Poffertjes ( Pancakes)

Poffertjes, (pronounced puff' ur jis) or Dutch Mini Pancakes are small, fluffy yeasted treats made in a special cast iron pan. Sold throughout the Netherlands, Poffertjes are traditionally served hot with a pat of butter and a good sprinkling of confectioners' sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces, 350 ml) milk, heated to about 105° F (See Tip 1)

• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

• 1 3/4 cups (8.75 ounces, 250 grams) all-purpose flour

• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1 large egg

• Unsalted butter (See Tip 2)

• Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling on Poffertjes

Instructions

1. Add yeast to lukewarm milk; stir to combine. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes or until frothy.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add milk/yeast mixture and egg. Beat with electric mixer on high until smooth, about 1 minute. (See Tip 3)

3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let sit until bubbly and doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

4. Heat Poffertjes pan on medium heat until hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Brush cavities with melted butter. Add about 1 tablespoon of batter to each of the cavities. When small bubbles start to appear and the top starts to look a bit dried out, quickly flip Poffertjes. (See Tips 4 and 5)

5. Allow Poffertjes to cook on other side until nicely browned, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Repeat with remaining batter.

6. Serve hot with a pat of butter and sprinkling of confectioners' sugar. Yield, about 60 Poffertjes.

Notes

1. I used whole milk. However, you could also use low-fat milk. I heated the milk in my microwave on full power for about a minute.

2. I melted about a tablespoon of butter to use for greasing the cavities of the Poffertjes pan. 

3. I could have also used a whisk to beat the ingredients together to form a smooth batter.

4. If you've ever made pancakes, you should know how they look when it's time to flip them over - small bubbles appearing and the top looking a bit dried out.

5. While cooking the Poffertjes, watch the heat carefully. You might need to lower the heat just a little bit to prevent the Poffertjes from burning.

White Bread

Ingredients

3 cups Water
3 tablespoons Yeast
3 teaspoons Salt, table
4 tablespoons Oil
½ cup Sugars, granulated
8 cups white flour

Directions

Step 1
In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, and 4 cups flour. Mix thoroughly, and let sponge rise until doubled in size.

Step 2
Gradually add about 4 cups flour, kneading until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.

Step 3
Punch down the dough, let it rest a few minutes. Divide dough into three equal parts. Shape into loaves, and place in three 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled.

Step 4
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes. The loaves may need to be covered for the last few minutes with foil to prevent excess browning.

Boursin Cheese spread (aka Garlic Herb Spread)

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter

8 oz package cream cheese

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t oregano

1/2 t basil

1/8 t each dill, marjoram, thyme, and pepper OR 1/2 t poultry seasoning

Let butter and cream cheese come to room temperature, then stir all to combine.

French Bread

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 T instant yeast

1/2 C very warm water

1 1/2 T sugar

2 C water

1 1/2 T oil

2 1/4 t salt

6 C flour

Combine the yeast, 1/2 C warm water, and sugar, and let proof for ten minutes. (I should admit I’ve skipped this step and thrown everything into the mixer at once, and it’s worked fine.) Then add remaining 2 C water, oil, salt, and 3 C of flour. Mix until flour is incorporated, then add remaining 3 C flour gradually. Knead about five minutes, then turn out onto generously floured surface. Every ten minutes for the next hour knead two or three times. Form into 4 loaves. Brush with beaten egg white. Slash 3 diagonal lines into tops. Raise until double or 30 minutes. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 375 for 20 minutes.

We often eat this with a homemade Boursin spread. I will post that recipe also. 

Garlic and Herb Pull Apart Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 C bread flour

• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

• 2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast

• 1 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp thyme

• 1 1/2 tsp basil divided

• 8 cloves garlic divided

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 C milk heated to 115°F

• 1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water heated to 115°F

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted and divided

• 6-8 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Add first 5 dry ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer, plus 2 cloves of garlic, minced and 1/2 tsp basil. With mixer on low, add olive oil, milk and warm water. Increase speed as needed, mixing until dough pulls away from the bowl, shape into a smooth ball. Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and place in a warm location until double in size, at least 1 hour.

2. Roll out dough to a 12x20-inch rectangle. Generously brush with 3 Tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp basil, Parmesan cheese and remaining 6 cloves of garlic, minced.

3. Carefully cut into 6 equal strips. Layering the strips on top of each other. Cut further into 6 equal stacks. You will now have 6 stacks of 6 layers each. Transfer dough squares to a lightly greased 2 10-inch loaf pan. Cover loosely and allow to rise for an additional 30-60 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prior to baking, drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp melted butter. Bake for 35 minutes, covering with foil if necessary to prevent over browning.

This makes 2 loaves of bread.

Crescent Rolls

Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 c warm water

• 2/3 c nonfat dry milk powder

• 2 Tbsp dry yeast

• 1/4 c sugar

• 2 tsp salt

• 1/2 c butter

• 1 egg

• 4 1/2- 5 c all purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a Kitchenaid mixing bowl, stir in warm water and nonfat dry milk powder until it dissolves.

2. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups of flour.

3. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.

4. Add 2 more cups of flour, mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.  (You can switch your attachment to the dough hook at this point for easier mixing.)

5. Add 1/2 cup flour again, mixing on low speed until wet, then 2 minutes at medium speed.  You can add an additional 1/2 c if your dough is still too wet but I usually stop at 4 1/2 cups of flour total.

6. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff.

7. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil around the sides of the bowl so that the bowl is coated.  

8. Spray some plastic wrap with non-stick coating and place the plastic over the bowl. Allow it to rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size and rises to the top of the bowl.

9. Once the dough has risen, place your dough on a flat floured surface, then divide the dough in half. 

10. Roll out 1/2 the dough into a circle.

11. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 16 even slices.

12. Begin to roll the slice of dough in, starting from the wide end and tuck the small point underneath. 

13. Place rolls on parchment-lined baking sheet.

14. Repeat steps 10-13 for the 2nd half of the dough and let them rise for 1- 1 1/2 hours, until double in size

15. Bake at 375 F for 12-15 minutes or until golden-brown. 

16. Brush with melted butter while hot.

 

Whole Wheat Bread

Our kids love this bread. It is soft  and doesn't taste like your average whole wheat bread. Most people who try it think it is a mix of wheat and white. I use white wheat and grinding your own flour makes a big difference in how it tastes.  This recipe makes 4 8/4 inch loaves.

7 c. whole wheat flour (grind your own if you have a wheat grinder)

2/3 c. vital wheat gluten

2 1/2 T. instant yeast

5 c. steaming hot water (120-130 F)

2 T. salt

2/3 c. oil

2/3 c. honey or 1 c. sugar (I like honey the best!)

2 1/2 T. bottled lemon juice

5 c. whole wheat flour

Mix together the first three ingredients in your mixer with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute; cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging). Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add last flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 8-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. This makes very soft dough.

Pre-heat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. This recipe can be halved to make 2 loaves.

Notes: 

The best pans to use are 8×4 inch non stick pans.

When the dough is put into the bread pans, squish the dough softly into the corners of your bread loaf pans. This will make your bread cook more evenly and not have the large lump in the middle of your loaf.

When you are done mixing the dough it should like somewhat shiny. This indicates that the gluten are well developed. If I don't see this after mixing it for 8-10 minutes then I add a few minutes to the mixing time.