Nutty Crackers, and other gluten-free things for hors d’oeuvres and snacking

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Lately I have been asked to come up with decent-tasting crunchy things to have with cheese and dips. Commercially available gluten-free crackers are not very tasty—and require an excellent set of molars to break them down. I was looking for something a bit more delicate. Enter Ottolengi's chickpea flour crackers. They're an excellent jumping-off point, but too high in carbs for my client, so I started experimenting.

First, I will post the original recipe then share you three variations. Plus, a great seed and nut biscotti! It's a little sweet, and great with some Pernod cream cheese! And finally, a great super easy recipe for gluten free buckwheat Blini. Dont let the name fool you, Buckwheat is not actually wheat.

 

Ottolenghi’s chickpea cracker

Ingredients
100 g chickpea flour
50 g corn starch
150 ml water
50 ml olive oil
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
50 g grated parmesan, divided into 30 g and 20 g
1 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds and crushed fennel seeds

Procedure
Heat the oven to 300F. Put the chickpea flour, corn starch and oil in a medium bowl, add 150ml water and three-quarters of a teaspoon of flaked salt. Mix to a smooth slurry, then grate in 30g parmesan and mix until smooth. Spoon on to a sheet pan lined with a silat or parchment that’s big enough to cover the whole baking tray, and use an offset spatula to spread it out as thinly as you can. The paper may acquire a wet look and wrinkle, but don’t worry about that.

Sprinkle with the anise seeds and generously grind some black pepper on top, then scatter over the remaining 20g parmesan and a half-teaspoon of salt and bake for 55 minutes, until lightly golden and crisp. Remove and leave to cool, then store in an airtight container.

So that's the original recipe, and then these happened ...

Variation 1

Substitute chickpea flour with hazelnut flour, which is just toasted and skinned hazelnuts ground fine in the food processor with the cornstarch.

Variation 2

Substitute chickpea flour with pecan flour, which is just pecans ground fine in the food processor with the cornstarch. Add 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, salt and pepper, and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Batter comes out very thin so pour onto a Silpat-lined sheet pan. Make sure pan is flat!

Variation 3

Substitute chickpea flour with pistachio flour, which is just shelled pistachios ground fine in the food processor with an extra 20 g cornstarch. Add 2 tablespoons flax seed, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds, and 3 tablespoons shredded Italian mixed cheese. This batter is even thinner.

Gluten-Free Biscotti

Ingredients
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Paleo flour
2 cups well-chopped nut and seed mixture (I used sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, pecans, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon Fleur de Sel
3 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
extra virgin olive oil for brushing

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300. Combine nut and seed mix with flours. In separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Mix together and pat into a parchment-lined loaf pan which has also been oiled. Bake until firm, about 55 minutes. Let cool and then slice as thin as possible. Turn oven up to 425. Lay biscotti slices on a parchment-lined sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Bake 5 minutes, or until brown and toasty. Turn over, brush with oil and toast the other side. Careful — it likes to burn, so watch them closely!

Buckwheat Blini

Ingredients
2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) buckwheat flour
2 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) gluten-free all-purpose flour (I like Bob's Red Mill paleo flour)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup buttermilk, or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar mixed with 1 cup whole milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Procedure
Place dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to thoroughly blend. Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk. Add buttermilk and melted butter and whisk. Add dry ingredients and whisk just until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes to allow liquids to absorb into dry ingredients.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly oil pan with oil or butter and make small pancakes. These are great cold with caviar if you are bougie, smoked salmon if you are slightly less bougie, or with peanut butter of you have the munchies!

Keto?? Yes, I fell down that rabbit hole and it’s working for me!

Seasonal Diet of the Pandemic
Controlling my weight as a chef and a baker — and basically someone who just loves all food — has always been a challenge. My usual procedure is work really hard on some kind of quick weight loss plan (never lasts) or a plan like Weight Watchers (the best, most sustainable program out there), lose the 20 pounds, keep it off for about 2 years, and then get bored of all the accountability, lose the plot, and then before I know it I'm eating chocolate chip cookies and I am doomed. Sugar is my crack and almost as addictive.

I have learned I am better with a plan that has strict rules and suggested menus to follow. I love a challenge, and I like to develop recipes to meet whatever crazy palette of ingredients I am currently allowed. So the keto diet has been my pandemic challenge. It's not easy to follow. To do it right, I have to monitor the macros of everything I eat (I use the free version of My Fitness Pal) to get the right percentage of fat (massive amounts of fat), protein, and carbs (the new enemy) as well as testing my blood and glucose to see if I have successfully reached ketosis — which is when your body burns fat and weight starts to disappear. Fat is now my friend, which is so weird!

