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Craftsy Class #2: Baking with Herbs and Spices

4/9/2018

For those who don't follow me on Facebook, you may not have heard the news that I was asked to tape another bread class for Craftsy.com. I just back from Denver where the company is based, after four days in their "Studio F", which is a defunct cooking school converted into a TV studio for their cooking classes. It's located in the Ice House building, just up the street from Coors Field where the Rockies play.

Shooting my second Craftsy Class "Baking with Herbs and Spices"

The class is "Baking with Herb and Spices" and is made up of six different lessons of about 20 minutes each, with two recipes thoroughly demonstrated in each lesson.

Lesson 1: Multigrain Baking Mix
Multigrain Baking Mix
Waffles with chicken and sherry cream sauce
Welsh Cakes

Lesson 2: Skillet Breads
Apricot Skillet Bread
Farinata

Lesson 3: Savory side breads
Savory Biscotti
Cheddar Chive Breadsticks

Lesson 4: Spirals and Swirls
Sausage Roll-Ups
Italian Herbal Swirl

Lesson 5: Summer and Fall
Tomato Bacon Galette with Gorgonzola
Whole Wheat Stuffing Bread

Lesson 6: Herb Breads with a meaning
Housewarming Rolls
Herbal Encouragement Bread

Some of these recipes you'll recognize from previous posts, and dedicated Breadheads will remember the others from the Breaking Bread with Father Dominic cookbooks, or from my live demos. I'll be posting some photos from each lesson over the next few weeks, along with descriptions of my experiences"behind the scenes". As usual, the Craftsy crew was wonderful to work with. Here's my kitchen crew and I on Friday after an 11 hour workday, and as you can see, we're still friends and we're still smiling! The irony in this photos is that the breads we're holding are rock-hard prop breads from the set that we didn't bake!

The class will "launch" some time in April, and when it does I'll post some special links for an introductory discount, plus hold a drawing for a free subscription to the class. Keep checking in for details!

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Savory Biscotti

3/27/2018

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My tulips are just a few weeks away from blooming!

Spring has almost sprung here in north central Illinois---we had three inches on snow on Saturday, but it almost completely disappeared by Tuesday afternoon. The tulips and daffodils I planted last fall are sprouting all over the yard and the chives are up. But the days remain a bit chilly, so we're still serving hot soup in the student dining room. In the monastery we get soup at lunch every day, all year long, which has probably been the case since we first showed up on the property in 1890. No better way use leftovers!

My herb guild has a Soup Night every year and a couple of years ago at that meeting I gave a talk on herbal breads to accompany soups, among them a savory biscotti recipe I found on the Land O'Lakes Butter website. It proved quite popular, in part because the idea of a savory biscotti rather than a sweet one is so different. In recent months I've been developing recipes for my next Craftsy class, which has an herbal theme, so I decided to create a savory biscotti recipe for the class. My favorite cheese is smoked Gouda, so I made that the central flavor, along with a little thyme and rosemary. We served them at lunch on a day when we had out of town guests visiting the abbey and got enthusiastic reviews, so I'm posting the recipe here.

Savory Biscotti
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 Tbs. fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs at room temperature
6 oz. smoked gouda, shredded
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9” x 13” baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, rosemary, thyme baking powder and salt. In separate bowl, beat the butter and eggs together until smooth, then stir in the cheese. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Divide dough in half. Form each half into an 8” x 3” slightly flattened log. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into 3/4-inch thick pieces on a slight diagonal. Return them to the pan and bake an additional 20 minutes, turning them over after 10 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack and cool completely before serving. Makes about 20 biscotti, plus some smaller pieces for nibbling.

Notes
--I first made savory biscotti for a presentation to our local herb guild. I made several kinds of crackers and side breads, but these savory biscotti were the biggest hit. Excellent with any soup.
-- You can use other cheeses (a sharp white cheddar, pepper jack, and provolone all come to mind)or herbs. Remember, use one half to one third as much dried herb as fresh.

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Biscuit Improv: Buttermilk Garden Drop Biscuits

3/20/2017

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Many people don't realize that improvisational comedy like you see on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" is not merely a cadre of witty people making things up as they go along. Improv actually has a number of rules or guidelines to keep the scene from stalling, going in circles. or just being dull. Most people have to study and practice a long time to learn how to apply the rules and, eventually, when to break them. Similarly, an experienced chef or baker often improvises to develop a new dish, based on what's in season at the market or what's in the pantry right now, and shows like Chopped give us ample evidence of how culinary know-how and creativity (and sometimes, pure dumb luck!) can combine to yield extraordinary results.

