Pinch and eat / Pincez et mangez

The best bread I’ve had in my life didn’t come from a renowned bakery in town. It didn’t come from a store or a café. It didn’t come from a family’s kitchen. The best bread I’ve had, the one I ate in its entirety on my way home, came from a roadside vendor.

I saw her from my backseat window. She was sitting on a tiny bench by the road, under a shady tree. She was with a girl who looked younger than her, may be a sister or a neighbor. She had a large wicker basket by her side overflowing with some sort of fabric and a loaf of bread on top as a sample. My father drove past them then came back to park the car a few feet away from them. As he stepped out of the car and went towards the little girls, I unfastened my belt and jumped on the backseat to peek at them from the rear window. They stood up from their bench when they saw my father. The eldest one might have been eight or nine. Her face was tanned, it was spring; she was wearing a dark printed dress and muddy rain boots. My father must have told her something funny because she started giggling with the other girl and hiding her smile with her scarf. He gave her money, she then kneeled to her basket, unfolded the endless white fabric and handed him, as a nurse would hand a newborn, two dark looking loaves of bread.

A Second Chance / Une Deuxième Chance

A few years ago, back when we were dating without even dating (that’s a long story!), my husband told me that he didn’t like bread pudding. He dropped it just like that, in the middle of our conversation, between a sip of half-an-hour-cold-espresso and him thinking about having a goatee. I didn’t know what to think of this situation. A man with a goatee! And who doesn’t like bread pudding! Will it work?
Needless to say how confused I was. But this happened during our first days of romance, and the rule number 123 of dating for dummies tells you not to take it too seriously when a man admits that he doesn’t like bread pudding, but they tell you nothing about the sudden urge of having a goatee! Confused? I know! Me too.

And what’s more confusing is that I agreed with his bread pudding aversion (but not with the goatee!) I agreed to the dislike of centuries old dessert without even arguing. I agreed to hate bread pudding when I know how much I love drowning my bread in milk before eating it. I agreed to dislike something I've actually never had before. I agreed to something I thought I, myself, hated for years, until this past weekend.

This past weekend there were no dating game, no loosing game, no mascara and no shiny shoes. This past weekend was about an unfinished business, an unknown dessert, and about using some of my leftover bread. And I have to admit that I cannot find better, cozier, and more charming way to use leftover bread than by making bread pudding. It’s every leftover bread's fantasy to end up swimming in a custard bath with raisins and nuts as bathtub toys.

This bread pudding is the most popular sweet in Egypt. It’s called Om Ali, which means Ali’s Mother. The traditional way is to use baked fillo pastry broken into pieces with a mixture of cream and milk, but people find all sorts of ways of making it; with pancakes, with thinly rolled out puff pastry, and with pieces of bread.

I went for “a lighter custard”, skipping the heavy cream and adding eggs to the mixture. The bread is soaked in an orange blossom water perfumed custard for 20 minutes, sprinkling raisins and nuts in between layers, and then baked until nicely browned and the pudding tips nicely out of its mold.

As I was taking the pudding out of the oven, my husband came to the kitchen and saw me holding the golden-crusted dessert in my arms and asked what it was. “Bread pudding”, I said. “But before you say anything, give it a chance!" I said "I know how much you hate bread pudding”
“Who told you I hate bread pudding? I hated the one I had once in my college years, not all bread puddings. Besides, yours looks scrumptious”, he replied

Needless to say how confused I was. But I am glad I gave both of them a second chance.

Om Ali : Egyptian Bread Pudding

Recipe:
You can also add some semi-sweet chocolate chips to the custard. It’s not traditional, but I am sure Om Ali wouldn’t mind.

- ½ lb days old of your favorite bread (I used this one)
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped of your favorite nuts (I used pistachios and almonds)
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp orange blossom water
- A pinch of salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon, for dusting on top

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly butter a 2-qt (2L) baking dish.

Trim the crusts from the bread into ½ inch (12mm) cubes. Scatter the bread in the prepared baking dish, sprinkling the raisins and nuts in between the layers.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and orange blossom water until blended, then whisk in the milk. Pour the mixture over the bread, dust with the cinnamon and set aside for 20 minutes to moisten the bread. Tilt the dish occasionally to keep the bread evenly covered with the liquid.

Place the baking dish in a bigger pan and pour hot water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake until golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Carefully remove the baking dish from the water bath and let cool completely on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate to chill for up to 3 hours.

