Julekake (Norwegian Christmas bread)

I used the recipe from my cookbook Christmas:  a Cook's Tour.  It came together easily enough, but the dough felt dense and heavy.  I added more water, which helped, but suspected it still was the wrong texture.  After 5 hours rising in a warm oven with barely a budge, I made up a plain water and flour dough from about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of flour and a little more yeast and kneaded it into the dough until it felt right.  That allowed the dough to rise properly, but it was very soft and loose and made the braid difficult.  (This is supposed to be a round loaf, but I wanted something more decorative.)

I thought it had over proved the second time because I didn't turn on the oven until the loaf already looked plenty large, but the crumb looked okay.  The loaf was too large, soft, and heavy to rap on the bottom after it looked baked enough (it started to break), so I used a thermometer.  I read that enriched breads need to bake to a higher temperature, 200 degrees; that brought the loaf to a darker crust than I would have liked.  And as it turned out, the bread was very dry.

It was still very good with a nice buttery flavor.  It was too sweet to glaze, as I had originally intended, but was very good with just a light spread of salted butter.  I used golden raisins and half candied lemon peel/half candied red cherries chopped small.  I would eliminate the lemon peel, simply because it turned it from cardamom bread to something almost identical to stöllen.  (However, I don't know that I would increase the cherries to make up the difference.  If I did, I think I would reduce the sugar slightly.)

Conclusion:  Delicious, but not far enough from my stöllen.

Recipe:  Julekake via  Christmas:  a Cook's Tour

Vegan Persimmon Apple cake

I'm not a fan of vegan baked goods, but this sounded doable. I did make some adjustments in the ingredients, and used a cakelet tin.

3/4 cup persimmon pulp (from one large persimmon)
1 large apple, peeled & cut into ½” dice
1/8 cup agave nectar
1/8 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1½ cups white whole wheat flour
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy yogurt or applesauce

Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 8- or 9-inch baking dish or cake pan. Place the apple into a saucepan along with the 1/8 cup agave nectar, water, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until the apple softens, about 10 minutes. Add the persimmon and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, mix together the water, orange juice, 1/2 cup agave nectar, cider vinegar, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ones along with the soy yogurt or applesauce. Stir until well-moistened. Fold in apple mixture.  Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

I used half white flour and replaced the agave nectar with sugar. (3/4 cup of nectar equals 1 cup of sugar plus a little more liquid.) I also added a small amount of molasses, but was cautious because I didn't want to disrupt the acid/base balance. (I could probably use more molasses and skip the vinegar.) In place of the yogurt or applesauce, I used 2 tablespoons of plain oil and about two tablespoons of date paste. For extra flavor, because I doubted that small amount of orange juice would be noticeable, I added a splash (probably less than 1/8 teaspoon) of orange essence. One could also use the peel and/or use all orange juice and no water (although that also might disrupt the chemical balance.) I checked them at about 23 minutes and they seemed done.

The batter started reacting immediately, so the pan has to be ready to go as soon as the batter is mixed. I wanted to add nuts, but wasn't sure about the strength of the rise or whether they'd sink to the bottom. I think they would have been okay. These would benefit from some sort of topping because they're quite plain. Either sprinkling with cinnamon sugar before baking (or maybe during, just before they firm up) or a streusel... maybe that's where the nuts could go. The author used a decorative pan, which would help.

Conclusion: These were okay. They were too moist and a little gummy--- that could have been my fault. And perhaps they could have used a few more minutes baking. Even though I used half the whole wheat flour, I could detect an unpleasant graininess to them. The flavor was pretty good, not very spicy but very persimmony with bites of apple (I could have cooked the apples less), but I prefer the recipe from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book.

Recipe:  Fall Harvest Fruit Cake via Fat Free Vegan Kitchen

 

Hearty whole-grain bread for toast

 

 

This is a grainy, seeded loaf with good flavor that makes great toast, although it can also be used for sandwiches.  This recipe makes a large, substantial loaf.

