Grandma's Kitchen Table

Cooking The Books; Bread Alone; May Twitter Chef Avatar (Giada De Laurentiis)

      Am a bit behind in blogging here at The Table.  It's been a busy month. Di was hosting a blogging event today entitled Cooking The Books.  The assignment was to make anything we wanted out of one of our cookbooks and pass the love along.  Since my latest cookbook acquisition was the newest Giada one for my birthday, I decided I would pick a recipe to make from it...and make it count 3 for 1 as I could use it for my Twitter chef avatar this month and for a Bread Alone post.  What a deal.  Here is the link to Di's blog about the blogging event, it will also link you to others who participated and made recipes they love from some of their books. Enjoy! 

      We are also having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  It has been a great way to learn new chefs and cook something in their repertoire.  May's avatar chef is Giada De Laurentiis, chosen by me...we love Giada's recipes and I have all of her cookbooks. 

      This recipe for Scallion and Mozzarella Cornbread can be found in Giada's newest book, Weeknights with Giada, on pages 198-199, or online here. 

      We make chili quite often here as everyone loves it.  It's the only time we serve cornbread and we enjoy trying different recipes for it, so I am always bookmarking cornbread recipes to try.  This is a very good one...the onions, olives, mozzarella, all make one very flavorful cornbread.  It's also very pretty, not as important to the guys, but it entertains me a great deal. 

      The recipe goes together nicely and I wouldn't change one thing, although I am going to try them as mini muffins next time as I think that would be a lovely use of this recipe...they would be so cute and pretty, and we all know by now I am all about the cute and pretty in food, right?  Admit it, so are you!  The rest of the recipe is great just as written.  Definitely a repeat.

Bread Alone: Cook's Country Pepperoni Rolls

      Several of my baking friends on Twitter gather often to bake bread together.  One of us will have a recipe, then others join in, and while we bake we compare notes.  In the end we blog it all or show photos of our results.  There's sharing back and forth about how we might change the recipe or decrease or increase amounts or size, substitute different ingredients, etc., and all in all, it's a very informative process. 

      This was Abby's recipe (and if you click here you can find the recipe on her blog).  She had come across the recipe and thought it sounded like something her family would enjoy and Margaret (click on her name for her versions) and I jumped in and made them with her...on different days as it turned out, but we three made the same recipe and chatted back and forth through the process.
      I was expecting these to be nice, but I wasn't expecting them to be quite as good as they were (and I am not the biggest fan of pepperoni).  They don't take long to make (like all breads, most of the time is in the rising of the dough which you don't need to supervise), they go together easily, bake nicely, and are delicious. 

      While I served some of them with the tomato/mozzarella dip from my DH Wednesdays group, and that complimented the pepperoni rolls ever so nicely, we also had them just plain and they were wonderful that way as well. 

      Included in the recipe are instructions for freezing and reheating them, which Abby did.  I didn't have the chance as I only made a partial batch and those were gone in no time. Next time I will make some of the pepperoni (and maybe add some cheese in there as well), and then some with ham and cheese as those sound good. 

      These are easy to pack into a lunch and the quality of the dough is excellent, a joy to work with beginning to end.  They remind me of Hot Pockets...but so much more elevated and better with that homemade dough and fresh ingredients. 

      In the recipe it gives interesting instructions for assembling the pepperoni inside the dough...enough already, it's dough, it pepperoni, just stuff it in there however you want by lining up the pepperonis and folding the dough over them.  I did cook the pepperoni for 3 minutes before as they suggested and that got rid of all that pepperoni fat that would have made the rolls soggy and greasy, so do that part for certain.  And, use thick pepperoni, not those thin pizza slices...below is a photo of how mine looked before rolling the dough around them.
       Definitely a repeat. 

Bread Alone: KAF's Italian Easter Cheese Bread

(Note: not the best photo, sorry about that...it was truly glorious in looks and taste!)

      On Wednesday this week, because we were all in a bread-making mood, Di found a nice recipe on the King Arthur Flour site for us to try:  Italian Easter Cheese Bread, here is the link for the recipe.  Margaret and I jumped right in on baking this one as it was, after all, cheese and bread all in one, and what is not to love about that? 

      Oh, my, is this a good bread.  The Parmigiano Reggiano cheese really stands out and is wonderful, so be sure to use the real stuff.  You can see bits of the cheese in the photo below.
      The recipe directions showed a round boule shape baked in a brioche pan (the one I chose to make) and another shape where the dough was braided and placed into a loaf pan (which I will make next time as that looks pretty as well).  I liked the edging on the bread in the brioche pan, sort of scallop-shaped, it was pretty and interesting, something different than just a standard loaf of bread. 

