Cheesy twists

I have been writing about my missing act for a long time now. And the truth is that I am still struggling to find enough enthusiasm to get back to what I love doing. With Vaanya growing up, I guess my energy level is getting depleted faster. But that does not equal to no experiments in the kitchen. My love for baking continues and I keep finding personal little time to experiment with some bake or the other.
The cheesy twists were made some time in November when the winters was just setting its foot in Kolkata. The warm gooey cheesy bread was a perfect accompaniment to the light nip in the air and a steaming cup of tea. I made a homemade pizza sauce as a dip to go with it where I just did a gentle saute of garlic, chopped onions and tomatoes with seasoning and it paired really well with my cheesy delights. 
With most of the ingredients easily available in the kitchen, this recipe can work as an interesting and an innovative appetizer.  

Recipe : King Arthur Flour

Ingredients : Yields 10 twists

Dough : 

• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour

Filling : 

• 2 tbsp grated processed cheese/cheese powder
• 1/2 tsp dried herbs
• 1/2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup grated mozarella cheese
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Procedure : 

Dough : 

Take a bowl and add all ingredients. Knead to a smooth dough adding as much lukewarm water required. 

Transfer the dough to a well oiled bowl and cover with a damp muslin cloth. Keep in a warm place and allow to rise for an hour till it doubles in volume. 

Filling : 

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients except mozarella cheese and olive oil and set aside. 

Roll the dough to a rough 10x10"

Spread the filling mixture all over the dough leaving a 1/2 " border on all sides.

Sprinkle mozarella cheese all over. 

Fold dough in half and press the edges.

Using a pizza cutter/knife slice dough into 1" wide fingers.

Twist strips and lay them on a parchment/aluminium foil lined baking tray.

I did not use a parchment paper on the baking tray and ended up with a cheesy mess on the tray

Brush them with olive oil and allow to rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius 10 minutes before the rising time gets over.

Bake the twists for 20-25 minutes or till they have browned well. 

Serve with tomato ketchup or homemade Pizza sauce.

Happy cheesy twisting
Amrita

Gibassier-Orange flavoured bread

Baking is healing, baking is fun, baking is very enriching. 
One of my reason to join various baking groups is to get the opportunity to experiment with bakes from around the world and to learn different techniques and methods. 

We knead to bake #19 is a sweet bread from France called Gibassier (zee-bah-see-ay) which is a breakfast bread and is from the Provence region. This bread is flavoured with orange candied peel, orange blossom water and aniseed. It is a decorative bread with snippets on it and is one of the 13 traditional French Christmas desserts that are traditionally served after Midnight Mass to signify Christ and his 12 apostles at the Last Supper. 

Gibassier is simple to make but only requires time as there is a pre ferment which needs to be made a night before. I had to substitute one of its main ingredient, the orange blossom water because of its unavailability and had fun making the candied orange peel from scratch. I even replaced aniseed with fennel seeds which went extremely well with the orange flavour. 

The dominant smell of the orange flavour while baking will certainly make you want to pair it with your cup of tea. I personally loved the tiny specks of orange candied peel peeping from the bread along with the fennel seeds. 

Recipe source : Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen. Adapted from CirilHitz’s Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads

Ingredients : Yields 4 

Biga (pre ferment)

• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp milk
• a pinch of Instant yeast

Dough

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp orange essence
• 1 1/2 tsp warm water
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 20 gms butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp chopped candied orange peels
• 1/4 tsp orange zest
• All the Biga from above

Glazing : 

• Ghee for brushing
• granulated sugar for sprinkling

Procedure : 

Biga : 

The previous night, you start baking, mix all the ingredients in a bowl to a smooth dough. Add more milk if required. 

Put the dough in a well oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides. 

Cover loosely with a muslin cloth and let it stand at room temperature fro 14-16 hours. 

The dough next morning will have a fermented look.

Dough:

The next morning mix olive oil and orange essence in a big bowl.

Add warm water and mix. 

Now, add the pre ferment by tearing it into chunks and adding to the bowl. 

Add all purpose flour, sugar, salt, yeast and knead till dough is smooth.

Add butter and knead again till it gets incorporated well.

Add the chopped candied orange peels and fennel seeds and mix in the dough.

Shape the dough in a round and place in a well oiled bowl. Cover and allow to double in size for about 2 hours.

Divide into 4 equal parts and shape each into a round and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes.

Take one round at a time and shape into a semi circle. Make three slits, one in the center and two on each sides, in the middle of the semi circle with a knife. Make sure that the slits are clean.