Om Ali: (La maman d’Ali) Pudding Égyptien

In Francais Please:
Vous pouvez aussi ajouter des pépite de chocolat si vous le souhaitez au pudding. Ce n’est pas trés traditionnel avec la recette, mais je suis sure que Om Ali fermera les yeux dessus.
Je soumet mon pudding a ma chere Marion et son jeu fort original “ Si j’avais du Pandan…”
Bien sur je dois me soumettre à ses questions tellement difficile avant de jouer:
1- De couleur verte
2- Shrek (Là sérieusement j’ai dû triché un peu parce que je croyais vraiment que c’était d’un vrai ogre que tu parlais. La honte! ;-)
3- Panda

- 250g de pain de quelques jours (J’ai utilise ce pain)
- 45g de raisins secs
- 45g de vos noix favoris, grossierement hachées (J’ai utilize pistache et amandes)
- 3 gros oeufs
- 125g de sucre
- ½ c.c de canelle en poudre
- 1 c.s d’eau de fleur d’oranger
- Une petite pincée de sel
- 500ml de lait entier

Beurrer légerement un plat d’une capacité de 2L allant au four. Préchauffer le four à 350F.
Retirer les croutes du pain et les couper en petits dés d’1 centimetre et les mettre dans votre plat en alternant avec noix et raisins secs.

Dans un grand bol, battre les oeufs, sucre, eau de fleur d’oranger, et le sel jusqu’a ce que tout soit bien incorporé, puis verser dessus le lait. Verser ce mélange sur les morveaux de pain, saupoudrer de canelle, et mettre de côté pendat 20 minutes pour laisser au pain le temps d’absorber le liquide. Remuer le palt de temps en temps pour que le pain reste toujours couvert du liquide.

Faire cuire le pudding au bain marie pendant 40-45 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le pudding devienne doré et qu’un couteau inseré à l’interieur en ressort sec. Retirer le plat du bain marie et laisser refroidir completement sur une grille à patisserie avant de servir. Servir à temperature ambiante ou mettre au frais pendant au moins 3 heures avant de servir.

Easy, Moist, Light, Delicious and Moist / Facile, Moelleux, Léger, Délicieux et Moelleux

Ah! Banana cake! The word alone reminds you of slow weekends, family picnics and afternoons sitting by the window listening to the drip, drop of the rain while sipping a warm cup of tea.
To me, banana cake doesn’t ring a bell to my childhood memories, but bananas! Oh, yes.

Growing up, in the beginning of the 90’s in Algeria, it wouldn’t even cross my mind to put mashed bananas in a cake. It wouldn’t even cross my mind to let bananas go untouched and abandoned for days on the counter top. It wasn’t that we were that found of bananas, it was because we hardly ever see it in our kitchen. You see, bananas were to us what watermelons were to Japan: Expensive. They were so expensive and dear that eating them outside was considered an insult to those who can’t afford it.
Bananas were a “luxury” fruit. The one you see meticulously displayed in brown rattan baskets, along with pineapples, litchis and other exotic, unknown fruits at gourmet stores (we call these type of stores in our slang: pharmacist. I don’t know how this word came to be used that way, but we use it for all shops that are outrageously pricey. And we use it for the pharmacist as well. Got it?).

Bananas were to be bought on special events, on special days. My mother would buy it for us when she wanted it to spoil us, when we had good reports at school, when we had a birthday to celebrate, when they were on sale, which rarely happened. And when these days took place, my mother would cut the banana in half, hide it behind her back and ask us to choose. Otherwise, we would be measuring and studying the banana from all corners to see which half is bigger. Eating whole bananas were exceptional. But even with half a banana, we were happy, appreciating and extending seconds to minutes of lavish pleasure. (A funny story to show you the status of bananas at that time: I remember a distant cousin who went to live in France. After a few months there, he sent a picture to his parents of him near his refrigerator wide open, holding a bunch of bananas in his hand. How did I see this picture? His mother would carry the photo with her and show it to anyone asking after her son.)

Years went by, and now bananas went from rattan baskets at gourmet shops to donkeys pulling carts packed with bananas at the market. Even at rural markets. Bananas were cheap, even cheaper than potatoes at some point. We made banana tarts, banana mousse, banana papillotes with vanilla beans; we even tried banana tagine, which was quite good.
After some experiments, some misadventures and abandoned bananas on the counter top I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t found of bananas, but I love banana cake/bread.

