I’ve been so eager to try this bread, and I’m so glad I finally did! The reason I had put it off for so long is that the high extraction do-it-yourself-part had intimidated me. I don’t know why - it ended up being so easy to do, and so worth this 4 extra minutes that it took.

This bread was gargantuan! But so incredible. It was probably 14″ across, and about 8″ or 9″ tall. This would be my first jumbo-sized loaf, and it really could feed an army. Well, a small army. Maybe a small baseball team. Anyway. I have an electric mill and normally mill my own wheat, spelt, kamut, etc for my whole grain breads. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to sift anything out of it, since the entire wheat berry is milled at the same grind.

As it turned out, the sifting process took out a good bit of bran/germ. I was really impressed with how fine the flour looked after sifting! Of course I’m not sure what my extraction rate was, but I just discarded all that I sifted from the flour. Next time I’ll save it to sprinkle on top of the miche as it goes into the oven.

I had totally forgotten to fold at 30-60 and 90-minutes, and so when I remembered about 150 minutes into it, I did a fold then, and then just did the final shaping 30 minutes later. I had to use the largest bowl I had on hand to keep it as a round, but it did just fine.

I placed it in the oven, with an ice-steam just beforehand, and I spritzed with water just as I put it in the oven, and then two minutes later. Then I let it sit undisturbed until about 55 minutes in the oven, at which time I covered it with aluminum foil so that it wouldn’t get too browned. I think it came out of the oven just perfect.

Here’s a picture of the crumb:

The crust was so crisp and crunchy, and the interior was so soft. This struck me as the perfect sandwich bread, cut thick or thin. Hubbs and I were really amazed with it. I think this would be an overwhelming gift on its own, but it would be great maybe split in half, or baked as two boules.

Here’s the recipe as it appears in Maggie Glezer’s “Baking Across America”

Makes one 4 pound (1.8-kilo) loafTime: At least 18 hours with about 30 minutes of active work

Much of what makes this bread so special is the high-extraction flour used in it. This is a bolted whole-wheat flour much lighter in color and sweeter in flavor than a whole-wheat flour (at 100% extraction), but much darker and more flavorful than a white flour (at 72% extraction).

The method I give here for making your own high-extraction flour will work best on coarsely ground whole wheat flour. If you already have a good high-extraction flour, substitute it for the whole-wheat and bread flour in the final recipe. Thom also includes a little of his sourdough rye starter in the dough, but it is such a small amount that I have bumped up the levain slightly and added rye flour to the final dough instead.

RECIPE SYNOPSIS The evening before baking - making the Levain:

25 grams (1 1/2 tablespoons or 0.8 oz) fermented firm sourdough starter refreshed 8 hrs before (17%)

140 grams (2/3 cup or 4.9 oz) water, lukewarm (100%)

140 grams (1 cup minus 1 tablespoon or 4.9 oz) unbleached bread flour (100%)

Dissolve the sourdough starter in the water in a small bowl. Add the flour and beat this batter-like dough until very smooth. Place in a covered container and let it ferment overnight for 8 hours, or until fully risen and just starting to sink in the middle.

Bake Day – Mixing the Dough:

350 grams (about 12 oz or about 2 1/2 cups) Coarsely ground whole-wheat flour, preferably milled from an organic, hard winter wheat (eventually 25%)

750 grams (26.5 oz or 5 cups) unbleached bread flour, preferably organic (75%)

30 grams (1 oz or 1/4 cup) organic whole-rye flour (3%)

660 grams (24 oz or 3 cups) water (66%)

Fermented levain (30%)

23 grams (0.8 oz or 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons) salt (2.3%)

Preparing the flour:

Sift the whole-wheat through your finest sieve or flour sifter. The large flakes of bran should be caught in the sieve (use them for flouring your peel or for muffins). Measure out 2 cups 3 tablespoons (8.8 ounces, 250 grams) sifted flour. Mix this dark flour with the bread flour and the rye flour in a large bowl or in the work bowl of your mixer.

Add the water to the fermented levain to loosen it from the container.

