Converting That Peasant Bread Recipe To Sourdough

I'm not sure if I saw this in my FB or my Pinterest feed, but figured I'd "math it out," and make the conversion necessary to make Alexandra Stafford's (mom's) No Knead Peasant Bread into a sourdough hybrid. 

The breakdown of ingredient list from the original recipe are:

4 C Flour
2 C Lukewarm water
2 1/4 Tsp Yeast
1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt

The way I will approach this as a sourdough, for the next batch of bread I bake will be:

LEVAIN:

1 C Sourdough starter (unfed)
1 C Water
1 C KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour

Let this sit at room temp 12-18 hours until nice and active.

When ready to continue building the dough, I'll then bloom the yeast:

1/2 C warm water
1 Tsp sugar
2 Tsp yeast

I'll add the bloomed yeast to the levain, then mix in the remaining 1 1/2 C flour (I'll switch to bread flour for the remainder).

Let sit for 30 min to autolyze. Then add 1 tsp salt and mix well.

At this point, I *could* follow the remainder of the recipe as written, OR divide in two portions of dough (I'll use a digital scale to ensure equal amounts of dough in both bowls), put in a greased bowl and cover with wrap and put in fridge for 24 hours for a slow, cold bulk ferment as I do with nearly all my sourdough bread, and take it out of the fridge for about 1-2 hours before baking.

Bake temp and time is as stated in the original recipe:

Preheat oven to 425, and bake for about 15 minutes, then lower heat to 375 and bake for about 20 minutes more. And as the original recipe states, if the loaves look pale, bake 5 minutes more.  

Not Sour (Yet!) on Sourdough: Sourdough Paratha

Sorry! (Not sorry! No time!) No photos!

Not much commentary here, to be honest.

I have yet to convince myself that I am good at Indian breads, though I did make some nice naans from Sarah Owens' Sourdough book, and I did manage to follow Tracy's paratha recipe, both with good results. And after making Tracy's parathas, I decided the next thing I would do would be to convert that recipe into a sourdough recipe due to health concerns for the Maharajah, as well as a curiosity to see if improves texture and taste--which is already quite good with Tracy's recipe.

What follows is what I threw together last night (and cooked off this morning before work--since his majesty is working from home and I wanted to provide sustenance). I used Tracy's recipe as a guide.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour (if you have whole wheat or atta, use that)
1 T white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C Sourdough starter (this time, mine was freshly fed)
Drizzle olive oil
2-3 T warm water
Room temp butter
Oil spray

How-To:

Mix everything together, and add just enough water to make the dough come together. Let it autolyze/rest about a half hour before handling further.

On a floured surface, knead the dough a bit to build up the gluten. When dough is somewhat stiff, cut into four pieces. Roll them into balls. Flatten with palms of hand and roll out thin. 

"Shmear" (yes, shmear) the surface with butter and a very light dusting of flour. I didn't get fancy with rolling it up. Tracy employs a "pac man" type cut and then rolls it up. I'm lazy. I just rolled it up what I would call "flauta style," (only I rolled a bit tighter than an actual flauta),  pinched one end, then rolled that into a pinwheel, tucking the other end under, pressing down slightly to secure. Repeat process with remaining three balls. 

I set these in a covered dish in the fridge to rest until I am ready to cook them off.

As my nonstick pan was warming up, I rolled out the first paratha. Thin, but not too thin. Thin and as big as you can, but not so thin it rips when you pick it up is the overall guideline I'll give. Sorry, no photos. No time this morning before work! I was going to cook these off before making a batch of saag paneer (recipe to follow in another blog post).

Once pan was warmed up sufficiently (medium heat), I spritzed some oil spray and placed the paratha in. I let it cook, IDK! roughly a minute or two, and then I flipped it. I then took a clean dish towel and started to press down lightly on the edge all around the circumference of the paratha, and then press down in the middle. Flip again. repeat the dish towel routine. A rough estimate of time was about 2 minutes each side, and I flipped it about three times to ensure the paratha was cooked through.

I then did Tracy's bit after removing the paratha from the pan, where I take the edges and kind of, what I would say "rumple" the paratha to kind of open up the flakey layers.

I will know by lunchtime the results of this experiment!  

