Saturday Course Photo: Not a Good Sign

Since I'm spending so much time on golf courses and it is one of the most beautiful times of the year, I've decided to every once in a while on Saturday to post a picture from the week's round.

Here is a sign that frankly caused chills up my spine when I saw it on a tough little Par 3 that has a forced carry over a little gully with a creek running through it.




If a course spends the money to have a sign like this made you can bet there was an "incident".

I can tell you this, I'm not even getting out of my cart at this hole. Pars for EVERYONE!

Bread Baking Babes: Swedish Rye

It's that time of the month again. The Bread Baking Babes have been in the kitchen again and this month, our host kitchen Astrid at Paulchen's FoodBlog gave us a fabulous hearty bread for the cold month of February, Swedish Rye.



I'm a sucker for all rye breads. If you had to ask me what is your favorite bread, I wouldn't hesitate to say OH rye. I love the little pumpernickel loaves we see around the holidays here in the US with a bit of a ham and mustard. There is nothing in this world like a big pile of pastrami piled high on a thick slice of Jewish rye bread from a deli in NYC. I love rye bread toasted and spread with marmalade and a cup of tea.



In keeping with the new me and because when I made this bread, I was a little "ingredient challenged", I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my needs.

I halved the recipe. I didn't use the anise seeds as I had used all mine for some other bread. But, the biggest was I didn't have enough honey to make the bread AND have honey on my peanut butter sandwiches for my golf bag for the week that was ahead, so I used a mix of molasses and honey.

Things I noticed about the recipe: It took a very long time to get the dough to come together, almost 20 minutes of mixing/rest/mixing in a bit more flour/rest. I expected this because of the amount of rye flour in this recipe. Rye flour tends to absorb liquid slowly.

But if you haven't baked with rye a lot (I love rye and used to bake rye bread all the time before the "new me") don't think because it looks like it will need a bunch more flour after a few minutes of mixing and/or kneading, you do. If it looks like it still needs flour after 4 or so minutes of continuous mixing. Let it rest for a few minutes and if it is still really wet, loose, shaggy, or tacky, add a little more of the whole wheat flour the recipe calls for.

The dough was very tacky after I kneaded it but again, after resting for about 5 minutes I had the nice dough ball the recipe describes.



It took 80 minutes to bake to an internal temperature 200 degrees. The recipe doesn't call out a temp but my experience with rye breads is that if you don't get the internal to 200 degrees, the bread will be just barely baked inside or even still doughy. So, check your bread temps along with the time.

This is what my boule looked like when it came out of the oven



I LOVE this bread. It was fantastic tasting, the right combo of caraway with the citrus of the orange. I loved it so much after having a slice with marmalade the morning after I baked it, that I ventured out in 21 degree temps (Brrrrrr) to get a corned beef brisket to make for dinner that night just so I could make Rueben sandwiches all the next week.

In the land of rye breads, this one is a keeper...

To bake along with the Babes this month and be a Buddy, bake the Swedish rye, blog about it or post it to your facebook page, or any other place you want to post it to and contact Astrid via her email with a link to your post. She'll send you nice badge to put on your post.


Swedish Rye Bread
adapted from Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Espe Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

1.
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast (2 packets)
1/3 cups honey
1 cup dry milk
grated peel of 2 oranges
2 teaspoons anise seeds
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
4 cups unbleached white flour

2.
4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup oil
4 cups rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (for kneading)

Method:

1. Dissolve the yeast in water. Add the honey and dry milk plus the oranges and seeds
2. Add the flour to get a thick batter.
   Add one cup of flour at a time, stirring good after each addition. The more flour you add the more you knead to go into a beating mode with your spoon. Best way is to stir up and down in a circular mode from the bottom of the bowl to the surface of the dough. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time. After the 4 cups of flour you should have a thick mud-like dough.
3. Beat well with a spoon (100 strokes).
   Continue to beat until you have a smooth dough. Again pull your spoon under the dough and bring it up to the surface again in a circular mode. The batter will be more elastic while you are doing this as more and more air gets incorporated.
4. Let rise for 45 minutes.
   Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place.
   
5. Folding in the remaining ingredients. Do not stir! Do not cut through the dough, this will improve the elasticity and strength of the dough.
6. Sprinkle on the salt and pour on the oil. Stir around the side of the bowl working carefully your way towards the center. Rotate your bowl a little with every stroke you do. Repeat until all of the salt and oil is incorporated.
7. Sprinkle the flour 1/2 a cup at a time onto the dough. Again fold it in while rotating your bowl.
8. Continue until the dough comes away from the sides of your bowl. Now the dough is ready to give it a good knead!
9. Plop your dough on your kneading board and scrap all remainings from the bowl onto the dough. Keep in mind that your surface should be floured enough to prevent the dough from sticking to much on the board.
10. Flour your hands and the top of the dough. From the middle of your down stretch it away from you and then fold it back onto the remaining part of the dough. Continue to push down and forward.
11. Turn the dough a quarter turn. Again continue with the pushing and folding.
12. Turn, fold, push. Rock forward. Twist and fold as you rock back. Be careful not to stretch the dough too much and tear it. Add flour to the boards as needed.
13. While you continue with the kneading the dough will become more and more elastic, smooth and shiny.
14. When you are finished, place the dough in your lightly oiled bowl smooth side down, then turn it over so the dough ball is covered lightly with oil. This will prevent the dough from forming a crust on the top while rising.
15. Cover the bowl with a damp towel again and set aside to rise in a warm place. (50.60 minutes until doubled in size)
    
16. Punch down your dough with your fists steadily and firmly about 15-20 times.
17. Let rise again 40-50 minutes until doubled in size again.
    
