Chodské Koláče (Kolache from Chodsko)

The September Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Lucie from ChezLucie. She challenged us to make a true Czech treat –Kolaches!

The Daring Bakers were offered three recipes this month:  One of which I really wanted to eat, and one of which was far more creative, totally inspiring and quite tedious.  Obviously, I chose the latter, because somehow I seem to be drawn to tedium...and the creative possibilities were not lost on me either!  The process was a ton of fun, and the outcome was kind of surprising.  I've never eaten a pastry that tasted quite like this.  This is my favorite part of the Daring Bakers challenges.  At first glance, baked goods seem so similar from one region to another, but they each have their own unique difference that makes each a totally new experience.  If you'd like to see the other recipes for creamy filled pastries, Pražský koláč (Prague Kolach) and Dvojctihodné / Moravské koláče (Two fillings / Moravian Kolaches), click here!

I really loved working with this pastry's dough.  It it soft and wet and rich and insanely tender when it's been baked.  I don't even know what to compare it to.  It's not greasy or flaky.  It's very light and slightly yeasty.  I will be making this dough again soon and next time will fill it with quark filling and homemade chunky applesauce.  Quark is a fresh cow's milk cheese, similar to fresh goat cheese.  I had never had it, and had kind of a hard time finding it!  Quark is tangy and soft.  If you're looking for a substitute...maybe ricotta?  Especially homemade ricotta (you will find a super easy recipe in this post) would be nice.

My decorations for these pastries were inspired by the beautiful asters decorating the woods edging my yard. I love this time of year in Minnesota and I think the look of the kolace really reflect the beauty of the season!

Chodské Koláče

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lukewarm milk

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, softened
zest of ½ lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon oil
1 lightly beaten egg for brushing

For the quark filling:

1 1/2 cups (about 3/4 lb) quark
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
A splash/pinch of rum, lemon zest and vanilla extract to taste
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg white (save the yolk)

For the poppy seed filling:

1/2 cup poppy seeds

2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1 egg yolk (leftover from the quark filling)
2 ginger-bread or vanilla wafer cookies, ground (or more if needed for thickening the paste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the jam filling:

1/2 cup jam of your choice (traditionally they use plum jam, I used orange marmalade)
A splash of lemon juice and rum to taste
1 teaspoon corn starch

For the decoration:

Almond slivers, pine nuts and golden raisins

[Optional:  Stir almond slivers into water that has been dyed pale purple with food coloring.  Drain and dry in the open air for a while before using.]

Directions

In a bowl, mix together yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Add about half of the warm milk, mix well and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 – 15 minutes.

In a bowl of your electric mixer (or in a large bowl) mix remaining flour, sugar and milk, egg, butter, lemon zest, salt, rum, vanilla, oil and the yeast mixture. Knead with dough hook (or by hand with a wooden spoon) on low speed for about 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour to double its volume.

Meanwhile, prepare fillings (instructions below) and set them aside.

Punch down the risen dough, fold it and let rise to double again.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces on a floured surface.

Prepare 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper. Using floured hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball and press it out into a circle with your fingers into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. While you're pressing the dough out, create raised rims around the edges with your fingers, kind of like you're preparing a pizza crust.

Brush the edges with beaten egg.

Decorate each kolach with quark, poppy seed filling and jam filling, and with almonds and raisins.  I started each kolach with a generous layer of quark, then decorated the top as I pleased.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until edges turn golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Quark filling:
In a bowl, mix quark, butter and sugar well. Add whipping cream, rum, lemon zest, vanilla extract and corn starch and mix together. In a clean bowl of your electric mixer using clean beaters, beat egg white on high until stiff, then carefully fold the whites into the quark mix.

Poppy seeds filling:
Finely grind poppy seeds with sugar in a food processor and carefully add boiling water. Mix in the egg, ground cookies and cinnamon. The consistency should be like frosting.  Add more ground cookies until the filling is smooth and slightly thick.  Taste it and add more sugar and cinnamon if you like.

