Chocolate Milk Bread チョコレートミルクパン

We regularly get a catalog from the King Arthur Baking. One of them had a recipe for “chocolate milk bread”. Being a fan of Japanese milk bread, my wife decided to make it. Compared to regular milk bread, this is much more difficult to make. A direct quote from my wife: “This is the weirdest bread I’ve ever made.” The dough was especially soft and sticky having the texture of dough you would pour rather than knead. Also the instructions to mix on high speed for 20 minutes were unique. The dough did indeed get stiffer after this treatment but it was still impossible to ”fold” and “shape” as instructed. We ended up using a floured board and a baker’s scraper to form it into a loaf and placed it in a pan. It rose very high after baking but collapsed a bit after it was removed from the pan and cooled. The texture was nicely soft but chocolate flavor was muted. We like it very much but knowing the difficulty of making this, we are not sure it is worth the effort to make it again.

Ingredients (X1 one loaf)
Tangzhong
2 tablespoons (11g) black cocoa
2 tablespoons (11g) Dutch- process cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons (11g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) milk, whole preferred; cold
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) water, cold
1/2 tsp. King Arthur espresso powder (optional). (this brings out the taste of the chocolate

Dough
1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (219g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) milk, whole preferred; warm (110°F)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (41g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (10g) King
Arthur Baker's Special Dry Milk, optional
2 1/2 teaspoons (7g) instant yeast
scant 1 teaspoon (5g) table salt
3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten; divided
Scant 1/2 cup (75g) semisweet chocolate chips

Ingredients (X2) (Why make just one loaf when you can make 2 ?) We made 2 loaves
Tangzhong
4 tablespoons (22g) black cocoa
4 tablespoons (22g) Dutch- process cocoa
3 tablespoons (22g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) milk, whole preferred; cold
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon (140g) water, cold
1 tsp. King Arthur espresso powder (optional). (this brings out the taste of the chocolate)

Dough
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (438g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) milk, whole preferred; warm (110°F)

6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoon (82g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (20g) Dry Milk, optional
5 teaspoons (14g) instant yeast
2 teaspoons (10g) table salt
6 tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten;
Scant 1 cup (140g) semisweet chocolate chips (we didn’t use this)

Directions:
To make the tangzhong: In a small saucepan, whisk the cocoas, flour, milk, and water until no lumps remain. Over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, until the mixture looks glossy and thickened to the consistency of hot fudge sauce, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer the tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer; it will weigh about 145g after cooking (or 284 if doubling the recipe). If your tangzhong is more than 155g, (or 310g when doubling the recipe) return it to the pot and cook it a bit longer.

To make the dough: Add the flour, milk, sugar, milk powder, yeast, salt, butter, and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cooled tangzhong.

Using the dough hook, mix on medium-low speed until a soft, sticky dough forms, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until the dough almost clears the sides of the bowl (it will stick to the sides for much of the mixing time) and is smooth and elastic, 15 to 20 minutes total. Every few minutes, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then continue mixing. Eventually the dough will strengthen enough to mostly pull away from the sides of the bowl; the dough will still be slightly sticky but significantly more manageable than it was before. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until puffy and doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan or 9" x 4" Pullman loaf pan with nonstick spray or vegetable oil.
Use a bowl scraper to gently ease the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently form the dough into two loaves. (At this point the original recipe gave complex instructions on how to fold the dough into various squares, which, given the consistency of the dough was quite impossible. It held together but was more a pouring consistency. (#1) Forming it into loaves was the best we could do.) (#2) Cover and let the loaf rise until it just crests over the rim of the pan, 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. (#3) (If using a 9" x 4" pan, let the dough rise until it's about 1" below the top of the pan.)

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the chocolate milk bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until the loaf is fragrant, the top crust is firm, and the internal temperature is at least 190°F. Remove the loaf from the oven and cool briefly in the pan before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely.

The loaf was so soft that when we turned it out it started collapsing on itself (# 4) and we had to cool it on its side. Nonetheless once it cooled it stabilized and the soft texture was very nice. (maybe we should leave it in the pan longer before turning it out). There was almost no flavor of chocolate. We ate it for breakfast lightly toasted with butter. It is good we made this bread because it makes our library of Japanese milk breads (to the extent we know of it) complete. But there are various of the other versions we would choose to make before doing this one again.

P.S. Turns out that over time this bread has gotten better. A nice very subtle chocolate flavor has moved to the fore. The texture has also gotten firmer

Bagel ベーグル

My wife was not into bagels but this dramatically changed after our recent stay at a hotel/B&B in California. It was a good comfortable accommodation. But essentially we did not see any hotel staff while we were there. There was no front desk and you communicate with the hotel owner/proprietor via digital communication and instead of a key you get a “code” which allows you to open the front door and your room doors during your stay. It had a spacious communal kitchen and dining room where we could self serve coffee, yogurt,  bagels/muffins, and fruit for breakfast. They had blueberry bagels and my wife really liked the bagel. While we were staying there we had bagel and cream cheese as a breakfast every day. So when we came back, my wife got a few varieties of bagels from Whole Foods and an on-line gourmet bakery to try. My wife thought these bagels were not as good as we had at the hotel. I reminded her that I did bake bagels many years go but felt it was not worth the effort since she was not particularly fond of bagels back then. Now since, she suddenly developed a taste for bagels I decided to try making some. As a trial run, I made 6 bagels (3 plain and 3 sesame, picture #1). They came out great with nice flavor and texture. (they were was slow fermented over night in the refrigerator) but the crust is a bit too hard and I thought I could improve on this.

The sliced surface shows irregular holes and a nice moist and slightly chewy texture (picture #2).

The original recipe came from the newly published King Arthur baking cook book called “Big Book of Bread”. The original recipe made 12 bagels but for this trial I halved the recipe and made six.