18. Preheat your oven at 350°F.
19. Turn your dough onto the board again.
20. Form the dough into a ball. Cut the dough into two even pieces and form smaller balls again. Let rest for 5 minutes.
21. Knead the dough and fold it about 5 times, this gives the dough added spring. After the final push turn the dough a quarter turn.
22. Roll up the dough into a log shape. Seam at the bottom, flatten the top of the dough. Square the sides and ends. Turn the dough over and pinch the seams all the way.
23. Put the dough seam side down into your pan. Press it down into the pan with your fingers.
24. Cover and let rise again. This will take 20-25 minutes.
    
25. Cut the top with 1/2 inch deep slits to allow the steam to escape.
26. You and brush with eggwash and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame if you want!
    
27. Bake for about 50-60 minutes.
28. Remove from pan to cool down completely.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Cozy Sunday with Mom

Since Mom has started blogging again she is going to let me take over the writing duties every once in a while; which means we can participate in Weekend Cat Blogging this week!

And it is a special week for us to come back because our best cat friends, Kashim, Othello, and Salome are hosting and it is their Mom, Astrid's, birthday today!!

Now, that I'm a Southern cat I have gotten used to lazy Sundays around here. Typically, Mom gets up, goes to church and then either goes to the golf course to work on something her instructor wants her to get better at or she goes and plays a round of golf with friends. Then she comes home and makes a really nice Sunday dinner.

Today it is raining and cold and she said all she wanted to do today is cuddle with me! So, I'm very happily snuggled up next to her and we're watching the last round of the Northern Trust Open together.



I'm rooting for Keegan Bradley but Mom is hoping Phil Mickelson wins back to back.

I think Mom is rooting for Phil because Grandma Hunt, Dad's Mom loved Phil and Mom still misses her so much. She is pretty sure last weekend that Grandma Hunt reached down from the 19th Hole in Heaven and pushed some of Phil's putts into the hole so he could beat Tiger at Grandpa Hunt's favorite course.

I hope everyone has a good rest of your weekend and go see what the other kitties are up to by visiting Othello, Kashim, and Salome!

Now, I need to curl up and flick Mom's hand with my tail while she tries to write a long email to her friend Kim.

Bread Baking Babes: Biscotti Picanti

The Babes are back!

And not only are we back but this month we are celebrating four fabulous years of sharing a kitchen and yeasty classroom together. I can't believe I've been with this incredible group of women baking breads. Even more so, I can't believe that they've kept me around for four years.

To celebrate this milestone, we are making a really unique bread, courtesy of host kitchen, Lien of Notitie van Lien, Biscotti Picanti




I was fascinated by this bread. I had never heard of rusks and after the Babes that share the back bench of our little haven educated me, I was excited to give these try.

The dough was really easy to make and it makes so much, I divided it into two and made two different versions: Roasted Garlic with Sea Salt and Bacon Cheese.



I really like both but if I was to make these again, I'd just make a big batch of the roasted garlic and sea salt. They were perfect as the backdrop for cheese and cured meats but really good on their own.

To bake along with the Babes this month and be a Buddy, bake the Biscotti Picanti, blog about it or post it to your facebook page, or any other place you want to post it to and contact Lien via her email with a link to your post. She'll send you nice badge to put on your post.

Also, if you do blog or post somewhere else about this fantastic bread please place a link to incredibly gracious Anissa Halou's Blog. She was so sweet to let us blog about her recipe and re-post it verbatim (A refreshing attitude in the land of food blogs). While your at it, go visit her blog because it is full of fabulous photos and food.



Biscotti Picanti (Sicilian Spicy Rusks)
(makes about 36 rusks)

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 package = 7 grams)
60 ml warm water
1 ⅔ (± 225 g) cups AP-flour (+ extra for kneading and shaping)
1 ⅔ (240 g) cups semolina flour
¼ cups (25 g) aniseed
3 TBsp (28 g) white sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ cup + 2 TBsp (150 ml/130 g) extra-virgin olive oil (+ extra for greasing the bowl)
¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine
115 ml water

1. Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup/60 ml warm water and stir until creamy.

2. Combine flours, aniseed, sesame seeds, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Add the olive oil in the well and rub into the flour with your fingertips until well incorporated.

3. Add yeast, wine and ½ cup (115 ml) warm water en knead briefly to make a rough ball of dough. Knead this for another 3-5 minutes or so. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Knead for another 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and let rise in a lightly greased bowl, covered with greased plastic, for 1 hour in a warm place (or until doubled).

4. Divide the dough in 3 equal pieces and shape each piece into a loaf about 12”( 30 cm) long.
Transfer the logs to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leaving at least 2 inches/5 cm between them so they can expand. Take a dough cutter (or sharp knife) and cut the loaves into 1 inch/2,5 cm thick slices (or if you prefer them thinner in 1"/1 cm slices). Cover with greased plastic and let the rise for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 500ºF/260ºC.

5. Bake the sliced loaves for 15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 175ºF/80ºC.
Separate the slices and turn so that they lie flat on the baking sheet. Return to the oven and bake for about 1 hour more, or until golden brown and completely hardened (if not totally hardened, return to the turned off oven to let them dry more).Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Serve at room temperature, or store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

(source: “Savory baking from the Mediterranean” - Anissa Helou)

My Bucket List of Golf Courses for the Next Ten Years

If you come here for food, I'm afraid today you are going to be a bit disappointed because today's post is all about my other passion, golf.

