I did a lot of baking myself this past weekend, for Easter and otherwise: did some pita tests for my upcoming class (I think the class listing will go live tomorrow, stay tuned), made my pal Posie’s amazing chocolate cake for a birthday celebration, and made choreg (of course). I also used an extra batch of choreg dough to make that other Easter bread, hot cross buns:
They were very nice, but my “cross paste” was a little runny and I ended up having to reapply it midway into the bake. Gonna work on that for next year (I think I’ll probably work up a real HXB recipe for then.)
How did everyone else’s bakes go this past weekend?
Apr 18, 2022·edited Apr 18, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian
I made whole grain hot cross buns, recipe from the workshop I took from sarah lemanski on the Demi app. They turned out amazingly even when I adjusted the timing for my own schedule! Instead of traditional addins I used dried prunes and figs soaked in black tea. Flipping delicious! Also, I find it CRITICAL when eating a sweet bun to ‘cut’ it open using the fork split method to allow hills and valleys for my toppings of choice to drip and pool.
Yeah I just put two bags in a mug, and made it nice and dark, then bc the prunes I had needed a long soak I actually reheated them with the tea and let that steep.
Those sound great, and I agree about the virtues of hills and valleys in split breads! Sarah took my choreg workshop last month. I'm on the waitlist and considering moving my classes to Demi, we shall see....
I made lemon pound cake, then Greek Easter bread, then Maurizio Leo's cardamom rolls. I agree with mollie - split those rolls open, drizzle on a little extra glaze...oh my!
Hi Stephanie, it is Tsoureki from a website called dimitra's dishes. I have altered it quite a bit though so I'm not complety true to the original online recipe.
I made your rye sourdough and it’s currently cooling. One questioni was a little surprised how chocolate-y it smells. What was the thought in adding the chocolate to the bread? Is it traditional?
I made HXBs, too. A cross made of equal weights of bread flour and water hit the sweet spot for me: loose enough to pipe but firm enough to hold its shape. Made one larger HXB to use for a bacon and egg sandwich, which was decadent and I’d do it again. Made bagels to stash in the freezer for quick breakfasts in the coming (busy) week.
Bacon & egg HCB sandwiches sounds great to me, AG! I used maple syrup as my glaze, which would be ideal here too. My cross paste recipe was equal *volumes* flour & water, which was probably the issue, will use weights next time.
Apr 18, 2022·edited Apr 18, 2022Liked by Andrew Janjigian
I made a full recipe of tsoureki — Greek Easter bread with my own deliciously aromatic combo of additions to the dough. I divided it in half, and used one half for a large braid with two red eggs. I divided the other half in two to make a smaller braid with one red egg, and another braid that I turned into a circle and baked in a cake pan, also with one red egg. Those two smaller loaves were gifts to our Easter guests. I also baked Amanda Hesser’s mom’s chocolate dump-it cake, a family favorite which even I, not usually a fan of chocolate cake, really enjoy.
I made your sourdough discard granola on Saturday. I loved the huge clumps I got out of it, as well as how unsweet it was. I'm happy/ashamed to report that, as of Monday morning, it's almost all gone. (I live by myself, so I can't blame anyone else for its rapid disappearance.)
Sounds so great, Jen! The homemade matzoh I've seen people making recently looks so different than the commercial stuff, would love to know more about your recipe.
My recipe is not precise...measured by volume instead of weight (though Id like to convert this to weight but historically we (me and my husband) have made matzoh with groups of people -- as a community-- with out mobile wood-fired oven with the timer set the moment the water hits the flour (18 min).. so keeping as simple as possible seemed to make the most sense... ~ 1 c stone ground whole wheat flour : 1/4 c water = 4/matzoh rolled out super thin and docked on both sides before baking. This year I also made matzoh solo in our kitchen at the mill with the Rofco oven which was the ideal oven for the application.. I made spelt matzoh; spelt/einkorn; einkorn; oat; and rice. The rice flour was def the most challenging. Rolling out the matzoh as thin as possible is key. And the 18 minutes is easy to achieve with small batches.. And as usual, with our growers here in the South, the grain in the field has begun to form heads right at Passover.. every year like clockwork.. amazing.
Good weekend for baking. Made Andrew’s Sesame Spelt Sourdough Bread for morning toast and a half recipe of King Arthur Baking Parker House Rolls for Easter dinner. Quite satisfying.
I made a double batch of the sourdough discard granola! It turned out great, although I must confess I may up the sweetness just a tad next time, maybe add a bit of brown sugar. But I love how it doesn’t call for super fresh starter and that it doesn’t ask me to do a levain/preferment either (all issues in other recipes I had for comparison!) I’m looking forward to snacking on it for the next week or so!
The sweetness & salt level is something that is hard to dial in with a recipe like this, some people like more, others less! But the good news is that you can taste as you go and tailor it to your own preferences. Glad you like, Liang!
I made Italian Easter bread, but decided to laminate in sprinkles (~4 T butter + 1 c rainbow jimmies) before braiding instead of merely topping with them. Strongly recommend!
I made Italian Mountain bread from “The Splendid Table” - did a version following the recipe for a yeast sponge and did a version with sourdough starter. They turned out remarkably similar with the sourdough having a little bit bigger air pockets and the yeast version being very slightly more risen.
