Dreaming of an Island Life and BBD #18

Thank you to the Fun and Food Blog for hosting Bread Baking Day #18. I’m a new blogger and it is my first BBD. The theme that was chosen by the host for March, is Quick Breads.

It has been a long winter. By the end of March, the mind turns to visions of blue oceans, hot tropical islands and coconut palms if you hail from the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore I decided to make a Coconut Loaf for BBD.

So join me on a short journey visiting some of my favourite island destinations. I hope it will inspire someone to bake a loaf that tastes of the island life.

Caribbean Coconut Loaf

1 Cup / 250 ml desicated coconut
100 ml Boiling water
330 ml Unbleached flour
125 ml Cornmeal / Polenta
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice or ½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 2 limes
100 ml Demerara sugar
125 g Butter, melted
100 ml Coconut milk
1 Cup sultanas

• Pour the boiling water over the coconut and let it cool. Then pour the water off the coconut and reserve 90 ml.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F and prepare a 1 Kg loaf pan.
• Put the flours, baking powder, sugar, salt and spices into a bowl.
• Add the grated rind and coconut and mix well.
• Add the sultanas.
• Make a well in the flour and add the butter, coconut water and milk.
• Mix well, the dough will have a soft, dropping consistency.
• Bake the loaf for 40 minutes, till golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Let it cool in the pan a while and turn out. The loaf will have a dense texture.

Notes:
I used 200ml unbleached flour and 130ml breadflour to make a heavier loaf with more texture.
My original recipe called for freshly grated coconut and the liquid from a fresh coconut. I adapted it because fresh coconuts are not always readily available where I’m living.

Our original plan to go hiking around Suomenlinna Island over the weekend was postponed due to a snowstorm and fog. So we pretended to be living the island life by warming up in the sauna, followed by toasted coconut loaf for breakfast and dreaming of warmer climates.

Morning Walkies and Fragrant Breakfast Rolls

On the north east side of Helsinki where I’m currently living, there is a little nature reserve by the rivermouth into the bay and endless hiking trails around the bay and along the Vantaanjoki river. I love exploring the trails in the mornings and do some wildlife spotting and birdwatching. Two birdhides in the little nature reserve allow you to observe the waterbirds close up. I have been here a year now and experienced and enjoyed seeing the changes through the four seasons.

Sometimes I go hiking listening to music on my mp3 player but mostly I hike to the accompaniment of birdsong. The Woodpeckers, European Magpies and Blue Tits do not fly away during winter and the sweet sounds of those little Blue Tits brings warmth and sunshine to the coldest grey days.

While my feet have been burning up the hiking trails, my hands have been busy in the kitchen. A couple of weeks ago I got inspired to cook some orange and lemon marmelade. Then while shopping for the citrus fruits, I noticed some packets of dried apricots on special offer and put them in my basket, just in case. The marmelade was a success and I felt like doing some more. I recalled that my friend Barbara, from West Australia, gave me one on her mum’s recipes for cooking apricot jam from dried apricots. Into the pot went the apricots and soon I had two pots of tangy apricot jam too. In the meantime I was making some home-made cream cheese from yogurt. Of course, all those lovely toppings and preserves were crying out for the perfect breadrolls to be baked.

Here are my 2 favourite variations for breadrolls. These rolls release a tempting aroma that is quite evident when you cut them open. And if toasted, the aroma pervades the whole kitchen.

Fragrant Breakfast Rolls

200 ml Milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1 package dried yeast
¼ Cup lukewarm water
2 Tablespoons raw sugar
1 Egg beaten with 3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 ½ Cups wholewheat flour
½ Cup of Bran flakes
1 Tablespoon of finely ground coriander
Grated zest of one orange (or use two oranges and omit the lemon)
Grated zest of one lemon
Eggwash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

• Heat the milk with the butter till the butter is just melting and leave to cool till tepid.
• Put the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar in the lukewarm water and let it stand for 5 minutes till frothy.
• Add the grated zest to the egg & oil mix.
• Put 3 cups of the flour, bran, salt and coriander in a bowl.
• Make a well in the centre and add all the wet ingredients.
• If the dough is too wet, add another ½ cup of flour.
• Knead the dough gently adding some breadflour till it stops sticking to you hands. It is a very soft dough.
• Place it in an oiled bowl, turn over to coat with oil & cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise for an hour. It should double in size.
• Turn the dough out onto a cutting board. It will deflate gently.
• Line a baking sheet with baking paper or a baking mat. Sprinkle with bran flakes.
• Cut the dough into eight portions, like cutting a pie.
• Roll each portion into a round roll, flatten slightly and place it on the baking sheet. Leave enough space between the rolls to double in size. The recipe makes 8 medium sized rolls.
• Let the rolls rise for 45 minutes. Then heat up the oven to 200°C.
• Paint the rolls with the eggwash and sprinkle bran flakes over them.
• Turn the oven down to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes till deep golden brown and sounding hollow when tapped. (I always turn my little fan oven down a bit.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Fragrant Rye Caraway Lunch Rolls

• Use 50% breadflour and 50% Rye flour.
• Omit the bran flakes.
• Replace the coriander with a tablespoon of caraway seeds.
• Add 2 teaspoons grated nutmeg.
• Use the grated zest of 2 oranges and omit the lemon.
• Use dark brown sugar.
• The rye dough is firmer than the wholewheat dough and you may not need to add any more flour.
• Enjoy with smoked salmon, egg, dill pickles and lemon.