Ingredients (x1, make 6 bagels)
DOUGH (I weighed everything)
413 grams unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting
8.5 grams salt
1.5 grams instant yeast
269 grams warm water
Yellow cornmeal, for dusting

Ingredients (x2, make 12 bagels)
DOUGH (I weighed everything)
826 grams unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting 
17 grams salt 
3 grams instant yeast 
538 grams warm water
Yellow cornmeal, for dusting 

WATER BATH (this is the amounts in the original recipe)
1,816 grams (8 cups) water
42 grams (2 tablespoons) honey
18 grams (1 tablespoon) fine salt

Directions: (Although I tried to follow the original instructions, this is description of what I did)
Place all the dough ingredients in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes after the dough ball is formed around the hook.
On the lightly dusted board, take out the dough ball and hand knead briefly to make a tight ball.
Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over to coat all surfaces. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap.
Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours until the volume doubles (I used a bread proofing box at 85F).
I deflated and divided the dough into equal 6 portions by weighing (the total dough weighed 693 grams  for x1 and 1,379 grams*, so one portion was about 115grams).
I made balls and with the seam side down, covered loosely with a plastic wrap and then a dish towel and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile I prepared a rimmed baking sheet line with a parchment paper and lightly dusted with corn meal.
I flattened the dough ball into a disk and pushed my finger through the center to make a ring and placed it on the parchment (#1 in the composite picture)
At this point, I placed another sheet of parchment paper on top and then covered with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap didn’t stick to the baking sheet so I taped the sides to the baking sheet. I refrigerated it overnight.

*Just for the heck-of-it I added the weight of all ingredients specified in the recipe and it equalled 1,384 grams. I then weighed the actual dough after the first fermentation and it was 1,379 grams. While interesting, the difference is minor and I attribute it to evaporation of water during the fermentation.

Next morning:
I was not sure if I should let the dough bagels come to the room temperature or immediately boil them. (The instructions were silent on this topic). So I did not warm up the dough rings and I boiled/simmered them 3 at a time one minute on each side (#2 in the composite picture)
I placed the boiled dough rings on the parchment paper. I placed 3 one sided on a plate covered in sesame seeds and left the other 3 plain (#3 in the composite picture).
I baked at 470F (in convection mode, the original recipe calls for 475F) in the upper 1/3 position rotating the baking sheet at 10 minutes and baked for total of 20 minutes (#4 in the composite picture).

As I mentioned the bagels came out nicely and my wife likes them but the crust is a bit too hard and chewy. (I am not sure that the convection vs regular oven made the difference?).

The second try
We finished the first batch and made the second with a few modification. I let the dough rings come to room temperature (let them sit for 1 hour) before boiling. Interestingly, in the first batch, the dough rings sank and then floated up to the top of the water after10 seconds or so but this time they floated to the top immediately.  I boiled each side about 30 seconds this time. I reduced the oven temperature to 450F and cooked them for 20 minutes.

The results were better. The crust was not as dark in color and slightly less crunchy but less chewy. The crust can be a bit less crunchy still. 

The third try

I made the hole in the center smaller to make the body of the bagel a bit thicker. I let the dough rings come to the room temperature (let them sit for 1 hour) before boiling,  I reduced the boiling time for 20-10 seconds each side. I preheated the oven to 450F, reduced it to 400F just before putting the dough in the oven. I cooked them for 25 minutes. 

I could have made the holes a bit bigger but the all bagel did not flatten out too much. The crust is very crunchy but not too thick. The inside is not too chewy and lots of flavors. We are getting close to having bagel perfection (at least based on our opinion)

The fourth try:

This is my 4th try and this is definitely the best one. The modifications are as follows;
1. After overnight fermentation in the refrigerator, let it sit for 1 hour to warm up before boiling
2. Boil for 10 seconds each side
3  Bake at 400F for 25 minutes
4. Instead of attaching the sesame seeds on the surface, I kneaded the roasted sesame into the half of the dough (3 bagels)  after the first fermentation as per suggestion of my wife.

In the picture #4, upper three are plain and the lower three are with sesame seeds. Both came out well with nice thin crunchy crust and perfect inside which is not dry or too chewy. The size of the holes is just right and the bagels have nice height. It has good flavor and texture. The sesame ones have nice sesame flavor but because the seeds were mixed into the dough rather than put on top they did not come off. (Slight digression alert: We also sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top of the cream cheese we put on the sliced and toasted bagel. Again this addition intensified the sesame flavor but the seeds stayed put.) 

The fifth try and our final recipe:

Although we thought the fourth try would be our last changes to the recipe, the crust was still a bit too chewy for us. So this time, I boiled the bagel 10 seconds on each side and baked it at 370F for 25 minutes, changing the level of rack and tuning 180 degree after 10 minutes. The bagels are bit pale but they have a nice thick crunchy crust and nice soft interior with a lot of flavor.

One more improvement is that we got the plastic covers for our baking pans. This system works much better than covering the pans with plastic wrap. There is enough space so that the bagels do not stick to the cover and I can stack the pans in the refrigerator saving space.

 When we tried the fifth iteration, I baked the bagels in the morning. My wife also baked the Ricotta muffins.  We had both as a breakfast. Really nice!

Icelandic Pumpernickel (Rye) Bread アイスランドのライ麦パン

My wife wanted to use pumpernickel flour (whole or dark rye flour) before it gets too old. We have already made “classic” pumpernickel bread and also German Black (Pumpernickel) boule. We found a recipe for “Icelandic Rye (pumpernickel) bread” at King Arthur Flour website. The recipe appeared interesting. Since it is a “soda” bread, my wife took the initiative for making it (soda bread is not my shtick). This bread turned out to be pretty good and the texture/density is something between the classic pumpernickel bread and Pumpernickel boule (picture #1). It is a bit sweeter and made perfect sandwich bread (picture #2).

This was a lunch. We happened to have a hot smoked (in Weber grill) pork roast. I made sandwiches with avocado slices, mayo and Dijon mustard.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups (477g) Pumpernickel Flour (original recipe calls for “medium” rye flour)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 tablespoon baking powder 
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
2 cups (454g) buttermilk 
1/2 cup (168g) honey
1/2 cup (170g) molasses

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center position.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, honey, and molasses.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring to combine.
Transfer the batter to a lightly greased 9" pain de mille (pullman) pan and smooth the top. Lightly grease the lid, and place the lid on the pan. (We do not have a pullman pan so I just used a regular loaf pan. Luckily I put a tray underneath because the batter over flowed the loaf pan big time). Next time I will put the batter into two loaf pans.) 
Bake the bread for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and remove the lid from the pan. Leave the loaf in the turned-off oven for another 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn out of the pan onto a cooling rack.

Since this bread is denser than usual sandwich bread, I sliced it a bit thinly and made perfect roast pork sandwiches. 

