Alright, I’m a bad blogger. I can’t tell you how many people have contacted me wanting to know what is going on, why I’m not blogging more often, and even a few who were concerned about my well being. Well…okay, not a lot of people, but more than I expected. I’m not going to offer up any excuses other than it has been me not being very motivated. I promise I’ll try to do better.

Not long ago I had a craving for something pizza-like, big surprise I know, me being the king of pizza delivery. What was surprising is that I didn’t exactly want pizza. Yes, I even shocked myself. I wanted something crispy, and chewy, savory and loaded with carbs. Something with a lot of flavor, just like pizza. Then I remembered a German dish that I had had before, Zwiebelkuchen, kind of a cross between a quiche and a pizza. Yes, I know, it sounds strange, but stay with me for a minute. Zwiebelkuchen come in many different forms from thick and eggy to thin and crispy with just a thin layer of custard to hold everything together…just like the cheese on a pizza. Made with lots of sauteed onions, and usually some kind of pork, this dish packs a wallop in the flavor category, and although a little time consuming (you make a yeast dough that needs to rise) it’s pretty simple. Serve it like you would a quiche, with a side salad for a light lunch, cut it into smaller pieces and serve as an appetizer or cut it into large wedges like I do and eat it as you would pizza.

This recipe makes a more pizza-like Zwiebelkuchen as opposed to the thicker, deeper quiche style.

Zwiebelkuchen (German Onion Tart)

1 package active, dried, yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups All purpose flour
1 Tbl. butter
1 cup water, warm
6 slices Bacon, chopped (preferably thick cut)
2 mdium onions, sliced
1/4 tsp. Caraway seed
1/2 tsp salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
1 each Egg
1 each Egg yolk
1cup sour cream
2 Tbl. milk (optional)

Combine the yeast with sugar, salt and 1/2 cup flour in a bowll. Blend in the butter and warm water and mix to combine. Add enough of the remaining flour flour to make a soft dough (you will need most of it) then turn this onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn to coat then cover and set aside to rise in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes.

After this time, pat the dough into a lightly-greased, 12 inch pizza pan or a jelly roll pan. Cover and set aside as you prepare the filling.

Place bacon in large, preheated skillet and cook until crisp then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Using the remaining bacon fat, saute the onions until tender but not browned. Add the caraway then remove from the pan and sprinkle over the dough. Top with the crispy bacon. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the egg, the egg yolk and the sour cream together. This will give a custard that you can spoon on top, leaving areas devoid of custard, which is how I like it. If you want something a bit more uniform add the milk to the egg mixture and pour over the onions, spreading it out to cover completely. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake 10-12 minutes longer, or until the top is golden brown and the sour cream mixture has set. Serve warm or room temperature, sliced into wedges.

With all the hype, in recent years, about artisan breads, sourdoughs, and preferments, you might get the idea that baking regular, old white has become a dying art. But if you look a little deeper at many baking sites you’ll see that the standard loaf of white bread still reigns supreme when it comes to home baking. With all the knowledge out there, why does this humble loaf still get so much attention, while at the same time often being maligned? The answer is pretty simple; it’s convenient and pretty easy. Many recipes call for standard all purpose flour, so there is no running to the store to buy bread flour as you probably already have all purpose flour on hand. Secondly, there is the time factor. Most standard loaves of white bread can be made, from beginning to end, in just a few hours, as opposed to many artisan style breads that can involve numerous hours over the course of a couple of days.

Sure, these long fermented, Old World breads and techniques can create breads with an unrivalled depth of flavor, but they can be time consuming and in this day and age people don’t always have the time or the energy to be feeding starters, or have the forethought of preparing a starter the night before.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to experimenting and baking these types of bread, quite the opposite, in fact. I love playing with breads made with these starters, and I think everyone should experiment with baking their own sourdough breads at one time or another. But I also think that everyone should have a simple, no fuss bread recipe that can be made with minimal effort and just a few hours of time.

This bread, makes a great “everyday” loaf, perfect for sandwiches, toast, or just eating as is, smeared with a little butter. It has a soft, dense crumb from using softer all purpose flour, and enriching it with fat, in the form of milk and butter. The flavor might lack the punch or the depth of longer fermented breads, but it makes the perfect conveyance for sandwich fillings or butter and homemade jelly, and guaranteed, it beats the pants off of any store bought white bread you can buy.

