Pebbled Persian Bread

To my wonderful inlaws in Ballard, Washington I brought this gift last night. While making the bread I had my doubts regarding the strange procedure—scorch the bottom of the dough on a skillet, broil the top in the oven–why? They appeared to be amoebic pancakes, sprung to life from wet, primordial dough. And yet, viola, they taste wonderful!

Pebbled Persian Bread: Hushva Naan

Recipe of Iran, from Flatbreads and Flavors

1 tablespoon yeast (or a cup of sourdough starter)

3 ½ cups warm water

7 cups whole wheat

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp oil (I used olive)

Mix 3 cups of the water and yeast in a large bowl, then add 3 cups of flour. Stir for about a minute or 100 times in the same direction to start developing the gluten, then add the salt and as much more flour as you need to make a nice dough. Knead for about 8 minutes till it’s smooth and elastic. Let rise till doubled, 1-2 hours.

Punch down. Add the remaining ½ cup water to the dough, and knead until it is absorbed. Cover and let rise until it has yet again doubled.

Punch down and divide into 8 even pieces. Position an oven rack 6 inches below the broiler element. Preheat broiler, have a bowl of water ready.

Heat a lightly oiled skillet over high heat. With your hands pick up one ball of dough. Pat it out and moisten your palms as necessary to keep it from sticking.

Place the dough on a moistened work surface and push into an 8 inch round. The surface of the dough will be irregular and bumpy with fingermarks.

Place the dough in the very hot skillet, bumpy side up, and immediately reduce the heat as low as possible.

Cook for 3 minutes on the stove, and then transfer the skillet to the broiler and broil for 4 minutes or until top has begun to brown. Cool on a rack. Serve warm.

4.5 stars. This cookbook doesn’t have pictures, so I never know if I’m getting close to what the authors intended, and because I’ve never been to no less dined in Persia, I have no idea if Pebbled Persian Bread means to look like this, like whole-wheat bear claws. Even if I’m wrong, whatever I’ve concocted based on the instructions here is a culinary experiment gone right. The bread is extremely moist and I enjoy the taste of it on its own, but would also make great dipping bread for some kind of masala.

And because this bread went to your folks, KP, this one is also dedicated to you. I love you, sorry I’m away.

Coffeecake in Lattice with Sweet Cheese Filling

Izzy has been exhibiting more dread and disgust than usual regarding my trip to the Northwest today. She said if I could manage to carry 25 pounds of bread flour in my carry-on, surely I could carry an extra 80 pounds of bulldog. I reminded her that I am not travelling with baking supplies, that I have been baking like a fiend for weeks to ensure I have enough recipes to cover my trip time. She remains nonplussed.

Our neighbor Eric the other day thought he would come over and snow blow our driveway on the sly. Not so fast. We will pay you richly in coffee cake!

Coffeecake in Lattice with Sweet Cheese Filling

Baking Illustrated

Rich Coffeecake Dough

4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (2 envelopes )– I used a cup of sourdough starter

1/4 cup warm water (about 110 F)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (21 1/4 ounces)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened but still cool (2 sticks)

Sweet Cheese Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool

1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces)

2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping (optional)

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar (2 1/3 ounces) or 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (2 1/3 ounces)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (2 1/2 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

Coffeecake Icing (optional)

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (3 ounces)

3 1/2 teaspoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Egg Wash

1 large egg

1 teaspoon heavy cream (preferably) or 1 teaspoon whole milk

Directions:

For the Dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer; stir to dissolve. Add the sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla; attach the paddle and mix at the lowest speed until well combined. Add 3 1/4 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing at low speed until the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the butter pieces 1 at a time, beating until incorporated, about 20 seconds after each addition (total mixing time should be about 5 minutes). Replace the paddle with the dough hook and add the remaining 1 cup flour; knead at medium-low speed until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes longer. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough tightens up slightly, about 2 minutes longer.
Scrape the dough (which will be too soft to pick up with your hands) into a straight-sided lightly oiled plastic container or bowl using a plastic dough scraper. Cover the container tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 3 to 4 hours. Press down the dough, replace the plastic, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 4 or up to 24 hours. Alternatively, for a quick chill, spread the dough about 1 inch thick on a baking sheet, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.
For the Filling: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer at high speed until smooth, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium and continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl at least once, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and chill thoroughly before using. (The filling can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.).
For the Streusel: Mix the brown and granulated sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat. Pinch the butter chunks and dry mixture between your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Chill thoroughly before using. (The streusel can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.).
For the Icing: Whisk all the ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth. (The icing can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week. Thin with a few drops of milk before using.).
When you are ready to shape the coffeecakes, remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, scraping the container sides with a rubber spatula if necessary. Divide the dough in half for 2 cakes.
Working with a half recipe of cold dough at a time, shape the dough into a lattice, and add filling, according to my pictures:

Place the lattice on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with second half of dough.

Proof until slightly puffed (they will not increase in volume as dramatically as a leaner bread dough), 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (After this final rise, the unbaked cakes can be refrigerated overnight and baked the next morning.).

For the Egg Wash: Beat the egg and cream in a small bowl until combined.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F Working with and baking one coffeecake at a time, brush with egg wash evenly over the exposed dough.

Sprinkle the top evenly with half of the streusel.

Slide the baking sheet onto a second baking sheet to prevent the bottom crust from overbrowning and bake until deep golden brown and/or an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the cake reads 190 F, 25 to 30 minutes. Slide the parchment with the coffeecake onto a wire rack and cool at least 20 minutes. Drizzle the cake with half the icing and serve.

5 stars. I forgot to take a picture, and KP took half the coffee cake to school with him. I called and told KP to snap a shot before he ate the rest. Apparently the coffee cake cast some sort of spell making him forget his promise to document the thing. In a trance, he ate it all in one sitting. What I have is the shard Eric and Katie were able to spare for a photo opp late in the afternoon. This coffeecake’s magic is its trick for disappearing.

Soft Pretzels

Considering these are pretzels, not dessert, not a fine loaf with a crackling crust, but pretzels, I’d say the labor to pleasure ratio is a bit too high for me to want to repeat. They are great to dip in pizza marinara, the dough is very similar to the bagels of yesterday. But so much work!

Soft Pretzels

Baking Illustrated.

A 12-inch skillet is the best pan for blanching the pretzels. The pan is wide enough to fit 3 or 4 pretzels at a time, and the shallow sides make it easy to add and remove the pretzels from the water. Any wide pot or Dutch oven may be substituted if a skillet is not handy. Coarse salt is best (as well as traditional), but if it is unavailable, kosher salt may be substituted. The pretzels are best eaten the day they are baked but will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 days or in the freezer, wrapped well, for 2 weeks.

1	teaspoon instant yeast
1/4	cup honey
1	teaspoon salt
3	cups (16 1/2 ounces) bread flour , plus more for dusting the work surface
1	cup warm water , (about 110 degrees)
3	tablespoons baking soda
2	tablespoons coarse salt, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds , (optional)

INSTRUCTIONs

1. Mix together the yeast, honey, salt, flour, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a smooth, elastic ball of dough forms (the dough will be quite stiff), 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Deflate the dough, cover, and let rise until nearly doubled in size again, 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour 6 cups water into a 12-inch skillet add the baking soda, stir, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.

4. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 2 ounces each). Roll each piece into a 20-inch-long, 1/2-inch-wide rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel and place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Using a wire skimmer or slotted spoon, gently place the pretzels into the boilling water, top-side down (you should be able to fit 3 or 4 pretzels at a time), for 30 seconds. Using tongs, carefully flip the pretzels over and boil for 30 seconds longer.

Remove the pretzels with a slotted spoon, drain well, and place back onto the prepared baking sheet (because the pretzels will not rise much in the oven, you should be able to fit all 12 pretzels on one baking sheet). Sprinkle with coarse salt or sesame or poppy seeds (if using) and bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until the pretzels are well-browned, turning the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Remove the pretzels from the baking sheet to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I didn’t realize they would puff up so much in the oven, so I probably should have made the rope skinnier and the loops bigger. Tasted the same as one you’d get at the mall.

