Saltless Tuscan Bread / Pane Toscano

Saltless, yet it is never bland! This Tuscan bread is more substantial than the French bread, and although it hasn't the airy lightness of a French baguette, it is not heavy like some German bread either. Fresh tomatoes and basil layered on a large slice of Tuscan loaf would make a perfect snack or like what I did, spread the bread with cheese Toscana
angiesrecipes.

One explanation of the saltless bread is that the Tuscans, well known for being tightfisted couldn't bear to pay the government salt tax and chose instead to make bread without it. Perhaps, but gastronomes point out that the Tuscan bread is perfectly suited to their cuisine, which is full of strong flavors.

250 g German #550 flour angiesrecipes (AP or bread flour) 400 g Boiling water

350 g German #550 flour (AP or bread flour) 110 g Water at 20C/68F 1 package / 7 g Instant dry yeast 30 g Olive oil

1. Pour the boiling water over the 250 grams flour in a bowl. Stir until you have a smooth thick paste. Cool and and let rest covered with a plastic wrap overnight in the fridge. The next day, take the dough out of the fridge and let rest for an hour to bring the paste to room temperature.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Place the paste and the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and stir on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing until the dough is smooth and leave from sides of mixing bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about one hour. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it in half. Round each dough up and let the dough balls rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. After resting, shape the dough into batards. Proof the shaped batards, covered,on a piece of parchment paper or in moulds or pans for about one hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and the bricks to 220C/450F. Once the dough has doubled in size, sift flour on the surface of the batards to create a rustic appearance. Score the bread and carefully transfer them on the bricks in the oven. Bake the bread for 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Spinach Coconut Rolls

This spinach coconut roll recipe is a twist on the classic cinnamon roll. Naturally green sweet bread dough with a coconut filling--delicious, healthy and fun!

Spinach is known as a rich source of iron. According to the USDA, spinach contains a relatively high level of iron, compared to other vegetable and meat sources.

Dough	Filling
265 g All-purpose flour 6 g Active dry yeast 4 tbsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Salt 1 Egg 140 ml Creamed spinach angiesrecipes, thawed 70 g Butter Some egg wash (for brushing)	4 tbsp Butter 2 tbsp Sugar 1/2 Egg 4 tbsp Dried coconut shreds angiesrecipes

1. Place all the dough ingredients, except butter, in a mixing bowl fixed with dough hook. Stir until a dough ball forms. Add in butter and knead until the dough has become smooth and elastic.
   
2. Place it in a lightly greased bowl, covered and let rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size. Coat your finger with flour and press your finger into middle of the dough, the indentation should remain visible for a few seconds.
   
   
3. While the dough is fermenting, you can prepare the filling. Beat the sugar and butter until light. Add in egg and coconut shreds and stir until mixed.
   
4. Punch down the dough to release the gas during the proof. Divide it into 2 portion. Cover with a plastic wrapper and let rest for about 15 minutes. Roll each into a 28x15cm rectangular dough. Spread half of the filling on the top and roll up. Cut each into 7 pieces.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Place them in a lightly greased 28cm round baking pan. Let rise for about 60 minutes and brush with egg mixture. Bake in a preheated 175C/350F oven for about 18-20 minutes.

The BEST Homemade Dill Pickle Dip

Growing up, we always seemed to have a small carton of that store-bought pickle dip in the fridge.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  It came in a small little plastic tub and you would find it in the refrigerated section by the cheese.  I don't think they even make it anymore.  My family loved it.

This homemade version is SO much better and it makes a ton, so you have plenty to share.  This is such a great dip idea to make for The Big Game that is coming up.  Serve it with your favorite potato chips and you are good to go.  

What I love about this dip, is that you chop the pickles so fine that there aren't any big chunks and it adds so much more pickle flavor.  So, little kids even love it. . . seriously.  

