Lupin Flour Low Carb Brioche Buns

We’ve struggled with a low-carb diet, particularly the lack of bread. I’ve tried the almond buns, made with almond flour but they tend to be so heavy, that I find it difficult to eat it like normal bread, you become way too full. The discovery of Lupin flour paired with Vital Wheat Gluten has changed my life. We have gone back to enjoying the foods we’ve loved before low-carb and feeling rather good about it. These dinner rolls are 2 g net carb compared to a regular brioche bun which is 34 g of carbs! 

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Lupin Flour is related to soy and peanuts so if you have an allergy to either or both, you will probably be allergic to Lupin Flour.

Makes 8 hamburger-size buns or 12 slightly smaller buns or one 24 cm loaf

Ingredients:

• 236 g Filtered water, slightly warm
• 4 g Sugar
• 6 g Instant yeast
• 3 Large Eggs, room temperature, divided
• 55 g Butter, softened
• 45 g Erythritol
• 80 g Lupin flour
• 38 g Oat fiber
• 170 g Vital wheat gluten
• 3.5 g Sea salt
  
• 10 g Sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a container and allow it to bloom for about 10 minutes.
2. In a bowl, combine two eggs and Erythritol and whisk until the Erythritol has dissolved.
3. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the lupin flour, vital wheat gluten, oat flour and sea salt together. Combine the egg/Erythritol with the bloomed yeast and mix well, add it to the flour mixture and using the scraper paddle, mix until well combined.
4. Once incorporated, add the softened butter to the dough and mix with the scraper paddle until the butter has been fully incorporated into the dough.
5. Rest the dough for ten minutes. Then knead it with the kneader hook in the stand mixer for 10-15 minutes to activate the gluten (do not skip this step, it is vital).
6. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Weigh the dough and divide the total weight by 8. Cut the dough into eight equal weights and roll into a nice bun and place it onto the baking sheet. These buns will roughly double in size. Repeat with the remainder of the dough. Cover the buns with a clean cloth and allow them to proof until doubled in size (mine took just shy of 2 hours).
7. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Whisk the remaining egg and brush the bun tops generously with it, Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake the buns for 18-20 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200° F and the tops are golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.
   

Notes:

• If the tops of the buns get too dark while baking, cover lightly with foil to complete baking.
• The sugar with the yeast gets totally eaten by the yeast, not affecting the carbohydrates.
• You can make this into a loaf and get about 18 slices of bread, lowering the carb count even more!
• This dough is easily divided in half, you’ll just need 2 eggs instead of 3!
• If you’re like me, you’ll want to eliminate the Erythritol or reduce it and I suggest that you don’t. Lupin flour does not taste like wheat flour so the sweetness helps bridge the gap a bit. I have made this recipe without the Erythritol and although the texture is not affected, the taste is and it’s definitely better with the Erythritol.

Just look at that crumb, it really has a lot of spring to it.

Just look at that gorgeous crust.

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Low-Carb Cheddar Biscuits

These little biscuits are quick and easy to make and take less than 15 minutes to bake up so you can make them last minute or bake a bunch and freeze them.

They have a nice crumbly texture.

This recipe is per buscuit

Ingredients:

• 30 g lupin flour
• 15 g vital wheat gluten
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2.5 g baking powder
• 15 g Erythritol
• 35 g sharp cheddar cheese, grated, Divided
• Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a small ramekin (I used my Le Creuset mini Dutch oven).
2. Whisk all of the ingredients together until homogenized and smooth. Pour into the ramekin and top with about 10 g of cheddar and bake for 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
3. Pop the muffin out of the ramekin and cut it in half horizontally, and toast until golden.

Directions:

• I found the Le Creuset mini Dutch oven a little too large because the biscuits are very filling so next time I’ll choose a smaller pan

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Cheddar Cheese and Onion Kefir Scones

Hearty winter soups are a staple when we are in Canada and I just love to serve soups with scones. This recipe is an old favourite but I had run out of fresh onions so I used my handy dehydrated onion flakes in this easy recipe. There is just a little time to rehydrate the onions and you’re good to go. 

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 9 large scones

Ingredients:

• 260 g AP flour
• 15 g sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 5 g salt
• 2 g cream of tartar
• 56 g cold butter
• 155 g frozen, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
• 200 mL buttermilk, 15 mL for brushing the tops
• 30 g dehydrated onion flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rehydrate the onions flakes in the buttermilk for 5 minutes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in the large bowl of your food processor with the blades and mix well.
4. Cut in the cold butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Replace the blade with the plastic dough blade.
5. Add the buttermilk onion mixture and cheese to the flour and pulse to combine into a ball (cheese should still be frozen or at the very least, extremely cold).
6. If it’s really warm in your kitchen, it’s best to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. With very little flour to prevent sticking, roll the dough into 1 cm thickness and use your favourite cookie cutter to cut even shapes (I used 5 cm squares with scalloped edges.
7. Place each shape onto the prepared baking sheet about a centimetre apart and brush the tops with the extra buttermilk. Add a pinch of frozen shredded cheese to each top, if desired.
8. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.

So flakey and delicious!

Notes:

• I buy my cooking/baking cheese on sale in 400 g logs and I grate them into zip-lock bags and freeze them. If you break up the shreds as they freeze, they won’t stick together in clumps.
• The frozen cheese will help make these flakey.

These are the grey days that just kill me.

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Super fluffy Keffir Pancakes

We had some dear friends over for brunch in early October and I thought I’d make a “Biggy Breakfast” for us. You know the ones on the menu at your local greasy spoon: eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, and pancakes! Overboard, indeed, but it’s the type of breakfast that is easy to share. These pancakes are my favourite, so light and fluffy. I normally make them with buttermilk but I had some unflavoured Keffir on hand so I thought, why not?

Ingredients:

• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 200 mL keffir
• 100 mL water or milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 30 g sugar
• 10 mL vanilla extract
• 7 g baking powder
• 7 g baking soda
• pinch of cream of tartar
• pinch salt
• 1 nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. In a bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
2. Beat egg white and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form but not dry.
3. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar until creamy, pale yellow and thick; add the keffir and the water or milk, vanilla and beat until smooth on a slow speed.
4. Fold in the sifted flour mixture gently (don’t over mix as we don’t want the glutens activated).
5. Fold the beaten egg white into the batter and mix together gently, do not over-mix!
6. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray set to medium temperature (or 350°F).
7. Drop about 125 mL of batter on the pan for each pancake and spread out to about 15-20 cm and cook until you see a few bubbles on the surface of the batter. Flip the pancakes and cook for about another 1-2 minutes and the pancake is not too wobbly when you touch the centre with your fingers. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.
8. Keep warm until you have made all the pancakes and serve warm with butter, maple syrup, fruit, and whipped cream!

They are the fluffiest!

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“Chinese Scallion” Pancakes

The weather is still lovely in the big smoke so we continue entertaining on our back deck. I’m always looking for something a little different and these scallion pancakes truly fit the bill. I first saw the recipe on Mi Mi’s blog and was immediately intrigued. Mi Mi’s pancakes were more of a thicker bread and she admitted she had forgotten a final step, so I scoured the internet for “my” recipe. The one I posted below is a compilation of several recipes that I read through. The pancake itself is a very thin, but super flavourful. Crispy, chewy and full of flavour a veritable trifecta! We just had them with a simple dipping sauce and they were absolutely delicious. Thank you Mi Mi for drawing my attention to this tasty treat.

These pancakes are crispy and chewy at the same time.

Makes 4 pancakes appetizer-sized portions. Don’t kid yourself, you’ll probable eat two.

Ingredients:

• 150 g AP flour
• 3 g salt
• 93 g cold water
• 6 scallions, green parts only, finely sliced
• Olive oil (enough to coat the pan about 0.5 cm deep)

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and the salt and mix well. Add the water into the centre of the flour mixture and mix until the water is absorbed into the flour. Knead the dough with your hands for 5-7 minutes or until quite elastic. Cover lightly with olive oil and allow to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Divide the dough into two or four equal portions and roll out using the KitchenAid pasta maker to the finest thickness. The dough will be very sticky so flour or grease your surface to prevent sticking.
3. Sprinkle the sliced scallions (and whatever additional spice, if using) over the rectangle and roll up from the long side. Then, roll the log onto itself like a scroll. Roll the scroll out to about 20 cm diameter. Cook on medium heat until the pancake is golden on both sides. Cut into wedges to serve. Serve with the dipping sauce below.

Dipping sauce ingredients:

• 15 mL soy sauce
• 15 mL sesame oil
• 15 mL Mirin or sweet rice wine
• Sesame seeds

Dipping sauce directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together and serve with the cooked pancakes.

Notes:

• You can add a variety of other spices like Chinese Five-spice, Aleppo pepper flakes, or mint to name a few.
• I used cold water because from what I’ve read, it will make the dough chewy, hot or boiling water will apparently make it crispier. I wanted chewy and figured it would be crispy from the pan frying and I was correct.
• The green part of the scallion is apparently softer so it won’t poke through the dough but mine did anyway and it did not alter the flavour or texture.
• Use either flour or oil to prevent this very sticky dough from sticking everywhere. I used flour on this one.
• To make the rolled dough more manageable, you can roll two smaller lengths and stick them together because when they scroll and you roll them out, you won’t notice a difference.
• Most recipes call to roll the dough into a circle at first but I wanted a very thin dough so I just made sheets using my KitchenAid pasta machine and it worked out fantastic.

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Bacon and Green Onion Cornbread

Just before we left for Spain, I bought the cutest little loaf pan with the sharpest corners but I didn’t have enough time to try it so it was tucked away until our return at the end of May. I was paging through the Early Summer Edition of the LCBO Food and Drink Magazine when I spotted this cornbread recipe. And the ingredients were easy to half plus I had just enough of the ingredients (like only one egg)!

I have visions of baking nutty crackers in this adorable pan.

Bacon and onions, are a delicious combination.

Makes about 1 small loaf pan, 75 cm x 180 cm (3 inches x 7 inches)

Ingredients:

• 105 g yellow cornmeal
• 86 g All-purpose flour
• 25 g granulated sugar
• 10 mL baking powder
• 2 mL baking soda
• 5 mL fine sea salt
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 188 mL kefir, well shaken
• 57 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 15 g green onions, finely chopped
• 30 g bacon, well cooked and coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a small loaf pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and sea salt and whisk well.
3. In another bowl, combine the egg, kefir, melted butter, green onions, and bacon, and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix just to combine, it will be lumpy.
5. Tap the pan to remove air bubbles and smooth out the top.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

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Savoury Cheese Tuille

Upon our return from Spain, I was missing being there so I made the Almond Tuiles of Sevilla (Tejas Dulces de Sevilla). They are delicious but it got me thinking about a savoury version. We had brought home some wonderful cheese called Old Amsterdam and I thought it would make a delicious snack. They are light and airy and crisp. They are strong enough for dip, but tasty on their own. I love how rustic they look from just breaking them apart.

