Grandma's Kitchen Table

Mellow Bakers: Grissini

Yesterday Di and Margaret and I baked a selection from the Mellow Bakers on one of our inspired Twitter bake-alongs.  This time it was Grissini, one of May's selections. 

Grissini are those tall thin breadsticks that you get at Italian restaurants, served with appetizers, or sometimes just complimentary when you are seated, usually served in a pitcher or a tall glass to display their tallness, their irregular shapes, sizes, colors, and oftentimes the sprinkles that were rolled on the outside before they toasted in the oven.  I happen to love Grissini, the thinner and crunchier the better!

The dough was easy to make, no strange ingredients.  It rested an hour.  The Grissini were formed (the recipe makes 24 of them) without further rising time.  They baked in the oven for about 20 minutes.  Simple, easy, fun! 

There were a few options listed in the book, i.e. for garlic or cheese variations.  Garlic or cheese?  Why not both?  So, I made both.  The garlic ones called for roasted garlic, the ones with cheese called for freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. 

It was also suggested that after forming the Grissini, one could roll each one in some of the grated cheese and black pepper, which I did with six of them, afraid to do more in case the cheese would burn in the oven (which it did not, so you can bet I will do more of these the next time).  Actually, the choices of things to roll the Grissini in are pretty much up to your imagination as I can think of plenty of other versions for the future. 

The taste was wonderful, very fresh.  The flavors of the garlic and cheese were truly evident as fresh flavors and not just an "essence of flavor" like the ones you can buy packaged.  Guys loved them, definitely a repeat.   

Mellow Bakers: Corn Bread

Today I made a selection from the Mellow Bakers.  I made their first recipe selection back in April, Hot Cross Buns, as someone posted the recipe, and then alas, I haven't done anything else.  Until today.  They are using Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread:  A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes and have completed three recipes in April (I will catch up on at least two of them), and then have posted an additional three for May. 

The one I made today was Corn Bread, on page 139.  (Not cornbread but corn bread, both use cornmeal, but in different ways, corn bread using it in a much smaller ratio.)  It was a fairly easy bread, the coolness of my kitchen made the rising times a little off, my bread stuck a bit in the banneton so the top looks a little less neat than I would have wanted, and my oven must bake hotter or faster than theirs as it took mine 30 minutes to bake rather than 40, and I am thinking 25 would probably have been as good as well.
Other than that, things went smoothly and the bread tastes wonderful.  We had a bit plain, with butter, and with cheeses...the grilled cheese test comes tomorrow.  Okay, so it looks a little less than perfect, but that's okay around here...it's the taste that counts, and the taste deems it will be a repeat.

Mellow Bakers: Hot Cross Buns

Happy Easter.  Hot Cross Buns:  I have eaten them before, but never made them before.  Now I can say that I have made them, although my piping of the crosses will need some work, the buns tasted great! 
The Mellow Bakers, no I am joining another group (at least not officially), but I am going to bake some of the breads that they are baking if they fit in with family needs at the time.  The Mellow Bakers began officially this month (but gave a sort of preview recipe last month of Hot Cross Buns).  They are using Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread:  A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes.  

These buns taste very similar to the BBA Christos bread we made, and were just as easy, a nice treat for a holiday time of year.  I will make them again next year using this same recipe.  If you want the recipe, you can do a quick search and come up with it fairly quickly.  Or better yet, you can buy the book and have all the recipes at your fingertips.