Plain Bagels

The snow seems to be following me around the country. I get back to Rochester, MN and am greeted by 8 fresh inches. Watch out Seattle. I’m coming for ya Wednesday.

I have extremely high standards for bagels. Cedar Mill Safeway Bagels in Portland, OR are the best I know of, and my homemade attempt came nowhere near that state of perfection. However, I also deviated somewhat from the recipe, which may be the reason my first batch turned out suboptimal. For one, I had no high-gluten flour (and it rather disturbs me to know that bagels are traditionally made with high gluten flour, hello Type 2!) Also, I did the sourdough starter switcheroo for yeast, and something there was screwy, I suspect. Barley malt syrup is the stickiest substance I know of. I found it in the healthy natural food store, and had a comical ten minutes with it trying to get it kneaded into the dough.

Plain Bagels
Baking Illustrated

4 cups high-gluten flour (King Arthur’s website says it’s about 14% protein)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 tablespoon barley malt syrup or powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast 1 1/4cups water (lukewarm, 80 degrees)
3 tablespoons cornmeal, for dusting baking sheet
1/2 cup topping ingredients (optional), see step 7 for suggestions

1. Mix flour, salt, and malt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Add yeast and water; mix at lowest speed until dough looks scrappy, like shreds just beginning to come together, about 4 minutes. Increase to speed 2; continue mixing until dough is cohesive, smooth, and stiff, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Turn dough on to work surface; divide into eight portions, about 4 ounces each. Roll pieces into smooth balls and cover with towel or plastic wrap to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Form dough balls into dough rings place on cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (12 to 18 hours).

4. About 20 minutes before baking, remove dough rings from refrigerator. Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Fill large soup kettle with 3-inch depth of water; bring to rapid boil. To test the proofing of the dough rings, fill large bowl with cool water. Drop dough ring into bowl; it should float immediately to surface (if not, retest every 5 minutes).

5. Working four at a time, drop dough rings into boiling water, stirring and submerging loops with Chinese skimmer or slotted spoon, until very slightly puffed, 30 to 35 seconds. Remove rings from water; transfer to wire rack, bottom side down, to drain.

6. Transfer boiled rings, rough side down, to parchment paper–lined baking sheet or baking stone. Bake until deep golden brown and crisp, about 14 minutes. Use tongs to transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
7. To Top: Topping ingredients stick to the bagels best when applied to the dough rings just as they come out of the boiling water, while still wet and sticky from boiling. Options include: raw sesame seeds, poppy or caraway seeds, dehydrated onion or garlic flakes, or sea or kosher salt. You can also combine toppings. For example, use 2 tablespoons each of sesame and poppy seeds and 1 tablespoon each of caraway seeds, sea or kosher salt, dehydrated onion flakes, and dehydrated garlic flakes.

I would give these 3 stars. It is impressive, the process, the boiling, the dough that smells of and feels like handling Play-Do. But I’ll stick with Safeway. Mom, could you bring some along when you come visit me in Seattle in a few weeks?

Pecan and Caramel Sticky Buns

The swirls in these sticky buns match the red swirls the angry blood vessels have designed upon my tired eyes. Red Eye flight home from Boston. As I fade in and out of late night delirium while trying to finish a Nobel Prize winning fiction trilogy Kristen Lavransdattar, happy montages of these delicious pecan treats float psychedelically through my thoughts. They were sublime, and seemed to linger upon the tongue as long as a warm twilight on a Southern porch.

Pecan and Caramel Sticky Buns
Baking Illustrated

Dough
1/2 cup milk
8 tab lespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup warm water, 110 degrees
1 (1/4 ounce) envelope instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 -4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus
additional unbleached all-purpose flour, for dusting work surface

Caramel Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 cups whole pecans, lightly toasted

Filling
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

For the dough—same as the cinnamon buns I posted yesterday
1. Heat the milk and butter in a small pan or microwave until the butter melts.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm (about 100 degrees).
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg, and yolks at low speed until well mixed.
4. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended.
Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed (adding up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary), I did use the additional 1/4 cup of flour, until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.5. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
6. Shape the dough into a round, place it in a very lightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
7. Leave in a warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
8. For the caramel sauce, combine sugar and water in a sauce pan, cover and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Uncover and continue to boil until syrup is thick and straw-colored, about 7 minutes until it measures 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Reduce heat to medium and cook until it is golden and begins to smoke (350 degrees). Meanwhile, bring cream, butter, vanilla, salt, and corn syrup to a simmer over high heat in a saucepan. As soon as sugar reaches 350, remove it from heat and pour the cream mixture in and let bubbling subside. Whisk until it is smooth. While still hot, pour into baking dish and sprinkle pecans over the top.

