Fresh Rhubarb Upside-down Baby Cakes

This is a lovely little butter cake with a topping of fresh rhubarb and pecan caramel laced with a bit of bourbon. 

The cake itself is amazing. I can think of so many things I would like to try out with this batter. Add the rhubarb, bourbon, and pecan mixture and these cakes are over the top amazing. 

Summer Vegetable Tart

This savory vegetable tart consists of a crispy buttery pre-baked phyllo crust filled with a warm mixture of sauteed vegetables, thyme, and goat cheese. 

The tender vegetables, combined with the goat cheese and seasoned with black pepper and thyme, are so flavorful. 

Finnish Pulla Bread

Finnish Pulla is a lovely bread, lightly sweetened and enriched with butter, milk, and eggs, similar to challah.  

What makes it Pulla is crushed cardamom, which is mixed into the dough to add a heavenly flavor. 

Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaves

The recipe for these whole wheat sandwich loaves is perfect for making your everyday bread. The loaves can be made in just a little over three hours, start to finish. 

These whole wheat loaves are perfect sliced for sandwiches. The flavor compliments deli meats, cheeses, and even peanut butter and jelly. This bread also makes excellent toast. 

Cantuccini Toscani - Almond Biscotti

These cantuccini Toscani, filled with almonds and flavored with cinnamon and vanilla, are a take on the wonderful crunchy Italian treat. 

Cantuccini (or cantucci for a slightly larger version) is the true name for what we think of as biscotti. All Italian cookies are called biscotti (twice-baked biscuits), but these are the "official" twice-baked cookies that originated in the small town of Prato in Tuscany. 

Overnight Bagels with Black Pepper

Bagels. Dough boiled in sweetened water and then baked. Yes, you can make them yourself at home!

These bagels are chewy and flavorful, just what you'd expect from a bagel. They are great with a "schmear," for breakfast, or for making bagel sandwiches. 

Puff Pastry Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizzettes

These puff pastry tomato and goat cheese pizzettes are little flavorful two-inch rounds of tasty deliciousness. 

These little puff pastry tomato and goat cheese pizzettes are only about two inches across, are super light, and are wonderful as appetizers.

Rustic Potato Loaves

These rustic potato loaves is made from a dough that is half flour and half potatoes. When they are baking, your house will smell like baked potatoes.

The dough for this bread is so unusual and interesting to work with. First, the dough seems to come together pretty quickly, and then it seems to fall apart in your mixer before it comes back together into a a cohesive dough.

Potato Lefse - Norwegian Flatbread

Potato lefse is a Norwegian flat bread that is rolled out very thinly, and then baked on a very hot griddle. It looks like a crepe, but tastes like a buttered baked potato. 

Potato lefse can be served with both sweet or savory fillings, including butter and brown sugar or jam, and they can also be used as a wrap for salads and meats.

Pita Bread | Tuesdays with Dorie

Bread is an amazing thing. Combine four simple ingredients, flour, water, salt, and yeast, and you can come up with so many different loaves, rolls, flatbreads, pastries, and other wonderful and delicious breads.

For example, pita bread. How do little rolled out disks of dough suddenly puff up while baking, creating a big pocket of air, ready to be filled with tasty salads, spreads, or vegetables?

It's pretty magical!

White Chocolate Patty Cake with a Raspberry Crush Filling

This white chocolate patty cake has a bit of an identity crisis. It is kind of a cross between elegant and rustic.

Fruit Focaccia | Tuesday's with Dorie

This fruit focaccia is so good for breakfast! It's great eaten unadorned on the day it is baked, and is excellent sliced in half, toasted, and buttered the next day.

The fruit is macerated in hot water for about three hours, and then the resulting liquid is used for the water in the bread. How cool is that?

Ka'kat - Middle Eastern Snack Bread

These tiny little Ka'kat rolls are a Middle Eastern street food and are flavored with mahleb, the ground kernels of black cherries.

When I pulled these out of the oven after a long day of baking, I could not stop myself from buttering and eating these. The aroma from the mahleb kept calling me back to the cooling rack "just to make sure" these turned out.

Matzos with Sesame Seeds

These matzo crackers are very hard to put down once you begin snacking on them. They are so crunchy and thin, that "just one more" doesn't seem like it would hurt.

