Shauna vs. Yeast: A Love Story?

For many home cooks and bakers alike cooking/baking with yeast for the first time is a scary feat to accomplish. I have been an at home cook/baker for many years and NEVER, not once, have I attempted to make anything homemade with yeast and the ever scary phrase "allow to rise for x amount of time" in the description. That is, until now. This blog entry is going to chronicle my first time working with yeast. As with everything on my blog, it is from scratch, no mixes here and certainly no shortcuts unless you count the fact that I'm not using fresh yeast and it is in fact active dry yeast in a jar (packets are also quite useful).

The recipe that I am using is from a Chef who I am constantly inspired by and only wish that I could be like her in some small way, at the very least with her Chef-fing abilities. Yeah, I made that word up and I'm fine with it. Alex Guarnaschelli is the Executive Chef at Butter Restaurant in New York City and also a frequent judge on the Food Network program Chopped, she also has her own show on Food Network, which is appropriately called Alex's Day Off! I used her recipe verbatim so I here is the link to it on Food Network.

Well, I take that back, the only modification that I'm making, because I'm a day time working girl, is that I am going to prepare the dough on Wednesday (6/29) and actually cook the dough on Thursday (6/30) for dinner. I have purchased the baking stone that every one of the food blogs I've read say you NEED to have. David suggested that it might be less expensive for us to buy about a dozen pizzas from Coal Vines or another local pizza joint that we like, but that's not the point! No sir-ree-bob, the point is that I am making history here, at least for myself, my beloved husband and our children, yet to be conceived or named! I, Shauna Granit am making pizza dough. Something I love, even more so since visiting Italy, but that I've been afraid to make for years. So here we go.

Supplies I had on hand for this challenge:
All Purpose Flour
Warm water - if you have a sink, you too have warm water
Kosher Salt
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Garlic

Supplies that I purchased for this challenge: Prices have been omitted, but remember! I only had to buy some of these things once!
San Marzano Canned Tomatoes (Product of Italy) - nothing but the best!
Fresh Basil - I even purchased a tiny little pot of basil (plant) from the store. Can I keep it alive? We shall see!
Buffalo Mozzarella - what the REAL Pizza Chefs use as topping for their pizza
Roma Tomatoes - for slicing on top of the glorious pizza
Corn Meal - nuff' said
Honey - I don't really like honey much, bad experience in my Dad's car when I was younger, but it's needed for this recipe, so HAD to buy some
White Pepper - which some say is better than black pepper in some recipes, who knew?
Baking Stone - I have coveted this baking stone for quite some time, so I bought the bad boy

So here we go. Shauna vs. Yeast, let's go!

Here are the ingredients for the dough layed out all nicely, waiting for me to make a mess of my clothes and the floor. A, T & T are resting comfortably with their Daddy in the next room so as to eliminate the need for baths for the pets after they would become covered in flour!

I didn't have David take pictures of the process of making the dough or me kneading something for the first time which was awkward to say the least. You'll just have to trust me, my Kitchen and the Kitchen floors that it indeed eventually came together to be this mass that you see before you. It looks pretty good! I wonder if it will taste good...I don't think that eating raw Pizza Dough sounds as appealing as cake batter off of a spoon or even cookie dough. Here's the dough, after it's been freshly made and drenched in olive oil to keep it moist.

I put it in the microwave (no it wasn't on) and let it rise while David and I went to dinner with some friends. When we arrived home the dough had almost taken over the house! "IT'S ALIIIIVE" came to mind almost immediately. But I punched it down - kneaded it a little bit more and put it in a ziploc bag, sealed it and then another ziploc bag, just to make sure we're keeping things sealed and moist for Thursday evenings festivities which involve only, baking pizza dough.

Fast forward to Thursday, hey folks, here we are, back at the same Bat Time, same Bat Channel as yesterday. Here is the dough in all of it's glory. Somehow it raised? rose? rised? a little bit more in the refrigerator overnight. I'm thinking that's a little strange but moving on!

Now I'll have you know that I have my own vision of what pizza should be like, specifically after trying it in 3 different regions in Italy. I know it wasn't technically invented there (well, Naples is questionable) but it is like nothing else you've ever tasted before when you take your first bite of pizza at a GOOD "authentic" pizza place in Italy. They're EVERYWHERE! The typical topping for pizza in Italy is a Margherita Pizza consisting mainly of tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato slices (sometimes) and salt and pepper. 

