Monday, March 12, 2007

Baking Fun

I've been expanding my practical baking horizons, trying out different breads and other goodies. Two recent successes were Mozzarella Egg Bread and a homemade King Cake around Mardi Gras (
recipe courtesy of Food Network). The cake didn't look nearly as pretty as ones in stores. But it was a blast to make - twisting the dough, hiding a jordan almond (since I was sans the usual tiny, plastic babies), mixing the icing. And, best of all, it tasted delicious.

Mozzarella Egg Bread
From: The Culinary Arts Institute Cookbook; Advance Publishers; 1985. ISBN 0-8326-0580-8

Ingredients
7 to 8 cups all-purpose flour
(I used 6)
2 packages active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
6 eggs at room temperature
1 coup plain yogurt
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
(I used 2.5)
one half cup hot (between 120 to 130° F) water

Method
1. Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Stir eggs, yogurt, 1.5 cups cheese ( I used 2) and water into flour mixture; beat until smooth – about 3 minutes on high speed of electric mixer.
3. Stir in enough more flour to make a soft dough.
(I added 4 more cups.)
4. Turn dough onto floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (5 to 8 minutes).
5. Place in an oiled bowl; turn to oil top of dough. Cover, let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour).
6. Punch dough down. Divide in half; shape into loaves and place in 2 greased 9x5x3 loaf pans. Cover; let rise until double (about 30 minutes).
7. Top loaves with remained cheese (.5 cup).
8. Bake at 375° F for 30 minutes or until done.