ETA:
Final analysis: Definite winner. Maharajah said the bread was, and I quote, "Nom nom." I didn't get any more specific data on it (i.e. if it were flakier, chewier, etc), before he dove right in and started devouring his lunch.  

ETA:
I did get more conclusive feedback. Maharajah said they were a bit more flakey than the previous batch I made (which was Tracy's recipe--not a sourdough recipe). So there is an added textural benefit to the sourdough!

CHALLAH-sal!

This is actually the second permutation of my sourdough hybrid challah recipe.

1. Warm milk & dissolve a nice pinch of saffron in warm milk: 
65 gm Warm Milk (I used 1% Lactaid) *OR* Apple Cider 
50 gm Sugar 

2. Then add these ingredients to milk solution: 
130 gm Sourdough Starter 
10 gm Yeast (granulated, commercial)

3. Then add and let sit five minutes: 
190 gm KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour *OR* APF 

4. Then add more wet things to the dough: 
3 Eggs 
3 Egg yolks (I saved the whites for some palaak paneer quiches to be made later in the week)
80 gm Margarine 

5. Then slowly incorporate the flours—then knead about 10 minutes to a tacky dough: 
170 gm APF 
300 gm Bread flour 

6. Let dough autolyze 30 minutes then add salt: 
10 gm Salt 

7. After adding salt then let sit for 1 hour.

8. Dust work surface with flour, knead for 12 minutes, then divide into two portions. Let rest 5 minutes. 

9. Cut each into 3 to 6 equal pieces, roll into long tubes and braid dough (on parchment paper) and into baking pans. Put in fridge for (a minimum) 24 hours.
 

10. Heat up oven to 400 (preheat clay baker). Egg wash loaves and p; sprinkle with salt or seeds of choosing. Place dough in clay baker covered.

 
11. Place in oven. Reduce temp to 350. Bake 30 minutes covered, then rotate pan, remove lid, and bake for another 20-25 minutes until golden. Let cool in clay baker.

I weighted this monster after baking, and it was 2 lbs 8 oz. More than ample to make two loaves no doubt, but my clay baker accommodates enough dough to make a monster loaf.

Anti-Social Media

Subtitled: This is why I'm not a joiner.
Subtitled: Get over yourself.
Subtitled: Reading is fundamental.
Subtitled: It's not that deep--It's just fucking bread.

Elsewhere on the internet, this took place today. And I'm irritated to report that it actually got my blood pressure a-pumpin'! Ridiculously so.

So within one of the other comments (see Evelyn Lee replied 3 replies), she shares the link to her recipe, of which, here is a nice crop of the ingredients, which is what prompted my question.

Perhaps it was an issue of semantics, of word use, and I just needed a clarification, however, WHOAH-WHAT-THE-FUCK? I was unprepared for someone to respond to a direct question, asked out of curiosity, to be just so utterly negative.  Fortunately, I was not the only one who read the reply, as anything but what it was:

Perhaps it was an issue of me jumping right to the question at hand rather than softening her up with the ego stroke, and complimenting her on her lovely baked goods. And they ARE truly stunning (look at the photos of the crumb of that bread! That's definitely not a crumb I am familiar with as sourdough), which is of course, what prompted me to check out her recipe, which is what prompted the question.  

Perhaps it was a language barrier thing, given the author in the OP appears to be from/in Malaysia.

So, my take-away here is, no matter how direct, or seemingly innocuous my questions or contributions ARE (intended) within groups (or even amongst people I know IRL), there is absolutely no accounting or predicting how the receiver will CHOOSE to process my questions or contributions. None. And while I view her reply as speaking more about HER as a person, I cannot help but feel as if I were attacked (albeit, verbally) by a stranger. 

In the meantime, I've blocked the person, so I won't have to be subjected to what she thinks is polite communication. 

 

ETA: After one too many unpleasant interactions on FB, *PLUS* the aftermath of the 2016 election, it took me a while, but by August 2018, I dumped Facebork completely. I don't recall if it was right before or right after the Cambridge Analytica security breach and scandal. But so be it. And in doing so, the circle of friends I socialized with online diminished markedly, and despite transitioning to MeWe for a social media platform, not enough friends moved there and are active there, and the application remains on my phone almost as an after thought. But I'm here, and on Twitter, and well, that's all I'm going to say on that. You know where to find me if you need me.

