Nostalgia Time - Rye Rolls

What a week (a month really) it's been. Starting from mid-December right up until last Thursday, my wife and I have been working almost non-stop setting up and making all kinds of last minute arrangements for my daughter's wedding! Now that it's over, I'm sitting here, a few days after, in a state of shock, not really comprehending that it's over and the guests have gone home. That the party's over. That it's time to get back to work. So pardon me, please, if I have not been posting as much as usual. Truth be told, I have also not been baking as much as usual! But, like I said, it's time to buckle down, and get back to work.

Arranging a wedding made me very nostalgic. Of course, I think of my daughter as a little girl. But it also makes me think about my hometown when I was a little boy. A small one industry town in northeastern Canada. Literally in the middle of nowhere and filled with immigrants from all over Europe. Poles, Irish, Ukranians, Jews and, of course, many, many Scots.

Food from northern Europe is simple fare but no matter where you are from, there are certain things in common. For instance: since it is so cold there and winters are long, a lot of foods are based around root vegetables easily stored for the winter. Also, lots of animal fat (chicken, goose, pig). And preserved foods like pickles of all kinds, hard cheeses, and smoked and pickled meats, fish  and cheese. Bread is very heavy and hearty using whole grains and especially the heavy, dark flour from rye.

In keeping with my current nostalgia, I am posting a recipe for rolls, for any time of day, using rye flour. They are the kind of rolls I used to eat as a child, but lighter. The rye flavor is unmistakeable, and the texture, soft and just a little chewy, makes them perfect for anything from a nice sharp cheddar to a good pastrami with mustard. Enjoy them while reminiscing.

Here's What You'll Need:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. dry yeast
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbs. sugar
1 cup rye flour
about 2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. caraway seed (optional)

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. Add all the ingredients, except the salt, and mix to form a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the salt over and mix it in.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes until smooth and just barely sticky.

3. Form into a ball, them place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

4. Shape the dough into 2 equal boules or about 12 rolls. (I made rolls.) Place the shaped dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, covered, and let it rest/rise a second time, about 45 minutes.

5. Just before baking, slash the rolls/boules with a sharp serrated knife or a razor blade.

6. About 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Bake with steam (a small metal tray filled with boiling water on the bottom of the oven does the trick), for about 17-20 minutes (for rolls) or about 30-35 minutes (for loaves), until the crust is fairly hard and the bottoms are well browned. Cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Time - Morning Rolls with Raisins

Truth be told, I have never really been a breakfast person. I know, I know, it's the most important meal of the day etc. etc. etc. Those arguments never quite persuaded me, I guess. I was mostly just trying to wake up with my 2 (yea, 2) cups of strong coffee in the morning to think about food. And truthfully, even though I have started having something, it's still not my best time. I actually only eat one big meal a day, usually at night along with a few smaller snack-like meals during the day. And that's what makes these rolls so perfect for me.

First they are really not all that big (about 2 oz. or 60 g.) each. Maybe a little more with the raisins. So I can have one and not feel too guilty. Second, I can load it up with peanut butter (one of my favorite vices), have an apple or other fruit with it and, of course, another cup of coffee. Entirely too much coffee but I'll have to work on that. Starting tomorrow, I promise!

This recipe is a variation of several I have tried over the years. It is on the whole a breakfast roll that is enriched with milk (I use soy milk so it's dairy free). The inclusion of the raisins (you can use cranberries or other dried fruit if you like) makes it similar in style to a kind of roll eaten in Eastern Europe just before Lent, a rich breakfast roll before the fast, as it were. But that's not where I'm going with this! It is simply a soft, sorta sweet, rich roll with dried fruit in the center. Oh, and delicious, of course.

Here's What You'll Need:

1 1/4 cups (310ml) milk at room temperature (I used soy milk)
1 large egg
1 tsp. salt
2 oz. (60g) butter or margarine at room temperature
3 Tbs. powdered sugar
1 Tbs vanilla sugar
about 4 1/3 cups AP flour
1 Tbs. dry yeast
3 1/2 oz. (about 100g) re-hydrated raisins*
egg + milk for glazing


* To re-hydrate raisins: Place the raisins in a glass bowl and cover with boiling water for about 20 minutes or so. Drain the water and dry them with a paper towel, and the raisins will be re-hydrate. You can do this during the first rise of the dough.

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. In a large bowl, mix in the dry ingredients, i.e., the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar and salt. Mix to disperse uniformly, then add the yeast and stir it in.

