Friday, July 27, 2012

CARDAMOM & ORANGE BRIOCHE BREAD (TANG ZHONG METHOD) - BRIOCHE A LA CARDAMOME ET A L'ORANGE (MÉTHODE TANG ZHONG) ♥ A GUEST POST FOR ANURADHA AT "BAKER STREET"

At the moment, I regularly receive e-mails from bloggers who ask me to write posts for them. It is certainly a pleasant sensation to know that you are”notorious”, but the downside of it is that, as a consequence, the  requests have been piling up lately and I have the impression that I’m slowly drowning in them. Dealing with them is hard, because Rosa’s Yummy Yums is currently keeping me busy and to make things worse, coping with the way weeks pass (too fastly) is already challenging enough. Anyway, although it usually takes me quite a while before I am able to grant my consorts’ demands, I nonetheless always try to please my foodie buddies by offering them the best of myself as a token of respect and appreciation.

So, when Anuradha at Baker Street proposed me to show her how straightforward it is to toil with yeast and help her get rid of her uneasiness when it comes to handling this seemingly treacherous leavening agent, I could not refuse her proposition. As a fellow gastronome and kitchen dweller, it is my duty to encourage my Indian friend to take the bull by the horns and turn her into a confident dough puncher.

If you have never heard of Anuradha before, then you have missed out a lot as not only is she a talented and self-taught baker, but also the kind soul behind the highly popular Muffin Monday event. Her brilliant site is chock-a-block full with cool recipes for cakes, cookies, bars, cupcakes, cheesecakes, etc... It is impossible to browse through Baker Street without feeling the urge to replicate one of her mouthwatering treats. I am a big fan of hers!

This Friday, I am extremely thrilled to present you with my most recent edible “coup de coeur” and I wish to warmly thank Anuradha for opening the doors of her lovely platform to me. It is a true honor to be your guest today and to have my work hosted by such a fabulous individual like her! Hopefully, my step-by-step ""Cardamom & Orange Brioche Bread (Tang Zhong Method)" recipe will be as much of a revelation for you as it was for me...

Asians can't live without rice and the majority of white people could not envisage an existence devoid of bread. For most Westerners, it is an important staple which’s consumption can be traced back to the prehistoric era and which has been eaten on a daily basis since the emergence of agriculture. It belongs to those edible goods that form the basis of all civilizations’ diets due to its significant nutritional properties - poor in fat, but rich in complex carbohydrates, plant protein, fibers, vitamins and essential minerals -, cheapness and simplicity.

As an Anglo-Swiss person, it is one of the foods that is part of my European heritage, thus it has forged my identity and it characterizes me. An age-old tradition here. For instance, Switzerland is supposed to have more varieties of breads than any other country on the planet - between 200 and 300 different kinds - and our nation have been tackling dough for over 6000 years. Every canton has its own specialities and each celebration its particular loaf to which a multitude of stories as well as customs are linked. We are definitely no novices in that department. Great Britain is also very fond of that doughy aliment and there too, the art of breadmaking has seen the light of day during the Stone Age. As a matter of fact, it is one of UK's favorite eats - 99% of the households buy bread and 12 million loaves are sold each day. You'll find many bakeries across the kingdom and thanks to the vast range of British flour available, the Queen's subjects have no reason of being jealous of the Helvetic folks as over 200 types of breads are said to be produced nationwide.

At home, we rarely bought bread from the bakery or the supermarket because our weekly supply was baked by my mother, a devoted housewife who cooked our meals from scratch and shunned industrial grub. ]...[

So, if that short introduction made your mouth water and your tastebuds tingle, tickled your curiosity and gave you the urge to read my article, then please hop on over to Baker Street in order to learn more about this "Cardamom & Orange Brioche Bread (Tang Zhong Method)", get a glimpse of my pictures, discover my recipe and pay a visit to the lovely Anuradha.

This bread is getting yeastspotted by Susan’s Yeastspotting!

Tang Zhong Brioche 5 3 bis
Etant donné que beaucoup de mes lecteurs francophones ne comprennent pas forcément l'anglais et que malheureusement peu d'entre-eux auront la chance de lire mon billet invité et dernier article en date sur le merveilleux blog Baker Street qui appartient à la tentueuse blogeuse Anuradha, je me suis permise de traduire la recette qui y figure afin que vous puissiez aussi en profiter car je pense qu'elle pourra vous intéresser (vous pouvez tout de même y jeter un coup d'oeil car ses recettes sont vraiment passionnantes et mon article contient d'autres images que celles exposées ici).