I came across this recipe a while ago while browsing my usual blog reads. It appealed to me more than the others banana bread because it didn’t require the use of much ingredients and fatty calories. I know what you’re thinking about “healthy” cakes, and I feel the same way, but trust me, and trust David, this isn’t your typical dry, tasteless cake. This, my friends is the best banana cake I have ever had. I know I can exaggerate sometimes, especially when it involves baked goodies, but not today. Not only it is very easy to make and low in calories, which is always a plus for my hips, but it’s also moist, light, fragrant, delicious and moist. I know I said moist twice, but this is just how moist this cake is. David Lebovitz, who is a very talented pastry chef and a very funny Parisian, uses a combination of banana and cocoa nibs. Instead, I used banana and fresh Algerian dates, which was heavenly good. Why have I never thought about this combination before? Oh, yes! The pharmacists!

Banana and Dates Cake

You can use a mixture of all purpose flour and white whole-wheat flour, or just use the all-purpose one. Adding dates and orange zest to the batter was a personal choice, as I love the combination of both. You can fellow David’s delicious Directions by using chocolate chips or cocoa nibs instead of dates, and cinnamon instead of orange zest.

Recipe: Adapted from here
- 1 cup (120 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (90g) white whole-wheat flour
- 1-teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Orange zest
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons (55 g) melted butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 large egg white
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (250 ml) banana puree, made from about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas
- ½ cup (125 ml) plain yogurt, regular or low-fat (I used regular yogurt, but you can use sour cream as well)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (60 g) Dates, pitted and diced

Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan or a loaf pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C).
- Sift together in a bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the sugar.

- In a large bowl, mix together the butter, egg white, egg, banana puree, sour cream, vanilla and orange zest, if using.

- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients with a spatula until almost mixed. Add in the dates and stir until just combined, but don't over stir: stop when any traces of flour disappear.

- Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until the center feels lightly springy and just done, and a toothpick inserted inside the cake comes out clean.

- Cool on a baking rack.

Storage: This cake will keep well for 3-4 days, or can be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap, for a few months.

Cake à la Banane et Dattes

Vous pouvez utiliser un mélange de farine complete et farine blanche, ou utiliser seulement la farine blanche. Le choix de dattes et le zeste d’orange était purement personnel, car j’adore la combination des deux. Les dattes peuvent etre remplacé par de pépites de chocolat et le zeste d’orange par de la canelle.

In Francais Please: adapté d’ici
- 120g de farine
- 90g de farine blanche complete
- 1 c.c de levure chimique
- ½ c.c de bicarbonate de soude
- ½ c.c de sel
- 1 c.c de zeste d’orange
- 150g de sucre
- 55g de beurre, fondu (salé ou doux)
- 1 gors blanc d’oeuf
- 1 gros oeuf
- 250ml de purée de banane
- 125ml de yaourt nature (entier ou allégé)
- ½ c.c d’extrait de vanille
- 60g de dattes, dénoyautées et coupées en dés

Beurrer un moule carré de 23cm de diametre ou un moule à cake et garnir le fond d’un papier-parchemin. Préchuaffe le four a 180 C.
- Tamiser les farines, la levure, bicarbonate de soude, et le sel. Ajouter le sucre.

- Dans un grand bol, mélanger le beurre, le blanc d’oeuf, l’oeuf, la purée de banane, le yaourt, la vanille et le zeste d’orange.

- Faire un puits au milieu de la farine et verser dedans le mélange precedent en utilisant une maryse jusqu’à ce que le tout soit presque uniforme. Ajouter le dattes et mélanger juste ce qu’il faut pour bien les dispercer, mais ne pas trop mélanger: arrêter-vous quand toute trace de farine ait disparu.

- Verser la pâte dans votre moule beurré et faire cuire pendant 40 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le centre semble cuit et qu’un cure-dents en ressort propre.

- Laisser refroidir sur une grille à patisserie sans le démouler

Ce cake se garde bien pendant 3-4 jours, ou peut être congelé, enveloppé dans un film plastique pendant quelques mois.

Orange, Cinnamon and Raisins Sweet Rolls, with Orange Butter/ Petits Pains à L’Orange, Cannelle et Raisins secs, et son Beurre à L’Orange

It rains in my heart
As it rains on the city;
What is this langor
That permeates my heart?

Il pleure dans mon coeur
Comme il pleut sur la ville;
Quelle est cette langueur
Qui pénètre mon coeur?

Paul Verlaine, Romances sans paroles (1874)

My friends! Forgive my lack of words lately.

