Fine Bread

I have to apologize a little to my readers. I've been a bit distracted this year -- preparing for an medieval arts competition. I didn't win, but I didn't expect to. I mostly wanted to get some feedback on some ideas I've had and I wanted to have fun. I succeeded!

For this competition, I've been playing again with a late-16th/early-17th century recipe called "Fine Bread." This recipe isn't a bread as we would describe it; it's more like a biscotti that is flavored with anise.

Before you say "I don't like anise/licorice," you should try this recipe.

Fine Bread

8 oz. unbleached all-purpose white flour
8 oz. sugar
4 large eggs
2 oz. anise
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).

Put the anise seeds in a mortar and pestle and bruise (grind gently) until the anise becomes aromatic.

Beat the eggs well until they are a fairly uniform yellow; you don't want globs of white and yolks.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the eggs. The eggs will absorb all the dry ingredients; have faith. You will know you are almost done stirring when the batter forms a dough. There will still be some dry ingredients to be incorporated, so keep stirring. A few strokes more and the mixture will become a batter.

Melt the butter and pour into baking dish. Swirl the pan around to coat the bottom.

Pour batter into pan and bake until done -- 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the baking dish. Poke the center with a toothpick; the bread is done when the toothpick comes out clean.

Cook for five minutes or so, until the fine bread pulls away from the edges of the baking dish. Turn out onto a baking rack and let cook. Sprinkle powdered sugar lightly over the top.

I know; I blogged this a while ago. This time, though, I baked it in a cast iron skillet. I really liked how this turned out; the crust was more crispy than before and it really stayed moist.

Remember how, above, I asked you to wait until you tried this before you said you don't like anise? I've had multiple people who really, really don't like licorice/anise tell me how much they enjoyed this. One person actually wanted to know what other flavors I used in the recipe to offset the anise flavor and was surprised to find there weren't any.

Molten Chocolate Cake

A few weeks ago, I was at a foodie celebration enjoying sampling all kinds of wine and yummy food. I also attended a demonstration on making a wonderfully impressive, but very simple, molten chocolate cake (also called chocolate lava cake) in just about 30 minutes. Further, he made a crême anglais, sugar swirls and decorations, and ice cream. I'm not that ambitious.

For Valentine's Day, I wanted a special dessert, so I decided to make the molten chocolate cake. But I didn't want serve it with heavy custardy (though quite yummy) add-ons. Instead, I made a simple strawberry sauce to go with it. Score!!!!

Molten Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Sauce

Chocolate Ganache

3.5 oz heavy cream (by weight)
3.5 oz good bittersweet chocolate (by weight), I used Ghiradelli's

Chop chocolate into smaller pieces. Heat both chocolate and cream in a double-boiler until chocolate is melted and the sauce is smooth. Do not let mixture boil.

Make this up and put in freezer the day before you are making the chocolate so the ganache has time to set.

Chocolate Cake

7 oz good bittersweet chocolate (by weight), again I used Ghiradelli's
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract (if you don't have this, just add this much vanilla)
3 eggs separated and at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sifted cake flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar (not superfine)
1/8 teaspoon ground achiote
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melt chocolate and butter in double-boiler.

Mix egg yolks, vanilla extract, and chocolate extract together. Remove chocolate and butter mixture from heat and quickly wisk the egg mixture in.

Sift flour 2x. Mix flour, sugar, achiote, cayenne, and cinnamon together. Blend into the chocolate mixture.

Whip egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.

Fold one third of the egg white into chocolate mixture. Once that is incorporated, fold the second third in. Then fold in the final third. This allows the egg whites to be incorporated without losing too much of their loft.

Grease four 6 to 8 oz ramekins with cooking oil, then dust with cocoa powder.

Fill each ramekin about 1/2 full. Place a largish cherry-sized piece of ganache in center. Fill until ramekin is just over 3/4 full.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 15 minutes. The edges will be starting to crack, but the center will be barely set. Be careful not to overbake.

Let cook for about five minutes, then remove from ramekins.

Serve warm.

Strawberry Sauce

8 oz ripe strawberries
1 tablespoon sugar (if the strawberries are very sweet, use less sugar)

Slice strawberries into small cubes. Add sugar and mix well.

