Name: Mini Challah Loaves
Prep time: 3 h 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: Makes 8 small loaves
Ingredients: For the starter:; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1 cup lukewarm water; 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet); For the dough:; the starter; 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 1 3/4 teaspoons salt; 1/3 cup sugar; 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil; 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (reserve leftover egg white for wash, below); For the egg wash and topping:; 1 egg white, saved from above; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon water; poppy or sesame seeds, optional

Holiday Brunch and 3 Festive (and Sparkly) Cocktail Recipes

December 22, 2016 by Butter Loves Company

This past Sunday, Greg and I hosted some lovely friends and family at our place for a very merry holiday brunch. I’m not sure if there’s anything I enjoy more than getting people together over food and drink, and the holidays always seem to make it feel extra special. I love learning about people’s holiday traditions past and present: whether it is matching family Christmas pajamas, take-out with friends, going to an early movie, caroling or having fruitcake.

This holiday brunch is a new tradition for us (2^nd Annual this year!) and incorporates a few of our favorite things: cooking, eating, music, and champagne. 😉

What is brunch without a little bubbly? My go-to sparkly sipper for celebrations big and small is Korbel. It is delicious on it’s own—love those shimmering bubbles—and also a great champagne for cocktails. For brunch, we went the festive champagne cocktails route with a few different varieties. There was a Cranberry Rosemary Spritz—tart, herbaceous, and effervescent, a Sparkling Raspberry Lime Royale—sweetened with the delicious deep raspberry flavor of Chambord, and a Fig Sparkler, using a super easy house-made fig vodka as the base. All three use Korbel’s Brut Champagne but you could substitute with their Brut Rosé for an extra pop of color and flavor variety.

The rest of the menu included Greg’s famous sausage gravy, biscuits, Ottolenghi’s veggie tart, a sticky-bundt, gravlax and fixings, crepes, hasselback potatoes gratin (Which I undercooked…oh well!), bacon and eggs. We did everything in advance aside from making the eggs and baking the already-prepared biscuits and sticky bundt. I also made cookies the weekend before–and froze them in pre-measured (I realize I’m a little nuts) dough balls so I could just grab and bake once I had time.

Because we had prepped the food in advance, when everyone arrived on Sunday morning, I was stress-free and ready to welcome everyone a sparkly cocktail. If you’re ever looking to immediately put your guests in a fun and festive mood, pop a bottle of champagne. The sound alone will be enough to make everyone feel cheery right when they walk through the door. I think that’ll be a new holiday brunch tradition of ours—what’s yours?

Happiest Holidays to you and your families. Wishing you all a safe and warm time. All the hugs your way!

Cranberry Rosemary Spritz
Makes 1 drink

1 ounce Cranberry Rosemary Purée (recipe below)
4 ounces Korbel Brut Champagne
Sugared cranberries, for garnish (recipe below)
Rosemary sprig, for garnish

Instructions:

Pour the Cranberry Rosemary Purée into a champagne flute. Top with Champagne. Garnish with a skewer of sugared cranberries and a rosemary sprig. Stir gently with the skewer if the purée begins to settle. Enjoy!

To make the Cranberry Rosemary Purée: In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, 1 8-inch rosemary sprig, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to low heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the cranberries burst and the liquid has reduced slightly. Turn off heat and remove rosemary with a fork and discard. Transfer cranberry mixture to a blender, allowing to cool a little beforehand if it is too hot. Blend until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl or container for later use.

To make the Sugared Cranberries: Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add 1/2 cup fresh cranberries and cook until barely starting to soften, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries to the prepared baking sheet. Allow to cool until no longer sticky, about 20 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup granulated sugar into a small bowl. Toss cranberries in the sugar to coat. Return to the baking sheet until ready to use.

