Filipino Ensaymada Rolls #2: Savory and Sweet Variations to Individual Tastes

After my last post (Jan. 20th) on the Ensaymada bread rolls and reflecting on how versatile this bread can be in treating it like a cinnamon roll with flavored layers, I decided on a follow-up post with flavor combination suggestions for individual preferences. This dough easily lends itself to both savory and sweet variations to accommodate every person at the table in ONE batch. That’s right!! One batch of dough for dinner AND dessert = happy family and friends.

Technically, you can use your favorite cinnamon dough recipe as long as the dough isn’t too sweet. I think the Filipino Ensaymada dough would work well and it is so pretty and different from the usual rolls. For ease, attached is the Ensaymada Bread recipe from my Philippines post; however, see the last post (Philippines Jan. 20th) for detailed pics of the process. I don’t want to bore you with repetition.

Prepare the Ensaymada bread dough as directed, either weigh out the dough in 60 gram increments OR separate into 15 dough rounds. Continue working through the recipe until you complete the step where you roll out each round into an 8″x5″ rectangle and brush with butter (shown in pic below). This is where you can vary each roll to your family, friends’, or guests’ preferences. Imagine going to a party where your host has made a roll JUST FOR YOU.

Why not a roll bar? Seriously! Like a taco or pizza bar, but with yeast rolls! How fun and engaging would that be? Not only that, but since making bread can be intimidating, you allow your guests to dabble in bread baking without much effort and help them gain confidence and understanding in what it’s like to bake. I imagine this “activity” would be great to do with kids or adults.

Prepare the roll bar like you would a pizza bar: Prior to your guests arriving, prepare the dough. Follow the recipe preparing the dough through the 60 gram measurement / 15 dough rounds and set aside (it’s fine if the dough rises, since you’ll just roll it out soon anyway). See pic below that shows this step. If you don’t trust your guests or they are easily challenged 😉, you may need to roll out the dough before they arrive and just allow them to brush with butter or preferred cream, etc. Unfortunately, that would require a lot of counter space and more prep on your part; you might just pair up guests so at least one person in the pair can roll out dough relatively successfully.

You may set up stations at the kitchen bar/table on which you place as many rolls as you want guests to dress and roll and allow space for them to roll out the dough in rectangles, brush with butter, and add desired “toppings” (the filling 😉). Don’t forget to have bowls of a variety of fillings from which your guests can select. You can certainly have guests share stations. Guide guests through the final steps of rolling them up and placing them in the muffin liners. You’ll want appetizers ready for snacking as you wait about an hour for the dough to rise (and another 17 minutes for baking… maybe this will be a good time for a book club discussion). You can also prepare another batch of dough ahead of time with one or two different flavor combinations in case there are some mishaps with your guests’ versions. ☹ These prepared rolls can be baked ahead of time, frozen, thawed in an hour, and then reheated in foil in an oven or without foil in a microwave.

OK! Now we’re ready for the flavor combinations…

Savory flavors:

  • Simplest version would be to have a variety of freshly chopped herbs and cheeses
  • Garlic butter with Italian seasoning (or mix of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram) and shredded Mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheeses
  • Dried chopped fruit like dried cranberries, apples, peaches, and pears with fresh herbs (apple and rosemary or ground cardamom) / pear and rosemary / cranberries and sage / peaches and basil or thyme)
  • Shredded Gruyère, Swiss, or Emmental cheese and chopped ham
  • Crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and chives
  • Everything bagel seed mix OR sesame and poppy seeds toasted in a dry skillet with dried garlic and dried onion
  • Cooked chopped broccoli with shredded cheddar cheese
  • Caramelized onions sautéed with fresh rosemary (why not add cooked sausage, too?)
  • Caramelized onions sautéed with pancetta and add shredded Gruyère cheese
  • Basil and shredded Mozzarella cheese (why not add pepperoni slivers, too?)
  • Cooked chopped mushrooms, minced garlic, fresh thyme, and salt (make sure liquid has evaporated) with grated Parmesan cheese
  • Cooked shallot and frozen chopped spinach (with salt) until liquid has evaporated and then add some grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, a little nutmeg, and feta cheese (like a creamed spinach dish)
  • Cooked LEAN ground beef/sirloin, chopped onion, minced garlic and then add cheddar cheese (use refried beans in place of the brushed butter base)
  • Favorite pulled pork recipe using your favorite barbecue sauce in place of the brushed butter base
  • Cooked shredded chicken with your favorite Buffalo sauce in place of the brushed butter base and shredded cheddar cheese
  • Cooked shredded turkey with gravy in place of the brushed butter base, dried chopped cranberries, chopped fresh sage, and shredded Gruyère, Swiss, or Emmental cheese

As you think creatively about your flavor combinations, consider what makes a good grilled sandwich and what flavors are common in different cultures.

For example, Italian cuisine incorporates garlic, basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, spicy meats (prosciutto, salami), along with Mozzarella, Parmesan, Asiago, Provolone, and Pecorino cheeses.

In Mexican cuisine, you’ll find garlic, cilantro, chile powder, cumin, chili peppers, adobo sauce, coriander, chorizo, and cheeses like (queso) fresco, Cojita, (queso) blanco, and Oaxaca.

Remember that the rolls will be baked, so not all spreads and ingredients will work (i.e. marshmallows (puff too much) and fish (will cook too quickly). Ultimately, I say try it and see what happens; some of the best breads and dishes we have come to love are results of “accidents” or lack of cupboard ingredients (i.e. chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and sandwiches). That’s right! Check them out… unintentional discoveries!

In place of brushed butter on the dough prior to adding the fillings, you may try these other flavorful “cream” bases.

Savory cream bases: You may need to warm or thin out the base for easily spreadable consistency.

  • softened cream cheese mixed with scallions, lemon zest, and a little salt (you might add an egg to an 8 oz block so it will bake nice and fluffy)
  • softened cream cheese mixed with drained and chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh basil (you might add an egg to an 8 oz block so it will bake nice and fluffy)
  • roasted head of garlic mixed with a cup of ricotta cheese, fresh dill, and salt
  • softened (warmed) refried beans
  • barbecue sauce (be sure to add a thin layer or it will be too runny)
  • gravy (thin layer)
  • salsa (drained of extra liquid and add a thin layer)
  • pesto
  • pasta sauce (alfredo, tomato, etc.)
  • tapenade (spread made of olives and olive oil)
  • pimento cheese
  • homemade herb butter (softened butter mixed with your favorite chopped herbs)
  • garlic butter (softened butter mixed with minced or roasted garlic)
  • and so much more… you get the idea so be creative!

Sweet flavors:

  • Simplest is brown sugar and cinnamon (chopped pecans, if you’re inclined)
  • A variety of dried fruit, chopped nuts, chopped chocolate (dark, milk, and white), and cream bases (cream cheese, nut butters, hazelnut spread, honey, and apple butter)
  • Coconut flakes, chopped macadamia nuts, and chopped white chocolate
  • Yellow cake mix (unbaked… powder only) and sprinkles
  • Chopped pistachios, orange zest, and chopped dark chocolate
  • Frozen raspberries mixed with a little cornstarch (to soak up the liquid and create a little jam consistency as it bakes) and sugar… you’ll likely have a little raspberry filling at the bottom of the muffin liner due to the liquid
  • Frozen blueberries mixed with a little cornstarch (to soak up the liquid and create a little jam consistency as it bakes), sugar, and lemon zest… you’ll likely have a little blueberry filling at the bottom of the muffin line due to the liquid
  • Shredded carrot, chopped dried raisins or cranberries, carrot cake spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.) with a sweet cream cheese spread (frosting) in place of brushed butter base
  • Peanut butter or nut butter of choice and jelly or jam of choice
  • Crumble your favorite cookie dough over the bread dough… yum!

Sweet cream bases: You may need to warm or thin out the base for easily spreadable consistency.

  • hazelnut spread (like Nutella)
  • cookie butter (like Biscoff spread)
  • cream cheese frosting
  • peanut or any nut butter preference
  • honey (or flavored honey like lavender)
  • apple butter
  • jams and jelly
  • mixture of your favorite jam/jelly and cream cheese
  • pumpkin puree sweetened with a little brown sugar and pumpkin spice (thin layer)

The options are endless. I know I will think of many other options after I post. Since these are beautiful, individual rolls, I don’t think you necessarily need a topping when they exit the oven; however, you could experiment and add a drizzle of melted herb butter or butter alone on the savory rolls and add a frosting of some sort (like a powdered sugar and milk glaze), melted chocolate, or butter alone on the sweet rolls.

The key in making this experience successful is NOT overfilling each roll. Think of it like filling a small soft tortilla, a little goes a long way. Also, with the additional filling, you may not be able to use a regular-sized muffin pan, so consider placing the filled muffin liners in a jumbo muffin/cupcake pan or on a baking sheet by themselves; I did this without the filling and it worked fine. Without the constriction of a muffin pan, the rolls will still puff nicely. I don’t anticipate any baking temp or time changes as long as the filling isn’t too much or too wet, trying will tell.

If you have other ideas, please share by leaving a comment. If you try one of these and it works well, let me know.

Thanks for reading. Please like, comment, or consider following my blog. Preview Friday coming soon…

Philippines on our minds: Filipino Ensaymada Bread and Lumpiang Sariwa

Left: lettuce and crêpe spring roll filled with shrimp, lots of veggies, shrimp paste, fish sauce and topped with a garlicky brown sugar soy sauce with chopped peanuts and parsley
Right: Ensyamada roll = buttery, lightly sweetened yeast roll topped with butter, sprinkling of sugar, and sharp cheddar cheese

It has been a bittersweet time for the Philippines these recent weeks. First, I want to acknowledge the elephant in the room at this time of celebration… The Taal Volcano eruption that occurred one week, January 12, 2020, before the biggest annual celebration on the island. This volcano is known as the world’s smallest yet one of the deadliest in existence. The eruption occurred just south of Manila (the largest city and capital in the Philippines) and blasted steam and rock (ash) up to 9 miles in the sky. It appears few were injured, but ash and debris stretch for miles causing much recovery for the locals; thousands were evacuated.