I made the pizza sauce myself using San Marzano tomatoes, etc. - ingredients are before you and there really is no recipe for it, it's just my own special (in my head) sort of recipe that I change up from time to time.

Pizza dough rolling is really not easy, at least for a first timer like me. I actually sort of used the weight of it hanging from my hands to stretch it and threw it back and forth between my hands a couple of times to get that authentic pizzeria person quality!

Here is how it turned out. Not bad....not great! David liked it! I also baked his for a little while longer which gave it a bit of a crispier crust. 

Final verdict: Will I try to make it again and improve upon it? Absolutely? I think Alex's recipe for dough is pretty good...do I have some ideas to make it better while not altering the chemistry of the dough to make it rise? You betcha!

The Great Strawberry Debacle!

What does one do when they realize that as the days pass they are becoming more and more of a mirror reflection of the person who they aspire to be like?

My Grandmother, Helen Bock, the Muse for my baking adventures if you will, would always purchase produce at the Supermarket when it was on sale because, well just because it was on sale and it was just too great of a value to turn down! So the other day, I'm at Super Target and see that Driscoll's Strawberries are on sale for $2.04 per pound? What??? I love Strawberries, I love Driscoll's so of course I decide to purchase 3 pounds without thinking what the heck am I going to do with all of these Strawberries?

The final decision? How could I utilize Strawberries at the peak of their perfection, when there is no question they are in season and amazing? My idea, Strawberry Bread! Like, Banana Bread but different, BETTER!

My recipe below has been adapted from several different sources so I don't wish to claim it to be my own recipe, because I'm not a plagiarist or a thief!

Strawberry Bread: I doubled the recipe due to the volume of strawberries I currently have in my possession. 

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
2 eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temp if using fresh (I personally use powdered buttermilk - directions are on the container to compensate for liquid)
2 cups strawberries, rinsed, dried and chopped

Directions
- Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan
- With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, sift together, then whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

- Using a Spatula, fold the flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.
- Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick.
- Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a few crumbs stuck to it. 

- One removed from the oven allow the loaf/loaves to cool in their pans for about 10 minutes. Then invert and then re-invert the loaf/loaves onto cooling racks to finish cooling.

- Keep your Golden Retriever named Atticus out of the kitchen who is stealth like and is somehow able to jump up on counters and take something off of it without you even noticing. He also has quite the penchant for cappuccino made by Mommy, but that's another story for another time! 

Okay, so what we have here is the gorgeous loaf - or loaves in this case. They are not overly sweet, which is refreshing, but the fresh strawberry flavor is definitely present in every bite which was my goal in this feat!

An Open Letter of True Respect and Admiration for Joanne Chang,  Owner & Chef of Flour Bakery

Dear Joanne,

I started off making your banana bread this evening out of pure habit. Truly not for celebratory purposes of any kind, just because I love baking out of your book! I have planned for my blog to take pictures of my preparation of ingredients so that people know I'm not joking about this from scratch thing. Suddenly, after I was halfway through mixing the ingredients of your amazing FAMOUS Banana Bread, I realized I hadn't taken a photo of the ingredients. I was swept away with your kitchen wisdom that I follow to the letter! I even weigh my ingredients to make sure my measurements are correct! With most Chefs recipes, I find myself changing their recipe to suit my taste, not with yours (and I've made several) and certainly not with the Banana Bread. I'm not sure you'll read this, but I have appreciated the times that I've tweeted to you and you have been kind enough to tweet back. I look forward to continuing to bake different recipes out of your book and will continue to beg you, via Twitter, to come and do a book signing in Dallas so I can shake your hand! 

Even though I have never even visited your Bakery to try your version of these recipes, I have only heard about you on TV and feel like I know you through your stories in the book. I hope one day to come visit one of your Bakeries and taste for myself the delights that you offer! 

Out of respect to you I am not going to post the recipe here. It is also a fact that I feel that the readers of my blog absolutely MUST purchase your book on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble or wherever they can find it. I view your book as a Bible of sorts - you have everything broken down in your recipes that they are so easy to follow one would think for even the inexperienced baker. 

Thank you, Joanne! You are amazing and a true inspiration! 

