Tag: bread

Krumplis Pogácsa (Hungarian Potato Biscuits)

In Hungarian fairy tales, mothers often make hamuban sült pogácsa (biscuits baked in ashes) for their sons when they set out on a journey to see the world. Infact, when I graduated from high school, every student got a little satchel with a pogácsa (biscuit) inside as symbol for this tradition to help us mentally get ready for our life journey.

It is still a popular staple in Hungarian homes except we don’t bake them in ashes anymore but they are baked in modern ovens. Pogácsa is similar to the English biscuits. There are many variations and can be made with potatoes, sheep cheese or pork crackling. I used potatoes in this recipe. Pogácsa is always made for holidays especially if guests come over. They are soft and flaky and can be served as an appetizer or with the main meal.

COOKING TIPS

Boiling the potatoes. I use a stainless steel steamer basket with ‘feet’ that elevates the potatoes above the water so the vitamins and minerals stay inside and so they don’t soak up too much water. If they soak up too much water, they will need additional flour that would make the dough too heavy.

Working with the dough. Make sure your work place temperature stays cool and does not exceed 65 F while cutting the pogácsa. If it is too warm, cut-out bogácsa can loose its shape and come out a bit crooked. The temperature will not have an effect on the flavor though. If your dough is too warm, no worries! Just put it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 pound Russet potatoes
  • 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), room temperature
  • 1 pound (3 3/4 cup) flour, cut and sifted
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
  • 1/2 tsp sugar for the yeast
  • 2 eggs, divided
  • 1 T salt + 1 tsp for the top
  • 2 T caraway seeds, divided
METHOD
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. Take the butter out of the refrigerator.
  3. Boil the potatoes on a steamer basket. (For more info, please read above). Add cold water to the pot, bring the water to a boil. Turn heat down and continue cooking on medium low heat covered until fork tender.
  4. Prepare the yeast. Warm milk to a temperature that is comfortable on the wrist, not too hot or cold (104 – 108 F). Pour milk over the yeast and sprinkle in a little sugar (1/2 tsp). Mix. Cover. In a warmish place, let the yeast rise for about 5 – 10 minutes. Set aside.
  5. Peel the potatoes while they are still hot but you can handle.
  6. Mash the potatoes while they are warm.
  7. Add butter, 1 tablespoon caraway seeds and the salt to the potatoes. Mix well. Add the prepared yeast, flour and 1 egg. Mix.
  8. Knead quickly, don’t overdo.
  9. Let the dough cool.
  10. Cover and place the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hours.
  11. Take dough out of the refrigerator.
  12. Let the dough come to room temperature. Fold it in three layers. Roll out the dough on a floured board to about 1-2 inch thickness.
  13. Cut the dough into any size rounds with a biscuit cutter. (I used a 2 inch diameter cutter).
  14. With the edge of a knife, make crisscross cuts on top. Beat 1 egg with 1 tsp salt. Spread the tops of the biscuits with egg wash.
  15. Sprinkle a little caraway seeds on the top.
  16. Put the pre-cut pogácsa on a pre-greased baking sheet.
  17. Quickly collect all the remaining dough in a ball and repeat the previous steps (steps 12 to 15) until the dough is used up.
  18. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the top has a nice oranges/brownish color.
  19. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  20. Store covered with a cloth.

Enjoy! Jó étvágyat!

Photos and text by twincitiesherbs.

Moist Carrot Bread with Whole Wheat Flour

This is a classic recipe for a moist carrot bread with an amazing rich texture and flavor! It is loaded with raisins and shredded carrots, infused with vanilla and warming spices and sprinkled with walnuts and sugar on top.

I use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour as it is better for health. Please note that whole wheat flour has to be soaked overnight so it doesn’t weaken our digestion process. Quick breads with all purpose flour are normally baked right after assembling the dough to prevent a ‘soapy’ after taste in the bread. However, the assembled dough with whole wheat flour needs to sit for 8 hours. This allows the flour to soften and prevents it from burdening our digestion. Honestly, I don’t notice this ‘soapy’ taste … the bread will be fine though, just follow the recipe … trust me!

The recipe works for 1 big loaf or 2 smaller loaves as well. Just make sure you reduce the baking time. Otherwise, there are no other changes to the original recipe.

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb (16 Tbsp) butter or coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 – 1 cup brown sugar + handful of white sugar for the top
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour, cut and sifted
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finally chopped or 1 Tbsp dried ginger
  • 2 tsp apple pie seasoning or cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten

METHOD
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Take butter out of the fridge.
  2. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan or two smaller ones if you decide to bake dough in two pieces.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, cream the sugar with the butter. I do this step by hand but you can use an electric mixer. Add the eggs until they are incorporated. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
  5. Mix the dry ingredients with the butter mixture that was done earlier. Gently fold in the shredded carrots and mix. Make sure you don’t overdo this step.
  6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan or pans. Sprinkle sugar and chopped nuts on top of the bread evenly over the entire area.
  7. Let the mixture sit overnight covered. You can put it in the fridge just let it warm up to room temperature before baking it.
  8. Bake for 60 – 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown. (If you divide the mixture in two parts, cook for 55 – 60 minutes).
  9. Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool. You can slice the bread as soon as it cooled off.
  10. Store at room temperature covered with a kitchen cloth or place in an airtight container. Unsliced, it can last up to one week.

Enjoy!

Photo and text by Twincitiesherbs.

Popovers

When you are on vacation, everything tastes better … and when the food is fabulous you are going to remember it forever. This is what happened to us when we visited the Arcadia National Park in Maine. We ate lunch at the park’s restaurant where they served popovers with every meal … the smell and the taste of these lovely rolls and of course the breathtaking view will stay with us forever.

Popovers are the American version of Yorkshire pudding, a British specialty. These souffle-like rolls are airy and ‘custardy’. They are made with an egg batter and baked in a muffin pan. The inside is hollow and the outside has a nice crust with a savory flavor. I like to serve it with jam and butter. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Makes 12 popovers.

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Method

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add to the flour mixture and mix well until no lumps remain.
  • Butter a muffin pan.
  • Evenly distribute the batter among the cups in the pan. Fill each cup until they are about two-third full. Put some water in cups that don’t have any batter.
  • Bake for 15 minutes at 450 F.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and bake for another 20 minutes or until the outside is crusty and brown. Do not open the oven door until the last 5 minutes to prevent the popovers from deflating.
  • Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Take popovers out of the pan.
  • Serve warm.

enjoy!

Photo and text by twincitiesherbs.

Moist buttermilk cornbread

This is a basic recipe that I have been using and enjoying for years. It is moist, a bit crunchy with a little hint of sweetness. Of course, coarsely ground corn flour is a must, it gives the crunchiness! The butter gives it a nice flavor, the buttermilk makes it soft and the eggs pull it all together … oh and I add a little sugar just enough to make it sweet. Serve it with a hearty soup or just have it as it is with some jam.

Please check out my recipe for my white chili soup (recipe).

RECIPE

Ingredients

  • 1 cup corn meal, coarse ground
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 stick (110 g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 Tbsp lime juice

Method

  • Preheat oven to 375 F.
  • Mix the dry ingredients.
  • Mix the wet ingredients.
  • Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Do not over-beat.
  • Pour into a lightly greased 2 quart size baking pan. I like to let the mixture sit overnight or at least for a couple of hours.
  • Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • Let the bread cool for 5- 10 minutes before cutting.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature.

enjoy!

Recipe, text and photos by twincitiesherbs.

Halloween/Harvest bread (barmbrack)

In honor of Halloween, I would like to post a recipe for a special treat called barmbrack (bairín breac). It is kind of the ancestor of the store bought Halloween candies that kids get at night when they go out trick or treating.

Halloween originated from the beautiful ancient Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-een). It means end of summer and is the celebration of the Celtic new year. Samhain divides the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the new year, the dark and the light. Also, they believed that on this day the division between the old (deceased people) and the new (living people) is the thinnest and we get to the souls of our ancestors the closest. It is a mysterious celebration that other cultures observe as well like in Diwali or Mexican Day of the dead.

People offer food for the spirits that appear on Earth during this time period. Barmbrack is the food that is given on Samhain to make sure that the spirits don’t play tricks on us. Everybody in the family gets a slice and then they offer some to the spirits. People also went out to sing songs and told scary stories on this night and received food in exchange.

This is a simple Irish soda bread with the addition of fruits, nuts, seeds and I also added chocolate chips to bring out those sweet memories. You can add whatever you wish, whatever grows around you. I used fresh cranberries because they are available here right now but traditionally crab apples were used. Otherwise, I tried to keep the recipe to its original form. The Irish also soak the dried fruits in a strong brew of tea for the night but at least for one hour. I really enjoyed this moist sweet bread, there was a surprise in every bite … sometimes cranberries or raisins or prunes or cherries but the most special treat was the bite with the chocolate chips …

Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

  • 4 to 4 1/2 cup flour
  • 5 tbsp sugar (1 tbsp if apples are used instead of cranberries)
  • 1 mug strong English tea (double strength)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup dried fruits ( I used currants, cherries, prunes)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 nutmeg, 1/4 cloves
  • 1 cup sliced fresh cranberries or shaved apples
  • 5 Tbsp poppy seed
  • hand-full of roughly chopped nuts of your choice – traditionally hazelnuts were used.
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp of a spirit of your choice (I used whiskey) – (optional)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • Make a strong English tea. Pour it on the dried fruits and leave it on overnight but for at least 1 hour.
  • Wash and slice the fresh cranberries. Put the slices in a small bowl and put in the sugar, whiskey and the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). If you use apples instead of cranberries, use 1 Tbsp sugar only! Let it stand until it releases its liquid.
  • Set oven to 375 F.
  • Measure out the 4 cups of flour, add the baking soda, salt. Whisk together. Work in the butter with hand, knives or electrical mixer. Mix in the poppy seeds.
  • Squeeze the liquid out the dried fruits.
  • Mix in the dried fruits, the cranberries( with the liquid), nuts, chocolate chips. Mix well.
  • Make a well in the middle, add eggs, buttermilk and mix. Add more flour if needed.
  • Put dough on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball shape.
  • Put it in a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Check to see if it is done. The blade of a knife should come out clean.
  • Let it cool for half hour before serving. Serve at room temperature.

enjoy!

Sources

Recipe, photos and text by twincitiesherbs.com.