PalwithnoovenP's blog

June 28 is Double Pi(e) Day!

2π = 2(3.14) = 6.28   :) 

I don't know if these can be technically considered as pies but they have a crust, they have a filling; they can pass as pies to me. Here they are:


Mango Gâteau Basque. I put a twist on the French classic by using our local mangoes that are in season right now. I used not so ripe mangoes to offer a tart balance to the rich custard like what cherries do in the original. The contrast between the crumbly crust and the creamy filling with the fragrant mango punch is just delightful!

Ham and Potato Phyllo Pie. I need to use the excess phyllo that I had when I made baklava a few days ago so I came up with this pie inspired by a breakfast frittata. Ham, potatoes, caramelized onions, lots of freshly cracked black pepper, and eggs encased in crunchy, shattering, buttery phyllo. A nice complete meal that can be eaten on the go.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Happy baking and Happy Double Pie Day!

Hello TFLers! Long time no read! It's that time of the year again for my mandatory year-end post.

2023 has been a very challenging year for me but there were many successes to celebrate too. Work schedule has been insane so I have no time to spare to make bread (it usually takes 2-3 days with planning included) so I have not made bread for a year which this site is for. I learned to cook various food from different cuisines (lots of food I've cooked but no time to post) that many might not find interesting especially in a bread site. Anyhow, I'm still posting some of them, in case someone like me might be interested.

This year, I learned how to make baklava and even the phyllo dough (yufka) from scratch. Baklava is a pastry that has mystified me  since I was young until the advent of e-commerce, that I learned to shop online. I tasted various baklavas this year but my favorite was the Turkish Baklava. I like it for its "simple and clean" flavor. Don't get me wrong, all baklavas are good, it just depends on your preference.

It's the making of phyllo from scratch that has thrilled me the most, I thought it would be impossible to make it at home without a machine (guess what, how did they make it in ancient times?). There are various methods on how you can achieve that almost transparent dough. There are various thicknesses for different applications but phyllo for baklava HAS TO BE especially thin.

In Greece, it is commonly stretched by hand from what I've seen (I've tried this method but it is time consuming and you have to be extra careful not to pierce it and that it is even); in Türkiye, they usually roll it one by one using a thin rolling pin called oklava (I've tried it too but it is not easy with an ordinary rolling pin which is the only thing I have). I decided to follow the method of professional baklava masters where they stack the dough with starch in between them and roll them as thinly as possible, then peel the layers one by one, it was faster and easier.

My first baklava, Walnut Baklava. 16 layers of phyllo, walnuts, ghee, baked until crispy then soaked in a simple sugar syrup.

I was so lucky, the phyllo came out so thin, you can read a newspaper underneath it, which is a common test to see if it is thin enough.

 I still can't believe that such gorgeousness and deliciousness emerged from my own kitchen!

Chocolate Baklava. 24 layers of chocolate phyllo, walnuts, ghee, and sugar syrup. Still far from traditional baklava, but definitely an improvement.  













I cannot find a recipe for a chocolate baklava with "chocolate" phyllo but I knew the one I ate has chocolate IN the phyllo and not just in the nut filling.




Sütlü Nuriye. Baklava's milky cousin. Layers of phyllo and nuts soaked in a milky syrup, traditionally would use hazelnuts.

 
Soğuk Baklava. Cold Baklava. 32+ layers of phyllo and nuts soaked in a milk-based syrup, chilled, then topped with grated chocolate. Not as sweet and crispy but lighter than traditional baklava. 

Pardon the messy fork, but look at all those layers! 

One of the best decisions I've ever made, Cold Baklava with Ice Cream!

 
A 50+ layer Cold Baklava. I think this is a case of too much of a good thing, I find some parts doughy or maybe this was just not as well-made as my other ones.

 
Havuç Dilimi Baklava. Carrot-slice baklava. 40 layers of phyllo, pistachios, ghee, and sugar syrup. This is the most "Turkish" baklava that I have made (even though I have to spend a fortune as pistachios cost an arm and a leg here) as Turkish baklava almost always uses pistachios. Also traditional baklava is usually made with 40-50 layers of phyllo. I even managed to make it super crispy even for days, far from perfect but this is as close as it gets to a traditional baklava from a real Turkish baklava shop. My best baklava!

 WIth some milky ice cream (wish it was some dondurma), it was otherworldly!

 
I hope you enjoyed this post and may we have a happier, heathier, and more blessed 2024! 

March 14 is Pie Day!

How I wish I used a π (3.14) design for the top crust. Really missed the opportunity there! :)

So I made some chicken pot pie with a local twist. The filling was made with jicama, mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, and peas), and celery with tender chicken chunks marinated in oyster sauce and fish sauce in a rich cream sauce.

All of that goodness and hard boiled eggs were then stuffed in a sweet, crumbly cookie crust.

The medley of textures and flavors, sweet and savory works surprisingly well and is a refreshing take on the classic.

Deep-fried pizza until the crust is golden, topped with sauce, basil, and cheese, then baked in wood-fired oven to melt the cheese and crisp the crust even more. That is a pizza Montanara. The description doesn't even sound remotely Italian; it sounds as if it is something made-up but is not. It turns out that fried pizza is as old as a tradition or even older  in Naples than the classic Pizza Napoletana.

In Naples, they use "Pizza Napoletana" dough made with 00 flour, but I still haven't got it in my pantry so I used just some plain old APF. The dough is very simple. 500 g APF, 325 g water, 10 g salt; 19% flour in the levain. Fermented for 4 hours at room temperature, divided into 4 balls then refrigerated overnight. Stretched the next day into a disc (I still need to work on my pizza stretching skills) then deep-fried until golden. Topped with crushed local tomatoes (with salt), mozzarella, and basil then a drizzle of EVOO, then baked at 250C for five minutes until the cheese was melted and the crust is dark and super crispy.

I love basil so I went with a heavy hand on this one. Was not disappointed though.

The result was a crust that is sweet and wheaty, and very mildly tangy. Tangy tomatoes (our local tomatoes are tangier than San Marzano so I could have used a little sugar) balanced by the cheese and the basil crisp and fragrant. I don't know if I should grate the cheese for it to melt more evenly of it just happened that I bought a not-so-good mozzarella. Not too greasy and just a hint of deep fried flavor. The crust was thin and wet at the center with a slightly puffy and stretchy cornicione and pleasantly chewy, it has a really good chew and incredibly crisp. It has a crispness and that "something" that is not in oven baked pizzas.

Its looks is not too dissimilar from real Pizza Montanara. I was pleasantly surprised with how good this "regional style" of pizza is that I may just cook my future pizzas this way.

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In 2022, I accidentally discovered the youtube channel "Pasta Grannies." It is a channel about preserving the regional cuisine of Italy, mostly pasta by filming grannies showcasing their culinary legacies. If you like pasta and Italian cuisine in general, you should definitely check it out.

Because of that, I was inspired to make my own pasta at home. Yes, we tried doing fresh pasta in class a few years ago but I never made it at home because I do not even have a rolling pin.

Cannelloni, my first pasta dish. I hand rolled pasta with a rolling pin and rolled the filling in. Topped with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. When my colleagues tried it, they were convincing me to turn it into a side hustle (if they only knew the amount of labor and love that went into it). One even got me started when she place two orders, of course I didn't say no. 

 My colleagues' order:

From there, I made so much more. Actually I bought a pasta machine, but I still haven't used it because I more comfortable with a rolling pin and I don't want to fiddle its parts and the multiple passes; perhaps if making a large quantity, I will.

Tagliatelle and Pappardelle

 White Truffle Tagliatelle

 Black Truffle Pappardelle

 Wish I had shaved fresh truffles over them but I am happy with truffle paste and truffle oil (I know) for now.

I also learned how to choose a good dry pasta. I found bronze-die spaghetti online so I also bought Pecorino Romano, and guanciale. With those, I made the Three Roman Classics.

Cacio e Pepe. Lots of room for improvement especially in preventing cheese curdling.

 Amatriciana. Bucatini is commonly used but since it is what I have and in respecting the tradition of Amatrice, I used spaghetti.

 Carbonara

I'm torn between Amatriciana and Carbonara but Carbonara might just have the slightest edge.

