Flatbread Finale

Hello everyone! Did you survive Monday? I wanted to update you on my flatbread fiesta! I cooked off my delicious flatbreads on a grill pan and they turned out beautifully! We topped them with local mozzarella, spicy tomato sauce, homemade pesto, pureed black beans, tomatoes, and sundried tomatoes...yum! I hope you try the recipe (see previous posts). It's easy, and well worth the wait!

Fire up the grill

Happy Friday dear readers! Since the weather this morning has been crummy, I've been spending the day dying fondant for my upcoming cake order, and making flatbread. If you've read some of my other blog posts, you'll know that I looooove doughs, all doughs, including pizza! So flatbread is right up my alley. It takes all day to make and rise, but the end result will be delish (I will give you the update next week). Here is the fabulous flatbread recipe, and a few pics to get you motivated:

Grilled Flatbread
Bon Appetit, July 2012
Serves 8

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Vegetable oil (for brushing)

Topping Suggestions

•  Ancho Chile Oil, Green Charmoula, and grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese
•  Puréed black beans, sliced avocado, radishes, and pico de gallo
•  Sliced plum tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, and crema (or sour cream)

Preparation

1.  Dissolve yeast in 3 cups warm water in a large bowl. Add all-purpose and whole wheat flours; mix with your fingertips until a shaggy dough forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2. 

   Dough after step 1

   Sprinkle salt over dough, then add sour cream; knead until well incorporated and dough pulls away from sides of bowl and holds together in a loose, wet ball, about 5 minutes (dough will be very soft and wet; lightly moisten your hands to prevent sticking if needed). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3. 

   Dough after step 2

   Knead dough an additional 4–5 times to deflate. Cover and chill for up to 2 days. (Dough will develop in flavor and continue to rise slowly in refrigerator.) Alternatively, let dough stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, 3–4 hours (the warmer and more humid your kitchen is, the faster it will rise). Chill for 1 hour before grilling to make it easier to handle.
4. Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Divide dough into 8 equal portions. Generously flour a work surface. Working with 1 or 2 portions at a time (depending on how many flatbreads will fit on your grill), roll out dough or press with your hands into a 1/4-inch-thick shape. (It doesn't have to be perfectly round.)
5. Brush grill rack with oil. Grill flatbreads until lightly charred on one side and no longer sticking to grill, 2–3 minutes. Using tongs, turn flatbreads and grill until cooked through, 1–2 minutes longer. Add desired toppings and serve warm.
   
   
   Happy baking!

Cake success!

Happy Hump Day! How's your Wednesday going so far? I wanted to give you the final chapter to the deep, dark, richly chocolate cake saga. My husband and I tried the test cake last night and we both agreed it was surprisingly perfect for my upcoming cake order! The filling gets fudgier as it sits in the cake and the cake is fairly dense and brownie-like. I used a devil's food recipe and added updates to make it extreme. If you remember, I am not a chocolate girl (I am so vanilla), but this is really great! I did a quick cream cheese frosting and chocolate shavings, just to finish the cake since I will be using fondant on the real one (and probably buttercream as well). Yum yum.

Bitter tears of caramel

Surprise! It's Tuesday and I'm here! I figured I'd give you an update on the chocolate wonder-cake. Unfortunately, the first frosting idea - a chocolate salted caramel - did not go as planned. This is what happens when your recipes are incorrect. Really look at your recipes before you start and ask yourself, does this seem like other recipes I've seen? because if not, it'll be a disaster. Even chefs make mistakes, and I let my caramel get too dark, and I had to piece together the steps of the recipe myself, as I didn't notice that the one I had wasn't actually complete! SIGH. Oh well. Onto recipe number 2: chocolate sour cream frosting...yum yum! Currently I have my chocolate melting in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water (remember the double boiler technique?). I'll let you know how it goes! Happy baking!

Test, test, 1, 2.

Happy Monday! Today I decided to test a chocolate recipe for an upcoming cake order. The woman asked for a very rich chocolate cake, and I am trying to find the best. Now of course I have the perfect go-to chocolate recipe, but I wanted to see if I could get a recipe richer. I substituted cocoa powder for all-purpose flour, added coffee for added richness, and flavored with vanilla extract. The cakes are fresh from the oven, and even though it's just a test, I like to bring my cakes to completion. So while the cakes cool, I've been working on a chocolate caramel ganache frosting. The recipe is not well written, so I've been trying to piece it together...and perhaps failing miserably! The recipe requires adding caramel to a ganache, cool down, and add butter to fluff it up. Not so simple. Currently my frosting is waiting in the fridge, as it got too soft to use! That's a great little secret - you can usually thicken and harden up a frosting by putting it in the refrigerator for awhile! I'll let you know the results once the cake is cooled, cut, and frosted!


Happy baking!

Bake worms rejoice!

Happy Friday my wonderful readers! Are you happy the week is over? For those of you interested in the how's, why's, and what's of the baking process, I have a book recommendation for you! Let me just preface this by saying that I have never been very science-y, if you will, but I love knowing why different ingredients are important while baking. I would highly recommend the book Bakewise by Shirley O. Corriher, which details very valuable information in a way that's understandable to anyone. She tells you how and why things work, then gives you recipes that demonstrate what you've learned. It's truly a fabulous book!

Happy baking and happy weekend!

Steeping: Not just for tea!

Hello everyone! I wanted to discuss steeping today. I'm sure you all know how to steep, probably with a cup of tea. When you leave the tea bag in the hot water, it releases the delicious flavors of the tea leaves. Did you know that you can steep in ice cream bases as well? The first step of most ice cream recipes will tell you to add the cream and milk to a pot and bring to a boil. During this time, you can add vanilla seeds and pods, herbs (such as thyme, basil, rosemary, etc.), cinnamon sticks, etc. Once you bring the mixture to a boil, turn off the pot and let sit for half an hour to an hour. The flavors will begin to meld into the milk at this time and give off the perfect flavor.

At the end of the ice cream recipe, you will usually pour the liquid into a bowl using a sieve (basically a small-holed colander). The sieve will catch all the stems, leaves, pods, etc. that you used to steep in the milk, and will leave your ice cream base smooth and creamy. Easy and delish!

Happy baking!