My First Pull-Apart Bread, And YBR Reminder

** Reminder May's YBR deadline is on Monday the 30th of May. Sign up here, May's YBR Sign up**

I love the smell and taste of fresh baked bread. So much so that I can never wait until it has cooled done enough, I simply must have a small taste soon after it comes out of the oven. In case you are wondering, yes I've burned my mouth many times. And no I will never learn my lesson. It's the aromas and sweetness. Sometimes the hint of fruit. Other times the cocoa or even the herbs and spices, I just can't resist the scent and warmth. I find the process of baking breads relaxing and comforting. When I'm baking I daydream about how people have been baking breads throughout history. I reminisce about walking home from the boulangerie with my warm baguette when I lived in Paris, or about the warm dark breads in Prague. Sometimes I even wonder what kinds of breads were baked in the ancient buildings that surround me. I just love everything about bread.

Some months ago I was reading Roxana's blog, A Little Bit of Everything, and she shared a recipe for a delicious looking bread. If you read Roxana's blog you know that she often shares delicious breads or baked goodies, her Pull Apart Cheesy Herb bread was no exception. I have never seen or heard of pull-apart bread before, I promise I don't live in a cave, but knew that it was something I needed to try. The method of preparing and rising the dough is different from ordinary breads and that was something that also intrigued me. I kept the mental imagine of her bread in the back of my head all these months until finally I got the extra push I needed. A few weeks ago I signed up to help Sarah-Jane shoot some photos of her silicone moulds for her booth at The Ideal Home Show in Scotland. One of the moulds she sent me was a large bread mould, she knows what I like. The large 3 lb mould was perfect for this bread and for all the baking in it's near future. If you guys don't know Sarah-Jane I recommend you stop by her blog and if you are in need of good silicone moulds then visit her company's website. She comes up with the cutest treats like this flower bouquet I can't get enough of. So stop by and say hi.

My First Pull-Apart Bread
Recipe based on Pull Apart Cheesy Herb by Roxana

**Please notice I used dried herbs and Roxana used fresh. Feel free to use your favorite fresh herbs.

1 pack fresh yeast 40 g
1 tsp sugar
11/2 cups whole milk ( 1 cup milk + 1/2 water)

3 cups or 360 g AP flour
1 cup or 120 g whole wheat flour

1 tbsp each, granulated garlic, dried oregano, dried basil,
melted or knobs of butter for filling

1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Proofing the yeast:
1. In a large bowl combine the sugar, milk and crumble the yeast. Allow to sit until the yeast foams, about 5-8 minutes. Meanwhile sift together the A.P. flour and whole wheat flour. One the yeast has foamed, make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in the yeast and stir until well combined. Kneed the dough on a floured surface into an elastic dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size.

2. In a small bowl combine the spices you will be using and set aside. If using a standard baking dish then lightly grease, if using a silicone mould no greasing is needed. Set bread mould/baking mould aside. Lightly punch the dough down, and divide into equal sized balls, I had 12. Roll the balls out into even sized disks. Brush the disks with melted butter, and sprinkle some of the spice mixture. Fold the disks in half into pockets and use a fork to firmly seal the pockets. Place the pockets inside the bread mould/baking mould as in the image below, stacking them side by side until all pockets are inside. Allow to rise again for 20 minutes.

3. After 10 minutes of the second rising, preheat the oven to 200c or 375f . After 20 minutes brush the bread with the lightly beaten egg. Bake in center of oven for 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack before serving.

Other Pull-Apart Bread Recipes:

- SPCookie Queen, Sourdough Pull-Apart Loaf - Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese

- Apple Cores and Anecdotes, Monkey Bread

- Joy The Baker, Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

- Foodiva's Kitchen, Pull-Apart Tomato Bread with Feta, Garlic and Herb Filling

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My Take on Nan Khatai or Indian Almond Semolina Cookies

Every once in a while I need some crunchy almond biscuits or cookies to go with my afternoon tea. One of the cookies or biscuits I like to enjoy with my tea are Indian Nan Khatai. Nan Khatai are eggless, crumbly cookies made with semolina and spiced with cardamom. They are the perfect accompaniment to tea but just as delicious as a special treat. They can be topped with almonds, pistachios or even cashews. In the past few years that I have been making Nan Khatai I usually reach for almonds but the fun of this recipe is that you can prepare to your mood. Since I like a little extra almonds in my cookies I also add them to the dough but this is optional. My recipe is a bit different from a standard Indian recipe but the results will be delicious.