If you are interested, there is a huge amount of info on the web as well as some great books I'll list at the end of this post.

After almost 4 months, I am down 15 pounds and at my goal weight. Anyone who has ever had a weight issue knows the really hard work is keeping it off. But I am going to keep my expectations realistic and not beat myself up. One of my favorite parts of this challenge has been all the discoveries that taught me new ways to use ingredients to create some of the foods I no longer eat — like bread!

I would like to share 3 recipes which are delicious, nutritious and kind of cool: hearts of palm bread (GF); celery root, butternut squash, and bacon rösti; and mocha mousse. They are all Keto, so remember they are high in fat and calories but low in protein and carbs. The orgiginal recipe sources are linked, but I've made a number of changes in some of these recipes.

Celery Root, Butternut Squash, Bacon and Parmesan Rösti

Adapted from Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan

Ingredients
2 slices sugar-free bacon, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded raw celery root
1/2 cup shredded raw butternut squash
1 shallot
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove fresh crushed garlic
1 egg

Procedure
In a 10 inch sauté pan, cook the bacon until mostly crisp. Remove bacon and save the fat. While the bacon cooks, combine the shredded celery root, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic, and egg and mix well. Put 2 tablespoons bacon fat back into the sauté pan. Add the celeriac mixture to the pan with the cooked bacon in it and stir well. With the back of a large spoon, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a round cake.

Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is dark golden brown and crisp, and the top is softened. Put into 375 oven for 15 minutes. Carefully place a serving plate over your pan and flip the cake onto it crispy side up. Serve it hot, garnished with more parsley if you like.

Hearts of Palm Bread

Adapted from I Breathe I'm Hungry by Mellissa Sevigny

Ingredients
1 (14 ounce) can of hearts of palm, well drained (equals about 8 ounces drained weight, or 1 1/2 cups sliced)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups super-fine blanched almond flour
2/3 cup coconut flour
3 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt (sea salt or Himalayan salt preferred)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9.5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Combine the hearts of palm, eggs, olive oil, and water in a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder and salt.

Mix with a dough hook on low to medium for 1 to 2 minutes or until a dough is formed. If you don’t have a stand mixer, mix by hand with a sturdy spoon for several minutes, then knead by hand for a minute or two, until you have a well-blended and uniform-looking dough.

Form into a loaf about 8 inches long by 3 inches wide and 3 inches high, and place in the parchment-lined loaf pan. Bake for 70 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the bread has risen by about 1 inch.

Remove from the oven and carefully lift the loaf out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Place the loaf (without the parchment paper) on a wire rack too cool. This will keep it from getting soggy on the bottom, and will allow any moisture to evaporate as steam. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Store the bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Note: most forms of Psyllium husk will turn your bread a slight purple grey. This does not affect flavor, but the recipe creator recommends Healthworks brand because it never turns her baked goods purple.

Mocha Mousse

Adapted from from Ruled.Me

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated Swerve
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee powder
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated Swerve

Procedure
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Next, blend in the vanilla extract, Swerve, cocoa powder, and coffee powder until incorporated and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add Swerve and beat a bit more. Fold 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Be sure to not deflate the bubbles. Fold in the remaining 2/3 of the mixture until the whipped cream is evenly incorporated.

Transfer the mousse into 6 8-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until set, then just eat it all.

some more keto resources:

• The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners by Amy Ramos
• The Keto Diet by Leanne Vogel
• Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan
• Sweet and Savory Fat Bombs by Martina Slajerova
• All Day I Dream About Food
• KetoConnect
• Ruled.me

Kindred’s Milk Bread from Food52

Seasonal Recipe of the Pandemic
Every once in a while I come across a recipe with an unusual list of ingredients or an odd procedure and I just have to try it. Such is the case with this bread recipe which has both! Due to the current viral situation, getting certain ingredients (like bread flour) can be difficult which is why I ordered my King Arthur bread flour online from the source. It took 4 weeks to get here, but this morning it arrived along with my dry milk powder so I gave this recipe a go. Honestly it's kind of great and pretty simple to make. I'm thinking killer French toast is in my future. Bernice just slathered it with butter and was in heaven. Makes 6 rolls, two 9 x 5-inch loaves, or 12 split-top buns.



Ingredients
5 1/3 cups King Arthur bread flour, divided, plus more for kneading
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup mild honey
3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 large eggs, divided
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Procedure
Cook 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms, about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 remaining cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.
 Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

If you're making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup.


If you're making loaves, lightly coat two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of each pan.


If you're making split-top buns, lightly coat two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4-inch long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.

Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375° F. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, caraway seeds or sesame seeds, this is optional. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25 to 35 minutes for rolls, 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, or 30 to 40 minutes for buns. If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out, then let cool completely.

Lemon Cake — a blast from my past!

When I was young and had lots of free time, I developed my love of baking and cooking by working with my father in the kitchen. He was an amazing and intuitive cook and could remember flavors like some people remember places. But he did not like the feel of flour and never really got into baking — just eating — so that's when I started doing my own research and development. Clipping recipes from the NY Times, buying cookbooks and just making stuff up. This is also when I started my yearly tradition of making a small gift cookbook for my friends. I did it for many years, some years producing over 70 copies. This was when I was at the mercy of Kinkos! Oh the hours spent waiting and collating. Unfortunately, my busy schedule has prevented me from making these gift books in the past few years, but who knows? maybe this year I will get back to business.

This recipe for a simple — and rather delicious — lemon cake is from my first cookbook home-published in 1975 called Stacy's Occasional Eats which had 10 recipes typed by my mother Bernice and a silk screened cover. I think you can never go wrong with a lemon cake and everything you need to make it is probably in your kitchen right now! So give it a go, and remember the lemon can be exchanged for lime or orange or tangerine with delicious results!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon

Procedure
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. In separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add alternately to sugar butter mixture with milk beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides of bowl throughout the mixing process. Pour into loaf pan and smooth out top. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean and top is golden brown.

While cake rests, in small saucepan combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the lemon juice and cook till sugar dissolves. Poke a number of toothpick holes in the cake and pour mixture slowly on top of the cake till it all soaks in. Let it cool completely in pan, then remove.

That's it, super easy. Whipped cream doesn't hurt!

Holiday Honey Cake

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Last week, Bernice enjoyed a lecture and tasting at her senior center about the amazing healing powers of eating local honey. When I heard this, I said get me some please! Today my mother brought me a beautiful little jar of this golden goodness which I immediately turned into a Jewish holiday classic — honey cake. I love this recipe! My baking mentor Susan Purdy included it in her high altitude classic Pie in the Sky, which I helped her test. This recipe, with very little modification, works at every altitude and you don't even need to use an electric mixer. What makes it so great is the inclusion of espresso powder, which gives it real depth and also adds a slight twist on the spices. I leave out the ginger (I'm allergic) and use cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and cardamom. Feel free to alter it to make it your own. Shanah Tovah! (Happy New Year!)



Ingredients
3/4 cup very hot water
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon cardamom

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with oil spray, line with parchment and spray again. In a large bowl, dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water and then stir in the honey until it is smooth. Next mix in the sugar, oil, and eggs using a whisk. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and spices. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the liquids. Using your whisk, stir until smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pan and set in the middle of the oven. Bake for 60-70 minutes until the top springs back and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on rack 30 minutes then remove pan and let cool all the way. If you want to dress it up, you can cut it into layers and fill it with apricot jam or glaze it and top it with toasted almond slices!

The Best Blueberry Muffin of All Time (IMHO)

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Hello my peeps, yes it's been a while, but I'm back! Work has been taking up my entire life and basically killed me but now it's me time. Getting my juju back and starting to bake again, which I love! This is a recipe I recently developed (which I have been told is the best muffin ever) and of course can be used with a variety of fruit. The secret to the moistness and great texture is in the full fat Greek yogurt (so don't skimp). I promise to post more often, any requests?

 
 

Ingredients
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup blueberries
zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 room temp eggs
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup melted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (like Sugar in the Raw brand)

Procedure
Preheat oven at 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Mix the berries and lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon from the total sugar amount and let sit in small bowl. Combine sugar, water, yogurt, butter, vanilla and eggs. In separate bowl combine flour, powder, and salt. Mix everything together with a spoon and put in muffin cups and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. Bake 25 minutes until top is golden and it springs back when touched. Remember, less is more when it comes to making muffin batter, don't over mix as it creates tough and rubbery muffins.

Paleo what? Vegetable wraps!

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Recently I visited Santa Fe and had a great time because my friends are the best! One of my favorite meals was surprisingly at Sweetwater Cafe with the lovely and talented Helga Ancona of KSFR fame. She recommended I try the spinach paleo wrap with turkey, sweet potato and some other stuff — and it was amazing! So as soon as I got back to NY, with the info the owner of the cafe was kind enough to share with me, I set about to figure out how to make the wraps and it was soooo easy! Sweetwater does the spinach version so I started with that and then branched out to other veggies. I think with the basic formula the possibilities are endless. Remember, depending on the moisture content of the vegetables used you might have to play with it a little.

