{Day 18} Krentenbollen!

On Monday my family and I are hosting an evening with some other homeschool families. This is the first in a series of evenings in which each family chooses a country to teach the other families about. We chose The Netherlands as the country we will present about on this first evening of the series. As a result, I have been having to get together various Dutch foods! Bread is an obvious choice (breads are pretty common to most cultures) and there were a couple choices that I was considering. One is oliebollen which is a deep fried dough with raisins (and sometimes apples) ... kind of like a fritter, I guess. But I don't have a deep fryer so the only other way to make it is the way my mom did it - in a big pot of oil on the stove. Darran didn't like the idea of me doing that with little girls running around me and, honestly, it is a lot of work and since this month was so busy, I wasn't too keen on doing that either. Also, oliebollen is traditionally made for New Year's and, for some reason, it just seems wrong to make it at this time of year instead of New Year's. :) Then there's roggebrood which is a thick, heavy, dark rye bread but I honestly never really liked that and I have this thing about not really enjoying serving guests things that I don't like. I do remember my parents eating roggebrood with cheese when I was growing up. It must be an acquired taste. :) Then there are raisin buns or "krentenbollen". (Actually, with the name krentenbollen, they should also have currants in them but I prefer them with just raisins ... probably because I grew up eating them that way.) I LOVE raisin buns! I remember we'd often have them on Sundays. They are so delicious with a little bit of butter or margarine spread on them and then sprinkled with white sugar! :)

So, I decided today that I would make raisin buns. That way I wouldn't be stressing about it tomorrow or Monday (and I need to make boterkoek on Monday) and I can just put them in the freezer and take them out to thaw on Monday. I looked online for recipes since I don't have a recipe for them. Neither did my Mom. She never made them but always bought them at a local bakery. Actually, I don't remember her ever making bread from scratch! I wonder what made me want to start?! :) The recipe that I found to be the easiest to follow can be found following this link to the blog called Weekend Bakery. This recipe was very similar to other recipes but it had included instructions that I remember my mom commenting about when we moved to a new town and that local bakery was just not making the raisin buns quite right. She conferred with the baker in our old town and gave some tips to the bakery in the new town. (The secret was soaking the raisins.) The results were, of course, wonderful! So, the above link will take you to the best recipe for Krentenbollen. While it looks like an intimidating recipe with some of the steps (sweetener with zests, soaking raisins), it is actually very easy! I made a couple of very slight changes. :)

First, with the soaking of the raisins, they say to let them dry for 2 days before making the dough (at least they say that is the preferred method). However, I don't have the counter space to have a tray of raisins sitting there for 2 days. I need my counters for other things, too! So I opted for their alternative method - drying them really well (I ended up actually squeezing out some of the water they soaked up while they were soaking in the water) and then dusting them with flour. This worked very well and the raisins still retained enough moisture to result in a deliciously soft, moist bun once all was said and done! :)

Second, where the author describes how to incorporate the raisins, we are told you can do it by hand, "pinching" them in so they are evenly dispersed throughout the dough (can we say OCD?!), or you can use a "spiral mixer" to mix them in. Since I was using my Cuisinart with the dough hook, I opted for trying that to mix in the raisins. Yeah, that didn't work so well - started turning the raisins to mush! Ack! I took it out of the bowl and mixed them in by hand, kind of just kneading them in. They were not very evenly distributed through the dough but it was alright.  In the second batch of dough, I added the raisins as the dough was kneading (towards the end of the kneading process). This worked quite well but the dough started separating so, for the last few minutes, I had to pull out the dough and knead it together a bit. This was not as intense as the work required with the first batch and the raisins were much more evenly distributed.

I found the recipe a bit of a challenge to follow at first because it was all in grams and I'm, of course, used to cups, mL, etc. :) BUT, it was recommended to me to pull out my kitchen scale and do the measuring on there. I did that and it was really easy and worked wonderfully! Because, seriously, who knows how much 220 g of milk is?! :) That's European recipes for you I guess! :) It was a good learning experience for me.

I HAD to taste one of the buns, obviously. I couldn't just leave them until Monday and hope they'd be good enough to serve to guests! I had to be sure they'd be yummy! So, I cut one in half while it was still warm, spread on some butter and sprinkled both halves with white sugar. Then I shared it with my oldest daughter who'd been begging through the whole process for a taste! :) She LOVED them (but then, she thinks raisins are like candy so that was expected). I was flooded with memories of childhood as I ate my half. It was that good!! I couldn't stop at just one and had to have a second. (Don't worry, there's still plenty to share with our guests!)

