Korni Bread

Yaey look at my pretty BBB badge!

I remember when Lynn first joined the Bread Baking Babes (a group that bakes the chosen bread every month). I admired her and her bread baking skills, and part of me wanted to join in because it's always fun to be a part of those bake along groups, but the other part of me was so scared of kneading. But now that I've gotten over that fear, I couldn't wait for Lynn to post the next BBB bread so I could bake it and join them! Silly me, I left it until the last day, so I won't get to taste the bread until tomorrow. But it looks good and I love how it's so full of all different grains and things like rye flour, whole wheat flour, flax seeds, millet (at least I think I added millet - hard to tell between amaranth and millet in my unlabeled jars!) and roasted soy beans. The only thing I didn't do was put the milk/egg glaze. As nice as that glaze is, I hate using up an egg for it so I usually just brush water on. I can't wait to find out what the next months' bread is!

Update: I thought yesterday was the 29th (the last day to post about the bread) but that's today! Oops. Anyway this morning I put the bread out to take photos and left the room for a minute. Then I came back to Abby licking the bread! Cat approved. The bread is really yummy and I'm in love with the chewy and dense yet soft texture. I wish I hadn't flattened the loaf so much though as now I have these really long slices and I'm not sure what container I can put them in!

Korni
Adapted from Joe Ortiz' The Village Baker

(makes 1 round 3 1/2 pound loaf)

Korni means corn or grain. It is made from a combination of grains that go well together for flavor, crunchiness, and good nutrition.

Soy bean mixture
1/2 cup organic (dried) soy beans
1 cup boiling water

Poolish
1 package (2 1/2 teaspoons; 1/4 oz) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup organic rye flour
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups organic unbleached white (or all-purpose) flour

Dough
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
All of the starter from the previous step
3 cups organic, unbleached white (or all-purpose) flour
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon ground caraway seeds*
1/4 cup organic flax seeds
1/2 cup organic millet
All of the soy mixture

Prepare the soy beans:
Place them in a small bowl, cover them with the boiling water, and let them soak for 10 minutes. Drain the beans and let them cool. Process the beans in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until they roughly chopped.

Place the beans on a cookie sheet and roast them in a preheated 350°F oven between 15 and 20 minutes, until they are completely dried out. Set them aside.

Prepare the sponge/poolish:
First proof the yeast, in a large bowl, in 1 cup of the warm water. When it is creamy, mix in 1 1/4 cups warm water and slowly add the rye flour, whole wheat flour, and 1½ cups of white flour by handfuls while stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon.
Set the batter aside, in a large bowl, covered with a dish towel, for between 8 and 10 hours or overnight.

Make the dough:
Proof the yeast in the warm water, add it to the risen sponge, and mix the two together. Start adding the flour, handful by handful, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. After all but 1 cup of the flour has been added (this will take about 10 minutes), turn the dough out onto your worktable, sprinkle the salt and the ground caraway over the dough, and incorporate them by kneading the dough for about 5 minutes while adding the last of the flour. The dough should be very moist.

Add the flax seeds, millet, and roasted soy beans and knead the dough to incorporate them.
Set the dough aside, covered, to rise for 1 hour, until it has doubled in size.

Flatten out the dough again and then shape it into a round loaf. This loaf is best proofed in a canvas-lined basket (I used a large bowl sprayed with baking spray) and then baked on a baking stone in the oven. It can also be placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let the loaf rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

Glaze the loaf with water and bake it in a preheated 425°F oven for between 30 and 35 minutes.

Let the loaf cool on a wire rack.

*(to make your own, grind a few tablespoons of whole caraway seed in a mortar with a pestle until you have a fine powder. If your powder still contains large chunks of seed, sift the mixture and use 1 tablespoon of the sifted powder)

Noreen Kinney's Irish Soda Bread

I was sitting in class one day and suddenly became obsessed with the idea of making Irish soda bread - which I've never made before and it was about time! So I started looking up recipes on Epicurious and came across this serious gem of a recipe. It's full of so much good stuff like wheat bran, oat bran and wheat germ (the 3 ingredients I have trouble finding recipes that use significant quantities of so I always seem to have giant stockpiles of it that I'm trying to use up). And it also has flaxseeds and my most favourite seed of all, sunflower seeds. The bread tastes buttery (yum!), though there are only 3 tablespoons of butter in the whole recipe. Instead of making one big round, I made them drop scone style. This proved to be a very brilliant idea. I always freeze my baked goods, so when I would reheat these in the toaster oven, the crust got all nice and crisp while the insides were still soft. So incredibly addictive.

