Toast

On About Biscuits

There has been a lot written about biscuits by experts and partisans of all kinds. I am neither. By biscuits, I mean traditional North American type biscuits, rather than the English sort. The latter are pretty much what we mean in the US when we say "cookies". This difference has caused some transatlantic confusion in the past, but seems generally understood these days. Our biscuits are more closely related to scones. (Though not so much to the various sweet "scones" ubiquitous in the US these days- filled with blueberries or chocolate chips, or what-all) Biscuits are little short (short as in shortening, e.g.. butterfat) breads/rolls, which have many regional and ethnic variants. I can't say I've ever met one I didn't like. Or that I'm a master of any particular type, either.

Many southern cooks sing the praises of White Lily flour for light biscuits. Some fans prefer flaky biscuits, or beaten biscuits, buttermilk, butter, or lard. The fast food chain, Popeye's, serves astonishingly good biscuits.(Their chicken and red beans and rice are pretty good too, actually, though probably they could be applied directly to your arteries, to save time). Most fast food biscuits are on the pathetic and doughy side, though. Still, presented with one, I tend to eat it. All of it. Exuberant advocates of specific recipes tend to come from, or adopt, one of the regional traditions of biscuit making.It's fun to check out their arguments.

I don't come from a classic biscuit tradition myself-the only biscuits we (occasionally) had in my childhood were drop biscuits made with Bisquick -and they weren't so bad either. Nor can I claim to be entirely opposed to the kind of biscuits that come in the exploding cardboard tubes- I've eaten them uncomplaining on many occasions, despite full knowledge of the weird chemical components listed on the packaging. I just plain love biscuits-for breakfast with sausages and gravy, made into strawberry shortcakes, topping cobblers and potpies, tiny ones with thinly sliced country ham at parties, and spread with butter -eaten with anything juicy, or salty or saucy.

I have a small collection of biscuit cutters, round and square, and even this thrifty old-fashioned device which you could roll across biscuit dough to cut perfectly aligned biscuits, leaving no scraps. My budding collection gives me something small, easy to carry and cheap to look for at flea markets and yard sales. And it doesn't take up too much space in my crowded apartment. I don't really have many yet..I'm especially fond of a jadite green plastic number that apparently came in a box of Bisquick in the thirties. Old kitchen tools are awfully nice to have around and use. They give me a pleasant, corny/sentimental feeling of connection with other cooks of other times and places.

I must also admit to possessing one of the sillier varieties of napery ever conceived of by the victorians, who so loved to invent single use food accessories, (we owe them the asparagus peeler, and the pickle fork, for example), the better to advertise their prosperity, and love of gimmick to their dinner guests.It is a biscuit server thingie- it folds down flat, and opens to hold biscuits in its little pockets, keeping them warm, and making them look like little animals, hiding in burrows. Linen of course. Did I mention that I have two? Oy. As you may have noticed, I am not necessarily entirely practical, or sane.

Anyhow, I'm not wedded to a particular biscuit recipe- I like to try different types. I'm this way about rice pudding, too. As a rule, I like to choose, and learn well, a single recipe for most of my favorite foods. It is comfortable to have a repetoire you can count on. For some reason,though, I don't feel like settling for one sort of biscuit. I'm a sucker for any slightly varied recipe I haven't yet tried. I do have an old reliable one though, which I make when I'm pressed for time. It's a James Beard recipe for cream biscuits-simple as can be, courtesy of Marion Cunningham, his friend and protege.

This is a truly fool proof recipe-perfect for a beginning cook to impress his or her friends. For some reason, serving any homemade bread product makes most people feel pampered, and it sometimes induces extreme and highly satisfactory expressions of gratitude. This works for me- on the giving and on the receiving ends of the equation.

Cream Biscuits
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsps sugar
1 tsp salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 Tbsps melted butter

Preheat oven to 425F. Put dry ingredients in a bowl, and fluff them together with a fork. Stirring constantly, slowly add 1 cup of the cream. Gather it all together, adding a bit more cream if it goes saggy and dry. When it holds together nicely, put it on a floured bread board, and knead it for about 60 seconds. Pat it into a square about 1/2" thick. Cut into 12 squares, and dip each in the melted butter, dipping all sides of each biscuit. Put them on an ungreased baking sheet, about 2" apart. Bake about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve hot. (This actually takes longer, in my slow oven. Know your equipment and its flaws, eh?)

These could not be easier and they are soooo good. I have made them using half and half, when I had no heavy cream, and they are not (if you will excuse me) half bad.

Addendum: And, because I can't leave well enough alone, here is another unusual biscuit recipe-also very good-but not so good-for-you, I guess:

From Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken, by Ronnie Lundy

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup bacon grease
1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Work bacon grease in with your fingertips-use a light hand and save a little of the grease out. Add milk a little at a time until the dough holds together, but is not wet or sticky. Ms. Lundy squeezes these biscuits out using a technique that I have not mastered. You can, however, pat the dough out into a rectangle 1/2" thick, and cut it with a biscuit cutter or knife. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and smear a tiny dab of the grease on top of each one-just a smear.Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, or until just browning. Serve hot.

Two a Penny

Well really, most of the hot cross buns I've had have not been all that wonderful. I don't suppose I've ever really had any from a particularly good bakery, and I associate them with a sort of supermarket cottony kind of sweetroll. Nonetheless, I have a strange fondness for them, toasted, possibly also buttered, with a cup of tea.

I wonder why I know they are supposed to be eaten on Good Friday, when this was not a holiday we observed in my childhood. My mother was always one for very restrained sweet treats- a plain cookie, at the most a "garibaldi"-a flat raisiny biscuit- was as far as she would go towards dessert, or sweet snack, in the absence of a special occasion. The presence of raisins, candied peel, and a tiny bit of icing, sketched on top, took the hot cross bun just out of the realm of the ordinary, and into the category of a small thrill.

Sooo, since I'm stuck on the topic of small breads anyway, I thought I'd have a shot at making some really nice hot cross buns. I wound up making them twice. My first effort, seen in the second picture here, was not what I had in mind, being a heavier, more scone-like item. Apparently, although I'd never had a really good hot cross bun in my life, and although the first set was tasty, there was lurking in my brain a hypothetical, idealized hot cross bun. And the first , from Nick Malgieri's Baker's Tour , was not that bun.

It is quite probable that the first lot would have been fine, if I hadn't deviated from the recipe. I used a bit of white whole wheat flour in place of a small part of the allpurpose flour. There is a picture in the book in which the buns look far smoother than these, and more like the HCB of my imagination. Everything else I've made from this book has turned out well, tasted fine, and looked the way it was supposed to. And, as I said, these were quite tasty and they have all been eaten for breakfasts, despite being slightly heartier than one might wish. If I were a sensible person, I might have tried the recipe a second time, and followed it closely. Instead, I decided, quite unscientifically, to try a different recipe. The second recipe, which you see on top, was from Bernard Clayton's Small Breads.

I had already used up my small supply of nice, soft, european candied peels in my first batch of buns. I picked up some more candied orange peel at the Iggle*, but when opened, it proved pellet-like and dire. So, I substituted some Sunmaid mixed dried fruit, chopped-it was much nicer, though the taste was slightly different. (Not so's you'd really notice, the dough being so spicy.)

To make my slightly adapted version you need:

eggs, separated 2
butter melted 2 tbsp
sugar 1/4 cup
instant yeast 2 tsps
salt 1 tsp
flour 2 1/2 cups
milk 1/2 cup
ground cloves 1/4 tsp
nutmeg-pref freshly ground 1 tsp
diced candied peel or dried fruit 1/4 cup
dried zante currants 1/2 cup

Glaze: 1 egg yolk, beaten with water
Icing- a bit of confections sugar, mixed with lemon juice or water (or lime juice-which I used, to notable effect, I thought-very nice), and put in a little plastic ziploc bag.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, egg yolks, milk (room temp), and melted butter (cooled). In the bowl of a stand mixer,with the whisk, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Transfer to a small bowl. Put the mixer bowl back on the mixer, with the paddle on, and combine 2 cups of the flour, the spices, the yeast, and the salt. Add liquids, and mix on medium, until combined. Add egg whites, and combine. Mix in the fruit and currants, until evenly distributed. Add the 1/2 cup reserved flour, and put the dough hook on the mixer. Knead on medium, with hook for about 6-8 minutes. The dough is slightly sticky.

Generously butter a medium bowl, transfer the dough to it, cover and let rise til doubled. This takes about an hour and a half. Cut the dough into 15 pieces. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Form each piece of dough into a round, by pulling the sides down to the bottom of the round, and pinching the dough together. You are trying to pull a thin skin of dough around the slightly swollen center. Try to deflate it as little as possible.

Before setting each roll on the parchment, swipe it gently over the buttery surface of the rising bowl. Cover with parchment, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour, meanwhile preheating the oven to 375F. Brush each roll with the yolk glaze, and press the back of a knife blade into each roll twice, forming an indented cross. Bake til nicely browned- about 20 minutes. Cool on a rack. Cut a tiny corner off the baggie with the icing, and pipe a cross into the indentation on each bun. Let it set up- it won't take long.

These are really charming little buns-not very sweet, spicy, light but chewy-in short, just what I had in mind. Fresh, they are great with some tea in a china cup...when they get stale, I'll split, toast and butter them, and have them for breakfast.

*note: "Iggle" is Pittsburghese for "Giant Eagle", a phrase meaning "pretty much the only supermarket in town."

Blog Rolls II: Buerli Twins

I think I have mentioned before that I'm a bit obsessed with small breads at the moment. I'm looking for some that will make good rolls for sandwiches. I like a roll than has a bit more to say for itself than the average store-bought sandwich bun. I want something with substance of its own that is not too weighty with a filling added; it should have a good crust, but not one that shatters all over your lap, desk or the park bench, when you bite into your sandwich. I'd like it to be strong enough to hold up to a juicy hamburger, tasty enough to be good with just a bit of butter, but not so distinctively flavored that it will clash with sandwich fixings.

Just about any bread recipe can be turned into a recipe for rolls, by shaping, but I thought I'd go after some traditional roll recipes, on the theory that other folks may well have had the same criteria for rolls as I, and developed these ideas over time. I hope to benefit from their inherited experience. This one, for pairs of crusty swiss rolls, jumped out at me from the pages of Nick Malgieri's A Baker's Tour, which I was happy to receive for a gift this Christmas.

In a little introduction, in which the spelling of the main attraction varies a bit, he explains that these are large rolls (good, I'm not looking for a delicate mini-bite), which used to be a common sight in little restaurants and train stations in Zurich and eastern Switzerland. Sadly, he finds they have begun to disappear. These rolls are said to be chewy, and good with hearty foods, both traits I favor. Apparently it is traditional to break them up to eat, rather than slice them. Hmmm. I hoped this wasn't going to mean there would be a problem with slicing them. They can be frozen, he says, and revive well.
I adapted the recipe only slightly, and not, I believe, in any material way. Though it has a biga type starter, it can all be easily completed in one day.

These are the ingredients for the Buerli, or"Buurli", which are always baked in groups of 2 or 4.

Starter

unbleached all puropse flour 2 level cups
whole wheat flour 1/4 cup
yeast 1 tsp
warm water 1 cup

Dough

water 1 3/4 cups
1 1/2 tsps yeast
unbleached allpurpose flour 4 level cups
whole wheat flour 1/2 cup
sugar 1 tbsp
salt 2 1/2 tsp

2 jellyroll type pans lined in parchment and dusted in flour

To make the starter, I mixed the yeast with the water, then added it to the flours, which I had combined in a medium large bowl. I left this to ferment for 3 hours.
Then, I made the dough in the bowl of my stand mixer. I put the water in the bowl, and whisked in the yeast by had. I put the bowl on the mixer, and mixed the flours, sugar and salt on a low speed for a few minutes, added the starter, and mixed again until combined. I stopped the mixer, covered the bowl, and let the dough rest for ten minutes. I mixed the dough again until smooth and elastic, which only took a few minutes. I put the dough in an oiled bowl, turned it over to coat it, and covered the dough with plastic wrap-right on its surface. I left it to rise for 30 minutes.

Here's the unusual part:

I removed the dough to a lightly floured surface (my marble pastry board), flattened it slightly, and folded two sides of the dough towards the center. I repeated this manoever with the opposite sides and put the dough back, covered loosely, for 30 minutes. This process was then repeated, and the dough covered and left to rise another half hour.

After this rise, the dough was cut into 12 equal pieces. These were formed into rough rounds, and set on the two prepared baking sheets in groups of 2. The pairs were set only one inch apart within the pair, but further from the other rolls. The idea being, that after rising and baking, the pairs touch, but do not touch the other pairs. I covered these with a cloth.

I then put the oven racks in a top-third/bottom third configuration, put a roasting pan on the bottom of the oven, and cranked the oven up as high as it would go (must be at least 500F) to preheat. I let the shaped rolls rise for about an hour, until doubled. I put them in, tossed a dozen ice cubes into the roasting pan (to make steam)-and cooked the rolls for 20 minutes. I then rotated and switched the pans, turned the oven down to 400F, and baked them about 15 to 20 minutes longer, until very, very dark.

NM suggests eating the same day, or wrapping tightly and freezing. Defrost without unwrapping, he says, and reheat at 350F for 10 minutes, cooling before serving.

These are excellent, and much to the purpose. Be aware, though, that they are definitely on the hearty side. There is no trace of airiness about these rolls. Chewy crumb with body and multiple holes, and a crisp crust, which is nonetheless entirely sliceable, even with my picnic knife.

Warning, digression: I can't resist babbling on a bit about my conviction that to take advantage of life's opportunities, a person should own and carry a picnic knife. This knife must have a corkscrew and a blade which will cut bread, cheese, fruit or meat. A bottle opener would be nice, but mine doesn't have one, and I love it anyway. It is green, a favorite color, and lives in my bag. If you don't have time to make your sandwich, you can just wrap up your roll, or buy one, and pick up sandwich fixings or some cheese, butter and fruit en route. And if someone offers you any sort of treat, you are pretty much ready to accept.

I find it much more useful, and less of a nuisance than my cellphone. I must just remember to pack it in my suitcase if I am going to be in airports, so that it doesn't get confiscated during boarding. Sadly, this inhibits airbourne picnicing.

Blog Rolls I: Whole Wheat Seed Buns

Luisa, of The Wednesday Chef made some really great looking breakfast rolls, which started me thinking about homemade hamburger/sandwich buns. I love sandwiches- hot and cold, for their portability and their individual portion size. Sandwiches can be experimental without much risk. If it turns out that you do not like arugula on your sandwich with roast pork and cranberry sauce (as I do), it is not nearly such a big deal as if, say, the ill considered addition of fennel seed ruins a whole pot of soup.

The photo of the nice, round breakfast rolls, reminded me of a terrific hot sandwich I had for lunch at the Cafe at the Frick. The bun was spectacularly good, and the meat juices soaked in just a bit- it was fine. I shared my burger thought with Luisa, who explained that hers were really sweet rolls, a point I'd missed while admiring the pictures.

At the library, I found Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Small Breads, and now I am a little preoccupied with small breads in general. I was (and still am) planning to make some french rye sandwich rolls from this book. They seem like a good candidate for a tasty, all-purpose sandwich/hamburger bun. However, looking at my rye flour, I found myself unable to remember when I bought it- a bad sign. So I tossed it- and those guys will have to wait til I get to the store.

In the meantime, I made this whole wheat seed bun experiment. How could it be bad to have an assortment of different sandwich/burger rolls available in the freezer? These are a spin-off on a roll from Maggie Glezar's Artisan Baking Across America. Hers were meant to be made with light whole wheat flour, and do not have seeds. She pointed out that made with that special flour, they were the only whole wheat bread her kids would eat. I expect it would be worth seeking out, if you have small children, and they are fussy.

Personally, I was in the mood for something a bit darker, grainy and nutty, so I used ordinary whole wheat flower and added some seeds. If you wanted to make them, you could, of course leave the seeds out, or add some kinds you prefer. I used sesame, poppy, and nigella. all of which I particularly like. I also made the rolls a bit bigger and more bun-like, since I had sandwiches in mind. The rolls are proving very sandwich-compatible. I haven't tried a burger sort of thing yet.

If you would like to make these, you will need:

unbleached all purpose flour 2 cups
whole wheat flour 2 cups
instant yeast 1 tsp
lukewarm water scant 2 cups
salt 2 1/4 tsp
2 tsp mixed seeds (eg nigella, fennel, sesame) optional

Combine flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook. Add 1 3/4 cups of the water and mix til just blended. Cover bowl, and let rest for 10-20 minutes. Add seeds and salt, and mix/knead at a medium speed about 5 minutes, or until dough is smooth, but soft, and cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. If the dough is not climbing the hook and sticking together, add a bit more of the water, a little at a time, until it does.

Put dough in a clean, lightly floured bowl, and let rise until doubled- about 2 hours. For sandwich rolls, divide into 10 equal sized pieces, and form into smooth rounds, stretching the dough around to the bottom of the roll and pinching closed. Set rolls on 2 baking sheets covered in parchment paper. Cover with waxed paper and let rise 1 1/2 hours, until puffy. Meanwhile, arrange racks in oven to fit 2 pans, and preheat oven to 450F. With a sharp knife or razor blade, slash each roll 3 times, or in a pattern of your choice.If you like, you could brush the rolls with an eggwhite wash, and sprinkle with more seeds. I wanted to maximize crust, and didn't do this.

Bake 20-25 minutes, turning and shifting the 2 pans in the middle of the time. Cool on rack. These may be frozen in a bag, and defrosted individually.

I think there will be more small breads around here soon. After the rye rolls, some crumpets, bath buns, cinnamon rolls? Could be.

The Other Muffins: Blog Roll Prequel

I had intended to try my hand at some "rough" puff pastry this week, armed with the advice of experts and some excellent pictures of the process. But then I snagged a modest pastry marble on ebay (for less, with postage, than one $42 pound of puff pastry from Williams-Sonoma) and decided to wait for its arrival.

I was nonetheless in the mood for baking. I was feeling the need for something toasted and buttered to have with my tea, after hurrying home from the bus stop in the chill and rain. My thoughts turned to crumpets, pikelets and English muffins. Each of these, in my mind, is a different sort of cross between a yeast pancake and unsweet tea bun. They are all especially well suited to the toast and butter treatment, and equally appealling for breakfast or with a cup of tea. Plus, each is a great vehicle for the delivery of homemade jam. and I do have a bit of that around the place. I am not opposed to the sweet American muffin, it just is different sort of thing entirely.

I turned to Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery for some thoughts and recipes. Crumpets and (English type) muffins had a chapter on their own, featuring a lot of interesting historical chat about these things, and recipes from various places and times. The nuances and differences among these traditional breads is apparently a matter of a heated debate, which Ms. David did not settle. I did discover that the store-bought pikelets, muffins, and crumpets which I had previously admired were universally considered "travesties" of the genuine article.

This made me a little nervous. Assuming that I picked a choice recipe, how would I know I'd done it properly, if the result was unlike anything I knew? Never fear. Not only did E.D. say which recipe for muffins was likely to be the most successful for the home baker, she included a description of how it ought to look when done, and how to toast it. I was all set.

I based my muffins on Ms.David's version of one given by Walter Banfield, in Manna, circa 1937.In common with a number of other period recipes, this one points to warming the flour, as the key to proper texture, as well as a clever dusting with rice flour, which helps somehow, as well. To make 8 extremely substantial muffins, you need:

1 lb of all purpose flour (I used King Arthur, and it was a bit over 3 cups)
a very scant tsp instant yeast (notquick rising, instant)
1 tbsp coarse salt
2 tbsps light olive oil
1 3/4 cups of mixed milk and water
1/2 tsp sugar
potato starch or rice flour or cornstarch

This is what you do. Put the flour in an oven proof bowl and heat it in a 285F oven for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the milk, water and oil. Heat it in it's pyrex pitcher in the microwave to blood temperature. Take the bowl out of the oven, and with a wooden spoon, stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the liquid and mix, starting with the spoon, and finishing with your hands to combine. Knead a few times, cover with a cloth, and let it rise for 50 minutes in a 70F temp area.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Dust your hands with the rice flour, and form each into a flattish round. Set on a surface dusted with rice flour, cover, and let rise a half hour more. Don't let it rise much longer than this. We are told that the texture will be off, if we do.

Prepare a griddle, heating it over a medium low flame. I used my cast iron one, which covers 2 of my gas burners, and will cook 8 muffins at once. Transfer the muffins carefully, with a spatula, and cook slowly for 15 minutes per side. I did this, and they looked right, but felt undercooked to me, even allowing for additional cooking while cooling off. As I had already increased the cooking time, and the outsides were quite biscuity looking enough, I popped them in the oven, at 350F, for 10 minutes more. This appears to have done the trick, without marring the characteristic muffin look.

Muffins should be a "good biscuit color on the top and bottom" with a "broad white band round the waist", 1 1/2" to 2" thick, lightly crusted on the outside, and "honey
combed" with holes inside. And so they were. According to one of Ms. David's sources, they should not be split before toasting. Rather, they should be "opened slightly at their joint all the way round", toasted, and then split and buttered. I will try this method, since our modern thick-slice toasters, designed for bagels and what have you, will permit it. But I may go back to fork splitting first, if I find I prefer it to this recommended toasting routine.

As I said, this makes a substantial muffin. This is not a light snack. I may be hunting up a crumpet recipe to try next, for something a little less likely to leave me unable to eat for the rest of the day. ...and I have a hearty appetite.

We are warned that muffins can dry out fast, so I will freeze some. I fear have a hankering for an old fashioned
"covered muffin dish," though.

I am off to the grocery store, where I am going to get some cranberries and walnuts for my other baking project, shuna's cranberry bread. Then I will surely have everything I need for breakfast and tea, for some time.