August Daring Bakers' Challenge - Chimney Cake

Oh my gosh, this month's challenge was so awesome.

I absoltuely love when challenges introduce me to new things and new methods, and this one did both.

The August Daring Bakers' Challenge took us for a spin! Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen taught us to make rolled pastries inspired by Kurtoskalacs, a traditional Hungarian wedding pastry. These tasty yeasted delights gave us lots to celebrate!

Kurtoskalacs, also called chimney cakes, have their roots in Transylvania, and are fun treats baked in a super fun way.

It starts with a very sticky, soft dough. Once the dough is ready, the fun begins.

A section of dough is rolled out very thinly on a well-floured surface, then cut into a long strip. Easily achieved by cutting the roughly-square shaped thin dough in a spiral pattern.

The strip is then wrapped around a rolling pin that has been wrapped in many (I did four...) layers of aluminum foil.  This was a little tricky, since you have to keep the dough from unwinding as you go, but once you have all the dough on the rolling pin, just give it a couple of rolls on the counter top to seal all the edges and keep it in place.

Then brush it with some melted butter (or, to keep it dairy free, like I did, melted coconut oil)...

...and roll it in some cinnamon sugar.

Then, you bake. I rested the handles of my rolling pin along the edges of my roasting pan to make sure that the heat would get all the way around the pin and dough, and to keep the finished chimney cake from having a flat side.

And, much to my surprise and delight, it worked!

When it came out of the oven, I sprinkled on a bit more cinnamon sugar, then removed it from the rolling pin mold by firmly tapping the end of the rolling pin on the counter top. Again - I was delighted and surprised when that actually worked!

And the finished product was both super fun and super delicious.  Seriously, these were fun to eat. Somtimes we'd fill the hole with some ice cream, sometimes we'd just grab a section and un-ravel it as we went. Either way, it was delicious, and I really want to make it again.

Swathi also provided us another recipe for a different coiled treat, a Spanish treat called an Ensaimda. I didn't have the opportunity to make both recipes this month, but stay tuned, because I really, really want to try those, as well.

Thank you, Swathi, for this amazing, delicious and fun challenge!

To see the challenge as it as presented to us, check it out here.


Dairy-Free Chimney Cake
(from the Daring Bakers' Challenge)

For the dough:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons melted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup milk, lukewarm temperature (I used coconut milk)

For baking:
melted butter (I used coconut oil)
sugar (I used cinnamon sugar)

For the topping:
Approximately 1/2 cup sugar (I used cinnamon sugar)

Directions:
Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and the active dry yeast to the lukewarm milk and set aside for 5-10 minutes until it proofs (becomes foamy).
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. To this add egg, melted butter, and milk/yeast mixture. Stir the mixture until it comes together to form a dough, and then knead for about five minutes.
The dough will be sticky. Don’t be tempted to add extra flour. Grease your hand if needed.
Transfer the dough to a well greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (spray the plastic, too) and allow the dough to rise for 60 minutes at room temperature, until doubled in volume.
While the dough is rising, prepare your rolling pin(s) by covering it (them) with aluminum foil. You'll want to use at least two or three layers, to protect the pins from burning in the oven.
Brush the wrapped rolling pin(s) with melted butter.
Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 4 equal parts (about 4 oz each).
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
On a well floured surface, roll out one portion of the dough, shaping into an approximate square shape, about 1/6 inch thick.
Using a pizza cutter or a very sharp knife, cut the dough into a long ribbons of about 1/2 inch wide.
Wrap one end of the dough strip around the prepared rolling pin, tucking in the end so the dough doesn’t unwind.
Keep the dough very thin (under ¼ inch (6 mm)) as you stretch and wind it on the rolling pun. Then roll the whole thing slightly on the counter top to flatten it/press it together.
Brush the rolled up dough with melted butter and roll it in the (cinnamon) sugar.
Set the rolling pin in a roasting pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Turn the rolling pin at once least once (or more) throughout baking time to ensure uniform cooking.
When cake is done, roll it once more in sugar again.
You can be creative here and use other toppings, like nuts (or whatever you want) at this point. If you are using other toppings brush on more butter, then roll the finished cake in the toppings of your choice.
Tap the end of the rolling pin on a table top to release the cake and set it up right to cool on a cooling rack. It might not seem like it, but it will release pretty easily.

Enjoy!

August Sourdough Surprises - Granola Bars

Okay, so if there's one thing that Sourdough Surprises has taught us, it's that you can use your sourdough starter to make just about anything!

So when the August theme of granola bars was announced, I was pretty excited. Because, while I've tried some crazy things with my starter, I'd never have thought of granola bars.

The best part about any homemade granola bar recipe is how adaptable it is. You can add any mix-ins you want to make it fit any taste preference or food restriction you have going on.

I was inspired by the seemingly very popular recipe on the Wild Yeast blog, but I made tons of adjustments to make sure that both of my kids could enjoy them. I replaced the peanut butter called for in the recipe with Sunbutter and replaced the chopped nuts with sunflower seeds. And, for good measure, I added in some flax meal and chia seeds. Because... why not give these a super-food boost?

And the result?

These are pretty good! They're chewy and full of flavor - you can definitely taste the sunflower seed flavor (between the seeds themselves and the Sunbutter), but the honey gives exactly the right amount of sweetness. Definitely a fun treat that you can eat guilt-free.

So how did your sourdough granola bars turn out? Link up and let us know!

An InLinkz Link-up

Chewy Sourdough Granola Bars
(based on Wild Yeast)

100 grams dried cranberries
100 grams sunflower seeds
110 grams rolled oats
pinch of salt
Sprinkle of golden flax meal (I didn't measure, but it was probably about 2-3 tablespoons)
Sprinkle of chia seeds (Again, I didn't measure, but it was probably about 2 tablespoons)
100 grams smooth Sunbutter
100 grams honey
200 grams 100%-hydration sourdough starter (can be discard, can be fridge-cold)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use parchment (sprayed), I just didn't have any.
In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries, sunflower seeds, oats, salt, flax and chia seeds.
In a small bowl, stir together the Sunbutter and honey.
Add the Sunbutter mixture and the starter to the oat mixture. Mix with your hands until everything is evenly incorporated. Trust me - your hands is the best way to go.
Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Mine didn't spread all the way, so I spread it as far as it went and used foil to create a barrier to allow it to hold its shape as it baked.
Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until nicely brown. Mine needed about five extra minutes.
Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

August Daring Cooks' Challenge - Freezer Meals

This month, the Daring Cooks challenged us to think inside the box - the icebox, that is! Audax taught us some really cool tips and tricks for stocking our freezers with prepare-ahead meals that can keep our taste buds satisfied even during the busiest of times.

I have a confession to make. And it's a doozy.

This is the first month ever that I don't have something new and original to post for a Daring Kitchen challenge.

It is not that I didn't want to. Or that I wasn't interested. On the contrary - I found the challenge topic fascinating and useful and really and truly perfect.

But this was a difficult month for me to fill a freezer. Between moving and the family being sick, we actually spent more time emptying freezers than filling them.

BUT.

I learned a lot.  And the dishes that our members chose to freeze? Who knew!

You can par-bake pizza dough and freeze it. I knew you could do that with dinner rolls, but never thought to try it with pizza crusts.

One member froze falafel "dough," to speed up the prep time for future falafel-baking endeavors.

You can freeze fruit and veggie purees.

You can freeze a variety of prepared casseroles.

You can freeze soups and sauces.

Heck, during the school year, I prepare a week's worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches each Sunday night, storing them in the freezer, so that making little miss's lunch each morning is a snap.

You can pretty much make weeknight meals stress free with just a little bit of forethought and preparation.  And that is awesome.

I was the lucky recipient of some freezer meals when each of my children were born, and have shared prepared, frozen meals for friend when they've had babies or surgery or I felt they needed the time-saving help.

So now, after this awesomely thoughtful, informative and well prepared challenge, I have even more inspiration to fill both my freezer and those of my friends.

Audax, thank you so much for hosting this challenge.

To see the challenge as it was presented, check it out here.

Chai Tea Bread

Hello and happy August!

I have to apologize again for my lack of posting. Things here have been crazy. Getting used to the new house, each of the kids have had camps and other fun summer activities, and then... we all got sick. All of us. So I've been concentrating on disinfecting the house and trying to get all of the germs out of here!

That being said, the bright spot of this month was my Secret Recipe Club assignment!  This month had me scouring Morsels of Life, and, let me tell you, there is no lack of inspiration there! This blog... let me tell you. It's awesome. And there's something for absolutely everyone. I promise.

I was worried that I was going to have a hard time choosing, and, don't get me wrong - there were plenty of awesome choices - but when I saw a posting for Chai Tea Bread, I knew I had a winner. You know my love of all things chai, so this should come as no surprise at all!

I made a couple of changes, but just to make the recipe dairy-free.

For my base chai flavoring, I steeped a chai tea bag (a special spicy one!) in coconut milk, which I used as my main liquid for the bread.

I did wind up having to heat this a bit (I just transferred it to a small saucepan and put it over low-medium heat for a few minutes) to extract more flavor, but that was no big deal.

While that heated, I mixed together the dry ingredients, including the delicious chia-inspired spices (cardamom, cinnamon and ground cloves).

Then it was a simple matter of mixing up the wet ingredients and barely stirring in the dry ones...

...then transferring it to a loaf pan to bake!  Right before popping the loaf into the oven, you do something magical.  You sprinkle it with shredded coconut.

While the bread bakes, the coconut toasts.

And the results are amazing.

This was a really delicious bread - it had a nice, smooth chai flavor without being too strong (remember, little miss isn't a fan of cardamom - and this bread satisfied my chai-love and still made her happy!).

Everyone's favorite part, though, was that toasted coconut on top.

Absolute perfection.

An InLinkz Link-up

Chai Tea Bread
(only slightly adapted from Morsels of Life)


1/4 cup butter (I used coconut oil)
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cardamom, ground
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
1/2 cup sugar
3/8 cup milk
1/2 cup Chai concentrate or Chai tea
(in place of the milk and chai concentrate, I used 5/8 of a cup of coconut milk, into which I steeped a chai tea bag)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/8 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, butter, eggs, chai concentrate or tea, milk and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, combining them until just barely moistened.
Pour the prepared batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle shredded coconut on top.
Bake until a lovely scent wafts through the kitchen (which it will!), about 50 minutes.