July PMOW Challenge: Soft Pretzels

PMOW is back!

I know, I know, I skipped June.. no excuses. It's back to the challenge. We had such great participation in May with PMOW Pop Tarts! Thanks to everyone who participated. This month, we're going to go with a ball park favorite- Soft Pretzels!


Instructions: This is a totally relaxed challenge. Anyone and everyone is invited to join in. As usual, the only real requirement is to bake them. Ideally, though, please bake, take a photo or two, and post about it on your blog (it's okay if you don't have one!). Then, send one picture, the link to your blog post, and any comments to me at natalieherr@gmail.com. Then I'll post a round-up of all of the participants by the end of the month. Please post and send pictures/comments by Friday, July 31 at midnight. Have fun!

I'm going to suggest Alton Brown's recipe for soft pretzels, but if you find another one you like better, feel free to give that one a try as well. There's a great tutorial at Macheesmo on baking through Alton's recipe.

Homemade Soft Pretzels
Alton Brown

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Cheese Danish Revisited

I had my first experience making cheese danish earlier this year when my parents came to visit. I made a Cheese Danish Braid for my dad, who loves the stuff. For Father's Day, he requested some more danish, and I was able to deliver over July 4th weekend (a little belated, I know).

This time around, I chose to make individual danishes, since they're easier to grab and go. The danish dough recipe I use makes two danish braids, which translated to 30 individual danishes. I could have made them a little bigger, but then they wouldn't last as long! They're also freezable- a big plus when you're delivering fresh sweets in bulk.

To learn how to twist the danish dough into the proper shape, I consulted Joe Pastry. This guy is amazing- a real danish expert. He's got a whole list of pastry shapes to pick from- I used the Classic Sweet Roll shape. You get to play with the dough and do a little twisting, but it's more fun than it is difficult. Pretty simple. Just twist them up, let them proof, and then spoon on your filling.

I always forget to add the glaze, but they're still really delicious.
Perfect if you like to carry danishes around on a daily basis.
I'm thinking of trying out some fruit and cream cheese mixtures next time.. strawberries and cream, anyone?

And to reiterate from the earlier post..

Visit Sass & Veracity for the danish dough recipe.
(I usually sub the cardamom for cinnamon.)

My cream cheese filling
(fills one braid or 20-30 individual pastries)

1 block cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine all and mix until smooth.

Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

The prime time for early summer fruit is coming to and end.
This is my ode to fresh strawberries and rhubarb, and I think it's quite a fitting tribute.

I was going to throw together a strawberry and rhubarb crumble on my own, but then I thought better, and enlisted the help of Smitten Kitchen.

I love crumbles with lots of topping, and SK's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble delivers just that. Everyone knows the topping is the best part of a crumble, so it's essential to have some in every bite. It's the perfect match for that sweet and tart fruit filling.

In SK's original post, she talks about her basic crumble recipe and how she makes it work for any combination of fruits. So it's customizable- you know I love that!

If you're all out of strawberries and rhubarb in your area, look this one up next summer!

Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble

Yields 6 to 8 servings.

For the topping:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar (or turbinado sugar aka Sugar in the Raw)
Zest of one lemon
1/4 pound (1 stick or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
1 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 quart strawberries plus a few extras, hulled, quartered
Juice of one lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons cornstarch (some commenters found the flour option a little too, well, floury so this has been updated)
Pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars and lemon zest and add the melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed.

2. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used an oval dish this time, because they fit better in the bottom of a shopping bag.)

3. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Place pie plate on a (foil-lined, if you really want to think ahead) baking sheet, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling beneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.

*All comments in the recipe are copied directly from Smitten Kitchen.

An Appleseed and An Annoucement

After a delightful July 4 weekend, I'm back to the blog with an exciting announcement.

I'm pregnant!

There's even more love in the oven!

Right now, I'm between five and six weeks along. I've found it funny that all of the baby websites compare the size of your baby to the size of various fruits and veggies, so I thought I might do the same here on Oven Love. At five weeks, the baby is about the size of an appleseed.

Just a little bitty thing right now, but before long, it'll be a lime, then a grapefruit, then a watermelon! And then we'll stop referring to it as a fruit. :) The little one will be here March 5.

So, while I'll try to keep up with regular blogging, I may take breaks every now and then, and I may skip a TWD or two, but I'll still be excited to read about everyone else's creations when I miss out (like today- I just can't stomach chocolate right now.. it's crazy!).

In short, we're thrilled.
!

How to Eat Swiss Chard

One of my Oven Lovers, Andrea, recently wrote me with a request about Swiss Chard. She's got an abundance, and wondered if I could find some recipes that feature it. If you've never heard of it, swiss chard is a dark, leafy green similar to kale or turnip greens. I scoured Tastespotting for yummy chard recipes, and this is what I've come up with. If you have any other recipes, feel free to link them in the comment section.

Chard recipes galore!

Greek Swiss Chard Pie (New York Times)

Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard White Lasagna (Coconut&Lime)

Bulgur Salad with Wilted Swiss Chard and Green Olives (The Parsley Thief a la Fine Cooking)

Garlic Roasted Garbanzo Beans and Swiss Chard over Polenta (Eggs on Sunday)

Swiss Chard and Artichoke White Pizza (Farmgirl Fare)

Chard and Feta Scones (Two Spoons)

Provencal Greens Soup (New York Times)

Chard Salad with Walnut Raspberry Dressing (What Geeks Eat)

Leek and Swiss Chard Tart (Smitten Kitchen)

Tuesdays With Dorie: Perfect Party Cupcakes

This week's TWD is hosted by Mix, Mix, Stir, Stir.  It's Dorie's Perfect Party Cake, a famed recipe among many TWDers.  I decided to make it into cupcakes, because.. you know, it's what I do.

The cupcake consists of Dorie's lemon cake, raspberry puree filling, Dorie's buttercream and sweetened coconut.  And I have to tell you something- it wasn't my favorite.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be a cupcake, and I should try it again in cake form.  I just wasn't a fan of this recipe.  But I love Dorie and TWD either way.  This is what it's all about- trial and error!

I'm glad it worked out for so many of my other TWD friends!

*Find the recipe here.

**Tuesdays with Dorie is a group of bloggers baking through Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I've been meaning to create this recipe for a while.  Last week, I got some lovely poblanos at the farmers' market, but didn't get around to using them until today.  But let me tell you- it was worth the wait.

It's sort of like a cross  between stuffed peppers and a burrito.  Inside the poblano, you'll find brown rice, pinto beans, fire roasted tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cheese.  It's dishes like these that remind me that I could never be vegan- cheese is just too essential.

When I made the filling, I made extra so that I could use the rest to make frozen burritos.  With the recipe below, I stuffed 2 poblanos (4 halves) and make 5 burritos.  I'm thinking you could fill about 12 full poblanos with the full recipe.

Please try!  It's tasty, simple, vegetarian, customizable.. I could go on, but I'd rather you just make them and see for yourself. :)

Mexican Stuffed Poblano Peppers

should make 12 servings 

(make the full recipe and use extras for burritos- just wrap filling in a tortilla and freeze until you're ready to eat, then pop in the microwave for a about 4-5 minutes and you've got another meal!)

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced/grated

1 cup dry brown rice, cooked to package directions

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained

2 tbs chili powder

1 tbs cumin

salt and pepper to taste

12 poblano peppers, halved and seeds removed

8-12 oz mexican style cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium pan, saute onion, pepper and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes.   While onion mixture is cooking, combine cooked rice, beans, and tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add onion mixture and spices and stir to combine.  You can add as much cheese as you'd like at this point, or save it all for the topping.

3. Place halved poblanos in a large glass baking dish.  Fill each pepper with the rice mixture and cover each with the shredded cheese.  Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, making sure the top of the cheese doesn't burn.  Remove from the oven and serve immediately.