Experimentation with Spelt (aka Late Nights with the Baking Midwife)

Honestly, I've always been a recipe tweaker.  This has mostly been out of necessity, the poor college baking pre-midwife didn't have the right oil (or other ingredient) and she sure didn't want to be going to Publix at that hour.  I had a thing in college about baking at odd hours of the night.  I'd get home from "socializing" at the pub and break out the baking supplies.  I actually pulled an all nighter once to make Gingerbread People - seriously. 

But over the years necessity changed to taste (hey I really prefer dark chocolate to milk) and experimentation.  I've bragged before that I always tweak at least one thing in a recipe.  Now that I'm trying to learn more about the building blocks of a recipe, I'm doing it on purpose. 

 

 

* A quick note on the adapted recipes in my blog.  If I post a recipe, I have changed something or multiple things from the recipe I've adapted it from.  If I'm writing about a recipe and I haven't changed anything, I will post a direct link to that recipe (unless it's unavailable).

Friday morning, just off call and getting psyched for some daytime baking, I perused Good to the Grain before hitting the grocery store and the farm stand.  This book is amazing.  I think I want to make everything in it.  I was sold on the Ginger-Peach muffins and picked up a basket of incredible yellow peaches, which I've been devouring ever since.

I've eaten the peaches in the muffins but have also enjoyed them in my cereal, and, my favorite method of eating ripe peaches - hunched over the sink taking large juicy bites.

I also decided to play with a Spelt Yogurt Pie Crust that I'm excited to say I put together on my own and it was functional, delicious, and contained only 1/2 a stick of butter. 

For dinner Friday night, I filled the Spelt Yogurt Pie Crust with a simple quick quiche filling - 5 eggs whisked, large splash of milk, halved garden cherry tomatoes, diced yellow onion, and herbed goat cheese.  Apparently spelt flour cooks a little quicker than all purpose because about 15 minutes in, I started to smell a delicious nutty bread-like smell and realized the crust was already beginning to brown, so I ended up tenting the quiche until about the last 5-10 minutes.

I did end up tweaking the muffins and I think in doing so, they lost some of their stability.  The main thing I did wrong was using 5 Grain cereal (which contains Oats, Rye, Triticale, Barley and Golden Flax) in place of oat flour.  Originally I planned on using whole Oats instead of oat flour, but I didn't have any and apparently had bought this 5 Grain cereal as an Oatmeal substitute.  I used spelt instead of whole wheat flour and yogurt instead of sour cream.  These subs don't seem to have the ability to compromise a recipe as much as the 5 Grain cereal.

Even though the muffins came out delicate - they were still delicious.  There have been several people to blog about these muffins already so look here to find the recipe (The Dirty Oven).

Spelt Yogurt Pie Crust

Makes one 9-10 inch single crust             

Ingredients
2/3 c spelt flour
2/3 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 c cold butter, cubed
1/4 c whole milk yogurt (you can use low fat here as well)
1/2-1 Tbsp ice water

Sift together flours and salt.  Add butter and mix in with the tips of your fingertips until the pieces of butter are smaller than a pea.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yogurt.  Mix together and dough will begin to come together.  You will need to add a small amount of ice water, since spelt soaks up more moisture than other flours.  Add in 1/2 Tbsp increments until you are able to just work dough into a ball.  Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before use.  Can be made up to 24 hours before use.

Postmodern Apricot Linzer Torte

So this was the first of many baking firsts, I hope.  The first time I made a Linzer Torte (or ate one for that matter), the first time I baked with almond flour, and the first time I made a lattice crust.

Double crusts kind of intimidate me.  

There I said it.  I've been making crumble top crusts on my pies for years because I'm afraid of what kind of disaster I could create trying desperately to succeed at a double crust.

The lattice crust seemed like a good bridge.  You cut that dough into strips and just lay it across the pie.  Simple as...pie?  Hmmm, not quite.  This particular dough is very delicate and that particular day was a little warmer than the ideal for making a pie crust. 