A Log Cabin, A Frozen Lake & Fruit Ciabatta

It is mid-March and the weather keeps changing its mind. One day we may have a snowstorm and the next day will be clear with soft sunshine lighting up the snow and bathing the sky in pastel shades. After the snowfalls early last week we decided to head north on Friday afternoon to the Log Cabin on the shore of Lake Saimaa, for a weekend of skiing on the frozen lake. It would probably also be my last opportunity this season to put the wood fired oven in the cabin to the test.

We arrived on Friday evening just as darkness descended and immediately lit a fire in the big grey stone monster to start heating the cabin and building up heat in the oven above. We snuggled up to the stove with our books and music. Later I chopped the dried apricots while sipping a glass of Portuguese red wine. Just before heading for bed, I mixed the ciabatta dough and put it outside on the deck in the cold to slow down the rise (no need for a fridge up here). Early on Saturday, I built a big fire and brought the dough inside. I formed the loaf, covered it with flour and put it in the kitchen to warm up and rise.

Eventually, an hour later, the oven was put to the test.

Well, it took forever, but we did eventually get to eat the ciabatta. I think it dried out a bit and was a bit heavy after baking for so long. But it made for a tasty brekky with a frothy home-brewed cappuccino. It was a fun experiment but I may stick with an electric oven in the future.

I spent the rest of the morning ‘breaking trail’ on the lake. It was hard work, the snow was up to a foot deep in places but I cut a successful trail in a large circle on the bay. After a few laps the snow had compacted enough to start having fun and do many laps working up the appetite for a standard Scandinavian lunch, smoked salmon on rye. I was looking forward to my trail icing up overnight for Sunday’s fun.

However, when we woke up the next morning it was snowing heavily and my trail was disappearing fast. I did not need to bake either since we still had half a loaf of ciabatta left for brekky. So I settled down with a good book and couple more of those frothy coffees. Next up was some ice fishing. It did not last long. It was just too cold to sit still. We ended up having more fun throwing snow balls and building snowmen so we gave up and went hiking instead. A competition to see who could see the first hopper/hare resulted in no winners.

By the time we finished packing up and headed home to Helsinki, the storm had moved on and the landscape was sparkling in the sunshine. As we approached the turn onto the highway, a hare darted across the road in front of us. Was he laughing?

Cinnamon Fruit Ciabatta

This loaf is delicious while still warm topped with cream cheese or plain butter. It is equally good with a strong cheddar.

Yields 1 medium sized loaf

1 packet (approx 11g) dried yeast
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar or a teaspoon treacle
1 Cup (250ml) warm water
2 Cups bread flour
5 ml salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Cup chopped dried apricots (cut into quarters)
½ - 1 Cup sultanas

• Dissolve the yeast, sugar/treacle in warm water and leave for 5 minutes till frothy
• Mix the dry ingredients and dried fruit.
• Add the yeast mix and mix well. Knead the dough about 10 times.
• Put the dough in a floured bowl, cover with more flour. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it rise for at least 1 hour.
• Once it has risen, gently form the dough into a loaf and place on a baking tray lined with floured baking paper. You can dust it with a bit more flour if necessary.
• Let it rise for another 20-30 minutes
• Bake at 220°C (or 200°C if using a fan oven) and bake for 20 minutes.
• Turn the oven down 20 degrees, turn the loaf over and bake a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven when the loaf sounds hollow when you knock against it with your knuckles.
• Tuck in.

Variation: Add a mix of your favourite herbs and omit the cinnamon for a savoury loaf.

Snow, Sourdough Stromboli and Skiing

While shopping locally in January 2009, I stood in the local shopping centre but found no inspiration in terms of bread. On the spur of the moment I formulated my New Year’s Resolution: I will not buy any bread or pastries this year, I will bake every week.

Now, a month later, I am enjoying the plan so much that I thought I would keep a record in my blog. So this is my diary of a year in bread and baking as well as having some fun, starting with the spring season in the northern hemisphere. The official start of spring also seemed to start the snow falling. We have had more snow in Helsinki during this week than all winter.

My first week's baking was determined by an event we were attending on Saturday. We were heading north to watch a round of the Word Cup Skiing at Lahti. So I decided to bake a Stromboli where a selection of tasty fillings is baked into the bread instead of making sandwiches.

I had a mature sourdough starter living in the fridge and decided on a sourdough stromboli filled with boiled eggs, salami, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

I made a basic sourdough bread as follows:

Simple Sourdough Bread

1 Cup sourdough starter

4 Cups unbleached bread flour

1 Cup water

2 Teaspoons Salt

Mix and knead for approximately 10 minutes till smooth and satiny, adding tablespoons full of flour at a time until the dough stops sticking. Leave it to rise for 4-6 hours.

Once I finished kneading the bread dough, I prepared the fillings. After rising I rolled the dough into a rectangle and placed a mix of chopped mozzarella, cubes of salami, cubes of boiled potato and parmesan cheese on half of the rectangle. I lined up the eggs in a row and folded the dough right over to make a roll.

It made too big a roll to fit into my bundt pan so I put it in a cake tin and placed a mug in the centre and let it rise for another hour. The oven was heated to 220 and the bread baked at the temperature for 10 minutes. After that I turned down the heat to 180 and it baked for 20 minutes more. If it gets too brown, lightly cover with a sheet of foil to stop it getting too dark.

It was an enjoyable weekend and we could not decide which event was more thrilling, the x-country sprints or the ski jumping. We also enjoyed our picnic lunch.