That Other Holiday Bread Pandoro

 Everyone knows that seasonal favorite panettone.It's that large Northern Italian based sweet bread. People either love it or hate it's slices dotted with raisins and orange peels bits. Most pick those out. However there is bread's simpler version  - pandoro or "golden bread". This elegant  bread is simply heaven on earth thanks to the amount of butter used in it.

Fashion designer and New contributor Christopher Petkanas wrote about this leavenly bread in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Pandoro is  a favorite treat  during the holidays (there is an Easter version 'Colomba Pasquale a dove shaped bread filled with creme Anglaise.)Ot is a tall star shaped bread that is meant to be sliced horizontally and dusted with the powdered sugar that comes with each b read.It's more like a giant brioche, both in crumb and flavor.Few bakeries bake it .There is  Settipane's that has branches in Brooklyn, one in Harlem and Bruno's in Freehold ,New Jersey . They create pandoro as well as panettone, however they only bake about one hundred of one while they mass produce about four thousand loaves of panettone this season.Pandoro is not as known as its' cousin,.The company's chief baker, Bilena Settipane wishes more people would come to appreciate it. She suggests serving ti with marmalade, nociola, pistachio spreads vin Santo and even gelato. To be honest pan doro is just good sliced as a luxurious breakfast or snack,

.Can it be made at home? Yes , but it is is difficult according to Roy Schvartzapel whose company From Roys' supplies panettone in California and will be introducing pandoro shortly. It shouldn't even be a recipe because it has no leavening. The delicate enriched dough uses a starter or biga , a mix if yeast and flour that has to be mixed with a few drops of water. The second dough or the bulk of the bread is made from flour granulated sugar,honey egg yolk and lemon zest. Vanilla and salt are also added   . After this is mixed  half cup of melted butter is slowly added to the dough and mixed in.The special pan also has to be buttered and then the bread has to be proofed two times There is also factoring in the right ambient temperature and humidity.this could result in a gummy texture and an informed crust. It takes seven to nine hours in total but two days  or more is more traditional according to Iginio Massari, the universally known high priest of panettone. Home bakers also don;t have access to vanillan, one for the preservatives that can lengthen pandoro's shelf life.

Pandoro is best when  bought and it still can be during this time of year. Buy it for its' truly heavenly taste. It is a different, more buttery spin on panettone.

Little Luxuries

 During this time of food hardship and high prices it's time to indulge in a little luxury. It's easy if you use what you have on hand. Any dish from savory to sweet can be elevated and turned into something special.

One of the simplest and in a way cheapest of luxuries is a lush butter sauce. This is an easy make. All you need is one stick of butter or plant based butter cut into pieces.Minced garlic and lemon juice are also added along with a tablespoon of parsley for color and more flavor. This is a great sauce for any pasta ,especially for angel hair and spaghettini. This is also great for any seafood like filets.It  is delicious on spinach and Brussels sprouts too. Kids and veggie haters will change their minds once they taste this over any green.Another budget friendly sauce to make is Hollandaise. This is an easy blend of a whole egg lemon juice and  butter whipped together with a pinch for salt, water and a dash of Cayenne pepper. You can make an easy Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. It can be used on chicken and fish too.It elevates asparagus to a special side with it's creamy tanginess. What can be better than  sauce over veggies? The addition of almonds. You can easily get an inexpensive bag  for as low as $2.99  at Acme and $4.69 at Target. These also elevate such fish as salmon and add crunch and taste to all sorts of salads.

Keep in mind that luxury eating can also apply to baking and cooking. Baking a loaf of brioche bread is as easy as baking a loaf of white bread. What it needs is butter and eggs Warm milk instead of an egg can also add richness.Another buttery baked treat to make is a tray of croissants. Some home chefs might fight the recipe intimidating however it's not as complicated as thought. What makes a batch of them a success is using chilled butter. The recipe calls for flour any kind of milk, whether dairy or plant based along with sugar and the all important yeast. Once the dough is made then it's a matter of chilling it and rolling it out  and then folding ot about four to six times. It's then popped back into the fridge for an hour. Once out again. it's rolled out again and cut into triangular pieces. These are curved into a crescent shape and left to riseThey're then baked. What is great about croissants is that you can add chocolate for pain chocolate or almonds. These make for luxurious breakfast treats. However the simple croissant sandwich elevates the brown bag lunch to new levels. It also makes a great afternoon snack slathered with Brie.

It's easy to make littleluxuries for yourself during these hard times. You deserve good food. Make it.

Pizza Dough Expanded

 A good pizza dough is not just for those luscious pies.It can be used for everything from calzones ot  - yes - doughnuts. It's a versatile dough to make and to have.It CNA be a lifesaver on busy fall weekends.

What makes a good dough? Five vital ingredients. You should have a good light olive oil,water salt, yeast and flour. A pinch of granulated sugar is added to the yeast for quick activation. What yeast should be used? either active dry or just plain dry yeast. As for the  sugar you could sub in any type of honey for a more natural ingredient. Proofing the yeast requires adding hot water to the emoxo fo the sugar and yeast, stirring and then sti  ing it until beomes foamy and bubbly. Once the yeast is proofed start adding the olive oil.Drizzle it in in a thin ribbon instead of dumping the entire measurement in. It;s then adding the two cups of flour and salt. As with the olive oil, slowly add in the flour until you get a sticky ball.If you;re making a savory baked treat, this is the time to add any herbs or spices for extra flavoring.(This applies to more like garlic knots, stromboli and calzones).Knead the dough and let it rise for another ten to thirty minutes. DO this  by covering it with a damp towel  and place din a warm oven.

