Neapolitan Striped Crisps

These Neapolitan Striped Crisps are reminiscent of the Neapolitan ice cream my sisters and I used to call "pink, brown, and white" when we were little kids. There's a layer of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, just like the ice cream.

Whole Wheat Challah with Apricots

Challah is typically baked with white flour. As Daniel Leader says, "challah is the whitest of white breads." He also points out that observant Jews baked bread prior to the invention of white flour, so they must have baked challah with whole grains at some point.

This challah dough is about half whole wheat flour and half white flour. The addition of a small amount of finely chopped dried apricots add a touch of sweetness to balance the bite of the whole wheat flour.

The bread is pretty amazing, and going forward, it will be difficult for me to choose which challah recipe to bake. This bread is light and airy, and simply wonderful. The dough behaved and was super easy to braid.

More awesome challah recipes to check out: Italian challah and Demerara sugar honey challah.

Whole Wheat Challah with Apricots

Slightly adapted from Simply Great Breads: Sweet and Savory Yeasted Treats from America's Premier Artisan Baker.

Ingredients

240 grams stone ground whole wheat flour

219 grams unbleached all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C water

3 large room temperature eggs

1/2 C olive oil

1/4 C honey

30 grams finely chopped dried apricots

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flours, yeast, salt, water, two of the eggs, olive oil, and honey. Stir with a large spoon or dough whisk to moisten. 
2. Knead the ingredients with the dough hook on medium-high speed for about 4 to 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl. I had to add a couple of extra tablespoons of flour.
3. Add the apricots and knead/mix for an additional minute or so.
4. Move the dough to an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket and let it rise until doubled, about 90 to 120 minutes. 
5. Deflate the dough and cut it into three equal pieces. 
6. Roll the pieces into 15 inch long pieces.
7. On a parchment lined baking sheet, place the pieces next to each other and, at one end, press the pieces together and tucking them under the beginning of the braid.
8. Braid the strands and, when finished, tuck the other end under the loaf. 
9. Cover the braid with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes. 
10. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the loaf. 
12. Bake the loaf for about 40 minutes. 
13. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Hamantaschen with Prune Lekvar | Butter Cookies with Prune Filling

I discovered Hamantaschen while looking looking for a recipe for Lekvar to make for this pumpernickel bread recipe. After making the bread, I had about a cup of Lekvar left, which meant I had to make these cookies, right?

What is Lekvar, you ask? It's a Hungarian fruit spread made from dried fruit, typically prunes or apricots, and it is usually used in pastries and cookies.

How about Hamantaschen? They are traditional Jewish cookies served to celebrate Purim.

The dough for these cookies is really buttery and a little sticky, and I had to use both a dough scraper and many sprinklings of flour while working with it. I also used a thin cookie spatula to lift the cut cookie dough circles off of the counter top to get them to the baking sheets. I toyed with rolling the dough out between sheets of wax paper, but even though this dough was melty, it was still pretty manageable in a weird way.

The trick is to roll the dough out as thinly as possible but not so thin that the filling leaks out while they bake. Your filling also needs to be thick enough so that it stays put while the cookies are in the oven.

I took some of these cookies to work and placed a sign next to them saying "butter cookies with plum jam" (I knew better than to use the word "prune"), and they were a huge hit. I kept hearing "wow, these are really good."

I'm not sure I would have tried these if I did not have the leftover Lekvar, but I am really glad I did. I can't wait to experiment with different fillings and work on my folding and shaping skills. To see instructions on how to fold Hamantaschen (and some photos of perfectly shaped cookies), visit this post from Shiksa in the Kitchen.

Hamantaschen with Prune Lekvar

Lekvar Prune Filling

Ingredients

1 1/2 C pitted prunes

2/3 C water

1 tsp lemon zest

3 T orange juice

1/3 C brown sugar

Instructions

1. Place the prunes, water, lemon zest, and the orange juice in a small saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes, covered, until most of the water has been absorbed.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the brown sugar. Mash the ingredients while stirring to create a puree. 
3. Refrigerate. The Lekvar will keep for several weeks.

Hamantaschen

Slightly adapted from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Ingredients

3/4 C unsalted room temperature butter, sliced

2/3 C sugar

1 room temperature egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest or 1/4 tsp orange oil

10.2 (2 1/4 C) unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

a few drops of water if needed

Instructions

1. Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and cream for several minutes until light and fluffy. 
2. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange and beat until fully blended.
3. Sift the flour into the bowl, sprinkle with the salt, and mix on low until a dough is just formed.
4. Briefly knead the dough by hand to form a ball. If it's too dry, add a bit of water, but be careful not to add too much. I did not add any. 
5. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and place the dough on top. Form it into a disk and wrap it with the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 3 to 24 hours. 
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
7. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. 
8. Lift up the dough, re-flour the work surface, and roll the dough to 1/8 inch thick.
9. Cut the dough with a 3 inch round cookie cutter and place the rounds on the baking sheets. Re-roll the dough scraps and cut into more 3 inch rounds. 
10. Place a teaspoon of filling in each round, and fold the dough into triangles, folding three "sides" over each other (see these instructions). 
11. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 20 minutes. Cover the waiting baking sheet with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. 
12. Cool the cookies on a rack. 
13. These cookies will stay fresh for a few days if kept in a sealed container. 

Stir-Fried Lotus Root with Bacon and Vegetables | Wok Wednesdays

Finding the ingredients for this Stir-Fried Lotus Root with Bacon and Vegetables was an adventure.

This is one of the things I love about participating in Wok Wednesdays. I am forced to try ingredients I would never even think of trying otherwise. Another thing I love about participating? The support I receive from other Wok Wednesdays participants... including Grace Young, the author of Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge, the book from which we are wokking.

Cloud ears. Chinese bacon. Lotus root....

Cloud ears? Turns out it is a fungus. It is usually sold dried and needs to be reconstituted in water. Amazingly, I was able to find a big pack of fresh cloud ears.

I and many of my fellow participants had to make several trips to our local Asian market after buying the wrong item or not finding one of the ingredients. Participants posted photos of what they bought and others weighed in as to whether or not they had the correct ingredient. I actually took the book to the store to show pictures of what I was looking for.

We are a dedicated group. (If you have any interest in joining a fun and dedicated group of people who are interested in learning how to stir-fry, check out the Facebook page.)

Final verdict? We all loved this. This is a stunning dish and really easy to prepare once you have all of the ingredients.

In addition to the cloud ears, lotus root, and the bacon (there are some great photos of these ingredients on this blog), the dish includes snow peas, carrots, and scallions, along with ginger, chicken broth, salt and pepper, sesame oil, Shao Hsing rice wine, and soy sauce. Amazing flavor.

To get the recipe, check out page 193 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge by Grace Young. As participants, we've all agreed not to post the actual recipe. If you are interested in flexing new cooking muscles and want to make some amazing dishes, get the book and try this dish.

Peppermint White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

This shortbread peppermint cookie is perfect for Christmas. While the ones I made here are simple rounds, you can roll out the dough and make it into any shape you like.

These cookies are flavored with white chocolate incorporated into the dough. Then they are brushed with a white chocolate glaze and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy. I think I need to do a better job of crushing the candy. Either way, they are tasty.

Peppermint White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Recipe adapted from Small Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers

Ingredients

2 ounces chopped white chocolate

1/2 C all purpose flour

1 T plus 1 tsp cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3 1/2 T softened unsalted butter

3 T confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp shortening

1/4 C crushed peppermint candies

Instructions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Microwave 1 ounce of the white chocolate for about a minute to melt. Stir and set aside. 
3. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl. 
4. In a small deep bowl, add the butter, sugar, and vanilla, and mix with a hand mixer until whipped. Add the melted white chocolate.
5. Add the flour and mix on low speed until blended.
6. Turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed or plastic paper and pull it together. Roll it into a log and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
7. Slice the log into 1/2 inch pieces and place them onto the baking sheet. 
8. Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes.
9. Microwave the rest of the chocolate, add the shortening, and paint one side of each cookie with chocolate. Sprinkle with the candies. 
10. Cool and enjoy!

Pumpernickel Loaves | TWD

To purists, this pumpernickel loaf is not authentic. At least not German pumpernickel authentic.

According the holder of all earthly knowledge (which used to be my title before Wikipedia came along), Traditional German rye gains its dark color from baking for up to 24 hours in a pain de mie type pan at a lower oven temperature. The flavors are faintly sweet and reminiscent of chocolate and coffee.

This recipe comes from Baking with Julia, and was contributed by Lauren Groveman. To quote Lauren, "This bread delivers traditional taste using some untraditional ingredients."

These ingredients include espresso powder, chocolate, molasses, and prune lekvar (prune butter) to replicate the traditional flavor and color. I was a little worried, especially regarding the chocolate, but in the end, we ended up with an amazing loaf of bread.

My friend David who writes for Hearth Baked Tunes (and is the well deserved self-proclaimed Rye King and rye purist) will probably be a little disappointed in me... because I really loved this bread.

Final verdict? This bread is soft and wonderful. It has a faint sweetness, but doesn't taste like chocolate, coffee, molasses, or prunes. It just has a faint sweetness... kind of like pumpernickel.

The funnest and scariest part of this bread is the technique for the final rise. The bread is wrapped in a flour dusted dish towel and hung from a kitchen drawer. The original recipe required punching holes in your dish towels, which I didn't want to do. Instead, I slammed the drawer door on the top of the dish towel to suspend the loaf.

I was completely amazed at the soft and plump, puffy loaf that emerged from these swaddling clothes.

To see another post about all of the shaping techniques in preparing this bread, check out my friend Cathy's blog. Her blog is especially helpful in demonstrating the corner fold technique.

Pumpernickel Loaves

Ingredients

1/2 C boiling water

1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder

1 3/4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 T unsulphured molasses

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

2 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

pinch of sugar

2 T warm water

1 C water plus 1 T nonfat dry milk

2 T solid vegetable shortening

1/4 C prune lekvar (I made my own; recipe is posted here)

1 T ground caraway seeds

3/4 T whole caraway seeds

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 C coarse rye meal or medium rye flour

3 C high gluten flour. I added a T of vital wheat gluten to bread flour prior to measuring the flour

1 egg white whisked with water

This recipe is from Baking with Julia, and has been cut in half. 

Instructions

1. Put the boiling water and espresso into a small saucepan and stir. Add the chocolate, molasses, and butter and cook over low heat until the butter and chocolate melt.
2. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. 
3. In a small measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Let rest for about 5 minutes.
4. Stir the 1 C water, nonfat dry milk, shortening, lekvar, caraway seeds, and salt into the butter and chocolate mixture. 
5. Once the temperature is less than 110 degrees F, add the yeast/water mixture and the rye. Stir in just enough of the four to make a moist dough. 
6. Switch the bowl to the mixer, and begin kneading and adding the rest of the flour. Add the flour, 1/2 C at a time. Stop at 2 1/2 C of flour and test the consistency of the dough. If the dough seems too wet, add a bit more. The final dough will be soft and most, but will clear the bowl during the kneading cycle. 
7. Knead on medium for about 10 minutes. 
8. Place the dough into an oiled dough rising bucket and allow to rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 2 hours. 
9. Punch the dough down, form it into a ball, and allow to double again. 
10. Preheat the oven, fitted with a baking stone, to 450 degrees F. Place a pan in the oven on a rack under the stone. 
11. Shape the dough into a tight fat log. Check out Cathy's blog for the precise instructions. 
12. Dust a dishtowel with flour and place the loaf, on a diagonal, on the towel. Hang from a cabinet drawer as pictured above. Allow the dough to rise for 40 minutes, undisturbed.
13. When the dough is ready, Place it, seam side down, onto a piece of parchment on a peel or cookie sheet. Brush with the egg white. Slash the dough three times on slight angle. Sprinkle with seeds if you like. 
14. Slide the loaf, parchment and all, onto the stone.
15. Throw a few ice cubes and ice water into the pan under the stone and quickly shut the oven door.
16. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes more, until done. 
17. Cool on a wire rack completely. 

This post is part of the Tuesdays with Dorie group, where twice a month we bake a recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. Hop over to the Tuesdays with Dorie page to see how other bakers fared.

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Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Rolls

One of the things I like about this cinnamon swirl pumpkin roll recipe is, while it is incredibly tasty and sweet, it is relatively low in fat compared to most cinnamon roll recipes (I said "relatively" so take this with a grain of salt), compared to most cinnamon bun recipes. It is also easy to make.

Just throw all of the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and knead. If you have a kitchen scale, you don't even have to get much else dirty.

These roles are best served warm fresh out of the oven. The next day, I recommend a 10 second turn in the microwave to freshen them up. Really tasty.

Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Rolls Recipe

Recipe slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour 

Ingredients

Dough

8 ounces (by weight) canned pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

2 ounces warm water (less if it's really humid)

2 ounces softened butter

10.5 ounces unbleached all purpose flour

7 ounces white whole wheat flour

1 ounce dry milk powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 ounces brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp instant yeast

Cinnamon Swirl

3/4 C sugar

1 T ground cinnamon

Glaze

2 ounces confectioners' sugar

1/4 ounce butter

1 3/4 tsp milk

Instructions

1. Add all of the dough ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir until the ingredients are moistened.
2. Knead the ingredients with the dough hook for about 7 minutes, until you have a smooth dough. 
3. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for about 90 minutes, until doubled. 
4. Roll the dough out into a 14" by 22" rectangle. 
5. Spread the cinnamon sugar over the dough, leaving 1 inch of a short edge free. 
6. Roll the dough up into a log, ending with the short end that is not covered with filling (so that you can seal up the log).
7. Cut the dough into 9 equal pieces and place them into an oiled 9 inch square pan. Pat them down so that the pieces touch.
8. Cover and let rise for about an hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
9. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. 
10. Turn the rolls out onto a wire rack to cool and make the glaze by mixing the ingredients.
11. While the rolls are still warm, drizzle them with the glaze.