J'espère que ma "
Brioche A La Cardamome Et A L'Orange" vous plaira car c'est un pain divinement moelleux et parfumé dont la méthode de fabrication (Tang Zhong) nous vient tout droit du Japon (les autres pays d'Asie en sont aussi friands) et dont je me suis enamourée dernièrement après l'avoir découvert sur le blog de la merveilleuse Gracianne. Un pur délice!

Brioche A La Cardamome Et A L'orange (Méthode Tang Zhong)
Recette adaptée de "Un Dimanche A La Campagne" et de "Kirbie's Cravings".

Pour un pain.


Ingrédients Pour Le "Tang Zhong":

25g de Farine
125g d’Eau (filtrée de préférence)
Ingrédients Pour La "Pâte":

125g (125ml) de Lait
120g de Tang zhong
1 Oeuf (63g)
350g de Farine T55
50g de Sucre cristallisé
1 CS de Lait en poudre
1 1/4 CC de Cardamome en poudre

Le zeste d'une demi orange (ou 1 sachet de zestes d'orange Dr. Oetker)
1 1/2 CC de Levure en poudre (ou 15g de levure fraîche)

1 CC de Sel de mer fin
30g de Beurre non-salé, coupé en petits cubes, à température ambiante
1 CS d'Huile d'arachide, pour huiler le bol
1 Oeuf + 1 CS de Lait, pour le glaçage


Méthode Pour Le "Tang Zhong":
1. La veille, mélanger dans une casserole, au fouet, 25g de farine et 125g d’eau. Laisser chauffer à feu moyen en fouettant constamment jusqu’à obtention d'un mélange ayant la consistance d’un roux. En principe, il faut le faire chauffer jusqu’à 65ºC pendant 2-3 minutes (dès que le mélange épaissit, devient homogène et que le fouet y laisse un sillage, il est prêt).
2. Verser le Tang Zhong dans un bol, le laisser refroidir, filmer au contact et réfrigérer pendant au moins 6 heures.

Méthode Pour La "Pâte":
3. Le lendemain, remettre le Tang Zhong au moins une demi-heure à température ambiante avant de l’utiliser.
4. Dans un bol moyen, fouetter ensemble le lait, le Tang Zhong et l’œuf.
5. Dans le bol de votre robot, mélanger ensemble la farine, le sucre et le lait en poudre.

6. Faire un puits, ajouter le mélange liquide, la cardamome, le zeste et la levure sèche (ou la levure fraîche émiettée), puis commencer à pétrir.
7. Au bout de quelques minutes, ajouter le sel puis pétrir pendant encore 5-10 minutes, jusqu’à ce que la pâte soit bien élastique et homogène.
8. Ajouter ensuite le beurre mou et pétrir de nouveau pendant 10 minutes, jusqu’à ce que la pâte prenne du corps et se détache des parois du bol.
9. 
Façonner la pâte en une boule et la placer dans un grand bol que vous aurez préalablement huilé. Couvrir la pâte avec un film plastique et recouvrir le bol d'un linge humide. La laissez lever dans un lieu chaud et à l'abri des courants d'airs, jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait doublé de volume, environ 40 minutes à 1 heure.
10. Dégonfler la pâte, la transférer sur une surface propre et légèrement farinée, puis la façonner en un pain rectangulaire (voire méthode - vidéo en anglais) ou la diviser en 3 parts égales, applatir chaque portion avec vos mains pour en chasser l'air, les bouler (voire méthode - vidéo en anglais) et les déposer côte à côte dans le moule.
11. Couvrir d'un film plastique et laisser lever pendant environ 40 à 60 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que la pâte ait doublé de volume.
12. Préchauffer le four à
180 ° C (350 ° F), puis battre un oeuf avec 1 cuillère à soupe de lait et badigeonner le dessus du pain avec ce mélange (la croûte deviendra dorée et brillante).
13.
Verser 1/4 - 1/2 tasse d’eau dans le fond du four chaud et cuire pendant environ 30 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que le pain sonne creux lorsque vous tapez sur sa base avec un doigt.
14. Laisser refroidir sur une grille.

Remarques:
Au départ la pâte sera extrêmement collante. C'est tout à fait normal. Continuer à la pétrir jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit élastique et lisse, pendant environ 15-20 minutes avec un batteur sur socle et à 30 minutes à la main.
Quand la pâte est prête, vous devriez être capable de l'étirer qu'elle se déchire trop rapidement.

Suggestions d'accompagnement:
Servir pour le déjeuner ou le brunch avec du fromage, de la confiture, du Nutella ou la tartinade de votre choix.
Cette brioche est parfaite pour faire un pouding au pain ou du pain perdu.


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #43 - BACK TO THE BASICS

Whisk 6 bis
- Whisk It Good! -

Courgette - Zucchini Salad 1 7 bis
- Refinement In Rusticity -

Both pictures were submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 1st of August by Simona at "Briciole" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

Friday, July 20, 2012

RAW ZUCCHINI (COURGETTE) SALAD - SALADE DE COURGETTE CRUE /// MONTHLY MINGLE - A TASTE OF YELLOW: A TRIBUTE TO BARBARA

Tang Zhong Brioche - Courgette Salad 10 1 bis
Lately, I have been feeling seriously uninspired, very tired, quite sluggish, highly moody and a little depressed. I guess that I am in desperate need of holidays (I'll have to wait till the middle of August, though) and some "me" time, hence this Friday I have decided to share with you a casual post...

It is the middle of July and the summer squash season is in full swing, so I thought that you might be interested by my no-brainer "Raw Zucchini (Courgette) Salad" which is healthy, toothsome, easy as pie and can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Perfect when you are on the run or just too lazy to cook like a five-star chef!

6a00d83451960b69e201774317402d970d

Today, I wish to pay a tribute to the late Barbara Harris of Winos and Foodies by participating in the event Monthly Mingle - A Taste Of Yellow* and submitting my vegetarian recipe. This dishe's wonderful simplicity, natural generosity and straighforwardness reminds me of this lovely lady whose unexpected passing away totally shocked and devastated me.

Barbara hosted A taste Of Yellow (supporting LiveSTRONG Day - see my participations here and here) and she was one of the first people I got in contact with when I started blogging, back in 2005. We visited each other's blogs and exchanged a few sporadic thoughts via e-mail, Twitter and Facebook.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to know her very well, but I will always remember her limitless kindness and radiant personality. Despite her life-threatening illness, she striked me as being somebody who was extremely courageous, full of energy and had a communicative joie de vivre. A great soul!

Lavender 1 3 bis
- Lavender On My Balcony -

Sadly, after having bravely battled cancer for more than 8 years, Barbara died on the 30th of June 2012. A big loss for her friends, family and the foodblogging world. She is already sorely missed and will never be forgotten. The end of an era, however her legacy will live on...

Rest in peace, dear!

*If you would like to enter A Taste of Yellow Monthly Mingle please head on over to Jeanne’s blog, Cook Sister! for further details on how you can submit your entry. The roundup will go up on August 11th, 2012.

Courgette - Zucchini 1 2 bis bis

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #42 - PERFECT FOR A HIKE

Train Zweisimmen 1 4  bis
- A Mountain Train Station (Zweisimmen, Berner Oberland) -
 
- Tiny, Yet Powerful -

The second picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 25th of July by Roma at "Roma's Space" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

Friday, July 13, 2012

BIRDIE, BIRDIE ON A BRANCH

Bird 1 11 bis
Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.
- Victor Hugo

This pretty little bird (mandarin diamond) payed me a visit last Friday while I was shooting pictures on my balcony. Straight away I realised that it had fled his home and was lost. As a matter of fact, he seemed to want something from me... I would have gladly helped him, but unfortunately, he flew away before I was able to do anything for him (call the animal services). Hopefully he is now somewhere safe!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #41 - TURN THE NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES

Seagul skull 1 10 bis
- Beauty In Death -

Strawberry Cake 5 9 bis
- Success Through Failure -
 
The second picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 18th of July by Lynne at "Cafe Lynnylu" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

Friday, July 6, 2012

STRAWBERRY COFFEECAKE - GÂTEAU AUX FRAISES

Strawberry Cake 5 6 bis
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
- Dale Carnegie
Failure, a terrifying and taboo seven letter word which makes most mortals shiver, gives us cold sweat and is surrounded by fear and shame. People dare mention it for it is a psychological weapon of mass destruction that has the power to annihilate every ounce of self-confidence that we possess, shatter our dreams in millions of pieces and break us down in a blitz. Like a dirty secret, it is whispered behing closed doors, in a hush-hush way as it is quasi-blasphemous to pronounce it aloud. It is the ugly monster hiding under our beds, the ghastly shadow lurking behind closed doors and the scary skeleton in the closet... 

In our extremely modern and highly competitive world where everything is based on the winner-crusher-stab-in-the-back mentality, failure is something that cannot exist and is denied, hence it is shunned and looked upon negatively. For those who believe in the sacro-saint conquerer system that is imposed to us by our shallow society and which is based on continuous achievement, performance and gain, downfall is pitiful and absolutely not an option. One is not granted the right to be defeated otherwise he/she is categorized as a sad loser and seen as a dirty misfit.

A disgraceful attitude which is discouraging and not helpful nor motivating as individuals who face ruin are stigmatized in such a manner that they rarely have the power to get up on their feet again. They are constantly deminished and reminded of their humiliating descent into the tenebrous abysses of decay. When your face is continually rubbed in the dirt, others tread on you and you are considered a deadbeat because you have tripped while walking on the path to victory, then how will you ever be able to start anew and arise from the ashes? Instead, a little motivation and encouragement would be welcome.
Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street.
- Zig Ziglar

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
- C.S. Lewis

Failure is nature's plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.
- Napoleon Hill

An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots.
- Charles F. Kettering

If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.
- Woody Allen
After all, we are just humans, not machines and we can't systematically reach our goals at the first attempt or be inveriably perfect. How boring would that be! Life is full of ambushes, so trials and errors are a part of the game, and staggering is normal. Sometimes, in order to attain success and spice up our lives, detours are inevitable. Defeat is not when you stumble, it is when you accept to crawl on the ground on all fours and you refuse to move on or when you are paralyzed by cowardice and self-loathing. No pain, no gain! Suffering - in small proportions - is needed to make progress.

Embracing and transcending failure is vital if you don't want to stay stuck in that purgatotry for alleged deadbeats. Victimizing or blaming yourself has no purpose as it will bring you nowhere. If you understand that you can only overcome screw-ups by analyzing why things went wrong and know that your brain or apprehensions are your biggest barriers to triumph, then you'll be able to find a solution to your problems and will definitely not follow the same road again.

The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.
- Julia Child
Once in a while, even the avidest of bakers or cooks will experience a kitchen disaster. There are times when all hell breaks loose and dishes don't work out as planned. Nothing more unnerving, irritating and distressing than a floppy recipe or being misslead by our assurance and let down by our concentration. A terrible curse for the poor person who has been slaving behind the stove and doesn't see his/her efforts rewarded.

Each of us has bad days and there's nothing exceptional about that, but unfortunately, hiccups generally seem to occur only at the wrong moment. Remember that Easter bread which refused to rise and was as hard as a bullet, that famous Christmas roast of yours that was as tough as a leather boot because you were blabbering madly and forgot it in the oven or that infallible birthday cake which errupted similarly to a volcano and spurted batter all down the sides of the pan? Oh, you could have teared out your hair with anger, wailed like a desperate banshee and ran away so much facing your guests was painful and embarrassing. Moments of pure desperation and solitude...

Anyway, it is not the end of the world. Our culinary misadventures are rarely unbearable and "catastrophies" are here to indicate where we went wrong and help us ameliorate ourselves. This is what creates experience and knowledge. Occasionally they even give unawaited results.

Take the example of the famous Tatin sisters who created the first "Tarte Tatin" by inadvertence. Had Stéphanie Tatin not left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long, she would have probably never been alerted to her mistake by the smell of burning and covered them with pastry in an attempt to rescue the situation. Passing her mistake off as a special, her pie made it into history.

I'm not saying that all blunders lead to favorable outcomes, but I believe that we always can draw positive lessons from crises. For example, last week, I baked a simple "Strawberry Coffeecake" and the outcome was quite deceiving visually speaking. Instead of staying on top of the cake, the strawberries decided to sink to the bottom. So, as I wanted to know why this happened, I analyzed the situation and came to the conclusion that I was the one to blame because I decided to put my preparation in tin that was not big enough.* Audacity can be treacherous and play tricks on you. Damn!

Nonetheless, apart from being not too pretty, my creation was exquisite and I've had a lot of success with it. This buckle-like treat is moist on the inside and crisp on the outside, exhaliratingly fragrant, extremely fruity, not overly sweet and really easy to put together. A summery delight that will rejoice kids and adults alike, and will send you to strawberry heaven!

* Ok, maybe it wasn't entirely my fault. My oven door is broken and I have to keep it shut with a chair, so a temperature leak might also be in cause here...