Matzos, or Matzah, are a crisp unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during Passover. It is baked quickly, to reenact the Exodus.

These would be delicious with hummus, Boursin and smoked salmon, or even butter (think buttered Saltines). They are also just as tasty plain. So good!

Brown-Butter-and-Vanilla-Bean Weekend Cake | Tuesdays with Dorie

This brown butter and vanilla bean weekend cake is so easy to make and really versatile. When it is first made, it can be eaten plain, as you would any cake. When it gets stale, it is excellent toasted and buttered.

Yes, I buttered a butter cake.

The crust has a wonderful crispy sugary texture, even though it is simply a plain cake.

The story behind this cake, and loaf cakes like it, as told by Dorie Greenspan, is that this is a gateaux voyage, or gateaux weekend (according to Dorie, the French do use the American term, "weekend"). It's a simple cake that the French wrap up and take with them on weekends away.

To make this cake, all you need is a couple of bowls, a loaf pan, a whisk, and a rubber spatula. No electric mixer needed.

Oh, and the browned butter! The butter in this cake is boiled until it turns to a deep amber color, adding such a wonderful caramelized flavor. You definitely need to keep a very close eye on the butter, because when it begins to brown, it can burn very quickly. I poured mine out into a heat proof bowl the minute it was the right color so it wouldn't continue to cook in the hot pan.

Suggested ways to eat this cake:

1. Plain
2. Toasted with butter
3. Topped with vanilla ice cream
4. Spread with jam
5. Toasted and spread with jam
6. Topped with chocolate sauce
7. Spread with Nutella
8. Toasted and dipped in coffee
9. Toasted and used as croutons in hot chocolate
10. Spread with whipped cream

I'm sure you guys have many more suggestions. 

This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan's stunning new book, Baking Chez Moi. The stories behind the recipes are such a fun read. I am a total fangirl. 

The recipe for this cake can be found > here <. 

To see how other bakers fared with this recipe, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie group's site.

Eastern European Rye Bread

This Eastern European Rye Bread is soft and light with a crispy crust. It is perfect for deli style sandwiches.

I was a little nervous about this bread at first, mostly because the dough requires quite a bit of kneading, which is something that normally turns rye dough into glue (at least for me). The dough started out really sticky and glue-like, but an amazing thing happened. After about eight minutes of kneading with the stand mixer on medium speed, the dough became smooth and easy to work with.

This bread also managed to survive a major goof on my part. After the first rise, I carefully shaped the dough and placed it in a heavily floured towel for the final rise. Then I realized that there should have been a second rise before shaping. Doh!

I quickly pulled the loaf out of the well flowered dish towel sling I'd placed it in to rise, rubbed it with wet hands to try to absorb the flour coating into the dough, and gave it a couple of kneads. Miracle of miracles, it rose up again!!

Regarding the dish towel "sling," there's a photo of how I suspended a loaf like this in this post. It's pretty fun explaining to your family why it's hanging there.

Bottom line? I loved how this bread turned out! It's probably the most success I've had with traditional deli rye.

Today, the Tuesdays with Dorie group is baking Eastern European Rye from the wonderful book, Baking with Julia (as in Julia Child) by Dorie Greenspan.  To see how other bakers fared, follow this link.

Eastern European Rye 

Makes two loaves

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

2 3/4 C tepid water (80 to 90 degrees F)

