The French Baguette and the Un-Massachusetts Roast Beef Sandwich

French baguettes have always been my nemesis, so when I was given an opportunity to choose a recipe to bake from a new cookbook, Baking By Hand: Make the Best Artisanal Breads and Pastries Better Without a Mixer, sight unseen, I chose to make the French baguette... the one bread I have not been able to do with much success... No pressure at all.....

Crusty Apple Pie

Imagine an apple pie that that is mostly crispy and crumbly crust. A pie that has just enough cinnamon apples to keep the two layers of flaky crust apart.

I'm not very practiced in pastry dough (still learning), and when I assembled this pie, I had some trouble rolling out the dough. It was a little dry, and the edges were really jagged. I mean, really jagged, kind of like a map of Sicily. Fortunately the dough was pretty forgiving, and after some patching, I had a couple of rustic circles.

The pie is baked on a baking sheet or pizza pan, not in a pie pan. I baked mine in a dark pizza pan, which resulted in a very crispy bottom crust.

This pie is really good, and the crust, which contains both butter and cream cheese, is really flaky. If you like crust, make this pie. It's kind of a galette with a top crust. I loved it.

This recipe is part of the October Avid Bakers Challenge. We are baking recipes from the King Arthur Flour website.

Crusty Apple Pie Recipe

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Crust Ingredients

8 1/2 ounces unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 ounce buttermilk powder

4 ounces cream cheese

5 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

1 1/2 to 2 ounces ice water

Filling Ingredients

1/2 C sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon mixed together

1 1/4 pounds apples (I used Granny Smith), cored, peeled, and halved, and thinly sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 ounce salted butter, cut into small cubes

Sparkling sugar and milk for glazing

Instructions

1. In a food processor, add the flour, cream cheese, salt, and buttermilk powder. Pulse about 8 times.
2. Add the butter pieces and pulse a few more times. You should still see butter pieces.
3. Dump the dough out onto your work surface and sprinkle with some of the water and press the dough together to see if it is enough to hold the dough together. Add more water, a little at a time, until the dough just holds together.
4. Divide the dough into a 9 ounce piece and a 10 ounce piece. Form each piece into a disk, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. 
5. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 F.
6. Lay a piece of parchment on your work surface and roll out the larger piece of dough to a 13 inch circle on top of the parchment. Move the dough, parchment and all, to a pizza pan or rimmed baking sheet.
7. Toss the apple slices in the lemon juice to keep them from browning.
8. Spread the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of the dough circle.
9. Arrange the apples on top of the cinnamon sugar.
10. Dot the top of the apples with the butter.
11. Roll the second piece of dough out into a 12 inch circle. Lift the dough and place it on top of the apples.
12. Fold the bottom dough edges over the top piece and crimp them together.
13. Brush the dough with milk or cream, and sprinkle the top with sparkling sugar.
14. Cut holes or slits in the top dough.
15. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake for an additional 25 to 35 minutes. The pie will be done when the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
16. Cool on a rack in the pan for at least an hour before slicing. 

Danish Braid with Apricot and Confectioner's Cream Filling | TWD

Seriously easy-to-make apricot and confectioner's cream Danish pastry. The pastry itself has the richness of laminated dough without all of the work, and the fillings are made in a microwave. Even better, you can make the dough and fillings a couple of days in advance and keep them in the refrigerator.

This bread was rich, buttery, and flakey and filled with the tartness of apricots and the sweetness of confectioner's cream.

Based on the easiness of preparing the ingredients and the tastiness of the finished product, I will be making this one again and again.

While this bread is called a braid, the look is created by cutting the rolled out dough and crossing strips of it over each other. Easy.

This recipe comes from Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers by Dorie Greenspan. 

Danish Braid with Apricot and Confectioner's Cream Filling

Danish Pastry

Ingredients

1/8 C water

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)

1/4 C room temperature milk

1/2 large egg, room temperature (How much is half and egg? Whisk the egg and then put it into a measuring cup. Use half.)

1/8 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 C unbleached all purpose flour 

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices

Instructions

1. Whisk the water, yeast, milk, egg, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Put the flour into the bowl of a food processor with the metal blade. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until the butter is cut into 1/2 inch pieces. 
3. Add the flour and butter mixture to the yeast mixture, and stir gently with a dough scraper or rubber spatula until just combined. 
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight and up to 4 days. 
5. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface, dust it with flour, and pat it into a square. Roll it into an 8 inch square. 
6. Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter. 
7. Roll it and fold it again two more times, wrap it with plastic wrap, and chill it for 30 minutes to 2 days. 