Place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow sugar to draw out juice.

Mash lightly with a potato masher.

Spoon strawberry sauce over chocolate cake.

This turned out wonderfully! The tart but slightly sweet strawberry sauce was a perfect foil to the bitterness of the chocolate. The spices added just a tiny touch of heat to the cake, not enough to create any burn, but enough to make the chocolate just a little complex. We really enjoyed it.

Gluten-free Shortbread

I love to make shortbread. I have an amazing recipe that results in a wonderfully buttery, sweet shortbread. Unfortunately, a dear friend of mine is on a no-gluten, no-potato-starch diet. So I am trying to make shortbread with a gluten-free flour. Unfortunately, the no-potato-starch aspect of the diet has made finding a gluten-free flour difficult as potato starch is a good protein replacement.

Bob's Red Mill has come to my rescue! They make a biscuit and baking mix that is free of both gluten and potato starch.

Gluten-free Shortbread

4 cups gluten-free flour
1-1/4 cups confectioner's or caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 pound of unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C).

Cream the sugar and butter together until light and creamy. Add the flour and salt and knead until combined.

Place in baking pan. The dough should not be more than 1/2 inch thick. I use two round (8-inch and 10-inch) springform pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Decorate if desired. I have been known to use decorator gels and/or colored sugar.

This was a little gritty and dry immediately after baking. The soy flour was definitely there in flavor, but was not overpowering as I had feared.

I took the shortbread to a gaming night a couple of nights later. The moisture levels in the shortbread had equalized nicely. While it was a little more crumbly than I prefer, it was no longer as dry and gritty as it was right after it was baked. And the shortbread tasted better than when it was first out of the oven. I think I want to increase the fat and sugar a little. I want the shortbread a little moister and sweeter, but for those who don't like overly sweet shortbread, this should be just about perfect.

Lasagna Done Easy

Every so often, Julia and I like to have lasagna. But with only two of us, most lasagna pans make way too much food. Freezing lasagna after it's cooked is can be a real crap shoot. So I make it in smaller pans and freeze it before it's cooked.

I also don't like making a big mess in my kitchen when I can avoid it. I remember years ago having a roommate who decided to make lasagna. He used every pan in the kitchen, left baked-on tomato sauce all over the stove, and spilled sauce in the oven. I spent several hours cleaning because it was my turn to do so. I decided never again!

I have become a real fan of using the cheap, disposable aluminum pans. I don't tie up any of my baking pans in the freezer until I decide to pop it in the oven for dinner and I don't spend hours scrubbing the pans afterward.

In keeping with the not making a big mess, I don't parboil my noodles. It takes too much time and I end up dribbling starchy water between the pot and the baking dish. Plus I think it makes the lasagna too runny. I've heard people complain that no-boil noodles get gummy, but I've never had that problem. I think freezing the lasagna for a week or two prevents gumminess nicely.

I am also a fan of using canned spaghetti sauce as the base for the sauce. The canned stuff has already been cooked and cooked so I don't have to do it. Of course the spicing is incomplete, so I heavily supplement it.

I picked this tip up from Food Network: Buy tomato paste in tubes. Tubes can be recapped, so you don't have to buy 4 oz of tomato paste for just 2 tablespoons. It lasts a long, long time in the refrigerator, so you don't waste too much money on it.

Lasagna -- Meat Version

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb low fat ground beef
dried basil
dried oregano
powdered garlic
freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste
16 oz. ricotta
1 green pepper, diced (optional)
1 egg
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (optional)
1 lb mozzarella

Brown the ground beef and drain grease. Remove ground beef from pan. Saute onion, mushrooms, and optional peppers until onions are translucent.

Add spaghetti sauce and ground beef to onions and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer. Sprinkle dried garlic across the top of the sauce until the top of the sauce is covered with the garlic. Do the same with the basil and oregano. Add a couple of grinds of black pepper. Add tomato paste. Blend thoroughly. Taste the sauce; if it is too sour, add sugar and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix egg into ricotta cheese. Set aside.

Gather several aluminum pans. Make each lasagna as follows: Splash about a half cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Put a layer of noodles in pan. Cover with ricotta cheese (make no more than 3/4 inch thick). Splash about a quarter of a cup of sauce over cheese. Place a layer of noodles. Repeat until pan is full. Cover top with sauce. Cover sauce with a layer of mozzarella.

