Sunday Bake

Not much really to add here, but wanted to save my photos here, as they were so pretty. First up was a batch of the Buttery Sourdough Buns from King Arthur Flour--of which I subbed olive oil for the butter, and I also swapped out 1/3 the flour for KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour--the texture did not change at all as a result! Here they are, I dusted my hands with some paprika I picked up in Budapest in May, and this is what they looked like before proofing. So pretty!

Additionally: I set aside a bit of the dough, so I could make "Pigs in a Blanket" with four Big Red hot dogs from Dicksons. No picture snapped. They'll be for dinner tonight! Next was a duo of pizzas, one of this is pictured here. It's a simple pie (mind you in the dough, I put some dry rosemary and cracked black pepper), with garlicky-marsala mushrooms, paper thin sliced guaniciale, and a couple sunny side up eggs. So pretty!

Tonight's Big Bake: Ultra Dark Chocolate Sourdough Cupcakes w/Cannoli Filling

Pictures, of course, will be forthcoming, once they are made:)

As referenced in my previous post, I've got a couple things I'm going to either bake or set up tonight. One of which is a batch of chocolate cupcakes with cannoli filling which I'll take to my housebound mom, in honor of her birthday which was this week.

The cake recipe I'm going to use as my "jumping off point" is the Sourdough Chocolate Cake from Pinch My Salt; however, I'm going to tweak the hell out of it due to my own needs/preferences and the fact my mom's a Type II Diabetic.

CAKE INGREDIENTS:
Wet Stuff
1/2 C Grapeseed Oil
1/2 C Coconut oil
1/2 C Coffee
1/2 C Yogurt
1 C Sourdough starter (I fed mine this morning, and it's not too funky)
1/2 C Granulated sugar
1/2 C Splenda
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla

Dry Stuff
1/2 C KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour
1/2 C Coconut Flour
3/4 KAF Black Cocoa
1 T Ovaltine powder or Diastatic Malted Barley Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I'm going to make cupcakes, so YMMV if you use a 13 x 9 inch cake pan or a BOONDT! pan. Prep cupcake tins with nonstick cooking spray.

(What's a BOONDT!? you may ask! For further reference check out this clip from My Big Fat Greek Wedding.) 

In a large mixing bowl add the wet ingredients in the order listed and blend thoroughly by hand or with a mixer. Then, one by one, gradually mix in the dry ingredients until completely blended (about two minutes).

Pour batter into the prepared, greased cake pan of your choosing and bake in center rack of preheated oven. If using a 13x9 baking pan, bake time will be roughly 27-30 minutes, and cupcakes will be roughly 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. 

While cake is baking, make cannoli filling.

Let cake cool in baking pan. If you'll frost your cake, do so once it's completely cooled.   I plan on using a "cupcake corer" and fill the interior with cannoli filling--and love this recipe at Homemade Hooplah--but again, I need to tweak it!

CANNOLI FILLING INGREDIENTS: 

1 C Ricotta
8 oz Cream Cheese (Room Temp)
1/2-3/4 C  Splenda or Swerve (Note: I might use a combination of both)
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Fiori di Sicilia
Pinch salt
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (Note: Since I will be piping this filling into the cupcakes, I will merely garnish the cupcakes with the chocolate chips, as the chips will no doubt clog the piping bag.) 

This is pretty straightforward! I plan on mixing with a hand held mixer until well blended and somewhat fluffy. Set aside until cake is cool enough to pipe filling in.

Still Not Sour on Sourdough

I'm so damned tired right now, I actually typed out DOURSOUGH in the title of this blog post! 

Anyway, I'm addicted to Amazon Pantry, and every month or so, I'll order up a box of staples, and things that are on the heavy side (I live on the second floor, no elevator, so heavy stuff is problematic for me), and several days later, it arrives at my doorstep.

Every once in a while, while perusing Amazon, I'll find things I never knew existed, or things that aren't available at my local grocer. The most-recent discovery I made was Sprouted Wheat Flour by King Arthur.  On a whim, I bought two packages of it.

It arrived three days ago, and the very first night, I opened a package, and gave my sourdough starter a feeding with it. Now mind you, this is a new starter I started with buttermilk and APF--not to be confused with what I'll refer to as my "standard starter,"  which I hybridized with kombucha and is chilling out in the fridge for a while until I'm ready to deal with it. However, depending on how I feel in the immediate future, I might just use up that starter for crepes and waffles, and stay with the buttermilk starter--I'm truly happy at how nice and responsive it is to feedings.

While the buttermilk starter was happy enough with APF or "00" feedings, I have to admit I noticed not just more bubbles on top, but also, the starter seemed POOFY in contrast to previous feedings.  I fed it again last night. But before I gave it a feeding, I set some of the starter aside so I could make waffles for dinner.

Sourdough waffles made w/sprouted wheat flour, served with Comstock reduced sugar apple pie filling, and sage sausages from Dickson's.

When I woke up this morning, I fed it once more, as tonight I plan on making cupcakes out of the ultra dark chocolate sourdough cake recipe I've been using (and plan on making a batch of cannoli filling, as I'll hollow out the cupcakes and pipe in the cannoli filling, as birthday cakes for my mom). Additionally, I plan on making a batch of dough (Buttery Sourdough Buns on KAF), which I'll substitute a bit of the sprouted wheat.  

Have I ever shared the chocolate cake recipe? I need to dig around in my archives a bit to see if I have, and if I haven't, I'll have to do a separate post for it.  I know I've made THIS chocolate cake, but I could swear there's another recipe I use.

And the Buttery Sourdough Buns, I substitute olive oil for the butter since the Maharajah is lactose intolerant--and the buns turn out perfect regardless of this substitution. I plan on making the buns as-is, and set aside a bit of the dough, so I can do "pigs in a blanket" for the four hotdogs the Maharajah got from Dickson's Farmstand Meats last night.  Each of those hot dogs is a meal unto themselves!  More on this as it happens. I'll mix up the dough, do the initial proof, then prep the buns and pigs in a blanket, and bake them off on Sunday when I get home.

And Sunday will be pizza day, as I made a batch of pizza dough (and divided it, and froze half) two days ago, and the dough should be nice and aged by Sunday. I'm thinking of a garlicky sauteed shitake and guaniciale with sunny side up eggs. 

Anyway, I'm prattling, and wanted to share. When it comes to sourdough baking, I get a bit carried away--and I'm looking forward to enjoying myself:)

Pizza Quest: 50/50 Hybrid Success

I can finally stop my quest, my search for the perfect pizza dough. My hybrid meets the majority of my criteria (though I would like a bigger bubble in the cornicione--turns out there IS such a thing as Pizza Anatomy!) 

Additionally, this pie was made with the 1/2 batch of dough I froze before bulk fermenting. The pie turned out beautiful. I took the dough out of the freezer 5 days before I anticipated making the pie.  

BEHOLD! The pie I made last week. This one, I used a veggie stew called Turluh (I buy it in small jars at the Armenian market) in lieu of marinara, and studded it with merguez, and finished the pie with basil leaves and basil infused olive oil. No cheese as this one was for the Maharajah who is lactose intolerant. But BEHOLD! 

Isn't that a beauty? I just want to do an open-mouthed face plant right into it!

(And yes, I am still using parchment paper--I have trust issues with dislodging the pie from the pizza stone!)

 
I have also discontinued making one enormous pie, and rather, am now opting for two smaller, more manageable pies--plus there's the insane habit I got into of making an enormous SQUARE pie and trying to scootch it onto a round pizza stone. 

Additionally, I got additional tools for what is turning out to be something I make every 10-14 days or so. I buckled and bought a different pizza cutter, as well as a modest sized peel, as I'm tired of getting burned trying to transfer the pie from the oven to the cutting board. And my god, what a breeze it was to transfer this pie!  I have to admit, using the right tools is as important as your technique AND recipe. It makes a huge difference in the overall enjoyment of cooking/baking/creating.

DIY Yogurt: The Prologue

Much like my pizza dough quest (which I feel quite confident has come to a glorious conclusion), I'm now going to try my hand at making my own yogurt.

My mother-in-law in India makes yogurt every day, has a nice little system of one day old, two day old, etc, it's a constant cycle from one batch to the next. And she's doing so without a yogurt maker or even a slow cooker (like I have) and surely, I can do this, right? RIGHT?

Anyway, I've searched around for a few recipes to get an idea, and since it's just me and the Maharajah, I'm not going to make a big-assed batch. He's going through a Nounos kick, and at $2.50 a 6 oz jar, the costs rachet up pretty quick, especially if we BOTH eat yogurt.

This weekend, I bought six jars (thereabouts) to hold us for a while (and for me to be in possession of those great little jars, which I can see fitting nicely in my electric pressure cooker), and have been thinking on the topic for a while.

This afternoon, I went to Whole Paycheck to pick up a few items (and somehow got out of there having spent less than $20--I did not even know THIS was possible!), and got a quart of skim milk.  I have some pouches of dry milk powder which I plan on adding some to the first batch, just to get an idea of texture etc, and will tweak things in subsequent batches, as I do with everything else I do.

This "tweaking" I do, my cousin refers to as "Maven-ing," as I find it next to impossible to follow a recipe verbatim. But the first time out the gate, I'll try to stay as close to a formula.

Anyway, I've divided things in half, and will start my first batch as a half batch of another recipe. 