9. To roll and fill the dough: after the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
10. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12 inch rectangle, with long side facing you.
11. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the far edge.
12. Roll the dough, beginning with the ; long edge closest to you and using both hands to pinch the dough with your fingertips as you roll. Keep it tightly rolled. Moisten the top border with water and seal the roll. Lightly dust the roll with flour and press on the ends if necessary to make a uniform 16 inch cylinder.
13. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
14. Cut the rolls into 12 equal pieces using plain dental floss or a sharp knife.Place the rolls cut side up, evenly in the prepared baking dish.
15. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk 1 1/2- 2 hours.
16. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven rack to the middle position. Bake the rolls until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of one roll reads 185 to 188 degrees or 25- 30 minutes.
17. Invert rolls onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the rolls upright on a large serving plate and use a rubber spatula to spread the icing on them.

Goodbye Boston; Hello Miss Izzy.

Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

Writers, to me, are the most amusing of famous people because they build their fame upon hours of solitude, so when they finally ascend to popularity and must command a stage before an audience of 10,000 people, they behave as though they have just come through the door of a surprise party–for forty five minutes. Stuttering, foot shuffling, gasping, heck-hemming. They talk to themselves as they must at their computer. I can’t help but wonder what I would do in their place. You know how I feel about surprise parties…

One thing is certain, if I were giving a full house reading of my work, I would serve everyone who came through the door one of these:

Glazed Cinnamon Roll

Baking Illustrated

Dough
1/2 cup milk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup warm water, 110 degrees
1 (1/4 ounce) envelope instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 -4 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus
additional unbleached all-purpose flour, for dusting work surface

Icing
8 ounces cream cheese, softened but still cool
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons quality ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

For the dough
1. Heat the milk and butter in a small pan or microwave until the butter melts.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the mixture is lukewarm (about 100 degrees).
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, mix together the water, yeast, sugar, egg,
and yolks at low speed until well mixed.
4. Add the salt, warm milk mixture, and 2 cups of the flour and mix at medium speed until thoroughly blended.
Switch to the dough hook, add another 2 cups of the flour, and knead at medium speed (adding up to 1/4 cup more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary), I did use the additional 1/4 cup of flour, until the dough is smooth and freely clears the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a round, place it in a very lightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.Leave in a warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.of the icing ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and blend together at low speed until thoroughly combined.
Increase the speed to high and mix until the icing is smooth and free of cream cheese lumps.Transfer the icing to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
5. To roll and fill the dough After the dough has doubled, press it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.
6. Using a rolling pin, shape the dough into a 16 by 12 inch rectangle, with long side facing you.
7. Mix together the filling ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the far edge.
8. Roll the dough, beginning with the long edge closest to you and using both hands to pinch the dough with your fingertips as you roll. Keep it tightly rolled. Moisten the top border with water and seal the roll. Lightly dust the roll with flour and press on the ends if necessary to make a uniform 16 inch cylinder.

9. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or spray with cooking spray.
10. Cut the rolls into 12 equal pieces using plain dental floss or a sharp knife.Place the rolls cut side up, evenly in the prepared baking dish.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm draft free spot until doubled in bulk 1 1/2- 2 hours.
12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and adjust oven rack to the middle position. Bake the rolls until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of one roll reads 185 to 188 degrees or 25- 30 minutes.
13. Invert rolls onto a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Turn the rolls upright on a large serving plate and use a rubber spatula to spread the icing on them.

Last time I made cinnamon rolls, I also encountered unexpected difficulty. Rolling and cutting the cinnamon rolls was a process I believe I likened to swaddling sand into a wet toilet paper burrito. Holes tore through, the innards spilled. It was gruesome. But Lorelei, sprite from my running Team Red, told me how to use a piece of string to cut cinnamon rolls with clean edges. Miraculous! And Gram Gigi, these are far superior to the Quick Cinnamon Rolls I previously tested.

