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Over the years, I've made rugelach from a variety of recipes. This time, there were two differences -- the shape and the filling.
When I checked my pantry for dried fruit, I found I had too few apricots, but just the right amount of prunes. So, I made half a recipe of the prune lekvar. It made a ton of filling. I'd hate to see how much the full recipe made. At this rate, I will have to make many more rugelachs just to use it up.
I made all the components over a span of a few days. First, I prepared the lekvar. Then, I made the cookie dough. It came together easily and was well chilled by the time baking day rolled around.
On the big day, I made the cinnamon sugar mixture, cinnamon sugar-nut mixture, and the finely chopped nuts. I also halved those recipes and also have quite a bit left over. Except for the chopped nuts. I used all of those.
The dough was rolled out and trimmed, then spread with the prune lekvar and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and finely chopped nuts. I chose to omit the extra dried fruits, since I thought the prune filling was sufficient.
I formed the dough into logs and chilled them well before slicing. The rolls were well lubricated with an egg wash before the slices were dunked in the cinnamon sugar-nut mixture.
Heading to the oven:
The end result was a really, tasty pastry-like cookie. The prune filling was a nice complement to all the cinnamon sugar.
My neighbor happens to be an expert on rugelach, so upon tasting her share, she gave them thumbs up. Well, actually, she inhaled them all. Proof enough.
This week’s hosts are Jessica of My Baking Heart and Margaret of The Urban Hiker. Either of these two fabulous bakers should have the recipe link on their blogs.
If you want to read about the adventures of the other TWD/BwJ bakers, stop by the website and follow the links. I still have leftover filling and cinnamon sugar mixtures. I'd sure hate to waste them. Guess I need to make more rugelach. Soon.
The Bread Baking Babes celebrated their 4th anniversary this month. Wow -- those years really flew by!
I've enjoyed being a Buddy for several years now, and I'm always eagerly anticipating what the next fabulous bread will be.
This month, Lien, of Notitie Van Lien, chose Biscotti Picanti, from Anissa Helou's Savory Baking from the Mediterranean, who very kindly gave the Babes permission to share it on their blogs.
These biscotti are of the savory variety, great for serving with wine or just for snacking. The nuttiness from the sesame seeds and the hint of anise (which I love) make a great flavor combination.
Here are the well-behaved slices, waiting for the oven to cool down a bit before heading in for their final bake.
The final results, waiting to be devoured.
To see what the Babes did, and to get the recipe, head over to Lien's blog, where you will find all the necessary information. It's definitely worth a long visit.
Now, this is what I call a pizza:
Or, a fruit galette, if you want to get all fancy.
For this edition of Bread Baking Day (47), we were challenged by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts, and Line Drives to make a yeasted bread dough with chocolate.
I knew right where to go: Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François. The book contains a recipe for a chocolate dough and recommendations for various toppings. I thought it would be fun to try it out.
Mixing the dough took no time at all, and I could watch it rise as I worked at the dining room table.
I managed to find some beautiful fresh raspberries at Costco, so assembly was quick and easy. I used a chocolate ganache for the sauce, put a few dabs of blueberry jam on top of the ganache, then placed the raspberries on top in sort of a decorative fashion.
Then I popped it in the oven to bake the crust.
Out of the oven and ready to serve. That chocolate crust is divine. I could just bake that by itself and gobble it up.
I'm considering other flavor options for the remaining dough, like orange curd or something minty or bunches of fresh strawberries.
For information on Bread Baking Day, head over to Zorra's website. She's the founder and inspiration for it all.
For information on BBD#47, head over to Lisa Michele's blog for information and some terrific stories. She'll also post the roundup just after the first of March.
Chocolate Dough
370 grams lukewarm water
5 grams granulated yeast
9-12 grams of Kosher salt
112 grams of sugar
420 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour
55 grams cocoa powder (either natural or Dutch processed)
Mix all the dry ingredients into a large, lidded food container (at least 3 quarts). Add the lukewarm water and mix to combine. Loosely cover and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it doubles, around 2 hours.
Refrigerate the dough overnight before using.
For my pizzas, I removed a grapefruit-sized piece of dough and divided it in two. I rolled each pizza out, then added toppings, and folded up the edges. I lightly brushed the dough with an egg wash, sprinkle them with coarse-grained sugar, then baked them at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, rotating the sheet pans after 10 minutes for more even baking.
The pizzas were delicious both warm and at room temperature.
These luscious tartlets were the second choice for the new group, Baking with Julia.
First, there is a rich, chocolate pastry shell, easily made in the food processor, then chilled before rolling. My dough behaved well and rolled out smoothly. It also baked up nicely with no shrinkage.
The filling is like the inside of a truffle, studded with bits of milk chocolate, white chocolate, and crushed bits of Amaretti and adding a nice texture to the tartlet.
I only made half a recipe of the filling, and it was just enough to fill three tartlets. I froze the remaining dough for future desserts. The tartlets kept well in the refrigerator and didn't lose any flavor or texture, so they could easily be made ahead for any occasion.
Our hostesses this week are Steph, Spike, Jaime, and Jessica. The recipe can be found at any of these websites.
The contributing baker for this recipe was David Ogonowski.
There are now over 300 bakers in this group, so if you're up to browsing all the blogs, follow this link.
We're back!
At first, I had Monday-night-posting-withdrawal. As January moved along, I got used to not posting. Now, I have to retrain my mind and fine-tune my schedule so I can get back into the swing of baking with Dorie.
I love the first choice -- white bread. Baking bread is one of my favorite things to do, and this recipe didn't disappoint.
No particular problems to report. As with all my breads, I used my Silver Sage KA machine for maximum efficiency.
I made one loaf plain,
and filled the other with a cinnamon filling.
As much as I love cinnamon, I actually preferred the plain loaf. The wonderful flavor came through beautifully and wasn't masked by the spicy-sweet cinnamon. I think cinnamon sugar might have been a better choice.
Well, since I made the bread in January, it is long gone, so, no more photos.
The hostesses for our first endeavor are Laurie and Jules. If you want to bake this great bread, you can find the recipe on either of their blogs.
Then stop by the TWD/Baking with Julia site to see who is participating in this new baking adventure.
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From time to time, when I have a rare, spare moment, I search the genealogy databases for information on my ancestors. One family line came straight from Ireland, a country that is at the top of my travel list.
This month, Bread Baking Day is hosted by Noor of Ya Salem Cooking. Her theme was to bake a bread from a place we would like to visit.
Well, Ireland is that place and Irish soda bread is the bread.
I found a recipe in one of my long-held cookbooks, and after doing some research, determined it was pretty close to authentic. I ended up with two delicious loaves, one of which is already gone. Slathered with butter and homemade blood orange marmalade, it makes a wonderful snack.
Noor should have the roundup posted around February 5 and it will be fun to see where everyone would like to go. For information on Bread Baking Day, head over to Zorra's website. She is the inspiration for this monthly event.
Irish Soda Bread
(adapted from Sunset Cookbook of Bread, 1973)
4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon coriander
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
Combine egg and buttermilk, add to dry ingredients, and mix until blended. Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, 3-5 minutes.
Divide dough in half and shape each into a round loaf. Place each into a lightly greased 8" cake pan, and press dough until it fills the pan. Cut a cross on the tops.
Bake in a 375 degree F. oven for 35-40 minutes, until golden on top. Cool on racks.
Varieties: substitute 2 cups of whole wheat flour for 2 cups of the AP flour
Omit spices, if desired, and add 1 to 2 cups of raisins or currants.