Rhapsody in Rye: Unintentional Detour

Given I'll be traveling soon, I needed to get our weekly loaf crafted earlier than normal.

I decided to make the sourdough beer bread as I did about 10 days ago. Only, I wasn't paying attention. Everything was fine, until I was measuring out my flour, and thought I was using rye, only to realize about 3 ounces into the weigh-in that I was using buckwheat. So rather than despair, I measured out the right amount of rye, then compensated by putting in only 9 ounces of bread flour (instead of 12). 

I'm letting it bulk ferment while at work, I'll do a bit of stretch and folding once I'm home, then before putting it in a loaf pan, I'll add some hemp seeds. I'll let it sit in the fridge until Friday a.m., take it out, let it rest a bit more, and bake it off once I'm home on Friday. 

So I won't know until late Friday evening how this turns out. I'm hoping it's not too dense; however, given I use buckwheat honey in this recipe, I'm hoping the accidental inclusion of 3 oz of buckwheat flour gives it a nice flavor. The flavor of this particular loaf is tasty to begin with, so it can only make it MORE delicious, I hope! 

My only concern of course is the oven-spring, lift, crumb, whatever you want to call the interior bubbles trapped in the dough.

Stay tuned!

Not Soured on Sourdough Yet: Introducing My Kombucha Sourdough Hybrid

I'm a n00b about baking and bread and sourdough; but I knew I was onto something when I decided to splash some kombucha into my starter a few months back!

This morning I fed my starter, as I wanted to build up just a bit more of it before I use it in some recipes (my norm is to measure out my "discard" and use THAT for the levain for whatever recipe I'm about to use--THEN feed the starter and put the scoby back on top), namely YET ANOTHER attempt at rye bread, as well as a possible batch of naan dough and tortilla dough. I just have to give some thought about what food I plan to make this week. Naan dough does nicely as pizza dough, so I find it to be a great multi-tasker of the bread world. :)

Anyway, for those curious about the sequencing of my feed, for a friend, I created a Vine for her so she could see how simple it is.

Because I'm Fancy

These have been procured. No particular recipes in mind, yet. Though, I thought both could potentially be great for naans and pizza dough.

Recommended Viewing: "Cooked"

I'm usually so behind the curve with things, so I noticed this was mentioned in a sourdough group I am in on FB, and thought I'd share for the few folks that visit my blog here.

Apparently Netflix has a documentary called "Cooked." I loved all the episodes, but in particular, I liked the 4th episode a lot, regarding "Air," which is devoted to bread making. I found it fascinating, and now of course, I want to see if Netflix has any other content to stream devoted to bread making.

Not Sour on Sourdough: Brooklyn Sourdough

I've tried several recipes from Sarah Owens' book, and have been quite happy with everything; the only minor exception is the Brooklyn Sourdough, so far. I made a batch yesterday and while I was happy enough with the result, the Maharajah was not. I guess he expected a more pronounced sour aspect to it? I don't know. But the bread proofed up like a trouper! Nice oven spring, too.  I have grown to love the book, and am considering working my way through the entire book one recipe at a time.

That being said, I am thinking ahead to next week's loaf, and am considering something a bit more assertive for the Maharajah. I'm thinking a beer rye sourdough. Of course, this necessitates another trip to get rye flour as I've got whole wheat, spelt, einkorn, bread flour and Antimo "00" at home, but no rye. I even have buckwheat and barley, but no rye. Plenty of time for that errand though. And this is the recipe I am considering using for this week's sourdough rye experiment. 

Not Sour on Sourdough: The Baguette Post

As I alluded to in my previous post, I decided to branch out and make baguettes. I found this recipe online, and figured I'd give it a go. 

Then one day last week, I went to Williams-Sonoma for a baguette pan (I went to Sur La Table a few days prior for a lame). Online the pan retails at a little more than $23.  When I arrived at the store, the tag said $19.99; and at the register it rung up at $15.99. Such a bargain, right?

I rushed home, washed the pan, and given its claims of being non-stick, I didn't spritz it with Pam. I put the loaves in the pan, and popped in the oven and baked according to the directions in the above-mentioned recipe. 