 

Assorted Vegetable Paleo Wraps

Ingredients for Green Spinach flavor
4 ounces spinach
3 eggs
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large basil leaves
1 sprig tarragon leaves
2 sprigs fresh dill

Ingredients for Curried Carrot flavor
4 ounces shredded carrot
3 eggs
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Ras al Hanouj
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Ingredients for Beet and Dill flavor
4 ounces cooked beets, cut into cubes
3 eggs
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dill
2 tablespoons chives (add to batter at the end, do not purée into mix)

Procedure (for all flavors)
Pick one of the flavors above, then purée all those ingredients in blender until mixture is very smooth.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat (low to medium for the beet version) and spray lightly with oil. Ladle some batter into the pan then quickly tip the pan in a circle so the batter coats the bottom in an thin, even layer. Let cook you until bubbles rise to the surface (like in the photo above) and the edges start to come away from the pan and brown a little. Then flip over and cook the other side for 15 seconds. Do your best not to brown the wrap too much, so the vegetable color stays bright. Repeat with the remaining batter. Don't worry, the first few are always borked, even for me!

Wraps hold well in fridge up to 4 days.

The Definitive Updated Bagel Recipe

Codex Bagelensis—The First Book of Bagels As the previous, excellent post by the one and only Monica Meehan shows, bagel making is alive and well in Santa Fe — thanks to the tireless efforts of a multi-talented scientist, bagpiper, and all-around eccentric genius known as Bagel Bob. He recently contacted me to let me know the version I have on the site from years ago has been updated and improved so here it is! There is also a 12-page, elaborate text which goes into the science of the bread and ingredient details which I would be happy to share — email me if you want a copy. Here is a photo from Terrace bagels in Park Slope Brooklyn who I think makes the best bagels in the city.

THE Definitive Updated Bagel RECIPE, in Abbreviated Form

As revealed to Bagelbob, aka Robert Shlaer

Ingredients
540 grams High Gluten Flour (about 4 cups) (King Arthur Sir Lancelot is good)
320 ml water (10-3/4 fl oz) (1-1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) at 120 degrees F
1 teaspoon instant yeast (SAF is good)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Malted Barley Flour, no more;
   or 3/4 teaspoon diastatic malt powder
1 tablespoon dry malt extract, dark
1 tablespoon dry malt extract, amber
1 tablespoon malt syrup, dark
1 tablespoon baking soda in 5 cups (boiling) water
semolina flour

Procedure
Place the dry ingredients except the salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and run for 5-10 seconds to mix. Dissolve the salt and malt syrup in the warm water, and with the processor running pour the water quickly down the feed tube. Process for 30-45 seconds, until the dough forms a ball. Start a timer now so you can know when to begin retardation of the bagel rings. Remove the dough and knead by hand for 2-3 minutes. Cut into twelve equal pieces, roll out each one into a snake about ten inches long and pinch the ends together to form a ring. Dust a jellyroll pan with semolina flour, place the rings on it and cover with plastic film. When your timer shows 45 to 60 minutes from when you added liquid to the dry ingredients, put the bagels in the refrigerator and leave there for 12-18 hours to retard fermentation.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and while it is heating take a 2 qt saucepan, place in it 5 cups of water and 1 Tbsp soda, then bring to a boil. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and poach each bagel for 20 seconds, no more, poking it down repeatedly if it floats, remove, and put on a rack to drain. Arrange the bagels on a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment paper, (they will stick firmly to Teflon or almost anything else,) place on a middle rack in the oven, and spray the bottom of the oven with water before closing. Spray the bottom of the interior of the oven with water again after 5 minutes. After another 10 minutes of baking (15 minutes total at this point) rotate the sheet and turn the oven down to 400 degrees. Bake another 15 minutes (total baking time 30 minutes) to a dark reddish-brown crust, then remove the bagels and put on a rack to cool.

Report from the Bagel-Making Workshop with Bagel Bob!

Hi folks, It's Monica! Just wanted to stop by and report on a fun thing my friend Laura and I did this past weekend. The Santa Fe Jewish Center hosted a bagel making-event with Bagel Bob! About 50 people attended — I think that was way more people than were expected so it was a little chaotic, but still fun. They had pre-formed, pre-risen bagels ready for boiling and baking (Laura and I got drafted to help with extra boiling stations and baking). Next, while the bagels baked, Bob showed everyone how to mix the dough and roll out and form bagels. Everyone got newly made bagels to rise and and boil/bake at home, as well as a copy of Bob's UPDATED Master Bagel Recipe. Then we all ate bagels with lox!


Bagel Bob is introduced

  
Left to right: one of the boiling stations in the main room; over 50 bagels baked (Photo by Laura Wagner); bagel schmear with lox!