Filled Wool Bread 毛糸のパン

This appears to be a variation of “Frangipane rolls”. The original recipe came from the King Arthur web site. My wife decided to make this. The recipe calls for the dough to be formed into a ring shape in the pan.  Although she used the suggest sized pan the dough didn’t fit as just a ring around the edge so she made a ring with three segments and the 4th segment went in the center (picture #1). The texture and flavor of the bread were excellent.

The filling distributed through out the bread but not very evenly (picture #2) Nonetheless the filling taste complimented this soft milk bread.

Ingredients: ( X 1)
Tangzhong (starter)
3 tablespoons (43g) water
3 tablespoons (43g) milk, whole preferred
2 tablespoons (14g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
1/2 cup (113g) milk, whole preferred; cold
2 1/2 cups (300g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 large egg
4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon (9g) instant yeast

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (6g) table salt

Filling
half an 8-ounce package (113g) cream cheese, softened*
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
zest (grated rind) of 2 medium lemons
pinch of table salt
2 tablespoons (4g) freeze- dried raspberries, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons (15g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
*The cream cheese should be at warm room temperature, at least 68°F.

Topping
2 tablespoons (28g) milk, whole preferred

Ingredients: ( X 2)
Tangzhong (starter)
6 tablespoons (86g) water
6 tablespoons (86g) milk, whole preferred
4 tablespoons (28g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
1 cup (226g) milk, whole preferred; cold
5 cups (600g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 large egg
8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoon (18g) instant yeast

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoon (12g) table salt

Filling
8-ounce package (226g) cream cheese, softened*
4 tablespoons (50g) granulated sugar
zest (grated rind) of 2 medium lemons
pinch of table salt
4 tablespoons (4g) freeze- dried raspberries, lightly crushed (I didn’t have the raspberries so I used candied ginger.)
4 tablespoons (30g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
*The cream cheese should be at warm room temperature, at least 68°F.

Directions:
1. To make the tangzhong: Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened, paste-like, and the spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the strength of the burner.
3. Remove the tangzhong from the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bucket of a bread machine (whatever you plan to knead the dough in).

4. To make the dough: Add the milk on top of the hot tangzhong; it will help cool the dough to lukewarm. Add the flour and remaining dough ingredients. Mix to combine, then knead until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low speed of a mixer. (The dough may be tacky and stick to the sides of the bowl slightly; that's OK.)
5. Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.

6. To make the filling: Combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and salt, mixing until smooth.
7. Add the freeze-dried raspberries (or candied ginger) and flour, mixing until everything is evenly distributed.

8. To assemble: On a lightly floured surface, gently deflate the dough, divide it into four pieces (or eight if doubling the recipe), and shape each piece into a ball.
9. Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
10. Line a 9" springform or a 9" round cake pan (at least 2" deep) with parchment and lightly grease the parchment.
11. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a 6" x 12" rectangle. If the dough begins to snap back during rolling, set it aside and begin rolling out the second piece. Return to the first piece to continue rolling it to the full size after a couple of minutes, giving the gluten a chance to relax.
12. Portion a quarter (or eighth of the filling for doubled recipe) onto the top half of the rectangle. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
13. Position the rectangle so its 12" sides are vertical. Starting at the top, spread the filling across the entire width of the rectangle (leaving about 1/4" bare on each side) and down about 6" or 7", leaving the bottom 5" to 6" bare (#1). If the filling is difficult to spread, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir; check the consistency. Repeat, if necessary, until it's an easily spreadable consistency.
14. Using a bench or chef’s knife, cut the uncovered dough at the bottom into very thin strips (anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" wide) (#2).
15.  Fold the long edges of the rectangle in to prevent any filling from seeping out and pat them gently to flatten.
16. Starting from the filling-covered top and rolling toward the uncovered strips, roll the dough into a log about 6" long (#3).
17. Lightly press the strips into the rolled log to secure. Place the log, seam-side down, into the bottom of the pan so it's snuggled up against the pan’s outside edge (#4).
18. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placing them into the pan to form a complete circle around the pan’s outside edge. (Or until all the pieces are in the pan) (#5)
19. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
20. Cover the wool roll and let it rise for 60 to 75 minutes, until
puffy.
21. To finish and bake the roll: Brush the roll with milk, being careful not to deflate the delicate dough.
22. Bake it for 28 to 32 minutes, until it’s golden brown on top; a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf should read at least 190°F. (#6)
23. Remove the roll from the oven and cool it in the pan until you can transfer it safely to a rack to cool completely.
24. Storage information: Store leftover wool roll bread, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

Tips from our Bakers
The tangzhong starter can be made ahead of time. Simply cook it up (making a double, triple, or quadruple batch if you like, for future use) as instructed in steps 1 – 3. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl, pressing a layer of plastic wrap over the top of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature then store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to five days. When you're ready to bake your Wool Roll Bread, add the tanzghong to the dough. (If you've made a big batch of tangzhong, use a heaping 1/3 cup (95g) for a single batch of dough.) Use warm milk when mixing the remaining dough ingredients; proceed with the recipe from step 4.
Let your culinary imagination run wild with this recipe, since the sky is the limit for filling combinations. Cinnamon sugar? Chocolate? Butter and garlic? Pesto and cheese? Whether you go sweet or savory, don’t overload your bread with filling.

This is wonderfully elegant. The bread is a very light slightly sweet milk bread. The filling is very subtle but goes perfectly with the milk bread. It forms a pudding-like filling which is distributed through out the bread. (No need for butter or jelly here). The filling has a slightly sweet taste and a hint of the cream cheese flavor peeks through. The candied ginger contributes a random burst of gingered sweetness which is a nice contrast with the rest of the flavor of the filling. This is a bit of effort to make but it is worth it and although this bread seems to be a version of frangipane rolls they are two different breads with two different personalities. The difference makes it worth while to make both. 

Focaccia Bread Baked in Breville Pizzaiolo Indoor Pizza Oven

I have made focaccia bread and its variations baked in a convection oven. We liked a thicker and breadier version which was cooked in a baking pan in lower temperature (350F) for longer time (30 minutes). 