Savoury Cheese Tuiles

Makes about 20 cm x 30 cm sheet

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 30 g cheese (I used Old Amsterdam)
• 1 g salt
• 1 g smoked paprika 
• 50 g flour 

Directions:

1. Beat the egg until it reaches the ribbon stage (about 5 minutes), add the salt and smoked paprika and mix well, then fold in the flour.
2. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over it evenly and bake at 275° F for 20-35 minutes or until it has totally dried out and developed a golden colour.
3. Cool entirely and once cool break into shards. Serve at room temperature.

 

 

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Kartofdzhyn (Cheese and Potato Stuffed Bread)

I started watching a couple of Ontario-guys on Facebook who try to prove or disprove crazy videos they’ve seen, mostly of food but it can also be science or cleaning and such. They are a bit goofy which makes them rather charming. Their girlfriends sometimes participate in these videos by making some outlandish foods. This traditional Georgian potato, cheese-stuffed bread was one of them. The recipe looked so good, I had to do a little research and make my own. Their recipe was fairly straight forward using baking powder and not yeast bread dough, but the research showed that most of the recipes were yeasted bread dough, so I went with that. Then I found a few that had egg in them which gives the bread a wonderful, chewy texture. Then there is the mashed potato and cheese stuffed inside. OMG, so good. My recipe makes four disks about 20 cm in diametre, cut into eight portions.  The bread freezes very well. Remember to put it in the refrigerator overnight to defrost, then allow it to come to room temperature before baking. We went through two bad boys in two days and I sent a third one to a friend who was going to visit her parents! The fourth one is under lock and key in the freezer, I’m saving it for a special time! I will definitely be making this recipe again and again!

Soft, pillowy mashed potatoes with the sharp feta (or goat) and gooey mozzarella makes for a more-ish starter.

Kartofdzhyn (Cheese and Potato Stuffed Bread)

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 4 stuffed bread rounds about 20 cm (8 inches) each

Ingredients for the Bread:

• 6 g quick yeast
• 8 g granulated sugar
• 120 mL milk, at 110F
• 460 g bread flour
• 6 g salt
• 215 g Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• Olive oil for the dough
• 1 egg yolk, whisked for brushing the dough

Directions:

1. Combine the yeast and sugar with the warm milk and allow to proof for about 10 minutes (it should froth up)
2. Add the flour and salt to the large bowl of your stand mixer and mix lightly.
3. Combine the Greek yogurt and eggs with the frothy yeast mixture and whisk until well combined.
4. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour and knead with the hook for 10 minutes. Stop the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, then resume kneading for about 15 minutes or until the dough comes away from the bowl.
5. Coat the dough with olive oil and allow to proof for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 2 medium yellow potatoes (about 230 g), boiled
• 30 g butter
• 30 g roasted garlic purée
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 100 g feta cheese or goats cheese
• 230 g mozzarella
• 6 g salt

Directions:

1. Mash the potatoes with butter and roasted garlic, then beat with a whisk beater until light and fluffy. Fold in the scallions, cheeses, and salt and set aside.

Directions for the dough disks:

1. Divide the dough into four equal portions. Roll out each portion evenly to a circle about 25 cm (10 inches). 
2. Add one-quarter of the filling to the centre of each round and pull in each side to form a sealed disk. Flip over and gently roll out to about 20 cm (8 inches). Pierce the top of the disk with a fork and brush each dough disk with the egg yolk. Set aside while the oven preheats or freeze on a baking sheet and transfer to a plastic zip-lock bag for the future.
3. If baking at the moment, put a cast-iron pan into the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400° F. Add one disk to the hot pan and bake for 20 minutes. When done, remove from the heat and brush the top with some more olive oil. Serve warm.

 

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Freehand Kefir, Scallion and Cheese Scones

I usually make my scones and biscuits with my handy food processor but I have to say that these freehand scones will change my method for all my future scones. For what I save in time, I sacrifice in cleaning time and most importantly, texture of the scones. These scones are light, airy, filled with gooey cheese and scallions. They are great with soup or a stew. Serve them warm with fresh butter.

This post was created on a blistery, cold day in latter January. We just had received about 50 cm (20 inches) of snow in a period of 24 hours. We must have a VIP living on our street because the damn snowplow came down our street four times, depositing a heavy mess of snow at the end of the driveway. Honestly, the last two times were ridiculous, there was hardly any new snow on the road! This was one of the sunniest days we’ve had so far, the sun reflected in the new white snow and  I just had to take advantage with the photos.

Freehand Kefir, Scallion, and Cheese Scones

Original recipe from Jean Paré’s Company’s Coming Muffins and More cookbook

Makes 8 large wedges

Ingredients:

• 240 g All-Purpose Flour
• 16 g baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 4 scallions, roughly chopped
• 150 g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 57 g cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• 100 mL kefir (and extra kefir for brushing tops)
• Parmesan, finely grated for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, with the butter and manually cut like you would pastry dough. When it is slightly smaller than pea-sized bits, add the shallots and cheese and mix.
3. Combine the kefir and the egg and whisk until frothy. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Turn dough out to a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice, just enough to pull it together. Roll out to a round shape and cut 8 wedges to make. Brush tops with kefir and sprinkle the parmesan on top.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Serve warm with butter.

Tender and delicate scone with lots of cheese and scallions.

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Quick Phyllo Pastry

I was finishing off making some spanakopita with store-bought phyllo pastry and had run out of the pastry with enough filling to make about 4 additional pieces (don’t you hate that?) so I decided to try my hand at a quick phyllo dough. It worked out extremely well so I thought I’d document the process. It’s getting dark so early these days, so you’ll need to excuse the horrible light in my photos.

Makes about 4 sheets 15 cm x 30 cm (enough for 4 triangles)

Ingredients:

• 50 g all-purpose flour (10.5 ounces)
• 15 mL olive oil
• 2.5 mL red wine vinegar
• 1.5 g salt
• 25 -45 g water

Directions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together until you get a uniform, soft dough that does not stick. Knead for a few minutes. Set aside, wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Divide into two equal balls and roll out, thin enough to see through. I used my KitchenAid pasta maker to the thinnest setting.
3. Use in your favourite phyllo recipe.

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French Baguette

• 500 g AP flour
• 4 tbsp Fleishmans’s Bread Booster
• 10 g salt
• 360 g warm water
• 3 g yeast
• 25 g honey
• 2 tbsp each flour and rice flour

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour, salt and bread booster.
2. Dissolve the yeast and the honey in the water.
3. Make a well in the flour and add all of the water mixture at once, stirring to combine into the flour.
4. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.
5. Over the next 1.5 hours, stretch and fold the dough 3 times, placing the seem down each time.
6. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-15 hours or until double in size. The next morning, remove from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
7. Divide the dough into three equal portions. Roll each into a rectangle and roll up into a baguette shape, stretching to the desired length and placing the seam side down. Sprinkle a clean dish cloth with the flour and rice flour mixture and nestle the baguettes into three separate rows for 30 to 60 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500° F and add a pan filled with water and a rolled clean dish towel (helps distribute steam evenly). Add a baking stone. Once it reaches 500° F, reduce heat to 475° F.
9. Cut slits into the baguettes and carefully lay them onto the baking stone and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. (Be very careful as the steam may be very hot).
10. Cool completely and enjoy.

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Jalapeño Jack Scones

 

Jalopeño Jack Scones

Makes 9 5 cm (2 inch) scones

Ingredients:

• 280 g AP flour
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 15 g baking powder
• 6 g salt
• 56 g cold butter, in cubes
• 1 L egg
• 120 mL buttermilk
• 100 g grated sharp cheese (I used jalapeño Monterey Jack)
• 5 mL milk
• 10 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. In the large bowl of your food processor, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter and pulse to combine. 
3. Whisk to combine the egg and buttermilk and slowly add it to the dry ingredients while running the processor. Change the blade to the plastic blade and add the cheese. Pulse to combine.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the scone dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Cut into even squares. Lay on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced out about 2 cm. Brush the tops with the milk and sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on the top of each scone. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

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Ham, Cheese and Apple Bread Pudding

 

Ingredients:

• Butter to coat pan
• 4 large eggs
• 375 mL milk
• 2 g sea salt
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 180 g sourdough bread cut into largish cubes
• 1/2 apple, like gala, cored and sliced thinly
• 100 g ham, cut into ribbons
• 70+ g Gouda or Gruyère, divided

Directions:

1. Brush the melted butter along the bottom and sides of a 9” x 9” decorative baking dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, salt and nutmeg.
3. Lay the bread evenly in the prepared baking dish, place the ham and apples evenly throughout, then sprinkle 70g of the cheese over it tucking it into the spaces.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, ham, apples and cheese evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
5. The next day, remove the prepared bread pudding from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, about an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake for 40-45 minutes or until set. All the bread pudding to sit for 10-15 minutes to fully set.
7. Serve with yogurt and Dijon maple syrup.

Ingredients

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Not Your Ordinary White Bread

This loaf came out of a craving for one of those hot chicken sandwiches smothered with brown gravy that you used to get at those Mom and Pop highway diners in the eighties and nineties. They used horrible white bread that disintegrated into gluey pulp under the gravy, but I wanted something sturdier and with flavour, this loaf hit the spot. It’ll make awesome grilled cheese too!

The butter and egg add structure to the bread so that it doesn’t fall apart with the gravy.

White Bread

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes one load about 20 cm (8 inches) long

Ingredients:

• 150 mL warm milk
• 6 g yeast
• 30 g sugar
• 1 large egg
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 390 g AP Flour
• 7 g salt

Directions:

1. Combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar in the large bowl of your stand mixer and allow the yeast to proof for about 5-8 minutes or until frothy.
2. Using the beater attachment, beat in the egg. Add half of the flour and butter and beat until incorporated. Change to kneading hook and add the remaining flour and salt and knead for 8-10 minutes or until smooth. Cover and allow to rise in a warm area for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
3. Butter the sides and bottom of a 20 cm loaf pan. Set aside.
4. Turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface, punch down and roll out to a 20 cm x 30 cm rectangle. Brush off the excess flour from both sides of the dough. If the dough is not sticky, spray with a little water on both sides. Roll up the dough from the 30 cm side, pinching the ends closed. Lay it flat into the prepared pan and allow to rise again, covered in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush loaf top with a little milk. Bake loaf for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200° F. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy.

