Sunday, August 25, 2013

Garden Vegetable Soup

One of the great pleasures of the summer is home gardening.  There's nothing quite like the feeling of watching something grow from seed to the point where you can pick it and serve it for supper.

Of course, not everyone is a master gardener, especially me.  This year, our family decided to plant a little of this and a little of that, to see what survived or even thrived in our desert climate.  Our success rate has been better for some things, like zucchini and Swiss chard, and not quite as good with others, such as peas, green beans, or tomatoes.

At this point in the season, we can usually find something ready to pick every day, whether it's a single yellow squash, the odd cucumber or two, or perhaps a few fruits off our stunted ocra plants.  Aside from the cucumbers, which can be sliced, salted, and served immediately, we almost never find something in a quantity great enough to serve as a side dish at dinnertime.

While I was looking at a pile of a little of this and a little of that on my kitchen counter top, several weeks ago, inspiration suddenly whacked me in the head.  Soup!  Since then, we have made pot after pot of nourishing vegetable soup, using mostly items from our garden, and I've never had to worry about not having enough peas to cook up as "just peas" or enough green beans to steam alongside spaghetti.

When a sister asked me for my recipe, I told her I take whatever vegetables I have, including leftovers if they are there, and throw them in.  Each time, it is a little different, but each time, it is delicious.

This is the soup I made the other day.


 Ingredients:

Tomatoes (I actually used one store-bought tomato, seeded, in addition to the ones seen here.)
Yellow squash (half of the one seen here)
Zucchini (half of the one seen here)
Green beans
Ocra
Swiss chard
Baby potatoes
Onions (not in the picture, but my husband reminded me I had some chopped ones in the refrigerator already)
Corn on the cob, already cooked, left over from another night
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon Italian herbs
2 Spicy Italian sausages (Normally, I use 3, but my husband had given in to a craving the day before, so I only had 2.)

The hardest part about this soup is the cutting and chopping to prepare for it.



Chop the tomatoes into pieces about a half inch square.  (Or not.)  Some people may say the tomatoes should be peeled.  I might have said that, as well, before I met a wonderful Mexican woman when I worked in food service.  She tried to teach me her recipe for albondigas, a fabulous meatball soup which I never could master, and as part of the vegetable broth of the soup, she simply cut tomatoes into wedges and threw them in the pot to saute with the onions before adding water.  So that is now what I do when I use fresh tomatoes.  (If I do not have fresh tomatoes, I add a can of salt-free canned diced tomatoes, including the liquid.  This gives the broth a nice color.)

Peel the yellow squash.  Slice and quarter the yellow squash and zucchini.

Cut off the ends of the green beans, then cut into pieces about 3/4-inch to an inch long.

Cut off the stem end of the ocra, then slice.  If the ocra feels a touch woody, it may manage to turn out all right in the soup, as it has plenty of time to cook.  If it is more than a touch woody, feed it to the chickens and get a different ocra.

If you've never worked with Swiss chard before, you are really missing something wonderful.  Swiss chard is an ideal vegetable for us to grow in our climate, because it is more heat-tolerant and generally hardy than spinach.  It is full of good nutrients--everything from iron to protein--and as long as it is cut neatly, continues to produce.  Where we are, if it is protected, it can even survive the winter and come back in the spring.

Swiss chard can be boiled as spinach can and tastes very similar, but as a much hardier leaf, it takes more time for it to be finished cooking.  Amazingly enough, my family likes boiled Swiss chard, so we're lucky it happens to be one of the vegetables we can grow well enough to eat on a regular basis.

The Swiss chard stems can also be chopped and cooked in recipes very much like celery.  For this reason, when I make my soup, I chop Swiss chard stems to put in the pot during the saute phase and chop the leaves separately to add later on.

We had not planned on growing potatoes, but at the time we were planting our garden, a russet potato in our pantry was trying to grow.  So we shrugged, cut it up, and planted it, just to see what would happen.  The day I made this soup, we noticed that several of the thriving plants had taken a turn for the worst and had died, so we dug up the ground to see if any potatoes had been produced.  To our delight, we found several tiny potatoes, just enough for soup after they were washed well and the larger ones cut up to match the smaller ones.

