Sachertorte

If you ask me which are the two most beautiful cakes in the world I would say, Torte Reform and Sachertorte. There are other beautiful cakes as well, but these two are absolutely perfect. Sachertorte is a little easier to make, so it is pretty regular on my home menu.

Last weekend I was getting ready to make my first baby shower although we are going  to have our second baby. My good girlfriend, an American, had warned me that it's "against the law" to organize the event myself. Instead, a relative or a friend should do it for me. I did not heed to it and I said it would not be an ordinary baby shower, but the US-Serbian one. For those who do not know, baby shower is an event that celebrates the arrival of a newborn. People bring gifts for the baby, usually selected from a wish list of the future parents. As you can see, Americans do not suffer of pessimism and superstition as Serbians do, they are convinced that everything will be fine with the baby and the mom. Or maybe it is related to the fact they like to plan everything much long in advance.

As I was planning menu for the event, discussed the matter with my ​​husband ... and decided I had to make my favorite cake Sachertorte, something happened. A week before the baby shower, our friends invited us to have lunch in their home. When I entered their house there was a big loud "Surprise!" and I realized that they “set me baby shower up”. All people that I had planned to invite were there. I was very surprised especially since I didn’t notice for a long time my friends including my husband organizing the event behind my back. Besides the initial shock, I had a very nice time.

However, I have not given up on making Sachertorte. I was feeling it on my palate, so I said to myself, "Never mind, I'll make it for myself".


This recipe I got from my friend Jenni, an American, who mastered the art of making cakes and pastry in Germany. Of course it is difficult to discuss if this recipe is close to the original one (you know the story that the original Sachertorte can be found only in the Viennese Sacher Hotel), but since it's so good it must be like original.

These are half measures, if you want bigger cake with three layers multiply measures by two.  

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 162g butter
• 50g powdered sugar
• 75g dark chocolate
• 6 egg yolks
• 225g sugar

• 180g all purpose flour
• 13g cocoa
• 37g cornstarch

Filling:

• 1 jar of apricot jam (325g or 12 oz)
• 1 tablespoon rum

Ganache:

• 150g heavy cream
• 150g dark chocolate

Preparation:

1. Prepare a round baking pan. I usually line it up with parchment paper.
2. Turn the oven to 175C (350F).
3. Melt chocolate in a glass bowl over steam . Leave it aside to cool slightly.
4. Whip soft butter and powdered sugar and add melted chocolate.
5. Add egg yolks one at a time with constant stirring.
6. In a separate bowl whisk egg whites with mixer, adding sugar, spoon by spoon. Try not to over do it. When it is shiny and firm it is done. Add egg whites to chocolate and egg yolks.
7. Combine sifted flour, cocoa and starch and stir them into the wet mixture previously made. Mix with spoon, do not use a mixer.
8. Put the batter into the pan and bake for 45 min. To ensure that the cake is ready put a toothpick in the dough, and if it goes out clean it is well baked.
9. When it is cool, remove it from the pan. Cut it into two layers.
10. When the cake is completely cooled spread the apricot jam mixed with tablespoonful of rum over the inside layers.
11. Then put the cake in the freezer over night.
12. The next day make the ganache. Heat the heavy cream and add melted chocolate. Stir until creamy. When the ganache cools slightly, cover the cake with it. How? Place the cake on the rack. Pour the ganache on top of the cake and let it distribute evenly without touching it. When the top is covered and it starts pouring over the edge, use a palette or back edge of a long knife to smooth and completely cover the side of the cake. Thanks to this technique you get an incredibly smooth surface of the cake (see photos). Yes, I forgot to say to get smooth frosting the cake must be leveled and clean of the crumbs. This means that you must cut off the “hilly top” and remove any crumbs with pastry brush.

You can serve this cake with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Consumed exclusively with black coffee.

I couldn’t resist to make a few cheesy photos of cake with roses. When I think of it, it was actually my husband who came up with this idea :)

Komisbrot, an elegant and simple fruitcake

I tried to track the origin of this fine dessert, but it turned out to be a pretty difficult job. I think that it is German or Austrian, not only because of the name, but also of the finesse of its flavor. Even its look has some glare of old Hapsburgs’ empire. 

Having made Tiramisu and spending only egg yolks, I was looking for some recipe that asked for egg whites because I didn’t want to waste them. My husband suggested to me this cake that his mom used to make. I don’t have to mention that his family is from a region that used to belong to the old Austrian empire, so its local food is very influenced by it. Also, my kitchen cabinet is always full of nuts and dried fruits (I am just crazy about them) and it was easy for me to make the cake without going shopping.

Komisbrot is an ideal cake for coffee lovers, because those two go so perfectly together. I think Starbucks should consider having this dessert in its offerings.

Update: This morning, in front of my building, I met a very interesting old lady who was heading to a hair salon. Her name is Erna and she is originally from Austria. After our talk about how difficult it is to find a good hairdresser here (you should know that is the top complaint of every European girl living in the U.S.), I asked her about Komisbrot. She said that she was not familiar with this fruitcake, but she knew that Germans had a rye bread with that name. So, it is still mystery for me how and where this dessert was born. Please, if you have any idea about it, let me know.

You need:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• Squeezed juice from one orange
• 1 cup (200g) of dried fruits (figs, raisins, apricots, plums, whatever you like)
• ½ cup (100g) of chopped walnuts

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 355F (180C).
2. Chop dried fruits and walnuts. Add flour to coat them, otherwise fruits and nuts will stick to the bottom of the cake.
3. Mix egg whites stirring in sugar, spoon by spoon, until shiny and firm.
4. Add sifted flour, spoon by spoon, while mixing.
5. Pour oil and orange juice and mix together.
6. Fold in dried fruits and nuts.
7. Put the batter into a narrow baking pan, cover it with the parchment paper first.
8. Bake it for 55 minutes (time varies, depending on the oven). Try the toothpick trick (a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean) to see if the cake is done.

Detail from my neighborhood

Ćevapčići as Haute Cuisine

I always wondered how famous Ćevapčići would have looked like served a la haute cuisine. Is it possible? Yes, but only on a picture. Minimalistic presentation and Serbian food do not go well together. I mean, imagine, you get only two ćevapčića on a plate... No way! Are you kidding me?!

If you don't want to give up this idea, try my combo from the picture: ćevapčići served on Tzatziki salad, with a piece of radish, red onion, fresh mint and a sprinkle of mustard.

How to Make Perfect Ciabatta Bread?

One of the most delicious Italian breads for sure. It is surprising that this bread was invented only 30 years ago, which is a very short life for the bread. Funny, it got the name that means slipper in Italian because of its shape.

This light and airy bread (since it has a lot of wholes in its texture) is perfect for making snacks. Recently I found out you can make Whole Wheat Ciabatta too, so next time I am going to make that healthier version. Also, there are plenty of other possibilities: Ciabatta with Wild Mushrooms, Ciabatta with Cheese, Ciabatta with Caramelized Onion and Herb, etc. 

This great recipe I took from Peter Reinhard’s book “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”. I faithfully followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. You will see, if you follow all steps correctly I guarantee your bread will look just like a professional one and everybody will be very impressed with your “baking skills”.

You need for poolish, sponge dough, which should be made a day before:

• 2 ½  cups (11.25 oz) unbleached bread flour
• 1 ½  cups (12 oz) water at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon  (0.03 oz) instant yeast
• 1 3/4 teaspoon (0.44 oz) salt

Steps:  
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Dough should be sticky and soft. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and wait for 3-4 hours until the dough is bubbly and foamy. Then, move it to the fridge. 

For Ciabatta dough:

• 31/4 cups (22.75 oz) poolish dough, already prepared
• 3 cups (13.5 oz) unbleached bread flour
• 1 ½  teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 3/4 teaspoon (0.44 oz) salt
• 6 tablespoons to ¾ cup (3-6 oz) lukewarm water 

Steps:

1. Take poolish dough from the fridge and leave it to chill off for 1 hour.
2. Mix all ingredients,  together including poolish dough. Since the dough is very wet and sticky you should use a large metal spoon while you stir it. If you use an electrical mixer you need 5-7 minutes to have it well mixed, smooth and sticky. Add additional flour to firm up the dough and clear the sides of the bowl.
3. Dust the counter with flour and transfer the dough to it. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and shape it into a rectangle. Wait for 2 minutes.
4. Apply stretch-and-fold method: take the dough from each end and try to stretch it to twice its size. Then, fold it over itself in letter style to get the old rectangle shape.
5. Spray the dough with oil, dust with flour and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
6. Stretch and fold the dough again, cover it and leave to ferment for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
7. Move the plastic wrap. Cut the dough into 2 or 3 rectangle loaves by pastry scraper or sharp knife. Sprinkle the dough loves with flour and roll them on both sides to coat.
8. Put the loaves on the cloth and fold each piece from left to right, in letter style, to get a oblong shape, 6 inches long.
9. Mist the loaves with oil spray, dust it with flour and cover it with cloth.
10. Leave the loaves to proof for 45 – 60 minutes.
11. Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 500F or the highest if you can.
12. When bread is placed in the oven, pour a cup of hot water into the empty pan on the highest rack in the oven. Then, you need a plant mister. Fill it with water and spray the back walls and sides of the oven, avoid spraying the bread. After spraying, close the door and wait for 30 seconds, and repeat spraying two times more with a break of 30 seconds. When you finish spraying you have to decrease the temperature to 450F and bake for 10 minutes. If your oven doesn’t heat evenly you should rotate bread loaves now. Continue baking for 5 - 10 minutes longer. When the bread is done it should have a golden brown top. (To get more information about bread baking go to my older post)
13. Transfer the bread to cooling rack and allow it to cool for 45 minutes.

Check this video out that can visually give you idea how to handle Ciabatta dough. Not sure for this recipe since I didn’t try it. 

See below Ciabatta bread that I made with biga sponge dough (less water) and milk, that has smaller wholes in its texture.

 

How to Make Artisan Bread?

left: Ciabatta, Sourdough Bread stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts; right: Pain à l’Ancienne

Since I came to the United States from Europe I have faced a lot of cultural differences, but the most shocking one was the way of making and eating the bread. From the beginning I refused to eat regular sandwich bread and I still don’t use it. Thankfully, very soon I discovered “artisan bread” and I stuck to it. 

I know it is difficult for Americans to imagine that my family back in Europe used to buy two big loaves of bread every day. But, in that part of the world this is the staple, people are crazy for good bread and pastry. Here, where I live I have just a few options (Panera Bread, Whole Foods, some French and Italian places)... when I go to my closest supermarket, in their bread and pastry department, I become deeply depressed. My options are bad and expensive too.  

Multigrain Bread

To be honest it bothered me a lot until the day when I decided to make bread on my own. Fortunately, I picked one of the best books about bread making “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” of Peter Reinhart and ever since then I have learned to produce very nice bread. I invested in a few things and it was worth it. Before I post some of the best recipes from that book, I want to put down all basic things to make great bread. Although they may look complicated they are not. Keep in mind to make good things you always have to put some time and effort.

• Use instant yeast. It’s more concentrated, easy to use because instant yeast can be added directly to flour, whereas active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water before mixed with flour. I bought mine online... ½ pound of yeast stored in the fridge can last for long time.
• Use a kitchen scale, always. Remember baking is based on precision. You can find a good digital scale for $20.
• Use flour of good quality. I prefer King Arthur brand. For most breads that I make I use Unbleached All Purpose Flour, Whole Wheat Flour and Unbleached Bread Flour that has a high percentage of gluten.
• Use bottled water. You don’t want chlorine from the tap water to mess up your bread.
• Buy a baking stone. It looks like a big tile without glaze on the top. Stone retains heat much more effectively and makes bread evenly baked with a crispier crust. But, you can always use a baking pan with parchment paper.
• Try to find a Pizza Peel -  great tool for transferring bread to the baking stone in the oven.
• Should have metal pastry scraper, metal mixing bowl, work counter, thermometers, electrical mixer, scoring blade or serrated knife, steaming devices (plant mister and additional pan with water), cooling rack.

left: Pain de Campagne, Sourdough Bread; right: French bread, Foaccacia with wild mushrooms, caramelized onion, olives and herbs

In bread making process you should know a couple other things:

• Sift the flour before using. It adds air to the flour which helps produce lighter bread.
• Dough should be fermented and proofed at room temperature, not in a warm place. Slower is better.
• Make starter dough the day before, leave it in the fridge overnight.
• If you use barley malt (usually half a tablespoon) it will promote better color in the crust.
• Some of the breads don’t use yeast for leavening, but bacteria (wild yeast). For example Sourdough Bread, Miche, Pumpernickel Bread, etc. Actually, you can cultivate that starter by yourself. More about it in future posts.