You might also like:

3-Ingredient Ranch Dip

Cheesy Onion Dip with Baked Garlic Wedges

Green Chile Jalapeño Cheese Bread

Copycat Fritos Bean Dip

Out of This World Corn Dip Made a Little Lighter

Easiest and Best Blender Salsa

The BEST Homemade Dill Pickle Dip
From: Kim
(Printable Recipe)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 (16 oz.) carton Sour Cream
1/2 c. Mayonnaise
4 Tbl. Dill Pickle Juice
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 (24 oz.) jar Vlassic Dill Pickles (original)

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add the sour cream and mayonnaise and beat until smooth. Add the pickle juice and onion powder and beat until combined; set aside.  Add the pickles to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  If you don't have a food processor, just finely chop them by hand.  Stir finely chopped pickles into dip and stir until combined.  It will seem runny, but it thickens as it's chilled.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve with potato chips, crackers or vegetables. 

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 79.

You will have to forgive me for veering slightly off track with this recipe. I normally make everything exactly as written. There is a popular recipe website that I refer to often and I always read the user reviews because they have helpful tips from people who have actually made the recipe. Often, however, a person will have changed so many ingredients that it no longer resembles the original recipe. It drives me nuts!

I made 2 changes for this and I feel they are slight ones. First, I decided to use chocolate chips instead of raisins. So many of Maida's recipe call for raisins but after all the holiday baking, I was sick of them. The second change made me wary but I decided to cut the sugar back and substitute applesauce. I do this on other non-Maida recipes and it works fine. This recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar (a lot!), so I used 1 1/4 cups of sugar and 3/4 cups applesauce. Of course, this is additional applesauce with the 2 cups already called for. In all, 2 3/4 cups applesauce. The recipe supplied below, however, is the original recipe as supplied in the book. Do with it what you will.

The results were spectacular. Like she says in the introduction, this is a very moist, pudding-like cake that slices beautifully. I've even made super thin slices from it and there is no crumbling or collapsing whatsoever. The cake has a mild chocolate-y flavor and it is not overly sweet. Now, if you use the 2 cups of sugar called for, perhaps it would be sweeter? Not sure - if you make it with all the sugar, let me know. It was sweet enough for me and you also get the slight kick from the cinnamon and nutmeg.

And, as for the chocolate chips, they provided occasional soft spots with chocolatey goodness. I liked it!

3 oz. raisins
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup plus 1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa (preferably Dutch process)
6 oz (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans, in medium-sized pieces
Optional: Confectioners sugar for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a plain tube pan that measures 10 inches across and line the bottom with parchment paper. (Note: I used a Bundt pan for this and did not line in, just sprayed it with a baking spray and heavily dusted it with bread crumbs. I had no issues with sticking).

Cover the raisins with boiling water and let them stand for about 5 minutes. (Or you can skip this step and use chocolate chips!)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Cream the butter and add the sugar, beating well.  Add the eggs one at a time. Beat at high speed for one minute after adding the last egg.

Lower the speed and slowly add the sifted dry mixture in three additions, alternating it with the applesauce. The mixture will have a curdled look.

Remove from the mixer and stir in the nuts and the raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 70-85 minutes. The cake will come away from the sides and spring back lightly when pressed when it is done. 

Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack and carefully remove the cake from the pan and allow it to cool completely. 

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, if desired.

Yum

Cucumber Pickle Juice Rye Cob Adapted From Dan Lepard

© 2020 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

© 2020 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

A simple and quick rye bread, adapted from Dan Lepard's "The Handmade Loaf". The "secret ingredient" here is the pickle juice with some extra dill. The bread came out with great texture and tasted so delicious.

200 g Dark rye flour, toasted 300 g Bread flour 3/4 tsp Salt 350 g Cucumber pickle juice at 20C/68F 1+1/4 tsp Fresh yeast, crumbled 5 g Dried dill

1. To toast the rye flour, preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Spread the rye flour in a thin layer over a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes, or until the flour has turned a light tannish brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Combine the flours, and mix with the salt. In another bowl, whisk the pickle juice with yeast and dill. Mix this liquid and the flour together with your hands. Squeezing it through your fingertips. When roughly combined, cover the bowl and leave it for 10 minutes. Tip the dough out on to a lightly oiled work-surface and knead gently for 10-15 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, leave for a further 10 minutes, then knead once more for 10-15 seconds. Repeat one more time.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Stretch the dough out on the work-surface and pat it out lightly into a rectangle. Fold one end, a third of the length, back to the centre. Fold the other end back over it, so you have three layers. Repeat after 30 minutes and 1 hour. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and shape each into a round. Place both on a flour-dusted baking sheet, leaving a space between for the cobs to grow. Cover and leave for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 210C/410F. Cut a slash across the center of each cob. Bake in the center of the oven for 55 minutes until the cobs are a good rich brown colour and when tapped on the bottom, sound hollow. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake

Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake (Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed., pg. 157).