Let's just say it was a total failure. There wasn't enough of a crusty exterior, and I cannot comment upon the crumb/interior, because the baguettes failed to dislodge from the pan. AT ALL.  I tweeted about it, and Williams-Sonoma was great to reply and emailed me and suggested I return the pan to the store. I thought given it was a sale item and of course there's the issue that the bread was stuck to the pan! Nope, return it to the store. The next day I did, and the return/exchange went smoothly.

Lesson learned! But this is why I have trust issues! Rarely is anything as they purport themselves to be.

And rather than try the above-mentioned baguette recipe again, I decided to try something else entirely and went back to that book by Sarah Owens. This time I mixed up a batch of the Fougasse, and rather than use it as a fougasse, I used it as baguettes. I filled the dough with dried cranberries, blue cheese and candied pecans. 

I placed the proofed loaves on strips of parchment before putting them in the pan. In the oven I had a roasting pan of water steaming away. I set the timer to go off halfway through the baking cycle, at which point, I removed the water pan, and removed the baguettes from the pan, and placed them directly on the rack back in the oven to finish baking.

What I pulled out of the oven was nothing short of stunning. The exterior was as crunchy as I would have wanted, though I need to improve my scoring skills as my "ears" were not pronounced. And after waiting a sufficient amount of time, I cut a heel off so as to inspect the interior and of course, to taste test the end product. 

The intended meal for these will be sandwiches containing grilled lemon chicken, greens, sliced pear, and of course, fresh made aioli--the latter of which will be made up a la minute when I get home tonight.

Not Sour On Sourdough: Happy Loaves

Wanting to branch out from the sourdough oat bread recipe I had been using for a while, I went to Kitchen Arts & Letters in March (following yet another thyroid sono--no biopsy! Yay! No change in the nodules!), to treat myself. At first I was thinking of getting the sourdough book put out by Tartine Bakery, and then I settled upon this one. 

I felt a bit rushed while in the store, as I was rushing from one appointment to yet another, and talked myself out of the Tartine book in favor of the one above. Only did I realize once I got home, that the book might be more suited for someone more experienced with sourdough (and using a varieties of flours), as well as someone a bit more "hipster" than I am. I thumbed through all the recipes, and the first ones I made were:

Coconut Tahini Bars

(My god, you just want to nose-dive right into that, don't you?)

Nigella Naan

Pizza Dough
(sorry, no photo:))

All three of those recipes turned out very well, so I progressed to an actual LOAF of bread, settling on the Spelt Oat Levain (the results are pictured below):

I wish I snapped a photo of the crumb/interior, as it was truly fluffy and lovely. The recipe makes two loaves, so I kept the one on the left (as it fits the container for the fridge) and gave the second loaf to my physical therapist, who was appreciative.

Then there's a baguette saga, which warrants its own post! 

Rhapsody in Rye: Photo Array of Failure, Trial & Error

As I neglected to share the photos of the SECOND failed sourdough rye experiment before shifting my focus to a sourdough oat, I figure I might as well do a photographic timeline of sorts from the second failed loaf, to the oat, and finally to my first ever babka.

Here are before/after photos of the second batch of sourdough rye, the recipe of which I linked to a few posts back. In hindsight I didn't get a sufficient rise--likewise with the first batch of the sourdough oat. Anyway. Before and after photos:

The first loaf of failure, using this recipe:

 

The second loaf full of fail: 

See that crack? I was hoping to see some happy bubbles in the crumb.

So not only did the dough not achieve a sufficient rise after 

18 hours at room temp, I also managed to remove

it from the oven, prematurely (which was really

disappointing, as the aroma was amazing--I put

Montreal Steak Seasoning on top for an 

"Everything Bagel" kind of effect).

Sadly, I did not photograph the process of the first loaf of the Sourdough Oat. 

This next loaf of dough is the second attempt at the sourdough oat using this recipe. Yesterday I was home, and I got it in my head to try to make another loaf, and this time, I was destined for success.

As I was tooling about my kitchen cooking and cleaning, while my eggs were doing their 2 minute low pressure cook, I got this brilliant idea to use my Nesco as a proofing box. 

The moment I retrieved my eggs, I kept the trivet in there, and placed my loaf pan on the trivet, replaced the cover and hoped for the best. After roughly three hours, this is what the result was:

 

 Sweet, poofy proofing! SUCCESS!!