This past weekend was one of my favorite tournaments of the PGA tour season, the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am, also known as the Crosby Clam Bake, after Bing Crosby who was instrumental in bringing high profile stars to Pebble Beach to play golf with the Pros in the 30s.

The scenery along Monterey Bay, where Pebble Beach, Spy Glass and the Monterery County Club, the three courses that are played during the ATT are located is legendary and even non-golfers enjoy walking these courses. For the serious golfer, getting a chance to tee it up on any of these courses is a treat but playing at Pebble Beach is like visiting the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo for the painter, baking alongside Julia Child for the baker, having a private driving lesson with Mario Andretti for the lead foot, and winning the lottery all rolled into one.

Watching one of my favorite players, Phil Mickelson, win this past weekend in that fabulous setting, got me to thinking about my bucket list of golf courses I want to play before I hang up the 5 iron for the last time. More importantly, it got me to thinking about the courses I want to play in the next five to ten years with my father before he is too old to travel and enjoy playing them.

So, here is my bucket list of the courses I want to share with my best partner on the course, my dad.

1. Pebble Beach - Pebble Beach, CA
2. Cypress Point Golf Club - Pebble Beach, CA (This was my father in law's favorite course of all time too)
3. TPC Sawgrass: Players Stadium Course - Ponte Verde, FL (Most famous island green in golf)
   
4. The Jewel - Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, MI
5. Wawashkamo Club - Mackinac Island, MI (Gem of a little course, still use sand tees)
6. Royal St. George's - Sandwich, Kent England
7. Old Head Golf Links, Kinsale, County Cork Ireland
8. Carnoustie, Scotland
   
9. Seaside Course, Sea Island, GA
10. Retreat Course, Sea Island, GA
    
11. Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, MI (Walter Hagen was the first head pro)
12. Forest Dunes, Roscommon, MI
13. Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island, SC
    
14. Spyglass Hill - Pebble Beach, CA
15. Links at Spanish Bay - Pebble Beach, CA
16. Lakewood Shores Resort, Oscoda MI
17. Elk Ridge Golf Course, Atlanta, MI
18. Magnolia, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL
19. Sun Valley Resort, Sun Valley, ID
20. Black Lake Golf Club, Onaway, MI (15 minutes from my folk's home in N. MI)
    

Blog Party #44: Sweet Tooth

My good friend and fellow food blogger and once and future partner in a bakery/driving range project, Stephanie is back with the 44th edition of her Blog Party!



It's been awhile since we all gathered in her front room to share a little food, drink and fun but it sure is good to see everyone again.

Since all these folks are friends and friends are golden AND the theme is sweet tooth, I couldn't think of anything better to bring than my Black Gold Brownies.



These things are absolutely the most decedent brownie you will ever taste and best of all, they combine the best of both types of brownies: cake and fudgey. They are also STUPID SIMPLE. Seriously stupid simple They also only use two pans: a sauce pan to make the batter in and a square 8x8 pan to bake them in. AND if that wasn't enough, they have a secret ingredient, which is the gold part, butterscotch baking chips.

The toughest part of this recipe? Actually having any batter left to put in the pan,



because once you start licking the spoon or spatula, you may not stop...


Black Gold Brownies

1 stick + 1 TBSP unsalted butter
6 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp espresso powder (or if you don't have espresso powder instant coffee or cocoa powder)
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 C flour
1/2 C butterscotch baking chips

In a sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Remove from heat. Stir in cocoa and espresso powder, sugar, vanilla and butterscotch chips. Add 1/4 cup of flour and stir in the eggs. Add remaining flour.

Spoon batter into prepared 8x8 square pan.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 22-25 min until edges are firm and top has crinkle crust. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Bread Baking Babes: Bring on the Cuban and Pork

This month, the Bread Baking Babes got a little revolutionary with the choice of bread when we made a soft sandwich bread from Cuba.




Ilva from Lucullian Delights is our host kitchen and the recipe can be found here. It is from Bernard Clayton's "New Complete Book of Breads".

It is wicked easy to make and the really cool thing is the bread is baked from a cold start oven.

I paired this fantastic bread with pulled pork and coleslaw.

The pulled pork recipe is a family recipe and is made in the crockpot. The coleslaw recipe is one I found several years ago and I've modified it to make it "healthy" (no mayo or sugar).

If you want to be Bread Baking Babe Buddy,send Ilva the link to your blog post about it before midnight Saturday 28th of January to luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com, please write Bread Baking Buddy a the subject so Ilva doesn't miss it for her round up.

A New Me in a New Town with a New Life

Look words here! Bet you never thought you'd see them on this blog again and frankly I wasn't sure I was ever going to write them here again either.

But, here they are. I guess I owe you a small explanation for my long absence from The Sour Dough and what has brought me back at least every once in a while. So, what has happened since I last posted here?

Let's see here since I last typed words here, I've completely upset my life by quitting my wretched job, moving 1,000 miles due south of Connecticut to a state deep in the heart of Dixie, only working when I want to and then only for people I want to work for and only if the project doesn't require me to work a bizillion hours, weekends or travel one day away from home. When I'm not working, I'm doing what I really love to do, seriously work on my golf game.

I also made some major changes to my lifestyle in regards to food and how I use food in my life and what I do with food like baking and cooking, which has resulted in my dropping over 1oolbs of weight.