I let my husband have a bite but he didn't like them. BUT, he really doesn't like raisins and he thought it was too sweet with the extra sugar sprinkled on. Our youngest daughter also, surprisingly, didn't like them. She took one bite and spit it out! :) I don't know if it was the raisins or the extra sugar that did it for her though because I know she doesn't like very many sweet things and I was pretty sure she liked raisins but I could be wrong on that. However, I figure 50% of our family enjoying them is pretty good. And it just means that, next time I make them, there's more for me and Annalise! :D

I wish I had taken pictures through the whole process (that's an area I really have to work on with my blogging) but I didn't - sorry! I will try to take photos the next time I make these and then I can add them to this post at that time (maybe)! :) But here are the photos I did take ...

This is the beautiful sugar mixed with the lemon zest and orange zest. This is so very delicious! It smells so fresh and gives the buns a wonderful flavour. Honestly, I'd like to just take a spoon to this and eat it all up straight! :)

My dear husband, Darran, insisted he had to take this photo of me kneading the dough (in my not so tidy kitchen). He thought it was rather funny since I was living a lovely cliché - barefoot and pregnant ... in the kitchen! lol

This is the first batch. No, they don't LOOK exactly as they are supposed to look. I was lazy in the shaping of the buns so some ended up being really wonky. The one on the bottom left is the one that Annalise and I shared since it looked the weirdest. BUT the flavour is what counts and that was spot on! :) Aren't they just so beautiful?!

{Day 17} Food Processor Pizza Crust

(Disclaimer: Life happens. I got behind on this challenge. So you're going to see hopefully 4 blog posts today while I attempt to catch up. :) )

So, Friday is pizza night in our house! :) Last time I shared our basic bread machine pizza dough and a few of our favourite pizza recipes. This time I decided to try a different dough - one that seemed a lot easier. It is from the Company's Coming Pizza cookbook by Jean Pere (with one small change which is why this blog post has a different name than the recipe in the book). Page 117 in the afore mentioned cookbook is where you'll find the recipe I used by I will include it here as well for your reference.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2 tbsp cooking oil

Food Processor Method: Put first 5 ingredients into food processor fitted with dough blade.  With machine running, pour warm water and cooking oil through tube in lid. Process for 50 to 60 seconds. If dough seems sticky to remove, add about 1/2 tsp flour to make it easier to handle.

Hand Method: Put first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Stir together well. Add warm water and cooking oil. Mix well until dough leaves sides of bowl. Knead on lightly floured surface for 5 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.

To Complete: At this point, you may choose to roll out and press in greased 12 inch pizza pan, forming rim around edge. Or place dough in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with tea towel. Let stand in oven with light on and door closed for about 1 hour until doubled in size. Punch dough down. roll out and press in greased 12 inch pizza pan, forming rim around edge.

So, as you can tell from the title of this post, I chose to use the food processor method because, obviously, it's WAY faster and perfect for this busy mama! :) I did not do a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour as I'm currently out of whole wheat flour. I just did 2 cups of all-purpose flour. For the oil, I used olive oil which is our standard oil for pizza dough. :) We love it like that!

So, was this a good dough? Kind of. I loved how easy it was but I found that there wasn't enough sugar. The dough we make in our bread machine is sweeter and much nicer as a result. This one seems a tad on the bland side. I guess, if you're going for healthy, this would be the better option though. :)  We also found the dough to be quite heavy and, of course, much thicker than what we usually use for our pizzas but still workable. :) Verdict from hubby on how the pizza tastes with this crust: a shrug, a nod and an "it's ok". And I would add to that, "it's really rather bland." So I'd say it's not on our list of favourites but it will certainly be kept on hand for when we're in a time crunch because it really takes just a couple minutes to make! :)

Well, you win some, you loose some. :) Here's some photos! :)

YUM!

