The Big Bake

The Big Bake

By Parry

Which happened on the 21 December 2011

Christmas cookies. So good, so necessary, so missed when not made. The last few years have yielded less and less, and so, to ensure we carry forward more then just a few presents, but perhaps also a few extra pounds from 2010, we devised a baking day. A Tuesday set aside for the making of nearly countless cookies, and treats.


The day began with a breakfast of some fresh monkeybread, which was devoured swiftly enough.

Our Cocoa-Latte machine tragically started smoking from over use, so I was sent to TJ Maxx to find a replacement. Upon my return I found the house in full scale mass cookie production. Corey had friends over, and my Aunt Elise and Grandma Beth had also joined in the action.

We made afore mentioned Monkeybread plus Chocolate covered pretzels, Russian Teacakes, Dresdner Stollen, Homemade Oreo's, Nutella cookies, English Toffee, Pfeffernusse, Scandanvian Thumb Prints, and Chow mein Chocolate clusters.

My personal favorites are the Scandanavian Thumbprints (although due to my recent discovery of a nut allergy, we altered the recipe to be made with pecans instead of the time honored walnuts) and Monkeybread. I hit my sugar limit pretty quick, but we all were fairly sugared out by the end.

My Grandmother kept asking what we were going to do with all the cookies we had made. I honestly was not sure, but after giving some to the helpers, as well as a few unsuspecting victims we have found, it was fairly easy to give them away. Not quite a charitable offering to the poor and needy, but certainly a token of appreciation and friendship, which is so often what cooking can be about. Obviously, there are many ways to give to friends and family, but one way that we personally enjoy doing so is by cooking. I think that part of it is about leveraging our personal talents to serve others.

When it gets down to it, I don't think that it takes a fancy feast or deluctible desserts to give. I do think it takes a good a heart and the purist of intentions that I can muster. Yet, when it's my family, we're going to make that fancy feast as well. Why? Tradition. That, and we know how to do it, and we wouldn't ever be satisfied with anything less then our best. I think we also enjoy a challenge. We find challenges, whether it is outdoing the French Onion soup we had in Paris once, or making a good infusion between Mexican and Italian food, we strive until we get our dish to taste the best we can. Even then, every time we make a dish, it's not necessarily a science, but an art of reading the ingredients and working with them to help bring out their best. The fruit of these labors is often tasty, varied, surprising, and almost always worth it.

Paula's Stollen Quest

Firstly, a link to this Stollen can be found HERE.

Or, the recipe is included after my Mother's comments.

Paula's Stollen Quest
By Paula

My hunt for the perfect German Stollen recipe began about 16 years ago. After having tasted a Dresden Stollen while as a Flight Attendant for Pan Am, in Germany during at the Kristkringle Market, I was smitten. I ate my way through many a Stollen in the years after I had retired, but nothing came close. People here considered any sweet bread with fruit and nuts and, horrors, frosting, on it, to be Stollen. Or you could buy the imported German products that looked like the real thing, but always ran just short of a true Dresden Stollen.

I found recipes on line, in cookbooks and even from German friends, but nothing came close enough. Though they always said they were an authentic Dresden Stollen, not just any Stollen, they always had the same ingredients and directions. I was fooled time and time again. They always looked gorgeous, tasted really good, but did not have quite the right density and texture. And there was something else that was missing, I didn’t quite know what.

I ordered some “authentic Dresden Stollen” from Germany recently, so I could taste it again and see if I could figure out the recipe myself. But the product that arrived, though beautifully and convincingly packaged, was nothing more than the German imports you can buy in World Market.

So my hunt continued.....until this year.

Our neighbors, who receive the New York Times daily newspaper, were out of town and offered us their papers while they were gone. We happened to get the Wednesday, food edition, a much coveted section. And to my interest, this particular issue had an article about “the perfect stollen”. Being somewhat skeptical, but always willing to give it a try, I set about getting the ingredients for the new recipe. I noticed this recipe did seem different than all the others from the outset. That gave me some hope. First of all it took 5 days to make, because it has to ripen. Secondly, it called for a half pound of butter in the finishing process along with a ginger-sugar mixture that was sprinkled on top before the final dusting of powdered sugar. Thirdly, it called for a “starter” that was added to the dough in the mixing process. Finally, it called for much more fruit and nuts than the other recipes. It sounded really promising.

Well, to cut to the chase, it is the PERFECT DRESDEN STOLLEN recipe. The texture is phenomenal, the density amazing and the flavor just like I remember. The only problem is, waiting the five days before trying the next batch. And contrary to popular opinion, Stollen is not dry. When properly made, it is quite moist, and retains it’s freshness for weeks.