Cover each lasagna with aluminum foil and freeze. When it is time to bake the lasagna, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake until done -- how long will depend on the precise size of the pan.

Lasagna -- Vegetarian Version (not vegan)

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1-2 squash or zucchini sliced into coins
dried basil
dried oregano
powdered garlic
freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste
16 oz. ricotta
1 green pepper, diced (optional)
1-2 teaspoons of sugar (optional)
1 egg
1 lb mozzarella

Saute onion, mushrooms, and optional pepper in olive oil until onions are translucent.

Add spaghetti sauce to onions and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer. Sprinkle dried garlic across the top of the sauce until the top of the sauce is covered with the garlic. Do the same with the basil and oregano. Add a couple of grinds of black pepper. Add tomato paste. Blend thoroughly. Taste the sauce; if it is too sour, add sugar and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mix egg into ricotta cheese. Set aside.

Gather several aluminum pans. Make each lasagna as follows: Splash about a half cup of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Put a layer of noodles in pan. Cover with ricotta cheese (make no more than 3/4 inch thick). Splash about a quarter of a cup of sauce over cheese. Place a layer of noodles. Repeat until pan is full. Cover top with sauce. Cover sauce with a layer of mozzarella.

Cover each lasagna with aluminum foil and freeze. When it is time to bake the lasagna, preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake until done -- how long will depend on the precise size of the pan.

Depending on how long the lasagna has been frozen, thawing it for a few hours beforehand is not a bad idea. I froze a lasagna for nearly six months in a bread pan and it was frozen so hard that I baked it for over an hour and a half. Normally, a frozen lasagna is done in 45 minutes.

Since I'm normally cooking for only two people, I like to use the bread size pans. They are nicely deep and just about the right size for two people. I like to enjoy it with freshly baked bread whenever I can.

Shortbread - oh, yeah!

I make an amazing shortbread, even if I say so myself. Actually, someone has nicknamed my shortbread as “crack” because she can’t leave it alone. If how little of it returning home after a get-together is any indication, she’s right.

Basic Shortbread Recipe

1 lb of unsalted butter

1-1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar (or caster’s sugar) – do not use granulated

4 cups of flour

¼ teaspoon of salt (optional – I often leave it out)

Cream together the sugar and butter until the butter is light and airy. Do not over-cream. Mix in the flour. I usually use a stand mixer, so I add it in ½ cup increments to keep my kitchen from being flour-coated.

Put in to 9-inch cake pans or a 13-inch baking dish. I’ve been using an 8-inch and 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes. The edges should just be beginning to turn brown. I often decorate with colored sugar or decorator’s gel before I bake it.

I was researching the history of shortbread, trying to figure out the origins of modern shortbread. I came across several recipes that had a variety of spices in the mix, so I decided to experiment.

After making my base shortbread recipe, I divided the batch into four pieces.

1. I left this piece plain as a comparison piece.
2. I added ½ teaspoon of freshly grated cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, and ½ teaspoon of coriander (I would have used fresh, but only had powdered). Just a note about grating cinnamon — don’t grate along the edge, grate along the side.
3. I added ¼ teaspoon of cardamom, gently crushed.
4. I added ½ teaspoon of crushed, dried rosehips.

I decorated it and baked it as usual for a get-together of people who have never had my shortbread. Everyone liked all the variants of it, but especially the cinnamon/nutmeg/coriander.

1. The plain shortbread is a wonderful creamy, sweet treat. I’ve often been tempted to add fresh vanilla and see what that does.
2. The cinnamon/nutmeg/coriander version was nicely spiced with a warm earthy flavor. I thought it was very comforting and Christmas-y, but that was really just me. I really ought to try it with each of the spices separately and with aniseed.
3. The cardamom gave a nice, aromatic, lemon-like tone to the shortbread. I should have crushed it up a bit finer and used a half teaspoon. The cardamom provided a nice, sweet refreshment to the mouth. I’d like to serve this between courses of a meal as a palate cleanser. After trying this, I am actually considering a trial using the zest of lemons, lime, and oranges.
4. The rosehips didn’t quite do what I expected. Sometimes the rosehips were a little hard and chewy; I should have crushed it up bit finer. I liked the citrus notes, but the floral tones were more subtle than I expected. This might be remedied by using more rosehips (like 1 teaspoon), but I also might try it with my rosehip butter. The honey will make it a little challenging but the flavor should be amazing.