An old fashioned hot chicken sandwich smothered with gravy. And that damn winter light is sneaking in.

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Herbed Bread Knots

I have been following fellow blogger, Lorraine Eliott over at Not-Quite-Nigella on Instagram and in August she posted a photo of the most beautiful bread knots I have ever seen. I knew the moment I saw them, I’d have to give them a go. They are not only beautiful, but they are also very tasty and quite easy to make so I’m sharing the recipe here so that I will remember to make them again.

I made 12 knots but to be honest, they were a little too big so next time, I’ll make 14!

Makes about 12 -14 bread knots. For the original recipe please click here.

Ingredients:

• 6 g instant dried yeast
• 250 mL warm water (around 110° F)
• 400 g flour
• 6 g granulated garlic
• 3 g Salt
• 15 mL EVOO
• 70 g unsalted butter, softened
• 25 g roasted garlic purée
• 100 g Parmesan cheese, grated
• Variety of herbs to make up about 20 g, chopped or julienned
• Eggwash to glaze

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, set aside. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour, garlic and salt and mix well.
2. Add the yeasty water to the bowl with the flour mixture and knead for 2-3 minutes until it is roughly incorporated. Allow the dough to sit for 20 minutes. Then start the kneader up again and knead until a beautiful shiny dough is achieved (around 10 minutes). Grease the bowl and the dough with the EVOO and allow to proof in a draft-free location for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
3. Meanwhile, cream the butter, the roasted garlic, the Parmesan cheese and the herbs until well mixed.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out to 35 cm x 50 cm. Spread the butter mixture all on the dough, right to the edge. Fold it length-wise into thirds (like you would making croissants) and lightly roll out to a slightly larger rectangle (careful not to put too much weight in rolling, otherwise the butter mixture will ooze out).
5. Cut the dough into 12-14 equal widths and make an additional length-wise slit down each width without going right to the edge. Lift by each end and roll into a beautiful knot, carefully twisting each roll so that the cut sides are exposed and you can see the herbs. Tuck each end into the knot and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make all of the knots and allow the knots to rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean cloth.
6. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake the knots for 18-25 minutes or until the centre registers about 200° F. Serve immediately, but they also freeze beautifully. Reheat in a 350° F oven for a few minutes until they are warmed through.

They are a cross between bread and a laminated dough, the layers are scrumptious!

Notes:

• Any herbs would work, I used basil, parsley and thyme.
• I may not chop the herbs as finely next time.
• I can’t wait to try sundried tomatoes and basil with mozzarella cheese or a sweet treat of cinnamon butter and sugar.

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Tanzghong Brioche Slider Buns

Buns that are used as a vehicle for other food are a very important part of the equation. You don’t want a bun that is too heavy or dense otherwise it takes over the other food, you don’t want it too light and fluffy because then it falls apart and doesn’t accomplish its primary role of transporting the other food. These buns (originally seen here) are the perfect vehicle for burgers and pulled pork we had recently. They are sturdy enough for the juicy burger with oodles of toppings and saucy pulled pork and yet they don’t overwhelm the dish with bread-y-ness. The Tangzhong roux is supposed to help preserve the rolls for longer than those without, however, they never last that long in my house, so I cannot confirm this theory.

Tanzghong Brioche Slider Buns

For the recipe inspiration, please click here.

Makes 18 slider buns (for 65 g burgers)

Ingredients:

• 60 mL warm water
• 8 g dry yeast
• 25 g sugar
• 500 g unbleached, all-purpose flour, divided
• 125 g milk (yes grams)
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 5 g sea salt
• 125 g butter, softened
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 40 g Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water allow to proof for 10-15 minutes.
2. Combine 50 g of the flour with the water and cook over low heat until a smooth paste is formed. Allow to cool for a bit. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the remaining 450 g flour, yeast mixture and salt. Pour in the flour paste/egg liquid and knead until the dough comes together. Add the softened butter a little at a time and knead on medium for 30 minutes or until the dough is no longer as sticky and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Grease a bowl and add the dough, cover and set in a warm, dark place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Shape into 18 buns (about 55 g each) and set on a baking sheet covered with a clean cloth for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
6. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
7. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 185° F to 190° F.
8. Allow to cool before serving.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for instant yeast or bread machine yeast but I only had the regular kind so if you choose to substitute with instant yeast, you need not dissolve it in the 60 mL water, just add it to the flour along with the sugar.
• These buns have excellent structure and would hold up for burgers, pulled pork or anything saucy.

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Sourdough Baguette

We have been trying to eat fewer carbs, but sometimes you just need a little carb therapy. These crusty baguettes sure did the trick. We paired them with some wonderful cheese we picked up from our favourite cheesemonger in the city.

I was searching for vital gluten for another recipe and came across a new product, “Fleischmann’s Bread Booster”, it boasts that it enhances the original yeast in the recipe, so I thought I’d try it. You add about 3 grams per 150 grams of flour.

Sourdough Baguettes

Makes 2 baguettes

Ingredients:

• 350 g unbleached “00” flour, plus more for the starter
• 215 g filtered, room temperature water, plus more for the starter
• 80 g active sourdough starter
• 9 g booster*
• 8 g finely ground sea salt

Directions:

1. The day before baking, allow your starter to come to room temperature and feed it with 50 g “00” flour and 50 g filtered room temperature water. Set aside for 3-5 hours.
2. For the bread, combine the remaining flour, booster, room temperature water and starter and mix well until it comes together (about 3 minutes in my stand mixer). Cover and allow to hydrate 1.5 hours.
3. Knead in the finely ground salt for a couple of minutes. Cover and set in the refrigerator overnight.
4. Remove dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Divide it into two by weight and shape into baguettes. Rest on lightly floured parchment for 45 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 500° F. Add a large baking pan with sides to the hot oven. Set your baguette tray over the steamy water.
6. Slash baguettes and bake immediately for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 450° F and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool before cutting.

Crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside, perfectly heavenly.

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Sourdough Cheese Sticks

 

Over the holidays, I received some lovely sourdough starter and I made sourdough bread (as though we needed it!). I’m always a little distraught discarding some of it so I adapted an old recipe I brought back from Hungary to utilize the discard and a little of the fed starter, it worked out very well. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for future baking.

Makes 1 30 cm x 42 cm sheet, cut to whatever size you desire.

For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 100 g discard sourdough starter plus 30 g fed starter
• 125 g Greek Yogurt
• 100 g shredded cheese (sharp cheddar works well, freshly grated Parmesan is best)
• 5 g Salt
• 20g shredded cheese

Directions:

1. In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the scraper attachment, blend flour, butter, starters, 100 g cheese and salt until incorporated, then switch to a dough hook and add the Greek yogurt and knead until smooth ball forms.
2. Allow to rest in a warm dark place for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375° F
4. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out dough to about 1/2 cm thickness.
5. Cut into 7-10 cm x 2 cm sticks.
6. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
7. Slide cheese sticks on the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden and melted.
8. Re-cut sticks, if necessary, while still warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These are very tasty served warm.

Notes:

• Use a flavourful, hard cheese (like cheddar, gruyere or Jarlsberg) is best for this treat.
• I use a pizza cutter with a kitchen ruler to cut the sticks, it makes it very easy. If you cut the sticks after you sprinkle with cheese, your cutter will take up most of the cheese!
• In the original recipe, there is an egg wash on the top, I omitted this time because I figured the cheese would stick regardless, but it does add a lovely sheen which I will not omit next time.
• These cheese sticks freeze well. To reheat, spread in a single layer, cheese side up on a baking sheet and bake at a low 200° F for 10-15 minutes or until defrosted and slightly warm.

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Fruit and Seed Crackers (subheading: Not this Year)

It’s definitely going to be a very different holiday season this year. We usually escape the drudgery of November by renting a house in a friends’ community in Arizona but, not this year. I’m already dreading February when we usually escape to Spain, thank you COVID19, not this year.

I usually look forward to all the holiday parties, both throwing and going to them, but not this year.

Over the last few years, I’ve slowly stopped baking my Christmas goodies to give to friends, but not this year. We deserve a treat. So friends, drop the diet and enjoy!

We usually entertain friends and family this time of year around our wood-burning fireplace in our living room, but not this year. However, we’ve adapted our outdoor space to include a natural gas heater, and equipped the sectional and chairs with electric blankets, trying to extend our entertaining capacity during these trying times. It’s been very successful at 10° C (50° F) but who knows how cosy it will be when temperatures plummet to -10° C (14° F) in January and February. I’m taking full advantage while I can.

This recipe was developed for an evening when we socially-distance-entertained friends under the warm heat trapped under the awning and cosy electric blankets.

These crackers are like biscotti because they are twice-baked. Using an electric slicer gives you excellent control and wonderfully thin slices.

Fruit and Seed Crackers

Makes 75 thinly sliced crackers

For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 300 mL milk
• 15 mL honey or agave syrup
• 5 g salt
• 125 g spelt or whole wheat flour
• 200 g AP unbleached flour
• 60 g dried cranberries
• 70 g raw pumpkin seeds
• 50 g sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Prepare a small terrine pan (like this one) by lining it with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Combine the eggs, milk and honey and mix well.
3. Sift the salt and flours together to combine. Stir in the fruit, nuts and seeds. Make a well in the centre and pour the egg mixture into the dried ingredients, stir to combine.
4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Reduce the oven temperature to 300° F.
5. Tip the loaf out to cool completely and then slice as thinly as possible (I found the electric slicer did a beautiful job). Bake cracker slices until toasty and crisp, about 20-30 minutes, flip if necessary. Cool completely to store.

Notes:

• I adapted this recipe from Chef Mimi’s blog. I used the seeds and fruit I had on hand, it’s quite versatile, so use what you have on hand.
• I made these again in August 2021 and did not have whole wheat or spelt flour so I substituted almond flour and they turned out lovely.

 

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Seafood Stew in Sourdough Bread Bowls

Happy New Year! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, spoiling your loved ones! Wishing you a new year filled with joy, good health, good friends and good food! Love from Éva

I do apologize for not being more present with my blogging buddies, but we’ve only just returned from our month-long sojourn in Arizona. We had three sets of dear friends visit us for 5-6 days each during our stay; it was a fun-packed time away, also enjoying our dear friends who currently live in Arizona.

I made this delicious winter stew for friends just before we left for Arizona. It was a perfect way to begin winter. The stew was filled with succulent seafood drenched in a creamy béchamel. And if you’re super hungry, you can eat the bowl, or part of it!

Seafood Stew in Sourdough Bread Bowls

Please click here for the original recipe.