One of the best cakes I made during the holidays was this one. I had my doubts at first - I had never heard of wrapping a cake in a bourbon-soaked handkerchief before - but since starting this blog almost ten years ago (!), I am still coming across unusual techniques in Maida's recipes.

I first saw this recipe in Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts and in that book, it fails to give the baking time. It is reprinted in Maida Heatter's Cakes which does - it is 300 degrees. There is also a "Kentucky Cake" as well as several whiskey cakes so it gets a bit confusing - this is the Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake.

I used both dark and golden raisins and I soaked them in the bourbon one day in advance. She says to use a jar with a tight lid but I just put them in a bowl wrapped in plastic. You can also soak the raisins up to one week in advance. 

This is a cake to think about ahead of time - in addition to soaking the raisins, it needs to sit for a few days after it is finished.

4 1/2 cups dark and light (or all dark) raisins
1 cup bourbon
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 tsp. powdered nutmeg (or 1 fresh nutmeg)
2 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs, separated
5 cups pecan halves

Soak the raisins in the bourbon  a day (or week) before baking the cake.

Preheat the oven to 300. Use a 10x4 inch tub pan (either a one-piece or two-piece pan is fine). Butter or spray the pan and line the bottom with parchment - butter it as well and dust with fine bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/4 tsp. of salt and set aside.

Beat the butter until softened and add the nutmeg and 1 3/4 cup of sugar (reserving 1/4). Beat for 5 minutes until creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat for a few minutes. 

Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients, beating only until mixed. 

Mix in half of the raisins and the bourbon that was not absorbed. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the remaining raisins and the remaining dry ingredients until mixed.

Stir in the nuts.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the reserved 1/4 tsp. of salt until the hold a shape. Add the remaining sugar and beat on high speed until stiff peaks are achieved.

Fold in 1/4 of the whites with a large spatula. Fold in the remaining whites.

Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 2 1/2 hours but begin checking with a tester around the 2 hour mark. If the cake begins to darken too much during the last hour of baking, cover loosely with foil.

Remove from the oven and let it stand for 30 minutes. Invert it on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few days or freeze. You can also wrap it in a napkin that has been soaked with bourbon or stuff a piece of cheesecloth in the center hole, wrap in plastic wrap, and let it age at room temperature.

Yum

Red Cabbage Persimmon Salad with Serrano Ham

© 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

This vibrant delicious winter salad combines the crisp crunch of red cabbage and toasted pumpkin seeds with the sweetness of seasonal persimmon. The salty, rich, air-cured spanish ham gives a touch of class to this simple salad. You can replace it with prosciutto.

Salad	Dressing
300 g Red cabbage, trimmed and thinly sliced 1 tsp Sea salt 2 Ripe but firm persimmon, peeled and diced 1 tbsp Fresh herbs, chopped (thyme, rosemary or parsley) 1 tbsp Pumpkin seeds, toasted 100 g Thinly sliced serrano ham	3 tbsp Walnut oil 2 tbsp White balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp Sambal oelek Freshly milled black pepper 1 tbsp Date syrup

1. Trim cabbage, discard the thick stems and finely shred. Place into a large bowl. Add in sea salt and massage the cabbage until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. Leave it aside for an hour.Peel and dice the persimmon.
   
2. Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until combined.
   
3. Rinse and drain the cabbage. Place them in a large bowl. Add in diced persimmon and drizzle in the dressing. Toss to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours so that the flavours develop.
   
4. Place the salad on a serving platter, arrange the serrano ham aside and top with a sprinkling of fresh herb and some pumpkin seeds.

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

http://schneiderchen.de | © 2019 | http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com