I haven't wanted to talk much about this here because well, it's was a food blog and frankly I was embarrassed by my weight, the way I got fat, and that I had let myself go as badly as I did, especially after Wren's death. I've never been a tiny petite person. I'm tall and from good Midwestern stock, but I was never obese and never not active. Even when I was a bit heavier than I wanted to be, I carried it well because of my height and body build.

When Wren passed away I put on so much weight that at one point, my weight had approached 300lbs. At my top weight in early and mid 2010, I was 298.7lbs. I was morbidly obese and wretchedly unhappy with myself, my job, and my life. The more unhappy I was the more I turned to emotional eating. It was a vicious cycle that looked like it would never end.

But golf saved my life. Seriously. It did.

I don't mind telling you how hard it was to do simple things like go up stairs and carry loudspeakers, etc like I needed to for my job let alone swing a golf club correctly to hit it long and walking a golf course was impossible when you are as fat as I was.

In September 2010, after playing golf for a little of six months, I ventured to a golf outing in Florida with some folks I met through an online golf forum. I had the most wonderful time and the people were non-judgemental about my weight and my golf game. All they cared about was that I loved the game of golf and was there to have fun. I ended up meeting people who have become lifetime friends and in some cases, as important to me as members of my family.

The big life changing moment came after the outing when I saw pictures of myself. I was horrified by what I saw (I'm the fat girl on the left)



I came home from that outing and joined Weight Watchers. It has been a long slog but this earlier this month when I weighed in at a meeting, I am now only 48lbs away from my goal weight. This is the new me as of October 2011 and I've lost more since then.



The new me is playing the best golf of her life. I've not only broke 100 but I'm well on my way to breaking 90. AND, if my instructor is right and I keep working as hard as I am right now at both my fitness, weight loss and my golf game, there is no reason I won't be playing in the mid-low 80s by the summer and driving the ball over 170yds.

The new me is actually interested in "gasp" DATING again and loves getting those looks from men again. The new me loves to shop for clothes and the girly girl I've always secretly been is living out loud in lipstick, red nail polish, and flirty clothes. But, most importantly the new me doesn't use food as a crutch for her unhappiness and stress.

SO, you are asking what the hello does this have to do with anything at The Sour Dough and what this blog is about?

Well, it means that this blog is no longer going to be just about food. It started as a general topic blog. A place where I could just write and let my thought come out. Because of food is no longer the center focus of my life, I'm taking The Sour Dough back to a more general topic blog when I post. Now that doesn't mean there will be no food here.

I'm still a Bread Baking Babe and hopefully, once a month, the bread of the month will show up here. My lovely sister babes have all thrown their support behind me and know that I will be baking with them when I can adapt the recipe for my new lifestyle.

I still love to cook and bake other things too but I don't eat much of what I bake. Basically, if I can't give away 99.9% of what I bake, I'm not baking it. The cooking I do is very healthy cooking...most of the time. I may post about some of that here if the mood strikes me.

What definitely is changing, is I'm not posting to just post. Also, you will notice there really isn't a way to contact me or leave comments. It isn't that I haven't enjoyed helping you with your bread and recipe questions over the years. Rather, my life has changed and this blog isn't the end all be all of my existence anymore.

So, thank you all for all your support over the years. Feel free to hang out and see if I can break 80 on the golf course before next year and definitely check out the Babe Bread every month and be a Buddy with us!

Bread Baking Babe-orama

What's this?

Typing??

Here??!!

Why, yes it is typing here!

And not only is there typing here but this is the beginning of me blogging with some regularity again. I'll go into my whereabouts, my reasons behind my taking such long blogging break, what is new in my life and how those new things are going to effect what happens here at The Sour Dough in a future post.

But for now, I have some long outstanding posts about the past two breads my lovely and understanding Bread Baking Babes (Karen, Elizabeth, Elle [Pat], Gorel, Sara, Natasha, Ilva, Tanna, Lien, Astrid, and Susan) have already posted about. I guess this makes me the Bad Babe in the Corner sent to the back bench of our classroom without her supper or her bottle of scotch.

In June, Ilva presented us with the recipe for the most fantastic soda bread I've ever made! Ballymaloe White Soda Bread with Herbs




I hate to say it but saying this was the best soda bread I've ever had includes my long kept family recipe of my great grandmother Sarah Kate Burgess of County Wexford in Ireland AND Michigan.

I made this bread when my mother was visiting.



It was so easy and quick to make that I made it for an afternoon snack on the day she arrived. We took the leftovers with us when we visited the Vanderbilt mansion in Hyde Park, NY



to have as a picnic dinner in the garden.



The deep purple iris



and white waterlilies



made a lovely backdrop to our light dinner



of soda bread, fruit, cheese and of course wine!


This past month, July, Sara gave us the freedom to make hamburger buns any way or shape we wanted to using a recipe from Williams Sonoma.



For my birthday in June, my brother and sister in law sent me a gift card to King Arthur Flour and I used it buy a pan to make homemade hot dog buns. I hadn't had a chance to use it yet but Sara's recipe was too much to resist.



After making my own hot dog buns, I don't think I'll ever buy them again. I've become addicted to turkey Italian sausage. I've been grilling it on my new grill at least two times a week. These buns are the perfect compliment to them.



I've made them at least three times this month and even made the buns using whole wheat flour last week. This recipe is a keeper.

I'm afraid it's too late to be buddy for either of these breads but I really suggest you give them a try. You won't be sorry.

Thanks Babes! I promise to try and be a better Babe for the rest of the year...



