Cheese bread

Cheese bread

Bread and cheese two things I really love, so why not combine the two?

The vibrant color and the spiciness from the pepper makes this bread great served with food or served with cheese and charcuterie.

Makes 1 large loaf.

Ingredients:

• 50 g fresh yeast, or 4 teaspoons dry yeast
• 500 ml water, finger warm
• 150 g whole wheat flour
• 625 g all-purpose flour
• 12 g sea salt
• 200 g sharp cheddar, grated
• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes
• 5 g (1-2 teaspoons) pink peppercorns, crushed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• egg for brushing

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water, mix in whole wheat flour and 525 g of the all-purpose flour, until fully incorporated. Let the mixture rest for 15-20 minutes to hydrate the flour, (autolyse). 

Mix in the rest of the ingredients, adding the rest of the flour a little at a time, you might not need it all. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes until you have a shiny elastic dough.

Let the dough rise for about an hour, until doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 500℉ (260℃), with a baking stone/pizza stone inside.

Divide the dough in two, and roll it into two logs. Twist the logs and form a circle on a piece of parchment paper. Let the dough rise for another 20-30 minutes. Brush the bread some beaten egg, before baking.

Slide the parchment paper and the unbaked bread onto the baking stone. Lower the heat to 475℉ (245℃) and bake for 20-25 minutes until dark golden brown, and fully baked. 

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Latte

Red Velvet Latte

The first time I tasted a red velvet latte was at Bitter+Sweet, a small but very good cafe in Cupertino. My friends and I keep going back to this place, because the coffee is that good. So if you're ever in the neighborhood, do stop by, you won't regret it.

I have been wanting to create the same latte at home, and finally I found the right mix to create the same perfect red velvet latte. I could do some reverse engineering and figure out what goes into the red velvet mix, but for now I'm happy with buying it. Sometimes you need an easy way out.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons Cappuccine Red Velvet Frappe mix 
• 1-2 espresso shots
• steamed milk (whole milk gives the best texture)

Directions

Heat the cup with some really hot water.

Whisk the red velvet mix with some steamed milk in the heated cup. Add the espresso shot(s) to the mix. Finally add more steamed milk and some milk foam.

Enjoy!

Elderflower Madeleines

Elderflower Madeleines

This is my summerly take on the classic French Madeleine cookie. Basically it's small pound cake bites, baked in small seashell shapes, aka a madeleine pan. They are really tasty, and are perfect with a cup of afternoon tea.

You can make the batter the day before, and make them fresh for the weekend brunch. This works because the batter can rest up to 24 hours in the refrigerator before baking. 

Makes 24

Ingredients:

• 85 g butter, salted
• 2 eggs
• 75 g sugar
• 3 tablespoons elderflower syrup, I use d'arbo elderflower syrup
• 110 g all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder 
• confectionary (powder) sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

Whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a separate bowl (for the stand mixer), beat the eggs for about 30 seconds, until they are frothy. Add sugar, and whisk for about 5 minutes, until the pale, fluffy and tripled in volume.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and the melted butter + syrup in batches, and mix them slowly in. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Let the batter rest in the refrigerator for about an hour to chill and hydrate the flour. This will give the madeleines the classic bump on the back, if you skip this step, the batter will still rise, but not as much.

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃), and spray the madeleine pans with nonstick cooking spray, set aside.

Pour about 1 tablespoon of batter into each mold and bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown. You want the edges to be crispy and the inside light and fluffy.

Let the madeleines cool for a minute or two. Gently use a knife to loosen the madeleines from the pans and let them cool on a wire rack. For more elderflower taste, brush the warm madeleines with some of the syrup.

Sprinkle the madeleines with confectionary sugar, just before serving.

Enjoy!

Egg Salad

Egg Salad

Egg salad is one of the easiest things to make. When the eggs are boiled and cooled, it will only take 5 minutes to make. And it still packs great flavor. I might not be the healthiest but add a good salad and some vegetables on the side, suddenly you have a great meal.

Everybody has their way to boil eggs. I put the eggs in a small saucepan and just covered with cold water. Over high heat bring the water to a boil, let the eggs cook in the boiling water for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, drain the water and stop the cooking with cold water.

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 75 g mayonnaise
• ¼ teaspoon mustard
• 2 dash curry powder
• 3 eggs, hardboiled, cooled, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. 

Serve the egg salad on your favorite bread.

Enjoy!

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll (Pastry)

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll

Birkes is a great pastry but without the sweetness. Birkes taste great warm with a slice of Havarti  or fontina cheese.

How to get warm birkes for your breakfat or brunch: Make the dough a day in advance and freeze the birkes when they are ready to put in the oven. Next morning, place the still frozen birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated oven. 

Makes 12-15

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 100 g butter, cold
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 50 g fresh compressed yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry yeast)
• 300 ml milk

Filling: 

• 100-125 g butter

Sprinkles:

• egg wash (1 egg +2 tablespoons milk)
• poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl mix the cold butter with the flour, sugar and salt until the butter is fully incorporated. 

Heat the milk until finger warm and dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the warm milk to the flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes on the stand mixer, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise covered for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Gently ease the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle, the size is not important. Place thin slices of butter on ⅔ of the dough, leaving ⅓ bare. Fold the part without butter over half of the buttered dough, and fold the last ⅓ over like you are folding a letter. Like as in a puff pastry dough.

Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator, before rolling the dough to a thin rectangle again, and making another letter fold. 

Preheat the oven to 435℉ (225℃).

Roll the now laminated dough a little longer, so you are able to get 12-15, 2-inch (5 cm) wide pieces. Gently place the birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the birkes rest 10 minutes covered.   

Brush the birkes with egg wash, and sprinkle with white poppy seeds, and bake them for 15-18 minutes. Cool the birkes for a little while, and serve them warm.

Enjoy!