Adventures in Baking

On Sunday I made my first steps into the world of yeast. It wasn't a totally successful expedition, but it wasn't a total failure either. I had been thinking about trying a bread recipe for awhile, but then when it was announced that the theme for this month's Waiter There's Something In My... event would be bread, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to take the plunge. When I was growing up my mom never had any luck baking with yeast. I remember her many failed attempts and the resulting frustration. So, I was a bit nervous to say the least. But I tried to be as prepared as I could be- I had my instant read thermometer, I turned the thermostat up since it was kind of cold in the apartment, and I preheated the oven far in advance to heat up my tiny kitchen. I was going to take a crack at a Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread I saw on bakingsheet, now Baking Bites. Well, the first time round did not go so well. I guess it's kind of hard to know what each step is supposed to look like when you've never done it before. I'm not sure I got enough reaction out of my yeast, then I started mixing things, but it never really seemed to come together. I used the larger of the flour measurements, but it still had the consistency of runny oatmeal. I made an attempt to knead it, but that was just unbelievably messy. I scrapped the dough, and decided to take a crack at another recipe. I noticed a recipe on the back of the flour package that seemed easy. The steps were different than the Cinnamon Raisin bread, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I decided to add cinnamon to the Whole Wheat Walnut Bread recipe, but that was the only part of the recipe that I changed, initially. This time around I decided to use my stand mixer, instead of my arm and a wooden spoon. I measured out and mixed all the ingredients. As it mixed I had something along the same consistency of the last bread dough. I called my mom, who had little advice for me. I called Stephanie who didn't answer because she was at Edgefest. And I just decided to start chucking in more flour. I also decided to proof my yeast, to see if that was somehow the problem. So, between adding flour I measured out some warm water and sugar. But before I was able to add the yeast my mixer started making a funny noise. It was working hard to mix my dough because it was actually the consistency of dough! I whipped the mixer off, floured my work surface and quickly went to work kneading, lest things progress downhill in any moment I wasted. I worked my dough, with relative ease, and once I'd finished I put it back in the bowl, on top of the oven for warmth, and covered. I let it rest for a bit over and hour and it had actually risen! I was so surprised that it had worked. Mistake #1 occurs here- I probably should have let is risen even more. I removed it from the bowl, molded it into the loaf shape and put it in the pan. I let it rise again on the oven. Mistake #2- should have let it rise more again. Popped it in the oven and 40 minutes later a lovely looking loaf emerged. It did look lovely, but it didn't look that big. And when I cut into it yesterday it was very dense. So, next time I think letting my dough rise much more at each stage will help. Please correct me if I'm wrong though. I'm not unhappy with the way the loaf turned out. I set out to make a loaf of bread, and that was the end result. I think it could definitely be better, but since I had serious doubts that I could even get something remotely resembling bread I would say it was overall a success. However, I'm going to take another crack at working with yeast this weekend, because I would like a better WTSIM entry. But, for those who are interested, you can click the link above for the recipe. The addition of cinnamon was nice, but I should have added more sugar to help balance it.

Waiter, There's Something In My....Pie again?

So, I was actually intending to make this Monday night as a WTSIM entry, which had a deadline of being posted before today. I figured I could still get it done last night, and be in just under the clock. Well, last night kind of sucked, for reasons that's aren't important. Just many little annoyances as soon as I got home. And once dinner finished just in time to eat while watching Dancing With The Stars, I just didn't have the energy to get back up again. So I just figured I'd be missing the event. But, lo and behold I found out today that the deadline had been extended through the end of the week. Hurrah! So, this month's WTSIM is being hosted by The Passionate Cook with an Easter theme. So, in thinking of something that says Easter to me I immediately thought of spanakopita. We have an Easter dinner every year with Josh's mom and spanakopita is a main feature for me. Then I thought of the Spinach Pie I saw on an episode of Everyday Food a month or so ago. It was like a disassembled spanakopita, and called out to me from the start. And so my WTSIM entry was born. Trust me when I tell you that this dish is pretty delish. I'm actually eating the leftovers while I'm typing this entry!

Spinach Pie
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 12
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
6 10 oz. boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dried plain breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried dill
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 oz. frozen phyllo sheets, thawed and thinly sliced

• Make the filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 teaspoons salt; cook until garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in spinach, feta, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Fold in eggs until combined.
• Divide mixture evenly between two 9-inch springform pans or two 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plates; press firmly to flatten.
• Make the topping: In a large bowl, gently toss sliced phyllo to separate, then toss with remaining 1/2 cup oil until coated.
• Divide phyllo between pies, covering the tops evenly and completely. (To freeze, cover pies tightly with plastic wrap, being careful not to flatten topping. Bake within 3 months; do not thaw first.)
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees;. Bake until heated through and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes for frozen pie (30 minutes for unfrozen pie).

My notes: I understandably enjoyed this recipe, noting my existing adoration for spanakopita. Josh really liked it. He said "mmmm" without me asking him what he thought first. I cut this recipe in half because I don't have springform pans just lying around, waiting to be popped into the freezer. I was a little low on feta, so I compensated with a smidge more Parmesan, and I have no idea how to figure out those 4 oz. of phyllo. I figured it would be 1/4 of the 16 oz. package I had, but that turned out to be too little, and it seemed like it took more like half the package to get the job done. Maybe I didn't separate the first batch of sheets well enough. Either way, it's good. I'd never complain of a dish being too light and flaky. :) Oh also, I divided our one pie which should serve 6 into quarters instead. This was the only thing I was serving last night so bigger portions were fine, and it made it easier to divvy up for dinner and lunchtime leftovers.

Waiter, There's Something In My....

So, I didn't intend to wait a week to get this posted, but it's been a busy few days. This is my entry for the new-ish event, Waiter, There's Something In My... , which has been created by Cook Sister, thepassionatecook, and Spitoon Extra. This is just round #2, and the theme is Pie. Sweet, savory, hot, cold, as long as it's covered it counts. So, since I was leaving on Thursday I decided that the night before I would make one of Josh's favorite meals, Bolognese Pie with Biscuit Topping. I tweaked it so it would fit into the event guidelines, and it came out great. Not terribly photogenic, but delicious. Instead of dropping the biscuit dough across the top, I spread it over the entire casserole dish. And that's pretty much the only way this differed from the recipe, which was of course from Everyday Food. I might should have cooked it for a little less time with the dough being thinner, but it tasted delicious anyway. This is actually a leftover meal, using the remaining sauce from a dinner of Spaghetti with Bolognese Sauce. I love it because I can freeze the leftover sauce, and then aside from picking up some zucchini, I have a meal I can put together pretty quickly at a later date.

Bolognese Pie
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4








For the Meat Base:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb. medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 3/4 chunks
4 cups leftover Bolognese Sauce

For the Biscuit Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the meat base: Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet, over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring, until golden and just beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in leftover Bolognese Sauce until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Cover to keep warm.
• Make the biscuit: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, thyme, and salt. Using a pastry blender, or fork, or your fingers, work in butter until pea-size clumps form. Stir in milk and cheese until dough just comes together.
• Spoon dough over beef mixture in 8 small mounds, about 1 inch apart. Bake until meat mixture is bubbling and topping is golden brown (a toothpick inserted in the center of a biscuit should come out clean), about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

My notes: Aside from adjusting this recipe to be a covered pie, I typically change up the cooking containers. I didn't have an oven-proof skillet when I previously made this recipe, so I typically heat the meat base in a skillet and transfer to an 8-inch glass casserole dish to bake. I now have a nice cast iron skillet that I could use, but I wanted to use the casserole dish to help ensure the innards of the pie would be well disguised.