 
Left to right: the extra boiling stations got a little messy (don't worry, we cleaned up!); Bagel Bob and I are throwing the bagel gang sign (Photo by Laura Wagner)

I boiled and baked my bagels at home later that night. Yum!

  
Left to right: boiling; boiled; baked

You can check out more photos of the event at the Santa Fe Jewish Center's Facebook page.

Snow Day!

 
Projects to do on an unexpected day at home
Yesterday we had a major snowstorm on Long Island. It took us one-and-a-half hours to shovel the stairs, the path to the car, and then release the car from the 3-foot snow drift that covered it. Aside from a sore back, it was kind of fun. This morning I carefully walked to the train station on the black ice in the dark, only to find the trains (in spite of the MTA website saying things were running on schedule) were not actually running. So I turned around and headed home.
Now what do I do?

It's time to bake bread! One kind of bread I have never tried is a classic baguette. So I went to Food52, my go-to reliable food website and found this recipe, here we go:

Dan Leader's 4 hour Baguette

Makes 3 baguettes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup (12 ounces) tap water, heated to 115° F
1 teaspoon (1/8 ounce) active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups (14 2/3 ounces) all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons (3/8 ounces) kosher salt
Canola oil, for greasing bowl
1/2 cup ice cubes

Procedure
Whisk together water and yeast in a large bowl; let sit until yeast is foamy, about 10 minutes. Add flour, and stir with a fork until dough forms and all flour is absorbed; let dough sit to allow flour to hydrate, about 20 minutes. Add salt, then transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough ball to a lightly greased bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and place bowl in a cold oven or microwave. Let dough rest until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and shape into an 8-inch x 6-inch rectangle. Fold the 8-inch sides toward the middle, then fold the shorter sides toward the center, like a T-shirt. Return dough, seam side down, to the bowl. Cover with plastic again, and return to oven. Let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Remove bowl with dough from oven, and place a cast–iron skillet on the bottom rack of oven; position another rack above skillet, and place a baking stone or upside down or rimless sheet pan on it.

Heat oven to 475° F. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and cut into three equal pieces; shape each piece into a 14-inch rope. Flour a sheet of parchment paper on a rimless baking sheet; place ropes, evenly spaced, on paper. Lift paper between ropes to form pleats; place two tightly rolled kitchen towels under long edges of paper, creating supports for the loaves. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let sit until it doubles in size, about 50 minutes.

Uncover; remove towels, and flatten paper to space out loaves. Using a sharp razor, knife, bread lame, or scissors, slash the top of each baguette at a 30–degree angle in four spots; each slash should be about 4 inches long. Pull out the oven rack with the stone or baking sheet on it and, using the corner of the parchment paper as a guide, slide the loaves, still on the parchment paper, onto the baking stone or pan. Place ice cubes in skillet (this produces steam that lets the loaves rise fully before a crust forms). Bake the baguettes until darkly browned and crisp, 20 to 30 minutes; cool before serving.Where's the butter?

Okay so those are the original instructions which I found really confusing. I just put the dough ropes on a silpat, let them rise and then slid it onto the hot, up-side-down sheet pan in the oven. Check out the photos, they came out pretty well.

 
 

The Famous, Dutch-Oven, Super-Easy, Fantastically Crusty Rustic Bread That Everybody Knew About But Me!

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
A few weeks ago Monica, my dear pal, showed up for Sunday dinner with the most delicious and beautiful crusted round loaf of bread still warm from the oven. Now that's a good friend! She said it was the easiest loaf she ever made and sent me the link over at Ben Starr's blog. Next weekend I tried it, and like her, I was skeptical, how could something so easy taste so good? Well campers, it works every time at every altitude, and you must give it a shot. The only thing is you need to start it the day before — so plan accordingly! Here's the recipe. Once you get the hang of it you can start experimenting but the basic formula should be stuck to.
 
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups (or 17 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt - not iodized, Ben says that will kill the yeast
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) filtered or bottled water - tap water has chlorine which is also a yeast-killer

Procedure
In a medium bowl, combine yeast, flour, and salt and mix with your hands. Ben says it helps the bacteria activate — who knew? Then add the water (temperature is not an issue) and mix with a wooden spoon till a raggy dough forms. Done. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter in your kitchen for 12 to 24 hours. Longer is better, so I went 24 hours.

The next day, scoop the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. It should be quite soft. Knead it 3 to 4 times and form into a ball. Place a clean kitchen towel in a bowl that is about the same size as your dutch oven and sprinkle with some flour or semolina and place dough in bowl. Sprinkle some more flour or semolina on top (you want to make sure it doesn't stick to the towel). Cover with plastic and let sit 2 to 3 hours, until double in size.

20 minutes before you are ready to bake, put the empty Dutch oven with its lid in the oven, then preheat your oven to 450. Now this is the only slightly tricky part (but not really). Carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven and take off the lid. Then flour your right hand and gently dump the dough into your hand so the top is in your palm and then flip it into the Dutch oven so it is right side up. Careful — the Dutch oven will be HOT! Using a razor blade or sharp knife cut a series of lines in the top. Put the lid back on, put it back into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Then take the lid off and bake it for 15 minutes more. That's it!

If you want to play around with the recipe, you can start adding stuff like sesame, poppy, rye, or fennel seeds or herbage like basil or rosemary. Then I was thinking what about substituting in 1/2 whole wheat flour? Or upping the nutrition with millet, chia, or hemp seeds? Also, chopped Kalamata olives or some nuts would not be bad. As you can see, the possibilities are endless so have fun with it and let me know how yours turns out!

Gluten Free Nut and Seed Biscotti

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Something like biscotti, which does not really rise, is a perfect candidate for a Gluten-free make over. For the nut and seed mixture I used whatever I had. You can customize that mixture with any kinds of nuts and seeds but definitely include sesame and caraway seeds because they taste so damn good. Toast your nut and seed mixture for extra flavor, and you could even add some finely diced dried fruit, I'm thinking cranberries.

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
2 cups well chopped nut and seed mixture (I used sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, pecans, walnuts, chopped mixed spiced nuts)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (AKA fancy salt)
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
extra virgin olive oil for brushing

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300. Combine nut and seed mix with flours. In separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Mix together and pat into parchment lined loaf pan which has been oiled. Bake till firm 55 minutes. Let cool and then slice as thin as possible and cut each slice in half. Turn oven up to 425. Lay biscotti slices on a parchment-lined sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Bake 5 minutes or till brown and toasty. Turn over, brush with oil and toast the other side. Careful — it likes to bur, so watch!

Italian Easter bread — sort of

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This week I am doing another bread, this time in honor of Easter (which is tomorrow). I found this on the internet and I had to try it. It kind of reminds me of Panettone, which I love around Christmas time. The citrus zest and eggy sweetness are lovely, sort of like Italian Challah. This is a big recipe, but you can freeze half — or share it! I cleaned it up a little and removed the sprinkles. I also omitted the sweet glaze but you can do those things if you want. I also changed it from margarine to butter, need you ask why?

Ingredients
8 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 oranges, zested & juiced
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 envelopes) active dry yeast
1 cup butter, melted
8 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Pernod

Procedure
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl; set aside. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is warm to the touch, but not hot (between 110 and 115 degrees F). While the milk is warming, place the sugar in a small bowl and add the orange zest. With your fingertips, rub the zest into the sugar until it is completely incorporated and the sugar is moistened. Once the milk reaches the correct temperature, stir in the sugar and zest mixture, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the yeast, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the milk and yeast mixture to the flour and begin to mix it into a dough (it will be shaggy at this point). Next, add the melted butter and continue to mix. Now, add the orange juice to the dough and mix to combine. In a small bowl, use a fork to lightly beat together the eggs, salt, and Pernod. Add to the dough and continue mixing. At this point, you may need to add more flour to the dough, depending on how much juice you get out of your oranges. Once you have a sticky ball of dough formed, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is soft and elastic. Or use your dough hook and mix with your electric mixer. The dough will remain slightly tacky. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning to coat, and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Place in a draft-free area and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and divide in three. Divide each piece into two (you will have six pieces of dough). You will work with one pair, and then the other, and then the other. Roll two pieces of dough into 24-inch long ropes. Loosely twist the ropes together. Transfer the braided rope to one of the prepared baking sheets and bring the ends together to form a ring, twisting and pinching the ends together to seal. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of dough so that you have three circular, braided loaves. Brush the tops of each with melted butter, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minute. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until golden brown on top, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the breads are cooled to room temperature, start eating!

5 Whole Wheat Super Easy Artisan Loaves

The Altitude Adjustment Section
This is an amazing, super-easy way to make the dough for five — count 'em, FIVE — whole wheat loaves. No rising, no kneading! Just mix, rest and bake. Yummy!

Ingredients
5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vital wheat gluten
4 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
1 to 2 tablespoons of whole seed mixture for sprinkling on top crust: sesame, flaxseed, caraway, raw sunflower, poppy, and or anise

Procedure
Measure the dry ingredients into a 5-quart bucket or bowl, and whisk them together. Now add the water to form a very wet dough. Cover loosely (leave lid open a crack) and allow to rise for two hours at room temperature. Do not punch down or intentionally deflate. The dough will rise and then begin to collapse.You can also refrigerate and use over the next 14 days, tearing off one-pound loaves as you need them.

