Kuvertbröd - Swedish Dinner Rolls

My grandmother, who passed away about a year ago, was a great cook and baker. I will always cherish the memories of having lunch at my grandparents' house because I knew I would get either meatballs or pancakes, which, to a Swedish kid, are about the best things you can eat in the whole world. One thing I had forgotten she baked (until my mother reminded me last Christmas) are these kuvertbröd - literally "envelope bread." At least that's what I thought all my life, until writing this blog post made me think, "That's a weird name for a piece of bread that looks nothing like an envelope." That's when it hit me: A kuvert in Swedish can mean both an envelope and a place setting (i.e., the plate and all the things that go with it - cutlery, napkin, glass, and whatever else). Using my Swedish brain even more (it's been a while since I spoke Swedish with any regularity), I recalled that you would use the word when talking about how many people would be coming to a dinner party.

With all this knowledge flooding back, I realized why these awesome little dinner roll-like pieces of bread are called what they are: They're individual servings that go perfectly with your dinner without having to share or slice bread. A cursory Google search proved me right: The name stems from the fact that they are for the individual and not for sharing with others around the dinner table. Bork, bork, bork!

Recently, I've found myself using these rolls for breakfast. I know that may sound weird to anyone in the U.S. reading this, but in Sweden, having a sandwich (we call it a macka) for breakfast is perfectly normal. We generally top ours with butter, Swedish cheese (which I currently purchase at IKEA), and maybe a slice of cucumber or tomato. A future blog post will feature the macka - I promise - and it's as Swedish as Absolut Vodka and ABBA. Read the Dragon Tattoo books and you'll find that they're having coffee and mackor (plural of macka) on every other page!

Anyway! This recipe is easy but made way easier with a stand mixer. It makes 24 rolls, and they freeze really well.

Kuvertbröd - Swedish Dinner Rolls

5 cups AP flour
50 g (about 3.5 tbsp) unsalted butter
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 cups + 1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp salt
1 egg

1. Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat.

2. While the butter is melting, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.

3. When the butter has melted, add the milk and heat to 118 degrees F (48 degrees C).

4. Add the milk/butter mixture to the dry ingredients and knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes. If not using a stand mixer, mix with a wooden spoon until everything comes together, then knead with your hands for 5 minutes.

5. Place the dough in a lightly floured bowl - it's likely pretty sticky at this point. Let rest under a kitchen towel for 30 minutes.

6. Turn your oven to 480 degrees F (250 degrees C).

7. Punch the dough down and divide into 24 equal parts - I use a kitchen scale for this. If you don't have a kitchen scale (digital), go get one. So useful.

8. Roll each piece of dough into a ball between the palms of your hands and place on a baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each piece.

9. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rest another 30 minutes.

10. Crack the egg into a bowl and lightly whip with a fork.

11. Lightly brush each roll with the egg and sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top. Alternatively, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds or black poppy seeds. Or just omit the sprinkling of anything at all.

12. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

13. Let rest on a cooling rack until cool enough to touch before cutting in half, slathering with butter, and trying not to eat too many in one sitting.

Once completely cooled, you can freeze the rolls in a Ziploc back for up to six months. While they can be toasted, I prefer mine not to be. Instead, I microwave a roll for 30 seconds on low power, then cut in half and microwave again on medium power for about 10 seconds. Your results may vary depending on your microwave, and you need to experiment with the timing if you're defrosting more than one roll at a time.

Sourdough Boule

If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I love to bake. After buying Pete Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day, I started playing around with a variety of recipes (mostly for ciabatta and pizza dough) and found that it's very easy to make a great-tasting bread. It really is. It gets easier with a stand mixer, a good oven, a baking stone, and lots of patience, but it's NOT difficult.

Sourdough bread, however, had escaped me for the longest time. I tried to create my own, but apparently there isn't enough viable wild yeast floating around my kitchen to really get it going. That, or I simply suck at making sourdough from scratch. No matter - I purchased some wild starter from Breadtopia, and a few days later, I had my own so-called "mother starter" (at least that's what Reinhart calls it). This thing is incredibly resilient and came alive less than 12 hours after its first "feeding" (addition of water and flour), even after spending a week in the mail on the way to Austin. I keep it in the fridge perpetually and will feed it every week or so, or whenever it gets a little low.

The first recipe I decided to try out was a simple sourdough boule. It is incredibly easy to make, provided you have the necessary equipment: a baking stone, a pizza peel, and a banneton. You don't really need the banneton, but it does help in forming a pretty loaf.