The recipe below is from the New York Times, Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The article: “Stollen With Staying Power” is by Melissa Clark. The recipe was adapted from a recipe by Hans Rockenwagner of Rockenwagner Bakery in Los Angeles.

Christmas Dresden Stollen

2/3 cup black raisins

2/3 cup golden raisins

½ cup dried cherries

1/3 cup dark rum

1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1 package active dry yeast (1 3/4 ounces or 2 ½ teaspoons)

½ cup milk, at room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups plus 3 TBS sugar

2 3/4 cups ground ginger

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg yolk

½ cup chopped candied ginger

½ cup mixed candied citrus peel (optional, see note)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. The night before baking, mix raisins, cherries and rum in a small container. Mix almonds with 1/4 cup water in another container. Cover both and let sit overnight at room temperature.

2. The next day, in an electric mixer with paddle, set on low speed, mix yeast with milk until dissolved. Add 1 cup flour and mix until a soft, sticky dough forms, about 2 minutes. This is the “starter”. Transfer starter to a lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic and let rest for 40 minutes at room temperature.

3. In an electric mixer with paddle and set on low speed, mix remaining 3 cups of flour, 3 TBS of sugar, ½ tsp ginger, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, lemon zest and vanilla seeds. With motor running, pour in 1 cup melted butter. Mix on slow for 1 minute, then add egg yolk. Mix until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute more.

4. Divide started dough into 3 pieces. Add starter to mixture in bowl, 1 piece at a time, mixing on slow until each addition is thoroughly combined, 2-3 minutes after each addition. After started is absorbed, mix dough on a medium speed until glossy, 4-5 minutes.

5. Add almonds, candied ginger and citrus peel if using, and mix on slow until combined, 2-3 minutes more.

6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until fruit and nuts are inside dough rather than stuck on surface and dough is smooth and glossy, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a medium bowl and cover with plastic. Rest for 1 hour to let rise slightly. Then knead it once or twice, cover with plastic and let rest for another hour.

7. Divide into 2 equal pieces and shape each into an oval loaf about 8 inches long. Stack 2 rimmed baking sheets on top of each other, lining top pan with parchment. Place loaves on doubled pans and cover with plastic. Allow loaves to rest 1 more hour at room temperature.

8. About 20 minutes before this rise is completed, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic covering loaves and bake for about 1 hour and internal temperature taken from middle of each loaf should be 190 degrees.

9. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 2 1/4 tsp ground ginger. When stollen is done, transfer top pan holding loaves to a wire rack (leave stollen on pan). While still hot, brush stollen with remaining 1 cup of melted butter, letting butter soak into loaves. Sprinkle ginger sugar on tops and sides of loaves. When loaves are completely cool, cover loosely with waxed or parchment paper or foil and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

10. The next day, sift 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar over loaves, rolling to coat bottom and sides evenly with sugar. Wrap each loaf in plastic and let sit at room temperature for at least 2 days before sifting remaining ½ cup confectioners’ sugar over loaves and serving.

Yield: 2 loaves, each about 1 ½ pounds.

Note: If you can’t find (or do not like) candied citrus, substitute an extra ½ cup candied ginger.

Thanks again to the Stollen Recipe from the New York Times, Wed, December 16, 2009: "Stollen with Staying Power" by Melissa Clark :-)

Introductions

We are here united in the quest for great food, the joy of eating,and the happiness of friends and family. Speaking of family, here is their introduction.

There is my father Walter. Having honed his taste buds to discern the subtilty of flavor, sweet and savory, acid and base (cream), and several other factors he is the kitchen Maverick, flying by the seat of his pants yet still claiming victory. His wingwoman and better half is my mother Paula, no less intense in her cooking zeal. While she is far too critical to ever admit it, she can make quite the delectable dessert, or anything else she puts her hand to.

Then there are the kids, myself included. Living under the tutelage of two food obsessed parents is all the schooling we have. Well, that and the constant echo's of the Food Network that has aired in our home since its inception years ago

First we have Corey, AKA The C Note. At Shawn's height and Shawn's weight minus about 30 pounds (Hey Shawn..) C Note is the youngest member of our band and perhaps the most particular. Having lived with both parents by himself for a considerable amount of time, his focus can be relentless.

Then there is Marissa, AKA MarZ, the Southern Bell always ringing, the woman of borscht and broccoli. Here to balance the other two parts of our sibling dish.

And me. Parry. The third ingredient of the sibling trifecta. I am here to try to ensure that these adventures get recorded.

And now, for the food...