I haven’t been posting as often as I should, and I feel bad about it. As much as I love you guys. As much as I adore sharing my kitchen adventures, my laughs, my past and future with you, I felt a need to take a break. To sit down and breathe.

My heart felt empty these past few days. My heart felt hollow. But I promise, it’s not as bad as it seems, and I am not a big whiner, I swear. As my nana would have said: “ Flush your whining down the toilet…you can be sure it won’t come back!” She was a philosopher in her own way.

I still need some time, to clear up my mind from various old dusts. I still need to borrow my husband’s shoulder to rest on, and a soft pillow to sleep on, but I will be OK! I’ll be fine! The weather isn’t helping either… and this song too.

Next time will be more joyful. I promise! In the meantime, I brought you my cinnamon and orange scented soft pillows to share with you. My heart was growing bigger and stronger as these little buttery rolls were baking, filling my house with a warm cinnamon and yeasty scent.

My heart was happy.

Orange, Cinnamon and Raisins Sweet Rolls, with Orange Butter

Recipe: Adapted from Gourmet, November 2005. For 12 sweet rolls
- 3 tablespoons warm water plus 2 teaspoons water at room temperature
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
- ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
- 5 to 5 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh orange zest
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup raisins (steamed)
- - 1 teaspoon anise seeds (optional)
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing bowl
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- - For the Orange Butter:
- 1 stick (½ cup) salted or unsalted butter, softened (I used salted butter)
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade


1-Stir together warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar in bowl of mixer fitted with paddle attachment and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) While yeast is foaming, whisk 4 cups flour with zest, salt, raisins, anise seeds (if using) and cinnamon in a bowl.

2-Add milk, vanilla, butter, and remaining ½ cup sugar to yeast, then mix at medium speed until combined. Beat in 3 eggs, 1 at a time, then add orange cinnamon flour and mix until combined well.

3-Replace paddle attachment with dough hook attachment and mix at medium-low speed, adding more flour (1 to 1 1/2 cups), 1/4 cup at a time, until a smooth but slightly sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic (dough will remain slightly sticky), about 3 minutes. (I used only an additional 1cup of the flour. The dough will look sticky, but once kneaded (as shown in this life changing video) it will regain a smooth texture)

4- Form dough into a ball and transfer to a large buttered bowl, turning dough to coat with butter.
Cover bowl with kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

5- Line a 17- by 14-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
Turn out dough gently, without ripping it off the bowl, onto work surface and fold it over. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces. Cup your hand over 1 piece and, using your thumb and pinkie to keep ball inside your cupped hand, push dough lightly with heel of your hand against work surface while rolling in a circular motion to form a smooth ball. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, arranging balls 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

6- Cover loosely with kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
Whisk together remaining egg with remaining 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl. Cut a 1-inch X (1/4 inch deep) in top of each roll with kitchen scissors. Brush rolls lightly with egg wash and bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush them with a simple sugar syrup (to have this shiny finish, but it's optional). Transfer rolls to a rack and cool, at least 20 minutes. Serve with the Orange Butter.
7- To make the orange butter:
Pulse butter and marmalade in a food processor, a mixer, or simply by using a fork until combined well. Transfer to a small crock or serving bowl. Butter can be made 5 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

- Note:
Rolls can be baked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, then kept in sealed plastic bags or a large airtight container at room temperature. (I prefer them on the following day) You can reheat them on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven 10 minutes.

Petits Pains à L’Orange, Cannelle et Raisins secs, et son Beurre à L’Orange

In Francais Please: Adaptée de Gourmet, Novembre 2005. Pour 12 Petits pains
- 3 c.s d’eai tiede plus 2 c.c d’eau a temperature ambiante
- 1 sachet de levure bloulangere (2 ¼ c.c)
- 50g de sucre en poudre plus 1 c.c
- 600 a 780g de farine
- 1 c.s de zeste d’orange
- 2 c.c de sel
- 1 c.c de cannelle en poudre
- 100g de raisins secs (cuits a la vapeur)
- 1 c.c de graines d’anis (facultatives)
- 225 ml de lait entier tiede
- 1 ½ c.c de vanille
- 90g de beurre mou, plus une noisette pour beurre le bol
- 4 gros oeufs à temperature ambiante
- Pour le Beurre à l’Orange:
- 115g de beurre salé ou doux (J’ai utilisé le salé)
- 50g de marmelade d’orange

1- Mélanger la levure, le sucre et l’eau tiede dans le bol d’un mixer et laisser mouser environ 5 minutes. Entre temps, mélanger 480g de farine avec le sel, canelle, raisins secs, zest d’orange et graines d’anis (si vous en utilisez)

2- Ajouter le lait, beurre et les 50g de sucre a la levure, puis bien mélanger. Ajouter 3 oeufs, un à un, puis ajouter le mélange de farine et battre encore jusqu’ à ce que tout soit homogene.

