Bread Baking Babes: Sugar bread or Sûkerbôlle! / Fries suikerbrood

(In het Nederlands? Even scrollen!)
Are we hot or what? This month we are the Sugababes! And we'll be singing the praise of a sweet bread. Monique at Living on Bread and Water, presided the table in our Kitchen of the Month and made us bake a Dutch loaf full of sugar, with a hint of cinnamon and ginger! This bread is the pride of Friesland in the north of Holland; land of blue skies, clear water, white sails, skates and black and white cows.

Sugar is definitely the star of this show, the sugar that is used in this loaf is a pearl sugar, available in lumps, clumps or grains. At least.... here in Holland! Luckily these are easily substituted by smashing some regular sugar cubes to bits. You'll want fairly large bits of sugar, the idea is that you'll find moist pockets of sugary goo with some discernable sugar clumps throughout your bread.

The ginger syrup used is one we can buy bottled here. It is a by product of candied or preserved ginger. Preserved ginger here is usually found in jars of stem ginger in syrup, either in marble sized balls, or slivers as shown below. Not to be found in the US? Lynn to the rescue! Thanks to her recipe, we all had ginger syrup. Home made ginger syrup, now how sweet is that?

The recipe is very straight forward:
(this is a slight adaptation from the recipe Monique gave us, less butter more liquid)

500 gr all purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1.1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons of ginger-syrup **
180 gr luke warm milk
50 gr unsalted softened butter
2 eggs
150 gr pearl sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or some more...)

Knead a dough with all of the ingredients except the sugar and cinnamon. Resulting dough will be soft, silky and supple. Let it rise for 45 minutes.

Next fold in the sugar and cinnamon and knead to combine. Don't add the sugar until after that first rise, it will attract moisture from your dough and melt away. Incorporating the sugar grains is hard at first, the dough won't accept it easily. It might seem rude but I feel the best way to do it is flattening the dough ball, sprinkle sugar mix on top, fold dough over itself again and use a plastic dough scraper to cut into the dough, separating large chunks and gathering those again. (Works magic with any filled loaf such as e.g. stollen) This way it's quick to adjust to the sugar grains, resulting in streaks of cinnamon and sugar throughout the dough, kind of marbled effect.

Shape a regular loaf by flattening it in a rectangle and making a business letter turn; left side to the center, right side to the center, quarter turn and roll up. Put in a loaf tin, seam side down. Make sure the tin is thoroughly greased. Lots of butter! And then some more! Or, grease and line with -greased- parchment paper. All this sugar will stick! Cover and let rise for another 20-25 minutes. Monique suggests to sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top for a caramel glaze...

Bake in a preheated oven 200C/400F for about 30 minutes. Take care it doesn't brown too much before it's completely done. Top with foil if that happens.
Great breakfast bread either fresh or toasted with a generous lick of butter! Afternoon tea,.... Incredibly yummy! Bread Baking Buddies info: please scroll all the way down, right past those yummy pics!

** Made a supply of ginger syrup? Add some in your salad dressing, use in a marinade for pork ribs, add to cookie or cake batter, use some to add to your sateh-sauce, spoon over ice cream, add to a chicken curry... Possibilities are endless!

Recept Suikerbrood:
500 gr bloem
2 tl droge gist
1.1/2 tl salt
3 el gember siroop
180 gr lauwwarme melk
50 gr zachte ongezoute boter
2 eieren
150 gr parel suiker gemengd met 1 tl kaneel

Deeg maken met alle ingrediënten behalve de suiker en kaneel. Laat dit zachte en soepele deeg ong. 45 min. op een warme plaats rijzen tot het ongeveer verdubbeld is. Dan de suiker met kaneel door het deeg werken door het deeg in een rechthoek te duwen en de suiker hierop te strooien, vouw het deeg dan dubbel en met behulp van een deegschraper kun je nu grote stukken "snijden" die je vervolgens weer bij elkaar raapt en doorkneedt.

