Authors: Zoe Francois,Jeff Hertzberg MD
Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients (29 page)
“Super Sam” Gluten-Free Cinnamon Buns
“This recipe was inspired by my friend’s young nephew, who has celiac disease. ‘Super Sam,’ as his family calls him, had been flipping through
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
and said he really wished he could eat the pecan sticky buns. His aunt Jenny called me and asked what we could come up with. I created these buns and then tested the recipe on a group of 4- to 9-year-olds—they all ate them, came back for seconds, and had no idea that the buns were gluten-free. Now ‘Super Sam’ can have sticky buns, too!”
—Zoë
Makes twelve buns
1½ pounds (small cantaloupe-size portion) of
Gluten-Free Brioche dough
The Filling
2/3 cup brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped nuts (optional)
The Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk (add 1 tablespoon at a time)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, or zero trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil margarine, at room temperature
½ teaspoon orange zest
1. On baking day:
Grease an 8-inch cake pan. Using wet hands, take a 1½-pound (small cantaloupe-size) piece of dough from the bucket.
2.
Sprinkle sugar on a silicone mat and place the dough on top of the sugar. Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the plastic and silicone mat until you have a ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Peel off the plastic wrap.
3. Make the filling:
Combine the filling ingredients. Sprinkle the filling over the surface of the dough. Roll the dough, starting at the long end, into a log, lifting the silicone mat to help ease the dough from its surface.
4.
Remove the dough from the silicone mat and, with a very sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the log into 12 equal pieces and arrange them in the pan, with the “swirled” edge visible to you. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest about 1 hour.
5. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F,
with a rack placed in the center of the oven.
6.
Bake the buns for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly brown and the dough feels set when touched.
7.
Allow the buns to cool on a rack for 5 minutes, and then invert onto a serving plate.
8. Make the glaze:
Mix together the glaze ingredients and spread the glaze over the tops of the warm buns. These are best eaten while slightly warm.
ENRICHED BREADS AND PASTRIES FROM HEALTHY INGREDIENTS
Even when trying
to maintain a healthy diet, we still need a bit of decadence in our lives. We’ve re-created some of our favorite enriched breads using the same fast method, but with a healthier philosophy. You can have challah, Christmas
stollen
, pumpkin brioche, and many more sweet breads and pastries without feeling as though you are breaking your commitment to eating well—just eat enriched breads and pastries in moderation.
In this chapter we have tried to give you alternatives to using white flours, white sugar, and butter. Not that they can’t be used in small amounts in a healthy diet, but there are so many other wonderful flavors that lend themselves well to our breads. We used whole grains, natural sweeteners, and unsaturated oils as much as possible, and in all cases we’ve cut way back. If you eat these breads in moderation you will continue on a healthy path that is just a bit more enjoyable.
Braided Challah with Whole Wheat and Wheat Germ
Here’s a delicious and nutritious braided loaf, with all the classic flavors of challah: eggs, poppy seeds, and honey. The eggy dough for this traditional Jewish bread is very similar to doughs used in some spectacular Scandinavian holiday treats, so don’t forget to try the variations at the end of this recipe.
Makes enough dough for at least five 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup wheat germ
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
3 cups lukewarm water
¼ cup neutral-flavored oil, melted unsalted butter, or melted zero trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil margarine
½ cup honey
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on the loaf
Poppy seeds for sprinkling on top
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, wheat germ, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the liquid ingredients and mix them with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Or store the dough for up to 2 weeks in the freezer in 1-pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before use, then allow the usual rest/rise time.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Gently roll and stretch the dough, dusting with flour so your hands don’t stick to it, until you have a long rope about ¾ inch thick. You may need to let the dough relax for 5 minutes so it won’t resist your efforts. Using a dough scraper or knife, make angled cuts to divide the rope into three equal-length strands with tapering ends.
7. Braiding the challah:
Starting from the middle of the loaf, pull the left strand over the center strand and lay it down; always pull the outer strands into the middle, never moving what becomes the center strand.
8.
Now pull the right strand over the center strand. Continue, alternating outer strands but always pulling into the center. When you get to the end, pinch the strands together.
9.
Flip the challah over so that the loose strands fan away from you. Start braiding again by pulling an outside strand to the middle, but this time
start with the right strand
. Braid to the end again, and pinch the strands together.
10.
