Authors: Cheese Board Collective Staff

The Cheese Board (34 page)

BOOK: The Cheese Board

10.88Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

One of the strangest, funniest things that ever happened to me was during one of our marathon periods at the Cheese Board. It was at Christmastime, and I was working more than forty hours a week. All my shifts were ten and eleven hours long. I was working extra because it was busy and lots of people were out sick, so I was really working hard. Steve called the store at the end of a Saturday, and I answered the phone—at this point I’d been on the shift for eleven hours. He wanted to know how much bread we’d sold and if there was any left over. He said, “Who is this?” and I couldn’t answer. I thought, “I know my name. I’ve known it all my life!” But I just couldn’t think to tell him who I was! He finally said, “Is this Vicki?” and I said, “Ah. Yes, that’s it, yes, this is Vicki!”

—VICKI

Saffron Bread

A former member developed this fragrant bread from his grandmother’s holiday recipe. This tea bread is best thinly sliced—try it served with marmalade. It also makes great toast with a spread of sweet butter. We roll the dough into a decorative braided turban created from two strands of dough.

MAKES 2 LOAVES

Preparation time including rising and baking: 3¼ hours; active time: 45 minutes

¼ teaspoon saffron threads

¼ cup hot water

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

4 cups bread flour

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1½ cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

1½ cups lukewarm water

Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange

4 eggs

½ cup dried currants

In a small bowl, stir the saffron into the hot water. Set aside to steep.

In another small bowl, whisk the yeast into the warm water until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.

If using a stand mixer,
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with the paddle attachment on low speed for 4 minutes, or until it is the size of small peas. Add the saffron mixture, yeast mixture, lukewarm water, citrus zests, and 3 of the eggs, and mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, increase the mixer speed to medium, and knead for 7 minutes, or until the dough begins to lose its rough texture. Add the currants and knead until the fruit is incorporated, about 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

If making by hand,
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until it is the size of small peas. Add the saffron mixture, yeast mixture, lukewarm water, citrus zests, and 3 of the eggs, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Flatten the dough and sprinkle with the currants. Knead until the fruit is incorporated.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 pieces. Gently form each piece into a
loose round
and cover with a floured kitchen towel. Let rest for 10 minutes. Shape each piece into a
2-stranded turban
and place on the prepared pan. Cover with a floured kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until a finger pressed into the dough leaves an impression.

Fifteen minutes before the loaves have finished rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg. Using a pastry brush, brush the top and sides of each loaf with the beaten egg. Repeat this step.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet front to back. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, for a total baking time of 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaves are a shiny, medium brown with bright yellow showing through at the crevices. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Gingerbread

Small loaves of gingerbread are the perfect winter present. This gingerbread is spicy, full of molasses flavor, and not overly sweet.

MAKES 5 SMALL LOAVES

Preparation time including baking: 1¼ hours

½ cup (4 ounces) firmly packed candied ginger

½ cup plus ¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1¼ cups safflower or canola oil

1 cup dark unsulfered molasses

3¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter or spray with cooking spray 5 small (5 by 3-inch) loaf pans.

In a food processor, combine the candied ginger and the ½ cup sugar. Process until the ginger is finely chopped and incorporated into the sugar, about 1 minute. Set aside. Or, use a chef’s knife to chop the ginger as finely as possible and combine it with the sugar.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and molasses. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking soda, mustard, ginger, and cinnamon together into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl.

If using a stand mixer,
add the salt, pepper, ¾ cup sugar, and ginger sugar to the dry ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until combined. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix briefly, just until blended.

If making by hand,
add the salt, pepper, ¾ cup sugar, and ginger sugar to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. With a few strokes of the spoon, gently combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Place the pans on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 35 minutes, then rotate the pans front to back and trade their positions. Bake 10 minutes longer, for a total baking time of 45 minutes, or until the loaves are firm and springy. Let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold and let cool completely.

WILLI’S STOLLEN

The Cheese Board’s stollen is adapted from my mother’s recipe. I wish I had thought of naming it Willi’s Stollen—her name was Wilhelmine Dilloo, but everybody called her Willi, and she was a very good cook. Stollen is a must for every house in Germany at Christmastime. There are two different kinds. Dresden style is made mostly of almonds and almost no flour; it has a layer of marzipan, and it’s almost like a confection. I have never made it—it’s the kind you buy in the store and it keeps forever. The kind we made at home (and we now make at the Cheese Board) has more flour and fewer almonds, and is more like a bread.

It was hard to adapt my mother’s recipe for a bakery-sized recipe. The first time I made the stollen, I didn’t think to order blanched almonds, so I ended up blanching them by hand, like I do at home. It was on a Sunday and, all told, I think I blanched fifteen pounds of almonds.

My special secret in making stollen is to cut the candied citron and lemon and orange peel extremely small so that they impart their flavor but you never have to bite into a piece. To do this for a huge batch was difficult because candied fruit is extremely sticky. It was terrible—it stuck to the knife, the table, my hands, everything! By the third year, I finally worked it out by grinding the candied fruit in the food processor with a little sugar and some almonds.

That was my biggest baking achievement, to come up with a way to make that complicated home recipe into an industrial-scale recipe by using a different technique. It’s those little things that are the most exciting discoveries.

—Frieda Dilloo

Stollen

Making stollen, a traditional German bread, is the culmination of our holiday preparations at the store. When we plan our holiday work schedule, it is the centerpiece of the December calendar. Stollen requires every collective member’s participation, because making it is a lengthy process and because we make so many of them. We bake them before our December meeting so everyone can help wrap the hundreds of sweet loaves.

This recipe was developed by one of our members from her
mother’s home recipe
. The last step of making stollen is creating a luxuriant confectioners’ sugar crust. Be warned: this step can envelop the entire kitchen in a cloud of confectioners’ sugar. This is an overnight dough.

MAKES 3 LOAVES

Preparation time including rising and baking: 15 hours; active time: 1½ hours

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

¾ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup candied orange peel

⅓ cup candied citron

⅓ cup candied lemon peel

6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 eggs

3 tablespoons rum

1 cup milk

¾ cup blanched slivered almonds

⅓ cup golden raisins

⅓ cup dark raisins

⅓ cup dried currants

Topping

¾ cup (1½ stick) unsalted butter

1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar

In a small bowl, whisk the yeast into the warm water until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a food processor, combine the sugar, candied orange peel, citron, and lemon peel. Pulse for about 45 seconds, or until the candied citrus is finely chopped and incorporated into the sugar. Or, use a chef’s knife to chop the candied fruit as finely as possible and combine it with the sugar.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and cinnamon.

If using a stand mixer,
add the butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture, citrus sugar, eggs, rum, and milk, and mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, increase the mixer speed to medium, and knead for 7 minutes, or until the dough is soft and pliable. Add the almonds, golden raisins, dark raisins, and currants, and continue to knead just until incorporated. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

If making by hand,
add the butter to the flour mixture and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture, citrus sugar, eggs, rum, and milk, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is
smooth and elastic. Flatten the dough and sprinkle it with the almonds, golden raisins, dark raisins, and currants. Roll it up and continue kneading for a few minutes until the fruit is incorporated.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to cover it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 3 pieces. Knead 1 piece of dough for 1 minute. Pat the dough into a 10-inch disk about 1 inch thick. Create a crease with a single karate chop positioned two-thirds of the way across the disk (
fig. A
).