Tag Archives: yeast

Swedish Cardamom Yeast Rolls

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Swedish Cardamom Yeast RollsThese Swedish Cardamom Yeast Rolls have so much going for them.  Known as Kardemummabullar, the dough is easy to make in the processor or mixer and interestingly has no eggs.  It is wonderfully soft and really easy to roll out.  Any yeast dough is best eaten the day it is made but these are great even the next day.

Cardamom is a spice that is not generally used in America.  It holds sway in Indian cooking and Scandinavian baking.  I ran across these yeast rolls while searching for something else on the internet.  I can see using this spice a lot more. Continue reading →

Garlic Oregano Cracker Bread

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Garlic Oregano Cracker BreadThis Garlic Oregano Cracker Bread has a story.  Next week we are having a gourmet wine dinner at the restaurant.  The organizer didn’t want a dessert but requested a cheese plate.  Good for me right?  I skipped a special dessert for seventy people.  Well, not really.  I was asked if I had something like a savory cookie that would go with the cheese tray.

After a day or two, it suddenly dawned on me that this Garlic Oregano Cracker Bread was the perfect solution.  Years ago before I became involved seriously with food, I loved experimenting with recipes and food. Continue reading →

Brandied Chocolate Cherry Almond Garmisch

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Brandied Chocolate Cherry Almond GarmischGarmisch is another wonderful yeasted coffeecake as only the Germans can make them. Superb bakers, their products not only look beautiful but are luxurious tasting.

This yeast dough is really easy to put together and even if you have been slow to come to yeasted doughs this is a great place to start. It is a firmer dough that handles easily. It can be made ahead and refrigerated for several days before shaping and after baking, it freezes to be eaten another day – maybe as a special treat on New Years Day morning.

This Garmisch dough comes from a recipe that is so old I can’t remember where I got it. The dough itself is not sweet. The sweetness of the Garmisch comes from the filling. The original filling was walnuts and while delicious, the chocolate cherry almond filling adds a note of excitement. Dried bing cherries are soaked in brandy. Almond paste, a European favorite combines exquisitely with the cherries and brandy. The processor makes quick work of combining the ingredients into a filling with the egg white used to bind the filling. Continue reading →

Stuffed Italian Bread – Pane Bianco

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

Stuffed Italian Bread
I first ran across this Stuffed Italian Bread, Pane Bianco, which means white bread, on the King Arthur website.  I love bread and I love making it.  I am always on the hunt for a new recipe.  The first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous shape of this Stuffed Italian Bread which is actually very easy to accomplish.

As I read the introduction, I noticed we have Dianna Wara of Washington, Illinois to thank for this beauty.   She  took first place with her Pane Bianco  in the first-ever National Festival of Breads.  King Arthur simplified it somewhat and I followed their lead on that since I didn’t have the original recipe for this Stuffed Italian Bread. Continue reading →

Kifle with Walnut Filling

BY HELEN S. FLETCHER, ON
COPYRIGHT, HELEN S. FLETCHER, 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PHOTOS BY PASTRIES LIKE A PRO UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

KifleKifle with Walnut Filling is a childhood memory. Mother would make them and I would wait with great anticipation for the time I could eat them. Kifle can be used with a sweet or savory filling. Just omit the sugar for the savory version and use a filling that isn’t wet.

Mother never made a savory version, only the sweet version. However, she would change the filling. She would use a poppy seed version or fill them with lekvar or prune filling, but the Kifle with Walnut Filling was my favorite. Often labeled a cookie, these are actually a pastry. Fleishmann’s Yeast has a Walnut Kifle and has this to say about them; ” Kifle is popular throughout Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Yugoslavia. This recipe makes a sweet nut-filled butterhorn pastry but kifle may also be left unsweetened and served as a savory sandwich roll. ” Continue reading →