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Tsourecki: Greek Easter Bread

4/4/2015

http://www.marthastewart.com/968095/tsoureki-greek-easter-bread

Full disclosure here: the photo to the left is NOT mine, nor did I make the bread. This is Martha Stewart's version of Greek tsourecki, a rich braided loaf traditionally made for Easter. The deep red eggs are meant to represent the blood of Christ, and many Greeks consider them an essential part of the bread. But my enthusiasm for this tradition has been dampened ever since I watched a fellow monk cut a slice THROUGH one of the eggs because he wanted a smaller portion, leaving bits of shell all over the table and in the remainder of the loaf. Besides, we get more than enough hard-boiled eggs during Easter week (more on that in my next post).

You might find it unusual that as a monk I'm not a staunch defender of culinary tradition, and in the case of tsourecki I take any number of liberties. The traditional flavorings for this Greek treat are mastic (a spice made from resin which is dried and then ground) and aromatic mahlab (made from ground seeds of a cherry native to Greece). If you want a really traditional version of this recipe, you can find it HERE.

My version of this sweet, rich bread uses orange and anise as flavorings. I omit the red eggs, but there are plenty in dough---five, to be exact, and one more used as a glaze. It also has a whole stick of butter and 3/4 cup of sugar, so it's a very rich dough. The dough is a bit sticky even after kneading, but resist the temptation to add more flour; things will get better after the first rise.

Large braided loaves are the traditional form for tsourecki, although I've seen some lovely versions in the form of a braided ring or crown (click HERE to see one). My recipe makes two large braided loaves, which may seem like a lot, but you probably have plenty of family coming over for Easter, and this bread makes outstanding French toast. You can always double wrap one for the freezer to serve on Pentecost.

The instructions will tell you to roll ropes of dough for braiding, but a slab braid like these beauties here will work just as well and be a lot easier. Not sure what a slab braid is? Click HERE for a tutorial video from my "Breadhead Minute" series sponsored by the Home Baking Association.

And here is the glorious result of all that effort. I'll be serving this lovely loaf at our reception after the Easter vigil, probably with whipped honey butter. The second loaf will be on the monastery table Easter Sunday morning.

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Cream Puffs

3/19/2015

It's certainly been far too long since I posted anything here, for which I apologize. Although I am repentant I have to admit that my absence was legitimate. One of my students wanted to do an Eagle Scout project to benefit the Saint Bede Drama Department, so we've been working on a complete reboot of the storage systems on stage right. The results are amazing and it's made the construction of the set for the spring musical go much faster than usual. My scout and the rest of the crew have been working very hard, so I decided to reward them with some homemade cream puffs.
Today happens to be the feast of St. Joseph, patron saint of carpenters, and my extension, stage hands. One of the traditional treats for this day is cream puffs. They are surprisingly easy to make, or at least I have always found them so, although I have heard a few stories of pate a choux failure. Water and butter are heated together until boiling, then flour is added along with a smidgen of salt and sugar. You beat the mixture hard and fast for a minute or two, let it cool slightly, and then start beating in (room temp) eggs, one at a time. The resulting mixture is thick and glossy, and is piped through a pastry bag onto a pan, in mounds for cream puffs and thick lines for eclairs. 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then another 25 minutes at 350, and you've got pastry shells.
There are variations on the recipe and the method, and the version I used is from the 1962 edition of The Joy of Cooking, but Gale Gand's recipe is a good one, too (click HERE). I saw her make cream puffs on her show "Sweet Dreams" and it helped me understand the method even better. I'll be posting pictures of the finished product later. They're going to get a chocolate mouse filling and a drizzle of hazelnut chocolate glaze.

And to think it's still the Lenten season!

With powdered sugar as a topping.

Cuban Bread

10/31/2014

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People often ask me about how to make loaves that are crispy and crusty on the outside and tender in the middle. There are a lot of different methods out there, often involving introducing steam into the oven during the baking process. I've had good success with Cuban Bread, which is just about the best base for a sub sandwich you could ever hope for, unless you can stop by Avanti's on your way to the market for meats and cheeses. Their bread isn't as crusty, but it's soft and slightly sweet and utterly delicious. But I digress.

I have seen several different versions of Cuban bread, including one that calls for four tablespoons of yeast (nearly 5 packages), which seems to me a little excessive. But they all have a few things in common: extra yeast, a large proportion of salt, a cold oven to start, and a pan of hot water to help develop the crust.