After you roll out the dough you can turn it into delicious dinners. A calzone or big sock in Italian  - can be filled with mozzarella , ricotta and ham.Some add pepperoni instead of ham and broccoli for more color and flavor  , A spoonful of marinara is also a perfect addition to a calzone stuffing. Fold, crimp the edges and give it an egg wash before baking in the oven. ANother Italain delight is stromboli,It a pizza more or less redone like a Swiss role. The toppings like sauce , cheese, meats and veggies are rolled inside the dough.It's baked and then cut into thick wedges. If you want a fun party food or even snack try garlic twists.This is taking strings of dough . twisting them and then brushing on live oil and garlic powder. Oregano is sprinkled on for more flavor. Pizza dough also makes for tasty  cinnamon doughnuts, Thye're sweet and puffy  and easy made. Keep in mind that you can also make doughnut holes and jelly doughnuts with the dough too. Cinnamon rolls are actually better when made with pizza dough. The texture is lighter and fluffier than the traditional bun dough.

Pizza dough isn't just for pizza, It can be used for savory and sweet treats. Use it for a tasty dinner or dessert.

Warm Spicy Breads

 Its fall and that means one thing - baking!!!! Forget the doughnuts and pies.Cooler weather means spicy, nutty tea breads that are easy to bake.These are perfect with chill chasing hot coffee or hot tea.

What is a sweet bread? (Keep 8n mind that they're not to be confused with animal organs of 5he same name.These are usually fried or sauteed), Sometimes they' re known as quick breads.Do these have yeast in them? No, they do have baki ng soda in them to make them rise. They're very easy to make and can be perfect for novice home bakers.Quick breads also encompass muffins, scones and even waffles and pancakes.There are two mixing methods .One is the muffin method,This results in a batter rather than a sticky dough.The liquid or wet 8ngredients are mixed in one bowl while the dry are sifted in another.Small lumps should remain otherwise the  crumb will be too dry.The creaming method has the butter thoroughly blended before they're mixed with the other ingredients.

What makes a tasty sweet bread?Cinnamon and lots of it!! Think a rich sweet swirl bread with a rich vein of cinnamon and sugar running through it.You can add sour cream to it gives it a dense, velvety crumb.For added flavor sprinkle on a c8nnamon sugar mix for a crunchy topping.Walnuts or raisins can be added for more taste and texture.A cardamon laced bread is reminiscent of Scandinavian buns and cakes.Its a perfect addition to any Sunday brunch or the perfect after school snack. Pumpkin is the flavor of the season so think of adding it to  your sweet bread.It's also a good way of adding nutrients to a decadent snack. Of course there is the most famous one banana bread. This crowd favorite employs over ripe almost black bananas mixed with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.Add in melted butter to the batter for a smooth silky feel

Quick breads are a great addition to any fall table.Bake a loaf or two.They"re perfect for the cool days ahead.

The Surprisingly Easy Baguette

Mention baguettes to home bakers and they flinch. Most think it's a compliicated loaf to create but it really isn't. It has a scant number of ingredients and is not bad to whip up. Once created then it becomes a must bake on any list.

You Tube personalityand regular contributor Claire saffitz  wrote about this delicious bread in today's New York Times food section.french bread is well suited for home baking because they're made with commercial yeast instead of a sourdough starter. This means that there's no task of maintaining a starter and then feeding it as it advances before you can start. The entire ingredient list is simple, It's just flour water, yeast and salt. However the flour quality is important. She recommends the  King Arthur brand which has a ten to twelve protein level (check th elabel for this) King arthir has 11.7Other pluses is that it's widely available and has a bit of barley. This enhances fermentation and flavor. The protein rich flour also facilitates gluten development to trap gas and create those various sized holes. You don't want too many interior holes because they can cause the baguette's shape to misshapen. Apart from the flour  you do need a baking stone and a four by twenty inch wooden baking peel and a thirteen by twenty inch wooden board for sliding them into the oven. You can get these onlien ro have your local plywood store custom cut them for you.

After you have all the equipment start planning your time line. The dough has to rest overnight in the fridge which will improve its' flavor and quality of the crust. doing this gives you some flexibiluty in baking it the next day. Start by making the poolish a type of preferment much like a sourdough starter but made with store bought yeast the morning of the first day. Let it ferment. Then mix the dough in the evening pop in the fridge the next morning and bake. Ms. Saffiz' recipes will yield three loaves. If this is too mch , then refrigerate the dough and bake later. Keep in mind that french bread dough can be sticky and a little soft. This can make for tricky kneading. Ms. Saffitz recommneds using minimal flour and a light touch during shaping. The first  dozen or so baugettes that you'll make may not be bakery perfect but they'll still have that great taste and deliciously chewy texture not to mention that crackly crust. They'll be gone in an instant being sliced and slathered with butter or being turned into yummy sandwiches.

A tasty baguette is easy to create. It's just four ingredients mixed together and baked into a loaf of deicliousness. Try it for a flavorful bite.

 

A Ramadan Feast

This is the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting and introspection. Yet it's also a time fo feasting between the fasting.This dinner iftar is not only shared with family but with community. No one understasnds this more than the SOmali community and their array of dishes.

