This month I baked, filmed, photographed, and ate…but well before the usual first of the month start date. I had the pleasure of hosting the Daring Bakers challenge, and, as a nod to my Armenian heritage—I refuse to have Kim Kardashian be the only association people have to Armenians—I introduced participants to an easy-to-make nutmeg coffee cake and that most Armenian pastry of all, nazook. For the latter, which I had eaten since I was a kid but never actually made, I made a flight down to L.A. and filmed my aunt Aida making it. She’s the one featured in the video below (after the jump).

The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.

I loved all the pictures of the variations people made to both. For some reason, lots of people had difficulty with the nutmeg cake not cooking in the time I specified, and had to cook it for much longer. I’m not sure if their ingredients were cold, if the oven hadn’t completely preheated, or if my oven just runs hotter than normal. The nazook variations were awesome. I remember my aunt said you could fill it with just about anything. My cousin Vivian, her daughter, asked, “Chocolate?” to which Aida answered, “No. Not chocolate.” Some of the challenge participants were nevertheless undeterred, and baked them with chocolate anyway. They were reportedly very delicious.

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Before reading this month’s challenge, I was unaware that Dutch Crunch bread, a staple at sandwich joints in San Francisco and the area, is pretty much unknown elsewhere here in the US. It really does have Dutch origins—it’s called tijgerbrood, or tiger-bread, in the Netherlands—but elsewhere in the States it’s not a common option. I guess I never paid attention to my bread choices when getting sandwiches outside the Bay Area.

I was also unaware that the crunch was mostly the result of a rice flour slurry applied to the bread, not some sort of heavy egg wash.

Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

We were required to make Dutch crunch bread, in the form of rolls or a loaf, and then make a sandwich out of it. I went the roll route. I modified the recipe provided by Sara & Erica, swapping out the milk for water (didn’t have any milk on hand, and have made bread without milk countless times). I also didn’t have any rice flour, so I pulverized some arborio rice I had on hand in my coffee grinder, and sifted it as they suggested.

The result? Phenomenal! My rolls flattened, as usual, in the oven, but the insides were still very much moist after baking, and the crunch was so awesome. It provided a great balance to the soft ingredients that I put in our sandwich:

• aioli with garlic, thyme and smoked paprika
• fresh mozzarella with fresh oregano leaves
• brown tomatoes (these Trader Joe’s “kumato” tomatoes with a dark reddish-brown color)
• avocado

Pics after the jump.

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There are two bloggers I’ve been reading for years: Andrew Sullivan (at least since about 2002) and Jeffrey Goldberg (for the last couple of years). I respect them both, even if I don’t agree with them all the time. Their recent spat has been a source of consternation for me, especially since it concerns a matter that almost always provokes more conflict, even among people who essentially agree on motives and high-level strategies, than harmony.

First, about Andrew Sullivan. The fact that Andrew’s a self-styled conservative, or gay, or even Catholic has little to do with his views on Israel. The fact that he’s British does. The style of criticism that he levels towards Israel is rather classically British. Despite living here for decades, Andrew’s view of the world is still very much shaped by his country of origin. Like most Brits suffering from post-colonial guilt, he’s generally preoccupied with former British colonies, in particular Israel and Iran. Why? That Israel and Iran are problems created by the British and that evade resolution is a common refrain. Most Brits I know with a sensitivity towards their colonialist past wish the Israel/Palestine problem would go away, and that Iran would act like a normal country. It’s usually expressed with impatient exasperation.

So Andrew does not hate Jews, but if he’s anything like the many Brits I have talked to about this subject, he believes the (Israeli) Jews have had it too good for too long, and that they need to stop being coddled and “get on with it.” Unsurprisingly, it tends to sound like the way an indignant parent scolds an insolent child. It should also come as no surprise that several other things that Andrew gets exercised about – American hyperreligiosity, our different taste in music, our different definition of what it means to be a conservative – are exactly those things that the English tend to whin(g)e about generally when it comes to the U.S.

