Kugalhopf

Category: Cakes > Yeast > Kugalhopf

I do have a picture of my Kugalhopf but it looks a little sad so I'll forgo posting it. >< Kugalhopf is supposed to be made in a Kugalhopf pan which is a little like a bundt pan but taller and smaller in diameter. In lieu of a kugalhopf pan you can use a regular bundt pan, which I did.

I classified Kugalhopf as a cake but it could also be considered a bread.

Kugalhopf uses yeast but my kugalhopf never really rose. Either the yeast was bad or I did something wrong, I don't know which. But, the Kugalhopf still tasted good. It tastes similar to a raisen bread, not very sweet.

It is said Kugalhopf is supposed to be eaten the same day it is made. Well, we couldn't possible eat all that Kugalhopf in one day, but toasting it the next - it still tasted good.

Before I post the recipe I used, I just want to say, that to my knowledge, Kugalhopf has yeast in it. I saw many Kugalhopf recipes with no yeast! I don't think these are true Kugalhopf recipes.

Recipe:

• 1-1/2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast
  
• 2 tbsp. Warm Water (105–115°F)
  
• 1 cup Milk
  
• 7 tbsp. Unsalted Butter; cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
  
• 6 tbsp. Sugar
  
• 3-3/4 cups Flour
  
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1-1/2 cups Raisins
  
• 1 tsp. Lemon Zest
  
• 20 Whole Blanched Almonds
  
• 1 tbsp. Powdered Sugar
  

Stir together yeast and water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Butter Kugelhopf mold or bundt pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Put 1 almond in each depression in bottom of mold (the almonds are only decorative; you can skip them altogether if your mold has no depressions). I admit, I left the almonds out of my Kugelhopf but we all know how I feel about nuts.

Heat milk with the remaining butter and sugar over low heat, stirring, until mixture is warm (105 to 115°F), butter is melted, and sugar is dissolved.

Sift together flour and salt into bowl of standing mixer with paddle attachment. Make a well in flour and add yeast mixture. Add the warm milk mixture in a slow stream, mixing at low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat in eggs 1 at a time, then beat in raisins and zest. Continue to beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)

Scrape spoonfuls of dough evenly into mold. Cover top of mold with oiled plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until it fills pan, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove towel from Kugelhopf and gently peel off plastic wrap. Bake Kugelhopf in middle of oven 15 minutes, then loosely cover mold with foil and continue to bake until golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes more. Cool in pan 2 minutes, then invert cake onto a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Dust with confectioners sugar.

Baking Tips:

• "Plump" your raisins before adding them to the mixture by placing them in a bowl with some water added. Cover the bowl and place in microwave for about 45 seconds until raisins are soft and puffy.
  
• If you don't have a warm place to allow your Kugalhopf to rise, you can heat your oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and let your batter sit in the oven with the door ajar.
  

Pizza

Category: Breads > Yeast > Pizza

It is always pretty cool when you make your own pizza from scratch. It's not hard to do but takes a little time to allow the dough to rise. If you are planning on making pizza from scratch, make sure to leave yourself plenty of time. Or, you can make your crust up ahead of time, freeze it, and pull it out when you are ready to use.



Recipe:

• 2 tsp. Yeast
  
• 7/8 cup Lukewarm Water
  
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
  
• 3 cups Flour
  
• 1-1/4 tsp. Salt
  

Dissolve yeast with a pinch of sugar, in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water (about 105 degrees). Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If yeast doesn't bubble discard it and start over with different yeast.

Combine the dissolved yeast with the remainder of the ingredients. Mix and knead everything together using the bread hook attachment until you've made a soft, smooth dough. It should take 4 to 5 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. Don't over-knead the dough; it should hold together, but can still look fairly rough on the surface.

Place dough in a grease bowl and cover. Let sit 90 minutes until puffy. Use dough for one large pizza or divide dough in half for two smaller pizzas.

