Tag Archives: baking

by | August 19, 2012

Sourdough Bread Starter…part 2

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for the recipe

You might remember my post from  few weeks ago about my attempt at making my own Sourdough Bread Starter, well I am pleased to say that I had huge success with it and I baked several loaves of yummy fresh bread. At one stage I thought I was going to open up a bakery from the backyard! I was baking bread daily and giving loaves away to friends and family.

Growing up in a Polish family bread has always been important. We had bread for breakfast, sometimes at lunch and for dinner. One of my earliest and fondest memories as a 6 year old is eating freshly baked rye bread topped with butter, summer tomatoes, finely sliced onion, seasoned with salt and pepper.

I remember mum and dad being a little disillusioned when they arrived in Sydney in 1981 with the white square bread that was being sold at most of the grocery stores. Don’t get me wrong, sourdough and rye bread was most likely available in a few select delicatessens, but I do remember that mum and dad found it extremely hard to find.

As the bread evolution started to take over the delicatessens, grocery stores and fruit markets mum was able to find the rye flour she needed for baking her own bread and after 15 years of baking, her bread tastes good!

This starter is by Jules Clancy from The Stone Soup. It’s fantastic! The only difficulty with it is that it’s like a newly planted seedling, you have to tend to it regularly. I nurtured it for about 3 weeks, but with the school holidays and the Rosedale trip with Imogen I completely forgot about it. I came home to something that resembled the pink slime from Ghostbusters!

YES…I KILLED THE STARTER!

All is not lost – I succeeded once, I could easily do it again… and have!

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Leave a Comment

Filed under Dough, Recipes

Tagged as , , ,

by | July 12, 2012

Individual Chocolate Chip Cookie Pots

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

This has been lovingly borrowed from My Happy Place. If you are looking for other little gems like this then I highly recommend you checkout her blog!

These are insanely good and perfect for the sweet tooth that just wants a few bites of something deliciously warm and ever so slightly gooey, especially on a bleak wintry day.

The best thing about these is that you can get the craving and then have it in your hands within 5 mins – you can’t beat that!

Enjoy it with a dollop of ice cream… Blondie :)

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Leave a Comment

Filed under Desserts, Dough

Tagged as , , ,

by | June 14, 2012

Finnish Rye Sourdough Bread (Crisp Bread)

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Stunning 100% Rye Sourdough bread… this was the intended result

The resulting Finnish Crisp Bread – equally fantastic!

aka ‘Trials and Tribulations of Blondie’s First Rye Sourdough Bread’

This is my very first attempt at sourdough, let alone a Finnish 100% Rye sourdough! It’s extraordinarily popular in the Nordic regions and can be made into a loaf, thin crispbreads or firm round discs that have a hole in the middle so it can be threaded onto a pole and hung from the ceiling to dry.

I have worked with high rye content breads before when I make my Karelian Pies but working with total rye is both fun and maddening at the same time. It is heavy and so, so, SO sticky! I swear, the Marshmallow Eggs from one of my previous posts are pretty close to what you will be dealing with.

OK, the desire to make a beautiful sourdough bread had been fermenting (ha) in my head for a while – mum had made it a few times when I was younger and remembers the starter taking 7 days to develop – I was kind of eager to get this going a bit quicker than that, so I began reading up on techniques and processes and gathered bits and pieces of other peoples experiences and came up with a plan of action.

To make the starter move along at a quicker pace it was suggested to get a loaf of your intended bread. If you want a wheat bread then get that style loaf, if you want a rye one then get a rye loaf making sure that it is only made of flour, water and salt -  this bread will be in your breads DNA so get the best of the best. Crumble some of the loaf, mix the flour and the water and let the magic of life begin! The picture above is the loaf I picked up, this is also the loaf I was intending on making, but things change….

A starter, if you remember to leave some aside, will become your sourdough ‘mother’. This mother will be the originating source of all your future breads – some ‘mothers’ survive decades, generations even and once stable is quite difficult to kill, she can usually be resurrected with a little love.

My starter was fantastic, she lived and breathed and did everything a growing entity was suppose to do. It really is such a magical experience, I can see why it’s so addictive – bread making that is.

