lemon poppy seed orange blossom water cake, for the old paradox

Ok, that's the longest post name so far. I thought I'd try making some cake for the Paradox tomorrow. After all, I'm selling at a cafe in the morning, and people tend to buy pastries then. I know I would.

This contains orange blossom water, my favorite ingredient.
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Makes 16 servings.

Ingredients:
For cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick oats
3 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp grated lemon peel
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp orange blossom water

For lemon glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp butter, melted
4 to 5 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
Directions

Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt® pan or 10-inch tube pan.

For Cake: Combine flour, oats, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter in large bowl on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add lemon peel. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add orange blossom water.

Add 1/3 of flour mixture to sugar/butter mixture, mixing until blended. Add half of milk, mixing until blended.Continue flour mixture and milk alternately, mixing well after each addition. Pour into pan.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

For Lemon Glaze: In a small bowl, mix all ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.


Recipe from http://www.cooksrecipes.com/cake/lemony_poppy_seed_cake_recipe.html.
I just googled it and added the orange blossom water.

bread baking tools

I use all of these tools when baking bread. I thought I'd explain what each one is for. (Click on the name of the tool and it will take you to a place where you can buy it. I just found these places by searching on Google.)

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Lame (bread slashing tool): A razor blade on a stick. It can be substituted for a very sharp razor blade, but it has a nice handle that makes neat slashes. Making slashes will help the bread rise in a controlled place while in the oven.

I got this at Sur la Table for $7.

Baker's couche: A rising cloth made from unbleached natural flax fiber. This is a better surface for rising bread than a towel because its rough texture doesn't let the dough stick. I hear that the surface absorbs some of the moisture in the dough, which gives the bread a thick crispy crust. It's also helpful for making a wall between loaves. Don't wash the couche! Keep flouring it and not washing it to create a better surface.

I got this from Sur la Table for $6.

Cooling rack: When the bread comes out of the oven you should always let it cool before eating it! This is because cooling is part of the process of forming the crust and the structure inside. Just take the bread out of the oven, put it on the cooling rack for 15 minutes and it'll be ready to eat. It will still be warm and delicious.

We just had this cooling rack at our house.

Baking stone: This will conduct heat really well to get your bread hot enough to have a crispy crust and be baked evenly. You preheat it with the oven for an hour before baking the bread.

I don't have this yet, but I have a ceramic baking sheet that works. I've heard you can also just use an unglazed ceramic tile.

My friend Christian found this sheet at a garage sale, and it was like $10.

Plastic wrap: This is what you should cover your dough with so not much, but some, air gets in or out. It's good to spray it with oil before letting the dough rise because sometimes it will stick to the plastic and deform the dough.

You can get this at any grocery store.

Dough scraper: Indispensable for working with sticky dough. It's great for when you're first kneading the dough and it keeps sticking to the counter because you don't have to add extra flour. Adding extra flour makes the dough less wet and thus creates less bubbles. It's also great for helping you move the dough around.

I got this from a Goodwill store for $3.

Oil spray: So necessary! Otherwise you have to spread oil with a paper towel or your hands into plastic bags, saran wrap, pans, etc. and waste a lot.

I got this (actually an olive oil spray) at Trader Joe's for $3.

rate my video on youtube!

I don't think I won the Cuisinternship contest (see my post about it). However, I can still get something for making my video!

The highest rated video on youtube at the end of the promotion will win a gift basket.

Will you guys rate my video highly on youtube? Thanks!

pizza napoletana - thin crust

These pictures aren't so great because it was dark, and the more beautiful pizzas got eaten in less than one minute. Paul Clay thought that adding the green pepper would make it look more beautiful. hmm. The pizza was so so good, though. This one has goat cheese and prosciutto.

I decided to try this out since I'd been making so much bread and the recipe for pizza crust is almost identical to white bread's.

It seems that people usually try making pizza before making bread, so their crust isn't so good, but since I've made so much bread, my pizza dough was great! It's all about letting it rest and developing the gluten by kneading (but don't knead too much). The flavor gets a lot better if you let it rest overnight because it gets more acidity through cool fermentation.

I used a tomato sauce (like pasta sauce) we made with tomatoes from our garden, Parmesan and Asiago cheese, and some toppings my friend Cooper got (green peppers and mushrooms, prosciutto, salami, onion slices, etc.)

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Makes 6 6-ounce pizza crusts

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (if you use all-purpose flour, omit the olive oil)

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups water (ice cold)

Cornmeal for dusting

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour salt and instant yeast in a 4-quart bowl. With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed. Stir until you get an even dough, repeatedly dipping your hands or the metal spoon in cold water. Reverse the circular motion a few times to develop the gluten further. The finished dough will be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and be at about 50°F (10°C).

