On these chilly winter mornings, it’s essential to fire up the oven and create something warm and comforting. Something with a hint of holiday spice and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Brew a cup of tea and wait for the sun to rise over the trees, finally slanting into the window later [...]]]>

On these chilly winter mornings, it’s essential to fire up the oven and create something warm and comforting. Something with a hint of holiday spice and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Brew a cup of tea and wait for the sun to rise over the trees, finally slanting into the window later and later each day. During the dark days of December, my one small kitchen window receives only a precious hour or so of sunlight. This little window looks out on the white brick wall of our neighbor’s garage, which is about four feet away. My window faces east, but receives no direct sunlight due to the proximity of this garage. Instead, the early afternoon sunlight bounces off the white wall and into my kitchen. It’s the ultimate reflector for photography, and I am rewarded with great natural light if I time my baking just right.

I often fantasize about painting a mural on this white wall. The neighbors would never notice, since this side of the garage is basically inaccessible from their yard. I would welcome a bit of color in my landscape, but at the same time I would lament the loss of pure white light. Instead, I study the nuances of the brick and the patterns created by mortar that has oozed out of the seams.

This season is all about finding beauty and light in unexpected places. Whether it’s a splash of reflected light or the smell of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves hanging in the air once the gingerbread has been removed from the oven, soak it up. Savor it.

Sourdough Gingerbread
Based on a recipe from the molasses jar, sourdough-ized by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: One 8″ square cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup molasses
1 cup sourdough starter (175% hydration)
1/4 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8″ square cake pan and set aside.

Combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the molasses, aiming for the spot between the beaters and the bowl.

Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Mix in the remaining flour mixture. Add the sourdough starter and water, mixing on low speed until well combined.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the gingerbread cool for 1 hour in the pan before slicing.

Spiced Whipped Cream
Yield: approximately 2 servings

1/2 cup heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, to taste
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger

For best results, place your mixing bowl and beaters/whisk attachment in the fridge for 10 minutes. Add the cream to the cold bowl, and whip on high speed until the cream starts to thicken. Add the sugar slowly while the mixer is on. Once the sugar has been incorporated, add the spices and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Spoon the whipped cream onto slices of gingerbread and enjoy!

There’s always something special about bread with a spiral inside. Its unassuming exterior renders it almost indistinguishable from [...]]]> The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

There’s always something special about bread with a spiral inside. Its unassuming exterior renders it almost indistinguishable from any other loaf of bread. But far from being just any other loaf of bread, it has something special to offer. Perhaps it’s a savory, herby filling that, when surrounded by dense bread, could just about pass itself off as an entire meal. Or that classic cinnamon swirl that so many of us loved as a child. Or just maybe, an autumn treat filled with spiced pumpkin butter. No matter your filling of choice, this Povitica recipe will have you racking your brain for new flavor combinations to pair with the slightly sweet, dreamy dough.

The Daring Bakers October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Povitica (pronounced po-va-teet-sa) is a traditional holiday sweet bread served in Eastern European countries. It is also known by other names such as Nutroll, Potica, Kalachi, and Strudia. The technique by which the dough is rolled paper thin and the filling is rolled into the dough has been passed down through the generations. In order to keep this tradition alive, the Daring Bakers have prepared an astounding collection of Povitica this month. And I’m sure that many of us will be making this recipe over and over with different variations. I know I will!

I adapted the bread dough to use pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar, and the pumpkin butter uses raw honey as a sweetener to fit in with my October: Unprocessed guidelines. I think this choice actually gave the bread a greater depth of flavor!

I’m sending this bread to YeastSpotting, where you can find an inspiring collection of yeast bread every Friday.

Povitica
Created by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk
Yield: 2 loaves

1 cup milk
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
4 cups all-purpose flour

Approximately 2 cups pumpkin butter for filling (recipe follows)
1 egg white for brushing top of loaves

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and maple syrup to just below boiling (180°F), stirring constantly. Once it has reached 180°F, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to 110°F.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl stir together the instant yeast, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Add the milk mixture and stir until combined. Mix in the eggs and melted butter.

Stir the dough until it is well combined, continuing to add flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and no longer sticky, adding more flour if necessary.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and allow it to rise for approximately 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling (recipe below).

Spread a clean sheet over your work surface, and flour it sparingly with a small handful of flour. Place half of the dough onto the sheet, and leave the other half in the rising container until you are ready to roll it out. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is roughly rectangular, approximately 12″ by 15″. Brush a few teaspoons of melted butter over the surface of the dough.

