Chipati

I love Indian food.  Usually the restaurants we go to serve delicious naan bread, which I do adore.  However, back several years we used to live near a restaurant that served the softest, most delicious chipati and I fell in love.  

So when I had a hankerin' I thought I'd try my hand at it.  I found the recipe here.  It looked simple enough, and it said you could use oil or melted butter instead of ghee (I've never tried to make ghee and it seemed a lot of extra trouble).  

First  you mix the flour, water, and salt (I added a bit of melted butter at this stage), and it makes a pliable dough.  Then you rest the dough for 30 min.  

Next, cut the dough into 12 pieces, and roll them into little balls. 

The you roll them flat and brush them with butter, fold and brush again, fold again so you have a little origami dough triangle. 

Then heat the griddle, and roll the chipatis as flat and thin as you can.  Once one is rolled out, flap it onto the griddle and brush the top with butter.  Flip it onto the buttered side and brush the other side with butter.  Once the first side starts to bubble, flip it over and it will immediately start to puff up with air.  Neat! 

When it's done set it aside and do the rest of the chipatis.  They will deflate as they cool, but will be soft and chewy and good.  Serve them warm and use torn pieces of chipati to scoop up and eat saucy dishes, like Butter Chicken.  So yum!

Low-carb buns

Soon I am planning to do some strengthening work on my body.  Weightlifting, bodyweight resistance, with some running for cardio.  My nutrition guru has said that while I work on muscle building, I must carefully construct a meal plan that is a) mostly watery vegetables, b) is high in lean proteins, c) includes "good" fats, and d) is very low in carbs.  This means no pasta, rice, sugar, alcohol, or *sniff* bread!  

The bad news is that bread is something I will really miss.  In fact, I might still make bread and have a moderate (1 slice) amount to taste and make myself feel like I'm not being deprived.  

The good news is that I found this recipe for carb-free-sort-of-bread.  I call it Low-Carb Buns.  I can't remember where I found it so no tutorial link, but I will post the recipe.  There are two versions of this recipe, depending on what type of flour you choose to use.  Almond flour is my favourite because it uses a reasonable amount of other ingredients.  The coconut is good too, but it uses so many egg whites that either a lot of yolks would go to waste, or you'd have to buy that whites-only liquid egg in the carton.  

So here goes: 

Low-Carb Buns (Almond version)
1 1/4 cup almond flour
5 tbsp psyllium husk powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 egg whites
1 cup boiling water

Mix the dry ingredients, and then beat in the egg whites.  It will be thick and pasty.  Then boil the water and measure 1 cup.  Pour the water over the mixture, stirring as you go.  It will look like this:

You may think it's too runny, but after a minute or so it congeals to a kind of gelatin consistency.  Once it's firm enough to make a ball with it, you can form balls and place them on a cookie sheet.  Make sure you line the sheet or they will stick. 

Flatten the balls so they are sort of pucks.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, and then flip them all and bake another 25 minutes. 

They will come out crusty on the outside and kind of spongy in the middle.  The eggs make them tender, so they are perfect for toasting or tiny sandwiches.  I use them in place of sliced bread for almost everything. 

These buns are very moist, and must be kept in the fridge and eaten within a week or less.  I haven't tried freezing them, but that is an experiment worth doing! 

Here is the Low-Carb Buns (coconut version) - same method.
1/2 cup coconut flour
5 tbsp psyllium husk powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
8 egg whites
1 cup boiling water

bake at 350 for 50 min, flipping halfway. 

Soft Pretzels

It was time to try something new, and since I was stuck being homebound all day while the workmen were putting our basement into (sort of) order, I thought I'd bake.  Madison helped me decide to try the soft pretzels.  I had tried a different version some years ago with whole wheat flour and a soda dip.  This one was much simpler, and the family agreed it was tasty.  Butter and salt may have had something to do with it. 

I found the recipe here.  This blogger wanted them to be vegan, but I used real butter.  I suppose I could switch to margerine if I was making these for a vegan, but since I very seldom cook for vegans, real butter is the way to go. 

I shaped them into sort of pretzel shapes.  Yes, I am aware they look like turds in the photo.  I should have twisted them more, dough sprang back after I shaped them.  Oh well, they were still delicious. 

Fluffy and chewy, and I sprinkled on lots of salt. 

Scones

I make scones from time to time, and my family always devours them.  On the occasions that I have made these for company or others, they have always been met with praise.  These are one of my go-to crowd pleasers.

I got the recipe from my favourite cookbook

It has a basic recipe for the plain scones, which is quite delicious on its own.  Then additions can be made to make them sweet or savoury.  Mark Bittman says that scones are ultra rich biscuits made with cream - you could make them with milk, but there what would be the point in that?

Here is how to make them:
Cream Scones

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar (if you are making these into sweet scones, use 2 tbsp sugar)
5 tbsp butter
2 eggs (plus one for egg wash)
3/4 cups heavy cream.  I use whipping cream

Combine dry ingredients, cut in the butter.
Beat the eggs into the cream and add to dry mixture.
Knead 10 times.  Pat flat and cut into shape, or use a round cutter or drinking glass to cut into 10-14 rounds.
Brush the tops with one egg mixed with 1 tbsp water (optional.  I never do this)
.

Bake at 450 for 7-9 minutes.  Test the inside by poking with a skewer or toothpick and make sure it comes out clean. 

Variations: 
Savoury - you could add just about anything savoury into this batter before baking.  I have tried herbs and bacon, but our absolute favourite is sharp cheddar cheese.  I add about 1 cup of grated cheese to the eggs and cream as I beat them together.  These cheesy biscuits are perfect to go along with soup.

Sweet - you could add just about anything sweet into the batter too.  Fruit, raisins, nuts, spices, whatever.  Recently I made these into a dessert by adding a half cup of coconut and a tsp of coconut extract (along with a little extra sugar).  Then I served them with sweetened creme fraiche and homemade saskatoon syrup.

Also I have made miniature scones with lemon and poppy seeds that my son thinks are "Hobbit seed cakes". 

Gluten Free Bread

I am not a big fan of the gluten free fad.  But I am a big fan of presenting my guests, family, and friends with food that they will enjoy and will not make them sick.  So when I give gifts of baking or bread, and when I have dinner guests, I make sure it is something they are comfortable eating. 

My mother is allergic to wheat, so I often bake with spelt or coconut flour.  I also have a friend with celiac, so I wanted to try a yeast bread that would be totally gluten free (spelt still has gluten).

It took a lot of digging to find this recipe, but I found one that didn't look like it was a two-by-four of a loaf.  It looked bubbly and fluffy.  And the blog about it sounded like it was great too. 

The blog is obviously trying to sell a particular brand of flours, but I bought mine at Bulk Barn (I love Bulk Barn), and began with the "bread mix".  This recipe calls for a certain ratio of flours, along with xanthun gum (to replace the gluten). 

My mother was coming over for dinner on Friday, so I baked this on Thursday and had a taste.  Hot from the oven, it was actually really good!  It was buttery and flavourful, and pretty soft. 

The next day, when we served it for appies with cheese and spreads, it had firmed up quite a lot.  In fact, without the spreads it was downright dry and hard.  Sigh. 

But then I tried toasting it.  And that improved it greatly.  It's got a nice flavour still, and the toasting softens the middle while adding a nice crunch and toasty-ness. 

So my verdict is that it's not as good as regular bread.  But that will always be the case because gluten is delicious.  But if you have to eat gluten free bread, this may be the best one I've tried.  It was really good hot from the oven, but after it cooled and stiffened it is still good as toast. 

Happy Bread and Popovers

New experiments in bread this week:  Happy Bread and popovers.

Happy Bread was a recipe I'd been wanting to try because it looks so beautiful in the photos of the tutorial (you can find them here).  Madison's school chum has been ill lately.  She had to go to the hospital at the end of classes, and is now on bed-rest.   Our usual is to bring a treat and Madison thought bread (that's my girl!). 

Happy bread, but not happy expression on this model

Madison helped with every step of this bread, and we made two loaves so we could keep one.  We liked it, but we thought the yeast-rolls I made a few weeks ago were better tasting.  These were more crusty - not that that's a bad thing, the buttery, crunchy crust was nice - but I preferred the softer yeast rolls.  These were very pretty, of course, making them perfect as a gift or as a table decoration, but they were a lot more work to shape than I would do for an ordinary loaf.

Also I made some pop-overs for dinner to go along with crock-pot roast beef.  I have made these before, so I can't claim them as an experiment, but I think they still count as bread.  I used the recipe from my favourite cookbook,

This book really does have everything, and I use it all the time.  It was a wedding gift from my grandmother.