Mixing the dough:

By hand: Pour the watered levain into the flours and stir with your hands or a wooden spoon just until a rough dough forms. Turn the dough out onto the unfloured work surface and continue kneading until the dough is very smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. This is a lot of dough and will take some muscle. Sprinkle on the salt and continue to knead the bread until the salt has fully dissolved and the dough is very smooth and shiny.

By stand mixer: Add the watered levain to the flours in the work bowl and stir the dough together with a wooden spoon or your hand (this will make the mixing go more quickly). Using the dough hook, mix the dough on medium speed for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth and almost cleans the bowl. Add the salt and continue mixing until the dough is much tighter and cleans the bowl, about 5 more minutes.

This should be a soft, sticky, and extensible dough.

Fermenting and turning the dough:

Place the dough in a container at least 3 times its size and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Let it ferment until it is airy and well expanded but not yet double in bulk, about 3 hours. Turn the dough 3 times at 30-minute intervals, that is, after 30, 60, and 90 minutes of fermenting, then leave the dough undisturbed for the remaining time.

Rounding and resting the dough:

Flour the surface of the dough and your work surface and turn the dough out. Tuck the edges of the dough in to tighten it, round it, and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rest until well relaxed, 10 to 15 minutes. While the dough is resting, sift flour over a linen-lined basket or line a large colander with a well-floured tea towel.

Shaping and proofing the dough:

Shape the dough into an even and tight round loaf without deflating it. Place the dough topside down in a linen-lined basket or large colander, lightly sprinkle it with flour, and cover it well with plastic wrap. Proof the dough until it is well expanded, about doubled in volume and remains indented when lightly pressed with a floured finger, after about 4 hours.

Preheating the oven:

At least 45 minutes before the dough is fully proofed, arrange a rack on the oven’s second-to-top shelf and place a baking stone on it. Clear away all racks above the one being used Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Baking the bread:

If desired, just before baking the bread, fill the oven with steam. Turn the bread out onto a sheet of parchment paper or a floured peel and slash 3 to 4 diagonal slashes and 3 to 4 horizontal slashes into the top. It will look like a skewed grid with diamond-shaped openings. Slide the bread, still on the paper, onto the hot stone and bake until the bread is dark and evenly browned all around and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, 70 to 80 minutes, rotating it halfway into the bake. If the bread is browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C), but still bake the bread for at least 70 minutes. Let the bread cool on a rack.

This month’s Bread Baking Day theme was simple - the bread must include oats. Astrid of Paulchen’s Food Blog was our lovely host this month, and I thought there are so many options that I was paralyzed by indecision for the first 3 weeks that this challenge was posted. I decided that I wanted to incorporate fruit, and I was in the mood for something quick, specifically a quickbread! I decided to do a variation of the Peach Oatmeal Bread in King Arthur’s Whole Grain Baking book. I thought that peaches would be super appropriate since I reside in the official peach state.

Everything about this bread screamed banana bread to me, but when you took a bite you were reminded of the fact that little peach cubes studded this amazing scented loaf. Hubbs and I split a piece and I took the rest into work. Exactly 30 minutes later, this is what was left…

It had been almost completely devoured, with many people getting multiple helpings. It really was amazing - especially with coffee in the morning. Yum!

Peach Walnut Oatmeal Bread:
16 servings

2 cups (12 ounces) peeled, sliced peaches; thawed if using frozen slices, well drained if using canned
1 3/4 (7 ounces) cups whole wheat flour, traditional of white whole wheat
1/4 cup (1 ounce) oat flour
3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 chopped walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (3 1/2 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats; plus extra for topping
2 large eggs
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan. Cut the peaches into small (1/4″) pieces; place in a strainer to drain. Stir together the flours, sugars, walnuts, coconut, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl. Add the oats and peaches; stir to coat the peaches. Beat together the eggs, milk, oil and almond extract in a small bowl or large mixing cup. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until evenly moistened.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Test the loaf for doneness; if a toothpick inserted in the center doesn’t come out clean, cover the top of the bread with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run a table knife around the edges of the loaf to make sure its not sticking, then turn it out of the pan and return it to the rack to cool completely before slicing.

Its Tuesday, and that means that the TWD’ers are back at it again. This time it was carrot cake! I’ve been wanting to make carrot cake for a while, but I’ve got so much going on it the kitchen, it had just taken a number and was waiting at the back of the line. So, luckily for it, its number was called this week, and I got to play around with one of the tastiest recipes I’ve made in a while.

This recipe was very straight forward to make. The only thing that wasn’t ‘by the book’ was that when I creamed the oil and the sugar, it never became “smooth” so I just went ahead and added the eggs, and viola! Smoothness achieved! I decided to make mini cakes (actually decapitated cupcakes) and stacked those for a little layer cake that resembled the one in Dorie’s book. Both hubbs and I loved this recipe, and I will definitely make this again.

Here’s the recipe (thanks to Chelle and LW for typing it up!)

Bill’s Big Carrot Cake
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

For the frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

½ cup shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you’d like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:

Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:

This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it’s good plain, it’s even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:

The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it’s firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

When Holly of Phemomenon asked for participants in her one-off foodie event, “Blogging for Babies - An Invitation for Little Wonders” I didn’t hesitate to say yes. This is an event to promote the March For Babies, which does amazing work in the way of improving the life quality of infants, both full term and premature.

I have a particular interest in causes like this one because I work at a childrens’ hospital, specifically doing anesthesia on these little miracles. We sometimes have to anesthetize patients as little as 23 weeks gestation, and they barely weight ONE pound. They are so tiny, and are fighting so hard for their life. Its both heartbreaking and amazing, and I’m so glad that there are organizations like this that are able to help these little ones make it through this rough start to life. Please consider going to the link above to donate to this cause - your money will be truly well spent.  Please see below for Holly’s personal statement to everyone regarding this event/cause.

For this event, Holly asked that we make something miniature, to symbolize the little lives that this cause benefits. So, my contribution is mini madeleines! I used David Lebovitz’s recipe. Let me first preface this by saying that this was my first ever attempt at madeleines, period. I have tins for both the mini and regular size, and I thought this would be the perfect time to try out the mini tin.

These. Were. So. Tasty. Everyone (repeat, everyone) that tried them, loved them. My only exposure to madeleines previously were those served at La Madeleine, and those are the full-sized ones. I’m wondering if you can’t get the scalloped edge as defined in the mini pan as you can with the full-sized pan. I’m looking forward to trying those next!

The Recipe:

Lemon-Glazed Madeleines

24 cookies (about 80 minis)

If you use baking powder, they may take another minute or so to bake since the batter will rise higher. They’re done when the cakes feel just set if you poke them with your finger. Avoid overbaking them. There’s nothing better than a fresh, buttery madeleine.

I also prefer to bake these in the upper-third of my oven, so the tops get slightly-browned. I love the lemon glaze, but you can omit it if you want your madeleines nekkid.

3 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup (130g) granulated sugar
rounded 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup (175g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
zest of one small lemon
9 tablespoons (120g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional melted butter for preparing the molds

3/4 cup (150g) powdered sugar
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water

1. Brush the indentations of a madeleine mold with melted butter. Dust with flour, tap off any excess, and place in the fridge or freezer.

2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, whip the eggs, granulated sugar, and salt for 5 minutes until frothy and thickened.

3. Spoon the flour and baking powder, if using, into a sifter or mesh strainer and use a spatula to fold in the flour as you sift it over the batter. (Rest the bowl on a damp towel to help steady it for you.)

4. Add the lemon zest to the cooled butter, then dribble the butter into the batter, a few spoonfuls at a time, while simultaneously folding to incorporate the butter. Fold just until all the butter is incorporated.

5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Batter can be chilled for up to 12 hours.)

6. To bake the madeleines, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

8. Plop enough batter in the center of each indentation with enough batter which you think will fill it by 3/4’s (you’ll have to eyeball it, but it’s not brain-surgery so don’t worry if you’re not exact.) Do not spread it.

10. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cakes just feel set. While the cakes are baking, make a glaze in a small mixing bowl by stirring together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water until smooth.

11. Remove from the oven and tilt the madeleines out onto a cooling rack. The moment they’re cool enough to handle, dip each cake in the glaze, turning them over to make sure both sides are coated and scrape off any excess with a dull knife. After dipping, rest each one back on the cooking rack, scalloped side up, until the cakes are cool and the glaze has firmed up.

Storage: Glazed madeleines are best left uncovered, or not tightly-wrapped; they’re best eaten the day they’re made. They can be kept in a container for up to three days after baking, if necessary. I don’t recommend freezing them since the glaze will melt.

From Holly:

“Want to know more about Little Wonders March for Babies Team? Fantastic!! Here is the Team Page. Any amount that you can sponsor is extremely appreciated. Please, please help spread the word and sponsor Little Wonders if you can! Thank you!

So, to all you amazing food bloggers out there, you will never know how much your friendship, comments, kind words and encouragement have saved my life (at the very least, my sanity) this winter. I am so blessed to be home with my sweet boys and I am so grateful to have them and I have been so amazed by this community and being able to be a small part of it.

If you want to see why I am passionate about this, here is a video of pieces of Cole’s first month of life. I will warn you that, though there isn’t anything gruesome in the video, it isn’t easy to watch. Again, compared to what happens to other families, I still feel so lucky. It is just a small clip - about three minutes, that covers our journey to where we are now. If you want to really see who we are you are welcome to look at our family blog here.

Thank you!”:

The difficultly level of this bread is marked as “advanced” in Maggie Glezer’s book. I took one look at that and thought, what the heck. I’ve got a bread class under my belt, and I just won’t take pictures of it if its inedible :).

I adapted the recipe from her book Baking Across America, and this particular recipe is from Della Fratoria’s Bakery. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand which was about 70% why I chose to get started on this recipe last night. The other 30% was that it used sourdough starter, and I’m always looking for a reason to use it! I keep my starter at 100% hydration, and adapted the recipe to account for that.

I thoroughly enjoy polenta on its own, and was curious how it would turn out in a bread. One of the steps is to have the polenta absorb about 5x its weight in water, and that made for a great bread with a lot of taste and texture.

You can see the amazing crumb in the pictures, and the crust was just as fantastic. The polenta that was dusted on the top gave a great additional crunch. We enjoyed this with black bean chili, and it was the perfect accompaniment. I brought the rest of the bread to work today to share, and it was gone in no time. I even had someone ask about purchasing some - hmmm

One last thing - the spiral shaping was a bit harder than I had thought it would be . I normally use a curved lame, which I did for this, but I would think a straight knife would’ve made the work easier. The dough is tacky, and the polenta on the top makes it that much harder to get a smooth cut. But I still think that it turned out fantastic!

Polenta Bread
(adapted from Polenta Bread in Maggie Glezer’s Baking Across America)
makes two 650kg boules

Recipe Synopsis

Refresh Starter - Depends on how current yours is
Make polenta and chill - 30 min
Rough mix and autolyse dough - 15 min
Mix dough - 20 min
Bulk Ferment - 3 1/2 hours
Shape and bench proof - 2 1/2 hours
Bake - 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 225 g mature sourdough starter - 100% hydration
• 35 g coarse polenta
• 175 g cold water (for polenta)
• 345 g cold water (for final dough)
• 265 g unbleached bread flour
• 335 g unbleached high-gluten flour
• 18 g salt
• coarse polenta for coating the dough