Since it's just my husband and I, sweets or cookies are made in small batches. Feel free to double or triple the recipe to your own needs. Nan Khatai are so easy to prepare and will take very little of your time. Really there is no excuse not to make them. The sweet reward of dunking a Nan Khatai in your tea or coffee says it all. As a matter of fact as I sit here typing I can smell the sweet almond cookies waiting to be dunked in my Earl Grey tea. If you'll excuse me I have some dunking to do, but go on and make yourself a batch.

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup or 118 g all purpose flour
1/4 cup or 60 g fine semolina
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup or 60 g granulated white sugar
crushed almonds, optional to add to the dough

extra almonds to decorate cookies

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup or 60 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp. whole milk (you can also try soy or almond milk)
1/2 tsp. almond extract/essence


1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. In a mortar and pestle or chopper breakup the almonds for the dough into coarse chunks, set aside. In a large bowl sift together the a.p. flour, semolina, cardamom, baking soda, and sugar. Next add the coarse almond pieces and stir until well combined.

2. Pour the milk and almond extract into the cool melted butter, stir until well combined. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients, stir until well combined and a firm dough is achieved. If you find the mixture is not sticking together add a couple more drops of milk- but only a little bit at a time. Form a ball with the dough, cover and allow to sit 10 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and prepare a cookie sheet. Divide the dough into even sized balls. Evenly space the balls on the cookie sheet, use the palm of your hand to flatten the cookies. Place on whole almond in the center of each cookie. Bake in center of oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Are you a dunker? What are your favorite cookies/biscuits to dunk in your tea, coffee or milk?

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I'm Ready To Be Spanked! And Mazanec Czech Easter Bread

Easter is here and the city of Prague has been gearing up for the celebrations. The first signs of Velikonoce (Easter) are the markets that open up all over the city. The small vendors sell traditional hand decorated Easter eggs, and pomlázka which are decorated pussywillow twigs. Along with many other souvenirs you will also find gingerbreads baked in the shape of lambs, eggs and even chicks. At the markets you will also have a choice of typical Czech food and beer to enjoy as you take a stroll through the markets.

I am not religious so Easter is not a holiday I have paid attention to in the Czech Republic. From what I've seen and know about Easter in the Czech Republic, I would say it is more like a celebration of spring than a religious holiday. Czech Republic was under communism for a long time and religion was oppressed. Communism has been replaced by commercialism and the freedom to practice any religion. While most Czechs have no religion there are Christians here who will be going through the rituals of Easter as well as the nonreligious people following with tradition. Easter eggs will be decorated, traditional Easter dishes will be served and the boys will visit girls to spank them with their pomlazka. The pomlazka is used because tradition says that by being spanked the girls will be blessed with health and beauty during the whole year. I'm ready to be spanked, who else is with me? The spanking is accompanied by traditional carols and the boys are rewarded/thanked with a special hand decorated egg from the girls. If it's men that do the spanking then they get a shot of alcohol. It's almost like trick or treating in the states, the boys want to visit as many girls and receive as many rewards as possible. Some girls get their revenge by pouring buckets of cold water on the boys. This all sounds like fun and a bit naughty, lets move on shall we?

As is typical of many holidays, religious or not, around the world there is always food to go with the celebrations. I will be telling you about the baked Easter treats. Czechs will be baking gingerbread, cakes shape like a lamb that are dusted with powdered sugar, cross buns, Jidasky buns, and Mazanec which I will be showing you how to bake today. Mazanec is a sweet yeasted bread made with rum soaked raisins and topped with almonds. The bread has a crusty golden surface but is soft and delicious inside. You don't have to be religious or wait for Easter to bake this bread. It make a great accompaniment to coffee or tea and it can be enjoy at breakfast or as dessert.

Mazanec Czech Easter Bread
adapted from Albert Magazine

* You can cut the recipe in half to make a smaller loaf if you like.*

4 tbsp. rum
150 g or 5 oz raisins
42 g or 1.5 oz fresh yeast
400 ml or 13/4 cup lukewarm milk, use whole milk
200 g or 7 oz (1 cup) sugar
1 kl or 2.2 lbs. a.p flour
1/2 tsp. lemon zest or orange zest
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
40 g or 2 heaping tbsp butter
4 tbsp sunflower oil
slivered almonds to decorate

3 bowls, parchment paper, baking sheet

1. In a bowl pour the rum over the raisins, stir well and set aside.

Yeast starter:
In a bowl combine the yeast, milk and a couple tablespoons of the sugar. Set aside.