Using the rolling pin or the tops of your hands, gently continue to stretch the dough in a rectangle shape until it is opaque. Pick up the dough from each side as you are stretching it, to ensure that it is not sticking to the sheet. If the dough seems too elastic to hold its shape, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then continue to stretch it.

When you think the dough is thin enough, try to stretch it just a little more. It should be thin enough that you can see the color/pattern of the sheet underneath.

Spread half of the pumpkin butter evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving about 1/2″ around the edges.

There are many different ways to roll up the dough and place it in the pan, and each of the methods will produce a different spiral pattern. No matter how you choose to roll your dough, use the sheet to help you.

Starting from the short side of the rectangle, gently lift the sheet so that the dough starts to roll up like a jelly roll. The dough is so thin and fragile that you don’t want to try rolling it with your hands. Continue to lift the sheet and roll the dough until you reach the center of the dough rectangle. Starting at the opposite side, roll the other half of the dough into the center.

Carefully fold this entire roll in half – layering the side-by-side spirals on top of each other. Seal the edges by gently pressing the edges of the dough together. Carefully transfer the dough into a loaf pan greased with butter.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow the loaves to rest for 20 to 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Beat the egg white with a teaspoon or two of water, until frothy. Brush the tops of the loaves with egg white mixture. Place the loaves into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Turn the oven down to 300° and bake the loaves for an additional 45 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown. If the top gets too brown before the loaves are done, cover the pans loosely with aluminum foil to prevent the tops from burning.

Allow the loaves to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack. The loaves are so heavy that they might collapse if you attempt to remove them from the pans before they have cooled.

The recommended method for cutting Povitica is to turn it upside down and slice it with a serrated knife.

Pumpkin Butter
Adapted from Serious Eats
Yield: approximately 2 cups (enough to fill 2 loaves of Povitica)

1 can pumpkin
3/4 cup apple cider
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the mixture starts to boil, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until thick (about 1 hour).

You may want to make an extra batch so that you can spread it onto a slice of Povitica!

It’s that time of year when the population of squash grows at a seemingly exponential rate. You may enter your garden to find a new squash under each leaf, just when you thought you had consumed every squash in sight. We didn’t plant zucchini this year, but we’re still overwhelmed with the amount [...]]]>

It’s that time of year when the population of squash grows at a seemingly exponential rate. You may enter your garden to find a new squash under each leaf, just when you thought you had consumed every squash in sight. We didn’t plant zucchini this year, but we’re still overwhelmed with the amount of squash to be consumed from our CSA and our friends’ gardens. We did, however, plant strawberries. Today we got the first three perfectly ripe and sweet berries that the bugs didn’t chomp first. And there are many more blooms that will soon turn to sweet red berries.

These muffins were inspired by this week’s CSA basket, and are the epitome of fresh local, organic fare. The Meyer lemon, eggs, zucchini, and strawberries are fresh from the farm. Pure maple syrup stands in for refined sugar, giving the muffins a subtle natural sweetness. With their light, fluffy texture and burst of summer flavor, these muffins are sure to be a welcome staple in our home for as long as strawberry season lasts.

Strawberry Zucchini Muffins
Created by Simple Math Bakery
Yield: 18 muffins

3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice (vinegar would work just as well)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium sized zucchini)
2 cups flour (I use 1/2 cup all-purpose and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
scant 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a muffin tin and set aside.

In a small measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the milk to curdle.

In a large bowl, combine the milk mixture, oil, maple syrup, and egg. Stir until well combined. Mix in the zucchini.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Fold in the strawberries.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool completely.

Are you still looking for that perfect arm workout? Or perhaps you’re searching for that zero-net-calorie dessert. Well, [...]]]> Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Are you still looking for that perfect arm workout? Or perhaps you’re searching for that zero-net-calorie dessert. Well, look no more, because made-from-scratch baklava is the answer! It will have you on your feet in the kitchen all day, running from stove to countertop to oven and back. You’ll be completing the near-impossible task of rolling dough into paper thin sheets. You’ll easily burn more calories making it than you gain by consuming it. And since every killer workout has an element of pure torture, you won’t even be able to enjoy the baklava until it sits overnight.

After completing a solid hour of arm exercise (read: rolling phyllo dough paper thin), I was thrilled to have 16 sheets of transparent dough, stacked and ready to layer with walnut filling. The only remaining step was to slice the dough to fit my pan. As pictured in the recipe, I sliced through all of the sheets at once with a pizza cutter.