Confectioner's Cream

Ingredients

1 C heavy cream

1 1/2 T cornstarch

2 T sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Using a 1 quart glass measuring cup, whisk the cream, cornstarch, and sugar together. 
2. Microwave the ingredients for 1 minute. Stir and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes more, one minute at a time until it boils and slightly thickens. 
3. Mix the egg yolk and vanilla. Add a bit of the hot cream to temper the egg, and then add the egg to the cream mixture. Whisk very well, and then microwave for another 30 seconds. Whisk again. The cream should be thickened. 
4. Cover the top of the cream with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature. 
5. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Apricot Filling

Ingredients

1 C dried apricots

1 C water

1 C sugar

2 T lemon juice

1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions

1. In a 1 quart glass measuring cup, stir the apricots, water, and sugar together. 
2. Microwave for about 10 minutes, stirring about every 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Place the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.
4. Add the lemon juice and extract and pulse.
5. Scrape the ingredients into a small container, cool, and refrigerate for up to a week.

To assemble the bread:

Ingredients

All of the pastry dough

Apricot filling

Confectioner's Cream filling

One egg white, whisked

Pearl or sparkling sugar

Sliced almonds

Instructions

1. On a piece of parchment, roll the dough into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle.
2. Mark the dough with a knife or dough scraper lengthwise to divide it into thirds. Don't cut all of the way through. 
3. Place a layer of the apricot filling down the center. You won't use all of the filling. 
4. Place a layer of the Confectioner's Cream on top of the apricot filling. Again, you will have leftover filling.
5. Using a knife, cut each outside third of the dough on a slant to create about 14 strips. 
6. Fold them alternatively over each other, brush with the egg white, sprinkle with the sugar, and add the almonds.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 
8. Let it rise for about 30 to 40 minutes, remove the plastic wrap, and bake the pastry for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. 
9. Cool on a rack. 

What is TWD? Tuesdays with Dorie! Check out the TWD website for more variations on this recipe. 

Stir-Fried Cumin Scented Beef with Vegetables | Wok Wednesdays

This Stir-fried beef with vegetables is, according to Grace Young, the award winning author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, The Breath of a Wok, and Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, a representative Hunan-style stir fry. She also says it involves an advanced stir-frying technique called jau yau, which means "passing through oil." 

Bite sized pieces of meat, poultry, or fish are briefly blanched (in this case 15 seconds) in hot oil prior to stir-frying. You kind of do this acrobatic where you bring the hot oil to about 280 degrees F, add the beef, fry for 15 seconds, and then pull the beef out with a skimmer and drain it on paper towels. 

At this point, you pour off the oil, rinse the wok, and commence the stir-fry. 

Did you notice above that I said Grace Young refers to this technique as "advanced?" I'm feeling pretty smug at this point because I pulled this off. With a guest for dinner. The first time I tried it. Did someone say "advanced?" 

This dish includes flank steak, carrots, cauliflower, scallions, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. It's really tasty. Just saying. Take it from someone who is "advanced." 

I am participating in Wok Wednesdays. We have a Facebook page too for non bloggers to participate. Twice a month we stir-fry a recipe from Grace Young's Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge. So far, every recipe I've tried from this book has been flawless. Order the book. This recipe is on page 74. 

You can also find the recipe >here<. 

Toffee Candy, Butterscotch, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Trust me, you have to try these toffee candy, butterscotch, and chocolate chip cookies.They only take about 10 minutes to mix and then another few hours in the refrigerator to get ready to be sliced and baked.

Chocolate Truffle Cookies with a Crackle Crust

These chocolate truffle cookies are packed with chocolate.

Three dozen cookies comprised of over a pound of bittersweet chocolate, two cups of bittersweet chocolate chips, and three tablespoons of cocoa powder. I was inspired to make these cookies after coming home from a visit to Seattle.

Outside of cities in California, Seattle is the is probably the city I have visited the most. Behind Seattle? Chicago, Portland, and Dublin. So much world, so little time. You know you love a city when you can't quite remember how many times you've been there.

This trip was all about good friends and good food. I spent the weekend with a sweet friend and colleague who relocated to a suburb north of the city. Being a southern California native, I love to visit such a "foresty" place.

Next up, Mr. Kitchen joined me for a few days in the city. The highlight was having dinner with a dear, dear friend. You know those friends that you don't see for 30 years and then it's like you haven't missed a beat? That's him. What a treat. I can't begin to tell you how special it was... the sweetest thing.