White Soda Bread with Herbs
from The Ballymaloe Bread Book by Tim Allen

1 loaf

450 g/1lb plain white four
1 level teaspoon salt
1 level teaspoon bread soda, finely sieved
1 dessert spoon each of rosemary, sage and chives, all freshly chopped
400 ml/ 14 fl oz buttermilk

Heat up the oven to 230 degrees C/450 degrees F

Sieve the flour, salt and bread soda into a large, wide mixing bowl. Add the freshly chopped herbs to the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the centre. Pour most of the milk into the flour. Using one hand with the fingers open and stiff, mix in a full circle drawing in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more milk if necessary. The dough should be softish, not too wet and sticky.

The trick with all soda breads is not to over-mix the dough. Mix the dough as quickly and as gently as possible, keeping it really light and airy. When the dough comes together, turn it out onto a well-floured work surface. Wash and dry your hands.

Gently roll the ball of dough around with floury hands for a few seconds, just enough to tidy up. Then pat it gently into a round, about 5 cm/2 in high.

Place the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet. With a sharp knife cut a deep cross in the middle of it, letting the cuts go over the sides of the bread. Then prick the four triangles with your knife: according to Irish folklore this will let the fairies out!

Put this into your preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200 degrees C/400 degrees F for a further 25 minutes, or until cooked. When the bread is cooked it will sound hollow when tapped.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

from Williams-Sonoma

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk
8 Tbs (1stick/125 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups (625 g) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105-155'F (40 to 46'C). Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups of flour, the sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10 by 7 1/2 inch (25 by 19 cm) rectangle. Using a ruler as a guide, cut the dough into 2 1/2 inch (6cm) squares. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the buns evenly apart, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400'F (200'C)

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg mixture (I brushed the tops with milk) and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake until the buns and golder and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers 190'F (88'C), 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut in half and use as hamburger buns. Makes 12 hamburger buns.

For slider buns: Follow the instructions above but roll out the dough into a 9 inch (23 cm) square. Cut into 1 1/2 inch (4cm) squares and place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Position one rack in the upper third of an over and one rack in the lower third and preheat to 400'F (200'C). Brush the tops with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and 180 degrees halfway through baking. Makes 36 slider buns.

A Babeiversary: Three Years of Breads, Bitchin' and Buddies

Well, well, well...

How time flies when you're having fun with twelve plus crazy women all wearing embroidered panties and aprons, up to your elbows in wet dough, wine, scotch, brandy, and the King Arthur flour catalog; not to mention changing jobs/careers (Karen, Gretchen, Sara, me), having a baby (Sara), getting married (Gretchen), becoming a grandmother (Tanna x 2, Lynn), losing a spouse (me), losing a beloved pet (Natashya, Katie), losing a sister (All of us when we lost Sher), losing our minds (all of us from time to time), moving homes (Gorel, Gretchen, Sara, and me), building a house in the Northern Michigan woods (Tanna), building a house in France (Katie), remodeling a house (Karen), building a brick oven in the backyard (Susan). Well, you get the picture...

In the past three years this little band of sisters has done a lot both in the kitchen and out of the kitchen but the one constant has been every month since February 2008, a bread has been baked in most of our ovens.

We've had some fantastic successes with the Royal Crown Tortano, Poilane style Miche, Challah, Asparagus Bread, Potato Bread with Chives, and Sweet Portuguese Bread. We've had some challenges with the Crocodrillo, Russian Black Bread, Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread, and the Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread. We've experienced international breads many of us had never tried or heard of with Ethiopian Injera, Sukerbolle, Sukkar bi Tahin, and Broa (Portuguese Corn Bread). We've had fun shaping with the Yule Wreath, Tanta Wawa, Viennese Striesel, and the Cornucopia.

To celebrate the Babes three year anniversary, I took advantage of a few down weeks at home in my Connecticut kitchen to pick one bread from each of the three years to make again or in the case of the last one, for the first time.



During our first year, the one bread that struck fear in the hearts of all us and still sends shivers down the spines of my sisters was the uber-wet dough Crocodrillo.



This bread not only was the wettest dough we've tackled to date (and tackling is the operative word when you are chasing dough off the end of the counter) but it also ended up one of the most satisfying when you got it right and out of the oven. The taste and the texture with the crispy, chewy crust and the large holes in the dough made all the cursing, crying, and pleading worth it.

In the second year, we made a bread sold on the streets of Beirut, the Sukkar bi Tahin. It surprised me when I sat down to pick the three breads that I was going to make for this post that this one kept popping up to the top of my mind. I wasn't a huge fan of the bread when I made it in July 2009, mainly because I'm not a big fan of tahini except in hummus. But when I made it this time I was blown away by how wonderful the bread was. I did stray from the recipe by shaping the dough into one large serpent shaped loaf but the result was stunning.



My office mates were also impressed because exactly ten minutes after I announced at the Monday morning project meeting the bread was on the cutting board in the kitchen, the last piece was consumed.

In the third year of Babe breads, I have to admit there are several breads I missed baking owing to job schedules and some other life changes (i.e. golf), I left our collective kitchen to go on hiatus. So, I decided to bake one of the breads I missed for this anniversary post. Having been itching to use my brotform for several months, I decided the dough and bread from 2010 that best suited the wicker shape was the Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread.



Like my revisit to the Sukkar bi Tahan, this bread surprised me with how much I loved it. It reminded me in taste and texture to my beloved Anadama bread. I admit, I ate about half the loaf at various meals before I finally took the remaining loaf into the office. It too was devoured by my fellow workers and already, I'm hearing rumbling to make it again. It won't be hard to twist my arm in that regards.

