Thursday, August 30, 2012

Summer

We recently got back from our annual trip to Palm Springs. A had a blast as usual. Who wouldn't love sleeping in, swimming after lunch, going to the movies, jumping on the bed, night swimming & staying up with friends. Thanks to our friends D & L for a fun time!


our building was right next to the golf course
kids playing ultimate frisbee
had to get off the golf course for a golfer :)



We were craving something sweet one night so we whipped up a batch of cookies with what we had. They turned out really good! They had the texture of pecan sandies without the nuts and the pretzel added a nice saltiness to the sweet candy bars.




Recipe

 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 
3/4 cup sugar 
1 large egg, room temperature 
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 Bar of Baby Ruth chopped
1 Bar of Milky Way chopped
1 handful of pretzels chopped


preheat the oven to 400.
1. In a bowl sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Chop the candy bars and pretzels and set aside.
2. Mix butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix. 
4. Throw in the chopped candy bars and pretzel. Mix with a spatula. Bake for about 6 minutes long or until the edges are golden brown.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Soboro Bread

There are certain memories I have of my childhood in Korea. My mom making strawberry jam, playing with my neighbor friend, trying to ditch kindergarten (I know I was such a little rebel), and eating fresh baked sorobo bread from the bakery. It's a soft bread with a crumbly peanut butter topping. I am lucky enough to have several Korean bakeries nearby where I live. But each of them make Soboro bread differently and not like the ones I remember as a child. I went on a search for a recipe and found one! This recipe is a definite keeper. The dough was nice and soft and the topping had a nice peanut butter/ buttery flavor with a nice crumbly texture. 


dough resting and ready for the first rise
the peanut butter topping
second rise
ready for the final rise
fresh out of the oven!


Soboro Bread
recipe from mistyyoon.com

The Dough Recipe

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
2 /3 cup warm water
2 eggs,beaten
2/3 cup lukewarm milk
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

The Topping Recipe

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2tablespoons powder milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey

egg wash: one egg and one Tablespoon of water

(I cut both recipes in half. For the peanut butter topping, even though I cut the recipe in half I added one whole egg)

In a small bowl, add the yeast to the 2/3 cup of warm water and leave to dissolve. Set aside.

In the kitchen aid bowl, sift together both AP and bread flour, sugar, and salt together. Attach the dough hook and slowly add the yeast mixture and knead until smooth and elastic. If dough is too sticky add flour or dough is too stiff, sprinkle a few drops of water. My dough ended up being too stiff and I added about 1 Tablespoon of water.

Add the room temperature butter and knead until the dough is soft, smooth and stretchy. Put into a clean bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place until the bread size is doubled. It was hot the day I made this so it took about 45 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled knead the dough by hand just a couple of times.Then divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll into a ball. Place them on a sheet pan and cover. This will be the second rise. Let the dough double once again.

While the dough is on its second rise make the peanut butter topping.
 In a bowl, sift the flour, powdered milk, baking powder, and salt. In the kitchen aid, add the butter and peanut butter. Mix until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Then add the egg & the honey and mix. Finally add the dry ingredients and mix. Cover and throw it in the fridge.

When the dough is done rising, make the egg wash. Dip each piece of dough into the egg wash and then grab a handful of topping and press gently into the dough. Cover once again and let it rise for one last time about 25 minutes. Preheat the oven halfway into the rise to 375. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden brown.


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Peach Pie round 2

Thank you for sending good vibes for A. She is finally better! She is playing legos right now and pretending the pieces are sick and throwing up. The girl cracks me up! 

This round was tastier than the first batch I made. I still need to make some adjustments to the crust. I love that peaches are in season. 




one free form before i egg washed and sprinkled sugar on the crust
this hand held pie was a little too big to hold

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Summer

While other bloggers are writing about their lovely summer vacations. A has been battling the stomach flu. What a way to start summer break...poor girl. So far A's summer consists of 2 trips to the doctor and lots of time on the couch. We have had to cancel a couple of play dates, trips to the pool and therapy sessions :( Crossing my fingers and praying that this bug will go away soon.

Roses from daddy and balloons from Auntie J to help her feel better.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Yeasted breads

I've been dreaming about bread these days. Specifically bread from Cafe Intermezzo.  It used to be this sandwich/ salad shop in Berkeley.  They had the best honey whole wheat bread. Intermezzo is gone now, I heard that they burned down. So sad. Unfortunately, the results of this recipe was well not what I was looking for.




Then I started to think about Wetzel pretzels. I used a recipe from Epicurious and it was alright. Definitely not a Wetzel pretzel.

boiling in water and baking soda
had to try and make a hot dog pretzel
didn't taste that great but looks nice