Blog Posts

Memories of Mama: Baking for Thanksgiving

11/18/2016

My siblings have been clearing out my mom's house in preparation for an estate sale and putting the house on the market. It's a bittersweet process, filled with happy memories and small griefs. But we decided that we needed to have one last big family meal in The Crumpled House, so we're having Thanksgiving at the big dining room table with the mismatched chairs. With the addition of spouses, significant others and children, it's going to be a bit crowded, but we'll manage.

Now Thanksgiving at The Crumpled House was sometimes the traditional roast-turkey-mashed-potatoes-gravy-and-pumpkin-pie family feast---my mother dearly loved potatoes in any form---which would mean we’d get Fred Flintstone Telephone Rolls. The rest of the world calls them sour cream crescent rolls, but as kids we thought they looked like the telephones on the animated TV show “The Flintstones”.

When these rolls were served, it was the only time we were allowed to play with our food at the table. You would hold the roll up to your ear and pretend to dial a rotary phone; the obligatory sound effect was “ZUH-oh, ZUH-oh” as you dialed. Some else at the table would say “Ring-ring!” then pick up a roll and say “Hello?” When you are under age 8, this whole operation is a cause for hilarity and riot and must be repeated until Dad gets fed up with it and yells at you to eat your turkey. However, we were still fulfilling this ritual well into our teenage and college years, and I expect it to be re-enacted later this week.

However, in spite of my mother’s Irish heritage and her love for potatoes and gravy, more often than not she’d serve spaghetti, meatballs and Italian sausage for Thanksgiving. She got the recipes from my father’s side of the family, including Grandpa Jim’s sauce recipe and the meatball recipe from my dad’s great-grandma Fiori. But the sausages always came from Ciota’s, an Italian deli on the south side of Peoria.

Early in the day Mom would make a huge pot of sauce, fry up the meatballs and sausage, and then simmer them in the sauce pot all morning. She’d make long loaves of Italian bread, and there was probably some kind of Iceberg lettuce salad. I don’t recall what kind of dessert she customarily served, except that on at least one occasion she made Lemon Lush. My sister Eileen recalls my mother buying some kind of chocolate torte with about nine layers, so rich you could only eat thin slices.

This year, however, things are going to get a bit more eclectic. You can't get Ciota's sausage anymore, so I'm making some with a recipe I developed that is a close second. Someone is making meatballs and sauce with the family recipes. But I'm making the Fred Flintstone Telephone Rolls instead of Italian bread, and I think dessert is going to be Anja's apple crisp and Eileen's pumpkin pie. God knows if we'll bother with a salad. But we'll tell all the stories and laugh like we always do, and maybe cry a little, too. If you have an empty chair at the Thanksgiving table this year for the first time, you'll know what I mean. Want to make the rolls? The recipe is HERE.

God bless and happy baking!

2 Comments

Memories of Mama: Cowboy Cookies

11/13/2016

4 Comments

Cowboy cookies were a staple in my family home, a recipe found on a battered and stained card in the metal box and regularly used to make classroom treats, a dessert to pass at a Cub Scout meeting, or "just because." If you look up "Cowboy Cookies" on the Internet, you'll find several versions with oatmeal, nuts, coconut and/or cinnamon added, often served in large, even Texas-sized portions.

I reject such modern innovations.

Cowboy cookies are, at their finest, modestly-sized chocolate chip cookies with rolled oats added to the dough, made with shortening instead of butter or margarine. The oats have to be the old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not the quick cooking ones (which are chopped too small) or the instant variety (which has a lot of extra salt, is precooked and chopped even smaller). The cookies are scooped out by tablespoon, so you get a good number of them---about 10 dozen. However, I generally use a commercial cookie scoop which measures out 3/4 oz. of dough, so the recipe yields about 4 dozen.

There is a lot of speculation as to why they are called cowboy cookies, and one of the aforementioned versions has even been at the center of a political struggle, but I have my own theory: kids like cowboys. These cookies first became popular when the cowboy movie or serial was a popular genre for kids (think of the Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy) and dressing up as a cowboy or cowgirl among the most popular Halloween costumes. In fact, the back of the recipe card above features the image to the right. I have no idea who these children are---they were cut out of the magazine in which the recipe appeared---but this could easily be a picture of my older brother Marty and my younger sister Eileen, pigtails and all.