If you happen to have leftover corn on the cob, cut it off the cob.

Slice and quarter the sausages.  (Or the other way around, which is usually what I do.  I quarter the sausages lengthwise, then slice them.)

Once everything has been chopped, it is time to start cooking.


In a heated non-stick pot, add the tomatoes, onions, and Swiss chard stems.  Saute for about 5 minutes, then add 6 cups of water, the 2 chicken bouillon cubes, and the 1 teaspoon Italian herbs.  Bring to a boil.

Add the green beans, ocra, and potatoes.  Bring again to a boil, then add the squash, zucchini, and Swiss chard.



It will look like the Swiss chard is not even in the water and has filled the pot impossibly high.  Don't worry; it will cook down.

Cover the pot with a lid for about five minutes, then stir.  By this time, some of the Swiss chard should have reduced enough to be able to stir it into the broth.  Bring the pot to a simmer and cook for another five minutes or so.


Add the corn and the sausage.  Return to simmer, and let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.  (If you are not quite ready to eat yet--your biscuits aren't quite out of the oven or someone has just gone outside to milk the goat--keep the burner on low and allow the soup to sit just at or below the point of simmering.)


And that's it!  You can use whatever fresh vegetables or leftovers you have on hand, provided they are the kind of vegetables which cook well, rather than primarily salad vegetables, like cucumbers or lettuce.  If you do not have Swiss chard, try chopped cabbage.  (A winter version of this soup, when you may not have any garden veggies at all, calls for chopped cabbage, chopped cauliflower, onions, canned diced tomatoes, canned green beans, and canned corn.)  If you would rather have pasta than potatoes, add about 3/4 cup orzo and let it cook the last 10 minutes of boiling/simmering.  If you prefer a different meat, or if you have some leftover chicken or roast on hand, you can use that, as well, although you may need to season the soup a bit more.  (The beauty of the Spicy Italian sausage is that it tends to flavor the soup well, so seasoning aside from the bouillon and the herbs is unnecessary.)

Exercise your creativity and have fun!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Not Quite San Francisco Sourdough



Remember the book my sister sent me at Christmastime?  Remember the sourdough starter I attempted to make at that time?  (The one my husband said couldn't be made because there weren't enough wild yeasts and bacteria floating around in the desert?)

Well, events being what they were, I had to leave it in the care of my teenagers for a few days . . . which wasn't a good idea.  When I returned, I found a mess which deserved only discarding.  After that, with school starting right away, I didn't think I could give a seed starter the care it needed, so I postponed trying again.

When Spring Break finally came along, I decided it was time.  I began again, following the schedule outlined in the book, and watched in delight as bubbly things started happening.  (Obviously there are enough yeasts and bacteria in the desert in springtime to make starter-type things happen!)  And then the bubbly things stopped happening.  My starter ceased to be active, and I realized I had missed a critical stage in its development when it had needed more ingredients added.  (Discard #2.)

With a sigh, I started yet again, even though school was coming back into session, as well.  I decided to take the book's author at his word when he said the mixture only needed to be aerated two or three times a day, hoping the long stretch of my absence each day wouldn't adversely affect the growth of the living beasties inside my bowl.  It seemed to work, and this time, I understood more what I was looking for in the starter's development.

Finally, I had a "mother starter" finished and waiting in my refrigerator, and with a little trepidation, decided it was time to try out a sourdough recipe.  (Still being the scientist, I had been recording everything I did in this experiment on my notebook . . .)

I chose the San Francisco Sourdough recipe to start out with, because I thought it would be kind of fun.  The reason I have entitled this entry "Not Quite San Francisco Sourdough" is because I knew my bread couldn't be San Francisco Sourdough without the same kinds of yeasts and bacteria found specifically in the San Francisco area.  But aside from that, the recipe is supposed to produce a loaf fairly similar to a San Francisco Sourdough loaf.

