Scotch Ale Spent Grain Bread

I was recently lucky enough to acquire some spent brewer's grain from hard core home brewers that my husband works with. Rumor has it, this scotch ale that they make was amazing.  Not being a beer drinker myself, its hard to say, but the spent grain from this ale made fantastic bread.  The final product was a sweet and moist bread that was delicious on its own or paired with a little butter or cheese.  The best part about it, it is whole wheat.  I only used a few tablespoons of regular bread flour to soften it a touch and frankly, because I had run out of wheat flour.

I had enough spent grains to make two batches of this bread.  On the second round I tried making a rye soaker, but my husband and I both preferred the whole wheat soaker.  Ingredients like buttermilk, honey, and olive oil were added for flavor and softness.  Those can be omitted or reduced as desired.

I am going to submit this baby to Susan's weekly Yeast Spotting.  

SPENT GRAIN BREAD adapted from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread

Soaker
8 ounces whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk

Mix ingredients together and leave covered overnight at room temperature.  I was unable to use it the next day so after being out overnight, the soaker was placed in the fridge for a couple of days.

Biga
8 ounces whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 cup water at room temperature

Mix ingredients together.  Knead for a few minutes.  Cover and place in the fridge.  I also had this in the fridge for a couple of days.

Final Dough
All of the soaker at room temperature
All of the biga at room temperature
4 ounces spent grains
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
5-7 tablespoons bread flour

Mix together all of the ingredients.  Once they come together in a ball, knead with the dough hook adding up to 7 tablespoons of bread flour as needed.  Allow mixture to rest for about 5-7 minutes and then knead until bread passes the windowpane test.  Allow to raise for about 1 hour.

Shape as desired.  I made this bread in a loaf pan and as a free standing loaf.  The dough is soft and does a bit better in a loaf pan.

Allow to raise again.  Heat oven to 450 degrees for 20 minutes and then turn temperature down to 350 degrees.  Bake bread at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls are hands down my favorite breakfast food.  My mom used to only make them for special occasions, like Christmas, and I would anticipate them for weeks.  I love these cinnamon rolls plain, warm, with icing, a few days old, any which way.  The basic sweet dough that makes these delicious lovelies also makes a fantastic clover dinner roll.

Cinnamon Rolls
2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 teaspoons instant yeast)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk, scalded and then cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup margarine
4 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour
sugar and cinnamon to add to the inside of the dough

Microwave the butter and milk.  Add water and eggs to the mixture and stir.  Feel the bowl, if it is only lukewarm, add the yeast.  Mix in the rest of ingredients in, taking care to use the flour sparingly.  Knead for a few minutes and allow to rise until doubled.

Once the first proof is over, turn dough out onto a lightly flofured surface.  Roll dough out into a rectangle.  Melt some butter/margarine.  Brush melted butter onto the dough.  Sprinkle the buttered dough generously with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  I use a mixture that is a little heavier on the sugar than cinnamon, but my husband prefers it opposite.  Roll the dough up and slice into rolls of desired thickness.  Honestly, these rolls are best a bit on the thin side.  I have tried making them fat, but the ratio of dough to filling was not as tasty.  Place the rolls on a pan.  Above I used a round cake pan, which makes the rolls nice an soft.  My mother always used a cookie sheet, which is very good, but makes for crustier outsides.

Allow rolls to rise for about an hour.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Bake the rolls for 25 minutes or so.

Ice as desired.  My mother's icing was just a simple combination of powdered sugar, milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla.  Use as much milk as you would like to make the icing as thin as you like.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Recently I got a new toy.  Kitchen torch!  I had been wanting one for awhile, not because I am a creme brulee addict, but because I like torched meringue so much better than baked meringue.  I have such issues with meringue under the broiler.  It shrinks and dries out and is just plain icky.  A friend of mine had even more trouble with the broiler.  Her meringue caught on fire!  So a kitchen torch it is.

I decided as my first dessert using my new toy to make lemon meringue pie, one of my husband's favorites.  I like to use lemon curd for my pie filling, I love how the tartness is offset by the sweet meringue.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE

Lemon Curd  (about 2 cups) adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
8 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract or zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy pan mix the egg yolks and sugar together.  I read in Rose Levy Beranbaum's book The Cake Bible that mixing the egg yolks and sugar together helps to keep your curd from curdling.  After mixing the egg yolks and sugar together, add the lemon juice and mix together.  Heat over medium heat until mixture thickens to where it coats the back of the spoon.  Do not let the mixture boil or really even almost boil or you will have curdling problems too.

Once the mixture thickens, remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir until melted.  If curdling occurred (i.e. there are little bits of scrambled egg in your curd) strain through a fine mesh strainer.

