Lea &amp; Jay

Lavatools Javelin Pro Instant Read Thermometer

OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop

Norpro Ravioli/Pastry Wheel

1 Comment | Anniversaries, bread, Breakfast, Groundhog Day, Holidays, Imbolc, Recipes, St. Brigid's Day | Tagged: baking, blog anniversary, bread, Filled Wool Roll Bread, Groundhog Day, Imbolc, Ireland, Orange Cranberry Filled Wool Roll Bread, St. Brigid's Day, Tangzhong, yeast bread | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Hornazo de Salamanca

April 16, 2022

Woah! Here it is nearly Easter already! Yesterday was Good Friday to be specific. So anyone who knows me, knows that yesterday I was busy baking my Apple Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns.

They are so tasty and if you bake them on Good Friday, they actually have some magical properties. With the past few years we’ve had, I need all the magic I can get! For my featured Easter delicacy this year I am sharing a recipe from Spain. Hornazo de Salamanca is a yeast bread which has been stuffed with spicy chorizo, hard boiled eggs and serrano ham.

Yummy right?! Think of it as a large empanada or a Spanish meat pie.

And this bread is not only delicious, it has a fascinating, rather bawdy story to tell as well. Bawdy and Easter? Yup. But before I get into all the salacious details, let me give you a roundup of all the Easter Breads from years past. You see, I have been on a roll (ha ha – you’ll get it with the next few words) making Easter Breads (get it? roll…bread…) from around the world. I was tempted to stray from my Easter Bread path last year by this stunning Malted Chocolate Easter Cake.

But a couple years ago I gave you Polish Babka.

And the year before that was Cozonac – Romanian Easter Bread.

Don’t forget my Italian Easter Bread:

Or that amazing Tsoureki from Greece:

There was the Slovak Paska:

And then quite a few years ago, I tried my hand at this impressive Russian Kulich:

But let me get back to that Hornazo de Salamanca. This bread is pretty easy to make. I have included a link at the bottom of the recipe for a handy video that shows you how it is done. The video is in Spanish, but you’ll definitely benefit rom seeing all of the steps. And for me, the video was essential for figuring out how to do the top lattice decoration.

The filling used in the video is slightly different than what I used in that I did hard boiled eggs rather than marinated pork loin fillets. But as is usually the case with traditional recipes, each and every household likely has its own version, which is great. You can customize it to your particular taste. Don’t like spicy chorizo? Use a milder sausage. Do be aware, this bread does need to rest for a few hours before serving, so it would actually be best if you bake it the day before you want to serve it.

Truth be told this bread is not actually eaten on Easter, but rather it is enjoyed on the Monday after Easter in the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila. Folks there take a loaf or two of freshly baked hornazo and maybe a bottle or two of good wine out to the countryside where it is enjoyed with family and friends. The reason why they do this on the Monday after Easter is where that bawdiness I mentioned previously comes in.

Alrighty, so here we go. Apparently was back in the mid 16th century, Salamanca was a university town and had quite the flourishing red light district. When King Felipe II visited, he became concerned that all of this illicit activity this would distract the men of the town away from their religious observations during the Lent season. So, he decreed that the Padre Putas (father of whores), a cleric who had been appointed to look after the welfare of the working girls (I swear, I am not joshing you at all! This was an actual coveted appointment back in the day.), would accompany these ladies across the Tormes River outside of town, where they would remain until Easter was over. On the Monday after Easter, the students of the town, who had no doubt been very lonely this whole time, decorated boats which the Padre Putas and his lovely charges would board for their welcomed journey back across the river to the town. Many folks would be waiting on the river bank for their return and made a bit of a picnic out of it bringing this Hornazo with them to share. This festival is called Lunes de Aguas (Monday of the Waters), but it actually a bit of a play on the word aqua. Enagua in the word for petticoat. So really it was a celebration of Monday of the Petticoats!

So there you have it! A risqué Easter story and a delicious bread filled with eggs and sausages. Seems about right huh? I hope you were as amused with this bit of history as I was and that you will bake up some tasty Hornazo de Salamanca for Lunes de Aguas. Happy Easter ya’ll!