Recently, my wife gave me an indoor-electric pizza oven, Breville Pizzaiolo as a birthday gift. I am making pizza several times using different flours, dough recipes and temperatures. Generally, I am quite impressed with the quality of pizza that can be made in this oven but I am still making pizzas to find the best combination for me. Once I have enough information, that will be the subject of a separate post. This post is just to note a few things I can do to improve the focaccia. The focaccia was great albeit one side of the top was a little too high done (#1). The result of  using the top heating unit is a bit uneven for heating.

I used the carbon iron pan that came with the oven for baking the focaccia. I pre-seasoned the pan as per the instructions and it worked great. With a 30 minutes secondary rise, the bread has nice texture and flavors (#2). We really like the crusty surface and nice soft interior.

The recipe is just for my notes so that I can improve it next time.

Ingredients:
3 and 1/2 cup bread flour
2 tsp Kosher salt
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1 cup and a bit more  lukewarm water

Olives, black and green, sliced
Fresh rosemary, leaves removed and roughly chopped
4 or more tbs olive oil

Directions:
Add the flour, salt and yeast to a food processor fitted with a kneading blade. Mix briefly and pour in the olive oil in a thin stream. While the blade is turning in low-speed, add the water in a thin stream. Look carefully until a dough ball forms above the blade (the dough ball is slightly sticky). Let is stand for 5 minutes for even hydration. Turn the processor on low speed for 1-2 minutes. Turn the dough ball out on well floured board and knead for 3-5 minutes making a smooth elastic dough. Shape the dough into a  smooth round and place it in lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Let it rise for about 1 hour (I use a proofing box at 87F).

Deflate the dough and fold several times on well floured kneading board making a disk of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes (so that the gluten relaxes and it becomes easier to stretch). Meanwhile lightly oil the carbon iron pan. Add the disk of dough in the pan and using your finger tips spread the dough to fill the pan. Add the rosemary to the olive oil and spread over the dough and scatter the olive slices. Using your finger tips, press and embed the olive (picture #3). Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes (or skip this and immediately proceed to baking*). 

*I like the fluffy texture and usually let it rise second time but baking in the pizza oven, it may better without the second rising since the top heating element is very close to the surface.

Using  the pan pizza setting (475F for 18 minutes) and the top heat in the middle (I may reduce the top heat to prevent the surface scorching too much, see picture #1).

Remove the bread from the pan using spatula and let it cool on the cooling rack.

We really like this version of focaccia bread. Compared to my usual focaccia, it has nice crust and the texture is much better. With a good flavorful olive oil with salt and a glass of good cab, we made the dinner from this bread.

Frangipane Rolls フランジパンロール

My wife’s sister sent this recipe from King Arthur Flour to my wife knowing my wife is a fairly accomplished baker (challenge???). It appears to be a very fancy recipe and the “frangipane” was even a separate recipe. In any case, my wife rose to the challenge. Being a King Arthur recipe, the original recipe called for their “Raspberry and orange jammy bits” in the filling which we would have had to buy. She skipped this and just used the “frangipane”. The thin layer of frangipane added a nice and distinct almond flavor and the rolls had a nice texture and slightly sweet taste (picture #1). It took some work for my wife but she said it was worth it. 

Frangipane recipe (makes about 360 gram which is perfect for the frangipane rolls recipe below)

Ingredients: 
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (96g) King Arthur Almond Flour
3 tablespoons (23g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or King Arthur Gluten- Free Measure for Measure Flour
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond emulsion or almond extract

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed.
2. Stir in the flours, egg, and almond flavoring. Mix until just combined.
3. Use the frangipane as desired: fill tart shells, pipe into croissant dough, top slices of Bostock, or come up with your own way to use this flavorful, nutty filling. Bake the frangipane as directed in your recipe or until it’s golden brown and smells nutty.
4. Store leftover unbaked frangipane in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Frangipane roll recipe:

Ingredients: (doubled the original recipe)

Tangzhong (starter)
6 tablespoons (86g) water
6 tablespoons (86g) milk, whole preferred
4 tablespoons (28g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
5 cups (600g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 cup (226g) milk, whole preferred
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoon (18g) instant yeast
2 teaspoon (12g) table salt

Topping
2 tablespoons (28g) milk,whole preferred
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar, optional

Directions:
1.To make the tangzhong: 
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.
2.Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened, paste-like, and the spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the strength of the burner.
3.Remove the tangzhong from the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bucket of a bread machine (wherever you plan to knead the dough).

4.To make the dough: 
Weigh the flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Place the flour into the bowl with the tangzhong and add the remaining dough ingredients. Mix to combine, then knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low speed of a mixer. (The dough may be tacky and stick to the sides of the bowl slightly; that's OK.)
5.Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly greased large bowl or standard dough rising bucket, cover, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. The refrigerated rise will make the dough much easier to handle and shape
6.To assemble: On a lightly floured surface, gently deflate the dough, divide it into four pieces and shape each piece into a ball.
7.Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
8. Prepare a square pan with a parchment sling or reusable silicone liner. Lightly grease any exposed sides of the pan.
9. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into an 8" square. If the dough begins to snap back during rolling, set it aside and begin rolling out the second piece. After a couple of minutes, return to the first piece to continue rolling it to the full size (this gives the gluten a chance to relax).
10. Portion one quarter of the filling onto the top half of the square. 
11. Starting at the top, spread the filling across the entire width of the square and down about 4", leaving the bottom 4" bare (#1). If the filling is difficult to spread, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir; check the consistency. Repeat, if necessary, until it's easily spreadable.
12. Using a bench or chef’s knife, cut the uncovered dough at the bottom into very thin strips (anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" wide) (#2).
13.Starting from the filling-covered top and rolling toward the uncovered strips, roll the dough into a log about 8" long.
 14. Lightly press the strips into the rolled log to secure. Cut the log into four 2" pieces and then place them, seam-side down, in a row and in alternating orientations in the pan (#3).
15. Roll, fill, and shape the remaining pieces of dough, placing the rolls into the pan to form 4 rows of 4 buns, each row in an alternating pattern (#4 & #5). Cover the rolls and let them rise for 60 to 75 minutes, until puffy.
16.While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
17.To finish and bake the rolls: Gently brush the rolls with milk, being careful not to deflate the delicate dough, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
18. Bake the rolls for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown; a digital thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 190°F (#6).
19. Remove the rolls from the oven and cool in the pan until you can transfer it safely to a rack to cool completely, at least 15 minutes. Serve the rolls slightly warm or at room temperature.
20. Storage information: Store leftover mini wool rolls, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

These rolls have a very delicate flavor accented mostly by the frangipan which provides a delicate slightly sweet almond flavor. The bread has the texture and flavor of a milk bread while the frangipan provides a slightly custard like filling interspersed through out the bread. This is definitely a very sophisticated bread.

