Bread attempts

I am not really the type of person to wish to change circumstances that cannot be or wish things away that simply cannot be wished away. It is futile and a great waste of energy. I change or work for change in things I have control over and celebrate the parts of life that simply are what they are good or bad. No resistance, no stress.

There is one thing though I would change. Ok, actually it’s two things. I wish I could eat gluten and I wish I could eat eggs. There is no oh poor me involved in this. I eat these things, I don’t feel good. It is a fact of life, one which would be nice to be able to change. People with food intolerance, allergies and diseases like Chrons/Celiac are not doing happy dances when they get their diagnoses I assure you. As much as you can become happy and ok with it, it is not something you’d wish on anyone.

There are a few brilliant individuals such as Karina and Shauna and bakeries such as BabyCakes (NYC/LA) and Flying Apron (Seattle) who are making great strides in creating gluten-free friendly recipes of the things people commonly have to cut out of their diets when they have gluten intolerance and Celiac. It is awesome what they are doing. Goodness knows, I appreciate it when I need a baked goods fix. I have also started to develop gluten free, egg-free recipes of my own that I would some day love to share in a cookbook or bakery.

I think my biggest problem is that I am not really a baked good person in general. You would think that would make being gluten intolerant easier and it does, but the problem is when I do crave a baked good there are some that just cannot be mimicked in a gluten free style. Cookies, cupcakes, even most morning pastries but not bread. The thing I often crave the most is a big hunk of crusty bread straight out of the oven. In my adult life, I have never been much of a consumer of bread on a daily basis, or even consistently of grains. I just prefer veggies and fruit to grains. But there are some days when I can think of nothing more than a hunk of bread with butter melting over it.

Last week was one of those weeks. I wanted bread. I wanted a sandwich. I wanted crusty, flaky warm bread straight out of the oven. And I didn’t want to suffer for it. And so, I decided to try my hand at baking on. I consulted many sources but each had something I could not use or work with. One has eggs, another uses a breadmaker and provides no alternate instructions. Each had something I would tweak or change. And so I decided to do that.

I developed a gluten free, egg free crusty bread in my brand new 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset, consulted with the Baker about a few techniques and on Friday baked off my first batch. Fresh out of the oven (after cooling), it had a great outside crunch, the inside was what I would expect of a gluten free loaf- slightly dense, but yes! it had some lift and stretchy bubbles. However, it also had a slightly metallic taste which I had just suggested be worked out of another gluten free recipe that the Baker had me try. The metallic taste comes from the egg replacer which would easily be remedied if I had the luxury of being able to eat eggs. Eggs are a good “cheat” in gluten free baking. The loaf was not bad, in fact, it was probably a revelation in terms of gluten free bread baking. But it was not what I wanted. I will continue to develop the recipe and see if I can create something crave worthy. It is a start and I am intrigued.

Condiment Party

Part of the hope in baking the bread on Friday was that I would have a nice loaf of bread that I could put my hot dogs on for our Super Bowl Sunday party. We decided to throw a Super not Superbowl Party, which eventually became just a Super Superbowl Party. The requirements for coming were to bring a beverage and a homemade condiment. The Baker made buns and we cooked up some great tasting dogs. The day before the big game, we spent a few hours in the kitchen making Maple Baked Beans, Chipotle Ketchup, Roasted Peppers, Caramelized Onions and Spicy Mustard.

Best hog dog buns anyone had ever tasted.

Hot dogs braised in white wine, onions and cloves.

Maple Glazed Beans. Cooked for 6 hours. YUM!

The party was awesome and the party-goers absolutely surprised and delighted me in the level in which they got into making condiments. They showed some great creativity. We had a few types of ketchup, honey mustard, sprouted mung bean relish, spicy thai relish, wasabi mayo, guacamole, tomatillo salsa, sauerkraut, cream cheese. You name it, we had it. It was really fascinating to watch the combination and methods that people chose in getting a maximum number of condiments on their dogs or plates. People had a great time and I was really blessed to have such a great group of people bless my home with their presence and my kitchen with their great dishes!

Fig Jam Roll Ready for the oven

After getting back on the fig bandwagon on Christmas Eve, due to an amazing Fig Onion Compote that I served with some Mary’s Crackers and a selection of artisan cheeses, I decided that I wanted, no I needed more figgy goodness. I wanted something in a roll or pastry form that wasn’t sweet and not too bready. What came of those desires was the most amazing Fig Onion Jam Roll. While this particular roll is not gluten free, I am thinking that it would be an easy enough transition to gluten free. I will experiment for my gluten free friends. This recipe is kind of indicative of how inspired I am already this year. I just feel like there is so much that I am invigorated and inspired about. From food and cooking, to running and writing. From business to personal, I am hitting my stride and already I feel like the arbitrary turning of the year has become a symbolic representation of the changes that have been brewing. Yes, yes the jam roll was that inspiring. It took everything in my power to not scarf down the whole roll. If this is a sign of the things to come this year, than I can hardly wait.

Fig Jam Roll

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, unsalted
½ cup whole grain spelt flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup fig jam
¼ cup onion confit
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Cut butter into the combine flours in a large bowl until butter (or margarine to make non-dairy) pieces are the size of peas. Make a space in the center of the dough and add in the soy milk, stirring with a fork to combine. Knead gently until formed into a ball, do not over knead.

Roll dough out on a flour covered surface or board to 1/2 inch thickness. Fold into thirds and roll out into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Leaving a 1/2 inch border at the top and bottom, spread fig jam over the lower 1/2 of the dough and the onion confit over the top half. Use enough jam to cover. Sprinkle cheese over top (omit for vegan). Roll into a log gently and not to tight. Cut into 10 pieces and place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet.

Makes 10.

Fig Jam Roll, fresh out of the oven