The resulting bread was chewy, dense, and delicious.  It did not rise as much as I thought it would when I shaped it in loaf pans, so I decided the next time around, I would try a different shape.  It had a distinct sour flavor characteristic of good artisan sourdough breads, and my husband and I called it a success, overall.  (At least it was a step in the right direction, even if it looked a little funny.)

After a couple more attempts at sourdough recipes, and a few more mistakes which helped me refine my technique, I finally tried making a whole wheat sourdough.  I was very careful with my scoring, which had given me trouble some other batches, and the bread came out rather pretty.(In the words of the Junior Taste-tester, "Minecraft bread!")  While I have never been a fan of normal whole wheat bread, I found I actually enjoyed the flavor of the sourdough whole wheat bread.

So with that success under my belt, I decided it was time to demonstrate the technique for the blog.  The recipe I am using is the whole wheat sourdough bread.

The funny jar in the front is the mother starter.
Ingredients:

For the starter:

1/4 cup (2 oz/56.5 g) mother starter, cold or at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (6 oz/170 g) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon (4.5 oz/128 g) lukewarm water (about 95 degrees F or 35 degrees C)

For the dough:

All of the whole wheat sourdough starter (12.5 oz/354 g)
1 1/2 Tablespoons (1 oz/28.5g) honey or agave nectar, or 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups (12 oz/340 g) lukewarm water
2 Tablespoons (1 oz/28.5 g) vegetable oil (optional)
3 1/2 cups (16 oz/454 g) whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons (0.5 oz/14 g) salt, or 1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons (0.17 oz/5 g) instant yeast (optional)

This recipe takes at least two days to make, so be prepared to start early.

To make the starter, combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.  If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute, then increase to medium speed for about 30 seconds.  If you are mixing by hand, stir for about 2 minutes, until well blended.  If the starter does not feel doughlike and tacky or slightly sticky, stir in additional flour or water as needed.  (I find, for me, if I measure the starter and flour by weight, I need no alterations.)

Weighing the mother starter.
Weighing the whole wheat flour.
Transfer the starter to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 30 seconds.  Place it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl loosely, and leave at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours, until the starter increases to about 1 1/2 times its original size.  Use the starter immediately to make the final dough or refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days.  (It's a good idea to pick a non-metal bowl for this; less chance of having reactive issues.  I use Corelware or glass.)

This is the starter before time sitting on the counter.
This is the starter after sitting on the counter . . . It's aliiiiive!!
To make the dough, cut the starter into 10 or 12 pieces and put them in a mixing bowl.  Dissolve the honey in the warm water (if you're using sugar, just add it with the dry ingredients), then stir in the oil and pour the mixture into the mixing bowl.  Stir to soften the starter, then add the dry ingredients, along with the instant yeast (unless you're making the "purist" version, like I do).  If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute, or stir with a large spoon for about 1 minute, to create a wet, coarse dough.  Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to fully hydrate the flour.

In a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed, or continue mixing by hand, for 2 minutes.  The dough will firm up slightly and become smoother.  Adjust by adding a little more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if it is too firm.  (I had to add a little more flour this time.)  The dough should be supple and a little sticky.  Continue to mix with the dough hook on medium speed (or by hand) for 4 minutes more, increasing the speed or kneading more vigorously the last 20 seconds.  The dough will be slightly sticky, but stronger and more elastic.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  With wet or oiled hands, reach under one end of the dough, stretch it out, then fold it back onto the top of the dough.

Stretching the dough.
Folding the dough.
Do this from the back end and then from each side.  (So you'll be doing this four times--top, bottom, left, right.)  Flip the dough over and tuck it into a ball.  Place the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Repeat this process three more times.  (So, yes, you'll be doing the entire process four times.)

After the final time, immediately cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate the dough overnight or for up to 4 days, or, for the "purist" version, leave the dough out for 2-3 hours before refrigerating.  The dough should rise to about double or triple its original size within 8-12 hours in the refrigerator.

