The Greezy Wop

For the past few months, I've experimented with the profound culinary majesty that is the American Biscuit. Primarily, since I live in Oklahoma, I've been working toward my favorite Southern biscuit recipe, and I think I've finally gotten it down. I worked from a base recipe in that old-school tome, the Betty Crocker cookbook. Although, every culture has a biscuit recipe, it's the regional eccentricities that make each one of them genuine.

This one is a basic baking powder-leavened, non-buttermilk recipe that is built on 6 ingredients (seven, if you count butter and shortening separately) that everyone should have in bulk in their pantry. I haven't added anything special to this yet (gasp!) but this is very easily made quick bread with the possibilities of any addition or substitution you find necessary for your particular tastes.

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 3½ tsp baking powder
• 1 T sugar
• ¾ c milk
• ¼ c cold shortening
• ¼ c cold butter

Preheat the oven to 450˚. Start by sifting the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a bowl. Measure the butter and shortening together, using the water-displacement method (the only really accurate way). I found that if you add a piece or two of ice after getting the measurement and let it sit for a few minutes, the final product is more flaky and has a much better mouth-feel. Add the shortening and butter to the dry mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter or a couple of knives. The idea is not to heat the mixture at all and the final product should be fairly colloidal with chunks of shortening and butter throughout.

Add the milk and mix carefully together with a fork until blended. You don't want to beat this to death, just bring it together until it's workable. Transfer it to a heavily floured board and knead it only three or four times before forming it into a ball. Again, you do not want to overwork this dough, gluten development is not what you're looking for here. Pat or roll this out to around ¾" thick and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or some round cookie cutters. I use the 3" diameter rounds. The cut should be pressed down completely straight and then slightly twisted to bring it up. Don't twist on the downstroke or the dough won't rise correctly and you'll have a very flat and tough final product. The yield for this is about 5 or 6 biscuits.

Place these close in a baking pan or on a sheet pan and bake until golden brown and delicious. This should be around 12-15 minutes. You'll notice a significant rise after about 3 minutes in the oven. Brush with butter and serve hot. The high heat will create a thicker, crispier crust on the outside and a soft and tender inside. If you prefer a little more give to the outside of the biscuit, then lower the oven temp to 400 and bake for a few minutes longer.

I hope you give these a try. From conception to oven, the process takes only about 5 minutes. If you really want to do it right, fry up some country sausage and make a gut-busting sawmill gravy to ooze over a plate of these fine-tasting biscuits.

Posted by The Greezy Wop at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yesterday's venture into breadmaking was a groundbreaking experience for me. My first shaped sweetbread. In searching for recipes, I tried to go for something a little more elaborate than the standard white and yes, even more than the French/Italian bread like last time. I found this recipe in an old cookbook I had lying around that fit perfectly. I had tasted Challah bread before, and I knew it was a sweeter bread with a softer crust and finer texture than a Ciabatta or Baguette. This is a very autumnal bread baked in the winter months for Rosh Hashanna and other Jewish holidays. I decided to give it a shot.

• 2 1/2 cups HG bread flour
• 1 pkt dry active yeast
• 2 TB sugar
• 2 TB Olio d'Oliva (EV)
• 3/4 cup water (120°)
• 1.5 t salt
• 1 large egg

First off, I sifted all of dry ingredients (excluding about a cup and a half of flour) into the bowl of my stand mixer with the beater attachment on. I then beat together in a cup, the oil, egg and warm water being careful not to let the other ingredients cool the water down too much. I beat the mixture on low until it became smooth. This only took a few minutes. I then replaced the paddle on the mixer with the dough-hook and SLOWLY sifted in enough flour to make it easy to handle on a surface.

I pulled the dough out on a heavily floured board and kneaded it for five to eight minutes, adding flour as needed to create a stretchy, firm ball. I sprayed the inside of a metal bowl with oil and put the dough in, then turned it over in the bowl to slightly coat. I covered and kept it on the top of the stove with the oven on 200° for almost two hours until double, or until an indention with my finger remained when poked. Take note that this proof must remain at around 80-85° for it to work well. If you think it's getting too hot, pull it to the front of the stove instead of adjusting the temperature of the oven. Use a thermometer if you're unsure - just hang the probe through the wrap on the bowl, being careful not to touch the dough ball, or hang too close where the ball will rise into the probe.