2. Add the egg and mix it in. Then add the milk, the butter or margarine and mix to form a rough dough. Knead this dough vigorously for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and shiny.

3. Remove the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and place in a warm draft-free location until it about doubled in size. This could take as much as 2 hours.

4. Divide the dough into 12 pieces (16 if you want smaller rolls). Flatten each into a rough rectangle and place several re-hydrated raisins int he center. Close the dough around the raisins, then roll into a ball. Place the rolls on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, then cover to rise a second time. This time they should only rise about 45 minutes.

5. About 15 minutes before the end of the second rise pre-heat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Just before baking, brush an egg and milk wash over the tops of the rolls. Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until a beautiful rich brown color.

6. If you're like me, you will end up eating one (just to try) while still warm and on the cooling rack. These rolls will keep well for a few days. I had to say, but honestly, they won't last for a few days, so why bother! Enjoy.

Not a Joke - 'True' Apple Bread

I have touched on this subject before when trying to show the difference between cake and bread. I have also debated whether I should even include quick breads in the blog postings, are they cake or bread. Basically the same argument. And truly, the argument that they are baked in a loaf and eaten in slices seems like stretching it a bit - even to me. And I'm the one making the case. I should definitely stick to baking and stay away from lawyering (for lots of reasons, but that's another story for another time, maybe). But this apple bread, that I'm posting today, is truly bread, not some pseudo-bread-like loaf. It uses yeast, and rises!! So it's bread. Just look at the picture, is that a cake?

This bread makes a free-standing loaf of wonderfully textured, soft, yet firm, sandwich bread. It is flavored with fresh apples and cinnamon making it perfect for breakfast (it's great toasted, for example) or picnics, or even afternoon tea. Oh, and it's actually not difficult to make.

Here's What You'll Need: (one 23 by 13cm, or 9 by 5in loaf pan)
1/2 Tbs. instant yeast
1 Tbs. light brown sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk (I used soy milk to avoid dairy)
3 to 3 1/4 cups AP flour
1 large tart apple peeled, cored and chopped coarsely
1/4 cup dried currants (or raisins)
1.4 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbs. oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 Tbs. salt

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer) combine the yeast, water, milk, sugar and 1 cup of the flour. Mix to form a slurry, then cover and let it sit, at room temperature, for about an hour.

2. Add the apple, currants (or raisins), walnuts, oil, egg, spices and enough flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Knead for about 5 minutes in a mixer (or 10 by hand), adding flour as needed, to form a very smooth and slightly tacky dough.

3. Let the dough rise in a covered, lightly-oiled container until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Gently deflate the dough, form it into a loaf, then place it in an oiled loaf pan. Cover to let it rise again about an hour. About 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 200 C (about 400 F).

5. Place the bread int he oven, reduce the heat to 180 C (350 F) and bake for about 30 minutes or until well browned. It will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack completely before slicing.

6. This bread freezes well (double wrapped) and will be good for several months. But honestly, will it make the freezer? I don't think so.

Something for the Upper Crust (pun intended) - Batch Bread

In my last post I talked about the 'peasant bread' called Crusty Cob. This was a 'bottom bread', baked on the bottom of the oven, a place reserved for the poorest of the poor. In Georgian England (most of the 18th century), the leading elements of society, the 'upper crust' so to speak, ate a sweet white bread. Sugar, produced in the colonies, was a luxury and reserved for the upper classes. In colonial times, in Nova Scotia, this bread would have been eaten in Halifax in the governor's mansion on Citadel Hill. In England, this bread would have been eaten by the nobles and royals. Today, we know to praise the added nutrition of a whole wheat bread but white bread was highly praised then, and usually reserved for the 'upper crust'. This bread is a little sweet and delicious. It is especially appropriate for breakfast or brunch, eaten with jam.


Here's what you'll need:
500g (1lb 2oz) bread flour
1 1/2 tsp (7g) salt
30g (1oz) yeast
60g (2 1/2oz) butter at room temperature
75g (3oz) powdered sugar
300ml (1/2 pint) water

Here's what you'll need to do:
1. Place all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix them together vigorously for a few minutes until they come together and form a shaggy dough, and the flour is fully hydrated.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let it rest for about an hour.
3. Punch down the dough and knead for a minute or two. Then, shape into a ball and place on parchment paper on a baking tray. Gently flatten the ball of dough until it is about 20cm (8in) in diameter. Let the dough rise, covered for about an hour, or until doubled in volume. This could be two hours also.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Bake the loaf for about 15 to 20 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool.
5. Delicious and soft, you will love this bread.