3-Grain Bread - Trekornsbrød

3-Grain Bread - Trekornsbrød

3-Grain bread is yet another Danish classic bread, from the start of "the health era."  This is still a white bread but with added healthy seeds and grains, (flaxseeds, wheat and rye). I have always liked 3-grain bread. The distinct taste of roasted sesame seeds with the nice baked crisp crust is really nice. And of cause the texture of the seeds and grains, this always makes my mouth happy.

Makes 2 big loafs.

Ingredients:

• 50 g compressed yeast (or 4 tablespoons dry yeast)
• 900 ml water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 100 ml yoghurt
• 200 g whole wheat flour
• 75 g rolled rye
• 75 g wheat flakes 
• 150 g flax seeds
• 2½ teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, I used Bornholmsk rapskimolie (rapeseed oil)
• 1000 g all-purpose flour

Topping:

• egg wash, here a beaten egg
• sesame seeds

Directions:

Crumble the yeast into the water and stir to dissolve. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes on a stand mixer. Let the dough rise for 40 minutes, covered with a clean kitchen towel.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead it lightly to deflate a bit. Divide the dough in 2, and form them into balls creating a taut smooth surface. 

Flip dough ball over so you have the seam on top. Fold the top ⅔ over, pressing the dough to adhere. Repeat a few times to make a log with good surface tension. Roll the log to the size of the baking sheet. Place the log/loaf on a parchment lined baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the second loaf. Let the breads rise, covered for another 30-40 minutes. 

Preheat the oven for 450℉ (235℃).

Brush the breads with egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and score the breads a few times across the bread, to help with the oven spring.

Place the breads in the oven, and just before closing the oven door, splash ¼ cup water in the bottom of the oven, and quickly close the door.

Bake the breads for 40-45 minutes until deep golden brown. 

Let the breads cool before slicing.

Enjoy! 

Tivoli Cake

Tivoli Cake

The Tivoli cake is an old classic cake made the first time by Pastry chef Gert Sørensen for a gastronomical fair in 1923 at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen Denmark.   

I have been wanting to make Tivoli cakes for a long time, but I have never found the right time before this week. I buckled under peer pressure ❤️ from a Facebook group for Danish women in the US. The Great Baking Show (Den store bagedyst) made a viewer competition, "who can make the best looking Tivoli cake?" And of cause I had to try.

Makes 10-12 cakes.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

• 300 g all-purpose flour
• 150 g butter, salted and room temperature
• 100 g confectionary sugar
• 1 egg

Jelly: 

• 6 tablespoons Red currant jelly (I used Smucker's)
• red food coloring (I use wilton red paste color)

Apple Sauce:

• 1 large apple, use an apple that are good for cooking: Granny Smith, Pippin, Gravenstein, Mcintosh, Jonathan, Jonagold, or Golden Delicious
• 40-50 g sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 100 ml water
• lemon juice, to taste

Meringue:

• 125 g egg whites (from about 4 large eggs)
• 350 g confectionary sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

Rum custard:

• 1 sheet gelatin (1 teaspoon non-flavored gelatin)
• 30 g confectionary sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 60 g egg yolks (about 3-4)
• 50 ml dark rum
• 200 ml heavy whipping cream

Filling: 

• 400 ml heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Pastry:

Mix the butter in the flour and sugar in a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix just until the dough starts to lump together. Form the dough into a disc and wrap it in plastic wrap, and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 360℉ (180℃)

On a floured surface roll the dough to about 1/10-inch (3mm) thickness. Cut out round about 2¾-inch (7 cm) in diameter. Grease 10-12 2-inch (5 cm) small pans. Place the pastry in the pans, making small pastry shells/cups. Bake the shells for about 10 minutes until the shells are golden brown. Let the shells cool completely.

Jelly: 

Mix the ingredients, and heat it over a bowl of very hot water (just after it has boiled). Now the jelly is melting somewhat, but with some lumps. Run the jelly through a sift, to get rid of the lumps. Let the jelly set in a small bowl in the refrigerator. Put the jelly in a pastry bag with a small round tip.

Apple Sauce:

Peel, core and dice the apple. Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, and let it simmer, under lid, for about 10 minutes until the apple is soft, and forms an apple sauce. Season the sauce with lemon juice. (If you use a sweet apple, you might not need all the sugar.)

Meringue: 

In the bowl for the stand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually, a couple tablespoons at a time, while still beating the egg whites. Keep beating the egg whites/meringue until it becomes thick and glossy. 

Using a pastry bag with a large (18 mm) round tip, pipe large round dots, ⅔-inch (2 cm) high and 2⅓-inch (6 cm) wide.

Let the meringue dots dry for about 30 minutes before baking, this will prevent the meringue from cracking.

Preheat the oven to 255℉ (125℃).

Bake the meringues for about 25 minutes, you don't want the meringue to get any color. Let the meringues cool completely before handling.

Rum custard:

Let the gelatin bloom in cold water for about 30 minutes. (If using powder, follow the instructions on the package). 

Whisk egg yolks thick and pale with sugar and vanilla.

Whip the heavy whipping cream to soft peaks.  

Squeeze any excess water from the gelatin and melt it in the rum over a double boiler. (I just put boiling water in a large pot, and place a stainless steel bowl on top, with the gelatin and rum.) You want the rum/gelatin mixture to heat to 122℉ (50℃).

