Round-up BBB June edition: Ka'ak

Despite the summer heat,( which is completely gone now. As I am writing this it is pouring!) we had fun baking this bread and found there was only one Buddy baking! I waited an extra day but alas, not other takers for our Buddy Badge.

The first and (only) to mail me with results was Gilead, who not only made a vegan version but also baked the Ka'ak in this interesting oven (see below). Now I want one too! I really think I need such an oven in my life!

Imagine the kind of pizza's and flatbreads you will make....








Well done Gilead! Thank you for baking with us, you're a real trooper!

and again with results: Baking Rgaïf....

I was so proud to be able to stretch the dough thin, almost see through thin. Then I folded the sides inwards just like the pictures at Lien's show you.

Right from the get go I can tell you that it was so much easier than I thought! What a dork am I to let my fear hold me back. Then again, this being a flatbread... this flatbread did exactly what all flatbreads do to me:
they puff.

At that point they already started to look puffy. Touching  the hot surface of the pan (I used a crepe pan) up up they went. Barely touching the surface they tiptoed through their baking time. The result was a delicious smell, a lovely outer crunch but still doughy -undercooked- inside.

 Please tell me; what am I doing wrong? I can think of several things:

- I used bread flour and a mix of amaranth/quinoa   --> too elastic, too bready?
- Too impatient? A hot pan and thus short cooking time?
- Not thin enough? I really did my best to stretch the dough real real thin but when folding up again I got a thickness back.

I took really reallly horrible pictures (here's looking at my fellow Babes with their master pictures. Yes you! All of you! I am crying over my ugly but lovely Rgaïf with a dollop of hummus)

One of the pictures perfectly shows my thought process...

fold in quarters... hmm not going anywhere, puffing up and undercooked
fold in quarters then stretched again... terribly out of shape and still puffing and undercooking
unfold in half with a little butter in the pan... mwah
try again... half fold... bare pan... mwah
try again... bare pan.. stretched some more... doesn't look nice
hey.. let's try some very finely sliced spring onions in it....munches half.. nice! Doesn't look good but nice!
Oh bother... ugly words... flap it in the pan as is. Unfolded and deeply stretched... woohaa.. not nice but cooked!

Sheesh.

I better test another one with the hummus I made. A very nice one I might add. (Humus not Rgaif).

Lien, I'm coming over to your place and please teach me how to do this?!

Bread Baking Buddies show Aloo Paratha! The roundup:

And off we go; our Buddies came through with their version of our November bake: Aloo Paratha! So this is show-and-tell-time, or maybe it's show me your stuffing time? We were glad to see we weren't the only ones trying to keep our filling from escaping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First let me introduce you to Sunita over at My Foodlab, where we all had more or less trouble in keeping the filling in while rolling the parathas as flat as possible Sunita added an extra challenge by making a filling with radishes... radishes ooze liquid... and still she made beautiful paratha!




Beautifully crisp parathas with an original yummy filling were made by Carola, at Sweet and that's it, look at how thin and crispy they are:


Renee shows us her non-traditional baking at Kudos Kitchen, she made crunchy potato pockets and used leftover potato mash in the filling, clever!



Gilad baked along for the 13th time (we're flattered and happy!!) send me a link to his blog and shows us the process in pics as well, have a look:



And if you weren't already hungry you should take a closer look at these beauties! Lucille baked and send me her picture.... I want a plate of those! (yes please and some of that dip!)

Sandie blogs at Crumbs of Love and send her daughter to school with leftover parathas... I wouldn't mind such a lunchbox! Gorgeous filling there as well:



Ivy showed her first ever Buddy Bake and paratha's at our facebook group:


As did Louise; Louise took a very practical approach, no rolling? Then just push and flatten and see how forgiving this recipe is:



I am happy to see so many of you baking with us, our next challenge is underway and we hope you find some gap in your busy December schedule to bake along with us. We will post as always on the 16th and I can already tell you that Lien will invite us at her kitchen table to be our Kitchen of the Month. Stay tuned!

Thanks again Buddies for baking with us!

Bread Baking Babes roll it all out: Aloo Paratha

Aloo Paratha, that's what I chose when it was my turn to bake for November. I saw the recipe earlier and immediately though that that should be the one. I don't know what it is with flatbreads that grab my attention. I think they are hard to get right (yes really) and somehow they are a comforting kind of bread for me. In my minds eye there's always a stack of flatbreads wrapped in a vibrantly colored cotton towel, a warm damp kitchen, a wooden table and some thick spicy curry steaming in an earthenware pot with a sturdy spoon resting against the rim....

Dream along with me?


Now what is a paratha? A parantha/paratha is an Indian unleavened flat-bread. The word Paratha (Parantha in Punjab) is an amalgamation of the words parat = layers and atta= flour. They are supposed to be crisp and brown on the outside and the inner part should consist of thin and soft layers.
This paratha we are going to bake here has a savoury filling of potatoes and herbs. But.. and that's the fun part, we are not restricted to that, I think spinach (sauteed and pressed to get rid of the liquid) would be great, as well as leek. A fun bread to bake! Follow the recipe or make it your own.

Mark Bittman uses a recipe he learned from Indian cook and cookbook writer Julie Sahni, her recipe, modified.

Aloo Parantha
("how to cook everything by Mark Bittman")

1.1/2 c whole wheat flour
1.1/2 c ap flour plus more for rolling out the dough
salt
1 ts ajwain* dried thyme, or ground cumin
2 tbs neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, plus more for brushing the breads
1.1/2 pounds starchy potatoes, peeled and cut in half (I think that is way too much! See notes)
1 jalapeño or other fresh hot chile, seeded and minced or more to taste
2 tsp ground coriander
freshly ground pepper
juice of 1/2 small lemon
melted butter

*ajwain comes from carom seeds which look like celery but taste like very strong, slightly coarse thyme

Directions

• Combine the flours with 1 teaspoon salt and the thyme in a food processor. Turn the machine on and add the oil and 3/4 cup water through the feed tube. Process for about 30 seconds, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough and, using flour as necessary, shape into a ball; wrap in plastic and let rest while you make the potato mixture. (At this point, you may wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for up to a day or freeze for up to a week; bring back to room temperature before proceeding.)
• 
  
• Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and add water to cover and a large pinch of salt. Turn the heat to high, bring to a boil, and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers steadily; cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes, then drain. Mash the potatoes along with half the chile, the coriander, a large pinch of salt, some pepper, and the lemon juice; taste and adjust the seasoning (you may prefer more chile; sometimes aloo paratha are quite hot).
• When the dough has rested, set out a bowl of all-purpose flour and a small bowl of oil, with a spoon or brush, on your work surface. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin. Break off a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball. Toss it in the bowl of flour and then roll it in your hands to make a ball. Flatten it into a 2-inch disk, then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a thin round, about 5 inches in diameter, dusting with flour as necessary.
• 
  

• Mound about 2 tablespoons of the filling into the center of one of the rounds of dough. Bring the edges of the round up over the top of the filling and press them together to make a pouch. Press down on the “neck” of the pouch with the palm of one hand to make a slightly rounded disk. Turn the disk in the bowl of flour and roll it out again into a round 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Pat it between your hands to brush off the excess flour. Put the paratha on a plate and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Continue to roll all of the remaining dough into parathas and stack them on the plate with a sheet of plastic wrap between them. You can keep the paratha stacked like this for an hour or two in the refrigerator before cooking them if necessary.
• 
  
• Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for a minute or two, then put on a paratha (or two, if they’ll fit) and cook until it darkens slightly, usually less than a minute. Flip the paratha with a spatula and cook for another 30 seconds on the second side. Use the back of a spoon or a brush to coat the top of the paratha with oil. Flip and coat the other side with oil. Continue cooking the paratha until the bottom of the bread has browned, flip, and repeat. Do this a few times until both sides of the paratha are golden brown and very crisp, 2 to 3 minutes total for each paratha. As the paratha finish, remove them from the pan and brush with melted butter if you’re going to serve hot; otherwise wait until you’ve reheated them.
•  

I am sure you all can come up with more variations on filling than I can mention here, but I do like the sound of garam masala with the potatoes, spring onions and peas instead of potatoes, or maybe cauliflower...

This is a link to the recipe in the Huffington Post (in which Mark warns us that it may sound like "carbohydrate overkill)

My notes:

- Of course I had some difficulty rolling the dough into a disk... my whole wheat stayed  a bit course and the dough a bit too dry so it didn't relax enough. I found that rolling them a second time after some rest worked wonders.

- I really liked the flavour of these, don't be too shy in adding herbs and flavour, they can use some spice!

- I didn't get crisp through and through they stayed a little pancakey but that wasn't bad at all. Not sure if they are meant to get all crispy?

- Potatoe filling in mine, my spices were falafel, parsley and fresh cilantro. I could have added a green pepper for a bit of oomph.

- Loads of left over filling, too much filling will ooze out so I only used a scant two table spoons in each. You could safely do with half of the mentioned potatoes.

go forth and bake my girls!

And when you do, please send me the link to your post at bakemyday AT gmail DOT com with Aloo Paratha in the subject line before 29th November so I can send you that much coveted Buddy Badge!
Please check with the other Babes to see how creative they made their Aloo Paratha's!

Lacy Coconut Milk Pancakes {There's a hole in my bucket}

Name that song!

We travel to Penang for dinner and tonight oldest son and I have been trying our hands at Roti Jala {Lacy Coconut Milk Pancakes} and there was supposed to be some handiwork involved hence the hole in the bucket...

Again we are baking a recipe from Flatbreads & Flavors and match it with another one (or two…) from the book, providing a full meal for the family.

See, to make the pancakes lacy, the thin pancake batter is poured in a slow swirling motion onto the hot pan. Using a roti jala pourer. Right. A Roti Jala Pourer can be made by punching six holes in the bottom of a tin can; pour the batter in and swirl away! Believe me, I was all set to use the coconut cream can to punch holes in and then Elizabeth came to the rescue by using a squeeze bottle!
HAH! Justified. Running for the squeeze bottle!


To accompany the pancakes we made Gulai Ayam {Coconut Milk Chicken Curry} a mild curry where you roast fresh ground spices, combine them with a peppers/shallot/ginger/garlic/nuts paste and then slowly simmer with coconut milk. For me this was a tad too bland (I forgot to add the salt and maybe I added too much coconut milk) but the flavours were promising. Also the smell of the roasted paste and spices is just heavenly.
Then I decided we needed something crispy as well and quickly put together the Four Thread Salad (page 88). Another chapter in the book and a different continent altogether but this salad was the jackpot of our dinner! A lovely combination of vegetables (very adaptable) and the dressing is salty with a kick.

I think for this occasion I’m allowed to post a recipe from the book, slightly adapted to suit my pantry.

Four Thread Salad
(Flatbreads & Flavors, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid)
2 oz Mung bean threads (or cellophane noodles/glass noodles)
(prepare according to package directions)
1/2 pound carrots, scraped and julienned
1 tsp salt** (didn’t use)1/2 tsp sugar (didn’t use sugar)
1  English cucumber (peeled, deseeded, julienned)
2 to 3 scallions (julienned both green and white)
* added a green bell pepper also julienned
* added a bunch of crunchy deep fried mung bean threads on top

Dressing1 large clove garlic finely minced
1/4 tsp salt  (I really don’t think you need this with the soy sauce already being salty!)
1/4 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp roasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp dried chile pepper flakes

Medium sized bowl, colander, small bowl

**Note re the salt in this recipe:  my son put this together and I think he did follow the recipe in the book (he is out now so I can’t ask him) but we all thought this was a tad salty. So next time I will leave out all added salt and taste first before adding.

Put sliced carrots in the medium bowl.

Use half of the tsp salt to sprinkle the sliced cucumber and toss. Let stand for 15 minutes, rinse briefly under cold running water and squeeze to drain. (Eh Oops? I didn’t do this at all! I just peeled, deseeded and sliced the cucumber. Yes, it was quite wet, so do as I say and not as I did!)

Add to the carrots in the bowl. Stir in the drained (and if you like cut to 2 inch lengths) mung beans and the sliced scallions and stir to combine. At this point I added the sliced green bell pepper as well.
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together in the small bowl. Pour over the salad and toss gently to coat. Serve at room temperature. The authors state that this salad taste best serves an hour or two after is has been dressed, also you can prepare ahead and refrigerate to serve later. Make sure you let it get to room temp again.

Just for fun and extra crispness I deep fried a bunch of noodles and arranged them on top. My kids love that.  They swell up and get all crispy in funny crinkly shapes (eeh… the noodles, not the kids!!!)
You know what?? I would love to try this salad sans dressing in rice paper wrapping and use the dressing as a dip. Or use lettuce leaf, roll up and dip. Oh boy I think I’m on to something. Maybe add slivers roast beef to it? Shrimp?

Wooha! I forgot I made my sweet and sour cucumber as an extra side dish! Easy peasy and so good.
Use another peeled deseeded cucumber sliced in thin half moons. Make a sugar syrup using 3 tbs water in which you dissolve 2 tbs sugar and reduce to a syrup. From the heat add 2 tbs (a splash ;-) white wine vinegar, pour over the cucumber and let cool.

On bathing pork and pressing matters {flatbreads and flavours} Chile-bathed Pork and Flour Tortillas

*Tock tock* this thing on? Helloooo? José? Are you there? Got a question man. Can you help me out?
See, I’ve got the book.
The pork.
the garlic
the corn oil
the fresh oregano (freeze dried because it’s a freaking 18 below zero here)
The masa harina. I think.
 
Listen José:
The pork is in the bath.
…
Yes.
…
No really, a bath.
…
No of course I couldn’t find dried red New Mexico chiles. No, no dried guajillos either.
…
Yeah yeah I asked. I’m afraid they think I’m a little wacko or have a speech disability. So I used hot sambal. That’s an Indonesian chili puree. I squeezed about 3 tbs in the blender. Then added 3 garlic cloves, 3 dried tomatoes, 1 tbs oregano, squeezed some lime juice in it, added a quartered onion and for good measure added 1 tsp of dried chipotle flakes and 1/2 cup of water. Blitzed to a smooth paste.
That was the bath the pork bathed in. Swimming merrily for 24 hours in the fridge. Cool!

Then… José?? Still there??
I had my masa harina which I guess was indeed harina but not very much masa… at least it didn’t develop into a dough (more like wet sand, no cohesion at all). No way José!

Started again and made a nice little dough out of plain flour and water. That worked! Divided in two… again and again until I had 16 round disks.
Hey José you’re back!?
…
I know they are not round.
They’re not very disk-ey either right?
Well I suppose your mama and your sister can make much prettier tortillas. In fact I am certain they can. I bow deep because well I tried and I couldn’t. They were quite tasty though. I don’t own a tortilla press so I did the dough-inbetween-two-ziplock-bag-and-roll thing.
…
You don’t need to laugh that hard. I really tried!
…
Well here they are:

Volledig album bekijken

Thank you José, I too do think they look very pretty. We really really liked the chile-bathed pork! It was so incredibly spicy but apparently so very good that even my cautious husband and twins had seconds.
I fried the meat in a little oil until nicely browned, then added a can of red chili beans and a bag of fresh spinach. Tossed until wilted. Really really yummy!

This is not just me, there's a bunch of us cooking from Flatbreads and Flavors providing ourselves and our loved ones with a intercontinental journey on our dining tables.