Early Morning Chocolate Swirled Pastry Bread

I like the idea of getting up early in the morning – seeing the sunrise, soft morning light seeping through tree branches, Biscuit blinking sleepily on his dog bed at the first morning movement, as a whole day looms ahead of me full of endless possibilities.  In the morning, everything is new and full of promise.  After a deep sleep, things seem more alive and restored. Plants stretch and unfold, soaking in the warmth and light, squirrels scamper up and down trees in the yard, our cat Huckleberry is momentarily good friends with Biscuit and gently rubs against his long legs.

But after about a full minute of enjoying this slow morning time, the pace drastically changes.  Biscuit starts whining and Huckleberry starts yammering.  They must be fed IMMEDIATELY!  I have to make the bed, walk Biscuit, do a load of laundry, pack a lunch, shower, gather all of my belongings together and get out the door as soon as possible.  Needless to say, sitting down and savoring breakfast, is not a top priority.  Most weekday beginnings, after the first glimpse of morning sunlight, are harried and frenzied.

Saturday mornings, however, are blissful.  I rise early, not because of a blaring alarm clock, but because my internal clock tells me to get up.  I enjoy the first few moments of morning light, Biscuit’s sleepy eye blinks, stretches, and Huckleberry’s congeniality like weekday mornings, and then I take the time to prepare a slow breakfast.

This week, I prepared chocolate swirled pastry bread.  For me, preparing bread early in the morning is one of the wonderful simple pleasures in life.  The process is impossible to rush and with this slowing down, things in life also start to become easy, gradual and deliberate.  I have been reading the book French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon and came across this quote by Janet Luhrs, “Cooking can be an act of love and delight, or it can be yet another exercise in racing through life on automatic pilot- never stopping for a moment to notice, feel or taste.  Cooking prepared as an act of love brings us renewed energy and vigor.” Slow Saturday mornings seemed in perfect alignment with Luhrs’ thinking.

When making the chocolate swirled pastry bread last Saturday morning, I tried to bake as an act of “love and delight” as Luhrs suggested.  I enjoyed the process, felt the shapes and folds of the smooth, elastic dough.  I inhaled slowly as the chocolate melted for the ganache and took the time to notice the richer more rounded smell as I added the butter, syrup, egg and rum.  I observed the beautiful contrast of the dark ganache on yellow pastry dough and how the butter in the dough glistened as it warmed and rose.  The bread baked and filled the house with the sweet smell of chocolate and buttery pastry dough.

As I enjoyed two warm slices of bread on the patio table, I felt just as Luhrs described: renewed with energy and vigor.  Even though the rising and baking time added up to hours, I did not feel anxious, harried or frenzied like most mornings that I am wrestling with time, but relaxed, rejuvenated, and satisfied.  It may not be possible to devote hours to baking a pastry bread every morning, but I do know it is possible to enjoy the remnants of slow Saturday morning baking during the weekday mornings.  If only for a couple minutes, I can sit on the patio on warm summer mornings, and slow down momentarily to notice the taste, touch and smell of a slow baked pastry bread made with love and delight.

Early Morning Chocolate Swirled Pastry Bread

Adapted from  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by: Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

For the Brioche Bread:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

8 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted

7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 egg beaten for egg wash spread on top of bread

granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

For the Chocolate Ganache:

1/4 pound good quality bittersweet chocolate chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

5 tablespoons corn syrup

1 tablespoon rum

1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

The Brioche dough is best prepared the day before, but can be made day of by decreasing the amount of flour by 1 cup.

Dough Directions: Mix the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey and melted butter in a electric mixing bowl or large mixing bowl. Slowly mix in the flour on a low speed until all of the flour is incorporated. Transfer dough to a 5 qt. storage container and allow to sit and rise for about two hours (the dough should double in size and begin to collapse. Refrigerate dough in a lidded, but not airtight, and store overnight

Early Morning Chocolate Swirl Pastry Bread Directions:

Prepare the chocolate ganache first.  Melt the chocolate in a double broiler.  Immediately remove from heat when all of chocolate is melted.  Stir in butter until incorporated.

Mix together the cocoa powder, rum and corn syrup until smooth.  Add to the chocolate mixture.

Lightly butter a 9x4x3 inch loaf pan.

Dust the surface of stored Brioche dough with flour and cut off a one pound piece of dough (there will be dough leftover that can be stored and used for more baking) Shape dough into a ball and then roll out into a  ¼ inch thick rectangle with a rolling pin.  Dust with flour lightly if dough is becoming sticky.

Spread ½ cup of the chocolate ganache over the center of the dough rectangle and spread on dough leaving a 1 inch border on all sides. Start at the bottom short edge of the rectangle and roll dough.  Tuck ends of the loaf beneath and form into a oval loaf and place in the loaf pan.

Let dough rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes in a warm spot.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake the loaf for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Remove loaf from pan and cool slightly.

Spread remaining ganache on top of the loaf and reserve some for dipping.

Enjoy!

Redemptive Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble Bars

Recently, I have made it my mission to seek out the redeeming qualities in things, people and decisions. Biscuit’s redeeming qualities are that he is cute, soft and cuddly, unconditionally loving, and endlessly entertaining.  A few weekends ago, I discovered that one of my redeeming qualities is my ability to make rhubarb strawberry crumble bars (among numerous other qualities of course).  These bars also redeemed one of the poorer decisions I made that weekend (The Pool Disaster Weekend).

One of the good decisions I made on Pool Disaster Weekend was to make my first farmer’s market expedition this spring.  The rhubarb at the market immediately caught my eye.  It is one of the few vegetables that is currently in season in Minnesota.  It was in full force at the market and looked deliciously fresh.  After going past stand after stand of rhubarb, trying to eye up the perfect batch, I spotted intense hues of red and green in sturdy, crisp stalks.  I could not resist buying a few bundles to make rhubarb strawberry crumble bars.

As I made the bars, everything seemed to go together perfectly – the rhubarb was crisp and tangy, the strawberries sweet and juicy, the buttery crumble and crisp crust complemented each other like an old married couple.

I decided to bring these bars and pair them with vanilla ice cream for a poolside get-together at my fiancé,  Sam’s,  parent’s house – a good decision.

Then, I made one of the worst decisions of the weekend.  I decided to bring Biscuit to the pool get-together.  To understand why this was such a bad decision, some background information would be beneficial about Biscuit’s pool tyranny.  The following is a typical step-by-step pool gathering for Biscuit:

Step 1: Whine and bark at a high-pitched level during the car ride to the pool. Optimal whining and barking to be done directly behind owners’ ears.

Step 2: Bust out of car and sprint directly to backyard pool gate upon arrival, dragging owner on leash behind.

Step 3: Enter backyard pool vicinity.  Go directly to pool, jump in when guests are yelling, “No Biscuit, No!”  Swim immediately to pool kiddie toys and floaties and take them as own.

Step 4: Initiate game of chase with a three-year-old’s pool floaty in mouth.  Run around the yard and through the woods with pool floaty.  Do this super fast and taunt those trying to catch you.

Step 5:  Drop pool floaty after about five minutes of running around the yard and head for the chip and dip table.  Perfect nose height!  Grab all the chips that can fit in one mouthful

Step 6:  Get dragged out of pool area by mortified owner.

I made the decision to bring Biscuit because he had not been at the pool since last summer’s horrific pool side behaviors and has matured quite a bit since then ( I tried to come up with an  example of how he has matured but couldn’t think of one.  He is a year older though).

To my dismay, the pool trip this year had the same outcome as all the other fateful pool trips.  We entered the pool area and only moments later Biscuit had a child’s pool toy in his mouth as shocked and horrified voices screamed at him to, “Drop it!”  Sam, my fiance, and I helplessly yelled at Biscuit to, “Heel”, “Sit!” “Drop it!” “Come!” “Stay!”  After grabbing a mouthful of chips and jumping in the pool one more time, I decided it was time to get Biscuit out of there before any more damage could be done.  We dragged him back to the car, and I drove a tired but content Biscuit home.

I did not even want to begin to think of what was being said or thought about Biscuit and his owners back at the pool.  As I was on the brink of tears wondering how Biscuit and I would redeem ourselves from yet another horrific pool-side disaster, I remembered the rhubarb crumble bars I baked for just this event.  This was my redemption ticket.

I returned back to the pool Biscuit-less but with rhubarb crumble bars and ice cream in hand.  To my surprise, everyone seemed glad to see me.

As all the pool guests enjoyed their hot dogs, burgers and rhubarb strawberry crumble bars with ice cream, it seemed as if order had returned to the pool.  Sam’s parents were even talking fondly of Biscuit.  Although everything ended well, I probably will wait another year until I bring Biscuit back to the pool again.  I may have redeemed myself in the eyes of the pool guests, but I don’t know if I can say the same for Biscuit quite yet.

Redemptive Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble Bar Recipe

Serves: 16

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Rhubarb Crumb Recipe and Whiteonricecouple.com

Ingredients:

For Crumble:

½ cup unsalted melted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

For Crust:

¾ cups unsalted butter room temperature

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

For Filling:

1 lb rhubarb diced into ½ inch pieces

1 lb strawberry hulled and sliced ½ inch thick

1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Line a 9 inch baking dish with parchment paper, allowing paper enough paper to hang over the edge of the dish on two sides.  Butter and flour parchment paper and dish.  Tap off excess flour.

Make the crust:

In an electric mixer, mix together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Slowly add eggs and vanilla extract to the mixer.  Mix until combined.  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.   Add flour mixture and stir until just incorporated.  Don’t over mix.  Pour the crust mixture into the bottom of the lined baking dish.