The edges ended up hopelessly stuck together! After carefully considering a number of options (baking the dough as is, shoving the filling in between some of the layers, or completely starting over), I broke the dough into 16 pieces and immediately started rolling again. The dough never got as thin as it had the first time, but I still managed to roll out enough sheets for four layers of phyllo and three layers of filling. This time the sheets were trimmed individually as I layered them into the pan.

Being a member of the Daring Bakers certainly has many advantages, not the least of which is an entire global community of bakers who have made the same mistakes, and are there to offer advice and encouragement. This month, we were treated to a special baklava tutorial by Audax. He was lucky enough to have two baklava experts, one Greek and one Turkish, walk him through the entire recipe. They gave very specific instructions for baking temperature, and advised the use of clarified butter when layering the phyllo sheets. These changes are reflected in the recipe below.

This baklava was such a sticky, wonderful treat. I chose to use exclusively walnuts in the filling, since I had a huge bag of fresh walnuts from my CSA. To complement the walnuts, I also substituted pure maple syrup for the honey in this recipe. This made the baklava a bit less sweet, and definitely more enjoyable. The recipe is long and daunting, but I can assure you that it’s well worth the effort. Since the workout makes up for all the calories, what do you have to lose?

Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Bakers June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Phyllo Dough
From Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague
Yield: enough dough for a 9″ x 9″ baklava

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. In a separate bowl, combine the water, oil, and vinegar. With the mixer on low speed, add the water mixture to the flour and mix with the paddle attachment until well combined. If the dough does not come together, add more water, one tablespoon at a time. The dough should be soft and should form a ball.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough will be incredibly smooth and silky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for another couple of minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down onto the counter a few times during the process. It’s fun.

Shape the dough into a ball, lightly oil it, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for at least 30-120 minutes (2 hours is ideal).

When the dough has almost finished resting, make the filling for the baklava.

Spiced Walnut Filling

1 cinnamon stick, broken into 2 or 3 pieces, or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
16 whole allspice berries, or a few pinches of ground allspice
1 1/2 cups raw walnuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor, chop all ingredients as finely as possible and combine in a bowl. Set aside.

To assemble the baklava:
You will need 1/2 cup melted clarified butter. I used 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter to make 1/2 cup clarified butter. For a good tutorial on making clarified butter, head to Allrecipes.com.

The dough is not as tricky to roll out as it sounds. Make sure to remove any jewelry or rings that may snag the phyllo sheets. The best tool to use is probably a wooden dowel as shown in this video, though I managed to get the dough very thin with my regular rolling pin.

Dust your work area, rolling pin or wooden dowel, and hands with flour. Unwrap the dough and break off a golf ball sized chunk. Rewrap the dough with plastic wrap, so that it won’t dry out while you are rolling each sheet of dough.

Start by flattening the dough and rolling it into a circle. I found it to be a little tough and elastic at first, but as I kept rolling it softened up and flattened out. Continue to work the dough in a circle, rotating and adding flour generously as needed. Don’t worry if there are small rips in the dough, you can press it together or just leave it. The baklava will have many layers so it’s not a big deal.

When you have rolled the dough as thinly as possible with your rolling pin, pick it up and gently stretch it over the backs of your hands as you would pizza dough. This should get it a bit thinner. The dough is ready when it is transparent and will fit inside a 9″ square pan. Set the dough aside on a well floured surface. Follow the same steps to roll out the rest of the dough, making sure to flour well between each sheet as you stack them. You should end up with 16-18 sheets.

Note: I stacked the dough as described, but would not do it this way again. I would recommend that if you do stack the dough, the sheets should be sliced individually as you assemble the baklava. Alternatively, you could roll each sheet out, trim, and place in the pan immediately. This would prevent the edges from sticking together if you were to trim the entire stack at the same time.

Preheat the oven to 390°. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit a 9″ square pan. If you are using a dark-colored pan you may want to line the pan with foil to prevent the edges of the baklava from burning.

Brush the bottom of the pan with clarified butter, and place a phyllo sheet into the pan. Brush this phyllo sheet with butter and layer another phyllo sheet on top. Repeat until you have 4 or 5 layers of phyllo (depending on how many sheets you rolled out).

Spread 1/3 of the walnut filling over the phyllo. Repeat the entire process again, layering 4 or 5 phyllo sheets and another 1/3 of the walnut filling. Repeat one more time. On top of the nuts, layer 4 or 5 more phyllo sheets, alternating with the clarified butter as before. When you have the final phyllo layer on top, tuck in the edges so that the top looks neat.

