A Crown for the Babes

A little late, but still close to the middle of November, here is my version of the beautiful Danish Crown challenge for the month brought to us by the talented Kitchen of the Month Cathy of Bread Experience. Having recently spent far too much time with onions for my onion dip appetizer, I went with a holiday version that is sweeter, with a filling that has dried fruits and nuts and no dairy.

This is a lovely dough although a little soft for holding the fillings in. The results are dramatic but easier to accomplish than you might think, so consider being a Buddy this month. Bake the bread (I'm including both the original challenge recipe and my variation) and send an email to Cathy. She'll include you in the round-up and send you a Buddy badge for your blog. Be sure to include a photo, too. Deadline is usually the 29th of the month.

Not interested in being a Buddy, but still want to make the recipe? Go for it! This would make a delightful bread for Thanksgiving. The savory version would be amazing with full flavored cheeses and the sweet version with anything from eggnog to hot tea.

Be sure to check out the gorgeous breads made by the other Babes who baked this month.

November challenge: Sourdough Savory Danish Crown

Adapted from Bread - The breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter

Makes: 1 Crown Loaf

Dough:

·        260 grams + 30 grams unbleached all-purpose flour + more for sprinkling

·        65 grams whole grain rye

·        1 tsp sea salt

·        3 Tbsp + 1 stick butter, softened

·        50 grams sourdough starter, recently fed, active (100% hydration)  or ¾-ounce fresh yeast *

·        ½ cup lukewarm water

·        ½ cup lukewarm milk (I used almond milk)

·        1 egg, lightly beaten or 2 ½ tsp / 8 grams ground flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp / 40 grams water (whisk; allow to gelatinize)

Filling:

·        2 Tbsp oil

·        2 medium onions, finely chopped

·        ¾ cup fresh bread crumbs or ½ cup dried

·        ¼ cup ground almonds or almond meal

·        ½ cup freshly grated or dried Parmesan cheese

·        1 egg, lightly beaten, divided or ½ Tbsp. chia seeds + 1 ½ - 2 Tbsp water (stir; allow to gelatinize)

·        Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Topping:

·        1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (I used sunflower seeds)

·        1 Tbsp. freshly ground Parmesan (I used dried)

·        ½ beaten egg from above or 1 tsp. corn starch + enough water to make thin glaze

Using yeast instead of sourdough:

If you choose to use yeast instead of sourdough, reduce the proofing time to about 1 hour for the bulk ferment in the bowl and 30 minutes for the final ferment. You may also need to reduce the milk/water mixture to a scant cup.

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.  Rub in the 3 tablespoons of butter.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sourdough and milk/water mixture using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.  Switch to a bowl scraper if necessary. 

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to autolyse (rest) for 20 – 30 minutes before adding additional flour. 

After the autolyse, add 30 grams of flour, if necessary.  The dough will be a little sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour until the stretch and fold stage.

Let the dough proof for about 4-6 hours at room temperature. Stretch and fold the dough every 45 minutes for the first 2.25 hours.  To perform the stretch and fold, remove the dough to a work surface sprinkled with flour, and stretch and fold the dough onto itself from all corners.  Do this 3 times.

The dough can probably be rolled and baked at this point, but I found it benefited from a cold ferment in the refrigerator.  I would let it cold ferment for a few hours at least.

After letting the dough proof at room temperature for about 4.25 hours, I covered the bowl tightly and placed it in the refrigerator.  About 44 hours later, I continued with the process (almost 2 days).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up slightly on a floured surface.

Roll out into an oblong about ½-inch thick.  Dot half (½ stick) of the remaining butter over the top two-thirds of the rolled dough.  Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, and then seal the edges. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process with the remaining ½ stick of butter.  Fold and seal the dough as before.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap, bees wrap, or a kitchen towel; let it rest for 15 minutes.

Turn the dough another 90 degrees.  Then roll and fold it as before without adding any butter.  Repeat the turn/fold process once more.  Wrap the dough in lightly oiled plastic wrap or bees wrap sprinkled with flour. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the onions. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes until soft and golden.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs, almonds, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Add half the beaten egg, if using, or all of the gelatinized chia seeds to the onion/bread crumb mixture and bind together.

Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle measuring 22x9 inches.  Spread the filling over the dough to within ¾ inch of the edges. Roll up like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides.  Cut the dough in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.  Braid the logs together with the cut sides up and shape into a ring. 

