Vegan Daring Bakers: Lavash Crackers

Lavash crackers are traditional Armenian style crackers... otherwise known as those expensive crackers you can get in very small packages at specialty stores.

I made my lavash crackers with the traditional seeds and salt and paprika on top, nothin' fancy, since I have never made these before. Also... I like the combination of poppy seed, sesame seed, and caraway... reminds me of an everything bagle.

These crackers weren't easy. Getting the thickness of the dough right- paper thin- took some fancy rolling pin work. Nonetheless, the first batch of crackers was a success! I did have to turn the pan multiple times, though, and lift out the edge crackers before the middle ones.

Unfortunately the second batch, which should have been perfect, was a total disaster. Part of the directions on the recipe were to let the gluten "rest" periodically during rolling and after.

Woe betide the baker that leteth the gluten kick it's heals up, close its eyes, and have a full-on nap. Because if you do that, the sheet of crackers you have so carefully rolled out will turn into a stretchy spider web, and when you put it on the baking pan it will stick to itself. When you try to fix that mess...you will realize the only thing to do is give up and make a glutenous ball out of the dough and toss it around like a baseball.


Thanks to RJ for his kitchen and kneading.



Letting the yeast do its work: I put it in the oven with the light on, keeping it at a perfect temperature.


Check out other alternative Daring Bakers at the blogroll HERE!!!



Here is the dough just before rolling, formed into a square.


RECIPE - Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.

Iron Cupcake World: Basil

This month's Iron Cupcake World challenge threw me. I kept thinking about a not-so-good savory muffin I once made... I just don't like cooked basil, I guess that's the problem. (Except in pasta dishes.) So I decided to focus on fresh basil, but only hints of it. I didn't want to have that "I just ate a mozzarella sandwich" taste, either. So. I let my mind wander. Waft. Wonder.

And I came upon this combination:

Greek Donuts/ Loukoumades / Honey Balls (You pick your favorite name!)
Basil Honey
Peach Walnut compote
Lebnah (Greek strained yogurt)

All this, together in a cupcake paper, would be my Iron Cupcake presentation. Sure, it's off the cupcake track, but man o man, once I started thinking about those little delicious donuts, I really wanted to make 'em.

First, I found a delicious recipe for Basil Honey here. It has cinnamon, cloves, and brandy- I just happened to use plum brandy, which I think worked out tastily.

Then I found a great recipe for Loukoumades, a yeasted donut. I first had these donuts at the Syracuse Greek Festival. The Greek festival features dancing (my mom used to do this!) and music and TONS of people and lots and lots of great food. But I always make a beeline for the donuts.

The recipe I used was easy and fun- but I will admit that I have a good time whenever I make anything with yeast. It's just cool to watch little organisms transform your food into something tasty. Feels like you have hired dozens of robots to work for you.

I then fried the dough and voila.



Then. Then I made peach compote, my very own creation.
This compote remindes me of the haroset eaten at Passover seder.

Recipe for Peach Walnut Compote:
1 ts grated ginger
1/4 ts cloves
1 ts cinnamon
3 firm peaches, diced
1/3 cup honey
2-3 tbs lemon juice
Grated zest 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix all ingredients in a bowl except for the walnuts. Let marinate or eat fresh; add walnuts when ready to serve.

TWD - Chocolate Chunkers

This is an adult cookie.
Not that kids wouldn't like it... but it's a cookie that appeals to the adult palate. Reasons:
1. The base of the batter is chocolate, not flour.
2. The salty roasted nuts counterbalance the sweetness.
3. The crunch is fabulous. These cookies are all about the experience of eating, not just washing the food down.

Changes to the recipe:
1. I added just under a half a cup sugar, instead of the full two thirds.
2. I subbed dried cherries for the raisins, because I wanted a more sweet-tart taste to go with the chocolate and peanuts.
3. Instead of milk chocolate chips I used butterscotch, which gave the cookies a hint of toffee flavor that again complimented the peanuts.

See more fine examples of cookies that are probably all eaten up at Tuesdays with Dorrie!

TWD: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

I'm late, I know. I am supposed to post on Tuesday for Tuesdays with Dorrie, the food blog group that bakes recipes each week from Baking, from My Home to Yours by Dorrie Greenspan. And I swear, I did all the cooking on Sunday, nice and early. But I dropped the whopper ball on the posting... nonetheless, here goes.

These cookies were AMAZING and really I must admit something here: I am not a batter girl. I can't stand the thought of salmonella and raw eggs in my mouth. But I just happened to get some malt drop batter on my hand, and it was easier to lick it off than to wash... OMG. Hooked. Like a warm gooey malt milkshake.

Yeah, and I ate too many Whoppers while I was making them. I love Whoppers. I was always the kid that other kids would trade their Halloween candy for: I got rid of my Reeses in exchange for Whoppers and Dots. No one liked Dots... why?

The cookies would have been overly sweet for me, as I have discovered many of Dorrie's recipes tend to be, but I cut the sugar by half. As always, I used whole wheat pastry flour.

I then brought the cookies into work, where they proved to be a hit. People were talking about them for days afterward. Like, when I wasn't even there, and I heard the rumors... So you brought in some amazing cookies, huh?

Sigh, that's some fine satisfaction out of a humble cookie, no?

RJ's Peanut Butter Corn Bread

My friend RJ has humbly submitted a recipe for publication, and I was happy to oblige.
But RJ, I am going to insist that you find a different adjective to describe your bread... something other than "nutty-mealy". You were quite insistent with me that this bread tastes amazing; from "nutty-mealy" I get a sense of granola-gone-bad. What about... this bread has the creamy taste of peanut butter with a hint of cornmeal crunch?
From the photo, this unassuming bread looks like it holds some tasty secrets, doesn't it? I love the golden-brown crust. Thanks for sharing, RJ!!!


Here's my peanut butter corn bread picture and recipie :0) It's simple and quick!

a.. 2 packages of corn bread baking mix
a.. 1 cup of creamy peanut butter
a.. 1 cup skim milk
a.. 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400oF. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Bake for ~20 minutes in a well greased bread pan. Cool, slice bread, and enjoy!

...this bread sure is tasty! It's got a unique nutty-mealy texture.

RJ

TWD: Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

Once again I spent part of my Monday rushing around to bake something for Tuesdays with Dorrie, the baking group that makes weekly recipes from Dorrie Greenspan's cookbook, Baking, From my Home to Yours.
Fortunately, this week's cookie challenge was really easy, and ammounted to basically throwing stuff in bowls and beating it. The substitutions I made were as follows:
1. Raisins for Chocolate (As suggested by Dorrie)
2. Whole wheat pastry flour for White flour.
3. Cut the sugar in half. (Which still left the cookies really sweet... was it the raisins?)

Yum! I loved my cookies. I wanted to give some away, because the recipe made 48 large cookies. But like many other tasty concoctions, these cookies looked best all hidden away, tucked in baskets where no one could see their craggy, raisiny depths.