The Daring Bakers June 2013: perfectly pleasing pies!

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! :)


I knew this month would be a "must-do" because, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, my husband loves pie. Wanted wedding pies instead of a wedding cake kind of love for pie. I've also been wanting to experiment with different pie crusts because I haven't quite found that one recipe that I really like as my go-to. When I was looking through the 4 different recipes Rachael provided, I was intrigued by the crostata. I am always looking for a use for my tart pan and the idea of using fresh summer fruits as a filling really sounded great. I used peaches, plums and blueberries in my crostata, although you can use any combination of fruits or jams that you like! I love a flexible recipe.

When I was making the dough I was so pleased with the fresh smell from the lemon zest and the wonderful texture as I rolled it out. This is a great dough recipe! The only issue I ran into was that my tart pan is a bit bigger than the original recipe called for, so I didn't have quite enough to make the lattice top look great. That could also be due to me being a little lazy with the rolling and cutting and actually putting the lattice pieces on. Either way, I'll definitely be using this dough recipe again!

A quick update on project babies: At the writing of this post, we are 37 weeks into the pregnancy. By the time this gets posted, we will be one day away from holding our two little ones in our arms (or will have had them already! crazy thought!) Now that school is finished for the summer and I am just waiting for labor to begin at any moment, I find myself planning kitchen projects that are a bit more optimistic than the realities of my physical situation will allow. This was a great, simple project that I could handle, even when I can barely reach the counter due to my giant stomach being in the way. I can't roll out dough without having a line of flour on my shirt, nor can I wash dishes by hand without also giving the front of whatever I am wearing a good soaking as well. I don't mind too much, and the babies must be getting lots of happy endorphins from me being in the kitchen, because they are always dancing around when I'm happily cooking away.

Stone Fruit Crostata (filling adapted from Ina Garten's Summer Fruit Crostata )

Ingredients:
Pasta Frolla (basic Italian pie pastry)

2/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

grated zest of 1 medium lemon

1-2/3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

pinch salt

Fruit Filling
1 pint blueberries
1 lb firm peaches (peeled)
1/2 lb firm black plums
1 tbs flour
1 tbs sugar
2 tbs orange juice

Pastry
1. Using a paddle attachment on a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer or whisk, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 2 -5 minutes. The amount of time you cream the butter will affect the final
dough - longer means lighter which in turn means a softer, more fragile dough which is less easy to work, but I prefer the texture of the cooked pastry this way because it's lighter too. If you want to do a more intricate lattice, I'd recommend a shorter creaming time so you have a firmer dough.

2. Add the egg, vanilla and lemon zest, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

3. Add the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together but remains soft, about 1 minute using a stand or electric mixer or a wooden spoon if mixing by hand. Don't over-mix.

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour. When getting ready to bake, rest dough at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

5. Lightly grease a shallow metal pie or tart pan. On either a piece of parchment or a lightly floured surface, roll 2/3 of the dough out to a circle to generously line the pie dish.

6. Transfer the dough to the pie dish, press in gently and roll the edges to form a good surface for attaching the lattice later. Prick all over the bottom with a fork.

7. Refrigerate the dough-lined pie dish for 30 minutes to reduce shrinkage during baking. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F.

8. Line pastry with parchment and fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake until set, around 15 minutes.

9. Remove the weights and parchment and allow to cool. If using a springform or loose based pie dish, remove the side of the pan.

10. Preheat oven to moderately hot 400°F. Roll the remaining dough to fit the pie dish and cut it into roughly half inch wide strips.

11. Spread the filling over the par-baked crust. Arrange the strips of dough in a lattice over the filling, trim as needed and lightly pinch the ends onto the rolled edge of the bottom crust.

12. Place pie dish on a baking sheet and place in center of oven. Bake until lattice is golden, around 20 minutes.

Filling
1. Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the orange juice. (that's it. simple, right?!)

The Daring Bakers May 2013:Traditional Swedish Prinsesstårta

Korena of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!

This one came in just under the wire, kids. As in, I finished the recipe about 5 minutes ago. This month was truly a challenge (as they all have been recently- I know, I know, quit whining about being pregnant and tired) in more ways than one. First, I didn't quite get the sponge cake spongey enough, so it didn't rise as much as it should. Second, I had to make two batches of pastry cream and neither one was up to my standards (although, the second was usable where the first was just disgusting.) Third, I had plans to make and use marshmallow fondant rather than marzipan, which is great, but I've never made nor used marshmallow fondant before so there was a bit of swearing and tantrum throwing before I finally wised up and used enough icing sugar to make it not stick to the counter.

Updated to add this photo of the awesome layers!

We haven't cut into it yet, but I'm excited to try it. I'll edit this post with more photos after we have some. The best part is all the layers inside! I think that with practice this would not be a very difficult cake to make, and it sure looks impressive. I'll put this recipe into the "try again another time" pile and hopefully in the future give it another go. Until then, I'm going to put my feet up and wait the 5 or so more weeks until my own little baking projects arrive!

Here is a link to the recipe on The Daring Kitchen website.

The Daring Bakers April 2013: Savarin

Natalia of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to come up with some very delicious cakes!