Serves 4-6 depending on size of bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1/2 a sweet onion, finely diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 8 mini potatoes
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 2 cups whole milk
• 500 g mixed firm seafood — peeled shrimp, scallops, lobster meat, mussels, calamari or white fish (cubbed)
• 1 cup shredded flavourful white cheese, like Gruyère and Asiago
• Kosher salt (to taste)
• 4 sourdough bread bowls

Directions:

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil and sauté the onions until translucent.
2. Add the potatoes and carrots and sauté until about half-cooked. Add the celery and sauté for about 2-4 minutes.
3. Lower the heat and add the butter and allow it to melt. Sprinkle the flour into the vegetables and mix well. Cook for a minute or so. Add the dried herbs. Slowly add the milk, stirring to mix into the floured vegetables and bring to a slow simmer, stirring and allowing the mixture to thicken. You may bring this to room temperature and refrigerate until required.
4. If you have refrigerated the vegetable mixture, simmer on low until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked through. Add the seafood with the longest cooking first (shrimp, scallops, calamari and lastly, mussels). Cook the seafood through.
5. Add the shredded cheese, mix well and taste for seasoning. Serve piping hot in hollowed out sourdough bread bowls.

Here is that gorgeous winter light again.

Notes:

• I like to spend as much time with our guests instead of stuck in the kitchen cooking dinner so I try to make as much of the dishes in advance as possible so that my time spent in the kitchen is minimal while we have guests. Because I cooked most of the stew earlier that day, I was able to reheat it and cook the raw seafood quickly without missing too much of the evening.
• I gently warmed the sourdough bread bowls so that they kept the stew warm a little longer, things cool down so quickly in the winter.
• I used a mixture of Wild Argentinian Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Mussels, and Chopped Calamari for this dish but white fish would also work beautifully.
• If the thought of adding cheese to a fish dish offends you, please omit it. The original recipe called for cheddar but I did not wish to add red cheese to discolour the sauce. The cheese adds a nice background flavour with a little body, it’s really not enough to make it stringy.
• The smooth béchamel flavoured with the tarragon and thyme made a lovely background for the seafood. Our guests loved it, the homemade sourdough bread bowls helped! 😉
• It’s a really heavy meal, I hollowed out the bread bowls so that there was only about 1 cm of the bowl all around, even so, most of us couldn’t finish it!

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Panettone Breakfast Bake

This tasty breakfast treat is super easy to make. Assembled the night before and baked for 40 minutes. I used a mini store-bought panettone like this but you can definitely make your own. If you serve them directly from the oven, they puff up like a soufflée, but they deflate just as quickly. Turn them out onto a plate and no one will be the wiser!

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 100 g panettone
• 3 eggs
• 125 mL milk
• Pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1. Butter 2 ramekins (about xx mL each)
2. Cut the panettone into cubes and place into the ramekins evenly.
3. Whisk the eggs, milk and nutmeg together and pour into the ramekins evenly. Cover and set in the refrigerator overnight.
4. The following morning, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350F. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the eggs have set.
5. Turn out onto a plate and serve with maple syrup.

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Fresh Fig Scones

Why do the cold temperatures always surprise me? I’ve been doing this fall thing for a long time and yet, every year when the temperatures plummet, it’s like a cold, hard, slap in the face! It happens from one day to the next; on Saturday, we are lavishing in the sun, cocktailing on the back deck and enjoying al fresco meals and then on Sunday, we are dawning our socks and woolly sweaters to avoid the chill INSIDE, let alone outside! JT and I are typical Canadians, we are stubborn about admitting that its fall and winter is coming; we delay turning on the furnace at all costs because that would mean defeat, we have acknowledged the cold and succumbed to it! But eventually, we give in. I like to rebel and I generally continue to wear sandals until I can no longer feel my toes. My feet understand they don’t like to be encased in socks and shoes…they were meant to be free in flip flops and sandals!

It was on one such day that I needed a little heat-help in my chilly kitchen that I decided to make scones, and to use up some figs that were leftover from a shoot (what can I say, no one wanted them!), so I came up with this tasty treat. This recipe is very delicate and light. They are best eaten right away with sweet butter but freezing them also works. Use the oven to reheat them, the microwave doesn’t do it justice.

Fresh Fig Scones

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 10 scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp green cardamom, finely grated
• 1/2 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small bits
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 160 g fresh figs (chopped)
• 2-3 tbsp milk or yogurt for brushing the tops.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in the large bowl of your food processor and pulse to mix.
3. Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal.
4. Slowly pour in the buttermilk while pulsing until the dough comes together. Remove and pour into a large bowl.
5. Fold in the chopped figs carefully.
6. Place largish spoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with yogurt. Bake for 15-17 minutes.
7. Cool for 10 minutes and serve with sweet butter.

The light was still good when I shot them.

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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

I remember seeing these tasty morsels a few years ago and was intrigued by the tapioca flour ingredient but I soon forgot about them. Recently, we were watching America’s Test Kitchen and by fluke, they were making a batch which reminded me how much I had wanted to make them. These days, more and more of our friends have become gluten intolerant or simply wish to reduce their gluten intake so this recipe comes at the right time. Plus the weather is perfect for cocktails on the back deck while the sun moves across the sky for its exit. I’ve made a few adjustments to the original recipe and have converted it to metric weight measures because that is my preference for baking.

We loved these little cheesy dough balls and you can bet that I will make them again and again. I hope you try them too.

Would you care for a few with your cocktail?

Brazilian Cheese Bread (gluten-free, lactose-reduced)

Makes 50-60 little balls. For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 390 g tapioca flour (starch)
• 2 g baking powder
• 10 g plus 2 g salt, divided
• 2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks, divided
• 200 mL lactose-free milk
• 25 g unsalted butter
• 115 mL grapeseed oil (any vegetable oil)
• 212 g sheep’s milk semi-firm cheese

Directions:

1. Combine tapioca flour, baking powder and salt and mix well in the large bowl of your stand mixer.
2. In a small saucepan, heat until just boiling the milk, butter and grapeseed oil.
3. While mixing the flour on low spead, add the hot milk solution and beat well for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for about 8 minutes or until dough is shiny and smooth.
5. Add the cheese and mix for about 1 minute.
6. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with damp parchment paper. Put the baking sheet on top of another baking sheet (these little breads tend to burn on the bottom so insulating the bottom will help them bake more evenly).
7. Scoop out 15 mL spoonfuls the prepared baking sheet. It’s easier if you dip your scoop into water each time. Shape into little balls.
8. Combine the egg yolk with the 2 g salt and mix well.
9. Brush the egg yolk mixture on top of each dough ball and bake until tops are golden and crusty 18-20 minutes. Turn the pan around for the last 5 minutes of baking.
10. Refrigerate the dough while baking the first batch. Repeat making little balls of dough until finished.
11. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Notes:

• Check the saltiness of the cheese you use, and adjust the salt measurement accordingly. I found America’s Test Kitchen recipe was a little saltier than I like.
• I used Starkey and Hitch goat’s milk gouda in this recipe.
• America’s Test Kitchen found the dough too sticky to work with so they rested the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours before baking. I did not find the dough too sticky so I skipped that step (it’s about the same as choux pastry) .
• The recipe is as easy as making choux pastry but the texture is quite bready.
• Freeze in a zip-lock baggy. To reheat frozen balls, bake them at around 275° F until defrosted and warm.

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Tanzghong Brioche Hamburger Buns

On March 30, we woke up to snow. Not much, just a light covering, but it still was distressing. Throughout the day, it snowed some more, not enough to shovel, but enough to put a damper on the last Sunday of March. Believe me, we were in dire need of Spring.

Since it was such a gloomy day, I decided to bake tanzghong brioche burger buns after being inspired by my dear Aussy friend, Lorraine, who was also experiencing some gloom on a rainy fall day in Australia. Hopefully, these buns will inspire the weather to begin behaving as it should in the springtime and not like February.

It’s May 6 today and we’ve finally had a spring-ish day. Temperatures were around 17C (62F) which is a far cry better than we’ve had. Garden cleanup has begun. Planting in these parts must wait until the Victoria Day weekend (traditionally known as May two-four weekend, which will be May 18-20 this year). It’ll be the official beginning of spring! Roll out the barbecues and burgers! Patio season has begun!

For the recipe inspiration, please click here.

Makes 8 burgers buns (for 125 g burgers)

Ingredients:

• 300 g unbleached, all-purpose flour, divided
• 125 g water
• 3 eggs
• 8 g quick yeast
• 25 g superfine sugar
• 5 g sea salt
• 125 g butter, softened
• 1 egg for egg wash
• xx g Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Combine 50 g of the flour with the water and cook over low heat until a smooth paste is formed. Allow to cool for a bit. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine the remaining 250 g flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Pour in the flour paste/egg liquid and knead until the dough comes together. Add the softened butter and knead on medium-high for 30 minutes or until the dough is no longer sticky and comes away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Grease a bowl and add the dough, cover and set in a warm, dark place for about 1 hour.
4. Shape into 8 buns (about 93 g each) and set on a baking sheet covered with a clean cloth for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
6. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 185° F to 190° F.
7. Allow to cool before cutting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tangzhong Dinner Rolls

I was recently awed by some wonderful buns made by my Canadian friend A-Boleyn. Of course, I have seen these beauties on my Australian friend’s blog, Not Quite Nigella, too! I have been wanting to bake these bad boys for a while but have not had an opportunity since we’ve been trying to reduce our carb intake. But, during a particularly grey day in March, with an upcoming brunch ahead, I decided to go for it.

They don’t take much more effort than a normal bun but OMG, they are so light and fluffy and ever-so-tasty! Many-a-bloggers have indicated that converting a normal bread recipe just takes it to a higher level, so next time I’m looking for a high-carb treat, I’m going to Tangzhong the recipe (is that a thing?).

Tangzhong Dinner Rolls

For the original recipe, please click here.

Makes one 10 rolls about 71 g each (before baking)(see notes)

Ingredients for the Tangzhong:

• 20 g “00” flour
• 100 mL water

Ingredients for the Dough:

• 350 g “00” flour
• 7 g rapid rise yeast
• 50 g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp milk powder
• 125 mL milk (I used 3%)
• 1 large egg
• 50 g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg for glaze
• Sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and water in a small saucepan to make the Tangzong and cook stirring often until thickened like wallpaper paste. Set aside to cool.
2. Combine the milk, egg and Tangzong and whisk until smooth. In the bowl of your stand mixer, sift together the flour, yeast, sugar and milk powder. Add the milk mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
3. Add the room temperature butter and knead on high speed until the dough becomes stretchy and separates from the sides (it is seriously, about 15 minutes).
4. Lightly oil another bowl and transfer the dough into it. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rest in a warm, dark area for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
5. Shape the dough into 10 equal portions, rounding them out like dinner rolls (mine were an even 71 g each, see notes for next time). Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rest another hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Brush the dough balls with the whisked egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until deep golden in colour (internal temperature should be 200° F). Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly before serving. Store in an airtight container for a day or two or the freezer if storing longer.

