Swiss Bread "Zopf"

My ideal rainy day includes a wooly blanket, a cup of aromatic hot tea and a warm piece of pastry. When autumn knocks on the door, it brings crispy golden leaves, cool fresh air and gloomy rainy days. The place I am from has one of the most magnificent autumn looks. In September, in Moscow, when trees loose their summer greenness, all the roads are layered with yellow, brown, golden, purple and red leaves. The days get suddenly shorter giving space to the dark early evenings. At the end of September, finally, the rain and gloominess chase away summer warmth. Somewhere I heard that in spring life wakes up, in summer everything is full of life, in autumn everything grows old and in winter it dies to reborn again in spring:-) To bear with melancholy of autumn, there are some nice things:-) Yes, I am talking about freshly baked goodies:-) Not only they are delightful but they also give another reason to gather close people together.

In Switzerland, on Saturday mornings, we had a fresh Zopf Brot, some jam, orange juice and coffee for breakfast. This cute little tradition gathered the whole family together. I still remember the feeling of sitting inside on a rainy day with a loaf of bread and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The bread which we usually ate was Zopf. Zopf literally means braid. I also learned that there was another name for this bread - Hallah. The main ingredients are yeast, milk, butter and white flour. When all the ingredients are combined in yeast dough, I let it sit for some time to raise. Yeast dough is one of my favorite types of dough. It is quick, easy and tastes delicious at the end:-) The base recipe for my bread was taken from the On Cooking book we use in culinary class. However, I slightly modified ingredients and steps. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients for 1 medium loaf

For the fermenting mixture
1/2 oz of instant dry east
1 t of sugar
1 T of flour
1/4 cup of very warm water (90F)

For the dough 
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 t of Kosher salt
14 oz of white flour (sifted)
3/4 cup of warm milk
2 large eggs
2 oz of unsalted butter (melted)
1 small egg for egg wash
Sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix warm water, dry east, sugar and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the mixture has bubbles.

2. To the mixture, add honey, salt, warm milk and half of the flour. Add eggs and mix well.

3. Add another half of flour and butter. Mix and knead smooth elastic dough. Add some flour if needed.

4. Place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough is doubled (1 hour approximately).

5. Divide the dough in 3 equal portions. Roll each portion in a long strip. Lay strips side by side so that you to can braid them. Pinch the ends of the braid on each side.

6. Place the braid on a baking sheet (greased or covered with a baking paper). Let it raise for 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350F.

8. When the braid has raisen, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame or poppy seeds.
Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

* Did you know that in order to check if a bread is ready, you can pierce it with a toothpick?! If the toothpick is clean and dry, the bread is ready.

* Did you know that the yeast dough raises better in a warm temperature?!

* I always mix my dough by hands. It helps me to feel how much flour to add.

Bon Appetit!

Swiss Banana cake

Back in 2003 when I was an exchange student in Switzerland, I lived in a small charming town, 30 minutes away from Zurich, called Wolfhausen. Wolfhausen is a beautiful place, surrounded by green hills, where modern life meets old traditions of Alpes, where two to three story houses prevail, where local people know and greet each other. I was a very lucky student. My new Swiss family greeted me with open arms and taught me German with patience and dedication. It was not the German language I had been learning at home; it was Swiss German!!! So, I thought when greeting a local villager, I should say "Hoi Zamme". Later, in a couple of months, after practicing my Swiss German knowledge with locals every day, I discovered that this phrase was only used when meeting a group of people:-) What a surprise!

Switzerland is an amazing country when it comes to variety of delicious food. Going back to its history, the country was formed by four distinct groups which later contributed to four languages spoken in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Romansch. Thinking of that, can you imagine how diverse Swiss cuisine is?! During my stay, I enjoyed not only well - known traditional Swiss dishes such as Fondue, Raclette and Rosti but great Italian, French and German cuisines as well.

Knowing my passion for cooking, my host mother Monika presented me a baking book which I often use today. The book has great cakes and quick bread recipes. To my pleasure, widely used ingredients in Swiss goodies are butter and nuts:-) As I say there is never too much butter, the same rule applies to nuts:-) Banana cake recipe is simple to make and is utterly tasty! I translated the original recipe from Betty Bossis' book. However, I substituted some ingredients. So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

3.5 oz of butter (unsalted and room temperature)
5 oz of sugar ( I used brown sugar)
1/4 t of salt
2 eggs
Zest of one lemon
3.5 oz of raisins
1 T of Rum
14 oz of peeled and mashed bananas
1 t of lemon juice
5 oz of minced walnuts
1 1/2 t of baking powder
10 oz of flour (I used whole wheat)
4 T of milk
1 t of vanilla extract (if you'd like)

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F and coat muffin pans with oil.

2. In a bowl, whisk well butter with sugar and salt.

3. Add eggs and continue whisking until the mixture becomes light and pale.

4. Mix in raisins and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and mashed bananas.

5. Fold in walnuts, flour and baking powder. Finally pour milk and mix until smooth.

6. Scoop the mixture into muffin pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

* Did you know that if you mix baking powder with lemon juice, you eliminate baking powder taste in the finished product?!

* Did you know if you pour some lemon juice on peeled bananas or other cut fruits, you can protect them from browning?!

* Did you know that in order to enhance sweetness in baking products, you can simply add a little bit of salt?!

I hope you will like the recipe:-)

Bon Appetit!

Leek Cheddar Tartelletes

It's has been a while since I have posted any recipe here. Ever since I have started going to culinary school, all my delicious activities happened within the school's doors:) Only now I take seriously the words of my friend; she said once that she knew a talented chef who ate only sausages at home. I do not think that I will settle for sausages only. So this weekend I reminded myself of who I was and why I went to culinary school. I hope that it will not be just a profession for me but the style of life. That is why I gave myself a promise that this weekend I was going to make something delicious for my close ones:) In my mind there were two things: quiche which I loooove and black bean vegan muffins - complete newbies for me. Oh yeah they do really exist:) A girl from my school shared an idea with me. Since then my mind was wondering about black bean muffins:)
Returning to the quiche theme, every quiche is gooood! My favorite one is with leek and cheese. Leek is an amazing product! Even though it is a part of onion family, its flavor is mild. The edible part of leek is a white stem. Leek is often used for pie fillings, stocks and garnishes. I really enjoy leek in omeletes. When cooked properly, its texture is wonderfully tender. So, knowing my warm relationship with leek, I could not resist to prepare a mini version of a quiche:) Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

for the dough (taken from On Cooking Forth Edition) 

13 oz of white all purpose flour
1 stick of cold butter (flaked or cut in small pieces)
1 large egg (cold temperature)
1 pinch of salt

for the filling

2 medium leeks (washed and dried)
1 T of butter
1 T of olive oil
1 T of flour
1 cup of warm milk
1 cup of shredded cheddar
Salt and black pepper according to your taste

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and cold butter flakes. Add an egg and mix gently to form a ball. Refrigerate the ball for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Heat the pan over a medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, trim leeks' ends to keep white parts only. Slice circles 0.2 inch thick.

4. On a pan, pour olive oil and add the leek. Saute them for 5 minutes stirring gently until they become soft. Set aside.

5. Melt 1 T of butter over a pan and add flour. Mix gently. Add warm milk and cheddar. Wait until cheese melts and the mixture thickens stirring occasionally. Add leeks and salt and pepper according to your taste.

6. Preheat an oven to 350F.

7. Prepare a rolling pin, butter a muffin sheet (or tartelletes' forms) and flour the working surface. Divide the dough into 10-12 small balls. Roll each ball to form a circle. Place each circle in a muffin form.

8. Divide the leek mixture evenly in tartelletes. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on the top of each tartellete.

9. Place tartalletes in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes.


* You can make a quiche if you use a bigger form.

* Instead of cheddar cheese, I also like to use gorgonzolla or parmesan.

* Milk can be substituted with cream.

Bon Appetit!