Make the filling:

Combine chopped strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl.  Mix in flour and brown sugar until spread evenly over strawberry and rhubarb combination.  Pour on top of crust mixture.

Make the crumble:

Whisk together melted butter, brown sugar and salt.  Add flour and mix together with fingers to create large crumbs.  If mixture is too soft, refrigerate shortly and then mix.  Sprinkle crumble on top of filling in baking dish.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool, then cut bars to preferred size.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Warm Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns

Usually I start my Saturday mornings preparing dough for breakfast bread then running with Biscuit while the dough rises.  However, this morning, when I woke up to dark grey clouds, cold rains and 40-degree Minnesotan “spring” temperatures, I knew I would have to work at mustering up the motivation to get myself outside at all.  I could just imagine going outside with Biscuit and having the rain turn to sleet, sting my face and soak through my pants. This would happen as Biscuit slopped through muddy puddles and pulled me from tree to tree, trying to catch a scent from any previous dog that had stopped at that tree within the past five years.  This did not seem like fun at all, but Biscuit NEEDS his exercise.  I needed something warm, something cozy, something buttery with cinnamon and warm spices.  I decided to make pecan caramel cinnamon buns, in hopes of being able to ignite enough warmth and motivation to start my run.

As I left the dough to rise on top of my warming oven, I still didn’t feel much like venturing outside as cold raindrops plunked and splattered on my kitchen windows and trees moaned and swayed in the wind.  Biscuit moaned too, took a seat on his dog bed and gazed out the window longingly, waiting for his chance to drag me around the neighborhood.

After 40 minutes of rising, I checked on my buns with Biscuit at my heels, eagerly waiting for that something that smelled so good in the kitchen to “accidentally” drop on the floor right under his nose.  The kitchen windows fogged in the newfound warmth of the preheating oven and dispersed the cinnamon yeasty smell coming from the rising dough.

40 minutes after I put the risen bun dough in the oven, I had rich sticky cinnamon buns and a cozy house that smelled sweet and warm.  The caramelized butter and sugar soaked in from the top of the bun and the sweet cinnamon pecan mixture that infused the inside combined perfectly with the boule dough.  The end result was a crisp golden brown bun with a soft buttery inside, and a gooey caramel top punctuated by crunchy pecans.

I sat down to eat a sticky bun at my little kitchen table that faces the small kitchen window that was completely fogged over.  Biscuit looked up at me and let out a low groan in exasperation from not getting any sticky bun morsels and at having to wait so long for his run.  I felt as motivated as I could to step out in the harsh conditions but a little more ready to face the cold, puddles and mud after eating something so satisfying.

Recipe was adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by: Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

I used the boule dough master recipe which had been storing in my refrigerator for about a week, developing notes of sourdough flavor.  The dough is made with more liquid than usual to make it easier to store in the refrigerator weeks before using.  This made the cinnamon bun dough prep much easier and convenient.

Warm Caramel Sticky Buns Recipe

Makes 8 buns

Ingredients:

Caramel Topping

6 tablespoon softened unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup pecan halves

Filling

4 tablespoon softened salted butter

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped and toasted pecans

Pinch of ground black pepper

Boule Dough Master Recipe

3 cups lukwarm water

1 1/2 tbsp. granulated yeast

1 1/2 tbsp. coarse salt

6 1/2 all purpose white flour

Dough:

You should preferably store the door for at least a week in the fridge to develop ample sourdough flavoring.  Mix the yeast with warm water and salt.  Add the flour and mix with a spoon or mixer with a dough hook attachment until dough is blended completely.  Put dough in a container and allow to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse.  Cover container loosely.  Do not use an air tight lid.  After dough has risen (approximately 1 1/2 hours) store in fridge. On baking day, take dough out of fridge and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Take out a piece of dough, approximately the size of a melon, and gently form into a ball.

Toast the pecans:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put the pecans on a cookie sheet.  Toast for 7 minutes or until fragrant.

Mix the caramel topping:

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and salt.  Spread evenly on a 9-inch cake pan and sprinkle pecan halves on top.

Mix the filling:

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, pecans and spices.

Roll out the dough, spread filling and roll into log:

Press the boule dough into a rough shape of a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  You will also have to lightly flour your hands and rolling pin because this dough is extra wet.  Roll out the dough with the rolling pin into a 20 inch by 9 inch rectangle.  Spread the filling evenly on top of the dough.  Start with a long side of the rectangle and carefully roll the dough inwards, making it into a log.  Cut the log into 8 equal sections with a sharp serrated knife.

Prepare the pan and let dough rise:

Put the eight pieces of dough on top of the prepared cake pan with the caramel topping.  Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 1 hour.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake:

Pop the buns in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.  Take the pan out and immediately and scrape along the edge of the pan with a butter knife to loosen the edges of the buns.  Invert the buns on a plate and scrape any gooey caramel that’s left on the pan and add it to the topping of the buns.

Eat while still warm, or let cool and then store in a dry place for up to three days.

Enjoy!