The Philippines are comprised of many islands (over 7,641 according to the NAMRIA) in the South China and Philippine Seas, south of Taiwan and China while east of Vietnam. The map to the left shows the many islands that make up the Philippines. Notice the capital of Manila (volcano location) as well as the town of Kalibo ( festival location) are marked in black for reference.

This labelled map image is a derivative work by Sanglahi86. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

This untimely explosion preceded the largest festival of the year, Ati-Atihan. This well-known celebration ended this past Sunday, January 19. Thus, while the country has been on edge anticipating more eruptions and earthquakes (more than 400 caused by the explosion, according to the NDRRMC), one wonders… did the celebrations go on? Yes, they did.

The Ati-Atihan’s biggest celebration takes place annually in the town of Kalibo located on a different island south of Manila in the Philippines (see map above). In fact, it’s an hour flight from Manila to Kalibo. While ash and debris are seen for miles from the volcanic eruption, Kalibo itself was not directly affected. However, people all over the Philippines and the world travel to be a part of this annual event.

What is Ati-Atihan? Originally a pagan celebration rooted in animism later influenced by Christianity from the Spanish, the festival begins with an open mass in the streets with rhythmic drum beats, tribal and snake dancing, indigenous costumes and weapons, rosary procession and ending with a community mass with tribal competitions all while images of Santo Niño are displayed. It is said the celebrations are in honor of Santo Niño (Infant Jesus) and have been in existence for more than 800 years. With all of the parades, costumes, dancing and competitions … hmmm… can we say the Filipino version of Mardi Gras or Carnival? Regardless, it is Filipino culture in its entirety… only reminiscent of other festivals.

Thanks to Ken Ilio for the pic. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

What about the food? With influence from many countries, you can find everything from Latin-American empanadas to Chinese dumplings. Seafood, chicken, pork, duck, coconut, vegetables, noodles, along with flavors from Adobo, soy sauce, garlic, butter, and chili make up the Filipino cuisine. Unlike many Asian dishes, you will find cheese, cheese, and more cheese; that’s where this country differs from its neighbors and where the Western influence is evident.

This past weekend’s bake and accompanying dish included the traditional Filipino Ensaymada Bread and Lumpiang Sariwa with fresh Lumpia Wrapper. Both of these were so familiar yet so unique. These were definitely a fusion of east meets west. So, how did they turn out?

The Ensaymada bread can be described as a buttery, lightly sweetened, pillowy roll topped with butter, sugar, and cheese often served as a dessert or snack (think French brioche with sugar and cheese). In fact, it isn’t uncommon to find it topped with frosting and cheese. It is one of the oldest Filipino breads and known to be a variation of Spanish culture. We ate the bread with our meal since it wasn’t too sweet; with the cheese on top, it worked quite well as a meal accompaniment.

The Ensaymada bread preparation and process: The recipe used for the bake is from Pilipina’s Recipes entitled Ensaymada Recipe (recipe linked to title).

Note: There are a couple of recipe “additions” below as the recipe I used did not include the amount of salt or consistency of butter. My modifications are based on experience in baking hundreds of loaves of bread and knowing what works. 😉

Ingredients: All-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, salt (not pictured), water, butter, and cheddar cheese

Make the dough

In a small bowl, add 1/3 cup water and yeast to combine. Set aside for about 10 minutes to blooming. In a large bowl, sift 3 3/4 cups of flour. To the bowl of flour, add 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt and stir to combine.

Flour, salt, and sugar sifted on right… stir in 3 eggs, bloomed yeast, and 1/4 cup evaporated milk mixed with 1/3 cup of water
Dough hook kneading the mixture at low speed for about 2 minutes…
Notice butter mixing in with the rest of the dough…

After mixing and “kneading” for about 10 minutes, the dough is sticky and messy, but it works. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

Used jumbo muffin liners in a 12 cup muffin tin…
Punched down dough (with a spoon), spooned it out (sticky dough), and weighed the dough… 60 grams = 15 rolls…
There are now 15 equally sized blobs of dough on a floured surface to prevent sticking…
Placed one dough blob on a floured surface and rolled out with rolling pin to 8″x5″ rectangle…
Melted (or close to melt) butter…
Used a pastry brush and brushed butter onto the rectangle…
Rolled up from one long edge…
Looks like a cigar…
Coil like a snail…
Coil completed…
Coiled end pinched into the dough to seal it completed…
One dough roll coiled and placed in muffin cup liner in a muffin tin ready to rise (after the others are coiled and placed :-)…

Ready to rise and almost double in size (about hour)…

In case you’re wondering… I had 3 extra dough coils… I placed them in muffin cup paper liners and on an oven proof pan to bake separately (no muffin pan structure, but they still turned out beautifully and puffed)…

Dough puffed, almost doubled, and ready for the oven to bake at 325 degrees for 17 minutes…

Done…
Ready for a slather of butter, sprinkling of sugar, and some shredded cheese…
Final roll topped with butter, sugar, and cheese…
Notice the layers on the inside due to the coiling… light, fluffy, and oh so good!!

Ensaymada bread thoughts: Oooohhhh!!! Boy… now that’s a gooooood bread!! I don’t think I really need to say much. Although this is an authentic Filipino bread recipe, in the future for my own tastes, I would rather have this as a meal side without sugar on top. The cheese isn’t necessary either as the bread is amazing as it. The presentation of this bread is beautiful and would make a wonderful roll for guests. It sort of looks like a rose… maybe a Valentine’s side bread anyone OR add the sugar with a little dark chocolate on the side (or shavings on top) and make it a dessert with some hot chocolate?

Modifications: Notice I added 1/2 tsp of salt and melted the butter that was added to the dough as it mixed as well as to the flattened dough prior to coiling. A nice brush of additional butter to the top after it exits the oven is a must as well. Also, the traditional cheese is Edam (Gouda is a great substitute), but cheddar is commonly used.

Interestingly enough, the coil actually has a history… the shape represents the Moorish turbans worn during the conquest between the 8th and 15th centuries. I like to think of it as a rose… a little romance, maybe? Hey… Valentine’s Day is coming soon!

Mmmmmmm… what about the spring roll, Filipino style?

You may think you know your spring rolls, but not all spring rolls are alike. Most of the spring rolls we find in the US are the Chinese version having a paper-thin rice wrap enclosing veggies with a meat like pork or shrimp. The Filipino version incorporates a European flair with a French crêpe wrap made primarily of eggs and flour along with sweet potato as one of the veggies. Let’s take a look at the Filipino version. Thanks to Vanjo Merano for a great recipe and demonstration video for his Lumpiang Sariwa with Fresh Lumpia Wrapper (recipe linked to title).

This recipe is divided into 3 parts: Lumpia filling, Lumpia Wrapper, and Lumpia finishing sauce; there’s also the three ingredient topping. Btw- the word Lumpia just refers to spring rolls.

First step: ingredients and steps for the Lumpia filling…

Sweet potato, onion, garlic, cabbage, tofu, fish sauce, carrots, green beans, shrimp paste, shrimp, and Italian parsley

Prepare the Tofu

Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the tofu. You likely need several paper towels. Cube tofu and fry in a dry non-stick skillet until brown. Then set aside.

Check this out… purple Japanese sweet potato. I decided to go this route to try something different and add color to the dish… use it like any other sweet potato.

All veggies cut and all ingredients for the Lumpia filling are ready for the skillet to be added at their appropriate times…

Saute the Veggies

Saute the onions for a few minutes in tablespoon of oil until soft. Add the garlic for about 30 seconds. Then, add the purple sweet potato and water. When boiling, add 1/2 tsp of shrimp paste and cover to cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and add the 1/2 cup of shrimp and browned tofu cubes. Add the remaining veggies and cook for 3 minutes. Then season with fish sauce, ground pepper, and Italian parsley.

Lumpia filling is cooked and ready!

Second step: ingredients and steps for the Lumpia wrapper…

All-purpose flour, 2 eggs, neutral oil, water, and cooking spray for the skillet…

Make the Lumpia Wrapper Batter

Whisk together eggs, water, and oil. Slowly add the flour while whisking into the wet ingredients. Pour batter in a warm skillet sprayed with cooking spray and cook.

Lumpia wrapper is ready for the filling…

Third step: ingredients and steps for the Lumpia sauce…

6 tbsp brown sugar (top), 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp minced garlic (mixed above with soy sauce), and 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp water (bottom right)
Boiled 1 1/2 cups of water…
All ingredients above added and cooked until thickened…

Assembly time!!

Lumpia wrapper on bottom, topped with a lettuce leaf (romaine is nice and crunchy)…
A couple of spoons of filling on top of lettuce leaf followed by some chopped Italian parsley…
Rolled and almost ready to eat… it would be prettier to place the lettuce partially off of the wrapper and then rolled… the demonstration video shows that
Final rolls topped with the Lumpia sauce, crushed peanuts and Italian parsley…
GORGEOUS!! Notice the veggie layers and the beautiful purple sweet potato…

Lumpiang Sariwa with Fresh Lumpia Wrapper thoughts: The spring roll ingredients were really nice and flavorful. My Lumpia wrapper was a little too thick, but the flavors were there. While a pretty and interesting dish, it was quite difficult to eat because it fell apart. Honestly, I would rather just have this dish without the wrapper and just eat it as a lettuce wrap. The purple sweet potato definitely made the ingredients pop… we eat with our eyes first, right? The recipe called for a shrimp cube, but since I had shrimp paste, I just used a 1/2 tsp of that instead. I ended up adding more fish sauce to taste. The garlicky, brown sugar sauce on top added a little sweetness but not too much. For leftovers, we prepared the dish like an open-face sandwich… Lumpia wrapper on bottom, torn lettuce on top, with everything else on top of that… sort of a salad with a wrapper on bottom. You could also make a layered salad with the strips of the wrapper on top like a condiment…. options!