Jam filling:
Mix together all ingredients.  Add a bit of hot water if it’s too thick to spread easily.

Happy decorating!  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Ensaimadas

 I am so grateful to the Daring Bakers club members for exposing me to foods that I wouldn't otherwise hear of, much less have the pleasure to eat!  The August Daring Bakers' Challenge took us for a spin! Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen taught us to make rolled pastries inspired by Kurtoskalacs, a traditional Hungarian wedding pastry. These tasty yeasted delights gave us lots to celebrate!

This month, we were offered recipes for a pastry called Chimney Cakes, and also these spiraled rolls called Ensaimadas.  The Chimney Cakes look like a lot of fun!  But basically out of laziness, I only baked the Ensaimadas, which were pretty easy to make and very tasty.  I would compare these to deep fried mini-donuts in flavor and texture.  Even though I tried to "fill" the rolls with cream cheese, it melted into the dough so it gave the rolls a nice flavor and the pastry was very moist.  But there weren't layers of cream cheese in them at all.  I also opted to sprinkle the tops of the unbaked rolls with a thick layer of sugar and cinnamon, and I'm glad I did!  Delicious!  My Ensaimadas were close to authentic but not quite.  Traditionally, they are made with lard (which I did mix with the cream cheese) and doused in powdered sugar after baking.  I am guessing the originals are also reminiscent of doughnuts in texture and flavor.  I also thought of a Churro when eating mine.  

For the original Daring Bakers recipes for both chimney cakes and ensaimadas, see here!

Ensaimadas
Makes 4 single serving rolls.

1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon oil
7 tablespoons lard, softened, divided (butter can be substituted)
5 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix the yeast and milk in a small bowl until the yeast has dissolved and let it rest for about 5 minutes or until foamy. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. Using a spoon, add the milk and yeast to the flour mixture until the ingredients form a soft dough.  The dough might be slightly dry.  If it is at all soggy and wet, stir in a little flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm room or in a cold oven with the light turned on. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Using your fingers, stir the egg and oil into the dough until fully incorporated.  The dough will be super sticky and a little chunky.  Turn the dough onto a well floured surface, sprinkle with flour and knead for five minutes.  Add flour as needed, and wash your sticky hands every so often, until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky.  (It also helps to use a putty knife to fold the dough at first until it's not as wet.)  Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 13 inches by 18 inches (trimmed to even out the edges).  In a small bowl, mix together 5 tablespoons of lard, cream cheese and vanilla until blended.  Using your hands, spread this mixture over the dough. Slice the dough into 4 equal sized rectangles, as pictured.

Roll up each rectangle starting on the long side and using your hands shape each piece of rolled dough into a rope about 16 inches long.

Wrap each rope into a loose snail shape on a parchment lined sheet pan (two on each of two large pans) with ample space between them.

The snail shape should include a bit of space between the coils, as this dough will rise until nearly tripled in size. Cover the rolls and place the sheet pans in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, remove the rolls from the fridge.  Leave them sit at room temperature until they are nearly tripled from their original size (or if they already are, you may bake them right away).  Heat your oven to 350F. Brush the top of the ensaimadas with the remaining 2 tablespoons of lard, melted.  Sprinkle the rolls with a mix of sugar and cinnamon.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through if you're forced to bake them on two racks. Remove from the oven when browned on top.  Cool on wire racks and serve fresh.

Savory Pot Pies: Classic Chicken and Mediterranean Pizza

Hannah of Rise and Shine [that's me!] was our October 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to bake our own double crusted savory pot pies. Using any from-scratch crust and filling we choose, we were allowed to get completely creative with our recipe, showing off the savory flavors and fillings from our own home or region.

