Sweet Rolls

Every summer Jews around the world observe the destruction of the Holy Temples by fasting on the ninth of Av, a month on the Jewish Calendar. That day fell out yesterday. This is the first time that I'm not observing this fast in upstate New York with my family, but rather in Israel. Consequently, the beloved sweet roll that we usually buy to break our fasts on from a small Jewish bakery upstate was going to be missing. But I wasn't about to allow that! I stumbled on a recipe for Yeasted Sweet Buns with a topping from Marcy Goldman's A Passion for Baking. Bingo! This had to be it. And so, for a couple of weeks, I set my sights on baking this for the break fast. (I also made Acme's Herb Slabs from Artisan Baking Across America, but that's for a different post!) Trust me, standing in a boiling hot kitchen, kneading dough, and pulling buns in and out of a hot oven probably wasn't the best way to spend a day on which I had no energy. But it was so worth it. They tasted almost exactly like I remembered, soft and pillowy, sweet and just plain yummy. My friends, with whom I broke the fast, oohed and ahhed and gave it rave reviews. They deserved them, too, if I do say so myself. The only changes I would make would be to slightly reduce the vanilla, cut back the yeast from two tablespoons to one, or even less, and change the streusel topping. I have another one in my files that tastes more similar to what I remember. I also didn't have the full amount of bread flour so I used all purpose for the rest with no ill effects. All I can say, is a new tradition has begun!

Plum Galette.. Sort of

When I feel as if I've had enough traveling in my week I'll usually decide to stay in the dormitory for Shabbat with some friends and have our meals together. Sometimes, I'll invite myself out to friends who live in apartments right outside campus, but on quieter weekends such as this one, my friends and I will usually jointly make meals, each of us contributing something. Cooking and baking and preparing for Shabbat with lots of laughter in our tiny kitchen is always the hightlight of our otherwise dull Fridays. I of course chose to make dessert. (I also made a delicious sweet noodle kugel- those of you interested in the recipe can email me or leave a comment.) But of course choosing to make dessert always bites me in the butt because it takes me hours to decide what to make, that being after I've changed my mind a thousand times. I finally decided on a plum galette as plums are in season now, plentiful and sweet. I must admit, I'm slightly embarrassed because my galette looks nothing like one. The dough wouldnt roll out anymore and so I couldn't fold it up so much so it's not so attractive. I thought to make it in a pie pan to support it, and good I did because the juices bubbled and thickened like crazy. It would have made a mess in my oven that I would have to struggle to clean. Anyway, I wouldn't have told you about it unless I thought it was super delicious though. And super delicious it was. The recipe I used was from The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daly. The crust was great and the fruit and sugar melted and caramelized and developed this amazing bubbly goodness, which yes, I ate from the pan by the spoonful. Shh, don't tell! The recipe itself is simple, but a keeper, I just have to work on my execution. I'm much better at making regular pies, I promise!

Muffin Mondays!

About two months ago, I was hospitalized for an infection in my gall bladder due to gall stones. I know, a twenty one year old hospitalized for something that is supposed to occur to older people (I say that with much respect!). The humor of the situation wasn't lost on me. In my hospital room, I was the youngest of three. By decades. The doctors kept asking me what a young girl like me was doing in the hospital. Well now. On top of that, although this is my third year living in Israel, I'm a citizen for only less than a year. To be hospitalized after being here such a brief time... well I'm making good use of my insurance card. I kept telling myself that G-d likes to keep things interesting. But don't worry. Every time I thought about the fact that I was in the hospital for three days, pajamas, IV and all, I started cracking up.. at myself. Anyway, all this to say that when I was finally discharged, the hospital dietician gave me strict instructions on what to eat- basically I had to avoid a high fat diet like the plague. As it was, my diet didn't include half the things on the list that I needed to avoid. With the exception of bittersweet chocolate. I don't know how I made it so long without it. So in my quest to comply with said diet and incorporate whole grains (because it's my new obsession) so that I continue baking (because I just can't live without that) I decided to make a batch of muffins a week to keep on hand for a quick breakfast and adapt them to suit my dietary needs. And then I started this blog and I decided, why not integrate that idea and let y'all know about my muffin exploits? And so, Muffin Mondays was born! And, today happens to be Monday. My very first entry is a recipe I adapted and renamed, bear with me, Almond Scented Blackberry Spelt Muffins, quite a mouthful I know, although they can easily be adapted to your palate.
Despite the lack of fat, these muffins are surprisingly moist and tender with a nice burst of blackberry and sweet spelt flavor. Feel free to add more almond extract for stronger flavor. I added just enough for the batter to be lightly scented resulting in muffin that was only delicately almondy.

Hi- Rise Corn Bread

A new week, a new loaf. This recipe comes from Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking. Although this is only the first recipe I've made from this book, I can't praise her enough. I own her other book, A Blessing of Bread, which is probably my favorite that I own, but more on that in a later post. Artisan Baking takes a look at different bakers and bakeries across America and offers some of their recipes. The photography is stunning, the loaves of bread inviting, and the information given in this book is top notch. This is actually the first book that I can say I learned something new about the bread baking process. Which is why I'm ashamed to say that I haven't baked from it until now. I came back the dormitory on Sunday instead of Saturday night knowing that I would be leaving again Monday. So making a two day bread wasn't exactly an option. This beginner level corn bread has been on my mind (along with a lot of other recipes waiting to see the light of day) and since it didn't involve too much time, I decided it would be perfect.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bread

My most recent venture into the kitchen in support of my final examination taking friends was to create something chocolately-- I can't think of anyone who doesn't appreciate something intensely dark, rich, and, for lack of a better word, chocolatey, at any given time of day. The recipe I had in mind was one that I've been thinking about for a long time now. It comes from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible and I'm glad I had the opportunity to give it a try. The technique used was quite unique: it requires you to first make a chocolate paste and add it to the dry ingredients along with the butter (I used margarine) as opposed to creaming the sugar with the margarine. The resulting batter was nothing short of silky. I added the recommended chocolate chips and into the oven it went. It rose nicely and developed a crack in the middle but I would have liked for it to rise a bit more. Oh well, it wasn't a yeast bread, so I can't complain. In any case, the flavor made up for it, as did the texture. It was so moist! This would do well as an indulgent breakfast and could even pass as dessert with a nice fruit sauce and dollop of whipped cream...maybe even a dusting of cocoa powder for looks. All I can say is that this one got rave reviews... Although I'm beginning to think that anything I bake for my friends will meet with rave reviews... I'll take it!