1 T sugar

1 scant tablespoon salt

1/4 C vegetable shortening

3 C medium rye flour

1 T ground caraway seeds (I ground them in a spice grinder)

1 1/2 T caraway seeds

3 T vital wheat gluten

3 1/2 C (approximately) bread flour 

1 large egg white

1 tsp cold water

Caraway seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Place the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, and add 1/2 C of the water and a pinch of the sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes. 
2. Add the rest of the water, the rest of the sugar, the salt, and the shortening. Add the rye flour and caraway seeds to the bowl and stir with a spoon until it is fully incorporated. 
3. Move the bowl to the mixer. Using the dough hook, mix in the vital wheat gluten. Add 2 1/2 C of the bread flour, and mix on medium low, adding more flour until the dough is soft and clears the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes.
4. Knead the dough on medium speed for about 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth. I mixed mine for the full eight minutes. 
5. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled.
6. Deflate the dough and let it rise again, until doubled, about 45 minutes.
7. Press the dough into a 7 inch by 9 inch rectangle, and, beginning with a shorter side, roll it into a log, sealing the dough as you roll it up. Tuck in the ends, place it in a floured towel, and suspend it from a drawer (I just tuck the towel into the drawer and shut the drawer). For detailed shaping instructions, see Cathy's post here. 
8. Let rise for 30 minutes. It will be quite puffy. 
9. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and set it up for steam (I use a broiler pan on the lowest rack, in which I add boiling water. I also spray the oven walls with water after loading the bread). 
10. When the loaf is ready, brush it with the egg white and water wash, and sprinkle with caraway seeds. 
11. Slash the dough three times on the diagonal. 
12. Load the loaf onto the baking stone or baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until it reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. 
13. Turn the oven off, and let the loaves sit for 5 minutes more. 
14. Let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Yeastspotted!

Granola Energy Bars

Granola Energy Bars filled with toasted oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut, and a mixture of dried fruit. 

Granola energy bars. From my kitchen. With brown rice syrup. Something is completely askew in the universe.

Couronne | Mixed Starter Bread

I did the happy dance after making this Couronne bread. The mixed starter dough may take a weekend to make, but it is so totally worth it. The resulting bread is crusty, crusty, crusty, and the soft interior is filled with the uneven holes for which bakers of rustic loaves strive.

The recipe was contributed by Steve Sullivan, founder of Acme Bread Company, one of the pioneers in the artisan bread movement, to the PBS Series, Baking with Julia, and the resulting book, Baking with Julia, written by Dorie Greenspan in 1996.

This dough begins with a small piece of leftover bread or pizza dough. I used used a piece of firm starter that had been sitting in my refrigerator for a couple of weeks from this bread. This is called the "old dough starter." About 8 hours later, the starter is fed again, and allowed to rise.

The dough is "mixed method," in that it also includes a small amount of instant yeast in the final dough. There are a lot of steps to creating this dough, but the resulting dough is simply amazing and a dream to work with.

Once you've made the dough, you can make baguettes, wheat stalks, pain fendu, boules, walnut bread, or this couronne.

To create the hole in the middle of the dough, you plunge your elbow into the center of the shaped dough (Yes, I did it).

The top of the couronne is decorated with a string of "pearls" made from extra dough. My pearls got a bit off kilter as the dough was rising, but that's why they call this bread "rustic," right?

Mixed Starter Bread Couronne

Ingredients

Old-dough starter

1/2 ounce of risen dough from white bread or pizza (I used two week old firm starter)

1/4 C warm water

2/3 C unbleached all purpose flour

Second Starter

All of the old-dough starter

1/4 C warm water

3/4 C unbleached all purpose flour

Final Dough

1 1/4 C water

1/2 tsp instant yeast

All of the second starter, cut into pieces

3 1/3 C (14.15 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour

1 T Kosher salt

Instructions

1. Break up the old dough into pieces and add them to a medium bowl. Add the water, and let sit for about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the flour and mix with a dough whisk or spoon. When the dough gets too stiff, remove it from the bowl and knead by hand until the flour is incorporated. Place it back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for about 8 hours (after the 8 hours, I refrigerated this starter until the next morning). 
3. Mix the second starter the same way you mixed the first starter. Let rise for four hours, and then refrigerate for 1 to 8 hours (I refrigerated mine for 1 hour). 
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, the yeast, and the second starter pieces. Let sit for 5 minutes. 
5. Add all of the flour and mix with a spoon to just incorporate. 
6. Mix with the dough hook on low to fully incorporate the flour. Let rest for 10 minutes.
7. Sprinkle the salt over the dough. Mix on medium to medium high for about 8 minutes. 
8. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot (about 85 degrees F). 
9. Gently stretch and fold the dough over itself from all four "sides," and let it rise, covered, for another 45 minutes.
10. Take a 10 inch cake pan or springform pan and place a small (3 to 4 inch) bowl upside down in the middle. Cover with a tea towel, and rub the towel with flour.
11. Cut off a 5 ounce piece of dough. Pat it into a rectangle, fold it over itself several times to develop tension, and roll it into a small log. Cover and set aside. 
12. Shape the rest of the dough into a rough ball. Plunge your elbow into the center of the dough to create a hole. Using a floured hand, continue to expand the hole. Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. 
13. While the dough is resting, make the "pearls.' Roll the rope until it is about 24 inches long. Using the side of your hand, indent the rope by sliding your hand back and forth every inch or so. Place the "pearls" into the basket, circling the small bowl. 
14. Place the rest of the dough, flipping it over (very carefully) on top of the "pearls." Cover and let rise for about 90 minutes. 
15. Place a pizza stone in your oven, and preheat it to 450 degrees F. Set up the oven for steam or place a large metal bowl over the pizza stone (this is what I did). 
16. When the dough is ready, place a piece of parchment over the cake pan, cover with a peel, and flip the whole thing over. Remove the cake pan and the tea towel. Transfer the dough to the stone and cover with the hot metal bowl. 
17. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes, covered, and then 20 to 25 minutes more, uncovered. The bread should be very brown, with an interior temperature of 200 to 210 degrees F. 
18. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