Shauna Granit

Flour's Famous Banana Bread!

Source: Flour - Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe

By: Joanne Chang with Christie Matheson

Page 66 is where this amazing recipe can be found

Here is the book that I encourage you, my readers to run NOT walk to purchase wherever you can find it. Amazon is always a reliable source as well.

Instead of one loaf, this time I decided to make two smaller loaves - one for home and one for sharing. Hmmm, who will get the other loaf? I think I have some ideas!

One of my MANY favorite aspects of Joanne's recipes is that they are all made with ingredients that you likely already have in your house with one exception. The Banana Bread recipe itself states that you can use creme fraiche or sour cream. Go with the creme fraiche! Trust me on this one! Plus you'll find other uses for it for what remains in the container! 

And for the final picture - a shot of what the inside of this banana bread looks like.  A moist tender crumb with pecans studded throughout. (The recipe calls for Walnuts, but I didn't have any, so Pecans it is tonight!)

German Chocolate Cookies

German Chocolate Cookies

I like to be a prepared baker so first, before I bake anything, I always like to get all of my ingredients out and ready. An organized kitchen is a happy kitchen! I think someone famous said something along those lines, but I'm not sure who, so don't sue me! 

Next up, baking these beauties off! A lot of bloggers will show you the stages of adding ingredients to the bowl, but I've gotta say, I think that's a tad boring to look at - so here, my family and friends are some images of the finished product!

 

Adapted from Catherine Newmans recipe whose original can be found at the following link

German Chocolate Cookies

Chewy, decadent and delicious - I think these are a terrific substitute for those times when you're craving the gooey yumminess of a honest to goodness German Chocolate Cake but you don't have the time to make everything that goes along with it!

 

Working: 20 Minutes

Total: 45 Minutes

Yield: About 3 dozen cookies depending upon how big you scoop

 

2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup light brown sugar (packed)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter - room temp. 

1 large egg

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons good quality vanilla extract

3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover 2 baking sheets (or jelly roll pans) with parchment paper.

Evenly spread the coconut and pecans on one of the cookie sheets (lined with parchment paper) and place in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Set them aside for cooling.

In a bowl, sift, then whisk together flour, baking power and salt - set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixture on medium to medium-high speed, cream together the light brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes), then beat in the egg, corn syrup and vanilla extracts. Beat in the flour mixture. As with any other baked good, do not over-mix the flour into the batter.

Remove the bowl from the base of the standing mixture and use a spatula to gently mix in the coconut, pecans and chocolate. 

Using a tablespoon size cookie scoop or a miniature ice cream scoop (as I like to call it), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them a couple of inches apart. Before placing in the oven, flatten the cookies a little bit using the palm of your CLEAN hand. You could also achieve this flattening by using a spatula - the kind you would use to flip pancakes!

Bake the cookies off, one sheet at a time in the upper third of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges and golden all over. (cooking time may vary by your oven)

Once cookies are done, pull them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. After they've cooled slightly remove the cookies from the pan and place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

 

If you felt like kicking this up a notch you could melt down some of your remaining miniature chocolate chips in a double boiler and use a fork or spoon to drizzle extra chocolate onto the cookies for a more dressed up effect!

 

I personally made these for Father's Day for my Dad as he always compliments my baked goods and what better of a gift than something that I made? I'm planning to give these to him on Sunday so let's hope he doesn't check in on my blog before then! I sure hope he likes these! 

Here is the finished gift bag a plate of cookies to show you how they look once cooled and yummy! I have to say, they taste pretty darn good and they are Granit approved, but, perhaps next time I make them I may increase the chocolate a tad bit more. 

Fathers Day - CHALLENGE!

To quote Barney Stinson from the televison show How I Met Your Mother, "challenge ACCEPTED" I have decided that my first baking feat for this blog will be baking a treat for my Dad for Fathers Day! It's an interesting cookie from an interesting source! Obviously in true Shauna Bakes form this recipe will be adapted from the original source but sadly I will not be able to call it my own. I'm just not a thief that way. BALLS! Look for the post tomorrow afternoon or early Sunday!


Much love,


Shauna

Coming Soon!

Well, you probably knew it was coming! I have made a baking blog - new entries coming soon!

Peace and also Love,

Shauna Granit