2017 Weekly - Week 21

21/05/2017

A momentous day, ears! Two of my three mini baguettes now have ears!

Plus, my parents are coming in this week. Total pamper time for me! Whoohoo!

23/05/2017

The world never stops revolving, another terror attack here, but another step forward on the other side of the earth. Human race will continue to be better and learn to work with one another. It starts with understanding and forgiving. That's what I believe.

I make - Pretzels

I just realized that bagels and pretzels pretty much are made by the same recipe of low(er) hydration dough. Recently I feel that my bread making has stuck at a stage. I can produce good tasting bread but the shape and the look is really left to be desired. Perhaps I need to go back to the beginning, working with lower hydration dough and practice my kneading/shaping skills.

This is my first go with pretzels with 60% hydration dough. It's 9% higher than what the Guardian article shows but my past experience working with ~50% hydration dough was not good (too dry and hard). I sprinkled my pretzels with homemade Everything toppings. In fact, I really like the way the final products look. You get a sense of oven spring in height and in volume. I ought to practice more with low(er) hydration dough.

My pretzels

- 250 g white bread flour

- 50 g wholemeal bread flour

- 180 g water

- 1/2 tsp fast action yeast

- 1 Tbsp sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 15 g oil

- salt flakes for topping

Everything topping:

- 1 Tbsp white sesame seeds

- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds (or chia/black sesame/nigella seeds)

- 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes

- 1/2 Tbsp dried garlic granules

Baking soda water bath:

- 500ml hot water in a pot (I used a small pot)

- 1 Tbsp baking soda

Mix flours, water, yeast, sugar, salt and oil together in a bowl to form a shaggy mass. Leave the dough to rest for one hour. After that, knead the dough to form a smooth surface. There is no need to aim for gluten development here. 

Rest the dough until the size doubles (bulk fermentation). I usually leave it overnight and resume in the morning.

After bulk fermentation, divide the dough into six pieces. Rest the individual pieces for 30 minutes. Roll each piece into a long rope about 60cm. The dough will resist while you roll out but try to get to 60cm as much as could. First create a U shape with your dough rope, cross over twice with two ends, fold it back to the horseshoe bend and pinch to seal. That's the traditional way. There are plenty of pictorial and video demonstration on the web. Please google search with "how to form pretzels".

If you like very chewy texture, you can poach the pretzels immediately. If you prefer slightly soft/airy interior, let the shaped pretzels rest for 30-60 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven at 220C and heat a pot of water. When the water comes to a boil, stir in baking soda. With gently bubbling water, poach each pretzel 30 seconds each side, drain and sprinkle with everything topping and salt flakes. I poach one pretzel at a time and repeat the whole process for the remaining individual pieces.

Bake the pretzels at 220C/200Cfan for 15 minutes. Rotate the tray half way through. Cool completely before eating. I made a simple mustard sauce to dip into by mixing both grainy and smooth mustard, honey, light cream cheese and dash of cider vinegar. 

2017 Weekly - Week 20

16/05/2017

Ms Wu, I am so sorry to hear about your surgery. You may not remember me but I wish you speediest recovery. Life is so fragile. I will hope for the best for you. Please come back to us.

18/05/2017

Always think hard about what you already have, not just the material things but things money can't buy such as smiles from your loved ones, a good appetite, sore muscles after your fitness instructor's torture and finally a warm sunny day in late May . Yes, I am blessed.

Tarte aux champingnones

You can tell I just can't get enough with pâte levée, so easy and versatile. I have more pâte levée ideas I want to play with. So watch this space!

Tarte aux champignons

- pâte levée
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 500 g white or mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 cup of creme fraiche
- 1 tsp of whole grain mustard
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pâte levée as described here. Roll out the crust and line your chosen pie dish.

In the meantime, heat a skillet and a tablespoon of oil for a minute. Fry the mushrooms, onion and garlic until all water has evaporated. Stir in thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper.