Strawberry Coffeecake
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
6 Tbs (90g) Unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the cake pan
1 1/2 Cups (191g) All-purpose flour 
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
1/2 Tsp Fine sea salt 
1 Cup +2 Tbs (210g + 30g) Castor/granulated sugar 
1 Large egg
1/2 Cup (120ml) Milk 
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1 Tsp Orange zest puree 
1 Pound (450g) Strawberries, hulled and halved

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350°F).
2. Butter a 25cm (10-inch) cake pan or pie plate, or a 23cm (9-inch) deep-dish pie plate. 
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium-sized bowl.
4. Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minuttes or until pale in color, light and fluffy. Then, reduce the speed to medium-low and mix in the egg, milk, vanilla and orange zest puree. 
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Strawberry Cake 3 3 bis
6. Transfer the batter to the buttered cake pan or pie plate.
7. Arrange the strawberries on the top of the batter, cut sides down, as closely together as possible (you may have to jam them in a little).
8. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the berries. 
9. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 170° C (325° F) and continue baking the cake for about 50 minutes or until it is golden brown and firm to the touch and a tester inserted into iits center comes out clean.  
10. Let it cool in the pan or pie plate, on a wire rack.
11. Cut into wedges and serve.

Remarks:
The cake can be stored, well-wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 2 days.
The orange zest puree is optional - I highly recommend you to use it though.

Serving suggestions:
Serve for dessert or teatime, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a strawberry coulis and accompany by tea, sparkling wine (Champagne, Clairette de Die, Prosecco, etc...) or Belgian blond ale.

Gâteau Aux Fraises
Recette adaptée de Martha Stewart.

Pour 4-6 personnes.

Ingrédients:
90g de Beurre non-salé, à température ambiante (+ un peu pour le moule)
191g de Farine
1 1/2 CC de Poudre à lever
1/2 CC de Sel de mer fin
210g de Sucre cristallisé (+ 2 CS/15g pour soupoudrer le dessus du cake)
1 Gros oeuf
120ml de Lait
1 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
1 CC de Zeste d'orange en purée
450g de fraises, équeutées et coupées en deux

Méthode: 
1. Préchauffer le four à 180 ° C.
2. Beurrer un moule à gâteau rond de 25 cm de diamètre ou un moule à pie de 23cm de diamètre.
3. Dans un grand bol, tamiser ensemble la farine, la poudre à pâte et le sel.
4. Dans le bol de votre batteur électrique, battre le beurre et le sucre à vitesse moyenne pendant environ 2 minutes ou jusqu'à que le mélange soit de couleur pâle et "mousseux". Puis ajouter le zeste, l'œuf, le lait, la vanille et les zestes. Mélanger.
5. A faible vitesse, incorporer graduellement les ingrédients secs (farine/poure à lever/sel).

6. Etendre la pâte dans le moule à gâteau ou à pie.
7. Disposer les fraises
aussi étroitement que possible sur le dessus de la pâte (côté coupé vers le bas).
8. Saupoudrer avec les 2 CS de sucre restantes.
9. Cuire le gâteau à 180°C pendant 10 minutes, puis réduire la température du four à 170 ° C et continuer à le cuire pendant environ 50 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'il soit doré, ferme au toucher et qu'un cure-dent inséré en son centre en ressorte propre.
10. Laisser le cake refroidir dans le moule, sur une grille.
11. Couper en tranches et servir.

Remarques:
Le gâteau peut être conservé à température ambiante pendant 2 jours (bien l'emballer dans du film plastique).
La purée de zeste d'orange est facultative. Tout de même, je vous recommande fortement de l'utiliser car elle ajoute une note merveilleuse à ce gâteau.

Idées de présentation:
Servir à l'heure du dessert ou pour le goûter avec de la glace à la vanille ou un coulis de fraise et accompagner ce gâteau d'un thé, d'un verre de vin mousseux (Champagne, Clairette de Die, Prosecco, etc ..) ou d'une bière belge.

Strawberry Cake 9 5 bis

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #40 - TO BARBARA

- Sadly, Our Paths Separate Here -

Empty-handed I entered
the world
Barefoot I leave it.
My coming, my going —
Two simple happenings
That got entangled.
Like dew drops
on a lotus leaf
I vanished
- Kozan Ichikyo

Farewell, dear Friend!
You battled cancer like a champion and left an indelebile mark on the international food blogger scene.
You will never be forgotten...

Barbara Harris was the lovely foodie behind the blog "Winos And foodies" and lived in Brisbane, Australia. She passed away on the 30th of June 2012.

- Plentiful -
The second picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 11th of June by Anusha at "Tomato Blues" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).