Vorm nu je brood door het deeg weer in een rechthoek te duwen, linkerzijde naar het midden vouwen, rechterzijde naar het midden vouwen, beetje plat duwen en vanaf de bovenkant oprollen. Met de naad naar beneden in een zéér goed beboterd broodblik leggen. Echt heel goed invetten, de suiker plakt ontzettend!! Eventueel kun je ook je bakblik bekleden met bakpapier of een aluminium wegwerp vorm gebruiken.
Afbakken op 200C, ong. 30 minuten. Bread Baking Buddies: Come on and bake with us! As usual for those of you who would like to join us and be a Bread Baking Buddy, please bake this Sugar Loaf, post on your blog and send the link to the post to Monique's before midnight on the 8th of October. She will round up all Baking Buddies in her Kitchen of the Month at Living on Bread and Water and send you your well deserved Buddy Badge!

My Bread Baking Babes Sisters: Notitie Van Lien (Lien), My Kitchen In Half-Cups (Tanna), Cookie Baker Lynn (Lynn), I like To Cook (Sara) , Grain Doe (Gorel), Living on Bread and Water (Monique), Lucullian Delights (Ilva), Babes on Hiatus this month are Mary and Katie.

Daring Bakers September: a shattering challenge!

Ding Dong! It's time for another challenge! This month the Daring Bakers were to make lavash, the challenge issued by our wonderful hosts: Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel of Musings From The Fishbowl. Great to see some savoury again, even more wonderful that this recipe is easy to make gluten free or vegan. Every month there are quite some really Daring Bakers that make the challenges accomodating for their restrictions. Way to go girls!

The recipe can be found either on the hostesses blogs or in Peter Reinhards the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I remember making these crackers before but also had a faint notice that they were good but not thin enough to shatter.

This time I used a pasta machine to roll my dough as thin as I dared. Absolutely thinner than before so that part of the plan worked. Toppings were simple; bands of sesame seeds, oregano, ground spanish red pepper, coarse sea salt and cumin. Tasty if only they stayed on top of the crackers... One part of the dough was reserved for a sweet break; cinnamon and sugar.



We were also asked to make a dipping (staying vegan and/or glutenfree). I chose to make a favourite; my roasted bell pepper spread, spicy with garlic and chili's. A perfect companion for these. Another combo was made with a feisty peach chipotle jam.... Verdict: Easy to make dough, pasta roller definitely simplifies the rolling job. Would spread the dough with a bit of oil to attach the sprinkling to the top. Still, even with the herbs sprinkled a dip is needed to get some boost. I loved the variation of this challenge, (no butter, eggs and chocolate), original, versatile and diet friendly! Kudos!!

Turkish lessons and Apfel Strudel

Taken in that order might save you from a weird experience. Let's say I'm a sucker for any food item I don't know. Show me something that is not at all or maybe remotely familiar and I'm tempted to buy or try. (Apart from items that should be left under the stone they crawled out under or hidden by the body where they have a function.) That being said, present it to me in a exotic language and you never know what happens...

Turkish. Yes. If I had any prior knowledge of the turkish language maybe I might have seen that the filo dough I bought in huge sheets was salted. Salted a lot. In fact, so much so that the first tentative bite of my apfelstrudel went straight into the bin. To be followed by the rest. Any idea how "heavily salted dough" spells in Turkish? Because I have another two packages of dough sheets in my pantry, one triangle filo and one durum tortilla.... or so I think....

The filling however was great. Try it. Use filo. Any kind. Unsalted.

Apfelstrudel Filling:

3 large eating apples (Jonagold, Golden delicious, Cox), peeled, cored and cubed

60 gr sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.1/2 tbs rum

60 gr raisins (cranberries!)

60 gr currants (dried figs!)

1 tbs custard powder/corn starch / tapioca

40 gr toasted walnut pieces / hazelnuts / pine nuts

2 heaped tbs abricot jam

75 gr butter, melted

breadcrumbs

Combine apple, cinnamon, sugar, dried fruit, nuts and jam in a small sauce pan and let sweat for a couple of minutes. Off the heat, add your choice of starch to thicken the juices and stir to combine.

Use this filling in large sheets of buttered filo dough, and roll up jelly-roll fashion. Bake in a moderate oven 350F / 175C until golden brown, brush with left over butter and sprinkle with -powdered- sugar.

Gadgets that work: Nutmeg grater!

This is the new and improved version of the old. For years I've had an oblong metal grater with that little knob on top where you could store the nutmeg in use. I've grated with pleasure, enjoying the fresh smell and grated knuckles. But now my dear readers, you could say I've upgrated..This little one has got the looks, the style, the name and oh yes, this baby works! I'm in love.