My Philippines weekend bake final thoughts: My takeaway for the Philippines is the interesting blend of Asian flavors with Western ingredients… fish and soy sauce with cheese and sweet potato? It really was good. Using the European egg crêpe as a spring roll wrap was certainly interesting; it added to the dish by providing additional sustenance to the many veggies. The bread was unforgettable and certainly a keeper to make for guests… such a beautiful addition to any meal. We enjoyed the meal in its entirety and discussed the mix of cultures in the flavors. While many Asian cultures and cuisine can be a bit stereotypical in containing the expected Asian flavors, Filipino cuisine surprisingly did not. Sometimes I feel we pigeonhole flavors into specific cultures but why? I wouldn’t have imagined that the blend of flavors could work as well as they did. I’m intrigued and want to make more Filipino cuisine to discover other unique flavor combinations.

I appreciate you taking the time to read. Please like, comment, or consider following my blog. Until next time… happy baking!

Zanzibar Sesame Flat Bread with Calamari Curry and Coconut Rice

Mkate Wa Ufuta (sesame flatbread) triangles framing the calamari curry on a bed of coconut rice

This past Sunday, January 12th, marked Zanzibar’s Revolution Day when in 1964 the Sultan was overthrown following the independence from Britain (1963).

Zanzibar (small speck at the end of the arrow) is an island (comprised of small islands) located just off the coast of Tanzania (highlighted in green) in eastern Africa. It’s considered a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania as it united with Tanzania after the revolution.

The cuisine of Zanzibar is a result of the many influences from other cultures and its location surrounded by sea and year round warm climate. The food is known to be fresh (cassava, coconut, mango, jackfruit, oranges), flavorful (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric), and commonly includes fruit from the sea (octopus and squid).

The melting pot of flavors and spices come from Middle Eastern and Asian trading, Indian immigrants, along with British and Portuguese presence (colonization). The island itself is known as “Spice Islands”.

My search for authentic cuisine yielded flatbreads as common bakes as well as rice and curries containing seafood as common dishes. The dishes I selected are due to ingredients and flavors not commonly found in my kitchen or food. While chapati is a common flat bread eaten in eastern Africa including Zanzibar, I was more interested in making the Mkate Wa Ufuta (Zanzibar Sesame Bread) as it contains coconut milk and sesame seeds.

The Mkate Wa Ufuta is a yeasted flatbread containing the basic bread ingredients of all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt. The additional ingredients are coconut milk, egg, oil for frying, and sesame seeds for the topping. The recipe comes from Leite’s Culinaria website (recipe linked) adapted from Felicia Campbell -The Food of Oman – Andrews McMeel, 2015.

Let’s start with the ingredient list:

Mkate Wa Ufuta – Zanzibar Sesame Bread
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 1/4 tsp of yesat, 1 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 cup + 2 tbsp of full-fat canned coconut milk, 1 large egg, 1/4 cup neutral oil, 3-4 tbsp sesame seeds

Let’s bake!

To the bowl of a stand mixer, add 3 cups of flour, salt, and yeast. Whisk the three ingredients. Then add 1/2 cup of flour, egg, and coconut milk. Stir with a wooden spoon. Once a shaggy mass has formed, begin kneading with the dough hook. Kneaded for about 10 minutes. Then, place in a warm area (over warm oven) to rise for about an hour.

Dough has risen but no need to double in size… it will be dense…

Time to divide the dough, so I shaped it so it can easily be divided into 6ths…
First, divided in half…
Next, divided each half into thirds… BOOM! Easy 6!!

Flattened each piece out with a rolling pin about the size of a tortilla. Rub neutral oil over one side and sprinkle sesame seeds on top making sure to pat them slightly into the dough. Place a flatbread in a hot skillet. While the oiled/sesame side is in the skillet, rub more oil and sesame seeds with additional salt on the other side until ready to flip. Each side should take about 2 minutes.

Cooked Zanzibar Sesame Bread

Mkate Wa Ufuta thoughts: Flat like a Mexican tortilla yet slightly thicker than naan; however, it really isn’t either one of these. The Zanzibar bread is dense, chewy, somewhat crispy from the fry, and nutty from the sesame seeds. It scoops like a utensil and soaks up liquids from soups and curries. I happened to find some really tasty sesame seed mix that has a Dulse, Nori, and Kombu seaweed combination along with sea salt. I think this sesame seed mixture really added to the flavor of the bread. The coconut milk and egg added richness while the yeast added a little sponginess. The bread was memorable and will go great in place of naan in Middle Eastern cuisine served with hummus. It was easy to make and is on my keeper list of breads to repeat.

The rest of the meal consisted of Zanzibar Calamari Curry and Coconut Rice (my new fav!!)

Since seafood and coconut are in abundance in Zanzibar, I wanted to try my hand in using both of these ingredients. I’ve eaten coconut rice before, but for some reason, this recipe was really good and memorable to me. I have cooked with squid before (it’s been a while) and wanted another reason to cook with it again. Novice experience in using these ingredients led me to these recipes. They are also both authentic to Zanzibar and contain flavors and vegetables (even fruit) specific to the culture. Since we LOVE our veggies, I was drawn to the many fresh elements of the calamari dish. Recipes are attached to the following titles. Thanks to International Cuisine for the Zanzibar Calamari Curry and Food.com for the Coconut Rice from Zanzibar.

Zanzibar Calamari Curry: I made some slight modifications to the recipe. I added about 1 tsp of ground turmeric (common to Zanzibar). I used 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1/8 tsp of ground cloves because I didn’t have the whole versions. Since we love veggies, I didn’t measure them, but ended up with A LOT more veggies than I think the recipe required, so I doubled all of the savory spices as they were cooking AND I added a cup+ water for more liquid.

Ingredients: calamari (squid), cinnamon, cumin, garlic, red onion, tomatoes, mango, peppers, okra, eggplant, turmeric (not in recipe), cloves, coconut milk, curry powder, and carrots

All veggies and mango are chopped, frozen okra is in a bowl waiting, and all spices are together in a small bowl…

(Left to right… mango, eggplant, minced garlic above the orange peppers, red onion, carrots, and tomatoes)

Calamari rinsed and cleaned ready for slicing…
Calamari sliced, rinsed, and drained ready for browning…
Calamari browning slightly in the pot…
All veggies added with the spices… ended up adding more spices and liquid…
Everything is in the pot and cooking down for about an hour…
Zanzibar Calamari Curry is READY!!

Moving on to the easy peasy Coconut Rice…

Ingredients: Basmati rice, salt, coconut milk, and water…
All recipe ingredients in the saucepan and bring to near boil…
Cooking for about 10 minutes, then decreased heat to a simmer for 20-25 minutes…
Coconut Rice from Zanzibar is READY!
The final plate… Zanzibar sesame flatbread, coconut rice, and calamari curry

What I would do differently next time:

  • For the bread, dust salt on both sides of the sesame dough when covering with oil and sprinkling with sesame seeds.
  • For the curry, since I had more vegetables than the original recipe appeared to have, I would double the sweet spices (cloves and cinnamon) and add 1/2 – 1 cup MORE coconut milk and maybe more water depending on the consistency.
  • For the curry, be sure to taste and add more salt at the end cooking.

Zanzibar Calamari Curry thoughts: We tend to enjoy curry, so this was a pleasant dish to eat with lots of flavor. On the first night of eating the dish, there wasn’t any one flavor that overwhelmed the dish. In fact, the squid was very mild (and cooked perfectly, not chewy as squid can be) and you could only taste it when eating a bite of it. You might think the mango would be too sweet, but since I used a green mango (basically unripened), it only added another level of depth. The okra was detectable but not overpowering either and not slimy (as okra can be). All of the spices including the cinnamon and cloves melded really well together, not one overtaking another.

Let’s talk leftovers… once the dish had time to mesh even more (overnight in the fridge), the curry seemed to dominate the flavors but still good. Overall, just a really nice dish. It went well with the rice and a little more sauce with my future changes would only add to the meal… need more sauce to soak into the rice and the bread.

Coconut Rice from Zanzibar thoughts: Yep!! Hands down my favorite rice! I really didn’t expect to enjoy it so much since it only had coconut milk and salt. I was eating the rice by itself it was so tasty. I wouldn’t change a thing to the recipe. Even with the coconut milk, the rice can be versatile eaten with sugar and more milk just as my dad used to do with leftover rice… and my husband, too. The same rice can be the base of any dish or certainly eaten by itself.

Final thoughts: I’ve now made several different breads and dishes from different countries in Africa. It’s fascinating to me how different they have all been. We’ve had such simple, natural flavors from landlocked Botswana to rich spices from Zanzibar. I could never forget the hearty warm spices from Ethiopia. We’ve had vegan dishes, hard-core red meat, and seafood. So far, all of the breads have been flatbread, but they’ve tasted so differently… yeasted Zanzibar, no yeast Botswana, and naturally occurring yeast Ethiopia. Wow! What diversity!! I can’t wait to see what else this diverse continent has to offer, no doubt there’s so much more to discover.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate any likes, follows, or comments. More to come soon, stay tuned.

Rye Bread and New Year’s Day Traditions

Black-eyed pea soup with greens, vegetables, ground pork and homemade rye bread topped with cream cheese, dill, and capers mixture and smoked salmon

New Year’s Day traditions are specific to different cultures around the world. A new year, a new beginning, and hopes for a healthy and prosperous year seem to be common themes for us all. I’m not a new year’s resolution kind of person as I try to modify my life as I see the need; however, I do tend to carry out cultural food traditions on New Year’s Day. This year, I decided to go rogue a bit… not anti-culture, but an attempt to see the world through food on New Year’s Day… maybe this international view will set the tone for cultural understandings, not just this day but all other days to come.