3- Si vous utiliser un kitchen aid, mettre l’attachement pour le pain et petrir la pate en ajoutant le reste de la farine petit à petit (120g a 180g), jusqu’à ce que la pate devienne reguliere et un peu collante, environ 5 min. Transvaser la pate vers votre plan de travail et petrir encore pour que la pate devienne elastique (la pate restera plus au moins collante), environ 3 min. (Pour ma part, je n’ai ajouté que 120g de farine. La pate vous semblera tres collante mais une fois travaillée (voir video), elle sera plus homogene).

4- Rouler la pate en boule et la mettre dans un bol beurré. Couvrir d’un film plastique ou un torchon et laisser lever 1 ½ à 2 heures.

5- Garnir une tole a patisserie d’un papier-parchement.
Verser la pate doucement sans tirer dessus sur votre plan de travail et la plier en deux. Former un doudin et couper 12 petites boules de la pate. Former des boules et les mettre sur la tole a patisserie. Les espacer de 3 cemtimeres environ.

6- Couvrir d’une serviette et laisser lever 1- 1 ¼ heures. Préchauffer le four à 200C. Mélanger l’eau avec l’oeuf restant et badigeonner les petits pain avec. Faites cuire jusqu’à ce qu’ils deviennent dorés et semblent creux quand vous taper doucement la base, environ 15-20 minutes. Badigonner d'un syrop au sucre pour avoir ce fini brillant, mais c'est facultatif). Laisser refroidir sur une grille à patisserie au moins 20 minutes avant de servir

7- Pour le Beurre à l’Orange: Mélanger le beurre mou et la marmelade dans un robot ménager, un mixer ou simplement à l’aide d’une fourchette. Mettre dans une assiette ou un petit ramequin et servir avec les petits pains. Ce beurre peut etre prepare 5 jours avant, couvert d’un film plastique et mis au frais. Ramener à temperature ambiante avant de servir.

- Note:
Les petits pains peuvent etre cuit un jour avant, refroidit completement et conserve dans un sachet ou une boite à fermeture hermétique, à temperature ambiante. (je le préfere le lendemain de sa cuisson) Vous pouvez aussi les réchauffer pendant 10 minutes à 160C et les servir tiede avec le beurre à l’orange.

Daring Bakers' Tender Potato Bread

“ It’s impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it”. M.F.K Fisher.


Another month, another Daring Bakers challenge and this one was on the savory side, which was quite what I hoped for after having too many sweets lately.

I love making bread. In fact, at my house we only have homemade bread: the whole wheat and honey bread for breakfast and the focaccia for lunch and dinner. But it has been a long time since I kneaded my bread without the help of my Harley Davidson (that’s how I call my Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. I even sing for my bike when it kneads my bread).
My mother thought me how to knead my first bread when I was about fourteen and I used to hate it. The dough was sticky, my tiny arms were getting tired and when I would ask my mom how to know if it’s done, she would answer: “you should feel it. When it’s smooth and elastic”.

Now, with some experience behind me, I enjoy kneading bread and find it very relaxing and somehow poetic to go from separate dry and wet ingredients to a magnificent piece of bread. Simple yet so comforting.
Making your own bread is very rewarding. Not only you are happy to enjoy fresh from the oven loaf of bread but also your house will smell like a warm bakery on a snowy Sunday morning.

Potato bread is basically: potatoes, cooked then mashed, mixed with whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, a tiny bit of butter and water. I only needed a little less than 8 cups of all-purpose flour for the dough and shaped into two huge loves (1 lb each).
The dough was very sticky at first but then became very easy to work with after the 6 cups of flour. The texture of the bread is just lovely: very airy, light and a little chewy.

It was my first attempt on making potato bread and from my entourage excitement I can assure you it won’t be the last. I enjoyed having my sticky fingers and floury hair again.

Thank you Tanna. And be sure to head over to her blog for more details on the recipe, and to visit my fellow Daring Bakers chefs-d’oeuvre.

