bakekrazy

I stopped by on a Saturday morning at a farmers market in the Villages in Florida to find some wonderful baked goods. While shopping I came upon two ladies selling an assortment of Romanian style baked goods. They looked wonderful and tasted just as good. One of the items I decided to make myself….A Poppy Seed Roll

Dough:

1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet of instant yeast (2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup whole milk (110 degrees)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Filling:
1 cup poppy seeds (extra for topping)
1/3 cup milk (boiling)
1/2 cup ground almonds (toasted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of a lemon

Egg Wash (whisk together and set side)
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees

In a small bowl add the yeast and the warm milk and allow to stand for 5 minutes. The yeast should begin to froth up. In the bowl of a stand mixer mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Add in the yeast mixture egg and vegetable oil and with a hook attachment mix at a medium speed until the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl. (you may need to add a little more flour if necessary) Remove the dough and knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Place the dough into a slightly oiled medium bowl, lightly covered and allow to proof for about an hour.

Place the poppy seeds into a food grinder until they become moist then place into the boiling water and allow to boil for 5 minutes, set side. Grind the almonds and add to the cooled poppy seeds along with the sugar, vanilla extract and zest and mix well.

Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to about a 10″ x 12″ shape. Spread the poppy seed mixture and roll up starting at the 10″ end. Place the roll with the seam side down onto the prepared pan, cover with a towel and allow to double in size (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours). Brush with the egg wash, sprinkle with poppy seeds and bake for 35 minutes. Allow to cool and serve

Enjoy
Chef Brian Klauss

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Making candy especially toffee can be very easy. The key to it is being patient and allowing the candy to come to the correct temperature. A thick sauce pan with high sides, good candy thermometer and quality ingredients make the difference. This recipe calls for heavy whipping cream which never seems to be in the refrigerator when you need it. But because it has a good shelf life and can be used in several recipes such as whip cream and ganache you should make it a point to put it on your shopping list.

Ingredients;
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup good quality honey
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup shelled chopped pistachio nuts

You will need a mini 1 1/4″ cupcake pan lined with paper (Makes 30)

Add all the ingredients to a sauce pan except for the nuts. Stir the ingredients to incorporate, then place over a medium to high heat. Attach your candy thermonitor to the pan and bring the ingredients to a boil. Allow the ingredients to reach 255 degrees (hard ball stage) Stir occasionally to avoid burning. Remove from the heat and stir in the nuts. Using the two spoon method, which is using one spoon to scoop up the mixture and the other one to help slide it into the paper cups. Fill all the paper liners, allow to cool at a room tempeture for 6- 8 hours.

Enjoy
Chef Brian Klauss

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Its strawberry season here in Florida and what a great time to make strawberry scones. Scones are a biscuit like pastries and are usually eaten at breakfast. We make several Scones flavors each day at the Bakery. This recipe I have added fresh strawberry and chopped them into 1/4″ pieces and glaze the scone with a vanilla icing. The key to a great scone if to keep the batter cold, use cold or frozen butter. Also don’t over mix the batter which can make the dough tough and not flakey.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, center the rack in the oven and spray a 1/2 sheet pan with vegetable spray

Batter
2 cups all purpose pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed and cold (even frozen)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 eggs
3/4 cup of fresh strawberry chopped into 1/4″ sizes
Drizzle
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
1 to 2 tablespoons of milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl add in the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter to form a crumble, add in the heavy whipping cream and eggs to form the batter. Fold in the frozen fresh strawberry and roll out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just to incorporated. Form a 10″ x 6″ square and place onto the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove the sheet pan and cut into your desired shapes, space out 2″ apart and bake 25 – 35 minutes until the tops are a golden brown color. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool. To make the drizzle, add the confectioners sugar with the melted butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix well and when the scones are completely cooled coat with the drizzle.

Enjoy
Chef Brian Klauss

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These buns are soft, light, buttery and great for sandwiches.

Ingredients:
(Dough Starter)
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg

Start by adding all the above ingredients of the starter into a small bowl and whisking together. Then cover for about 1 1/2 hours on your counter. (should bubble)

Ingredients:
(Dough)
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoons salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter (soft)
3 eggs

Egg Wash;
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
Whisk together and apply with a food safe brush

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, sugar and yeast, mix then add the salt. With a dough hook at a low speed add in the dough starter and the eggs and mix at a medium speed for about 5 minutes. Add in the butter, about a tablespoon at a time (the dough will appear very sticky but will firm in the refrigerator) Spray a medium bowl with vegetable spray and scrape the dough into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to raise in a warm area until double in size. Place the dough into the refrigerator for about an hour, then deflate it and place it back into the refrigerator overnight. Pull the chilled dough and place it onto a lightly floured surface and deflate. Separate the dough into desired portions (I used 6 – 4″ tart pans which were sprayed with vegetable spray) Then proof by allowing the formed dough to double again in size in a warm location in a covered proof box or covered with a damp kitchen towel. Egg wash the tops with a brush and bake in the middle rack of your oven at 375 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes. This will vary depending on your shape and size but they should be golden brown and sound hollow. When slightly cooled remove from molds and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy
Chef Brian Klauss

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