Apparently what people think of as Irish soda bread, made with white flour and raisins, is actually called Irish spotted dick (or dog). Traditional Irish soda bread is supposed to be more hearty, like this one is, with different types of grains. I loved this bread so much and would always want to have it in my freezer. It's perfect for eating with soup or salad or jam or cheese or anything really. I often just ate it by itself!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pecan Fruit Rye Bread
Buttermilk Honey Bread
Focaccia
Oatmeal Knots

Noreen Kinney's Irish Soda Bread
Adapted from Epicurious | March 2008, from A Baker's Odyssey

Makes about 12-15 little loaves (see original recipe above for instructions on making 1 big loaf)

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour or graham flour, plus more for shaping (I used whole wheat flour)
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup untoasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 large egg
About 1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I used milk+vinegar)

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare 2 baking sheets.

In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the fat particles are very fine. Stir in the baking soda, salt, sugar, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, flaxseed, and sunflower seeds.

Beat the egg lightly with a fork in a 2-cup glass measure. Add enough buttermilk to come to the 2-cup line and stir with the fork to combine well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough gathers into a thick, wet-looking mass.

Use an ice cream/cookie scoop or a measuring cup to drop 1/3 cup amounts onto the prepared baking sheets. Don't be concerned about evenness—the loaf should look rustic. Make a cross-shaped indentation on top of each loaf going right to the edges. Use a plastic bench scraper and press it into the dough very gently; don't actually cut the dough. During baking the indentation expands, giving the top of the loaf an attractive pattern.

Bake the bread for about 15-17 minutes, until it is well browned and sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom. Cool the loaves on a wire cooling rack, and serve warm or at room temperature.

Flatbread with Caramelized Onions and Brie

I made this caramelized onion and brie flatbread as part of mother's day dinner (which was actually brunch food, because brunch food is the best). My mom made some comment about how she usually doesn't like caramelized onions, or maybe it was regular onions, but she really liked this. Who doesn't like caramelized onions?! Crazy. I think we all really enjoyed this flatbread though. It was my first time using frozen puff pastry (and in my last post I admitted to using store bought lemon curd - what's happening to me?!) I expected the puff pastry to be more crisp (as the recipe states it would be) but it was actually quite soft and floppy - which makes sense because croissants are basically puff pastry, right? Which I actually still have (homemade!) some of in my freezer from when I made croissants about a year ago, and I should probably throw out.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cheddar & Dill Beer Bread Rolls
Croissant Pockets with Apricots and Brie
Mushroom Crescents
Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins

Flatbread with Caramelized Onions and Brie
Adapted from The Rest of the Best and More (From the Best of Bridge Series, Vol. 2

4 small (or 3 large) onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste
14 oz (397 g) package frozen puff pastry
6 oz (170 g) brie (rind removed), diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a large deep frying pan on medium-high, add onions; cook until wilted and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Add sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook for 15-25 minutes, until onions are caramelized and golden. Cool.

Puff pastry package has 2 pouches. Pinch both together and roll out to a 12"x16" (30cmx40cm) rectangle. Place pastry on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat. Spread onions over pastry. Dot with cheese. Sprinkle with parsley and refrigerate if not baking immediately.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and pastry is crisp. Cool for 5 minutes. Cut into 20 squares.

Braided Lemon Bread

After I saw this braided lemon bread on Smitten Kitchen, I couldn't get it out of my head. And I'm glad I didn't because it is stupendous. Completely gorgeous, not even difficult to make, so very delicious and extremely adaptable to whatever jam or filling you want to have.

I loved this filling of lemon curd and cream cheese. And no I did not make that neon yellow lemon curd, I bought it, which is a first for me. There's nothing wrong with taking short cuts in recipes but I always feel like I need to make curds from scratch. Except this time where I just wanted to get right to making the braid as soon as possible!

I'm really looking forward to trying different jams and fillings. Oh maybe a chocolate peanut butter filling?! Or pear and brie. Or feta and sun dried tomato and olives. Maybe this dough would be too sweet as is (with 1/4 cup sugar) for savoury applications, but I imagine it would be okay to reduce the sugar to 2 tbsp or something?

Please excuse the poorly lit photos I took in my kitchen of the process (seen below throughout the recipe) - our kitchen is in the back of the apartment near no windows. But I always like seeing the process of making baked goods and am especially in love with yeast bread process photos so had to share! And as you can tell I was completely obsessed with this bread so took tons of photos.

Also, I just discovered this fun website YeastSpotting. Where you can submit yeasted bread recipes you've made and then at the end of each week they compile a list (with pictures)! Very fun and a great place to get inspired for my next bread.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Hot Crossed Buns
Croissant Pockets with Apricots and Brie
Milk Chocolate Cherry Twist

Braided Lemon Bread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted from King Arthur Flour

Sponge
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour

Dough
Sponge (above)
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) sour cream or yogurt
1/4 cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, 1 beaten for dough, 1 beaten with 1 teaspoon water for brushing bread
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (10 5/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Lemon cream cheese filling
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon curd

Make sponge: In a small bowl, stir together the sponge ingredients.Loosely cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.

Combine the sponge, sour cream, butter, egg, sugar, salt and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add flour and mix with the paddle attachment until the dough is a rough, shaggy mass. Switch to the dough hook and knead until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 5 to 6 minutes. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until quite puffy and nearly doubled.

Make the filling (while dough rises): Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free.

Prepare bread: Gently deflate the dough and roll it out on a very well floured counter to a 10″ x 15″ rectangle. Transfer rectangle to a large piece of parchment paper. With the side of your hand, lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, dividing it into three equal columns. Spread the cream cheese filling down the center section, leaving the top and bottom two inches free of filling. Spread the lemon curd over the cream cheese filling.

To form the mock braid, cut crosswise strips one inch apart down the length of the outer columns of you dough (the parts without filling). Make sure you have an equal amount of 1-inch strips down the right and left sides. Be careful not to cut your parchment paper; if you have a bench scraper, this is a great time to use it. Remove the four corner segments. To “braid”, begin by folding top flap down and bottom flap up over the filling. Lift the top dough strip and gently bring it diagonally across the filling. Repeat on the right side, and continue down the entire braid, alternating strips until you are out. You can tuck the last couple that hand off decoratively under the end of the braid.

Carefully transfer the dough and the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic and set it aside to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, until quite puffy.

Bake bread: Preheat the oven to 375F. Brush the loaves with egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Pad Thai & 3 Years of Blogging

I keep on missing my blog birthday! About three years ago on June 3, I started this blog. Who knows how long I'll continue blogging for but I still love it and I'm so happy to be part of the food blog world.

I love pad thai and while I'm not going to be crazy and say that I've found the perfect recipe, this one comes as close as any recipe I've tried. I'm sure we all have some preferences about whether we want it more wet or dry or tomatoey or not. But this one is just right for me. The important parts of pad thai for me are that it's got enough tomato, extra lime before serving, and crunchy peanuts. If you have a good pad thai recipe, please share it with me - I'd love to test it against this one!

Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes has started a new blog called The Food Blog Diary to keep track of what food events are going on, which I know I'll find really helpful because I always seem to be finding out about things too late! So go check it out.

Some of you might recognize Abby's newest "toy" - the cat emery board, as seen on TV. We bought it from one of those stores that sells all the stuff from infomercials naively hoping that it would actually help keep her claws trimmed. Sadly she's barely used it, but she did enjoy the toy that was stuck into the side of it, which you can see her playing with here.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Tofu and Broccolini in Peanut Sauce
Szechuan Tofu Triangles in Triple Pepper Sauce
Fresh Pear and Curry Pasta
Peanut Sauce

Pad Thai
Adapted from ExtraVeganZa

Serves 5-6

2 tbsp rice vinegar
5 tbsp reduce sodium soy sauce
4 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup ketchup

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb firm tofu, cut into small cubes
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups carrots, sliced (original recipe uses sweet potato which take too long to cook)
1 red pepper, diced
1 broccoli crown
1 cup (1 can) water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 lb rice noodles, cooked and drained

2 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed (plus more for serving as desired)
2/3 cup peanuts, toasted and chopped
1/4-1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped

In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, peanut butter and ketchup. Stir together thoroughly and set the sauce aside.

In a wok, add olive oil and saute the tofu, garlic, ginger, chili, salt and carrots for several minutes, stirring frequently to prevent them from sticking to the pan. When the carrots begin to soften, stir in the red pepper, broccoli and water chestnuts. Continue sauteeing for several minutes, then pour in the prepared sauce and cooked noodles. Gently stir the noodles into the vegetables and sauce. Remove from heat and add the lime juice. Garnish with toasted peanuts and green onions.