Yep, still alive. Yep, still bad at updating the blog. I kept looking at all the wonderful challenges and telling myself I'd make it later, but then next thing I knew it was the posting date and I hadn't done the challenge. This month I made a concerted effort to find the time to do the challenge and we enjoyed it at a brunch with friends. This was a delicious cake that was well worth the work. This is a great recipe to make when you're in the 3rd trimester with 5 lbs of babies kicking around inside of you and you need to sit down frequently while cooking. 

I decided to simply follow the delicious looking recipe that Natalia had provided, as I was lucky to be doing the challenge in the first place. The peach flavors were a lovely fresh addition to our brunch. I'd definitely like to experiment with different flavor combinations in the future. 

Savarin Servings:8/10

Ingredients

21⁄2 cups  bread flour

2 tablespoons water, lukewarm

6 large eggs at room temperature, separated

1⁄2 satchel  instant yeast 

4 teaspoons sugar

2/3 stick  butter at room temperature

1 tablespoon  orange and lemon zest (optional) 

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 cup butter for greasing the work surface, hands, dough scraper & baking pan

Directions:

Sponge

In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, 3 tablespoons flour and yeast , cover with cling film and let rise 60 minutes

Dough

1. After 30 minutes put the egg whites in the mixer bowl and start working with the paddle at low speed adding flour until you have a soft dough that sticks to the bowl (about 2 cups) and work until it comes together , cover with cling film and let rest 30 min

2. Add the sponge to the mixer bowl along with a tablespoon of flour and start mixing at low speed (if you wish to add the zests do it now)

3. When it starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl add one yolk and as soon as the yolk is absorbed add one tablespoon of flour

4. Add the second yolk , the sugar and as soon as the yolk is absorbed add one tablespoon of flour

5. Raise the speed a little

6. Add the third yolk and the salt and as soon as the yolk is absorbed add one tablespoon of flour

7. Keep on adding one yolk at the time and the flour saving a tablespoon of flour for later

8. Mix the dough until is elastic and makes “threads”

9. Add the butter at room temperature and as soon as the butter is adsorbed add the last tablespoon of flour

10. Keep on mixing till the dough passes the “window pane test”

11. Cover the dough with cling film and let it proof until it has tripled in volume (2 to 3 hours)

12. You can prepare the Pastry cream now if you chose to use it, and refrigerate it

13. While you wait prepare your baking pan buttering it very carefully not leaving too much

butter on it

14. Grease your dough scraper, your hands and your work surface and put the dough on it and fold with the Dough Package Fold two or three times around (5 folds twice or three times). Cover with cling foil and let it rest 15 minutes on the counter

15. Turn the dough upside down and with the help of your buttered dough scraper shape your dough  in a rounded bun

16. Make a hole in the center with your thumb and put it in the prepared pan

17. Cover with cling film and let rise in a warm spot until the dough reaches the top of the pan (about 1 hour)

18. Pre-heat oven to moderate 340°F

19. Bake the Savarin for about 40 minutes until the top is golden brown

20. Meanwhile prepare the Syrup

21. When the Savarin is done take it out of the oven and let it cool.

22. You have two choices now : you can immerse it in syrup right now or you can let it dry out (so

it will lose some of his moisture that will be replaced by the syrup) and soak it later on.

23. To immerse it in syrup it is a good idea to place it in the mold you baked it in (I’m afraid a

spring-form one wouldn’t work for this) and keep adding ladles of syrup until you see it along the rim of the pan. Or you can just soak it in a big bowl keeping your ladle on top of it so it doesn’t float. Once the Savarin is really well soaked carefully move it on a cooling rack positioned over a pan to let the excess syrup drip.

24. The soaked Savarin gains in flavor the next day

25. Whatever you decide the day you want to serve it glaze it and fill the hole with your filling of

choice and decorate it. You can serve the Savarin with some filling on the side.

26. Enjoy it!

Peach Flavored Syrup:

Servings: 1 savarin

Ingredients

11⁄2 cups peach tea

11⁄2 cups peach juice

11⁄2 cups water

1 cup sugar 

zest of one lemon

one cinnamon stick

Directions:

1. Combine tea, water, sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil

2. Let boil 5 minutes and remove from the stove

3. When cooled a bit add the peach juice.

Glaze:

Servings:1 savarin

Ingredients

2 tablespoons apricot Jam 

2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. In a saucepan mix jam and water and warm up

2. When the savarin is cool and soaked brush it with the glaze

Pastry Cream and Chantilly:

Servings: 1 savarin plus some for serving

Ingredients

2 cups milk

1⁄4 cup sugar

zest of one lemon

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1⁄4 cup sugar

1 cup  heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring to a boil milk and sugar

2. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks, egg, cornstarch and sugar

3. Add the hot milk to the eggs one tablespoon at the time to temper it

4. Pour in the saucepan again and bring to a boil stirring constantly

5. When the cream thickens remove from the stove

6. Put cling film onto the cream (touching the surface) and cool

7. Pour 1 cup cold heavy cream in mixer bowl with the whisk attachment

8. Beat until whipped

9. Combine with the cooled pastry cream adding a tablespoon at the time of whipped cream until it gets to the right consistency. (or it looks right to you!)

Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:

You can store the dried savarin for 5 days in a closed container. If you have soaked it cover well with cling foil and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Daring Bakers January 2013: Gevulde Speculaas

Francijn of Koken in de Brouwerij was our January 2013 Daring Bakers’ Hostess and she challenged us to make the traditional Dutch pastry, Gevulde Speculaas from scratch! That includes making our own spice mix, almond paste and dough! Delicious!

Well, this is not only the first challenge of the new year, but it is also my first challenge back post the  nausea and exhaustion of my first trimester. At the holidays I really wanted to try December's challenge, but since my family was coming for the first official Christmas in our new house and I didn't feel well in general I knew it wasn't going to happen. But when I saw that the January challenge was a Dutch recipe, I knew that it was a sign. I was going to feel better someday and I would finally rejoin the ranks of Daring Bakers the world over. You see, I'm some percentage Dutch and anytime I get a chance to make a recipe with a nod to my heritage I'm very excited.

Two Christmases ago I made speculaas cookies simply because they were a Dutch cookie. And I fell in love with the spice mixture. I love how all these spices work so well together and none takes over the flavor completely. So when I saw that this was January's challenge, I was in!

This was the perfect recipe to test the waters of being back in the kitchen. You can do it in small steps, which I really appreciated since one of the twins has decided that they like pinching a nerve on the left side of my body and my leg goes numb when I stand too long. It is a recipe that can even be done over the course of a couple days, although I did it it just one.

The spice mixture which takes this just from a simple spice cake to out of this world delicious is very easy to put together and store what you don't use. Reading through the recipe, I noticed that the spices could be used in a cheesecake. My mouth started watering. Definitely make more than you need because you will want to use them again!


Speculaas Spices
Speculaas spices can be bought in a store. But it's more fun to make your own mixture, so that you can adjust the flavor. Here is a representative recipe from the extensive Dutch tradition.

Mandatory spices: cinnamon, ground cloves, mace, ginger

Optional spices: white pepper, cardamom, coriander, anise, nutmeg

Take at least 1 or 2 teaspoons of ground cloves, ½ or 1 teaspoon of mace and ½ or 1 teaspoon of ginger.

Add to taste ½ or 1 teaspoon of white pepper, ½ or 1 teaspoon of cardamom, ½ or 1 teaspoon of coriander, ½ or 1 teaspoon of anise, and 1 or 2 teaspoons of nutmeg.

Measure or weigh the amount of spices you have now, and add an equal amount of cinnamon.

Almond Paste

Ingredients:
7/8 cup raw almonds (or 1-1/3 cups ground almonds)
5/8 cup  granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest


Directions:
If the raw almonds still have their brown skins, remove them as follows. Bring water to a boil, add the almonds, cook them for one minute, drain immediately and let cool for a few minutes. Rub them between your fingers to remove the skins.

1. Grind the almonds for one or two minutes in a food processor, until you see nothing but very small pieces. (Or skip this step if you use ground almonds.)

2. Add the sugar, and grind for another one or two minutes. It must be very fine after this step.

3. Add the egg and lemon zest and let the food processor combine it - if it is powerful enough. Otherwise you will have to combine it with your fingers.

Store the almond paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Although the flavor gets better as days pass by, it is not wise to store the paste for too long, as it contains a raw egg. For the same reason you should not eat the paste unbaked.

Speculaas Dough

Ingredients:
1¾ cups all purpose (plain) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
a pinch salt
2 tablespoons speculaas spices
¾ cup (1½ stick) unsalted butter

Directions:


1. Put flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl. Cut the butter in dices and add.
2. Knead until smooth. Feel free to add a little milk if the dough is too dry.
3. Wrap in clingfoil and put in the refrigerator for two hours.


Assembling and baking the Gevulde Speculaas

Ingredients:
speculaas dough
almond paste
whole almonds without skins for decoration 1 large egg
shallow baking pan, 8x10 inch or, round with 10 inch diameter

Directions:
1. Grease the pan.
2. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F
3. Divide the dough into two portions.
4. Roll out both portions on a lightly floured surface, until they are exactly as big as the baking pan.
5. Put one of the layers in the pan and press it lightly to fill the bottom.

6. Lightly beat the egg with a teaspoon cold water.
7. Smear 1/3 of the egg over the dough in the pan.
8. Roll out the almond paste between two sheets of clingfoil, until it is exactly as big as the pan, and put it on the dough in the pan. (If you chose to make the paste soft, you can smear the paste instead of rolling it.)

9. Press the paste lightly down to fit in the pan, and smear the next 1/3 of the egg over it.
10. Now put the second layer of dough on top of the paste, press it lightly, and make as smooth as possible.
11. Smear the last 1/3 of the egg over the dough.

12. Decorate the pastry with the almonds.
13. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
14. Let cool completely in the pan, then cut it in portions as you like.
15. If you wrap the stuffed speculaas in clingfoil, after it has cooled completely, you can store it a few days at room temperature. Freezing is possible, but fresh speculaas tastes better.

Daring Bakers September 2012: Empanadas

Patri of the blog, Asi Son Los Cosas, was our September 2012 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she decided to tempt us with one of her family’s favorite recipes for Empanadas! We were given two dough recipes to choose from and encouraged to fill our Empanadas as creatively as we wished!