This is one of the few recipes that I would say really requires bread flour to be its best. All-purpose flour works OK but often produces a low loaf if not kneaded thoroughly.
One recipe I tested suggested brushing the loaves with cold water before they went into the oven. I did so, as gently as I could---and the loaves deflated, never to rise again. The taste was fine, but the loaves lacked the open-holed texture which characterizes “pan de cubana.” I also discovered that ¾ cup of hot water in the bottom of the oven was just enough to achieve the perfect crust---most recipes don’t specify the amount of water.

Notice the absence of oil or butter in the dough, which makes the bread crustier but also means that it won’t keep long. I've seen recipes that include a little butter or oil (about a tablespoon) but I don't think it adds much. This bread is so good you won’t have to worry much about leftovers. If you think you’ll only use one loaf within a day, don’t freeze the other---just give it away!

You'll find the recipe for Cuban Bread HERE. If you are pleased with your results, remember to send me a photo or two for the Breadhead Gallery.

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Shortcut Croissants

10/21/2014

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I'm not sure who deserves the credit for this photo. I've found it on a variety of websites, blogs and Pinterest pages.

I love flaky croissants made with real butter, but unfortunately they are hard to come by in a world populated by Pillsbury Poppin' Fresh tubes. The problem of course is one of time: authentic French croissants require between a day and a half and three days to complete. You're not working that entire time of course, but the process involves rolling out the dough, making a packet with kneaded butter in the center, then more sessions of rolling and folding with periods of refrigeration in between, plus an overnight stay in the fridge before baking day. Then you need a ruler and a protractor to cut the dough just right.

And, may I add, that it is completely worth every second.

http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/

The result of all that folding and rolling is the production of multiple thin layers of soft dough alternating with even thinner layers of butter. The best description of this process can be found in Robert Capon's excellent reflection/cookbook The Supper of the Lamb (Amazon page HERE). In it he describes the method for puff pastry, which is virtually the same as for croissants, resulting in multiple layers of butter and paste. He concludes with the baking of a pastry cookie:

"He pops it into a 450 ° oven and closes the door. Consider carefully now. There are 257 layers of paste in that cookie, separated by 256 layers of butter . . . But every one of the thin sheets is full of water. Consequently, when, after eight minutes or so, the heat of the oven raises the temperature of the layers above 212 °, the water expands violently into steam. Since. however, the steam is entrapped, it forces the layers apart to make a means of escape--a task made easy now, for the butter has melted and each layer of paste is nicely free of the others . . . At this point he turns the oven down slightly and waits until all the steam is driven out and all the layers have been french-fried by the intervening butter. The triumph of puff paste is complete."
(The Supper of the Lamb, 1967, p. 158)

I have developed a recipe for "Shortcut Croissants" that cuts the prep time so that it can be completed in a single day, with similar although not identical flaky results. I use this recipe to make croissants, but also when I'm make a recipe that calls for the crescent rolls that come in a tube. My main reasons for doing this: 1) As a monk without a car or a check book, sometimes it's easier for me to make something from scratch than to get to the store; 2) Homemade = always better; 3) better nutrition: for example, a single tube crescent roll has 9% of your RDA of sodium. Granted, my recipe uses two sticks of butter, but you could use unsalted butter, which is better for you than partially hydrogenated oils as well.

My recipe for Shortcut Croissants combines traditional fold-and-roll pastry method with another common pastry technique: cutting butter into flour with a pastry knife. The pieces are left larger than one might for pie crust or shortcake, and then the mixture is kneaded in with a soft dough. After a little refrigeration, you do some folding and rolling, let the dough rest again in the fridge, and you are ready to make some flaky goodness. The whole recipe with detailed instructions can be found HERE. Don't try it on a humid day when the kitchen is hot unless you have a lot of experience with rolling dough and can work quickly. That's why I'm sharing it now---it's great fall recipe.

I mixed up this dough last weekend so I could make some appetizers for a cookout. I rolled dough out into two rectangles and spread each with different cream cheese mixture: one was garden vegetable, the other had chopped jalapenos. I rolled the dough up and sliced it like mini cinnamon rolls. After a half hour rise, they went into a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Neither batch lasted very long.

I've also used this dough to make simple breakfast spirals with a pineapple filling. These are very similar to a Danish, but with far less sugar in the dough than for traditional Danish pastry. They are delicious with any flavor of pastry filling: raspberry, cherry, almond, etc. and, there is absolutely no need for frosting!

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Homemade Hamburger Buns

10/20/2014

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Thanks to my cousin Bob sending me the black beauty in the middle, I now have a pretty complete set of stand mixers. I can mix everything from one loaf up to about two dozen. It's like the Three Bears decided to shop at the appliance store. This weekend I was invited to a cookout by some dear friends and decided to christen the new model by making a batch of homemade hamburger buns, using a recipe from King Arthur Flour: you can find it HERE. The recipe makes 18 buns, using a little over three ounces of dough per bun.

