Sourdough Pie Pastry toutoral

Hello, friends.
  The video below, is my method of making a large batch of wild yeast pie pastry.

Nanny's Cauliflower Pie

welcome back, food fans.

 Today, we are taking a stroll down memory lane. Cauliflower pie was one of my moms go to side dish recipes. Cauliflower pie is quick and easy to make, with just a few ingredients.

I love the fall harvest. Out and about, making our weekly rounds though the Union Square farmer's market. We came away with some really nice delicata squash, a bag of organic farmer ground half and half flour, and last but certainly not least, orange cauliflower.  This colorful variety of cauliflower has been around for a good few years now. Each of the colors are chock full of antioxidants. The orange, that we will be using today for example, has a genetic mutation that allows the plant to hold more beta carotene. It also contains about 25% more vitamin A than white cauliflower. First discovered in Canada in 1970,  it took years of crossbreeding before it was widely available.

Frist thing is first, I started some water to boil in a large pot. While I was waiting for the water to boil, I cored the cauliflower and cut it into florets. Next, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. Once the water was at a rolling boil, I dropped the florets in with a palm full of salt for 5 minutes. 

After the 5 minutes, I drained the florets in a colander. The florets went back into the now dry pot. With an old school potato masher, I smashed the cauliflower good. The prepared additional ingredients were added in with the mashed cauliflower and mixed together thoroughly.

The cauliflower mixture was put into a 10 inch Pyrex pie pan and spread out evenly. The top was covered with Kraft American cheese.

After 20 minutes in the oven, out comes a savory side dish pie, one that you will be proud to serve for any type of gathering.

  

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 Peace,

 The Roadside Pie King

  

Cranberry season!

Hello Friends,

 Today's blog post has two parts, both using cranberry as the main ingredient. Part one, cranberry raisin pumpkin bread, is a recipe from the book,  Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan (Pg.108.) This recipe, a two day bake, makes a wonderfully tender, rich, brioche like bread. Well worth the time. Part two, is a rustic cranberry coffee cake/pie. By contrast, I threw this one together in 20 minutes. The recipe is from my new friend Diane. Diane, is the owner of Diane's Dynamics, a blog page dedicated to the homesteading lifestyle. I will drop links to both Dorie's page and Diane's page at the end of the post. Go there and you will find the exact recipes. Lets get started!

Cranberry raisin pumpkin brioche bread

This recipe make three small loafs, I made two big ones. I used, 91/2x6x3 loaf pans. You will definitely need a mixer for this dough. The dough is sticky, heavy and takes a while to come together. Additionally, you will need some experience. There are a few variables you will have to work with, such as the amount of liquid in your pumpkin. I had to use my experience in bread making to add enough extra flour to form a nice dough. The dough took a good 20 min. to come together, at medium speed, in my kitchen aid mixer. Here's what it looked like

The dough takes some time, but once it comes together it makes a nice, albeit sticky, dough. 

I left the dough to rise at room temperature for two hours. By then it had doubled. I gently deflated the dough and put it in the refrigerator for a slow, cold, overnight ferment. By the next morning it had doubled again. At this point the dough would sit till it reached room temp. I set an instant read thermometer for 68F. 

After about five hours we were up to temp. I rolled the dough onto a lightly floured counter, split it into two equal halves. One at a time, I carefully stretched the dough into 15x 8 inch rectangles. Then I rolled the dough up jellyroll style from the short end, carefully sealing as I rolled. Alas, I should have did a letter fold and a bench rest before rolling, I missed a step. No worries, it came out okay. Now the shaped breads are in the pans for the final proofing. 

 After a two hour proof they were doubled, puffy and ready for the oven; so I popped them in.

They cooked in a well preheated oven at 350F. for 35 minutes. They came out perfectly done. 

I really like this holiday treat bread. It's so good plain, or toasted with butter! It takes some time and a little work, but well worth the effort!

The last photo is a sneak peak at part two!

You can get the recipe over at Dorie Greenspan's page:  This Bountiful Backyard

Don't forget to come back and tell me how it worked for you.

Part two:

Cranberry, orange coffee cake / pie

I had about three cups of nice plump juicy cranberries left after using one cup in the brioche bread. 

My friend Diane shared her recipe for this "peach" of a cranberry pie with me. While the bread was in the oven I quickly assembled the needed components.

• Unsalted butter
• Cranberries
• Sugar (I used Brown)
• Orange juice and zest
• Salt
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• A.P. flour

That was the hardest part of this recipe. Now all that was left was to mix it all together in the pie pan.

I was not sure if the pie was going to be too tart. To my delight, it was not! It was so tasty and just tart enough! This will definitely grace the Falzon holiday table this year! Thanks Diane, this is a winner! I owe you a chicken dinner! Stop back soon, The Delicata squash in the photo will be pumpkin/ squash pie soon!

Diane has the full recipe at her homestead: 

Diane's Dynamics Cranberry Pie

  

100% whole wheat Irish soda bread

Hello, friends,

Todays bake is a Jane Mason, inspired, 100% whole wheat Irish soda bread. Boy they don't call it quick bread for nothing! If you are interested in Ms. Masons, original formula, you can find it on her web site. Virtuous Bread http://www.virtuousbread.com/about/

My interpretation, is a hybrid of the white flour soda bread I make and Ms. Masons formula. The following are some of the extras I added.

1. Baking powder

2. Caraway seed...
3. Orange zest
4. Butter
5. Raisins and dry cranberry
6. Egg
7. Greek Yogurt
8. Black strap molasses
The bread is out of the oven cooling, the house smells divine!
The photos:
1. All the ingredients and implements, assembled in my tiny kitchen.
2. The fat (butter) cut in and the liquid added; ready to mix.
3. all the ingredients incorporated and the dough shaped.
4. Out of the oven, smelling great. After dinner my official taster, (wife) will get the first slice!

5. Update: The crumb shot!

This is a keeper! I am Very happy with this healthier, whole wheat soda bread. In fact it is so good, It can totally replace my white flour version.

Thanks for stopping by Diane. I am glad you tried and liked the recipe! Yours looks great too! 

  100% Whole wheat Irish soda bread

 By, The Roadside Pie King

Ingredients Dry

• 650 Grams White Whole Wheat Flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 TBS. Caraway seed
  
• 2 TBS. Orange zest
  
• 4 TBS. butter
  
• 1 cups raisins & 1 cup dry cranberry
  

Ingredients Wet

• Egg beaten
• 450 grams reduced fat butter milk
• 150 grams plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1 TBS. Black strap molasses
  
  
• Directions
• In a big mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, caraway seeds and orange zest
  
• Cut in butter until it reaches a coarse meal consistency. I used a pastry knife.
  
• Add raisins and cranberry
• Combine liquids separately. Add liquids to dry ingredients.
• Mix until a soft dough forms. At some point it will become hard to stir it, and it will be better to use your hands. Kneading the dough is the best way to combine all the ingredients completely. The dough will be sticky, use wet hands to keep it from sticking. Do not add more flour. Knead right in the bowl, as little as possible to incorporate all the ingredients.
• Shape the dough into A ball, place it on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the ball slightly and cut an X about 1/4" deep in the top of the loaf.
• Bake at 375 for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

100% Whole wheat sourdough Hamburger buns

Original formula by, Will F. 
100% Whole wheat sourdough Hamburger buns
Total Flour – 100% - 560G
Total Liquid - 64% - 360G
Mother:
100% Hydration Whole Wheat starter.  480G
(Flour Red W.W. – 240G, /Water 240G)
Finale Dough:
Flour White W.W.  – 320G
Whole Milk – 120G
Butter – 60G
Honey – 40G
1 egg – 54 G
Salt – 8 G
Procedure: 
1.    Combine the well fed mother with the rest of the Ingredients.
2.    Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, kneed until a smooth elastic ball is formed.
3.    Set aside to rise in lightly oiled bowl, until doubled.
4.    Separate the dough into 12 equal sized balls allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5.     Shape into buns by pulling the dough tight.
6.    Set aside on a parchment lined baking sheet covered with plastic, for 20 minutes or until puffy.
7.    Gently flatten each bun slightly. Cover and set aside to proof for 30 minutes or until doubled.
8.    Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (Optional)
9.    Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minute