Garlic Chive Pull Apart Bread Muffins
Thursday, September 20, 2012The pull apart bread has been popping up all over the place, and as a bread lover, I can’t wait to try it with a homemade fresh herb spread. For the herbs, I used a mix of Chinese garlic chives and basil, but use any combination that suits you. Alternatively, you can use a ready-made pesto sauce. I have chosen to leave out cheese as husband is not a fan of it. Besides pesto, nutella or peanut butter would be great alternatives for the filling too.
Poolish | Dough | Herb Spread |
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- Combine all ingredients of starter together in a mixing bowl. Cover with a plastic film and set aside at room temperature for 16 hours.
- Add in the rest of dough ingredients and mix on lowest speed for 3 minutes, then increase the speed, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Turn it out on a lightly floured work surface and gently knead for a few times. Return to the mixing bowl and proof, covered, for a further 30 minutes.
- Place all the ingredients of herb spread in a blender and process until combined.
- Divide the dough into 4 even portions. Roll each out into a 28x19-cm rectangle. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of herb paste on one rectangle, cover it with second rectangle, spread with 2-3 tablespoons of herb paste, top with third rectangle, then spread with herb paste, and top with the final rectangle. You might not need to use up all the spread. Cut into 18 pieces, each about 6x5.5-cm. Besides herb spread, you can also try the peanut butter filling.
- Place each stack into a muffin cup greased lightly with oil. Cover and proof for an hour or until about doubled in volume. Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Bake for 20 minutes until nicely golden and crisp.
Pumpkin Spelt Muffins with Peanuts and Ginger
Monday, September 17, 2012These spekulatius-spiced pumpkin muffins are moist and fresh in an airtight container for a few days, and freeze fairly well. They are the perfect treat for an autumn afternoon. If you don’t have spekulatius spice, use pumpkin pie spice or just cinnamon instead.
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- Preheat the oven 190C/375F. Line 12-14 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift ground whole grain spelt flour, refined spelt flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk together the roasted pumpkin puree, spekulatius spices, coconut oil, and coconut milk until well combined.
- Add the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix or muffins will be tough. Fold in chopped candied ginger and 100 grams of salted peanuts.
- Divide the batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with some peanuts. Bake on the upper oven rack for 25 to 30 minutes until nicely golden brown. Drizzle with caramel sauce if desired, and serve warm.
Stuffed Roasted Figs with Goat Cheese and Pistachios
Friday, September 14, 2012A stylish seasonal dish made from fresh ripe figs, creamy mild Chavroux, and crunchy pistachios, served with a green pepper grape syrup. You can serve this as an appetizer, a snack or even as a light dessert.
Stuffed Roasted Figs with Goat Cheese and Pistachios
adapted from Küchengötter
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- Place grape juice and 3 teaspoons of honey in a saucepan. Cook the mixture on high heat until it becomes syrupy, about 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Crush the green peppercorns with a mortar and pestle and add to the grape syrup. Finely chop the pistachios.
- In a bowl, stir together fresh goat cheese, 2 teaspoons of honey, thyme leaves, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Slice each fig in half lengthwise. Make a depression in the middle with the back of a teaspoon. Fill the depression with goat cheese filling. Place them in a baking dish. Switch the oven function to grill and roast the filled fig halves for 6-8 minutes until the goat cheese is lightly browned. Serve with the grape syrup.
Overnight Yogurt Sunflower Seed Bread Rolls
Tuesday, September 11, 2012This overnight bread, prepared with a mix of wholewheat and bread flours and 100% yogurt, has a crunchy crust and tender crumb with complex flavour and a beloved delicious sour tang due to the long, slow overnight fermentation.
Overnight Yogurt Sunflower Seed Bread Rolls
adapted from Hefe und mehr
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- Before you go to bed, dissolve fresh yeast with the yogurt in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, then add in remaining ingredients, except sunflower seeds. Stir first on slow speed until the dough comes together, then increase the speed and knead until it’s smooth. Cover with plastic film and proof overnight or up to 12 hours at the room temperature.
- Next morning roll dough on a well-floured work surface to 40 x 40 cm square. Fold each side in to meet in the middle, so you have a 20 x 20 cm square. Cut into 9 pieces. Brush the surface with water and coat with sunflower seeds. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and proof for 60 minutes.
- Place a roasting tray at the bottom of the oven and preheat to 250C/500F. Put the bread in the hot oven and pour a cup of boiling water into the roasting tray. Close the oven door and bake for about 20 minutes.
Roasted Hokkaido Coconut Soup
Saturday, September 08, 2012This seasonal pumpkin comfort soup is not only quick and easy to make, but unusual addition of coconut gives a velvety, creamy texture and sweet, tropical flavour to the soup.