Method

1. Mix the polenta and water in a microwavable container and microwave on high power for 4 minutes. Stir and microwave for 2 minutes more. The mixture should be very thick. (you could also do this on the stove top, it will take about 5 minutes). Then spread the mixture out on a plate to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
2. Measure the cold water (for dough) into the mixing bowl, add the flours, and stir with your hands or a wood spoon just until a rough dough forms. The water will not absorb all the flour at this point. Let the dough rest (autolyse) for about 15 minutes.
3. Using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until the dough forms (and it will) a smooth, cohesive round. Add the starter and salt, and mix until the dough is firm and smooth. The dough will be incredibly wet to start with, and it will seem like it won’t come together. It will. I was mixing at about speed 5 here, and in about 5 minutes it had come together. Add the cooked polenta in small bits, mixing until fully incorporated. This whole process can take up to 15 minutes to achieve moderate gluten development.
4. Place the dough in a large container and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it ferment until it is well expanded, but not yet doubled in size, with folds at 30-, 60-, and 90-minutes. Then, leave the dough undisturbed for the remaining 1 1/2 - 2 hours. The entire bulk fermentation time should be around 3 1/2 hours.
5. Flour the surface of the dough and your work surface and turn the dough out. Cut the dough in half; each piece should weigh roughly 640 grams (23 ounces). Lightly round the pieces and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.
6. Pour some coarse polenta into a large pie plate. Shape the dough pieces into even and tight round loaves without deflating them. Spray their tops with water, then roll them in the polenta to coat them. Place each shaped loaf coated side down in an unlined tightly woven basket, or plastic bowl. I was concerned that they would not release, so I lightly sprayed my bowls with spray oil. Cover them well with plastic wrap and proof the dough until it is well expanded, about 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
7. About 45 minutes before baking, arrange a rack on the oven’s second-to-top shelf and place a baking stone on it. Clear away all racks above the one being used. Preheat oven to 425F.
8. If desired, just before baking the bread, fill the oven with steam (I used ice cubes and spritzed the loaves as they went into the oven). Turn the breads out onto separate sheets of parchment paper. In one continuous motion, slash a spiral on top of each loaf: Begin at the bread’s center and, holding the razor almost horizontally, turn the bread on its paper while you cut the spiral. Slide the breads, still on paper, onto the hot stone. Bake the loaves until dark and evenly browned all around, about 40-45 minutes, rotating them halfway into the bake. Let cool on rack for at least an hour.

I’d been daydreaming about trying my luck at English muffins ever since I saw Susan’s post at Wild Yeast. They just looked so tasty, and so much better than what you get out of a package! I’m so glad that I tried them - they are every bit as good as she promised. I didn’t know until I was about to make them, that English muffins are not baked - they are merely cooked on a griddle (or nonstick skillet in my case) on both sides, much like a stiff pancake batter. I was also surprised by how much milk they required.
These were incredibly easy to make - really very little hands on time. Next time however, I’ll be more careful with how they do their “final proof”. I laid them on semolina dusted parchment paper, and I found that they were almost impossible to remove - I think I needed semolina COVERED parchment paper. Also, if you’re going to use saran wrap to cover them while they rise - make sure you spray the inside with some kind of oil/spray so that they don’t stick as well. It’s a true test to their resilience that they still looked this good.

After they were on the cooling rack a good 3 seconds, Matt and I dove into them. They were incredible. That’s even an understatement. We lightly toasted them for the crunch, and topped with a little butter and honey (or peanut butter). They kept really well, too. We brought them with us to the mountains that day, and for breakfast the next morning they were used in a homemade egg (Mc)muffin - you really don’t know what you’re missing! Not to mention the lack of transfats… But they were still just as good the next day. I imagine that you could freeze these and once toasted they would be almost as good as fresh baked.

I won’t write out the recipe, since I followed Susan’s version verbatim.

Susan, thank you for writing up such a great recipe that they rest of us could enjoy!

Okay, so not really, but it was fun to make these little bites of chocolatey goodness. Dorie’s recipe for Gooey Chocolate Cakes were what was on this weeks TWD agenda. I had opted to make miniature versions, simply because I wanted to bring all of the left overs to work (especially since hubbs is out of town) and I thought that it would be nice to have more to share - 15 in fact. Dorie says that you definitely need to serve this with something - its too rich to stand on its own, and I’d have to agree. I plated it with some fresh cut strawberries and some seedless raspberry preserves (that I used yesterday in Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake, no less!) and those flavors balanced the richness nicely. I just wish I had thought ahead enough to pour a glass of milk, but I was too focused on eating chocolate.
I’ve only made this type of cake once before, and I served it with vanilla ice cream - I think the contrast of cold to warm was especially nice at that time, and would do that again with these little yums.  I do have to admit, however, that this is not my favorite dessert.  I’m not sure why - maybe the contrast of textures? The taste was good, but as with the other time that I made a lava sort of cake, I wasn’t dying for another one when I was done with mine.  But, I do think that this turned out incredibly well, and would be proud to serve it.  And, it was rather easy to make - which is a plus!