Whenever I present a bread demo and mention that I made a certain recipe up on the fly, someone always asked, "But how did you know that was going to work?" The answer, of course, is that you might not know for certain, but with enough knowledge and experience, you can increase your chances of success. I recently created a new biscuit recipe using a combination of experience, improv, and serendipity.

I wanted to bake something for supper for the feast of St. Joseph, and normally that would mean the traditional cream puffs, but we had received a donation of several trays of bite-sized desserts (left over from a shower) so we didn't need any more sweets in the house. I didn't have enough time for yeast rolls so I decided on drop biscuits, because I had buttermilk in the fridge from Irish Soda Bread. I had noticed that the chives had already sprouted in the herb garden, so Cheddar Chive Biscuits seemed in order. Alas, there was no decent cheddar in the fridge, but I did spy some some limp celery and a handful of baby carrots. From all that, Buttermilk Garden Drop Biscuits were born.

I took a basic drop biscuit recipe from The Joy of Cooking (surprisingly, there was nothing comparable in Bernard Clayton's Book of Breads) but it used 2% milk, so I knew I would need to add some baking soda to get more loft. Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable, as the former is activated by heat and the latter by acidic ingredients. But baking soda is much ore powerful, so only a quarter teaspoon was needed.

I also increased the amount of flour by a quarter cup, for two reasons. First, the original recipe called for shortening, and all I had was butter, which has a higher moisture content. Secondly, minced celery and shredded carrots add a lot of water to the mixture as well. I didn't want my drop biscuits to spread out into savory pancakes, so I added that little extra bit of all-purpose flour.

I also knew that the veggie flavor in the biscuits would be more prominent with a little more salt, but why add just salt when you can also add flavor with a salty aged cheese? There was some excellent Romano left over from a recent pizza party which made its way into the mix. Drop biscuits mix up in about four minutes and bake in less than fifteen, so it wasn't long before these beauties were out on the counter. They were the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken breasts---the-herb-and-veggie flavor is exquisite but fairly subtle and would overpowered by a more heavily seasoned dish. I had one with my Lenten soup today and it was a treat.

Buttermilk Garden Drop Biscuits---they smell heavenly as they emerge from the oven!

So now that you've got a basic recipe, try your own improvisation, based on what you find in the produce section, the fridge, or the backyard garden. I'd love to hear about your baking adventures.

God bless and happy baking!

Buttermilk Garden Drop Biscuits

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup shredded romano cheese
1 cup of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two knives. Mix in chives, carrots, celery and cheese. Add milk and stir until just blended. Drop by tablespoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve warm. Makes 12 large biscuits.

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Tomato Galette II

9/14/2016

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photo: Wild Boar Farms

One of our faculty members grows heirloom and hybrid vegetables, and he brought in some Dragon’s Eye tomatoes. These hybrids were developed by Wild Boar Farms, and you can order the seeds from there. They have a pink-rose color with green stripes that turn gold as they ripen. The flesh is dark and almost meaty, with great flavor.

Last year I came across a recipe for a Tomato Galette which I thought looked yummy, so I gave it a try. The results were nowhere near as pretty as the online photo, but it was tasty---you can find my earlier blog with photos HERE. I decided to make a second attempt with the Dragon’e Eye tomatoes, and to make some other adjustments to the recipe based on what ingredients I had on hand: zucchini, onions, some leftover bacon, and gorgonzola instead of chevre.

Wow. Just . . . wow.

I shared it with some of the faculty members, including our super-intendent Dr. Struck. Here’s a quote of his reaction:

“That was insane. I’m not a foodie---I’m a trash eater, I’ll eat anything. But that made me want to become a foodie. IN-SANE.”

I’ll take that as a thumbs up.

If you still have a few heirloom tomatoes in the fridge and some giant zucchini in need of fulfillment, try this galette. The crust is easy to make---be sure to refrigerate it for several hours or even overnight before rolling it out---and constructing the pie is not at all fussy. Use your favorite pie dough recipe if you like (this one has Parmesan and cracked pepper in it) but don’t use frozen pie dough, or the angels will weep for you.

Tomato Bacon Galette with Gorgonzola

Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4 -6 tablespoons ice cold water

Filling
3 large heirloom tomatoes (about 1½ pounds)
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
1 cup of quartered zucchini slices
3 or 4 strips of cooked bacon, chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion
4 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Place flour in a food processor with butter and pulse until pieces are pea-sized (You can also do this by hand with a pastry blender). Stir in Parmesan and cracked pepper. Place mixture in a medium size bowl and stir in the ice water with a fork, about a tablespoon at a time, until the dough is moistened and can be formed into a ball. Flatten dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours---I let mine chill overnight.