Mary Walsh's Currant Cake マリイウオルシュのカラントケーキ

We like food themed travel shows. One of which was by Phil Rosenthal. It started as a PBS show “I’ll Have What Phil is Having” which evolved into a Netflix show called “Somebody feed Phil”. Although we had forgotten about it, turns out we had a copy of “Somebody feed Phil The book”. We rediscovered it while looking for another cookbook on the book shelf. It is an interesting read of behind-the-scene stories of the first 4 seasons but it also contains recipes provided by the local chefs they visited during the show. Among those recipes, was one titled “Mary Walsh’s Currant Cake”. Since St. Patrick's day was coming up and the current cake was basically an Irish soda bread my wife decided to make it. According to the book, although it was called current cake one of the secrets of why it tasted so good was that Mary didn’t use currents. She used sultanas (golden raisins) instead. Maybe she used sultanas because she didn’t have any currents. We, of course, didn’t have any currants either (we also didn’t have any sultanas). So my wife used raisons and dried fruit medley from Harry and David. (So really we should probably call our version dried fruit medley cake). As the queen of ingredient substitution in recipes my wife did not stop there. The recipe called for orange and lemon zests but we did not have any oranges. We did, however, have some Meyer lemons which have a flavor that is a cross between a lemon and an orange. So she used that instead and it worked well.

You can see the dried fruit medley and raisins on the cut-surface (picture #1)

Ingredients:
2 ounces (½ stick/55g) unsalted butter (room temperature), plus more for the pan
3¼ cups (450g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons (25g) castor or light or dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 2 Meyer lemons
1 cup dried fruit medley
1 cup of raisins
1 large egg
1¼ cups (300ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and place a baking rack in the lower third of the oven.
Lightly butter an 8-inch round cake pan. In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt together. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Use a citrus peeler to zest the Meyer lemons. Add all the zest and the dried fruit to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Put the egg in a medium bowl and whisk in the buttermilk and cream. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk mixture.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the remaining buttermilk, stirring to make a very moist, shaggy dough. Or, use your hands: grip the edge of the bowl with one hand, stir with a broad circular motion with the other. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and dust your hands lightly with flour. Gently shape the dough into a thick, roughly 6-inch (15cm) round and use a bench scraper or large spatula to transfer the dough to the center of the cake pan.

Brush the top and sides of the dough with the reserved buttermilk mixture and sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top (#2). Put the cake pan in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400°F (180°C).

Bake for about 40 minutes until the bread is lightly golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped (#3). Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let cool for about 20 minutes. Cut the bread into thick slices and serve it warm with butter.

This is a very nice soda bread. Perfect for Saint Patrick’s day. It had a dense moist texture and a mild slightly sweet taste. The robust flavor of the butter milk as well as the citrus note from the Meyer lemon zest came through nicely. The dried fruit added a nice burst of sweetness.

Chestnut, Brown Butter, Sage Muffin 栗の粉とセイジマフィン

This fall we bought a new batch of chestnut flour. It was to replace the previous batch we had been storing in the freezer that had a Best-Use-By (BUB) date of 2015. The new batch came in bulk; 3 bags of flour. Given this “plenitude”, my wife was trying to come up with new dishes to use the chestnut flour. She came across a recipe for “chestnut and sage muffin” at the “Serious eats” site.  This was a perfect recipe to use for 2 reasons: 1) as previously stated we had an abundance of chestnut flour and 2) The sage bush in our herb garden still had nice lush green leaves despite several cold days and snow. The muffin was really good. Nice sage and brown butter flavor and chestnut flour made this muffin very light and moist.

I ask my wife to continue as usual.

Ingredients: (makes 12 small muffins)
Several bunches of sage (with about 5 leaves on each, one of which used in the browned butter the other steeped in the milk).
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup chestnut flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup yogurt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


Ingredients X2: (suggested to make larger muffins)
Several bunches of sage (one of which used in the browned butter the other steeped in the milk. The more leaves use the more intense the sage flavor).
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup chestnut flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1  teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cup yogurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine milk and sage in small saucepan and heat to a bare simmer, then remove from heat and cover. Allow to steep at least 10 minutes, then remove sage, squeezing as much milk as possible from sage before discarding.
2. Place butter and remaining sage in small saucepan and heat over medium until melted and foamy. Allow to cook until liquid butter is golden brown and solids at bottom are deep brown and smell nutty. Transfer to a heatproof container, remove the sage and make sure to scrape out as much of the browned butter solids as possible.
3. Combine all purpose flour, chestnut flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium mixing bowl. Sift if necessary, or simply whisk together. In separate mixing bowl, combine sage milk, sage butter, yogurt and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until all streaks of flour are incorporated and batter is fluffy and slightly lumpy. Divide evenly between cups in a 12 cup muffin pan lined with paper cups. Bake 7 minutes, then rotate pan and bake another 3-5 minutes, until a skewer inserted into muffin comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Allow to cool in pan slightly before transferring to rack to finish cooling.

These are truly remarkable muffins. They are a combination of unexpected tastes that work extremely well together. The combination of browned butter and sage came through with a pleasing robustness. The chestnut flour added a slightly nutty dimension. The chestnut flour also contributes to the very light and tender texture of the muffin. While these muffins were a bit of surprise flavor-wise they were also a great new discovery. Next time we’ll double the recipe so the muffins are a bit larger.

P.S. In early February, the plum tree in our yard started blooming. It is always amazing and nice to see this when it is still winter and the weather is still cold. It is such a nice early harbinger of hope for the upcoming spring.

Classic Pumpernickel Bread 伝統的パンパニッケル パン

We used to get Pumpernickel boule at Whole Foods. We used it for certain sandwiches such as beef tongue and Lebanon Bologna. We did not see Pumpernickel boule or Russian rye bread at Whole Foods for some time and my wife asked if they had any. The answer was that they are not making them any more.  When we asked, “Why” they didn’t give us an answer.  (Subsequently, we went to two other of our local grocery stores and found they didn’t have any rye breads either). So since we had recently gotten pumpernickel flour from King Arthur we resorted to making pumpernickel bread ourselves. This time I volunteered. It was by far the most convoluted bread I’ve ever made. The recipe also came from King Arthur and is titled as “classic” Pumpernickel. The recipe also warned that this bread was dense and suggested slicing it thinly. I decided to make this as a baseline. Indeed this is dense but very flavorful bread.