And for the recipe (Thanks, Michelle, for typing this up!):

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,

4 ounces coarsely chopped,

1 ounce very finely chopped

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray – it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted – you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates.  Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous.  Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes.  Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs.  Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes.  Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board.  Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

It’s that time again! Except this time I feel like a fool. Somehow I had it in my head that this month’s posting was to be done on the 31th (last day of the month, just like last month, which was my first time participating). But my assumption was wrong, and I just realized it today. I went to a few of my favorite DB‘ers sites and saw that they had put theirs up yesterday. I initially thought that they must’ve been breaking the DB rules, (gasp!!) but it was I that hadn’t paid attention. To my fellow DB’ers, I apologize!

I have only made a layer cake on one other occasion, and I think that my layers were merely the two 9″ rounds stacked on top of one another with a bit of frosting in between. This was far fancier!

Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts had made the executive decision this month that we were going to make Dorie Greenspan’s Celebration Cake, which came out of her book Baking: From my Home to Yours. When I saw that we were basically given the option to do whatever we wanted (within cakes, now), I was thrilled! Then overwhelmed. What flavor and color combinations would I choose? What decorations (if any) would I use? I’m the kind of person that will do well with, say, two or three choices. But given endless opportunities, my mind goes numb with exhaustion. And it did in this case. So, I deviated from the original recipe in almost no way. Very creative, I know. I did add some colorful little sprinkles to the cake batter, which, if you’re not sure what you’re looking at can appear to look like mold. Or other colorful little additives. But they are just mini sprinkles in the spirit of celebration! I followed her cake recipe to the letter, although I did add about 1 tsp of almond extract just cause.

I’m most happy with the fact that I didn’t deviate from her buttercream recipe. It is by far the best I’ve ever had. I know there’s like 400 lbs of butter in it, but it just doesn’t taste all that heavy. It really has great flavor, which I hope to spice up soon with some different extracts/citrus.

I used seedless red raspberry preserves between the layers, with the buttercream as well. That spread quite nicely and really made for a nice color contrast against the light cake and buttercream. To add some “flair” I put fresh raspberries on top of the sweetened - shredded coconut smotherings. I wish I had been clever enough at the time to add some lemon peel shavings…

I have the cake all packaged up and ready to go to work with me in the morning. I had to stop at just one piece of this amazing cake - it really was THAT good. I’m sure everyone at work will agree.

Here’s the recipe:

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Mmm, mmm, good…

I was so excited when Susan of Wild Yeast posted that she was going to be hosting this current BBD, and I was also thrilled that the theme was celebration breads. That excitement didn’t last long though. I sat there for a while and thought about the different celebrations that I’ve been a part of. There were no breads that made a regular appearance, unless you count white sandwich bread, but that was merely a celebration of lunch time at school. There really was nothing that I could say was a heritage bread or a “from my grandmother’s family” bread… I come from a long line of non-cooks. If anything was baked, it was baked by Publix, or Nature’s Own. I liked that Susan had baked Hot Cross Buns for her entry. That got me thinking of a holiday celebration bread, even if it wasn’t my own. I liked the idea of a Pannetone, but I didn’t want to spend the 85 days doing it just as we were coming into spring. So I started to look into Easter breads, or spring celebration breads, and actually found a good number of them out there. **please see the second recipe in this post for my actual “submission” to this BBD - it was much better**

I made two breads, the second one coming out much better than the first. But it still wasn’t to its very best because I was a little rushed and really thought in my heart that it had final-proofed enough. Oh my was I wrong…

The first bread I made came from Beth Hensperger’s The Bread Bible, and is the Alpine Easter Bread. This definitely resembled more of a cake in flavor (a little flat in that area, though), but ultimately looked like a giant hamburger bun. Seriously. See for yourself.