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or bees wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. 

It was a little tricky braiding the two dough pieces so it might be helpful to place the cut logs in the refrigerator a little while before braiding them and forming the ring.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Brush the remaining beaten egg or the cornstarch wash over the dough.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds (or the seeds of your choice) and Parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden.  Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.  Cut into slices.

Elle's version: Fruit and Nut Danish Crown

Adapted from Bread - The breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter

Makes: 1 Crown Loaf

Dough:

·        260 grams + 30 grams unbleached all-purpose flour + more for sprinkling

·        65 grams whole grain wheat flour

·        1 tsp sea salt

·        3 Tbsp + 1 stick non-dairy margarine, softened

·     1/4 oz dry yeast 

·        ½ cup lukewarm water

·        ½ cup lukewarm milk (I used soy creamer)

·       

Filling:

½ Tbsp lemon zest
½ teaspoon cake spice or your favorite spice mixture

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup non-dairy margarine

·       ½ cup pecans, finely chopped

      ½ cup chopped dates & 2 tablespoons rum
      ½ cup mixed candied fruits (fruit cake mix)

Topping:

·        1 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

·        beaten egg 

Using yeast instead of sourdough:

 To use yeast instead of sourdough, reduce the proofing time to about 1 hour for the bulk ferment in the bowl and 30 minutes for the final ferment. You may also need to reduce the milk/water mixture to a scant cup.

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours and salt.  Rub in the 3 tablespoons of non-dairy margarine.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry yeast and milk/water mixture using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix using a Danish dough whisk or wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.  Switch to a bowl scraper if necessary. 

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to autolyse (rest) for 20 – 30 minutes before adding additional flour. 

After the autolyse, add 30 grams of flour, if necessary.  The dough will be a little sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour until the stretch and fold stage.

Let the dough proof for about 1 hour at room temperature. Stretch and fold the dough every 15 minutes. To perform the stretch and fold, remove the dough to a work surface sprinkled with flour, and stretch and fold the dough onto itself from all corners.  Do this 3 times.

The dough can probably be rolled and baked at this point, but I found it benefited from a cold ferment in the refrigerator.  I would let it cold ferment for a few hours at least. I fermented mine overnight. That's when I also marinated the dates in the rum in a mug.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up slightly on a floured surface.

Roll out into an oblong about ½-inch thick.  Dot half (½ stick) of the remaining non-dairy margarine (in the dough section) over the top two-thirds of the rolled dough.  Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, and then seal the edges. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the process with the remaining ½ stick of butter.  Fold and seal the dough as before.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap, bees wrap, or a kitchen towel; let it rest for 15 minutes. (I chilled mine 30 minutes at this point because the day was very warm.)

Turn the dough another 90 degrees.  Then roll and fold it as before without adding any non-dairy margarine.  Repeat the turn/fold process once more.  Wrap the dough in lightly oiled plastic wrap or bees wrap sprinkled with flour. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Stir together in a small bowl combine the zest, cake spice and brown sugar. Drain the date/rum mixture, discarding the liquid.

Roll the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle measuring 22x9 inches.  Spread the butter mixture over the dough to within an inch of the edges. Sprinkle butter evenly with the brown sugar mixture, then scatter evenly the chopped pecans. Then scatter the candied fruit mixture over the dough to within ¾ inch of the edges. Roll up like a Swiss roll from one of the long sides.  Cut the dough in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.  Braid the logs together with the cut sides up and shape into a ring. 

Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap or bees wrap and let rise for 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen. 

It was a little tricky braiding the two dough pieces so it might be helpful to place the cut logs in the refrigerator a little while before braiding them and forming the ring. This is a soft dough, so a fair amount of filling fell out, but I probably overfilled it anyway.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Brush the remaining beaten egg  over the dough.  Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.  

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden.  Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.  Cut into slices.

Starting to Look Like Fall

For some people the time of new beginnings is at the beginning of January...all those New Year's resolutions feel so cleansing. For some the turn of the year marked by their birthday sets them thinking of the year past and the year to come. For me new beginnings often come with the fall. Since summer is and was my least favorite time of year I guess that the return of cooler air, fall colors and, for many years, the beginning of school is a cause for celebration...summer is over! Feeling the light turn more golden and the air more crisp often starts me thinking of new ways to do things and new experiences to enjoy.

In the spring I'm tuned in to the garden...weeding, setting out new plants, trying to visualize the garden-to-be filled with big tomato plants spilling over their cages, rambling cucumber vines, squash plants with huge fans of leaves hiding those baseball bat sized zucchini, while all I can see now are puny little plantlets with just a few tender leaves surrounded by large areas of cleared soil. Sometimes I've had enough time to cover that soil with wood chips for mulch. In some ways that just makes the tiny plants look even smaller.

Come fall and the realization of those dreams of a bountiful harvest I suddenly find myself with the energy and interest to do 'spring' cleaning which is a good thing since it usually didn't happen in the spring. Garden cleanup is easy. Months of accumulated clutter in the house is more challenging.

Invariably when I'm cleaning up and getting rid of junk I'll come across a recipe or two that I intended to make until the doldrums of summer got in the way. That, too, is part of the excitement of fall. Now it's cool enough to do a bit more baking. Spending more time in the kitchen is fun now that I'm feeling more energetic.

It's a good time to experiment, too. On our trip back from a wedding this past spring Sweetie and I enjoyed a multi-grain cracker that I later tracked down at our Whole Paycheck store. As expected, it was too expensive to purchase very often so I've been wanting to make something similar at home.

The latest catalog from King Arthur Flour has a recipe for canape pumpernickel bread. That seemed like a good jumping off place since the crackers we enjoyed were dark brown and looked like they started out as little loaves of bread that were sliced thin and then baked again to make them crisp.

You understand that I'm mostly using their recipe for proportions, right? I have a vision of my version even before I begin. My version will probably include a little rye flour, but also some buckwheat flour or maybe some of that KA Ancient Grain mix, along with regular unbleached and some stone ground whole wheat flours. There will be a little molasses for color and flavor, sea salt, some nuts...maybe pecans since they are soft enough slice well, perhaps some pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds and dried cranberries.


Doesn't that sound delicious?

I have some mini bread pans to bake the dough in and a very sharp serrated bread knife to use for making the thin slices. If these work I may have to splurge and buy some triple cream cheese to have with them. Yum!

The crackers turned out almost like I had hoped. Next time I'll up the add-ins a lot because there was too much dough to 'nuts and seeds' ratio. I'll also use more rye flour and less all purpose for a deeper flavor and slightly denser crumb. I might even try it as a quick bread although I do like the tang from the sourdough starter.


A big mistake was to forget to score the top of the dough to allow for oven spring. Mine blew out dramatically which made cutting super thin slices a challenge.

Freezing the loaves before cutting them thinly might also be a good idea.

I loved the mixture of grains and the flavors of the nuts, seeds and cranberries. These make a nice late afternoon snack with some creamy mild cheese. Bet they will be good with some blue cheese, too.

I will make these again and keep trying for a cracker that meets my expectations. These were close, and ever so delicious. Sweetie even liked thicker slices toasted with his breakfast. He asked that one of the little loaves be saved for regular use, not crackers. I think he was right. Fortunately, the weather is getting cooler...time for some more fall baking!

Au revoir dear readers.



Redwood Forest Crackers
1 1/2 oz (1/4 cup dark rye flour1 1/2 oz. (1 cup) KA Ancient Grains flour
1 5/8 oz. (1/4 cup) buckwheat flour
6 1/4 oz ( 1 1/2 cups) Unbleached all-purpose flour
7 1/4 oz. (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) KA Irish wholemeal wheat flour (or whole wheat flour)

1 cup sourdough starter OR 2 teaspoons instant yeast dissolved in 1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons mild molasses (not blackstrap)
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons vegetable or mild olive oil
1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon light colored sesame seeds
3 tablespoon sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried cranberries

In a bowl, mix together the flours until combined.
In another bowl combine the sourdough starter, water, molasses and oil. Stir to combine.

In another bowl combine the pecans, flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and cranberries. (Note: Next time I'll double the quantities of these...less dough, more add-ins will create the crackers I dream of.)

Combine the ingredients from all three bowls in another bowl (of a stand mixer if you have one) and mix and knead to make a stiff, sticky dough. Let the dough rise until it's almost doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and shape them into loaves. Place in greased mini loaf pans, cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise about 30 minutes. (Note: Next time I'll make sure to score the top of the dough to allow for oven spring. The photo above shows the error of neglecting that step...although the crackers still tasted great.)

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the crust is brown and the internal temperature registers 190 degrees F. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a rack. When completely cool, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place a loaf on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice in very thin slices. (Note: Next time I may freeze the loaves to make it possible to slice them even thinner, although these were beautifully crisp and crunchy.)

