Daring Bakers' Challenge

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I love Croissants.  They have always been one of my favorite breakfast treats.  But this was my first time making them and I have to say it was really fun and delicious.  It was time consuming, but totally worth the effort.  They only change I am going to make to the recipe next time is to make the croissants bigger.  I like a large croissant, and although the ones I made were flaky and good, they were smaller than I usually like.  Here is the recipe, I thought it worked very well!

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 3/4 cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:
1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.

2. Measure out the other ingredients

3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar

4. Place the flour in a large bowl.

5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour

6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated

7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl

8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video (see below). It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter (lots of fun if you are mad at someone) and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.

9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag

10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.
 
11. After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.

12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).

13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up)

14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag

15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge


16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.

17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter

18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.

19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.

20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.

21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.

22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle

24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.

25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.

26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).

27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.

29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.





30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.

31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little

32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes

33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

34. Fold in three, as before

35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).

36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)

37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants

38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready

39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter

40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm).

41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm))

42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold

43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).

44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))

45. Place two of the squares in the fridge

46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square

47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.

48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.

49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.

50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet

51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.

52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour

53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.

54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water

55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.

56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely

57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

Daring Bakers' Challenge

 I have joined the Daring Bakers to try new and exciting recipes that I would otherwise never try. 

The August 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge was hosted by Lisa of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drive and Mandy of What the Fruitcake?!. These two sugar mavens challenged us to make sinfully delicious candies! This was a special challenge for the Daring Bakers because the good folks at http://www.chocoley.com offered an amazing prize for the winner of the most creative and delicious candy!

Yes, I know candy!  I am so used to making truffles every Christmas, so I knew I wanted to try something different this time.  I tried my hand at filled candies instead.  The picture above is my version of a peanut butter cup.  Here is the very simple recipe:

1/2 bag of chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (Skippy is the only way to go in my opinion)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

I melted the chocolate chips over a double boiler.  I then filled a candy form with the chocolate and let the excess drip back into the bowl.  (This can be a very messy process so do not worry if your first time does not work the best.)  I put the form into the fridge to harden.

Then I mixed the sugar and peanut butter until combined.  I then heated it up in the microwave for a little bit to make it easier to work with.  I put the peanut mixture into a pipping bag, and cut the tip off.  I then was able to pipe the peanut butter into the chocolate forms.  Once filled, I added more chocolate to serve as the bottom layer.  Placed it back the the fridge to harden and that's it!  They are very delicious.

We were also tasked to make a second candy.  I chose to make my Cocoa Candy Dandies.  Unfortunately, my husband ate them all before I was able to take a picture.  But here is the recipe:

Cocoa Candy Dandies

3 TB butter
2 cups quick oats (uncooked)
1 cup brown sugar
3 TB cocoa
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 TB vanilla
Powdered Sugar

Stir butter until soft.  Combine with oats, brown sugar and cocoa.  Blend well.  Add syrup and vanilla.  With wet hands, shape into small balls 1 inch in diameter.  Roll in powdered sugar.  Led stand for a few hours for flavors to blend. 

These candies are very simple and I think anyone can make them.  Look for more candies come Christmas time when I make my traditional truffles of every flavor...mmmm!

Pineapple Pie

mmmm...pineapple.  I had never had a pineapple pie before I made this one for my boss.  My boss has requested me to make pineapple pie for a long time and finally I had some free time and tried it out.  Very delicious.  Although I think a double crust is not the best choice for this pie.  The next time I make it I will have a whipped topping or some sort of cream topping (possibly coconut cream).  But it is a really easy recipe just like this and it is still very delicious.

2 home made pie crusts
1 20 oz can of pineapple tidbits (You might want to double the amount of pineapple for more filling)
3 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup sugar

Over medium heat combine all ingredients and heat until boiling.  Allow to boil one minute and remove from heat.  Cool slightly and pour into a prepared pie crust.  Cover with second crust and bake at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes.  Remove pie and brush with milk and sprinkle coconut.  Place it back in the over for another 5 minutes.  Very yummy.

Blueberry Tart

Blueberries are probably my favorite berry.  This is a great summer dessert that would be delicious after any grilled meal.  I served it warm with a scope of vanilla bean ice cream.  It was very delicious.  I would also recommend the pastry recipe for any tarts you are making.

Blueberry Tart

Pastry
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 stick butter
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla (I used almond extract because I thought it would be better compliment to the berries)
1-2 tablespoons ice water

Filling
3 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tbsp flour

Garnich
2.5 cups fresh blueberries
raspberries
powdered sugar

Pastry: In the food processor, place the flour, salt and sugar and process until combined.  Add the butter and mix until it resembles course meal.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla (or almond) extract.  Then gradually pour in a steady stream with the motor running until the pastry holds together when pinched.  Add water if neccessary.  Transfer to an 11 inch fluted tart pan and press evenly around the pan.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the sugar and flour.  Add 3 cups fresh blueberries  and toss to coat.  Pour the blueberry mixture into the pastry shell.  Place the tart pan on a large baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to bake until the pastry is golden brown.  Remove from oven and place on wire rack.  Top with remaining blueberries, pressing them gently into the hot blueberry jam.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Definitions

Okay, so let us define what I mean when I say baking adventures.  You may think you will only find sweets and delicacies on this blog.  But I also love to cook as much as I love to bake.  Baking will be the main focus of this blog, but don't be surprised if you find the occasional dinner recipe that I have concocted in my kitchen.  Most of my dinners are made up of whatever I have in the fridge at any given time.  This does not always lend itself to recipes I find in cookbooks, therefore I plan to share with you the dinners that turn out especially well (or terribly bad) out of the randomness that is our refrigerator. 

For example, Pasta ale 'whatever is in my fridge'

1/2 lb. Short Pasta (I used Cavatappi because its my favorite short pasta but any one will work)
1 onion
2 tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic
olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach
crumbled goat cheese

Heat large pot of water to boiling.  Once water boils add pasta, salt and pepper.  Cook pasta until al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup for the sauce.  Dice the onion and tomato.  In a medium pan heat olive oil and add onion.  Chop garlic and add to onion.  Dice tomatoes and add to the onions and garlic, also add the cooking liquid.  Cook on medium until onions are tender and liquid has reduced.  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.

Toss the sauce with the pasta and add in the crumbled goat cheese.  Serve warm or cold the next day is good too.

I wish I would have taken a picture, I will from now on.  But this is a really easy pasta dish that required very few ingredients.  Hope you enjoy!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog.  I love to bake, however I am an armature.  I have begun this blog to help me push my baking and cooking talents by posting my creations.  Step 1. I have begun to organize my current recipe collection.  My recipes were all shoved into a cupboard in our kitchen.  They are on full sheets of paper, clipped from magazines, hand written on index cards and many other forms.  Before I begin to expand and develop my recipes they need to be organized.  Good thing I am an archivist.  Yes I know I could type them all up on the computer and organize the data efficiently so I could cross reference ingredients, however I am old fashioned.  I am hand writing them and putting them in a recipe box.  This will take a while but in the mean time I will be joining the Daring Bakers so that I am sure to make more recipes every month.  I am looking forward to becoming a better baker and maybe in time I will make a permanent career change...you never know where life and the ingredients may take you.