Baking Forecasting / Prévision Culinaire

ARIES
(March 21 –April 19)
Organization has never been your thing.
- How dare you! You don’t know me, I mean; yes …I can be…sometimes…but not always.
Your ruler; Mars, is driving you to get the big stuff done- like finding the perfect pair of furry boots, or getting your MySpace profile just right.
- Note the signification of “The big stuff”! We are in July; I don’t think I would need some furry boots. As for MySpace profile, I don’t have one anyway.
You’ll be quite accomplished in 28 days’ time.
- It will take that long! Why not 26 days? Does it have to do with my lack of organization? What should I do in the meantime? Sleep!
You’ll also be more intense than usual. A pleasantly casual hookup? Not on the schedule this month.
- Wait a second: you first accuse me of being disorganized, and then superficial, then slow and now you say that I am “intense!” What does it mean? Do you have something against Aries? And for your information, I am married so back up couple breaker!



Here is how I would rewrite my own, personalized Horoscope of the week:

ARIES
(March 21 –April 19)
As the week begins, you will feel the need to get things done, to battle the winds, read your forgotten Marguerite Duras’ books and go back to the gym, something you have been talking about 3 months ago, but don’t wait too long as the weather man has predicted some rain for Tuesday and Wednesday and being active during bad weather has never been your thing. We don’t say this often, but it’s time to look like a woman a little bit, a little make up doesn’t hurt! Make a trip to the store near you where they have 75% sale on select cosmetics. A steal!
Tuesday will be your day of great baking achievement. You will finally make the apricot-nuts bread of your dreams that wasn’t that good a couple of weeks ago. At least now you know that starting to bake something, without making sure that you have all the ingredients is stupid; and why we said previously that organization has never been your thing!

Apricots-Nuts Bread

Recipe:
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- ½ cup rye flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 tbsp crystallized ginger, finely chopped
- 12 dried apricots, diced
- 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup whole milk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350F. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
Stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, zest, ginger, apricots and nuts. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, butter, and milk. Beat just until blended. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches and mix just until mixed. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula, which you lightly wet (it helps a lot). Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 55-60 min. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, first 5 min n the pan, then turn it out onto the rack and cool completely. You can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or freeze it for up to a month.

Pain d’Abricots et de noix

In francais please:
- 235g de farine
- 75g de farine de seigle
- 1 ½ tsp de levure chimique
- ½ c.c de bicarbonate de soude
- ¼ tsp de sel
- 1 c.s de zest de citron
- 60g de noix, grilles legerement et hachees
- 1 c.s de gingembre crystalise, hache
- 12 abricots secs, coupes en des
- 1 c.s de graines de tournesol
- 2 gros oeufs
- 185g de sucre brun
- 90g de beurre, fondu
- 125ml de lait entier

Positionner votre grille au milieu du four et prechauffer a 180C. Beurrer une moule a cake de 23 cm de longueur sur 13 cm de largeur.
Melanger ensemble les farines, la levure chimique, la bicarbonate de soude, le sel, le zest, le gingembre, les abricots et les noix. Mettre de cote.
Dans un grand bol, melanger les oeufs, le sucre brun, le beurre et le lait jusqu’a ce que le mélange soit homogene. Ajouter les ingredients secs en 3 fois et melanger jusqu’a incorporation complete. Eviter de trop melanger.
Mettre votre pate dans le moule a cake prepare et lisser la surface avec une spatule en caoutchouc ou une cuillere en bois, que vous mouillez legerement. Faire cuire jusqu’a ce qu’un cure-dent insere dans le pain en ressorte propre, 55-60 min.
Laisser votre pain refroidir sur une grille a patisserie, d’abord 5 min dans le moule puis demouler et laisser refroidir completement sur la grille. Le pain se garde parfaitement dans une boite hermetique a temperature ambiante, pendant 2 a 3 jours comme il peut etre congele jusqu’a 1 mois.

Daring Bakers Challenge: Bagels

Before this month’s challenge I thought I didn’t like bagels, American bagels that is. The few bagels that I had until now were not memorable: too plain, too chewy, too tough; in other words, bad memories. Making bagels was really challenging for me since I have never made this kind of bagels before and have no experience on how the real bagel should taste or feel like. For me the kind of bagels that I grew up eating and loving has a texture crossed between bagels and brioche and flavored with anis seeds, sesame seeds and orange zest. I then decided to seek some advices from some bakeries around where I live, explaining them my situation, without broking my daring baker pledge of course. I really wanted to know what makes a bagel, a bagel and how to make sure that my bagels don’t float, since the water bath was the thing that scared me the most. Some baker were nice enough to take the time and explain it to me and some thought I was trying to steel their secret recipe. Some bagels were good; some of them were not that good.

Days went by when I started checking with some studious fellow daring bakers that had already tried the bagel recipe. Two words came back over and over again: floating and sinking. My fear of the water bath for the bagels was then multiplied by one hundred.
Then came the Bagel Day. I followed the recipe while taking notes of my friend’s advices. Come the water bath stage and here I see all my bagels floating. Not only they were floating but also they were getting bigger and deformed. I thought about sinking them my self but then I remembered that I should only stick to the recipe. The result: my first batch of bagels was ugly, shameful, misshapen and chewyliscious. Yes, I even invented a word for them.
I was so disappointed, I told my self that I would never make bagels or eat bagels or even look at a bagel again. But then I remembered what the foundation of the daring bakers was all about. It is about trying once, twice until you learn. It’s about being patient and trying to see objectively what went wrong. What went wrong with my dough? I overproofed the yeast. Yes, you read it right, not the dough, the yeast: You know, the first stage when you mix the yeast with the water and you are supposed to let it rise 5 min, well with me I left it 30 min. From there, everything went super puffy.

The following day, I started all over again: the yeast, 5 min this time, didn't add all the flour, kneading well and harder, punching down the dough with all the muscles that I don’t have, trying to shape as little as possible and using malt syrup instead of sugar. The result: Although not all the bagels went straight to the bottom of the pan, 5 out of 7 came out just as they were supposed to. They didn’t have the same shape but I was pretty happy with the result. The texture was just a little chewy with a lot of softness to it. For some people, it might not taste as a bagel but for me it was just the way I like it. I used sesame seeds and kosher salt as a topping for half of my bagels and poppy seeds, sesame seeds and garlic flakes for the others. As a filling I used Nutella instead of cream cheese and the garlic bagels were used as a sandwich bagels with lettuce, goat cheese and turkey patties. Sorry if I don’t have pictures of them but I couldn’t wait to eat them.
Once again thanks to Jenny and Freya for this challenge that made me appreciate the real, homemade bagel. You can head to their respective blogs for more details on the recipe.

Challattone!

Don’t try to look this word up in the dictionary or any cookbook because it doesn’t exist.
What is Challattone?

Challattone is what happened when a woman wants to surprise her husband, a panettone fanatic, but doesn’t have a Panettone recipe.
What did she do?

She took a Challah bread recipe and turned it into a fake panettone by adding candied fruit peels and golden raisins. The result: Challattone.
Why did she choose the Challah recipe? Why not brioche?

Well, the woman thought the texture of Challah is closer to the Panettone, and making brioche can be too much work for her. The woman can be lazy sometimes.
So, making Challah bread is easier than brioche?

It is supposed to be easier, but not for this woman who has a funny way reading a recipe: first, she reads the ingredients, then reads the first part of the preparation then jumps to the baking time. What she forgot is that bread needs to rise twice. The result: going to bed at 2 AM.
Did they enjoy the bread?

They did. Challattone was far from tasting like a Panettone but it was a good and fragrant Challah bread. The husband is still hoping to have a warm, homemade Panettone for breakfast and the woman is still up for the challenge but this time she is armed with an authentic Panettone recipe and can’t wait to try it.
To be continued…

Challattone

Recipe: Challah adapted from Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking

- 5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg, beaten for glaze
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 2 tbsp candied fruits peels ( such as orange and lemon)

- 1/2 cup golden raisins

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 min. Add the sugar, 3 eggs, 4 ½ cups of the flour, the salt, the candied fruit peels, the raisins and the butter. Attach the dough hook and knead on low speed, working in the remaining flour as necessary, until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 min. Do not be tempted to add to much flour. The dough should stay soft and it will become less sticky with kneading.
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise for 2 hours.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and transfer it to a clean work surface. Make a braided loaf as shown in the pictures or you can make rolls or knots. Place the bread on the prepared sheet pan. Cover with a dry kitchen towel and let it rise for 45-60 min. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 350F. Brush the bread gently with the beaten egg. Bake the bread until it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30-35 min. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Challattone

In francais please: Challah adaptee du livre de Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking

- 5 c.c de levure boulangere
- 250 ml d’eau tiede.
- 125g de sucre
- 3 gros oeufs, plus un oeuf battu pour badigeonner
- 780g de farine
- 2 c.c de sel
- 125g de beurre doux, a temperature ambiante
- 2c.s de pelures de fruits confits ( oranges et citron)
- 200 ml de raisins secs.