Hornazo de Salamanca

Servings: 8-10
Print

recipe slightly adapted from: Cocinando a mi manera

Ingredients:

For the bread:

750 grams of all purpose flour
150 ml of olive oil
1/4 cup +1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
125 ml white wine, room temperature
125 ml warm water (around 95°F)
8.25 grams instant yeast
10 grams salt
generous pinch of sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature and beaten

For the filling:

300 grams serrano ham
300 grams chorizo
6 hard boiled eggs, sliced or chopped as you prefer

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Place warm water, olive oil, butter and white wine in a bowl and stir together. Then add the sugar, salt and 2/3rds of the beaten eggs. Mix well.

In another large bowl, place flour and yeast. Stir to combine. Make a depression in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour the liquids into the well and start to mix, incorporating flour from the sides until a dough begins to form. Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and continue kneading until a soft pliable ball forms.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Let rise until doubled in size, roughly 1 hour.

Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface and pat into an approximate 12″ circle. Cut a bit of the dough off and set aside to use for the top decoration. Divide the remaining dough in half.

Roll one of the dough halves into a roughly 15×13″ rectangle. Transfer the rolled dough to the prepared baking sheet. Trim any excess dough from the edges so that it fits on the tray.

Arrange the ham, chorizo and hard boiled eggs over the dough, leaving a 1″ border.

Roll the other bit of dough out to a slightly smaller rectangle to fit on top. Place it over top of the filling and then press the edges to seal completely, either folding or crimping with a fork.

Roll out the dough you have reserved for decorating the top of the Hornazo. Cut little slashes in rows, offsetting one row slightly from the row above it to form a lattice pattern. Take a look at the video link at the bottom of the recipe to see how this is done. Or you can simply criss cross strips of dough or come up with another decoration that you prefer.

Paint the top of the Hornazo with the reserved egg wash. Prick the dough evenly with a fork to allow steam to escape.

Place the Hornazo in the preheated oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until it is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool. It is best to let it rest for a couple of hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Hornazo de Salamanca:

Dough Scraper

Leave a Comment » | bread, Breakfast, brunch, Easter, Holidays, Recipes | Tagged: Easter, Easter Bread, Eostre, Hornazo de Salamanca, Lunes de Aguas, Monday of the Waters, Padre Putas, Salamanca, Spain, Spanish Meat Pie | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Irish Brown Bread

March 14, 2022

Hearty Irish Brown Bread, slathered with salty butter. YUM! It’s great with both savory or sweet toppings and is a perfect accompaniment to any soup or stew. It has an incredibly satisfying crunch to it when toasted. Delicious! This dense, craggy bread may not be for you if you prefer something akin to Wonder bread, but if you like the whole grain experience, this bread is to die for. And, guess what? It is very easy to make.

Traditionally, brown bread was made with whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. This version is enriched with a bit of sugar and butter as well as some baking powder for a bit of extra lift. I use a special blend of Irish Flour from King Arthur Baking company, rather than just plain whole wheat flour. I also brush the loaf with melted salted butter and sprinkle with just a bit of sea salt before I pop it in to bake. Oh and don’t forget to cut a cross in the top as well. Some folks say this helps the bread cook evenly. I’ve also heard it is done as a blessing to keep the devil away. My favourite reason is that you cut a cross in to allow the fairies to escape!

I have no doubt you will be pleased as punch with this wholesome Irish Brown Bread. And don’t forget to slather on that rich salty Kerry Gold Butter!

Irish Brown Bread

Servings: One large 10
Difficulty: easy
Print

recipe slightly adapted from: King Arthur Baking

Ingredients:

4 cups (439 grams) King Arthur Irish-Style Flour
2 to 3 tablespoons (25 grams to 35 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) buttermilk
2 tablespoons (28 grams) melted butter plus a bit more for brushing over top
flaky sea salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk and the butter. Stir together until blended — some lumps will remain.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times, or until it all holds together.Form the dough into a large ball, flatten slightly and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Cut a deep cross in the top. Brush melted butter over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Bake the bread for approximately 40 minutes, or until it tests done (a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean).

Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Serve with sweet butter and a dollop of marmalade, if desired. Or alongside some Irish Stew or Cottage Pie.

Store, well-wrapped, for a couple of days at room temperature; freeze for longer storage.

Enjoy!

2 Comments | bread, Holidays, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day | Tagged: bread, Ireland, Irish Brown Bread, St. Patrick's Day | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Irish Four Leaf Clover Rolls

March 15, 2021

Bring about the luck of the Irish when you bake up a batch of these buttery & tender Irish Four Leaf Clover Rolls.

Everyone is familiar with those old fashioned, yeast risen, pull apart Clover Leaf Rolls right? I bet you’ve seen ’em on your grandma’s table at many a meal. They are particularly awesome, because you can separate them into three pieces easily, and then slather butter on each and every piece. The more butter the better! Am I right? Here if taken a bit of an Irish riff on those oldies but goodies by adding a bit of Irish-Style Wholemeal Flour into the mix as well as giving them an extra leaf for luck.

These adorable rolls are baked in 5 – 6 ounce ramekins. But don’t despair if you don’t have those on hand. You can easily bake these in a standard muffin tin. The only difference is, due to the smaller size of the muffin tin wells, you will probably want to lose one of the leafs and just do three leaf clovers. Just divide the dough into 33 pieces and you’ll get 11 rolls. Easy-peasy.

These lovely Irish rolls will no doubt be a welcome addition to any St. Patrick’s Day feast your have planned. And just think about this. You’ll have one more leaf, not only for luck but also for providing more surface area for butter!

Irish Four Leaf Clover Rolls

Servings: 8 large rolls or if you would like to do 3 leaf clovers, you could make 11 rolls in a standard muffin tin
Difficulty: easy
Print

recipe from: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

2 cups (241 grams) All-purpose Flour
1 cup (110 grams) King Arthur Irish-Style Wholemeal Flour (you can substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour if you don’t have Irish Flour)
1 teaspoon (6 grams) salt
2 tablespoons (43 grams) honey
2 tablespoons (28 grams) soft unsalted butter
1 cup (227 grams) lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup (57 grams) toasted walnuts, optional
1/2 cup (71 grams) currants, optional
2 tablespoons (28 grams) melted salted butter, optional; for a glossy finish

Directions:

Mix and knead all the ingredients — by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine set to the dough cycle — until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl or rising bucket, cover, and let it rest for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.

Grease eight 5-ounce or 6-ounce ramekins.

Gently deflate the dough, divide it into 32 pieces, and shape each piece into a ball. It helps to first divide the dough into eight medium balls, and then further divide these into four balls each. Or just use a kitchen scale to figure out the weight each ball should be. (Mine weighed 20 grams each).

Place four balls into each of the ramekins. Cover the pans and let the rolls rise for 45 to 75 minutes, until they’ve crested over the rims of the ramekins.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into their centers reads 200°F.

Brush the rolls with the melted butter, and let them cool for 5 minutes in the ramekins. Turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Irish Four Leaf Clover Rolls:

King Arthur Flour Wholemeal Irish Style Flour

Dough Scraper

1 Comment | bread, Holidays, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day | Tagged: bread, bread-baking, Clover Leaf Rolls, dinner rolls, Four Leaf Clover Rolls, Ireland, Irish Flour Leaf Clover Rolls, King Arthur Irish Wholemeal Flour, Pull apart bread, St. Patrick's Day, yeast bread | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

St. Patrick’s Day Recipe Roundup!

March 10, 2021

Oh my goodness ya’ll…St. Patrick’s Day is only 7 days away. Tomorrow I will be starting my annual St. Patrick’s Day blog-a-thon. Yup, I’ll be sharing one lovely Irish-y recipe everyday with you, right up to the big day Wednesday March 17th! Now I think managing to publish one recipe daily for seven days straight is a pretty impressive feat. But, a few years ago I was completely mad and used to start on March 1st and do a new recipe each day until March 17th. That is why you can find over 100 delicious St. Patrick’s Day recipes on my blog. If you’d like to take a peek at my past St. Patrick’s Day posts, you can click Runcible Eat/Recipes up at the top navigation bar and scroll down to the St. Patrick’s Day category. That’s where you’ll find them! And stay tuned here for my latest additions this year. Today I thought I might inspire you with some of my favorite St. Patrick’s Day dishes from years past. We’ll start it off with some bread:

And here are some drool worthy mains:

I wouldn’t want to forget the sides:

And take a peek at these decadent desserts:

And last but not least…something to wash it all down with:

Is your mouth watering yet? Quite the galleries of goodies if I do say so myself. And there are many more recipes to be found on my blog as well as seven new ones starting tomorrow! Don’t miss out!

P.S. I tried to get links to the recipe added to the pictures, but with my limited skills, was unable to make it work. You can find links to the pictured recipes in the gallery captions. Sorry ’bout that!

2 Comments | bread, Breakfast, Cocktails, Cookies, desserts, dinner, Holidays, Jams/Jelly/Conserve, Recipes, Side Dishes, soup, St. Patrick's Day | Tagged: Baileys Cheesecake, Baileys Irish Cream, Champ, corned beef, Dublin Coddle, Guinness, Guinness Beef Stew, Guinness Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ireland, Irish Soda Bread, Irish Stew, Jameson Irish Whiskey, scones, Smithwick's Irish Ale, St. Patrick's Day | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Honey-Oat Pain de Mie

March 9, 2021

Oooo ya’ll….here it is March. I’m excited because that means St. Patrick’s Day will be here soon. Back in the day, I used to start posting Irish-y recipes on March 1st. I would post one every day right up to March 17th. In recent years, having become a bit lazy, I’ve scaled it back. I do have some recipes up my sleeve for this year, but it’s not time yet. But soon, soon. In the meantime, take a look at this fabulous Honey-Oat Pain de Mie I have for you today! This bread is so tender and so moist with just a hint of sweetness from the honey and oats.

Pain de Mie means “bread of the crumb”. The crumb is the soft middle part of bread. This bread has very thin crust and is almost all crumb, hence the name. You will often also hear this type of bread referred to as a Pullman Loaf or Sandwich Bread. It is indeed perfect for sandwiches because when it is sliced, it gives you consistent perfectly square shaped pieces.

The square shape is due to the special pan that it is baked in, the Pullman Loaf Pan. Apparently the kitchens of Pullman railway cars invented this pan for space efficiency. Railway cars are not particularly spacious, and the folks working there discovered if the bread was square shaped rather than the usual domed loaf, they could fit three loaves stacked on a shelf, rather than two.

Now you can bake this Honey-Oat Pain de Mie in a regular 9″X5″ loaf pan, but it won’t have the square shape, nor as fine a crumb, so I’m told. I’ve never actually tried it. And don’t despair if you only have the larger 13″x4″ pain de mie pan. You can still use this recipe. Just increase the ingredients by 50%, but leave the yeast amount as is. Bake it for 35 minutes with the lid on and an additional 8-10 minutes with the lid removed. No matter how you bake it, you’re going to love it! Your house will smell heavenly. And when you take that golden brown loaf fresh from the oven, make sure you run a stick of salted butter over the top. It will make the crust so soft and buttery and absolutely put this bread over the top!

Honey-Oat Pain de Mie

Servings: 1 loaf of bread
Difficulty: easy
Print

recipe from: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

3 cups (361 grams) All purpose Flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup (89 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoons (9 grams) salt
4 tablespoons (57 grams) melted butter
3 tablespoons (64 grams) honey
1 cup (227 grams) to 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (255 grams) lukewarm water

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix until cohesive. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 20 minutes, to give the oats a chance to absorb some of the liquid. Then knead — by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth, soft, elastic dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, or in an 8-cup measure (so you can track its progress as it rises), and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it’s risen noticeably. It won’t necessarily double in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into a 9″ log. Place the log in a lightly greased 9″ pain de mie (pullman) pan, pressing it gently to flatten.

Place the lid on the pan (or cover with plastic wrap, for a better view), and let the dough rise until it’s about 1″ below the top of the pan/lid, 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic (if you’ve used it), slide the pan’s lid completely closed, and bake the bread for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid, and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers at least 190°F.

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Run a stick of butter over the top, if desired; this will yield a soft, buttery crust. Cool completely before cutting; wrap airtight and store for several days at room temperature.

Enjoy!