The ingredients list is quite short:

4 C milk (cost: Stay tuned... my receipt is in the fridge!)
1/4 c plain yogurt (cost: $0--I have a couple cups of Siggi's in the fridge)

Optional ingredients:
1/4 C dry milk powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum powder ($13 a pound, but I have had it on hand for years--cost $0)

My approach is going to be:

Put milk in slow cooker for 2.5 hours. Leave lid on and let sit for 3 hours. Then mix in the 1/4 C plain yogurt. At this point, I'm going to try adding 1/4 C powdered milk (to boost protein) and perhaps xanthan powder, to improve texture as the yogurt sets up, and blasting it with an immersion blender to make sure everything gets dissolved. I will probably put the yogurt in the clean glass jars, and then let them sit in still warm slow cooker (turned off) for at least 8 hours. 

My timetable (if I do this tonight) will be:

7:30     Put milk in slow cooker for 2.5 hours
10:00   Turn off cooker. *I might put milk powder in and blast this with the immersion blender--as to do it at 1 a.m. might be too noisy for my neighbors.
1 a.m. (before I go to bed) Put 1/4 Cup Yogurt and xanthan gum powder in the warm, cooked milk. Portion into jars, and place back in cooker.  

Before portioning into jars, I'll put some Dalmatia Fig Spread in 1 or 2; and in the remaining jars, I'll put some elderberry syrup and a few blue berries and hope for the best.

Knowing me, I'm lazy and rushed in the mornings, so it's not outlandish to think I'll forget to put the yogurt in the fridge before heading to work--and I suspect the additional time at room temp can only assist the yogurt to do its thing. So at this rate, I won't know until Tuesday night or Wednesday how successful the first batch will be.  

This, of course, is assuming I get off my duff and do this. I'd have to set this up right before I start setting up for dinner tonight.  

Stay tuned.

Also: Stay tuned for the cost calculations--whenever THAT happens!

Pizza Quest: 50/50 Hybrid Pizza Dough (Fresh or Frozen)

I have YET to find a pizza dough that meets my demands: it should provide a stable foundation for the sauce and cheese, not be flimsy but be equally chewy on the end, and crisp over the entire bottom.

I've tried KAF's recipe, the recipe in Sarah Owens' Sourdough Book, and numerous others, then MacGuyvered my versions thereof, and STILL!, I am not pleased. I want my crust to be as impressive as ones I've eaten at restaurants.

Within my family, one particular aunt was well known for her pizza (and being a bit of a trouble-maker, too), the recipe card of which is provided in this post--but much like other recipe cards from the family, there's a LOT of data missing. 

What to do? I like certainty, and in baking, measurements are vital for overall success.

Aunt Connie's recipe involved 6 cups of flour, so I decided to Google "pizza recipe, 6 cups of flour," and found Tyler Florence's recipe, and I am using that as a jumping off point for what will be the next pizza experiment.  

Full disclosure: My recipe uses 5 cups of flour--I've made this recipe perhaps 3-4 times thus far, and the total flour (including what is in the levain, stops at 5. But, again, if your sourdough starter is very stiff, you'd probably use less, and if yours is watery, you'd use more. Ideally we are shooting for a supple, smooth, somewhat tacky but not sticky dough.  I know I mention this further down in the recipe/blog post, and it's indicated in red, but I can't stress this enough about the flour!

Between Aunt Connie's recipe and Tyler Florence's recipe, plus my own preference/need for sourdough, I MacGuyvered the following recipe, which I hope will end this quest, leaving me with a reliable pizza dough recipe to return to, time and time again.

My recipe is a hybrid of a traditional fresh dough and a sourdough, so I can enjoy aspects of both in one dough.

This coming weekend, I will mix up a batch, and when I divide the dough, I plan on using 1/2 of it fresh, and then the following week or so, thaw out the remaining dough and see how that works. 

But for now, I present my 50/50 Hybrid Pizza Dough. If you play along at home, please leave me a comment and let me know how it works for you.

INGREDIENTS

Step 1:

Levain

1 C unfed starter

1 C APF or “00” flour 

1 C tepid water

Note: In subsequent batches, I have used KAF Sprouted Wheat Flour in the levain (using "00" in the remainder of the dough!) with wonderful results. I might try spelt in my next batch. 

Mix well and let sit 8-12 hours (or overnight if kitchen is cool).

Step 2:

Once levain has some bubbles/activity, add & dissolve:

7 gm (or 1 packet) Dry yeast

7 gm (1 tsp) Sugar

Let sit for 10 minutes.

Step 3:

Then add these ingredients and mix well:

2 T Olive Oil

2 eggs

Step 4:

Start to mix in the remaining 4 Cups of flour, mixing it in ½ cup at a time. Once you have added 3.5 cups of flour, let the dough rest 30 minutes. 

FURTHER REFINEMENT:  I've made this recipe several times now, and despite the two recipes I used as my guideline, this recipe, MY RECIPE only requires FIVE CUPS FLOUR TOTAL (versus 6 cups the other two recipes require)-- this includes the flour and 50% in the sourdough starter.

If your starter is particularly loose/wet, you might need to tinker with a bit more flour. YMMV. I stir in, then gradually KNEAD IN the flour as I go--so I don't dump all four cups all "in one go." The dough should come together, be somewhat tacky (but not sticking to your hands), and be "supple," not stiff.  

Work into the dough 2 tsp (14 gm) of salt, and remainder of the flour. As you knead, dough should be elastic, not sticky but not stiff. If you find that 3.5 cups is sufficient, don’t add the additional ½ cup of flour. YMMV.   Dough should be supple and very smooth, yet not overly sticky (I spray with olive oil Pam if it's a bit too tacky).

QUESTION:  ARE YOU GOING TO USE THIS FRESH, OR ARE YOU MAKING THIS TO FREEZE FOR LATER USE?

If you plan on using this FRESH: Let the dough sit in a warm spot until it has doubled in size. Timing will be dependent on how warm your kitchen is, if you have a proof box, etc. The time can range from an hour or more. Eyeball the dough. 

FURTHER REFINEMENT: I found that this dough works REALLY REALLY well if you let it sit a few days in the fridge for a slow, cold bulk fermentation.  I have found the ideal time is 4-5 days in the fridge.

ADDITIONALLY: Even though this is perfectly good enough to be baked off directly from the refrigerator, I have found that the dough responds much better, if I were to remove it from the fridge, do a pre-shape, and let it rest for a couple hours, before doing the final shape, dress it with toppings and bake it off. I found that the overall crust is good and I get the desired bubbles in the cornicione that I like.

If you plan on FREEZING this dough: Before letting dough rise and ferment, divide the dough into two balls, and place on a parchment lined dish and put in freezer until frozen—then transfer frozen dough into separate zip lock bags.  

To use FROZEN DOUGH: If you are planning ahead, take the dough out of the freezer 5-6 days before you anticipate needing it. This will accommodate thaw time and the 4-5 day bulk ferment in fridge.  If you want to use it the same day you take it out of freezer, early in the morning, take the dough out of the zip lock bag, and place in an oiled, covered bowl and leave in a warm spot to thaw and ferment all day. 

***************************************************************************************
ETA (3/27/17) Now for the elusive details of temp & time for baking:

I preheat my oven (electric) and pizza stone (which is set on the bottom rack) to 500 F, while doing the final shape (on parchment because I do have trust issues!), and once the oven comes to temp, I then "dock" the inner part of the pie (not the cornicione/crust) with a fork--this keeps it from poofing too much while baking. I dress the pie and place on pizza stone for roughly 4-5 minutes, turning it 180 degrees once, and bake for another 4-5 minutes. I then turn the broiler on, and put the pie on top rack, and let it sit under the broiler (waiting for it to get up to temp) for about 3-4 minutes, watching it to make sure it doesn't burn, and turn it 180 degrees and give it a few minutes more, watching carefully so it doesn't scorch.
*****************************************************************************************

Now for the recipes I've referenced above: 

AUNT CONNIE’S PIZZA DOUGH

TYLER FLORENCE’S PIZZA DOUGH

INGREDIENTS

2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

If you're making the dough by hand, add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then begin stirring in the flour. When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that the dough is soft but not too sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

It's Been a While Since My Last Loaf

It's been a while since I've baked a loaf. Considering that my stoneware baker is so long, the loaf that it produces is quite big, and I managed to slice it and freeze half. So pretty much it's big enough for nearly 3 weeks worth of bread.

Last night I fed my starter/mother with some APF, so that'll make her nice and happy and active. Tonight I'll mix up a batch of the oatmeal bread I've used in previous attempts (some of which I've blogged about), and instead, this time, of the three cups of flour, I've used only two cups of KAF Bread Flour and one cup of teff (to add some interest/taste).

I'm going to mix up the batch, and do stretch and folds every 30 minutes for about two hours, and then dump it into my prepared banneton, and shove it in the fridge overnight. Then tomorrow a.m., before I head off to physical therapy, I'll take it out of the fridge, and put it on a heating pad to proof up. Granted this post was for "room temp," to be honest, my room temp isn't all that conducive to bread proofing. My kitchen always it more than a bit cool (unless we're in the dead of July and August, and even then it's still a dodgey affair). So I'll put the heating pad on low, and hope for the best.

I'm hoping the banneton helps me get the crust I want to achieve. 

I'll put some other add-ins into it like maybe a bit of hemp hearts, and meusli and dried cran for interest. 

I'm really hoping the crumb and crust cooperate.

Time will only tell.