As we were cleaning out the house after my mother's death, we of course came across a thousand memories a day, many of them in the kitchen. On the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet we found the coffee can, decorated in classic 70's style, in which she kept her chocolate chips and coconut, clearly labeled "For Cookies". I used to sneak chocolate chips, but I should have known my mother would discover the culprit. One day I opened the canister to discover a note (addressing me by my baptismal name) that stated emphatically: "Michael, if you eat any more of these chocolate chips I will break your arm!" My siblings made sure I got the canister and its contents after the funeral. In addition to the Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips with which I made the batch of cowboy cookies pictured below, it held a note that read: "Dom, Enjoy the chocolate. No broken arms. --your sibs."

I'm definitely feeling the love. Bake these cookies and you will, too. Take the recipe from the card at the top of the page---it needs no improvement.

4 Comments

Memories of Mama: Banana Coconut Cookies

11/8/2016

1 Comment

Banana Coconut Cookies

For many years, my mother gave each of her children and grandchildren the same birthday present: a batch of their favorite cookies. My mother would ship them, carefully wrapped to avoid breakage, or would have them waiting on the dining room table when you came home. Actually, "favorite" is a bit of a misnomer, since she would always ask in advance which recipe you wanted, and for most family members it might change from year to year: Cowboy Cookies one year, Starlight Mint Surprises the next, with Peanut Butter Blossoms thrown in one year to mix things up. Monks, however, are creatures of habit (pun intended) and so I consistently asked for my all-time favorite sweet treat: Banana Coconut Cookies.

The original recipe came from Rawleigh, a company that used to sell door-to-door in neighborhoods with products like home remedies, spices, extracts, and pudding mixes. I remember Mama's cupboard always had a cardboard canister of Rawleigh's Imitation Pie Filling and Dessert, and I think the recipe was on the label. The company is still around but alas, they no longer make the banana flavored dessert, although my mother bought several canisters before they became unavailable and used it judiciously for several years.

This year my mother was unable to make the cookies for me, because she was seriously ill for most of October and suffered a stroke on the morning of my birthday. She died a few days later---you can read her eulogy HERE. We served cookies at her wake and gave attendees one of her cookie cutters as a memento. My siblings and I have been scanning recipe cards and perusing cookie books for the last week. I'll be posting more of her favorite cookie recipes in the weeks and months ahead---but back to banana coconut.

Although there was about a third of a canister left in Mama's cupboard, I knew that the Rawleigh product would need a viable long-term substitution. Jello brand Banana Cream Instant Pudding proved unsatisfactory----the cookies were too cakey, and didn't have enough banana flavor---but Jello just came out with a new line of "Simply Good" gelatin and pudding mixes with all-natural ingredients. I gave it a try and found the results very close indeed to the original, and my siblings agreed that it was a superior product. Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think. Better still, if you like the cookies, do what I did and let the Jello people know what you think, and encourage them to keep making the product. I'm buying a large supply, just in case.

Banana Coconut Cookies

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 packages) Jello brand Simply Good Banana Pudding Mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon banana extract
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk blend completely. In another bowl or stand mixer, cream together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and extracts and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in coconut until evenly distributed throughout dough. Wrap dough in waxed paper or plastic film and chill in refrigerator for at least two hours.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Drop balls of chilled dough the size of walnuts on lightly greased baking sheets (you can line the pans with parchment paper instead) and flatten balls slightly. Bake for 10 minutes or until browned. Yields about 4 dozen cookies.

1 Comment

My mother's funeral homily

11/4/2016

4 Comments

My dear mother passed away on October 29 at about 1:00 in the afternoon. You can find her obituary HERE.

If you've read any of my cookbooks or seen my shows on PBS, you know that she had a huge influence on me and my baking. In the next few months I'll be posting bread blogs with plenty of memories---accompanied by recipes, of course! For right now, I thought I'd share my homily from her funeral, which was November 3. The readings were:

Proverbs 31:10-39
Romans 8:36-39
Luke 2:15-20

Funeral Mass Homily
Mary A. Garramone
St. Bernard's Church, Peoria, IL
November 3, 2016

Mom wanted things arranged in advance for her funeral, and she must have thought about it every now and then, because she sent me many versions over the years: a couple of songs, three or four responsorial psalms, several sets of readings. So I was surprised when, in our most recent conversation about the funeral, she left the choice of the first two readings and the psalm to us.

It should not difficult to imagine why we chose the first reading from Proverbs: it is an apt description of her as it was for Mary Otten, her dear friend of happy memory.