PS – You might just be seeing this bread again soon in one of my upcoming St. Patrick’s Day recipes. Stay tuned!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Honey-Oat Pain de Mie:

Dough Scraper

Pullman Pan – Just a tip – while Amazon is very convenient, I actually got my Pain de Mie pan from King Arthur Flour and it is the same pan as the link I gave you, but was substantially less expensive. Just saying.

3 Comments | bread, Recipes | Tagged: baking, Honey-Oat Pain de Mie, Honey-Oat Pullman Loaf, Pullman Loaf, Sandwich Bread, yeast bread | Permalink
Posted by liadh1

Soft Sandwich Bread & Butterflake Rolls

June 11, 2020

Aaaand……I’m back to bread today – Peter Reinhart’s Soft Sandwich Bread to be exact. This Classic Sandwich Bread is wonderful! It comes together very easily and bakes up very tall with a lovely soft crumb.

And bonus! This recipe can also be used to make these gorgeous little Butterflake Rolls, or a combination of one loaf of bread along with some rolls, such as I did.

This dough does require an overnight rest, but otherwise everything about this recipe is quick and easy. And the bread…oh so amazing! There are few things that beat the smell of freshly baked bread wafting from the kitchen.

This bread is lovely and soft, but sturdy enough to hold up to any sandwich. Wonderful for grilled cheese and delightful when simply toasted and slathered with butter.And speaking of butter – these Butterflake Rolls are the bomb! To make them you roll the dough out, brush melted butter all over the surface, cut it into strips, stack them and then bake them in muffin tins. Just look at all those lovely flaky buttery layers just waiting to be pulled apart!

Truth be told, I originally baked this loaf of sandwich bread to use in another recipe that I have been working on. I don’t want to give too much away, because I hope to post that one soon, but lets just say it is a sandwich like none other! How’s that for a teaser?!! And this bread was nothing short of perfection!

Take my word for it! You will LOVE this Soft Sandwich Bread!

Soft Sandwich Bread & Butterflake Rolls

Servings: 2 loaves or 1 loaf & 10 -12 rolls or a whole bunch of rolls
Difficulty: easy
Print

recipe from: Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Every Day

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon (.33 oz/9 grams) instant yeast
1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons (15 oz./425 grams) lukewarm (35°C/95°F) milk
6 1/4 cups (28 oz./794 grams) unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons (.5 oz./14 grams) salt, or 1 Tablespoon coarse kosher salt
5 1/2 Tablespoons (2.75 oz. /78 grams) sugar, or 1/4 cup honey
6 Tablespoons (3 oz./85 grams) vegetable oil or melted unsalted butter
1 egg

Directions:

Whisk the yeast into the lukewarm milk until dissolved. Set aside for 1 to 5 minutes.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, oil and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer, then pour in the milk mixture. Using the paddle attachment mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.

Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 4 to 5 minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured work surface for 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is soft, supply and tacky but not sticky.

Knead the dough by hand for 1 minute, then form it into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days.

On baking day, remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 1/2 hours before you plan to bake.

If you would like to bake two 8″X4 1/2″ loaves, divide dough in half. Each piece should weigh about 25 ounces (709 grams). For a 5″X9″ loaf, like I baked, you will need 794 to 907 grams (28 – 32 ounces). I then used the remaining dough to make the Butterflake Rolls.*see below for shaping method.

Shape the dough into sandwich loaves and place in greased loaf pans to rise. Mist the dough with spray oil and cover the pans loosely with plastic wrap.

Let the dough rise at room temperature for about 2 1/2 hour, until it domes about 1″ above the rim of the pans.

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F. (177°C)

Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for another 20 -30 minutes. The bread is done when the top is golden brown, the sides are firm and brown, the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom and the internal temperature is at least 185°F (85°C) in the center.

Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

For the Butterflake Rolls:

Roll the dough to a 1/4″ thick rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into four even strips, then stack the strips neatly on top of one another. Use a pastry scraper to cut the stacked strips into 1″ wide pieces. Place the small stacks on their sides in an oiled muffin tin. Proof and bake following the recipe. It should take 15 -20 baking time total for rolls.

Enjoy!

Links for Helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Soft Sandwich Bread & Butterflake Rolls: