Bulgarian Easter Bread, "Козунак" :)

This year, I decided to make the traditional Bulgarian Easter Bread known as "Козунак"/ kozunak. It is yeast bread which is a must on every Bulgarian table during this holiday. It is not very sweet but if made well, it is a real treat. And here lies one of the biggest challenges for almost every Bulgarian housewife: a successful homemade kozunak! :)  Most of us remember our grandmothers and then mothers waking up in the wee hours of the mornings to start their huge batches of kozunak and knead, and knead, and wait for it to rise, and knead some more, and wait some more- a true labor of love! While the recipe I used this year does not involve any kneading by hand (yeah for my shoulders!), it still requires a good dose of patience, as a good kozunak needs plenty of time to rise not once, but twice. In fact, my mother seems to think that her mother let her kozunak rise not twice but three times. Unfortunately, she is not with us any more and we have no written recipe for kozunak from her, so we cannot know for sure how she made it exactly. Luckily for me, I found a wonderful website by a fellow Bulgarian, now residing in the U.S. like me, who converted a recipe for kozunak to U.S. standards in more ways than one. The best part of the experience- using a bread maker for the kneading and first rising! I was beyond thrilled with this discovery! Many, many thanks to Tanita from http://tanitaang.blogspot.it! I will be forever grateful!

So, without further ado, here is the promised recipe for "Козунак", which I translated into English for all my English speaking friends who may want to try their luck with this delicious Easter bread!





 

Bulgarian Easter Bread, "Козунак"

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs and 1 egg white (save the egg yolk for glazing the bread), at room temperature
- about 1 cup milk, at room temperature (because the size of eggs varies, it is best to crack the eggs in a 2 cup measuring cup and then add enough milk to get a 1 1/2 cups liquid altogether; 1 cup= 240ml)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cooled a little
- 1 tbsp rum (optional)
- the zest of 1 lemon
- the zest of 1 orange
- 4 1/4 cup bread flour, plus more for dusting later
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- about 1/2 cup vegetable oil for adding during kneading, as well as more for oiling hands
- raisins (optional)
- slivered or whole blanched almonds (optional)

Note: For the success of this bread, it is very important that all ingredients are at room temperature!

 



Directions:
Set your bread maker on "dough" cycle (mine takes 1h30min: the first 30 minutes for kneading, the next 1 hour for rising).  In a little bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and 1 egg white with the milk and the sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the egg/milk/sugar mixture in the bread maker, then add the melted butter, the zests, and the flour on top. In the middle of the flour, make a little "well" and put the yeast. To one side in the flour, make another little well and put the salt. Start the kneading process on the bread maker. (I am so happy I don't have to do this by hand as my grandmother and mother used to do for years and years!!!)

During the kneading, after the dough starts forming into a ball and pulls away from the walls of the bread maker, add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and dust with a little bit of flour right after that; repeat this 1 or 2 more times. Let the whole "dough" cycle finish. (Of course, if you do not have a bread maker you may do the kneading by hand, or with a stand mixer and then let the dough rise in a warm place; if you use your oven for that, make sure the temperature is no higher than 120F). Sweet dough rises more slowly, so if the dough hasn't doubled in size within the end of the cycle, let it sit longer. It should be at least doubled! The key to success with this bread is PATIENCE. :)

Once your dough has doubled in size, using your well-oiled hands, separate the dough into 2 or 3 parts. With this recipe, I was able to make three loaves: one round bread which I baked in a bundt pan, another one in a 9" round casserole dish and a third one in a standard bread loaf pan.

Every one of these parts, gets additionally divided into 3 or 4 pieces which you form into "ropes", oil really well and braid together into a loaf just like in the two photos below. Before forming the loaves, you can add raisins to your braids too (which you may want to soak in a little bit of rum first).

 





Place every braided loaf in a well greased and floured pan, cover and let rise in a warm place one more time. Again, if you are using your oven for that, make sure it is no more than 120 dgreees F. The dough should double or triple its size again (this may take a couple of hours, depending on the temperature in your house). Once ready to bake, set the oven to 365F. While waiting for the oven to warm up, glaze the loaves of bread with the egg yolk which you saved in the beginning and whisked with 1 tsp of milk. I used a kitchen brush for this. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top and then almonds, if using. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the size of your loaves- if you made 3 loaves out of this dough, you should not need more than 20 minutes. If you only made it into 2 loaves, you may need 25 or even 30 minutes. Making smaller loaves is a better idea, though, as larger ones tend to brown too much on top before they can bake well on the inside.