So now about Jeffrey. He’s Jewish; so am I. Jews are used to hearing and expressing different opinions, even about Israel, something that’s dear to the hearts of just about every one of us (Why wouldn’t it be? Half of our fellow Jews live there). We are used to listening to, processing, agreeing with or debating others’ opinions. What we always have trouble with are double standards. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Jews holding Jews to a higher standard; part of being Jewish is holding ourselves to a higher standard (it’s part of the Covenant; we have to fulfill 606 additional commandments to be considered as righteous as a Gentile). But it always, always triggers something in us when non-Jews expect Jews to fulfill a higher standard than they hold to others, in this case, the Palestinians or Iranians. Whether it’s the reality or not, it also smells a bit of anti-Semitism, even when we consciously tell ourselves the motivation is different. The story of Abbott Lawrence Lowell, Harvard President in the 1920s, trying to impose a quota on Jewish admissions, helps illustrate the mindset. Lowell said that a quota was important because Jews cheat. When someone pointed out that Christians cheat, too, Lowell retorted, don’t change the subject, we’re talking about Jews.

Compound this with the fact that Israel’s existence is constantly being questioned, not only by Islamic regimes committed to its destruction, but others in the West, and it puts Jews a bit on edge. The fact that there is no popular movement in Israel to eat up all of Palestinian territory, while a regime committed to Israel’s destruction was popularly voted in after Israel withdrew from Arab territory, suggests that Israel should not face more condemnation than the Palestinians for deep-sixing the peace process.

Jeffrey always has to straddle the tension between right-wing and left-wing Israelis in order to land the interviews with high-ranking officials that he always manages to get. If he’s solidly in one camp or the other, he’ll lose clout.

That said, I don’t think Sullivan’s double standards, and that’s exactly what they are, are motivated by anti-Semitism. It’s just the paternalistic, peevish British attitude towards their former colonies that they feel are out of line. Americans get it, too.

And, as much as Sullivan seems to think Goldberg is falling into the AIPAC/right-wing gambit of accusing all opponents of being self-hating Jews or anti-Semites, Jeffrey really hasn’t done that. Maybe calling Andrew a scapegoat of Jews wasn’t the best choice of words, although I understand that’s what holding Israel to a higher standard invokes. Even Goldberg’s disagreement with Peter Beinart’s call for “Zionist BDS” against West Bank settlement goods was reasoned and calm. He didn’t accuse Peter of being a self-hating Jew, he didn’t try to silence him, and, in fact, probably brought Zion Square a bit of publicity (which is a good thing; Beinart’s views deserve a fair hearing). Saying you disagree with someone and that an idea they’re proposing is a bad one is not akin to silencing them.

So I plan on continuing to read both Goldberg and Sullivan, and hope they can manage to kiss and make up.

Update: Heh.

This month’s challenge was similar to the last, in that the basic recipe wasn’t terribly difficult, but there were plenty of ways to customize and experiment with the recipe to come up with something novel. I didn’t have a ton of extra time in the kitchen this month, so I focused on trying to achieve one quickbread recipe that did the trick from the very beginning, and I was fortunate that I was able to do that.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

Since I’m trying to avoid sweet foods in my 2012 weight loss challenge, I went savory with this challenge, and made a ricotta and green onion muffin. I used this recipe as a starting point, but made the following alterations:

• Halved the recipe to make 12 mini muffins instead of a dozen full-sized muffins.
• Used einkorn flour instead of whole-wheat flour.
• Omitted the sugar.
• Added 1 tsp each of ground cumin and garlic powder.
• Instead of a 1/4 tsp of salt, I used 1/4 tsp of sea salt and 1/4 tsp of no-salt salt (potassium chloride)
• Substituted soured milk (milk with vinegar) for the buttermilk, which I didn’t have on hand.

The result? Really, really delicious. The aroma was amazing as it baked (since I was used my mini-muffin tin, I was actually able to do so in my toaster oven). They looked gorgeous, and tasted divine. Probably the best part, though, was the texture: light, fluffy, and moist. Even tossing them in the microwave for 10 seconds a pop warmed them up without sacrificing the texture.

Pics after the jump.

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Nic dwa razy sie nie zdarza
i nie zdarzy. Z tej przyczyny zrodzilismy sie bez wprawy
i pomrzemy bez rutyny.

Nothing happens twice
and nothing will.  For this reason, we were born without training
and we will die without a routine. 

Chocbysmy uczniami byli najtepszymi w szkole swiata
nie bedziemy repetowac
zadnej zimy ani lata.

Even if we were the dumbest students in the world
we won’t repeat
any winter nor any summer.

Zaden dzien sie nie powtorzy, nie ma dwoch podobnych nocy, dwoch tych samych pocalunkow,
dwoch jednakich spojrzen w oczy.

No day will ever repeat, there aren’t any two similar nights, no two of the same kisses,
no two identical gazes into the eyes. 

Wczoraj, kiedy twoje imie
ktos wymowil przy mnie glosno, tak mi bylo, jakby roza
przez otwarte wpadla okno.

Yesterday, when your name
was spoken next to me aloud, it was for me as if a rose
fell in through an open window. 

Dzis, kiedy jestesmy razem, odwrocilam twarz ku scianie. Roza? Jak wyglada roza?
Czy to kwiat? A moze kamien?
Czemu ty sie, zla godzino,
z niepotrzebnym mieszasz lekiem? Jestes – a wiec musisz minac. Miniesz – a wiec to jest piekne.

Today, when we’re together, I turned my face towards the wall. Rose? What does a rose look like?
Is it a flower? Or maybe a stone?
Why do you, evil hour,
get confused with an unnecessary anxiety? You do – so then you must pass. You will pass – so then it’s beautiful.

Usmiechnieci, wpolobjeci sprobujemy szukac zgody,
choc roznimy sie od siebie
jak dwie krople czystej wody.

Smiling, half-embracing, we’ll try to find agreement,
although we’ll differ from each other
like two drops of clear water. 

This month was a real treat. First, I’m swearing off sugar for 2012. I’ve got pounds to lose, and sugar’s ability to drive me into a fervent hunt for food does not help. Second, the recipe was simple, extensible, and reproducible enough that I could try it 3 times over the course of the month…which Audax suggested and I did.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

To be clear, these are what Americans call biscuits, and what are called scones in most of the British Commonwealth.

Here were my three variations.

The first used a blend of whole-wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I also went relatively easy on the salt, and used equal parts butter and (natural, palm oil-based) shortening. I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, so I curdled some whole milk with vinegar instead.

The biscuits turned out nice, although a tiny bit heavy (probably the whole-wheat thing going on) and a bit insipid-tasting (I really needed to add more salt). They were still flavorful and my DH and I gobbled all 6 of them fairly quickly.

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Amusingly illustrated in this minute-long animation by The Oatmeal:

Niektorzy -
czyli nie wszyscy.
Nawet nie wiekszosc wszystkich ale mniejszosc. Nie liczac szkol, gdzie sie musi,
i samych poetow,
bedzie tych osob chyba dwie na tysiac.

Some -
Meaning, not everyone.
Not even a majority of people, rather a minority. Not counting schools, where you have to,
and poets themselves.
People like this are maybe 2 out of a thousand.

Lubia -
ale lubi sie takze rosol z makaronem,
lubi sie komplementy i kolor niebieski,
lubi sie stary szalik,
lubi sie stawiac na swoim,
lubi sie glaskach psa.

Like -
But chicken noodle soup is also liked.
So are compliments and the color blue,
As is an old scarf
As is standing one’s ground
And petting a dog.

