Molasses-Buttermilk Bread

There are a few staples that I keep stocked in my kitchen at all times:  all-purpose flour, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, unsalted butter, and buttermilk.  There is so much that can be done with these simple ingredients and I get anxiety when I see I am missing any of them.  You never know when the urge to bake cookies will take hold and you need to be prepared!

Of all of these versatile staples, buttermilk may be my favorite.

My first memory of buttermilk doesn’t involve a meal, but rather a movie.  When I was little I loved watching the cartoon movie based on the book Charlotte’s Web.  I vividly remember a scene where the farmer’s wife makes buttermilk pancakes (who cares about the rest of the movie, I remember buttermilk pancakes).  I had no idea what buttermilk was, but it sounded good and those cartoon pancakes drenched in cartoon syrup made my mouth water.

Buttermilk wasn’t a staple in the pantry of my childhood.  Besides the occasional use of powdered buttermilk, I never remember seeing my mom use the real thing (note: powdered buttermilk is actually quite useful, but it’s just not the same as liquid buttermilk).  Once I moved into an apartment and really began cooking for myself, I quickly learned that buttermilk is not only a supremely useful ingredient, but a versatile and luxurious one as well.

I love the way thick and rich buttermilk glugs out of the carton and adds tang and moisture to dishes.  Whether it’s added to muffins, cakes, folded into mashed potatoes, whisked into soups, used to make homemade creme fraiche, even more muffins, and of course pancakes, I can’t get enough buttermilk.

Now, I will also be using buttermilk in quick breads.  This moist and healthy quick bread with the robust flavor of molasses and hearty textures of whole-grains, is expertly pulled together with beautiful buttermilk.  Perfect.

Makes one 4-x 8-inch loaf

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Note:  This bread is wonderful served with whipped cream cheese.

1/2 cup rye flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

3/4 cups raisins, chopped dates, or currants (I used pitted medjool dates)

Preheat oven to 350°F and spray and flour a bread pan.  Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl; whisk the wet ingredients together in a second bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir quickly to combine.  Stir in the fruit.  Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a rack for serving.

Petits Pains au Chocolat

One of my favorite things about traveling is architecture.  This is probably why I am so drawn to Europe.  Old churches, basilicas, cathedrals, castles, châteaux, and rikety old building abound and while I may get them all jumbled together by the end of the trip, my camera is full of these pieces of art.

I love how these structures have been cared for over time and allowed to evolve with the cities growing around them.  Some are in better shape than others.  Some are now museums or major tourist destinations while others reside unassumingly on a quite street with the day’s laundry hanging from the balcony.  Either way, at least to me, they exude life and I could bask in their beauty all day.

To be honest, and I apologize art/history lovers, I would rather sit outside of such buildings than venture inside.  While on our honeymoon in France, along with admiring a multitude of architecture, we visited many of the requisite tourist stops.  We spent an entire afternoon strolling around the Louvre, on the outside, admiring the gardens and the ornate designs of it’s structure.  Sorry, Mona Lisa, we missed you.  We walked to the Eiffel Tower one morning, to simply soak up the summer warmth in it’s shadow. Sorry Paris, we didn’t see you from the top of the Tower.  At Notre Dame, we were the only people we saw exploring the perimeter of the Gothic cathedral (Did you know there is a small garden nestled behind the church?  Way better then waiting in lines).  Sorry Quasimodo, we didn’t venture in.

You probably already guessed that my other favorite thing about traveling is the food.  I have enjoyed many great meals during my travels, but often it’s the afternoon snacks that stand out in my mind.

After walking for miles exploring a new city, it is always a treat to stop and get a little bite (especially since dinner might still be hours away).  Typically, these snacks are something sweet (croissants, crepes, gelato) and are found in a small bakery or a stand on the street, thus you end up eating outdoors in an old square or while leisurely walking in the surrounding neigborhood.

A heavenly combination of a perfectly crafted snack and beautiful surroundings.  This is why I travel across the ocean.

As I have professed before, I have an obsession with croissants, especially chocolate croissants.  I also love making croissants, but it is time consuming and sometimes you just don’t feel like being held captive all day by a recipe (or should I say, you might not feel like being held captive, I’m always down).  For those who want to give croissants a whirl, don’t worry, I have plans to share that with you soon, but for now, lets try a “quick n’ dirty” version of pain au chocolat.

I was lucky enough to receive The Essential New York Times Cookbook for Christmas and I give it a huge thumbs-up.  I have made some awesome goat cheese filled calzones, rockn’ sangria, and a lot of the famous Jim Lahey No-Knead Bread.  One of the first recipes to be bookmarked, however, was Petits Pains Au Chocolat A L’ancienne (Old-Fashioned Bread and Chocolate Rolls).

While not croissants, the slightly sweet rolls filled with melted chocolate remind me of my favorite treat.  This recipe was featured in The New York Times in an article reminiscing the French tradition of le gouter de quatre heures, or afternoon snack.  A wonderful piece that reminded me of beautiful afternoons in France.  After making this recipe, I am happy to bring this tradition to America.

Petits Pains Au Chocolat A L’Ancienne

Makes 8 Chocolate Breads

From The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Originally Published September 25, 1988

Note:  These are best right out of the oven, so eat up!  I love the crunch and toastiness of sliced almonds on top of croissants, so I added them to my chocolate bread, this is completely optional.

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

1/2 cup lukewarm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon, or 1 package, dry yeast

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Lindt or Tobler brand, divided into 8 equal portions

1 tablespoon milk, for brushing the rolls

Sliced almonds (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk, water, sugar, yeast and one cup of the flour. Stir until thoroughly blended and set aside to proof the yeast, about five minutes.

Once proofed, add the salt, then begin adding the remaining flour, little by little, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and begin kneading, adding additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about one hour.

Punch down and let rise again, covered, until double in bulk, about one hour.  Preheat oven to 400°F.

Divide the dough into eight equal portions.  On a lightly floured board, roll each portion into a six-by-four-inch rectangle.  Place a portion of chocolate in the center of each rectangle.  First fold the ends, then the sides, pinching the dough together to make a neat package of each.  Arrange rolls, pinched side down, on a baking sheet.  Cover and allow to rest, at room temperature, for about 30 minutes.  Brush rolls with milk, sprinkle with almonds if using, and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.  Some of the chocolate may leak through the dough during baking.  Serve warm or room temperature.

Chewy Pan-Grilled Flatbread: Love at First Bite

Pita and hummus.  Two simple foods that were such a revelation to me back in middle school when I first discovered that these foods existed.  Compared to my otherwise very traditional American diet, this strange flatbread dipped in an unfamiliar bean spread seemed exotic.

I couldn’t get enough of this dynamic duo and my usual lunch of PB&J with a Granny Smith apple got replaced with pita, raw veggies, and hummus.  I thought I had everything on the pita-hummus front figured out until I actually went to a Greek/Middle Eastern restaurant and was introduced to more authentic fare.

Instead of the stiff, dry disk of bread with an unusually perfect pocket found in grocery stores, I was presented with a warm chewy flatbread filled with yeasty pockets of air.  Love at first bite.

This became my ideal flatbread, but I was constantly disappointed by store-bought and homemade versions.  I accepted that my flatbread enjoyment would have to be isolated to visits to my favorite Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants.

Finally, after much research, I found a recipe that mimics the flatbread of my dreams and now I regularly enjoy this treat at home.  This simple (for a yeast bread) recipe yields a chewy texture and a great yeasty flavor elevated by toasty notes from being perfectly grilled on a cast iron skillet.

You know when you are on to something good when your family frequently requests a dish you have made and that is just what happened after I made this recipe for my family the first time.  My dad loves this bread and has even trekked across international lines with it in tow for a midday pick-me-up.

A few notes on this lovely recipe.  This flatbread is not “pita” per se, it is more akin to the Indian flatbread, naan, and is not intended to be stuffed and made into a sandwich.  If you are a gyro fan (which you should be), this would be the perfect bread to wrap around all that juicy, sizzling lamb.

The bread gets it’s chewiness from bread flour.  While all-purpose flour will work if you are in a pinch, the extra trip to the grocery store to buy bread flour definitely is the key to perfecting this recipe.

There is a smidge of yogurt in the recipe.  When cooking with yogurt, I prefer to use a Greek style yogurt like Fage.  Get the plain version for this recipe of course.

If you aren’t much of a baker and the idea of making homemade bread brings on anxiety, I really encourage you to try this recipe.  There are no tricky steps and the time commitment is much less than the typical bread (the rise time is only 30-45 minutes).  In general, I find this recipe easy to catch-on to and a joy to make.

The bread turns out best when grilled on a hot cast-iron skillet.  If you don’t have one, just use your best non-stick skillet.

I typically serve the flatbread with homemade hummus, Greek salad, and some sort of grilled chicken.  This week I presented it with Turkish Spiced Chicken Kebabs with Pomegranate Relish and Tahini Yogurt from the latest issue of Bon Appetit (pictured below).  It was superb and it gave me a chance to use my new mortar and pestle!

Enjoy!  I think you will fall in love too.

Chewy Pan-Grilled Flatbread

Makes Eight 6- to 7-inch Breads

Adapted from the Baking Illustrated cookbook

Note: if you don’t think you can go through all eight of these flatbreads, you can keep the dough in the refrigerator for a couple of days, pinch of how much dough you are going to use, let it come to room temperature, and then cook as instructed in recipe.

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup whole-wheat flour

2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting counter

1 cup water, at room temperature

1/4 cup Greek style plain yogurt

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, salt, whole-wheat flour, and bread flour and mix with paddle attachment until blended, about 15 seconds.    Add the water, yogurt, and olive oil and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 30 seconds.  Replace the paddle with the dough hook and knead the dough on medium speed until smooth and glossy, about 8 minutes, adding more flour in 1-tablespoon increments if necessary for the dough to clear the sides of the bowl (the dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl).  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.  (This can all be mixed together by hand and then kneaded on a floured work surface for 12-15 minutes)

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a draft-free spot until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.  (At this point the dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Used a chef’s knife to cut the dough into eight equal portions.  Roll each portion on the work surface to form a round ball.  Roll each ball into a 4-inch circle, let rest for 10 minutes, then roll into a 6-inch circle.

Five to 10 minutes before cooking the flatbreads, heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Working one at a time, lift the dough circles, gently stretch about 1 inch larger, and place on the skillet (I like to hear it sizzle a bit).  Cook until small bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, about 30 seconds.  With tongs, flip the bread and cook until the bottom is speckled and deep golden brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Transfer to wire rack and let cool about 5 minutes.  Wrap the breads loosely in a clean kitchen towel and serve warm.