In pan, spray with non-stick cooking spray and drizzle with olive oil. Place the dough in the prepared pan(s). Press it over the bottom of the pan, stretching it towards the edges. You'll probably get about two-thirds of the way there before the dough starts shrinking back; walk away for 15 minutes. Cover the dough while you're away, so it doesn't dry out.

When you come back, you should be able to pat the dough closer to the corners of the pan. Repeat the rest and dough-stretch one more time, if necessary; your goal is to get the dough to fill the pan as fully as possible.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, till it's noticeably puffy, about 90 minutes Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Bake the pizza on the lower oven rack till it looks and feels set on top and is just beginning to brown around the edge of the crust, but is still pale on top. This will take about about 10 to 12 minutes.

Top pizza how you like and then place it back in the oven, on the top rack, for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until dough is browned and cheese is melted. Let cool on metal rack and serve.

Baking Tips:

• Store brought spaghetti sauce makes a good tomato base for your pizza.
  
• If you want to freeze the crust for later use, after you bake the crust for the first time (before you put the toppings on) cool, wrap well, and freeze.
  

French Toast

Category: Bread > Yeast > French Toast

I believe egg was the first thing I learned to cook as a little girl. Eggs were quickly followed by French Toast. As I was getting ready for this posting, I went and searched for French Toast recipes like I do for everything I post. I just wanted to see what was out there. I was surprised by the amount and variety of French Toast recipes out there. Most of them where pretty fancy, but I tend to think simple is often better.

French Toast is simply bread that is soaked in eggs and then fried or baked up.



Recipe (makes 4 slices):

• 4 Slices of Bread
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1 tbsp. Milk
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
  
• 1 tbsp. Butter
  

In a shallow pan that you can soak bread in, whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Melt the butter in a skillet and move it around so the bottom of the skillet is coated. Dip bread in egg mixture so each side is covered with mixture. Let each side soak up a bit of the mixture. On medium heat, place bread in skillet and let it cook for around 3 to 4 minutes. Flip over and repeat. The bread should be brown and well toasted. You can serve your french toast with syrup, powdered sugar, jellies, or fresh fruit.

Baking Tips:

• Since the bread is going to be toasted, stale bread works well for french toast.
  
• Don't use bread that is too thin as it will break easily once it is soaked in the eggs.
  
• Don't press down on the bread while you are cooking it.
  
• If you like your bread soggier, cook it less. If you like it crisper, cook it longer.
  
• Don't let your bread sit in the egg mixture until you are ready to cook it. As it sits, it will soak up all the egg mixture. So unless it is your last piece of bread, don't do it.
  
• You can use more eggs and soak more into the bread. The more egg you soak up, the puffier your french toast will be.
  
• You can use water, instead of milk, if you would like.
  

Panko

Category: Breads > Yeast > Panko

Years ago there was this Japanese restaurant that my best friend and I would go to on occasion. We would always get tempura chicken. The chicken was coated in a tasty and crispy batter the likes of which I had never seen before. One day, my friend and I learned they had removed the tempura chicken from their menu. I tried for a really long time to imitate that batter before I learned that it had been coated in Panko.

Panko are Japanese bread crumbs. It is made from crust-less white bread that is high in gluten. The end result is a very airy and crispy coating for your fried foods. You can use Panko on fish, meats, and vegetables. Below is a picture of Panko battered chicken, broccoli, squash, and sweet potatoes.



You can usually buy Panko at an Asian market or even your local grocery store. However, if you want to try your hand at making Panko yourself I have included some instructions. I haven't tried this out myself yet so if you do, please let me know how it turns out.

The secret to Panko is in the Japanese bread used to make it. Japanese bread is higher in gluten than bread here in America. So you need to start by baking a white bread and making sure you add extra gluten.

Recipe:

• High Gluten White Bread Slices
  

Preheat oven at 200 degrees. Cut the crust off bread. Place slices on a cookie sheet and slowly toast until dried but not brown. Grate bread into coarse crumbs that look like small pieces of glass shards. Spray on honey water with a spritz bottle and dry the crumbs again.