Now with the help of scissors, make four snips along the arched side at equal distance.

Lift and transfer to a lined baking tray stretching a little to open the slits. 

Repeat the same for the rest of the dough.

Let it rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius, 10 minutes before the completion of the resting time.

Put the baking tray in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or till they attain a brownish tinge.

While still hot from the oven brush them liberally with ghee and sprinkle sugar on top.

Notes : 

• You can make your own candied orange peels like I did from here.
• This bread is just about sweet. If you want your bread a little more sweeter, add a tbsp more in the dough.
• The bread is enjoyed best the same day, esp fresh out from the oven

Happy Orange bread enjoying

Amrita

Classic Croissants

It has been one full year, that members at 'We Knead to bake' put their trembling hands on Classic Croissants. Well some of the expert bakers had already dealt with the long and tedious process of Croissant making. We were to follow a recipe which was three page long and explained with utmost details. Charged up to get rid of my fear and try these French beauties, I was left bereft to realize that I did not carry my packet of instant yeast to Allahabad, where I had come to spend a lovely time with my In-laws. I made up my mind to reach Kolkata and try them for sure especially after seeing everyone loving the bake and calling it their best. 

One thing led to the other and I never got around making them. The humid weather of Kolkata further added to my grievance and I waited for winters to nail them. 

This February when Aparna announced that her oven had broke down and all members were given the choice to bake a bread of their own, I pushed myself to put my hands on Classic Croissants. I was still scared of the lengthy process and of the butter leaking from the dough horror but this oppurtunity was my true Croissant Calling. I reduced the recipe to half and jumped onto the beautiful, magical, butter laden world of Croissants. 

Croissants are basically yeasted puff pastry that is baked in the shape of crescents.There are stuffed versions too. The ones stuffed with chocolate is called Pain au Chocolat. The basic process involves enveloping a slab of butter with the dough, rolling it out and then folding and resting the dough repeatedly before shaping it.

Frankly speaking, I am super happy at my attempt and glad I got the fear out. This bake is certainly a feather on my cap. Though butter leaking can be an issue, it can easily be taken care of following Aparna's detailed instructions and notes. Do check her blog post for more detailed pics of the process.

Recipe Source : Jeffrey Hamelman's Classic Croissants adapted by Aparna Balasubramanium

Ingredients : I reduced the recipe to half and yielded about 7 Croissants and some scraps

For Dough :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, and a little more for dusting/rolling out dough
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cold water
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cold milk 
•  2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 20gm soft unsalted butter
• 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
• 1tsp salt

Butter Layer : 

• 100 gm cold butter (I used Amul)

To Brush the dough : 

• 2 tbsp milk/1 tbsp milk + 1 tbsp cream 

 

Procedure : 

Day 1:Make the dough and refrigerate overnight

Combine all the ingredients for the dough in the bowl. Mix till it comes together. Lightly flour a 10-inch pie pan or a dinner plate.  And place the ball of dough on this.  

Gently shape the dough into a flat ball by pressing it down before storing it in the fridge, this makes rolling out next morning easier. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and wrap well with plastic so it doesn’t dry out. Refrigerate overnight.  

Day 2: Make the butter layer and Laminate the dough

The next day, cut out 2 pieces of parchment or waxed paper into 10” squares each.  Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Place these pieces on one piece of parchment/waxed paper so they form a 5- to 6-inch square. Cut the butter further into pieces as required to fit the square. Top with the other piece of parchment/waxed paper.

Using a rolling pin, pound the butter with light, even strokes. As the pieces begin to stick together, use more force. Pound the butter until it flattens out evenly into a square that’s approximately 7-1/2”. Trim the edges of the butter to make a neat square. Put the trimmings on top of the square and pound them in lightly with the rolling pin. Refrigerate this while you roll out the dough.

Unwrap and lay the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out to a 10-1/2-inch square, and brush off the excess flour. Take the butter out from the refrigerator-it should be cold but pliable.  If it isn’t refrigerate it till it is. This so that when you roll out the dough with the butter in it, neither should it be soft enough to melt, or hard enough to break. Unwrap the butter and place it on the square of dough in the centre, so that it forms a “diamond” shape on the dough.

Fold one flap of dough over the butter toward you, stretching it slightly so that the point just reaches the middle of the butter square. Bring the opposite flap to the middle, slightly overlapping the previous one. Similarly repeat with the other two so that the dough forms an envelope around the butter. Lightly press the edges together to completely seal the butter inside the dough to ensure the butter doesn’t escape when you roll out the dough later.

Lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough. With the rolling pin, firmly press along the dough uniformly to elongate it slightly. Now begin rolling instead of pressing, focusing on lengthening rather than widening the dough and keeping the edges straight.

Roll the dough into an 8” by 12” rectangle. If the ends lose their square shape, gently reshape the corners with your hands. Brush off the excess flour. Mark the dough lightly equally into three along the long side. Using this as a guideline, pick up one short end of the dough and fold 1/3^rd of it back over the dough, so that 1/3^rd of the other end of dough is exposed.

Now fold the 1/3^rd exposed dough over the folded side. Basically, the dough is folded like 3-fold letter before it goes into an envelope (letter fold). Put the folded dough on a floured baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to relax and chill the dough.

Repeat the rolling and folding, this time rolling in the direction of the two open ends (from the shorter sides to lengthen the longer sides) until the dough is about 8” by 12”. Once again fold the dough in thirds, brushing off excess flour and turning under any rounded edges or short ends with exposed or smeared layers. Cover once again with plastic wrap and freeze for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Roll and fold the dough exactly in the same way for the third time and put it baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap, tucking the plastic under all four sides and refrigerate overnight. 

Day 3: Shape the dough

The next day, unwrap and lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough.

“Wake up the dough up” by pressing firmly along its length with the rolling pin. Don’t widen the dough but simply begin to lengthen it with these first strokes. Slowly roll the dough into a long and narrow strip, approximately 8” by 11”. If the dough sticks as you roll, sprinkle with flour.

Lay a measuring rule or tape measure lengthwise along the top length of the dough.

With a knife, mark the top of the dough at 5-inch intervals along the length. Now place the rule or tape measure along the bottom length of the dough and make a mark 2-1/2 inches in from the end of the dough. Make marks at 5-inch intervals from this point all along the bottom of the dough.

Make diagonal cuts by positioning the yardstick at the top corner and the first bottom mark. Use a pizza wheel/ pie wheel or a bench scraper and cut the dough along this line which connects each top mark to the next bottom mark and then back to the next top mark and so on. This way you will have 7 triangles and a scrap of dough at each end.  

Shape the croissants

Now work with one piece of triangular dough at a time. Using your rolling pin, very lightly roll (do not make it thin but only stretch it slightly) the triangle to stretch it a little, until it is about 10” long. This will give your croissants height and layers.

Using a sharp small knife, make a 1/2- to 3/4-inch-long notch in the centre of the short side of each triangle. The notch helps the rolled croissant curl into a crescent.

Place the triangle on the work surface with the notched side closest to you. With one hand on each side of the notch, begin to roll the dough away from you, towards the pointed end.

Flare your hands outward as you roll so that the notched “legs” become longer. Roll the triangle tight enough but not too tight to compress it, until you reach the “pointy” end which should be under the croissant.

Now bend the two legs towards you to form a tight crescent shape and gently press the tips of the legs together (they’ll come apart while proofing but keep their crescent shape).

Shape all the triangles like this into croissants and place them on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet leaving as much space between them as they will rise quite a bit. 

I stuffed some choco-chips in the side scraps and roughly rolled them too.

Proof the croissants

Brush the croissants with milk (or a mix of milk and cream).

Refrigerate the remaining milk/ milk+cream (or egg wash) for brushing the croissants again later. Place the croissants in a cool and draft-free place (the butter should not melt) for proofing/ rising for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  

They might need longer than 2 hours to proof, maybe as much as 3 hours, so make sure to let croissants take the time to proof. The croissants will be distinctly larger but not doubled in size. They’re ready if you can see the layers of dough from the side, and if you lightly shake the sheets, the croissants will wiggle.  

Bake the croissants

Just before the croissants are fully proofed, pre-heat your oven to 220C (425F). Brush the croissants with milk/ milk+cream a second time.

Bake them for about 15 to 20 minutes till they’re done and golden brown on top and just beginning to brown at the sides. Cool the croissants on the baking sheets on racks.

The choco-chips stuffed dough scraps

Do not be scared of the lengthy procedure, it is just explained well for your understanding. 
Take a look at how Vaanya enjoyed these buttery yummies 

 

Happy 'Croissant Calling'
Amrita

Foccacia Caprese

We at 'We Knead to Bake' have completed a year of baking amazing yeasted goodies together and have now entered another year where we are joined by some more members. I have missed on two bakes and plan to catch up on them very soon. 

The bake for this month was chosen by popular demand and after baking and devouring it, has become one of my favourite ones. I plan to make this again and also experiment with the toppings. 

Foccacia Caprese is basically a flatbread where the toppings are Caprese style where fresh tomatoes, basil and fresh buffalo mozzarella is used. 

Since buffalo mozzarella is not easy to get here, we have substituted it with the one we get readily in the markets. 

The Foccacia came out super soft and yummy and was over in no time. I had baked this for tea time and had to hide 2 slices for Vishal as me and Vaanya were all over it. 

The best compliment was from Vaanya when she in her toddler pronunciation exclaimed that the thing was 'Nummy Nummy' and 'So Taesty'. 

Here is Vaanya enjoying the Foccacia with her winsome facial expressions.

This is a super easy recipe where all you need to do is put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them and then top with the easily and readily available toppings.

It resembles a pizza in appearance but the dough is pretty thick giving it a bready texture. 

Eaten best as it is, this Foccacia can be also paired with soup or salad. 

Recipe source : Kitchen Whisperer and adapted by Aparna

Ingredients : I reduced the recipe to 1/4 to get a 6 1/2"x4 1/2" oval Foccacia which serves 2 

Dough:

• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup warm water 

Topping:

• 4 slices of a tomato
• Mozarella cheese in 1/4" slices
• 4-5 basil leaves, chopped

Herb Oil:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dries basil
• a pinch of red chilli flakes
• 2 garlic pods, finely chopped
• salt to taste

Procedure :

Herb Oil : 

Mix all in a small bowl and keep aside.

Dough : 

Take a large bowl and put flour, salt, sugar, yeast and oil. Mix well. 

Add warm water, little by little, and knead till you get a smooth dough.

Shape into a ball and place in a well oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides. 

Cover with a damp muslin cloth and allow to double in size in a warm place for an hour. 

(I place in my microwave oven and keep the light on)
Spread the dough to fit the lined oval baking tray.

Instead you may make a rough oval/round shape and place on a lined baking tray.

Allow to rise for 20 mins.

Lightly oil your fingers and make dimples on the dough.

Brush generously with olive oil.

Preheat oven to 210 degree Celsius.

Bake the bread for 18-20 mins.

Take the bread out and increase heat of the oven to 230 degree Celsius.

Drizzle half of the herb oil on the bread and arrange slices of mozzarella cheese on it. Top with tomato slices and sprinkle chopped basil leaves.

Drizzle the remaining herb oil.

Bake for 5-8 mins or till the cheese just melts.

Remove and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Notes :

• If you want to make it little healthy, try substituting the quantity of flour with half whole wheat and half all purpose flour. 
• You may try other toppings but then it will no longer be a Caprese. 

This recipe is being sent to the amazing ongoing event called 'Yeasty Feasty' by Kolkata Food Bloggers where all the members are going to present their droolworthy yeasty bread creations. To make this event more exciting, food bloggers all over are invited to send in their yeasty bakes. Please read the rules and other details here to participate. 

Happy Foccacia enjoying
Amrita

Kofieebroodje/Dutch Coffeee buns

Time of the month when I am always rushing to finish off the bakes in the challenges that I am a part of. One such event started by Swathi called the Baking partners is one such challenge I always love to attempt, sooner or later. There is so much that I have learnt and experimented in baking just by being part of this incredible group.

Having spent a relaxed holiday in Allahabad, it has been indeed a little difficult to get back to baking and blogging and hence my delay in this month's challenge. This month 2 recipes, a Dutch Apple tart and Dutch Coffee buns which are also called Kofieebroodje were suggested by Kaveri Venkatesh. I was naturally intrigued by the name and expected a good amount of coffee in the bake. To my amazement, there was no mention of it and I very confidently asked Kaveri to rectify the mistake. That is when I was told that these buns are called so as the Dutch love to have them with their cup of Coffee. With Swathi's permission who is always open to experimentation keeping the original recipe spirit in mind, I decided to add some coffee in the  filling. 

Since the original recipe asked for the usage of vanilla pudding which is easily available abroad, many members decided to make their own custard. I went the cheat's way and used the readily available vanilla custard powder in our country and added some coffee to it. 

The outcome was very pleasing and I was happy to create the yummy coffee custard in a jiffy. The original recipe calls for raisins which I have substituted with toasted almonds to go with my Coffee buns. 

This is such a  super simple recipe which yields amazingly   soft buns. Flavour them to your liking, making them sweet or savoury and it will become a keeper recipe for sure.

Recipe Source: The Dutch Table

Ingredients : I used 1/3 of the recipe to yield 10 such buns

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1/3 cup lukewarm milk
• 1 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 10 almonds, peeled and toasted
• 2 tsp vanilla custard powder
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 1/2 cup milk (for the custard)
• 2 tbsp sugar (for the custard)

Procedure : 

In a bowl, add flour, salt, sugar and yeast and mix. 

Add butter and mix.

Add milk little by little and knead the mixture to a smooth dough. If required add a little more milk.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn the dough to cover it with oil on all sides. 

Cover with a damp muslin cloth and allow to double in size for an hour or two in a warm place. 

Meanwhile, make the custard which will be used as a filling.

Take 1/2 cup milk and boil it. Add 2 tbsp sugar to it.

Dilute vanilla custard powder with a little cold milk or even water and add to the boiling milk. Stir well to avoid any lumps.

Dilute 1 tsp coffee powder in some warm milk and add to the custard. Mix well and as soon as the mixture thickens, remove it from gas.

Allow to cool.

Prepare the almonds by dropping them in some boiling water for about 4-5 minutes. 

Remove from heat and drain them.

The skin will now come off very easily just by pinching the ends.

Allow the almonds to dry for some time on a kitchen towel.

Dry roast them on a pan or in the oven.

Allow to cool and chop them in pieces.

Once the dough is ready, roll it roughly to a 9x9" square. 

Spread the coffee flavoured custard all over leaving 1/2" on all sides.

Sprinkle the chopped toasted almonds on it. 

Roll it into a cylinder and cut 1" equal pieces out of it.

Cover them and allow to proof for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Place the rolls on a lined and greased baking tray and brush them with some milk.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the buns brown well.

Brush the buns with some butter as soon as they are out of the oven.

Enjoy them warm with a cup of coffee.

Notes:

• You may use any other flavouring for the custard or simply use the variety of custard powders available in the market.
• Add your choice of nuts in it or you may even avoid it.
• For a richer taste, you may make the custard in cream instead of milk.

Happy Coffee buns relishing

Amrita

Swedish Cinnamon rolls/Kanel Snegle

I have been out from Kolkata for almost two weeks now and have been enjoying an amazing and relaxing time in Allahabad. Vaanya is enjoying the most having found a friend in Tunnu, our kitten. Its a visual treat to see Vaanya and Tunnu play and enjoy each other's company. Vaanya teases her by pulling a piece of rope and Tunnu tries to catch it which she finally does by jumping on it. Tunnu loves to sneak upto Vaanya and play with her shoe. 

I have been enjoying doing nothing and spending some quality time with Vaanya and enjoying some amazing and yummy food made by Amma. With Christmas nearing I had a tough time gearing myself for some bakes and finally managed to do so by attempting these Swedish Cinnamon rolls which was part of our November 'We Knead to bake' Challenge. It came out exceedingly well with the amazing fragrance and flavour of Cinnamon and the beautiful hint of lemon. I shaped them like a Christmas tree for some fun holiday bake.

Recipe source : Aparna

Ingredients : makes 16-17 rolls

Starter:

• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Dough:

• All starter
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cardamoms, powdered
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar, powdered
• 45 gm butter, at room temperature

Filling:

• 55 gm butter, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp granulated sugar/brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched, dried and coarsely powdered

Topping:

• milk for brushing
• granulated sugar for sprinkling

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients under starter into a sticky dough. Place in an large oiled bowl, loosely cover it and refrigerate overnight. 

The next day take it out and leave for 30 mins to come to room temperature. 
Tear the starter to large pieces and place in a bowl.
Sift flour, cardamom and salt and add to the starter.
Mix in lemon zest and sugar.
Now add butter and knead till you get a smooth and elastic dough.
Roll the dough to a rectangle roughly 20x12". 
Make filling by mixing butter, sugar and cinnamon powder.
Spread the filling all over the rolled dough.
Sprinkle the coarsely ground almonds all over.
Tightly roll the dough from the shorter end and cut into 16 equal pieces with a knife. 
Place them on a butter paper/parchment lined baking tray. I placed 11 pieces together in a tree shape and put the others on the sides. 
Let them rise for 10-15 mins.
Preheat oven to 200 degree Celsius.
Brush them with milk and sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake for 15 mins or till they brown well. 

Notes:

• You can use brown sugar for sprinkling on top for a better looking roll.
• The lemon zest adds an amazing flavour to the rolls, so do not consider omitting it. 
• Blanch almonds in boiling water for 2 minutes and remove the skin. Dry roast in a pan on medium heat. Cool and grind to get ground almonds.

Sending this recipe to Kolkata Food Blogger's ongoing baking event 'Baking Palooza 2013'

Happy Cinnamon rolls relishing
Amrita