I am participating in Tuesdays with Dorie. To see how other bakers fared, check out this link. 

Palets de Dames, Lille Style | Tuesdays with Dorie

Palets de Dames, Lille Style, are small, cake-like vanilla cookies, lightly glazed with a sweet icing.

They are the first recipe the Tuesdays with Dorie group is making from Dorie Greenspan's new book, Baking Chez Moi, Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere. When I first found out about this book, I preordered it, sight unseen. I am such a fangirl. In this book, Dorie Greenspan has compiled a collection of simple dessert recipes that represent the various regions of France, where she has lived for almost 20 years.

As always, Dorie makes what might seem complicated completely accessible.

Palets de Dames are a favorite cookie in the patisseries in Lille, a city in northern France, according to the book. They also have various iterations across the country, but the ones in Lille have this lovely pale icing.

These little two-bite cookies are so easy to make and so worth it. Perfect for afternoon tea.

The recipe can be found here.  To check out how other Tuesdays with Dorie participants liked the recipe, visit here. You can buy the book here.

Alsatian Onion Tart | Tuesdays with Dorie

Alsation Onion Tart is, according to Dorie Greenspan in the book, Baking with Julia, a "flat, pizzalike galette covered to its very edge with meltingly tender..... mix of onions and bacon." It was a traditional Sunday supper dish in Alsace, to be served after church.

This tart is comprised of a puff pastry crust topped with a "soubise," a mixture of onions and bacon. The onions are simmered in chicken broth until softened, and then combined with cream. The bacon is boiled and then barely fried before being added to the tart. The original recipe calls for slab bacon. I used uncured sliced bacon instead, and was pretty happy with the results.

The original recipe also calls for four "very large" onions. I ended up with a lot of extra onion mixture after piling the onions onto the puff pastry. Two very large onions would probably be enough.

Alsatian Onion Tarts are typically round. I rolled mine into a rectangle. Why? It fit perfectly into my quarter sheet pan, which fit perfectly into my refrigerator overnight.

I totally loved the flavors of this tart. I had prepared all of the components (pastry, onions, and bacon) the day before, and baked the tart in the morning. It made an amazing late morning breakfast. Tasty!!

For this tart, you can either use store bought puff pastry, or make your own. Check out this post for how I actually made my own puff pastry!

Alsatian Onion Tart

Ingredients

8 ounces of chilled puff pastry scraps

4 very large onions, peeled and diced (or less, as mentioned above)

1 C chicken broth

3 T heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 to 6 ounces sliced bacon

Instructions

1. Roll out the pastry scraps to a very thin 10 to 12 inch circle or equivalent rectangle. 
2. Place the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet and prick the pastry with a fork all over. Don't scrimp on this as you want the dough to remain flat while baking. 
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
4. Place the onions into a large sauce pan with the chicken broth, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The onions should be very soft. 
5. Let the onions cool. Drain the onions in a strainer to remove any extra liquid. Put them back into the sauce pan. Mix in the cream and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cut the bacon slices into half inch pieces and place them in boiling water for one minute. Drain on paper towels.
7. Fry the bacon slices for 2 minutes in a hot pan. Drain on paper towels. 
8. Note: The pastry, onions, and bacon can be kept in the refrigerator overnight until you are ready to bake the tart.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Spread the onions over the dough, push the bacon pieces into the onion mixture. 
11. Bake the tart on the lower third of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. 
12. Serve immediately.