Gourgeres

Gourgeresssss....

I used the recipe below but substituted 1/2 C milk for half of the water.

5 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
5 large eggs, at room temperature (VERY IMPORTANT)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Add butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to one cup water in
medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
When butter melts, reduce heat to low.

3. Add flour to butter-water mixture all at once and cook over
low heat, beating with a wooden spoon, for one minute, until
mixture pulls away from side of pan. Remove pan from heat.

4. Add cheese to pan and beat in with a wooden spoon until
well incorporated. Add four of the eggs, one at a time, beating
each egg into the batter until thoroughly absorbed. Continue
beating mixture until it is smooth, shiny, and firm.

5. Drop batter in small spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie
sheet to form Gourgeres. Beat remaining egg with 1/2 tbsp.
water, then brush tops of uncooked Gougeres with egg wash.

6. Bake in upper third of over for 15-20 minutes until
Gougeres are golden and doubled in size. Remove from over
and serve hot, or allow to cool to room temperature.

Baguettes

Fresh baked bread. I think I'm going to make this a habit.

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 egg white
  
• 1 tablespoon water

Mix the wet ingredients together (which includes sugar, I guess because it dissolves). Add the yeast to it. Stir the mixture into the flour and work it a little bit. If it's two wet (like mine was) add some more flour. After kneading it for a little while, form it into a ball and place it in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough and roll it out onto a floured surface into a 12"x16" rectangle. Cut the dough in half so you have two 8x12 pieces. Roll the dough along the 12" length, pressing out any air bubbles. Place the rolled dough onto a non-stick baking surface, cut some slits in the top, cover and let rise for another 30-40 minutes.

Brush the top of the dough with a beaten egg white and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Dinner was a big chunk torn off with some olive tapenade and mozzarella.

Coffee Cake

I wanted coffee cake but had no sour cream and only one egg. I found this recipe that accommodated. It was ok, but could've been moister. Would've been better with apples and sour cream in it. And I only had sliced almonds and no walnuts, so I didn't put them on the whole thing. Oh, I also used 2% milk instead of buttermilk. I'm surprised it tasted any good at all now that I think about it.

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Grease a large loaf pan and pre-heat oven to 350. Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat in the egg until well blended. Combine all the dry ingredients together. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture along with the buttermilk.

Mix the last 3 ingredients together for the topping. Spread the mixture in the pan and sprinkle on the topping. Bake for 40-45 minutes.