Once the yeast has risen : In a separate bowl combine the flour, rum soaked raisins, salt, and lemon zest. Stir to well combine the ingredients. In a separate bowl mix together 3 of the eggs,melted butter, oil until well combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the yeast and egg, fat liquid into the dry ingredients. Work the dough until it becomes a smooth and elastic dough. If need be add a little more flour. Grease a large bowl, place the dough, cover and allow to rise for 11/2 hours.

Punch the dough down, divide the dough in halves, knead and shape into two loafs. Place the loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush over the loaves. Allow them to raise for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180c or 356 f. Sprinkle the almonds over the loaves, and bake in center of oven for 35 - 40 minutes. If the top of the loaves is browning too much cover with aluminum foil for the remaining time. Allow to cool before slicing.

Serve with butter, honey, jam or any other toppings desired. Enjoy and Veselé Velikonoce! (Happy Easter!)

**April's YBR signup has been posted. It's a special edition so do check it out.**

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Potato Bread Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Arugula

In my previous post, Spicy Spaghetti with grated Zucchini, along side the pasta you may have noticed the golden crusty bread. That is the recipe I will be sharing with you today. (Well it's not much of a recipe it's really a quick thing to put together.) Bruschetta is defined as toasted bread rubbed with olive oil and garlic. I think when most of us hear the word bruschetta we picture a toasted bread topped with chopped tomatoes, basil and/or an assortment of other toppings. But according to Italian Glossary of Foods and Food Terms , the bruschetta we think of or know today is "a recent metamorphosis" of the simplistic version I previously mentioned. Either version I think we can all agree that it makes a great appetizer or accompaniment to Italian food.

This bruschetta was really a last minute addition to our spicy spaghetti dinner but I sure am glad I made it. I know potato bread isn't a traditional Italian bread to use for bruschetta but it's what I had at hand. It actually worked out perfectly because it was a day old and it became a great crunchy bruschetta. Feel free to use any crusty bread, sliced baguette or regular Italian bread if you do not have potato bread. Alongside the toasted bread I served tomato slices and arugula leaves so everyone could top their own bruschetta as desired. This bruschetta is so easy to prepare and takes virtually no time so there is no excuse not to try it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Potato bread
good quality olive oil, (I used extra virgin olive oil)
1-2 whole and peeled garlic cloves

roma tomato, sliced
arugula leaves


Preheat oven at highest broiler setting. Slice the bread into the thickness desired. Brush the bread lightly with olive oil on top only. Place the bread directly on the oven's wire rack. Allow the bread to toast and turn a light golden color, about 5 minutes. Once toasted remove from oven and brush with a little more olive oil. Rub the garlic into the toast, all around on one side only.

Serve with tomato slices and arugula leaves on the side or on top. You can serve the toppings on the side to allow everyone to add as much or as little that they want. Drizzle with more olive oil if desired. You can also sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper over the bruschetta for an additional flavor.

What are your favorite bruschetta toppings?

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Slavic Cabbage Rolls (My First Attempt) and The Huffington Post

I hope everyone is starting off their weekend well. I just found out that I'm on the Huffington Post (again), and that's a pretty neat way to start off the weekend. The feature this time is for "Ten Recipes To Jazz Up Your Weekend Breakfast." and mine is the Strawberry Banana Soy Breakfast Shake. Their selection (made by Honest Cooking) is a great collection of recipes so do make sure you check it out. Congrats to all the other featured bloggers too!! Now on to my recipe, hope you enjoy it.