First time contributor and chef Ifrah F. Ahmed wrote about Somali Ramadan cooking in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Somali cooking is special. As Chef Ahmed writes "henna stained finger fill and fold sabuus,a kind of samosa and then fried.There ares weet and tender buns to eat before sunrise and after sunset. There are dishes to share as friends and family compliment each other on their new holiday clothes and make sure everybody is well fed. The dishes are varied in tastes and flavors sambuus are easy to make. This samosa cousin uses tortilla s the flaky golden outside to a filling rich with garlic, cumin and coriander. Ground beef and onion make up the stuffing while cilantro gives them color.They're served with a the hot sauce basbaas cagaar, a green hot sauce. Chopped jalapeno peppers are mixed with serrano chiles and spiked up even more with garlic and white onions. To off ser the fiery taste, white vinegar and lemon juice is added.

For a more soothing dish, Somalians eat soor, a comforting hot stew of grits and tomatoes.Soor is white cornmeal cooked with salt while the tomato mix or Dalac Bilaash is mixed into it. This is first taking onions and cooking them in olive oil. Roma tomatoes and jalapenos are added to this. There is also garlic and cilantro added.They're ground into a chunky paste before, using a mortar and pestle.This is added to the tomaotes along with Vegeta, an additive that has an array of spices and herbs in it. Chopped green peppers finish it off. The soor is divided into plates and  topped with the dalac bilaash. To offset all this fieriness bake Rooti Farmaajo or honeycomb sweet rolls. These can be served before sunrise and also be bakedall year round. These are stuffed with a mild cheese like Laughing Cow and drizzled with condensed milk and shredded coconut.I'ts a yeast dough  that can be flavored with cardamon .The dough is  rolled and cut into balls, stuffed in the cheese and then press them togehter like monkey bread in a springform pan.It's brushed with an egg wash baked at 350 degrees Farebheit and then cooled. Condensed milk is drizzled on top an then gets a dusitn gof the shredded coconut.

Ramadan is a time for reflection community and fasting. It is also a time of all night feasts. The Somalis share and celebate theirs with delicious food and valued friends and family.

Easy Breads For Rosh Hashana

 One of the highlights of Rosh Hashana, starting next week is the bread. Challah is always a great accompaniment to a holiday dinner. A homemad e loaf even more so. Best of all the dough can also be used for babka too.

Claire Saffitz ,a chef, food writer and You Tube personality wrote about this versatile dough in today's New York Times Food section. Challah is the perfect bread because it's easy to make for beginner bakers as well as being perfect for sweet and savory dishes. It makes for an excellent French toast while being perfect for sandwiches or accompanying soups and salads. How to make a  memorable loaf? Keep Chef Saffitz 's  hints sin mind when creating it. Start with a sponge. You have to mix a lot of yeast into the dough because of the recipe's high sugar low moisture make up. Mix a small amount of flour with water and a small amount of yeast to create a sponge.as it sits the yeasts feed on the starches in the flour and multiply. Thsi makes the mixture active and bubbly, removing the need to add more yeast to the dough. Another important tip - find ingreddient balance. You need to put eleven grams of salt in the dough. This may sound exccessive but it brings out the flavor and strenghtens the gluten network. Then there's the olive oil. There should be one third cup f it.It keeps the bread Pareve as well as giving it a silky feel.It will need a lot of kneading to give it good crust and crumb. How do you know when enough kneading is enough? The window pane test. Take a small ball of dough and stretch it out. The dough iis thoroughly kneaded if you can see light coming through it , 

Of course it's the braid that makes challah what it is. Basically it can be turned into any shape you want. The traditional braid is the most used and the simplest. a pretty one is a smaller braid tucked in a larger one. You can also wrap it around itself to form a circle. This would be a lovely one for any raisin laced challah.Once you perfect a simple braid you can try a French braid . Keep in mind that a light texture is essential for a good challah. Once you've conquored it, then move on to simple sandwich loaves and soudough.Ms. Saffiitz also includes a  cinnamonbabka recipe , redolent with the spice and zinged up with orange zest. The dough is a basic challah one but.a mix of cinnamon, brown sugar orange zest and almond flour. also add a generous pinch - about one hlf teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt to it . Break up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingertips. Reserve about a quarter of the cup of the mixture to sprinkle over the loaf. The dough is then divided into two pieces. One  rolled out and the cinnamon mix is spread out on one piece while the other is put in the fridge. Chill both babkas in the fridge for anywhere from four to twelve hours. THey're then proofed, washe d in egg and then baked in a 350 degree oven for fortyfive minutes. They're then cooled for ten.

Observe the holiday with good food. This includes a good challah or babka with the meal. They are perfect breads to make for this holiday dinner.

Different Pizzas For The Weekend

 This is the time for baking and fun fall weekends. What better than to try the different pizzas out there to make , bake and eat.It's a great way to keep weekend cooking fresh and kids happy.

Crusts are what really make a pizza. You can easily go for a traditional crust but why? A sourdough one is a bit heartier than the original and it will hold the sauce and toppings better. You should start off with a sourdough starter, unbleached flour, warm water and of course, yeast, for lift. You will have to proof the dough in a greased container (use olive oil for the greasing) after kneading in a stand mixer. Then it's left to stand for two to four hours until it rises,.Do this in the late morning for a tangy crust. Keep in mind that a sourdough crust works differently with cheese. The mozzarella acts like a lid, allowing the crust to get soggy. Bake the pizza first with just the sauce and toppings and then add the cheese when the crust starts browning.As for this, add some Pecorino Romano cheese to the mozzarella for some strength in flavor. As for  the sauce, make it intense, with more garlic and basil. Skip the pepperoni and add some flavorful prosciutto instead.