{Day 16} An Interview about Bread Memories with Darran :)

(Disclaimer: Life happens. I got behind on this challenge. So you're going to see hopefully 4 blog posts today while I attempt to catch up. :) )

Darran (my husband) has told me on a few occasions about memories he has of his mom making homemade bread. Perhaps this is one of my motivations to make more homemade bread. :) So I thought I'd "interview" him to find out more about his memories of bread. :)

Here goes:

Me: When do you remember first having homemade bread?

Darran: When I was about 2.5 or 3.

Me: Was it made by your mom or someone else?

Darran: Probably made by Mémère when Daniel was born and she came to help. I got to help make it.

Me: What was it like?

Darran: It was nice and soft and warm.

Me: When did your mom first start making bread for your family? Why?

Darran: Probably around that same time but not regularly until we were teenagers (when she had more time). She made bread because we were eating her out of house and home - it was cheaper, we liked it and she liked to do it. And we ate a lot of bread so it made sense to make a whole bunch at a time.

Me: What's your best memory of your mom making bread?

Darran: Coming home, opening the door and being hit by the smell of fresh bread and cinnamon buns. We'd get home from school, eat half a loaf of bread and a bunch of cinnamon buns and then we wouldn't be hungry for supper. :) And in the summer you could smell the bread down the street.

Me: Did she make a variety of types of bread or just one type?

Darran: She made white and whole wheat bread and cinnamon buns

Me: What was your favourite type of bread growing up?

Darran: white bread and cinnamon buns

Me: How did your mom making homemade bread influence you?

Darran: It helped me appreciate homemade food, home cooking. Made me appreciate the effort she went through to make it for us.

Me: Did it make you want to do more (baking, etc) in the kitchen?

Darran: Yes, you could say that.

Me: Anything else you remember?

Darran: No, just really liking the smell, the texture and the taste.

Thanks Darran for helping me with this post! :D You're the best! :)

My dear husband, Darran! :) I don't have a picture of him eating bread (that would be more relevant right?) and he wouldn't let me quickly take one so, here's the most recent one I have of him ... with our youngest daughter. :)

{Day 15} Baking Bread with Kids

(Disclaimer: Life happens. I got behind on this challenge. So you're going to see hopefully 4 blog posts today while I attempt to catch up. :) )

Baking bread can be a challenge and time consuming in and of itself (especially for those of us who have challenges with time management!) but adding kids to the mix? Well that just increases the challenge exponentially! :) BUT, it can also make baking bread more fun! :)

My children are 4 and 2. Most of the time, when I'm trying to work alone in the kitchen, they tend to get underfoot. They want to help (of course)! :) Sometimes it's just easier to send them out and get the baking done on my own. But, honestly, in spite of the extra chaos, it's often so worth it to let them help! If I'm making a dough or bread in the bread maker, it's not too hard to let them add the ingredients to the bread pan and they feel accomplished for being able to do what they see as super important work! :) They feel pride in their work and I get bonding time with your kids! :) With the 4 year old, I can also use this time to teach skills about accurate measurements, math (how many cups of  ____ do we need; if we've already put ___ cups of flour in, how many more cups do we need; etc.)

It's important to let go of some control when baking bread with kids. Let the flour get over the counter! Hey, some will even spill on the floor! :) It's really not that heard to clean up and the kids will learn some great lessons and have some great bonding time with you! And, the kids can even help clean up afterwards! Another great teaching moment for you and them! :)

Of course, the easiest bread or dough to let them help with is the kind you make in the bread machine. The whole experience if over quicker which, you might think, is less stress for you and less stress is good! BUT, what about the experiences and memories you'd be building with your kids if you took the time to make more traditional bread? What about the lessons you can teach about science, math, patience, etc? Aren't the lessons and memories worth so much more than a few moments of less "stress"? I think so! My girls learn to knead dough. The learn that this takes time (and builds muscles). They learn that the better kneading makes a better dough which makes a better bread. With my hands guiding theirs, they experience the bond of touch. We smile at each other and enjoy each other's company while we work the dough, shape it into loaves and put it in the oven to bake. They learn important lessons about safety in the kitchen. They, in the long run, are learning how to provide healthy meals for their families when they have families of their own. They learn patience - bread making takes time as you wait for dough to rise (sometimes multiple times) and then to bake and even to cool! Though, if I'd let them, they wouldn't wait for bread to cool and would just eat it the moment it came out of the oven! :) They're learning that waiting gives great results! :) These lessons in patience will help them when they need patience in other situations in life as well!

