It was only a matter of time before sweet potato-loving Southern cooks combined the fluffy texture and pleasant tang of biscuits with the earthy sweetness of this popular tuber.
To add this potato's natural sweetness to biscuits without weighing down the dough, we microwaved the sweet potatoes, which eliminated their moisture while concentrating their flavor.
After mashing the flesh, we stirred in cider vinegar to mimic buttermilk's tang and to create greater lift once combined with the dough's baking powder and baking soda. We maximized the biscuits' tender texture with low-protein cake flour and opted for the deep, molasses-like sweetness of brown sugar to complement the sweet potatoes.
The dough took on a pretty orange color, and, once baked, the biscuits emerged tender and subtly sweet, perfectly ready for a smear of butter or jam, or to be sliced and stuffed with ham and mustard. If you can find them, Beauregard sweet potatoes are the best variety for these biscuits.
The biscuits can be stored in airtight container for up to two days.
SWEET POTATO BISCUITS
Servings: 16
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled, lightly pricked all over with fork
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled, plus
2 tablespoons melted
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening,
Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
DIRECTIONS:
Microwave potatoes on plate until very soft and surfaces are wet, 15 to 20 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Immediately cut potatoes in half. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop flesh into large bowl and, using potato masher, mash until smooth. (You should have 2 cups. Reserve any extra for another use.) Stir in vinegar and refrigerate until cool, about 15 minutes.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Process flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter chilled butter and shortening over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Transfer flour mixture to bowl with cooled potatoes and fold with rubber spatula until incorporated.
Turn out dough onto floured counter and knead until smooth, 8 to 10 times. Pat dough into 9 inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Using floured 2 1/4 inch round cutter, stamp out biscuits and arrange on prepared sheet. Gently pat dough scraps into 1 inch-thick circle and stamp out remaining biscuits. (You should have 16 biscuits total.)
Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter and bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Let biscuits cool on sheet for 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition information per serving: 265 calories; 93 calories from fat; 10 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 19 mg cholesterol; 450 mg sodium; 39 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 3 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Sweet Potato Biscuits in "Vegetables Illustrated ."
Grab a bowl and some stretchy pants: it's sop-up season.
Recently, I explained to my son that it was perfectly acceptable — nay, absolutely necessary — to use some form of bread to sop up juices from his soup. In his carb-loving mind, this meant mommy had officially lost it, and he could ask for as many slices of buttered bread as he wanted. Maybe it was the Chardonnay talking or my love for bread as a vehicle for soups, stews and curries to get into my mouth, but that night, we practically finished a loaf of sandwich bread.
Only problem was, when I went looking for more bread later in the week after making one of my favorite curries — a winter vegetable version that allows me to use up any straggling vegetables wilting in the fridge — we were almost out.
I guess, I thought as I looked wanly at the packets of yeast shoved to the back of my pantry, I could make some? Kitchen confessional time, kids: This little lady doesn't make bread, or really many things that involve yeast or waiting for things to proof. I blame my mother, who raised me with an unhealthy fear of using yeast in baking, and watching too many episodes of "The Great British Baking Show" in which Paul Hollywood jabs at the dough and mutters disappointingly in his brogue "under-proved."
But it's sop-up season, and I needed something for this curry. Why not some delicious naan, which I usually buy ready-made in the bread aisle at my grocery store.
Most naan recipes are pretty much the same, but I liked this one for it's use of sour cream (all that I had on hand that day) and the super-hot oven technique instead of pan-frying them in a hot skillet. Other than the waiting period for the dough to proof, this was an extremely easy recipe that also made just enough to last in our small household a few days. The bread was delicious, especially dipped in more garlic butter, and had just the right amount of dense structure to carry the curry load. I also enjoyed it for breakfast the following morning hot from the toaster with a smear of peanut butter, sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey.
GARLIC BUTTER NAAN BREAD
(Recipe courtesy of www.cookwithkushi.com)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 package of Active dry yeast, 7g (2 1/4 tsp)
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons sour cream or yogurt
3 cups all-purpose flour
For topping:
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon coriander leaves, finely chopped (or, about a teaspoon of ground coriander if you have it)
4 tablespoons melted butter
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, add lukewarm water, sugar and yeast and let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes.
Add salt, sour cream and about 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and then slowly add flour in increments and knead for about 5 minutes or until you obtain a smooth and supple dough. (I used my dough hook on my stand mixer and this worked beautifully.) Cover and let the dough rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 500 F.
Divide the dough into to seven or eight equally sized balls, and cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together finely chopped garlic, coriander leaves and melted butter in a bowl.
Using light dusting of flour, roll out the dough into oval shaped naans of medium thickness, like pita bread. Transfer the rolled out naan to a baking dish, and generously apply the garlic butter mixture on top of the naan.
Bake for 4 minutes or until golden brown spots appear, flipping it half way through (watch this closely as the butter will smoke your oven up a bit!). If the bread is not brown enough after this, put bread under the broiler for 30 second to a minute.
Brush it with some more melted butter just before you are ready to serve.
Storage: Fresh naan will last up to three days in an air-tight container. Before serving leftovers, warm it up in a toaster for best results.
Are you a "I love fall so much I'm already wearing a scarf" person or a "I can't stand that summer is ending so I'm shivering in my bathing suit" person? I love both seasons, but my favorite is what's happening right now, the micro-season that bridges the gap between lemonade and pumpkin spice.
I appreciate that it's still nice enough to eat outside, but more importantly, the farmers market/farm stand selection is insane. Want some summery tomatoes and zucchini with your butternut squash and early apples? For not very long, you can have it all without needing to freeze anything. (This is also a very good time for "seconds" — if you can find a local farmer with lots of imperfect tomatoes, it's time to make and freeze gallons of sauce.)
A perfect example: Jaeshke's Orchard in Adams has peaches, delicata squash and potatoes right now. I stopped by over Labor Day weekend to grab some peaches for an easy, but impressive, focaccia that celebrates the micro-season — it's made with store-bought pizza dough and features fresh rosemary (currently thriving in my garden), thin-sliced fresh local peaches and torn prosciutto. It's the kind of thing that is at its best this time of year and this time of year alone. So go to the market! Go to the nearest farm stand! Carpe diem!
PEACH, PROSCIUTTO AND ROSEMARY FOCACCIA
INGREDIENTS:
1 pizza dough, room temperature
2 fresh ripe peaches
1 to 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 to 5 slices prosciutto
Goat cheese (optional)
Sea salt
A lot of olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
If you have two small sheet pans, divide dough into two pieces. (If you have one standard sheet pan, you're just going to make one big focaccia.) Generously oil your pans, then place dough into each one. Stretch gently with your fingers until you feel some resistance — your goal is to get the dough all the way to the edges of the pan, but you won't be able to do that right away.
Once dough is semi-stretched, cover tightly and let sit 45 minutes to one hour, then return to your stretching, taking your fingers and gently pulling dough until it easily stretches to the edges of the pan. If it's not doing this, you need more time — cover, wait 15 minutes, and try again.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove covers and drizzle a bit more oil over top of dough. Tear rosemary off its stem and scatter on dough, then tear prosciutto and do the same. Thinly slice peaches and place on dough. (I ate about half a peach while doing this so 1 to 1 1/2 peaches should be good!) Add a pinch of sea salt and crumbled goat cheese if you are using it. After oven is good and hot, cook focaccia 15 to 20 minutes, then remove from pan and let rest a minute before serving.
I know a few people who are joining the working-from-home ranks with a grumble, but I am not one of them. This is an exciting time to be a foodie! Forget about the empty shelves at the grocery stores for a minute. Yes, we may all be making substitutions in the coming weeks, but think of the opportunities. Recipes that were previously only for special occasions or long, empty Sundays are in our grasps — on a workday, no less. Take advantage of the few extra minutes in the morning not having a commute gives you and get an old favorite on the table.
For me, time equals bread and with its long resting times before baking, sourdough bread is a great project for a day spent at home. This Christmas, I was given a packet of Alaskan sourdough starter by Frontiersman Sourdough and it opened a whole new world for me. I scoured the internet for weeks, searching things like, "How often do I feed my sourdough?" and "How to make sourdough sour." I watched all the videos, bought fancy flours, a kitchen scale, bannetons, a dough scraper. I've made sourdough bread every week for the last three months, and I've learned quite a lot — and it turns out, almost nothing at all.
I'm a proud baker, and a flawed one. I substitute ingredients, I skip steps. When a recipe doesn't come out right, I throw it away and try a new one. The sourdough a-ha moment happened for me this weekend. After weeks of trial and error, I came back to this recipe and actually followed it: no cutting corners, no skipping resting times. Would you believe it? It actually works.
EXTRA-TANGY SOURDOUGH BREAD
(From King Arthur Flour)
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes
Total: 23 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: Two loaves
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (227 g) ripe sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups (340 g) lukewarm water
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the starter, water, and 3 cups (12 3/4 ounces, 362g) of the flour. Beat vigorously for 1 minute.
Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 4 hours. Refrigerate overnight, for about 12 hours.
Add the remaining 2 cups (8 1/2 ounces, 241g) flour, and the salt. Knead to form a smooth dough.
Allow the dough to rise in a covered bowl until it's light and airy, with visible gas bubbles, 5 hours (or even longer), depending on how active your starter is. Gently deflate the dough once an hour by turning it out onto a lightly floured work surface, stretching and folding the edges into the center, and turning it over before returning it to the bowl.
Divide the dough in half and shape into two loaves and place it on a greased or lined baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap (I use a clean shower cap) and let rise until very puffy, around 2 to 4 hours, but could take longer.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray loaves with lukewarm water and slash them.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a very deep golden brown. Depending on your oven or your loaves you may have to bake longer. I typically bake for 25 to 30 minutes, cover with tin foil, then bake another 20 minutes or more, until the internal temperature of my bread gets hot enough. (I'm usually looking for an internal temp of 205 degrees at least.)
Cool before slicing and store at room temperature.
This bread has no preservatives, so eat it right away, or store at room temperature. Don't have a sourdough starter? No problem. You can find them online, but if you'd like to make your own, you can do that, too. And don't let this recipe scare you off — there are plenty of recipes that use your discard starter, no wasted ingredients.
SOURDOUGH STARTER
(From King Arthur Flour)
INGREDIENTS:
To begin your starter:
1 cup (113 g) whole rye or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (113 g) cool water
To feed your starter:
Scant 1 cup (113 g) unbleached All Purpose Flour
1/2 (113 g) cool water (if your house is warm) or lukewarm water (if your house is cool).
DIRECTIONS:
Day 1: Combine the flour with the cool water in a 1-quart non-reactive container. Glass, crockery, stainless steel, or food-grade plastic all work fine for this.
Stir everything together thoroughly; make sure there's no dry flour anywhere. Cover the container loosely and let the mixture sit at warm room temperature (about 70 degrees) for 24 hours.
Day 2: You may see no activity at all in the first 24 hours, or you may see a bit of growth or bubbling. Either way, discard half the starter (4 ounces, about 1/2 cup), and add to the remainder a scant 1 cup flour, and 1/2 cup water.
Mix well, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 24 hours.
Day 3: Begin two feedings daily, as evenly spaced as your schedule allows. For each feeding, weigh out 4 ounces starter; this will be a generous 1/2 cup, once it's thoroughly stirred down. Discard any remaining starter.
Add a scant 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup water to the 4 ounces starter. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating.
Day 4: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Repeat feeding your starter (as described in "Day 3").
Day 5: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Repeat feeding your starter (as described in "Day 3"). By the end of Day 5, the starter should have at least doubled in volume. The starter should have a tangy aroma. If your starter hasn't risen much and isn't showing lots of bubbles, repeat discarding and feeding every 12 hours on day 6, and day 7, if necessary.
Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding. Discard all but 4 ounces (a generous 1/2 cup). Feed as usual. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours; it should be active, with bubbles breaking the surface.
Remove however much starter you need for your recipe — typically no more than 8 ounces, about 1 cup. If your recipe calls for more than 1 cup of starter, give it a couple of feedings without discarding, until you've made enough for your recipe plus 4 ounces to keep and feed again.
Transfer the remaining 4 ounces of starter to its permanent home. Feed this reserved starter with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup water, and let it rest at room temperature for several hours, to get going, before covering it. If you're storing starter in a screw-top jar, screw the top on loosely rather than airtight.
Store this starter in the refrigerator, and feed once a week.
Over the past weekend, I went into a biscuit rabbit hole, trying to use the best practices possible on a simple recipe that comes together quickly. I now humbly present to you homemade biscuits with yogurt instead of buttermilk, perfect with everything from the last of your farm bacon to a deconstructed strawberry shortcake.
Like many would, I started with Mark Bittman's bare-bones recipe. I was surprised to see he recommends yogurt as the best biscuit ingredient, not buttermilk. After making three batches of biscuits (which I ate with farm bacon and then strawberries!), I think I agree. I used whole-milk yogurt and added some extra salt, sugar and a touch of heavy cream, just for some more taste. For the first batch, I used Greek yogurt, which is all I had on hand, and it didn't come out as well. I think you really need the moisture of traditionally strained yogurt for this.
I also spent plenty of time watching YouTube videos about how to make biscuits. To give you the highlights: Make sure your butter is really cold (there's a step in my recipe to freeze 10 minutes to ensure this); don't overmix your dough; cut your dough into strips and stack it, then roll it out for maximum flakiness. Biscuits are a really customizable food, so you can get away with adding spices, or pepper, or some cornmeal, without massively changing your results.
Biscuits don't really last longer than a day, but I'd be surprised if they didn't disappear right after you take them out of the oven. I'll be eating my leftover biscuits with homemade butternut squash soup, or toasted with a little honey or maple syrup, until they're gone.
HOMEMADE BISCUITS
(Adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe)
Makes 10-12 biscuits
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup whole milk (not Greek) yogurt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons melted butter (for brushing)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor or bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. If using a food processor, add cubed butter and mix until you have roughly pea-size chunks of butter mixed into dry ingredients. If using a bowl, just rub butter against the flour mixture with your fingers until you get there.
Add yogurt and mix until a craggy dough forms. Add heavy cream and mix until combined. You're looking for a dough that's just coming together; don't overmix, or you will have a tough biscuit.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a square around 1-inch high. Cut into four strips, then layer strips on top of one another and use a rolling pin to roll into another 1-inch high square. Score into rectangles (or use a biscuit cutter if you must), then place rectangles on a baking sheet and freeze 10 minutes to ensure the butter is nice and solid. Brush generously with melted butter before baking, then bake 10 to 13 minutes, or until tops are just beginning to turn golden.
This Hanukkah, you deserve a no-fuss, show-stopper challah bread dough that won't let you down.
After all, it's been a year, so why not treat your family to homemade challah that requires little kneading and just some well-timed folding? With this step-by-step look at the process, and, perhaps a little more time on your hands, it's the perfect time to try something new and delicious.
The original recipe from food blogger Jessica Fechtor makes two loaves, but we cut it in half to produce one loaf perfect for smaller gatherings of celebration this week.
The challah will stay fresh on the counter for a few days if stored in a sealed bag and keeps well in the freezer if wrapped very well in plastic wrap and sealed in a freezer bag.
CHALLAH
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients:
2 cups (250 grams) bread flour
3/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 egg plus one egg yolk, reserving the extra egg white in the fridge for glazing on day two.