Ciabatta

The stages of the bread makings:

1. Mise en place – prepare all ingredients before you start to work or be well organized.
2. Mixing – you can use electrical mixer, food processor or hand kneading which I prefer.
3. Primary fermentation – this is very important stage. Yeast, temperature and length of fermentation affect a lot final outcome.
4. Punching down – releasing some gases from the dough and allowing gluten to rest.
5. Dividing - dividing the dough into appropriate sizes and weights.
6. Rounding – initial shaping, usually into a ball or torpedo.
7. Benching - intermediate proofing.
8. Shaping and panning - giving dough its final shape.
9. Proofing – final fermentation.
10. Baking – all stages will be specially described in the following recipes, but I would like here to give all details about this phase. It is very important to follow all steps in order to get bread just like one from the fancy bakery. Since professional ovens have steam generators we have to create similar conditions with regular home ovens. There are two ways to do it. One is to use the baking stone, and another one is to apply the double-steaming technique in the very beginning of baking process. Steam is good because it creates an attractive glaze or shine to the bread. Also, it gives the bread additional time to spring in the oven. To create steam you have to place empty pan on the highest rack in the oven while it is preheating. When bread is placed in the oven, pour a cup of hot water into the pan. Then, you need a plant mister. Fill it with water and spray the back walls and sides of the oven, avoid spraying the bread. After spraying, close the door and wait for 30 seconds, and repeat spraying two times more with a break of 30 seconds. Oven should be preheated to the highest possible temperature (550F) and when you finish spraying you have to decrease temperature to 450F or 425F. If your oven doesn’t heat evenly you should rotate bread loaves halfway through the bake time. The best way to control your oven is to know internal bread temperature by using an instant-read thermometer.
11. Cooling – resting the bread after baking... it is still cooking.
12. Storing and eating – the best part.

Work counter; Final fermentation; Loaves on the pizza peel ready to got to the oven

This post is a very helpful introduction to my following posts with great recipes for making popular breads such as:

• Ciabatta
• Foaccacia
• Pain à l’Ancienne
• French Baguette
• Pain de Campagne
• Miche
• Sourdough Bread
• Italian Bread
• Pane Siciliano
• Multigrain Bread
• Pizza Napoletana
• Bread with Olives

Pane Siciliano

Tabbouleh Salad

One of my favorite Baltimore restaurants is Lebanese Tavern, in Harbor East. I think that is a pretty underrated place, which is sad since it serves the best food in the city. Yes, that is a restaurant chain, but still owned by a family. The interior design is the interesting mixture of modern influence and Middle Eastern touches, nice restrooms, patio outside with a seaview, and most importantly great food. Honestly, who can resist complimentary Lebanese warm flat bread with olive oil with herbs? And, delicious lamb dishes... But, my favorite is their meze platter. It usually comes with nine different stuff... humus, tahini, stuffed grape leaves, cream cheese... tabbouleh salad, babaganoush, and meat pie. The last time when I was there, I decided to make the last three dishes. 

I used to make tabbouleh salad before, but this time I wanted to add some twist, and it turned out quite amazing. Original tabbouleh salad is made from bulgur, parsley, tomatoes, onion and mint. But, I replaced burglar with couscous, and I added roasted pine nuts that gave a very rich and nutty flavor. Pine nuts are rather expensive, but you should know how difficult and time consuming it is to get pine seeds. Once, my girlfriends brought me pinecones full of pine seeds from Montenegro. It was a heck of a job to crack pine nut shells and seeds were so tiny... it took me half of a day to get half of cup.

You need:

• Bunch of flat parsley, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 1 Tbs. fresh mint
• 3 Tbs. pine nuts, roasted
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

To make couscous:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• Salt

Steps:

1. Chop and slice ingredients. Add seasoning.  And toss it.
2. Make couscous. Bring water to boil. Add salt and olive oil. Remove it from the stove. Pour couscous in the hot water and cover the pan. Leave it for 10 minutes. When it is done, stir couscous with a fork.
3. Serve couscous on the plate and add salad on it, and roasted pine nuts on the very top.

Boeuf Bourguignon and Visit to Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian Museum

Two weeks ago I finally visited Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian Museum. Unfortunately, it was overcrowded, I hardly could see anything and took only a few pictures. For sure, that was not the place to contemplate about one of the most famous culinary personalities in American history. So, I missed the moment.