Why do we eat what we do and how does that relate to the rest of the world? Ironically, in my search I discovered that the foods we eat for luck, health, fortune, prosperity, etc. tend to be similar around the world. For example, southern Americans may think black-eyed peas are only specific to southern Americans; however, did you know the Egyptians during the times of Pharaohs ate them, too?

My New Year’s Day food ingredients transcend what I used to think was just my culture… it is the culture of many… peas or lentils, collard greens or cabbage, smoked salmon or herring; they all serve the same purpose.

This year’s menu celebrated many different cultures… let’s see who and for what reasons…

  • Finnish, German, Swedish Rye Bread – leads to a healthy lifestyle as rye is a good source of nutrients to include fiber, manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorous, B-complex vitamins, and many other vitamins and minerals that are not found in white or other breads. Since rye has a lower glycemic index than other grains, it breaks down more slowly causing you to feel full faster and longer. It also requires less insulin to control blood glucose levels. Maybe opt for the rye bread this year (if you’re not gluten sensitive).
  • Italian and German Pork – represents prosperity and wealth since pigs are unable to look back physically, always looking to the future (progress).
  • American, Egyptian, and West African Black-eyed peas (or lentils in India, Italy, Greece, Brazil, Czech, and Hungary and beans in Argentina)– Egyptians believed black-eyed peas represented a meager food that demonstrated humility before God (if eaten). In America, it is wealth as they resemble coins. In India and Italy and other countries, lentils represent coins while beans represent professional success in Argentina.
  • Asian, Greek, Italian, Native American, and Scandinavian Smoke salmon (herring is traditional) – represents abundance since there are so many fish in the sea
  • African, American, and German greens (sauerkraut/cabbage, too from Hungary, Poland, and Czech) – represent money (green) and health since they prevented scurvy and aided in digestion.
  • American, Indian, or Korean rice (noodles in other Asian countries) – while rice represents fertility and wealth, long noodles represent longevity.

Let’s start with the rye bread. Aside from its awesome health benefits described above, rye is an ancient grain adaptable to different types of soil. It is thought that rye was domesticated from its weed form in Syria as early as 6600 BC; it later made its way to Turkey, Poland, and Romania. It continued to spread from there. It grows well in colder climates like Scandinavian countries and Europe (northern and eastern).

In Finland, it has been cultivated over 2,000 years and is the country’s staple bread, though typically lighter than German rye and less sweet than Swedish rye. A traditional Finnish rye bread can be stored and last for months.

Easy peasy yeasted rye bread, NO KNEADING required. The recipe I used is from a cookbook a friend gave me a couple of years ago. It is a no knead bread book called “Bread Toast Crumbs” by Alexandra Stafford (see link on title for details about the book). The recipes in this book are incredible and produce flavorful bread with little effort. I am not a spokesperson for this cookbook but having made multiple recipes, I am certainly a big fan. I basically followed the recipe with a slight modification. Alexandra deserves the credit, but I will post my slightly changed version of her recipe.


Rye Bread RecipeDownload

Ingredients needed:

All-purpose flour, dark rye flour, salt, yeast, caraway seeds, honey, water, and melted butter
Whisked 3 cups of all-purpose and 1 cup of dark rye flours, 2 tsp salt, 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one package), and 1 tbsp of caraway seeds in a large mixing bowl…

Dissolved 1 tbsp of honey in 2 cups warm water…

Stirred / whisked in the dissolved honey (in water) and 1/4 cup of melted butter (used microwave)…

Wet, sticky dough formed… notice the caraway seeds…

Covered and placed bowl aside over a nice warm stove to double in size (1 – 1/2 hours)…

Dough doubled in size and ready to be placed in proper bowls for baking…

Buttered 2- 1 quart oven-safe bowls…
Used 2 forks to deflate the risen dough by folding inward from the outside edges…
Divided dough into 2 sections…
Simply scooped out equal portions of the dough into 2 separate 1 quart bowls…

Placed the uncovered bowls over a warm stove and allowed the dough to rise equal to (or above) the rim of the bowls (about 30 minutes or so)…

Preheated oven to 425 degrees…

Baked at 425 for 15 minutes and lowered oven to 375 degrees and baked for another 17 minutes until golden brown all around (glass bowls allow you to see if the bottoms are brown…

Rye bread baked…

Cooling…

Final product sliced… notice the light color, caraway seeds, and tender crumb…

Toppings for the rye bread: Herbed Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon

Herbed cream cheese: 1 cup of cream cheese (room temperature) (or 1-8oz block), 1/2 cup of crème fraîche (or sour cream / Greek yogurt), 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh dill, and 4 tbsp of rinsed, drained, and coursely chopped capers.
Directions: Use a mixer and whip the cream cheese and crème fraîche together until light and fluffy. Fold in the dill and capers using a apatula. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Whipping cream cheese and crème fraîche…
Cheeses light and fluffy…
Capers rinsed, drained, and ready for chopping…
Chopped capers and finely chopped dill ready to be folded into the cheeses…
All done and ready to top the baked rye bread…
Homemade rye bread sliced and topped with the cream cheese mixture and slices of prepared smoke salmon…

Black-eyed pea soup: This is an adaptation of Food Network’s Black-eyed Peas Soup recipe. My adaptations are described below with accompanying photos.

1-lb pork sausage, 2 pkgs of frozen black-eyed peas, olive oil, 1 onion, carrots = 2 large, 2 celery ribs, 1 bunch fresh red chard, 3-4 garlic cloves, 2 1/2 quarts of chicken broth (no water), 1/2 cup brown rice, salt, and pepper

Cooked sausage in large stock pot…

Added the mirepoix (French for the vegetable trinity: celery, onion, and carrots)…

Cooked until softened…

While veggies sautéed, chard was washed and chopped… notice the red stalk is discarded…

Easy chopping chard or kale… fold one side of the leaf over touching the other leaf leaving the stalk entirely on one side. Then, take a sharp knife and run it down the inside edge of the stalk separating the stalk from the folded leaves… done!

Add the chopped chard and minced garlic to soup pot…
All together and ready to cook down…

Chicken broth and rice added, brought to a boil, heat reduced to a simmer and cooked for about an hour…

One hour later and soup is ready…
Meal ready and the soup topped with some freshly grated sharp white cheddar cheese

New Year’s Day food thoughts…

This is one my favorite New Year’s Day meals. The soup is light and contains lots of vegetables complete with meat and peas. The sharp cheddar on top adds a bit of creaminess/ richness. The homemade rye bread with caraway seeds is light and holds up well with the cream cheese mixture and salty smoked salmon. You can certainly toast the rye bread for a nice crunch, though I did not. Although this is an easy meal to prepare, it certainly seemed elegant and indulgent. Let’s talk about basic nutrition. Whole grain dark rye, calcium from the dairy, Omega 3 fatty acids from the salmon, the nutrients from the variety of vegetables, and so much more. You really can have your cake and eat it too. What a way to start the new year!

With a new year on the horizon, it was interesting connecting cultural traditions around the world with such a simple meal; are we really so different when we have such similar thought processes and beliefs regardless of place and time. With such a perspective gained from a traditional meal, maybe we’re off to a good start; even if traditions are nothing more than past down routines and beliefs… if we’re all doing it, hmmm… is there more to be said…

Happy New Year!

Italian Panettone

The Italian Panettone is an iconic Christmas sweet bread. While similar to fruitcake containing some of the same ingredients, it really isn’t the same. In fact, many people like this Italian version as it is a lighter yeast bread than fruitcake and full of dried fruit, citrus zest, lots of butter, eggs, and sugar. It’s a light, sweet bread for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every snack in between. By the way, I am a fan of fruitcake, minus the nuts; so, you’ll never find me critical of any type of fruitcake.

I’ve always liked Panettone and have been intrigued with its unusually tall shape. When I tried it a few years back, it was so surprisingly good, I decided it was one to attempt to make from scratch one day. Thanks to my blog challenge, I’m baking dishes and using ingredients I never thought I would and becoming more comfortable in troubleshooting in the kitchen. I’m learning that there’s always a way around potential problems or, at least, a negative experience can produce growth.

I have to say, while making this bread was not difficult, the baking process was somewhat of a disaster for me. That’s right, I finally made a blog DISASTER!! As a result, I had to make 2 separate loaves on 2 different days. Although, my husband and I will still eat the first loaf because the bread itself is still edible and has great flavor.. just not pretty and doesn’t look like Panettone. Ugh!! But the 2nd version worked as you can see in the photo… so… success…. much like how this bread came about in Italy in the 15th century. That’s right… the original success of Panettone is a result of a failed experience. I guess it’s only fitting for me to have a similar experience to truly understand its origins. 😉

A little Panettone history… While there are various legends of the origins of this bread, the most popular one goes like this…

It was the time of duke Ludovico il Moro Sforza’s in Milan, Italy during the 15th century. The court’s chef had prepared a Christmas dinner to which many were invited. After leaving the Christmas cake in the oven to accidentally burn (Ha! my first loaf), pastry chef, Toni, saved the Christmas meal with the idea of using pantry ingredients to make another cake. He spontaneously decided to look for ingredients that might create a good cake… HEY, it was for royalty… had to be good. In desperation, he quickly located flour, butter, eggs, lime zest, and raisins and made a new cake. The guests were delighted and wanted to know the name of it. Without a name since it was a quick fix without a plan, the chef said… “Pan de Toni” or “Pan del Toni” which translates to “Bread of Toni” thus becoming Panettone. (https://www.italyheritage.com/learn-italian/documentaries/panettone-vergani.htm)

Another likely version is that Panettone is an ancient bread associated with the town of Milan and has always been made at Christmas time, particularly since the 14th century. The idea is that due to its simple inexpensive ingredients, everyone could eat it bringing people of all walks of life together to enjoy the same dish. Now, that’s the Christmas spirit!