The starter

When the 48 hours was up I started incorporating the rest of the Rye flour and water to form a dough (make sure you set aside about 300g and place in a container with a loose fitting lid, leave this in the fridge – this is your mother) Once a dough ball was formed, I divided into two and set aside for about 4-6 hours to rise. This is where I kind of lost my way.

As there is absolutely no yeast in this bread I knew it wouldn’t rise too much but I kept reading about 100% rye doughs rising as much as double their original size, so when the 4 hours was up there really wasn’t any noticeable change, it was a bit bigger but nothing like double the size. I decided to leave it for a couple of more hours, still not much. I poked one of the balls and there was definitely some softness and give to the ball but, again, not what I was reading. It was late, so I left the dough to sleep on it, maybe when I wake up it would be bigger…? No, it hadn’t grown but had deflated – Fantastic! That means that what I had seen the day before was exactly what I thought the dough should be, but now I have deflated dough!

I wasn’t going to let any of this go to waste, so I went to plan B and that was to make FinnCrisp, my all time favourite crispbread. The sourdough flavour with the rye was identical to what FinnCrisp tastes like. This is where the dough monster from hell comes into play! I couldn’t get it off my hands, it was completely unworkable so I decided to put on gloves – these kept being dragged off my hands, I grabbed a sturdy blunt knife, some baking paper and clingfilm, and this worked a treat.

The trick is to roll the dough really thinly. My first couple of trays were a little on the thick side so ended up a bit chewy (although I still like them like that) but then you really need to be careful you don’t burn them as they will cook unevenly – burnt edges and soft middle. Just keep an eye on them and use a timer.

The real test to see if they were what I was hoping for was with my ideal sandwich – Pickled Herrings on crispbread…

Pickled herrings on rye crispbread

Perfect bite sized mouthfuls of crispbread with it’s tangy, sweet rye flavour, as good as my beloved FinnCrisp – very happy!

When they go a bit soft but just pop them into the oven again to crisp them up.

Enjoy…. Blondie  :)

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

4 Comments

Filed under Dough, Finnish food, Hints and Tips

Tagged as , , , ,

by | May 27, 2012

Vanilla bean sugar tea cake

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

This recipe takes me back to the days when I was young, operated on minimal sleep on the weekends and was able to religiously eat 3 sweet donuts for brekkie with coffee from donut king before starting work in the morning, all without adding a centimetre to my waist line!

Those days are long gone and whilst I don’t indulge in donuts for brekkie I do occasionally get a craving for something very sweet, last night was one of those nights.

If you have a sweet tooth this recipe is super easy and best of all it does not ask for any out of the ordinary ingredients. You will note that I have used Heilala pure vanilla bean sugar. The sugar is made from vanilla beans that have been naturally dried in the sun, in the South Pacific, Vava’u Tonga. The dried beans are then mixed with organic sugar and a dash of Heilala vanilla extract is also added. I love it however normal vanilla sugar can do the trick as well or alternatively you could mix sugar with a little cinnamon for the topping.

The cake tastes great cold but I would highly recommend warming it up in the microwave oven for 15-20 seconds just before serving.

Delicious!

What is your favourite sweet treat???

Bella :)

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

3 Comments

Filed under Desserts, Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | May 13, 2012

Sachertorte

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

OMG is the only way that I can describe this cake!

I was introduced to this recipe about 3 years ago when my husbands mum, Heather bought me a baking book. It’s fair to say that I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth but this recipe is divine!

I am  proud to say that I can now make it with my eyes closed; well almost!

It’s the perfect after dinner dessert, rich, gooey and yummy!

PS…HAPPY ‘late’ MOTHERS DAY to all the mums!

xox Bella

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

6 Comments

Filed under Recipes

Tagged as , , , ,

by | May 3, 2012

Brine for chicken

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

I stole this recipe from Nigella when I was watching her Christmas dvd  last year.

I love a good roast chicken! Up until recently I have always baked my bird in the oven but with Blondie bragging each week about how her rotisserie chicken was so yummy I was feeling rather left out, so one Sunday morning I sent Dwaine on a mission to bunnings to get our own rotisserie.

The first chicken that I baked in the bbq on the rotisserie was OK, but it wasn’t anything to rave on about. It came out dry so I wasn’t very impressed with my efforts.

I had used this brine once before for my Christmas family lunch so I though I might try it with a chicken. My bird was soft, tender & moist with a hint of all the spices.