Next day when the loaf was completely cooled, I sliced it. It is very dense. As you can see below. I sliced it thinly and tasted. It has lots of flavors and the inside is moist.

The recipe is from King Authur. I followed the recipe weighing the ingredients. Exception was  mashed potato. Since we found that all our potatoes were sprouted, we used Japanese sweet potato instead. Some of the instructions appear to be missing the details. Maybe this recipe was meant for an experienced baker. (With common baker’s knowledge-CBK- I added a few extra steps and details in notes to myself).

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (340g) water
1/2 cup (71g) yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup (85g) molasses
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) table salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process 
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups (319g) King Arthur Organic Pumpernickel Flour
1 cup (113g) King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (170g) cooked, mashed potatoes

Instructions 
Combine 1 cup of water (the other 1/2 cup was supposed to be used to proof the yeast) * with the cornmeal in a saucepan and cook over low heat until thick, stirring often (about 5 minutes). Remove the pan from heat and add the molasses, butter, salt, sugar, caraway seeds and cocoa powder. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

*I missed this instruction and used all 1 1/2 cups (or 340 grams) of water for making the cornmeal mixture but since we used “instant yeast” which does not require proofing, this worked out fine.

Add the cornmeal/molasses mixture and mashed potatoes in the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Stir in the pumpernickel and whole wheat flours. Mix and knead the dough at medium speed for 10 minutes.

*To make the dough ball cling to the dough hook, I had to stop the mixer and push the dough toward the hook a few times and I also added a small amount of additional water.

Transfer the dough to a floured kneading board, quickly knead and make a ball (sticky but very dense dough). Transfer to a greased bowl, turn the dough ball to coat all surfaces. Cover the bowl, place in a 85Felectric proofing box. Let rise until the dough is not quite doubled; about 1 hour.

Shape the dough into a loaf and place in a greased (used butter) 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

*Although no second rising was suggested, based on (CBK) I did place the loaf pan back in the proofing box and let it rise for 40 minutes (I am not sure this made any difference).

Slash the top*.

*As per instruction I did this but totally not needed. Only time this may make sense is for a decorative purpose after flouring the top of the loaf

Bake in a preheated 360 F oven* for 55 to 65 minutes, until the center measures 200°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer.

*Since I used my convection oven, again based on CBK, I reduced the temperature from the suggested 375F.

Remove from the oven, tip out of the pan, and cool on a rack completely before slicing.

As mentioned, this is a very dense bread but the inside is moist and very flavorful. Thinly sliced and cut into smaller squares, this may be good for making canapé but may not be appropriate to make a full sandwiches. Nonetheless it was extremely flavorful lightly micro-waved to warm it slightly for breakfast. We saw another recipe at the King Authur site called “Pumpernickel boule”. This may be very similar to what we used to get from Whole Foods. We (either my wife or I) will try this recipe next.

Butter Swim Biscuit バターに泳ぐビスケット

Previously my wife made butter dip biscuit which may not be good for you but certainly tasted “good”. So when she saw the recipe in the Washington Post called “Butter swim biscuit”,  she had to try it. Is “swimming” in butter better than “dipping” in butter??? They are both basically a form of oven fried bread although butter “swimming” does it on steroids. “swimming” in butter has a soft, moist (absorbing the butter) pleasingly almost spongey center. The bottom and top are very crispy.

In this close-up of the cut surface, you could appreciated fluffy texture.

As usual, I will ask my wife to take over.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups (345 grams) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (or more for a sweeter biscuit. I added two Tsp.)
2 teaspoons salt 
2 cups (480 milliliters) well-shaken whole buttermilk

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Add the butter to a 9-inch square baking dish or cast iron frying pan and place in the oven while it preheats. (We did not have a 9-inch square baking dish so we used a 10 inch cast iron frying pan instead.) (If the oven is very slow to heat up, wait a few minutes to put in the baking dish so the butter doesn’t burn. Just keep an eye on it as it melts.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt until combined. Add the buttermilk and stir gently with a spatula just until combined. Do not overmix.

Remove the hot baking dish from the oven and gently pour the batter over the melted butter. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread the batter evenly in the dish (see picture below).

Quickly and confidently, use a knife to “cut” the dough into 9 squares. If the lines close up, go back and take another pass through, though you shouldn’t expect them to remain completely distinct. It can help to wipe or rinse off the knife in between cuts.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown and the edges crisp. Following your scored lines, cut and serve.

As can be seen in the pictures above this bread is truly swimming in butter. It would be helpful if there was some way to turn it over half way through cooking because the bottom became almost too high done while the top was not yet brown. Although it is made with a few simple ingredients the flavor is fairly complex. The sweetness of the sugar combines with the taste of the butter, some of which gets browned and there is the pervasive undertone of the sharp taste of the buttermilk. In my humble opinion, both are good but “swimming in butter” is better. My wife said this one is easier to make

Corn Sage Muffin Variation コーン、セージ、マフィンバリエーション

It is getting to be the season for fresh corn and we have gotten quite few ears of it recently. We (mostly my wife) love corn and we’re making quite a few corn dishes. This particular baking project started out as one of my wife’s regular sage corn bread (in muffin form) but she realized the recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of corn puree and she only had a cup; not quire enough of the corn puree required to make the batch of muffins. Then she remembered we had left-over corn, roasted red pepper, edamame and bacon salad that we had made a few days ago. She thought, ‘That salad included corn. If I substitute the salad for the missing corn, wouldn’t that make up the shortfall?’ She first contemplated pureeing the salad and adding it to the corn puree but in the end, she decided to just put a cup of the salad into the batter to add some additional texture.   I will never fathom how my wife (the queen of substitutions in recipes) comes up with these things but this substitution happened to result in a very good muffin. The red in the picture is the roasted red pepper. The green is the jalapeños pepper and boiled edamame. The flavors of these ingredients, particularly the roasted red pepper really comes through and went beautifully with the over all corn sage flavor of the muffin. This is a variation well worth repeating.

