Muesli Rolls and a #review of Bread by Dean Brettschneider

Do you remember the lovely Pie book by Dean Brettschneider?  Well he's done it again, this time Dean has created a superb book of Bread, as he says in the introduction "passion is my main ingredient" and that passion certainly comes through.

The book begins with an informative chapter on the History of Bread Making.  Starting with the Egyptians through the spread of wheat from the western half of Asia through to Europe and Africa  and on to the middle ages and the regulation of bread.  The skill, craft and art of the baker has been admired throughout history, there may be more science now, but the principles are still the same.

Ingredients come next and if you ever wonder about the different types of flour, their properties and which to use for what, this is the book for you. Equipment is also comprehensively covered, most of it is already available in your kitchen with a few added extras like a proofing cabinet, hot rocks and chain, apparently the preferred method for creating steam for baking crusty breads!

We all need a little Bread Know How starting with the 11 basic steps in making and baking breads, this comes with step by step photographs and includes different ways to mould bread e.g. baguette, small rolls.  Sourdough can strike fear into an amateur baker's heart but Dean is there to guide you through the chemistry behind this natural yeast to give you a good understanding before you move on to the recipes.

Savoury Breads and Sourdoughs includes Turkish Pide, Beetroot and Thyme Baguettes, Dean's Sourdough, Polenta Petites Boules, Onion Fougasse, Cheese, Bacon and Onion Paves, Carrot and Coriander Ciabatta and Potato and Rosemary Focaccia and many more.

Grainy and Healthy Breads includes Dark Beer, Walnut and Cranberry Rolls, Gluten-free Bread, I love the sound of Vine Fruit, Treacle and Rosemary Sourdough and Muesli Rolls (see recipe below)

Quick Breads and Scones try the Spinach, Pumpkin, Cumin and Feta Damper, it's a meal in itself and I'm definitely going to try the Garden Vegetable, Cheese and Hidden Egg Savoury Muffins, a bit like a Scotch Egg but with Muffin round it rather than sausage meat.

Festive breads come from all around the world, Swedish Christmas Rye Crackers are a favourite of mine, they have big holes in the middle where they are traditionally baked on a pole.  For a sweet treat there is Dresden  Christmas Stollen and Panforte.

Not quite Bread a novel idea to have 'not bread' in a bread book, but worth it for recipes like Wholemeal Spicy Lavash-style Crackers, Danish Smorrebrod (oh yes!)step by step Danish Pastries and oh my goodness Spiced Chocolate, Cointreau and Sour Cherry Bread Pudding (faints).

Sweet Breads bring us more of the good stuff with a Chocolate Chip Brioche Breakfast Plait, Cinnamon and Raisin Toast Bread and NYC Sticky Pecan Buns, a decadent treat.

Basic Recipes is where you will find all  the things you need to know about Sourdough Levain (day by day), glazes, icing, creme patissiere, Swiss buttercream and Cream Chantilly.  Not to mention Cramelised Onion Decorating Dough and homemade raspberry jam.

Weights Measures and Temperatures are clearly laid out with tables for pretty much everything you will need.

Formulas (should that not be Formulae?) now this is a good chapter even if it does involve sums!  How to scale ingredients, balance recipes and the secret of Bakers' percentages.

The Glossary has many of the baking terminology that can confuse, all explained in a couple of pages.

Who is it for? This book would suit beginners, with the step by step photo instructions and also those who want to expand their bread making skills and repertoire with demanding breads like sourdough and sweet breads.

Pros: Really clear instructions, a well laid out book, beautiful photographs and inventive recipes.

Cons: There are quite a lot of non-yeasted recipes, I don't mind this and they are great ideas, but may be a no no for purists.

The Verdict: I have quite a few Bread books and have reviewed some here on the blog.  I did wonder if I would see anything new or different in this book from Dean Brettschneider, I think it is worth a place on my bookshelf and I suspect some of the others may be ousted!


Muesli Rolls makes 15
450g (2 3/4 cups)strong bread flour
50g (1/3 cup) wholemeal or whole wheat flour
40g (1/2 cup) jumbo rolled oats
8g 2 3/4 tsp instant dry yeast
10g (2 tsp) salt
30g (1 1/2 tbsp) treacle (blackstrap molasses)
20g (1 tbsp) honey
20ml (4 tsp) olive oil
370ml (1 1/2 cups) water
40g (scant 1/2 cup) walnut pieces, chopped into small pieces
30g (3 tbsp) linseeds (flaxseeds)
20g (2 1/4 tsp) sesame seeds
80g (1/2 cup) sunflower seeds
80g (2/3 cup) pumpkin seeds
40g (1/3 cup) dried cranberries
40g (1/4 cup) dried apricots, cut into pieces
80g (1/2 cup) small chocolate drops or chocolate chips (optional)
100g (1 generous cup) jumbo rolled oats, to decorate

Place flours, oats, yeast, salt and wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Using a wooden spoon, combine to form a dough.  Tip dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 15 minutes, resting it for 1 minute every 2-3 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Check dough throughout kneading for stickiness; add a little more water or flour if necessary to achieve a soft dough that's  not too firm.

Add walnuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate(if desired). Knead until well incorporated and combined into dough.  Place dough in  a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave in a warm place for approximately  1 1/2, until dough has doubled in size. Gently knock back dough in bowl by folding it back onto itself several times. Cover again and leave for a further 30 minutes.

Tip dough upside down onto a lightly floured work surface.  Sprinkle flour over top of dough (which was on the bottom of the bowl).  Very carefully turn dough over and gently flatten to 2cm (3/4 in) thick.  Using a dough scarper or large chef's knife, cut dough into 7cm (2 3/4in) squares.  Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with water, Sprinkle entire surface of each roll with rolled oats, and pat down gently to stick them on.

Line a baking tray (cookie sheet) with baking (parchment) paper.  Place rolls onto lined tray (sheet), leaving a 2-3cm (3/4-11/4in) gap between each roll.  Cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to prove for 30-45 minutes, depending on room temperature.

Place rolls on baking tray (cookie sheet) in a preheated 230C/450F/Gas 8 oven, apply steam and quickly close oven door.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning tray around halfway through baking if needed Remove rolls from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

The rolls are quite dense in texture but full of flavour, they are particularly good toasted.

Bread by Global Baker, Dean Brettschneider
Published by Jacqui Small 
www.jacquismallpub.com
@JacquiSmallPub
RRP £25 

Labels: Bread, Dean Brettschneider, Jacqui Small, muesli, Muesli Rolls, review, rolls, Sourdough

posted by Janice @ 07:00 8 Comments

Mince and Cheese Pies and a PIE review

The pie is ubiquitous in every culture, whether it's sweet or savoury, large or small, open or closed, enclosing a filling with some kind of pastry or dough is a classic form of cooking and baking.

Dean Brettschneider has captured the joy of pies in this book dedicated to this ultimate convenience and comfort food.

About the Author
Dean Brettschneider is a professional baker, patissier and entrepreneur.  Arguably one of the world's best bakers, Dean is a truly a global baker.  He was based in Shanghai for several years and now resides in Denmark and New Zealand, where he heads up his global baking empire.

About the Book
The book starts with a History of the Humble Pie starting with pie pastry made with flour and water by the Greeks and ending up with the gourmet pies made by patisserie chefs. 

The Ingredients section is a useful reference for later recipes and the section on equipment, usefully includes Your Hands beside mixing bowls and sieves!

The first recipe chapter is all about Meat Pies and it was the very first recipe (and the cover recipe) which I couldn't resist: Mince and Cheese Pies. I have also bookmarked Spanish Chicken Pie, Steak Caramelised Onion and Red Pepper Mustard Pies and Coriander Chicken and Yoghurt Curry Pie.

Seafood Pies includes a delicious sounding Fish Pie with Leek and Chorizo and Salmon, Wild Rocket and Orzo Pie.

There is a chapter on Vegetarian Pies standouts include Tomato and Thyme Tarte Tatin and Gooey Leek, Potato and Vintage Cheddar Pie.

What is a pie?  The chapter Not-quite-a-pie stretches the boundaries of pie-dom to sausage rolls, empanadas and whoopie pies! This includes Cornish Pasties, Chunky Chicken and Apricot Spinach Pastry Plaits, Spicy Gingerbread, Cointreau and Choclate Eccles Cakes and the superb sounding Date, Apricot, Orange and Cardamom Flapjack Shortcake Tart.

Sweet Pies  are a favourite with most of us, stretch your repertoire to include Pear and Fennel Tart Tatin , Dark Chocolate Banoffee Slab, Lemon Olive oil and Blueberry Tart and possibly my favourite sweet recipe in this book: Caramel Macadamia Oaty Tart.

The book ends with a chapter of Basic Recipes, so many different sweet and savoury pastry recipes to add pizazz to your pies.  There are also a range of filling recipes and a section on Techniques such as lining a pie dish, tart tin or flan ring with pastry, baking blind and decorating.

Pros
There are some really interesting pie fillings and inspirational pastry recipes in this book. Every pie recipe has a full colour photograph and a few have step by step instructions  e.g raised pork pies. The recipes are well laid out and I found them simple to follow. The pastry recipes in the basic recipes chapter are really original.  I didn't have time to make my own puff pastry but I love the sound of Gingerbread Crust Sweet Pastry and Chilli Polenta Pie Crust.

Cons
About half the book is devoted to sweet pies, now I know they are pies, but I would have preferred more savoury pies and some of the 'pie' interpretations were rather wide e.g. Orange Blossom and White Chocolate Cheesecake 'Pie' and Gingernut Lemon Meringue Pie in a Glass! 

The Verdict
 Well if you love pies, then this is the book for you!  If you even just like pies then it would be well worth owning a copy of this book, many of the recipes could be adapted to create new pies once you have mastered the basic techniques. This book has earned a place on my bookshelf anyway.



Mince and Cheese Pies
Makes 4 individual lunch sized pies
Pastry
1 quantity of Butter Puff Pastry (I used ready made butter puff pastry)
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
500g lean beef mince
30g standard plain flour
175ml beef stock, ready-made is fine
125ml lager
2tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp Marmite (optional)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 ts dried mixed herbs
salt and peeper, to taste
200g tasty cheese or Cheddar, grated
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water for egg wash
2 tbsp black or white sesame seeds for the topping

1. Make the Butter Puff Pastry the day before and store wrapped in the refrigerator.  Cut off a quarter of the pastry block and set it aside for the pie lids.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger piece of pastry to a square, approximately 4 mm think. Cut the square into quarters.  Line each individual pie dish, ensuring the pastry is firmly presssed against he sides and leaving some hanging over the edge of the dishes.  Roll out the smaller piece of pastry to a square into quarters, cover with clingfilm and set aside.

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is golden.  Add the beef mince and cook until well browned, stirring occasionally to prevent large lumps of meat forming.  Stir in the flour and cook for approximately 30 seconds.  Gradually add the beef stock and beer, then bring to the boil.  Add the tomato puree or paste and Marmite (if using), balsamic vinegar, mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste.  Lower the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

 I didn't have any Marmite and felt that the mince was rather anaemic looking without it, so added a tbsp of soy sauce, it was a triumph and the mince was delicious.

Fill each pastry lined dish almost up to the top with the mince filling then add a small handful of grated tasty cheese or Cheddar (I used Scottish Mature Cheddar).

Brush the edge of the pastry bases with water and place the lids on top. Seal edges and trim off any excess pastry with a sharp knife.  Brush the tops o the pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Rest for 1-2 hours (or longer) before baking. 

I didn't have any sesame seeds, the pies were fine without them.

Bake in a preheated 220C (gas 7) oven for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is crisp and golden-brown in colour.  Allow to cool in the dishes for 10 minutes then remove from dishes and place on a cooling rack.  Serve with your favourite tomato sauce and a crisp green salad or a bowl of French Fries.  


 I served my pies with grilled tomatoes and broccoli, they were super delicious, the tasty mince, crispy pastry and gooey cheese, what a flavour sensation!

Pie by Dean Brettschneider
Photographs by Aaron McLean
Published by Jacqui Small LLP
RRP £25

Many thanks to Aurum Publishing Group for supplying me with a copy of Pies by Dean Brettschneider, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

Labels: book review, cheese, cookbook review, Dean Brettschneider, Mince, Mince and Cheese Pies, pastry, Pie

posted by Janice @ 09:30 7 Comments