If you are concerned about calories and cholesterol, this version uses fewer eggs than the above version and is still tasty.  

Meringue
3-4 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/2 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tarter with whisk attachment until foamy.  Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until all incorporated.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Crust (This recipe makes a lot of crust.  You can cut it down or wrap it well and freeze the leftover)
1 pound 4 ounces pastry flour (I use 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 cake flour. Pastry flour has a slightly lower percentage of gluten then all purpose, but higher than cake.  The combination leads to a lighter crust.)
13 ounces lard (you can use shortening if you are afraid of lard or are vegan or just plain don't like it, but the taste is different
5 ounces cold water
.4 ounces (2 1/2 teaspoons) salt
1 ounce (1/8 cup) sugar, optional (I use it in sweet pies like this one but I ditch it for savory pies)

I like to make my pie crust in my food processor.  It helps me not to over agitate the gluten and I find it tedious to cut the lard into the flour.  My friend who is a pastry chef and who gave me this recipe told me to rub the lard into the flour with my fingers until the mixture resembles cornmeal.  She does make a mean pie crust, but I am lazy and the food processor is faster.

Put flour, sugar, and salt into food processor.  Pulse for a few seconds to get everything mixed up and aerated.  Add the lard to the food processor.  Pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal.  Add just enough cold water so that it comes together.  The dough should not be wet, it should just stay together when you squeeze it.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Roll out and place into pie pan.  Dock (poke) dough with fork to keep from puffing during baking.  You can also fill the middle of the dough with parchment and beans, however, I find this a delicate dough that rips easily and just docking usually does the job.  Bake crust at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.

Allow to cool completely.  Fill with lemon curd and pile the meringue on top.  Take kitchen torch and brown the top of the meringue.  Alternately, place pie under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.  Watch carefully!  

Lemon filled Lemon Cupcakes

 Sometimes cupcakes are the best way to tell someone that they are special.  Filled cupcakes are the way to go the extra mile in that regard.  Filled cupcakes from scratch with homemade frosting always do the trick.  These are great for birthdays, parties, and just to say hey, you are awesome.  I urge you to make your lemon curd from scratch.  I have used lemon pie filling from a can for recipes before, but it is nowhere nearly as good as lemon curd from scratch.  After a couple of tries, you will be able to make this stuff in your sleep.  This was my first try with the Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but it was awesome.  You can pile this frosting high on your cupcake and not worry about killing anyone with a sugar overdose.  Its light and fluffy and contrasts nicely with the tart lemon.  It also pipes like a dream.


LEMON CURD FILLED CUPCAKES adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes

CUPCAKES
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder (my cakes were a tad heavy, I might increase this to 3/4 were I to do it again)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
grated zest of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk (use buttermilk, it neutralizes the baking powder)

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix until just incorporated.  Plunk (yes, plunk, this batter is thick) into muffin pan lined with cupcake wrappers.  Fill the wrappers about 3/4 full.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

LEMON CURD
8 egg yolks plus 2 whole eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a heavy pan mix the egg yolks and sugar together.  I read in Rose Levy Beranbaum's book The Cake Bible that mixing the egg yolks and sugar together helps to keep your curd from curdling.  No curdling equals no straining, which is awesome, because I hate straining.  After mixing the egg yolks and sugar together, add the lemon juice and mix together.  Heat over medium heat until mixture thickens to where it coats the back of the spoon.  Do not let the mixture boil or really even almost boil or you will have curdling problems too.

Once the mixture thickens, remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir until melted.  If curdling occurred (i.e. there are little bits of scrambled egg in your curd) strain through a fine mesh strainer.  For a long time I only had a splatter screen, which works but is kind of lame.  A fine mesh strainer is like $5 in the grocery store and makes my life much easier when I curdle my curd.

After straining, mix in the extracts.  If you prefer, you can use the zest from one lemon instead of the lemon extract.  I was out of lemons after the cupcakes so extract it was. The high amount of lemon juice in this curd recipe makes it very lemony with or without extract.

SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
5 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of salt (optional)

Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in a bowl and set over a pan of simmering water.  Cook until the sugar is melted and warm.  You do not want to feel any of the sugar grain when you rub the mixture between your fingers.