 Once out of the oven, cool in the pan for a few minutes and then move to a wire rack. If you can resist it, wait for the bread to cool. Nobody in my family has that will power, so the loaf below was torn into just minutes after it was taken out of the oven... :)  What you are looking for in a successful "Козунак" is an interior that separates like "thread", sort of like in the pictures below...



Yes, it was one yummy "Козунак"! This is all that was left of it within 15 minutes. :)))



Happy Easter!

Artisan No-Knead Bread

I made this Artisan bread for my family a couple of weeks ago and it was received extremely favorably. So much so, that it was all gone within a couple of days... :) Not a crumb left. That's what I call a HUGE hit. My kids kept asking me when I'd be making it again. So, I actually made a second batch shortly after. It really is easy enough to make that I could have it at home at all times. The beauty of it is- there is no kneading involved- at all! The recipe I used is from the book "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I decided to make the master recipe first (which I included below). There are many more variations in the book and I suspect they will be terrific as well. This method of baking does require some special equipment, such as a pizza peel and a pizza stone, but I have all these already, as we make our own pizzas on a regular basis. I assume you should be able to achieve similar (if not identical) results using regular baking pans/trays. It is definitely a recipe worth trying!

Boule (Artisan Free-Form Loaf)

Ingredients: 
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt or other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method
cornmeal for pizza peel

Directions:

1. Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature, about 100 degrees F. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. If using cold water, it will take about 3 to 4 hours.

2. Add the yeast to the water in a 5 quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.

3. Mix in the flour- kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula; don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement by compressing. Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform. If you're hand mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Don't knead! It isn't necessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. This step takes a few minutes, and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.

4. Allow to rise. Cover with lid (not airtight) that fits well to the container you are using Do not use screw-topped bottles or mason jars, which could explode from the trapped gases. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approximately 2 hours, depending on room temperature, and the initial water temperature. Longer rising times, up to 5 hours, will not harm the result.You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature.

On Baking Day

5. The gluten cloak: don't knead, just cloak and shape a loaf in 30 to 60 seconds. First, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal to prevent your loaf from sticking to it when you slide it into the oven.

Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with four. Pull up and cut of a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough, using a serrated knife. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off- it's mot intended to be incorporated into the dough. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 to 60 seconds.

6. Rest the loaf and let it rise on a pizza peel for about 40 minutes (it doesn't need to be covered during the resting period). Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise during this period; more rising will occur during baking ("oven spring").

7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

8. Dust and Slash: Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a 1/4-inch-deep cross, diagonal lines, "scallop" or tic-tac-toe pattern into the top, using a serrated knife.

9. Baking with steam: After a 20-minute preheat, you're ready to bake, even though the oven thermometer won't yet be up to full temperature. Put your loaf in the oven. Quickly but carefully pour about 1 cup of hot water from the tap into the broiler tray and close the oven to trap the steam.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Because you've used wet dough, there is little risk of drying out the interior, despite the dark crust. When you remove the bread from the oven, it will audibly crackle, or "sing", when initially exposed to room temperature air. Allow to cool completely, preferably on a wire cooling rack, for best flavor, texture, and slicing. The perfect crust may initially soften, but will firm up again when cooled.

10. Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days. You'll find that even one day's storage improves the flavor and texture of your bread.cut off and shape more loaves as you need them. The dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in an airtight container and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to baking day.

Variation: Herb Bread
This recipe shows off the versatility of this approach. Follow the directions for mixing the Boule dough and add 1 tsp dried thyme leaves (2 tsp fresh) and 1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves (1 tsp fresh) to the water mixture. Or use other herbs of your choice (oregano, sage, etc- it's entirely up to your preference).

Recipe source: "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Valentine's Day Pizza for Daddy!

For those of you who have been following my blog on a regular basis, it will come as no surprise that my 9-year-old daughter, Anna is a great baker and an all around proficient cook. So, when the other night we decided to have family pizza night and make our own pizza from scratch, she was on-board 100%! Each of the kids had a chance to make their own pizza and Anna's was spot-on for Valentine's Day! First, she decided to stuff the crust with cheese by crimping the edges after lining them with mozzarella cheese. Then, she came up with the idea of shaping the pizza as a heart and executed it all on her own! I was duly impressed by the perfect heart shape she achieved without any help! Then, she proceeded in the usual way by topping the pizza with tomato and herb sauce, mozzarella, basil and in her case half the pizza with onions and the other half- with garlic: Daddy's two favorite toppings, as it was, after all a pizza for the man who has her heart- her very own Papa!



Here is the recipe we used to make our pizza dough. It is excellent and comes out just right every time we make it!

Perfect Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for about 1 1/2- 2 hours, or until doubled in size. 

When ready to make your pizza, place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three or four pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the others covered, shape the dough, then transfer it to a pizza peel that has been covered with parchment paper and lightly dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top pizza as desired. Slide the dough onto the heated stone together with the parchment paper- it makes this step a breeze! Bake until the crust edges lightly brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Here is my little chef with her finished heart-shaped stuffed-crust Valentine's day pizza for Daddy- so happy and proud! :) The pizza was deeelicious! And Daddy was smitten!

Recipe for the pizza crust originally from: Annie's eats

The Ultimate Banana Muffins

So, here I was the other day- on my day off!, feeling nearly on my death bed with yet another sinus/throat/ear infection within two weeks when despite my inability to stand on my feet, I somehow managed the strength to get up and bake muffins... Yeah, I know, I am crazy, but there was so much lying around I could do in one day and I had simply reached my limit. Plus, I just couldn't sit still, knowing that there was a whole bunch of perfectly ripe bananas waiting- just pleading- to be baked into delicious muffins.I  just had to save those babies! And what a save that was! Glorious transformation, if you will. Another save from my favorite blogging mom of five, Mel over at Mel's kitchen cafe. I adapted a recipe for sour cream banana bread I found on her blog that produced the moistest, most delicious banana muffins I have ever baked in my life. Ever. I was smitten. I baked one batch- adding flax seed, walnuts and cinnamon to her recipe. The muffins were pretty much gone within an hour. And no, I wasn't the only one eating them (although I have to admit I did have 3-4 of the minis myself,  averting eyes bashfully... :)) So, as I had more babies, uhm, bananas to save, I decided to quickly whip up another batch- they are so easy! At this point any memory of ear/nose/throat infections is completely gone, all I can think of is my glorious banana muffins and reveling in the success of my latest baking adventure. The healing power of baking! Second batch was part plain, part with mini chocolate chips (I used bittersweet Ghirardeli chocolate). I had no more sour cream, so I substituted with plain yogurt- major hit! I couldn't tell the difference between the two batches- both in taste and texture. My family and co-workers were all in raptures over these muffins. I am super-mom in my kids' eyes now. :) Boy, am I looking forward to more ripe bananas!

Ultimate Banana Muffins

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 ripe bananas)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, or plain yogurt, or Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 tbsp flaxseed meal (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional but highly recommended :)
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with 16 paper liners or simply spray with Pam. Ultimately, if making banana bread, grease and flour bottom only of a loaf pan.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and oil. Add eggs, bananas, sour cream and vanilla; blend well. Add flour, flaxseed meal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts and/or chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan(s).
   
   
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes (or 50-60 minutes for a loaf pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.
   
   Makes about 16 regular size muffins; or 42 mini muffins; or 12 regular muffins and 12 minis; or 1 loaf. For mini muffins, adjust baking time to 14 minutes.
   
   Recipe adapted from: http://www.melskitchencafe.com

Irish Soda Bread

I had been meaning to make Irish Soda Bread for this St. Patrick's Day and was looking for a good recipe to try out. Ina Garten was this year's inspiration. I love Ina. I love her recipes. I own most of her cookbooks. This recipe did not disappoint. It was exactly the kind of Irish Soda Bread I like. And while it may not be the traditional ISB, it certainly meets all my requirements for being a delicious loaf: slightly sweet, slightly crumbly, with raisins, nice flavor and definitely no caraway seeds. It turned out just the way I was hoping, and beautiful too! :)

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tbsp extra for currants
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup dried currants (I used raisins since I didn't have currants)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Per slice (15): Calories: 205; Total Fat: 4 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 5 grams; Total carbohydrates: 37 grams; Sugar: 11 grams; Fiber: 2 grams; Cholesterol: 23 milligrams; Sodium: 312 milligrams

Recipe courtesy: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/index.html

One Hour Dinner Rolls

These one hour dinner rolls were a pleasant surprise! I found them on Pinterest and thought why not make them, they only take an hour! :) Indeed, they were easy, quick and delicious. The only change I would make next time is use a little less sugar but other than that they were super fluffy and really yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 c. warm water 
• 1/4 c. sugar (I will use 1/8 cup next time)
• 1/3 c. oil
• 2 Tbsp. yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 1/3 c. flour
• 1 egg yolk, for glaze (optional)

Directions

1. In a kitchenaid mixer bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, oil, and yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes until yeast mixture is bubbly.
2. Stir in salt and beaten egg to yeast mixture.
3. Gradually add flour. Dough will be kind of sticky, but add enough flour until it's manageable. Let dough rest in the kitchenaid bowl for 10 minutes.
4. Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and form dough into balls. Place balls so they don't touch on a cookie sheet (18" x 26" pan). Let rise for 20 minutes (or longer, if you have the time). Or you can stick them in the fridge to slowly rise and you can bake them when you're ready later in the day.  
5. Brush with egg yolk just before popping them in the oven. Or, brush with melted butter after they are baked. 
6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Recipe courtesy: What's on your menu this week?

Perfect homemade pizza dough

Tonight, we made our own pizza for dinner and we all loved it! This time, I used a new- and I have to say fantastic- recipe for pizza dough. It produced the best pizza crust we have ever had- better than our local take-out pizza, which we really like.

Perfect Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 ounces) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface and hands
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

Directions:

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room-temperature water and oil and stir to combine.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for about 1 1/2- 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

When ready to make your pizza, place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use a chef’s knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into three or four pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough at a time and keeping the others covered, shape the dough, then transfer it to a pizza peel that has been lightly dusted with semolina or cornmeal. Top as desired. Slide the dough onto the heated stone. Bake until the crust edges brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. Enjoy! 

  

So thankful I found the recipe for this pizza crust on: Annie's Eats

Rustic artisan no-knead bread

This was a recipe I had been "eying" for a while... :) Boy, was I glad I gave it a go! I hate store-bought sliced bread. I'd rather not eat any at all than buy these sugary, no-crust, full of artificial additives loaves of so-called bread. My husband is not a fan of them either. So, I had been hoping I'd find a recipe that at least resembles the kind of bread I yearn for: artisan, healthy crust, rustic look, flavorful, delicious, natural-tasting, wholesome bread. Well, here it is, friends! I was so thrilled when it came out of the oven, I could cry! It is an Italian twist on a recipe I was lucky to uncover on the net- I added a teaspoon of dry Italian seasoning to it with all the great flavors of rosemary, sage, oregano- what aroma, what taste, what texture!

Now, this is the kind of bread that is easy to put together because it does NOT require any kneading. However, you do need to plan ahead because one thing it does require is time! You have to start it the night before. One other thing-  ideally, you do need to have a cast iron Dutch oven with a lid that has a high-temperature resistance knob because this is what you want to bake your bread in, and have it covered for the first 30 minutes- if you want to achieve optimal results, that is. Now, as it happens, I do have a Dutch oven, but the knob on the lid- currently- is not stainless steel and can only withstand temperatures of up to 375F. So, I used a casserole dish which I knew could go in a hot oven. I was happy with the bread but I think that once I got myself that stainless steel lid knob, I will be nothing short of ecstatic with the way it bakes (you think I am going to Le Creuset's store soon? :)))

All that being said, here is the beauty I was able to produce last night! Joy, oh, joy!

And here is the recipe:


Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast (yes, it is very little yeast- but trust me, that is all you need!)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cup water (I used lukewarm)

Additional suggestions: 
You can also alter the recipe to make whole wheat bread by using 1/2 all purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. I am thinking of even sprinkling some flax seed in next time.
This recipe also makes great focaccia by adding 3 tablespoons of light extra virgin olive oil to the original recipe and baking as you would a pizza.

Directions: 

In a mixing bowl add the flour, the yeast and the salt. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, blend the dry ingredients.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup of water and mix. Pull together the dough using your hands or a wooden spoon.Scrape any excess flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well incorporated and form into a ball.  The dough will have a stringy texture.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on the bowl to avoid the dough from drying out. Allow to rise in a warm dry, and draft free place for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.

Dust a large piece of parchment paper, measuring about 24 inches with flour to prevent the dough from sticking during its second rising. Scrape the risen dough onto the floured parchment paper.

Sprinkle some flour on the dough to prevent it from sticking to your hands.Lightly pat down the dough with your hands to form a piece of dough measuring approximately 10x10 inches.

Fold both side edges to the center of the dough.take the top edge and fold into the center, doing the same with the bottom edge of the dough.

Turn the dough and place the folded side of the dough on the parchment paper and dust with flour to prevent sticking.

Loosely wrap the dough in the parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel. Transfer to a warm and dry place and allow to rise a second time for 2 hours.

Place a cast iron Dutch oven with its cover on the second rack from the bottom of your stove's oven.  Preheat the oven to 450ºF .  Dust the smooth side of the risen dough with flower to prevent it from sticking to the bottom while baking.

Once the oven reaches the required temperature, remove the pot from the oven and take the cover off. Place the dough, folded sides up and cover. Bake for 30 minutes at 450ºF

Remove the cover and continue baking at 375º F an additional 10-15 minutes.

And if you are lucky as I was, you should have something as beautifully looking as this awesome loaf of bread. Do give it a try! It is worth the wait! Trust me!

Recipe adapted from: http://annastable.blogspot.com/2011/01/rustic-artisanal-no-knead-bread.html?spref=fb

Quick Honey Beer Bread

I found this deliciously looking recipe on pinterest and couldn't wait to try it out! Two out of my three kids, my husband and myself all loved it! I have made it twice in the last week- we just can't get enough of it! It is really tasty and what is important to me too- extremely easy and super quick to make! No kneading required!
When I first made the bread, it seemed like the 4 tablespoons of butter the recipe calls for were way too much, but when the bread was done baking and I took it out of the oven to taste it, I could see the butter made a world of difference! The crust was so full of flavor, we couldn't stop eating it! :)))

Ingredients (for one loaf):

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1 can beer (12 oz)- any kind you like
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan. (You could also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.) Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (You can microwave the honey for 5 to 10 seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in.)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Transfer the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Slide a baking sheet onto a lower rack to catch any butter that might overflow from the loaf pan (it happened to me the first time I made it and I wasn't prepared- we ended up with a smoky, smoky kitchen...)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.Serve immediately- it is really good right out of the oven!

Variation: 
If you’re a big fan of beer-cheese bread, you can also add a cup or so of cheddar (or your favorite cheese) into the batter to give it the queso-kick.  :)

Credit for this recipe goes to:  http://gimmesomeoven.com/honey-beer-bread/

Homemade Pizza

If there is one thing my kids love more than helping me bake cakes, it is making their own pizza! They have so much fun creating their own designs, they do feel like real chefs! It is fun watching them. Here is how our Sunday night went...

First, I made the pizza dough with the invaluable help of my KitchenAid mixer fitted with the dough hook. I used a recipe which I really like- it has been my favorite for a few years now. I took it from a book called "Italian Farmhouse Cookbook". It is quite simple (especially if you have a stand mixer which will do all the kneading for you, as in my case :), it just requires a little planning because the dough needs to rise for a couple of hours.

Here is all you need:

1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
2 tsps active dry yeast
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp fine sea salt (i generally use kosher salt)

In the work bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the water and yeast. Add the oil and mix well. Add 1 cup of flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the salt and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Because of the oil, the dough will feel somewhat slippery and it may not be a homogeneous lump at first. Knead, adding as little flour, as necessary, until it comes together and is satiny and elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should be moist because of the oil but not wet and it shouldn't stick to a clean finger.

Place the dough in a clean (unoiled) large bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise at room temperature (68 to 70F) until it is doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough and use it in recipes as called for.

Once i got to this point, I divided the dough into little balls like that (this recipe is usually enough for about 4 average size balls but I am missing one in this picture- already rolled out :)) :

Next, we rolled out the balls on a floured surface. Because the dough is quite elastic, rolling it out is usually not enough. I usually end up stretching it out with my hands and my daughter likes doing that too. If it doesn't come out perfectly round- that's okay- it looks more homemade this way, and it tastes just as yummy! :))) Once we have the rolled out/stretched dough to the desired size/thickness, we put it on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with corn meal. Then, the kids spread tomato sauce:

Next, go all the toppings. My daughter made a smiley face design out of ham and onions- her favorite. :))) Here it is right before it hit the oven (which I preheat to 500F with the soap stone inside and then just slide the pizza with the parchment paper right onto it):

10 minutes later and here it is- hot out of the oven: the smiley face pizza with a hair bow from a broccoli spear :)

And my son's dinosaur design- complete with trees from broccoli and pineapple for the sun:

Next, we had a big feast! :)))

christmas eve bread

i have to say, this was actually made by my mother, but i had to include it in this blog- it pays tribute to my bulgarian heritage. this is traditional bulgarian chirstmas eve bread decorated to honor God, the house, the people in it and the garden. my daughter had a lot of fun adding the decorations! :)

Irish Soda Bread

With St. Patty's day approaching, I figured I'd make my own Irish soda bread. :)