Mixed up the batter

Out of the oven

Alongside roast beef and gravy

These have a very satisfying, eggy texture that is perfect for soaking up gravy.  I usually make them in a muffin tin, but if I want extra big ones, sometimes I use a mini-loaf pan. 

Yeast-milk rolls

Before second rise

Today's experiment:  Success! 

I tried these "no knead yeast rolls" and they turned out fabulously.  Actually, I ended up kneading them after all, but so what?  It's not like it's hard to do, and it seemed like the dough needed it.  Of course I found this recipe on Pinterest, you can see it here.  It was easy to do, just simply mix, rise, punch/shape, rise again and bake.  Each rise took one hour, and the baking only took 25 minutes.  They were ready in time for dinner.

Out of the oven

I baked these rolls in a large springform pan, and they filled it perfectly.  When they were done, they could be pulled off the loaf one at a time. 

 

 

 

Pull-apart

We enjoyed these rolls so much - not only did they look pretty on the table, but they tasted heavenly. 

Kent said he used to have rolls like this growing up in a Ukranian town in Alberta.  Once he tasted them, he exclaimed that they were exactly like he remembers... the flavour was bringing back his childhood!  I guess we'll definitely have a repeat of these rolls someday.

Potato Bread

Experiment #2 with Pinterest bread.  This time I chose potato bread, the tutorial for which you can find here.  It is called potato bread because it calls for potato flakes along with the flour.  Unlike the peasant bread , this dough had to be kneaded and shaped before baking.  It was still quite a simple process, though. 

Until recently, I had always scoffed at potato flakes, thinking them junky.  Not just junky, but unnecessary too - I mean how hard is it to boil a potato?  However, when we first started camping in our trailer a year or two ago, we dipped down to the US of A for a bit.  Not having been very experienced with camping, I was happy to keep a supply of convenience food aboard that could be easily thrown together with a minimum of fuss; Kraft Dinner, pancake mix, hot dogs, etc.  While in the States we were presented with a wide array of varieties of instant potatoes in several flavours and styles, and I though we'd try one for a simple side dish one day.  Instant potatoes turned out to be actually pretty good!  In fact, when you'd mixed in butter and salt, they might even be called delicious!  My then-11-year-old daughter sure thought they were heavenly.  And when you can get a heavenly product without even turning on the stove, why on earth would you ever boil a potato again? 

Though I save the instant flakes for camping (usually) nowadays, I did still have a box of them in the trailer, and I dug it out to give this bread a go. 

I thought the flavour was less potato-y than I had expected, though it does have a hearty, starchy texture without being heavy or dense.  It has a yeasty flavour that goes well with spread or soup.  My loaf looked nothing like the picture on Pinterest, but I changed a few things (of course) and it still turned out.  I would make this bread again, but I might get fancy and try it with real mashed potatoes (maybe leftovers from thanksgiving or something) and see if it tastes more authentic.

The journey of bread

Bread, beautiful bread!  One of my very favourite things to make, and one of the most decadent treats in which I choose to indulge.  I gravitate to pretty loaves or fancy flavours, and I love to give bread as gifts.

Bread has historical roots in our ancestry - many cultures have traditional breads unique to their homes, many people have family bread recipes handed down.  There is a reason the phrase "breaking bread together" still resonates in our language;  it means food (especially bread) is a tie that binds people in harmony.  There is a reason you have read or heard stories where prisoners were given "only bread and water"; bread is an elemental staple, one of the simplest forms of nourishment that alone can sustain a body if necessary. 

I have collected many bread recipes over the years, not all of them tried and true.  I would like to start making and tasting all of them; record which ones were favourites, which were easy or pretty. 

Peasant Bread

My first bread experiment was this weekend, when I made Peasant Bread.  I found this recipe on a link through Pinterest - you can find the tutorial for it here . 

Grilled peasant cheese

This was a very simple recipe, just flour and yeast, really.  I can totally imagine that this would be what peasant bread was actually like.  I liked that it called for nearly no fuss - no kneading or special instructions; just mix, rise, and bake.  The recipe made two regular sized loaves, and my family hastily snarfed them up.  The taste was simple as well - spongy and plain, but perfect for grilled cheese or toast.  I would make this again for a nice accompaniment to soup or sandwiches.  This is not a gift loaf, but I would serve it to company at a casual supper.