Dans le bol d’un petrin, dissoudre la levure dans l’eau et laisser fermenter, 5 min environ. Ajouter le sucre, les 3 oeufs, 700g de farine, le sel, le beurre et les fruits. Placer le bol dans votre petrin et commencer a petrir a vitesse minimale en ajoutant la farine petit a petit, si necessaire, jusqu’a ce que la pate devienne elastique et lisse, 5-7min environ. Ne soyer pas tente d’ajouter trop de farine puisque la pate doit etre souple et elle finira par etre moins collante avec le petrissage.
Rouler la pate en boule et mettre dans un bol huile. Couvrir d’un torchon humide et laisser reposer pendant 2 heures.
Garnir un plat allant au four de papier sulfurise. Donner un coup de poing a la pate et la transferer vers une surface de travail propre. Vous pouvez soit tresser le pain comme dans les photos soit les mettre en forme de petits pains ou de noeuds. Mettre votre pain dans le plat prealablement prepare. Couvrir d’un torchon sec et laisser reposer 45-60 min.
Positionner la grille de votre four sur le 3eme etage en conptant de haut et prechauffer a 180C. Badigeonner votre pain soigneusement avec l’oeuf battu et cuire jusqu’a ce qu’il devienne dore et semble creux quand vous le taper legerement en dessous. Laisser refroidir completement sur une grille a patisserie.

Pain complet aux noix / walnuts whole-wheat bread

It is known that some odors can bring us back to a certain period of our childhood. As if time has never flown by. As if our brain has locked in the crumbs of a left cinnamon cookie or the drops of a nearly empty mug of hot chocolate.
When I think about my childhood, different smells swipe my nose, like the smell of fresh coffee in the morning (even though I don’t drink coffee) the smell of the beach, the smell of the soup…But the most recurrent one is the smell of fresh baked bread, especially the one that my mother makes, with black sesame seeds on top. My mother taught me how to make bread, how to knead the dough without being afraid of it. Since then, I have a home of my own that I fill with the smell of fresh baked bread every 3 to 4 days. I never buy bread. I used to, but not anymore.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about making a whole wheat bread. I’ve never used whole wheat flour before. It has the reputation to be a tricky component to work with. Your bread can turn out to be dry and dense. But I wanted this bread so bad. Thanks again to my cookbook of baking for the recipe. I, eventually, modified a little bit the recipe by adding walnuts for the crunch.

Recipe: Makes 2 loaves
2 packages (5 tsp) active dry yeast
2 cups warm whole milk
¼ cup mil honey
2 large eggs
6 cups whole wheat flour, plus extra for topping the loaves
2 tsp sea salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup diced walnuts

Dissolve the yeast in the milk and let stand until foamy. Using a wire whisk, stir in the honey and eggs. Add the flour, salt, walnuts, and butter. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7min. Form the dough into a ball and let it rise for 1 ½-2 hours.
Punch down the dough and cut it in half. For each half flatten the dough with the heel of you hand. Roll the dough into an oval log and seal it at the end. Place the log, seam side down, in the loaf pans.
Let the loaves rise for 45-60 minutes. Dust the tops of the loaves with whole wheat flour. Bake in a preheated 375 F oven until they are honey brown, 35 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

In francais please: Pour deux pains
5c.c de levure boulangere
500ml de lait entire tiede
90g de miel
2 gros oeufs
940g de farine complete
2c.c de sel marin
90g de beurre
100g de noix grossierment hachees

Dissoudre la levure dans le lait et laisser lever. Ajouter le miel et les oeufs en utilisant un fouet. Verser le farine, le sel, les noix et le beurre. Mettre le tout dans votre petrin et petrir pendant 5-7min jusqu’a ce que la pate devienne souple et elastique. Rouler la pate en boule et laisser lever pendant 1 ½- 2 heures.
Couper la pate en deux . Rouler la pate en forme de buche et mettre dans deux moules a cake beurres. Laisser lever une deuxieme fois pour 45-60 min. Saupoudrer les pains de farine complete. Cuire dans un four prechauffe a 190 C pendant 35 minutes ,jusqu’a ce que le pain devienne dore.
Demouler et laisser refroidir completement avant de decouper en tranches.