Notes:

• I will definitely make these significantly smaller next time, even though the original recipe made 8 and I made 10, these rolls are HUGE, perfect for burgers! For dinner rolls, I think I would make them 50-60 g instead of the 71 g each.

 

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The Worlds BEST Low Carb Buns

We’ve been making a huge effort to cut out carbs from our diet. The one thing I have been really missing is bread. Not that we ate that much bread, but a sandwich every now and again is a nice treat so I have been trying to make carb-free bread and failing miserably until I came across a delicious keto bun at a local craft sale. It had a similar texture and crumb as flour bread, but made with almond flour and coconut flour. At the time, the lady would not share her recipe, so I made every recipe on the net trying to find her secret, sadly failing. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and I get an email from her out of the blue sharing her recipe! How serendipitous! It turned out that it was one of the first recipes I tried but obviously did not get it right so I had abandoned it. She had made a few adjustments to the original recipe and shared them with me, and I made further adjustments to make it my own. It’s easier to make than normal yeasted bread (really is more like quick-bread as you make it) and the result is quite surprising. It’s a lot more expensive to make this bread than it is to make regular flour bread (the recipe below is about $12 for 8 buns).

Those nooks and crannies are like real bread!

Most flour-free buns are usually eggy and super dense because of the nut flours used and the lack of leavening, but these buns are light and have a great spongy texture and fantastic crumb, they never disappoint, time after time! The original recipe had great texture but lacked the flavour that yeast imparts in real bread so I experimented and came up with this augmentation. If you don’t feel like messing with the yeast, just omit it along with the granules of sugar but keep the water the same. You will not be disappointed.

How many would you like?

Makes 6 medium-sized buns. For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 100 g Almond flour (see notes)
• 30 g Coconut Flour
• 33 g Psyllium Husk Powder, finely ground (see notes)
• 10 g Baking Powder
• 6 g Sea salt
• 10 g Cider vinegar
• 100 g Egg whites
• 8 g Instant Yeast
• a few granules of sugar
• 280 g Boiling Water, divided
• 1 egg yolk
• Sesame Seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (170° C). Prep a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Prepare a hand mixer ready to use and a timer.
2. Combine the yeast with the sugar in 57 g of warm water (about 43° C or 100° F) and allow to froth.
3. To a large bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the cider vinegar, egg whites and proofed yeast and mix on low speed, for a short time, to combine evenly.
5. Boil the remaining water (223 g). Pour the water all at once into the almond flour mixture and blend for 30 seconds to make a smooth dough (do not over blend).
6. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions (mine worked out to be about 94 g) and roll into a smooth ball with generously wet hands. Slightly flatten each roll so it’s more like the shape of an English muffin (don’t worry, they rise enormously).
7. Brush each bun with the egg yolk and top with sesame seeds and bake for about 50 minutes or until the internal temperature is 95° C (200° F).
8. Cool completely on a wire rack, before slicing. Serve toasted or plain with your favourite topping.

Notes:

• I use Anthony’s Premium Blanched Almond Flour which may be purchased on Amazon. I have heard that the Costco Kirkland brand also works, but I haven’t tried it. I will eventually try the finely ground almond flour Bulk Barn sells because Anthony’s is pretty expensive.
• I use psyllium husk powder from Bulk Barn, but I grind it to a super fine consistency with my coffee/spice grinder.
• 100 g of egg whites is more or less 3 large egg whites.
• Many of these recipes call for room temperature ingredients, I have done both room temperature and right out of the refrigerator and they resulted in more or less the same buns.
• When working with the dough, generously wet hands are imperative for a nice smooth crust.
• Mixing the boiling water into the batter with a hand mixer for 30 seconds ensures that it’s entirely blended but not overworked.
• For Christmas, I received a bottle of Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning and it is awesome on these buns!

Nutritional Breakdown:

Per 1 piece

• Calories: 178
• Net Carbs: 5 g
• Protein: 7 g
• Fat: 12 g

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No Knead Spelt Boule

You may have noticed that I’ve been radio silent for much of December and I apologize, we were in Arizona for about a month. Although not quite as warm as our last month in Arizona, it was a far cry warmer than home. I’m so glad I had lined up my blog posts because I literally had no time! I hope you understand. I’m back on schedule notwithstanding the holidays which are going to be busy. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas or whatever you celebrate and a happy and healthy new year.

I have long wanted to experiment with alternative flours in bread making and a few months ago, the opportunity arose, we were having my BFF from University for brunch and she is gluten intolerant but can tolerate spelt! I did a little research and discovered that spelt was a great bread flour and also discovered that WE LOVE IT! It has a light nutty flavour and a great bread texture. I would say it is more like a Ciabatta than a French stick. I slice it thicker for dinner, but for toast, I use my handy electric slicer for even 6 mm slices.

This is one sticky dough, but I experimented with varying quantities of spelt flour and always came back to the original. You may not want to proof it in your Banneton (proofing basket) unless it is very heavily floured, even so, one experiment stuck so badly, it took me nearly an hour to clean it out!

I used a proofing basket for this boule.

Makes one 981 g boule.

Please click here for the original recipe.

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 565 g spelt flour
• 450 g water
• 56 g honey
• 10 g salt
• 4 g instant yeast (1/2 packet)
• good pinch of cornmeal

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients with the exception of the cornmeal (not corn starch), in a large bowl and mix well. The dough will be a bit stickier than regular bread dough and a little firmer (you may need to put a little elbow grease into it to combine the flour entirely). Set aside covered for about 12 hours (this step is best done overnight or if you wish to start earlier, allow it to rest covered in the refrigerator).
2. If the dough rested in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature. Prepare your proofing bowl with a little spelt flour.
3. Shape the dough into a nice boule by pulling up the sides into the centre using a spatula and gather them tightly to form the bottom of the boule. Flip the boule so that the pulled area is now at the bottom and roll it into the proofing bowl so the pulled area is now at the top (this will make it easy to flip the boule into the hot pan so that the smooth area is on top). Sprinkle a little spelt flour on top and allow to rest, covered for 60 to 90 minutes.
4. About 30 minutes into the proofing of the boule, pre-heat the oven with your 23 cm (9 inch) oven-safe cast iron dutch oven to 450° F (the original recipe suggests that you place the pot on a baking sheet to insulate it a bit more so that the base of the boule doesn’t burn).
5. When the boule has risen, about double in size and the pan has been pre-heating for about 30 minutes, add a parchment circle to the bottom of the pan and sprinkle a little cornmeal over it. Gently roll the proofed boule into the pan. You may make some tension slices into the top so it breaks artistically, or you may let it break on its own. Bake for 35 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for additional 10 minutes. The internal temperature should be 195° F to 200° F. Allow to cool and serve sliced with your favourite stew or just with butter.

There were several versions baked up until I got the best version.

Notes:

• This is a very sticky dough. I added the parchment because no matter how much cornmeal I put in the hot pan, it stuck quite badly.
• I tested this recipe with more flour and it made it too dense, so even though it is a sticky dough, it is the right amount of water and flour.
• A larger dutch oven will yield a wider and flatter boule, like the first photo.

Spelt flour can become over-worked quite easily which will make a heavier, denser loaf. The no-knead recipe is a perfect way to get a light texture.

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Sweet Potato Buns

From the recipes on this blog, you would think that we eat a lot of bread, the reality is that we do not, I make bread when we entertain, but I do love making bread. I was drawn to this recipe from my friend, A Boleyn’s blog, Cooking is fun. She made the most beautiful buns I have seen in some time. They were golden, perfectly round, fluffy and very soft looking AND they had an unusual ingredient: Sweet Potato! This bread’s texture reminded me of Hokkaido milk bread, which I have been meaning to try my hand at, it has a simple roux “starter” technique known as tangzhong that gives it a light, fluffy texture. While this recipe isn’t Hokkaido milk bread, its finished texture reminded me of the technique, plus there is a bit of a starter with flour, water and yeast.

The buns did not disappoint; this recipe will definitely make my go-to bread recipe repertoire, to be honest, I’ve made three batches by the time this post goes live!

This is a soft, slightly sweet and quite addictive bun.

Recipe makes 16 buns, about 60 g each (unbaked)

For the original recipe please click here.

To print this recipe, please click here: SweetPotatoBuns_recipe.

Ingredients:

• 454 g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 65 g all-purpose flour
• 125 mL warm water
• 8 g quick rising yeast
• 1 large egg
• 45 mL unsalted butter, melted
• 10 mL honey
• 7 g sea salt, finely ground
• 240 g bread flour, or more as needed

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, or to taste

Directions:

1. Cook sweet potato in salted water, until soft. Strain well (reserve cooking liquid for the yeast) and mash with a fork or potato masher; measure out 260 g and allow to cool completely. Reserve leftovers for another use (like gnocchi).
2. In another bowl, mix together 65 g flour, warm water (cooking liquid) and yeast, and whisk until smooth.
3. When yeast is frothy (about 10 minutes), pour it into the large bowl of your stand mixer, add the mashed sweet potato, one egg, melted butter, honey, sea salt and about 210 g of flour. Mix well using the dough hook attachment and knead for 2 to 4 minutes (I needed 4 minutes). If the dough is too sticky (mine was OK the first time but subsequent times it was too wet), add the remaining 30 g (or more) of flour and knead until the dough is soft, elastic and shiny (about 2 minutes).
4. Turn the dough out into a well-oil the bowl and cover. Allow to rise until double in size (about 1 hour), I did this in an unheated oven.
5. After it has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press out the air bubbles. Using your fingers, press the dough into a rectangle about 2 cm thick. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions (about 60 g each) and roll into a smooth ball. Allow to rest for 45 minutes on a covered baking sheet.
6. Preheat your oven to 400° F. Combine the remaining egg, water and mix well. Brush each bun with the egg mixture and sprinkle each with sesame seeds.
7. Bake in a hot oven until golden or when the internal temperature is 200° F (about 15 minutes).

Notes:

• I used bread flour because I did not have enough All-Purpose flour. I have since made it with all purpose flour and it was equally as delicious.
• I have made this recipe three times, the last time the dough was much too wet so I had to add more than the 30 g of flour (probably closer to 80 g).
• Use some of the water you used to boil the sweet potatoes for the yeast because it has flavour and nutrients.
• The 454-ish gram sweet potato yielded about 330 g. The leftover 70 g of the sweet potato will make a generous amount of gnocchi.
• The 70 g of sweet potato leftover was mixed with the remaining egg (after I egg washed all the rolls) and enough flour to make a gnocchi dough and some grated Parmesan Cheese. I freeze uncooked gnocchi on parchment on a cookie sheet and then pop them into a ziplock baggy. I got enough gnocchi for about three smallish servings.

The gnocchi made an excellent lunch with a blue cheese cream sauce.

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Hot Cross-less Buns

You caught me: I made hot cross buns at Easter while we were visiting our friends in Arizona but sadly their pantry did not contain icing sugar, so I was forced to skip the “cross” on the buns. They were exceptionally tasty (even without the icing cross), flavoured with warming spices and some rum-soaked currents.

For the original recipe, please click here.

To print this recipe, please click here.

This recipe makes 12 large, soft, pillowy buns.

Ingredients:

• 125 mL rum
• 100 g dried currants
• 375 mL milk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 53 g light brown sugar
• 550-600 g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 85 g butter, room temperature
• 15 mL milk

Directions:

1. Soak the currents in the rum for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the milk, eggs, yeast, brown sugar and whisk to combine. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder, whisk to combine.
3. Add the softened butter to the flour mixture and mix until the butter is well combined (you may also do this with your fingers). Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough has formed (if it is too soft, add a bit more flour to it and beat). Meanwhile, strain the currents and add them to the dough and beat well. This is a very soft and sticky dough.
4. Place in a well-greased bowl and allow to proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Prepare a large, high sided baking pan by buttering the base and all sides.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, make about 112 g balls out of them. Place in the prepared pan and allow to rest with a clean cloth covering it for 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
8. Combine the left-over egg white with 15 mL milk and beat well. Brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 190° F. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Fresh out of the oven, these pillowy-soft buns are fragrant and delicious.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 50% more currents but I felt it was a little too much so I reduced it.
• My dough was quite soft and sticky with the originally called-for flour, so I added a bit more flour.
• The original recipe wanted the leftover rum to be incorporated into the dough, but my dough was already too soft and sticky so I skipped it.
• This tip from King Arthur flour sounds quite interesting and I will try it next time I make this tasty recipe:
  “Want to make these buns a day or so ahead of time? Try the tangzhong technique, a Japanese method for increasing the softness and shelf life of yeast rolls. Begin by measuring out the flour and milk you’ll be using in the recipe. Now take 3 tablespoons of the measured flour and 1/2 cup of the measured milk; put them in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens and forms a thick slurry; this will take about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer the cooked mixture to a bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, then combine it with the remaining flour, milk, and other dough ingredients. Proceed with the recipe as directed. Well-wrapped and stored at room temperature, your finished hot cross buns should stay soft and fresh for several days.”

Would you care to try one?

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Sun-dried Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Straws

In late March/early April, we spent two glorious weeks in Arizona. We stayed with friends for this duration because we had offered to puppy-sit (Jordan) while they took a quick 7 day holiday in Ireland. We had never puppy sat before but their beautiful black lab, Jordan is quite possibly one of the laziest dogs we have ever met so she was really no problem at all. We did get her used to three walks per day, that is, until we bumped into a woman carrying a black light, walking her dog after dark. I had to ask and yes, it was to detect scorpions. That was the end of our after dark walks. Period.

I like to arrive with gifts in hand and these basil Parmesan Straws were the perfect hostess gift because I had a bunch of basil that needed using a couple of days before our departure. Plus they are pretty tasty. Jordan thought so too.

Sun-dried Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Straws

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes about 75 pieces

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 290 g flour
• 10 g Fresh Basil, finely chopped
• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
• 10 g garlic, finely minced
• 110 g unsalted butter (cold)
• 30 g  grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten separately
• 15-30 mL water or milk
• Sea salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Put all dry ingredients into a food processor, including the basil, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, and process to mix well.
3. Add the butter and process to coarse granules.
4. While the blades are running, pour in the egg and process until a soft ball forms. If this does not happen, drizzle little bits of water until a soft ball forms.
5. Remove from processor and using a small amount of flour, roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness. Cut into 8cm x 7 mm straws and position evenly on a cookie sheet. Brush with second egg and sprinkle with sea salt.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
7. Remove and allow to cool. This will store well in a cool, dark place or freeze.

Notes:

• I like to use a plastic ruler to cut the straws evenly. My ruler is a dedicated food ruler that never is used with pens or pencils or markers!
• This type of rolling pin gives you evenly thick dough, but as I have mentioned previously, it is a pain to unscrew the disks and I inadvertently have to wash all of the disks each time I use it.
• This dough is a bit wetter than some of my other recipes because of the sun-dried tomatoes and fresh garlic.

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Sizzling Mushrooms with Sour Dough Baguette

I created this recipe in 2012, modeled after an appetizer at an old favourite restaurant which sadly closed down many years prior to 2012. Like many of my old posts, the photos are dark and dreary and deserve an update so here it is. I also threw in a sourdough baguette, the recipe can be found here. I used this starter which, frankly took a long time and was not as sour-doughy as I had hoped but I found the liquid ingredient intriguing so I gave it a go. I will try this starter used in the recipe next time.

It’s still a winter picture, so give me a break!

Sizzling Mushrooms

Serves 2-4 as an hors d’œuvres (about 112 g of cooked mushrooms and onions, without the feta)

Ingredients:

• 20 g unsalted butter
• 150 g mushrooms, stems removed and sliced medium thinly
• 60 g sweet onion, thinly sliced
• 4 g garlic, finely minced
• 30-60 g sheep and goats milk feta, crumbled (see notes)
• 30 mL cognac (optional)
• 2-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, roughly chopped
• sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small frying pan, melt the butter and add the onions, cook until caramelized (about 10-15 minutes).
2. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are no longer wet (about 5-10 minutes) and have also caramelized. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with sea salt if using, but remember the feta is also salty so season sparingly.
3. Deglaze the pan with the cognac, stirring to loosen any of the bits stuck to the pan. Remove from heat and add the fresh thyme and stir. Sprinkle the crumbled feta over the hot mushrooms and serve immediately with thinly sliced sourdough baguette (fresh out of the oven, no less!)

Notes:

• I used a 50/50 combo of shitake and cremini mushrooms, but feel free to use whatever mushrooms you desire.
• We prefer actual Greek Feta made in Greece of Sheep and Goats milk, here in Toronto there are many imposters so try to find this one.
• We typically don’t use pepper, but if you like it, use white pepper to avoid the harsh dark specs on the feta.
• This recipe cooks beautifully in a cast iron pan, if you have a small one, use it. My small one was a bit too big for this amount.

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Cheddar Orange Scones

Winter is not giving up easily in these parts. At least the days are sunny even if they are still nippy. It’s the grey days with endless overcast that really pull me into the dumpers, so I bake to make me happy; plus the ambient heat the oven gives off doesn’t hurt. I created this tasty scone recipe when I discovered a couple of rogue oranges in the refrigerator. The flavour combination may sound strange but it works, plus it’s delicious straight from the hot oven with a generous pat of butter.

Cheddar Orange Scones

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 8 large scones

Ingredients:

• 270 g AP flour
• 25 g coconut sugar
• 20 g baking powder
• 1 g salt
• 56 g cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 150 g sharp cheddar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 125 mL orange juice (about 1 navel orange)
• zest of 2 navel oranges
• Yogurt for brushing tops

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425° F.
2. In the large bowl of your food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pulse a few times to mix well.
3. Add the butter and pulse until well incorporated but not softened.
4. Combine the egg, orange juice and zest and mix well.
5. Pour into the food processor while pulsing and pulse until well mixed. If your kitchen is on the warmer-side, allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for a bit here or if it’s on the chilly-side, proceed to next step.
6. Roll out to about 2 cm thick and cut with your favourite cookie cutter. Continue until you’ve used all of the dough. Brush tops with yogurt and bake 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden on top and baked through. Cool slightly on a wire rack and serve warm with butter.

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Smoked Salmon Roll-ups

Is anyone else’s mind-blown that it is 2018? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were freaking out for Y2K? Now 18 years later, we are still here and I’m approaching my 11th year of blogging! Thank you all for your continued support, I feel so grateful to call all of you friends, all over the world. Heartfelt thank you.

Last summer, we visited our dear friends at their Wisconsin home. While we were there, one of the breakfasts we had were some delicious Sausage Crescent Roll Bombs, made super-easy by using regular store-bought crescent rolls! Their version had sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese, so good. I have to admit, I haven’t had or made a crescent roll for more years than I wish to count but the breakfast idea stuck with me and I knew I wanted to make it for a special occasion. Fast forward to New Years Eve 2017 and we were having friends over for the night, but they are vegetarian so making the crescent rolls as our other friends’ recipe was out of the question, so I improvised and came up with this delicious alternative! Same store-bought crescent roll pastry, but with a twist: I used goats cheese, smoked salmon, caramelized onions, wilted spinach and scrambled eggs, topped off with a creamy Dijon and Dill béchamel sauce. Yup, it’s definitely a winner. And you can freeze them for future breakfasts or brunch! Easy-peasy!

A delicious combination of flavours that are so good, I’ve had the request to make them again and again!

You see how bright the eggs are, they are that way because of the gorgeous yolks!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 8

To print recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• few handfuls of baby spinach
• 1/2 sweet onion, like vidalia
• 2 L eggs
• 15 mL Greek Yogurt
• 1 package crescent rolls ~235 g (I used this one)
• 150 g goats cheese, room temperature, loosened with a bit of milk
• 140 g smoked salmon
• 5 g butter
• 5 g flour
• 125 mL milk
• pinch of dill
• 15 mL Dijon Mustard
• splash of white vinegar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Caramelize the onions in a splash of olive oil. Add the spinach and wilt. Remove from hot pan to cool.
3. Combine eggs and yogurt and mix well. Add another splash of olive oil to the pan and heat, add the eggs and scramble until softly set. Remove from pan to cool.
4. Open the crescent roll package according to directions (this was a bit of a challenge for me) and roll out flat. Ignoring the angled pre-cut lines, cut into 8 even strips.
5. Spread equal amounts of goats cheese on each strip, top with smoked salmon, then the spinach and onion mixture and finally the eggs. Roll-up the strip.
6. Spray 8-muffin cups with non-stick spray and place one roll into each cup. Repeat until all eight cups are filled. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and pastry is baked through.
7. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan, whisk in the flour and slowly pour in the milk whilst whisking to create a smooth sauce. Whisk in the dill and the Dijon and a splash of white vinegar and cook the sauce until thick and creamy.
8. Serve the baked roll-up on a warm plate drizzled with the Dijon-Dill Béchamel sauce.