I baked it according to the recipe. Turned off the heat and let it sit in the oven

an additional five minutes just to be sure the interior was done. 

I removed it from the oven, and bolted out the door to an appointment.
(I think next week's loaf, I'll spritz the oven with water to get some nice steam.)

The big reveal! Look at that interior!
(Note: See the bite mark? I couldn't wait!)

Since I failed to photograph the first loaf (full of failure),
I figure the next best thing is a side by side comparison 

of the cross section.
Loaf on left, full of success, poof and a bit of flax meal;
Loaf on right, full of failure, sunflower seeds and chia.

I figured it would slice best while fresh, so I sliced it up,

keeping the heels for myself (the best part!), and putting

it in the fridge for the husband's breakfasts this week.

Now about that babka...

I mixed up the dough on Sunday, and let it rest overnight as

this recipe indicates.

Being this was my first ever babka I've made on my own,

I think it's a goodish result.

I think next time, more butter, perhaps streusel topping,

I'll let it proof a bit before baking, and I've been watching all

manner of videos on youtube regarding decorative twisting.

The one on the left I like the flavor best, as it's full of Speculoos

Cookie Butter from Trader Joes; the one on the right is chocolate coconut.

More Musings on Bread: Not Sour on Sourdough (YET)

Spoiler alert: the second loaf of sourdough rye, using that second recipe, was a flop show. The sourdough starter is bubbling and happy, and with the exception of my oven temp being perhaps (this is a suspicion, I haven't used a thermometer to verify, just going by my results versus actual bake times indicated in the recipes) a bit less than indicated, I am giving up (at the moment) on the fantasy of baking sourdough rye bread.

Undaunted by bread baking, I decided to try out this recipe for the Best Ever Sourdough Oatmeal bread. Results were a bit different from the rye bread experiment; but not radically different from the rye experiment. Perhaps given the time of year and how cool my kitchen is, I'm not proofing the bread long enough. I'm not sure.

The first loaf was well formed, and despite a happy bubbly starter, it was a dense loaf without much in the way of bubbles appearing in the crumb. Totally edible and delicious, but the texture was not where I wanted it to be. The husband will happily eat this loaf without complaint; however, I am fairly determined to master this. 

Given he had to leave the house super early today, and since today is a scheduled day off for me, my "Kitchen OCD" kicked in, and I mixed up another loaf (I halved the recipe both times, the first time as well as today, since it's just two people here, I can't justify mixing up two loaves of bread, and it's so easy to mix this up (unlike those two, failed, pesky attempts at rye), I don't see this as a problem or a poor expenditure of time.  

I fed my starter a few days ago, and it's a bit wetter than I usually make it, so it was very easy scooping out what I needed for the recipe, and additionally, regarding the water the recipe calls for, I add that LAST, and I think today's dough didn't require so much water. I added just enough and as I stirred the dough told me when it had enough to drink. The ball formed well, I gave it about 5 minutes of kneading with a bare bones addition of flour to keep it from sticking on my hands. 

Given that I didn't do my BIG COOK DAY this weekend, today is a modified BCD, and after I pressure steamed my week's worth of hard boiled eggs and took the eggs out of the Nesco, I placed the bread loaf pan in the cooker, on the trivet and put the lid on loosely, so the loaf could benefit from what proofing can be done in the Nesco as it cooled off.   

"Those who feast upon hope, die fasting," so they say (whomever THEY are). 

I'm neither an optimist nor a pessimist, I am a realist who has an inner struggle wanting to be an idealist. But today, I am feasting on hope, that I have unlocked the mysteries of this particular loaf. 

Note to self: Bake as directed. Turn oven off. Don't open door, and keep loaf in oven additional 7 minutes. 

Additional note: I *DID* mix up the dough for the babkas this weekend, and that dough is sitting in the fridge awaiting its date with delicious destiny. One loaf, I have decided to make a chocolate coconut one as indicated in the original recipe I linked to in a previous blog post; and the second loaf, I think I will put Speculoos butter and possibly pecans. So, a trip to Trader Joes is in order today too.

Another Rainy Day Project: Homemade "Ricotta" & Then "Whey Bread"

Homemade Ricotta

As published in: Homemade ricotta is as simple to make as it is versatile
Special "Hat Tip" to The Traveler's Lunchbox for bringing my attention to it!