The last time I was in Seattle was 2008, and I will say that the city proper seems a little more hardened. There are parts of the city that are a little more seedy than I remember, and the fish doesn't seem to be flying in the Market.

What is the same? The food, the walkability of the city, and just the gorgeousness of the place.

In Seattle, the iconic chef is, of course, Tom Douglas, and on this trip we visited Lola's and the Dahlia Lounge (where I had the best grilled cheese and tomato soup ever!). Next to the Dahlia Lounge is the Dahlia Bakery. It's really a very small shop but filled with some amazing baked goods. And of course, because I can't help myself, I have the cookbook. 

What to make in honor of this trip? These Tom Douglas Chocolate Truffle Cookies. They seemed like the perfect way to celebrate our trip.

For another fabulous truffle cookie, be sure to try my smaller version with different coatings. 

Chocolate Truffle Cookies With a Crackle Crust

Makes about 36 to 40 3 1/2 inch diameter cookies

Ingredients

205 grams all-purpose flour
20 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
567 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 1⁄4 cups sugar
6 large eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Generous 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder together. Stir in the salt and set aside. 
3. Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler until melted. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. 
4. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment and cream on medium speed until well combined. 
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on medium speed until the eggs are incorporated. 
6. Increase the speed to high and beat for a few minutes until the mixture is very light and pale.
7. Add the melted chocolate and the vanilla extract and mix just until combined. 
8. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips.
9. Set up several baking sheets with parchment paper and start scooping the cookies as soon as you finish making the batter. Use an ice cream scoop but pack the scoop only about three- quarters full. 
10. Scoop the batter onto the baking sheets, placing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Flatten each mound of dough slightly with your hand or an off-set spatula.
11. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time in the center of the oven, until they are evenly cracked all over the tops and are softly set, about 14 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through the baking time. 
12. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheets with a metal spatula. 

Potato Onion Dill Bread

This Potato Onion Dill Bread smells amazing when it is baking, a lot like a twice baked potato.

This bread is incredibly moist and makes the best garlic cheese toast ever. Imagine a twice baked potato... except it's bread. See the chunks of potato in there?

This dough was really wet...  94% hydration. Add in potato flour, potatoes, and onions, and you have a pretty touchy dough when it comes to holding its shape. So far, 80% hydration has been my limit before I can no longer get surface tension and slash the dough. I've been really spoiled with the breads I've been making lately, so I was a little too confident in my approach to this one.

Don't get me wrong. This bread is absolutely wonderful. The crumb is perfect. It's just that the shape of the bread isn't quite what I wanted. I'd actually like to try baking this in a the long clay baker I have... or maybe I should just keep working on getting the loaves to be more round.

Or... I could just say I meant it to be this shape! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Potato Onion Dill Bread Recipe

Ingredients

57 grams (by weight) warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) 

1 tsp active dry yeast

450 grams unbleached bread flour

40 grams potato flour or potato flakes (not potato starch)

12 grams Kosher salt

1 tsp dill seed

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

369 grams room temperature water

100 grams red potato, simmered, diced into 1/4 inch pieces, and cooled

70 grams sweet onion, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand for 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Whisk all of the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer together. 
3. Add the yeast/water mixture, the rest of the water, and then stir the ingredients with a large spoon or a dough whisk.
4. Knead on low with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. 
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it sit for 20 minutes. 
6. Add the potatoes and onions, and fold the dough over them a few times to incorporate. 
7. Knead for one minute. 
8. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl or bucket, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 90 minutes. 
9. Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Divide the dough in half and lightly flour the top of each piece. 
10. Flour two small bannetons or towel lined bowls with brown rice flour. 
11. Form each piece into a ball, without deflating the dough, and place each into a bowl, seam side up. Cover with oil sprayed plastic wrap.
12. Allow to rise for about 45 minutes, until just less than doubled.
13. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with two covered Dutch ovens heating in the oven. 
14. When the dough is ready, remove the Dutch ovens from the oven.
15. Place parchment over the dough, and turn the dough over so that the parchment is on the bottom.  Remove the bowl/towel, from the top of the dough. Lift the dough round, parchment and all, and place it gently into the Dutch oven. Cover, and place it in the oven. (At this point, you can slash the dough, carefully). 
16. Repeat with the second loaf.
17. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tops from the Dutch ovens, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake another 15 minutes, until the dough reaches an internal temperature of about 210 degrees F.
18. Cool the loaves completely on a wire rack. 

Adapted from Amy's Bread.