Milan, Italy is located in Northern Italy near Switzerland and is the 2nd largest populous city in Italy behind Rome.

In Milan, the authentic version of Panettone includes a special natural yeast that cannot be bought. It is made in each laboratory of a bakery where there is a mother yeast that requires 3 different rises; this is actually a multi-day process… 3 days in fact. The Panettone version we know today (softer and taller) originated in 1919 by Angelo Motta who opened the first bakery in Milan. There are many newer versions that use chocolate chips, boozy beverages for soaking dried fruit, or made plain and served with mascarpone cheese.

The homebaker’s experience… After researching a bit, I decided on a simple Panettone version that is supposedly authentic from Italy. Thanks to Recipes of Italy for the recipe (recipe linked to website title). There were a few elements of this recipe I questioned and thus made a few modifications… particularly after the 1st disastrous loaf. We’ll address that later. ☹

1st Panettone version…

ALL ingredients: milk, honey, dried citrus peel, eggs, salt, yeast, flour, dried cranberries, butter, sugar, raisins, lemon, orange, vanilla, and almond extracts

Let’s soak the dried fruit first…

In a large bowl, add 1 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries. Covered in water and microwave for 60 seconds. Set on the counter to hydrate for about 30-45 minutes…

Now let’s make the sponge…

The sponge included milk, honey, yeast, and all-purpose flour

Heat 2/3 cup of milk and 1 1/2 tsp of honey in microwave for about 60 seconds until warm. Whisk the ingredients before heating. The milk temperature should only be warm, not hot. Don’t kill the yeast!! Then, add 3 1/2 tsp of yeast and 1/2 cup flour. Whisk the milk and honey mixture with the yeast and flour to create the sponge. The sponge mixture should only take minutes to activate.

On to the dough…

In a large mixing bowl, whisk 3 1/2 cups of flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 lemon zest, 1/2 orange zest, and 1 tsp salt. Once all the dried ingredients are mixed well, add the fluffy activated sponge (yeast mixture). Pour the yeast sponge into the center of flour mixture. Melt 1 stick of butter in the microwave. Crack 3 eggs in a separate bowl and add 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp of almond extracts. Add the butter and egg mixture to the yeast sponge and flour. Stir well until a nice shaggy mix forms.

Kneading time! No Kitchen-Aid this weekend, though you certain could use it. It’s Christmas, I just felt like kneading by hand. 😊

Shaggy dough dumped out on a floured surface… notice how broken and rough it looks…

8 minutes of hand kneading and we have this little beautiful ball of doughiness… notice the citrus zest pieces…

Place dough back into the large mixing bowl to rise in a nice warm place (for me, over an oven that is heating up…) Add a little cooking spray to the bowl before adding the dough and also to the top of the dough to prevent a tough skin from forming. Don’t forget to cover the dough to prevent drafts.

While the dough is rising for about an 1 hour 30 or until doubled in size, drain and dab with a paper towel the hydrated fruit…

After making and kneading the dough, the dried fruit is hydrated and ready, notice how plump they look. Drained and dabbed… still plump and juicy!

1 hour 30 is over… Dough should be doubled. Knead for another 2-3 minutes on the floured board. Add the hydrated fruit and roll.

While the dough was resting, I added 1/4 cup flour to the hydrated fruit and stirred well to coat. I used a strainer/sifter to remove excess flour…

Dried fruit spread out on the rectangle-shaped dough…
Then rolled from long side into a cinnamon roll looking shape…
Rolled into a nicely shaped ball with crevices sealed…

Disastrous 1st loaf modifications!!

Since I didn’t have a Panettone pan, I TRIED to substitute. A Panettone pan is typically 6.7 x 4.3 inches. You can substitute a coffee can or buy Panettone baking molds. Since I don’t have any of these or want to buy them, I went with a bundt pan. I followed the recipe’s baking temperature and time, but that DIDN’T work for a very dark colored bundt pan. That was my problem… I should’ve lowed the temp for this pan.

Needed 6-inch high sides, so added parchment paper…
So far, so good…
Yikes! This baby was burning 10 minutes in!!
YUCKY!! 400 degrees for 30 minutes and this what you get in a dark-colored bundt pan…

Successful 2nd loaf! I followed suggestions from Christina’s Cucina’s website on subbing for Panetonne pans/molds.

2nd time around… I followed the same recipe but chose to use an oven-safe saucepan with higher sides, over 3 inches and about 6 inches in diameter. I cut about a 6-inch in diameter parchment paper piece and sprayed it to the bottom of the saucepan to prevent the bread from sticking…

I cut the bottom of a medium size brown paper bag (lunch sack) to create a solid cylindrical form allowing for rise and bake without busting out the sides…

I lined the brown paper bag with parchment paper, sprayed the inside with cooking spray, and folded down the top to where the bread should bake to…

Dough in the pan and waiting to rise for about 45 minutes over a warm oven…
Dough has risen above the pan and ready for baking. I brushed a beaten egg on top for a shiny finish…
Straight out of the oven. It ROSE and looks like a Panettone!!

Baking temp and time change… So, with a different set-up, I decided to bake at 350 for 30 minutes and then drop to 325 for 30 minutes. Well, that DIDN’T work so well. The internal temperature should read 190 when baked completely. To reach 190, I had to bake for about 1 hour 30… ugh!! It turned out OK, but next time, I would bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes and drop to 350 for another 15-30. That should work. I also ended up tenting foil over the top after the first 30 minutes since the top was browning quickly. That’s not uncommon, so the foil is a must!!

Final loaf cooling…
Final product… notice the spread of fruit throughout and the tall loaf… not bad for my 2nd attempt in 2 days

Baking is a science and an art… however, I believe as long as love and care go into what I do, I will eventually figure it out and produce something good. Overcoming pitfalls was my challenge on this bake. I should have known not to bake the bread in a dark pan at 400 degrees, but I didn’t want to waiver too far from the directions since they worked for someone else. After looking at other recipes, I decided to change the type of pan because I really wanted to have that tall signature look of the authentic version. Changing the pan, meant changing the oven temp and time. I tried a happy medium and that still didn’t work for me. Ultimately, I had success in height and flavor, though I’m sure the bread is a tiny bit drier than it should be. It is still good; warmed with a pat of butter… who would know. 😊

Final thoughts… Whew! What an interesting bake! The recipe itself was a good choice and tasted buttery and sweet. It is the Panettone I remember. It had a nice fruit flavor from the raisins, dried cranberries, and homemade dried peel (leftover from the Stollen last weekend). The Panettone was reminiscent of the Stollen, but not as rich and sweet. It seemed more like a breakfast bread than a dessert. In fact, I would say it was more of a brioche dough with lots of yumminess added to it. Hmmm… Italy, Germany, and France coming together in a single bake… they are not called Europe for no reason!

As for the process, I believe the actual preparation of the dough and kneading all went well. The baking was clearly my challenge. I think my 2nd attempt worked OK, but in hindsight, I should probably have bought the parchment/cardboard molds instead of creating a makeshift pan.

I basically followed the recipe, but I didn’t have anymore homemade dried citrus peel for the 2nd loaf, so I used 1 cup of raisins and 1 cup of dried cranberries. I also added egg wash to the top before baking.

I feel like I had a “Pan del Toni” experience, but on a different scale… he had success with a new and different spontaneous recipe, while I had success by creating a makeshift pan. Both ended up well, though. I was shocked at my burned bread, but realized I needed to fail in order to improve. Since I wanted a successful loaf, the 2nd loaf required me to research and think critically about what I was doing.

Given the Christmas season when all seems merry and bright, some of the best merry and bright moments are when we fail, just a little. It is failing that causes us to grow and be even merrier and brighter in our world and to the world around us… a little more confidence never hurts most of us.

Thanks for taking your holiday time to read my post. Feel free to like, comment, or follow my blog; any and all are appreciated. From my kitchen to yours… happy baking and Merry Christmas!

A new bake coming soon after a short break for the holidays.

German Christmas Stollen

Christmas Stollen aka Christstollen in Germany

I’ve never made anything more reminiscent of my childhood than the German Stollen (maybe behind my grandma’s rolls 😊). The irony is that I’ve never eaten Stollen. So, how’s that possible… well actually, it wasn’t the Stollen itself but rather the ingredients that went into it… the store-bought, sugar-coated jelly Orange Slices and Fruit Loops… no, seriously!! Ok, so I didn’t ACTUALLY bake with Orange Slices and Fruit Loops, BUT the candied fruit tasted exactly like Orange Slices and the sweet syrup left over from the boiled fruit peelings tasted exactly like Fruit Loops. While this might sound a bit appalling to some of you, the taste was good. It all came from real food… not processed with chemicals from a package. I can’t think of a better recipe for me to make at Christmas time than the Stollen. Now the memories are flowing! Ah… to be a kid again this time of year!

What is Stollen anyway? Stollen at its most basic form is a dense yeast bread traditionally made with raisins, butter, almonds, candied orange and lemon peel, flour, water and yeast. There are many variations and other flavors added such as milk, sugar, salt, spices, and spirits.