You don't have to have the special pans---they're a bit pricey, and I wouldn't have them if they hadn't been deeply discounted at my favorite kitchen store. The main thing is to shape the balls of dough as smoothly as possible, then flatten them to about 3" across. My video on how to shape perfectly round balls of dough might help: find it HERE.

If I had left the dough a little wetter, a little more slack, I would have gotten rolls with flatter bottoms and they'd probably softer, too. But these were sturdy enough to hold up under the pressure of a burger piled high with toppings, so I have no complaints.

A burger with cheddar, tomato, onion, coleslaw and mustard, and crockpot mac and cheese. We had brownies for dessert--it was a meal made of comfort foods!

Next post I'll show off the appetizers I made with a shortcut croissant dough that's not as time-consuming as the traditional pastry dough, and better for you than the stuff that comes out of a tube.

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Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts

6/6/2014

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In honor of National Doughnut Day, I got up the morning at 4:30 a.m. (surprisingly easy when you go to bed at a decent hour) to make old-fashioned cake doughnuts for the brethren. I felt a certain moral obligation to perform this service because I had mentioned the holiday in a homily earlier in the week.

Fortunately, I have the perfect equipment: a commercial deep fryer and Popeil's Donut Maker. As you can see from the photo, this little mechanism is vintage kitchen ware from the 40's. They came in red, yellow, and green plastic, and they were still making them in the 70's. I've seen a number of them at garage sales and antique malls and there are lots of them on e-Bay. They were recently revived by Ronco (I believe Ron Popeil is the son of the original manufacturer) and you can get one on Amazon for $5.95 right now (click HERE).

I used the original recipe from the box, except that I used canola oil instead of shortening, both for the recipe and for frying. I got great results, but here are some precautions: 1) Do not "scoop" the flour when you measure it. You'll compact the flour and end up using too much. Use the "spoon and level" method. 2) When you depress the level to dispense the batter, hold the device just above the hot oil so that the doughnut doesn't get distorted and you don't splash hot oil all over. 3) The batter will be a little thick and will come out of the dispenser rather slowly. Resist the temptation to add more milk to the batter, or you will risk having doughnuts that look like mutated DNA. This is a matter of personal experience.

You will be surprised at how good a fresh, homemade doughnut can be, even when unadorned by sugar or frosting. You will also notice that the doughnuts are much more modestly sized than most commercial doughnuts today. That's a good thing--you eat a couple of these and you feel like you've had a well-deserved treat rather than enduring a sense of dietary failure and bloated guilt. I doubt I'll be making doughnuts every week, but as a special treat they are well worth the effort.

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Gluten Free Cake Donuts from a mix

6/5/2014

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June 6, 2014 is National Donut Day, a holiday instituted by the Salvation Army: you can find the history HERE, and some interesting facts HERE. I'm going to be getting up early on the 6th to make fresh fried cake donuts for the brethren, but I decided to do a little gluten free baking as well.

I've been experimenting with gluten free yellow cake mix recently, specifically the one from Hodgson Mill, so I wondered about GF cake donuts from a mix. Turns out there are several versions out there. The one I followed (using regular cake mix) is HERE, and I got good results by just subbing the GF mix in a comparable size. My GF tasters (three generations of ladies, starting with a picky four year old) found them to be deliciously moist and not at all grainy (like so many GF products). They especially liked the glaze I made with 2 cups of powdered sugar and five little servings of hazelnut flavored half and half--30 seconds in the microwave makes it liquid enough to use as a glaze.

We all agreed that they could have been baked longer than the recipe called for, as they were fully baked but fell apart easily. I also added a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg (a classic donut flavoring) to the dry ingredients before mixing in the wet.

Since many people who go GF are concerned about healthy eating in general, I decided to bake the donuts instead of frying them. Wilton makes these donut pans---I got mine at Ace Hardware---or you can use one of those donut making machines which can often be found at garage sales and Goodwill for cheap. We all agreed that they could have been baked longer than the recipe called for, as they were done in the middle but fell apart easily. I also added a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg (a classic donut flavoring) to the dry ingredients before mixing in the wet.

I find that the donut making machines will give you more even browning, but you have to get the amount of batter just right. Don't let this manufacturer' photo fool you---they probably made about 4 dozen donuts to get 6 perfect ones for the shot. The recipe in the link above calls for buttering the pans, but some of the donuts really resisted removal from the pans, so I wonder if pan release spray would have done better. In any case, here's another use for GF cake mix---other recipes will be posted eventually, but I figured I needed to get this out for donut day!

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Holy Thursday: Whole wheat rounds

4/17/2014

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Every year for supper on Holy Thursday I like to serve whole wheat bread, usually medium size loaves with a cross cut in them, one loaf for every set of four monks. This year they turned out unusually pretty, or at least the photo did, so I thought I'd share it. As I often do, I added some potato to the mix for a tender crumb and used honey as the sweetener. We have plenty of honey (although we lost more than half our hives over the long, hard winter) but my friend Dan gave me some of his that had sugared up pretty heavily. You can easily restore crystallized honey by warming the jar in a saucepan of water over low heat, but in this case just pulled out a few tablespoons and added it to the liquids. Honey makes for a beautifully browned crust, but it can also cause the crust to get too dark. Many bakers recommend turning the oven temp down by 25 degrees, or covering the loaves lightly with foil for the last half of the baking time. I did neither, but I like the results I got. Hope the brethren will, too.

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An Elegant Soda Bread

3/2/2014

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Since it's the month of Saint Patrick's Day. I'm sharing my recipe for Elegant Soda Bread again. The added sugar and coriander make it a little different than the usual fare, and you can serve it pretty much at any meal. I like it best as an accompaniment to fish.

When I was in my first year of priestly studies at St. Meinrad School of Theology, I used to visit Louisville, KY, about 70 miles away. In my first trip there with my friend John, we found a guide of the top 60 restaurants in the city. We decided that we would attempt to eat our way through the guide over the next four years, (leaving out anyplace that required dressing up too much!) Of course, we never got past the first 20, because we found a few we really liked and stuck with them. One of these favorites was a classy but unpretentious place called Jack Fry’s on Bardstown Road. They served a coriander soda bread with every entrée, and I used to eat baskets of it. The addition of coriander gives the bread an undercurrent of citrus that is subtle and exquisite.

Elegant Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
¼ cup sugar
1½ tsp. ground coriander
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift dry ingredients into a medium size bowl. Gradually add buttermilk, stirring until smooth. The dough will be quite soft---do not over mix. Divide dough in half, and using floured hands, form each half into a round, slightly flattened shape. Place in greased pie plates, and cut a cross in the top to keep it from splitting during baking. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped both top and bottom. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks. While loaves are still hot, you may brush the tops with butter.

If you omit the coriander, reduce the sugar to 2 tsp., and add a 15 oz. package of raisins, you’d have my mother’s favorite Irish soda bread recipe. She got it from Mrs. Jones, the mother of a priest who taught my mom in high school in Denver. Mom used to make this for the bake sale at St. Francis Hospital, which was always held the week before St. Patrick’s Day. She’d tie a green ribbon through the cross, to make it more attractive for the sale table. But she needn’t have bothered---the people working behind the counter often bought it right out of her hand!

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Popovers

2/12/2014

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Popovers are making a comeback these days. I first learned about popovers years ago from a delightful Irish lady named Kate, who was working as the housekeeper at a parish where I was substituting one weekend. She served me fresh popovers at supper, and I became an instant fan. I asked her for her secret, and she confided in a near whisper: “You have to bring the ingredients to room temperature before you mix a thing, or they just won’t pop.” She wrote down her exact recipe for me, which I have since lost (oh, Mona!) but her advice remains with me as the key to perfect popovers.

Popovers are versatile breads, and are delicious in any number of ways. Among my studio interns from season three, Keith slathers his with butter and honey, David prefers his with grape jelly, and Chris cuts off the top and fills it with chocolate pudding. They can be served hot filled with shrimp in a garlic cream sauce, or cold with herbed cheese spread. The recipe is below, or you can find a printer-friendly version HERE.

Popovers
1 cup milk or buttermilk
2 eggs
1 Tbs. melted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
6 small pieces of butter (about ½ tsp. each)

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a 1 quart bowl, mix together flour and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together milk, eggs and melted butter. Gradually pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, stirring constantly. Beat until smooth (I like to use a small whisk) and set aside. Place a small piece of butter in the bottom of each popover section. Place in oven until butter is bubbling, about one minute. Remove pan from oven and divide batter between the six sections of the pan (about 2/3 cup in each). Bake for 20 minutes (don’t open the oven to peek or the popovers will fall), then lower the temperature to 325 degrees F. and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and prick the top of each popover with a fork a couple of times. Bake for another 5 minutes—popovers will be golden brown and rather firm on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing popovers. Serve warm with butter and honey.

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Tsourecki: Greek Easter Bread

Cream Puffs

Cuban Bread

Shortcut Croissants

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts

Gluten Free Cake Donuts from a mix

Holy Thursday: Whole wheat rounds

An Elegant Soda Bread

Popovers

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