Cabbage rolls, or stuffed cabbage, are one of those dishes that span many countries all with unique variations. To many of you cabbage rolls (stuffed cabbage) are a very common dish, perhaps even one you grew up with. To me it is still a fairly new one. I don't have any childhood memories of my mother making cabbage rolls for us. Now that I think about it I've never seen cabbage rolls on any authentic Mexican menus. Perhaps they do exist but I've never had the pleasure of eating one. The first time I ate one was about 5 years ago in Berlin, Germany. The first time I saw them on the menu I knew immediately what I was having for lunch. The waitress set down a cabbage roll the size of my head with a light and creamy white sauce over it, I wish I would have taken a photo. With huge anticipation and a big smile on my face I took my first bite, I loved it! My husband having grown up with cabbage rolls also agreed that they were fantastic. From that day forward every trip we made to Berlin we went to Joe´s Wirtshaus Restaurant right down the street from the Zoologischer train station. On several trips we even had both our lunch and dinner there, much to the amusement of the staff. Sadly I just learned that after 15 years they have closed down. I will greatly miss Joe's and all of their fantastic German cuisine. Auf Wiedersehen und danke Joe's.

The only times I have eaten cabbage rolls have been on our trips to Berlin, maybe because I felt no others could compare. Czechs also eat cabbage rolls but so far I've only found them in the frozen food section and I rather have them fresh. A couple of weeks ago while reminiscing about Joe's cabbage rolls I made it my mission to learn to make them. I searched high and low for a recipe that sounded or looked similar to Joe's. I wasn't able to find one so instead I settled for a standard regional version. In Czech they are called Holubky, in Russian Golubtsy, and in Polish Golabki. Both the names and ingredients are quite similar. Over the days I decided to wing it and experiment with my own take of a slavic variation. I used a local variety of white cabbage, typical Czech spices, the meat is a commonly found mix of ground pork and ground beef mixture. I didn't really follow a specific recipe, instead I read through many to get the idea of the standard ingredients used. So you could call these a Mexican girl's take on Slavic cabbage rolls, sounds kinda funny.

Ingredients:
Makes 12 rolls or 3-4 servings

1 head of white cabbage (700 grams)
1.75 lb. (or 800 g) ground pork and ground beef mix, or use just beef
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup raw long grain rice, or 2 cups/400 grams cooked
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. sweet paprika
handful finely chopped fresh parsley

Tomato sauce to pour over the rolls before baking

1. Boil the rice and set aside to cool down. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove any damaged or bruised outer leaves from the cabbage and discard. The first thing to be done is to soften the cabbage leaves in order to make them soft and bendable enough to roll up. Peel away the cabbage leaves from the cabbage and place in boiling water for upto 10 minutes or until soft and bendable. Remove each leaf from pot with a pair of thongs then set aside to drain.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C or 392F. In a large mixing bowl combine the meat, rice and all of the spices. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated and spices are well distributed. Grab a softened cabbage leave and spread some meat mixture towards one end of the leaf. Tuck, fold and roll the cabbage then set the roll aside. Repeat until all of the meat filling is used up, this recipe made 12 medium rolls. Place the rolls inside a deep baking dish. There will be extra leftover cabbage that can either be placed on the bottom of the baking dish to form a bed on which the cabbage rolls are placed over to bake. In addition I also used some of the remaining cabbage to add to the tomato sauce. Finely chopped the extra or remaining cabbage and mix with the tomato sauce.

3. Pour the tomato sauce over the cabbage roll. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, place the baking dish in the center of the of oven. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove aluminum. Look at the cabbage and use a fork to test the softness of the cabbage leaves, making sure they are soft and wilted. Once cabbage rolls are soft bake uncovered a further 10 minutes to allow the tomato sauce to thicken.

In honor of Joe's I served with them with mash potatoes. To add to the whole slavic theme I also served a small bowl of Ukrainian Borscht,beet soup, as an appetizer. These may not be Joe's cabbage rolls but if I do say so myself, not bad for a first attempt.

Do you guys have any tips or recipes for cabbage rolls similar to the ones served at Joe's?

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Heavenly Nutella Banana Bread

Raise your hand if you love bananas, raise your other hand if you love Nutella (Hazelnut cream), now raise your two hands and one foot if you love bananas and Nutella together. Nutella and bananas go together just as dreamy as bananas and peanut butter, drool! One of our favorite snacks, lunches or even breakfast is a freshly made crepe with Nutella and banana slices (Even our scruffy terrier, Panchito, loves a few bites, what can I say this dog has good tastes.) The other day I was daydreaming of Nutella and banana crepes but it was 9 at night and much to late to make a batch of crepes. When I get a craving I'm like a child, I gotta get my fix straight away. So I made a bread instead.

This was one of the best breads/cakes/loafs I have ever made! It was so light, moist, spongy, chocolatie and oh so satisfying. My husband didn't know what I was up to in the kitchen and when I brought him a slice he was happily surprised. He also really liked it and kept saying how good it tasted. In our house I'm the one that eats more desserts and sweets so to see him enjoy it this much was a good sign. Totally worth washing dishes at that time of day. You will notice that there is very little sugar, I find Nutella and bananas to be sweet enough on their own and didn't want to have an over sweetened bread. I hope you too enjoy the recipe as much as we did.

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients:
2 small ripe bananas = 1/2 cup or 150 grams mashed
1 medium egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. Bourbon Vanilla or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. brown sugar (organic)
2 heaping tbsp. Nutella or any Hazelnut cream
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup whole milk

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 200C or 392F, line a loaf mold with baking paper or butter and dust with flour then set aside. In a large bowl sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a separate large bowl mash the bananas or add the mashed bananas. Beat the egg into the bananas for 2 minutes ( to build some air). Next add the salt, vanilla, brown sugar and oil into the bowl. Stir until well combined, then add the Nutella and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the whole milk into the wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

3. Using a spatula fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until all ingredients are well combined. But do not over stir as this will create gluten and the bread will not rise. Pour batter into baking/loaf mold.

4. Place in center of oven and bake for 35 minutes or until baked through. Test the bread by inserting either a toothpick or butter knife into the center and if baked through it will come out dry. If there is batter on the toothpick/knife the bread needs to bake longer. Allow to cool before serving.

You can also serve with butter, or toast a slice then butter it. Delish!

See the large air pockets that formed all over the bread, making it very light and airy.

Reminder:
If you would like to participate in January's YBR roundup please sign up here and email your information to spiciefoodie (@) gmail.com . January 29th is the cutoff day to participate. Thanks!

OTHER GREAT NUTELLA RECIPES:

Nutella Cream Pie by Gingerbread Bagels

Nutella and Peanut Butter Granola Bars by Pass The Sushi

Nutella Queen Claudia (What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine) has so many great recipes here.

Fried Orange Creams with Nutella Ganache by Gina (guest post on Chef Dennis blog)

Goji Berry Tart with Nutella and Spelt Crust by Foodiva

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Kuri Squash Corn Muffins and the Official Start of Autumn 2010

In the northern hemisphere this 22nd and 23rd of September marks the official start of Autumn. To welcome the start of Autumn 2010 I have baked a very Autumn treat, Kuri Squash Corn Muffins. The spirit of Autumn is very much alive in these little muffins, from the vibrant colors to the taste and smell. I love Autumn first and foremost because of the vivacious color palette, which can sometimes feel like you are walking in a magical almost fairy tale painting. There is a different kind of smell outside, a crisp and cool breeze that somehow magnifies the beauty of nature changing and getting ready for something else. Taking those long walks to hear and feel the soft crunching of the dying leaves beneath my feet which radiate the most magnificent shades or red, orange and yellow. Then sipping that warming cup of tea after I've come back from a long cool walk. I love the feeling of my scarves wrapped around my neck, so soft and cuddly. Here in Prague it seems like Autumn has arrived a little bit early this year, which to be honest even though we had a cool Summer I am not minding at all. My little family has already been out enjoying the sunny Autumn weather with plenty long walks. This weekend my husband and I went out to the city center and we saw some of the trees starting to change colors already. Of course I had my little point and shoot camera with me and I can't wait to go back out once all of the trees have changed, it will be so beautiful to see.

Two thing that screams Autumn is here are corn on the cob and all of the pumpkin/squash varieties for sale every where. So I thought why not combine the two with some warm spices. I actually didn't use fresh corn for the muffins but instead used corn flour. I used red Kuri squash which is also know by these names Japanese squash, Orange Hokkaido squash, Baby Red Hubbard squash, and/or Uchiki Kuri squash. This is a round small winter squash that has a bright orange skin and a vibrant yellow, like Turmeric, flesh with thick seeds. It is my first time both tasting and cooking with this squash and I liked it so much that I bought a few. I have already used it in several recipes for us and even cooked it for our little puppy, in case you are wondering he loved it! The taste is a very similar to a chestnut of all things, and it is very easy to cook with because it absorbs spices well. I sliced and roasted the squash then mashed it to use in the muffins, so this is what I advice you to do as well. The extra leftover squash can then be used in any other recipes you like.