      We enjoyed the bread straight up, Mark took it as sandwich bread for his lunches this week, and I had a grilled cheese sandwich made with it (probably one of the best grilled cheese breads I have ever had).  This is definitely a repeat. 

Bread Alone: Jeffrey Hamelman's Soft Butter Rolls

      Bread baking is therapeutic for me, it just is.  There is something relaxing and settling about mixing up the dough, kneading it, letting it rise, and seeing where it all grows and goes.  I am always in awe of how many ways one can use the same ingredients and come out with such differing results and breads. 

      This week school was on spring break so I talked up bread baking with my Twitter pals and had some takers...I baked bread happily all week long. Nancy needed to make rolls for the homeless shelter in Atlanta on Monday, so she sent out a query asking if I would like to join in and which rolls should we make.  I searched my pin boards at Pinterest and came up with this recipe, Soft Butter Rolls from Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman, p. 258 that Di had made (Di always finds good bread recipes for us to try) and soon Nancy and I were making rolls, and Margaret joined right in as well. 

      The roll dough went together easily (there is a misprint in the book in regards to the yeast measurement, so if your copy of the recipe says 1 teaspoon of instant yeast., you need to change that to 2.75 teaspoons, a big difference). 

      I made cloverleaf-shaped rolls as Mark likes those...he can butter up each section like we all did when we were little kids.  Nancy and Margaret made basic dinner rolls from it.
      I think I could have taken them out pf the oven a couple of minutes earlier than the recipe says as they were quite colorful, but both the inside (so fluffy and nice) and outside (buttery from the extra butter the recipe says to apply after baking) were delicious, so maybe that's just how they are supposed to be...they were good and I would not hesitate to make this recipe again.

        Click here for the recipe and directions.

Bread Alone: Nick Malgieri's Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread

      Quite often friends on Twitter will bake together and compare results.  Someone will come up with a recipe and toss out an idea of making it and others will grab onto the idea, and before you know it, a few people are tackling the same recipe at the same time, kitchens spread across the world at times. 

      Phyl noticed that Nick Malgieri had a new bread recipe on his blog and soon Phyl had Nancy and I lining up ingredients and settling on a time to make and bake the bread.  (No easy task as Phyl and I are in the same time zone, but Nancy is currently out in California so she had to get up nice and early to bake with us.) 

      I made the recipe according to the instructions, with just one minor change, instead of a total of 3 cups of raisins, I used only 2 as I knew we wanted this for toasting for breakfast and it has been my experience that if I have too many raisins, they fall off in the toaster and burn.  That said, if I wasn't using the bread for toasting, I would have used all 3 cups of raisins as they were really good in this bread.

      The bread was wonderful from beginning to end:  it went together like a dream, the dough is silky and lovely to work with, the fragrance from the raisins was wonderful as I was kneading it, the dough behaved wonderfully well on both the rises, and....you guessed it:  a truly wonderful loaf of raisin bread resulted from all my efforts!  The key word here, obviously being: wonderful.

      We couldn't resist, we sliced it warm and ate a piece standing at the counter...the aroma was so enticing and it was just too much to think of not trying a nice warm slice five minutes out of the oven.
      I also toasted a piece and it is excellent toasting bread, the crumb nice and light and crispy with a good crunch, it is good plain or with a little cinnamon sugar on it.  Definitely a repeat. 

      Here's the link to the recipe so you can make it in your own kitchen.  Oh, and be sure to thank Nick for the recipe as it is going to be in his new bread book coming out in September, so it's like a little gift to print that for us on his blog.  Thanks, Nick...we loved it.

Bread Alone: BOM - Pumpkin Knot Yeast Rolls

 

      My blogging buddy Phyl runs BOM (Bread of the Month) on FB and I joined in last month for Nick Malgieri's Fig and Almond Bread.  This month is a recipe for Pumpkin Knot Yeast Rolls.  I am ever so happy that I decided to make these rolls, despite not being fond of pumpkin, as they are gorgeous in color and delicious with a rich buttery taste.  The recipe suggested serving them warm or room temperature with butter or honey butter, but trust me, these rolls were just lovely without a single other thing.

      Ingredient list:  flour, pumpkin, milk, butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and yeast.  (I know, I know...pumpkin is not my favorite ingredient but everyone assured me that the pumpkin flavor is not all that pronounced and I weighed the obvious benefits of adding pumpkin to the recipe from a nutrition standpoint and figured I would give it a try.) 