Fine Bread

Fine bread is a wonderful late medieval/early renaissance treat. I have found recipes for it in The Good Huswifes Jewell by Thomas Dawson (1596) and The English Housewife by Gervase Markham (1615). I've been playing with this recipe for nearly a decade, trying to figure out what combination of ingredients, oven temperatures, baking dishes, and techniques give me the best result.

Fine Bread in The English Housewife by Gervase Markham (1615)

Take a quarter of a pound of fine sugar well beaten, and as much flour finely bolted, with a quantity of aniseeds a little bruised, and mingle all together; then take two eggs and beat them very well whites and all; then put in the mingled stuff aforesaid, and beat all together a good while, then put into a mould, wiping the bottom ever first with butter to make it come out easily, and in the baking turn it once or twice as you shall have occasion, and so serve it whole, or in slices at your pleasure.

Unfortunately, this recipe is missing a little important information, such as temperature, baking time, and quantity of aniseeds. So I researched and experimented until I got a recipe I liked.



Fine Bread

1/2 pound of unbleached white flour
1/2 pound of white sugar
4 eggs, well-beaten
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of aniseeds, bruised (or gently crushed -- enough to crack, but not pulverize)
1 tsp melted butter

Sift together the flour and sugar. Add the aniseeds and mix. Add beaten eggs and stir until the ingredients turn into batter. Note: At one point, the ingredients will seem like there isn't enough moisture in the egg to moisten all the flour and sugar. Stir for another minute and it will combine into batter.

Put melted butter in the bottom of the baking dish, making sure the bottom is coated. Add the batter.

Bake at 400°F (260°C) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The baking time is influenced by the material of the baking pan; metal pans bake quickest and clay pans take a bit longer.

The fine bread is not quite as sweet as the recipe would make it seem. The aniseed provides a nice flavor without being too overwhelming (though the amount could be increased for a more intense flavor). The seeds soften during the baking so there isn't an unpleasant hardness or crunchiness when they are encountered.

The fine bread tends to harden into a biscotti-like texture as it ages. I'm not a huge fan of the change, but others have found it quite lovely.

I've substituted ground cinnamon for the anise with wonderful results.

Pot Roast

I love my Dutch oven. It's heavy and bulky; it has gravitas. The natural sheen of the cast iron is wonderfully earthy and warm; I think it contributes to the ambiance of any braised or roasted dish.

Yes, my waxing poetic about my cast iron Dutch oven means that I made dinner in it. Pot roast, to be specific. And it was excellent, a little touch of sweetness, a hint of acid, and lots and lots of umami. Carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, and onions dancing about the roast like dancers around a May pole. Okay, maybe I got a little carried away with that last one, but my point still stands.

I've had several people ask what kind of beef roast to use in a pot roast. Any thick roast will do, but I have a fondness for London broil. It's not too fatty and the grains of the meat aren't too long. Sirloin, round, or chuck will work as well, but beware of excess fat marbled into the meat.

There are many philosophies of pot roast. Some recipes call for dredging the roast in flour, searing it in the pan, then adding the vegetables and fluids. Others call of plopping all the ingredients into the pan and stuffing it in the oven. Which method I use depends greatly on my mood.

I've made pot roasts using the roast in one piece and I've made pot roasts with the roast cut into chunks. Either method will work; cutting into chunks will cut the cooking time a little.

I cut the vegetables different sizes. The onions are diced, the mushrooms are sliced, the baby carrots are left whole, and the potatoes are cut into bite-sized chunks.



Pot Roast

I will indicate the various options in italics.
1 to 2 pounds of beef (The beef roast can be whole or chunked)
6 to 10 medium potatoes (depending on taste), cut slightly larger than bite-size
1/2 to 3/4 pound of baby carrots, whole
1 large onion, diced
1/2 pound of mushrooms
1 large sweet potato/yam (if you use a yam, cut down on the number of carrots or the pot roast will be too sweet)
2 cups of red wine (if you don't want to use wine, use beef or mushroom broth and a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar)
2 to 4 tablespoons of chopped garlic (to taste)
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil
freshly ground pepper to taste
water, enough to cover vegetables and meat

Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C).

Heat oil in Dutch oven on the stove top. Add onions and saute until they are translucent. Remove from pan.

Dredge meat in flour and 1/2 of the salt. Brown meat in Dutch oven. Remove and deglaze pan with 1/2 of the wine.

Add meat, vegetables, remaining wine, and seasonings to pan. Add enough water to just cover. Place in oven for at least two hours. The longer the pot roasts cooks, the more tender the meat will be.

Remove from oven. Pull meat out and cut into chunks if the roast was done whole.

The meat was so fork-tender that I almost didn't need to cut it into chunks. The potatoes were soft and silky in texture. I could go on and on about how each element of the pot roast worked, but I'll leave that to you.

For best results, serve with fresh, warm bread, butter, and the remainder of the wine in the bottle.

Stuffed Mushrooms

For years I've made stuffed mushrooms and they were good. Then I got the challenge of making gluten-free foods, so I needed to get a little more creative. So I did. And they were amazing!

In most stuffed mushroom recipes, bread crumbs bind the stuffing together. But when you work gluten-free, bread is right out. So I thought to myself, "What else binds foods together?"

Cheese and egg do quite often. Unfortunately, egg is out because my friend is an lacto-vegetarian and doesn't do eggs. But, done carefully, cheese can bind the stuffing together on its own. Specifically, a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella can.

Unfortunately, they were so good we ate them before I could get any pictures.

Stuffed Mushrooms

9 med. to large crimini mushrooms
4 stalks of asparagus
2 green onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Clean and cut the asparagus and onions into coins. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms; these can be added to the stuffing if desired. Saute asparagus, onions, garlic, and optional mushroom stalks in the olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Place mushrooms stalk side up in a baking pan. Combine the asparagus mixture with the ricotta and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Place in mushrooms. Cover the stuffed mushrooms with the remaining mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes or until mozzarella begins to brown.

Serve piping hot.

I prefer using crimini mushrooms to using large white buttons. Criminis are sometimes called baby portabellos -- with all that implies. I like the firmer, meatier texture; it gives the stuffed mushrooms more body. Criminis also can handle denser, heavier stuffings. I also prefer the flavor of criminis, richer and more savory than a white mushroom could ever dream of.

The stuffed mushrooms were very cheesy, but quite yummy. The mushrooms were firm and moist, but not soggy. The cheese was, again, nice and firm. I had made ricotta cheese and the flavor just was incredible. I usually use these as an appetizer, popping them in the oven just as the guests arrive.

Putting my own spin on an old favorite

This weekend I wanted to BAKE! I love to bake, but I don't want all the products sitting around the house -- we eat them. But I felt like I needed to make some cookies for neighbors who helped out during the snows of the holidays.

I didn't want to make the same-old, same-old. I wanted to put my own spin on the cookies. So I decided to make special snickerdoodles!

Snickerdoodles

Cookie dough:
3 eggs at room temperature
2 1/4 cups of white sugar
4 sticks of butter, at just below room temp and cut into 1/2 cubes
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
4 cups of unbleached flour

Crust
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Cream the butter and white sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and continue creaming until well mixed. Sift together remaining dough dry ingredients. In 1/2 cup increments add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (I use a stand mixer and add a new scoop about every 30 seconds or so). Once dough is well combined, chill for an hour or so.

Sift together the brown sugar and cinnamon for the crust. Remove any lumps that can not be reduced to powder.

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper to make clean-up easier. Once the dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator, using a #50 ice cream scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) scoop out cookie dough, roll in crust, then place on cookie sheet. Do not flatten scoops. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

I used brown sugar instead of white because I wanted a little extra carmelization of the sugar. Light brown should work as well as dark brown, but dark is what I had on hand. The cookies were delightfully crispy on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside.

We went to a get together this weekend and I put out my cookies. People loved them (but no one wanted to eat the last one -- they didn't want to seem rude).