Cinnamon Waffles

Funny Story. So last night, I heard Seamus Heaney read his masterful poetry using gutteral irish and Scottish sounding words like glar and glit and dailygone. I caught the last train to Ipswich that was full of drunkards fresh from the Bruins victory. And then I was so distracted by them, I missed my stop. I noticed I missed my stop while the train was still moving slowly, and almost did a Charlie’s Angels roll out the side car door. Instead, I got off at the next stop, which was a rural outpost, and by this point, it was blizzarding. A stranger (angel?) drove me into a town where I caught a taxi driven by Scrooge, or possibly, the corpse of Scrooge. He kept stopping and asking if my friend could just come get me. I reminded him I had paid him a large amount of money. Surprisingly, he didn’t kill me, although he was absolutely the type who might. I made it Denise’s–where I am still late this morning, snowed in! Blizzard in Boston! Until they plow, we are stuck here in a beautiful home in the small 1640s town of Ipswich, upon whose city council codex the U.S. Constitution was written.

Denise and her wonderful family are making waffles from scratch this morning, from a cookbook written for kids (precious). Philip Lopate, the famous essayist I had hoped to meet at the conference this morning, has Nothing on these Waffles. Or meeting this awesome family.

Cardamom Cookies

Aside from losing my driver’s license and not realizing it until I was three people from the TSA agent at the airport, having delays on each plane and shuttle I endeavored to board, missing my train to stay with the friend who would have me in Ipswich meaning instead of seeing her I paid over 100 dollars for a skeezy room by the airport, at the front desk of which I started bawling when the guy asked for my driver’s license… travel to Boston went well.

The godsend was reuniting with my friend Susan briefly outside the MSP terminal. I hadn’t seen Susan since she gallavanted off to India, where she tuned into to recipes like the cookies she so sweetly gifted me before I began all the shenanigans at security. Susan, your cookies were my comfort and consolation all day– thank you. They were delicious.

Cardamom Cookies
From www.indianfoodforever.com
c/o the lovely Susan Marshall

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted Butter
2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Cardamom Powder (Elaichi)
4 Eggs
2 cups Fine Wheat Flour (Maida)
1 tsp Salt

How to make cardamom cookies:
In a bowl, beat the butter, sugar and cardomom powder fro 3 minutes.
Then with the beater going add the eggs one at a time.
When the mixture gets light take it out in a bowl and add the flour and salt with a light hand.
When a soft dough gets prepared with the help of a spoon drop them on a nonstick cookie sheet.
Place them 1/2″ apart.
Bake these cookies in a preheated oven at 325 F for 10 – 11 minutes or till the cookies have a golden color.
Repeat the baking procedure for the remaining dough.

Sourdough Parker House Rolls

In homage to the city to which I am travelling today, I give you rolls made famous by the Boston hotel that first served them in the late nineteenth century: the Parker House. As the story goes, an angry pastry chef was in a rush and threw his dinner roll dough into the oven. Literally, threw. They came out dented and weirdly shapen, which is really the only distinguishing feature of a Parker House roll, that, and a lot of butter.

Parker House Rolls
Baking Illustrated

Dough
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 200°F. Once oven reaches 200°F, maintain oven temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off heat.

1 ¼ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
Heat milk and sugar together in small saucepan or in microwave until mixture is lukewarm (about 100°F).

I cup sourdough starter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Whisk leaven with egg and set aside.

16 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 ½ cups)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Combine flour and salt in bowl with a dough whisk or wooden spoon.

Add ⅓ of milk mixture and mix with dough whisk or wooden spoon to combine. Add another ⅓ of milk mixture and repeat twice until combined.
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces, softened
5 ounces all-purpose flour (about ½ cup)

In a small bowl, cream butter and flour with an electric hand mixer.
Add creamed butter to large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or dough whisk to combine.
Place dough in the bowl of a stand mixture and mix until dough is smooth but still sticky, about 6 minutes.