I've discovered that, yes, at first it is a tad more stressful when you let your kids be involved in the whole process of bread making. But, take a deep breath, put a smile on your face and teach your child in the kitchen! The stress is not nearly as much as you'd imagine once you just let go of that control you cling to. :) And the rewards so infinitely greater than any stress you could imagine! :) No, your bread probably won't be perfect or end up just as you thought it would. But it's bread ... that you baked with your children! Embrace it! :)

I know I included this photo in a previous blog post but it was worth sharing again ... my 4yo kneading her bread dough. :)

{Day 14} Stocking Your Pantry

(Disclaimer: Life happens. I got behind on this challenge. So you're going to see hopefully 4 blog posts today while I attempt to catch up. :) )

My standard pantry stock has changed slightly since I've started making my own bread ... and I mean making my own bread by hand, not with a bread machine, though there are essential ingredients needed for bread machine bread as well. :)

Of course you need flour - LOTS of flour! :) All-purpose (white) flour is a standard go to for most breads, doughs and other baked creations. With all-purpose flour you can make quite a variety of breads, quick breads, etc. However, if you want to make things a little healthier and more flavourful, I also recommend having whole wheat flour and rye flour in your pantry. I will often substitute one for the other in various recipes. For example, the first time I made my own pita bread, the recipe called for whole wheat flour which I did have on hand at the time and used it. The pitas were soft, moist and ever so delicious - SO much better than grocery store pitas!! However, the next time I made pita bread, I was out of whole wheat flour but I had rye flour. I used this instead and the pitas were just as delicious as with the whole wheat flour!

Yeast is another standard ingredient but there are a number of types of yeast. Instant yeast (or bread machine yeast) is what you need if you'll be making dough or bread in your bread machine ... or if you just don't have a lot of time in your day for the whole bread making process. You can make your bread dough in the bread machine and still bake it in the oven (for a nicer bread - better shape, nicer crust) - just use the dough setting instead of the bread setting.  Then there's Active Dry Yeast. This is the more traditional yeast and takes time to prep or activate it.  Yeast is very important in bread making (unless you're making a quick bread).  Yeast causes the dough to rise, it helps the dough develop (making it stronger ... don't ask me the science behind that), and it gives it a wonderful flavour and aroma.  This flavour and aroma will be stronger using active dry yeast than using instant yeast. Did you know that yeast is a living organism? It's a single-celled fungus! I believe this is the reason that some people have negative reactions to it (like my husband). :)

Sugar (white sugar is the standard) is another key ingredient. Sugar reacts with the yeast, helping it to do it's job, by aiding the fermentation process. Even pizza dough requires a bit of sugar! :) In addition to white sugar, you can also add brown sugar and honey for sweetness.

Many doughs will also require butter or oil as part of the wet ingredients. If given a choice between butter or margarine, use butter! And for oil, I prefer olive oil. These ingredients give a much more enjoyable flavour to your dough or bread!

Of course, no pantry is complete without salt. I don't think I've yet found a dough/bread recipe that doesn't call for salt. My preferred salt is sea salt. It seems to be a more mild flavour than table salt or kosher salt (of course, if you are eating kosher, use kosher salt!) ... kosher salt is my next favourite and regular table salt comes right at the bottom of that list. :)

There you have it - the 5 standard ingredients necessary for making bread or dough! With these ingredients, you should be able to whip up a nice loaf of bread, a pizza dough or some soft dinner rolls to enjoy with your family! :)

What about you? What are some of your key ingredients for baking bread? Of the standards I listed, I'd say that my favourites are the various flours. :)

{Day 13} I Cheated ...

Today I cheated. I made Thanksgiving dinner. We were having company join us for said dinner. They asked what they could bring. I suggested pie and dinner rolls (since I had everything covered and those were more time-consuming things that I could do without having to make). She brought some awesome Pillsbury biscuits. I baked them. That counts! I still made a type of bread! I just didn't make the dough. :) Today I'm thankful for easy to make biscuits and friends who help by bringing them! :) Also, of course, thankful for the plenty of food we can enjoy and the friends to enjoy it with.

{Day 12} Day of Rest

Today is Sunday, a day of rest. I'm actually taking a day of rest today to - no bread, no blogging about it. Just this note to let you all know.

Wishing all a blessed Sunday!