History: Stollen is pronounced something like “shtaw-luh n” in German … need to have the “shhh” at the beginning for a native-like sound. 😊 Leave it to a language teacher to desire correct pronunciation. Here’s a quick rundown of its origins…

  • was eaten during Medieval fasting first recorded in the 1474
  • did not include milk or butter as the Catholic church did not allow such indulgent ingredients
  • in 1491 after a request, the Pope granted the use of butter and richer ingredients
  • by 1560,Stollen became the bread of the kings and was regarded as a royal treat

While there are many Stollen versions, since this past weekend was the Dresden, Germany Stollen festival, here’s a bit of info on the Dresden Stollen…

December 7, 2019 was this year’s date of the annual Stollenfest in Dresden, Germany. This festival that began in 1994 takes place every year on the day before the second Sunday of Advent and includes the presentation of a giant Stollen (see pic), parades, bakers and pastry makers, and a “Stollen girl”, if you will, to represent the bread’s official association. According the Dresdner Christstollen website, “Only in Dresden and the close surrounding areas of the Saxon capital, is it allowed to bake Dresdner Christstollen. In order to be a real Dresdner Christstollen the pastry has to be made by hand following the traditional recipes. It also has to satisfy the requirements set by the Schutzverband Dresdner Stollen e.V., a Stollen Association created to protect the special pastry to ensure its quality and excellence. You can identify an original Dresdner Christstollen by its golden stollen seal.” See a picture of the golden seal below.

Check out the festival’s website to learn more… https://www.dresdnerstollen.com/en/

the giant Stollen presentation (taken from the dresdnerstollen website)…

the golden stollen seal of quality, also taken from the website…

My Stollen experience: The recipe I chose came from “The Daring Gourmet” entitled BEST German Christmas Stollen (Christstollen)(website linked). This Stollen version intrigued me because it appears to be authentic and created by someone who lived in Germany, and it includes all of the traditional ingredients with some indulgent ones :-). I like that the recipe includes homemade fruit peel and marzipan, thus encouraging me to do more than bake a loaf of bread.

Check out my YouTube video on making the German Christmas Stollen and see other videos on my channel on making the Candied Fruit Peels and homemade Marzipan.

The preparation before making the bread included drying out and fruit peels to be candied and making the marzipan.

Homemade marzipan… Marzipan is a sweet white dough (looks like sugar cookie dough) made of almond flour, powdered sugar, almond extract, rose water, and water. While it’s a wonderful morsel of candy in itself, it’s used as an ingredient in recipes like cakes and pies as well as covered in chocolate and eaten like a truffle. It is not baked, just mixed all together in a food processor. Here we go…

All of the ingredients plus water…

All in the food processor and blended away…

Dough scooped out onto a board and rolled into a log to store in the refrigerator until ready to use… I made this 2 days before the bread.

Now for the Stollen with the candied fruit and marzipan …

Vanilla, salt, yeast, whole milk, blanched chopped almonds, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon, flour, butter, eggs, lemon, marzipan, raisins, candied fruit peels, rum, and sugar
Bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees
After 5 minutes of resting, poke toothpick holes all around to soak up the butter that you see brushed on each loaf.
Pat on the powdered sugar like you’ve had an inch of snow on the ground…
Stollen baked and dressed!
Final product…
Sliced to see the raisins, homemade candied fruit, and marzipan… marzipan is on the right third of the bread just under the fold

A few changes: I followed the recipe by “The Daring Gourmet” except…

  • I chose NOT to use egg whites for the marzipan because due to a suppressed immune system, I should not consume raw eggs. However, I learned that traditional marzipan does not include egg whites anyway, so I just used water… still amazing!!
  • I used a vegetable peeler to eliminate the white pith more easily instead of using a knife. I only needed to boil the peel 2 times instead of 3 because I had less pith.
  • In the bread, I did not have the spice, mace, so I just subbed with freshly grated nutmeg.

Final thoughts: Wow! Butter, sugar, fruit, candy… hmmmm… I’ll have another slice please! I was unfamiliar with Stollen and didn’t know anything about it when I discovered it for this bake. I had never tried homemade candied fruit or marzipan. Let’s just say… Stollen is now on the annual Christmas season bake list and marzipan is just a regular sweet. I could not believe how great the ingredients tasted by themselves and combined in a beautifully baked loaf.

It was fun making something completely new and out of my wheelhouse while discovering childhood connections. Even during the holidays when we tend to bake and cook traditional foods, we can find ourselves connecting to cultures around the world. Again, this is another dish that reiterates that food breaks cultural boundaries, centuries, and social classes. I think I’ll go have a slice of Stollen and feel like a queen.

Thanks for reading! Please like, comment, or consider following my weekly blog to learn something new and maybe be inspired to make something different. More to come on preview Friday!

Holiday Stuffing or Dressing? Why not Bread Pudding?

Mushroom and Gruyère Savory Bread Pudding

It’s the American age-old question…

Do you call your Thanksgiving turkey “side” stuffing or dressing? Well, my unprofessional, yet logical response is… call it stuffing if it’s baked in the bird and call it dressing if it is baked separately in a casserole dish. It is suggested NOT to cook the stuffing in the bird as it will likely burn or overcook (dry out) since the bird needs to cook longer than the stuffing. However, you can always bake them separately and then stuff the bird with the dressing after all baking is complete. Honestly, I don’t care because I eat something else. That’s right! Why not a savory bread pudding? Forget the age-old debate.

A wonderful and versatile Holiday bake…

Given the holidays and I have already posted my grandma’s yeast roll recipe in the previous post, I wanted to post my updated version of a classic American holiday favorite… the “stuffing”, I mean “dressing”, or whatever you want to call it. I grew up on my mom’s yummy southern cornbread dressing, and have had many others like wild rice dressing, and many bread dressings with chestnuts, sausage, etc. While I have enjoyed all of the dressing variations over the years, since I’m always looking for that “next best thing”, I have fallen in love (yes, it is love) with the savory bread pudding version. If you are reading my BREAD BAKING posts, then I KNOW you will love it too… it’s all about the bread baby!!

While this is not a bread bake, it’s a bake with bread.

It can include a homemade baked bread as one of the recipe ingredients. I am quite pleased with this recipe after a couple of years of modification and excited to share it with you. Like any holiday stuffing/dressing, you can modify the ingredients based on tastes and what you have on hand or can locate in your local grocery store. This version is my preferred variation, but many like substitutes will produce an amazing dish. I hope you try it and have fun modifying it to your tastes.

What’s our history on this one?

No Thanksgiving history here since most are already familiar with the many variations of its origins; however, I think it would be more interesting to touch on the roots of bread pudding, don’t you? So, bread pudding is pretty much stale bread soaked in eggs and dairy, mixed with other ingredients, and then baked to create a dense custard like dish, often resembling a cake. It can be sweet or savory. For the British, it was a cheap and easy way to make a dessert, which included leftover bread in place of a fresh homemade cake. Once considered a frugal dish, the bread pudding is now considered one that is contemporary and trendy.

So, where does the bread pudding come from?

The bread pudding dates back to England during the 11th and 12th centuries and became known as “the poor man’s pudding” by the 13th century. While the traditional recipe is sweet and includes milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and raisins, there are many recipes today that include boozy beverages, chocolate, fresh and/or dried fruits, and other fruit juices.

Since my blog is about the discovery of other cultures through baking, I love the idea of blending cultures through food. I can’t imagine a better way to connect with another culture than to take an iconic dish from one’s own and blend it with that of another. Now that’s what I call a “Thanksgiving of Cultures”. My American roots would like to thank England for the bread pudding… even though my ancestors did what they could to break away (or did they? My roots are everywhere including the Choctaw and Cherokee nations). It appears that sometimes the worst disagreements can produce the greatest relationships OR maybe, it’s just that when it comes to food, we are all alike… good food is good food wherever it originated; that’s what makes us ALL interconnected. Merci England and Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Christmas! 😉

Mushroom and Gruyère Savory Bread Pudding…

This leads us to my Mushroom and Gruyère Savory Bread Pudding… trust me, you don’t want to skip this one. I HIGHLY suggest you give a try for Christmas or Easter, for that matter; you won’t be disappointed. The recipe and video links are below at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Let’s start with the base of the dish… the bread. You can make your own 1-lb loaf of bread or buy a nice artisan loaf from the store. With so many dishes I make for Thanksgiving, I opted for the Costco French Country Loaf. I usually buy the sourdough dotted with garlic clove pieces, but they didn’t have that one this year.

The bread pudding ingredients!
Tri-colored peppers, parsley, broth or stock, olive oil, half & half, fresh thyme, diced celery, rosemary, mushrooms, butter, eggs, Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses, garlic, cubed bread, and a leek

Cut the Bread, Heat Herb in Oil, Combine, & Bake

Cut the Bread

I prefer to buy the loaf a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Place the cubes in a freezer bag and freeze until the night before you make the bread pudding. Take the bag of cubed bread out of the freezer and let it thaw overnight on the counter.

Heat the Herbs

Let’s first get the oil mixture going on the stove to add to the bread cubes before toasting. In a small sauce pan on low heat, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2-3 tsp of freshly chopped rosemary, 4 tsp of freshly chopped thyme, and 1 minced garlic clove. Heat for 5 minutes… do NOT burn or you’ll need to start over.

Combine Bread Cubes & Herb Oil

Place the bread cubes in a large bowl and mix in the heated, herb-infused olive oil. Mix well so the herb mixture coats the bread.

Bake Coated Bread Cubes

Spoon the cubed herb bread on a large rim baking sheet covered with foil for easy clean up. Place in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes stirring occasional to allow for crusty pieces all over.

And… bread is toasted…

Clean the Leek

The easiest, cleanest way to remove all sand and dirt particles from a leek…

Cut off the dark green end and the root end…
Cut the leek in half, roll over and cut again in half or thirds depending on size…
Start at one end and slice down to the other like any other vegetable…
Place the chopped leek in a colander and then in the sink to rinse well…
The faucet sprayer works for this. All of the sand and dirt particles will easily wash away to leave a very clean leek…

Combine All Veggies & Sauté

In a skillet, place 6 tbsp of butter and melt before adding in the mushrooms, leek, celery, and peppers. Sauté all of the veggies for about 15 minutes until they are soft and the juices have evaporated…

Veggies are ready…

Place toasted bread cubes into a large bowl (same large bowl as before) and mix in the sautéed veggies…

Stir in the fresh parsley. In another bowl, whisk together the half and half, broth, eggs, salt, and pepper…

Go ahead and add to the liquid mixture most of the grated Parmesan and Gruyère cheeses except for about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup to reserve for the top (seen in the bottom bowl of the photo).