 First of all the dough recipe doesn't even call for refrigeration before rolling out, unless you won't be using right away.  I did refrigerate but figured that even 30 minutes would be fine since it didn't require any chilling.  Rolling the dough out, went fine, until I tried to transfer it to the buttered tart dish.  I started with a nice round of dough and ended up with a pile of dough askew in the dish.  Plan B - press dough into tart dish.

Plan B fails and I start to curse almond pastry dough.  At this point I decided that the best thing to do would be to put the pastry dough down and walk away.  I'm taking my own advice that I give to patients that are having a panic attack or frustrated at a crying baby.  Put down the baby and walk into the other room.

The pie crust chills in the fridge and I chill in the bedroom.  After 10-15 minutes, I take a deep breath and try to make nice with this crying pastry dough.  There, there pastry dough, you can go evenly into the tart pan and then leave me enough for a lattice crust.

Almond dough pressed in to tart pan, not so pretty but functional

Laying it down at that point actually goes fairly smoothly.  Then I add the almond cream and apricot puree and set out for a beautiful lattice crust.

I realize that not only am I having trouble due to how delicate this dough is, but also I cannot cut in a straight line!  There are several cycles here of refrigerate, roll out, flour rolling pin, roll out, cut, attempt to place strip, strip breaks, throw strip of dough angrily on pastry board.

OK, it wasn't THAT bad.  I did have several strips of dough break and did refrigerate in the middle once.  And it is true that I cannot cut in a straight line.

But I think it actually had a little more character that way - like I cut different size strips on purpose.  My Linzer Torte is Postmodern.  It rejects other lattice crusts' perfection.

Pre-baking, Post egg wash

Even though this Linzer Torte had an attitude, it turned out delicious.  I loved the almond filling with a touch of apricot preserves, and the trouble making crust?  Delicate and actually so yummy that I could help myself from nibbling on the crumbs left behind in the pan.

And this is what happens when you bring Postmodern Apricot Linzer Torte into work.

Postmodern Apricot Linzer Torte
Adapted from Baking (p.209) by James Peterson 

Ingredients
Pastry dough
*  2/3 c almond flour
* 1 2/3 c cake flour
* 1/2 c plus 2 Tbsp cold butter
* 3/4 c confectioners' sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
Almond cream
* 1 1/2 c almond flour
* 1/2 c butter
* 1/2 c plus 2 Tbsp sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
Apricot filling
* heaping 1 c apricot preserves (you can make your own by following this simple apricot puree)
Egg wash
*1 egg, whisked
*1/4 tsp salt

To make almond pastry dough:  (Can also be made in a food processor.)
Cut butter into small cubes.  In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, cake flour, butter, sugar, and salt.  Toss together by hand and place in freezer for approximately 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl and mix in the butter by pinching it with your finger tips until there are no pieces of butter bigger than a pea.  Add egg and vanilla, mix in with a spoon.  Now work the dough by hand, kneading and folding until it just comes together.  It may be "a ragged mess", but James Peterson says that's OK.

Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.


To make almond cream:  Combine butter and sugar with hand mixer until smooth.  Add in egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating in well after each. Stir in almond flour until it is well incorporated.  Refrigerate covered until ready to use (up to 3 days in the freezer).

Once the above preparations are done, butter a 9-11 inch fluted tart pain and preheat the oven to 350F.
Remove pastry dough from fridge and roll out on a clean, flat, well floured surface (if you have a marble pastry board - use it).  You want the dough to roll out to approximately 2 inches larger than your tart pan.

Now, ideally, if all the elements are correct, you should be able to line your tart pan with the dough easily, but it is possible you could wind up with sticky, delicate dough and have to press it in like I did.  Either way, cut off the excess, form into a ball, and refrigerate until ready to use for lattice crust.  Place the tart shell in the fridge as well for about 10 minutes.



