Spinach-Feta Scrolls/Rolls

I wanted to make something with spinach and feta for Easter for some reason. I was brain storming a pork roast roll up with the two items in the middle but then switched gears to making a bread instead because the leftovers from the rolled up roast would not be as flexible for future meals.

I ended up making these rolls/scrolls using a wreath filling recipe and the enriched duck fat dough recipe I’ve used in the past.

The results were delicious though they’re best served fresh. I ended up microwaving for about 10-15 seconds on low to get them back to that soft texture.

March Baking Round-Up

My nephew offered to pick up a bag of all purpose flour for me on his recent trip to Costco. I wasn’t sure if I should say yes, since I haven’t been doing as much baking as usual, lately. At least, that’s what I THOUGHT.

And then I realized that I’ve baked or used flour to make the following this month: ‘pizzaman’ steamed buns, a loaf of traditional white bread, Irish soda farls, banana-raisin oat muffins and a nectarine pie.

Oh well. Guess I should say yes. 🙂

Irish Soda “Farls”

For St. Patrick’s Day:

Farls or ‘quarters’ are a type of quick Irish soda bread cooked in a griddle or a cast iron frying pan. Simple, four ingredient recipe found everywhere on the internet.

The only tricky part is adjusting the cooking temperature and time so that the top is not burnt while the inside remains raw.

Double Chocolate Stout Walnut Bread

My nephew gifted me with various interesting beers over the summer. On one delivery, I ended up with a can of double chocolate stout, which seemed a bit challenging to drink on its own. I HAVE had Guinness Stout in the past, and though I can drink the first half pint without too much trouble, by the second half, as it warms up, it’s rough going. So, I decided to search out a bread recipe that might make good use of the beer. For texture, I decided to add some coarsely chopped walnuts to the dough.

The result was an interesting bread with a bitter undertone that became wearing as I made my way through the loaf.

I ate it in as many ways as I could, including toasted and spread with peanut butter or as a base for scrambled eggs.

I turned it into  French toast with a generous pour of maple syrup and served as part of a hearty brunch.

In a final move, I cubed and toasted the bread and turned it into a bread pudding served with Bird’s custard.

With time, I made my way through the loaf. It was not a failure but I wouldn’t make this bread again. PS: I took a sip or three of the extra beer in the can and it wasn’t to my taste either.

Picspam: Smoked Ham & Bean Soup and Japanese Purple Sweet Potato Bread

Sometimes you just don’t have the energy to make a comprehensive recipe post but you still want to share something you think is worth while. I made both of these dishes over the last few days.

The first dish, a smoked ham and cannellini bean soup that I’ve made in the past, is an easy, fast and filling dish, especially if you use canned cannellini beans. Or, you can be like me and soak about a pound of dried beans overnight and cook them when you finally get up on a lazy, Saturday morning.

I didn’t have any smoked ham hock but I had a chunk of smoked ham so I diced some of it up and threw it in along with the veggies at the end. If you’re cooking for a family of four, you’ll have enough for a second serving for everyone. If you’re cooking for one, it freezes very well for future meals. For my friend, spikesgirl58 on LJ, who doesn’t care for ham, I think you could use smoked turkey leg in its place.

I stocked up on some pantry items from a local international (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese) grocery store, a few days ago. One of the things that caught my eye in the fresh fruit and vegetable section was a small display of Japanese purple sweet potatoes. I was bored so I decided to try a fun purple sweet potato bread recipe I found on the Bake with Paws blog. (PS: The name made me think of the Youtube channel Cooking with Dog which I recommend for anyone interested in Japanese cooking.)

The recipe is relatively straight forward but I thought I’d throw in some pretty pictures … just because I took a LOT. The potatoes were peeled, sliced and steamed until tender and then riced to get a nice even texture.

I was pleased with the colour of the dough

Unfortunately, the post-bake colour was a lot less vibrant … sort of lavender in colour. Toasting it seemed to pep up the colour a bit. The texture was nice and fluffy and the taste was somewhat sweet due to the sweet potatoes. I wouldn’t use the bread for an egg or tuna salad sandwich but it provided a nice contrast to the salty peanut butter.

Three Kings Cake … with Repurposed Filling

They know how to party in New Orleans, especially before the forty days of Lent when Christians are supposed to fast or give up something they like. Mardi Gras is the name for the time period before Lent … a joyous carnival like atmosphere of parades and indulgence.

And, in New Orleans, King Cake or Three Kings Cake is the personification of that joyous occasion in pastry form.

There are a number of variations in terms of whether there’s a filling or whether it’s braided, but decorating the finished cake with the colours purple, gold and green is traditional in the southern regions of the United States.

For Christmas I made a sweet Boursin cheese spread flavoured with dried cranberries and orange zest. It was tasty, but other than a single rather skimpy smear on my Christmas bread wreath, it’s been lingering in my fridge. So when I was deciding on a filling for my Mardis Gras style (Three) Kings Cake during the Epiphany, I repurposed my sweet Boursin. I thought it needed some additional texture and substance, so I chopped up about half to three-quarters of a cup of sliced almonds and sprinkled it over the Boursin.

The resulting cake, using this recipe, was tender and delicious, though my decoration fell short of my expectations. It needed a lot more glaze. Double or even quadruple, I think.

The filling was an unqualified success.

Cranberry-Orange Spice Boursin – makes about 3/4 cup of spread

1/2 pkg cream cheese, room temp
1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1-1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp orange zest

Cream together the cream cheese, butter and salt using a hand blender. Stir in the cranberries, black pepper and orange zest. Pack into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate so that the flavours will marry. Remove from the fridge 1 or 2 hrs before serving so that the Boursin will be soft enough to spread.

Sós Kifli or Salted ‘Croissants’

My first post of the new year is, fittingly, a bread recipe.

Creamy eggs and salted croissants make for a perfect breakfast

Just before Christmas my brother was in my neighbourhood and stopped in at a nearby European style bakery. And then he dropped off four of these bread rolls shaped into crescents and sprinkled with caraway seeds and coarse salt. And a bag of chocolate bonbons filled with cherries and liqueur. I ate three of the bread rolls the same day but the chocolates lasted until after New Year.

Recently, I saw someone had posted a picture of a similar type of bread rolls, on my Hungarian Facebook group. To make a long story short, I got the recipe, originally posted in Hungarian, and translated by a second party, and made them yesterday. A similar recipe can be found here though I used 2 tsp of dry instant yeast, rather than fresh, in my bake.

Shaping the croissants … a pizza wheel is the best way to make the clean cuts for making the dough wedges. The dough (652 gm) was rolled out into an 18″ circle.

Baked at 400 deg F for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven’s foibles.

Fluffy interior of the croissants

Shokupan … Japanese Eating Bread

Shokupan is a very popular daily or “eating bread” in Japan.

In light of my summer obsession with expanding my repertoire of Japanese foods, I couldn’t pass up giving it a try. The blog where I found the recipe has two easy-to-follow versions. The easier of the two is kneaded very briefly in a food processor … and I’m all about EASY recipes or techniques.

I always find sight of the risen dough appealing, don’t you?

And, of course, the crumb shot … delicious spread with some sweet softened butter.

For a second attempt at the recipe, I shaped the dough into stuffed buns.

I choose both anko (sweetened red bean paste, on the left) and lotus seed paste (on the right) for the filling.

I was experimenting with a coloured whipping cream wash (not necessary in baked buns but should give a nice golden colour in a future steamed bun version) and the crease in the middle for the lotus seed paste filled buns. It’s supposed to resemble the dried lotus seeds after removing the germ.

REVIEW: The bread is fast and easy to make in the food processor and the taste is delicious. What more do you need? Give it a try.

Traditional White Sandwich Bread … Two Ways

Just a quick post to let you know that I’m still here.

I decided to share my current favourite bread recipe found on Allrecipes.

Bread dough is so flexible … you can bake it in a loaf pan or in a dutch oven or on a baking sheet. I chose to do two of these using the same recipe and was amazed at the very different results.

In this case, I needed/wanted a nice loaf of bread to make sandwiches with and this old fashioned bread filled that need admirably.

The dough was shaped and proofed in a regular 9×5 inch loaf pan. Five minutes before the end of the baking time, I brushed the crust of the bread with softened unsalted butter. The result was an amazing light and tender crumb with a soft crust. The bread toasted beautifully as well as being delicious spread with some unsalted butter or strawberry jam.

Back in June, I bought myself an oval banneton. I’ve only used it once so far, for a sourdough loaf. But, of course, you can proof a regular yeast bread in a banneton as well. So I did. And played with some creative scoring.

Proofed dough, rice flour for dusting the banneton, a brand new razor blade for scoring and the oval banneton.

Before and after proofing

Scored loaf ready for baking and the finished loaf

Even though the shape isn’t as suitable for sandwiches and toasting, this would make an impressive loaf to serve to your family or company.

Potato Langos (Krumplis Lángos)

I think most cultures that use wheat flour have some sort of fried bread. The Hungarian version, lángos, is what I’m featuring below. It is also popular in Romania (especially in Transylvania) as langosi.

I’ve watched several versions of this bread being made on Youtube and chose to do a drier one, similar to native American fry bread, rather than the wetter dough which is pinched off by hand and stretched, before being dropped into the hot oil and fried. Mashed or riced cooked potato is added to the dough mixture. A simple version of the recipe rolls out the dough, cuts it into a circle or rectangle and places a filling, which may be seasoned potato and onion, crumbled cheese or cooked ground meat, in the middle. The dough is folded over around the filling, well sealed, and fried. One day, I’ll have to give it a try.

Potato Langos

Hungarian Potato Lángos   (Lángos or Krumplis Lángos ) – makes 8-10 depending on size.

3-4 medium unpeeled potatoes*
1/2 envelope/ 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 tsp sugar
2 – 2 1/4 cups/240-270 gm all purpose flour**
1/2 tsp salt
lard or vegetable oil for frying***

* You should have about 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes.
** I used 260 gms of AP flour
*** I used half lard and half vegetable oil

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until a knife inserted into the middle of the potato goes in easily. Peel and mash or rice to get a smooth texture. Cool to barely warm.

Mix the warm milk with the yeast and sugar. Let the yeast mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour and the salt. Stir together. Add the mashed potatoes and the yeast mixture. Gradually add in the flour, 1/4 cup or so at time until you get a kneadable dough. Knead the dough well. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 hr.

On a well floured surface, roll out the dough to ~1/2 inch thick.

Cut into rectangles, squares or circles. Let rest, covered so the dough doesn’t dry out, for about 30 minutes. Stretch the dough out a bit so the center is thinner than the edges. (Or, you may prick the dough with the tip of a knife to keep big bubbles from forming and so that it will fry more evenly.)

Melt lard in a cast iron frying pan so it is at least 1/2 inch deep. Fry langos over medium heat. Drain over a paper towel lined wire rack.

NOTE: I decided to use a 2.5 quart sauce pan to deep fry the langos as my frying pan is too shallow to actually shallow fry in, and filled it about 1/3 of the way up with a half lard/half vegetable oil mixture.

To reheat, place langos on baking sheets and heat, uncovered, in a 350 deg Fahrenheit oven until warm, about 8-10 minutes.

Toppings: garlic (oil or butter or just finely minced), sour cream, grated cheese (cheddar, edam, gouda, liptauer), jam