Daring Bakers: Lavash Crackers & Toppings

Just in the nick of time! I was afraid I won't be able to complete September's Daring Bakers Challenge, but so glad I drag my jet lag body out of bed this late afternoon and got to work. This month's challenge was Lavash Crackers with Vegan Toppings. For the very first time the challenge was hosted by alternative Daring Bakers Natalie from Gluten A Go Go and co-hosted by Shel from Musings From the Fishbowl. Thank you ladies for the recipe! We were free to add our twist with different spices. I decided to put an Asian spin on mines and added soy sauce flavoring and a sprinkling of black sesame seed and dried nori.



This was my second Daring Bakers Challenge and although I believe the results for this one went a lot better than my first challenge, Chocolate Éclairs, once again I was baking in a rush. I didn't have time to do the dip I really wanted to do, Wasabi Hummus. I made a simple balsamic vinaigrette dip instead.



To add an Asian twist to the crackers, I added 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil instead of vegetable oil. As for the topping, I was deciding between dried nori and sesame seeds or dried shiso. I went with the nori and sesame seed instead thinking it would be a better companion for the wasabi hummus.







Although the soy sauce added a nice touch to the crackers, I probably needed to add 1/2 a tablespoon or maybe even an extra tablespoon more. The black sesame and nori topping went really well with each other. Too bad I didn't have time to make the wasabi hummus, but this is a recipe I would definitely be revisiting again.




Daring Barkers' September Challenge: Whole Wheat Lavash Crackers & Toppings

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose wheat flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 Tb sugar
1 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb soy sauce
1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
Black sesame
Dried nori flakes

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, sugar, oil, soy sauce, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (see http://www.wikihow.com/Determine-if-Bre … ong-Enough for a discription of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

or

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax. At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes. When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment. If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors.

or

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of black sesame seeds and dried nori. Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

My Blueberry Blues

Blueberries, the perfect summer fruit? Some might disagree and I'll admit watermelon was definitely a serious competitor for this title, but in terms of versatility...blueberries came out on top. It's the perfect teammate for yogurt, that extra ingredient that makes pancakes even more wonderful, delicious as a sauce for pork chops, and for me it gave me a reason to make French Toast with Apple Berry Topping, Counterfeit Blueberry Muffin Tops, and Blueberry infused Gin.

Before I go further, I must apologize for my lack of posting. August has been one crazy month and I wish I could say I will be posting more in September, but I can't. I will be in Japan for 2.5 weeks! I will be doing shorter posts as I eat my way through the country. This will be my second time in Japan. I was there about 2 years ago and was lucky enough to be able to stay there for the whole summer. Look forward to my posts in Japan in September! I shall return to my love of blueberries now.





Anyone a Seinfeld fan? Well if you are, all I have to say is "top of the muffin to you!" I love muffin tops and what better than muffin tops but blueberry muffin tops. Unfortunately mines came up sort of confused.



Too short to be a muffin and too tall to be a muffin top. I'm going to call it my Counterfeit Blueberry Muffin Top. I couldn't figure out what went wrong. Did I put too much batter in the pan? For the second batched I put less, but the result didn't changed much as you see below (the 1st batch is on the left and the 2nd batch is on the right). Too much baking powder? I just didn't know. It tasted fine though and actually pretty good. The crumble topping was buttery and golden brown. The batter wasn't too sweet and let the blueberry flavor shined. So what happen?





What happen was I miss read. I am a newbie to the world of muffin top baking. I had no idea there were baking pans designed especially for baking muffin tops. Who knew right? Please nod your head as you are reading this. Actually, I'm going to blame this on my utter thrill and excitement for blueberries. Yup, I am refusing to take responsibility for this embarrassment.


Counterfeit Blueberry Muffin Tops

Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine: Blueberry Muffin Tops*

*to get that confused and counterfeit look for you muffin tops, just bake the batter in a regular muffin pan


Now lets move on to my French Toast with Apple Berry Topping.



French toast is just sexy. It's simple, beautiful, and is guarantee to gain you some ooohs and ahhs especially when piles of fruits and maple syrupy is on top. I didn't have any maple syrupy with me and instead turned to a mixture of apple, plums, strawberries, and orange juice.


French Toast with Apple Berry Topping

Apple Berry Topping

Ingredients:
Apple
Plum
Strawberries
Fresh squeeze orange juice
Orange zest
Cane Sugar (if cane sugar is not available regular granulated can be use)
Water

Cut apple into medium size cubes. Peel and cut plum into medium size cubes as well. Cut strawberries into quarters.

Place apple, plum, and strawberries into a pan.

Squeeze fresh orange juice, add orange zest, and about half a cup of water in the pan as well.

Turn the heat up and add about 1/4 cup of cane sugar. As the sugar begins to dissolve, taste and adjust flavors as needed.

When the sugar is dissolve and the sauce begins to thicken, turn the heat off and set aside.


French Toast
(serves 1)

Ingredients:
2 large slices of day old Brioche bread
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
Pinch of salt

In a shallow plate, beat egg and then whisk in milk, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.

Soak the slice bread in the mixture one at a time and allow excess to drip off. Make sure the each slice gets a good soak in the mixture, about 30 second on each side.

In a pan heat up oil and add in the soaked slices of bread.

Depending on the thickness of your bread, it should take a minute or less on each side. Toast will be ready when it turns a nice golden brown.

Place done french toasts on a plate. Spoon a good amount of the Apple Berry Topping on top and sprinkle with fresh blueberries.



What better way to end this post then with some Blueberry infused Gin. This picture was taken a little less then 2 weeks ago. The gin has now turned a lovely purple color and it's almost ready to come out of its hibernation from my fridge. Oh I already have some lovely ideas for it, but that's for another post.

What is your favorite summer fruit? Do you have a favorite way of cooking or eating blueberries?