Roll out the extra pastry dough into a rectangle that is about 1/8 inch thick.  Cut six 1/2 inch wide strips that are about 9 inches long.  Place strips on the torte with about 3/4 inch in between each strip.  Cut another 6 strips and place these diagonally over the first set to create a lattice top.  Cut the ends of the strips off so that they fit on top of the torte.

Make an egg wash, using one egg whisked with 1/4 tsp salt.  Brush egg wash on top of lattice crust, taking care not to get any on apricot filling.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour or until golden brown.

Things that Go Well Together

You know when you cook something that is so delectable that you're already plotting to make it again?  That was the feeling I had Thursday night when I tried out David Lebovitz's French Tomato Tart.  I'd been wanting to try a savory tomato tart that was simple enough to fully highlight the delicious tomatoes of the season and this seemed perfect.

We demolished the majority of this tart so quickly that it is actually a little scary.  I originally wanted to tweak the recipe more, but was intrigued by the Dijon mustard layer and ended up staying fairly true to the recipe.  The ingredients all went so well together; but you're also able to taste each individual flavor without the melange overwhelming them.

I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's back up a little.

It was time for another pie dough recipe, this time the classic Pate Brisee (french for short pastry).  Sorry, people.  I cannot figure out how to make the accent aigu and accent grave on blogger or my mac, so we will remain accent-less.  Anyways, I've made this before and it is a solid recipe.  Remarkably similar to Chez Pim's pie dough in ingredients, but lacked the puffiness and layers because you don't fold it over and over.  I'm always amazed at how the technique of cooking and baking can change a recipe so drastically.

I used my new tart pan, to lay the crust down, and cut off the extra (more on what this resourceful midwife does with extra pie crust at the end of this post).  Then I laid down some Maille Old Style Dijon Mustard that has whole mustard seeds - mmmm!

Our dock cherry tomatoes are thriving and if we let 1-2 days go by without plucking the ripe ones off their vines, we have 20-30!  The taste and juiciness is phenomenal - home grown is where it's at.  In planning this tomato tart, I wasn't sure we'd have enough cherry tomatoes to fill the tart, so I bought some farm stand tomatoes to supplement.  I did end up using most of 1 farm stand stand-in, but the rest of the cute cherry tomatoes (and they are cute - I'll show you!) were ours.

Partner in Crime would, I'm sure, like me to let you know that these tomatoes and the rest of the garden are his labor of love.  He has the green thumb and I have the hands covered in flour.  It's a good relationship.

I added the olive oil, fresh herbs (I chose chives, thyme, and rosemary) and goat cheese and got the tart to work in the oven.

While the tart was baking, I diced and sauteed some fresh radishes that I picked up on a whim.  I did this simply in butter with salt and pepper until they were slightly browned and tender.  I find the texture and subtle flavor of a sauteed radish satisfying, but this view is not shared by all, I know.  I may experiment with roasted radishes next.  Or maybe sauteed with garlic and/or white wine.

Dinner was fabulous.  I think the tart was slightly overwhelmed by the magnitude of juiciness in the tomatoes which resulted in non-picturesque pieces.  This, however, did not harm the taste, or oddly the integrity of the crust.  It was more the filling that wouldn't stay together - I guess that's the problem with using cherry tomatoes.  The dough that I used, was slightly different that the dough on the French Tomato Tart recipe.

I followed Martha Stewart's Pate Brisee without sugar, since this is one I've used before.  I made 1/2 the recipe since it makes either one double crust or 2 single 9-10 inch crusts.  With the left over dough, I created an impromptu Banana Chocolate Tart, which was actually the perfect size for 2 people to split after gorging on French Tomato Tart and watching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

Being someone who is a banana bread fiend, I never want to be caught unprepared for banana bread.  So I try to keep a supply of frozen ripe bananas.  And being me, I almost always have a few bars of dark chocolate for baking emergencies (you have those too, right?).  The two are great together, actually maybe better together than alone.

Tomatoes, goat cheese and Dijon mustard may now all be grouped together in my mind as well, thanks to this Thursday evening. 

Pie doughs coming soon on Buns in the Oven - experimentation with whole grains, more yogurt, and less butter!

Impromptu Banana Chocolate Tart

Ingredients
Leftover pie dough (you could sub frozen puff pastry here)
Frozen ripe or fresh ripe bananas
2 oz dark good quality dark chocolate (I had 60%)

Serves 1-2

Preheat oven to 400F

Roll out pie dough to a thin round.
Cut banana into small chunks and place in center or round.  Place chocolate, cut into chunks on top of banana.  Fold up edges of dough so that they roughly meet in the center and pinch edges together. *
Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown.  I started the tart out in the center of the oven but moved to the top shelf for the last 10 minutes.  Serve warm and enjoy the hot melted chocolate!

*This can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until you are almost ready for dessert.  Then bake and eat.

Spinach-Ricotta Pie

The quest continues for the perfect pie dough.  This time I pulled out the big guns - a recipe the claims to be "The one pie dough to rule them all" from Chez Pim.  My friend Amy, read about my quest and recommended this recipe which Pim says is not only flaky and delicious but can be made by anyone.

She does make it pretty easy to follow.  There are step by step directions with photos and then to make it even easier, there's a video tutorial.  I'm not big on cooking videos or shows, because for some reason it doesn't get absorbed in my head that way.  I like words typed on a page telling me what to do.   Being the novice that I am, armed with a brand new pastry scraper, I felt sure something would go wrong.

Amazingly, it didn't.  The dough came together quickly and easily and was very easy to work with.  I have to say that as much as I liked the yogurt based crust, it is not easy to roll out.  The more you try to roll it thinner, the more it resists.  Not the case with Pim's recipe.  Now there is a substantial difference in the amount of butter involved, but let's try not to think about that.

For the filling I decided to work with the Spinach Ricotta Pie recipe in The Moosewood Cookbook (the original) that I mentioned a few posts ago.  I've had this cookbook for several years, after receiving it second hand somewhere, but never really used it.  I have been missing out!  I love this cookbook - the design, the simplicity to the recipes, the diversity.  There is a banana bread recipe that I cannot wait to try that has hot coffee in it!  After making Orangette's Chocolate Malted Cupcakes, which are fabulous and include hot coffee, I can only imagine that this banana bread will be moister and possibly richer than most.

I changed the recipe a little, adding 1/2 of a tomato, using Parmesan as the cheese and dropping the sour cream and paprika.  The resulting dinner was tasty and filling.  This crust is in the lead so far - for taste, durability, and ease of creating.  The Spinach & Ricotta Pie was complimented by an arugula (not ours, yet) salad with cherry tomatoes, and a glass of Chimay Tripel.













Spinach & Ricotta Pie
Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen (p.123)

I liked this recipe the way it is, but you could also substitute sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers for the diced tomato and I think it would add some spunk.

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe for Chez Pim's Pie dough
1/2 lb baby spinach
1 small onion
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 fresh tomato, diced
15 oz container ricotta cheese (I used whole milk)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Follow the directions for Pim's perfect pie dough.  When it's chilling for the second time, heat oven to 375F and butter pie tin.  Dice small onion and heat 1/2 Tbsp butter over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until onion begins to look translucent.  Add a few dashes of black pepper, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of basil; mix in.  Then add baby spinach and cook until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally.  Once all spinach has wilted, remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium size bowl, mix all the ingredients together until well blended.  Remove pie dough from the refrigerator and roll out into a round a few inches larger than your pie tin.  Press into pie tin, trim dough to leave about 1 inch extra all the way around, and fold over extra dough to form a nice edge.  Spread spinach-ricotta mixture into unbaked pie shell.  

                      

Bake at 375F for 40-50 min.  Serve hot.

                     

A Tale of Two Crusts

In trying to branch out from cookbook cooking and realizing that I like to eat things that come in a pie tin a whole lot (both sweet and savory), I've come to the conclusion that I need a few good pie/quiche/tart crust recipes.  I recognize that I can probably not reinvent pie crust into some new and exciting Baking Midwife brand, since, let's face it, the many formulations of flour + butter(or shortening) + something else may have all been tested.  (This may not be entirely factual).

What is factual, however, is my quest.  I am embarking on a quest to try out several different recipes for making pie dough and figure out what my favorites are.  I may tweak some recipes along the way for better or for worse.  So even though I've made several pie crusts this summer, the actual taste testing with a slightly biased partner in crime (J) and myself, began Friday.

It all started so simply.  We both happily had the day off and I slept in to an embarrassingly late hour.  I had been planning to make a quiche that night for dinner, using the yogurt based dough recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini's Yellow Zucchini Tarte Fine on a Yogurt Based Crust .  I started making some coffee and realized that there were a ridiculous number or ripe blueberries on our wild blueberry bushes (that's right!  in our backyard!  be jealous).  As we were picking, we pondered what to do with our stash.

Partner in Crime suggested a Blueberry Pie and I conceded, slightly hesitantly because I had lost an amazing blueberry pie recipe.  This happens when 1)  You save all your recipes you find online on your computer 2)  This was 3 years ago that you made this blueberry pie  and 3)  You lost said computer in a tragic accident involving a favorite Doberman in an E-Collar.  I had also recently come to the conclusion that all blueberry pies are not created equal - don't be fooled by the recipes labeled "Best Blueberry Pie" - there are a lot of them and they are all slightly different.  Therefore they cannot all be the best - that's factual.  I made a blueberry pie from a recipe like this, hoping that it would mimic the elusive Pie of the Summer of 2007.  The friends I made it for ate it and said they liked it, even murmuring sounds of gastronomic approval.  But I knew better. 

Favorite Doberman with Dangerous E-Collar

                                    

I had to try something different and came up with the recipe at the end; it's a blend of things I remembered vaguely using and doing for the Pie in 2007 and an exciting ingredient that I tried on a whim which came out delicious.  The surprise ingredient is Garam Masala.  This is a mixture of spices and can vary slightly depending on where you get it.  Mine has a mixture of Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, Cumin, and Coriander.  I love the way it smells, and saw it when I opened the spice cabinet to get out the Cinnamon and Nutmeg.   

In the end, I prepared 2 different crusts - One for a Spinach and Shitake Quiche and the other for a Blueberry Pie with Garam Masala.  The second crust is a slight twist on a Buttermilk Pie Crust recipe from the 1977 Moosewood Cookbook that I just remembered I owned.  I'm considering a brief love affair with this cookbook, but this is a subject for another blog posting.

Reviews of the crusts - Yogurt Based Crust - simple to make, the edge was golden brown, crisp and delicious, really does come out similar to puff pastry.  The only down side was a fault of my own, I placed a baking sheet under the pie tin because this particular tin doesn't have a rim and I didn't want to ruin the crust while removing the quiche.  The result was that the bottom didn't come out as crispy as the rest of the crust even though I partially pre-baked.  We both decided the quiche needed more goat cheese - but this doesn't have to do with the poor crust.  I'll definitely use this recipe again and again - in fact I should be blogging about it soon (I'll be using if for some pastries I'm making today).

Buttermilk Crust - Also simple to make and work with.  Comes out thin and crisp, hearty enough to hold the moist blueberry filling.  However the taste didn't really do it for me, it wasn't bad at all just not enough.  Partner in Crime said he liked it, but when I asked him why he said because it didn't take away from the blueberry pie.  Unfortunately that's not a feature I'm looking for in my perfect crust.  I may try this again sans sugar in a savory tart or quiche to give it another chance.

On to the recipes...