6 tablespoons (95 grams) warm water
2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons (37 grams) olive oil
2 tablespoons (42 grams) honey
Notes: many people sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top before baking, but I didn’t.
Step 1:
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, then mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Once mixed together, put the wet, sticky dough in a larger bowl and cover for 10 minutes, to let the yeast activate.
Step 2:
Once the dough is mixed and rested, uncover and grab one edge of the dough, lift it up and pull it over to the middle of the whole lump of dough. Continue doing this around the entire lump of dough, turning the bowl as you go for a total of eight folds. Then flip the whole lump of dough so the seams of the folds are facing down in the bowl. Re-cover and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Repeat this process four more times. By the final fold, you should see small pockets of air in the dough, a sure sign of fermentation. Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Note: The dough will be very difficult to work with for the first few folds. I lightly wet my hands to make it a bit easier and also used a rubber bowl scraper to help lift the dough from the bowl.
Step 3:
When you take the dough out of the fridge, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. My dough was still very sticky at this point, so I used a silicone mat. Divide the dough into three relatively equal parts. If you want to be precise, use a kitchen scale to do this.
Step 4:
Roll each piece of dough into equal strands, about 1 foot long and 3/4-inch thick. Try to use as little extra flour as possible, but dust with flour when necessary to prevent sticking.
Step 5:
Pinch the three strands together at the top and braid them together. Pinch ends together at the bottom and carefully tuck them underneath to create a clean looking edge. You can do the same with the top of the braid, as well. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise again at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until the dough is visibly puffed up and bounces back slowly, if at all, when poked lightly with a finger.
Step 6:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Take the reserved egg white out of the fridge, and here is where I strayed again from the original recipe. For the glaze/egg wash, I mixed the egg white with a dollop of honey, a pinch of sugar, and a splash of water. Very exact, I know, but it was a last-minute decision. Brush the egg wash over the bread before baking, careful not to let too much drip down the sides. I did this and got a burnt edge around the bottom of my loaf. Bake for about 20 minutes on the middle rack, until the bread is golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the bread. If you want to use a thermometer, the loaf will be 190 degrees F when fully baked. Note: Check on your loaf about halfway through the baking time. If the bread is browning quickly, tent a piece of tin foil over it to prevent the glaze from burning.
Step 7:
It will be tough to resist, but let the challah fully cool on a rack before slicing. Once it is taken out of the oven it continues baking a bit, so it needs to rest.
This week's column is brought to you from my dining room table — my workspace for the foreseeable future. I always thought working from home would be fun, but I miss all my coworkers at The Eagle — and the market; my son insisted I distance myself from all the people I deal with as a cashier. So, here I am, hanging out with my Lab, Sassy, and watching the neighbors as they circle the block on their now-seemingly-endless walks.
There are perks to being home. I have an extra 90-minutes (or more) a day due to not commuting. I'm also saving money by not having to buy gas. And there is, of course, the time to make French-press coffee every morning — a literal perk, tee-hee!
I had wondered why everyone on social media was turning to baking their own bread. I now know — it takes time and if kneading is called for, it helps relieve anxiety and aggression. One problem — yeast and flour seem to be going the way of toilet paper. I was able to score some this weekend (yeast and flour, no TP) and decided to get back into the bread game. When I was growing up homemade bread, bagels and English muffins were a staple, thanks to my stay-at-home mom (from boredom on her part?!). I hadn't worked with yeast in ages and decided to tackle something easy ... Next time, instead of Italian seasoning and coarse salt, I want to try everything bagel seasoning.
RIDICULOUSLY EASY FOCACCIA BREAD
(From thecafesucrefarine.com)
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Rising Time 10 hrs
Total Time 40 mins
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
2 cups warm tap water
1 teaspoon soft butter for greasing pan
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
Italian seasoning or finely chopped fresh herbs
Flaky sea salt (like Maldon)
DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the dough:
In a medium-large bowl, combine flour, salt, and instant yeast. Stir well. Add the warm water. Using a whisk, mix until all of the flour is well incorporated (there should be no small pockets of flour). Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
Lightly butter two 9-inch cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each pan. Divide dough in half with a large spoon or rubber spatula and place one piece of dough in each pan, turning to coat with oil. Tuck edges of dough underneath to form a rough ball.
Cover each pan tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough balls to rest for 2 hours (it may take as long as 3 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen). The dough should cover most of the pan.
Bake:
Preheat oven to 450 F with a rack positioned in the center of the oven.
Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over each round of dough. With oiled fingers, using both hands, press straight down and create deep dimples that go all the way through the dough (you'll actually be making deep holes.) If necessary, gently stretch the dough as you dimple to allow the dough to fill the pan.
Sprinkle tops with Italian seasoning (or fresh herbs) and flaky sea salt.
Transfer the pans to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 425 F. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the tops are golden and the undersides are crisp. Remove pans from the oven. Remove bread rounds from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.
Serve warm or allow to cool completely then store in a zippered bag.
I could write a book about how I feel about bagels. I'm not alone, everybody seems to have an opinion on what makes an amazing bagel — the city water New York bagels are boiled in, the honey-sesame seed combination you see in a Montreal bagel, a fancy spread or lox and capers. For me, living in the Berkshires brings with it one persistent disappointment: Unless I want to make an extra stop, the bagels I pick up at the grocery store are essentially just round bread.
I could do extensive research into this matter, picking up bagels from shops all over Berkshire County until I find my bagel-making soulmates, but what happens when I have a craving and all the bakeries are closed? Sometimes, the best way to get what you want (and when you want it) is just to do it yourself. Thus began my journey into bagel making.
I began with the knowledge that I prefer the Montreal-style of honey-boiling bagels. Bagel toppings seem to prioritize the savory — honey boiling adds a perfect and subtle sweetness in contrast. (Boiling bagels is what gives them that excellent shiny, crisp exterior. An egg wash is simply insufficient.) I was also looking for a recipe that was both easy and fast; most of us have no fancy proving drawers and don't want to give up our oven for hours waiting for a bagel to rise. I came across this recipe, and was pleased when it produced my dream bagels the first time.
Because these bagels have no preservatives, these are best eaten in the first 24 hours after they've been made. They can get harder the longer they stay out. So, make a batch Friday morning and impress your Thanksgiving guests looking for more than leftover turkey sandwiches.
Honey-boiled bagels
Yield: About a dozen
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
2 packages dry quick-rising yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
5 cups bread flour, plus extra for dusting
3 quarts water for boiling
1/3 cup honey
Toppings: Such as poppy seed, sesame seed, caraway seed, or dried onion or garlic
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1. Blend together the water, yeast, sugar and salt, then stir in the egg, the egg yolk, oil and 1/2 cup honey, and mix well. Add the 5 cups flour, and mix. Note: I start with around 4 cups flour before I begin kneading, as I have to use a lot of flour to keep the dough from sticking to my work surface.
2. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and knead. Tip: Kneading is easier if you coat your hands lightly with oil.
3. When the dough is smooth and elastic, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. As I'm not an especially experienced bread maker, I tend to knead until the dough is no longer trying to stick to my counters, and then for a couple of minutes longer, until I no longer feel guilty about giving up. Let the dough rest about 20 minutes.
4. Punch it down, and let it rest 10 minutes more, or shape and then let it rest.
5. Roll dough into an 8- to 10- inch strip, and pinch the ends together. Montreal-style bagels are longer and thinner than a New York bagel. Put the bagel over your index finger and spin it around a few times until you have a nice large center hole, or put it over both of your index fingers and roll in a few concentric circles to widen.
6. Pour the water into a Dutch oven, along with the remaining 1/3 cup honey, and heat to boiling. I found that darker honeys result in faint honey residue on the bagels, and prefer to use a lighter honey for this step.
Pour your toppings into bowls you can roll your boiled bagels in.
Add bagels to the water one at a time. As they rise to the surface, turn them over, and let them boil an additional minute or two.
7. Remove them and dip into your toppings, then place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake on the middle rack of oven until they are medium brown, approximately 25 minutes. Keep your eyes on them: If the bottoms seem to be browning too fast, shift them to a higher rack and bake longer.
A few final thoughts: It's not necessary to seed both sides of your bagels, you'll just lose all of that precious topping. This recipe is great in that it's fairly basic and customizable, but avoid adding wet ingredients to the dough, as this leads to a guess-and-check system of trying to tell if they've baked through. Leave your bagels in the oven until you're sure they're done. Test one first, by ripping it open and pinching the dough. There should be a certain springiness to dough that's cooked well.
The summer bash you planned for weeks is over. The trash is picked up and the lawn chairs returned to their rightful places. You sent the leftover salads and desserts home with the people who brought them. But wait, there's still leftover buns and condiments — lots of condiments, because you bought extra so as not to run out. And now there's no room in your refrigerator for real food ...
We've been there, we've done it, too. So, the Eagle features department went in search of recipes that used mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickle relish, barbecue sauce and leftover buns. Don't worry, we won't subject you to the ketchup cake with mustard frosting we found ...
We found recipes for barbecue sauce cocktails, cupcakes and cookies. Ditto with the ketchup. Leftover pickle relish? You can add it to tuna or ham salad. A quick search on the internet produced only one recipe — pickle biscuits. Mayonnaise, on the other hand, is very ubiquitous and kind of like butter — it's a staple in many, many recipes. Leftover hamburger buns can be turned into mini pineapple upside down cakes.
Calendar editor Meggie Baker and yours truly, the associate features editor, each chose a recipe to try. Here are the recipes and our comments.
PICKLE BISCUITS
(Courtesy www.myrecipes.com)
First, don't wait until the region is in a heat wave to make these. The 475-degree oven was a real killer in a kitchen already at 80 degrees at 6 a.m. There are a few changes I would make to the recipe. At 475 degrees, the cooking time was excessive. My biscuits were done after about 8 to 9 minutes. I would either reduce the time or the oven temp; my go-to biscuit recipe calls for 425 degrees with a baking time of 15 minutes. I would also add more of the drained relish. You can taste it in the original recipe, I'd just like to taste it more. If I make these again, with the object of using them for sandwiches, I would definitely make them bigger. — Margaret Button
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), frozen
2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
4 tablespoons drained dill pickle relish (We suggest upping it to six tablespoons if you like relish)
1 cup chilled buttermilk
Parchment paper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Grate frozen butter using large holes of a box grater. Toss together grated butter and flour in a medium bowl. Chill 10 minutes.
Make a well in center of mixture. Stir dill pickle relish into buttermilk; add buttermilk to flour mixture, and stir 15 times. Dough will be sticky.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly sprinkle flour over top of dough. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle (about 9 x 5 inches). Fold dough in half so short ends meet. Repeat rolling and folding process four more times.
Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch floured round cutter, reshaping scraps and flouring as needed.
Place dough rounds on a parchment paper-lined jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter. Or, make the perfect ham and cheese sandwich on these with a squirt of mustard.
CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE SNACKIN' CAKE
(Courtesy thesouthernladycooks.com)
A little goes a long way with this chocolate mayonnaise cake with the chocolate glaze. It's dense, moist, crumbly, chocolaty and a great way to use up some extra mayonnaise, (but now I need to look for ways to use up the extra buttermilk!)
This cake is meant to be a snacking cake, one you can eat with your hands that will hold together well, and it does — but I don't recommend foregoing plates indoors. It is also not the cake from the back of the jar — if you are looking for a more traditional, spongy cake, look for a recipe that uses both eggs and mayo. With the chocolate chips baked inside, this cake is more reminiscent of a dessert bread, heavy, not overly sweet, it could honestly do without the glaze. Margaret Button wanted to try it warm with ice cream; Executive Editor Kevin Moran thought it could be baked in loaf form and eaten warm with a butter spread. I recommend having cold milk on hand. — Meggie Baker
CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup 100-percent cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise (can use Miracle Whip, too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl until well mixed. Add the buttermilk, mayonnaise, vanilla extract and chocolate chips. Stir well to blend with a spoon. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until center tests done as ovens vary. Remove from oven and let cool.
FROSTING
INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup 100-percent cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nut pieces (walnuts or pecans)
DIRECTIONS:
Combine butter, milk, sugar, chocolate chips and cocoa in a sauce pan on top of the stove. Bring to a boil and boil one minute stirring often to keep from burning. If you think it is burning turn down the heat and slide to the edge of the burner. Remove and spread on top of cooled cake. Sprinkle nuts on top or you can stir nuts into the frosting before putting on the cake. Makes about 8 to 9 servings.
Centuries ago, focaccia began as a by-product: When bakers needed to gauge the heat of the wood-fired oven — focaccia stems from focolare and means "fireplace"— they would tear off a swatch of dough, flatten it, drizzle it with olive oil, and pop it into the hearth to bake as an edible oven thermometer.
From there evolved countless variations on the theme — the stuffed pizza-like focaccia in Puglia and Calabria, the ring-shaped focaccia in Naples, focaccia made from rich or lean doughs, and even sweet versions. That said, it's the dimpled, chewy, herb-topped deep-dish focaccia alla genovese that's most fundamental.
As is traditional, our recipe starts with a sponge — a mixture of flour, yeast, and water that ferments for at least 6 hours before it's added to the bulk dough. The sponge helped develop gluten (which gives breads structure and chew), depth of flavor, and a hint of tang.
Rather than knead the dough, we simply used a series of gentle folds, which developed the gluten structure further while also incorporating air for a tender interior crumb. (This method was also helpful because our dough was quite wet and therefore difficult to knead; the more hydrated a bread dough, the more open and bubbly its crumb — a characteristic we were looking for in focaccia_because steam bubbles form and expand more readily.)
Fruity olive oil is a requisite ingredient, but when we added it straight to the dough, it turned the bread dense and cake-like. Instead, we baked the bread in cake pans coated with a couple tablespoons of oil. Be sure to reduce the temperature immediately after putting the loaves in the oven.
ROSEMARY FOCACCIA
Servings: 12-16 (Makes two 9-inch round loaves)
Start to finish: 4 1/2 hours plus 6 hours fermenting time
INGREDIENTS:
Sponge:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS:
For the sponge: Stir all ingredients in large bowl with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until sponge has risen and begins to collapse, about 6 hours (sponge can sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours).
For the dough: Stir flour, water, and yeast into sponge with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
Stir 2 teaspoons salt into dough with wooden spoon until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
Using greased bowl scraper (or rubber spatula), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising. Fold dough again, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until nearly doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons oil each. Sprinkle each pan with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and dust top with flour. Divide dough in half and cover loosely with greased plastic. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining piece covered), shape into 5-inch round by gently tucking under edges.
Place dough rounds seam side up in prepared pans, coat bottoms and sides with oil, then flip rounds over. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
Using your fingertips, gently press each dough round into corners of pan, taking care not to tear dough. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch it again.) Using fork, poke surface of dough 25 to 30 times, popping any large bubbles. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon rosemary evenly over top of each loaf, cover loosely with greased plastic, and let dough rest until slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes.
Place pans on baking stone and reduce oven temperature to 450 F. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let loaves cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and transfer to wire rack. Brush tops with any oil remaining in pans and let cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition information per serving: 158 calories; 45 calories from fat; 5 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 81 mg sodium; 24 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 3 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Rosemary Focaccia in "Tasting Italy ."
We start our cheese bread with all-purpose flour and add whole milk and sour cream for a clean, creamy flavor and rich, moist texture. Just a few tablespoons of butter adds enough richness without greasiness, and using less fat makes the texture heartier and less cake-like.
Most recipes for cheese bread call for shredded cheese. We prefer our cheese (cheddar or Asiago) cut into small chunks, which, when mixed into the dough and baked, create luscious, cheesy pockets throughout the bread. For added cheesy flavor and a crisp, browned crust, we coat the pan and sprinkle the top of the loaf with grated Parmesan. Run-of-the-mill cheese bread is at once dry and greasy, with almost no cheese flavor at all. We wanted a rich, moist loaf topped with a bold, cheesy crust.
Quick cheese bread
Servings: 10
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours
INGREDIENTS:
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated on large holes of box grater (1 cup)
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 cup)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Spray 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray, then sprinkle 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly in bottom of pan.
In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and pepper to combine. Using rubber spatula, mix in cheddar, breaking up clumps, until cheese is coated with flour. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, sour cream, melted butter, and egg. Using rubber spatula, gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (batter will be heavy and thick; do not overmix). Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface with rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over surface.
Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert loaf onto wire rack. Turn right side up and let cool until warm, about 45 minutes. Serve. (To freeze, wrap cooled loaf tightly with double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 F. Bake wrapped loaf until it yields under gentle pressure, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until exterior is crisp, about 5 minutes longer. Let loaf cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.)
Chef's notes: A mild Asiago, crumbled into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces, can be used instead of the cheddar. Aged Asiago that is as firm as Parmesan is too sharp and piquant.
If, when testing the bread for doneness, the toothpick comes out with what looks like uncooked batter clinging to it, try again in a different, but still central, spot; if the toothpick hits a pocket of cheese, it may give a false indication.
The texture of the bread improves as it cools, so resist the urge to slice the loaf while it is piping hot.
Do not use skim milk for this bread.
We developed this recipe using a loaf pan that measures 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inches; if you use a 9-by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes earlier than advised in the recipe.
A larger-than-usual crowd meeting up at your house for dinner? This onion beer bread would add a lot to the menu. It's delicious, of course, but it's also very easy to whip up. Unlike more conventional breads, this one doesn't involve yeast or require multiple risings. And except for the rosemary, you probably have all the ingredients in the house.
The dough is a basic mix of flour, sugar, salt and leavener combined with your choice of beer, topped with buttery onions, garlic and more butter. The result has a very moist and tender crumb.
Fair warning, though — this dough is thick and sticky. It will look like nothing but a lumpy mess when you put it in the pan and spread it out. Twenty minutes later, after it's been baked, it will be transformed into enticing, golden, glistening bread.
The best gizmo for spreading the dough in the pan is a baker's tool known as an offset metal spatula, but a rubber spatula will also get the job done. Whichever you use, grease it by dipping it into the onion butter mixture so that it won't stick to the batter as you spread it. And, by the way, the surface of the bread doesn't need to be perfectly smooth. This is rustic bread.
Onion beer bread will make your whole house smell heavenly as it bakes. I recommend serving it right out of the oven, but it's still darn tasty at room temperature or even cold.
Onion beer bread
Start to finish: 60 minutes (20 active)
Servings: 12
INGREDIENTS:
1 stick butter
2 cups thin sliced onion rings (about 1 medium onion)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
360 grams (about 3 cups) unbleached flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
One 12-ounce bottle beer (your choice)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS:
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the butter, onion and garlic in a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish and set the pan in the oven while it is preheating (keep an eye on the butter; it might brown a little which is fine, but don't let it get too brown).
In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the beer and stir just until it is mixed. The dough will be sticky and heavy.
When the butter is melted, pour the butter, onion rings and garlic into a bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon of butter in the baking dish. Using a pastry brush coat the bottom and the sides of the baking dish evenly with the butter. Spoon the bread dough into the pan and spread it evenly. Divide the onions over the top of the dough and drizzle the melted butter and garlic over the onions. Sprinkle the rosemary evenly over the dough.
Bake the bread in the upper third of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer when inserted comes out clean. Cut the bread into 24 squares and serve right away.
Nutritional information: 201 calories; 71 calories from fat; 8 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 394 mg sodium; 26 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 3 g protein.
Sara Moulton is host of public television's "Sara's Weeknight Meals." She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows including "Cooking Live." Her latest cookbook is "HomeCooking 101."
One of the best ways to serve banana bread is with toasted nuts. Toasting nuts in the oven makes them taste better. Spread the nuts out on a rimmed baking sheet and heat the nuts in a 350 F oven until you can smell them, which takes about 5 minutes. Once the nuts cool, chop and stir them into the batter for any cake, cookie, muffin or quick bread.
Banana bread
Servings: 10
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes, plus cooling time
INGREDIENTS:
Vegetable oil spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe bananas (skins should be speckled black)
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Spray bottom and sides of 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch metal loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Peel bananas and place in large bowl. Use large fork or potato masher to mash bananas until broken down but still chunky.
Add sugar, eggs, melted butter, yogurt, and vanilla to bowl with bananas and whisk until combined.
Add flour mixture and use rubber spatula to gently stir until just combined and no dry flour is visible. Do not overmix_batter should look thick and chunky. Use rubber spatula to scrape batter into greased loaf pan and smooth top.
Place loaf pan in oven. Bake until banana bread is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
Use oven mitts to remove banana bread from oven (ask an adult for help). Place loaf pan on cooling rack and let banana bread cool in pan for 15 minutes.
Use oven mitts to carefully turn loaf pan on its side and remove banana bread from pan. Let banana bread cool on cooling rack for at least 1 hour. Transfer to cutting board, slice, and serve.
OPTIONS:
Nutty Banana Bread — Stir 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped, into batter along with flour mixture.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Stir 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips into batter along with flour mixture.
Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories; 74 calories from fat; 8 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 62 mg cholesterol; 228 mg sodium; 43 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 20 g sugar; 4 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Banana Bread in "Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs ."
You can't beat hot-from-the oven, crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, buttermilk biscuits.
I like mine slathered with sweet butter and molasses, or stuffed with salty country ham. I am not picky: I like them for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. This summer, I wanted to serve them with fried chicken at a big picnic and pondered how I could make 100 hot, fresh biscuits with everything else that needed to be done.
I decided to experiment with my simple three-ingredient recipe, freeze the biscuits and bake them from frozen. Not only did they bake beautifully from frozen, they baked better. They were the best biscuits that I had ever made. In fact, some of my friends loaded up on the biscuits and forgot the fried chicken.
These biscuits are so simple that anyone can make them. I use self-rising flour, which means that the leavening (what makes things rise) is already in the flour. I add lard and real buttermilk. Once the biscuits are cut and on the cookie sheet, I brush the tops with melted butter before and after baking.
If you have never made biscuits from scratch before, you need to know that biscuit dough is one of those doughs that "feels right" when you are kneading it or rolling it out. What that means is that when it is soft and tender to the touch, not dry and not sticky or too wet, you will know it. I like the flaky tender crumb of a lard biscuit and the lard is very easy to mix in with the flour. Weather affects the humidity of the flour, which is why I suggest beginning with 2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of buttermilk and adding more of each if necessary until the dough feels right.
Other than that, there are a few tips to making biscuits whether you are baking them fresh or freezing them for later:
- Keep the fat and buttermilk cold
- Cut lard into a small dice. If using butter, grate with a box grater
- Use a blending fork or two knives to cut the fat into the flour
- Don't over-work or over-mix the dough or it will be tough
- Use a floured biscuit cutter and cut straight down, don't twist the cutter
- Preheat the oven so the biscuits begin to rise immediately
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter before and after baking
Praise the lard buttermilk biscuits
Servings: 15
Start to finish: 30 minutes (Inactive time: 15 minutes)
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups self-rising flour, divided
1/4cup cold (1 stick) lard (or cold butter that you grate with a box grater in a pinch)
1/2-3/4 cup real buttermilk
1 stick salted butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 425 F. Place parchment paper in cookie sheet or half- sheet pan.
Place 2 cups of flour in large bowl. Cut in shortening, using a pastry blender or blending fork.(or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/2 cup of buttermilk; stir with fork until soft dough forms and mixture begins to pull away from sides of bowl. If the dough is too wet, add the extra 1/4 cup of flour, little by little. If it is too dry, add the extra 1/4 cup of buttermilk, little by little.
On lightly floured surface, knead dough 1 to 2 times, or just until smooth. Do not over-work the dough. Roll out dough to about 1/3-inch thickness and fold over. Roll out the folded-over dough so that it is even. Cut straight down with a floured 2-inch round cutter — do not twist the cutter. Place biscuits on the sheet pan. Brush the tops with the melted butter.
Place in the center of the oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. While the biscuits are still on the sheet pan, brush tops again with the melted salted butter. Transfer from sheet pan to a cooling rack.
Serve warm with butter, honey and molasses or your favorite jam or ham.
Chef's note: If making in advance to freeze, follow recipe up until you brush the tops with melted butter. Place on a piece of parchment on a tray and place in the freezer without any wrap. Let freeze and when biscuits are completely frozen, slide the parchment paper and biscuits into a heavy-duty freezer bag. If the bag is too small, fold the piece of parchment paper and place in the bag with the frozen biscuits. That way, you will have the parchment to bake them on in the bag. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 F and bake until tops are brown and the biscuits are done, about 15-17 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.
Nutrition information per serving: 149 calories; 89 calories from fat; 10 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 256 mg sodium; 13 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 2 g protein.
Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pit master at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including "Taming the Flame."
For some, Easter means peanut butter-filled chocolate eggs and brightly colored jelly beans. But for the 2.4 billion followers of the world's largest organized religion, Christianity, Easter comes with its own culinary traditions, often steeped in faith.
Two strains of those followers, Polish Catholics and Greek Orthodox, take great care and joy during the season of Easter to commemorate the holiday with ethnic feasts.
John Arasimowicz, chairman of the annual Polish picnic at St. Joseph's Church Pittsfield, said all of the Polish food traditions center on the celebration of faith.
"Polish traditions begin with our church services, which is the most important part of Easter," Arasimwicz said. "On Saturday of Holy Week, the church allows parishioners to bring baskets of Easter food and colored eggs to church for blessings. Traditional Polish food usually includes kielbasa, ham, handmade butter lambs, horseradish and sweetbread, called babka."
When asked about such Easter sweet breads, Victoria Kitko-Kokoskie, who was visiting friends in the Berkshires, and raised in a Polish Catholic parish in central Pennsylvania, agreed with Arasimowicz.
"The big tradition at Easter was that prepared foods were taken to church in baskets to be blessed," Kitko-Kokosie said. "Some of our family favorites were Cirak [Easter cheese] egg rolls, which are Slovak in origin, and babka bread, which means `grandmother' in Polish. We also had a great Paska [Easter] bread, which is popular in much of Eastern Europe."
North of the border, sweet breads, as well as soups, were on the minds of Greek Orthodox churchgoers at Easter, according to Melpomeni "Melpo" Papaioannou, owner of Bennington Pizza House on Main Street, Bennington, Vt.
"Greeks attend a midnight Holy Liturgy to celebrate Easter," Papaioannou said. "When they return home that night, they then end the Lental fasting with traditional Greek lamb soup called magiritsa, and also then eat the celebratory sweet bread, tsoureki."
Melpo's daughter, Alexandra "Alex" Papaioannou, who grew up in Bennington, but lives in Greece for most of the year, said that in the old country, Greeks still make magiritsa with lamb innards, but in the West, often there are modifications to suit more modest palates.
These tweaks to the original include lamb shanks or ground lamb, the latter which Alex recommended in a slow-cooking crockpot version of the soup.
"Lots of ethnic foods, like Chinese and Mexican, are modified here in the States," Alex said. "Honestly, when I'm in Greece, I make the `Westernized' version with ground lamb and everyone loves it. The midnight meal celebrates the Resurrection and the end of Lent, which is a big part of the religious tradition in the Greek Orthodox Church."
Cirak egg rolls
(Courtesy Victoria Kitko-Kokoskie)
INGREDIENTS:
15 eggs
1 quart milk
5 or 6 whole black peppercorns, crushed
Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS:
Pour milk into saucepan and bring to a boil.
Beat eggs slightly and add slowly to milk.
Cook over low heat around 7 minutes.
Add pepper and salt.
Stir constantly so the mixture will not scorch, but thicken.
Pour into a linen towel or cheesecloth, squeeze and tie tightly. Hang and let drain for 2 hours.
Cover with wet napkin and place in refrigerator.
Paska bread
(Courtesy Victoria Kitko-Kokoskie)
INGREDIENTS:
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups whole milk, warmed to 110 degrees F
7 to 8 cups flour
1 cup sugar
5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, stir the yeast into the warm milk to dissolve and let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap until the dough has doubled in size.
Soak the raisins for 30 minutes in warm water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels before using.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and add the sugar, melted butter, egg yolks, salt, vanilla, golden raisins and 4 cups of flour. Mix until the dough comes together, adding more flour a tablespoon at a time, if needed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth dough, about 5 minutes, again adding more flour a tablespoons at a time, if needed. Divide the dough into three equal sections and shape into loaves, then transfer to three 8 4-inch greased loaf pans. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tops of the loaves with the beaten egg yolk.
Bake the loaves for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 40 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown. Allow the bread to cool for about 20 minutes in the pans, then turn the loaves onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Magiritsa — "Westernized" version
(Courtesy Alexandra Papaioannou)
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds ground leg of lamb
3 tbsp olive oil.
Brown the lamb, and place in crockpot with:
12 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar.
1 large onion, chopped
6 scallions, chopped
Let cook for about 5 hours on high.
Then add into crockpot:
2 carrots, cut
1 fennel bulb, chopped
Dill to suit
Parsely to suit
1 cup rice
DIRECTIONS:
Turn the crockpot on low heat, and let simmer for another 5 hours. Then mix 4 eggs, and the juice of 4 fresh lemons in a bowl until frothy. Pour 2 cups of the hot magiritsa soup into the egg mixture while stirring. Pour this entire mixture into the crockpot of magiritsa while stirring.
Reach award-winning freelance journalist Telly Halkias at tchalkias@aol.com or on Twitter: @TellyHalkias
I was one of those kids who loved camp! I loved being away. I loved all of the activities. And I loved the food!
Well, at least I loved the homemade yeast rolls that graced the table at every meal. I ate them in pairs, hot out of the oven, their tops salty with butter and the aroma so heady that I would inhale as deeply as I could before devouring them. To this day, yeast rolls can transport me. They are like a warm blanket that envelopes you in pure comfort.
I have tried a lot of rolls in my adult life trying to find one that would come even close to my camp experience. But each one has come up short. That is, until I walked into the Harrison Smith House, a small restaurant in Bardstown, Ky.
Bardstown is famous for bourbon. Several distilleries — including Jim Beam, Heaven Hill Distilleries and Maker's Mark — operate in and around Bardstown. But it is now famous to me for the best yeast rolls I've had since camp. And believe me, they are worth the trip! But while you're there, you might as well also partake in a little Bourbon exploration.
The rolls are the handiwork of Josh Smouse, who is the chef de cuisine of the Harrison Smith House. Like the owners, Newman Miller and Justin Hughes, he previously cooked in Louisville and Chicago. The three have been friends, roommates and colleagues throughout their culinary careers. Now back in their home state of Kentucky, they are bringing a traveled palate to their Southern table.
But the rolls, offered as a side dish, never traveled out of state. Josh started making them first for his family at Christmas. He later decided to try them out at the restaurant, where he substituted them for the more common cornbread, and the rest is history. Smouse makes a minimum of 60 rolls a day, but my version of his recipe will produce a more reasonable 16. If you want to make more, no problem; the recipe doubles easily.
This recipe is pretty fool-proof and doesn't need very much attention or kneading. The real secret is patience, as you will have to go through four rises and lots of waiting to make these tender, flaky and delicate buttery yeast rolls. Just remember what your mother said: "Good things come to those who wait!"
Buttery yeast rolls
Start to finish: 6 hours (30 minutes active)
Makes 16 rolls
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 envelopes instant yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
2 egg yolks
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Set aside.
In the microwave or a small saucepan over low, heat the milk to 110 F. Add the 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter and stir to combine and melt the butter. Once the butter is completely melted, whisk the egg yolks into the butter-milk mixture. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Mix well to completely incorporate all ingredients. The dough will be loose and very sticky.
Once your dough is well combined, place a clean towel over the bowl and set it in a warm spot (such as over a heated oven) for 2 hours. After 2 hours, punch down the dough to deflate it, then knead in the bowl a few times. The dough will be sticky, but resist the urge to add any more flour. Gather all the dough into a nice ball and transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover with the towel and let rise again until doubled, about 2 hours.
Once doubled, portion into roughly 16 2-ounce (roughly 2-inch) pieces. Shape by rolling pieces of dough in a ball between your hands and stretching the top under the ball. Place the dough balls on ungreased baking trays. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.
Heat the oven to 325 F.
Just before baking, brush the rolls with a bit of the melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove them from the oven, brush liberally with butter, then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven and brush once more with butter. Let the rolls rest on the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition information per roll: 200 calories; 100 calories from fat (50 percent of total calories); 11 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 50 mg cholesterol; 170 mg sodium; 20 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 3 g protein.
(Recipe adapted from Josh Smouse at Harrison Smith House Restaurant in Bardstown, Kentucky)
Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pitmaster at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and author of three books, including "Taming the Flame."
What do you do when you pick 12 pounds of blueberries? Make muffins, a pie, and maybe a few dozen more muffins.
Last week, my family and I trekked to Mountain View Farm in Lanesborough for a socially-distant, safe outdoor activity that would help us kill a few hours of my 5-year-old son's limitless energy. Armed with masks, sunscreen and two large cardboard boxes we started picking with the promise that we "wouldn't get too many." Famous last words of hungry foragers.
Outside, overlooking the beautiful mountains, with a breeze and countless ripe blueberries all around you, 12 pounds doesn't look like that much. But once I got home and started washing the berries, weeding out the shriveled or hard, under-ripe ones that sneaked in, I started to worry, "What am I going to do with all of these berries?"
First, I took the advice of the very helpful woman running the farm's cashier hut, who suggested the best way to freeze the berries for future use is to flash freeze them in a single layer on a flat baking sheet so the berries freeze individually. Then, put them all in a freezer-safe container or plastic bag and freeze again. This way, you won't have one big blue block of blueberry mush when you pull them out in a few months.
OK, that left me with about 8 pounds of blueberries after freezing. Next up, I tried a blueberry pie recipe suggested to me by Calendar Editor and resident baker extraordinaire Meggie Baker. For the pie, you simply combine 5 to 6 cups of fresh berries, 4 tablespoons of flour, 1 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. You pour the berry mixture into your favorite unbaked pie-crust lined dish and dot with two pats of butter. Then, cover with the top pie crust using a lattice, so the juices have space to bubble up. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 425 degrees F, then bake another 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. Let cool before slicing so the juices have time to set.
This blueberry pie was so delicious, my family polished it off in three days and requested I make another. In an effort to show some restraint, I did make another, but froze it before baking so it can be enjoyed at another time.
So that left me with another, 4 pounds, give or take a few berries, for me to use up. (I told you, I have a lot of blueberries in my house right now ...)
Time for a muffin bake-off!
After some Internet research and suggestions from friends, I decided on two popular muffin recipes, each with a promise of a slightly different, yet delicious outcome. Smitten Kitchen's Perfect Blueberry Muffins are wonderfully moist, with a hint of fresh lemon and get better with age if you don't eat them all in one day. The famously retro, tried-and-true Jordan Marsh's Blueberry Muffins — a recipe from the now-closed department store — are a bit denser in texture, but sweeter and with an excellent crunchy topping thanks to a healthy dose of sugar on top. You simply can't go wrong with either, as I learned.
But now, what to do with the last 2 pounds of blueberries?
Perfect Blueberry Muffins
Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
Finely grated zest from 1/2 a lemon
3/4 cup plain unsweetened yogurt or sour cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons turbinado (sugar in the raw) sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 375 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. Melt butter in the bottom of a large bowl and whisk in sugar, zest, yogurt and egg until smooth. Whisk in baking powder, baking soda and salt until fully combined, then lightly fold in flour and berries. The batter will be thick. Divide between prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then the rest of the way on a rack.
Jordan Marsh's Blueberry Muffins
Recipe courtesy of The New York Times
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries, washed
3 teaspoons sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Cream the butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla.
Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder, and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
Crush 1/2 cup blueberries with a fork, and mix into the batter. Fold in the remaining whole berries.
Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners, and fill with batter. Sprinkle the 3 teaspoons sugar over the tops of the muffins, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove muffins from tin and cool at least 30 minutes. Store, uncovered, or the muffins will become too moist the second day.
Have you seen the "savory bun and roll" trend in coffee shops and hip cafes? I've been seeing this everywhere — in magazines, at bakeries in various day-trippable cities, etc.
As a person who pretty much worships bread, I'm thrilled — this is a sweet-gone-savory trend I can really get behind. So for you, Eagle readers, I have spent the past month testing savory roll recipes and created this mashup of my own for your enjoyment.
After going through the roll versus bun versus scone debate, I settled on a saltier cinnamon roll dough with chopped fresh oregano. After trying to roll up the dough with chopped, cooked ham and kale, I realized there was a better way: Make what's roughly a cooked spinach pesto so you can spread it on your dough more easily and less like you're topping a pizza. After eternally melting cheddar cheese onto one of my baking pans, I realized less is more and shifted to feta, which bakes nicely, but doesn't melt everywhere.
Also after that melting fiasco (and one pan sent to recycling heaven), I adjusted the recipe to include greased parchment paper. May you enjoy these savory rolls, impress your brunch friends and never have to throw away a pan because of me!
SPINACH FETA SAVORY ROLLS
Makes 12 to 14 rolls
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons powdered yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 cups flour
Chopped herbs — I used 2 tablespoons oregano
Spinach and feta filling:
1 pound bag spinach
Pinch salt
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, diced
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
3 additional tablespoons melted butter
DIRECTIONS:
Make dough: Warm milk to lukewarm, then stir in sugar and yeast. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes until mixture is bubbly.
In another bowl, mix herbs, butter, egg and salt, then add yeast mixture. Add flour and mix until fully combined. Remove from mixer and knead until it roughly feels like pizza dough — elastic, but not craggy or wet.
Roll into a ball. Oil a mixing bowl and add dough, then cover and let rest two hours.
Meanwhile, make filling. In a saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil and diced garlic, then spinach and a pinch of salt, cook until fully cooked and soft. In food processor or blender, combine until consistency of pesto. Crumble feta cheese and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Flour a large counter top area or cutting board, then place dough on floured surface. Punch down and roll into a rectangle — go for around 10 inches by 14 inches. Once your dough is ready, use a spatula to spread the spinach mix evenly over surface, then top with crumbled feta.
Roll one 1/2-inch strip over the messier long side of your rectangle, then roll that strip into two layers, until you can roll your dough cinnamon roll-style right into a tube.
Cut into 12 equal sections and place in two 9-inch circular metal baking pans lined with parchment paper and buttered, six rolls each.
Cover and let proof 30 minutes.
After proofing, brush melted butter over the rolls and bake 30 to 35 minutes. You're going for just barely golden brown — anything darker and they will overcook. Let cool 15 minutes and enjoy.
These plain biscuits can be dressed up with any flavorful, relatively dry ingredient, such as herbs, scallions, cheese, dried fruit, or spices. For variations on the recipe, see below. Follow this recipe with your kids.
BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS
Servings: 10-12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes, plus cooling time
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (see page 12 for how to melt butter)
Vegetable oil spray
COOKING EQUIPMENT:
Rimmed baking sheet
Parchment paper
Large bowl
Whisk
Liquid measuring cup
Fork
Rubber spatula
1/4-cup dry measuring cup
Butter knife
Oven mitts
Cooling rack
DIRECTIONS:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt until combined. In liquid measuring cup, use fork to stir buttermilk and melted butter until butter forms small clumps.
Add buttermilk mixture to bowl with flour mixture. Use rubber spatula to stir until just combined.
Spray inside of 1/4-cup dry measuring cup with vegetable oil spray. Use greased measuring cup to scoop batter and use butter knife to scrape off extra batter. Drop scoops onto baking sheet to make 10 to 12 biscuits (leave space between biscuits and respray measuring cup as needed).
Place baking sheet in oven and bake biscuits until tops are golden brown 12 to 14 minutes. Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from oven (ask an adult for help). Place baking sheet on cooling rack. Let biscuits cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
CHEESY DROP BISCUITS: When mixing in bowl, stir 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or mild cheddar cheese and cup grated Parmesan cheese into flour mixture.
HERBY DROP BISCUITS: When mixing in bowl, stir 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme into flour mixture.
Nutrition information per serving: 191 calories; 91 calories from fat; 10 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 27 mg cholesterol; 375 mg sodium; 21 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 3 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Buttermilk Drop Biscuits in "The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs ."
Centuries ago, focaccia began as a by-product: When bakers needed to gauge the heat of the wood-fired oven — focaccia stems from focolare and means "fireplace"— they would tear off a swatch of dough, flatten it, drizzle it with olive oil, and pop it into the hearth to bake as an edible oven thermometer.
From there evolved countless variations on the theme — the stuffed pizza-like focaccia in Puglia and Calabria, the ring-shaped focaccia in Naples, focaccia made from rich or lean doughs, and even sweet versions. That said, it's the dimpled, chewy, herb-topped deep-dish focaccia alla genovese that's most fundamental.
As is traditional, our recipe starts with a sponge — a mixture of flour, yeast, and water that ferments for at least 6 hours before it's added to the bulk dough. The sponge helped develop gluten (which gives breads structure and chew), depth of flavor, and a hint of tang.
Rather than knead the dough, we simply used a series of gentle folds, which developed the gluten structure further while also incorporating air for a tender interior crumb. (This method was also helpful because our dough was quite wet and therefore difficult to knead; the more hydrated a bread dough, the more open and bubbly its crumb — a characteristic we were looking for in focaccia_because steam bubbles form and expand more readily.)
Fruity olive oil is a requisite ingredient, but when we added it straight to the dough, it turned the bread dense and cake-like. Instead, we baked the bread in cake pans coated with a couple tablespoons of oil. Be sure to reduce the temperature immediately after putting the loaves in the oven.
ROSEMARY FOCACCIA
Servings: 12-16 (Makes two 9-inch round loaves)
Start to finish: 4 1/2 hours plus 6 hours fermenting time
INGREDIENTS:
Sponge:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS:
For the sponge: Stir all ingredients in large bowl with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until sponge has risen and begins to collapse, about 6 hours (sponge can sit at room temperature for up to 24 hours).
For the dough: Stir flour, water, and yeast into sponge with wooden spoon until well combined. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 15 minutes.
Stir 2 teaspoons salt into dough with wooden spoon until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
Using greased bowl scraper (or rubber spatula), fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 45 degrees and fold dough again; repeat turning bowl and folding dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover tightly with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising. Fold dough again, then cover bowl tightly with plastic and let dough rise until nearly doubled in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons oil each. Sprinkle each pan with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and dust top with flour. Divide dough in half and cover loosely with greased plastic. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining piece covered), shape into 5-inch round by gently tucking under edges.
Place dough rounds seam side up in prepared pans, coat bottoms and sides with oil, then flip rounds over. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let dough rest for 5 minutes.
Using your fingertips, gently press each dough round into corners of pan, taking care not to tear dough. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch it again.) Using fork, poke surface of dough 25 to 30 times, popping any large bubbles. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon rosemary evenly over top of each loaf, cover loosely with greased plastic, and let dough rest until slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes.
Place pans on baking stone and reduce oven temperature to 450 F. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Let loaves cool in pans for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and transfer to wire rack. Brush tops with any oil remaining in pans and let cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition information per serving: 158 calories; 45 calories from fat; 5 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 81 mg sodium; 24 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 3 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Rosemary Focaccia in "Tasting Italy ."
Combine the rich layers of a croissant with the sweet swirls of a cinnamon bun and you'll have one of our favorite brunch pastries: morning buns.
For a simpler route to a yeasted, croissant-like pastry, we added a packet of yeast to a quick puff pastry dough. We created long, thin pieces of flake-producing butter by adding chilled butter to the dry ingredients in a zipper-lock bag and rolling over it with a rolling pin. Orange zest and juice offered sweet, citrusy brightness.
We started our rolls in a hot oven for a rapid rise but later dropped the temperature to impart gradual, even browning. If the dough becomes too soft to work with at any point, refrigerate it until it's firm enough to easily handle. Unrisen buns can be refrigerated for at least 16 hours or up to 24 hours; let buns sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
Morning buns
Servings: 12
Start to finish: 1 hour, 30 minutes (not including 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour, 45 minutes freezing and rising time)
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
21/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices and chilled
1 cup sour cream, chilled
1/4 cup orange juice, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water
1 large egg yolk
Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS;
For the dough Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in 1 gallon zipper-lock bag. Add butter to bag, seal, and shake to coat. Press air out of bag and reseal. Roll over bag several times with rolling pin, shaking bag after each roll, until butter is pressed into large flakes.
Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in sour cream, orange juice, ice water, and egg yolk with wooden spoon until combined. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds.
Press and roll dough into 20 by 12 inch rectangle, with short side parallel to counter edge. Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.
With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 12-by-4 inch rectangle. Transfer to parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 minutes.
For the filling: Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper or foil liners and spray with vegetable oil spray. Combine all ingredients in bowl. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and roll into 20-by-12 inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge. Sprinkle with sugar mixture, leaving 1/2 inch border around edges, and press lightly to adhere.
Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed, then reshape cylinder as needed to be 20 inches in length with uniform thickness.
Using serrated knife, trim 1/2 inch dough from each end and discard. Cut cylinder into 12 pieces and place cut side up in muffin cups. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 11/2 hours.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 F. Bake until buns begin to rise, about 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 F. Continue to bake until buns are deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. Let buns cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and discard liners. Serve warm.
Nutrition information per serving: 431 calories; 238 calories from fat; 27 g fat (17 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 84 mg cholesterol; 160 mg sodium; 44 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 19 g sugar; 4 g protein.
For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Morning Buns in "All-Time Best Brunch ."
