Kaiser Rolls

When I was a kid, kaiser rolls were the most tempting bread at the grocery store. The combination of their distinct aroma, fluffy texture, and seeded toppings made them irresistible. I am overjoyed to finally be making them at home, and I'm sure my younger self would be satisfied with the results.
(Another one from Peter Reinhart)

This takes 2 days to make.

Day 1: make the pre-ferment (pate fermentée)

Ingredients:
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c unbleached bread flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t instant yeast
3/8 c + 1 T water, room temp

Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add 3/8 c water, and stir until everything is combined into a workable dough. Add the remaining water if needed. (err on the wet side.)

Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead 4-6 minutes until the dough is soft and tacky but not sticky. Oil and place in a bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit at room temp ~1 hr, until 1.5 times original size.

Remove from the bowl and knead to degas. Replace in the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: make the bread

Remove the pate fermentée from the fridge 1 hour before beginning. Cut it into 10 pieces, cover it with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c pate fermentée (see above)
2 1/4 c bread flour
3/4 t + pinch of salt
1 t diastatic barley malt powder or 1 1/2 t barley malt syrup
1 t instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 T vegetable oil or shortening, melted
10 T to 3/4 c water, lukewarm
*optional: Poppy and sesame seed toppings
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

After 2 hours rising

In a large bowl, combine the pate fermentée, egg, 10 T water, and oil/shortening. Sift in the dry ingredients, then mix everything together until it combines into a ball. If needed, add all of the water.

Transfer the dough to a floured counter and knead for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and tacky but not sticky. Place in an oiled bowl and let rise, covered with plastic wrap for 2 hrs.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 9 pieces for small rolls, 6 pieces for large rolls. Form each piece into a small roll, mist with oil, and let rest 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, mist with oil, and dust with semolina flour/cornmeal.

To shape the rolls, take each piece and roll it out to a strip 6''-8'' long. Tied the strand into a knot, keeping your finger in the middle of the knot. Take the ends and keep twisting around the strand, so one goes up through the center hole, and one goes down through the center hole. After trying a few, I figured out this works best when you pull on the dough to maintain surface tension while you are tying and twisting. (don't worry it won't break.)

Roll out each piece into a strand

Knot each strand into a roll

Ready to rise after shaping

Place the shaped pieces upside down on the parchment paper, and let rise 45 minutes. Flip over and let rise another 30-45 minutes more, until doubled in size.

While the rolls are on their second rise, preheat the oven to 450 F, with the oven rack in the middle. Have a misting spray bottle on hand. If you want to add seeds to the rolls, mist them and sprinkle with poppy or sesame before baking.

Place the pan in the oven, mist the walls, and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees, and lower the oven to 400 F. Continue baking until the rolls are medium golden brown, approximately 15-30 minutes for large rolls, less for small. Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack and wait 30 minutes before serving.

 

Focaccia

Focaccia is one of those breads that brings back memories of Italy for me. Especially when it's made properly. Thick, fluffily, perfectly oily, perhaps a little crumbly too. Italian Focaccia. It's not the same here in the US.

As a result, I don't usually buy it at stores here--it's always a disappointment--and I was excited to see a recipe for it in Peter Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice". In the book he has 3 versions of focaccia--regular, made with poolish, and pizza-style. He also has a recipe for Herb Oil to top the dough. I decided to make poolish focaccia, since breads made with pre-ferments are more flavorful. This does require you to make the poolish a day ahead of time.

Day 1: make the poolish

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c bread flour
1 1/3 c water, room temp
1/4 t instant yeast

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until the flour is hydrated. It should be like thick pancake batter. Let sit at room temperature 3-4 hours, until it is bubbly. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2: make the focaccia

Remove the poolish from the fridge 1 hr before making the dough

Ingredients:
3 c poolish (~the recipe above)
2 2/3 c unbleached bread flour
2 t salt
1 1/2 t instant yeast
6 T olive oil
3/4 c water, lukewarm
1/4 c-1/2 c herb oil (recipe below)

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the poolish, olive oil, water, and mix until the ingredients form a sticky ball. If mixing by hand, mix for 3-5 minutes, dipping the spoon or your hand into cold water to work the ingredients into a smooth mass. If using a mixer, use a dough hook and mix 5-7 minutes until a smooth, sticky dough has formed. Add more flour if needed.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and pat it down into a 6'' rectangle. Let it relax for 5 minutes. Stretch the dough out to 3 times it's width and fold it over itself like try-folding a letter. Mist the dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold the dough one more time, mist and cover, then let sit for 1 hour. It will swell but might not double in size.