Spinach and Shitake Quiche

Ingredients:

For dough

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c plain yogurt (low fat or whole milk)

1/4 c butter, diced, cold

1/4 tsp salt

For filling

olive oil

3-4 shitake mushroom caps in thin slices

2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves

5 eggs

a large splash of milk (about 1/4 c)

2 ounces of goat cheese (either crumbles or broken up from a log)

salt and pepper

For the dough:  follow instructions for dough for a Yogurt Based Crust from Chocolate and Zucchini

After the dough has chilled, remove from the refrigerator and place between two layers of parchment paper.  While it's thawing slightly, preheat the oven to 375 F and butter your 9 inch pie tin.  Roll out the dough into a thin round about 10 inches.  Place round in pie tin and press in to bottom and sides.  I folded my edges over on top, but they shrunk down slightly in the oven, so I'd suggest leaving a little extra.  Place aluminum foil on top of uncooked dough, and on top of that place uncooked beans or pie weights.  Bake in oven for about 10 - 15 minutes until the shell looks set and is starting to appear golden.  Remove aluminum foil and beans/pie weights.

While the crust is baking, heat about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium heat.  Add shitake mushrooms and saute until they start to appear soft and slimy.  Then add the two handfuls of spinach and cook down until wilted.  Remove from heat.

   

                        

In a medium bowl whisk together 5 eggs and a large splash of milk.  Add to egg mixture, the spinach and shitake mushrooms, then the goat cheese.  Mix well with wire whisk.  Add a few sprinkles of black pepper and a dash or two of salt.  Pour mixture into partially pre-baked crust.

                       

Bake at 375 F for 45 min- 1 hr until crust is golden brown and filling is completely cooked.  Quiches puff up a little when they're done.

  

    

Blueberry Pie with Garam Masala (aka Best Blueberry Pie - j/k)

Ingredients:  

For dough

1 c flour (I used all purpose but Mollie Katzen says you can do a white/wheat blend - 4/5 & 1/5) 

1/3 c cold butter, diced

3 Tbs cold buttermik

1 Tbs sugar

For filling

4 c fresh blueberries

2 Tbs flour

heaping 1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c sugar

1 Tbs butter cut into small chunks

Crumb topping 

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c flour

3 Tbs butter

a few dashes of garam masala

For the dough (As I said before this is adapted from Moosewood Cookbook, p 123)

Blend together flour, butter, and sugar.  This can be done with a pastry blender, two forks, a food processor, or my preferential method - fingers.  Mix together until well blended and there are no more chunks of butter remaining.  Now add about 3 Tbs of cold buttermilk, enough so that the mixture holds together enough to form a ball.  I used 2 1/2 Tbs.  I love what Molly Katzen says here in the cookbook - "(or water.  But buttermilk really.  Specialness is worth it.)"  Place ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

After dough has chilled, remove from fridge.  Preheat oven to 375 F.  Butter 9 inch pie tin.  Let dough thaw for a minute or so, then roll out on a clean and lightly floured surface.  Roll out to a 10-11 inch round.  Place round in pie tin and press in to bottom and sides.  Trim excess dough off sides but leave about 1 inch of dough to fold over and create whatever type of edge you like.  Place pie shell in fridge until you are ready to add blueberry mixture.

          

Wash blueberries and be sure to remove any stems or bad blueberries.  Place blueberries in a medium size bowl.  Add flour, garam masala, nutmeg, and sugar and mix together so that blueberries are well coated.  

In a separate bowl, mix together ingredients for topping (sugar, flour, butter, garam masala) until crumbly.

Remove pie shell from fridge.  Pour blueberry mixture into shell.  Dot with small chunks of butter (about 1 Tbs).

                               

Sprinkle crumb topping over the pie and place pie in oven at 375 F for 50 min to 1 hr.  Bake until the crust and topping are golden brown and the blueberry juices are bubbly.  Remove pie from oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting, but serve while still warm so you'll really taste the spices.