Pita Bread

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This year I plan on trying to become a better bread baker. I'm not much for making New Years resolutions, if you do that's great, but I never found that they are a real force for true change in my life. Goals, yes we all need them but deciding on January 1st to revamp everything is not realistic for me. Plus who needs the added guilt of not living up to something that sounded great on January 1st. Usually by February 1st I realize that I've already failed at 90% of what I'd resolved to do...blah... Anyway if you do make New Years resolutions, then more power to you. I plan on making a lot more bread this year and sharing it here...we'll see how that goes!

If you've every bought pita bread at the grocery store, then you know that it's hit or miss. It can fall anywhere between soft and light to tough and dry. More often than not I found it to be dried out and not very tasty. Pita is a simple bread to make. It's very similar to making pizza dough and just like homemade pizza dough, it tastes fantastic. A couple of months ago my sister convinced me to give making pitas a try. After eating some of her homemade pita, I knew there was no going back to that usually dried out store bought version. These are pillow-y soft and  oh so tasty. They are great for sandwiches, but I really like them cut into triangles served with hummus or bean dip.

Pita Bread
source:The 75th Anniversary Edition of The Joy of Cooking Cookbook 

INGREIDENTS:
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 packages (1 1/2 tbsp) active dry yeast
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/4 cup water, room temp.

METHOD:
Combine flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter and water. Mix together, about one minute. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic. Add flour or water as needed; the dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky. Don't add too much flour or the pitas will not puff well. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temp until doubled in volume, 1 – 1 1/2 hours.

Set a rack in the lower level of the oven and place a pizza or baking stone on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F for 45 minutes. (If you do not have a pizza or baking stone, preheat the oven, place an inverted baking sheet on the rack, and heat the baking sheet for 5 minutes.)

Meanwhile, punch down the dough. Divide equally into 8 pieces, and roll the pieces into balls. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

On a very lightly floured surface, roll out each ball of dough into a thin round, about 6-8 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch think. Place as many dough rounds as will fit without touching each other directly on the hot surface.

 I can only do one at a time on my stone, but they bake so quickly it's not  a problem. Using a spray bottle of water, I lightly spritz the top of the dough rounds. You don't have to do this but I think it helps make the dough puff a little better.  Bake until the dough rounds puff into balloons, about 3 minutes then bake 30 seconds to 1 minute longer. Immediately remove the breads to a rack to cool. If you leave the pitas in the oven too long, they will become dry and will not deflate to flat disks. Repeat with the remaining rounds.

Notes:
Roll the pitas out thin but not so thin that they tear or they won't puff well. I found that if I rolled mine about 6 inches in diameter they puffed better than the larger rounds. There's a little bit of a learning curve on rolling and getting them into the oven. My first one stuck to the pizza peel and came out wonky. By the third one I had it down. I spritzed the pitas with a little water after I put them in the oven. The ones I spritz seemed to puff a little better than the first 2 that I didn't sprtiz. They cook really fast so keep an eye on them.

My first one had a few issues!

Ahhh pita perfection!

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

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Lately I've come across several recipes for pull-apart breads. I've had several recipes bookmarked and have been meaning to make a loaf but always seem to put it off. There was a picture for this cinnamon apple pull-apart bread in the King Arthur Flour catalog that came in the mail yesterday. It was the first one I've seen that had apples in it and I had to have it. Now! 
I'm not sure what I really need to say about this pull apart bread. Just look at it! It speaks for itself...and it's saying "you know you want me!" There are several steps involved in making the bread but it's completely worth the extra effort. Seriously what's not to like about apples, cinnamon, and pecans, baked up into sweet dough? All that's missing is a cup of coffee.

Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread

Source: kingarthurflour.com adapted

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 to 15 servings. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples (about 2 cups), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

For the dough:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
mix both ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more milk if necessary to get desired consistency. I like it to be the consistency of a thick syrup.

To make the dough:
Whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract.
In the bowl mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast, then add the wet ingredients. Using the dough hook attachment mix and knead, until the dough is smooth. The dough will be quite soft. If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased surface.*  Roll the dough into a 12" x 20" rectangle.
Stir the vanilla into the melted butter. Spread the butter mixture over the entire top on the dough, Use a pastry brush to get the butter even spread over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top, using your hand to spread it evenly over the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the dough. Add the apples, on top of the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on the nuts, if using.
Cut the dough crosswise into six 3 1/2" x 12" strips. Stack the strips on top of one another. Cut the stack into six pieces, about 2" x 3 1/2" each. This part is a little messy but it doesn't have to be perfect.
Turn the pieces on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other from one end of the pan to the other, squeezing them in tight. I sprinkled any nuts or apples that had fallen off over the top of the dough after I put it into the pan.
Cover the pan and allow the loaf to rise for 30 to 60 minutes, until it's almost doubled in size. While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
While still slightly warm, spoon the glaze over the top of the bread.

Roll the dough into a 20"x 12" rectangle 

Add the filling

Slice crosswise into six even pieces

Stack the pieces on top of one another.

Slice the stack into six pieces.

Turn the pieces on their side and put them into the bread pan.

*Notes: I lightly sprayed a non-stick mat with cooking spray.
I kind of diced up my apples but after making the bread, I think sliced apples would be easier to keep on the pieces of dough as you stack them. (Which is what the recipe stated but I like to do things my aka the hard way!)
The long pieces are hard to move on top of one another. I kind of rolled the ends of each slice inward toward the center to make them easier to pick up to move. I had to spread the nuts and apples back into place but it made it easier for me to get the pieces stacked. Don't freak out if your apples and nuts fall off (they will!) just put them back on the dough after you've moved it onto the stack. (Hopefully these instructions will make sense when your actually making the bread!) I cooked mine the full 55 minutes. I probably could have taken it out at about 50 minutes.

There's no need for a knife with this bread. It really does just pull apart!

Happy Fastnacht Day....

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or Strove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi gras... also know as homemade doughnut day in my family.

  

 

I don't know what today means to you, maybe parades, floats, costumes, beads, overindulgence, or quite possibly it's just another Tuesday, but for me it's Fastnacht Day. In my world that means eating homemade fried dough! I come from a Pennsylvania Dutch background and we celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday with doughnuts, preferably homemade. The traditional Fastnacht Day doughnut is made with a potato dough. Although they are delicious, I broke a little with tradition this time and added a little New Orleans twist this year and made beignets. I visited New Orleans a few weeks ago and stopped by Cafe du Monde for beignets. I've been craving them ever since. So what better excuse  to make beignets then Fastnacht Day?!

Beignets

(printable copy)

Makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 Envelope active dry yeast
3/4 cup very warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups flour
1/8 cup shortening
Vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar for topping the hot beignets

Method:
Combine the yeast, water, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (You could also make this in a food processor.) Let this sit until yeast blooms (gets frothy), about 5 minutes.

Add the salt, egg, and evaporated milk. Mix on low speed, add half of the flour until it starts to come together, then add the shortening. When the shortening is incorporated start adding the remaining flour, a little at a time until most of it is incorporated.  Turn the dough onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough adding just enough flour as necessary to make a non-sticky, smooth dough.

Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, loosely cover and let rise. You can make it in the dough in evening let it rise overnight in the refrigerator.
After the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and turn it onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle that is about 1/2" thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, working at a diagonal to the rectangle, cut into 2" wide strips. Now cut into diamond shapes by making diagonal cuts in the opposite direction. Place the beignets on a floured baking sheet to let rise about 40 minutes in a warm place.

When the beignets have risen, heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a large pot with high sides to 350-360 degrees. Place 2-4 beignets into the hot oil at a time, being careful not to smash or deflate them. When they are golden brown, flip them over until golden brown on the other side, about 1 minute per side. They go pretty quickly so start checking them right after they go into the oil. Remove to paper towel lined plates to drain.

I thought these were even better than Cafe du Monde.

 Serve hot topped with lots of powdered sugar and a pipping hot Cafe au Lait.
You'll swear your in New Orleans!

I'm afraid that Fat Tuesday may lead to Tight Pant Wednesday!

Sweet Potato Curry Yeast Rolls

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This is an idea for rolls that I've been kicking around for awhile. I make sweet potato biscuits frequently and love the flavor. So I thought I'd try making sweet potato yeast rolls. To give the rolls a little kick I decided to add curry to the dough. I've had curry rolls with currants or raisins in them so I threw in some currants in as well.

I think these are a nice change from your usual yeast rolls. I love the wonderful fragrance from the curry, as well as the lovely color it gives the dough. The sweet potato in the dough gives the rolls a nice soft texture, and the currants give a bit of sweetness to the rolls.

Don't let the yeast scare you. These rolls are really quite easy to make, even if your not that comfortable making yeast doughs.

Sweet Potato Curry Rolls

Makes one dozen rolls
2 tablespoons or 2 packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup cooked, pureed cooked sweet potato
1/4 cup (1/2 stick), melted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder (or to taste)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cup currants or golden raisins
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.
In a large bowl,(I mixed it up in my kichen-aid bowl) combine sweet potatos, oil, curry, salt, eggs and currants. Add yeast mixture to the sweet potato mixture. Add flour to the yeast/sweet potato mixture. Mix well and using the dough hook attachment, knead until smooth about 4 minutes. If not using a Kitchen aid, knead dough by hand until it's smooth. Place in a warm area free of drafts and let dough rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out the dough and cut into 12 same-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on buttered cookie sheets far enough apart to allow rolls to double in size without touching. Let rolls rise for an hour or until doubled in bulk.
Bake rolls at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

I got Big Buns

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Probably not a comment you'd hear from most women, but in reference to sticky buns, the bigger the better. This was my very first Daring Baker challenge and I have to admit I was a little nervous before the challenge was announced. I have seem some of the previous challenges and there have been some doosies! Bagels, I tremble at the thought of making, was a past challenge. There are others as well, Strawberry Mirror cake and Martha's Crepe Cake (shudder). As much as I was looking forward becoming a DB frankly I was also a little scared:) Would I be a total failure on my very first challenge?

So when I found out the challenge was making cinnamon or sticky buns, I was thrilled and a little relieved. Coming from a Pennsylvania dutch background, sticky buns were a fall and winter staple in our home. They even play a part in our Christmas morning tradition. My mother rolls out the dough and fills the center with apricot perserves, then makes inch wide slits around the edges, crisscrosses the the edges across the preserves. She then forms the dough into a candy cane shape and bakes it and tops the candy cane with the powdered sugar fondant we used in this recipe. It's always the one thing everyone can't wait to eat. We all try to get the middle pieces because they've got the most apricot preserves!
Although I've helped mom make sticky buns many times, she has always made the dough. She has it down to a science. I've made them a few times on my own, but with any yeast dough I'm always a little nervous and worry that it won't work right. What if it doesn't rise? Did it rise long enough? Too long?? etc...
I was ready to take on this challenge and WOW where these great buns!

Method

Yield: Makes 8 to 12 large or 12 to 16 smaller cinnamon or sticky buns
Ingredients:
6 1/2 tablespoons (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) shortening or unsalted butter or margarine**
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon lemon extract OR 1 teaspoon grated zest of 1 lemon***
3 1/2 cups (16 ounces) unbleached bread or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast*
1 1/8 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature OR 3 tablespoons powdered milk (DMS) and 1 cup water****
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or any other spices you want to use, cardamom, ginger, allspice, etc.)

*Instant yeast contains about 25% more living cells per spoonful than active dry yeast, regardless of the brand. Instant yeast is also called rapid-rise or fast-rising.

**I used butter in my dough

***I used the lemon zest

****I used whole milk
1. Cream together the sugar, salt, and shortening or butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand); if you are using powdered milk, cream the milk with the sugar, and add the water with the flour and yeast. Whip in the egg and lemon extract/zest until smooth. Then add the flour, yeast, and milk. Mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. Switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. You may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

I used my kitchen-aid to make the dough and found the dough rather sticky so I added about 1/2 a cup or so more flour to get the right texture.

2. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

3. Mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin. Roll it into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger buns, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller buns. Don´t roll out the dough too thin, or the finished buns will be tough and chewy rather than soft and plump.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon-sugar spiral as you roll. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger buns, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller buns.)I cut mine exacatly 1 3/4 inches.

For sticky buns, coat the bottom of 1 or more baking dishes or baking pans with sides at least 1 1/2 inches high with a 1/4 inch layer of the caramel glaze. (Glaze recipe below)

I sprinkled pecans and currants on top. You do not need a lot of nuts and raisins, only a sprinkling.

Lay the pieces of dough on top of the caramel glaze, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag.

5. Proof at room temperature for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and have nearly doubled in size. You may also retard the shaped buns in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, pulling the pans out of the refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before baking to allow the dough to proof.
Mine were this big in about 45 min. so be sure to check them often during this rise.

My Big Buns

6. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with the oven rack in the middle shelf for cinnamon buns but on the lowest shelf for sticky buns.
7. Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 to 30 minutes or the sticky buns 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown. If you are baking sticky buns, remember that they are really upside down (regular cinnamon buns are baked right side up), so the heat has to penetrate through the pan and into the glaze to caramelize it. The tops will become the bottoms, so they may appear dark and done, but the real key is whether the underside is fully baked. It takes practice to know just when to pull the buns out of the oven.
8. For cinnamon buns, cool the buns in the pan for about 10 minutes and then streak white fondant glaze across the tops, while the buns are warm but not too hot. Remove the buns from the pans and place them on a cooling rack.
Wait for at least 20 minutes before serving.
For the sticky buns, cool the buns in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove them by flipping them over into another pan. Carefully scoop any run-off glaze back over the buns with a spatula. I was so thrilled when I flipped them out of the pan. They were absolutely perfect!

Wait at least 20 minutes before serving.This may not be possible. The buns look and smell so good, unless you are extremely disciplined you may find this step unnecessary. Hubs and I gave them a good 10 min. before devouring one! YUMMY!


White fondant glaze for cinnamon buns
Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.
When the buns have cooled but are still warm, streak the glaze over them by dipping the tines of a fork or a whisk into the glaze and waving the fork or whisk over the tops. Or, form the streaks by dipping your fingers in the glaze and letting it drip off as you wave them over the tops of the buns.
Caramel glaze for sticky buns
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature.
2. Cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add 1/2 cup corn syrup and 1 teaspoon lemon, orange or vanilla extract. Continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3. Use as much of this as you need to cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4-inch layer. Refrigerate and save any excess for future use; it will keep for months in a sealed container.

I had a ton left over. Oh well. just another excuse to make more buns! I liked the topping but it was a little harder than the cooked caramel topping that I would normally use.

I got 7 buns to fit into my pan and made cinnamon rolls from the remaining buns. They came out enormous and very good as well, but I preferred the sticky buns. Hubs concurs!This was a really fun challenge for me. Great pick Marce!