Mix it ALL together (except for the reserved cheese)…

Butter a casserole dish… I use a 10.5×14.75×2 (a little larger than a 9×13, but this should also work)…

Pour the bread pudding mixture into the casserole dish…

Sprinkle on the reserved cheese and bake in a 350-degree oven for an hour…

The finished dish… brown top and underside with ooey, gooey, melted cheese… Let rest for about 15 minutes before serving… if you can wait that long. 🙂

Suggested substitute ingredients as well as ingredient descriptions…

  • In case you are unaware, leeks are in the onion family and are much milder in flavor (no crying eyes while cutting ). If you are not an onion fan, please try the leek, you might be surprised!
  • I’m not a fan of green bell pepper pretty much anytime. I prefer the tri-color peppers, but you could use a simple green instead.
  • While this is a meatless dish, try adding in cooked ground pork sausage (or chicken or turkey).
  • If you have the time, consider making your own bread. I would imagine that a homemade white bread with dried cranberries would be good in this dish… hmmmm… I make cranberry loaves this time of year… I should do that!
  • For the liquid… you could use heavy whipping cream exclusively, or a mix of whipping cream, half and half, and broth… your pick!!
  • I wouldn’t recommend taking a short cut and using dried herbs… fresh herbs add so much flavor. However, you could if you have no other option.
  • Gruyère cheese is native to Switzerland, nutty in flavor, and the closest to Swiss than any other American type of cheese. I would not suggest substituting Swiss for Gruyère in this dish because the cheese is pretty defined. I highly recommend going with Gruyère; you can usually find it in local grocery stores, but it will be found in the “fancy” cheese section of the store. It will also be a lot more expensive, but worth it in this dish. On a side note, Gruyère makes amazing grilled cheese sandwiches and is a great cheese for Mac N Cheese dishes… it melts well.
  • Be sure to use good quality Gruyère and Parmesan cheeses that you grate yourself… pre-shredded/grated cheeses are not the same as companies add anti-caking agents making it difficult for cheese to melt smoothy… BUT if you have no other option… go with what you have.

Final thoughts… This dish is rich and herbaceous. Although, I haven’t tried it YET, for you carnivores, I imagine adding cooked ground pork sausage when mixing it all together before baking would be AMAZING. I love the shiitake mushrooms as they add an elegant, woodsy taste and meaty texture to the dish along with the nutty Gruyère cheese. The sautéed veggies add freshness while the thyme and rosemary scream fall and holiday time. I really can’t say enough about this dish… I wish I could give you all a spoonful to taste right now.

If you haven’t decided on a new dish for the remainder of the holiday season, give this one a try and leave a comment. If you decide to make the dish and have questions, please let me know.

For the rest of the holiday season, I have decided to make a slight modification to my normal posts. While I will still bake a bread, I will likely not add other dishes. I have a couple of breads in mind that I will connect with the “international” idea. I intend to go back after the holidays and revisit the countries I touch on for holiday baking and focus on traditional daily bread and dishes.

Check out my updated commentary on this recipe entitled “Gluten or Gluten-Free Rich and Flavorful Stuffing Alternative“.

Mushroom and Gruyère Savory Bread Pudding Recipe Click HERE!

Looking for additional breads to bake this holiday season? Check these out.

Mexican Pan de Muerto

American “The Berry Rolls”

German Stollen

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts. I appreciate your continued support in liking, commenting, and the reading of my blog posts. Happy holidays! More to come… Preview Friday is coming soon… Stay tuned.

Berry Family Tribute via the Matriarch through Bread

What Country this week?

This week’s blog is not country focused, but instead a tribute to my family, the Berry family, in southern America… more specifically… Arkansas. I no longer live in the south nor cook southern food (except for cornbread once in a while and biscuits), but my memories of good downhome southern food will always be close at heart. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted crispy, buttery, skillet cornbread; tall, buttery, flaky biscuits; soft, buttery yeast rolls (did I mention butter?); sweet, flaky crusted pies; or any homegrown vegetable cooked in who knows what kind of to die for fat prepared and cooked by a downhome southern cook where generations taught generations how to cook and “recipes” were passed down by see and do. Yes, no recipes… we watch and imitate… that’s it.

“Mamaw” Berry
December 6, 1918-March 17, 2004

Inspiration?

With Thanksgiving a week or so away, my childhood and traditions are the first to come to mind. This time of year, I spend hours in the kitchen thinking about my grandmother on my mom’s side. I have made it my annual mission to keep my memory of my Grandma alive (Mamaw Berry, my sister and I called her) by baking her rolls for Thanksgiving. She was the first person to inspire me to bake.

You must know, however, that it all started with the stomach.

Yes, as a 7 year old, I would eat 7-8 (small) rolls in one sitting and I was not overweight. I LIVED for Sunday after church lunches and holidays for Mamaw Berry’s rolls. In discussing this week’s blog with my sister, she quickly recalled walking into my grandparent’s home filled with the smell of yeast and 20-30 (and more many times) aunts / great aunts, uncles / great uncles, and cousins standing around a 1950’s yellow kitchen (this was the 80’s mind you) and diner-style table with yellow, vinyl, rickety chairs drooling with anticipation over those amazing hot, soft, buttery, melt-in-your mouth rolls to exit the oven. The worst part was after the many small pans came out of the oven, my mom and aunts (who helped my grandmother cook) made us all wait until the rest of the meal was ready before we could even snag a roll. I think they had a pan hidden under the table for themselves.

My grandmother was known around town for her traditional southern yeast rolls and, of course, her sweet and loving demeanor

In fact, she was the resident roll maker for the local elementary, junior high, and high schools. All of the students and teachers knew her for her rolls. She did not use a recipe, but a couple of my aunts and mom watched her multiple times and measured for her as she baked so we could all (at least try to) replicate her incredible bread. Needless to say, I don’t think any of us have her magic touch, but over the years and after many trials, I think I’m as close as I’m going to get. In honor of Mamaw Berry who has passed on, I thought I would share with you what so many loved about her including her recipe.

Mamaw Berry’s Rolls

The Berry Roll Recipe and step-by-step instructions with pictures are featured below. All you need are 6 ingredients plus water and butter to top them straight from the oven… and more butter for the center of each roll… if you eat southern food, you must have butter and more butter…

The 6 ingredients…

  • 2 pkgs of active dry yeast (same as 4 1/2 tsp)
  • 3 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 7 cups of all-purpose flour

All 3 pans are ready for the oven…

Straight out of the oven 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the tops and bottoms are brown. I use glass pans so I can see the sides and bottoms as they cook.

Final pan after a nice coating of butter rubbed on top… Want clean hands? Unwrap one end of a stick of butter and grab hold of the other end OR cut off 1-2 tablespoons of butter, stab it with a knife and rub the butter along the tops.

One of the rolls cut in half to see the interior… be sure to add butter and let it melt.

The Berry Roll Recipe Click HERE!

Final thoughts…

The rolls go without saying.

They are light, fluffy, and full of flavor. You can taste the richness from the combination of salt, sugar, and shortening. Made with simple ingredients to tickle your taste buds… soon to be asking for more.

Don’t we all have those memories?

So many of us have one or two of these family dishes we remember and enjoy because they evoke memories of our childhood. This is mine. I have several yeast roll recipes I make throughout the year, but this one is special and I only make it during the holidays; I certainly don’t want to wear out my memories.

Thankful for memories!

I’m so glad I have this memory of Mamaw Berry and I’m able to spend time in thought  and reflection every year. I’m thankful for good times and people who have positively impacted me throughout my life. I look forward to making new memories with family and friends. Our memories are only moments in time taking up such small spaces in our brains; there’s much more to make and store.

Happy Thanksgiving to us all regardless of where we live. Whatever our cultures and traditions are, we can all take time for reflection and be thankful for loved ones, those happy memories, and great things that are happening in our lives and all over the world.

For an updated version of this roll with specific tips, see my post entitled “The Berry Rolls: A Yeast Roll Made with Love”

November belongs to Panama: Part 2- 2nd Bake

Salsa (top left), Black Bean Tortilla Pie (top right), Pan Micha (bottom left- bread was described in last post), Guacamole (bottom right)

November is Panama’s month. Since there are so many patriotic days of celebration in Panama this month, I wanted to spend more than one post talking about it and making more than one bake.

Part 2 accompanying dish inspiration: I admit, I probably should have made the Sancocho (Chicken Soup- Panama’s national dish); however, since my husband and I are primarily vegetarians, more specifically, flexitarians (REALLY? Good grief, Charlie Brown!! How many more diets with a name ending in “-arian” are there going to be?), we “couldn’t” have another weekend meal with meat. I know that sounds weird to some people, but we felt we needed a break from a carnivorous plate (our tummies weren’t too happy with us). I had to look long and hard to find SOMETHING vegetarian (and not fried either… not part of our typical diet) because Panamanians eat a lot of meat, loads of fish (remember the canal that connects the Atlantic with the Pacific?). Some popular dishes are Ceviche (chopped raw fish cured in citrus juices) and Patacones (fried green plantains)… not meat or fish, of course, but since we eat mostly fresh and raw fruits and veggies… fried anything did not appeal to us (nor our tummies). In my search, I located the above pictured Black Bean Tortilla Pie; the recipe came from a website of Panamanian dishes. Granted it’s not chock full of veggies, but it worked for us.