2 handfuls steel-cut oats
Very warm water
1 scant tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3½ - 4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup high gluten flour
Handful flax seeds
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons dark molasses or malt barley syrup
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 - 1 cup liquid whey (preferred) or water, warmed
Handful of raw sunflower seeds
Corn meal or semolina

Place oats in a cereal bowl and add about ½ cup of the warm water. (They should be wet, but not drowned.)  Cover and allow to soak. In a small bowl, proof the yeast with the sugar in about ½ cup of very warm water (the warmest you can comfortably hold your finger in). Once yeast has proved, in a mixing bowl add 2 cups whole wheat flour, gluten flour, flax seeds, and salt and whisk to aerate. Then add the molasses, olive oil, yeast mixture, oats, and whey (or water) and stir to combine. It will be a thick slurry.  Cover with a towel and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. Add about another 1½ cups of flour along with the sunflower seeds and begin kneading, adding more flour (or warm water) as necessary to produce a shaggy, sticky dough. Knead for 20-30 minutes until there’s good gluten development and dough is only slightly tacky. It should be loose, but you should be able to form it into a ball with a tight skin. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size and an indentation remains when pressed.  This can take up to 6 hours or more, or it can be done overnight in the refrigerator.

Punch down and knead a few times to redistribute the air. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a loaf tin well and heavily coat the bottom and up the sides with corn meal or semolina. Form the dough into a loaf and place seam side down into the loaf tin.  Cover and allow to rise in a warm place.  After about 30-40 minutes (about when the dough has reached the top of the tin), preheat oven to 350 degrees. When loaf has nearly doubled, place in oven and bake for about 55 minutes, until it’s well browned on top. It may even look slightly burnt. Remove from tin and allow to cool completely before slicing.

Hotdog buns

 

More COVID baking. Normally I wouldn't bother making from scratch when I'm fine with the commercial product.

17.6 oz all-purpose flour (4 US cups, measured by spoon and level method*)
½ cup warm milk
¾ cup warm water
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons softened butter or oil
Extra oil to lightly oil the bowl
1 egg for the egg wash

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.  In another small bowl, whisk together the water, milk, and egg and add to the flour mixture; knead to bring the dough together.  (It should be fairly wet and sticky.)  Knead for about 5 minutes, until you have a smooth ball.   Add the oil or butter and knead for a further 5-10 minutes, until the dough is shiny, smooth, and tacky to the touch.   Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning so the dough is lightly oiled on the surface.  For best results, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight (8 hours) or up to 24 hours. (Alternatively, if you want to bake it on the same day, you can cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place, until it has doubled in size.)  On the day you bake the bread rolls, turn the chilled dough out on to a lightly floured surface and lightly dust the surface of the dough as well.  If the dough wasn't chilled, you may need extra flour on your hands and on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking.    

FOR THE CUTTING METHOD FOR HOT DOG BUNS
Roll out the dough into a rectangle that's about 16 inches in length and 4-5 inches in width. Cut the dough into 10 sections and place them on a parchment paper lined baking tray, with about 1.5 inches of space between each.

FOR THE SHAPING METHOD FOR HOT DOG BUNS
Cut the dough into 12 (or 10) equal sections. I usually weigh the bread dough so that I know how much each section should weigh.  Knead each portion for just a few seconds to form a smooth ball. Roll out each portion into a flattened piece of dough that's about 5 inches long and 4 inches wide. Then TIGHTLY roll up the dough to form a cylinder. Tuck in the sides/edges and pinch these edges and seams to seal. Place each portion on a parchment paper lined baking tray, about 2 inches apart.

FOR BURGER BUNS
Cut the dough into 8 sections (for larger buns) or 10 sections (for smaller buns) and roll these portions in your hands to form smooth balls. Place them on the parchment paper lined baking tray, about 3 inches apart.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 min in a warm place, until it has just about doubled in size.  

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F about 30 minutes prior to baking.  Brush the hot dog rolls with the egg wash (lightly beaten egg) and bake in the preheated oven until they are golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Best eaten on the same day, but will keep longer in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.  Makes 12.

These were more like the inside of a loaf of homemade white bread.  They were sort of chewy, more like soft pretzels.  Did I knead them too long?  I did what she recommended.  In her notes she states, "Using cup measurements can result in the addition of more flour than intended, causing the dough to be too dry. This results in a heavy, dense bread roll, instead of the soft, fluffy roll that this recipe guarantees." 

 

Conclusion:  These were okay.  I guess I was expecting store-bought buns but with more flavor.  They were good, but I'm not sure they're worth the trouble.

Recipe:  Easy Homemade Hot Dog Buns via The Flavor Blender