Makes about 2 ½ cups

The flavor of homemade ricotta depends on the flavor of the milk and cream that go into it, so use the best you can find. I love the dairy from Fresh Breeze Organic in Lynden.

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk (not ultrapasteurized, preferably organic)
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt

Procedure:

1. Set a colander in the sink and line it with a triple layer of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) that you've rinsed and wrung out. Combine the milk, buttermilk, cream and salt in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and place over medium heat. Stirring frequently to prevent scorching, heat the milk to a gentle simmer. Watch it carefully; when it reaches 175 degrees, it will start to curdle. As soon as you see this, give the milk one last stir, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom, and turn off the heat. Let the pot sit there, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. The soft white curds will separate from the yellowish whey and rise to form a raft on the surface.

2. Using a wire-mesh skimmer or large slotted spoon, gently lift off the curds into the colander, leaving as much of the whey behind as possible. Go slowly so as not to break up the curds too much. When you've transferred them all, pour off and discard the whey left in the pot, and salvage any curds that are stuck to the bottom. Let the cheese drain for about half an hour; when the draining slows, gather the edges of the cloth, tie them into a bag, and hang the bag from the faucet. Continue to drain until the ricotta is as thick as you like it, up to an hour longer.

3. Pack the ricotta into a covered container and store in the refrigerator. It's at its best during the first 3 to 4 days, but it will keep for about a week.

And in the comments section, I managed to find some useful information from user Gnwwolf, who makes their own buttermilk (thus saving money):

I take it one step further and make my own buttermilk, that way I only have to pick up a gallon of whole milk which is running around $1.99 in Burien:

Just under two cups milk
2 Tablespoons white vinegar.

Put the white vinegar in a two cup glass measure, pour in enough milk to bring it to two cups, let sit 5 minutes, then proceed with the ricotta making process.

I do save the whey for using in the 5 minute bread recipe, so win-win all around.

And of course, I couldn't let it "just be," as I'm now curious about the elusive "5 Minute Bread Recipe," too. Though I couldn't find the specific "5 minute bread recipe," I did manage to find a promising Whey Bread recipe over at Small Potatoes:

Copied and pasted from their blog post:

Ingredients:

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tbls. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. yeast

3/4 hot whey leftover after the making of ricotta
1 cup warm water
5 tbls. butter, melted

Extras: cornmeal, sesame seeds, egg white

Procedure:

1. Add dry ingredients to the bowl and stir.
2. If the whey has cooled, heat whey and water. Slice butter and stir into the hot liquid to melt.
3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir well until combined. Or! Use your mixer and the dough hook to mix and knead. Either way, stir and knead for an additional five minutes, until the dough is smooth and warm.
4. Divide dough into desired portions. I suggest two pieces for full size loaves or three pieces for moderate, individual loaves. Pat the dough into a rectangle and then roll up into a cylinder. Pinch seams and edges and shape a little bit more.
5. Place onto a sheet pan that’s been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. If you want, paint the loaf with egg white and/or sprinkle with sesame seeds.
7. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes.

-This recipe easily doubles.
-Loaves freeze well after they have been cooled.
-Makes great garlic bread!
-Dry leftover pieces and process to make bread crumbs. Keep a container of bread crumbs in your freezer for later use.

I can see myself using the ricotta, pressing it until it is firm and dry, and using it as I would paneer (I believe it is the same process to make), and using the whey bread recipe for naans.

G*A*T*E*A*U a la Briton

Don't know why the name of this is "gateau," as it's really more a bread. I've even heard it called B*R*I*T*T*A*N*Y Bread.

*Asterisks are used as I don't want the name of this coming up in a Google Search.


INGREDIENTS:
6 Cups of flour
3 Cups of sugar
1 Table spoon of baking soda or powder (My friend uses powder)
12 Egg Yolks
1 Lb Butter
1/2 Cup Dark Rum


PROCEDURE:

1. Preheat oven at 350F;
   
2. Mix dry stuff;
3. Mix the egg yolks, butter and rum;
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients together. It takes lot of mixing and kneading to get it worked in.
5. Put it into 3 8 inch pans flattened out and cover top with egg wash (one egg should do all three) and score the top in a checkered fashion.
6. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, top should be golden brown.