The pastry is slightly sweet which balanced the slightly tart bechamel sauce.

You’ll just have to take my word for it that the recipe makes 8! I freeze them in muffin cups and later transfer them to a zip-lock bag.

Notes:

• We buy these eggs because they have had the most consistently orange (note pale yellow) yolks with great flavour.
• For New Years’ Day, I served them on a bed of butter-wilted spinach and garnished with finely chopped green onion.
• This is a versatile recipe, you can easily make your own version like the original or with ham and cheese, philly steak, etc., you get the drift!
• Freeze extra roll-ups unbaked in a lightly sprayed muffin tin and when frozen, transfer to a zip-lock bag. To bake, no need to defrost, simply return to a lightly sprayed muffin tin and bake at 375° F in a preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes (or until internal temperature is around 180° F).
• Have a large group for brunch? Make the roll-ups the night before and store in the refrigerator. Bake in a preheated oven as per instructions.

This is the actual dish I served for breakfast on New Years Day. I put the roll-up on a bed of butter-wilted spinach.

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Chocolate Brioche

It has been beyond cold in these parts. Entirely opposite to what Australia is experiencing. Our windchills (and humidity) take the cold over the top, for example last week it was -13C with 30% humidity and a windchill that makes it feel like -25C at 8am! That’s wild. Your skin can freeze in 10 minutes. It’s a battle of being chilled and too hot at the same time; imagine having to take literally 10 minutes to put all your outdoor gear on, you’re already sweating because you’re inside, then going outside, walking – expanding energy, getting warm in your coat, and then popping into a warmly heated shop! You just can’t undress fast enough! It’s brutal. Staying home is easy, you just don’t feel like the battle.

Having the oven on makes the kitchen a wee bit cozier during this deep freeze so I baked this old favourite. Plus the aroma is intoxicating. It is an old recipe that I posted in 2012 here but I remade it with a small addition and reduced it to one loaf so I thought I’d post the revised version. The biggest change was that I added about 50 mL of melted Belgian chocolate to the chocolate part which really enhanced the flavour without making it too doughy. I also brushed the dough with an egg yolk to make it gorgeous and shiny. We had it for New Year’s Day breakfast along the side of the Smoked Salmon Roll-ups. It was delicious.

The chocolate flavour was richer using the melted Belgium Chocolate with the cocoa powder.

Makes 1 relatively good sized braid. Original recipe was modified from Baking with Julia.

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 7 g dry yeast
• 65 mL tepid water (80°F to 90°F)
• 30 g granulated sugar + a pinch, divided
• 50 g unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes
• 125 mL whole milk
• 10 g salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 420 g all-purpose, unbleached flour, divided
• 14 g unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 30 g icing sugar
• 50 mL Belgian chocolate, melted and cooled
• non-stick cooking spray or olive oil

Ingredients for the glaze:

• 1 large egg yolk
• splash of water

Directions:

1. Spray two large mixing bowls with non-stick cooking spray, or rub with butter or olive oil and set aside.
2. Whisk the yeast into the water with a pinch of sugar in a measuring cup and allow to proof, about 5 minutes.
3. Heat the milk with 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the cubed butter until warm to touch and the butter has entirely melted. Stir in the salt until melted. Allow this mixture to cool to 110°F.
4. Once cooled, pour the milk mixture into the large stand mixer bowl attached with a whisk and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well to combine. You should have about 1 litre of liquid. Divide into two portions of about 500 mL each and set one portion aside.
5. Put the cookie paddle onto your stand mixer. To one portion, add about 100 g of the flour and beat on low for about 3 minutes or until it comes together. Now switch to the bread dough paddle and add the remaining flour or as much as needed, kneading on medium-low speed to make a soft dough that is clean off the sides of the bowl. Now knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to one of the bowls that has been prepared. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dark place to double in size (1 or 1 1/2 hours).
6. For the chocolate portion, sift 210 g of flour with the unsweetened cocoa and icing sugar.
7. Retrieve the second portion of the liquid and add the cooled melted Belgian chocolate and mix well.
8. Add about 100 g of the sifted flour, cocoa and icing sugar and beat on low for about 3 minutes or until it comes together. Add the remaining flour or as much flour as needed kneading on medium-low speed to make a soft dough that is clean off the sides of the bowl. Now knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer to the other bowl that has been prepared. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm dark place to double in size (1 or 1 1/2 hours).
9. When dough has doubled in size (both the chocolate and the plain versions) punch down and deflate them. Cover again and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
10. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Divide the plain, white dough in 2 equal portions (I find a scale very helpful) and roll into approximately 16″ lengths. Divide the chocolate dough into 2 equal portions. Combine the four ropes on a lightly floured surface and braid. Press together the ends and fold under the braid. Place on lined baking sheet and allow to rest for 40 minutes.
11. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Combine the egg and cold water or heavy cream and mix well. Brush the braid with the glaze and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the expansion joints of the braid and return to bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature is about 200°F. If they brown too quickly, cover browning parts with a little piece of foil.
12. Cool before slicing. This can be frozen in an airtight plastic bag for about 1 month.

Note:

• Stale slices of this bread makes excellent French toast or Bread Pudding!

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Home Made English Muffins

I am a fatalist, which means I believe in fate. There are too many things in this world that seem like coincidences but were totally intended by the universe. Case in point: on more than one occasion, I have decided to make something with the intent of searching for a recipe and before I can even open Google, up pops a recipe a blogging friend has posted on Facebook or Instagram! The very thing I had decided I would make! Coincidence? I think not, it’s fate!

That is my story of the English Muffins. I was walking back from getting a mani-pedi in our hood, thinking about the upcoming weekend visit with our dear friends from Wisconsin/Arizona (they have two homes) and I realized that I didn’t have a breakfast planned for one of the days and I remember wanting to try baking English Muffins, so on my walk home, I decided that I would bake English Muffins!

Upon my return, I sat down at my kitchen desk to catch up on Facebook and low and behold, dear Lorraine has reposted her recipe for…wait for it…English Muffins! That is fate! I was destined to bake English Muffins that afternoon.

Makes 6-8 English Muffins.

Please click here for the original recipe.

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 200 mL (7 oz) milk
• 5 g (1 tsp) sugar
• 3 g (1 tsp) instant dry yeast
• 20 g (1 oz) butter
• 320 g (2  1/2 cups) AP unbleached flour
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) salt
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
• 1 small egg
• cornmeal for dusting

Directions:

1. Heat the milk to 37° C (100° F), sprinkle in the sugar and yeast and mix well. Allow to proof for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Melt the butter and set aside to cool a bit. Add the butter to the milky yeast (once proofed) stir in the egg and mix well and set aside.
3. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in the large bowl of your stand mixer, add the liquid all at once and beat/knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and silky.
4. Lightly cover with oil and set aside in a draft free spot for about 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 325° F (160° C).
6. On a lightly floured board, turn out the dough and roll out to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thickness. Cut 8-10 cm (3 1/4″ to 4″) rounds. Dust with cornmeal (brush off any excess) and cook over a low heat in a cast iron frying pan for about 3 minutes each side (do not oil). Finish baking in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature is 199° F (93° C). Allow to cool slightly, and then separate each into two using a fork to maximize the nooks and crannies!

The top one is perfect!

Notes:

• If you cannot get small eggs, then take 1 large egg and whisk it to incorporate both yolk and whites, weigh it and divide by 2. Use half in this recipe and save the other half for something else.
• In hindsight, my English Muffins pictured puffed up way too tall, so I have modified the instruction to roll out to half of the original thickness. Plus you should get a few more that way.

Like Lorraine, I like a little English Muffin with my butter.

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Banana Bran Muffins with Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks

In early September, our dear friends came for a visit and JT and I planned a full schedule of fun activities! We went hiking at a conservation area, saw King Lear in High Park (which turned out to be reimagined from a female perspective, Queen Lear), we traveled to Montreal for a few days with a stop in Kingston to visit the newly refurbished Kingston Penitentiary. The time went quickly and a much-needed fix with special friends. Our days were packed, so I made these Banana Bran Muffins for a breakfast on the morning we went hiking, as we were also having lunch at an adorable little cafe near the conservation area. Scroll down to see a few pics of Kingston Pen.

Banana Bran Muffins with Belgian Milk Chocolate Chunks

Original recipe from Company’s Coming, Muffins and More by Jean Paré.

Makes about 10-12 medium-sized muffins

Please click here to print this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 128 g (1 cup) flour
• 60 g (1 cup) all bran cereal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or chunks (I used Belgian milk chocolate chunks)
• 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil
• 75 g (1/2 cup) coconut sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 65 mL (1/4 cup) sour milk (milk with 1/4 tsp lemon juice)
• 250 mL (3 medium or 1 cup) bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F (200° C). Prepare muffin pans by spraying with non-stick spray.
2. Combine flour, bran, baking powder and soda and salt in a bowl and mix.
3. Cream coconut oil and sugar with 1 egg until well blended and add the other egg and beat well. Combine the soured milk and mashed bananas and mix well.
4. Pour into the dry mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups to about 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Cool slightly and serve.

These muffins have excellent texture from the moistness of the bananas and the bran cereal.

An old postcard of the Penetentiary

Riots of 1932, 1954 and 1971

Our tour guide

Happy Prisoner

High Security Visitors Cubicles

These wings are called Ranges

Another Range

Interesting graffiti that wasn’t pornographic. Money for Salmon. Wasn’t there a song about that?

Centre dome where they typically changed out as each Range has a turn (eating, working etc).

Marital Conjugation Ward

Corrections Officer Tour Guide

Trades School

Matress Factory

Finally, where they belong!

This is what the original cell looked like

Last Century Prison Standard

Actual cell.

21st Century Prison Standard

This is part of the mental health and senior’s wing

This is part of the mental health and senior’s wing

Notes:

• These muffins are not nearly as sweet using coconut sugar as using regular white sugar.

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High Protein “Bread”

I enjoy a slice of bread with my breakfast of hard boiled egg whites, a half of a smashed avocado, but I like to manage my carbs so often I go without the bread. Our local German bakery recently released a high protein/low carb bread so we bought some for the inconceivable price of $7.99 Canadian; it had about 8 thin slices! I didn’t mind the texture at first but then it really ragged on me, it was a dense, cardboard-like texture that was difficult to cut and chew. I started hating one of my favourite meals of the day! So I searched the net and found that there are several high protein/low carb bread options out there, starting with cloud bread (meh, it’s really just a fluffy egg white pancake) and then I found this recipe and I was intrigued.