I thought that this had baked plently long enough as well. But it was very dense and moist inside… definitely underbaked.

If you can not think of this as a hamburger bun, then it actually looked quite pretty sitting upon the cake stand. The glaze, which was just powdered sugar and lemon juice was fabulous against the crisp crust. I didn’t have lemon extract on hand, so I added a whole lemon’s worth of juice to the dough, and added about a tsp of almond extract just ’cause. I think it really NEEDED the lemon extract - it definitely needed more punch. I think orange extract would’ve been fabulous here, too.

Here’s the recipe:

Makes one 10-inch round loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast (I did 1 tbsp instant)
2/3 cup sugar
4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I did bread flour)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
(I added the entire juice of one lemon)
1 1/2 tsp salt (I used fine natural sea salt)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I did vanilla bean paste)
1/2 tsp lemon extract (I did almond extract, since I added the lemon juice)

For the Nut Liquor Glaze: (I didn’t do this - just a lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze)

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tbsp nut liquor such as Pistacha, Amaretto, Frangelico, or Nocino
10 whole toasted, chocolate-coated almonds, for garnish.

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and butter. Heat until the butter is melted. Let cool to 105-115F, about 20 minutes.

2. Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

3. In a large bowl using a whisk or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, lemon zest and salt. Add the yeast and milk mixtures, eggs, and extracts. Beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, on low speed until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed. Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if mixing by hand.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is soft and springy, about 3 minutes, dusting with flour only 1 tbsp at a time as needed to prevent sticking. The dough should not be dry. If kneading by machine, switch from the paddle to the dough hook and knead for 2-3 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and springy and springs back when pressed. If desired, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead briefly by hand.

5. Place the dough in a greased deep container. Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Do not rush this dough, as the full rising time is important to develop flavor and texture.

6. Gently deflate the dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and shape into a smooth, round loaf. Grease a 10-inch (I only had a 9″ on hand) springform pan or a 10-inch round cake pan 4 inches deep. Place the dough in the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temp until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake 50-60 minutes (or a LOT more in my case, and it still wasn’t done) or until brown and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center. Transfer the loaf from the pan to a cooling rack. Place the rack over a plate or a sheet of wax paper to catch the drips.

8. To prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the ingredients and whisk until smooth. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding hot water a few drops at a time as needed. Drizzle the glaze over teh warm loaf, letting it drip down the sides. Stud the outer edge with whole almonds, if desired. The glaze will set as the loaf cools.

Ooookay… now for my real entry: This bread was amazing in every way. Taste, texture (even the dough was something to behold), color, GIRTH. This is the Artos Greek Celebration bread by Peter Reinhart in his BBA book. I’m not Greek, but I know they make good stuff, and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand which tickled me. Especially ’cause the hamburger bun was made the day before, and I needed something good to come out of the oven this time. Let me first say this… I have never touched dough so luxurious. I wanted to make sheets out of it and sleep on it. Yes, I’m serious.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the right side of the bread is nicely scored, and left side is, well, round. You see… I followed the recipe to the letter. I was certain that this would be my all-time best creation (and it really was - just not in the looks department). This recipe not only calls for sourdough starter, but instant yeast as well. And although that set off alarm bells in my mind, I wasn’t quite prepared. I thought I had given enough time for the final proof. I was starting to get concerned that I may not make my dinner plans if it kept on rising, and I felt fairly certain that it had at least doubled in size while there. So I score it, throw it in the oven with a little bit of steam, and get started on making the glaze. Its looking awesome right off the bat. I check on it again about 10 minutes into baking, and to my horror, the loaf split from basically the north pole to the south pole, right along my left most slash. No beauty contests for you, my friend. I was feeling particularly frustrated with this BBD when I saw that, but I decided that I could at least dress it up nicely, and cut it in half and serve each half to unsuspecting friends/coworkers. The reviews were out of this world. I had cut a little wedge for myself and knew immediately that this could not stay in the house.

