Beer Bread

I tried this recipe for "Doppelbock Bread" from the NYT magazine, Sept 4. Went up to McMenamins to try to find a bottle -- the closest thing to the Spaten Optimator he called for was another doppelbock that cost $7 for the bottle, so I declined to buy it, came home and used Sam Smith brown ale. I found the bread a little bitter. Tonight I substituted rye flour for the cornmeal in that recipe, doubled the sugar, and used Sam Adams Black Lager for the beer. It was a real improvement. This one has the beer edge, but without being bitter. The soda is less dominant than in standard soda bread. We ate it warm, about 15 minutes out of the oven, but I'm sure it will be good toasted. Might even have to add a little butter.

3 T olive oil

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c rye flour

1 T baking powder

2 T sugar

1 1/2 t salt

1 12-oz bottle

Heat oven to 350°F (actually, the oven was closer to 400 for the first 15 minutes). Grease loaf pan with olive oil. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add oil and beer. Stir with spatula, just until combined. Pour into loaf pan, cook 45 to 60 minutes (with my long, shallow pan and the hot oven it took about 40 minutes). Cool on rack for 15 minutes before removing from pan and serving.

Bean Soup Perfected

This soup is made from the 32-bean, 8-veggie mix sold at Weaver's Way. You'd think that with all that flavoring it would be decent as-is, but it requires doctoring. After a couple of tries, I think I've got a good formula. This makes a large amount -- enough for 5 entree-sized servings or maybe 8 smaller bowls. It takes about 2 hours. This flavoring is on the conservative side -- add more stuff if you like it spicy.

1 1/2 cups bean mix

8 cups water

Bring to full boil. If you wish, you can turn it off now and let sit (with lid on). This cuts down on total cooking time. After an hour of low boil, add:

2 T tomato paste

1/3 cup dry sherry or wine

1 t cumin

1 t turmeric

1 t ground ginger (or 1-2" fresh)

lots of black pepper

1 t salt

Add more water if needed. Cook for another hour. A few minutes before serving, add a handful of chopped cilantro or 1 T pesto or both. Add a bit more salt to taste.

After ladling into bowls, sprinkle 1 tsp Romano cheese on top of each bowl.

I Love Cardamom Cookies

Awhile back I bought a jar of cardamom seeds at a bargain price. These are hard and a bit larger than poppy seeds. I figured I'd have to grind before using and promptly forgot about it. Recently I found the jar and noticed a recipe on it that called for using the seeds whole. I vaguely remembered my Swedish "mom" (I was an exchange student in high school) made some sort of cardamom bread/roll at the holidays, and you could see the little pods. So I improvised this very easy cookie recipe. I was pleased with how they came out.

• 1/2 c hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
• 1 c flour
• 2/3 c granulated sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 oz) butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 1 scant tablespoon cardamom seeds (maybe 1-2 tsp ground?)
• 1 egg

Toast the hazelnuts: bake them at 325°F for 5-10 minutes until skins darken. Wrap in a dish towel and rub together until most of skin is gone. Cool.

In a food processor, grind hazelnuts with sugar. Add flour, salt, and cardamom. Pulse. Cut butter into pieces, add and pulse until well combined. Slightly beat the egg and add while food processor is running. Pulse only until the dough comes together. Press dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Roll to about 1.5" diameter. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Unwrap log and slice into 1/4" rounds. Lay on ungreased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake 12-18 minutes or until bottom edges start to turn golden (frozen dough, a light colored/ and/or insulated air-pan will take longer). Cool on pan about 5 minutes and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 40 cookies (2 pans). Next time I'll double it. In fact, next time I'm tempted to a) increase the hazelnuts, and b) add 1/4 cup cocoa (to 1 c flour) and see what happens.

Maida Heatter’s Spicy Ginger Biscotti

When I first read this recipe in Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies I thought it sounded disgusting. I don't like mustard or white pepper. But after hearing Maida Heatter on a Thanksgiving piece on NPR (it was aired year after year) I decided to try them. They're amazing! And you can really go to town varying the recipe. Sometimes I add pistachios, or dried cherries, or dried cranberries soaked in rum or whisky (to prevent their drying out and burning). Sometimes I like to use 1 tsp. cardamom instead of the cloves. I've also used egg whites only (use an extra egg). Some bloggers add chocolate or drizzle on at the end; I've never tried this. Unfortunately the book is out of print.

Maida Heatter’s Spicy Ginger Biscotti (Makes about 78 thin biscotti)

• 4 ounces crystallized ginger
• 7 ounces (1 1/4 cups) blanched (skinned) or unblanched whole almonds [again, I never see whole blanched almond so I use them with the skins]
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted all- purpose flour [I don't sift - I use a smidge less]
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly and finely ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

On a cutting board, with a sharp knife, cut the crystallized ginger into thin slices and then cut it crossways to pieces about the size of peppercorns (you should have a generous 3/4 cup) and set aside. Or use scissors.

Toast the almonds in a shallow pan in a 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until lightly colored, stirring once during the toasting. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and honey to mix and set aside.

Into a large bowl strain or sift together— just to mix—the flour, salt, baking powder, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cloves, and sugar. Stir in the crystallized ginger and then the nuts. Add the mixed eggs and honey and stir until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. [As I noted in the previous entry, I use my KitchenAid. I mix the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl then add the flour mixture to them and mix on low. After the batter is nicely mixed, I add the almonds and mix a few seconds just to incorporate them, so they don't get too broken.]

Then place two lengths of plastic wrap (each about 15 to 20 inches long) on a work surface and form two strips, one on each piece of plastic wrap, by spooning the dough down the middle (length) of each piece. Form strips about 13" long and flatten the tops slightly. Fold long sides of plastic wrap up over the dough, and with your hands, press on the plastic wrap to smooth the dough and shape it into an even strip about 14" long, 2 1/2 to 3" wide, and about 3/4" thick (but no thicker). Shape the second strip in the same manner and place both on a cookie sheet. Freeze dough for at least an hour, until firm enough to unwrap, or longer if you wish.

To bake: Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line two large cookie sheets with baking parchment. [I find biscotti cook much better on the cookie sheets with air pockets]. To transfer dough to the sheets, unwrap the plastic along the length of one strip of dough and turn the dough upside down onto the lined cookie sheet, placing it diagonally on the sheet. Slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Repeat with the second strip of dough and the second cookie sheet. Bake for 50 minutes at 300°F, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to ensure even baking. Then reduce the temperature to 275°F and remove the sheets from the oven.

Immediately, carefully, and gently peel the parchment or foil away from the backs of the strips and place the strips on a large cutting board. Slice the strips while they are still very hot, using a pot holder or a folded towel to hold the strips in place. Using a serrated French bread [or other sharp] knife, slice on an angle—the sharper the angle is, the longer the cookies will be, and the more difficult it will be to slice them very thin—but you can do it and they will be gorgeous. A scant 1/4" is good, or cut them 1/3" thick. It’s easier; they will be different but still very good. Place slices on a cut side, touching each other, on the cookie sheets. Bake at 275° for about 30 minutes. Once, when they are about half baked, turn the cookies over and reverse the sheets top to bottom and front to back to ensure even baking. Be careful! Do not overbake. To test for doneness, you must cool one (a minute or two in the freezer or refrigerator will save time) and taste it. When they are almost done, watch them carefully—they can suddenly become too dark,

esp. if they are very thin.

When done, cool and then store airtight. To serve, biscotti are especially attractive standing upright in a tall, clear glass.

Dark Chocolate Biscotti!

I started making biscotti several years ago and was asked by a friend to share the recipe here. I'd found out I had high cholesterol and wanted to bake, but minus butter and other bad fats. I started with a recipe for Mandelbrot. I was looking for biscotti recipes when I found this book, Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies, that had about a dozen of them. I'm glad I bought it because it's now out of print. So I don't feel so bad about copying her recipes here (one of them was in the Washington Post). I've tried all the biscotti recipes, but I have two favorites -- the Dark Chocolate and the Spice (following blog). The recipe is out of the book, but my comments are in square brackets:

Bittersweet Chocolate Biscotti

Extra hard and crunchy- thicker than most- and especially dark and delicious, made with chocolate and cocoa. After you mix and shape the dough, it will have to spend 45 minutes in the freezer before it is baked. It will then be baked twice for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

ABOUT 36 BISCOTTI [cut them thinner and get more like 48]

• 9 ounces (generous 2 cups) whole blanched (skinned) almonds [I don't use blanched -- can't find them]
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate
• 1 3/4 cups sifted unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (I use Medaglia D’Oro.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg white graded “large”
• 1/2 packed cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1/4 teaspoon bitter almond extract

First toast the almonds: Preheat the oven to 375°F and bake the almonds in a wide, shallow pan in the center of the oven, stirring once or twice, for 12. or 13 minutes, until very lightly colored. Set aside to cool.

Chop or break the chocolate into small pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade. Let stand.

Sift together into a large bowl the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa, espresso, and granulated sugar.

Add about 1/2 cup of the sifted dry ingredients and about 1/2 cup of the almonds to the chocolate. Process for about 30 seconds, until the chocolate and nuts are fine and powdery.

Add the processed ingredients to the remaining sifted dry ingredi­ents and stir to mix. Stir in the remaining almonds; set aside.

In a small bowl beat the eggs and egg white, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until mixed.

Stir the egg mixture into the dry ingredients (you will think there’s not enough liquid, but it will be OK). I use a large rubber spatula and push the ingredients together). [This dough is really sticky and dense. I just broke my silicon spatula trying to get it out of the bowl -- the plastic handle snapped in half. Honestly, I would never make these if I didn't have a KitchenAid mixer; use the paddle. I add the remaining almonds last so they get incorporated without breaking up.]

Now place two 15 to 20 inch lengths of plastic wrap on the work surface.

The dough will be thick and sticky. You will form a strip of it on each piece of the plastic wrap. Spoon half the dough in the middle— down the length—of one piece of plastic wrap to form a strip 12 inches long.

Lift the two long sides of the plastic wrap, bring them together on top of the dough, and, with your hands, press on the plastic wrap to smooth the dough and shape it into an even strip 12 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 3/4 inch high, with squared ends.

Repeat to form the second strip.

Place the strips on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer for about 45 minutes or until firm.

To bake, adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 300°F. Line two cookie sheets with baking parchment.

Open the two long sides of the plastic wrap on one strip of dough and turn the dough upside down on a lined sheet, placing it diago­nally on the sheet; slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Repeat with the second strip and the second cookie sheet.

Bake for 1 hour, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to insure even baking.

After one hour reduce the temperature to 275°F and remove the sheets from the oven. Immediately, while very hot, peel the parch­ment away from the back of a strip and place it right side up on a cut­ting board.

Use a pot holder or folded kitchen towel to hold the hot strip, and use a serrated French bread knife to cut it with. Cut across the strip, either straight across or on an angle (straight across is easier), cutting slices about 34 inch wide. [Just use any large, sharp knife; I've experimented and don't think the serrated is better.]

Place the slices, standing upright, on a cookie sheet.

Repeat with second strip.

Bake at 275°F for about 45 minutes, until completely dry. Reverse the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking. [I don't know if my oven is too hot, but I find that a bit too dry so I cut the baking time by about 15 minutes. Don't skimp on baking time the first time, or they'll be sticky when you cut them.]

Cool and store in an airtight container.