Dilled Wheat Bread, Home Depot and Me

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I needed to make bread today. I've found that kneading is a great way to establish some type of equilibrium when I'm really angry, and I certainly am that today. We have had to delay our move for another week because Home Depot has not honored the terms of the agreement they made with us. The floors in our new home are all being replaced and the installation of the hardwood and carpet was supposed to have started on Monday. That didn't happen, and worst still, these folks who pride themselves on customer service have been cavalier about their scheduling error. The closing on three properties, along with scheduling of painters, tilers and movers were arranged around that date, so this has been a snafu of enormous proportion. Suffice it to say, I won't be doing any further shopping at their stores and I wanted to alert those of you who might contemplate using them for large scale construction projects, that, in my opinion, their promises and written agreements aren't worth the paper they are written on. Now on to the bread! This is a Scandinavian bread that is wonderful to use for sandwiches, particularly those that are made with fish or pork products. The loaf is well-flavored, hearty and stays moist for days. It is easy to make and I know that those of you who try it will be pleased. Here is how the bread is made.

Gløgg

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Our annual holiday party is over and this year the theme was loosely based on Christmas in Scandinavia. Everything turned out well and I think we came pretty close to the meal that might grace a Norse holiday table. We had ham, pate, meatballs, West Coast salad, gravlax, and Jansen's temptation. Unfortunately, I couldn't get herring in the quantity I needed, so we had no herring on the table. We did have desserts aplenty and I even made Limpa bread for the occasion. There was also gløgg and aquavit for those who spirits needed lifting and Swedish egg coffee for the rest of us. Now that order has been restored, I'm going to treat myself to a cup of  gløgg. It has been raining for most of the day and some mulled wine would really hit the spot tonight. Gløgg is very easy to make and I wanted to share this recipe with those of you who might want to try it. If you do imbibe, don't forget the traditional toast. Skål! Here's how this version of mulled wine is made. God Jul!

Gløgg/Mulled Wine...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of A Healthy Journey

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 (750-milliliter) bottles dry red wine
1 cup raisins
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup honey or maple syrup

Directions:
1) In a large sauce pan, bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
2) Strain boiled mixture into a large bowl. Discard leftover spices and return liquid to mixture to sauce pan.
3) Add in wine, raisins and sweetener and and slowly reheat mixture. Do not let it boil unless you want wine to evaporate.
4) Serve hot with a spoon of chopped almonds and raisins. Garnish with a cinnamon stick! Yield: 18 (1/2-cup) servings.

One Year Ago Today: The Other Tom and Jerry

Two Years Ago Today: Mussels Fra Diavola

Three Years Ago Today: Caramel Corn

Swedish Saffron Batter Bread - Saffronsbrod

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This year, my feature for the feast of St. Lucia is a simple batter bread that I found in The Great Scandinavian Baking Book. The book was written by Beatrice Ojakangas and most of her recipes are updated versions of the Scandinavian classics that we love to bake at this time of year. I chose to share this one with you because of its versatility and the ease with which it comes together. Even beginners can make this simple bread, though I have a few tips that I want to share with them and keep as reminders to myself. Under the best of circumstances, this is a slow rising bread, so it is really important to start with ingredients that are all at room temperature. Even the eggs. While it may be arbitrary, I pull my ingredients from the refrigerator about 2 hours before I plan to start baking. Butter at that point is easy to cream and there is no danger of cold eggs slowing the action of the yeast. The creamed mixture, by the way, will look terribly curdled. Not to worry, the dough will come together as flour is added, but it will remain shaggy and sticky to the touch. Avoid the temptation to add more flour. You will have to scrape the dough into a pan for its final rise but that's as it should be. The best part of this recipe is its versatility. I decided to use the original recipe in this post, but you can substitute a teaspoon or more of cardamom for the saffron, or make an almond bread by using toasted almonds and almond extract in place of the raisins and saffron. The possibilities are almost limitless and the best part is the bread tastes a bit like panettone, though it is much easier to make. I really enjoy this bread and I hope you will give the recipe a try. You won't regret it. Here's how the bread is made.