She gets up while it is still night
All those nursing shifts working 11 to 7, and getting up give us kids meds and cool iced tea when we were sick.

She sets about her work vigorously , her arms are strong for her tasks.
We called her “Toughie McNutt”

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
Like her mother, Grandma Tootsie, she was always worried about the hungry poor.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are doubly clothed. My mother was into the “layered look” long before it was fashionably, especially if we were going sledding.

She makes coverings for her bed, working with eager hands. She took great delight in being a quilter, and loved spending time with “The Mary Quilters” and other sewing groups.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. My mother may not have ever eaten the bread of idleness, but she baked every OTHER kind of bread, and was a legendary cookie baker.

But it should be equally obvious why we chose the second reading: she did not allow anything to separate her from the love of God in Christ Jesus: no grief, no loneliness, no suffering, frustration or anxiety was ever powerful enough to make her lose her faith. Lose her temper, yes. Lose her customary cheerfulness and courtesy—perhaps, but only in extremis. Even to lose her courage, once or twice, towards the end. But never her faith.

My mother was devoted to the Blessed Mother and prayed the rosary often. She liked to hold the beads in the fingers but have the crucifix in her hand. When Mama was in her last hours she was not responding or even moving much, not even opening her eyes. My sister Eileen noticed her rubbing her fingers together. She put the beads between Mama’s fingers, and my mother flipped her hand and expertly caught the cross in her palm, a gesture she’d done thousands of times.

Later in the night, my sister played hymns on her phone and sang to comfort my mother, including “Here I Am, Lord” one of my mom’s favorites. When they got to the refrain, my mother, hours from death, paralyzed on one side and hardly responding otherwise, raised her arm straight up in the air, as if to say, “Here I am, Lord.” An obedient and beloved daughter of God to the end.

As far as the gospel is concerned, I think we really should have had three, so I want to comment on two other familiar passages in addition to the one we heard. Many years ago she made out a pair of typed pages with readings, response and gospel chosen---the paper is yellowed now, but the gospel is still fresh: Jesus saying “Let the children come to me.”

Let the children come to me in the kitchen—my favorite classroom, and I’ll teach them to count cups of flour, and to tell time until the bread is done, to learn patience and cooperation and gratitude and to take turns on who gets to lick the beaters. Let them come with me to the library, my mother would say, and to the “New New Park” with the roundy-roundy slide, and to Dairy Queen for a fling because it’s payday. Let the children come to me, said Mama, and I’ll take them to the Heart of Illinois Fair and the Spring Bay Watermelon Festival and the Tremont Turkey Festival and anywhere they serve haystack onion rings, and then it’s off to the Glen Oak band concert on the fourth of July and I’ll lead a parade of children marching around the blanket, all of us waving sparklers and flags. That was my mother.

But another gospel verse comes to mind as well: John 15:13 in which Jesus says: “Greater love has no-one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And she did give her life, a continuous stream of sacrifices for her children, her family, for her patients and her nurses, for anyone in need. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy were daily activities for her---she did not need a Year of Mercy to remind her. But we sometime forget the verse that follows and we ought not forget, in my mother’s case: “Greater love has no-one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do as I command you.” No matter what, she couldn’t turn off the button that says “Mind your Mama”---it was always dialed up to ten. I was in the monastery for two whole years, going to church five times a day, before she stopped calling to remind me that December 8th is a holy day of obligation and I’d better go to mass. That was my mother.

But what of the reading she herself chose? An odd choice, perhaps, to use the gospel more suited for the Christmas mass at dawn. But the angels and the shepherds and the manger are not really the point. The point was the last verse: “And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

My mother did not merely remember her experiences, good and bad---she treasured them, prayed about them, thought about them deeply, tried to understand their meaning. She pieced them together like a quilt as she pondered, found the pattern and the purpose, God’s will hidden in everyday things. And as she pondered, mere knowledge was transformed into holy wisdom, speculation turned into spiritual insight, and in a kind of personal transubstantiation, living her own faith was turned into a powerful witness to the gospel. As a Eucharistic minister, my mother had the greatest love for the Blessed Sacrament, cherished it in the tabernacle, offered it with reverence, received it with deep devotion. The Word became flesh, and the flesh became bread, and my mother received the bread of life, and the Word became flesh in her, so she became a sign of the Love of God at work in the world.

So may we all.