I made whole grain hot cross buns, recipe from the workshop I took from sarah lemanski on the Demi app. They turned out amazingly even when I adjusted the timing for my own schedule! Instead of traditional addins I used dried prunes and figs soaked in black tea. Flipping delicious! Also, I find it CRITICAL when eating a sweet bun to ‘cut’ it open using the fork split method to allow hills and valleys for my toppings of choice to drip and pool.
Prunes and figs soaked in black tea — sounds wonderful! I need to try that. Just ordinary black tea?
Yeah I just put two bags in a mug, and made it nice and dark, then bc the prunes I had needed a long soak I actually reheated them with the tea and let that steep.
Thanks for the tips, mollie!
that is very Fortitude Bakery of you, sounds lovely...
Those sound great, and I agree about the virtues of hills and valleys in split breads! Sarah took my choreg workshop last month. I'm on the waitlist and considering moving my classes to Demi, we shall see....
I made lemon pound cake, then Greek Easter bread, then Maurizio Leo's cardamom rolls. I agree with mollie - split those rolls open, drizzle on a little extra glaze...oh my!
Michelle, what recipe do you use for your Greek Easter bread?
Hi Stephanie, it is Tsoureki from a website called dimitra's dishes. I have altered it quite a bit though so I'm not complety true to the original online recipe.
Thanks, Michelle! I based mine of a recipe by Diane Kochilas, but I also have altered it several times over the years.
Bread knives, retreat!
I made your rye sourdough and it’s currently cooling. One questioni was a little surprised how chocolate-y it smells. What was the thought in adding the chocolate to the bread? Is it traditional?
Cocoa is one of many additions to rye breads used to create a darker color. Did you find it to chocolatey in taste in the end?
It was subtle but definitely there, especially after tasting. I think I would cut the amount by a half-or so.
I made HXBs, too. A cross made of equal weights of bread flour and water hit the sweet spot for me: loose enough to pipe but firm enough to hold its shape. Made one larger HXB to use for a bacon and egg sandwich, which was decadent and I’d do it again. Made bagels to stash in the freezer for quick breakfasts in the coming (busy) week.
Bacon & egg HCB sandwiches sounds great to me, AG! I used maple syrup as my glaze, which would be ideal here too. My cross paste recipe was equal *volumes* flour & water, which was probably the issue, will use weights next time.
I made a full recipe of tsoureki — Greek Easter bread with my own deliciously aromatic combo of additions to the dough. I divided it in half, and used one half for a large braid with two red eggs. I divided the other half in two to make a smaller braid with one red egg, and another braid that I turned into a circle and baked in a cake pan, also with one red egg. Those two smaller loaves were gifts to our Easter guests. I also baked Amanda Hesser’s mom’s chocolate dump-it cake, a family favorite which even I, not usually a fan of chocolate cake, really enjoy.
that all sounds lovely, Stephanie!
I made your sourdough discard granola on Saturday. I loved the huge clumps I got out of it, as well as how unsweet it was. I'm happy/ashamed to report that, as of Monday morning, it's almost all gone. (I live by myself, so I can't blame anyone else for its rapid disappearance.)
I made matzoh in the rofco .. a great oven for matzoh!
Sounds so great, Jen! The homemade matzoh I've seen people making recently looks so different than the commercial stuff, would love to know more about your recipe.
My recipe is not precise...measured by volume instead of weight (though Id like to convert this to weight but historically we (me and my husband) have made matzoh with groups of people -- as a community-- with out mobile wood-fired oven with the timer set the moment the water hits the flour (18 min).. so keeping as simple as possible seemed to make the most sense... ~ 1 c stone ground whole wheat flour : 1/4 c water = 4/matzoh rolled out super thin and docked on both sides before baking. This year I also made matzoh solo in our kitchen at the mill with the Rofco oven which was the ideal oven for the application.. I made spelt matzoh; spelt/einkorn; einkorn; oat; and rice. The rice flour was def the most challenging. Rolling out the matzoh as thin as possible is key. And the 18 minutes is easy to achieve with small batches.. And as usual, with our growers here in the South, the grain in the field has begun to form heads right at Passover.. every year like clockwork.. amazing.
Amazing, love it! Will try it here someday soon
Good weekend for baking. Made Andrew’s Sesame Spelt Sourdough Bread for morning toast and a half recipe of King Arthur Baking Parker House Rolls for Easter dinner. Quite satisfying.
I bet!
I made a double batch of the sourdough discard granola! It turned out great, although I must confess I may up the sweetness just a tad next time, maybe add a bit of brown sugar. But I love how it doesn’t call for super fresh starter and that it doesn’t ask me to do a levain/preferment either (all issues in other recipes I had for comparison!) I’m looking forward to snacking on it for the next week or so!
The sweetness & salt level is something that is hard to dial in with a recipe like this, some people like more, others less! But the good news is that you can taste as you go and tailor it to your own preferences. Glad you like, Liang!
Easter is the best bread holiday 👌
I made Italian Easter bread, but decided to laminate in sprinkles (~4 T butter + 1 c rainbow jimmies) before braiding instead of merely topping with them. Strongly recommend!
love this idea!!
I made Italian Mountain bread from “The Splendid Table” - did a version following the recipe for a yeast sponge and did a version with sourdough starter. They turned out remarkably similar with the sourdough having a little bit bigger air pockets and the yeast version being very slightly more risen.