I gave half of it to one of my best girlfriends who is Greek, as I thought she may really appreciate this bread. She sounded so convincing when she said that this was truly the best celebration bread that she’s ever had. She (Christina) said that this was probably because it was so fresh - I delivered it to her only hours after coming out of the oven.

The other half went to work, and was completely devoured by 9am. I received so many compliments on it - I really think that this would be a fabulous bread to accompany any holiday gathering, and would be really great braided. The loaf it self was almost 14″ in diameter on the long end, and about 12″ on the shorter end. It really was quite massive.

Artos, from Wikipedia, says “Artos: (Á????, “leavened loaf”) refers to a loaf of leavened bread that is blessed during services in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. A larger Artos is baked especially for use at Pascha (Easter), smaller round loaves (used five at a time) are blessed during the All-Night Vigil in a ritual called Artoklasia.

Artos in the Greek language once referred to any sort of leavened bread, but in Modern Greek now only refers to bread used in church.

This bread is the parent bread for a lot of different Greek celebration breads, according to PR, with christopsomos at Christmas, vassilopita which is served on New Years Day, and the Easter bread - lambropsomo (also called tsoureki). It seems that the breads deviate when it comes to additives (dried fruits, nuts), different toppings, and most obvious, shape.

Now for the recipe!

1 cup starter (100% hydration) or poolish
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp minced orange or lemon zest, or extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup honey
1/4 olive oil
3/4 cup whole or low-fat milk, lukewarm (~90F)

Optional Glaze:

2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp orange or lemon extract (I did a squirt of lemon juice and a tiny bit of almond extract)
sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Remove the measured amount of barm (starter) from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. (If using poolish, make it the day before.)

2. Stir together the flour, salt, yeast, cinnamon nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the barm or poolish, the extracts, eggs, honey, oil, and milk. Stir together with a sturdy spool (or mix on low speed with a paddle attachment) until the dough forms a ball.

3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Add more milk or flour as needed to form the dough into a soft, but not sticky, ball. It should be tacky and very supple (it really was). Knead (or mix) for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77-81F.

4. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temp for 90 minutes or until it doubles in size.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a boule. Transfer it to a sheet pan that has been lined with baking parchment. Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

6. Proof at room temp for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size. (**make sure this happens**)

7. Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

8. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue baking for 20-25 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and registers 190F. It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. You may glaze the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven, if desired.

9. To make the glaze, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the honey and extract and turn off the heat. Reheat the glaze, if necessary, before applying it to the bread. Brush the loaves with the glaze and immediately sprinkle with sesame seeds.

10. Transfer the bread to a rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

**Your house will smell incredible**

Thank you, Susan, for hosting this month’s BBD, and thank you Zorra, as the founder of BBD!

I’m back, TWD‘er’s, I’m back! The kitchen remodel took two weeks more than I thought it would, and now the kitchen is finally done (and clean!). I made this flan on Tuesday, but didn’t realize that it not only had to cool to room temp AND chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. That was going to be around 11pm, and I had to get to bed.

I opened up the Book, and looked over the recipe. I saw in the “playing around” blurb that you can turn this caramel flan into a coconut-caramel flan simply by exchanging the heavy cream for coconut milk. I just happened to have a can on hand, and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it! I brought the flan to work this morning (after I took out a tiny wedge to taste test) and EVERY last bite was gone. They loved it. Did I mention that this was my first flan? I was so excited to try this, and that’s why I’m posting this - better late than never! I thought this was so easy to make, and was dumbfounded at how easy it came out of the pan. I’ll definitely make this again - and look forward to playing around with different flavors. Thanks, Dorie, for another great recipe!

For the Caramel
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water
squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan
1-1/2 cups heavy cream (or 1 13-15oz can unsweetened coconut milk)
1-1/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.

Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke.

Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.

Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don’t worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.

Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings