Posts tagged ‘baking’

I was planning on making one of the Barefoot Contessa’s recipes the other night when I noticed she called for 3 extra large eggs instead of 3 large eggs. I didn’t have any extra large on hand—what is the difference and should I be buying two sizes of eggs for my recipes?

The short version is no, you shouldn’t be bothered with keeping two different sizes of eggs in your fridge unless you’re a baking maniac or a rabid Ina Garten fan. Large eggs are the baking standard, measuring about 2 oz. by weight. Extra large eggs weigh in at 2.25 oz. by comparison.

Barely anyone but the Barefoot Contessa (who apparently has a major jones for the XL size; I have cooked probably one of her recipes in my lifetime, so I trust you readers to back me up on this) specifically calls for extra large eggs in their recipes.

Pastry geniuses Dorie Greenspan, Gale Gand, Johnny Iuzzini, and the incomparable David Lebovitz all specify the large size in their recipes, as David explained to me, “In restaurants, large eggs are the norm (at least where I’ve worked), so many recipes tend toward large eggs.”
>> Read on to find out the one instance where it makes a difference to use the egg size called for in the recipe. >>

Today’s guest post comes from special salad correspondent and vinegar addict Natalie Hoch who has been pining for the mountains of her ancestral Switzerland. She’s generous enough to share with us her family’s recipe for traditional Swiss bread. If you’ve got a lazy Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning ahead of you, this is a tasty way to spend it.

Although I grew up in Westchester, New York, I was born in the small Swiss mountain town of Vevey during one of my family’s stops around the globe as part of my dad’s work for Nestle. I was only 9 months old when we moved away, but Switzerland has stayed with us—particularly in the kitchen. Our time in Vevey and the deep Swiss roots from my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have defined our family to this day.

We put candles on our Christmas tree and use old ski socks for fireplace stockings as Swiss holiday tradition dictates. I love to ski—most of the Swiss do too. I have an impressively high threshold for large quantities of melted stinky cheese after growing up with deliciously gooey Swiss meals. I adore good quality chocolate, from Nestle (of course) to Toblerone and Teuscher. And the Hoch family’s Swiss culinary specialties run the gamut from smooth raclette and fondue to creamy veal geschnetzeltes, from crisp potato roesti to spicy Christmas cookies, and oh so many hazelnuts!

But for now, the blustery cold wind whipping through Brooklyn makes me want warm, rich, eggy bread, the kind I remember my dad making by hand on Sunday mornings. We always ate it warm for breakfast, with honey butter (room-temperature butter blended with equal parts honey), which is so damn good. But this could also accompany a hearty stew, some soft cheese and fig spread, or any charcuterie, really. We call it Tresse, French for “braid.” But any way you slice it (hee), I promise you’ll love it. I recently made a loaf for a Food-You-Grew-Up-With themed Glory Salon, and got some happy reviews.

Homemade Swiss Bread (AKA Rich Egg Bread From Berne, AKA Berner oder Emmentaler Zopf)
Makes one braided loaf

• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water (105-110˚)
• 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (105-110˚)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• an egg wash created with 1 egg white mixed with 1 tbsp water

In a small bowl, gently stir the yeast into the lukewarm water and let it stand until the yeast “blooms,” about 5 minutes. You’ll see the surface of the liquid becoming slightly frothy and opaque.

While the yeast is blooming, in a large bowl, combine the lukewarm milk with the sugar, salt, whole egg, and egg yolks. Stir in the dissolved yeast mixture, then gently mix in the flour until almost fully incorporated.

Turn the dough out on a heavily floured board and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Be careful, it’s super sticky!) Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil and move the kneaded dough to the bowl, rolling gently to fully grease the dough on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm area until doubled in bulk, at least 2 hours.

Punch the dough down and cut into three equal pieces. On a lightly floured board, shape each piece of dough with your hands into a 14-inch long rope. Put the three ropes on a greased cookie sheet and braid them as you would hair (pinching the ends and tucking them under to keep the braid intact).

Brush the braid with melted butter. Let the loaf proof (rise once more until doubled in bulk), about an hour. While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 375˚. Brush the egg wash over the risen loaf. Bake the loaf for 25 to 30 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.

Has anyone else felt out of whack this month? We only put our tree up last Thursday, and I keep thinking there’s an entire extra week between now and December 25 instead of a mere 10 shopping days. Yeesh.

But there’s still time to bake. I’ve got a guest post at Rainy-Day Saver, a fantastic finance site with smart DIY ideas that are completely doable even for a budget failure like me. There, I wax poetic on one of the more unusual additions to your holiday baked goods selection: savory parmesan shortbread rounds.

I love the idea of throwing something salty into the mix of sugar cookies and chocolate-covered candies being passed around this time of year, and these parmesan shortbreads are easy enough to make en masse. They’re incredibly rich, and would also be killer floating in a bowl of tomato soup for a soothing lunch as the gray days of January drag on.

And if you decide to send some unexpected cheesy goodness via USPS, it’s worth it to read these tips on shipping homemade treats safely from Serious Eats. The shortbreads are fairly crumbly, so pad well.

Ask Casey any food-related queries (or hire me to cook at your next party!) at caseyATgoodfoodstoriesDOTcom.

Do you ever recommend using one of those bread makers? And have you done any research on which one would be the best? I love making homemade bread, but with two small kids, I rarely have the time to do it. I’m thinking this might be a nice little Christmas present to myself.