Grooming

Do you know how long it takes to get lipstick off my coat? I don't care about pigs nor pitbulls but never ever put lipstick on a cat!

First of all my shiny velvet robe is brilliant enough without any embellishments.

Second, the red clashes with my cinnamon streaks.

Third, it's all about content people.

I am far too busy chasing my sister around the house and garden to be occupied with this grooming thing. Love to sneak up on her from around the corner and go Banzai!!! We leave all these clumps of hair around the house and our ladyboss does this sighing and muttering thing.

Fun!

Hijacked her blog to enter WCB this weekend, LB is our host; seems he has the place all to himself now, hmm, wonder if we can come over for a bit of fun. Let's do some chasing LB!

Disclaimer: my ladyboss (she who owns the blog), is of the opinion cats don't talk, lest write. Pah!

On their way to

three weeks into their new school year, survived and enjoyed the "get to know each other" schoolcamp, had their first batches of homework. Mom feeling like a little Viagra pill during the first week keeping spirits up and happy.

With tears in his voice Son nr. 3 announced yesterday he was ready to go back to his old school. Familiar surroundings, no stress, no home work, less confusing. The fact that he fell off his bike yesterday and tumbled into some thorn bushes (Ouch!) didn't help either.
Just as you think you know your kids they surprise you. I would have thought this particular one would have the least trouble adjusting and now he is going through a bit of a rough patch. Homework for him is like it's written in a foreign language -well, it is actually, French, English, math) and he can't grab the notion that he doesn't need to answer the questions in his workbook by heart, that it is all written down in his books, that all he needs to do is read!

Read....well yes, reading is not only going through the motions of moving eyes across the sentences with or without lipsync but actually understanding what is written out there. No honey you don't have to memorize it, just read so you'll be able to answer the questions, it's all there, believe me! And there he goes, quivering lips, reading again and doggy big brown eyes up to me: Mam... I've read it and what do I write down now? Together we go through the questions, spell out the answers and he writes.

Yes honey, that's right but you accidently wrote it in the wrong place you see?

Nothing that time couldn't help I hope but I feel so sorry for him.

Lush Triple Chocolate cake / Succes Chocoladetaart

(for English, please scroll)

Dit recept is zo langzamerhand een gouwe ouwe aan het worden bij verjaardagen, zeker voor de chocoholics in dit huis.

Cake
(maakt 2 cakes)
250 gr boter
250 gr pure chocolade, gebroken
2 el espresso oploskoffie
2oo ml heet water
150 gr zelfrijzend bakmeel
150 gr bloem
60 gr cacaopoeder
1/2 tl baking soda
550 gr suiker (slik!)
4 eieren
2 el olie
125 ml karnemelk

Ganache/Glazuur
250 gr pure chocolade, in kleine stukjes
125 ml room
140 gr witte basterdsuiker

Nodig:
2 ingevette ronde springvormen, 22 cm
Oven voorverwarmen 160grC

• Roer boter, chocolade en koffiepoeder met 2 dl heet water op laag vuur tot boter en chocolade zijn opgelost en het mengsel glad is. Haal de pan van het vuur.


• Zeef bloem, zelfr. bakmeel, cacao en baking soda samen in een grote kom. Roer de suiker erdoor en maak een kuiltje. Eieren, olie, karnemelk in het kuiltje en met een metalen lepel langzaam en zorgvuldig vanaf de rand samenroeren. Eenmaal gemengd, roer dan het gesmolten chocolademengsel erdoor.


• Schep het mengsel in de vormen en bak in de voorverwarmde oven. Tijd: ca. 60 minuten maar begin met testen na ongeveer 45 minuten.


• Laat in de vorm afkoelen en storten wanneer hij echt helemaal koud is.

Je kunt ervoor kiezen om 1 cake in te vriezen, of de beide taarten te stapelen met een vulling naar keuze ertussen. In dit geval heb ik maar 1 cake gebruikt die ik overlangs heb doorgesneden en gevuld heb met een heel dun laagje frambozen gelei en caramelsaus.

Voor de glazuur:

• laat alle ingredienten in een steelpan op laag vuur smelten. Breng het mengsel aan de kook, zet het vuur laag en laat nog 4-5 minuten sudderen. Blijf er wel bij om te voorkomen dat de chocolade aan gaat zetten. Het resultaat is een glanzende dikke saus die een prachtig half hard laagje vormt op de cake.


