Israeli Bageleh

Two weeks ago, I spent our last out Shabbat with the girls in one of Israel's four holy cities, Tzfat. Recalling from last year that the food wasn't all that great, I decided to make my own bread. Since this was a last minuet decision, I needed something quick. While I was pondering what to make, it hit me to make regular pita. This thought led me to my beloved A Blessing of Bread by Maggie Glezer, which I've used extensively in the past but haven't touched in a while. Flipping through the pages, I saw this recipe for Bageleh, a ubiquitous bread here in Israel. These breads are made with her pita bread base, shaped as bagels, dipped into sesame seeds and flattened. Anything with sesame seeds is a winner in my book. I used the KitchenAid to put these together and the mixer made quick work of this dough. It turned out wonderfully soft and silky. They are immediately shaped and coated with water, dipped into sesame seeds and allowed to rise. Once they rise, they are flattened with a rolling pin, allowed to proof again and then baked on a baking stone. My breads lack the glorious color that commercial ones have because of the lack of sugar added (lack of fermentation time also doesnt help here) and the fact that there's no egg wash here. Nevertheless, these breads score major points for deliciousness. I enjoyed them throughout Shabbat plain or dipped into "salatim" or dips but feel free to slice them in half and use them for sandwiches. Below is the full recipe, but I only made half. This recipe has been Yeastspotted. 

Mommy's Pesach Banana Cake

I know Pesach is a long way behind us, but I had all of the ingredients at the ready for this cake so I decided to bake it anyway. Besides, in this case kosher for Pesach means gluten-free, and when you know people who are living the gluten-free lifestyle, this is a cake to make any time. This cake is in the style of sponge/chiffon cakes, except in this case, there is no oil. That's right- except for the yolks, this is a fat-free cake. The bananas, sugar and yolks are sufficient to keep this cake moist and the beaten egg whites contribute their usual light-and-fluffiness. My mother likes to add some vanilla sugar to the batter but I just made do with vanilla extract. This cake is not only delicious, but to me, sentimental as well. My mother bakes this cake, along with her chocolate cake, every Pesach and in the years I've been home, I've been right alongside her, helping to fold in the whites. I hope it becomes a mainstay in your homes, too.

Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake

This cake has gotten such short-shrift, it's not even funny. This was the cake I baked for dessert the Shabbat before I went home. I figured that if I didnt take the time now to tell you all about this cake, it would get lost in the shuffle of this blog. And that's just not right. This Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake from the Cake Bible is a soft, fluffy, sponge-cake like, cake. It's ethereally light and delicate that would perfectly complement a cup of tea. Since it was just me and S, the cake had barely a slice taken out of it by the end of Shabbat. Slowly, when the girls got wind of it, it disappeared, and to raves, no less. What would have gone to waste made some people very happy. Although this recipe appears in the Cake Bible, I used Rose's technique from her latest book and baked the cake in a springform pan with a flower needle/pin inserted in the middle. It worked beautifully; my cake didnt sink. To me, chiffon cakes are extremely underrated. Now with my new mixer, making them will be a snap- stay tuned for future chiffon cakes!

Soft Cheese Bread

I've still not recovered from my jetlag enough to pull out my new mixer and bake (I haven't slept a full night since I've been back-ugh!) so I'm going to keep catching up on older posts. Hope y'all don't mind too much. 

I made this Soft Cheese Bread the weekend before I left (same time as the Struan) in honor of S who loooves  cheese. This bread was my tribute to her. Once I knew I wanted to make a cheese bread, I had to decide what kind of cheese to put in it. Considering I don't like cheese or know anything about selecting them for bread, I figured this would be a tough one. I went in to the supermarket and asked the cheesemonger for his recommendation. He told me to avoid all of the strong French cheeses as he thought they'd overpower and overwhelm the bread. So Parmesan was out. Disheartened, I bought some sliced yellow cheese and a log of Mozzarella. What else could I do? I was definitely not about to buy blue cheese. (Tried eating that once; let's just say it did not go over too well.) I made the dough the night before and so assembly the next day was a breeze. The bread itself is delicious, with such a soft texture; the onions add the most delicious flavor- reminiscent of the onion rolls we used to get in the summers from the Heimishe bakery. Definitely have to experiment with adding onions to bread! I tried to avoid the cheese parts but S loved the bread, so in her honor I declare this bread a winner. Thankfully, this loaf made the room smell very good instead of... well, like  stinky cheese. This loaf is headed off to Yeastspotting!

Spiced Cake Donuts

I'm pretty sure these donuts were the very last thing I managed to make before I flew to New York. This recipe comes not from the adorable book Doughnuts (I wish I could bake more from it but I don't have a fryer!); it's the recipe that accompanied one of the donut pans that I bought at the beginning of the year. Figuring that any recipe that comes with a product must be tested well, I decided to bake them for the few girls who were still here. These donuts are lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg and so I decided that they would be best topped with cinnamon and sugar. Given that they only have 1 tbsp of fat in them, these are best eaten as soon as they are made, although they probably won't even make it to the next day. And although you  skeptics might be right that these are just little cakes disguised as donuts, the donut shape is pretty darn irresistible. These come together really easy with just a whisk, so there's no reason not to make them. If you don't have a donut pan, try making them as mini muffins.