Seeded Bread Sticks
Ingredients & Directions 1 tb Dried yeast 1/2 c Warm water 4 ts Honey 1/2 c Butter, chopped 1 ts Salt 1/2 c Water 1 Egg, beaten 3 1/2 c All-purpose flour 1 Egg Caraway, sesame and poppy -seeds In a small bowl mix together yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon honey. Set aside and allow yeast to become foamy. In a saucepan, combine butter, remaining 3 teaspoons honey, salt and water. Heat gently until butter and honey melt. Pour liquid into large warmed bowl. Stir beaten egg and yeast into mixture. Beat in flour. Do not knead dough. Cover and place in refrigerator until cold. Divide dough into 12 pieces. On a floured board, roll each piece to a 12-inch length. Cut in halves lengthways. Place lengths on greased cookie sheets about 4-inches apart. In a small bowl beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush egg over lengths. Sprinkle with seeds. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until not quite doubled in size. Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C). Bake bread sticks 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 24 sticks. Yields 24 Servings
Lavash (crispy Flat Bread)
Ingredients & Directions 1 ts Active Dry Yeast 1/2 ts Sugar 6 oz Whole-Wheat Flour 6 oz All-Purpose Flour 1/2 ts Salt Optional Toppings: Poppy Seeds; Topping, -Optional Sesame Seeds; Topping, -Optional 1 Egg White; Mixed With 1 tb Water; Topping, Optional Mix the yeast and sugar with some warm water. Whisk well, cover and leave 10-15 minutes until foamy. Meanwhile, mix the flours and salt in a bowl. When the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the bowl and add enough water to mix to a pliable dough. Knead for 10 minutes or 100 strokes. Put in a clean bowl and spray surface with water. Cover and leave to rise for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F (190 C). Punch the dough down and divide into 10 pieces . Roll each piece out on an unfloured board as thinly as possible. Place on ungreased baking sheets, fitting as many as possible on each sheet without them touching. Bake 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden. OPTIONAL: Can also add sesame seeds, poppy seeds etc using an egg wash to make them stick. Excellent!! Entered into Yields 10 Servings
Autumn Fruit Pie
Ingredients & Directions -CRUST- 2 1/2 c All-purpose flour 1 ts Kosher salt 1 tb Sugar 16 tb (1/2 pound) unsalted butter -(cold) 1/4 c Cold water FILLING 1 c Dried mission figs 1 c Dried calimyrna figs 2 c Cold water 2 md Apples 1 1/2 c Walnut pieces 1/4 ts Ground cinnamon 2 ts Grated orange zest 2 tb Sugar 1 lg Egg; beaten, for brushing CRUST: To begin the pie crust, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and cut them into the flour or mix them in with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and toss gently to blend. Press the dough together. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. FILLING: With a small knife, remove the hard bit of stem at the tip of each fig. Place all the figs in a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and cook until the figs are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain them, discarding the liquid, and set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Chop the cooled figs into 1/2-inch chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples; cut them into 1/2-inch pieces. Combine the fruits and walnuts in a large bowl. Blend the cinnamon, orange zest, and 1 tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle the mixture over the fruit; toss to blend evenly. Cut the chilled pie dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a 13-inch circle. Line the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan with one circle. Spoon the fruit mixture into the shell, gently pressing it into place. Brush the rim of the shell with beaten egg, and top the pie with the other circle of dough. Crimp the edges. Brush the top of the pie (but not the edges) lightly with water; sprinkle on the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Cut 4 small slashes in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake the pie on the lowest oven shelf for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 F. Continue baking until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Recipe is from _Baking with Jim Dodge_ by Jim Dodge with Elaine Ratner. Yields 8 To 10
Bread Making Basics #2
Ingredients & Directions These notes are condensed from ‘Beard on Bread’ by James Beard, 1974, Alfred A. Knopf, NY Leavening: Active dry yeast is commonly available in packets containing approx. 1 tablespoon, and in larger containers. Yeast generally comes marked with an expiration date, but in bulk quantities may not be dated and should be “proofed” before using. Dry yeast should be dissolved in a liquid at a temperature of 100 to 115 F. This limit should be strictly observed and the first few times you make bread you should measure the temperature of the liquid and note how it feels on your wrist. After that you can guage the temperature accurately enough just by feel. There is a method of just mixing the yeast with other dry ingredients and then adding the liquid. A lot of people like this method because it is faster, but I prefer the old-fashioned way; perhaps the dough rises faster, but at the expense of the final flavor it seems to me. For yeast to become activated it must have something to feed on, sugar in one form or another is generally used for this purpose; not just as flavoring in the bread. Salt is used to slow the action of the yeast, as well as bring out the other flavors in the bread. Sourdough and salt-rising starters are ‘homemade’ leavening agents, and can be unpredictable. You can get better results if you use yeast as well, and your bread will be lighter and have more flavor. Baking powder is another leavening agent and is included in many fruit or vegetable breads such as banana or zucchini bread. Baking soda is often used to counteract the acid in fruit breads, and is used with yeast to sweeten the batter in recipes like English crumpets. The time required for the rising of the dough will vary greatly depending on such factors as temperature and humidity of the day, the character of the yeast and flour, and the kneading. To proof yeast: pour the yeast into the warm liquid and add the sugar, stir well and set aside. After a few minutes the fermentation of the yeast will become apparent as the mixture swells and small bubbles appear on the surface. A characteristic aroma will also be apparent. Yields 1 info
Chess Pie
Ingredients & Directions 1 c Sugar 3 tb Cornstarch 6 Large eggs 2/3 c Lemon juice 5 tb Butter or margarine, melted 1 tb Grated lemon rind 1 Unbaked 9-inch pie shell 1. Heat oven to 325’F. In large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. With wire whisk, beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. 2. Stir in lemon juice, butter, and lemon rind until well combined. Pour mix- ture into pie shell. 3. Place filled pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 50 minutes or until golden and a thin knife inserted into pie about 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Cool pie on wire rack. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Country Living/Dec/91 Scanned & fixed by DP and GG Yields 8 Servings
Winners's Chocolate Cake
Ingredients & Directions CAKE 8 oz Bitter/semisweet chocolate 3/4 c Butter 2 tb Butter 2 oz Unsweetened chocolate,chop 1 c Sugar 5 lg Egg,seperate 3 tb Almonds,grind -GLAZE- 1/2 c Heavy cream 3 tb Butter 4 oz Bitter/semisweet chocolate 4 oz Milk chocolate GARNISH Raspberries Mint Preheat oven 350F. Butter & flour 9″ springform pan w/2 3/4″sides. Melt bitter/semisweet chocolate, butter & unsweetened chocolate in heavy saucepan over med-low heat, stir constantly til smooth. Pour into bowl & cool slightly. Add sugar, yolk & almonds & whisk til smooth. Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl til stiff but not dry. Fold whites into batter in 2 additions. Pour batter into prepared pa. Bake til top is dry & begins to crack & tester comes out w/moist crumbs attached, 40min. Transfer to rack & cool 15min. Press down gently on top of cake to even edges. Cool completely. Bring cream & butter to simmer in saucepan. Reduce heat, add both chocolates & stir til smooth. Let stand til cool but pourable, 1hr. Invert cake onto 8″ tart pan bottom or cardboard round. Place cake on rack over cookie sheet. Pour glaze over cake, spreading w/spatula to coat top & sides. Refrigerate til glaze sets, 1hr. ( Can be made 1 day ahead; Keep refrigerated. Let stand 2hrs. at room temp before serving.) Transfer to platter. Garnish. Yields 10 Servings
Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients & Directions FOR THE SHELL 1 c All-purpose flour 3 tb Sugar 1/4 ts Double-acting baking powder 1/8 ts Salt 1/2 Stick cold unsalted butter; -cut into bits (1/4 ; cup) A; (3 1/2-ounce) can ; (about 1 1/3 cups) ; sweetened flaked ; coconut, toasted 1 lg Egg; beaten lightly Raw rice for weighting the -shell -FOR THE FILLING- 1/3 c Sugar 3 tb Cornstarch 3 lg Eggs 2 c Milk; scalded 1 ts Coconut extract 1 ts Vanilla 2 tb Malibu or other -coconut-flavored rum 5 Bananas; abou, up to 6 1/3 c Apple jelly 1 c Well-chilled heavy cream Make the shell: In a food processor or bowl combine well the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles fine meal. Stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the coconut, reserving the remaining 1 tablespoon for garnish, and the egg, stirring until the mixture forms a dough. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface several times to blend it well and press it onto the bottom and up the side of an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill the shell for 30 minutes, line it with foil, and fill the foil with the rice. Bake the shell in the lower third of a preheated 375F. oven for 10 minutes, remove the rice and foil carefully, and bake the shell for 5 to 10 minutes more, or until it is golden. Let the shell cool completely in the pan or a rack. Make the filling: In a heavy saucepan whisk together the sugar, the cornstarch, and the eggs, add the milk in a slow stream, whisking, and bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Simmer the pastry cream, whisking, for 2 minutes, transfer it to a bowl, and stir in the coconut extract, the vanilla, and the Malibu rum. Chill the pastry cream, its surface covered with plastic wrap, for 4 hours, or until it is cold. The pastry cream may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Slice thin on the diagonal enough of the bananas (about 2 1/2) to cover the bottom of the shell in one layer, arrange the slices in the shell, and cover them with the pastry cream, spreading it evenly. Slice thin on the diagonal the remaining bananas and arrange the slices decoratively over the pastry cream in solid layers, making each layer gradually smaller. In a small saucepan melt the apple jelly over moderate heat, while it is still warm brush it over the banana slices, coating them completely, and chill the tart for 1 hour. The tart may be prepared up to this point 1 day in advance and kept covered loosely and chilled. Just before serving, in a chilled bowl beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks, transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip, and pipe it decoratively around the edge of the tart. Sprinkle the cream with the reserved 1 tablespoon coconut and remove the side of the pan. Yields 1 servings