Zucchini Muesli Bread

In my twenties it seemed like zucchini bread showed up at every bake sale or pot luck during the summer. Usually they were moist and sweet, very spiced and heavy quick breads.

Recently at the Bread Baker's Dog, I posted a yeasted zucchini bread that was savory instead of sweet, rich with the Mediterranean flavors of Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and basil.


The zucchini keeps on coming, even from the lazy woman's planting that I made in desperation the day before my vacation.

I still had zucchini and cucumber seedlings and not enough time to plant them 'properly', so I took a 2 cubic foot bag of potting soil, laid it flat...well it sloped downhill a bit, but that is OK for drainage...and cut holes in the plastic bag. Into each hole I put a seedling. Since there was some fertilizer in the potting soil mix, I figured that with regular watering the plants would make it for three weeks and then I could transplant them to pots. Imagine my delight to find that they were quite happy in their bag.

The zucchini I used today for this bread was from that group of plants and it was fully a foot long and shredded into more than the required two cups! I've also started harvesting lemon cucumbers from the bag plantings. It is something that you might want to try, especially if you don't have a place to garden, but have a sunny spot to place a bag of soil. The important thing is to make sure to water it regularly and not let the soil dry out.

Today I wanted to make the quick bread version, so I started looking through my cookbooks. I found that more recently published books didn't have a sweet quick bread version. When I looked in older cookbooks I found out why. The traditional recipe apparently used a full cup of oil for each two cups of zucchini...that's a lot of oil.

Lately I've been thinking about making a muesli bread, too. Muesli is a combination of whole grain flakes, nuts and dried fruits. We ate a lot of it while in Ireland. It was available each morning as part of the full Irish breakfast. We haven't found a ready made variety here that is as good as what we had in Ireland, but I'm thinking of making my own. My favorite store-bought, the kind from Bob's Red Mill, has red wheat, rye, barley and oat flakes and some almonds and date clusters.

It occurred to me that I could combine zucchini and home made muesli in a quick bread, use less oil, and see what happened. As it turned out, trying to figure out the proportions from scratch takes a lot of time.

I kept the two cups of shredded zucchini and used a clean flour sack towel to squeeze out the excess liquid.

Then I took some of a combination of whole grain flakes that I found at a local store and added some buttermilk and regular milk (because I ran out of buttermilk) and let that combination sit for half an hour while I figured out the rest. That allowed the grains to soften a bit as they absorbed some of the liquids.

For the rest of the muesli, I took a handful of whole natural almonds and chopped them roughly, added some golden raisins (because I love them), some dried cranberries (for color and sweetness), some chopped dates (contrast and more sweetness) and some extra old-fashioned oats for some texture.

The most difficult part was to figure out how much flour would be needed. I started with 1 1/2 cups which was mixed with the leaveners and salt and cinnamon, but added another 1/2 cup before adding the almond-date-oats-raisin-cranberry mixture. Still, it was a successful experiment...the bread is delicious, moist, with lots of flavor and texture from the zucchini and muesli additions, plus a hint of cinnamon.

Now that I have the recipe figured out, I suspect I'll be making a lot of this bread over the summer.

Zucchini Muesli Bread

½ cup mixed-grain flakes (mine has red wheat, barley, rye and oat flakes)
1/3 cup buttermilk
½ cup milk
2 large egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used safflower)
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup shredded zucchini, extra moisture squeezed out
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup natural almonds, chopped
½ cup pitted dates, chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup golden raisins

In a small bowl, combine the multi-grain flakes (rolled whole grains) and the buttermilk and milk. Let sit for at least ½ hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch bread pan.

In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, vegetable oil, brown sugar and vanilla. Let sit 10 minutes.

Add the zucchini and the mixed-grain and milk mixture and mix to combine.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into a bowl or onto a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

On a sheet of waxed paper, combine the rolled oats, chopped almonds, chopped dates, dried cranberries and golden raisins. Set aside.

On low speed, or with just enough strokes to mix, combine the flour mixture with the zucchini mixture. Once just combined, add the almond-raisin-cranberry-date-oat mixture and stir just until blended.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and place in the preheat oven. Bake approximately an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, and then run a knife around the edges to loosen the loaf and turn out of the pan to cool completely.

Best cut when fully cooled. Makes one loaf.