Another different kind of pizza is a cauliflower crust ones. These are super flavorful and work well with any toppings. You can buy already made ones from Green Giant and add your own sauce and toppings. However you can also make the crust at home. You'll need a medium head cauliflower which will be pulsed or ground to a fine white powder.It's then steamed in the microwave for about six minutes. Wring out any moisture when it's cooled.Add one large egg and one cup of grated mozzarella and a quarter cup of grated Parmesan. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden for about ten to fifteen minutes in a 425 degree oven. The crust should be golden in color. Now it's time to add the sauce , toppings and cheese. Bake for another ten minutes until the cheese is melting and bubbly. For little chefs Pilsbury now has mini pizza crusts. These are the perfect weekend fun. Kids can make these tiny pies with a variety of fun toppings like olives and onions and can even do a different spin like Mexican or Hawaiian. They're also easy to bake which saves a lot of labor and time during a busy weekend.

It's the perfect time for a different kind of pizza. Try a sourdough or cauliflower crust or a mini pizza. They're great fun to bake and to eat.

Your Own Hot Doughnuts

 One of the best fall treats is a doughnut. It's the perfect snack or even breakfast on a chilly day. Homemade ones are even better.The bite is fresh and deliciously chewy,

Any good home baker can create a doughnut.You can make it with yeast for one with  a chewy bread like crumb or a cakey one that's more like your favorite slice. A basic recipe for the yeast variety has milk and two packets of yeas t mixed with two eggs and a stick of melted butter. You will need flour , usually the all purpose kind,More flour will be needed to roll out the dough into rolls. Keep in mind you will need a deep fryer for this and two quarts of a neutral oil like grapeseed or vegetable oil. Can you air fry doughnuts? You can. Just generously spray the basket with a neutral spray in either vegetable or butter flavor. This may be a bit tedious to do. Only two doughnuts at a time can be fried and  they have to be flipped midway through the baking process. The plus side is that they won't leave a greasy after taste and the texture is crisper on the outside, tender on the inside. Another plus is that you can also air fry cake batter doughnuts too, They come out just as good as their yeast cousins, The air fryer also works for doughnut holes too. The yeast ones take forty five minutes to rise and six to eight minutes to bake at 375 degrees Farenheit.

Cake doughnuts are another treat. The recipes are more varied than the yeast recipe as are the textures. Cake doughnuts can be as dense in crumb as a muffin or as light and fluffy as a birthday cake. You can create more flavors with cake doughnuts. A good cake doughnut recipe is made with flour, and baking powder which gives them lift. Usually one egg is used along with milk. You can fry them but look for an evenness in color and texture. Baked doughnuts are another way to go. Get a doughnut tin which has different shapes, from fluted edges to a regular circle. If you don't have one simply use a muffin or cupcake tin with foil in the middle to create the hole. Apple cider doughnuts are big right now and it's just adding concentrated apple cider. DO NOT add cider straight from the jug. You'll need to reduce it to a thick and potent syrup. This is done by boiling it down for twenty minutes.It's then added to the batter. You can also add an apple pie spice blend of nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamon. After they've been baked brush with melted butter and dredge in a mix of white sugar and cinnamon.

This is the season for doughnuts. Make them at home for a fresh, sweet treat. You can fry , air fry or bake the yeast or cake variety for a tasty bite full of satisfying sweetness.

Easy Fall Baking

As with fall cooking, fall baking should be an easy transition into more complex and complicated recipes leading up to the holiday baking extravaganza. After months of not stirring and whisking and staying away from the oven it's now time to head back into creating sweet treats.

Apples are big right now. Home bakers are probably itching to use those apples picked over the weekend. One simple recipe is apple crisp . This does require a tart apple like Granny Smith.It counterbalances the sweetness of the crisp made with just flour oats, sugar cinnamon and butter. The only labor intensive work is cutting the apples into wedges and then coating them with flour and cinnamon for the filling. Apple crumble is similar and can be quickly made for a same day dessert. This is also pie season however you can cheat at this by using already made crusts. These cut down on time and labor, producing a tender crusted pie that's just as delicious as one with a scratch crust.Baked apples are another easy dessert that just requires apple , cinnamon and some kind of nut. It's just coring the apple and filling it with a mix of spices, ground walnuts or pecans and butter. You can also sub in half a caramel for the butter for an inside out caramel apple. Pop these in the microwave for three minutes or until tender

Nothing beats a warm cinnamon roll on a frosty autumn morning,  You can easily makes these thanks to Pilsbury Grands Cinnamon rolls.These are an easy bake and perfect for mornings or an early afternoon snack. Not surprisingly you can make these from scratch too. This does require yeast but it's not as scary as it sounds. Use Fleischmann's fast rising yeast for this.  Once you've made yeast rolls you can graduate to easy yeast breads or rolls. The recipe only has a handful of ingredients such as the yeast, flour,, sugar salt and water. The bread can be the perfect accompaniment to dinner but it can also be toasted for breakfast and used for sandwiches for lunch or in a nice fall picnic.Once you've gotten in the swing of fall baking you can attempt cookies. Of course the easiest would be the Pillsbury slice and bake kind but there are some scratch recipes that are simple to whip up. Try a maple oatmeal one that combines chewy oatmeal with the earthy taste of another fall flavor. a maple cake with frosting is another simple dessert , perfect for  ending a Sunday dinner.

Ease into fall baking. start with easy to mix and easy to bake treats. Try  rolls or an apple crisp. experiment with baked apples or a maple cake. Jump into simple recipes that will sweeten your season.

Sweets For Mardi Gras

What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than with sweets. It's a tasty way to celebrate all the bad for you treats before heading into austere Lent. There are so many different ones that you can have a feast of them.

One of the most famous is the King Cake. This is more of a bread, originating in France and also popular in Switzerland and Belgium. The sweet airy breads are actually made for Epiphany , hence the name, and continue well into the Mardi Gras season. The recipe does involve yeast as well as some kneading. Some recipes have cardamon and cinnamon along with citron and raisins. These last can be omitted. A vegan version can also be made. This involves subbing in cow's milk with almond milk and eggs with egg replacers (which can be found in the egg section of your grocery store). Vegan butter is also used and again you can use Country Crock's plant butters.The cake bread is braided and baked and then iced with a simple icing glaze. The fun part is adding the Mardi Gras colored sugars of green which represents faith, purple for justice and gold for power. Remember to add in a gold coin or plastic baby as the traditional "gift". You could also make mini King Cakes using Pillsbury Grand Cinnamon rolls. These are fun because you can add a gift to each mini cake so everyone wins.

Beignets are another Mardi Gras treat which can also be made all year round. Again this is basically a bread recipe, made with yeast and bread flour. Again it does require kneading along with another labor intensive step. Eggs and yeast are mixed together and then the bread flour is added. There's also shortening and frying in vegetable oil. They're then dredged in sifted powdered sugar. You could do a sprinkling of blended green, gold and purple sanding sugars to give them a Mardi Gras vibe. Vegetarians can enjoy their version. Again use egg replacers and vegan or vegetable shortening for texture.Use vegan evaporated milk such as Nature's Charm, made with coconut milk. It can be found at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. Again, the vegetarian beignets are deep fried in vegetable oil. As for the powdered sugar, some vegans refuse to use it because there is animal bone char in it. You can create your own by mixing ground white sugar  or evaporated cane sugar and cornstarch. Can beignets be fried in an air fryer? Yes! They'll still be crisp and hot. They're cooked at about 390 F for three minutes each on each side.

Enjoy these sweet treats to be made for Mardi Gras. They're a great way to celebrate a decadent holiday. Enjoy them with a cafe au lait or Sazarec or Hurricane cocktail!

Simple Saturday Suppers

Saturday is usually the busiest day of the week. There's chores to do, food shopping and anything school related Who isn't tired after all that?Thne add in cooking a dinner? That just adds to the exhaustion. Don't despair. Just think simple.

It's tempting to get fast food or take out delivery when you're too tired to cook.Yet you'll wind up with a meal that's too greasy, salty and fatty. Order their version of healthy and it 'll be soggy lettuce with drippy sweet dressing and loaded with everything from bacon to cheese. Your best bet is buying easy to cook foods  and just making everything fresh. Anything egg based is a good choice. Eggs are simple, especially when creating an omelet. Add fresh spinach or sliced grape tomatoes along with bell pepper slices for a tasty and colorful dinner.Turn it into a sandwich by putting wedges on toasted whole wheat or \seven grain breads.Another idea is whipping up a hearty scramble. This is where you can really  get creative. Toss in some kale and Swiss chard along with the usual veggies. Spice it up with garlic , onion powder or even a few drops of hot sauce. Serve with toasted pita . Scoop up the scramble with wedges.If you love breakfast sandwiches, make those. There's no written rule that they're just for breakfast. Layer the egg with low calorie cheese , turkey bacon, and avocado slices.

Pizza is always an easy supper to make.All you need is all purpose flour  ( you can also use whole wheat or gluten free to customize it to your family's need). yeast, warm water and olive oil. For more flavor throw in a pinch of garlic powder and oregano. Sub in freshly sliced vine ripened  or Roma tomatoes for the usual jarred pizza sauce. As for toppings, go with the usual like pepperoni and mushrooms or something different like shredded chicken or juliennned ham slices. A novel idea is a white pizza. Top it with ricotta and mozzarella . A bechamel sauce can also be added. This is a mix of butter , flour and heavy cream, flavored with crushed garlic cloves. Prosciutto and arugula top it. Of course the simplest and most delicious dinner is a grilled piece of steak with a string bean or broccoli salad. Brush the steak with olive oil infused with rosemary and garlic. The salad can be made earlier and chilled in the fridge.If you're not into steak then try chicken.Add in a baked potato to make it more filling.

A Saturday supper doesn't have to be fast food. You can create an easy and simple meal . It's a nice way to end a busy day.

Holiday Breakfast Treats

Holiday breakfasts should be just as grand as the main meals. They should be flavorful and fun, the perfect meal to start the day, especially with relatives or friends staying over. They could be sweet, savory or both.

Yottam Ottolenghi wrote about breakfasts today in the Wednesday section of the New York Times. It's basically an article about finding the right foods for his young sons. It can be frustrating , especially when trying to create a nutritious and flavorful first meal. In order to do such, Chef Ottolenghi has to use the weekends which offer the luxury of time. An extra hour can let anyone create a well thought out breakfast and give one  time to really concentrate on the meal. His first recipe is maple-cardamon saffron sticky buns. These are yeast based and that may scare some home bakers. The buns are the standard saffron ones and the kick comes from the icing made from maple syrup and cardamon.It is made in a monkey bread formation of eight dough balls stuck together to form a ring.They're pulled apart later. The syrup is made by crushing the cardamon and discarding their pods.. This  is mixed with a vanilla bean paste, melted butter and maple syrup.It's cooked into a thick syrup and then brushed over the newly baked buns. Chef Ottolenghi suggests serving them with clotted cream, but try them with butter and fleur de sel.