Poezje -
tylko co to takiego poezja.
Niejedna chwiejna odpowiedz
na to pytanie juz padla.
A ja nie wiem i nie wiem i trzymam sie tego jak zbawiennej poreczy.

Poetry -
Only, what exactly is poetry.
No single, wobbly answer
has been given to that question.
And I don’t know and don’t know, and hang on to it like a grip handle.

I’m not a scientist of any kind (although I did kick ass in my high school and college science courses, because I love the topic), but I suspect the reason we’re collectively having difficulty with weight is because of one taste in particular: sweet. I don’t pretend to know the full biochemical mechanism behind it, but I think foods/drinks with a sweet taste impel us to eat more than any other taste, and, because of that, should probably be avoided by people trying to lose weight. Here’s a bulleted list of my observations that point to this.

• Everyone I know that is overweight has a sweet tooth. Friends I know who don’t have a sweet tooth are thinner.
• Sweet-tooth people I know (myself included) are much more likely to binge than people who don’t have a sweet tooth.
• Cultures (like Japanese and Chinese) that don’t eat a lot of sweet foods tend to be thinner than those that do (like tropical islands, Mexico, the United States).
• Pretty much the only dietary change in the American diet that has been consistent in the last half-century is the explosion of sweet foods, sweet drinks (even diet ones), chewing gum, etc. The percentage of fat in our diet, for example, has actually gone down, but sugar has lost its status as a dietary danger because it’s fat-free.
• It would seem that the only source of sweet food until very recently was fruit, which typically has a very discrete harvest period in the wild. So it would make sense to engorge on fruit and even fatten up a bit when it was available, because its availability came in spurts and, unlike grain, was almost impossible to store until refrigeration.
• Fructose, unlike starch’s sugar components (glucose), does not trigger a satiety signal. I think this very much evolutionarily related to my previous point; when mankind has traditionally consumed fructose, it’s been in the form of fruit, and it might not be around for much longer, so chow down!
• NOTHING makes me want to continue eating more than eating something sweet. I read recently in RuPaul’s autobiography that he avoids sweet food for the exact same reason, and RuPaul is thin.
• People who drink lots of diet sodas are actually heavier than those who don’t, even though sodas don’t have any calories.

I know, I know, I know there are lots of people who eat sugar all day long and they never gain weight. There’s an exception to every rule, so I’m focusing on generalizations based on my own personal experience and what I see at societies at large.

This month’s challenge brought me back to territory I’ve covered in the past, although I was certainly due for a refresher. Being a San Francisco resident, this should’ve been a piece of cake for me, but it was not without its challenges.

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

First, I tried making a starter with 50% whole wheat flour (via Trader Joe’s) and 50% einkorn flour (via Jovial Foods). The starter started bubbling and foaming up nicely after the third day or so, until my DH accidentally turned on the oven where I was keeping my starter warm (using the oven light) without checking first. This first starter died.

After guilt-tripping my DH into submission, I started the process over again, with 2 simultaneous starters. One was rye, the other the same mixture of whole wheat and einkorn. The rye surprisingly never really took off, although the mixture one did, and I used it to make rye bread fairly successfully.

I used the Dutch oven method, which is supposed to yield a chewier, more sourdoughy crust, but did not do much except avoid a way-too-crunchy crust in my case. I suspect a little water added to the pot might have helped a bit more.

Nevertheless, the rye turned out nice. It didn’t turn out huge and fluffy, but rye almost never does. It did taste good, and of course I didn’t wait the requisite 30 minutes for it to cool before cutting into it (I waited more like 30 seconds). Even my DH, who’s the pickiest eater on the planet and hates everything except white bread, thought it tasted pretty good.

We were supposed to make an accompaniment, too. I made beet soup, going along with the Eastern European/Jewish theme. I don’t have a picture of them together, but dipping the bread in the soup was a winning combination.

A few more pics after the jump…

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