After almost two hours, I put the dough back on to a very-lightly floured surface, be aware that the dough is already oiled, and too much extra flour will not allow it to be easily manipulated. I learned this the hard way.

I cut the dough into three equal pieces and rolled them each into 14"-16" long rolls. Placing them side by side, but not necessarily touching each other, I braided them down about 4 or 5 times. I rolled under the ends and brushed with olive oil. Covering with new plastic wrap but not tightened down, I left it where the wrap would rise with the dough during the second proof. I then let it rise for just under an hour, or until almost double.

About the time I was ready to put it in the oven, I preheated to 375° and beat up an egg yolk with 2 TB cold water. I added fresh rosemary and a little salt to the egg yolk and brushed it all over the top of the loaf. Then I let it bake for about 30 minutes. I checked it after about 15 to make sure it wasn't browning too fast and decided to let it go without a foil tent. After a half an hour, it was golden brown on top and smelling mighty good.

The bread tastes great. It could use a tad bit more salt in the original recipe and I'll probably add about a tablespoon of honey into the egg/water/oil mixture at first. That would bump the sweetness up to where it really needs to be. I imagine using light brown sugar in place of the white sugar would add an interesting flavor as well. Be aware that the rosemary and olive oil are not traditional and added a distinct Italian flavor to this bread, which I liked. If I were going to make this a dessert bread, I'd go with straight-up vegetable oil to replace the olive oil, and I'd brush poppy seeds on top instead of rosemary. You can also add cinnamon and some soaked/drunk raisins to this and it would be extraordinary for a good holiday bread.

I enjoyed making this, and have finally gotten over my fear of yeast. I'm now happy to embrace those little creatures for their burping and farting selves.

Ciao, fino a domani.

Posted by The Greezy Wop at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I must be in a bit of a baker's mood lately, because yesterday I took the time (most of it waiting) to make some homemade french baguettes. The recipe was surpisingly easy, especially with the KitchenAide's dough-hook. Here's what I ended up with:

• 3 to 3½ cups HG bread flour
• 1 TB vegetable oil (I should have used olive oil though)
• 1 t salt
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 pkg Active Yeast
• 1 cup of warm water (I used 115°)

I sifted all the dry except about a cup and a half into the bowl and blended it well. Then I added the warm water, and the oil (together actually) and got the mixture going. I gradually added the rest of the flour until it balled up on the hook. I removed it and dropped it on the floured cutting board and began kneading it. It took about 10 minutes to get it to the texture I wanted and then I sprayed a metal bowl with oil and dropped it in, turning it around a bit to coat it lightly. I covered it and began the 1st proof. This wait took almost 2 hours actually, not because the yeast wasn't active, but because this type of bread needs a longer proofing time, which gives it its distinctive body.

After it had doubled in size, I punched it down and rolled it out to a decent rectangle. I had to spray it with some water to get it to hold its shape, and that really worked out well. The gluten in the dough was very strong by this time and was really springing it back into a rounded shape. I halved it and rolled the two pieces to about a 2" diameter logs, tapered the ends and placed them on a sheet that I greased lightly and sprinkled with cornmeal. I sliced the dough about ¼" deep on an angle and brushed it with iced water. This helped tighten the outside and produce that really heavy crust you find in good french bread. This led me into the 2nd proofing stage, which only took about an hour.

After the rolls had doubled in size, I preheated the oven to 375° and brushed the tops with an egg white mixed with about a tablespoon of iced water. Then baked for about 25 minutes. The bread turned out spectacular, and was appropriately so, some of the best bread I've ever eaten. I sauteed perogie in some onion, garlic, pepper and extra-virgin olive oil and a bit of 2005 Blackstone Pinot Noir. I then added the rest of the sauce from the other night's spaghetti. There was actually a lot more sauce than there should have been, but it was easily mopped up with the fresh bread. A glass of the same Pinot topped off the meal.

In all, the entire process was great fun. Just like the pasta before, I'm definitely going to be making my own bread as often as I can. The trick now is to get it down where I don't have to look at a recipe to do it.

Ciao

Posted by The Greezy Wop at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)