I had the awesome opportunity to host the Daring Bakers Challenge this month!  A lot of work goes into this, on the part of everyone...the coordinator of the whole club, Lis, the writer of all conversions, Audax, (luckily I didn't have to do all that on my own!), and the members themselves.  Lots of awesome pies came out of this savory challenge and I can't wait to dig into them throughout the chilly winter months!

So...for this challenge I offered up two pot pie recipes though the members were allowed and encouraged to do whatever they wanted.  The only rules were that there had to be a top and bottom crust and some kind of saucy or gravy based filling.  I encouraged the bakers to showcase the flavors and tricks of their region, and they sure did!  Here's a link to the PDF of the original baking challenge, if you like...and here are my two pies!

The Daring Bakers’ October, 2013 Challenge: Savory Pot Pies

Classic Chicken Pot Pie:
Servings: about 8 (one 9 1/2 inch (24 cm) pie)

Ingredients

Flaky Pie Crust:
3 1/2 cups ( 840 ml)(17 ¼ oz)(490 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (½ oz) (13 gm) brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons (9 gm) salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) cold shortening (I always use butter flavored), cut into pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) (6 oz) (170 gm) cold unsalted butter
1 cup (240 ml) ice water

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 teaspoon (3 gm) salt
4 tablespoons (60 ml) (2 oz) (55 gm) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) (1 ½ oz) (45 gm) flour
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
1/2 cup (120 ml) half and half (half milk and half cream)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) white wine, light beer or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups (750 ml) (15 oz) (425 gm) cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup (240 ml) (4½ oz) (125 gm) frozen peas, not thawed


Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Drop in shortening and quickly grate butter directly into the bowl using a cheese grater.



2. Using your fingers, a fork or a pastry cutter, work butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it's broken down into course, chunky crumbs. Stop mixing when the largest crumb is about the size of a pea.

3. Using a fork, quickly stir in very cold ice water. Turn the rough dough and crumbs onto a floured surface.

4. Knead just until dough starts to hold together in a rough mass, up to 10 times. Do not over mix! You will be able to see chunks of butter in the dough and this is a good thing.

5. Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before use. The dough will keep in the fridge for a full day, or you may freeze the dough for up to 3 months (and bring back to a thawed chill before rolling).

6. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.



7. Heat oil in a wide bottomed skillet or sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add onions, celery and salt and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and set aside.



8. Meanwhile, make a thick paste by mixing the butter and flour in a small bowl with a fork.



9. Heat 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock in the empty skillet over medium-high heat. Drop the butter/flour paste into the stock and whisk vigorously until it come to a simmer. Boil briefly until thick like honey. Whisk in the half and half. Turn off heat, stir in wine, thyme and black pepper.

10. Stir together the cooked vegetables, chicken, peas and sauce.




11. Roll out one half of the chilled dough about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick using a floured rolling pin on a well-floured surface. Once your round of dough is about ten inches (25 cm) across, dust the top with flour, pick the round up from the counter and dust under the dough again before rolling out completely to about 15 inches (38 cm) across. Hold your pie plate up to the round of dough to ensure it is large enough to fit your pie plate.



12. To set the dough into your pie plate, fold the round of dough in half, then in half again to create a large triangle of dough. Point the tip of the triangle of dough into the center of the pie plate and unfold. Be careful not to stretch the dough while you ensure that you have the dough tucked into all corners.



13. Pour the filling into the unbaked pie shell.



14. Roll out the top crust and cover the filling. Trim excess dough and seal the edge crust by folding the top dough layer under the bottom and pinching the dough together with your fingers or pressing with the tines of a fork.



15. Bake in the lower third of your oven until the pastry is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. To ensure the bottom is browned, you may choose to prop an electric oven open using the handle of a wooden spoon for the last ten minutes of the baking time. If at any point you fear the top crust is over-browning, cover with foil for the remainder of the baking time. Serve immediately while warm.


Mediterranean Pizza Pot Pie:
Servings: about 8 (one 10 inch (25 cm)pie)

Ingredients

Tender Pizza Pot Pie Crust:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (¾ oz) (21 gm) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) sugar
3/4 cup (180 ml) warm water
1/2 teaspoon (3 gm) salt
1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) (7 ½ oz) (210 gm) bread flour, plus more for dusting

Creamy Garlic Gravy:
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (1-2/3 oz) (45 ml) butter
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (1 oz) (26 gm) flour
1 cup (240 ml) milk (I use 2 percent)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup (120 ml) (1½ oz) (45 gm) shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Filling:
2 cups (500 ml) (280gm) (10 oz) cooked chicken, chopped
1 small onion, sliced into thin wedges
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup (120 ml) (2 oz) (60 gm) shredded provolone cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) (2 oz) (60 gm) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (120 ml) (½ oz) (15 gm) tightly packed fresh spinach leaves, slivered
4 medium-large artichoke hearts, diced
1/3 cup (80 ml) (2 oz) (60 gm) kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon (5 ml) fresh oregano leaves
Pinch of salt, black pepper, dried oregano (for topping)

Directions:



1. Mix together yeast, sugar and warm water in a medium bowl. Let it rest several minutes until foamy.

2. Add salt, oil and up to 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, one half cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon until the dough picks up most of the flour and pulls together in a wad around the spoon. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface.



3. Sprinkle the dough with flour and knead for several minutes or until the dough is smooth and not sticking badly to clean hands as you knead (add sprinkles of flour as you knead until the stickiness subsides).

4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight or prepare dough in the morning and leave it in the fridge until dinner. An hour before you start prepping the pizza, punch down the dough in the bowl. Leave it in the bowl to rest at room temperature for an hour.



5. Melt your butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Sprinkle flour over the butter and whisk together. Cook for a short minute as it bubbles, then pour in the milk. Whisk and bring it to boil, then stir in salt, pepper and garlic. Whisk until it’s as thick as honey, which should take about a minute. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese. Set aside while you prepare the components for your filling.



6. Preheat the oven to hot 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

7. Lightly grease a 10-inch (25-cm) cast iron skillet or similar sized baking dish. Roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface with flour sprinkled on the top of the dough, so it spreads six inches beyond the edges of your pan on all sides. You will need plenty of flour under the dough and on the top surface to keep it from sticking to itself and the counter. Lay the dough into your pan, without pulling it, so it fits into the pan with the extra dough hanging over the edges. Repair any holes that may have appeared.



8. In a large bowl, stir together the garlic sauce and filling, reserving the salt, pepper and dried oregano for the top of the crust. Pile all of the filling into your pan.



9. Wrap the dough up over the top of the filling. Seal tightly in the middle by pinching the dough together. Using kitchen scissors, snip away any large sections of excess dough. Sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper and dried oregano onto the top of the dough.



10. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the lower third of your oven, until the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately while warm.


Thank you to everyone for your support this month, and enjoy your day!

Croissants for an Old-Fashioned Tea Party

The Daring Bakers go retro this month!
Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

For my 3rd Daring Bakers challenge, I made croissants for my daughter Sophie's 8th birthday party. Sophie asked to have an old-fashioned dress up tea party this year, so we served fresh baked croissants with tea and oranges. It was an awesome party with a group of awesome kids!

The croissant recipe was simple and easy to follow. I highly recommend any aspiring baker to give croissants a try. Follow the recipe and you won't be disappointed!

I once made puff pastry from scratch according to a Julia Child recipe, and this croissant recipe reminded me of it. It takes time but little equipment and only a few ingredients. Do yourself a favor and become familiar with the recipe before you start! There are a lot of small bursts of rolling and folding and letting your dough rest in between. You will find that in total the recipe takes little time, but you will be stuck at home waiting for your dough to rest here and there for much of a good long day! I loved the process and found this to be a very satisfying baking experience.

Look at these sweet kids. They were so cute!

I kept trying to get the kids to play "somber" for these old-style photos, but they were having too much fun I guess! The top left photo shows the spread: tea and milk, oranges, grapes, amish friendship bread and croissants. The bottom left photo is of Sophie, the birthday girl!

And here is the recipe, as given.

Croissants:

Ingredients

1¼ teaspoon of dry-active yeast (about ½ sachet)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water (less than 100°F/38°C)
1 teaspoon (5 ml/4½ gm) sugar
1 3/4 cups (225 gm/½ lb) of plain flour
2 teaspoons (10 ml/9 gm) sugar
1½ teaspoon (7½ ml/9 gm) salt
½ cup (120 ml/¼ pint) milk
2 tablespoons (30 ml) tasteless oil
½ cup (120 ml/1 stick/115 gm/¼ lb) chilled, unsalted butter
1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Leave aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little.
2. Measure out the other ingredients
3. Heat the milk until tepid (either in the microwave or a saucepan), and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar
4. Place the flour in a large bowl.
5. Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour
6. Mix all the ingredients together using the rubber spatula, just until all the flour is incorporated
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute while you wash out the bowl
8. Knead the dough eight to ten times only. It’s a little difficult to explain, but essentially involves smacking the dough on the counter and removing it from the counter using the pastry scraper.
9. Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag.
10. Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size.

11.After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, pulling it away from the sides of the bowl with your fingertips.
12. Place the dough on a lightly floured board or countertop, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8 by 12 inches (20cm by 30cm).
13. Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter (fold the top third down, and then the bottom third up).
14. Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag.
15. Leave the dough to rise for another 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge.

16. Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter.
17. Once the dough has doubled, it’s time to incorporate the butter
18. Place the block of chilled butter on a chopping board.
19. Using the rolling pin, beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat.
20. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. You want the butter to stay cool, but spread easily.

21. Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured board or counter. Let it rest for a minute or two.
22. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
23. Remove the butter from the board, and place it on the top half of the dough rectangle.
24. Spread the butter all across the top two-thirds of the dough rectangle, but keep it ¼ inch (6 mm) across from all the edges.
25. Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up.
26. Turn the dough package 90 degrees, so that the top flap is to your right (like a book).
27. Roll out the dough package (gently, so you don’t push the butter out of the dough) until it is again about 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
28. Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.
29. Wrap the dough package in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.

30. After two hours have passed, take the dough out of the fridge and place it again on the lightly floured board or counter.
31. Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little.
32. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes.
33. Roll the dough package out till it is 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
34. Fold in three, as before.
35. Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14 by 8 inches (35 cm by 20 cm).
36. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough package to the fridge for two more hours (or overnight, with something heavy on top to stop it from rising)

37. It’s now time to cut the dough and shape the croissants.
38. First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready.
39. Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for ten minutes on the lightly floured board or counter.
40. Roll the dough out into a 20 by 5 inch rectangle (51 cm by 12½ cm). .
41. Cut the dough into two rectangles (each 10 by 5 inches (25½ cm by 12½ cm).
42. Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold.
43. Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15 by 5 inches (38 cm by 12½ cm).
44. Cut the rectangle into three squares (each 5 by 5 inches (12½ cm by 12½ cm))
45. Place two of the squares in the fridge.
46. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit in the meantime. Roll it out again till it is nearly square.
47. Cut the square diagonally into two triangles.
48. Stretch the triangle out a little, so it is not a right-angle triangle, but more of an isosceles.
49. Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle up towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape.
50. Place the unbaked croissant on the baking sheet.
51. Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants in total.
52. Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour.

53. Preheat the oven to very hot 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
54. Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water.
55. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.
56. Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely
57. Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Seems like a lot going on there, doesn't it?! It's less labor intensive than you would think, especially if you stretch it over three days by taking the "overnight in the fridge" options when you can.

I just finished my croissant making adventure this morning, and I already know I will do it again someday! Try it, and I hope you enjoy the process as much as I did!