Rising
By hand, form dough into a ball by flattening dough and folding the four corners into the middle of the dough. Flip over and shape into a disc. Lightly spray the sides of a large bowl with cooking oil. Place dough ball into bowl and turn several times to lightly coat dough. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Once dough has doubled, press down, replace plastic wrap, and allow dough to rest for 5 minutes.

Shaping
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Melt butter in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, spread melted butter on bottom and sides of two rimmed baking sheets.
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Roll dough out on a generously floured work surface until about ½ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 2 ½ inch circles of dough. Coat each circle with melted butter and then fold in half, pressing lightly on the sides to seal the dough. Place on prepared cookie sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Lightly brush tops of rolls with remaining butter.

Cover shaped rolls with a towel or plastic wrap and let right until puffed up, about 30 to 45 minutes.Baking
Preheat oven to 375°F.

When rolls have risen, remove towels or plastic wrap and bake at 375°F until tops of the rolls are a dark golden brown, about 20 to 22 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm. Lightly brush tops of rolls with remaining 3 tablespoons melted butter and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Set rolls in warm place and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

When rolls are almost fully risen, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are dark golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Transfer rolls to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Again, I was in a rush to get these out quick, and so I squished all the dough onto one pan. The dents were absorbed by the other rolls, so instead they appear to be a confluent monolayer of skin cells under the microscope, or cars in traffic in downtown Boston—the fray into which I am headed this afternoon. Looking forward to AWP Conference, and hoping to run into Seamus Heaney in an Irish pub!

This post is featured on Sourdough Surprises, my favorite baking community blog. www.sourdoughsurprises.blogspot.com

Apricot and Almond Bread

The most snow days per year we have had since moving to Minnesota. Since Monday we have been having a crazy dump. KP has the day off school today, so we all went out into the backyard this morning to enjoy the fresh eight or nine inches we got since yesterday. I’m convinced Izzy puts the Izz in Blizzard.

This weather is great for bread baking. Again, we return to the Hunza Valley of Pakistan for some age-defying bread recipes. This, I’ll say, had incredible flavor compared the prior Hunza disaster-turned-dog-biscuit.

Apricot and Almond Bread

Flatbreads and Flavors

Hunza Valley, Pakistan

2 cups goats milk or whole milk

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp yeast (or sourdough starter)

½ cup lukewarm water

5 to 6 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp safflower oil

1 tbsp salt

2/3 cup apricots, dried and quartered

2/3 cup whole almonds

Scald the milk in a heavy saucepan, remove from heat and stir in honey, cool to lukewarm. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl; stir to dissolve. Stir in warm milk and honey, then stir in 3 cups of flour, a cup at a time. Stir 100 times in the same direction to develop the gluten. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sponge stand for 30 minutes at room temp.

Sprinkle oil and salt into the sponge. Stir in enough of the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a stiff dough. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking for 10 minutes.

Rinse out and dry the bowl, and oil lightly. Add the dough, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until the dough has doubled in volume .

Punch the dough down and let it rest five minutes. Then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of one inch. Sprinkle the apricots and almonds over the dough, roll up into a cylinder. Shape the dough into a ball and gently knead to distribute the fruit and nuts.

Lightly oil a heavy ovenproof 10-inch skillet with 2 to 3 inch high sides. Gently roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 10 inch round and transfer to the prepared skillet. Cover with plastic wrap or a dry cloth and let rise until almost doubled.

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. With a sharp knife or razor blade, cut a ½ inch deep X across the surface the dough. Bake until the top is light golden brown and the bread sounds hollow, about 45 minutes.

3.5 stars. The apricots and almonds give the bread sweet and savory notes. I probably should have kneaded it beyond the 10 minutes (because I’ve noticed that my kneading seems not to equal the kneading estimates of standard bread baking recipes), but it was a busy day and my arms were stiff from shoveling snow.

The 100% whole wheat was a plus for those health-concerned at beer church. I was impressed how rapidly the loaf rose under the heavy weight of 6 cups of flour. At one point I thought it might end up looking like the world’s largest muffin instead of a round shaped in a skillet, but cutting the X kept it at a decent size. Stay warm out there!