Sparkling Raspberry Lime Royale
Makes 1 drink

1/4 cup granulated sugar, for glass rim
1 teaspoon lime zest, for glass rim
1 ounce Chambord
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
ice
3 1/2 ounces Korbel Brut Champagne or Brut Rose

Instructions:

In a wide shallow bowl or plate, combine the granulated sugar and lime zest with your hands, until the sugar is fragrant with lime. Use the cut side of a lime to moisten the rim of your coupe glass or champagne flute and press it into the lime sugar to rim the glass. Set aside.
In a cocktail shaker, combine Chambord, lime juice, and ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and strain into a coupe glass or champagne flute. Top with champagne. Enjoy!

Fig Sparkler
Makes 1 drink

1 1/2 ounces fig vodka (recipe below)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
ice
3 ounces Korbel Brut Champagne

Instructions:

In a cocktail shaker, combine fig vodka and ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and strain into a coupe glass or champagne flute. Top with champagne. Enjoy!

To make the fig vodka: Combine 1 1/2 cups vodka and 5-6 dried mission figs, each sliced in half (10-12 halves total, into a medium sealable jar or container. Seal jar and shake. Refrigerate for at least 2 days and, if you have time, a week or two, shaking the container every day. The longer you allow it to marinade, the more ‘figgy’ it’ll become. Strain out the dried figs, if desired, or save them to use as garnish on your figgy cocktails!

mini challah loaves

August 22, 2016 by Butter Loves Company

Chewy, eggy, braided mini challah loaves—perfect with butter, for sandwiches or treat them like bagels and smear them with cream cheese. Be sure to use the extras for challah french toast—dreamy!

From my plane ride to Boston, something a little different…

—–

She settles deep into her window seat for the six-hour flight and pops open her book to where she left off. She’s barely a chapter in but she leafs back a few pages—another vivid daydream had taken her away from the words her eyes scanned for the past fifteen minutes. Or, had she fallen asleep? Tough to tell these days.

It takes only a few moments for the lids to weigh down over her brown eyes. Her thoughts drift away to the sounds of twin toddlers giggling in the row in front of her. They’re bouncing in their seats beaming with excitement to be flying across the country, “Mom, look! We’re in the CLOUDS!”

They each wore French braids, just like she had nearly every day of her childhood. In this moment, they epitomize pure happiness. She sighs.

She drifts further into memories and transports back to the day she made challah bread for the first time. She had woken early from a nightmare and began to braid the challah dough she had prepared the night before to get her mind off things. It was profoundly therapeutic; rolling and twisting the eggy dough.

The buns had barely hit the cooling rack before she ripped into the puffy loaves, spreading their soft centers with butter and sprinkling with flaky salt. Her boyfriend, now awake to the smell of freshly baked bread, hurried over to grab a bite of his own. Their eyes locked and they both smiled. It was so good. In this moment, she imagined herself as one of those giggling toddlers: she was purely happy. This time trading those braids in the hair for another, much more delicious, braid she could share with everyone around her.

Mini Challah Loaves

Prep Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Servings: Makes 8 small loaves

mini-challah-bread-recipe-2

Ingredients

For the starter:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)

For the dough:

the starter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
2 large eggs + 1 yolk (reserve leftover egg white for wash, below)

For the egg wash and topping:

1 egg white, saved from above
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
poppy or sesame seeds, optional

Instructions

Make the starter by mixing the 1 cup flour, 1 cup water and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixture sit for about 45 minutes. It should be bubbly.
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, and add all the dough ingredients to the starter. Mix on low until the dough starts to come together. Stop the mixer and remove the paddle attachment—scraping any sticking dough into the bowl—replacing it with the dough hook. Knead on low-medium speed for 8- to 10-minutes, until smooth and silky and moist, but not sticky.
Grease a medium bowl lightly with vegetable or olive oil. Scrape the dough from the mixer’s bowl and pat into a ball. Place into the prepared bowl, rolling it once to grease all sides. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in size.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set nearby. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and pat down with your fingers to release some of the air bubbles. Divide into eight equal pieces and then cut each of those pieces into four strands (you’ll end up with 8 groups of four). Roll each strand to about 8- to 10-inch long logs. Braid into your round four-strand mini loaves—instructions to do so can be found in this video. Place each braided loaf onto the prepared baking sheet.
In a small bowl, make the glaze by mixing together the reserved egg white, sugar, and water. Brush loaves, reserving some for a second application.
Cover the loaves with a clean damp towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size. When the loaves have about 15 minutes left to rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Brush the loaves again with the egg wash and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if using. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the challah bread loaves are deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing (Or just go right ahead and tear off a bite, lather with butter, sprinkle with salt, and repeat.). Bread keeps well for several days, well wrapped at room temperature.

