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.
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!
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.
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.)
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.)
I made matzoh in the rofco .. a great oven for matzoh!
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!
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!
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.