Now that I’m working at home, I find it much easier to carve out time for breadmaking during the day. There are a number of recipes that come together very quickly with minimal to no kneading (see two at the end of the post), and I can set a timer for an hour or two and come down from the office to poke and proof the dough as needed. However, I don’t have two kids, and can see the appeal in consolidating your efforts with the help of a machine.

The biggest benefit to having a bread machine is that the kneading, rising, proofing, and baking will take place in one location. No extra bowls, no setting timers; you just put your ingredients in and push buttons. While a stand mixer, a countertop, and a baking sheet can accomplish a lot, there’s still some organization necessary.

Note that the mixing process in a bread machine requires the use of internal paddles, which leave small holes in one end of your loaf. If this is unacceptable in terms of your aesthetic vision for your bread, you can use the machine to prep the dough up to the baking point, then transfer the dough and bake in your oven in whatever shape you want (loaf, ciabatta, baguette).

But speaking of making the dough in the machine and removing to bake in your oven, it’s also good to know that since bread machines are in the business of mixing dough, you can yours to make pizza dough, cinnamon roll dough… I’ve even read that some people make their pasta dough this way. If you’ve been reading my posts with envy but don’t feel up to the challenge, this might be the solution for you.

If you do decide to take the plunge, I would suggest spending a bit of time on the Best Bread Machine site. Loaded with explanations and recommendations, these people are much more knowledgeable than I could ever claim to be on the subject. I will say, from my light reading, that the Zojirushi brand seems to be well-loved.

Recipes? Yes, I promised recipes. For the famous New York Times/Jim Lahey No-Knead Bread, go here for the recipe and here for the story behind it. If you haven’t yet heard of this way to make bread, suffice to say that it’s worth a shot — the ingredients, which mix together in five minutes, use a long rise and fermentation time in place of kneading.

This whole wheat bread, adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, is fast and requires no kneading at all — it’s easier than making chocolate chip cookies.

Quick Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 1 loaf

• 12 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt (not Greek yogurt)
• 1/3 cup water or maple syrup*

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a standard-size loaf pan.

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and check for consistency; as Mark says, “it’s pourable but not wet, like good (not too dry) oatmeal.”

Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, testing at 45 minutes with a toothpick or knife in the center to see if it comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a rack, then remove the loaf from the pan and allow to cool completely before cutting.

*Note that Mark’s original recipe calls for molasses instead of water or maple syrup. I found the bread very sweet, like Boston brown bread (ah, fond memories of meals at Eat n’ Park). If this is your bag, then by all means substitute — I simply prefer a more savory bread.

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Pie crust is one of those things that causes irrational fear. Even certain seasoned cooks I know quail at the thought of making one by hand, when it can be pulled together almost instantly with a food processor and only a little longer without. All you need is super-cold butter and water and you will not fail.

Now, some swear by a mixture of shortening and butter, and there are some Southern purists who will seek out lard. I use shortening so rarely that it goes bad in my pantry before I finish the tub, so I rely on the following all-butter recipe, taken from Ms. Martha Stewart. It makes two crusts, perfect for anything sweet or savory. Dare I suggest a chicken pot pie?

You will need:

• 2 sticks butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled (I cube the butter, then stick in the freezer for five minutes)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• small bowl of ice water
• 2 gallon-size Ziploc bags

If you have a food processor:
Whir the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of the processor a few times to sift. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse three seconds on, three seconds off about ten times or until the dough resembles moist cornmeal. Add 1/4 cup (that’s also 4 tablespoons) of ice water through the feed tube while continuing to pulse. The mixture will begin to clump – add 1 or 2 tablespoons more water if it’s still dry and crumbly, pulsing a few times between each addition.

If you don’t have a food processor:
Mix the flour, salt, and sugar with a fork in a large bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes and smoosh between your fingers into the flour until the butter chunks are the size of small peas. If you have a pastry blender, this speeds up the process, but I’ve done it by hand numerous times – don’t go out and buy one on my account. (Save up for the food processor instead; it’s infinitely more useful!) With this method, there will still be small bits of butter amongst the wet cornmeal-looking flour.

Using the bowl of a tablespoon, make four indentations in the flour/butter mixture and fill each of the indentations with 1 tablespoon each of freezing cold water. Use a fork or your hands to gently mix all together, drizzling more water over the dough just a little bit at a time until the dough holds its shape when you squeeze it with your hand.

Once the dough has come together:
Divide the dough into two equal portions for each of the Ziplocs, flattening and shaping into discs inside the bag. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. (If you are freezing a portion of the dough, sometimes it’s easier to wrap in plastic wrap instead of Ziploc. Make sure there’s no air in the bag/make sure the plastic wrap is tight and then wrap in foil. It will keep in the freezer for about three months; thaw in the fridge the day before you roll it out.)

When it is time to roll out the crust, I like to use my Roul’Pat, but the reason for the plastic bag is thus: Cut the two long sides of the bag and sprinkle each side of the disc with flour. You can then roll out the crust within the bag, with no fear of it getting stuck on the rolling pin or tearing under its weight. We can all thank Alton Brown for this clever tip.

I rotate the crust every few rolls or so to keep it spreading evenly and thinly. Once it’s as big as you need it to be, you can lift one side of the bag up and gently dump it into your pie plate. Repeat with the second crust if you’re doing an enclosed pie.

Now go off and impress all your loved ones with your newfound skills — and don’t let me catch you skulking around the Pillsbury pie crust aisle ever again.