Swedish Saffron Batter Bread - Saffronsbrod...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Beatrice Ojakangas

Ingredients:
2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup golden raisins
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
2) Cream butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs and salt and beat until smooth. Stir in milk, saffron, and yeast mixture. Gradually beat in flour. When flour has been added, beat at medium speed for five minutes, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in raisins.
3) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
4) Meanwhile, generously butter a 10 cup kugelhopf or bundt pan and dust lightly with flour.
5) Stir down dough which will still be sticky, and pour or scrape it into prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough almost reaches top of pan, about one hour.
6) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
7) Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until loaf is well-browned and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then invert onto rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 1 loaf.

One Year Ago Today: Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Bites

Two Years Ago Today: Christmas Cranberry Conserve

Three Years Ago Today: St. Lucia Buns

Orange-Cardamom Sugar Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The cardamom in these lovely tea cookies convinced me they could fairly be included in the series of recipes I'm highlighting to celebrate the feast of St. Lucia. While the cookie is not a Scandinavian heirloom, it reflects Scandinavian sensibilities and would fit right in with the other confections found on a Swedish holiday table. These sugar cookies have crisp brown edges and soft chewy centers and the combination makes a perfect treat to serve with coffee or tea. I made a couple of small changes to the original recipe which can be found here. I used more cardamom and less orange zest than the developer suggested. I didn't want the oil in the orange zest to completely overwhelm the taste of cardamom, so I altered the recipe to personal taste. My changes are highlighted in red below. I also used freshly ground cardamom because I had the pods on hand for my holiday baking. This is a lovely, not too sweet, sugar cookie. It has the added advantage of being very easy to make, but because the dough must be chilled twice before it can be baked, additional time must be factored into your baking plan. I think those of you who try the recipe will be very pleased with the results. Here's how the cookies are made.

Orange-Cardamom Sugar Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of drbabs and Food52

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (I used 1-1/4 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom)
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 yolk of large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one medium orange (I used 1 teaspoon orange zest)

Directions:
1) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom and set aside.
2) In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix butter and sugar together till just combined, about 30 seconds. Add egg and egg yolk; mix lightly  to combine. Mix in vanilla extract and orange zest.
3) Add dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing just until combined, about 30-45 seconds. Chill dough until it can be shaped, about 30 minutes.
4) Scoop dough with a tablespoon and roll into balls. Place evenly on cookie sheets and flatten slightly with back of a spatula. (If dough is still very soft, it may be easier to do this after dough is chilled.)
5) Place cookie sheets in refrigerator and chill dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If you're baking one sheet at a time, place oven rack in center of oven. If you want to bake two sheets at one time, place racks so that oven is divided into thirds. Bake for 5 minutes. Reverse cookie sheets front to back (and switch shelves if you're using 2 shelves). Bake for 5-7 more minutes until cookies are brown on edges and still soft in the center. Place cookie sheet(s) on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cookies with spatula and place them on wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 30 cookies.

One Year Ago Today: St. Lucia Crown - A Special Bread for the Feast of St. Lucia

Two Years Ago Today: Holiday Breakfast Round-Up

Three Years Ago Today: Kris Kringle Ginger Cake and the Baby Jesus Birthday Cake

Scandinavian-Style Cucumber Pickle

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I am, by disposition, easily moved to laughter or tears and I have an unusually expressive face. It takes no special training to sense my mood or humor, but every once in a while I fool everyone. I mention this, because last weekend I was moved to tears by something quite extraordinary. Bob and I make it a point to attend local celebrations and festivals. These events were originally created to celebrate family, community and heritage, and we like to honor that spirit whenever we can. Last weekend, one of the towns close to us held their annual Scandinavian Festival and we happily attended. Usually, the entertainment consists of folk dancing and music from Finland, Norway, Denmark or Sweden. The dancers are members of groups that meet bi-monthly for practice and some of them are very good. They are, however, amateurs. What makes them special is the participation of families who often have three generations on stage for any given performance. Despite the participation of families, the number of dancers dwindles every year. There, obviously, are not enough young people to replace the seniors who can no longer participate. It's sad to see the passing of a tradition, but we enjoy it while we can and applaud the efforts of those who try to preserve memories of the old ways for their children. We sat through a handful of dance performances before heading to the beer garden to sample some typically Scandinavian food and drink. We never made it. A men's chorus, about 50 members strong, had taken the stage and, as they began to sing, it was clear we were in for something special. These were not young men, and I'd guess the youngest of them to be my age. That meant the group had lots of time to practice and perfect their singing, and perfect it they had. As they sang, my throat started to knot, but I kept my act together until the end of their performance when they began to sing the Finlandia hymn. As they sang, an elderly group in the back of audience stood and joined hands. Some of them were moved to tears and as I watched I, too, began to cry. Now it was a sedate cry, mind you, but the tears were very real. I was moved by the haunting beauty of the music and their obvious remembrance of times and places once well known but never more to be. I think you might understand the emotion if you listen to this small portion of the Finnish national anthem. It is quite beautiful.