Roasted Hokkaido Coconut Soup
adapted from essen und trinken
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- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Place the pumpkin cut side down on a roasting tray, and drizzle with a tablespoon of coconut oil. Place in the center of the oven and roast until the pumpkin is tender, about 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin flesh from its skin and set pumpkin aside until ready to use. Discard the skin.
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in remaining coconut oil, when hot, add in diced onion and sauté, stirring occasionally until lightly caramelized, 3-4 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and pumpkin to the pan and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and process with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the coconut milk to the soup and stir to combine. Place over low heat until soup is heated through. To serve, drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and garnish with coconut shreds or pomegranate pearls.
Tomato Goat Cheese Tartlets
Wednesday, September 05, 2012A French-inspired fresh cherry tomato tartlet recipe, baked in a buttery spelt-cornmeal crust with fresh goat cheese, thyme and served with balsamic syrup. An excellent way of using up an excess of home grown tomatoes.
Pâte Brisée | Filling |
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- Heap the flour and cornmeal on a counter and make a well. Put in the butter, salt, sugar and egg. Using your fingertips, mix until it has a grainy texture. Add in milk and incorporate gently with your fingertips until the dough begins to hold together. Gently knead 4 or 5 times until smooth. Roll it into a ball and flatten slightly into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before working with it.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 2-mm thickness. Using a 18-cm cutter or plate as a guide, cut out 4 circles. Use them to line 4 individual loose-bottom tart pans, 12-cm in diameter and 3-cm deep. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Prick the tart shell bases. Line the tart shells with baking parchment and fill with a layer with dried beans to weigh the dough down and prevent it from rising unevenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven setting to 170C/340F. Remove the beans and paper and return the pastry shells to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and leave them on a wire rack and let cool.
- Sprinkle each tart shell with one teaspoon of breadcrumb, then divide the fresh goat cheese onto the tart shells, and season with freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Fill in the tomatoes and drizzle the olive oil over. Bake in the center of the hot oven for 20-25 minutes.
Spelt and Oatmeal Bread Stars
Sunday, September 02, 2012Poolish sponge is a type of French starter made from the same amount, in weight, of flour and water with a very small amount of yeast, and left to ripe for a long time. This allows bread to develop its characteristic flavours and texture.
You can make the poolish anywhere between 8 and 16 hours before you start mixing the final dough. Poolish should be a wet mixture, very much like a thick pancake batter and when the surface is covered in tiny bubbles, it’s ready to use. Bread made with preferment also tends to keep better, compared to bread made from straight dough.
Spelt and Oatmeal Bread Stars
adapted from PloetzblogPoolish Sponge | Dough |
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- Combine all the poolish ingredients in the mixing bowl and leave it, covered, at room temperature for 10-12 hours. If you want to use dry yeast, then 0.4 grams, about 1/8 teaspoon, would be enough.
- Add in the rest of ingredients and stir at slow speed for 6 minutes, then increase the speed and continue to mix for 8 more minutes until it comes together and pulls away from sides of bowl.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Gently knead the dough a few times and shape into a round. Cover and rest for 40 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 10-12 portions and shape each into a round. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- On a lightly floured work surface, gently flatten a dough ball. Cut 3 times on the center all the way to the bottom in a crisscross style, leaving about 2-cm edges intact. Now turn each triangle outside to create a 6-point star.
- Dip the star into water, then coat with a mix of seeds. Place them in baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover and proof 90 minutes.
- Place a roasting tray at the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 240C/460F. Place the bread stars on the upper rack of the hot oven. Pour a cup of boiling water into the roasting tray. Bake for 20 minutes until they are nicely golden brown.
Black Bean Salad with Avocado and Grape Tomatoes
Wednesday, August 29, 2012This colourful, healthy and tasty black bean salad makes a great side dish, appetizer, or potluck. It tastes extra fresh and good if you can use freshly cooked black beans, if you don't, just use the canned beans. Make sure to rinse and drain the beans, if you are using canned beans.
Black beans, also known as turtle beans, offer nutritious, low-fat, high-fiber and -protein dietary choices. The combination of fiber and protein in black beans is a key to their outstanding support for blood sugar balance and blood sugar regulation.
Salad | Dressing |
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- Cover the dried black beans with enough water in a large bowl and let them sit overnight or at least eight hours. Drain and rinse. Place the soaked beans in a saucepan with 750 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until they are tender, about 1 hour. Drain and they are ready for use.
- Combine all dressing ingredients in small bowl and whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a large bowl, combine beans, grape tomato halves, diced onions, avocado and the dressing. Toss until evenly coated.