I know, I know. I'm two days late in posting. Blame my job or my procrastination, either way I'm late. One of my goals now that school has been happening for a full month is to do a better job blogging. Right now that means two specific things: posting on time for challenges and taking the time to take better photos. Hold me to those things, people! Please!

This was a delicious recipe that was perfect for the cooler weather we've been having lately. Something about meat and veggies baked in dough just screams autumn comfort food. We had the inaugural fire in the fireplace in our house and enjoyed the feeling of bellies full of yummy empanada as we relaxed last weekend.

I'd made dessert empanadas before (okay, I mostly cheated with canned apple pie filling and probably store-bought dough) and was looking forward to trying the savory kind. I could have made this a little easier on myself by buying a rotisserie chicken instead of roasting my own, but with whole chickens under a dollar a pound I couldn't really justify not doing the whole recipe from scratch.

Chicken and Bell Pepper Empanadas

Dough Ingredients:
5-1/3 cups (1280 ml) (750 gm) bread flour

2 cups (480 ml) of lukewarm water (about 85°F/30oC)
approximately
1 satchel (1 tablespoon) (15 gm) dry yeast or (1 oz) (30 gm) fresh yeast

2 teaspoons (10 ml) (11 gm) salt

4 tablespoons (60 ml) oil (you can use oil from the pan where you have cooked the filling)
1 large egg, for egg wash


For the filling:
1 3-pound chicken
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 ripe plum tomatoes
1 fresh thyme sprig
2 bay leaves
½ cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons sweet pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)




Dough Directions:
1. Measure out all the ingredients. Sift the flour into a big bowl and make a well in the middle. Rub the yeast in with your fingers.

2. In a small bowl, mix the water and the salt.  Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, start adding the water and mixing it with the 
flour-yeast mixture. Keep on working with your fingers or spoon until you have added 
enough water and all the flour has been incorporated and you have a messy ball of dough.

3. On a clean counter top, knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes
(You could do all the above using a stand mixer, in that case mix the ingredients with the 
paddle attachment until mixed and then switch to a dough hook and knead on low for about 6 
minutes.)

4.Clean and oil the big bowl you used for mixing and place the kneaded dough in it. Cover it 
with a napkin or piece of linen and keep it in a warm, draught-free place for approximately 40 to 50 minutes.

5. Once risen, turn the dough back into a floured counter and cut it in half. Cover one half with the napkin to prevent drying.

6. Spread the other half of the dough using a rolling pin. You can use a piece of wax paper over the counter, it will make it easier to move the dough around. Depending on the shape of your oven pan or cookie sheet, you will make a rectangle or a round.

7. Now, the thinness of the dough will depend on your choice of filling and how much bread you like in every bite. For your first time, make it about 3mm thin (about 1/10th of an inch) and then adjust from that in the next ones you make.

Filling Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375℉

2. Season the chicken, inside and out, with salt and pepper and place on a rack set on top of a baking sheet. Roast the chicken for 45 minutes and let cool. Remove all of the meat from the chicken, discarding the skin and bones. Shred the meat and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the peppers, onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and peppers are tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a mixing bowl. Rub the cut surface of the tomatoes over the grater until all of the flesh is grated. Set the pulp aside and discard the skins.

5. Add the thyme and bay leaves to the onions and peppers and continue to cook until the mixture turns brown, about 5 minutes more. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates.

6. Stir in the tomato pulp and pimentón, reduce the heat to medium and cook slowly until the oil separates from the mixture and the tomato becomes dark brown in color, about 20 minutes more.

7. Add the shredded chicken and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt. Transfer the mixture to a strainer set over a mixing bowl to drain and let cool. Discard liquid.

To Assemble:
1. Turn a 13x18 inch baking sheet over on a work surface and brush the back of the pan with olive oil. Transfer one rectangle of dough to the baking sheet.

2. Spoon the filling into the center of the dough and spread to about 1 inch from the edge. Beat the egg in a small bowl with a little water and brush the egg wash along the edge of the dough.

3. Place the second rectangle of the dough on top of the filling. Fold the dough over, crimping the edges to seal. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining egg wash and prick the dough with a fork to allow the steam to escape.

4. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow the empanada to come to room temperature before slicing.

Daring Bakers August 2012: Pate a choux Swans

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!


I knew as soon as I saw this challenge that I would be using this to introduce my neighbors to my baking obsession. I could have made a half batch that would have still been too much for just me and my husband, but when you can take something like this over to the neighbors, what an introduction! They all looked at me kind of strange and asked "you just did this.... for no reason?" and I had to explain about the monthly challenges I do with the assurance that this would be the first of many food presents.

Bingley would like a swan, please.

I have never done pate a choux before, and looking at other bakers' pictures I think mine was a little runny. It didn't take too much time and wasn't all that difficult so I'm not too intimidated to give this another try. I think that these would be so much fun for baby showers or similar events.



Pate a choux
Ingredients
½ cup (120 ml) (115 gm) (4 oz) butter
1 cup (240 ml) water
¼ teaspoon (1½ gm) salt
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

Directions:
Line at least two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper, or grease pans well.
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5 .
In a small saucepot, combine butter, water, and salt. Heat over until butter melts, then remove from stove.
Add flour all at once and beat, beat, beat the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Add one egg, and beat until well combined. Add remaining eggs individually, beating vigorously after each addition. Resulting mixture should be somewhat glossy, very smooth, and somewhat thick.
Using a ¼” (6 mm) tip on a pastry bag, pipe out about 36 swan heads. You’re aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you’re skilled and/or lucky.
Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 36 swan bodies. These will be about 1.5” (40 mm) long, and about 1” (25 mm) wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other.
Bake the heads and bodies until golden and puffy. The heads will be done a few minutes before the bodies, so keep a close eye on the baking process.
Remove the pastries to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before filling.

Assembly
Take a swan body and use a very sharp knife to cut off the top 1/3rd to ½.
Cut the removed top down the center to make two wings.
Dollop a bit of filling into the body, insert head, and then add wings.

Vanilla Crème Patissiere

(Half Batch)

Ingredients:
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Directions:
Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.
Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.
Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.
Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.
Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

Daring Bakers July 2012: Crisp, crunchy crackers!

Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.


I'm sitting at my mom's house in Iowa, bemoaning my (once again) procrastination. I fully intended to write up this blog weeks ago after I baked the crackers. But (as usual) I kept telling myself there was time. Well, now I'm in Iowa and the recipes I thought were stored on my computer are not. There are back-up printouts that I actually used to bake the crackers, but they are in a drawer in Wisconsin. So you'll have to wait to see those until I get back on Sunday. But for now, enjoy the pictures! 

I made 4 different kinds of crackers, homemade Wheat Thins, Parmesan and Flax , Rosemary and Parmesan Icebox Crackers, and Carta di Musica (How could I not?!), a crisp Italian cracker. We had them with the obligatory cheese and meat tray at a birthday get together at our new house. Interesting results on what people liked: my husband, who I thought would like them, did not like the flax crackers at all. My father in law, who is quite selective in what he enjoys loved the flax crackers.

Daring Bakers June 2012: Battenberg Cake

So I feel like this could be the most ridiculous post ever, simply because there is so much to tell about! I got to break in the new kitchen with this awesome challenge recipe, we went to California for our honeymoon/anniversary trip. We got to do a wine tasting in this castle. Really. Probably the coolest thing we did on our trip! If you are ever in the Calistoga area, make sure you check out Castello di Amorosa.

We also checked out the sights of San Francisco and brought home enough wine that we won't need to buy more for quite a while. It was a really fantastic trip, I'm so glad we waited for a year to do our honeymoon and took a big trip! Then we came home to boxes to unpack. Every day the house looks more and more like people actually live here.

I feel like I'm always coming in under the wire on these challenges and making excuses for why the pictures suck and everything looks rushed. I think I just need to finally admit that I'm a procrastinator. These cakes were inspired by the Royal Jubilee, but I made mine with another anniversary in mind. One year ago I married the love of my life (insert sappy "aww" here) with my very best friends by my side. It was a really beautiful day and a year later I am still incredibly happy.

A traditional Battenberg is almond flavored with a marzipan covering and has pink and yellow squares. I'm a little wary of marzipan and wanted to try something a little different. In searching for different recipes I found a chocolate version and was immediately interested. As I've said before, when given the option to do a non-traditional recipe that involves chocolate, you add the chocolate! The chocolate plastique instead of the marzipan was just the... uh, icing on the cake?

Mandy of What the Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry's techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Dark Chocolate Plastique/Modelling Chocolate

200 gm/7oz good quality Dark Chocolate

¼ cup light corn syrup

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, stir occasionally.

2. Once completely melted, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

3. Stir in corn syrup, it will seize up almost immediately, just keep stirring until mixed and it comes away from the sides of the bowl.

4. Transfer chocolate into a sealable bag, spread the chocolate out and then seal the bag.

5. Leave overnight or refrigerate for about 2 hours until completely firm.

6. Turn out from the bag and knead on a surface dusted with powdered sugar (or a silpat), at first it will just break, but as you knead, it will warm up and start to become pliable.

7. Knead until it's pliable enough to mould, 5-10 minutes. When ready to use, roll out on silpat to a 10x13 rectangle then use to cover the assembled cake.

Chocolate Battenberg (adapted from Jamie Oliver Magazine)

3 sticks butter, plus extra for greasing

1¾ cups granulated sugar

6 eggs

½ tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

2¼ cups self-rising flour

⅓ cup ground almonds

⅓ cup cocoa

raspberry jam 

1 recipe chocolate plastique (above)

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease 2 small loaf tins.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until combined. Fold in the flour.

3. Divide the batter evenly into two bowls. In one bowl, fold in the vanilla and one tablespoon of the milk. In the other fold in the almonds, cocoa and remaining tablespoon of milk.

4. Spoon batter into each of the tins. Bake both for 30-40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

5. To assemble, warm the jam. Level off the tops and sides of the cakes with a knife so each cake is a rectangle and the same size. Cut in half lengthways  so you have two long strips of each.

6. Join the 4 cake strips with the jam between the layers so that you have a checkerboard pattern. Trim any uneven sides. Wrap with the chocolate plastique. 