The picture below shows the salad she added.

The ingredients and directions for the two recipes she combine are shown below for convenience

Ingredients: For the muffin
1 cup grated corn
1 stick butter
6 large sage leaves (or several sprigs of rosemary)
1 cup of corn salad (this is the current variation in the recipe) (Salad recipe below)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 corn flour (or corn meal)
2 cups All Purpose (AP) flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (or more for a slightly sweeter muffin)

Directions:
Grate the ears of corn on a stand grater. Scrape the ears with the back of the knife to get the remaining "corn milk" . Melt the butter in a saucepan (do not allow it to boil or brown). Mix in the grated corn, salt, and sage leaves. Cook until creamy and thickened, making a kind of polenta. Remove the sage leaves. To achieve a really smooth emersion blend it further in a “motor boat” blender. Allow the mixture to cool. Add the buttermilk and eggs and mix until blended.

In a large bowl sift together the corn flour (or corn meal), AP flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar. Add the 1 cup of corn salad and mix in the dry ingredients to coat with a bit of the flour. Add the liquid ingredients and stir until blended. Scoop into the prepared muffin tin. Cook in 400F degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes for muffins, or until a skewer comes out clean and the muffins are nicely browned.

Ingredients: For the corn salad
1 roasted red pepper, skin, ribs and seeds removed and cut into small squares
2 ears of fresh corn on cob, microwaved wrapped in wet paper towel for 2 minutes or more until cooked
1 sweet (Vidalia) onion, finely chopped
2 strips of bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded, deveined and finely chopped
1 cup of boiled edamame, shelled (or lima beans)

For dressing:
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs honey
2 tbs rice vinegar (or any vinegar)
8 tbs or more fruity olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
For roasted red pepper
I roasted them at 450F in the toaster oven on convection mode for 20 minutes turning a few times so that all the surface was cooked/charred. I then put them in Ziploc bags to steam for 30 minutes. Once cooled down, remove the stem end, skin, ribs, seeds and peel. (The skin will come off easily).

Combine all the ingredients, add the dressing and stir well.

Mini Apple Spiced Muffins アップルシナモンミニマフィン

We occasionally get a free cook booklets from Giant grocery store when we receive a grocery delivery. One of these include small “bites” type recipes. Since my wife is a devotee of “small bites” dishes, she decided to make one of these recipes. This is a kind of apple-cinnamon mini-muffin. This is very nice as a part of breakfast with nice classic apple-cinnamon flavors.

Ingredients: (makes about 24 to 30 mini-muffins)
1 apple, cored, skinned and cut into small pieces
1 cup bran cereal (we used Kellogg Special k,  since that was only cereal we had)
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tps baking soda
3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup Greek yogurt (we used home-made and strained kind)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F
Place the cereal in food processor and grind it to a fine texture. In a bowl, combine the cereal, flour, baking soda, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix the egg, butter, yogurt, cinnamon and vanilla.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients (do not over mix)
Fold in the apple
Add the batter in a greased mini muffin pan and bake 13-15 minutes.

For a freebee cookbook recipe, this is really good. My wife further expanded her repertoires. This is just the right size if you want a little added-something with your usual breakfast repertoire.

Cookie Butter Swirls クッキーバターバンズ

Since we got Brod and Taylor’s folding proofer for bread, we are on their mailing list which includes new products and recipes. One of these had a recipe for a lemon and poppy seed buns. The appearance of the buns was very similar to the Swedish cardamon buns that my wife baked sometime ago. So, I drew my wife’s attention to this recipe. She was not crazy about the lemon poppy seed filling. She immediately thought of using the left-over “cookie butter” she made. (First she had excess chocolate covered cookies to use up. Now she had excess chocolate covered cookie butter to use up.) So instead of using the lemon poppy seed filling called for in the recipe, she decided to use the excess cookie butter she had as the filling. She then used the same technique of forming the buns that she used for the Swedish cardamon buns. The result was this elegant looking and good tasting sweet buns/swirls.

Ingredients (makes 12 buns):
Dough
120g (½ cup) Milk (my wife used 1/4 cups evaporated milk, since she had it, and 1/4 cup regular milk)
120g (½ cup) Yogurt, plain unsweetened
2 Eggs (one whole egg + an egg yolk for the dough and the egg white for an egg wash on the final buns.)
45g (3 tbsp + 2 tsp) Sugar
6g (2 tsp) Instant yeast
85g (6 tbsp) Butter, softened
420g (3 ½ cup) All-purpose flour
5g (1 tsp) Fine salt

Filling
370 g Cookie butter (This used up all the available cookie butter)

Glaze
The egg white from the separated egg above.
Sugar

Directions:
Set up the proofer
Set the proofer to 78°F (25°C) and put the water tray in the middle of the warming plate. Pour ¼ cup (60 ml) of water into the tray and place the rack on top of the tray.

Mix the dough:
Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of the mixer. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, yogurt, and egg, until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry. Add the butter. Mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes until no dry remains and the butter in incorporated. Turn to medium speed and mix for 7 to 10 minutes until the ingredients form a smooth elastic dough.

1st fermentation: Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and place in the Folding Proofer for 1 to 1 ½ hours until doubled in size.

Roll the dough:
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll into a rectangle measuring about 10.5" x 16" (27 x 40cm).
With the dough facing you lengthwise, spread filling over the entire surface of the dough.
Spread the cookie butter in a thin layer (#1)
Fold the dough into thirds like a letter. To do so, take the left side and fold it in toward the center. Take the right third of the dough and fold in to the center on top of the fold just made.
Refrigerate it for about 15 minutes which will make it easier to cut and shape.
Roll the dough out again to a 16.5" x 8.5" (42 x 22cm) rectangle (#2). Do the letter fold again and re-roll it out to 16.5” x 8.5” again.
Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Cut the dough into 12 strips. To do this, mark the dough with 3 lines making 4 section. Then mark each of these 4 sections with 2 lines making a total of 12 sections. Then go back and cut the entire length of the dough where marked (#2). Take one dough strip and twist each end in opposite directions until the entire strip is twisted (#3).
Starting at one end coil the strip to form a circular bun, tucking the tail underneath (#4).
Place on the prepared pan. Repeat until all 12 buns are shaped and placed 6 on each of the 2 trays (#4). (The buns are placed 6 to a tray and each tray is cooked individually. This allows each bun to receive even heat and expand without touching another bun).

Final proof: The cookie sheets do not fit in the proofer. Cover it with a plastic wrap, and place the trays on the towel so they are not resting on the cold table top. Cover with another towel. Allow the buns to rise for about 1 hour.

Glaze the surface: First paint on the egg white then sprinkle on the sugar
Near the end of the proofing time preheat the oven to 375° (190°C).
Bake: Bake the buns at 375°F (190°C) for 18-20 minutes (#6).

My wife is really getting good at forming these swirl/buns. Her idea of using the cookie butter (this is made of chocolate cover cookies) really worked. The buns were sweet but not too sweet with a subtle chocolate flavor and slightly crunchy surface and soft inside.

Lamb Tenderloin for Easter 子羊のテンダーローイン

Tenderloin of lamb is not a usual cut but we got several of them from D’Artagnan. We decided to try it for Easter dinner. I did not follow any recipes. I made a pan-sauce with red wine and balsamic vinegar.

I sort of did a reverse searing. After cooking it in the toaster oven, I seared it with sprigs of fresh rosemary which I kept in the frying pan during the searing and while I made a red wine sauce.

As sides, we served pencil asparagus and shiitake mushroom stir fry  (left) and Israeli couscous salad with marinated artichoke hearts (right). To mop up the sauce, we also served a slice of  (mini) baguette I baked.

I have never cook lamb tenderloins before. I decided to cook two of them in the toaster oven at 350F for 10 minutes and then reverse seared them in a pan with rosemary. It sort of worked but the lamb was a bit overcooked. The entire dinner was really good and for the occasion, we opened a bottle of 2014 Insignia from Joseph Phelps. Despite some age on the bottle, it was really fresh with a nice fruit flavor. It was a perfect wine for this dinner.

Ingredients (makes about 4 servings)
x2 Lamb tenderloins thawed, salted and kept in the refrigerator for 6 hours uncovered (to dry them a bit)
2 springs of fresh rosemary
2 tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

for the pan sauce
1/4 cup red wine (Not Insignia; a much more reasonably priced CA wine I already had open)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbs of cold butter, cut into thin pats
Salt and pepper

Directions:
I seasoned the lamb with pepper (no salt; it was already salted). I roasted it at 350F in the toaster oven on convection mode for 10 minutes.
I then pan-seared it with olive oil and the rosemary for 1 minute on each side.
I set aside the lamb covered loosely with an aluminum foil, leaving the rosemary in the pan.
(I was aiming for an internal temperature of 130-135F for the lamb to be medium rare but in the end, the temperature went over)
I added the red wine and balsamic vinegar to the pan and reduced it to the point that it was just coating the bottom of the pan.
I added several pats of cold butter one by one until it reached a saucy consistency.
I seasoned with salt and pepper

I sliced the lamb tenderloin and spooned on the wine sauce then topped the dish with the rosemary sprig.

The couscous salad, asparagus with mushroom and baguette all worked well together with the lamb.  Of course, the wine made this dinner a bit special.

Wheat Berry Whole Wheat Bread フィート・ベリー入りの全粒小麦粉のパン

This is another installment in the continuing saga of finding items in our freezer which are well past their “best-used-by (BUB)” date. This time it was wheat berries which had a BUB date of 2020. They smelled OK (usually we can smell rancid oil in whole and white grain flours if bad). We decide to cook it and see how it came out. On previous occasions we cooked the wheat berries several different ways but regardless of the method used we found them way too hard and chewy. Basically we didn’t like them and that was probably one reason why they languished past the BUB date in the freezer. So, this time we got aggressive in our cooking method. Using the Instant Pot, we cooked one cup of wheat berries (first toasted and then washed) with 4 cups of water under high pressure for 50 minutes, let it depressurize naturally and drained.  Amazingly they came out ok. As a matter of fact we initially thought we may have over done it and maybe they were a bit too soft but they had a much more reasonable chewy texture and firmed up as they cooled. The end result was almost 4 cups of cooked wheat berry. Next question was how we can use this? My wife looked for the bread recipes which use wheat berry and found one she wanted to try from “Bob’s Red Mill” website. The next picture shows the final product. (Note from wifey: Please observe the small piece of bread at the side of the picture with the half-moon shaped bite mark in it. While setting up the photo opportunity someone who shall remain nameless…husbandito-wa, couldn’t wait to taste the bread and took a chomp out of the end piece.)

Ingredients (makes two loaves)
1/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups buttermilk (the original calls for non-fat milk)
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
2 eggs large, lightly-beaten
4 cups unbleached white AP Flour
1 cup cooked wheat berries*
2 tbs. instant dry yeast
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup of toasted walnuts (optional)

*Original recipe calls for cooking 1 cup of wheat berries with 3 1/2 cup of water. As we mentioned above this will produce nearly 4 cups of cooked wheat berry. Using CCK (Common Culinary Knowledge), we decided 4 cups of cooked wheat berry was way too much. For one thing, our largest Kitchen-Aid mixer would not be able to handle 6 cups of flour and 4 cups of cooked wheat berry. So, instead, we used 1 cup of cooked wheat berry.

Directions:
Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle, combine the sugar, whole wheat flour, and yeast. Stir in the milk. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Stir down the dough to deflate it (after 30 minutes, the dough did not raise much). Switch to a dough hook, stir in the, eggs, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the unbleached white flour. Keep adding flour until a smooth dough is formed. Right at the end, mix in the cooked wheat berries. Knead the dough for 7 to 10 minutes. (I was only able to knead for 7 minutes because the mixer was at the maximum amount of dough it could handle and started to overheat.) Turn the dough out onto a work surface that has been dusted with flour. Knead in the walnuts if using them. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a proofing box at 80F until doubled in size.

Coat two 8" loaf pans with unsalted butter.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface and cut in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place in the loaf pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes in a proofing box at 80F while you preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves shrink slightly from the sides of the pans and sound hollow when tapped.

Immediately remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

This is a great bread. The comments on the Bob’s Red Mill website warned that the wheat berries exposed on the surface got hard but we did not encounter too many. The bread has a light moist texture and whole wheat flavor is subtle but comes through. The wheat berries were not chewy but they did add a unique flavor which was very nice. In general, we really like this bread.