On baking day, remove the dough from the refrigerator about 3 hours before you plan to bake (or 4 hours for the "purist" version).  Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into two pieces for loaves.

You can see by the air pockets that some yeast action has been happening overnight.
Shape the dough and place it on the back of a pan covered in parchment paper to rise.  (Well, I've tried that, and it's not terribly easy to work with, so I decided to try an alternate method I had seen ages ago, with something else:  covering a pizza paddle in corn meal and rising it on that.  It was much, much easier to transfer to the baking stone after it had risen.)


Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap, then let the dough rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours or up to 4 hours with the "purist" version, until increased to 1 1/2 times its original size.

Preheat the oven and baking stone to 500 degrees F or 260 degrees C.  Place a pan on a lower rack to use for steam.  Uncover the dough 15 minutes before baking and score it with a sharp serrated knife or razor blade.


Transfer the dough to the oven, pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan, and lower the temperature to 425 degrees F or 218 degrees C.


Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan.  The total baking time is 35-45 minutes for loaves.  The bread is done when the top and sides are a deep, rich brown and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom.  (If you want to be really scientific, the internal temperature should be above 195 degrees F or 91 degrees C.)  For a crisper crust, leave the bread in the oven for 5-10 minutes after you turn off the oven.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.

I got distracted and left mine in the oven a little longer than I had planned.
Extra crusty and chewy!
This bread is absolutely fabulous when spread with chevre, a soft goat cheese, or when eaten with soup.

On a side note, this batch of bread is proof that you can take a mother starter which has been sitting completely neglected in your refrigerator for two months (!), scrape off the top portion, and use only a few ounces of the bottom portion to resurrect your mother starter.  Still tastes good!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Hungarian Hunza Bread

My in-laws have many chickens.  This means they have many eggs.  Since we are a larger family, and I cook a wider variety of foods, they end up sending many of them our way.

Sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming.

The other day, after feeling mildly triumphant at finishing off a dozen eggs by serving my family breakfast burritos (with homemade tortillas and salsa, of course), I was surprised to see my mother-in-law at the door with a large bag of filled egg cartons.

"The 18-pack ones and the dozen at the bottom need to be used.  They're older."

I did a quick count and realized that I'd been handed 7 dozen eggs, 4 dozen of which needed to be used quickly.

I ran through my mind ways to freeze eggs in portions, but realized that may or may not do me any good, with the chickens continually producing, and more chickens getting into the productive stage soon.  After all, when would I choose to access the frozen eggs, if I am still getting more?

I pulled out my cookbooks and started browsing.  The largest criteria for consideration was the number of eggs required in the recipe.  Between a yeast coffecake, egg bread, and a quiche, I managed to go through 17 of the 4 dozen eggs.  I planned German pancakes for the next morning (6 more eggs), and then turned to the Internet, searching for egg-y breads.

One such bread, seemingly tailor-made to my need to rapidly consume eggs, was this recipe for Hungarian Hunza Bread.

See that?  6 egg yolks!  I put it on my list of breads to work on the next day, after garden planting.  (It ended up being before garden planting . . . A huge windstorm came through our area, blowing up so much dust that digging in the dirt would have been an exercise in futility.  Anything we might have turned up would have blown away.)


Ingredients:

3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast (2 T of my yeast--not sure if it's active dry)
1 cup warm water for yeast
8 cups bread flour (I used all-purpose.)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
6 egg yolks
1 cup margarine, melted
1 1/2 cups warm milk (I used hot water and powdered milk.)
1 cup golden raisins
2 egg whites, beaten, for the tops of the loaves before baking

Mix the yeast in the warm water and set aside for about 10 minutes to allow it to dissolve and become frothy.

Prep other ingredients by melting the margarine and separating the egg yolks from the egg whites.