While the dough is resting, make the herb oil.

Ingredients:
2 c olive oil--not extra virgin, anything will work
1 c chopped fresh herbs--basil, parsley, thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, cilantro, savory, sage--or 1/3 c dried herbs.
1 T kosher salt
1 t coarse ground black pepper
1 T granulated garlic or 5-6 cloves fresh, chopped/pressed
*optional: 1 t ground cayenne pepper
*optional: 1 t paprika
*optional: 1 T fennel seeds
*optional: 1 t onion powder, or 1 T dried minced onions

Warm the olive oil to about 100 degrees F. (only warmed! do not heat!) Add there herbs and seasonings of your choice and let steep. When I made this I put in cayenne, paprika, and ground black pepper, and it was pretty spicy.

When the focaccia is almost done resting, line a 17'' x 12'' sheet pan with baking parchment and drizzle 1/4 c olive oil over the parchment, spreading the oil over the entire pan. Transfer the dough to the pan and spoon half the measured herb oil (~1/4 c) on top of the dough. Using your fingers, dimple the dough while spreading it out along the pan. Keep the thickness consistent and don't worry about filling the whole pan. Add more oil if needed, so the top stays coated. Cover with plastic wrap and proof ~2 hrs, until the dough fills the pan.

15 minutes before baking, drizzle on more herb oil, and dimple in the dough so the oil forms pools, and the dough spreads out to fill the entire pan (if it hasn't already). It should be about 1/2'' thick. Let it sit 15-30 minutes before baking, until it has risen to 1''.

Preheat the oven to 500 F, oven rack on the middle shelf. Place the focaccia in the oven, lower the temperature to 450 F, and bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through. The bread is done when the focaccia is golden brown. Immediately transfer the focaccia to a cooling rack after removing it from the oven. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Pignoli Cookies

I first had these cookies, not in Italy, but at an upscale restaurant/cafe I worked at years ago. Everything at the restaurant was made in-house, including artisan breads, desserts, house-cured meats, and all their ingredients were locally sourced. Pignoli were one of the pastry chef's everyday items, and memorable by their distinctive crust, golden toasted pine nuts, and almost creamy-sweet inside. One cookie is enough to satisfy a craving, and this recipe I found replicated the memory exactly.

Peeling the blanched almonds

Ingredients:

12 oz Almond paste: (you can buy this or make the one listed below)

- 3/4 c almonds, blanched & peeled

- 3/4 c powdered sugar

- 1 egg white

- 3/4 t almond extract

- 1/8 t salt

1/2 c sugar

1 c powdered sugar

4 egg whites

1 1/2 c pine nuts

This recipe works best when made in the food processor.

First make the almond paste. Blanch the almonds by placing them in a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute. Rinse twice then remove the skins. Chop up in the food processor until very fine. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth paste has formed.

Next, add the 1/2 c sugar and 1 c powdered sugar to the food processor. Begin mixing and add 1 egg white, then another. Do not make the batter too wet! I accidentally added too many egg whites and the batter was too wet, so I had to adjust by adding more almonds, more sugar, and some flour. The batter should be workable, so you can roll it into balls, and tacky but not too sticky.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Spread the pine nuts out on a dish, and have the remaining egg whites on the side in a small bowl. Roll the dough into 1'' balls, coat in egg white, then roll in the nuts. Place on parchment paper on a baking sheet, and flatten slightly.

Rolling and coating the cookies

Bake 15-20 minutes, until the nuts are toasted, and the cookies are beginning to brown. I rotated my trays halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling 1 minute after removing from the oven, and let cool before serving.