Of all the things the past three years that we Babes have enjoyed it has been inviting you, our readers (if I have any left) into our collective kitchen every month as Bread Baking Buddies.

So, this month there isn't a single bread that we are baking and inviting you to bake with us but rather there are thirty-seven! That's right, if you would like to help us celebrate three years of Babe Bread Baking, we would like you to select one of the breads in the below to bake, blog about and then email our host kitchen, our founder and den mother, Tanna (My Kitchen in Half Cups) with a link to your post by Feb. 29. She'll email you a little something-something for your blog!


2008 (from left to right) February: Karen Royal Crown Tortano (in Dutch) and in English:
March: Lien Coccodrillo
April: Tanna Sullivan Street Pizza
May: Sher - Poilane-Style Miche
June: Mary Breadchick's Dark Onion Rye
July: - in memory of Sher who passed away July 20 2008; this month we made something from her blog, something that reminded us of the warm and witty personality Sher was. The news of her passing shocked us. She is our Angel Babe.
August: Ilva Whole Wheat Pita
September : Monique Sûkerbôlle
October : Sara Challah
November: Görel The Rosendal Crisp Bread
December: Lynn Yule Wreath

In our second year, the loaves of 2009;

2009 (from left to right): January Katie Croissants
February Tanna Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Nod (Five-Grain Bread with Walnuts)
March Sara Pane Francese
April Mary Ethiopian Injera
May Ilva Pane di Pasta Tenera Condita (Italian Knot Bread)
June Lien Asparagus Bread (in English and Dutch)
July Natashya Sukkar bi Tahin (Beirut Tahini Swirls)
August Görel Russian Black Bread
September Karen Chinese Flower Steam Buns
October Gretchen Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)
November Monique Brioche Mousseline
December Katie Viennese Striesel

And our third year 2010;

2010 (from left to right) January Lynn Curried Naan
February Karen Ensaimada
March Mary Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
April Sara Potato Bread with Chives
May Natashya Tunisian Spicy Breads
June Lien Korni (in English and Dutch)
July Lynn Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread
August Tanna Sweet Portuguese Bread
September Görel Brunkans Långa
October Elizabeth Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread
November Susan Cornucopia
December Ilva Taralli Pugliesi

And finally, just this past month



2011
January: Astrid Hildegard's Spelt Bread



Now, I'm going to get a little sappy here so you might want to go grab a box of tissue. I want to take a few words to thank my Babe sisters for all the love and support of the past three years while I've made some major life changes including leaving the kitchen to pursue a dream of mine, to work on my golf game and get good enough to play serious competitive golf. You each have been so supportive of me and kept my spot on the back bench warm, a bottle of my Macallan 25 taped under the bench, sent me well wishes when I've been competing and helped pick me up when I've failed. I know I won't be joining you every month in the upcoming year but I also know that when I drop into the kitchen and the classroom from time to time, you will welcome me back with open arms. Ladies, may your yeast always bloom, your flour always stay dry, and your loaves always rise.

To go see what my Sisters, The Bread Baking Babes did this month to celebrate three years, go visit their blogs. You can find them over there on the side bar of this blog.

Three Years of Babe Bliss

Three years ago a little email arrived in my mailbox from my dear friend Tanna asking if I would be interested in joining her in an endeavor: find a very small and intimate group of ladies to bake bread, share laughs, tears, drinks and bottles taped to the underside of back benches, and most importantly create life long friendships.

How could I refuse not to join such a group? Especially when Tanna told me we would have custom embroidered panties and aprons...

Just for kicks and giggles and because as I get older, I feel the need to wander down memory lane more and more, let"s revisit the breads the Babes have baked the past three years:


2008 (from left to right) February: Karen Royal Crown Tortano (in Dutch) and in English:
March: Lien Coccodrillo
April: Tanna Sullivan Street Pizza
May: Sher - Poilane-Style Miche
June: Mary Breadchick's Dark Onion Rye
July: - in memory of Sher who passed away July 20 2008; this month we made something from her blog, something that reminded us of the warm and witty personality Sher was. The news of her passing shocked us. She is our Angel Babe.
August: Ilva Whole Wheat Pita
September : Monique Sûkerbôlle
October : Sara Challah
November: Görel The Rosendal Crisp Bread
December: Lynn Yule Wreath

In our second year, the loaves of 2009;

2009 (from left to right): January Katie Croissants
February Tanna Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Nod (Five-Grain Bread with Walnuts)
March Sara Pane Francese
April Mary Ethiopian Injera
May Ilva Pane di Pasta Tenera Condita (Italian Knot Bread)
June Lien Asparagus Bread (in English and Dutch)
July Natashya Sukkar bi Tahin (Beirut Tahini Swirls)
August Görel Russian Black Bread
September Karen Chinese Flower Steam Buns
October Gretchen Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)
November Monique Brioche Mousseline
December Katie Viennese Striesel

And our third year 2010;

2010 (from left to right) January Lynn Curried Naan
February Karen Ensaimada
March Mary Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
April Sara Potato Bread with Chives
May Natashya Tunisian Spicy Breads
June Lien Korni (in English and Dutch)
July Lynn Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread
August Tanna Sweet Portuguese Bread
September Görel Brunkans Långa
October Elizabeth Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread
November Susan Cornucopia
December Ilva Taralli Pugliesi

And finally, just this past month



2011
January: Astrid Hildegard's Spelt Bread

Visit back on the 16th of February to see the beginning of the next year....

Look Who's Back!