4 Comments

A grandmother's recipe, a mother's lessons, a son's love

10/10/2016

3 Comments

As followers of my Facebook page are aware, my mother was recently in ICU for several days with a severe infection in her colon. She's home now and much improved, but still a bit weak. She doesn't have any dietary restrictions but doesn't quite have the appetite she usually has, which of course has us a bit concerned. So decided to make her a treat like Great-grandma Sardick would make: Austrian povitica (poh-VEE-teetz-ah). Her favorite bread baked by her favorite monk? Surely she'll have a slice or two, won't she? So I hoped, and when I told her on the phone about my plan she seemed pleased, even excited.

I am proud say that this recipe has been in my family for at least four generations. My great-grandmother, Frances Zunic Sardick, brought it to this country from Austria. You often see Croatian or Slovenian versions of this bread (usually called potica) which use ground walnuts, cream, honey, and a much sweeter dough rolled into very thin layers. They are very popular at Christmas and Easter in our area of north central Illinois, where the Slovenian Women's Union of America have an active branch (#140) and have produced a fine cookbook.

But in my family, povitica is a savory bread rather than a sweet treat, and is reserved almost exclusively for Easter, at the end of Lenten fasts and meatless meals. When my mother was a little girl, my grandmother used to make it on Good Friday to serve Saturday night. How she could stand to fry bacon and bake bread on the most important day of fast and abstinence in the church calendar, I can't imagine! She certainly made of sterner stuff than Mom and Grandpa Frankie, who would leave the house and visit every church in a 25 mile radius to escape the tempting aromas.

At least in my family's traditions, there isn't a specific dough that is required for povitica, although basic white dough is what mom always used, enough for two standard loaves of bread. Potato roll dough works well, too, which is what I used this time around. The dough is rolled out into a large rectangle, and the bacon and walnuts spread on top. A couple of tablespoons of sugar are sprinkled over the dough, and finally six beaten eggs poured over the whole mess. You can see why we usually serve this once Lent is over!

The rectangle is then jelly-rolled, formed into a double spiral, and placed in a lasagna pan, although the sweeter versions are traditionally made in a Bundt pan. As you can imagine, the resulting loaf is huge and a bit heavy and wonderful is every way. Its weight comes from the filling---the dough itself rises be a fluffy and tender contrast to the hearty bacon and walnuts. The combination of salty/savory/sweet/soft/crunchy/chewy makes eating this bread a memorable experience.

Naturally my mother made sure I was inducted into the tradition of baking povitica, and I recall her patience in teaching me to roll out such a large amount of dough. She probably rapped my knuckles with a wooden spoon for sneaking bits of bacon out of the bowl---I still can't resist a taste or two!---and kept a watchful eye as I chopped walnuts so they would be neither too large nor too small. I was dubious that the beaten eggs would stay in place as I rolled up the rectangle, but she was positive and encouraging, as all great teachers are.

Another memory of povitica I have is from my senior year of high school. Thanks to a religion class on Catholic peace and justice issues, I had become involved with Oxfam America, an organization that works to end world hunger. They had a campaign for people to fast on the Thursday before Thanksgiving and then donate the money they might have spent on food to the organization. I decided to commit myself to the fast and announced my intention at the dinner table a few days before the event.

I had intended to fast the whole day, even though I had to work at my fast-food job after school until about 10 p.m., but my mother would have none of it: "I don't want you passing out at work!" So even though it was months before Easter, my mother made a huge povitica and packed two thick slices for my lunch. I won't say I wasn't hungry at work (and that was at least part of the point of the exercise---to experience hunger as so many others do) but at least I didn't faint into a fryer.

So I set off for Peoria with povitica, potato bread and Holy Communion, to feed my mother both body and soul. When I arrived she was still in some pain and a bit tired, but was alert and cheerful as she could be under the circumstances. We visited for awhile, and then the family members who were around joined us for the prayer of anointing and the Eucharist. Shortly thereafter, my sister brought some lunch in: lovely Yukon Gold potatoes and green beans fresh from the garden. My mother looked at the plate and said, "Where's the povitica?" By the time I had cut her a slice and buttered it, she had nearly finished the potatoes and beans and was ready for her treat. She ate it in her customary lady-like fashion, and obviously relished every bite. I hope she polishes off the loaf.