The other dish is potato hot cakes with cheddar cream and salsa verde. This is a perfect Christmas or New Year's Day breakfast. The hotcakes are like latkes or potato pancakes.He recommends using Yukon Golds, slicing them and first crisping them in a 450 degrees Farenheit oven . After baking ,the skins are then discarded and the meat is mashed. Lemon juice, two eggs and seasonings are added. They're then fried in olive oil , again, similar to latkes.They're topped with sunnyside up eggs and a cheddar sauce. This is made by mixing the cheese with sour cream. It's finished off with a salsa verde, a green sauce made with chopped parsley and tarragon. Capers are added for saltiness and tang  and garlic is added for more flavor. It's then ladled onto the eggs and hotcakes, giving them color. I don't see why some leftover Christmas ham can be slipped in between the eggs and hotcakes It would definitely make them more substantial. Chef Ottolenghi also suggests scattering mustard seeds on top too. If not, try a slight dusting of some sea salt and freshly ground pepper. If you want to  make it a tad healthier, use egg whites instead of the whole egg and use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

These are perfect breakfasts for any holiday brunch or breakfast.  Try them for a tasty and substantial first meal. They are a great way to start a winter's day.

The Perfect Chocolate Babka

Babka has always been the domain  of bubbies and Jewish bakeries. That's all changing  thanks to a new generation of hip home bakers discovering it. The recipe has been somewhat tweaked but the end result is the same. Chewy buttery sweet slices that always satisfy,

Melissa  Clark wrote about it in yesterday's New York Times  A Good Appetite column along with a scrumptious recipe. Babkas are experiencing a kind of renaissance right now. The trendy Sadelle's Bakery in Manhattan's Soho offers one studded with homemade chocolate cookies while competitor Breads Bakery stuffs theirs with Nutella. Other bakeries such as Bklyn Larder fills theirs with a rich ganache and Baz Bagel turns theirs into the ultimate comfort food - babka bread pudding. The cake becomes even more decadent in the Jerusalem cookbook by Yotam Ottolonghi and Sami Tamimi.It's renamed the chocolate krantz cake and is loaded with pecans. This has spawned a variety of variations. such as one filled with chocolate and raspberry jam and another soaked in honey syrup. New York's Lower East Side Russ & Daughters, originally a fish and savory shop, uses and bakes the original recipe . Theirs, according to fourth generation owner Joshua Ross Tupper advises babka is a nice balance of not too sweet cake and rich chocolate filling,It's also one the of the few traditional babkas sold and it's shipped all over the country. Ms. Clark is the rebel baker, using a rich chocolate butter cream filling in hers.

Home bakers be warned. Babka requires time and some expertise.It is working with yeast which can be tricky and time consuming. One can take all day or even longer (!) to make due to refrigerating the dough between steps. Doing this  does make it easier to manipulate  and a longer proofing period does give it a richer, more complex taste.It is easier to freeze than other breads so home chefs can make two loaves, one for now, the other for later. It is a rich buttery dough with a recipe requiring ten tablespoons of butter. and four large eggs.. The dough is transferred to buttered bowls which add to the flavor  as it bounces in and out of the fridge/Ms Clark's frosting filling also has a stick of unsalted butter along with 3/4 of a cup of heavy cream.If this isn't enough , there is over the top cocoa streusel topping. This is more butter (but only four and a half tablespoons this time) blended with cocoa , sugar and flour, It creates giant , luscious crumbs mixed in with dark chocolate chips. Home bakers can top their babkas with brown sugar streusel on top. The same goes for the filling.any sweet goo,according to Ms. Clark is acceptable. Try, jam, dulce de leche, Nutella or hot fudge sauce.

Chocolate babka is making a big comeback. Make it to enjoy its' lush buttery chocolate flavor.It may be intense to make but a dream to eat.

Roll With It

One of the best parts of winter is staying indoors on a snowy day and baking. Even better baking rolls and buns. They're a nice departure from the usual snowy day baking line up along with challenging skills. Another good thing about rolls and buns, they're perfect for any meal or snack.

Many novice home bakers may balk at using yeast dough. They feel that it's unreliable and can ruin a recipe. The key to that is proofing for usually half an hour. It's all about letting the dough rise. This produces fluffy  light rolls or loaves when they 're baked. Rolls are easy to make and have a simple recipe. It is usually is margarine, white sugar , eggs yeast and refined white flour. Baking time is between thirty and forty minutes. For a healthier bread try whole wheat,Some recipes would be  bit richer because whole wheat rolls usually have milk and butter included.Add some variety by sprinkling on sesame seeds or poppy seeds. This is done right before you put the tin into the oven. Brush tops with melted butter and then sprinkled on the seeds.More experienced bakers can try their hand at brioches, those buttery, heavenly French rolls. It's an involved recipe that has four eggs and a cup(!) of unsalted butter.There's also half a cup of milk to to add to the roll's richness.It's a double rise meaning that the dough is let proofed once after kneading. An hour later the process is repeated and then the dough is put into those special tins.Then there is the "head",a ball of  dough which is put on in  a certain way.Then there is a third proofing that lasts an hour, along with a preliminary egg wash to get that golden glaze before baking.