If the braid is oddly shaped, fix it by nudging and stretching. Place the braid on a greased cookie sheet or one prepared with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and allow it to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 90 minutes (or 40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
11. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F,
with a rack placed in the center of the oven. If you’re not using a stone in the oven, a 5-minute preheat is adequate.
12.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash (see
sidebar
), and then sprinkle the crust with poppy seeds.
13.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
14.
Allow the challah to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
GETTING A SUPER-SHINE ON CHALLAH:
If you follow our eggwash-painting directions exactly, you’ll get a lovely loaf and the seeds will stick securely, but it won’t be that shiny. If you really want a shiny result, paint the top crust with egg wash twice. First, apply a coat and let it dry. Then, just before baking, paint again and
now
sprinkle on the seeds.
VARIATIONS: SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS BREADS
Our basic lightly enriched dough above can be used in two terrific Scandinavian Christmas favorites:
pulla
(from Finland) and
julekage
(from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). You can make them with a
brioche base
but traditional recipes favor a more lightly enriched and sweetened dough. The secret’s in the spices.
PULLA
Simply add 1 teaspoon ground cardamom and ½ teaspoon ground anise seeds to the dry ingredients in the
challah
recipe. Braid the loaf as for challah and paint it with egg wash, but sprinkle it with raw sugar instead of poppy seeds before resting and baking at 350°F as above.
JULEKAGE
Base your
julekage
on the same spiced enriched dough variation that you used for
pulla
, but add ¾ cup dried fruits such as raisins, currants, cranberries, apricots, cherries, candied citron, candied lemon peel, or candied orange peel to the liquid ingredients. Shape the loaf as a flattened round. After resting, bake at 350°F as above. When slightly cooled but still warm, paint it with the icing below, then sprinkle it with toasted slivered or sliced almonds.
Icing for
Julekage
1½ teaspoons milk
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract
Mix together in a small bowl.
Apples and Honey Whole Grain Challah
Apples and honey are the traditional culinary welcome to Jewish New Year, and though they don’t usually make their way into the turban-shaped holiday challah, their combination is absolutely irresistible any time of the year. Use Braeburn or another firm variety so that the apples maintain their shape.
Makes enough dough for at least five 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.
5 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup wheat germ
1½ tablespoons granulated yeast, or 2 packets
1 tablespoon kosher salt (
increase or decrease to taste
)
¼ cup vital wheat gluten
3 cups lukewarm water
½ cup neutral-flavored oil, unsalted butter, melted, or zero trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil margarine, melted
½ cup honey
3 large eggs
4 large baking apples (Braeburn or other firm variety), peeled and cored, then cut into ½-inch dice
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water) for brushing on the loaf
Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top
1. Mixing and storing the dough:
Whisk together the flours, wheat germ, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2.
Combine the liquid ingredients and the apples and mix with the dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.
3.
Cover (not airtight), and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4.
The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Or store the dough for up to 2 weeks in the freezer in 1-pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before use, then allow the usual rest/rise time.
5. On baking day,
dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
6.
Gently roll and stretch the dough, dusting with flour so that your hands don’t stick to it, until you have a cylinder. Thin out one end so you end up with a tapered rope. You might need to let the dough relax for 5 minutes so that it won’t resist your efforts.
7. Winding the turban:
Keeping the thick end stationary, wind the thinner end around it and, finally, tuck it underneath to seal.
8.
Place the turban on a greased cookie sheet, or one prepared with parchment paper or a silicone mat, and allow it to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
9. Thirty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F,
with a rack placed in the center of the oven. If you’re not using a stone in the oven, a 5-minute preheat is adequate.
10.
Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top crust with egg wash, and then sprinkle the crust with sesame seeds.
11.
Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes, until browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time.
12.
Allow the challah to cool on a rack before slicing and eating.
Il Bollo (Italian Yom Kippur Challah with Anise and Olive Oil)
“My friend Ralph is my source for all recipes Italian or Italian-American. Years ago, he told me about a challah perfected by medieval Jews in northern Italy. The loaf was enriched with olive oil rather than butter or the traditional goose fat of Eastern Europe. Much healthier!
“Il bollo (
which literally means nothing more than ‘the ball’) is justly famous for its flavor, spiked with olive oil, anise, vanilla, and lemon. It was traditionally eaten to break the fast of Yom Kippur, but it’s great anytime. We left this loaf mostly white, but you can increase the whole grain and liquids if you like, and make a version based on the Braided Challah with
Whole Wheat and Wheat Germ dough
.”
—Jeff
Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.