Firstly, I had never baked with protein whey powder and the bread had so few ingredients, I really wanted to experiment. Of course, the first round, I stayed fairly true to the original recipe and it was fine but the second time I added herbs and sesame seeds and it was even better. This version has a bit more body to it with the addition of sunflower seeds and flax seeds.

What I like about this “bread” is that it slices like bread, toasts like bread and can be used for sandwiches but I like mine first thing in the morning, lightly toasted with 3 hard boiled egg whites and a tablespoon of salsa.

The bread has enough body to make a sandwich. But if you don’t like the taste of eggs, this bread is not for you.

Print High Protein Bread Recipe

For the Original Recipe, please click here.

Makes 1 loaf, about 10 slices.

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs, separated
• Pinch of cream of tartar
• 50 g (1/2 cup) protein whey powder (unflavoured)
• 3 g (1/2 tsp) salt
• 20 g (2 tbsp) sunflower seeds
• 10 g (1 tbsp) flax seeds
• 10 g (1 heaping tbsp) sesame seeds (I used black and white)
• non-stick spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F).
2. Prepare a 4″ x 8″ pan by lining it with parchment paper and spraying with non-stick spray.
3. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until fluffy and stiff but not dry.
4. Add the egg yolks, whey protein and salt, beat for about 30 seconds or until well combined.
5. Fold in the sunflower and flax seeds.
6. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the sesame seeds on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, remove from pan and cool completely on rack. Slice into 10 slices. Freeze in a piece of parchment and store in a ziplock Baggy until needed.

Notes:

• This ‘bread’ reminds me of a Genoise cake, it has body but is light and fluffy.
• The bread toasts very nicely.
• JT feels it is a bit eggy tasting to have with poached eggs but I like it.
• Add a handful of chopped herbs as a flavour option.
• I freeze this ‘bread’ because storing it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator makes it a little soggy.
• It’s important to line the pan with parchment and spray the parchment with non-stick spray because in my experience the batter sticks otherwise.

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Bacon and Parmesan Cheese Puffs

Recently, we had a dinner party and I served a grilled caesar salad as one of the courses. Of course, you MUST have REAL bacon so JT cooked the bacon up on the BBQ (none of that maple crap) and I asked him to save the drippings for the roast potatoes but by the time I got around to tossing the tators in the bacon drippings, I had second thoughts so I used only about a tablespoon and tossed the rest with olive oil. I had about a 65 mL (1/4 cup) bacon drippings sitting in the refrigerator, crying for something creative so I came up with this easy recipe. The drippings have such an amazing flavour, and the bits of bacon add just the right amount of crunch. I think I may have to cook up another batch of bacon just for the drippings so I can bake another batch of these tasty morsels.

Bacon and Parmesan Cheese Puffs

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes 42 small puffs

Ingredients:

• 250 mL (1 cup) water
• 65 mL (1/4 cup) bacon drippings
• 5 mL 1/2 tsp salt
• 145 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 120 g (1 cup) grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 1/2 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled to small pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F).
2. Place water, bacon drippings and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Remove from heat and add flour, and stir until combined.
4. Return to heat and stir cooking the flour mixture until it comes away from the sides of the pan and is a shiny ball.
5. Place in a food processor with plastic blades and process for 15 seconds (give or take).
6. Add eggs, one at a time and process for 40 seconds (err on the longer side of give or take).
7. Add the cheese and process for another 5-10 seconds until smooth. Stir in the crumbled bacon.
8. Dip a spoon or small ice cream scoop into 1 cup cold water with 5 mL (1 tsp) plain vegetable oil, place walnut-sized spoonfuls on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 3 cm (1 1/2 inches) apart.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
10. Serve warm or room temperature.

Notes:

• You may also prepare this recipe with a good quality handheld mixer or stand mixer but I would suggest an immersion blender with the whisk attachment is not strong enough for this pastry.
• These delightful balls puff up about 12 minutes into baking and are ideal for stuffing with a piping funnel (I bought a really cheap one from a dollar store and it works very well). Stuff with goats cheese, or your own recipe.
• Unstuffed, they freeze very well, just pop them into a zip lock bag. To use, you need not defrost them, simply put them into a preheated 150° C (300° F) oven for 10-12 minutes, until defrosted and heated through.

The bacon drippings give this treat great flavour and the bacon bits some nice texture.

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Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

When I was down in Florida with my dear friend, Kimberley from University, I mentioned that I had recently baked some killer cinnamon buns and she sighed. She is gluten intolerant but will splurge every couple of years on a Cinnabon with dire results, she explained that it’s never really as good to warrant the pain afterward. That is the precise moment I decided to create a gluten-free cinnamon bun that she would be happy to eat AND digest! This is the result of several tests, I hope you love them as much as we did!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Sticky Rolls

Print GF Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Makes about 6 small cinnamon buns.

Ingredients:

• 230 g (1 1/4 cup) gluten-free flour (I used this one)
• 15 mL (1 tbsp) coconut sugar
• 5 mL (1 tsp) cinnamon
• 5 mL (1 tsp) baking powder
• pinch baking soda
• pinch salt
• 30 mL (2 tbsp) cold butter
• 125 mL (1/2 cup) buttermilk

Directions:

1. Combine gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.
2. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the cold butter to distribute evenly (may be done in a food processor).
3. Sprinkle in the buttermilk and using a fork, bring the pastry together quickly to get a sticky ball of dough. On a lightly floured (with GF flour) board, knead a few times, but not enough to heat up the dough. Pat into a rectangle about 23 x 20 cm (9 inches x 8 inches).
4. Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C). See directions for the filling.

Ingredients for the filling:

• 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
• 40 g (2 tbsp) brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cinnamon

Directions for the filling:

1. Combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon and mix well.
2. Spread the filling over the rectangle to all four sides.
3. Roll up the rectangle into a tight roll. Cut into 6 small rolls.
4. Place cut sides down into a lightly greased oven proof pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool slightly and remove with a spatula to a cooling rack.
5. Drizzle with a little icing sugar and water mix. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A more biscuit-like pastry, these strongly-flavoured cinnamon rolls heat up beautifully and satisfy a cinnamon roll craving.

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Simple French Baguette

Last month, the Japanese Cherry Blossoms (Sakura trees) blossomed in Toronto. This was a big deal because last year, they failed to bloom as we had a hard frost after several weeks of very warm weather. In fact, the frost was so hard that we lost a few trees. These trees are special because they were a gift from the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara in 1959 as a gift to the citizens of Toronto for their support of Japanese-Canadian refugees after the Second World War. You can read more about the history here. It’s such a popular time in High Park (a park that is only about a 10-minute walk from our house) that the streets become clogged with traffic and it is virtually impossible to drive into the park; well, not quite impossible, but it will take you more than 1 hour! And don’t even think about parking in the park because you won’t be able to find a spot. Last year, a friend parked illegally and had a lovely surprise of a $450 ticket on her car upon return!

If you want to see the blossoms in Toronto, you’ll need to be here in April and you can watch this website, which predicts when they will blossom! JT took these beautiful photos so I wouldn’t miss them when they peaked as I was in Florida with a girlfriend.

Before I left for Florida, we invited friends, who live downtown, to join us for a walk to the park and then dinner in the village, it’s really the only sensible thing to do, if you wish to see the blossoms (and get in my 10,000 steps!) We had some wine and cheese before we left for our walk and I decided to make a french baguette, a recipe I haven’t made in quite a few years. This is the first bread recipe I ever made when I was around 14, it’s really that easy. In those days, I kneaded by hand, but now I get the big guns out and let the stand mixer do the heavy lifting for 8-10 minutes. The recipe produces two or four amazing french baguettes. I baked two and froze the others for another time. The recipe is basically true to the original recipe I made except I updated the method of rolling into the uique baguette form and the baking method.

That’s Bonny & Clyde, the Mum & Dad Capybara’s that escaped last year. They had babies this spring!

Original recipe from Five Roses, A guide to good cooking, 5th edition

This recipe make four 33 cm (13 inch) French sticks

Ingredients:

• 300 mL (1 1/4 cup) boiling water
• 30 g (2 tbsp) butter
• 15 g (1 tbsp) sugar
• 8 g (1 package, about 1 tbsp) bread machine yeast
• 50 mL (1/4 cup) lukewarm water
• pinch of sugar
• 570 g (4 cups) All Purpose Unbleached Flour
• 15 g (2 tsp) salt
• Olive oil
• 1 egg white, beaten

Directions:

1. Melt the butter and 15 grams of sugar in the boiling water and cool until lukewarm.
2. Sprinkle the yeast over 50 mL water with a pinch of sugar and whisk to combine. Set aside to proof for a couple of minutes (I like to do this even with quick rising yeast to make sure it’s not dead).
3. Combine the buttery water (when it has cooled to lukewarm) with the proofed yeast and stir to mix well.
4. Combine the flour and salt in the large bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Pour the liquid yeast into the centre and turn the mixer on low speed until it forms a nice dough.
5. Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic (mine took about 8 minutes).
6. Lightly coat with olive oil and set aside in a warm place, 1 to 2 hours or when double in size. Punch down and divide the dough into two equal portions.
7. Divide the dough into two or four equal portions. With the base of your palm, press out the dough to a little rectangle, roughly size it 1:3 — it should not be huge at this point. then fold the long side up about 1/3 of the way and press into the dough with your knuckle or fingers to seal. Repeat with the other long side. Flatten the roll and press an indentation into the centre along the long side. Fold down to form a long baguette and seal with your fingers or knuckles. Roll out to elongate and taper the ends. This is the Julia Child method which may be seen here at roughly 6 minute 10 second mark.
8. Preheat the oven to 450° F (230° C). Place the baguette seam side down on a baguette baking sheet and brush them with the egg white and then dock them using a sharp lame, you can see how this is done at roughly 9 minute 53 second mark of the same video. Place the baguette pan in a larger pan with a few chunks of ice off to the sides, cover tightly with foil paper.
9. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 425° F (220° C) , remove the foil wrap and brush again with the egg white and then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the baguette is golden brown and the crust has stiffened up and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

The steaming process produces the great texture.

Notes:

• There are as many baguette recipes as there are blogs, if you have one you like to use, I encourage you to try this rolling and baking method, I am sold and will make crusty bread this way from now on.
• I used 5 normal sized ice cubes.
• The crust is nice and crunchy and the crumb is chewy and wonderful.
• If your larger pan doesn’t have tall enough sides, I would spray the foil with non-stick spray so that when the bread rises and touches the foil, it will not stick.
• This is the baguette pan that I use.

The baguette has a crispy crust with a nice chewy crumb.

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