Cooking with Xav

[Xavious]

I've recently discovered my inner chef and I've been baking breads and the like for nearly a month now. As such, I'm making this thread to both document my endeavors as well as share the recipes for everyone else to enjoy. So without further ado, I'll start things off with the first bread I tried out.

Focaccia

Ingredients:

6 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
A cake or package of active yeast
About 1 1/2 cups warm water
1/3 cup extravirgin olive oil
Salt, both finely and coarsely ground



Directions:

Warm the water. Do not have the water boiling hot, straight from the tap or microwaved a few seconds will do nicely.

Pour the packet of yeast into the warm water and stir until all the yeast is dissolved.

In your work surface of choice, make a mound of flour with a well in the center.

Add the water/yeast mixture into the well.

Add into the well 5 table spoons of the olive oil and two pinches of fine grain salt.

Knead the mixture until the dough has become a uniform mass. If necessary add more warm water.

Take the ball of dough and place it into a bowl for two hours so that the yeast may rise. Store in a warm place with a damp cloth covering the bowl.

After two hours, oil your baking sheet and spread the dough over the pan by pushing outwards from the center. DO NOT roll the dough as this may affect the texture of the final product.

Continue stretching and pulling the dough until it is approximately 1/2 inch throughout.

With either a dimpler, the handle of a teaspoon, or your finger tips dimple the surface of the dough.

Let the dough sit an additional 10-15 minutes. If you wish, you can add toppings of choice at this point. In my recipe I gave it a fine coating of olive oil and a sprinkling of coarse grain salt.

Preheat oven around 425 degrees F and bake the dough until it turns a golden yellow, approximately 20-25 minutes total. Halfway through this turn the pan 180 degrees to ensure an even baking. If the bread browns it will become very tough and hard.

Remove from oven and let it cool for several minutes.

When cool, cut into strips. The Focaccia loaf is now ready to be served!



Original source recipe can be found here. (http://italianfood.about.com/od/breadspizza/ss/aa051208.htm)
Bakers Notes:
This bread is, admittedly, a little bland. However after making it several times I would wager that this would make an excellent dough for a pizza. This will be looked into at a later date when I have the time to devise a pizza recipe.

[Raiden]

Xav, bravo!

I for one love home made bread as I've noted before. Keep doing it if you love it! Reading this thread made me realize how long it's been since I've had good focaccia and I think I need to do something about that. Who knows, maybe I'll just try out your recipe sometime and when I do, I'll let you know how to came out!

Keep them coming!

Shane

[Xavious]

Sweet Bread

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Instructions

Take butter and place in either a sauce pan or microwave safe bowl and heat until thoroughly melted.

Pour butter, sugar, and eggs into a mixing bowl and stir together until you get a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Stir in dry ingredients one item at a time.

Continue stirring the mixture until you have a smooth yellow mixture with no lumps from the dry ingredients remaining, discounting the chocolate chips of course. Figure at least five minutes of continuous stirring for this step.

Once stirred, pour the dough into a well greased bread pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F and place the dough into the oven.

After about 60 minutes the bread should be finished. To check if the bread is fully cooked insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean the bread is fully cooked. If the toothpick has dough on it, the bread is not fully cooked. Repeat this process every 5-10 minutes as necessary. If the bread starts to turn a dark brown it has been overcooked and is likely hardened into a brick.

Allow the bread to cool for several minutes.


Source recipe can be found here. (http://bread.betterrecipes.com/breakfast-bread.html)
Bakers Notes:
The source recipe stated that pineapple be added to the recipe. Due to a lack of pineapple this item was omitted. At any rate, the final product was a mildly sweet bread with the added flavor of chocolate.

[Xavious]

Pancakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted



Instructions

Stir together the dry ingredients one item at a time.

After all dry ingredients are mixed in together, scoop a well in the center of the mixture.

Pour the butter, milk, and egg into the well.

Stir together until all ingredients form a creamy homogeneous mixture.

Heat a lightly oiled frying pan to medium heat.

Slowly pour the batter onto the pan so it doesn't splatter. Make each pancake approximately three inches in diameter.

Cook until they are golden on both sides.

Repeat the previous two steps until all the batter is used up.


Source recipe can be found here. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Good-Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/Detail.aspx)
Bakers Notes:
These pancakes are simply delicious and very easy to make. Only drawback is that they are a tad on the salty side. In the future I may use slightly less salt. However I fully recommend this recipe for any beginner to cooking.

[MetaKittie]

You should only need a pinch of salt, Xavvy dear. :p
Try it out.

Edit- having issues with sweetbread. Maybe its just my altitude, but it is cooked on the outside, but it fell in the center and is doughy.

[Xavious]

You should only need a pinch of salt, Xavvy dear. :p
Try it out.

Edit- having issues with sweetbread. Maybe its just my altitude, but it is cooked on the outside, but it fell in the center and is doughy.

Did you do the toothpick trick? :P

[AdamWolf]

You should try doing some vids of this too and uploading them!

[GhostBat]

You should try doing some vids of this too and uploading them!

Xavious, the next Food Network star!

[Xavious]

You should try doing some vids of this too and uploading them!

Thats not a bad thought, however the only device I have to record videos doesn't record sound for some reason :p

I do however have pics of the finished product for some recipes I've done. I haven't uploaded them yet because I can't find the cable to transfer them from the camera to the computer.

[Xavious]

Honey Wheat Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
5 cups all-purpose flour


Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

Add in the honey and stir in. Stir for several minutes until the honey is completely mixed in and the mixture takes on a yellowish/golden tinge.

At once add in the wheat flour, vegetable oil, and salt. Continue stirring after all three are in the bowl. It should now appear as a brown, slightly bubbly sludge.

Slowly add in the white flour in small increments. Once the mixture loses its 'sludge' appearance and appears more like dough, discard the spoon and continue mixing in the white flour by kneading the dough.

After all the white flour has been worked into the dough, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work the dough for several minutes. It is recommended to work the dough for no less than ten minutes and no more than twenty minutes.

Once the dough has taken on a light brown/tan color and is a single, smooth lump of dough, place the dough into a well oiled bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl several times until the dough is fully covered in the oil.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. Expect this process to take at least an hour.

After the dough has doubled punch it down and divide it evenly into two halves.

Work both halves into a loaf shape that fits the pan you are using. A 9"x5" pan is preferable.

Once dough is of proper shape, place the dough into the two well greased pans allow the dough to rise once more in the pan for several minutes. If using 9"x5" pans the dough should rise until about an inch above the top of the pan.

After the dough has once more risen, bake at 375 Degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes.


Source recipe can be found here. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Wheat-Bread-II/Detail.aspx)
Bakers Notes:
This is by far the best bread I've baked and the most fun I've had in the creation of any food product. Unlike the other breads I've added previously, this bread is excellent for making sandwiches with or simply enjoying by itself. When I baked the bread I lacked the 9"x5" pan and instead used a 13"x5" pan. The bread turned out fantastic however because the pan was much larger than what was recommended it didn't have a chance to rise an inch above the top. Only thing I might change in future versions of this recipe is changing the amount of honey used from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup or possibly a little more.

[MetaKittie]

I'm so making this. :P
But you should use canola oil, its healthier!

[GoddessWolf]

Remind me to give you my family's recipe for homemade bread Xman. I think you'd really like it considering your talents with other breads. :)

[Xavious]

Extremely Sweet Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon confectioners sugar


Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the one tablespoon sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon. Mix until the two are indistinguishable from one another and set aside the sugar-cinnamon mix until later.

Take butter and place in either a sauce pan or microwave safe bowl and heat until thoroughly melted.

Pour butter, sugar, and eggs into a mixing bowl and stir together until you get a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Stir in dry ingredients one item at a time.

Continue stirring the mixture until you have a smooth yellow mixture with no lumps from the dry ingredients remaining, discounting the chocolate chips of course. Figure at least five minutes of continuous stirring for this step.

Take the sugar-cinnamon mix and lightly stir into the dough.

Once stirred, pour the dough into a well greased bread pan.

Once the dough has settled into the pan, lightly sprinkle the confectioners sugar on the top of the dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F and place the dough into the oven.

After about 60 minutes the bread should be finished. To check if the bread is fully cooked insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean the bread is fully cooked. If the toothpick has dough on it, the bread is not fully cooked. Repeat this process every 5-10 minutes as necessary. If the bread starts to turn a dark brown it has been overcooked and is likely hardened into a brick.

Allow the bread to cool for several minutes.



Bakers Notes:
C'est magnifique! This bread is a variation of my previously posted Sweet Bread recipe that I thought up a few days ago. There is no easy way I can express how awesome this recipe is. It so blissfully assaults the taste buds in ways reminiscent of both chocolate chip cookies and fudge brownies. All the while a hint of cinnamon is ever present. Ingredients and steps in bold are the new parts to the recipe.