Ingredients: (makes 12 small muffins)
1 cup (140 grams) all purpose white flour
11/2 cups (185 grams) medium grain corn flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. organic brown sugar ( adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
4 whole allspice
4 whole cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
11/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (140 grams) cooked and mashed red kuri squash
1 medium egg
1/3 cup (85 grams) plain white yogurt
3 tbsp. sunflower oil
1/2 cup ( ml) whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 200C or 390F, prepare the muffin molds. Grind the whole allspice and cloves in a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar,salt, ground allspice, ground cloves, ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon. Mix these dry ingredients until well incorporated making sure the spices are well distributed in the flour. Set the bowl aside.

2. In a separate bowl whisk the mashed squash, yogurt, oil and milk until well incorporated. Next beat the egg into the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Make a well in the dry ingredients bowl and gently mix in the wet ingredients. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated. Fill each muffin molds or paper mold 3/4 full, place in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with butter and honey.

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Blood Orange Zest Rolls

A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe for Czech Easter sweet rolls, I liked the taste and texture so much that I decided to make them again. But this time I experimented a bit with different ingredients like adding the blood orange zest, vanilla and almonds. The results were yummy, yielding a slightly fruity and sweeter version. Honestly I liked these better than the recipe from the book.

The idea of the blood orange zest came when I looked in my spice cabinet to see what dried zest or citrus peels I had available. You see I like to remove and dry the peels from all sorts of citrus fruits to use in cooking and baking. You don't have to worry about using dried zest if you have some fresh blood oranges or oranges to use that will be just fine. Outside of Europe Vanilla sugar is not very popular so you may have a hard time finding it in other countries. I use it as a cheaper alternative to the hard to find vanilla extract. But don't worry see the recipe below to see how you can substitute the vanilla sugar with the extract.

Your Ingredients:
400 grams or 3 cups fine or medium grain flour
30 grams or 1 oz fresh yeast
40 grams or 1.41 oz Castor sugar
2 TB vanilla sugar ( or substitute 1 tsp. vanilla extract)
250 ml or a little over 1 cup milk, luke warm
pinch of salt
60 grams or 2 oz of butter
2 egg yolks (reserve the egg whites)
2 tsp dried blood orange zest ( can replace with orange zest )
slivered almonds for topping

extra flour for rolling
butter or oil to grease the baking pan

1. Melt the butter and set aside to allow to come to room temperature. In a small bowl break up the fresh yeast then add half the sugar and about 100 ml or 1/2 cup of milk. Allow the yeast to rise, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix the remaining white sugar and the vanilla sugar into the remaining milk and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the salt, zest and flour, make a well in the center. Once the yeast mixture is ready add it, the melted butter and remaining milk to the the flour. With a large wooden spoon start mixing the mixture until it comes together. You can begin kneading the mixture into a smooth dough for about 10 minutes (adding extra flour if needed). Cover and leave to rise until it has doubled in size, about an hour.


3. Preheat oven to 200c or 392f. On a floured surface knead the dough once again then cut into equal sized pieces/balls. Roll each into desired shapes, grease a baking pan, place the rolls on the baking sheet and brush egg whites over each bread. Leave bread to rise for another 5 minutes. Bake until they are golden brown 10-15 minutes.

Allow to cool down before serving.

I'm also excited to have found a great site called Wild Yeast! . This will be my first submission to their YeastSpotting , check it out lots of great recipes. And if you're like me and need an extra motivation to keep practicing and learning more about baking you'll love submitting to the site.

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Jidasky Czech Easter Buns

Easter Sunday is right around the corner and many of you are getting your meal plans for your celebrations ready. So I thought I would share a recipe that I came across in my little Czech cookery cookbook, it's for traditional Easter buns. These little breads are baked on Good Friday and enjoyed as a Lenten lunch during the season. The breads or Jidasky are supposed to represent the rope of Judas......OK I tried to do some research on this to clarify it better for you but well, that's pretty much what I came up with. The Czech Republic was under 42 years communist rule and during that time religion was highly discouraged and persecuted, the country became or was an atheist state. Till this day most of the people are non-religious, but over the past years there has been a rise on people beginning to practice different religions. The Czechs have very tolerant views towards religion, it isn't something that comes up in conversation a lot or causes problems between people - it's a non-issue. Being that I myself am not a religious person I find this to be a great and positive attitude to have towards people's own personal beliefs. But regardless of religious or not people have kept up with traditions like this that have been handed down from generation to generation.

If you are interested in this little cookbook (see photo) I did find it on Amazon, CZECH COOKERYbut with out a picture of the book cover. I did a Google search and found this site in Canada that sells it. Alternatively if you are ever in CZ you can find it in any book store or tourist shop.

Your Ingredients:
400 grams or 3 cups fine or medium grain flour
30 grams or 1 oz fresh yeast
40 grams or 1.41 oz Castor (super fine **not powdered* )sugar
250 ml or a little over 1 cup milk, lukewarm
pinch of salt
60 grams or 2 oz of butter
2 egg yolks (reserve the egg whites)

extra flour for rolling
butter or oil to grease the baking pan

1. Melt the butter and set aside to allow to come to room temperature. In a small bowl break up the fresh yeast then add half the sugar and about 100 ml or 1/2 cup of milk. Allow the yeast to rise, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix the remaining sugar into the remaining milk and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the salt and flour, make a well in the center. Once the yeast mixture is ready add it, the melted butter and remaining milk to the the flour. With a large wooden spoon start mixing the mixture until it comes together. You can begin kneading the mixture into a smooth dough for about 10 minutes (adding extra flour if needed). Cover and leave to rise until it has doubled in size, about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 200c or 392f. On a floured surface knead the dough once again then cut into equal sized pieces/balls. Roll each piece/ball into long tubes and work into spiral or pinwheel shapes like in the photographs. Grease a baking pan, place the breads on the baking sheet and brush egg whites over each bread. Leave bread to rise for another 5 minutes. Bake until they are golden brown 10-15 minutes.

Allow to cool down before serving. Once you are ready to serve allow each person to dribble honey over them and serve with coffee or tea. This breads came out very moist and fluffy and very good, actually this recipe and taste reminds me a lot of my own dinner roll recipe , with a few differences.



Check out the Blood Orange Zest Version here : http://spiciefoodie.blogspot.com/2010/04/blood-orange-zest-rolls.html

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old fashioned white bread~ easy

Who doesn't love the smell of fresh baked bread. This simple recipe is good to learn how to bake a basic bread. This recipe is a combination of recipes and techniques that I used to eventually come up with this simple and fool proof basic white bread. The recipes gives you a foundation that you can build on later by adding other things like spices or herbs or experiment with mixing different flours. It's great for sandwiches or to use for French Toast.

Your Ingredients:

-2 cups (227 grams) white wheat flour

-1 TBSP. (15 ml)sugar

-1 tsp. (5 ml) salt

-1 TBSP. (15 ml) butter or vegetable shortening, soft at room temperature

-1 egg

-3/4 cups (175 ml) warm water or milk, your choice or use a mixture of half water and half milk

-1 small packet of active yeast

-1 bread pan, or cookie sheet

1. Measure out the water or milk, which ever you decide to use, it needs to be lukewarm. *tip- don't overheat it or you'll kill the yeast and bread won't rise*. In a small bowl put the water/milk then add the yeast and sugar, stir to combine a bit. Put aside to let for about 5 minutes. This is called proofing the yeast and what it means is just that we are testing the yeast to make sure it's still alive and will raise our bread. If the yeast is Ok it will look like the photo below.

2. In a separate large bowl combine the the flour and salt combine, then make a well in the center of the bowl and add the egg and soft butter and slowly add the yeast and water/milk mixture. With your hands start combining all the ingredients, keep kneading the dough until it forms a smooth texture. , *see photo below*

3. Continue kneading for a total of about 10 minutes, you will feel the air starting to build in the dough. Next prepare the dough pan or cookie sheet by either using parchment paper or using a little oil cover the entire inside of the pan, then dust with a little flour to again cover the inside , but just a light dusting. (this prevents the bread from sticking and can be removed easier.) Next you need to shape the bread, either in a circular form or shape into a loaf and place on the sheet or in the pan.

4. Use a clean kitchen towel and cover the dough and let it rest for about 40 minutes. We need to let the dough rise to double its size, and this could take up to 40 minutes or more.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 F /177 C for about 10 minutes. The bread will take about 30 minutes to bake.

The bread will be golden brown all over with the top being a bit darker. After the bread has baked let it cool down before you slice. And that's all fresh home made bread, convenient ,soft, warm and delicious without all the added preservatives.

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