Lasagna. I was really eyeing for a Lasagna alla Bolognese but the spinach in the pasta did not show through. I was pleased that it is delicious without mozzarella. Rich and delicate. I found real Parmigiano Reggiano online and its mingling with the crispy bits of pasta was the best!

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This year is not just about pasta but this is also the year where I ventured into Italian Cuisine. The simplicity of Italian Cuisine that focuses on the quality of ingredients and technique is really a challenge but worth it.

Truffle Risotto. The rice was al dente but I think I should have added a little more liquid for the correct texture.


It is out of focus but its the only photo I snapped since I was really excited.

 Arancini

Arancini with ragu and peas.

"Al Burro" Ham and Cheese Arancini

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An Upside-down Apple Cake in Tarte Tatin fashion surely won't hurt!

 I hope we will all have a more blessed and healthier year!

Hello TFLers! I can't believe that I still haven't posted for the whole year of 2022! No post for a whole year? Of course, I can't let that happen.

Face-to-face classes have come back this year so I'm even busier, work has increased exponentially compare to pre-pandemic times; catching up from the two-year absence of face-to-face learning, while still dealing with the challenges of the pandemic. Still, we're so thankful, we are still alive with God's help and mercy.

All of that means limited time to bake and almost no time to post. Here is one of my seldom bakes.

With wonders of online shopping (which I am thankful that it is slowly becoming the norm), I found an authentic imported charcuterie package on sale, what a steal! So I made this bread to accompany it. I was looking for something rustic and crusty but soft to let their flavors shine.

Clockwise from top right: Prosciutto crudo, Salami Napoli, Capicollo, Pancetta Arrotolata, Jamon Serrano, Chorizo Iberico, and Mortadella in the center.

 
The dough is very simple: Flour, water, and salt, and sourdough. 70% hydration, 19% prefermented flour. Fermented for 4 hours and given 3 stretch and folds then refrigerated overnight. No preshape nor even shaping, just plopped onto a pan oiled with EVOO. Proofed for 3 hours then baked at 250C until done.

 Because of there was almost no shaping or degassing it has "the room where the baker sleeps" but nevertheless, I was rewarded with one beautiful crumb, at least in my sight and taste.

 


My mind was blown with how good the combination was of good bread and good meat without other fancy add-ons. The bread was just crusty and sturdy enough but soft and stretchy, sweet and wheaty and mildly tangy; the perfect vehicle for the charcuterie.

I really enjoyed the diversity of flavors and textures of the meats, especially that I have never tasted authentic charcuterie, though, I make my own and was surprised on how close they were to the texture and flavor to the real deal. I was partial to the Jamon Serrano and Chorizo Iberico followed by Salami Napoli and Mortadella but all of them were good. 

 I hope you enjoyed this post and I do hope to have more time to post in the future.

Hi TFLers! I hope you are all doing fine. Work has multiplied exponentially that is why I have posted and even baked and cooked less and less. I baked this quite some time ago but only managed to post it now. This is inspired by another baked sushi flavor that I make for the family.

Instead of rolling it "maki style" like last time I decided to shape it like the famous Korean sausage bread. The dough is just my usual enriched sourdough with milk and egg as liquids with a bit of butter. After bulk fermentation overnight, I divided the dough into six rolls and stuffed each one with  whole crab stick as replacement for the sausage. I used scissors to cut the dough and make the design.

After three hours of proofing, I then topped each roll with a kani salad made with shredded kani, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and thinly sliced red onions. The topping, I think, is a little similar to crab rangoon filling so maybe we can also call these as crab rangoon rolls. I then drizzled extra mayonnaise on top before baking them at 180C for 20 minutes finished with a 1-2 minute broil as close to the heating element as possible.



The rolls were soft and fluffy on the inside but crispy on the outside. The onion softened and cooked to a gooey but crunchy sweetness. The caramelized mayonnaise also added a special something to the rolls.


 
All of these combined with the cream cheese and the buttery bread create an exquisite though different taste sensation which we really loved.



Full of kani goodness inside and out!



My parents were asking for a repeat but still haven't done so because of a lack of time, I think this was the last bread that I made and after this, it was just all cakes and quick breads.

I really miss baking and posting here. I hope I can do it again more often in the future. I hope you enjoyed this post and I wish all of us good health and blessings always!

My first bake for 2021!

Inspired by the Asian bakery pork floss roll and the food that can be considered as the symbol of 2020 and quarantine in the Philippines, "Baked Sushi."  Asian style breads are not as popular here; for bread purists, it is bread butchery at its finest but to us it is comfort and nostalgia. Many of you might be familiar with the pork floss roll but unfamiliar with the latter; it is essentially a baked rice casserole topped "Japanese" / Maki (notably California roll) ingredients. Most commonly it is prepared with sushi (seasoned, vinegared, short grain) rice topped with kani salad made creamy with mayonnaise and/or cream cheese then baked together until heated through and the top is barely crisp. Scoop a portion, wrap in crispy seaweed (the Korean snack is the best), then eat! Delicious! 



So inauthentic but so delicious! Whoever invented it was a genius, I heard it has origins in Hawaii and was popular there even years ago. It was popular here during quarantine as many people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic made a living and thrived by selling it. Later, I will show you some of my interpretations of it.

The dough was that of a soft sandwich loaf. I built my levain with milk, then added an egg, salt, sugar, and bread flour. I added milk bit by bit until it felt right. I kneaded it until a bit developed then added a knob of butter then kneaded it to full development. 4 hours bulk rise then into the fridge overnight.

I rolled the dough flat then proofed it for 3 hours. I brushed it with sushi vinegar before baking at 250C for 5 minutes. I took it out then spread my kani salad which is a mixture of Japanese mayonnaise, salt, sugar, vinegar with kani and peachers (I didn't have mangoes so I used canned peaches). Baked at 180C for 10 minutes then 250C top heat for the last five minutes. Immediately after taking out, I made shallow scores kani-side up the topped with nori then rolled into its parchment paper. As with Swiss rolls, it should be rolled while warm. I cooled it then sliced it like maki sushi.

The main difference with pork floss roll is those are baked fully the covered with mayonnaise and pork floss the rolles; this one is baked with the filling like a pizza then rolled, it is done to improve the taste of the filling. I wanted photography each stage but I was too busy with school so I just took pictures of the final roll.

Tastes like a California roll (but I don't like Avocado in savory dishes) but in a completely different form. The bread was buttery and fragrant and the ingredients inside balance each other; and the nori! It added a distinct "Japanese" umami taste that is not so common in breads sold here. It was devoured quickly!



If you want to make this, be careful not to overbake it. I baked this longer than normal because I want the toppings to caramelize a bit more so it was harder to roll but with a bit of power I coerced it into rolling smoothly.

I will definitely repeat this with other "maki variations" in the filling! Nice snack when the workload is insane!




2020 Baked Sushi - the inspiration for this bread. I hope you enjoyed this post! God Bless!


Same flavor but topped with tobiko.

I'm thinking of doing this flavor next.

These cakes were made and raised purely with sourdough. In recent years, I have this knack for seizing every opportunity to showcase the versatility of sourdough. Inspired by our native cakes, I researched ancient and vintage recipes and this is what I came up with along with a fair share of failures. Using relative measurements and knowing when and how to adjust, now I can say that I already got the "feel" for making this cakes. I have posted similar stuff which you can find on my blog if you are interested but there are no exact recipes. :)

A new variation that I came up with. I had lots of leftover egg whites from ensaymada making so I made this financier inspired cake. A bit of almond meal next time will be excellent!





Look at those domed tops created by my starter. One might be skeptical that sourdough slows down or might even stop when faced with sugar (especially a high amount) but sourdough still have not failed me.



The texture is unlike any cake. It was bouncy, chewy, dense; very difficult to describe. The flavor is wonderful, that special sourdough flavor and aromatic compounds which can be detected by the nose but cannot be described by the mouth brimming with the aroma of butter with a nutty flavor. The crumb was moist but became moister the next day. These cakes really do improve as the day goes by.

Here is the crumb. The leavening action of the sourdough leaves distinct holes not dissimilar to some chemically-leavened South East Asian cakes.

My olive oil cake with I discovered and perfected in 2020, another variation, this time flavored with lemon. They are meant to have a very rustic look, though I find the looks of the previous ones I made more beautiful. It is different from all of my other cakes, even on the first day it is exceptionally moist with an almost custardy texture. It is almost a cross between a cake and a pudding! If you want to see the crumb, as I have posted sparingly the past year, the original post can still be easily found on the bottom or on the right side of this page depending on the device as of this writing; and you can see it there. In fear of overbaking, I pulled them out of the oven early. I should have baked this longer to get the crispy top crust; it is almost impossible to dry a cake as moist as this.






I hope you enjoyed this post and again I wish all of us a happier and healthier 2021!


Happy New Year!!!

It's gonna be 2021 here in a few minutes and this is my mandatory yearend post. It has been a difficult time we have all been through. It changed our lives and left us in uncertainty but there is still that glimmer of hope. I wish all of us a better and blessed 2021.

Here is what I made today. 

I've come to terms with some spices this year. Before, at least with my own cooking, I really really hate the strong and pungent smell of some spices; especially cumin, I really abhor cumin! I can say it stinks! Really, it was just me not really knowing how to use and combine spices. When applied properly, it really elevates the taste of food. This year, I've tasted authentic Pakistani/Indian food and it was amazing. I want to taste it again but due to the lockdown, that restaurant closed. As usual, the only way for me to taste it is to make it. Later, I'll show you my first ventures in spices.

A really good shawarma is a childhood memory for me. But it turns out, the shawarma that I have loved as a kid is very far from the real deal in the Middle East, as told by a college friend who grew up in Saudi Arabia. (She was also the one who pointed me to the right direction for that authentic Pakistani/Indian restaurant) After some research, I found a good recipe online; and fortunately too, the city next to my town where I work is becoming more and more cosmopolitan, I found some "rare" spices (at least for me) in one of its large malls.

Shawarma here is always served with a flatbread more akin to a flour tortilla than the ones they use in the Middle East. As a personal twist, I made it with sourdough. It was a simple 70% hydration dough enriched with a little olive oil. I originally intended to make pitas but the bread did not puff up. I think It was too wet, almost impossible to roll thinly and evenly. As a result it did not have the correct texture; it was soft and chewy, just a bit stretchy, and with a custardy crumb. However, the flavor was so good, you could eat it plain.



I can't believe the smell when the chicken was being cooked, even just on the pan, it was insane! I could just imagine how it would smell when grilled properly! Shawarma is served differently depending on the country and meat. As I do not have time to make pickles and fries or to others chips; I chose to go with red onions, tomatoes, and cucumber as accompaniments since it is what I grew up with. I also did not go with toum or garlic sauce since I do not have the equipment to make it. The sauce I used was still garlic-flavored but yogurt-based similar to tzatziki.

Since the bread was too thin to be sliced in half but too thick to be rolled it ended up as a deconstructed shawarma plate later.

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Though 2020 was not really good, it is the year in which I first ventured into South Asian Food on my own. It started when I first tasted a legit biryani recommended by my friend. I really liked the taste, then I got to taste their samosa, then many more. I met the owner and found out he is Pakistani. Wanting to know more about biryani and his one especially, I put my "language skills" if you can really call them skills to use. ;) I spoke to him a bit of Urdu (well Hindi is what I really studied a bit but they are just different registers of the Hindustani language) and we became friends immediately. I told him how I like his biryani and I told him the spices that I saw and then he proceeded to enumerate the spices he uses and their relative amounts. All of this in Urdu with just a little bit of English. Sometimes, even just the slight knowledge of various things is of great help. :)

Punjabi aloo samosa - I reconstructed the taste from memory from his samosas, it was sour with a hint of garam masala. One recipe I found was too flaky, similar to pie crust and/or empanadas, it was not similar and I do not prefer it. One time the crust was perfect; crispy, slightly chewy and stretchy but the spices were not right, it had onion and garlic too. Found some coriander the other day and it was much closer, as I did not have amchur, I substituted lemon juice and it almost tasted the same. I upped the ginger and green chilies too. I served it with some lemon chai, if there is such a thing. I really wish I had some imli ki chatni that day!



Last minute onion samosa - different wrapper and filling. I think it was closer to the middle eastern sambusa.



My first Biryani back in August. Some key spices were missing like cardamom, coriander and cloves but the taste was good but not close enough to the one I like. I saw a Kolkata-style biryani and thought potato might be good so I added it even though I still haven't tasted it in biryani before, so this actually is an amalgam of styles of biryani from the different regions in the Indian subcontinent. No aromatics too like rose water and kewra.





My second biryani, Lamb Biryani - Saw some lamb shank and shoulder in the supermarket for the first time and I was excited to try it. I thought it will be perfect for biryani; not knowing that mutton actually refers to goat in India. I made it closer to Hyderabadi style but still missing key spices and aromatics; the natural coloring I used also did not show up that well. Though, I made sure to get some mint as mint is classic accompaniment to lamb. Now comes the coriander (cilantro), I really don't like its taste and thought it will not come through due to all the strong flavors in the dish, Oh how wrong I was! It was so strong that I feel nauseated whenever the pot of the biryani was opened and no one in the family likes to try the lamb as it was too gamey for them so I was forced to eat it all by myself. 

The lamb was great! I love it! The shank was tender and sticky and infused the rice with its wonderful fat. Had it not been for the coriander I would have devoured it really quickly!

My third biryani- really eyeing for a Kolkata biryani with that potato. Still missing some key spices but I added those that I found to the spice mix. I also found a better natural colorant for that vivid streaks in the rice.

My final attempt this year. Finally found those spices; the cardamom, the coriander and I even found authentic saffron, how expensive it was! Especially cardamom and saffron, they really have those special aromas that are hard to describe. The yellow color of the rice came mainly from saffron. Really getting closer and closer to a Kolkata-style biryani, just made spicy with green chilies and with 1-3 aromatic distillates missing.

The Middle Eastern food that I prepared today is just the first, more will come God willing in 2021 and I hope to share it with you. Still tons of food that I learned to make in 2020. I will share them all hopefully in a more fitting post.

This really proves that there is really much to be thankful for, and us being able to witness another year is more than enough for us to consider ourselves truly blessed.

Happy New Year!

2020, you may not be the best year I still want to thank you for the things you have done to me. You allowed me to appreciate and value what I have more than ever, you allowed me to eat less and move more, you allowed me to discover and rediscover wonderful things; but most importantly, you brought me closer to God.

Hi folks! This pandemic is still here but I'm still thankful that none of my family is sick, we still have food on our table and maybe the only major problem is an absence of a stable internet connection for four months already; it is only a problem because it compromises my performance for distance learning and other work from home arrangements from time to time. I hope you all are doing well amidst this crisis, let us pray this will end soon.

I still bake but mostly non-bread (cookies-maybe I'll do a separate post on those) and I try to cook food from different  parts of the globe. As I was browsing my photos I found photos of this bread that I made last year. I still remember the taste. It was a raisin bread inspired by pain aux raisins, instead of a laminated dough I used brioche dough which is closer to how raisin breads are and I spread a rich vanilla pastry cream then sprinkled a good helping rehydrated dark and golden raisins; a different route from cinnamon sugar, the folded it and baked it in a brioche suisse manner, It really reminded me of those "a-bit-better" days.

I'll keep it short and just tell the story through the photos. I did not expect this bread to be so huge. I expected its size to be only a third of it; should have divided it into three for more convenient slices.

Brioche dough


Rehydrated Raisins

Pastry Cream - 4 egg yolks for under a cup of milk.

Ready to be folded. I really love this look.

Proofing

A rasin-candied mandarin biscotti. Got a bit sidetracked. :)

Eggwashed and ready to be baked.

Shiny and boldly baked. It deflated slightly when cooled.

A third of the whole loaf. The could have been perfect size. Looks like a ciabatta in
the last two shots.

The inside. Crust was thin and soft, crumb was soft with the slightest bit of chew; buttery and slightly tangy. The sweet pastry cream and raisins are perfect for this rich bread. So delicious! I cut it while warm and the cream gushed out, after cooling completely, slices were much cleaner and better. Delicious either warm or at room temperature.

Slices so neat, could have easily passed as cake in these last two shots! :)

I hoped you enjoyed this post. Hope to see you again soon!