Baking Bouchon - Recipe 100: Gluten Free Brioche

This is the first post I'm writing from Korea.  We've been here a few days now and I'm still a bit fuzzy and disoriented and unable to sleep through the night, but I know I'll become more clearheaded soon.

Some things are a little bit different and most things are a lot different as evidenced by what happened the first time I logged into Blogger from our hotel room and saw this...

Yeah, I can't read that.  I especially can't read the part that tells you where the drop down button is to change my default language from Hangul to English.  Ten minutes later all was well, but I had a panic attack for a minute.

I still have a few more recipes left that I prepared before our departure from the States so we'll talk about those most of this week before I tell you about our long trip here.

This is almost the last recipe in the bread chapter and the second to last recipe in the whole entire Bouchon Bakery Cookbook.  I'm not at all surprised that the breads lingered toward the end of this baking experience because there are so many of them in the cookbook but I am surprised that they included a Gluten Free bread.  I shouldn't be because what I didn't know is that the bakery developed a Gluten Free Flour blend that is sold at Williams Sonoma which I was supposed to use in this recipe but did not because it comes in bags larger than I required for this recipe and I didn't want to waste it when I moved.

In my limited Gluten Free baking experience, I've found that using Gluten Free Flour blends is the easiest way to execute GF recipes but there are really large differences between the different blends so you can to find one you like.  I've had good experience with the King Arthur Flour blend and have heard good things about Pamela's and Cup-4-Cup (the Bouchon blend at Williams Sonoma).  For this recipe I bought the Betty Crocker blend which isn't my favorite but was all the store I went to had.

The dough for these brioche rolls is totally different from the dough used in regular brioche.  I used to get freaked out making GF stuff when the batter or dough looked weird but I've come to expect it now and just wait and see what the end result looks like.  I've also found that GF batter and dough doesn't not taste nearly as good as glutenfull batter and dough which is probably good because I don't eat so much of it.

These baked up pretty nicely....

They also tasted pretty darn good.  Not exactly like brioche but more like a dinner roll.  They've also got coarse chunks of salt sprinkled on top which add to the savory, dinner roll feel.

My only complaint about these was that they did not store well.  I left a few in a tupperware container on my counter overnight and the next day they were very dry and crumbly.  However, I gave most of these away to my Gluten Free Friend (I delivered them to her in a giant plastic baggie in a restaurant tempting her to take one out and eat it during the meal.  She didn't, but I kind of wish she did) and she stored them in the freezer.  She said they reheated really well and didn't get all dried out so I guess the freezer is the key.

Enjoy!
Julie

Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies

I have not jumped on the coconut oil bandwagon.  Apparently it's full of all sorts of health benefits, etc.  I bought a jar of coconut oil on a whim and used it one other time which meant that it was sitting in my cabinet.  I had every intention of trying to cook with it, but I did not.  I'm an olive oil girl and given that this single jar of coconut oil sat in my pantry for at least a year while I went through multiple jars of olive oil, I don't imagine that is changing any time soon.

Unless it means that I get to make these cookies again.  I was super surprised by how delicious they were.  I'm a sucker for peanut butter cookies and I may have amped them up just a little bit by adding peanut butter chips which were fortuitously sitting adjacent to the coconut oil in my pantry.

The oil acts like the butter does in a regular peanut butter cookies but they need to be chilled really well after they're scooped to firm up the dough.  At room temperature coconut oil is solid, like butter is when its cold, so it has to be warmed up a little bit to mix up the cookie dough.  Once the dough is chilled it is quite firm and that keeps the cookies nice and round and puffy when are baked.

I am a big fan of these cookies and CA was too.  They do have a slight coconut flavor but its pretty subtle.  They are puffy and soft which is my favorite cookie status.  I might just pretend to convert to coconut oil again just so I can not use it for cooking and make these cookies again.

Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Cookies
Adapted from Averie Cooks

Ingredients

3/4 cup Peanut Butter (crunchy or creamy)
1/2 cup Coconut Oil, softened (softened but not melted)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 T Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Potato or Corn Starch
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1 bag Peanut Butter Chips 

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the peanut butter, coconut oil and sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. 