After a two month hiatus to work on a few things out of the kitchen, I'm back for a little food blogging while I make some decisions about what the next stage of my life is going to be and where I'm going to be living for that stage.

A few things I've decided like where I want to be living: the Carolinas or southern Virginia. A few things I haven't but I'm working on those and hope to have that figured out by late winter or early spring. So, next year at this time, I'm hoping to be out of New England and happily living someplace where it doesn't snow that often and I can play golf year round.

For the past eight weeks I've been dedicating almost all my free time to improving my golf game. It has been break from blogging I needed and good way to re-center my life around an active and healthier lifestyle.

During my time away from blogging, I hired a fitness coach, swing coach and a nutritionist. I began a regime with a workout in the morning and evening while watching what I ate (cutting out white flour, sugar, etc. which made baking bread a very hard thing to do). I would go to work, go to the driving range and the golf course, and then come home and fall into bed exhausted. The work has paid off, not only am I almost thirty pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of September but I've got a pretty mean golf game these days.

So, now that the cold weather is setting in and besides doing drills on the golf simulator and working with my coaches inside, my time on the course is going to be very limited, I've decided it is time to see if I can find a way to slowly bring back into my life my love of bread making and not lose the good work I've done. The office and my neighbors is going to love me because nothing I'm baking is staying in the house. I'm giving it all away.

Now this doesn't mean that I'm going to be updating every week but what it does mean that I am back in a place in my life where finding a balance and being in the kitchen amongst the baking pans and flour is as much of a place of peace and comfort as standing on the tee box and smacking a 3 wood 180 yards down the center of a fairway.

It also means that I'm going to try and find a way to participate a bit more with my sisters, The Bread Baking Babes who this month made the most stunning bread I think we've made, cornucopias.

One of the bread baking items I did purchase while I was away was a Pullman Loaf Pan.



I have been wanting one of these forever because who can resist the perfectly square loaf of soft sandwich bread you bake in these.



This bread went right into the office with the exception of two slices I used to make a turkey sandwich for lunch.

Right now, I'm working on some very zingy sourdough bread from my favorite starter, Groucho. Since I haven't been baking much Groucho was pretty dormant.



To revive him, I started a few days ago by taking half of the dormant starter



Adding one half cup of luke warm (about 75 degrees)



and stirring in one half cup of flour



About forty minutes later, I had some bubbles.



I repeated this for three days and this morning, Groucho was bubbly and happy. Tomorrow, I'll be baking a boule for the office.

The office is really glad I'm back in the kitchen because they have been missing things like this Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake on Gingersnap Crust I took in to work at the end of the week.



LB is pretty happy I'm spending more time at home too. So much so, when I'm sitting on the couch working on my laptop or watching some golf on TV, he immediately hops up and assumes his favorite napping position.



Have you ever seen such big feet on a cat?!


Triple Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake on Gingersnap Crust

Crust:
1 2/3 C Gingersnaps, crushed
1/3 C Vanilla Wafer Cookies, crushed
1/2 C Confectioners Sugar
1/3 + 2 Tbsp Butter, melted

Cheesecake
3 8oz packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 C Dark Chocolate (66% or darker), broken into small pieces (or in chips)
2/3 C Milk Chocolate, broken into small pieces (or in chips)
2/3 C White Chocolate, broken into small pieces (or in chips)
4 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1 C Semi Sweet Chocolate, broken into tiny pieces (or in mini chips)

To Make Crust:
Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and moisten with melted butter. Press crust into prepared 9" spring form pan. Make bottom crust about 1/4" thick and press any excess crust evenly up the sides of the pan. Set aside.

To Make Cheesecake Batter:

Using 1/8 cup of cocoa powder coat semi sweet chips and set aside.

In large bowl using a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in sweetened condensed milk and continue beating until smooth.

Melt dark, milk, and white chocolate in a double boiler until completely smooth. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Add eggs in, one at time and combine until smooth. Stir in vanilla and semi sweet chocolate until combined.

Pour into spring form pan over the crust and gently shake pan to remove any bubbles.

Place spring form pan on a baking sheet with edges to prevent butter from the crust leaking out in the oven and bake cheesecake for 60 minutes at 300 degrees until firm in the center.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes before gently loosening the outer ring of the spring form pan. If necessary, run a knife under hot water and run along side of outer ring to loosen cheesecake from outer ring.

Let cheesecake cool completely or overnight in the refrigerator.

To serve, shave dark, milk, and white chocolate over top.

WCB: A Fond Farewell For A Few

We're hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this weekend and it is a bit of sadness that Mom is letting me announce that this will be the last time that we host WCB for this year.





You see, Mom is getting ready to take a break from blogging for the foreseeable future to pursue an outside venture that doesn't involve food. Don't worry, Mom is really excited and once she is in a place where she can tell you what she is going to be doing, I'm sure she'll be back at The Sour Dough to explain and share her news.

Since I only get to use the computer when she is using the computer, it will be really hard for me to host as Mom isn't going to spend much time on the computer.

Don't worry, our really good friends Othello, Salome and Kashim have offered to take our slots for the rest of the year.

In the mean time, since this is our last hosting, we want to thank all the kitties over the years we've been hosting for all the purrs and friendship.

If you want to join us with this lovely early fall weekend and show us what you've been up to the past week. Leave us a comment and check back on Sunday to see all the kitties in comments.

Bread Baking Babes: Exploring the Portuguese Sweet Side

When Tanna first emailed me with a question about her bread for this month, Sweet Portuguese Bread



I almost peed my pants with excitement! You see, next to dark rye bread, Anadama bread and the perfect French baguette, there is no other bread in this world I love more than Sweet Portuguese Bread.

