbread by combining flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir with a silicone spatula until no dry crumbs of flour remain. Crumble the dough evenly over the pan, and pat into even thickness with your fingers. Pierce with a fork many times all over the surface. Bake until light golden brown and firm to touch, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack. Let crust cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

Make the caramel: Stir all ingredients together in large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 238 F. This will take around 20 minutes. Pour over crust and spread to even thickness. Let cool completely, a couple of hours.

Once set, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second bursts until glossy and smooth. Place the dyed candy melt in a piping bag and make a small hole. Smooth the chocolate over the caramel shortbread, then quickly add lines of the dyed candy melts. Do a feathering effect with a toothpick or a needle. Leave it set, then cut into squares.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I made this quite some time ago, March 2020 to be precise. It was one of the last items I was able to share with our department before Covid-19 hit. I hoped to have intense passion fruit flavor in the caramel, and that was not very easy to achieve. By mixing fruit pulp with a touch of Amoretti flavor, I think I got it as intense as it could possibly be without affecting the caramel texture. If you don’t have Amoretti products hanging around, just omit it. The passion fruit by itself will be a nice touch, taming the sweetness of the caramel layer. But, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, this is rich. They call it Millionaire’s Shortbread for good reason!

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3Jun2021

HONEYED JALAPENOS ON SPELT PIZZA

Posted in Pizzas, Pizzas & Small Dishes, Vegetarian-friendly, Veggies by sallybr

This could very well go in the Incredibly Easy files, or in the “Follow Joanne” files, as once again I trusted her tastebuds and made a very simple ingredient she raved about: honeyed jalapenos. There is absolutely nothing to it. You slice jalapenos, add them to honey, boil gently until they start to get all mushy and a bit darker. Let it cool. Your job is done. They topped a simple veggie pizza and we both could not believe how much flavor and pleasure they brought to the party.

SPELT PIZZA DOUGH
(adapted from this post)

1 package (2 + 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 +1/2 cups very warm water (110F)
14 ounces all purpose flour
4 ounces spelt flour
(total flour amount about 4 cups)
1 + 1/2 t salt
2 T olive oil

Measure the water in a pyrex bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top, and mix gently to dissolve. Add the flours and salt to the bowl of a food processor and process for a few seconds to mix well. With the processor running, add all the water/yeast mixture. Process for about 5 seconds, open the lid and add the olive oil. Close the processor again and mix for about 20 seconds longer. You want the dough to form a tacky ball, but don’t over process it or it may get too hot.

Remove the dough from the processor, knead it a few times by hand and form a ball. If you want to make a large pizza, leave it whole. If you want to make individual pizzas, quarter it, place them in a large plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use (from a few hours to a couple of days).

Remove the dough from the fridge 1 hour before shaping the pizzas. Roll it out with a floured rolling pin, top with your favorite home-made tomato sauce, and the toppings of your choice.

HONEYED JALAPENOS
(slightly modified from Joanne’s blog)

1/2 cup honey
2 jalapenos, sliced thin

Add the honey to a small saucepan. Place the jalapeno slices, seeds and all inside. Bring to a boil, cook a few minutes, stirring constantly. Pay attention because the honey tends to boil furiously and rise up in the pan. You might have to remove the pan from the heat, let it calm down and simmer it again. Cook until the jalapenos get soft and a little darker. Remove from heat, let it cool. Use the slices to top your pizza, drizzle the spicy honey on top too.

ENJOY!

to print the recipes, click here

Comments: If you are not a pizza person (is there such a thing?), I still urge you to make these jalapenos and use them in other ways. Over mashed cauliflower, with rice and beans, and also you can process one little slice, some of the honey, and incorporate in a salad dressing. As to the spelt pizza, I advise you not to use more than 25% of spelt in your recipe, as it changes the texture a bit, it will be less airy than a pizza made with all-purpose flour only. I do love the flavor and the slightly denser texture. You can always use my original recipe (blogged in 2009) if you prefer.

Joanne, thanks for another winner recipe!