In another bowl, mix together creme fraiche, mustard and egg. Pour the creme fraiche mixture onto the pie crust, followed by the mushroom mixture. Bake the tart at 180C for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy with green salad.

Apricot tart with light brioche dough

Pâte levée is one of M-T's specialties.  With the characteristic extensibility built-in, pâte levée is much easier to work with than pâte brisée, no more crumbly crust! Once baked, pâte levée is airy, full of flavor but not overly rich, a perfect foil for stoned fruits or savory hearty fillings.

There are two ways I like to fill my apricot tart, one with creme fraiche and the other with frangipane. Both are delicious. Experiment to find out your favorite filling.

For light brioche (pâte levée) dough:

- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tsp fast yeast
- 100 ml lukewarm milk
- 1 egg
- 250 g flour (plain, strong or a mix)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100 g melted butter

For the filling (1):

- 6-9 apricots, stoned and quartered
- 125 ml of creme fraiche
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract)
- 2 tbsps of sugar
- apricot jam
- demerara sugar
- 1 beaten egg

For the filling (2):

- 6-9 apricots, stoned and quartered
- 50 g melted butter
- 50 g ground almond
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- demerara sugar

The dough recipe is sufficient for two crusts. Half the recipe if you want. Otherwise, make two tarts, one sweet and one savory!

Mix all dough ingredients to form a dough. Let the dough proof for 2 hours until the size doubles. Cut in halves and roll out one piece for the apricot tart.

Cover the pie dish with the pie crust (as in pictures #1 and #3) and brush on a thin layer of apricot jam. You can go free form as I did in the picture #2.

Choose one of the fillings. For filling #1, mix creme fraiche, vanilla extract, sugar and half of the beaten egg. For filling #2, mix melted butter, ground almond, sugar and the whole egg. Pour the the filling mixture on top of the jam. Lay down the apricot quarters on top of the filling mixture in a decorative manner. Brush more apricot jam on fresh apricot quarters and sprinkle with sugar. Finally brush the pie dough edges with the remaining egg wash from filling #1. Bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes.

Pâté aux pommes de terre

Limousin, in the geographical center of France, was where M-T lived all her life. Perhaps not very well known to the outside world, its countryside is one of the most beautiful I've seen. Lush with green fields, undulating roads along the valleys with countless rivers streaming through and an unmistakable sense of calm and tranquility. I always feel I am part of nature when I go there, not the other way around.

Limousin has brought a few things to the culinary world, one of the areas M-T was an expert, Clafoutis, Creusois, Madeleines, chestnuts in various forms and Pâté aux pommes de terre. I've eaten them many times, both homemade or store-bought. They are honest, hearty food from the countryside. Nothing fancy, just with good ingredients and simple manipulation. What would be a better way to remember M-T by learning and writing about Limousin cuisine? After all, I picked my first chestnut and walnut there. I also remember picking summer berries and turned them into jars of jam with M-T by my side. This post is about Pâté aux pommes de terre, humble potato pie. No Cheese, just with a little bit cream and wrapped in light brioche dough (pâte levée). For me, this is very Limousin, very M-T. They do the best with what they have and share wholeheartedly with people they love.

Pâté aux pommes de terre

For the pâte levée (1 pie mold of 25-28 cm):

- 1 tablespoon of sugar (15g)
- 1 tsp fast action yeast
- 100 ml lukewarm milk
- 1 egg
- 250 g flour (plain, strong or a mix)
- 1 tsp salt
- 50-100 g melted butter

For the filling:

- 500-800 grams of potatoes (depending on how tall you want your pie to be)
- 125 ml creme fraiche
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder (or two cloves)
- 3 tablespoons of minced shallots (or onions)
- parsley to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of thymes (optional)
- 1 beaten egg to glaze
- 1/2 tsp salt
- freshly ground pepper

Mix yeast and sugar in a bowl and drizzle in half of the milk. Stir to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Tip in flour.

In the same milk mug, beat in one egg.  Pour the whole milk-egg liquid into the flour bowl. Mix everything well to form a rugged ball. Tip in the salt and stir again. If the dough seems dry, add a tablespoon of water (or milk) a time to help mixing. Rest the dough for 30 minutes (optional).

After resting, beat in melted butter into the dough. Knead the dough until all butter is absorbed. Smooth the dough surface as much as you can and let it proof for 1-2 hours until the size doubles. Two amounts of butter are given. Both produce flavorful crust. I used 100g for the picture.

In the mean time, prepare your potato slices. Peel the potatoes and slice thinly with a knife or a mandolin. Mix together with garlic powder (or fresh garlic puree), 3 tablespoons of minced shallots, chopped parsley (of any amount you like) and 125ml of creme fraiche. Dry the potato slices lightly with paper towels and pour in the creme fraiche mixture. Season the potatoes with salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix thoroughly and gently with your fingers to distribute the seasonings equally.

Divide the proofed dough into two portions (roughly 40-60 split). The smaller portion is for the top crust and the bigger one is for the base. Roll both dough pieces out, the bigger portion to fit the bottom of your pie dish, the smaller one to fit the top. Make sure the dough goes up at least half way to the side of the pie dish to hold the potato slices. Transfer the dough to line the base of your pie dish. Fill the covered pie dish with potato slices. Cover the potato slices with remaining pie dough. The two pieces of dough may overlap. Draw the two pieces together to close the gap.

Use the tip of the knife to create small holes on the top of the pie crust and brush with the beaten the egg. In an oven preheated at 180C, bake the pie uncovered for 1 hour. If the top becomes too dark, cover it with a piece of foil (and lower the temperature to 160C).

Serve warm with a good limousin green salad with mustardy vinaigrette.

2017 Weekly - Week 19

08/05/2017

Sometimes I feel only Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé understand precisely how I feel inside.

I love you, M-T. You would have been proud to see what we saw last week. Rest in peace. I will remember you in every way I can think of.

2017 Weekly - Week 18

01/05/2017

First time making scones after moving to this scone country +15 years ago! Well, I wasn't that interested in scones as standalone items but tasting Fitzbillies scones two weeks ago with our friends changed my view. Good scones can be simply enjoyed alone, maybe with a dollop of jam if you have my sweet tooth.

So I made orange and sour cherry scones yesterday to celebrate 1st of May. The scone recipes vary vast but they all have three key ingredients, flour, butter, liquid (milk/butter milk/yogurt/creme fraiche), in addition to a pinch of salt. Eggs are not always necessary. A small amount sugar is added if scones are served as a sweet item. They are heavenly when just out of the oven. Crisp outside, soft inside, with orange fragrance wafting through just warm enough to have a greedy bite or two. On an overcast Bank holiday Monday, with a steaming cup of tea, I can overlook the grey clouds imaging a small dollop of sunshine on my plate.

Scones with orange and sour cherries

For the scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons sugar (I used 3 tbsps)
Pinch of flakey sea salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cubed (I used 50 g)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup Crème Fraîche + milk to form a dough
Demerara sugar for sprinkling

For the compote:
2 cups pitted fresh (or frozen, thawed) cherries
1⁄3 cup sugar

For the compote, place the cherries and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring once in a while. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mix the first 4 dry ingredients in a bowl and use your fingers to incorporate the butter into the flour until it’s the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Stir in crème fraîche and cherries until a dough forms. The dough is a bit dry for me so I added a few tablespoons of milk.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F while your dough is resting.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface to about a ¾ inch thickness.

Use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds of dough. If you prefer a wedge-shaped scone, use a knife to shape your dough.

Place rounds or wedges on a parchment-lined, ungreased baking sheet. Bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

While the scones are still warm, carefully split them in half, add a dollop of crème fraîche, and a scoop of cherry compote.

Top with the other half of your scone and serve immediately.

Notes: After making this, the taste is buttery and tender with crisp crust. However, the dough was still a bit crumbly for me. Next time I will try one of the recipes which include eggs.