      The dough came together quickly and beautifully, the kneading time was about 8 minutes of pure joy as the dough is absolutely buttery silky smooth to knead.  It rose for 1.5 hours (directions said about an hour but my kitchen was a little cool), dividing the dough into 12 pieces and rolling it into 10" ropes was fun.  I'm not an expert at shaping dough by a long shot but the knots seemed fairly easy to make, I'm sure I could do better the more I practice. 

      The knots rose for another half hour, baked for 15 minutes and smelled absolutely wonderful.  I could not resist a warm roll, so I sampled.
      Did it taste like pumpkin?  No, not really...it was delicious and rich-tasting but not pumpkin-y at all.  Love these rolls.  I'm so happy I made them and I will make them again...easy, fairly fast, delicious, and just a little more nutritious with that pumpkin in there!  Thanks for the pick, Phyl, we loved them.   

      If you would like the complete recipe, click here.  I highly recommend giving these rolls playing time at your place, I think you will be very happy with the results.

 

Bread Alone: Tapenade Fan Rolls from Dan Lepard

      Last spring Nancy was making Tapenade Fan Rolls from Dan Lepard, see link here for the recipe.  We all love olives, so I knew these rolls would be something of high interest if I made them, but I didn't have time the day she was making them to join in, so I put it high on my "to make" list.  I'm surprised it took me so long to get around to them actually.  I finally got to them the week before last when I knew Matt would be home for the day to enjoy them with us.
      These were a hit, definitely a wonderful recipe and one I will make again. 

      The rolls themselves are easy to make, the dough recipe in the style of the Milk Loaf Bread we all make.  Dividing the dough into 3 pieces, rolling those out, spreading the olive paste on two layers, and cutting them to fit as fans into muffin tins was a snap.

      I used plenty of tapenade and they were perfectly delicious. Not a single one went to waste, in fact there was a search for more later in the evening. Guess I will need to make these again soon.  Bread and olives, what's not to love? 

Bread Alone: Fancy & Delicious Cinnamon Bread

 

       Nancy's daughter, Allison, bakes bread in a bread co-op in New York called Fancy & Delicious and sells it at market each week.  This is one of the loaves that has been very popular for them and when Nancy asked if I wanted to make it with her this week, I didn't think twice..."cinnamon, raisins, okey dokey, I'm in." 

      The dough is absolutely lovely, very silky and nice to work with...all that cinnamon makes it lovely to smell as you are kneading as well. 

      While I don't usually publish recipes that aren't mine on this blog, Nancy did get permission from Allison to include the recipe, so I will do that for you so that you can all make it and have cinnamon toast for breakfast this week because it is just that good...and that easy to make. 

      I particularly like the combination of flours as it gave the bread a depth of flavor, that and the raisins and cinnamon sugar, sort of elevates this bread to the dessert category. Thank you, Allison...another wonderful recipe.

Fancy & Delicious Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 T cinnamon
1 t. instant yeast
2/3 t. salt
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup warm water
1 T oil
1 T honey

1/2 cup raisins
 
1/4 cup of cinnamon sugar (1 part cinnamon, 5 parts sugar)

To make dough:
Mix dry ingredients: flours, cinnamon, yeast, salt.
Add milk, water, oil, and honey and mix to combine.
Knead until pliable, stretchy, and doughy.
Knead in raisins.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover. 
Let rise until doubled.

To shape dough:
1. Prepare 8.5x4.5 bread pan:  butter pan and cut parchment to fit pan (so cinnamon sugar will not cause bread to stick to pan), butter/flour parchment.
2. Shape dough into rough ball and grab a rolling pin.
3. Roll dough into a rectangle 1/2" thick.
4. Spread the 1/4 cup cinnamon sugar over middle of the bread, leaving an inch around all the edges.
5. Start rolling by turning a short edge inward.
6. Roll tightly until a cylinder is formed.
7. Press down edges, turn seams under, roll on work surface until sealed.
8. Place seam side down in loaf pan.
9. Let rise until it reaches an 1/2-1" over the rim of loaf pan. 

To bake:
After bench rise, heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 40-45 minutes (start checking after 30 minutes). 
Bread is done when it reaches internal temperature of 190 degrees. 
Remove from pan, cool on rack, slice when cooled.

 

Bread Alone: Knotted Dinner Rolls from Peter Reinhart

      It's a bit strange, but as I sat down to write this post I realized that last week's post were breads I made with Di and Allison and Nancy, and as coincidence would have it, today was another day of baking bread with Di and Allison and Nancy.  We don't all make bread together that often, so that seems a bit odd to have it be two in a row.  And again, it's rolls and bread. 

      Di found a recipe (click here) for Knotted Dinner Rolls from Peter Reinhart (the author of Bread Baker's Apprentice which I have been baking from the past couple of years).  Knowing how well-written PR's recipes are, and what tasty results ensue, I didn't hesitate to join in when Di broadcasted it on Twitter for a bake-along this week.
      Once again this recipe proved PR's expertise:  easy, tasty, definitely a keeper of a recipe worthy of repeating often. 

      I made the recipe as stated, tried to form the knots properly (obviously that needs a little work, but until then let's just call them "rustic," shall we?), and smiled at the rave reviews.  The rolls were nicely tender and soft, full of yeasty flavor, and I used poppy seeds on a few, and sesame seeds on the rest.  Like last week:  their little selves are just so cute.  Quite often, I am all about the cute in food.

      Here is the link to Di's rolls. 

      The bread I made with Nancy today, using Allison's recipe, Fancy & Delicious Cinnamon Bread, is on the rise and I will post that later today when it finishes baking.

Bread Alone: Fig and Almond Bread from Nick Malgieri

      My blogging buddy Phyl runs BOM (Bread of the Month) on FB and so far I haven't joined in even though the selections each month sound very good.  One just has so much time.  I've been in a bread making slump most of the summer as we don't eat a lot of bread in the summer and it's too hot to really be interested in firing up the ovens for bread making.  It's been cooler here this week, however, and thoughts of returning to bread baking have been dancing in my mind. 

      Recently Phyl has been trying out some possible Thanksgiving recipes and he was baking this Fig and Almond Bread, featured on Nick Malgieri's site here (recipe and photo).  "Figs and Almonds you say?"  That was about how  much it took for me to start lining up the ingredients. 

      Ingredient list:  dried Calimyrna figs, almonds, water, yeast, bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, olive oil, and butter.  I didn't have access to dried Calimyrna figs (a light colored fig), so I subbed in other California figs, the dried Mission figs, but otherwise I made the recipe exactly as written by NM.
      Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my is this delicious!  It's a savory bread, with a touch of sweetness from the figs and a nice little crunchy texture from the chopped almonds.  Trust me, if you like figs and almonds, you should really make this bread as soon as possible.  The recipe is straight-forward, just follow each step and it works perfectly. 

      On his site, NM says this is a recipe that he pulled from his new bread book manuscript...the book is set to publish next fall (2012), so this was sort of a preview for us.  If this is any indication, and I am certain it is, of just how wonderful that new book is going to be, stand aside, I'm first in line.  Thank you, Nick...another wonderful recipe.

Bread Alone: 1) Buffalo Barn Raisers Wheat Bread and 2) Crusty European-Style Hard Rolls

      Now that I've decided to give Saturday's posts over to bread making (we will see how long this actually lasts), I have two breads that I made with my Twitter friends and have never posted because I am just that untimely at times with things like this. 

      The first was called Buffalo Barn Raisers Wheat Bread and when I saw it on Allison's site here I knew I wanted to make it as 1) It looked delicious, 2) She raved about it, 3) Nancy was also going to make it (see post here), 4) I always like to try new bread recipes that others recommend, 5) it's good to try new grain recipes as I tend to use the same ones over and over, and maybe most of all, 6) it uses a bread pan!  (I am not too great with the free-form breads, those still need a lot of work in my kitchen yet, but a bread you can put into a pan to bake is just great!)
      The bread was really nice, very easy to make/bake, and we enjoyed it as toast and using it for grilled cheese sandwiches, giving both a pleasant taste and chew.  The recipe can be found on both Allison and Nancy's sites and Nancy even ground her own wheat in her new food mill!
      The second bread (as you can see from the photo above) is really a roll recipe that I made with Di one Sunday afternoon, and these were a big hit with the guys, they were gone before I had a chance to use them a second day. 

      The recipe for the rolls is on the King Arthur Flour website here (a wonderful resource if you don't know about this, and you like to bake, you should check it out for all sorts of baked goods).  They are called Crusty European-Style Hard Rolls.  They are crusty on the outside (but not too much so) and light and fluffy on the inside.  I'll bet you can't eat just one.
       It takes a little planning for these rolls, as one day you make a starter and the next day are a couple of rises and a stint in the refrigerator, but the hands-on time is not all that much of a commitment and the rolls are so worth every single minute of it. 

      The second time I made them, I put some aside for sandwich-making and they were perfect for that as well, smallish and just wonderful bread for a sandwich.  Easily they are a favorite around here...that, and their little selves are just so cute.  Sometimes I am all about the cute in food.