Sourdough Boule

10.5 oz (300g) bread flour
7.25 oz (200g) water at 110 degrees F (43 degrees C)
1.75 oz (50g) sourdough starter
1/8 oz (5g) kosher salt

Add the water and starter to a large bowl. Break up the starter. Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands or a wooden spoon. You can also do this in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you prefer. Lightly flour a work surface. Turn the dough onto the work surface and stretch and fold once. Place in a clean, lightly-floured bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rest for one hour at room temperature.

After an hour, turn the dough back out on the work surface and do another stretch and fold. Place back in the floured bowl and let rest, covered, another hour. After an hour, turn the dough out onto the work surface and do one final stretch and fold, forming a ball from the dough. Lightly flour your banneton. If you don't have one, a bowl lined with a clean, lint-free towel will do the trick. Place your dough ball, seam-side up, in the banneton. At this point you need to place the banneton in the fridge overnight, but it needs to be airtight. A large plastic bag will work, or you can put the banneton in a larger bowl and just cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap. If you're using a bowl with the towel, just fold the towel on top of the dough and cover with the plastic.


The next day, turn your oven to 450 degrees with your baking stone in the middle and a pan that can take a hit of hot water (such as a cast iron pan or an old, crappy metal pan you don't care about anymore) in the bottom of the oven. Turn the dough out onto a floured pizza peel (or the back of a sheet pan covered with parchment paper). Lightly cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rest for two hours.


After two hours, score the top of the loaf lightly with a sharp knife. Slide the bread onto the baking stone (with the parchment paper if not using a pizza peel). Immediately add about a half cup of hot water to the pan at the bottom of the oven. Close the door and wait for three minutes. Next, place an oven-safe bowl over the loaf. Bake another 15 minutes, then remove the bowl and bake the final 20 minutes. The loaf should be a rich brown and sound hollow if thumped on the bottom.

Let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. And try not to eat the whole damn thing in one sitting.

Note: If your sourdough starter isn't super potent, it's fine to add about a teaspoon of instant yeast to the dough to improve its proofing.

Open-faced Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches

One of the best applications for day-old bread, in my opinion, is to top it with some good toppings and put it in the oven for a few minutes. I recently baked some bread according to the ciabatta recipe I've used before, but shaped short baguettes (bâtards) instead. The recipe below is a very simple sandwich, but providing you use high-quality ingredients, it tastes heavenly.

Open-faced Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches

A piece of baguette, 8-12 inches long
1 tomato
2-4 oz Mozzarella cheese
olive oil
dried oregano
dried garlic (garlic powder)
salt
black pepper

Start by turning your oven (or toaster oven) to 400 degrees F. Cut the bread lengthwise and place, cut side up, on a baking sheet. If you are unable to balance the pieces so the cut side is fairly level, you can trim the underside slightly.

Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil. Slice the tomato and cover the bread. Cut the cheese into chunks and place on top of the tomatoes. Add the herbs and spices to taste. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.

Regional Dinner Party: Spain

I've been meaning to have people over for dinner now and then, cooking a multi-course dinner from a specific region or country, and we finally had our inaugural event the other day. The first country to appear on the menu was Spain, and this was my first time cooking Spanish food other than some random odds and ends. The full menu consisted of:

• Spanish cheeses with Pan de Horno
• Cauliflower with cherry tomatoes and Serrano ham
• Paella de marisco (seafood paella)
• Bizcochos Borrachos (drunken sponge cake)
• Licor 43 con leche

The dinner was certainly a success. I just wish I had taken pictures of everything!

Pan de Horno

1 tbsp instant yeast
3 cups warm water
7 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and let sit for ten minutes. Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl. Using your fingers, mix in the oil with the flour mixture. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and stir with your fingers until the dough is firm and slightly sticky. Pour the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead another two or three minutes.

Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave until doubled in volume, about an hour. Once the hour is over, punch the dough down and move to a floured work surface. Knead a few seconds, then return the dough to the bowl and cover for another 15 minutes.

Cut the dough into two pieces, then form loaves. Place on a greased pan and cut slits on top of the bread. Turn the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover and let raise for 30 minutes, then bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the top is toasted and the loaves sound hollow when knocked on the bottom. Remove to a cooling rack and leave until completely cooled.

Cauliflower with Cherry Tomatoes and Serrano Ham
1 large head cauliflower
1/2 red onion
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 lb thinly-sliced Serrano ham
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely-chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Start by cutting the cauliflower into 1-inch florets. Boil salted water in a large pot, then add the cauliflower florets and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain in a colander and set aside. Next, cut the ham into 1-inch pieces and cut the tomatoes in half.

While the cauliflower cooks, fry the onion with the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the onion has turned translucent (about three minutes), add the tomatoes and ham. Cook until just heated, about two minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and parsley. Combine with the cauliflower and serve warm or at room temperature.

Paella de marisco
1 lb chorizo
1 lb shrimp
15 clams
15 mussels
1/2 cup white wine
1 large yellow onion
5 cloves of garlic
2 cups medium grain white rice
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
2 red peppers
1 green pepper
1 tsp saffron threads
1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

I, unfortunately, do not have a paella pan or a pan large enough to cook a paella, so I have to resort to the oven method, which works quite well.
Start by peeling the shrimp, reserving the shells. Put the shells and four cups of water in a large pot over medium heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced to 2 cups. Pour through a fine mesh, reserving the liquid and discarding the shells. Set the newly-created shrimp stock aside.

Boil water in a large pot and add the shrimp. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain and set aside. Crumble the chorizo and cook over medium heat in a large skillet. Set aside.
Clean the mussels and clams, discarding any that do not close when tapped. Add the wine to a large pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the mussels and clams, then cover. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shellfish are open, shaking the pot occassionally. Remove any mussels or clams that did not open completely, then set aside.

Turn the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the onion (chopped) and garlic (minced) and cook for about five minutes. Add the rice, shrimp stock, 3 cups of chicken stock, saffron, about 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is al dente and some liquid remains. Transfer to an oven-safe dish, add the shrimp, chorizo, mussels and clams and cover with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

Bizcochos Borrachos

4 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
8 oz water
1.5 tbsp honey
1 1/2 oz rum
1 cinnamon stick
peel from 1/2 lemon

Turn the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan with vegetable shortening and flour it (add flour, shake until coated, turn upside-down to remove excess).

Separate the egg yolks from egg whites. Beat the yolks with the sugar in a medium bowl until creamy. Using a stand mixer (or electric mixer), beat the egg whites until forming soft peaks. Carefully fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Next, fold in the flour and baking powder. Pour the batter into the cake form and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before serving.

To make the sauce, add the sugar and water to a large sauce pan and place over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, honey and lemon peel and let simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring occassionally. Remove from the heat, add the rum and let cool to room temperature.

Cut the cake into 9 pieces and serve each piece with a drizzle of the syrup.

Licor 43 con leche

Licor 43
milk
Licor 43 is a liqueur from Cartagena, Spain, made from citrus fruits, vanilla and a variety of other herbs and spices - 43 in total (hence the name). I served this with warm milk, as I've been told that's the way they do it in Spain. The liqueur itself also works well on its own or on the rocks.

Cinnamon Rolls

There's a pretty major difference between the cinnamon rolls I remember from my childhood in Sweden and what I'm used to seeing in bakeries or, for that matter, in U.S. homes. Not that I've been offered cinnamon rolls in any U.S. homes lately, but I've just never seen the smaller Swedish version anywhere else. We call them kanelbulle, which means "cinnamon bun," more or less.

These cinnamon rolls are, as the picture may have already told you, more in the style of what you'd find in a bakery (or a U.S. home, I guess). Either way, they are delicious and I recommend you go make them right now!

Cinnamon Rolls

28 oz (roughly 6 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 6 tbsp sugar
5 tsp active dry yeast
2 cups + 2 tbsp whole milk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar

Start by heating the milk until it is about 100 degrees F. Combine the flour, salt and 6 tbsp sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yeast and the milk until the yeast is completely dissolved. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients together with the 1/2 cup of melter butter, then stir - use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer, or a large spoon if you don't have the mixer (and if you don't, get one - seriously, best piece of kitchen equipment I've ever owned). Mix for about a minute, until the dough forms a ball.

If using the stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix for another five minutes, on medium speed (if you have no mixer, now is the time to switch to using your hands and kneading for five minutes instead). Add milk or flour to create a soft, tacky dough - not sticky.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the fridge about 3 hours before it's time to bake. Once the three hours have passed, divide the dough in two equal pieces and let rest, loosely covered by plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.

Next, place one piece of dough on a floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 12-by-15 inch rectangle (30x40cm, roughly). Melt the remaining butter (2 tbsp), and brush it evenly over the dough - you may end up using more than 2 tablespoons for the two pieces of dough. That's fine, just don't put so much butter on the dough that you create pools of the stuff! Whisk together the cinnamon and the remaining sugar (1/2 cup), then evenly sprinkle the mixture over the dough, making sure to leave about 1/2 inch (about 1.5 cm) around the border.

Next, roll the dough lengthwise like a rug, as tightly as possible. Once you have a "log" or "rug" ready, cut 1-inch pieces and place them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Make sure you leave about an inch of space between each roll, as they will expand greatly while rising and baking. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, then leave to rise for two hours. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

When you're almost ready to bake, turn the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the rolls in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and delicious.

In the meantime, make some topping!

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of milk, then whisk until smooth. You may need to add a little more sugar if the glaze is too "watery" (milky?) - it should have the same consistency as pancake batter.

Once the buns are ready, let them cool for about five minutes, then drizzle as much glaze as you want over them. Let cool a little longer before eating, if you can manage. Once the buns are cool, make sure you place them in an airtight container as soon as possible to prevent them from drying out.

Oh, and enjoy them with a glass of milk. It's the only way! (I generally drink coffee with the buns, but that's because coffee is awesome and fantastic and the best.)

Ciabatta

Look at that picture. That's what I've been trying to achieve since I started baking bread for real, and it's all thanks to Pete Reinhart (and my parents, who got me his book). Yay! A condensed version of the recipe follows:

Ciabatta

22 oz unbleached bread flour (about 4.5 cups)
1 3/4 tsp salt or 2 1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 cups chilled water
1 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients apart from the oil in a stand mixer bowl and run the paddle attachment for 1 minute (alternatively, in a bowl with a large spoon for one minute). Let rest 5 minutes. Add the oil, mix on medium low speed (or by hand - wet your hands first) for 1 minute. Thinly coat a bowl with oil. With wet bowl scraper or wet hands, transfer dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, rest 10 minutes.

Now stretch and fold four times: oil the work surface. Using wet hands, transfer dough to work surface. Reach under the front end of the dough and stretch it out, then fold it back onto the top of the dough. Repeat with the back, then the sides. The dough should be much firmer now. Flip over and tuck into a ball, then put back in bowl and cover.

After the fourth stretch and fold, cover the bowl tightly and place in the fridge overnight or up to 4 days.

3 hours before you're going to bake, take the bowl out into room temperature. Leave for an hour. Place parchment paper on the back of a sheet pan and dust with flour. Dust the work surface with flour. Once the dough has been out an hour, transfer it to the work surface, being careful not to deflate it too much. Dust the top of the dough with flour, then, with floured hands, coax and pat the dough into a rough square. Cut the dough in half. Gently fold each part into thirds (like folding a letter but without applying pressure). Rest, seam side down, on the parchment paper while doing the second part. Spray oil on the top, then cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean towel for one hour.

After an hour, with floured hands, lift and cradle each piece and, working form the underside, gently coax it to a length of 7 inches. Lay the pieces back on the parchment paper, seam side up. Spray oil, cover and leave another hour.

When there's 45 minutes left until baking, turn the oven to 550 degrees F (or as high as it will go), with your baking stone and a steam pan in there (steam pan at the bottom, baking stone in the middle). If you don't have a baking stone, you can use the actual sheet pan the dough is on right now. The steam pan could be, for example, a cast iron pan (although you wouldn't want to mess with one that is properly seasoned already).

Once the 45 minutes are up, lower the temperature to 450, put the dough (parchment paper and all) on the baking stone (both loaves) and pour 1 cup of hot water into the sheet pan.

Bake for 12 minutes, then turn and bake another 15-20 minutes, until rich brown crust and bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. The crust will be hard, but soften when cooling. Let cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting (difficult).

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

I had read about it for months, I saw the show on TV and one day on the way back home from work, I decided to stop by the Container Store for some baking equipment. That's right, the Container Store! I got me a big plastic box with a lid, took it home, poured some yeast, water and flour in there, stirred it around for a minute and just a day later, I had beautiful, fresh bread. The cost, in dollars? About $0.50. The cost, in time? About 5 minutes. The prize? Let me tell you, not much smells as good as freshly baked bread, and when it took basically no effort and no time, it's almost too good to be true.

The "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book by Jeff Hertzberg (an MD...uh) and Zoe Francois is supposedly great. I didn't buy it yet, I might, but for now I'm happy with the basic recipe, which is simpler than simple. Trust me.

You'll definitely need a big bucket, plastic box or...well, something like that. A pizza peel helps. A pizza stone is pretty much essential. Once you have these things, let's get to work.

(Basic) Artisan Bread

1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 cups lukewarm tap water
cornmeal for dusting

In a large, resealable container, mix the yeast with the lukewarm water (around 100 degrees F is fine). Once mixed together, add the salt and mix again. Next, add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon, until just combined. Do not knead. Do not over-stir. Do not add anything else. This will be an extremely wet dough, and it's supposed to be! Close the lid and leave to fend for itself (raise) for about 5 hours in normal room temperature.



Now place it in the fridge, and leave at least overnight. The longer you leave it, the more complex the dough will get and the better the bread will taste. Two weeks is max, though, don't leave it longer than that.

Once you're ready to bake, liberally dust a pizza peel with cornmeal. Remove the container from the fridge, and sprinkle the area of dough you intend to use with all purpose flour - you're looking to remove about a grapefruit-sized ball of dough from the container. Dust your hand with flour, grab the dough and pull. Use a serrated knife to cut the dough loose. Next, shape a ball in your hand - you're looking to gently stretch the dough. Do not knead it! Stretch, turn a 1/4, stretch again. Repeat until you have a smooth ball. If it's very wet, use more flour to dust, but the flour is not supposed to be incorporated into the actual dough, just cover the surface.


Let the dough rest on the pizza peel for about 1h30m. They say 45 minutes in the book, I believe, but I find waiting twice that length of time is better. When 40 minutes remain, place the pizza stone in the middle of the oven, something that can contain water and won't break in the bottom of the oven (a cast iron pan or a broiler pan works fine), then turn your oven to 450 degrees. Once the 1h30 is up, slash the top of the bread three times with a serrated knife, to prevent exploding bread in your oven. Transfer to the pizza stone. Pour about a cup of warm tap water into a glass and quickly add to the pan at the bottom of the oven, then close the door and leave it closed - the steam will help develop a much better crust.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it and probably eating the whole thing in one sitting!

You don't have to wash the container when you run out of dough - just start anew and the small pieces of old dough will help develop a more complex taste for the next batch. Not quite like a sourdough starter, but not far off.

Bagels

Had I known bagels would be so easy to make, I would have attempted this way earlier. The process is like creating any kind of bread, really, with the added step of placing the uncooked bagels in boiling water for a few minutes. This is what creates the harder crust and the spongy interior, which makes bagels so good, so good.

Bagels

3.5 cups all purpose flour
1.25 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt

I make this in a stand mixer - if you're kneading by hand, make sure you have some good music, good company, good drinks or all three combined to make time fly by. Start by mixing the yeast and the sugar with the water - the water should be warm, but not hot. We're looking to awaken the yeast, not burn it to death. Once the yeast and sugar has dissolved completely, pour the flour into a large bowl (the stand mixer bowl, if using) and make a well in the middle. Add the liquid and incorporate some of the flour into it. We're looking to make a very loose batter, not an actual dough at this point.

Let this rest for 30 minutes - you'll notice that it gets very bubbly on top. Once the 30 minutes are up, add the salt and start kneading. If you're using the stand mixer, lube your dough hook up with cooking spray and knead for about 15 minutes. If doing by hand, mix everything up in the bowl and turn on to a floured working space. Knead for 30 minutes, without breaks! Breaks are for the weak. Oh, I'm just kidding.

Once the kneading is done, you should be able to "windowpane" the dough. Take a small piece and flatten it into a disc. Drag the edges, turning with each pull, and the center of the dough should be like a membrane, you should easily be able to see light through it. Here's an example of what that looks like.

Optional step: If you wish to make bagels with something in them, like cranberries or blueberries, now is the time to gently fold them into the dough.

Place the dough back in the bowl (or leave it in the bowl if you're using a stand mixer), cover loosely and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Once done rising, turn the dough back out on the floured work surface and divide it into 8 equally large parts. Now it's time to form bagels - either make a lump and poke a hole in the middle, or roll the lump out into a roll and join the ends together. Either way works. Place the bagels on a baking sheet and cover again.

Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Put water, a large pinch of salt and a large pinch of sugar in a large pot and place over high heat on the stove, until you achieve a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, your bagels should have risen enough - you're looking to have them increase about 50% in size. Now put as many bagels as you can fit in one layer in the boiling water. Leave for one minute, then flip them over and leave for another minute. Place back on the sheet and repeat this step until they are all nice and cooked.

Optional step: at this point, you can top the bagels with whatever you see fit. Grated cheese works well, coarse sea salt is awesome (make sure you push the salt into the bagel lightly, don't squeeze all the air out of it!) and a mix of red onion and cheese is great too. Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, hell, maybe I should try something sweet on there at some point too.

Bake the bagels in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If you're a thermometer lover, they need to be about 210 degrees F on the inside to be done.

Let rest on a baking rack for at least 10 minutes. They freeze exceptionally well - I generally thaw on "3" in the microwave for 1 minute and the toast them in a normal toaster. If not frozen, they won't last 24 hours - share 'em (with me)!

Cornbread

I recently received a request for a good cornbread recipe and, having never made it before (it's an American dish for sure), I decided to give it a try. What better reason to try out one of the pans Jacquie gave me for Christmas?

I went to Randall's (our standard grocery shopping place) to get ingredients but as they didn't have normal buttermilk in stock (only the low-fat kind), I made a quick stop at Whole Foods Market as well. Whole Foods is almost interesting enough to write its own post about but suffice it to say, had it not been for their whole "health nut" image, with half the store filled with dietary supplements and vitamins, combined with their slightly higher prices, I'd really enjoy shopping there. I go there for the fish, and for certain specialty items that are harder to find elsewhere. In addition, they seem to have a pretty nice cheese counter so I'm sure I'll stop by for that from time to time as well. As I was about to pay for the buttermilk, the lady in front of me asked if I was going to drink it "just like that". I answered "nope, makin' cornbread" and she seemed pleased with that answer. Who the hell drinks buttermilk "just like that"?

This is the first request I do, and I really enjoyed the challenge of making something I have not made before (not that cornbread was particularly challenging). Hell, I've only ever tasted cornbread once before, but at least Jacquie let me know that it tasted the way it's supposed to and was good to boot. If you have a request - be it a recipe, a bartending technique or something else (related to food or drink, naturally), feel free to leave a comment to a blog post, shoot me an email, post on my Facebook wall, or send a carrier pigeon my way.

Roy, here's your cornbread recipe. Enjoy!

Cornbread

1/4 lb unsalted butter (1/2 stick) + butter or oil for greasing pan
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch pan (at least 1 inch deep) with melted butter or vegetable oil. Next, melt the butter in a pan over medium low heat. Once melted, add to a large bowl (or to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, if you're using that). Add the sugar and stir. Add eggs immediately and beat until everything is well blended.

Next, mix buttermilk and baking soda in a different bowl. Add this to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and stir. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt. Once combined, pour into the form.

Cook in oven 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in form, cut into squares and serve with your favorite meal.

Pita Bread and Tzatziki

I went to a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant for lunch the other day and had a Gyro sandwich (unidentifiable meat in a pita bread with vegetables and a tzatziki sauce on the side). I'm happy to have located such a restaurant considering I love that sort of food and I didn't think I'd be able to locate something that tastes so authentically Greek in Austin. Since we decided to throw a New Year's Eve party and needed snacks, I figured I might as well make some tzatziki and pita bread from scratch. Here's a quick and simple recipe for pita bread and tzatziki. I use the stand mixer, of course, but it works well to knead by hand as well.

Pita bread

• 1 package (2 1/4 tsp) quick-rising yeast
• 3 - 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup hot water (but not too hot)
• 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tbsp for coating

Put the yeast, 2 cups of the flour, the salt, the water and 1 tbsp of oil in a large bowl. Mix until fully incorporated, then add flour until you have a soft and relatively sticky dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead for 5 minutes. Lightly coat a bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl, turning it to cover. Next, cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Turn your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius).

Once the dough is done rising, turn it out onto a floured board again and punch the air out. Divide into 8 equally sized pieces and form little balls. Roll each ball out into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick (be careful not to handle it too much at this point!), then place on a cookie sheet (lightly greased, or covered with baking paper). Place cookie sheet close to the bottom of the oven for 4 minutes, then turn and leave for another 4 minutes or until lightly brown.

Remove from oven and immediately cover in a kitchen towel for 4-5 minutes. Once this is done, gently press each pita bread to release the air from it, but be careful and do not do this once the bread has cooled completely. Store in zip lock bag - it will last 2-3 days in room temperature or a couple of months in the freezer. Makes for a great sandwich, just cut open and stuff with vegetables, beef, chicken or anything else you can think of.

Tzatziki

• 16 oz Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt)
• 2 cucumbers
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 5 - 10 cloves of garlic (to taste)
• 1 tsp salt

If you were unable to find Greek yogurt, the first step is to place a coffee filter in a funnel, put the normal plain yogurt in the coffee filter and let drip (into a bowl!) for at least 12 hours in the fridge. This will remove most of the moisture from the yogurt, which is imperative. I did my latest batch with Bulgarian yogurt, which was a little too "wet" and I should have let it drip for 4-5 hours but I didn't have the time.

Once your yogurt is prepared (or if you're using Greek), start by carefully washing the cucumbers and then cutting them in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Once removed, grab a grater and coarsly grate the cucumber into a bowl. Next, you need to remove as much moisture as possible from the cucumbers. One way is to place them in a (clean!) dish towel and squeeze it, but remember that it will be completely green when you're done and you may not be able to clean it completely. Don't use grandma's favorite towel, mkay? I generally just grab a handful of cucumber, squeeze it in the palm of my (clean!) hand and then place on paper towels. Once all the cucumber is done, place another paper towel on top and get rid of even more moisture.

Finally, the garlic. Peel and chop very finely (use a press if you have to, but...no, don't use a damned garlic press) is all you have to do.

Now, combine the oil and juice in a medium bowl. Add the yogurt and mix very well. Add the cucumber, garlic and salt. Stir well and taste - you may need to add some more salt. I generally add black pepper as well.

Garnish with a little parsley if you want to, or just eat it because that's what it's there for. Lasts a week in the fridge if well sealed. Does not freeze well.

Enjoy :)

Butternut Squash Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

A grilled cheese sandwich with a cup of soup is one of the staples in the Great American Diet - perfect for chilly fall evenings or perhaps as lunch in the midst of the snowy winter. Since we don't get snowy winters here in Austin, and "chilly" is when the mercury hits 60 degrees (that's 15 degrees Celsius for the rest of the world), I make my grilled cheese sandwiches and soup whenever I damn well please, thank you very much.

I was charged with the "make the food" task for Thanksgiving this year (all right, I charged myself with the "make the food" task, so what?) and decided to start people off with a butternut squash soup. It went down really well, so I decided to make it again recently, removing the canned tomato soup that generally seems to be the standard side for a grilled cheese from the equation. And now, the recipe!

Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 large butternut squash
• 2 cups chicken stock (homemade if you're into that sort of thing, low salt content if you buy it)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt
• pepper
• freshly ground nutmeg
• butter or olive oil

Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Cut the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds - these can be toasted in a pan for a snack once cleaned and dried, but I'm not going to go into detail here. Cut the squash halves into half inch-thick pieces (leave the peel on) and put them in an oven pan, skin side down. Dab with butter (or drizzle with olive oil), salt and pepper. Put the pan in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until very soft. Remove from oven. Scoop the fruit from the peel into a blender. Add the chicken stock and puree until no lumps remain (you can also use a stick blender if you have one, just put the ingredients in a pot instead). Pour the mixture into a pot and bring to a simmer. Add the heavy cream and nutmeg and bring back to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Yes, you probably don't need the recipe for a grilled cheese sandwich, but I'm going to be thorough here, so here it is anyway.

• 2 slices of bread. I prefer sourdough, but anything goes
• Enough cheese to cover the face of one slice of bread. I like Cracker Barrel Cheddar, but anything that melts goes (Mozzarella is interesting, and provolone is fantastic too)
• Spreadable butter
• Black pepper (optional)

Spread the butter on one side of each slice of bread. I usually grab my bread from the freezer and by the time it's about to hit the pan, it'll be thawed enough. Now, add slices of cheese on the non-buttered side of one slice of bread. Add freshly ground black pepper, if you want to. Now add the other slice of bread on top, buttered side up.

Heat a skillet (I use my iron cast pan because iron cast pans rock) to medium high, add a tiny bit of vegetable oil if you want to, fry bread on each side for roughly one minute or until golden brown. Serve immediately with a cup of hot soup.

The soup will last in the fridge for 3-4 days, in the freezer for about a month but is absolutely best served right away. The sandwiches won't last long, at least not with me around because I'll eat them all.