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Add the flour, potato or corn starch, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until just combined.  Add the peanut butter chips and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Roll golf ball sized balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, or until tops have just set.  Even if they look slightly undercooked, they will firm up as they cook. 

Enjoy!
Julie

Lemon Thyme Roast Chicken

I'll keep this post short and sweet.

I read quite a few blogs on a daily basis.  Most of them make me feel like my blog is awkward and doesn't look nearly as nice as other blogs.  I use a standard design from Blogger and have only done a little bit of customization.  I've had thoughts of paying someone to design this space into something that looks more professional but haven't gotten there yet.

Looks aside (although her blog looks totally legit) I've been loving the recipes that are posted on The View From Great Island lately.  I can't remember how I stumbled on this blog but I've been really enjoying it.  (BTW, I don't know this lady at all and she doesn't know me so there's no particular reason for me to be telling you about her blog except that I like it and I got this recipe from her).

This roasted chicken is super simple to make and tastes awesome!  I served it to my book club ladies and was really happy with how it came out.  The lemon flavor is bright and fresh but it gets a little bit of a concentrated, richer flavor from being roasted.

You can find the recipe HERE.  The original recipe calls for a whole chicken that has been cut up, but I used all chicken legs.  I also removed the skin before cooking them to pump up the healthy factor.  Oh yeah, and I cheated and used regular lemons and not meyer lemons because my grocery store didn't have them.  I'm practical that way.

Enjoy!
Julie

Gluten Free Crepes

I talk a lot about my Gluten Free Friend (GFF) on this blog.  She's a pretty amazing person with a lot of qualities that have nothing to do with her Gluten Free Status, but she's really my only friend with this status so I have to talk about her a lot when it comes to food.  She's pretty useful that way and luckily she doesn't mind me using her as an example.

My GFF is part of my book club and since I made the Crepe Cake I told you about yesterday for my favorite book reading ladies I was adamant that she be able to partake so I found this recipe for crepes that contain none of those pesky glutens.  It is made with potato starch which I was highly skeptical of.  The other ingredients are the same as regular crepes - water, eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt.

This experiment in crepes free of flour didn't start off all that well.  I mixed up the batter and proceeded to heat up my non-stick skillet.  Once hot, I poured in the batter and let it cook.  However, when I tried to flip it it completely fell apart (see photo above, right).  I was discouraged... sad face... but when I revisited my batter to try again I noticed that letting the batter sit for even a minute caused the potato starch to separate and settle to the bottom of the bowl.  Without the potato starch, I had essentially cooked milky eggs.  I re-whisked and immediately poured the batter in the pan.... so much better!  It stayed together and was significantly crepe-like.

I used these crepes along with the orange diplomat cream that I used in the Crepe Cake to make my GFF a Mini GF Crepe Cake.  She was pleased and I was pleased that she was pleased.

These are a great staple and I could see them filled with fruit and whipped cream or whatever your crepe pleasure may be.

Gluten Free Crepes
Adapted from Feel Good Eating
Makes 4 Crepes

Ingredients
3 T Potato Starch
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions
Whisk all the ingredients together, making sure to incorporate all the potato starch.  Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into a hot non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray.  Cook on one side until set and lightly browned, about 1 minute.  Flip and cook until the other side is lightly browned.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

Make sure to re-whisk the batter before making the next crepe to reincorporate any potato starch that has settled to the bottom of the bowl.

Enjoy!
Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 99: Crepe Cake

I can't even count the number of Crepe Cakes that I've pinned on Pinterest (4).  They are made with multiple layers of crepes layered with sweet cream.  It seems to be a pretty popular and anything that has 20 layers of Pastry Cream in it has me sold.  This is the final recipe in the Cake chapter of the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook and I'm super excited about it.

I served this to some of my favorite ladies when I hosted my last book club gathering at my house a few days before the movers showed up.  As usual, it was a fun get together where we caught up on everything going on in each other's lives and the lives of our favorite celebrities.  We also spent at least 5 minutes discussing the book that we read.

A crepe cake obviously starts with a bunch of crepes.  I've only made crepes on one other occasion and the batter seems pretty similar to those I made before.  It is made up of what you'd typically put in pancakes - flour, sugar, eggs, milk and butter.  Plus it contains a tiny bit of triple sec to give them a mild orange flavor.