I used to separate eggs by moving the yolk from one half of the eggshell to the other, which method never really failed me.  But with our change to home-grown eggs, rather than store-bought eggs, I started using an egg separator.  Why?  Well, it's a rare home-grown egg, indeed, which is completely clean on the outside, even if you take the time to wash it just before using it.  (It's unwise to wash an egg in water unless you are planning on using it right away, because it removes the protective bloom on it which keeps it fresh for long periods of time.)  So, to avoid having bits of hay, dirt, or simply bacteria in my eggs, I no longer use my eggshells as egg separators.

 
I'll be honest:  it's harder with an egg separator.  But it's worth it to me to know the end product is clean.
 
The recipe in the link is written to be mixed by hand, without a stand mixer.  But after reading reviews from other bakers, I decided to go ahead and use my stand mixer, starting with the standard beater, rather than the bread hook.
 
First, I put the warm milk, melted margarine, sugar, and salt in the stand mixer bowl and mixed them.  When I was convinced the temperature was cool enough to not be a danger to the eggs (ie., they wouldn't become partially cooked upon entering the mixture) I added the egg yolks and kept stirring.
 
I added a couple of cups of flour and mixed, then added the now frothy yeast mixture.  When that was mixed in, I continued adding flour until the mixture started looking "stringy" behind the standard beater.  Changing the beater for the bread hook, I gradually added flour until the dough formed a ball around the hook, then continued adding small amounts of flour to the bowl so the dough wouldn't stick to the sides while it was being kneaded.
 
I've found, with bread doughs containing more eggs, it is very difficult to successfully perform my trick of adding a small amount of oil right at the end, then letting the ball of dough go around once more, greasing the bowl.  (After which, of course, I would stop the mixer, remove the dough hook, and flip the dough over for rising.)  For some reason, although the dough does reach a point in the mixing where it will be kneaded without sticking to the bowl, the moment I stop the mixer, it sticks horribly!
 
So instead of rising the dough in the same bowl, I now cave to necessity, oil a separate bowl, then turn out the dough into it.  After twirling the dough around a few times to make sure the bowl is well-oiled and to oil the dough, I flip the dough, then cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to rise.


See?  Dough in separate bowl . . .


You can see how much is still sticking to the mixer bowl, even after scraping.

I should know by now that egg doughs take longer to rise, but I was still surprised when I returned to my kitchen in a panic after having forgotten all about my rising dough to find . . . nothing much had happened.

Given that our area was experiencing a storm and my kitchen was a bit cooler than usual, I decided to use my broken oven as a proofing area.  I used the oven light and a pot of boiling water to add heat to the small space and prayed the dough would rise more quickly in this slightly warmer environment.

 
It worked!  It still took a while (um . . . 2 hours after being put in there?) but the dough finally reached a point where I was satisfied it was ready to be shaped.
 
 
I'm sure my family thinks I decided to omit the golden raisins, as I am notorious for hating raisins, but here they are!  In the recesses of my mind, I seemed to remember that golden raisins weren't as noxious as regular raisins, so I decided to go ahead and use them.
 

The instructions merely stated, "Knead in the raisins," after placing the dough on a lightly floured surface, of course.  I had no idea how one kneaded in raisins, but recalling to my memory a picture in a book about kneading bits of cheese into bread dough, I figured it couldn't be much different.






Many thanks to the Senior Master Kitchen Helper, without whose assistance these pictures would not have been possible!!

Place the loaves into greased loaf pans, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place.  (I put them back into my "proofing oven", with freshly boiled water.)

 
This time, it only took about an hour for the loaves to rise to a reasonable size for baking.  After brushing egg white on the top surfaces, they were ready!


I am sure this bread would have done much better in maintaining an even appearance if I had been able to bake them in a regular size oven.  But, as my indoor propane oven is broken, and with the horrible winds and blowind dust outside, I was unwilling to take them to the electric oven installed in my pumphouse, I was limited to using my electric countertop oven.  (The one in which I baked Rieska in my former office!)

When baking larger loaves in a small oven, there is the danger the top may brown too much, even with the convection oven function on.  This can be avoided by placing aluminum foil on the tops of the loaves for the last 10 minutes or so of baking, but it is not foolproof.

