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Povitica – Daring Bakers October Challenge

October 30, 2011 in Baked Treats, Bread, Recipes

Good Looking and Tasty all in the same package…

I have been slacking big time in the past few weeks. I have missed a few daring bakers challenges and a few daring cooks challenges but I am going to get back on track with the October Daring Bakers challenge.

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat! 

The bread definitely looked really lovely in the pictures I saw of it and I was really hoping that mine turns out good looking too. And yes I have gotten over my fear of baking bread specially the ones with yeast. I am much more comfortable now with the whole process and the daring baker’s are the main reason for it. So thanks Jenni for a beautiful and tasty ‘POVITICA’. So here’s the recipe. It makes one loaf and below are the storage instructions.

There are several options for storing (and eating) your four loaves of Povitica:

  • The Povitica will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature.
  • The Povitica will keep fresh for 2 weeks if refrigerated.
  • The Povitica can be frozen for up to three months when wrapped a layer of wax paper followed by a layer of aluminum foil.
Preparation time:

To make Dough: 40 minutes
Rising: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Rolling and Assembly: 20 minutes
Baking: 1 hour
Cooling: 30 minutes
To Make the Filling: 15 minutes, including the grinding of the nuts

To activate the Yeast:
  1. ½ Teaspoon (2½ ml/2¼ gm) Sugar
  2. ¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) All-Purpose (Plain) Flour
  3. 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Warm Water
  4. 1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/3½ gm/0.125 oz/½ sachet) Dry Yeast

Dough:
  1. ½ Cup (120 ml) Whole Milk
  2. 3 Tablespoons (45 ml/43 gm/1½ oz) Sugar
  3. ¾ Teaspoon (3¾ ml/9 gm/0.17 oz) Table Salt
  4. 1 Large Egg
  5. 1 tablespoon (30 ml/30 gm/¼ stick/1 oz) Unsalted Butter, melted
  6. 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz/0.62 lb) All-Purpose Flour, measure first then sift, divided
Topping:
  1. 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Cold STRONG Coffee
  2. 1½ Teaspoons (7½ ml/7 gm/¼ oz) Granulated Sugar
  3. Melted Butter
Filling Ingredients:
  1. 1¾ Cups (420 ml/280 gm/10 oz) Ground English Walnuts
  2. ¼ Cup (60 ml) Whole Milk
  3. ¼ Cup (60 ml/58 gm/½ stick/2 oz) Unsalted Butter
  4. 1 Egg Yolk From A Large Egg, Beaten
  5. ¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml) Pure Vanilla Extract
  6. ½ Cup (120 ml/115 gm/4 oz) Sugar
  7. ¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/1 gm) Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  8. ¼ Teaspoon (1¼ ml/¾ gm) Cinnamon