Pie bake with a twist… The Black Bean Tortilla Pie was an interesting dish to make. I’ve made many savory pies in the past with homemade pie crust, but the addition of tortillas took the idea of a yummy indulgent savory pie over the top. The extra “breadiness” from the tortillas between rich layers of beans, spices, and cheese only enhanced the dish. I used a very basic recipe that included ingredients like “salsa” and “pie crusts” with no explanation. So, this became an additional bake because I made pie crusts from scratch (my recipes for the salsa, guacamole, and pie crusts are below). I could have made the tortillas from scratch since I have many times, but I happened to have some store-bought whole wheat ones in the freezer, so I went with those instead. I think the tortillas are a baking post in themselves; I will include them in another post with another country.

Black Bean Pie basics… The basic Black Bean Pie recipe includes onion, peppers, black beans, salsa, tortillas, cheese, pie crusts, and chili powder (typical Mexican food ingredients, right?). The recipe used came from CZBratz entitled Panamanian Black Bean Pie (recipe linked).

Let’s start with the pie crusts. You can certainly purchase them premade in the grocery store, but I prefer making them from scratch… less ingredients, generally healthier, no chemicals (at least less) or preservatives, and flakier.

My philosophy on pre-made ingredients: If you know how to make basic items from scratch like salsa, pie crusts, tortillas, and even blended spices that only require mixing what you already have, you can make most anything at anytime without having to make a special trip to the grocery store… it’s healthier and cheaper in the long run. Years ago, I realized that if I didn’t have an ingredient for a dish I wanted to make, I could simply look online for a recipe on how to make it. I make my own blended seasonings like Taco, Ranch, Montreal Steak, etc… remember the Berbere spice blend I made for the Ethiopian dishes because I couldn’t find it locally? If you are open to making elements of a dish yourself, you can make most anything. I HIGHLY encourage you to keep this in mind when you cook or bake… don’t go to the store, see if you have all the necessary ingredients to make it yourself. By making your own, you’d be surprised how much better a dish tastes. You’re also consuming less preservatives and you learn SO much about cooking because you have a true understanding of what’s in the food and ingredients you consume.

Alright, alright, alright… enough jibber jabber, I know!!

Pie Crusts: My go-to, fail-safe, savory pie crust recipe comes from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that says “new” cookbook, (HA! It’s only 20+ years old). Here’s the online version to the recipe Pastry for Double Crust Pie. By the way, for some interesting science behind pie crusts, check out this cool website on “The Science of Pie: 7 Pie Crust Myths That Need to Go Away.”

Double pie crust ingredients include: 2 cups of flour, ½ tsp of salt, 2/3 cup shortening, and 6-7 tablespoons of ice-cold water (the ice-cold water is KEY as it aids in keeping the shortening solid creating a flaky pie crust as it melts in the oven.)
I prefer to use a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening after you’ve mixed the flour and salt; you can also use a food processor or your fingers…

The first disk rolled and placed into the pie plate… still streaks! I just added a simple crimp to the edge… check out this website (15 Pretty Ways to Finish Pie Crust Edges)…

Ok, now for the filling…

Onions and peppers sautéeing

Let’s make the salsa to add to the skillet with the onions and peppers…

My homemade salsa ingredients and recipe…
Combine all above 6 ingredients in a food processor:  1- tbsp of cumin, 1 tbsp of cilantro (fresh or dried depending on flavor preference), 2 cloves of garlic, 1-can drained diced tomatoes, 1-can drained fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles and salt to taste… that’s it. In the summer, fresh tomatoes… in the winter, canned tomatoes work fine.
Salsa blended and ready to add to the skillet with the onion and red pepper (notice the charred pieces from the Fire Roasted tomatoes and the green from the fresh cilantro) It really is a pretty salsa!!

All of the mixture ingredients are now cooking in the skillet…

Construction time!!

Here we go… about ¼ cup of bean mixture on the pie crust (no need to par-bake the crust because the bottom layer is not wet), 1 tortilla, 1/3 of what’s left of the bean mixture, top with cheese and continue the layers…

This is the last layer… finishing with cheese BEFORE adding the last pie crust…

Voilà! And done… egg wash on top… I used the same egg wash that was left over from the Pan Micha bread…

Pie baked…  top crust isn’t quite as pretty… a little broken up… oh, well… it’s rustic 😊)

Notice the layers… pie crust, bean mixture, cheese, tortilla, and repeat…

Lastly… BONUS!! Quick and easy guacamole with TIPS!!

Use a knife to cut cross and length wise with the avocado still intact in its skin…

Use a spoon to scoop out the cut avocado and slice through the avocado from side to side with the knife to break up the pieces a little more…
No lemon or lime! NO problem… an orange (or in my case… a Cutie) works GREAT! All you need is an acid to prevent the avocados from oxidizing (turning brown) too quickly. The orange provides a nice sweetness to the guacamole… you hardly notice it.
Final product… Here’s the recipe…
3 small avocados, 1 Roma tomato diced, 1 Cutie juiced with hands, salt to taste… that’s it!!

One more tip…

SECOND DAY GUACAMOLE… hardly any brown… how? Before storing it the first day, add a piece of plastic to the top of the guacamole… be sure the plastic TOUCHES ALL of the guacamole… the plastic suffocates the avocados preventing air from  “touching” it, thus no or very little oxidation occurs (oxidation simply refers to the chemical changes that air has on what it touches… meaning turning avocados brown)

Final comments on the accompanying dish… The Panamanian Black Bean Pie was a nice surprise. The recipe included familiar Mexican ingredients, but the kicker? …the tortillas layered in a pie. Who would’ve thought!?!? The flavors melded well together and the pie was not too wet or dry. We topped the pie with homemade salsa and guacamole as well as Greek Yogurt (in place of sour cream). There was enough salsa and guacamole to eat as sides with chips (I recommend sweet potato tortilla chips… yummy!!) By the way, what a good way to eat those veggies with the salsa and guacamole!

Final thoughts on Panama… Although Panama has had its struggles with other countries due to colonization and its geographical location connecting two oceans. What I find enriching is that while Panama has maintained the culture of its indigenous people, it has welcomed, with open arms, influences of the many people from other countries who live or have lived in the country. Panama has, in a sense, taken on a new culture by blending its cuisine with the flavors of others and creating a new take on Panamanian cuisine that is STILL unique to them. Pan Micha is Panamanian (using simpler ingredients, i.e. white flour only), even though France brought the idea. Black Bean Pie is not just any savory pie; the addition of tortillas makes is Panamanian. I think Panama has proven to be a bridge to the world; it has not only made travel easier, but it has connected cultures through its own take on blended cuisine.

There will NOT be a bake this coming weekend. So very sorry! I will be out-of-pocket; however, with Thanksgiving around the corner, the following weekend will be a very special, very personal bake that will include old family photos (I hope) and a personal story. I look forward to sharing a bit more about me and those who have influenced me as a baker. Please stay tuned!!

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, like, or consider following my blog as I continue to move through the world and learn more about cuisine and culture. More to come soon!

November belongs to Panama: Part 1- Bake only

Pan Micha (country white bread inspired by the French version, Miche de Pain)

November is Panama’s month. There are many celebrations in Panama during November, all of which are related to patriotism. November 3rd is Panama’s Independence Day from Columbia, November 4th is Flag Day, November 10th celebrates the country’s first cry of independence from Spain, and November 28th is the official Independence Day from Spain (with help from Columbia… IRONIC, right?) However, November 3rd is the biggest, most celebrated day of them all. So, here we are… a weekend of Panama!

Part 1? Yes, this is another two-parter week. Today’s post is Pan Micha. The next post this week will be Black Bean Tortilla Pie (tortillas AND pie crusts). The pie is a bake as well, and there are lots of pics and tips to share, sooooooooo…need two posts.

Panama = Bridge = World, huh? The Panama Canal in Panama is an engineering marvel that connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. Traveling through the locks allows ships (commercial, military, cargo, etc.) to avoid the long trek around South America (eliminating 8,000 miles of travel). The canal’s construction technically started with France but ended with the United States and was completed in 1914. At the height of construction more than 25,000 workers a day worked on the canal. As a result, many people from different countries and continents (China, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and the United States) were hired. While Panama has its own culture from various indigenous groups, the canal construction brought other cultural influences that have impacted today’s culture, particularly cuisine. That led us to this past weekend’s bread bake.

Bread honoring Panama… Pan Micha is a country white bread modified and in the style of Panama, but by way of France. During the French influence (yes, due to the canal) in the late 1800s, Panamanians discovered the French baguette and the miche bread (meaning round bread). The French baguette is a refined bread while the miche bread is a simple country-style loaf that has coarse grains and happened to be more appealing to the Panamanians. They changed the recipe slightly (only using basic white flour) creating a newer version they could claim as their own, thus the Pan Micha.

Pan Micha basics… The basic Pan Micha recipe includes bread flour, milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt, and butter. I used a combination of the following two recipes. Thanks to Kitchen Butterfly for the pictures and ideas on shaping and scoring the bread and CZBrats for an authentic recipe taken from 100 Recetas Tipicas Panamanas.

Scoring (a little better than my Pan Rustica from Spain)…

Fresh out of the oven!

            Final product after a rubbing of butter on top to make it glossy and even more tasty!

Final comments on the Pan Micha… The Pan Micha was good and works well as a sandwich bread, dunked in soup, with butter and jam, butter only, or just on its own. The crumb was stretchy like you would expect. There was a faint richness from the butter and milk. The bread wasn’t difficult to make; I would make it again. It looks cool with the scoring. I almost feel like an artist!

Remember!! Panama post #2 coming VERY soon! I’ll add my final thoughts on Panama in the next post.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, like, or consider following my blog as I continue to move through the world and learn more about cuisine and culture. More to come soon! Hey, I have another post with another bake to share.