Most people love homemade buns. especially the cinnamon ones, thanks to Cinnabon. Those instant ones are good in a pinch however you can easily make your own, tasting exactly like the ones at the mall.The dough has a tangy richness thanks to the addition of buttermilk.along with the seven tablespoons of butter. Of course it is the filling and melt in your mouth icing that makes these treats sing and shine. The filling is a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar along with corn starch and again half a cup of butter (Cinnabon sells the cinnamon if you want to use theirs). The icing is made with cream cheese along with more butter- a mere quarter of a cup this time- and lemon juice. It's an elaborate bake with many steps however the end result is definitely worth it.A regular bun recipe is , of,course much simpler ,similar to the roll one. It just has more sugar, namely anywhere between one third to one half cup sugar. Try currant buns for a different twist. This is a big British favorite, appearing often at teas.Currants are basically dried red seedless grapes, a bit different from raisins. They  can also be made with regular raisins or sultanas. a dried white grape. Saffron buns, popular in Sweden on December 12, St. Lucy's day are also yummy.treat.It's a regular bun recipe with a 1/4 teaspoon of saffron added.


A cold snowy day is the perfect one for making rolls and bun. Bake a batch to be served with dinner or just as a snack.They're tasty treats to warm you inside and out.

Holiday Breads

One of the best treats of the holiday is a home baked bread or a tray of rolls.There are so many to choose from, from panettones to cinnamon rolls. They're a bit more work than the average bread or Christmas bake but so worth the work. They provide a tasty breakfast when opening presents or a nice snack before bedtime,

Panettone is one of Northern Italy's greatest holiday gifts. It is a yeast bread that will take forty-five minutes to completely bake,The traditional ones have a healthy mix of raisins and citron but you can also add cut dried apricots , pineapple and cranberries. Some home bakers add dark chocolate chips too for more flavor.Another favorite is the Veronese bread pan d'oro or golden bread.. It's egg and butter rich , and like it's fancier  cousin they need starters. This is similar to sourdough stater and can be either liquid or powder. Pan d'oro requires three different kinds of dough along with cocoa butter to give the crumb airiness.It's a very eggy one, requiring five large eggs to give it that rich, golden color.it also requires overnight proofing and special molds to give it that "tall star" look. An easier recipe is pan dolce. It's a simpler version of panettone but there's also a dash of Sherry added along with anise and orange flower water., Like fruit breads, raisins and currents are added , but also pistachios and pine nuts for added savoriness and crunch,Across the Alps comes stollen, the German holiday bread.It's a yeast bread that uses honey instead of sugar. Raisins and citron are added after they're soaked in rum..Almonds and mace spice the dough while the filling has more spice in the form of cinnamon, sugar and butter.Again it's a dough that has to be proofed but only for a scant thirty minutes this time.

Holiday rolls and buns are always fun. Nothing beats waking up to a batch of hot, gooey cinnamon rolls. Many home bakers balk at the idea of making them from scratch but they're not as labor intensive as many think they are,It's still a yeast recipe that requires proofing. Butter and egg are added to a simple yeast dough for richness. The filling is cinnamon (I'd recommend buying Cinnabon's Makara cinnamon for this) .The icing too is easy/ Its a simple milk and powdered sugar one that can have the addition of butter or even coffee to vary the flavor.The Swedes welcome in the holidays with Saint Lucy 's Day and flavorful saffron buns.Despite the savory spice the buns are sweet,  thanks to the addition of currents or raisins.. They're known as lussebulle, and are baked in the traditional S shape. This is a bit of a labor intensive recipe for novice bakers but it still can be done to produce yummy tea rolls. The milk and saffron have to be cooked together first and then the yeast is added to it.Cardimon seeds are also used for more spice. The dough may be a bit dense thanks to the addition of  sour cream or  quark.(a Northern European version of cottage cheese). A simpler bun recipe is the British Chelsea bun, made similar to a cinnamon bun but with a filling of currents , raisins or apricots . They're sort of like the Pennsylvania Dutch sticky bun, much beloved in South Jersey (strange , I know but the recipe is popular in Atlantic and Cape May Counties)The Chelsea bun dough only takes an hour to rise  and then it's kneaded again and then baked. A simple glaze is then poured over the buns.

Holiday breads and rolls are not only fun to eat but a fun challenge to bake. The result is a yeasty, sweet treat, perfect for the holidays. Slather on a big gob of butter and enjoy.

An Exchange Of Foods

Today is Columbus Day and like it or not it's when two cultures,the indigenous  American and European collided.It may have been the end of one culture yet it brought together what we now know as global cuisine.It expanded the world's diet and brought about better nutrition.

The Europeans brought various meats such as chickens , beef and lamb to the American diet.Yes the people already here ate meats but it came from hunted animals.The new kinds were able to be kept in herds or on properties.European bakers brought yeast to the New World which enabled breads to be made, thus more ready nutrition for the
young, infirm and elderly.It could go a long way in feeding large families. It could also be turned into sandwiches for easy meals.Whether considered good or bad,sugar was also introduced. One of the most dubious  "gifts" is alcohol.Fire water was a way of placate them however it proved lethal in the  20th Century. Sadly many young tribes people have fallen for the variety of junk food that their Euro American counterparts have. Luckily many are returning to the ancient pre-Columbian diets.

The tribes from Canada to Central America have given us so much.They expanded a European diet that primarily existed of cabbage and turnips.Thanks to the Western Hemisphere ,there is polenta and tomatoes in Italy,chocolate in Switzerland and France, and beans in England.Our diets have expanded so much thanks to the potato which was easy to grow. Any meal we eat today has at least one indigenous ingredient.Even our Thanksgiving is influenced not by the English who created it, but by the Massachusetts tribes.The native Tai no gave us barbecue or Barbac a which has become a worldwide staple.On a broader scale the Pacific Islanders gave us pineapple and breadfruit .

Columbus and his crew discovered a whole new world.It was a culinary exchange that changed diets around the world.It broadened our palates and diets.