Now, because this is a food blog, I can't let you go without sharing a recipe. It's time for us to move from the sublime to the ridiculous. Actually, there will be two new Scandinavian recipes, but only one of them will be featured today. This is a cucumber pickle that is lovely to serve with dishes as diverse as barbecue or Swedish meatballs. It is amazingly easy to make, and, as long as you thinly slice the cucumbers, you can't go wrong. Ideally, the dish should be made with seedless cucumbers, but as you can see I break my own rules. I know you'll enjoy these. Here's the recipe.

Scandinavian-Style Cucumber Pickle...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Gourmet magazine

Ingredients:
1 English cucumber
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cut cucumber crosswise into very thin slices (preferably using a manual slicer). In a bowl whisk together remaining ingredients until sugar is dissolved and add cucumber, tossing to coat. Marinate cucumbers, covered and chilled, stirring occasionally, 4 hours. Yield: 10 to 12 servings.








One Year Ago Today: Chapatis and Pooris from One Dough







You might also enjoy these recipes:
Ottolenghi's Cucumber Salad with Poppy Seed Salad - Nami-Nami
Cucumber Salad - Simply Recipes
Greek Salad Cucumber Bites- Recipe Girl
Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad - Kalyn's Kitchen
Cucumber Salad - For the Love of Cooking

Shrove Tuesday Buns - Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These these lovely cream filled buns were once associated with the Lenten season in Scandinavia. They were prepared on Shrove Tuesday to use up stores of butter, cream and sugar that could not be eaten during the days of fast and abstinence that led up to Easter Sunday. While religious affiliations in the region have changed, they are still called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday Buns. The buns are now enjoyed at any time, but they were once made only on the day before Ash Wednesday. That day was called Shrove Tuesday because those whose confessions were heard on this day were called shrove, or shriven of sin. The buns are a real delicacy and I think everyone will enjoy them. A simple sweet dough is shaped into rolls and baked. Once they're done they can be filled in many ways. Some simply hinge the roll, insert a piece of almond paste into it and top it with whipped cream. Others remove the top of the roll, scoop out the innards and mix the bread crumbs with ground nuts to form a poor man's almond paste. Either way, the buns are delicious and they are not hard to do. While everything can be prepared ahead of time, it's best not to fill these until you're ready to serve them. They can get soggy. Here's the recipe.

Shrove Tuesday Buns...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Kathy Cutler

Ingredients:
Buns
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Active dry yeast
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons butter
1 egg
Filling
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts
3/4 cup confectioners" sugar + additional sugar for dusting
1 cup light cream or half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions:
1) Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast and cardamom in a mixing bowl. Whisk well.
2) Place milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Let cool to 120 degrees.
3) Add milk to flour mixture. Mix well. Add egg and about 1 cup of remaining flour to make a soft dough.
4) Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
5) Punch dough down. Shape dough into a 12-inch rope. Cut rope into 12 1-inch pieces.
Form pieces into round buns. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place buns on baking sheet. Lightly cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.
6) Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
7) Bake buns for until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
8) Slice top off each bun. Reserve tops. Scoop out center of rolls, leaving a shell about 1/4-inch thick, with a fork or grapefruit spoon.
9) Place crumbs, nuts and confectioners' sugar in bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles corn meal. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add light cream and vanilla. Mix well.
10) Spoon filling into buns. Top each with a heaping spoonful of whipped cream. Put tops back on and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 12 Buns.

You might also enjoy:

Crepes with Hot Buttered Rum Sauce
Gluten Free Pancakes
Hot Cross Buns


This post is being linked to:

Smiling Sally - Blue Monday
Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting