Test 1 - Italian Bread

Bread, bread, bread. I've made yeasted buns recently which was my first real attempt at yeasted bread baking, and it was exciting! Will this be my next experiment? I found it on Cook's Illustrated and it looks complicated and the results look similar to the Miracle Boule, but I'm curious about it, and that's likely all I need!
Cook's Illustrated introduces the recipe with this: "This recipe requires a standing mixer to make the dough, a spray-bottle filled with water for spritzing, a rectangular baking stone, and an instant-read thermometer for gauging doneness. It also requires a bit of patience—the biga, which gives the bread flavor, must be made 11 to 27 hours before the dough is made."


Biga
11 ounces bread flour (2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
8 ounces water (1 cup), room temperature
Dough
16 1/2 ounces bread flour (3 cups), plus extra for dusting hands and work surface
1 teaspoon instant yeast
10.7 ounces water (1 1/3 cups), room temperature
2 teaspoons table salt

1. For the biga: Combine flour, yeast, and water in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Knead on lowest speed (stir on KitchenAid) until it forms a shaggy dough, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer biga to medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until beginning to bubble and rise, about 3 hours. Refrigerate biga at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
2. For the dough: Remove biga from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while making dough. Combine flour, yeast, and water in bowl of standing mixer fitted with dough hook; knead on lowest speed until rough dough is formed, about 3 minutes. Turn mixer off and, without removing dough hook or bowl from mixer, cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap; let dough rest 20 minutes.
3. Remove plastic wrap, add biga and salt to bowl, and continue to knead on lowest speed until ingredients are incorporated and dough is formed (dough should clear sides of bowl but stick to very bottom), about 4 minutes. Increase mixer speed to low (speed 2 on KitchenAid) and continue to knead until dough forms a more cohesive ball, about 1 minute. Transfer dough to large bowl (at least 3 times dough’s size) and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in cool, draft-free spot away from direct sunlight, until slightly risen and puffy, about 1 hour.
4. Remove plastic wrap and, following illustrations from "Step by Step: Turning the Dough", turn dough. Replace plastic wrap; let dough rise 1 hour. Turn dough again, replace plastic wrap, and let dough rise 1 hour longer.

To shape the dough:

1. Dust work surface liberally with flour. Gently scrape and invert dough out of bowl onto work surface (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). Dust dough and hands liberally with flour and, using minimal pressure, push dough into rough 8- to 10-inch square. Following illustrations from "Step by Step: Shaping the Loaf", shape dough and transfer to large sheet parchment paper. Dust loaf liberally with flour and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let loaf rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.

To bake:

1. Using a lame, single-edged razor blade, or sharp chef’s knife, cut slit 1/2 inch deep lengthwise along top of loaf, starting and stopping about 1 1/2 inches from ends; spray loaf lightly with water. Slide parchment sheet with loaf onto baker’s peel or upside-down baking sheet, then slide parchment with loaf onto hot baking stone in oven. Bake 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and quickly spin loaf around using edges of parchment; continue to bake until deep golden brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf registers 210 degrees, about 35 minutes longer. Transfer to wire rack, discard parchment, and cool loaf to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Turning the Dough

1. Slide plastic bench scraper under one side of dough; gently lift and fold one third of dough toward center.
2. Repeat step 1 with opposite side of dough.
3. Finally, fold dough in half, perpendicular to first folds. Dough shape should be a rough square.

Shaping the Loaf

1. After delicately pushing dough into 8- to 10-inch square, fold top left corner diagonally to middle.
2. Repeat step 2 with top right -corner
3. Begin to gently roll dough from top to bottom.
4. Continue rolling until dough forms a rough log.
5. Roll dough onto its seam and, sliding hands underneath each end, transfer dough to parchment paper.
6. Gently shape dough into 16-inch football shape by tucking bottom edges underneath.

Untested - The Other Buttertart recipe

I wanted to compare this recipe with my sister's buttertart recipe to try and come up with a consistently successful one. Last Christmas when I tried to bake her tart recipe they had overcooked and the filling boiled over and dried out. They were still yummy, but I mourned all the gooey delicious filling that stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Butter Tart Recipe - Easy Butter Tart Recipe

This butter tart recipe comes from Cindy Snetsinger in Brantford, Ontario, who got it from her grandmother. These butter tarts are runny - but not too runny - and delicious.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

PASTRY

2 cups flour

1 cup shortening

teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 tablespoons cold water

FILLING

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raisins (optional, or can be replaced with chopped pecans or walnuts)

Preparation:

Pastry

Blend the shortening and the flour with a pastry cutter, or two knives, until you've created a uniform mixture that is crumbly and about the size of frozen peas.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg, 1 tbsp white vinegar and 2 tbsp cold water. Add to shortening and flour mixture.

Mix all ingredients together, but only until just mixed and no more.

The key to flaky pastry is not to overhandle the dough.

For ease of handling, make a ball of the dough, wrap in cellophane and place in freezer for 10-15 mins. Roll out dough onto floured surface to about the thickness of a CD case.

Using either a cookie cutter or something like a jar lid, cut out circles from the dough. Press dough circles into a muffin pan.

Filling

In another bowl, mix well corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and egg. Add vanilla and stir in raisins.

Spoon filling into pastry shell to just below the rim.

Bake at 400 for about 10 mins until golden brown.

Makes about a dozen tarts

Testing - Les tartelettes de Lucie

One of the many Christmas traditions my family has are my sister Lucie's butter tarts. We all love them. I asked her for the recipe because I wanted to a) just plain old have it for myself, b) try the filling with my own delicious pastry crust and c) play around with the specifics to clarify the recipe for more consistent results and, maybe, see if I can improve on an already stellar recipe. I'm thinking of the butter tarts at the JJ Bean coffee shops here in Vancouver - they are excellent, although not stellar like my sister's (I assert loyally). What I like most about them is the unusual, flaky-instead-of-crumbly crust, and the hint of cinnamon in the syrup. I found another recipe and wanted to compare the two.

2 - The new baking instructions are spot-on! No boiling-over occurred. I did notice something of importance - my Ben doesn't like raisins in his so I just omitted them from half of the dozen I made. However, because they are such little tarts, omitting 5-6 raisins reduces the level of filling considerably. If not using raisins, the recipe should be doubled.

3 - Testing replacing the corn syrup with maple syrup. I'm a little concerned that the difference is viscosity/density will be a negative factor for the substitution. Also, I will use walnuts for Ben's tarts, and raisins for mine!

The Ultimate Buttertart

makes 12 tarts

1 pastry recipe

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup corn  maple syrup

1/4 cup butter, softened (room temperature)

1 egg slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup raisins or walnuts OR half that amount in raisins and half that amount in walnuts, for both.

1. Prepare pastry. Roll out thinly on lightly floured surface. Cut into rounds with 4" cutter. Fit into medium-sized muffin cups.
2. Blind bake the crusts for about 10 minutes.
3. Combine all ingredients except raisins; stir until smooth.
4. Put raisins into pastry shells, dividing evenly.
5. Fill 2/3 full with syrup mixture.
6. Bake on bottom shelf at 425 F oven at 400F (or 375?) for 12-15 10 minutes or just until set and golden brown.
7. DON'T OVERBAKE!
8. TO TRY : Bake at 200F for 15 min, then without taking the tarts out, turn the oven to 350°F. Bake another 10-15 min, until they start to brown. This method will prevent them from boiling over.

Tu peux les faire plus petites, mais assures toi d'ajuster la temperature et le temps de cuisson.

Untested - Lavender Shortbread Cookies

I really like the idea of using flowers in food. This past summer, I'd made a recipe for lavender cookies but failed to notice that it required fresh lavender flowers, and I only had dried. The cookies were excellent, but very, very faint on the lavender. There is another recipe I have not yet tried from the book Aroma: the magic of essential oils in food & fragrance. At this first stage of testing, I've already changed things from using a food processor to a mixer. I could likely do most of this by hand, but, gosh darn it, I've got a beautiful mixer that needs exercise!

4 oz sugar (½ cup + 1 Tbsp)
12 drops lavender essential oil
⅛ tsp salt
8 oz butter
1 large egg
12 oz (2 ⅓ cups) flour

1. In a mixer, whisk together the sugar and lavender essential oil until it's well combined. 
2. Add the salt and the butter, change the attachment to the mixing paddle, and mix until the butter is well incorporated.
3. Add the egg and do the same; finally, reduce the speed and add the flour until the dough forms small pebble-sized pieces. 
4. Press the dough together by hand, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 72 hours.
5. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters or cut the dough with a knife, however you'd like them shaped. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange the cookies on it, and refrigerate for another 20 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 325°F. 
7. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop onto a cooling rack (optional : by a window with butterflies flitting amongst the flowers outside and the sun turning everything butterscotch coloured). Allow to cool completely to obtain the correct texture and flavour.