The Daring Bakers May 2012: Challah!

May's Daring Bakers' Challenge was pretty twisted- Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from "A Taste of Challah" by Tamir Ansh, she encouraged us to make beautifully braided breads.

4 Strand loaf in the process

Getting ready to try my hand at 6 strands!

Of course, in the month that the husband and I decide we are going to try to eat less starches (which I am certain is going to kill me, I love bread, pasta and potatoes!) the challenge is challah, which I have wanted to make for a long time. I am glad I did this challenge- the braiding was fun and turned out better than I thought it would! I hadn't ever tried doing a 4 strand braid, much less a 6! I was so pleased with how my 4 strand loaf turned out, I decided to do 6 strands on the second.

4 Strand loaf on the right, 6 on the left.

4 strand on top, 6 on bottom

This weekend we are going camping with my husband's family and we are bringing along the challah to try French Toast on the grill. I'll let you guys know how that goes. We haven't actually eaten it yet, so I can't tell you how delicious it is but if the way it made our house smell is any indication, this bread is going to be worth returning to eating starch, however temporarily!

again, 4 strand on the right, 6 on the left

I made the Honey White version of this bread, although there were many other options in our challenge recipes. It all came down to what I had on hand and the fact that I was planning on making two other baked goods in the same night. This one required less rise time, so I went with it.

Honey White Challah

1 ½ cups warm water, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons (2-⅔ packets) dry active yeast
½ cup honey
1 tablespoon oil
4 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon salt
5 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed (up to 8-9 cups total)
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

1. In mixer bowl combine ½ cup warm water, sugar, and yeast. Allow to proof about 5 minutes until foamy.

2. To the yeast mixture add the honey, remaining water, oil, eggs, salt and 5 cups of flour. Knead until smooth, adding flour as needed. Knead for approximately 10 minutes.

3. Transfer dough to a clean, oiled bowl, turn to coat or add a bit more oil on top. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1½ hours.)

4. Punch down the dough, divide it into two sections. Use one half to make each loaf (shaped or braided as desired).

5. Place loaves on parchment lined or greased baking sheets (this is important- do use two separate sheets. I didn't and my bread rose so much in the oven the loaves ended up touching.) Cover with a towel, allow to rise 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 325℉.

7. Brush top of loaves with egg wash. (sprinkle with seeds or toppings here if wanted)

8. Bake loaves 30-40 minutes until done (will be golden) and cool on wire racks.

The Daring Bakers' April 2012: Armenian Desserts!

The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

I am having issues adding photos to my blog at the moment. They will all load, but will not move to where I want them to be. Never happened before, but in about 20 minutes (now you all know I'm a huge procrastinator, even though I baked these a week ago!) I have to leave to take a middle school group to Chicago for an overnight trip. I'll revisit this when I get back from that exciting adventure! But for now, enjoy the one photo of Nazook :)


This month's challenge was a major hit, both with the baker and the tasters. I liked how straight forward and accessible both recipes were. Everyone who tried the nutmeg cake and Nazook said they were delicious. What a win-win recipe challenge!


The only mishap was that the walnuts that I sprinkled on top of the nutmeg cake sunk into the batter during the baking. They simply became tasty surprises rather than decoration. Not a terrible problem to have had happen. I may sprinkle them on top after the cake has set a bit more next time.


I am excited to try the Nazook again with different filling flavors. The one in the recipe was really delicious, I'd love to see what other flavors work well. 

Nazook- Yields 40 pieces

Ingredients: Pastry dough
3 cups (720 ml) (420 gm/15 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour, sifted
2½ teaspoons (12½ ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm/8 oz) sour cream
1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225 gm/8 oz) softened butter (room temperature)

Filling
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) (210 gm) (7½ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) (340 gm/12 oz) sugar
3/4 cup (1½ sticks) (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) softened butter (room temperature)
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract

Wash
1-2 egg yolks (for the wash; alternatively, some yogurt, egg whites, or a whole egg)

Directions:
Make the Pastry Dough
1. Place the sifted flour into a large bowl.
2. Add the dry yeast, and mix it in.
3. Add the sour cream, and the softened butter.
4. Use your hands, or a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, to work it into a dough.
5. If using a standing mixer, switch to a dough hook. If making manually, continue to knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl or your hands. If it remains very sticky, add some flour, a little at a time.
6. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 3-5 hours, or overnight if you like.

Make the filling
7. Mix the flour, sugar, and the softened butter in a medium bowl.
8. Add the vanilla extract.
9. Mix the filling until it looks like clumpy, damp sand. It should not take long. Set aside.

Make the nazook
10. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4.
11. Cut the refrigerated dough into quarters.
12. Form one of the quarters into a ball. Dust your working surface with a little flour.
13. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle or oval. The dough should be thin, but not
transparent.
14. Spread 1/4 of the filling mixture across the rolled-out dough in an even layer. Try to spread the filling as close as possible to the edges on the short sides, but keep some of pastry dough uncovered (1 inch/2.5 cm) along the long edges.
15. From one of the long sides, start slowly rolling the dough across. Be careful to make sure the filling stays evenly distributed. Roll all the way across until you have a long, thin loaf.
16. Pat down the loaf with your palm and fingers so that it flattens out a bit (just a bit).
17. Apply your egg yolk wash with a pastry brush.
18. Use your crinkle cutter (or knife) to cut the loaf into 10 equally-sized pieces. Put onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
19. Place in a preheated moderate oven for about 30 minutes, until the tops are a rich, golden brown.
20. Allow to cool and enjoy!







Armenian Nutmeg Cake

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) milk (I use whole, but nonfat or lowfat should be fine; non-dairy might work just fine, as well)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking soda
2 cups (480 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour (I suspect pastry flour or another low-gluten flour might even work better to achieve a light, fluffy crumb)
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) baking powder (I used single-acting, because it's aluminum-free, and it turned out fantastic)
2 cups (480 ml) (400 gm/14 oz) brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup (1½ sticks) (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) butter, preferably unsalted, cubed
1/2 cup (120 ml) (55 gm/2 oz) walnut pieces, may need a little more
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons (5 to 7 ½ ml) (5 to 8 gm) ground nutmeg (try to grate it fresh yourself; the aroma is enchanting)
1 egg


Directions - the Traditional Way (The Fast, Easy Way further down)
1. Preheat your oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4.
2. Mix the baking soda (not baking powder; that's for the next step) into the milk. Set it aside.
3. Sift together the flour and the baking powder into a large bowl. One sift is fine
4. Add the brown sugar. Go ahead and mix the flour and brown sugar together. Or not.
5. Toss in the cubed butter.
6. Mash the butter with a fork into the dry ingredients (you can also use your fingers if you want). You'll want to achieve a more-or-less uniform, tan-colored crumbly mixture.
7. Take HALF of this resulting crumbly mixture into your springform (9”/23cm) pan. Press a crust out of it using your fingers and knuckles. It will be easy.
8. Crack an egg into a mixer or bowl.
9. Toss the nutmeg in with the egg.
10. Start mixing slowly with a whisk attachment and then increase to medium speed, or mix with a hand whisk if you're doing it manually. Once it's mixed well and frothy (about 1 minute using a standing mixer, or about 2-3 minutes of vigorous beating with a whisk), pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until uniform.
11. Pour in the rest of the crumbly mixture. Mix that well, with either a paddle attachment, or a spatula. Or continue to use the whisk; it won't make much of a difference, since the resulting batter is very liquify.
12. Pour the batter over the base in the springform pan.
13. Gently sprinkle the walnut pieces over the batter.
14. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 30-40 minutes. You'll know it's done when the top is a golden brown, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
15. Allow to cool in the pan, and then release. Enjoy!

Food Processor Directions1. Preheat your oven to moderate 350°F/175°C/gas mark 4 .
2. Mix the baking soda (not baking powder) into the milk. Set aside.
3. Put the flour, baking powder, and the brown sugar into your food processor. Pulse until uniformly mixed.
4. Toss in the cubed butter. Pulse until uniformly mixed into tan-colored crumbs.
5. Pour HALF of the crumbs into your springform (9”/23cm) pan. Press out a crust using your fingers and knuckles.
6. Crack the egg into the food processor with the rest of the crumbs still in it.
7. Grate 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Toss that into the food processor, too. Pulse until well-incorporated.
8. Pour in the milk and baking soda mixture. Continue to mix until a slightly lumpy tan batter is formed.
9. Pour the batter over the crust in the springform pan.
10. Gently sprinkle the walnut pieces over the batter.
11. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for 30-40 minutes. It's ready when the top is golden brown, and when it passes the toothpick test (comes out clean).
12. Cool the cake in the pan, and then dig in. Yum yum!

The Daring Bakers March 2012: Dutch Crunch!

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!



Dutch Crunch Topping
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105-110℉)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups rice flour

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing- spreadable but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Coat the top of each roll with a thick layer of topping. Err on the side of too much- too little will not crack properly.
3. Let stand, uncovered, for any additional time your recipe recommends. For the rolls I made, I put them straight in the oven at this point.
4. When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The dutch crunch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

Soft White Roll
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 cup warm milk
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
up to 4 cups all purpose flour

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (the mixture should start to bubble or foam and smell yeasty.)
2. Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or a wooden spoon, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together.
3. Add remaining flour a quarter cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (from  an additional 1½ to 2 cups of flour)
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size.
6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
8. Coat the top of each roll with the topping as described above.
9. Bake in a preheated 380° oven for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Sauteed Portabella Sandwiches

4 Portabella mushrooms. Remove stems and gills, wash and wipe clean.1 ripe tomato, sliced4 slices mozzarella cheeseOlive oil

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Place portabella caps in hot oil, cap side down and allow to cook 1-2 minutes per side. 

2. Build sandwich in whatever order you wish. Really these are a simple, delicious sandwich that you can add different spices (think: basil leaves, garlic, parmesan cheese shavings, balsamic vinegar) but is pretty great in this minimalist form as well. 

The Daring Bakers February 2012: Quick Breads

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Maple Filling is Happy

What is the first thing you think when you hear "quick bread"? Usually for me, it is banana bread. But I've made that so many times I wanted to try something new. I love lemon poppy seed muffins, so I thought why not make a lemon poppy seed loaf? There was also a recipe for a pumpkin bread with a maple cream cheese filling included in the challenge recipes, and I've never done a filled quick bread, so I thought why not? 

I love how easy quick breads come together. The recipes are easy to follow, don't make too much of a mess in the kitchen, and are easy to share when you realize that you've made 4 loaves of sweet bread and just stared a new exercise regimen and you really shouldn't be eating all of that stuff. Probably the hardest thing about making quick breads is waiting for them to cool (the lemon poppy seed has to sit overnight!) before you can break into them and have a slice. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

(Joy of Baking)

Bread

3 large eggs

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup milk

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

13 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Syrup

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

⅓ cup granulated sugar

Any reason to go to Penzy's....

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a loaf pan (8x4x 2½ inches).

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and milk.

3. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and poppy seeds until combined. Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low until moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition. 

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Check on it about halfway through and cover with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning.)

5. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. 

6. When the bread is done, remove from the oven and place on a wire reach. Pierce the hot loaf all over with a toothpick and brush the top of the loaf with half of the lemon syrup. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes. 

7. Invert loaf onto a greased wire rack. Brush the remaining syrup onto the bottom and sides of the loaf. Reinvert the bread so it is right side up and cool the bread completely before wrapping. Store at least overnight before serving.

Pumpkin Bread with Maple Cream Cheese Filling

makes 3 loaves

Filling

2 packages cream cheese, softened

¼ cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon maple extract or 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Bread

3 cups white sugar

1 ¾ cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup light or non flavored oil

1 cup water

4 large eggs

4 cups all purpose, unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray three loaf pans with cooking spray.

2. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and milk in a small bowl until creamy, add the maple and blend. Set aside for now. 

The maple made a pretty design in the cream cheese :)

3. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, pumpkin, oil, water and eggs. In another large bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. 

4. Pour half the batter into the three pans. Spoon the filling over the batter. Use a spatula to spread it out carefully. Add the remaining batter, making sure you cover the filling completely. 

5. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans before removing the bread to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store bread wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. 

The Daring Bakers January 2012- Scones (Biscuits)

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

I have had quite the month since the last challenge. Honestly, I probably didn't even look at the challenge for about a week after it had been posted. Over the holidays we took a trip to Iowa to see my family and spend some time with them. What began as a quick visit to my grandfather in the hospital became two days, and a certainty that we would be coming back to Iowa very soon. We got back to Wisconsin on a Friday and the following Friday found us driving to Iowa to attend my grandfather's visitation and funeral. It was a very difficult beginning to 2012 to say the least.

I like to think that my grandfather would have enjoyed the fruits of this challenge. Whenever I think of biscuits I think of down-home cooking (although, I know that when titled as "scones" as in Britain and elsewhere you eat them at tea time) and that certainly makes me think of my grandmother. She grew up on a farm and learned her cooking there. Grandma's version of cooking was make it from scratch and don't hold the butter. My earliest cooking memories are of making bread or cookies with my grandmother, calling my grandpa on the phone (somehow we called him when he was upstairs in the same house. Without a cell phone. I still don't know how that worked) and telling him to come down to get some warm cookies.

Delicious Amish Jam

Perhaps it is just me feeling nostalgic and trying to find connections to the grandfather I miss deeply, but I really do think that he would appreciate these made from scratch, delicious biscuits. I was very preoccupied this month, so the most I managed was the basic biscuit recipe. No frills, no additions, but I can tell you even this "naked" form of biscuit was delicious. When paired with the Amish- made raspberry jam I got for Christmas, they were heaven. I also appreciated that these took so little time to make. I like foods that you can have a craving for and be eating them within the hour.

Old Baking Powder Biscuit

I actually made two batches of these. The first I made with my baking powder of undetermined age. That alone means it was far too old. You could definitely tell, as the first batch of biscuits didn't rise quite as much as I had hoped. So I bought a new container of baking powder and it really made a difference!

New Baking Powder Biscuit! Magic!

Basic Biscuits (makes about 8 2-inch biscuits)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons fresh baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons frozen butter cut into small pieces

Approx. 1/2 cup cold milk

optional 1 tablespoon milk for glazing the tops of the biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 475.

2. Triple sift dry ingredients into a large bowl (or if you don't have a sifter like me, whisk them really really well)

3. Rub the frozen butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky biscuits or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender biscuits.

4. Add nearly all of the liquid at once into the flour/butter mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough (add remaining liquid if needed). The wetter the dough the lighter the biscuits will be!

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times until the dough is smooth. To achieve a layered effect in your biscuits knead very gently once (don't press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture. 

6. Pat or roll dough out into a 6 inch by 4 inch rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Using a well floured biscuit cutter cut into rounds, or use a well floured, sharp knife to form squares or wedges as you desire. 

7. Place the biscuits just touching on a dish if you want soft sided biscuits or place them spaced widely apart if you want to have crisp-sided biscuits. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden color or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes (check at 8 since at this temperature home ovens are quite unreliable) until the biscuits are well risen and are lightly colored on the tops. The biscuits are ready when the sides are set. 

9. Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.