The recipe said to bake these loaves at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes.  I know from experience that when convection cooking, it is better to lower the temperature slightly and bake longer, but at about 38 minutes, the loaves looked so brown and seemed to be done, even with the aluminum foil slowing down the browning process, so I went ahead and took them out of the oven.  (Despite misgivings . . . I had made an egg bread the day before, and it was supposed to bake closer to 50 minutes or an hour . . .)


They looked beautiful and nicely brown, but they really should have been left in longer.


See that doughy spot?  If I had followed my instincts and left them in as long as the other egg bread, it would probably have come out well.

Even so, we tasted the bread, around the undone part.  I couldn't really taste the raisins, so that was good (unless, of course, it means that my taste buds are starting to disappear as I get older), and the bread, itself, was very sweet, fluffy, and delicious.  My husband and most daughters like it enough I will probably try it again, this time putting the aluminum foil on a little earlier and cooking the bread at least 10 minutes longer, if not more, for good measure.

And hopefully next time I'll have the added advantage of being able to use a large oven!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Romanian Easter Bread

At long last!  I finally decided I had the energy to start another bread!

With Easter coming up, I started searching for something appropriate to the season to bake.  I'd seen several Easter bread recipes, but most of them required raisins, other fruit, or a pail in which to bake the bread.  It took a while to locate a good-sounding recipe which didn't require these kinds of special ingredients or supplies.

I found a likely-looking candidate at a blog entitled Baking Glory:  an Easter bread apparently made in several Eastern European countries, including the author's native Romania.  The braided bread recipe included a lot of butter and eggs, but what clinched it were the poppy seeds sprinkled on the top.  (Which I actually had in my cupboard!)


Ingredients:

1 cup milk (I used dry milk plus the water required to make a cup.)
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup margarine  (Butter and margarine?  I could hardly wait.)
1 cup sugar
½ cup lukewarm water for yeast
2 teaspoons sugar, to mix with yeast
2 envelopes dry active yeast (about 1.5 Tablespoons of the yeast I use)
5 eggs
6 cups all purpose flour plus more for kneading (I think I ended up using 8 or 9)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons salt
1 egg white, for egg wash
2 Tablespoons sesame or poppy seeds

First, combine the milk, butter, and margarine and either heat it on the stove until the fats melt or use the microwave to accomplish the same thing.  I put it all in a 4-cup Pyrex container and microwaved it until everything was almost melted.  Mix the 1 cup sugar in this mixture and let it cool to lukewarm.

While waiting for the milk mixture to cool, add the yeast to the lukewarm water and mix in the 2 teaspoons sugar.  Allow this to sit for about 5 minutes, until you can see the yeast frothing up.



Beat the eggs.  Slowly add the milk mixture to the eggs, beating as you go.  If your milk mixture is cool enough, there is no real complication, but if it's a little warm, you run the risk of cooking bits and pieces of your eggs as you combine them.  Beating as you add the mixture reduces this risk.

In my stand mixture, I put the baking powder, salt, and about 3 cups of the flour.  I added the wet mixtures and mixed the whole together, adding more flour as I went.  Because of the high quantity of fats and eggs, this dough behaved differently than most bread doughs, actually forming into something of a cohesive lump more quickly than some other doughs and sticking to the side of the bowl less readily.  (Review about mixing a yeast bread in a stand mixer located here.)

After the dough was mixed, I greased the bowl and flipped the dough, covering it for its long rise.  After a little over an hour, it had doubled in size and was ready to be punched down and risen again.  (Yes, this recipe requires two rises before shaping.)

Finally, at long last, it was ready to be shaped!  Divide the dough into four equal parts.  (I used my kitchen scale to get as close to the same size as possible.)  Working with one part at a time, shape the dough into a braided loaf, as follows.

First, divide the dough into three portions.  Roll each portion into something resembling a snake, roughly a foot long.  Recognizing that my "snakes" never look very good, I decided to try something else I'd read in a book.  I flattened each of my snakes, then folded the top half to the center, and the bottom half to the center.  Then I pinched the seam together rolled them slightly again, with the seam on the bottom.  I think it made a better shape by the time I was finished with it.



Next step:  braiding the bread on the greased baking sheets.



I did not take pictures of the actual braiding process, but I've already talked about how to make braided bread in my post about Norwegian Cardamom Braid.

After the braiding was complete, it was time to cover the loaves with damp paper towels and let them rise again until about doubled, roughly an hour.


 
After rising, I brushed the loaves with the egg wash and sprinkled those much-beloved poppy seeds on the loaves and took them to the oven, which had been preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  (Yes, this bread bakes at a slightly lower temperature.) 
 

After about 30 minutes, the bread was ready to come out.


When I first took a bite of the finished product, I was slightly surprised to find the texture was so much different than the Norwegian Cardamom Braid.  (Although, given that the recipe is substantially different in quantities of fats, etc., I'm not sure why I was surprised.)  The crust was slightly reminiscent to me of a croissant--a somewhat flaky feel and buttery taste.  The interior, also, was lighter and less cake-like than the other braid.

One thing was sure, however:  it was fabulously delicious!  My family ate two of the loaves within 24 hours, gave one away to another family, and froze the last to save for Easter.  Hopefully it will taste as good when we thaw it.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Perfect Popcorn!

You are probably wondering if I am ever going to post about bread again.

Never fear, I'll get there.  I have breads on the mind and in the works, but what I do not have is a lot of time right now.  And unfortunately, the breads I really want to try out require quite a bit of time.

At any rate, in these hurried days of limited funds, popcorn is a welcome quick and inexpensive treat.  I can't say much about the absolute health benefits of this popcorn recipe, but what I can say is it works.

Years ago, someone told me the secret to good stove-popped popcorn--popcorn which is fluffy and which pops all the kernels--is to try to bring all the kernels to popping temperature at the same time.  He did it by moving his pot on and off the stove unit, shaking it around gently to make sure the heat was evenly distributed, until the kernels began popping.

Somehow, although I tried, I never got the hang of this method.

So not too long ago, in a fit of desperation, I looked up popcorn popping methods on the Internet and discovered a much simpler secret operating on the same basic principle.



Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

The original recipe I found called for 3 Tablespoons of oil, but after trying it, I thought it tasted a bit too greasy.  I experimented and found I could get by using 2 Tablespoons, with better results.  (Besides, who wouldn't want to cut the fat they are consuming by a third, right?)



First, put the oil in a 3-quart saucepan, along with three unpopped kernels.  Cover the saucepan with a lid and place it over medium heat.  Listen for the sound of those three kernels popping, which will be your cue that the oil has reached the desired temperature.


Once the three kernels have popped, add the 1/3 cup popcorn kernels.



Here is the big secret!!  Cover the pot and remove it from the hot stove unit.  That's right--set it on the back burner.


Set your timer for 30 seconds.


THIS is what is going to get your popcorn kernels all at a similar and close to popping temperature.  THIS is the trick which is going to minimize the numbers of unpopped kernels in your popcorn bowl.  (In the last half dozen or so batches I've popped, I think I've seen maybe one kernel which didn't pop.)

After 30 seconds, move the pot back on the hot unit.  Feel free to shake the pot a little if you want; it won't hurt anything.  I'm not sure it helps at all, but it won't hurt anything.

In a short while, you will hear popping . . . a lot of popping all at once.  This will be your indication that you have been successful:  your popcorn is all popping within a very short time window.  To avoid soggy popcorn, you can crack the lid a bit while it's popping and allow some of the humidity to escape, if you want.



And voila!  Add some salt or whatever other seasonings you want to personalize your popcorn.  I've heard it suggested to add salt when the oil is heating, but in my experience, it all ends up at the bottom of the pot, instead of automatically salting the popcorn during the popping process.

Enjoy!