On baking day, cut off a grapefruit-sized piece of dough (about a pound), using a serrated knife or a kitchen shears. Now, quickly shape a loaf (this should take less than a minute). You pull the top around to the bottom, rotating quarter-turns as you go. DON’T KNEAD or otherwise knock all the gas out of the loaf. Cover the loaf loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest on a sheet pan covered with cornmeal or parchment for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a pan of hot water inside the oven on the bottom shelf. Just before baking, use a pastry brush and paint the top with water and sprinkle with seed mixture. Slash the loaf with 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts across the top using a serrated bread knife. Place loaves into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack, and eat. Baked loaves freeze well.

Chipolte Pretzels

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Homemade soft pretzels are "trending," as they say. Easy to make, really yummy and a great bar snack. How can you go wrong? I choose to add a little heat with chipolte powder. You can make the traditional pretzel shapes, sticks, or make little pretzel bits.

Ingredients
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup milk, scalded and then cooled to lukewarm
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup
1 teaspoon chipolte powder
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt (fine-grained)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in pieces and softened
1/4 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 tablespoons milk

Procedure
In a mixing bowl, stir the yeast into the lukewarm milk, then add the malt syrup and a cup of flour. Stir, then add the salt and butter and stir again. Add 1 1/2 cups more flour and mix well. Knead on a floured surface or in the bowl for approximately five minutes. Cover the bowl and let rise for about 90 minutes, or until doubled. The dough should have a soft, satiny feel to it. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, with a baking stone, if you have it, or a baking sheet, if you don't. Lightly flour your cutting board or counter. Turn the dough onto your work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces; then cut each piece in half, so you have 8 total. Cover a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Roll each piece of dough to make a long coil. The dough will stretch easily and then snap back. Alternate between pieces of dough so that each has time to briefly relax; it will stretch farther afterward. You want each coil to be about 24 inches long.

To shape the pretzels, take one end in each hand and twist them around each other a couple of inches from the ends of the coil. (You'll have what looks like a circle with a couple of antennae sticking up.) Lay the dough down on the parchment paper and fold the ends (the antennae) over so that they stick to the bottom of the circle -- it should now look more or less like a pretzel. Prepare another sheet of parchment paper or a flour-dusted peel. Meanwhile, boil 3 cups of water in a saucepan, then add the baking soda and stir to dissolve. With the water just below a simmer, pick up each pretzel with a spatula and hold it in the baking soda bath (on the spatula) for 20-30 seconds. It will puff up slightly and soften. When you remove the pretzel, let the baking soda water drain off the bottom (otherwise it will stick to the bottom and taste bitter), brush the top with the egg yolk and milk solution and then place on the new sheet of parchment paper or the peel. Sprinkle with salt.

You can either bake each pretzel immediately after boiling and brushing or you can wait and put them in the oven in a single batch. (I do the latter.) Bake for about 10 minutes; check in after 8 minutes. They are done when golden brown. Do not overbake; you want the contrast between the crusty outside and the pillowy inside. Eat as soon as they are cool enough to handle — perhaps with a honey mustard dip?

Two Naan Pizzas: Indian-inspired and Breakfast

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Pizza — it's not just junk food anymore! A few weeks ago, I took my two Monte del Sol mentorship students out to dinner at Raga. This is a great Indian restaurant on Agua Fria which serves really well-prepared and tasty Indian food. They do the best and most reasonably priced lunch buffet in town. Anyway, we basically stuck to the classics but we did try one of the special appetizers of the night which was a naan pizza. This was the only disappointing thing we had. First of all, it was served cold. Second, it was not that interesting. But the idea was great so I worked on developing it in a way that worked for me, and this is what I came up with.

Indian Pizza

Ingredients
1 small block paneer cheese, about 1 cup, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp curry paste or powder
1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp ginger, minced

1/2 lime, juiced

1/2 cup pizza sauce seasoned with 1 tablespoon of Harissa

1/4 cup mango chutney
1/2 cup wilted and chopped fresh spinach
4 frozen naans
Handful cilantro, chopped

Lime wedges to finish

Procedure
Start by making the sauce. Combine the tomato sauce with the yogurt and the chutney. Add the curry, garlic and ginger. You can add some heat at this point if you want. Put the naan straight from the freezer onto a sheet pan. Top with sauce, then add the cubed cheese, some dabs of spinach and some cilantro. Put in 400 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, till the cheese melts. Then when it comes out, sprinkle with more salt and pepper, fresh chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice. Yum!

Breakfast pizza

Ingredients
1 naan or flatbread
1/2 cup puntenesca sauce, or any other red sauce you prefer
1 cup shredded cheese (I used 1/2 Gruyere and 1/2 parmesan)
1 egg
a few thinly sliced rings of onion
1 teaspoon canola oil
a few shakes of hot sauce
salt & pepper to taste
chopped fresh basil for garnish

Procedure
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a skillet, heat oil on medium heat and fry up onions with a pinch of salt till translucent. Set onions aside. In a skillet on medium heat, cook the naan on both sides lightly. Place naan on a baking sheet. Spoon sauce on top to your liking and cover with cheese & fried onions. Crack an egg gently on top of the pizza. Make sure the oven is at 500 degrees, then place baking sheet with naan in the center. Bake the pizza for about 8-10 minutes total, and rotate 180 degrees halfway through. Take it out when the cheese is melted and the egg is cooked. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and let the pizza cool slightly. Add salt & pepper and hot sauce to your taste.

Savory Yogurt Dough

Excellent Ingredient of the Week
The excellent ingredient of the week is dough! Everybody needs dough, (bad pun). You should have at least one good go-to dough recipe in your repertoire. This is a great one.

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus some more for rolling
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek style yogurt
1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Procedure
To make the Yogurt pastry: Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and yogurt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined.
Mix in flour and salt mixture at low speed until fully incorporated (dough will be sticky). Halve dough and shape each half into disk. Dust disks with flour, wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

Dough is often easier to work with when well chilled. It becomes less sticky and the gluten relaxes so it is easier to roll out and work with. What to do with this dough-a savory crust for a chicken pot pie, a wild mushroom tart or how about a asparagus and dill quiche?

Update from Bagel Bob

Update from the one and only master of everything round with a hole in the center, Bagel Bob

I have a small addendum to my bagel method, actually two addenda:

1. The best place I have found recently to purchase 50 lb bags of King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour is Seven Grains Natural Market.
   $54.99, free FEDEX shipping, $10.00 handling charge, total $64.99, which is well below the cost from any other source I could locate. Shipping was prompt and it had been in the warehouse for under 3 months before I got it, so it should easily keep another year. (That would be slow bagel making--under one batch a week.) A year is about the longest I have ever kept this type of flour, and there has never been any sign of deterioration over that interval.
2. 2. Diastatic malt in the form of malted barley flour is an additive here, as it is in most commercial flours. Since King Arthur products can come from any of a number of different mills, my impression is that they each add somewhat different amounts of barley flour. The last bag of flour I had made gummy bagels when my recommended teaspoon of Bob's Red Mill Malted Barley Flour was added to the dough, but using just half of that produced perfect results. I will have to experiment with the new stuff, and I will let you know if it seems any different.

Thank you Bob!

Grilled Lemon and Herb Flatbread

Nice New Nibbles
I thought I would do a vehicle for dips. A great bread or cracker is the base of many great snacks. Yes, you can buy some good ones in the store, but homemade flatbread is so much better! With this basic recipe you can do all kinds of variations with herbs, citrus zest, seeds, etc. This makes 6 individual flatbreads.

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 tablespoon mixed fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and oregano
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

Procedure
Stir together the yeast, 3/4 cup warm water and sugar and set aside for a few minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, herbs, fennel seeds, lemon zest, salt, pepper and olive oil. Stir in the yeast mixture and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and add the dough, turning it to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.

Heat up your cast iron grill. Divide the dough in half and form three equal balls from each (6 balls total). On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 1/4-inch thick round or oval. Brush both sides with olive oil. Place the rounds on the grill, and cook, flipping once with a spatula, until well-marked and cooked through, about 2-5 minutes per side. Be careful not to char the flat-breads. Serve immediately, or wrap in aluminum foil and keep in a warm oven until ready to eat.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Recipe of the Week
There is no reason I only make this once a year. It's delicious at dinner as well as breakfast, and super easy to make!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 teaspoon soda
1 tsp. salt
1/3 sugar
3 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup raisins
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 T. finely grated orange rind
1 teaspoon melted butter
1 T sugar
1/4 t cinnamon

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a cast iron pan about 8-9 inches.In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, powder, soda, sugar, salt orange and caraway. Add the butter pieces and mix in the butter until it is incorporated and in tiny pieces. Add the buttermilk and egg , combine well. Put dough onto the table and knead til smooth. Form the dough into a ball and place in the cast iron pan. With a sharp knife cut a criss cross in the top and brush with 1 Teaspoon melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes on a baking rack. Serve warm or toasted with butter or jam if desired.