Daring Bakers' Croissants

I've always been a little bit in love with Julia Child, especially after the movie, Julie and Julia.. So when I realised this month's challenge's recipe is from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I swooned a little.

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

This croissant took sometime to prepare, what with a total prep time of 12 hours. But, trust me, it's worth it.

I made mine dairy free by replacing the milk with soy milk, and the butter with magarine. It still tastes surprisingly buttery!

Ingredients
¼ oz (7 gm) of fresh yeast, or 1¼ teaspoon (6¼ ml/4 gm) of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 ¾ cups (225 gm/½ lb) of strong plain flour (I used Polish all-purpose flour, which is 13% protein)
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk (I am not sure if the fat content matters. I used 2%)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil (I used generic vegetable oil)
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated

Daring Bakers' Dairy Free Filled Meringe Coffee Cake

I got to say, when I saw the name "coffee cake"; I really thought there was coffee inside. Then I read the recipe and my brain went, "Oh? So this is coffee cake."

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Make 2 round cakes, 6 inches in diameter
Yeast Coffee Cake Dough

300 g flour
20 g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 g active dried yeast
90 ml soya milk
30 ml water
67.5 g vegetable oil
1 large eggs at room temperature

Meringue
2 medium sized egg whites at room temperature
Pinch of Salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
55g sugar

Pumpkin Puree Filling
Around 500g pumpkin
2 tablespoon soya milk
2 tablespoon sugar (to taste)

Chocolate Cinnamon Nut
55 g chopped nuts
15 g granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50 g semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 115g of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and oil and heat over medium heat until just above room temperature.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended.


4.Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 75 g flour and beat for 2 more minutes.


5. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the remaining flour) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
(But try to avoid this, more flour means tougher cake in the end.)
6. Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.


7. Prepare your filling. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling. I found it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.
8. Grate the pumpkin finely (remember, the finer they are, the greater the surface area, and the faster it'll be cooked through.) Put into a saucepan over low heat. Stirring occasionally. Add the sugar. Put into a blender with the milk and pureed.


9. Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue: In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

PHail

PERFECT PEAK

Assemble the Coffee Cakes
1. Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 15 x 8-inch rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges.
3. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the meringue.
4. Roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
5. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
6. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings. Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
8. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

The bottom is so ugly! But, the pumpkin filled one so soft and tasty!

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread

Imagine this: every morning, you wake up in bed and smell that freshly baked loaf of bread.
Oh wait, I think I might have to move above a bakery for that.

I've never really had much luck when it comes to bread. All sorts of problems arise: they don't rise, they are too dry, etc.

But I'm not discouraged. In fact it made me all the more determined to get it right.
And I think I might have found my saviour in this recipe.

Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread
Makes one 1/2 pound loaf
recipe on page 147 of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhardt.

For the dough:

226g unbleached bread flour
2 tsp sugar
a scant 3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/8 tsp cinnamon
less than 1 egg, slightly beaten / .825 ounces
1 tbsp shortening, melted or at room temperature
1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk at room temperature
1/4 cup (60ml) plus 2 tbsp water, at room temperature
3/4 cup raisins - rinsed and drained

For the cinnamon swirl:

40g sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cinnamon in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg, shortening, buttermilk, and water.
2. Stir together with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment until the ingredients come together and form a ball. Adjust with flour or water if the dough seems too sticky or too dry and stiff. (I'm no expert, but I think it's better if you start with a drier dough, then slowly work in water bit by bit)
3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed, switching to the dough hook). The dough should be soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. Add flour as you knead (or mix), if necessary, to achieve this texture. Knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes (or by machine for 6 - 8 minutes). The dough should pass the window pane test.
4. Once it passes the test, knead in the raisins by hand to ensure even distribution. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Proof at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. This only took about 1.5 hour for me.

4. Pat the dough into a 5 inch wide by 8 inch long rectangle about 1/3 inch thick. Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon sugar over the dough. Then working from the short side of the dough, roll up the length of the dough one section at a time, pinching the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. The loaf will spread out as you roll it up, eventually extending to a full 8-9 inches long. Pinch the final seam closed with your thumbs. Rock the loaf around to even it out and push the ends in so that they are not tapered. Keep the surface of the loaf even across the top. Place the loaf in a lightly oiled 8 1/2 - 4 1/2 inch pan, mist the top with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel.