On the drive back to the abbey, I was reminded of a saying of Khalil Gibran from The Prophet: "Work is love made visible." I thought of all the love my mother has shown me throughout her life, working as a single parent to put five kids through Catholic grade school and then into various colleges, all the laundry and sewing and housecleaning, all the meals prepared, often with homemade bread and an astonishing array of cookies. She made us do our share but never shirked herself, and always with the greatest love. I looked up the Gibran quote when I got home and in the same section found this gem:

"When you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God."

I didn't really need Gibran to teach me that---I had my mom as an example.

You may want to bake up some bacon and walnut love yourself, so look for the recipe for Austrian Povitica HERE.

God bless and happy baking!

3 Comments

Six Strand Braid

10/10/2016

0 Comments

While preparing the lesson plans for my Craftsy Class, I discovered that there are a lot of different braiding patterns for challah out there, using anywhere from one to a dozen strands. I taught a particular version of the six strand braid for my class (in the upper right hand corner of the photo above), which uses a technique more like weaving than braiding. Fellow food blogger Tori Avey has a good photo tutorial HERE.

The other method for braiding is a little more complex and requires a bit more finesse. I made my first attempt today and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results overall. The dough was not challah but a multigrain potato bread sweetened with honey that I made up without measuring much, so I can't offer a recipe. It's much softer than challah dough and doesn't hold its shape as well, so as you can see my strands were a bit uneven. I brushed the top of the loaf with a whole egg beaten with a little water, then sprinkled on some poppyseed.

You can find a useful video for learning this technique HERE except it doesn't show how to finish the braid off. You may need to experiment or consult a Jewish grandma! Some traditional bakers make the strands fatter in the middle and more tapers towards the ends, which results in a slightly different shape overall. And as soon as I try that, I'll post the results!

0 Comments

Multigrain baking mix

10/8/2016

3 Comments

Although my mother had pancake mix and instant potatoes in the cupboard when I was growing up, I don’t recall her keeping Bisquick or Jiffy baking mix around. I must confess I have never used a baking mix until just a few weeks ago when I was finishing up my next book project (Baking Secrets from the Bread Monk) and decided to include a recipe for a homemade version of a homemade “Bisquick-like-baking-mix”. Since then I’ve used it for pancakes, cheddar drop biscuits and shortcake with excellent results. The one in the book uses all-purpose flour alone, but here I’ve added some whole grains, mostly because that’s how I like my waffles!

If you already use baking mixes, you might be surprised to see that this version requires refrigeration, but you might be equally surprised to discover that the Bisquick package also recommends that you refrigerate their product after opening. But most baking mixes use shortening and have a number of preservatives and therefore are more “shelf-stable” as they say in the food biz. My version has no preservatives and uses butter (far fewer trans fats), which with the addition of whole grains makes it a healthier alternative. You can use it one-to-one in any recipe that calls for baking mix. Six cups of total of the different flours may seem like a lot, but you'll go through it in no time, since you can use it for pancakes, waffles, muffins, coffeecakes, biscuits and even scones. Recipes abound on the internet, so mix up a batch of multigrain goodness and try a few out.

Multigrain Baking Mix
3 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup quick cooking oatmeal
½ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup milled flaxseed
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into slices

Place dry ingredients into food processor and process until thoroughly mixed. Add butter and pulse until well blended. You can also cut in the butter with a handheld pastry blender, although that takes a while longer. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 6 weeks (depending upon how fresh your butter is). If you use salted butter because that's all you have, reduce the salt in the recipe by a half teaspoon,

ADDENDUM 10/13/16
Since making my most recent batch of this baking mix, I have made muffins and biscuits with ordinary recipes off the website of Betty Crocker (the manufacturer of Bisquick) and got lovely results.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter chips give this sweet treat its flavor.

Some of the faculty at my lunch table got to sample these with butter and honey.

3 Comments

Tomato Galette II

9/14/2016

0 Comments

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.

0 Comments

Food Holidays

9/12/2016

2 Comments

September celebrates Whole Grains, Honey, and Raisins---as does this bread!

I’ve been researching food holidays for an upcoming book, and based on what I could find online, there are an astonishing number of food-related “holidays” in the course of a calendar year, celebrating everything from dietary fiber to decadent desserts. It seems as though every fruit, vegetable, bread group and protein has a special day. Which prompts one to ask: How are such days established?

The President of the United States of course has the authority to declare a commemorative event or day by proclamation---so can state legislatures and local mayors, for more regional celebrations. But in the end, like most things political, it’s all about lobbying. Petitions are usually introduced by trade associations or public relations firms hired by the portion of the food industry responsible for a particular food’s sale and distribution. ‘Twas ever thus.

But let’s not be too cynical about how the holidays got put on the calendar. I would be happy to enjoy cream puffs (January 2), Oatmeal Nut Waffles (March 11) or falafels (June 12) on any day of the year without any inspiration beyond my own love for baked goods. So in honor of September’s position as both National Honey Month and Whole Grains Month, plus National Raisin Day on the 30th, I’m sharing a recipe for Raisin Walnut Bread which uses stone ground rye flour in the dough and honey as the sweetener.

Raisin Walnut Bread
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 cup lukewarm water
2 pkg. active dry yeast
2 Tbs. dark honey
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 cups stone ground rye flour, divided
3 to 3¼ cups bread flour
2 cups raisins (I like the mixed colors)
1 cup walnuts, medium chopped (optional)

In a large bowl, mix milk, water, honey, yeast, and one cup of rye flour. Allow yeast to develop for five minutes. Then add oil and salt; mix well. Stir in the remainder of the rye flour and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes as the rye flour absorbs moisture. Add 3 cups of the bread flour, one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly each time. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead vigorously for 8 to 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining bread flour to make a firm (but not stiff) dough that is slightly sticky. Rinse out the bowl. Lightly oil the surface of the dough and place it back in the bowl; cover with a towel. Allow to rise in a warm area free for drafts for 60 to 75 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough and knead briefly to work out the larger air bubbles. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about ½”. Sprinkle nuts and raisins on top of the dough. Fold the edges of the dough toward the center and knead for a few to distribute the raisins and nuts evenly. (At first it will be messy and seem to be falling apart, but be patient; it will all come together.) Divide the dough in two and shape into loaves. Place loaves in lightly greased loaf pans (8” x 4” x 2”) and cover with towel. Let rise for 40 minutes or until nearly doubled in bulk. Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool on racks.

Notes---The rye requires some extra gluten—hence the use of bread flour. You could use all-purpose flour but then I’d recommend adding a tablespoon of gluten powder.
---This bread is at its best toasted and used for a chicken salad sandwich.

2 Comments

Why take a Craftsy class online?

9/6/2016

0 Comments

I've been talking a lot on this blog and on social media about my Craftsy baking class, and it's about to launch soon---yay! So I thought I'd offer some thoughts on why I got involved with this company and why you should consider joining the over five million crafters and hobbyists in over 200 countries who take classes online with Craftsy.

Craftsy is like Facebook for quilters, knitters, foodies and artists, combined with quality, detailed video instruction. Craftsy only works with top instructors---I had to submit a detailed class description which was reviewed by a green light committee before I was accepted as a Craftsy teacher. In the baking world, people like Peter Reinhart, Nick Malgieri, and Gale Gand have also produced classes for the site.
With a Craftsy online class you can take it as many times as you want, whenever you want and access never expires. They play on any device with internet access: computer, smart phone, iPad, tablet, etc. I usually watch my classes (yes, I am a Craftsy student as well as an instructor!) on my iPad, so I can take it around the kitchen or the wood shop as I'm working. Craftsy’s platform enables you to take virtual notes while watching a class, so you can pause the video and type in your own notes (that only you can see) which appear at that point in the video from then on.
In my opinion the best features are the interaction with the teacher and the 30 second replay. If you have a question about a particular technique or want more information, you can enter a question on your Craftsy class page. Craftsy instructors are required to go online to answer questions for their students at least twice a week, so you'll get individualized instruction and feedback. Other students in class can also offer suggestions, so we're all learning together.
If you are having trouble understanding a particular technique, the 30 second replay button allows you to watch the same 30 seconds of the video over and over again until you get it right. The HD quality video and audio make it easy to see exactly how the instructor is creating the craft, with close-ups of the different steps. One of the reasons I signed on with Craftsy is because of the high production values in the studio and in the editing process. They are endlessly creative and highly competent, and it shows in their videos.
You can also use the Craftsy platform to show off your projects to the Craftsy community and be inspired by other students’ work. It's not just online learning, it's a social media site as well, so you can interact with like-minded foodies and crafters from around the world. If you take their classes in quilting or other fiber arts, Craftsy offers an excellent selection of craft supplies and class kits, and supports independent designers by providing them with a pattern shop to list their pattern without charging them fees.
Consider joining this delightful group of bakers, fiber artists and crafters. You can find out more on the Craftsy website HERE.