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Using a metal dough scraper (or a sharp knife), cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. You can dip the scraper into the cold water between cuts to keep the dough from sticking to it. Sprinkle flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour again. Transfer the dough balls onto a lightly-oiled pan. Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a large plastic bag. Alternatively, after oiling the balls, put each one in a separate plastic bag.

3. Put the bag into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. If you want to save some of the dough for future baking, you can store the balls in individual bags in the freezer (these will last 3 months max.) Transfer them into the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza.

4. On the day you plan to make the pizza, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hands with flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch (1 1/3 cm) thick and 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with spray oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest for 2 hours.

5. At least 45 minutes before baking the pizza, place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible, up to 800°F (430°C) (most home ovens will only go up to 500°F (230°C)). If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but don't preheat the pan.

6. Generously dust a pizza peel or the back of a sheet pan with cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands, including the backs, in flour and pick up 1 piece of dough by getting under it with a pastry scraper. Reinhart recommends tossing the pizza like they do at restaurants, but I couldn't figure it out. I was nervous about ripping the dough, so I used a rolling pin. Start rolling it out with a lightly-floured rolling pin. Do a quarter turn after every roll to ensure radial symmetry. Also flip over once in a while, adding enough flour so that it doesn't stick. If the dough keeps springing back (mine did), let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again.

7. When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction, lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough cornflour underneath to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and then with your other toppings, remembering that the best pizzas are topped with a less-is-more philosophy. The American "kichen-sink" approach is counterproductive, as it makes the crust more difficult to bake. Usually 3 or 4 toppings are sufficient. Less is more!

8. Slide the topped pizza on to the stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan) and close the oven door. Wait 2 minutes, then take a peek. The pizza should take 5 to 8 minutes to bake. If the pizza baked faster on one side than another, or top than bottom, then rotate the pan or move the rack.

9. Remove the pizza from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving to allow the cheese to set slightly.

A good choice for cheeses is: a fresh hard bread (ie. Romano, Asiago, Parmesan), a good "melter" (ie. Mozzarella, Cheddar, or Gruyere), and any favorite (ie. goat, blue cheese).

Recipe from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice, Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

multiseed whole wheat bread

Because Paul Clay keeps telling me that whole wheat bread is so much better for you than white bread, I made this bread. This is a juxtaposition of my loaf (R) and Richard Bertinet's loaf (L). What a lovely bread.

This is a present for Joel Wakeman on his birthday!

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Ingredients

1 c white flour

2 1/3 c whole wheat flour

1/2 Tbsp yeast

3/8 c brown sugar

1/2 c dry milk

1 1/2 c water

2 tsp salt

2 eggs (one for the bread, one for the egg wash)

A mixture of seeds (eg. sunflower, flax, pine nuts, oats, etc.)

Directions

Mix dry ingredients, add water and egg.

Mix until you get a dough to form. Take out to the counter and kead for 5 minutes.

If it's still too dry, add water; too wet, add flour.

Let rise covered by a towel until doubled in volume.

Take out and form however you like (I did it with the same procedure as I showed in my video).

Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C) one hour before baking.

Toast the seeds on a little bit of butter until golden.

Right before baking, brush egg wash (egg + pinch of salt), and roll the loaf on the seeds.

Bake until golden brown.

I adapted the bread recipe from the basic bread in the Tassajara Bread Book.

I got the idea of the seeds from Richard Bertinet's Dough.

mini baguettes for sale at Paradox on Friday

I just delivered my second batch of bread to the old Paradox cafe! I only made 12 this time instead of 18, mostly because I'm hoping to sell all of them. It turned out that last time I didn't sell 4 :( , so I made less this time. It's hard because two other people also sell pastries on Fridays, and not that many people buy food there. But I think this will work.

In any case, the most interesting part of this is that I'm learning how to live by the baker schedule:

Starting at 1 AM, when I got home, I made the dough in the bread machine.
At 2:30 AM I put the dough in the fridge and made more dough. You can only make the equivalent of 6 mini baguettes in one batch.
At 4:00 AM the machine broke, so I had to figure out how to fix it. Eventually it worked, and I got two batches of dough ready.
At 6:30 AM I took the dough out of the fridge to get it to room temperature.
From 7:30 to 8:15 AM I shaped the loaves. This took longer than I expected.
At 8:15 AM I started preheating the oven (takes 1 hr) to 450 F (230 C).
At 9:15 AM I scored the bread, put some loaves in the Le Creuset pot, and some on a ceramic baking sheet.
From 9:15 to 10:15 AM I baked all the little baguettes.
At 10:25 AM I delivered the baguettes with butter and Bonne Mamman raspberry preserves.

Now it's 11 AM and I'm going to sleep! I'm nocturnal!

Note 1: I called them baguettes, but they're actually French bread. Baguettes are much harder to make.

Note 2: I messed up sliding some loaves into the oven so they're oddly shaped. Lovely artisan bread.

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Ingredients

3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cups water at room temperature

2 tsp salt

Directions (similar to beet bread directions)

Whisk flours and yeast together.

Add water and mix with a wooden spoon.

Knead on a counter until dough forms.

Let rest under plastic for 20 minutes.

Add salt and knead again until well mixed.

Let rise under plastic for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C) at least one our before baking. Remember to put the sheet in the oven before you preheat.

Take out dough, cut in half, and shape on the counter (business letter fold and rolling - watch video for guidance).

Put on a floured towel and cover with plastic. Let rise for an hour.

Slash bread with a razor blade.

Take baking sheet out of oven, put some corn meal on it, put bread on it.

Toss water in the oven to create steam and quickly close.

Bake for 15 minues (30 minutes in Le Creuset) or until golden brown.

Test to see if ready by tapping on bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's ready.

Let cool before slicing.

Alternative: Put all the ingredients in a bread machine and choose the dough setting. When it's done you can shape and bake. Easy!

Dano Wall made the signs.

basic sourdough bread

The first time I tried this recipe I was using a bread machine, so I decided to let it go through the whole process, including baking. I left, thinking that when I came back I'd have a lovely sourdough loaf waiting for me. Instead, I came home at night and the machine had caught on fire, and the dough had spilled all over the place. Fortunately, my friends Tom and Paul found it before it burnt the house down. OK, so maybe I shouldn't have expected so much from the bread machine since I got it used at a Goodwill. It still works wonderfully on the dough setting, though.

I'm not sure if I like this recipe for basic sourdough bread the best. I'm still investigating. You'll get dense, moist, tasty white sourdough bread.

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Ingredients

4 3/4 cups bread flour 
3 tablespoons white sugar 
2 1/2 teaspoons salt 
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast 
1 cup warm milk 
2 tablespoons margarine, softened 
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter 
1 extra large egg 
1 tablespoon water 


Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast. Add milk and softened butter or margarine. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 3 3/4 cups flour gradually, you may need more depending on your climate.

2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to oil surface, and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.

3. Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place on a greased baking pan. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

4. Brush egg wash over tops of loaves, and sprinkle with chopped onion. 5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or till done.

beet bread

I made up this recipe, with an idea from R.L. Beranbaum's The Bread Bible. I made a video of how to make it, but I had never tried the recipe before I filmed the video (the video deadline was yesterday, so I had to make bread as quickly as possible.) In any case, I don't like whole wheat bread that much, but it is better for you than white bread. The beet juice gives the bread a nice red tint (the longer you boil the beets the darker the red tone), and it's also full of vitamins and sugars. The sugars are good for the yeast to rise, and they give the bread a slightly sweet taste. See the video in the post below.

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white bread flour

1 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups beet water (what's left from boiling beets)

1/2 tsp yeast

2 tsp salt

Directions

Whisk flours and yeast together.

Add beet water and mix with a wooden spoon.

Knead on a counter until dough forms.

Let rest under plastic for 20 minutes (autolyse: see bottom of post).

Add salt and knead again until well mixed.

Let rise under plastic for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C) at least one our before baking. Remember to put the sheet in the oven before you preheat.

Take out dough, cut in half, and shape on the counter (business letter fold and rolling - watch video for guidance).

Put on a floured towel and cover with plastic. Let rise for an hour.

Slash bread with a razor blade, sift flour on top.

Take baking sheet out of oven, put some corn meal on it, put bread on it.

Toss water in the oven to create steam and quickly close.

Bake for 15 minues (30 minutes in Le Creuset) or until golden brown.

Test to see if ready by tapping on bottom. If it sounds hollow, it's ready.

Let cool before slicing.

Autolyse refers to a particular period of rest after the initial mixing of flour and water, a rest period that occurs sequentially before the addition of yeast and other ingredients. This rest period allows for better absorption of water and allows the gluten and starches to align. Breads made with autolysed dough are easier to form into shapes and have more volume and improved structure.
(Gisslen, Wayne (2008). Professional baking. New York: John Wiley)