White Bread
makes 1 loaf

1 cup milk, warmed to 100-110°F
2 Tbsp. + more for the top butter, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. yeast, not instant
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

Combine milk, butter, sugar and yeast. Stir well then allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to start to activate. Add the flour and salt, and mix, in a mixer with a dough hook, for 10 minutes. Alternatively, mix in a bowl until the dough comes together, then pour out onto a counter, that has been lightly dusted with flour, and knead, by hand for 12-15 minutes. Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise, in warm place, for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Lightly grease a bread loaf pan. Turn out onto the counter and gently deflate the dough. Pat out into a square, the sides of which are the length of your bread loaf pan. Roll up the dough tightly, pinching the seam together and placing it on the bottom. Fold the very ends under to form a smooth loaf, and again pinch the seams together and place the dough, seam side down, into the loaf pan. Cover with a damp cloth and again allow to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350°F. When dough has doubled bake for approximately 45 minutes or to an internal temperature of 205°F. Remove from oven. Remove bread from pan, place on a cooling rack and brush the top of the still hot bread with melted butter. Allow to cool before cutting.

Okay, I have to admit, I’m a sucker for Monkey Bread!!! Yes, I know, it probably can’t be considered the height of the culinary arts, but damn it’s good. What’s not to like; rich caramel, buttery goodness, a crisp crust and gooey interior. It’s got everything you need to start the day off right!! Add a cup or 2 of coffee and you can start your day in high gear.

There are a number of recipes out there for Monkey Bread. Some use store bought biscuit dough, others use store bought bread dough, and yet others have you make everything from scratch. While “made from scratch” is often my favorite way to go, I have to admit that, in this case, I am partial to the recipes using store bought biscuits. Not only do I like the soft texture of the Monkey Bread made this way, but it cuts down on a lot of prep work, which makes it a great breakfast for when you have overnight guests. Get a couple of the kids involved, they love to help shake the dough in the sugar, and you can have this on the breakfast table in no time.

Money Bread

3 cans (12oz each) biscuit dough
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1 cup, packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease a large bundt or tube pan. Meanwhile mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon and either leave in a large bowl or place in a large ziplock bag. Cut the biscuits into quarters and toss them in the sugar-cinnamon mix until well coated. Arrange the pieces in your prepared pan sprinkling with the optional pecans and/or raisins as you build up the layers. In a saucepan mix the butter and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuit pieces and immediately put into the oven to bake. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 8-10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Don’t allow to cool longer or the Monkey Bread might stick to your pan as the sugars cool.

Awhile ago I had promised myself to do more baking to regain some of those skills I lost due to not using them much over the last many years. While I have done more baking since I started this blog, I haven’t done nearly the amount I want, so I’ve made that promise to myself again and hopefully will stick with it.

The bread I baked the other day is the first loaf I’ve baked in quite some time, and I realized just how rusty those skills become without use. Don’t get me wrong, it turned out fine, but I do need a little work on my skills to get my breads to the level I would like them to be. None the less, I thought I’d share the recipe I used as it produces a bread with really good flavor. The crumb was a little dense for my taste, but again this was more due to my rusty skills then the recipe itself.

Before I get into the recipe though, there are a few terms I need to go over as many of you may not be familiar with them. First off is the term “poolish.” There are numerous different types of pre-ferments and words used to describe them. Poolish is one such term. While there are many different words out there, I find that there are 4 that people need to know. The rest of the terms are mostly variations on these 4 terms. These are, sourdough, levain, biga and poolish. The first 2 are preferments that capitalize on wild yeasts and micro organisms. These tend to take numerous days to create initially. Once created they are stored in the fridge and “fed” every so often to keep them active. When ready to bake with these type of preferments, a bit of the starter is pulled from the fridge and “fed” over a day or 2 to make the wild yeasts active again before making bread. These starters give bread a wonderful depth of flavor and often a slight sourness to them. These are very traditional methods of leavening a bread.

In contrast a biga and poolish use a small amount of commercially prepared yeast (store bought) to create a preferment. The yeast is mixed with water and flour, covered and allowed to sit for a few hours or overnight. Like its sourdough cousins, these starters help add depth of flavor to the bread and contribute to a more open texture and crumb. The main difference between a biga and poolish is hydration. A biga has less water and is more dough-like in consistency while a poolish contains more water and is closer to a batter or sponge in consistency.