You see, I have had an almost 45 year love affair with Sweet Portuguese Bread ever since the first time my Auntie Nora took me to one of the many Portuguese bakeries Fall River, MA to help pick up the rolls for weekends at the summer house on Long Lake.

I remember walking into the bakery with the windows all steamed up from the summer heat, standing in line with all the other ladies from New Bedford, Fall River, Tiverton, and the surrounding communities waiting for our turn, the sweet lady behind the counter who would always give me a roll or cookie to "munch on" while I waited for my Aunt to have her rolls and desserts wrapped. I would then sit in the front seat all the way back to the summer house with a big box of still warm buns in my lap. Those buns were so yellow from the eggs and soft, shiny and melt in your mouth good.

We would have those rolls with fresh chunks of lobster in a light mixture of mayonnaise and lemon juice while sitting out on the back deck watching the sun go down over the lake and further out the distance the Atlantic Ocean.

The recipe that Tanna had us follow was an almost perfect match for those sweet rolls I remember from my childhood summers. The rolls I made from the dough (sorry Tanna, I wanted to be 10 again) were sweet without being over sweet like so many recipes for Sweet Portuguese Bread I've tried in the past. They were soft inside with a firm, slightly chewy crust that was dark brown, leading to a nice contrast to the yellowish insides.

I also strayed from the recipe by not marking the tops of my buns or long rolls like Tanna's recipe, again wanting to recreate the rolls of my childhood. Because you see, I had a special plan for my rolls of Sweet Portuguese Bread. I wanted lobster rolls.

There is a lobster pound down the street from my apartment where the lobster boats from Long Island Sound come in and off load their catch for the area restaurants.



This morning, on my way to my coffee shop, I stopped by and spoke with one of the guys on the boat about buying a lobster from them. He said to come back at 3pm when they were back and the restaurants had picked up their catch and if there was an orphan or "damaged" lobster, it was mine.

At 3:35pm this after a 1 1/2lb lobster found its way into my kitchen and into my steaming pot and about 12 minutes later I had a lovely pile of lobster meat.



While the lobster was cooling, I formed four round rolls and four long rolls from the dough that had been rising all afternoon and put them in my oven/proofing chamber for their final rise. After the rolls had baked and cooled,



I pulled the lobster meat from the fridge, dressed it with a tablespoon of mayonnaise and squeeze of lemon.

I piled the lobster meat onto a sliced round roll, put a handful of Herr's Creamy Dill potato chips on the plate



and sat down to watch the final few holes of the 2010 PGA Championship. I could almost see the back deck of my Auntie Nora's when I bit into the lobster roll...

If you want to see what my fellow Babes did with their Sweet Portuguese Bread go visit the blogs over there on my side bar. You'll notice a few new names there too! Last month we welcomed four new Babes, Astrid, Elizabeth, Elle, and Susan to our ranks to help keep our group lively. You'll also notice that a few of us are on hiatus: Gretchen, Katie, and Monique. They will still join us from time to time to bake when their hectic lives allow. I'm trying to be a better Babe and bake more often as my crazy schedule allows as well.

If you want to be a Bread Baking Buddy, you can bake this fantastic tasting bread, post about it by August 29, and email Tanna, our Kitchen of the Month with a link to your post. She'll email you a nifty badge for your blog and include you in her round up.

Sweet Portuguese Bread
Note: Requires an overnight sponge

Ingredients

Over night SPONGE

72 grams bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons osmotolerant yeast (instant worked just as well too)

114 milliliters potato water, or whey or water (potato water or whey really make it extra tender & soft)

DOUGH

6 tablespoons butter, room temp.

30 to100 grams brown sugar

lemon zest

1 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, room temp.

120 milliliters milk, room temp.

460 grams bread flour, I make approximately1 cup of the 460g whole wheat, you can use all bread flour if you like

2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground

Method
Mix together the sponge the night before baking the bread. Leave sitting at room temp 8 to 12 hours.

Beat sugar and butter until creamy.
Add zest and salt and beat.
Beat in each egg separately and completely; mix will appear curdled.
Stir in milk and sponge.
Stir in 2 1/2 cups flour and beat vigorously (in a stand mixer it would clear the sides of the bowl, by hand lifting the spoon up should stretch the dough about a foot.)
Add remaining flour to make stiff dough. Knead 5 minutes or more to incorporate all the flour:
Dough should be smooth, soft and very supple with a slight stickiness. Looks a little like very thick cake batter or a brioche dough.
Shape into ball, oil bowl and dough ball.
Cover and allow to rise about 2 hours, should almost or triple in size.
Divide into loaves, shaped into balls.
Allow to rest 20 to 30 minutes before final shaping with rolling pin.
See photos for shaping.

For best demarcation of indents be careful to dust dough ball well with flour.

Shape and place into well oiled cake pans seam side down.
Allow to rise an hour to 2 hours; more than double in size.

Brush with egg wash if you want that beautiful glossy finish.

Bake 350°
50 minutes as two loaves
35 minutes as four loaves

mine took less

Brush with melted butter when hot from the oven.



Recipe a combination of recipes found in Tanna's books:
Advanced Bread & Pastry: A Professional Approach by Michel Suas pg 237
The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger pg 368
A Baker's Odyssey by Gregg Patent pg 221
The Bread Book by Linda Collister & Anthony Blake pg 136
The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart pg 215