A Well Made Loaf

A well baked loaf of bread  is a real treat. There's this lightly buttery crust wrapped around yeasty sweet goodness.Unfortuntely there are few bakeries that make such loafs and forget going to your local supermarket. What most have are those bags of cottony loaves that are better off  feeding ducks at the local pond. If you want a heavenly slice- then you're going to have to bake it yourself.

Melissa Clark discovered this as she researched the subject for her A Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Food section.white bread is surprisingly easy to make, perfect for novice home bakers.The ingredients are simple, as they have been for centuries. Butter and milk are needed to insure a soft center. Sugar is required for creating a nicely browned crust .Always use white flour. This has the highest gluten content which is needed for rising. You can use a high protein flour for more of a chew,Ms Clark suggests but she also warns about using low protein pastry flour - this will not make the dough rise enough - or adding whole wheat flour to a white bread recipe. The whole wheat's strong earthiness will mask the original sweetness. Ms CLark also includes a raisin swirl recipe which has a tantalizing mix of  dry sherry ,  brown sugar and raisins.There are other recommendations using a blend of chopped nuts or even dulce de leche. With a swirled bread,it's best to use a thick jam.A runny one will ruin the dough and leave the whole loaf soggy.


.One of the most worrisome problems of bread making is leaving it to rise  Novice home bakers will  fret that it won't  reach the desired height or it's not good enough. The solution to this is to keep the dough in a warm room. Ms.Clark  does this by warming up her oven for fifteen minutes. The dough is then put on top of the stove top She has also used her down quilt to help, but in this weather, really not that necessary. A slow rise is OK too,Busy bakers can also let their dough rise overnight in the fridge. There are a lot of options once the dough has risen, It can be baked in a couple of classic loaves.The unbaked loaf can be tossed in the freezer and kept for up to three months, The dough could also be used for a swirl loaf however be wary of this.The filling has to be more jam like than syrupy other wise the bread will separate from the filling and create cracks.This can screw up the slicing, as slices will split into pieces.Another idea not listed is adding a cup of raisins to the dough for an even sprinkling of fruit.

Nothing beats a homemade loaf of bread.It's just pure heaven to bite into a warm chewy slice. Get baking to experience this fresh baked nirvana,

Cake Or Yeast Doughnuts ?You Decide !

This is the time of year for doughnuts.They;re perfect with a good hot cup of coffee or a sparkling glass of chilled cider. Which one do you want? The dense cake or the lighter yeast variety. Many people have opinions about which is better?

There has always a controversy between the two kinds. Yeast doughnuts ,like the ones Dunkin Donuts sell are good, albeit a bit chewy . They are always made with yeast like bread and are usually lighter in texture with a fluffier interior. The dough can be twisted into krullers or churros or roped to form pretzels.Most yeast ones  are usually glazed and make for a better jelly kind. They are more complicated to make however, requiring the extra step of allowing them to raise. They can be made with chocolate , however  most have a vanilla or sweet bread flavor.

Cake doughnuts or donuts are the best doughnut for beginners to make.They're mixed exactly like cakes with baking powder for a leavening agent,This results in a denser, more substantial treat ., Cider doughnuts are considered cake doughnuts. Both types are usually fried although you can bake and even microwave cake ones in special molds.As with cakes you can also vary the batter creating carrot cake ones,along with chocolate or black forest. You can also add nuts and chocolate chips to them as well. Cake doughnuts can be glazed but the more traditional way to go is either plain, or heavily dusted with confectioner's sugar or cinnamon sugar.

This is the season for a tasty doughnut or donut. Both the cake and the yeast version are delicious . treat yourself to whatever kind you like  - and savor the its taste and texture.

Bun Times Ahead

Buns are fun. They're always a treat whether they're plain , infused with cinnamon and raisins or spiced. They're a great mid morning snack or even a quick way to start the morning. They have more oomph than plain rolls and go better with coffee or tea. Buns are the perfect sweet when you;re craving some kind of pastry.

Buns have been around since medieval times in the form of hot crossed ones. These were spiced and fille d with raisins, However the Anglo Saxons ate them as a sacrifice to the moon goddess Eostre, where our Easter comes from. The cross symbolizes the four quarters of the moon. Later the newly minted English Protestants declared them too Papist tried to ban them. That didn't work and England's wise Elizabeth I relegated bun making to only Christmas and Easter. The 18th Century brought two new forms of bun,. the Sally Lund and the Bath. the first was created by French Huguenot. Solange or Sollie Lyuon.These were a spin of the mancette a type of dinner roll eaten only by the rich. Sally Lunn had nutmeg, rosewater and cinnamon in them. The bath bun created by Dr. William Oliver in the spa town of Bath, England These were a rich yeast dough wrapped around a lump of sugar. it had more crushed sugar on the top and was chock full of raisin sultanas and citron peel.

Nowadays buns are even richer. The chain Cinnabon offers them liberally laced with Madagascar cinnamon and topped with a mega rich cream cheese icing. Local bakeries around the Philly and South Jersey area offer sticky buns. This is again another rich treat more like a gooey cake than a bun. It's made in the same roll around way as the Cinnabon but his also laced and sprinkled with chopped pecans. Again all of these are to be eaten with a knife and fork and usually constitute a dinner as opposed to a snack. However grocery stores in the New York metro area and some bakeries sell traditional buns and these are good split open and slathered with butter.

Buns are a fun treat no matter what time of day. They are great for mid morning and mid afternoon breaks. They're good at breakfast when you're reading the paper or at the mall when you're tired of shopping. Treat yourself to one today.