I saw her kitchen through the window... I thought it was rather small... poor Julia, never had kitchen of the appropriate size, with her height it must have been a pain to work there. Also, I noticed her picture from the French period... she was standing next to her stove that was a little above the height of her knees. Kudos to her effort to overcome that setback and become such a great cook.

I like her in the movie “Julie & Julia”, but I like her even more since I read her book “My Life in France”. She was lucky enough to live in that part of Europe in the most exciting time... yes, that was just after the Second World War, that was tough time, but everything was so authentic, no mass tourism, no mass food, etc. I like how she remembered some of her meals, every detail, and that was more than fifty years ago. But, what impressed me the most is her enthusiasm, her dedication and her discipline when it is about food. She was able to make some dishes so many times, varying measures and ingredients, until she got the right flavor, right texture, right shape... almost like a scientist. And when she found the best recipe she put it in her cookbook. She liked to be very precise about measuring... I have to admit sometimes I am too lazy to measure stuff when I cook, but then I think “What would Julia say about it?” and I decide to obey her rules. Funny but true.

If I try to choose her most distinctive and famous recipe, I would always pick Boeuf Bourguignon. Even Julia described this dish in her cookbook as "certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man." Indeed, if you want to make something really peculiar, something that doesn’t remind you of anything you tried ever you should have this dish. I halved her measurements because it was too much for the two of us, baby is not included, and we were eating the dish for tree days. Original recipe asks for braised pearl white onions... for some reason, my closest grocery store didn’t have them, but I put its recipe below so you can make it. Even without those onions the meal tastes perfect.

I took the recipe from Julia Child’s book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, but I changed the measurements, halved them, and adjusted the directions to the modern cooking, no bacon rind...

You need:

• 9- to 10-inch, fireproof casserole dish, 3 inches deep
• 3 ounces bacon
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
• 1 1/2 pound lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 sliced carrot
• 1 sliced onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2 to 3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• Crumbled bay leaf
• 18 to 24 small white onions, brown-braised in stock
• 1/2 pound quartered fresh mushrooms, sautéed in butter
• Parsley sprigs

  

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450F degrees.
2. Sauté the bacon in the oil over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon. Set casserole aside. Reheat until fat is almost smoking before you sauté the beef.
3. Dry the stewing beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Sauté it, a few pieces at a time, in the hot oil and bacon fat until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the bacon.
4. In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the sautéing fat.
5. Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with the salt and pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and return to oven for 4 minutes more. (This browns the flour and covers the meat with a light crust.) Remove casserole, and turn oven down to 325F degrees.
6. Stir in the wine, and enough stock or bouillon so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs, and bacon rind. Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Then cover the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven. Regulate heat so liquid simmers very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.
7. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions* and mushrooms**. Set them aside until needed.
8. When the melt is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and bacon to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms over the meat.
9. Skim fat off the sauce. Simmer sauce for a minute or two, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons of stock or canned bouillon. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Recipe may be completed in advance to this point.

* Brown-braised small white onions

Heat 1 ½ tablespoon of butter and when it starts to bubble add 18-24 peeled small onions. Cook it for 10 minutes. Roll the onions over the pan to get even brown color. When browned, add ½ cup of beef bouillon and herbs (1 thyme spring, 2 parsley springs and a bay leaf tied together in twine). Cover it and simmer slowly for 45-50 minutes. 

**Sautéed mushrooms

Heat two tablespoons of butter in the pan. Add quartered mushrooms and fry them on high heat. Season it. After 5 minutes of cooking, before mushrooms start to release water, remove it from the stove.

You can serve Boeuf Bourguignon with pasta or with boiled potatoes which is honestly the best.

p.s. I am still waiting for my husband to buy me Julia Child’s two volume set “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. I think I was pretty clear that I wanted it as a present.

Herb Bread with Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Alton Brown, an American culinary star, is quite a character. I used to watch his food show when I had cable... then I found his book I’m Just Here for more Food in my library and his writing impressed me a lot. I think this is the first cookbook without any food picture at all, but still so interesting and helpful. Fortunately, Alton kept his humor, and made complicated baking processes so simple to read and understand. Some of his comments are just hilarious.