[MetaKittie]

Did you do the toothpick trick? :P

Of course! It went flat and gooey at the bottom.

[Xavious]

Pain au Ail

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning (I used the 'Colonial Kitchen' brand name for this. It is a mixture of ground basil, thyme, oregano, and marjoram)
1 1/2 teaspoon ground garlic
2 teaspoons ground basil


Instructions

1: In a large bowl combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, yeast, garlic, basil, seasoning, and salt.

2: Stir in 2 cups warm water and continue stirring until mixture is relatively smooth. Begin stirring in as much of the remaining flour as possible starting with the all-purpose.

3: On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make the dough smooth and uniform in appearance. Knead for about 10 minutes total and shape into a ball.

4 Place dough in a greased bowl, covering the entire ball of dough. Cover with a damp dish towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

3: Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

5: Grease a large baking sheet, sprinkle with flour, and place loaves on the prepared baking sheet.

6: Prepare the egg white by lightly beating the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush on both loaves and sprinkle on each a pinch of the Italian Seasoning.

7: Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until nearly doubled, approximately 35 to 40 minutes.

8: With a sharp knife, scar each loaf in equally spaced diagonal sections. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes.

9: Brush again with egg white mixture. Additionally, brush each loaf with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

10: Remove from baking sheet and let cool before serving.



Bakers Notes:
This bread can be considered a culmination of my baking knowledge. I tried not to use any recipes for reference except the ones I've listed in here. The only technique I borrowed from an outside recipe was using the egg whites to thicken the crust and give it a nice golden brown color. I slightly augmented this as well by applying the butter to give it some more flavor.

I am very pleased with how these two loaves of bread came out. While the garlic was not as strong as I'd like to have been it was definitely worth the effort I put into it. There is a definite garlic aftertaste as well as the buttery flavor I had hoped for. The crust had nicely browned and the center was nice and chewy. The herbs interspersed throughout the loaves gave it an overall pleasant taste. This may well be the pinnacle of my bread baking thus far.

Post consumption note:
For those still bothering with these recipes, I've dropped the Italian Seasoning altogether. Your stomach WILL appreciate you for doing so. Although I still say it added a rather pleasant kick of flavor.

[Xavious]

Ground Meat Wellington

Ingredients

Flour
1 pound Bacon
1 Pound Pork
1/2 Tablespoon Garlic Pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
1 egg
A pinch of Ground Red Pepper
10 turns of a Peppercorn Medley Grinder.
1 12 ounce package of crescent roll dough.


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a cutting board take all but two strips of bacon and slice into small chunks.

In an ungreased frying pan, lightly fry the bacon. Once the pan has a good layer of grease from the bacon, transfer the contents into a large mixing bowl.

Add the pork, garlic pepper, onion, red pepper, peppercorn medley, and half the egg to the bowl.

Stir and fold the bacon bits into the pork until the mix is uniform in appearance.

On a lightly floured aluminum foil surface roll out the crescent roll dough with a rolling pin until approximately 1 1/2 feet by 1 foot or until you have gotten the dough as flat as possible, whichever is smaller. Keep the longer edge of the dough closer to you.

With the two remaining strips of bacon cut them in the center and evenly space them parallel to the shorter edge of the dough.

Take the meat mixture and shape it into a loaf along the long edge of the dough.

Take the far edge of the dough and carefully pull it over the meat. Make sure that the dough is held tight against the meat and not loose. Pinch and tuck the two ends of the dough as close as possible to the wellington. Be careful not to tear the dough.

Carefully roll the wellington up in the foil and place in the freezer for about ten minutes. This is to help solidify the dough and meat so it can hold together better.

Take the wellington out of the freezer and place, place it onto a lightly floured baking pan, and brush it with the other half of the egg. Try to cover all of the wellington that isn't making direct contact with the pan with a good coating of the egg.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the wellington takes on a golden brown color.

Remove from the pan and let cool. This recipe is large enough to serve two or three people.



Bakers Notes:
I'm back and with another great recipe! This is, admittedly, a painstaking process to get everything to turn out right. The dough can very easily tear at any point working with it, especially if you've gotten it too thin. I've attempted this recipe several times before always had it turn out tasting great but visually unappealing.

Also, the pound of ground pork can be substituted with any other type of ground meat. Previous attempts at this recipe used ground turkey and they were just as delicious as this one. All in all, this is perhaps one of the best recipes I've come up with in a long while.