Pour the rum into the egg mixture while whisking. Whisk half of the whipped cream into the egg mixture, and gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream.

Dip the top of the cooled meringue dots in the rum custard, place them on a baking sheet and let the custard set on the meringue in the refrigerator.

Building the cake:

Pipe a spiral on the dipped meringue, with the jelly.

Whip the cream to relatively stiff peaks, Be careful not to over-beat it, it will turn into butter. Transfer the whipped cream into a pastry bag with a large round tip (18 mm). 

Fill each pastry shell with about a tablespoon apple sauce. Pipe a large sphere/dollop of whipped cream on top of the applesauce, you want to cover the apple sauce and get some height to the cake. Place the meringue on top. 

Serve the cake as dessert or with a good cup of tea or coffee.

Enjoy!

The recipe is from Danish Televisions Den Store Bagedyst. 

Roasted Hokkaido Pumpkin 5-Grain Salad

Roasted Hokkaido Pumpkin 5-Grain Salad

This is a perfect side to your fall roasts. It's colorful, healthy and has great texture. Hokkaido pumpkin is a mild pumpkin, not overly sweet like other pumpkins and winter squashes. This makes it easy to season so that it goes well with many different cuisines. This time I seasoned it a little to the mild side, and it went perfect with our rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium Hokkaido pumpkin/red kuri squash
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• ½ teaspoon piment d'espelette
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 250 g (8.8 oz) 5 grains (mix of spelt, barley, whole grain long rice, Kamut and oats berries)
• 1 large handful Italian parsley, chopped
• 15 g roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 orange, peeled and cut into filets
• salt & pepper to taste 

Directions:

Cook the grains according to package instructions. I cooked it in chicken stock. Drain and let sit to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). 

Peel the pumpkin, cut it into two halves and scoop out seeds. Cut the pumpkin into ¾-inch cubes. Coat pumpkin with olive oil, rosemary, piment d’espelette and salt. Bake the pumpkin in a large ovenproof dish in a single layer, for 30-40 minutes. Let the pumpkin cool before mixing.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, grains, parsley, orange filets and pumpkin seeds. Season the salad with salt and pepper. You can dress the salad with a lemony vinaigrette that you like.

Enjoy!

Whiskey Cream Sauce

Whiskey Cream Sauce

Danes are a potato and gravy/sauce kinda people. I grew up on a lot of potatoes and my moms quick skillet sauce, which was made with milk or cream in the skillet, she had used for preparing the meat. Nowadays I only make this kind of sauce maybe once or twice a year. The amount of fat, is not agreeing with my way of living anymore.
In the 80's and 90's most Danes would serve you Knorr béarnaise when serving steak, some might make the homemade béarnaise for an extra treat. In the 00's whiskey cream sauce became a big hit, especially when Jensens Bøfhus (a chain of steakhouses) started selling their popular sauce in most grocery stores in Denmark.

This is my take on this classic whiskey cream sauce.  

Serves 6.

Ingredients:

• 50 g salted butter (maybe you can use less)

• 85 g (3 oz) tomato puree

• 200 ml beef stock

• 250 ml heavy whipping cream

• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 2 tablespoons whiskey (DO NOT use a smokey one)

• ½ teaspoon sugar

• salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted, the butter will foam up, swirl the butter in the pan. When the foam subside and the butter is turning a golden brown, whisk in the tomato paste and then the rest of the ingredients. Let the sauce cook at a simmer, while whisking, for a few minutes so the most of the alcohol evaporates. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. You can thicken the sauce with cornstarch in cold water, if you like a thicker sauce.

Serve the sauce with your favorite steak.

Enjoy!

Pickled Chilies

Last Sunday I went to my local Farmer's Market looking for chili peppers. I have been wanting to pickle chilies for so long. Last year I grew my own, but I used them all in my cooking, leaving no leftovers to pickle. I returned home with a bag filled with habanero, jalapeño, serrano, thai and a no-name red chili pepper. I made a new batch of hot hot sauce and then it was time to pickle the rest.

I like my pickled chilies to be slightly salty and not overly sweet. The sweeter ones are more difficult to pair with dinner. I think I got the right mix of sweet, salty and tanginess to my take in this batch.  

Makes 2 medium jars.

Ingredients:

• 300 g mixed chili peppers (jalapeño, serrano, thai, habanero), sliced
• 500 ml vinegar
• 85 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Directions:

Bring the vinegar to a boil, add all the sliced chili peppers, and bring it all to a boil. Remove the chilies using a slotted spoon. Place the chilies in 2 cleaned and sterilized* glass jars. 

Add sugar, salt, bay leaves and coriander seeds to the vinegar, and bring it to a boil again. Make sure that sugar and salt is dissolved before pouring the hot vinegar over the chilies. Put the lids on the jars, and wipe the jars clean. Let the pickled chilies cool.

The chilies will keep for at least a month. I only make small batches and keep them in the refrigerator. 

Serve the chilies on sandwiches, as hot snacks or where ever you need a kick to your food. 

Enjoy!

*You need to clean the jars and sterilize them by soaking them in boiling water. It goes the same with the lids. Submerge the lid for a few minutes in a bowl of boiling water.