• Laat het mengsel iets afkoelen, leg een rooster op een bakplaat of groot bord en zet de taart hierop. Giet het glazuur in een straal in het midden van de taart, zwaartekracht doet de rest! Eventueel kun je een beetje helpen met een plat glazuurmes/pannekoekmes.

Je zult waarschijnlijk glazuur overhouden, dit kun je in een afgesloten pot in de koelkast zeker 2 weken goedhouden. Heerlijk om bijvoorbeeld fruit in te dopen, bij ijs of toetjes of -erg luxe- op brood! Iets warmer maken door de pot in heet water te zetten, de inhoud bain marie weer te warmen of -héél voorzichtig- in de magnetron.
Chocolate, cocoa, chocolate ganache.... 1,2,3!
Your choice of filling; either pastry cream, fruit/jam, whipped cream or caramel sauce.
Rich? Definitely!
I promise, this recipe works every single time.

Cake
(makes 2 cakes)

250 gr butter
250 gr bittersweet chocolate, in pieces
2 Tbs espresso powdered coffee
2oo ml hot water
150 gr zelfrising flour
150 gr ap pastry flour
1/2 cup (60 gr) cacaopoeder
1/2 tl baking soda
550 gr sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbs oil
125 ml buttermilk

Ganache/Glaze
250 gr dark chocolate, in chunks
125 ml single cream
140 gr soft white sugar

You'll need:
2 buttered/oiled springforms, 22 cm
Preheat oven 160grC
Baking time: approx. 60 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, combine butter, chocolate and espresso powder with the hot water and heat on low until all is melted and the mix is smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, sift flours, baking soda, cocoa, whisk in sugar en make a well in the middle. Combine eggs, oil and buttermilk and stir with a metal spoon to combine thoroughly. Once combined, add the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and stir to mix.

Pour the batter in the springforms and bake for approx. 60 minutes. Start testing with a skewer after 45 minutes. Skewer needs to come out clean and dry.

Let cool completely while still in the tins and unmold only when completely cooled.

Your choice: either use both cakes to stack and fill with your choice of filling. In this case I used only 1 of the cakes and froze the other. I sliced to get two layers and filled with a thin spread of raspberry jelly followed by a layer of caramel sauce, topped with the remaining layer of cake and
used the ganache to coat:

Ganache:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and melt on low heat while stirring. Bring to a soft boil, reduce the heat to very low again and leave to simmer for 4-5 minutes. Keep your eye on it to prevent from burning!

Let cool a little and pour over the center of your cake (positioned on a rack over a large plate), gravity will help you get a nice smooth and shiny layer.

Oh and eh... Happy Birthday to me!!! Yay!

Most amazing! Cheese-cake smoothie

(even scrollen voor Nederlands)

I wasn't supposed to drink until after I made the pictures; and I forgot! This really is something.. And it's healthy! There's yoghurt in there, milk and fruit, no ice cream but simple ice cubes, and I'll just briefly mention the creamcheesecookiescaramel. See, I told ya: healthy!

Cheese cake smoothie

125 ml milk

1 banana (or equal weight other fruit)

60 gr cream cheese

75 ml yoghurt

1 tbs caramel sauce (nutella...?)

2 drops vanilla (or vanilla sugar)

4 ice cubes

2 ginger cookies (healthier option: 4 tbs granola)

Because I like my cheese cake with a crust I added 2 ginger cookies. (Made them last week and there were only 10 left -out of 50-, that good!)

Combine in a blender, blend and enjoy!

Voor alle zekerheid toch even in het Nederlands, dit is echt iets om uit te proberen, heel vlug klaar, erg lekker en gezónd joh! Melk, yoghurt, fruit, geen ijs maar ijsklontjes, en als ik heel vlug over de roomkaaskoekjescaramel heen fiets merk je het niet. Zie je? Hartstikke gezond, zei ik toch?

Kwarktaart smoothie

125 ml melk
1 banaan (of ong. hetzelfde gewicht aan ander fruit)
60 gr roomkaas (je hebt zelfs light tegenwoordig dussss)
75 ml yoghurt
1 el caramel saus (chocolade pasta? kan ook!)
2 druppels vanille (of 1 tl vanille suiker)
4 ijsklontjes

2 gemberkoekjes (4 el muesli is ook lekker)

Alles samen in een blender, mixen en klaar!