5. Proof for 60 - 90 minutes or until the dough crests above the lips of the pan and is nearly doubled in size.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. Once the loaf is proofed, place loaf pan on a rack in the middle of the oven. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 20-30 minutes. The finished bread should register at 190F in the center and be golden brown on the top. It should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
7. Immediately remove from the pan. If desired, spread 1 tbsp of melted butter on the top and sprinkle some more cinnamon sugar to create a sugary crust.

8. Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

Bells are ringing~~ (Dairy-Free Stollen)

Tis the season..

Christmas is my favourite celebration.

Not 'one of the favourite', but The Favourite. With capitals. With Bells. Loud ones.

It can't even lose to my own birthday.

Even though I'm in Malaysia. With no snow. With no holiday.

I can't do my favourite thing, which is to cuddle up near the fireplace, with a cup of steaming hot-chocolate, and an amazing book.

But I won't let that bring me down. I can BAKE! =)

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book.........and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

~ My new toy - Soya bean blender.. =D ~

Ingredients
60ml lukewarm water (think baby's bottle)
2 packages (14 grams) active dry yeast
240 ml soya milk (I blended the beans myself)
140 grams vegetable shortenings (or other dairy-free butter)
770 grams all-purpose flour
90grams sugar
¾ teaspoon sal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice (original recipe called for lemon extract)
135 grams mixed peel
170 gms firmly packed raisins
3 tablespoons rum (I replaced this with lemon juice)
100 grams flaked almonds (I omitted this, as my sister can't eat almond)
Vegetable oil for coating the wreath
Handful of Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting wreath

1) Soak the raisins in rum, or lemon juice. 
2) Pour the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

3) In a small saucepan, combine the milk and the vegetable shortening over medium - low heat until it is melted. Let stand until lukewarm, about 5 minutes.

4) Lightly beat eggs in a small bowl and add lemon juice and vanilla extracts.
5) In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, orange and lemon zests.
6) Then stir in (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) the yeast/water mixture, eggs and the lukewarm milk/shortening mixture. This should take about 2 minutes. It should be a soft, but not sticky ball.

7) When the dough comes together, cover the bowl with either plastic or a tea cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.

8) Add in the mixed peel, soaked fruit and gently mix with your hands.
9) Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading to distribute the fruit evenly, adding additional flour if needed.
10) The dough should be soft and satiny, tacky but not sticky. Knead for approximately 8 minutes until a reasonable bread-dough consistency is reached. You can tell when the dough is kneaded enough – a few raisins will start to fall off the dough onto the counter because at the beginning of the kneading process the dough is very sticky and the raisins will be held into the dough but when the dough is done it is tacky which isn't enough to bind the outside raisins onto the dough ball.
11) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Put it in the fridge overnight. The dough becomes very firm in the fridge (since the butter goes firm) but it does rise slowly… the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to a week and then baked on the day you want.


Shaping the Dough and Baking the Wreath
1) Let the dough rest for 2 hours after taking out of the fridge in order to warm slightly.
2) Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3) Preheat oven to moderate 180°C with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
4) Punch dough down, roll into a rectangle about 16 x 24 inches and ¼ inch thick.

5)Sprinkle with chocolate chips, if using.

6)Starting with a long side, roll up tightly, forming a long, thin cylinder.

Transfer the cylinder roll to the sheet pan. Join the ends together, trying to overlap the layers to make the seam stronger and pinch with your fingers to make it stick, forming a large circle. You can form it around a bowl to keep the shape.

7) Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along outside of circle, in 2-inch intervals, cutting 2/3 of the way through the dough.

8) Twist each segment outward, forming a wreath shape. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

9) Proof for approximately 2 hours at room temperature, or until about 1½ times its original size.
10) Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes. The bread will bake to a dark mahogany color, and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.

11) Transfer to a cooling rack and brush the top with the oil while still hot.
12) Immediately tap a layer of powdered sugar over the top through a sieve or sifter.
13) Wait for 1 minute, then tap another layer over the first.

14) The bread should be coated generously with the powdered sugar.