Crepe batter is very runny which allows it to spread out in a very thin layer in a non-stick skillet.  They're so thin I was worried about ripping them when I flipped them but that did not happen - yeah!

Making this cake required making nearly 20 crepes so there was a lot of pouring batter, swirling batter and flipping crepes.

While the crepes are lovely, the star of this dessert is the orange diplomat creme that is layered in between them.  The diplomat creme is pastry cream scented with orange peel, stabilized with gelatin and folded with whipped cream.  (I talked more about diplomat cream and my love affair with it in the post about dulce de leche eclairs.  My loved has not faded with time.)

The layering process took a little bit of time but is totally worth it.

I was so excited slicing into this thing and I was not disappointed.  This cake is awesome!  The crepes are nice and light and the orange diplomat cream is rich and creamy.  YUM!

Let's recap the cakes in this book, shall we?  I don't remember disliking any of them, but there were a few stand outs...

• This crepe cake for sure - it was freakin' good.
• The Oh Ohs didn't turn out perfectly, but they sure were a a tasty version of the Hostess Ho Ho.
• Bouchons were tasty little brownie bites.
• The Palet d Or was probably my favorite.  It had amazing chocolate flavor and looked so pretty and sophisticated.

Considering that 3 out of 4 of my favorites contain chocolate, I guess there's a trend.

Enjoy!
Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 98: Cheese Puffs

This recipe marks the end of the puffy things chapter.  If I had my cookbook, I could figure out what the chapter is really called, but whatever it is, it is coming to a close on a savory note.

CA was really excited about this recipe.  I think I've been overloading him on sweets and the poor man needed some relief from his sugar coma.  Plus, my superhero is partial to anything that includes cheese.

The dough for the cheese puffs is made in the same way it made for the cream puffs and eclairs - butter is melted with water, cooked with flour and whipped with eggs.  Then comes the grated Gruyere cheese which makes these into cheese puffs.  There is also a good amount of pepper in batter which adds to the savory notes.

The dough gets piped onto a sheet pan and baked until they magically puff in the oven.  Every time I made Pate a Choux (the fancy name for the puffy dough) I'm surprised that it actually puffs when it's baked.

These are pretty darn good and completely addicting.  I made them as an appetizer for CA and I one night and had to hide them from myself to ensure I could actually eat dinner.

Looking back at the recipes in this chapter, I have a really hard time choosing a favorite - they're all pretty awesome.

- The Cream Puffs were super light and tasty
- The Eclairs - including the chocolate, coconut lime and dulce de leche versions were all fantastic.
- Paris-New York which was filled with peanut butter pastry cream was simply out of control.

This may have been the most consistently good chapter in the cookbook.

Enjoy!
Julie

Baking Bouchon - Recipe 97: Tropezienne

These French words really baffle me.  I think I'm too American to figure out where these names come from.  Lord knows what I'm going to do with Korean words.  I may just order food blindly in restaurants and hope that what shows up isn't still moving.

A Tropezienne is a disc of brioche that is filled with pastry cream.  I have no problem with that.

Brioche is kind of awesome.  It's bread with extra butter in it.  How can that be bad? 

This particular version isn't a "roll" like most brioche are - this one is flat and has pearl sugar on top of it.  This makes it look like a hamburger bun.  Forget sesame seeds, I'd rather have my hamburger buns covered in sugar.

To make this look even more like a hamburger, he roll is sliced and filled with a brown substance - the "meat"... and it's not just plain old pastry cream.

The filling is pastry cream (yum) mixed with Nutella (extra yum).  This combination is just ridiculous.

They should sell these at McDonald's.  People would die (literally, if you ate this and a Big Mac, you would bite it earlier than scheduled).  Heck, I'd trade this for a regular hamburger any day.

Luckily, the pastry cream recipe in this cookbook is not aggressively sweet so when it's mixed with the Nutella it doesn't get really sick sweet.  The brioche is awesome and light and the combination is freaking amazing.

I wish I could remember what chapter in the cookbook this recipe came from because it would win the chapter favorite hands down.  It potentially wins "best in show" for the favorite of the whole cookbook, it's that good.

Yummy, happy food day.

Enjoy!
Julie