Directions:
To Activate Yeast:
  • In a small bowl, stir 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon flour, and the yeast into ½ cup warm water and cover with plastic wrap.
  • Allow to stand for 5 minutes
To Make the Dough:
  • In a medium saucepan, heat the milk up to just below boiling (about 180°F/82°C), stirring constantly so that a film does not form on the top of the milk. You want it hot enough to scald you, but not boiling. Allow to cool slightly, until it is about 110°F/43°C.
  • In a large bowl, mix the scalded milk, ¾ cup (180 gm/170 gm/6 oz) sugar, and the salt until combined.
  • Add the beaten egg, yeast mixture, melted butter, and 2 cups (480 ml/280 gm/10 oz) of flour. Blend thoroughly and slowly add remaining flour, mixing well until the dough starts to clean the bowl.
  • Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead, gradually adding flour a little at a time, until smooth and does not stick. Note: I did not use all 2 cups of flour
  • Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover loosely with a layer of plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let rise an hour and a half in a warm place, until doubled in size.
To Make the Filling:
  • In a large bowl mix together the ground walnuts, sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.
  • Heat the milk and butter to boiling.
  • Pour the liquid over the nut/sugar mixture.
  • Add the egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
  • Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to be spread on the dough.
  • If the mixture thickens, add a small amount of warm milk
To Roll and Assemble the Dough:
  • Spread a clean sheet or cloth over your entire table so that it is covered.
  • Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons to a handful of flour (use flour sparingly)
  • Place the dough on the sheet and roll the dough out with a rolling-pin, starting in the middle and working your way out, until it measures roughly 10-12 inches (25½ cm by 30½ cm) in diameter.
  • Spoon 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5 ml to 7 ½ ml/4 gm to 7 gm) of melted butter on top.
  • Using the tops of your hands, stretch dough out from the center until the dough is thin and uniformly opaque. You can also use your rolling-pin, if you prefer.
  • As you work, continually pick up the dough from the table, not only to help in stretching it out, but also to make sure that it isn’t sticking.
  • When you think it the dough is thin enough, try to get it a little thinner. It should be so thin that you can see the color and perhaps the pattern of the sheet underneath.
  • Spoon filling (see below for recipe) evenly over dough until covered.
  • Lift the edge of the cloth and gently roll the dough like a jelly roll.
  • Once the dough is rolled up into a rope, gently lift it up and place it into a greased loaf pan in the shape of a “U”, with the ends meeting in the middle. You want to coil the dough around itself, as this will give the dough its characteristic look when sliced.
  • Repeat with remaining three loaves, coiling each rope of dough in its own loaf pan
  • Brush the top of each loaf with a mixture of 2 tbsp of cold STRONG coffee and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar. If you prefer, you can also use egg whites in place of this.
  • Cover pans lightly will plastic wrap and allow to rest for approximately 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
  • Remove plastic wrap from dough and place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes.
  • Turn down the oven temperature to slow 300°F/150°C/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until done.
  • Remove bread from oven and brush with melted butter.
  • Check the bread every 30 minutes to ensure that the bread is not getting too brown. You may cover the loaves with a sheet of aluminum foil if you need to.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes.
  • It is recommended that the best way to cut Povitica loaves into slices is by turning the loaf upside down and slicing with a serrated knife.

My entire apartment was filled with the awesome fragrance of this bread in about 15 mins of it baking in the oven. And I was dying of hunger within the first 5 minutes of smelling it. It looked beautiful when I took it out of the oven and it took a few minutes less than the one hour of baking time. So make sure that you keep checking to see if the bread is done. I also used the aluminium foil after about 40 minutes of baking as the top had already turned a nice golden brown. Now that I have eaten the bread, I wish I had made more than just one loaf. It’s absolutely delicious and I am pretty sure we are going to finish it by the end of the day, tomorrow.

And this bread is in celebration of my friend Laukik having finished his first full marathon in Washington DC, this morning. Congratulations kiks… :) Of course it also celebrates Halloween tomorrow (hopefully I will have some of this bread leftover for tomorrow). Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Shilpa

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Potato Salad with lime-garlic-basil dressing

June 17, 2011 in Salad

Summer’s here and so is the June Daring Cook’s Challenge!!

I was driving to work the other day and the weather forecast was being read on the radio. And this is what they said – “Cooler temperatures today, with a high of 106F”. That’s when I knew summer in Phoenix has arrived. So when the daring cooks challenge for June was announced, it fit in perfectly with the rising summer temperatures. A healthy potato salad!!! I have never been a fan of the mayonnaise laden potato salads that are so common. So I decided to create my version of a potato salad, healthy and fresh!!!

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I chose to make a potato and chicken sausage salad with a lime-garlic-basil dressing. The chicken sausage is optional, I added it in because I found these interesting jalapeno-mango chicken sausages, which I thought would go well with the potato salad. And they added an awesome twist to the potato salad. This recipe serves 2 and takes about 1/2 hour to make (most of the time is spent in roasting the potatoes).

Ingredients:

  1. 20-25 small red potatoes (halved with skin)
  2. 1 jalapeno-mango chicken sausage (sliced and cooked)
  3. 1/2 cup chopped green onions (only the green part)
  4. salt to taste
  5. 1/4-1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  6. 2 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing

  1. 1/8 cup olive oil
  2. 1/4 cup lime juice
  3. 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  4. 1/4 tsp black pepper
  5. salt to taste
  6. 2 cloves chopped roasted garlic
  7. 1/4 – 1/2 tsp red chili flakes

Directions:

  • Mix the potatoes with the olive oil, salt and black pepper.
  • Roast it in the oven till the potatoes are cooked through.
  • Mix the cooked chicken sausages, potatoes and green onions.
  • Mix all the ingredients under ‘For the dressing’ in a grinder.
  • Mix the dressing with the salad and serve it warm.

I promise, you will love it. The dressing adds a fresh zing to the potato salad. And the sausage is completely optional. I loved it though as the sausage added an interesting twist to the potato salad.

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Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake with Apple Walnut filling

March 27, 2011 in Desserts, Snacks

March Daring Bakers Challenge

I am so glad I joined the Daring Bakers. Each month I learn something new and exciting. The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Life has been really busy off late. We are moving to a new place in a couple of days so the packing has started. Amit and I are both giving our next exams in the PhD journey in April so we are both busy typing out our proposals for the exam. And to top it I have my part-time internship! So busy busy month. Have been a little slow on updating my blog due to all these events which tend to take a precedence over everything else. But the daring bakers and daring cooks challenge is something I promised myself, I won’t miss for anything so here I am typing away to complete the blog on time!

I loved this month’s challenge. It’s a very easy to make recipe and the only tricky part for me as usual was the yeast! My love hate relationship with yeast is slowly turning into a love love relationship! I like that because that means more home-baked breads… While I was thinking about what kind of filling to make, Amit suddenly expressed his desire to have some apple crumble. So I decided that I would make an Apple Walnut filling for the Coffee Cake. So here is the recipe for the Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake with Apple Walnut filling.  You can also make a savory version of this, which I will very soon. Maybe as my first bake at the new place!

I made one loaf of the coffee cake with half the measurements from the recipe given below and it serves 4-5 persons with a few second helpings.

Preparation time:

For the dough:

  • 10 – 15 minutes preparation of the dough
  • 8 – 10 minutes kneading
  • 45 – 60 minutes first rise
  • 10 – 15 minutes to prepare meringue, roll out, fill and shape dough
  • 45 – 60 minutes for second rising.

Baking time: approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients:


For the yeast coffee cake dough:

  1. 4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
  2. ¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
  3. ¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼  oz.) salt
  4. 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons /  7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
  5. ¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
  6. ¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
  7. ½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
  8. 2 large eggs at room temperature

For the meringue:

  1. 3 large egg whites at room temperature
  2. ¼ teaspoon salt
  3. ½ teaspoon vanilla
  4. ½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the Filling:

  1. 4 apples chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  2. 2/3 cup sugar
  3. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  4. 1/2 cup chopped walnut

Egg wash:

  1. 1 beaten egg
  2. Cocoa powder (optional)
  3. Confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

 

Directions:

Prepare the dough:

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
  • In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.
  • With an electric mixer on low-speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
  • Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
  • Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together.
  • Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the  1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
  • Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:

  • Add the chopped apples to a saucepan and add the cinnamon and sugar to it and let it cook. This takes about 15-20 minutes depending on what kind of apples you use. Make sure that the apples are soft and mushy but is still in chunks. You do not want it to get too mushy.
  • Cool this to room temperature before using to fill the dough.
  • Chop the walnuts and set it aside.

Prepare the Meringue:

  • Once the dough has doubled, in a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low-speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque.
  • Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cake:

  • Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Punch down the dough and divide in half.
  • On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle.
  • Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges.
  • Spread half the apple over the meringue and then sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the apple.
  • Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down.
  • If you would like to make a round coffee cake Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal. I made a log shaped coffee cake this time.
  • Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the log or the outside edge of the round coffee cake at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals.
  • Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.
  • Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
  • Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
  • Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
  • Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling.
  • These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

This weekend coffee cake is what we had for breakfast and I must say I am loving it. It all gooey inside and the dough is both fluffy and crunchy. I loved this and am so ready to make a savory version of this very soon. I loved this recipe specially since it’s so versatile – just change the filling and you have a different version of the coffee cake! And once again cheers to all the daring bakers for all the awesome versions of the coffee cakes tried and tested over the month of March. I am sure there are many happy tummies out there, having enjoyed the yummy coffee cakes. And a special thanks to Jamie and Ria for the wonderful challenge this month.

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