You don’t have to go all out & use all the herbs & spices like I did. Water, sugar & salt will do the tick as well.

The first time I used this recipe I left the chicken in the brine overnight, now I leave it in there for 6 hours.

YUM!

What do you do with your roast chicken?

PS..thanks Nigella :)

 

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

2 Comments

Filed under Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | April 11, 2012

Bella’s Easter…burning down the house…almost!

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

Bella’s 2012 Easter re-cap…food…food & more food!!!

I haven’t celebrated Easter with my mum & dad since about 2007, so this Easter was definitely special…weaved in with errors & nearly burning down the house!

Easter like Christmas at my mum & dad’s house is wonderful, we joke, we laugh, we celebrate life, we talk of the old times, of those that have left us. We listen to dad or mum reminisce about life in Poland, our move to Australia & we share all of this around the dinning table that is filled with food as far as the eye can see!

Polish Easter breakfast table...1/2 full!

The Easter festivities that I am used to can go on for hours & hours! It’s fair to say that when you go to a Polish person’s  house for Easter lunch you can be sure that if you sit down at the table around noon you will most likely still be still sitting there come dinner time having plenty of fun & amazing food!

The Easter Sunday table is filled with delicacies that you have abstained from over the last few days in lieu of fasting & some how even though you may have eaten ham only a few days ago…it still manages to taste different on Easter Sunday.

One of many cured meat platters!

Growing up our Easter festivities would start for us on Good Friday, the day would be spent in the kitchen preparing all the dishes for the next few days. I had two favourite tasks, dyeing the eggs for the traditional Easter basket blessing ceremony called Swienconka  & making salatka – Polish root vegetable salad.

Polish Easter Basket

The tradition behind Swienconka, which is said to date back to the 15th century or even earlier is that you fill the basket with a sample of the foods that will be eaten on Easter Sunday, each item is supposed to be of symbolic religious significance. Whether you are religious or not, it really is a sight to see & a lovely experience.

So my first Easter with the family since 2007…I had to impress! I had managed to WOW the family with my first Makowiec last year so I had to top it! I had scoured endless Polish books for recipes & settled for two traditional sweet dishes…Sernik which translates to Cheesecake & Babka which is baked in a bundt cake tin…too easy…or so I thought!

Queue a comedy of errors!

Error No.1 - For the Babka I had realised that I had no bundt tin! Easily solved…run up the back alleyway to Blondie’s house!

Error No. 2 -  Let the Babka cool down fully before you try to tip the tin over…if you dont it will split in half. I had 1/2 of mine left in the tin!

I had managed to somehow scrape the half that was stuck to the cake tin & stick it on the bottom half. It wasn’t too bad once I laced it with lemon & icing sugar syrup! The issue was that it was a white chocolate & almond meal Babka…so quite sticky & dense. I had brushed the tin with butter but it still got stuck.

The cheesecake  is made from farm cheese, a fairly dry cheese. It is not a cheese that you will find in most Coles or Woollies.

I had bought 1.2 kg, the recipe called for 1 kg, I figured that I would use the other on sandwiches, little did I know how much I would be counting on it later!

I started this recipe at 10pm…yes I do cook late at night due to the fact that everyone in my household is asleep by then & I have peace & quiet…most nights!

Cheesecake enters the oven at 11 pm so with husband sleep on the couch I thought I would check in on Imogen who should have been asleep by now in her bed…wrong! With the excitement of the Easter bunny coming on Sunday & us travelling to mum’s house Imogen was finding it difficult to get to sleep so I decided to lay down with her but only for 10 minutes max!…knowing full well that I had to keep my eyes wide open as I had my ”pièce de résistance” in the oven!

I had just managed to lie down when I found hubby standing over me saying “what the hell are you cooking in the oven at 1 am in the morning woman!”           I am not quite sure how I made it down the stairs but I did & of course I was greeted by a very burnt cake in the oven!

Error No. 3 - I had dozed off!

Fast forward 6 hours & all was not lost! I still had 500 g of cheese left! With ingredients halved & cheesecake part 2 in the oven it was time for a coffee refill! It was then that my heart stopped yet again! The oven was off & the cake was not even close to being baked!

A few hundred swear words had left my mouth at this stage! The oven had died! Yes…my cake part 2 was sitting in a luke warm oven doing nothing! “I can still do this” said the little voice in my head! So I called Blondie in despair & ran with gloves & cake in hand down my back lane way & shoved the cake in her oven & hoped for the best!

That evening seeing mum cut into the cheesecake was intense, but seeing dad taste it & give it his sign of approval brought a little tear to my eye.

Food is beautiful & I love how it brings family together & lets you have a laugh…even if you do almost burn the house down!

Click here for recipe

I passed with flying colours with both cakes! I can’t wait for a very Polish Christmas!

xxx Bella :)

 

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Leave a Comment

Filed under Desserts, Polish food, Recipes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | October 8, 2011

Pulla – Korvapuusti

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Finnish Cardamon Rolls

Pulla

Click here for recipes

These are my childhood, well actually, my life – and now my son’s!

These Finnish coffee scrolls are eaten all year round and where ever there is coffee being consumed (Finland juggles with Norway as the country that drinks the most coffee in the world!). There are 3 main ways of having them… round like a plain bun, plaited into a loaf which is sliced – grandpa’s favourite, along with a very thick slathering of butter on top, dipped into his strong coffee… and finally the scrolls with sugar and cinnamon rolled through it. This is my favourite way of having them, along with every kid who ever gets a chance to try them!

I have done two recipes for this Pulla, one for hand kneading and one if using a bread maker. They are slightly different, but both work beautifully.

I also have another recipe – Pulla bread and butter pudding – after burning my first batch of hand kneaded Pulla! There was no way I was going to let all that effort go to waste!

Recipe for Pulla bread and butter pudding

Enjoy!

Blondie

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Leave a Comment

Filed under Desserts, Dough, Finnish food, Recipes

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 7, 2011

Apple slice – Szarlotka

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Click here for recipe

If I had to make a choice between sweet and savoury I would definitely go savoury, unless a plate of my mum’s yummy apple slice other wise known as Szarlotka was put in front of me!

It’s a Polish version of the ‘apple pie’ and to put it simply its YUM!

The recipe I have posted here is one that my mum has been making for years and if challenged she could most likely make it from scratch with her eyes closed!  It’s a recipe that takes me back to my childhood memories, especially the ones where I could have endless slices and not worry about the side effects like counting the calories!

Mum would always let the cake rest and cool first before serving it up, but I love it whilst its still warm and sometimes have some vanilla ice cream on the side!

… enjoy

Bella :)

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Leave a Comment

Filed under Desserts, Polish food, Recipes

Tagged as , , , ,

by | September 6, 2011

Poppy Seed Cake

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

Makowiec – Polish Poppy Seed Cake

Click here for recipe

 

Picking my first recipe for the blog was exciting, challenging and scary! It brought back very special memories of growing up.

When we moved to Australia, mum tried her best to keep a traditional Polish kitchen but it was always subject to seasonal produce and the Australian climate. Having a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner on the 24th of December was a little difficult in 35 degree heat! However, hats off to mum as she has done an amazing job keeping a Polish kitchen.

For my first blog I have attempted to make my very first Makowiec…Poppy Seed Cake. Makowiec is very popular with Poles especially during Easter and Christmas and delicious with a cup of coffee! It’s actually very rare to turn up to a Polish party and not have this cake on the menu!

The combination of poppy seeds and the yeasty cake gives it a lovely moist, crunchy like texture. The key to a successful poppy seed cake is  to ensure that you mince the poppy seeds 3-4 times to ensure you get rid of the grittiness.  Yes, it is a little labour intensive, however the taste is amazing… just ask Blondie.

Making the cake for the first time suddenly gave me an appreciation of the great care mum took with the yeast to ensure that it would rise. There were times when the dough would be wrapped in a warm blanket and put in a dark warm place, away from noise to make it grow. I remember how mum would whisper that noise would spoil the dough and it would not grow, I used to giggle at this theory.

On my 2nd attempt, when the dough failed I found myself suddenly applying all of mum’s old school techniques… no matter how strange they were!

My main tip for this cake is to use fresh yeast when possible, the results are much better…and yes, the whispering helps!

Bella

PinterestPrintPrintFriendlyShare

2 Comments

Filed under Polish food

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,