So, I used the first available opportunity to make some of the recipes from his book. I chose to make his Herb Loaf. This is easy and fast made bread without leavening. Plus, it has a lot of herbs and whole wheat. But, I couldn’t resist to add a twist and  I put black olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Also, instead of making loaf, you can make muffins if you prefer as this is actually muffin batter.

 

You need:

The dry ingredients

• 2 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (284) whole wheat flour
• 2 tbs. baking powder
• 2 tbs. salt
• 2 Tbs. fresh rosemary
• 2 Tbs. fresh thyme
• 2 tbs. (12g) freshly ground black pepper

The wet ingredients

• 56g sugar  (I would halved the amount, I do not like sweet taste in the bread)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 ¼ buttermilk
• 4 Tbs. black olives, chopped
• 4 Tbs. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

Steps:

1. Put sun dried-tomatoes in the cup of olive oil (if they are dry). Leave them for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F. (175C)
3. Prepare a loaf pan – place the baking sheet on the bottom.
4. Add the wet goods to the dry goods and DO NOT OVERMIX. As Alton said ...” this is the password to your success – is it clear as a long-distance phone call from Ozzy Osbourne.” LOL!
5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. In my oven it took 55 minutes.
6. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove to rack to cool down.

*If you want to make muffins, do everything the same, but bake for 35 minutes in oil sprayed muffin pan.

You can serve this bread with butter or cream cheese. This is a good idea for appetizer including red wine too.

 

Mushroom Phyllo Pie (Pita sa pečurkama)

I like anything made with phyllo dough. Sweet or savory. Maybe because of its crunchiness, or something else... Never tried to make that dough from the scratch, but one day, I promised myself, I will.

This is not like regular mushroom pie, but since it goes with phyllo you have to believe me it must be very good. I found out that some people call this pastry Mushroom Strudel, but in my opinion strudel is something else.

You do not need much stuff, but you should be careful with your choice of phyllo dough since thicker is better, but even thin one will work if you are easy on the filling. Remember to defrost the phyllo in the fridge the night before you work with it.

Check this link out if you want to learn more about how to work with phyllo dough. 

You need:

• 1 package of phyllo dough
• 23 oz (650g) button mushrooms, finally sliced
• 1 large onion, finally chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Salt & black pepper

Steps:

1. Prepare baking pan. I use one with dimensions 10x15 inches (25x38cm), so no need to cut the phyllo. Place baking sheet and spray oil.
2. Preheat the oven to 475F. (240C)
3. Be careful with handling phyllo dough, especially if it is too thin. Cover it with a damp cloth while you work because it keeps the dough from drying out. Since I make four big rolls, lengthwise, I divide whole numbers of phyllo sheets by 4. There are usually 20 phyllo sheets per package, so 5 layers for each roll.
4. Make two fillings.
5. First filling is with mushrooms and onion. Heat the pan, pour a tablespoon of canola oil, saute chopped onion, and add sliced mushrooms. Season the filling with salt and fresh pepper. You shouldn’t cook it more than 7 minutes over high heat. Put it aside to cool down.
6. Second filling goes with beaten eggs, sour cream, canola oil and baking powder. Mix everything together and add salt.
7. When the fillings are done start to fill the phyllo dough. Place phyllo sheets on the counter. If the phyllo dough is thick you can spread the second filling on each sheet, mushroom filling put on the top one. If you work with thin phyllo dough, spread the second filling on every other sheet, and the mushroom filling on the top. Try to reduce the amount of filling. You have to be fast, do not allow the dough to become moist, otherwise you won’t be able to transfer the roll to the baking pan. When you finish with filling, roll up the phyllo lengthwise. If you use silicon pad or parchment paper for rolling, it will make things much easer for you.
8. After you make enough rolls to fill in the baking pan (I make 4 rolls), cut the pie in even squares.  Spread the rest of the second filling over the pie.
9. Bake it for 15 minutes on 475F (240C). And, decrease temperature to 395F (200C) and bake it for additional 15 minutes.
10. When the top is golden brown remove it from the oven and cool it down.

You can have mushroom phyllo pie as a breakfast, or serve it as an appetizer. But, remember, the best way is eating it with ajvar and kefir. Don’t have any doubt about it!

Below is the picture of my dear friend Darlene who made Mushroom Phyllo Pie using my recipe. Looks really nice.