In this recipe I also use a “stretch and fold” method of fermentation. During the initial bulk fermentation the dough is gently stretched out, folded into thirds, turned 90 degrees and folded into thirds again then gently rolled to tighten the surface again. This is often done every 30 minutes for the first 90 minutes of fermation and is used in open textured breads to help align the gluten strands.

Finally, if you are looking for a nice crisp crust to your bread you really need to invest in a pizza stone, preferably a large, square one and a spray bottle. The pizza stone will help provide a more even temperature in your oven, along with helping to crisp the bottom of your bread. The spray bottle, filled with water, will create the perfect steamy environment, in your oven, for producing a nice crust.

Basic Batard

1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/4 cups water, 90-100°F
3/4 tsp. yeast

2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup water, 90-100°F
2 tsp. yeast
2 1/2 tsp. salt

Start the night before you want to bake. To make the poolish, combine the first set of ingredients and mix until well combined. Cover, loosely with plastic wrap and allow to ferment, at room temperature, overnight. The following morning, combine the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl and set aside. Add the remaining water to the poolish and mix to loosen. Add the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Pour out, onto the counter that has been lightly dusted in flour and knead for 7-10 minutes. The dough will be slightly soft and on the sticky side. Refrain from adding too much flour as you knead. You want the dough soft. Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in it. Place in a warm spot (preferably about 70-75°F – an oven with the light turned on is perfect if your kitchen is on the cool side). Every 30 minutes do a stretch and fold, as described above, making sure to be gently so as to not knock the gases out of it. After 90 minutes the dough should be about double in size. If not allow to proof a little longer, without doing any additional folds. Divide the dough in 2 and form into batards (a short fat baguette). Allow to rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 500°F. Dust a peel with flour, place batards on the peel, dust the tops with flour and, using a thin, sharp knife slash the top of batard starting about 1 inch from the end and going to within 1 inch of the other end and about 1/4 inch deep. Open the oven door and, using the spray bottle spray the sides of the oven. Try not to directly spray the pizza stone as excess moisture on the stone may make it crack. Quickly slip the loaves onto the pizza stone, close the oven door and reduce the heat to 450°F. During the first 5 minutes of baking quickly open the oven door and spray down the sides of the oven with water 3 times to produce steam. Do this quickly so as to not lower the temperature of the oven too much and to trap as much steam as possible. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 200-205°F.

As tempting as it may be to cut into the bread right away, allow it to cool for at least 15-20 minutes to help develop its flavor.

This may sound strange, but I can remember the first time I ate an english muffin. I was rather young, but I remember that I had decided, like so many kids do, that I did not like english muffins though I had never tasted one before. Why I decided I didn’t like them I’ll never know. Then, when I was around 5 or 6, I believe, we had a family get together. For one of the breakfasts, someone had toasted up a whole platter full  of them. I refused to eat them, but was told that it was the english muffins or nothing as the general rule with our family was that the kids were to eat what the adults ate. You either ate it or went hungry until the next meal (not to worry as, when we have family get togethers, its usually not long before someone is cooking up something again!). That left me with no choice, but to try the things. So I slathered one up with lots of butter and jelly and tentatively tried it (there were probably a few tears involved also, but I don’t remember). One taste and I was hooked. I couldn’t believe I had wasted all that time not eating english muffins.

As far as I am concerned, the english muffin is the perfect vehicle for butter and jam or jelly. Split open with a fork, the interior is a landscape of nooks and crannies just waiting to be filled with lakes of melting butter and seas of jelly. When properly toasted the english muffin harbors the perfect ratio of crispy outside and soft moist interior (a big plus for me if you haven’t realized that from some of my other posts).

I have always been satisfied with just buying my muffins at the store, but after having just made Lime Marmalade I thought that the homemade marmalade really deserved a homemade english muffin to go with it. After reading numerous recipes I created one that I felt would give me exactly what I wanted. While not perfect, by my standards (the crumb-interior texture-is just a little too dense and uniform), this recipe creates a muffin that easily rivals any store bought brand, and in my opinion surpasses all but the best of them. I will be making these again this week and I think a little longer first proofing will take take of those 2 small issues.

English Muffins
Makes 9 or 12 muffins

1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup water heated to 110F
1/2 cup milk heated to 110F
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp. salt
cornmeal
vegetable oil

Place yeast, sugar, water and milk into the bowl of a mixer. Allow the yeast to proof until the it is foamy-about 5-8 minutes. Add the flour, butter and salt. Using the dough hook, mix, on low speed, until everything is combined and the dough starts to come together, about 2 minutes. Increase to medium high and knead for 5-7 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and place in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 2 hours. Gently punch dough down then divide into 9 or 12 pieces (the recipe really should make 12 english muffins but I like mine a little larger and a little thicker for I only portion it into 9). Shape the dough into balls then flatten to about 1/2″ thick. Place on a cookie tray that has been dusted with cornmeal (I like to use coarse ground for added texture but the regular fine ground works well also). Flip the muffins to coat both sides with cornmeal.

Cover and allow to rise slightly, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile heat a griddle to medium-low to medium. Lightly brush the griddle with vegetable oil and add the english muffins. Allow to cook until a light golden brown on bottom. This should take about 5 minutes. Any less and the interior might not get cooked all the way through. When browned flip over and gently press down, just slightly to flatten the bottom. Cook for 5-7 minutes longer. If you have portioned the dough into only 9 pieces the cooking time will be slightly longer. Remove to a cooking rack. Allow to cool completely before placing in a bag for storage.

To serve, split with a fork to help create the uneven surface that does so well at catching all that butter. Toast to desired darkness and butter while still warm. Top with your favorite jam, jelly or preserve.

As I stated a few days ago, I had wanted to post this recipe just before Christmas, but weather forced us to change our travel plans and leave early. Leaving early didn’t really make much of a difference anyway, as, instead of missing the crappy weather, we drove right into it! Snow, sleet, freezing rain, we had it all, and the mixture was coming down so hard the highway was covered in about 3 inches of nasty, slippery slush. We watched 2 cars slide off of the road right in front of us and saw numerous others in the ditch. Luckily we only had about 60 miles of that stuff, then it turned completely over to rain a few miles south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border and we were able to continue our travels relatively stress-free, which is more than I can say for the thousands stranded by the storms over the holidays. I hope that each and every one of you made it to your destination safely and had an enjoyable holiday.

As for the recipe, for someone who doesn’t care for eggnog too much I sure seem to have a number of recipes that use it as a flavoring agent. Go figure! I first served this for Christmas a few years ago and it was a big hit. Since then I have made a few times for groups both big and small, with positive reactions every time.

While I consider this a “Christmas” meal, it is a great breakfast anytime during the holidays as it is simple to prepare and seems rather upscale-you don’t have to tell anyone how simple it is! This would also make a great breakfast for New Year’s Day, after a night of imbibing a little too much. Nothing in the recipe is a real assault on the tastebuds-a good thing when nursing a hangover, and in fact the little alcohol left in the dish after flambeing the rum helps with a little “hair of the dog.” You could serve this any time of year actually, if you made your own eggnog, but keep it simple on yourself and serve this during the holidays when store bought eggnog is readily available.

Eggnog French Toast with Bananas Foster Sauce

12 slices French or Italian Bread, cut on a bias, 1″ thick
3 cups Eggnog, store bought is fine
1 cup milk
3 each eggs, beaten

4 each bananas, peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup dark rum
3 Tbsp. butter

Combine the milk, eggnog, and eggs and mix together. Soak both sides of the bread slices in mixture and saute on a griddle set over medium heat and brushed with a little butter. Cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes per side. Don’t let the french toast brown too quickly or the middle will be soggy when the outside is done. Meanwhile combine the butter, and brown sugar in a saute pan and heat over medium high until the brown sugar melts. Add the rum and carefully flame it. Do this by allowing the rum to heat up then igniting it with a long handled lighter. Be careful as it can ignite rather quickly and in bright light the alcohol flame can be almost invisible. Lean back as you light it so as to not, accidentally, light your hair on fire!!! Once the flames die down add the sliced bananas and spices. Cook just until the bananas are warmed through. Add the butter, remove from heat and swirl until the butter has melted into the sauce. Serve each person 3 slices of the french toast topped with the banana sauce. Garnish with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, and maybe a strawberry or two if you want some color.

In my last post, I said I wasn’t going to offer up any Thanksgiving recipes. Well, I lied…kinda…sorta. I am not going to offer up any recipes for dishes to be served during the holiday dinner, though I guess you could serve these then if you wanted to. They would make a great change from the standard dinner roll. But what I really wanted to offer up is a wonderful breakfast treat you could serve to any overnight guests you might have.

Let’s face it, we all try to avoid breakfast on T-Day, in anticipation of the huge, gluttonous feast we plan on consuming later in the day, but if you are like me there is no way you will make it until then without an sustenance, especially as all those heavenly aromas waft through the air, igniting your hunger. Besides, as a host to those overnight guests I feel bad if I don’t offer up something for breakfast.

These popovers fit the bill quite nicely. They are light, but flavorful. Just the thing one needs to just take the edge off of the hunger until dinner is ready. If you have a full house consider doubling or tripling this recipe as they go quickly. Also serve immediately as popovers are best when still steaming hot.

I chose to use sage in these popovers as a little preview to the dinner ahead, but you could substitute out any herb you like. Both rosemary and thyme make nice additions.

Not many people own popover pans any more so I made these in muffin tins. If you have popover pans feel free to use them though you might have to add just a few minutes to the final cooking and you might not get 12 popovers out of the recipe.

Sage Popovers

2 each eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 450F. Generously grease muffin tin. In medium bowl beat eggs slightly. Blend in remaining ingredients just until smooth. Fill cups about half full. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 15-20 minutes longer or until golden brown. Makes 12 popovers.

I have to admit, I am not much of a baker. Sure, I took all the required baking classes in culinary school, and as a chef I have done my fair share of baking and pastries, but it is not a skill that I particularly enjoyed and thus didn’t really work on developing. I was always more about the rush and the instant gratification of line work as opposed to the more methodical, slower pace of the bakery. Recently though, I have had a desire to flex those old, rusty baking skills. Some experiments have turned out great, some….well….let’s just say I’m beginning to believe in the old adage, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” Well, I have not lost it, more like just misplaced it temporarily. One of my more recent successes has been with the focaccia recipe from “Baking with Julia.” I’ve taken her ingredients but have altered her technique a little to suit my tastes. Her recipe creates a focaccia that is just a little too thin for my tastes, but I knew I also didn’t want one of those 3 inch thick sponges that grace the shelves of supermarkets across America. Taking Julia’s recipe and tweaking it gave me something in between and exactly what I was looking for. I hope you feel the same way also. As for the toppings, I really like this onion and sage topping but feel free to top it however you like. I imagine I will change up the toppings quite regularly.

Onion Sage Focaccia

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups Water, slightly warm
2 Tbsp. Dry Active Yeast
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour (unbleached if possible)
4 tsp. Salt
1/3 cup +1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 small Onion, peeled and thinly julienned
2-3 Tbsp. Fresh Sage, chiffonade (fine julienne)
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

In the mixing bowl of a mixer combine 1/2 cup of the warm water and the yeast. Allow 5 minutes for the yeast to active then add the remaining water and olive oil. Stir to combine. Mix together the salt and flour then add to the liquid. Stir just to combine. Place mixing bowl on mixer and, using the dough hook, mix the ingredients on medium speed. Turn speed to high and knead for 10 minutes or until dough can pass the window pane test (when you can stretch a small amount of dough to the point where you can almost see through it). Place dough in a bowl rubbed with olive oil and coat dough completely with a light coat of oil. Cover and allow to rise until double (1-1 1/2 hours). Gently punch down and allow to double in size again. Punch down again, cover bowl tightly and place in refrigerator for 24-36 hours.

The next day pull dough out 1 1/2 hours before you want to bake it. Preheat oven to 425. Place 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a saute pan, over medium heat and add the onions. Cook without coloring until onions are half done. Add the fresh sage, toss until wilted then remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temp. Pour 1/2 of the remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil into a 12×17 baking pan or jelly roll pan. Add dough, coat both sides with the oil and gently spread the dough out. Be gentle as you don’t want to knock out all the bubbles you created overnight. You probably won’t be able to completely stretch it all at once, so allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes then finish stretching it to almost fill the pan. Allow another 10 minute rest then dimple the surface of the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle on the onion-sage mixture, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and finally sprinkle with the sea or kosher salt. Place in the oven and bake for 18-25 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking tray so that it can absorb all the olive oil around the edges.