With a sharp knife, cut your baklava into slices – but only cut 2/3 of the way through! Brush the top of the baklava with one more layer of clarified butter.

Bake the baklava at 390° for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300° and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 210° and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn the oven back up to 390° and allow the baklava to bake until the top has browned, about 10 minutes.

While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup.

Maple Baklava Syrup
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup (the good stuff)
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 of a fresh lemon
a few cloves or a pinch of ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the syrup from the heat and strain out the lemon half, cinnamon, and cloves (if using whole cloves). Allow the syrup to sit at room temperature until the baklava is done baking.

When the baklava has finished baking, remove it from the oven and place the entire pan on a cooling rack. Pour the syrup (it will still be slightly warm) over the baklava, making sure to cover the entire top and get it in between the slices as well.

The baklava will be swimming in syrup! But don’t panic, it will soak in overnight. Allow the baklava to cool to room temperature, cover, and let sit overnight. My baklava didn’t quite soak up all the syrup, but it was still plenty saturated.

The next morning, slice the baklava and serve! Store the leftovers, if there are any, in an airtight container at room temperature.

I need to prepare for the 2011 LA Cupcake Challenge. I’m not sure what it takes to prepare for such an event. Cupcake visualization? An all-you-can-eat cupcake contest? Avoiding cupcakes for weeks prior to the event? I’m open to suggestions.

Last year, I made it through almost all of the cupcakes. I have [...]]]>

I need to prepare for the 2011 LA Cupcake Challenge. I’m not sure what it takes to prepare for such an event. Cupcake visualization? An all-you-can-eat cupcake contest? Avoiding cupcakes for weeks prior to the event? I’m open to suggestions.

Last year, I made it through almost all of the cupcakes. I have been invited to judge the contest again this year, so maybe I can improve upon my ability to put away dozens of mini cupcakes within three hours.

This event may prove to be a bigger challenge than last year, owing to the fact that I’ve drastically reduced my refined sugar intake since then. Perhaps I should ease back into refined sugar before my cupcake binge. Would that lessen the potential for sugar coma?

These muffins won’t exactly help me with that goal since the only bit of refined sugar is in the applesauce. But I still consider them a warm up to the big event. And they make for quite a tasty mid-morning snack, paired with a cup of tea. Unsweetened applesauce would work just as nicely, if you’re not in training for the cupcake challenge.

Spiced Yogurt Muffins
Adapted from Cafe Nilson
Yield: 12 muffins plus 12 mini muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup plain yogurt, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup applesauce (I used my cranberry applesauce/jam)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a regular muffin tin and a mini muffin tin with butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. In a separate bowl, stir together the maple syrup, yogurt, eggs, applesauce, vanilla extract, and butter.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes (10-12 minutes for mini muffins), or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Place the pans on a cooling rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them directly on the cooling rack to cool completely.

Does your sourdough starter have a name? I’ve noticed that many of my blog friends name their sourdough starters. Now, I know that the starter is technically alive, but somehow I’ve never felt the need to call mine by name. Since it’s non-sentient, it doesn’t seem to mind. It bubbles along from day [...]]]>

Does your sourdough starter have a name? I’ve noticed that many of my blog friends name their sourdough starters. Now, I know that the starter is technically alive, but somehow I’ve never felt the need to call mine by name. Since it’s non-sentient, it doesn’t seem to mind. It bubbles along from day to day, always ready to help me when I’m craving some sourdough goodness. It was all too happy to jump into this sourdough zucchini bread along with some fresh squash from my CSA.

I reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe so that the sourdough flavor would stand out. The bread came out with just the right balance of spice, sourdough, and sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter bread, I recommend slightly increasing the amount of sugar. Chopped nuts or raisins would also be an excellent addition to this bread.

I’m submitting this bread to YeastSpotting, where a new feast of bread is posted every Friday!

Sourdough Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Baking With Sourdough
Yield: one 9″ loaf

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sucanat (or your preferred type of sugar)
1 egg
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup milk (I used rice milk)
1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium zucchini)
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the oil, sucanat, egg, sourdough starter, and milk. Make sure that the sucanat has mostly dissolved in the liquid. Add the grated zucchini, stirring to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the bread tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan to cool on a cooling rack.

The flavor does intensify as the loaf ages. I think it’s more delicious on the second and third day after baking!