Beat the egg/sugar mixture on high speed with whisk attachment until soft peaks form and the mixture cools down.  Switch to paddle attachment if you have one.  Add butter a few tablespoons at time until all the butter is incorporated.  Add the vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble:
1. Take cooled cupcake and with a paring knife cut a quarter sized cone out of each cupcake
2. Pipe (or spoon) curd into each hole
3. Pile high with frosting! (I used the Wilton 1M tip)

Real Buttercream

My family (myself included) loves the Wilton crusting buttercream.  That buttercream, however, is made with at least half shortening.  Who knew shortening could be so tasty?  Most people though (my husband) do not have the extreme sweet tooth that the rest of my family does.  That is where this real buttercream comes in.  It does not overpower your cake with sweetness.  It tastes so...rich and decadent.  It pipes wonderfully.  It takes just a little more effort than Wilton's buttercream (the stove is involved) but the results are well worth it.  It is not as fluffy as meringue buttercream, but has just enough fluff.  You can find the recipe for this magical stuff online here.  Of course the recipe is from Rose Levy Beranbaum's book The Cake Bible.

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Pavlovas with Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

I am so excited.  This was my first Daring Bakers' Challenge.  I have been following the Daring Bakers for awhile but never actually committed my self to joining.  But now I really want to stretch myself, and I figured the Daring Bakers are just the way to do it.

The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

This challenge was a good one for me to start with.  I have made pavlovas before, but never chocolate and never with quite so many steps.  I usually just fill them with some lemon curd or lightly sweetened whipped cream and fruit.  These pavlovas are a rich and decadent dessert with a mousse and a creme anglaise sauce.  I added some sweetened strawberries to the finished product, which nicely accented the dark chocolate mousse.

I chose to make my pavlovas into cupcake shape, an idea I gleaned from the Martha Stewart Cupcake Book.  I thought they were so cute and made perfect individual servings.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE (I doubled the original recipe to get enough cupcakes)
6 large egg whites
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder

Beat egg whites on high speed with the whisk attachment until foamy.  Add granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated.  Beat until stiff peaks form.  Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder into the egg whites.  Fold into the egg white mixture.

Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.  Grease the inside of the cupcake wrappers and the top of the muffin tin.  Pipe or plop the egg white batter into the cupcake wrappers.  Bake at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 1/2-3 hours.  Remove from muffin tin an allow to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE MOUSSE
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
grated zest of 1 average sized lemon
9 ounces 72% chocolate, chopped (I used 70% and only ended up using 8 ounces, I left one on the counter)
1 2/3 cups mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg (I additionally threw in a pinch of cayenne just for fun, it did not really make much difference)
2 tbsp Grand Marnier or orange juice (or if you are me, you have both and completely forget to use either one, where was my brain making the mousse?)

Heat up 1/2 cup of cream and lemon zest.  Once warm, add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Beat together remaining cream and mascarpone cheese until soft and whipped up.  This is where you should add the orange juice or Grand Marnier, but I spaced and forgot.  Mix the cooled chocolate in with the cream and mascarpone.

CREME ANGLAISE
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar

Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.  Combine the milk, cream, and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a bowl.  Remove from heat.  Pour about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs and whisk rapidly to prevent curdling.  Add the egg mixture back to the remaining cream mixture.  Cook on the stove until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.  Do not boil.  Strain if needed and then cool in the fridge for a few hours.

MASCARPONE CREAM
1 recipe crème anglaise
½ cup mascarpone
2 tbsp Sambucca (optional, I did not use this because I had no idea what it was.  Turns out it is an anise flavored liqueur that I do not have)
½ cup heavy cream

Whip up the heavy cream.  Mix the mascarpone and optional Sambucca in to the creme anglaise.  Fold in the whipped up cream.

To assemble final product:
1. Remove "cupcake" from its wrapper
2. Cut off the top
3. Pile some mousse, mascrapone cream, and optional strawberries
4. Place the top back on
5. Enjoy!

White bread with Asiago Cheese

I have found that basically any bread that you add cheese to, especially a nice strong cheese like asiago, is awesome.  This bread is soft, yet a bit chewy.  It has a creamy mouth-feel.  I have head that description for bread a million times, but did not really understand what it meant until I tasted this bread.  It tastes great with just a little butter but is sturdy enough to make a sandwich with.

ASIAGO CHEESE WHITE BREAD
adapted from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice

21.7 ounces bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup powdered milk
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 large egg, cold
4 tablespoons melted margarine
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Asiago cheese, shredded

Mix together the ingredients and half of the cheese until they come together.  Knead with a dough hook for about 6 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test.  Then knead by the remaining cheese in by hand.  You can knead the whole thing by hand if desired, but it will take more time.

Allow to raise 1-1 1/2 hours.  Shape as desired.  I made one into a boule and one into a loaf.  Both worked great although this is a soft bread, so the loaf ended up being my preferred shape.

Allow to raise again for about another hour.  Egg wash the top and sprinkle some of the shredded Asiago cheese on top of the loaves.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes.