In general, most of the time when I’m not celebrating a special occasion, I try to avoid sugar and stick to savory dishes. Armed with a new book on the non-sweet side of baked goods, I was excited to get out some pans and preheat the oven. Hearty baking is by Erin Jeanne McDowell and I received a review copy. This isn’t a gimmicky approach to turning sweet recipes into things that aren’t sweet. This is an informative baking book that teaches great techniques through savory recipes, although there are some suggestions for sweet variations as well. And in addition to the baked goods, there are recipes for their application. For example, there’s Green Chile Sausage Gravy with buttermilk biscuits, Always Salad with Flaky Frico, and Mama’s Salmon Sandwiches with ciabattina rolls along with quick pickles, sauces, flavored butters and more. I knew this book was going to deliver great results as I read the thoughtful explanation of when and why to cut butter into flour the size of walnut halves versus the size of peas versus the texture of cornmeal. In each chapter you will find helpful information such as perfecting the crepe making, methods of making flatbread and handling the strudel dough. I particularly appreciated the chart showing how much focaccia batter to make for different pan sizes. There were tons of things I wanted to try but first was the Pickly Pepper Bialys. As a college student in Illinois, I ate bialys on occasion, but had never made my own. They are very similar to bagels without the hole in the middle. I’ve made tortillas many times, but I usually make corn rather than flour. I suspected the flour tortilla recipe would be a winner here, and I was right. I went with the spinach version and loved them. The savory baked goods all look delicious and I have my eye on the croissant breakfast pie. The roasted garlic naan, pizza babka and stuffed pretzels also seem hard to resist. I might have to bake page after page through the “Snacks, Bites, and Appetizers” chapter with Parmesan Palmiers, Jalapeno Pastry Poppers, and Fried Mushroom Dumplings to name just a few options. To go back to something I had never made before, I had to try the savory monkey bread.
Monkey bread is always addicting. Not sure why I’ve never made it before, but this sundried tomato, goat cheese, and walnuts recipe was too interesting to skip. The yeast dough was made from milk, milk powder, an egg, butter and crème fraîche. While the dough rose, the filling was made by cooking sun-dried tomatoes with crushed garlic and olive oil. Away from the heat, butter was added with herbs and tomato paste. The mixture was pureed, goat cheese was crumbled and mixed with crème fraîche and walnuts were toasted. Working with the dough was fun and a little messy. First it was rolled into a large square and the goat cheese mixture was spread on one half. The walnuts and sesame seeds were sprinkled on the goat cheese. The dough was folded over and pinched at the edges to seal. It was rolled out again into a large square before being cut into strips that were cut into small squares. Each small square of dough was dipped in the sun-dried tomato mixture before being placed in a bundt cake pan. Then it was allowed to rise before baking.
Of course, the garlic and herbs made the bread amazingly small when baked. And after it cooled down a bit, the delicate pull-apart pieces were as addictive as I expected. Other flavor combinations are also offered, including Gooey Cheese Monkey Bread; Monkey Bread with Caramelized Onions, Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan; and Roasted Garlic and Herb Monkey Bread, as well as other ways to shape the bread, e.g. B. in expandable leaves or circles. I want to try all of these and then use that dough for anything else I can think of. I have a lot more savory baking to do.
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