Core the tomatoes and slice about 1/4 inch. Arrange slices on a wire rack over a baking pan or paper towels. Place a layer of paper towels over the top to absorb moisture—when the towels become soaked through, replace them. Repeat as needed for 30 to 45 minutes. The idea is to remove some of the excess moisture so you don’t get a soggy pie.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees . On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 13” circle. Transfer it to a large pizza pan or baking sheet lightly coated with pan spray. Spread the bread crumbs on pastry evenly, leaving about a 1-inch border. Layer zucchini, tomatoes, and onions on the crust, then sprinkle with bacon and gorgonzola. Fold the edge of the crust over the filling, pleating as necessary. Combine egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush with a soft pastry brush over the outer crust.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is evenly browned and crisp. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

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Sour Cream Fastnachts for Mardi Gras

2/7/2016

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Wow, it's been quite some time since I posted---my last blog post was before Christmas and here we are about to start Lent! But before the Lenten austerities get underway, treat your family to some deliciously rich Fastnacht fritters. I may have posted this recipe before, but it's worth it share it again.

The full name for these donuts is fastnacht kuchen, “Fastnacht” being the German word for the day before Ash Wednesday. There are as many different recipes for these Shrove Tuesday donuts as there are German grandmothers (the Polish grandmas call them paczki). The majority of them are made with a yeasted dough containing mashed potatoes. I offer here a simpler recipe, easily made and best served fresh.

Depending on the date of Easter, Fat Tuesday is often on or around Valentine’s Day. Using heart shaped cookie cutters for your fastnachts is a good way to combine the two holidays. Plain granulated sugar or powdered sugar may also be used to coat them. Without a sweet topping of some kind, fastnachts can seem a little bland to the American palate, as the recipe has far less sugar than the usual sour cream donut.

Fastnachts
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 sugar
¾ tsp. ground mace or nutmeg
1 cup sour cream (room temperature)
2 eggs (room temperature)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Cinnamon sugar for topping

In a medium size bowl, combine oil, sugar, sour cream, and eggs and beat with a whisk for two minutes. In a separate bowl, sift flour and baking powder and stir until thoroughly combined. Add egg mixture and stir until just combined. With dough still in bowl, knead gently for 8 or 10 strokes. Allow dough to rest for 5 minutes. Preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees. Pat or roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Cut dough into rectangles about 2” x 3” and cut a short slit down the center of each one. Fry in hot oil a few at a time, 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, then toss in cinnamon sugar to coat. Best if served fresh and warm.

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Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits

10/13/2015

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Today when I walked into the kitchen after school, as usual I took a peek at the menu for supper: creamed chicken over cheddar biscuits. Unfortunately I knew, with some dread, what that meant: tiny, dry hockey pucks from the freezer, loaded with partially hydrogenated blandness.

Not on my watch.

So I rolled up my sleeves and banged out Biscuits of Victory and a batch of Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits. These latter are very similar to the ones everyone loves at Red Lobster. Except way better and way cheaper and they're done in about 30 minutes. Drop biscuits are a breeze and you don't need a rolling pin or biscuit cutter. A Pastry blender is useful, however, and I recommend the one with metal blades rather than wire. The recipe calls for shortening, but I used butter because that's what I had in the house.

God bless and happy baking!

Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free baking mix
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 to 4 Tbs. chopped fresh chives
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
¼ cup shredded sharp white or yellow cheddar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Stir dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Cut in vegetable shortening using a pastry blender or two knives. Add milk and stir until just blended. Drop by tablespoons onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly and serve warm. Makes 12 biscuits.

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Italian Onion Herb Bread

9/18/2015

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Italian Onion Herb Bread can be made in round loaves or in a loaf pan.

A friend invited me to supper at his house last weekend and "suggested" I might bring along some bread. This is the time of year when I try to use up whatever fresh herbs are left in the garden, and when I saw that we had some green onions in the fridge that needed to be used pretty quickly, I knew Italian Onion Herb Bread was the best possible choice. It goes well with just about any meat (we were having pork loin on the grill) plus my host's last name is DiVincenzo. I used fresh garlic chives, basil, rosemary, oregano, and a pinch of red pepper in my mix, but any dried Italian seasoning will work. I would have to rate this among the breads with the best aroma, not only while baking, but on the counter, in the bread basket, and even when wrapped in plastic. Try it and let me know what you think.

Italian Onion Herb Bread

2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 Tbs. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1 cup milk
2 Tbs. vegetable oil (divided)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 or 2 Tbs. dried Italian herb blend, or 1/4 cup fresh
5½ to 6 cups of all-purpose flour

Sauté onions in 1 tablespoon of the oil until translucent but not browned. Remove pan from heat and add remaining oil, herbs and milk---set aside to cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water with a pinch of the sugar. Let stand 10 minutes until foamy. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, salt, and onion/herb mixture. Stir in yeast and remainder of sugar. Add 2 cups of flour and mix thoroughly. Add three more cups of flour, one cup at a time. About ¼ cup at a time, add enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until dough is smooth, shiny and slightly sticky. Lightly oil the surface of the dough, and place in the rinsed bowl covered with a dish towel, in a warm place free from drafts. Let rise until doubled, about one hour. Punch dough down and knead again for about one minute. Form into loaves and place in greased pans. Let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes, until nearly. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool on racks.

Notes
---The first time you make Italian Onion Herb bread, use only 1 tablespoon of dried herb mix, and see if that’s enough for your palate. If not, increase it to two. Go easy on the rosemary.
---You can try other of herbs in this recipe as well. I made it once with a combination of lovage, savory and parsley, and the community devoured six loaves at a single meal!
---If you are short on time, omit the onions and just warm the milk to 110 degrees before adding it to other ingredients along with the oil.

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Italian Onion Herb Bread

6/17/2015

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Italian Onion Herb Bread in the abbey kitchen, fresh from the oven.

Last night was the annual picnic for the Illinois Valley Herb Guild to which I belong. I heard that beer brats were going to be served, as well as tortellini, so I thought---as usual!---we needed some homemade bread to go along with such alfresco delights. I chose to make skinny loaves of Italian Onion Herb Bread, a perennial favorite here at the abbey, which could be used to house the brats or to mop up bolognese sauce.

After these beauties were out of the oven, I realized two things: 1) I needed to make sweet hot mustard as well; and 2) I had never posted the recipe for Italian Onion Herb Bread on my recipes page. The first task required some experimentation with regular yellow mustard, St. Bede honey, crushed red pepper, horseradish and garlic, and after all the multiple tastings and tweakings, I couldn't tell you the recipe if I tried. A task for another day.

But the recipe for Italian Onion Herb Bread has been duly posted on my recipes page; for a shortcut, click HERE. If you make a dozen of these beauties for a bake sale, I guarantee you'll sell every loaf. I like to make them in "W" pans (usually called "French bread pans") but you can roll out long skinny loaves and bake them on a standard sheet tray as well. Mine look like this and are made by Fox Run, but there are lots of other shapes and sizes out there: HERE's a sampling. The ones pierced with holes are more expensive but create a more crisp crust.

God bless and happy baking!

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A little herb sauce

5/14/2015

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Our Fr. Roger has some dietary restrictions and one of them is that he can't eat tomato sauce, poor fellow. When we get baked mostaccioli (as we did last night), he usually gets a plate of plain pasta. He accepts it with good humor, but I feel sorry for him, even as I mop up the last of my marinara with a chunk of crusty bread. Tonight the kitchen worker Julie and I decided to do something about it and fixed some creamy herb sauce.

After Mass I went to the kitchen and found her already whisking flour and butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat to make a roux. We added about 2 cups of warmed milk and whisked until it was thickened to cream consistency. I added a teaspoon of vegetable soup base and about a quarter cup of snipped chives, plus three or four chopped lovage leaves, fresh from the abbey herb garden. A few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of dried thyme finished off the flavor profile , plus a little more milk when it thickened too much.

The result was a slightly rich, delicately flavored sauce that prompted Fr. Roger to take seconds on the plain pasta. After supper we discovered that the flavors had deepened and became more complex, and Julie intends to use the leftovers over chicken breast for her supper tomorrow (I'd add a pinch of rubbed sage).

I'm sure that readers will want a recipe, but since we made it up on the spot and didn't measure much, I don't think I can help you there. However, you can start with Mario Batali's Béchamel Sauce Recipe and add the seasonings mentioned above, although Mario's recipe makes twice as much as what we made, so you"ll have to increase the amounts accordingly. Fresh herbs make a world of difference, so cut back those chives and put them to work on your pasta!

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Craftsy Class #2: Baking with Herbs and Spices

Savory Biscotti

Biscuit Improv: Buttermilk Garden Drop Biscuits

Tomato Galette II

Sour Cream Fastnachts for Mardi Gras

Cheddar Chive Drop Biscuits

Italian Onion Herb Bread

Italian Onion Herb Bread

A little herb sauce

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