Notes

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2016/08/22/mini-challah-loaves/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

pecan sticky bun babka recipe

October 27, 2015 by Butter Loves Company

The ultimate sticky bun babka recipe with tons of buttery, cinnamon, pecan swirls between buttery brioche dough. Don’t let the recipe length scare you…each step is totally manageable and your efforts will be rewarded with a show-stopping breakfast!

Whoa! Is it really the end of October? Where has the time gone? Sorry for my recent absence…life has been very busy between moving apartments, starting new projects, travel, birthdays—all exciting and amazing things, but, the bottom line is, I miss you!

Will you accept this Pecan Sticky Bun Babka as an olive branch for leaving you for so long? I think you’ll love its sweet, caramel scent and beautiful nut-studded swirls. And I hope you’ll embrace its messy, ooey-gooey glory! If you’re looking for a great special occasion breakfast item or brunch recipe, this is certainly one to add into the rotation.

For the dough, we’re going to use the same basic brioche recipe as we used for the Flour Bakery Pan aux Raisins. You’ll only need half of the basic brioche dough for one babka loaf though. If you’d like to make two babka loaves, double the filling recipe below. Otherwise, wrap the extra half of the uncooked brioche dough tightly in a double layer of plastic and freeze for your next craving.

Note: This is one of those breads that can take a while to cook in the center. You will likely have to tent some foil over the top after it has been in the oven for a half hour or so to prevent it from browning too much before it is cooked through.

Please don’t fear the steps! While not a speedy snack, it makes for a great weekend project! As always, feel free to reach out to me with questions! Oh, and definitely use any extras for a bread pudding. Because, um, hello, it would be dangerously delish.

If you like this sticky bun babka recipe or sticky bun things, you should totally check out this Sticky Bun Bundt Cake. It’s one of my faves!

You’ll roll that all up!

You’ll cut the roll down the center to reveal the inner layers.

Twist it all up and then place it into your prepared pan.

One Month Ago: Triple Chocolate Cookies

Six Months Ago: Hong Kong Style Bubble Egg Waffles (eggettes)

One Year Ago: Warm, Lemony Crab Dip

pecan sticky bun babka recipe

Servings: makes 1 9 x 5 inch loaf

pecan-babka-recipe-1-white-background

Ingredients

For the basic brioche (makes enough for two loaves, but we will only use half for this babka recipe):

2 1/4 cups (315g) all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups (340g) bread flour
1 1/2 packages (3 1/4 tsps) active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp (82g) sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup (120g) cold water
5 large eggs
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (310g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10 to 12 pieces

For the filling:

2 cups pecans
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 large egg, for egg wash

Instructions

Prepare the brioche:

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and eggs. Beat on low speed for 3 to 4 minutes, or until all the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough will be very stiff and seem quite dry.
With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing after each addition until it disappears into the dough. Once it has all been added, continue mixing on low speed for about 10 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the butter is mixed in very thoroughly.
Turn the speed up to medium and beat for another 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes sticky, soft, and somewhat shiny. It will take some time to come together. Once it has, turn the speed to medium-high and beat for about 1 minute. You should hear it make a slapping sound as it hits the sides of the bowl. To test: pull at the dough, it should stretch a bit and only have a little give. If it seems wet and loose and moves more like a batter than a dough, add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it comes together. If it breaks off into pieces when you pull at it, continue to mix on medium speed for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until it develops more strength and stretches when you grab it. It is ready when you can gather it all together and pick it up in one piece.
Place the dough in a large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly onto the surface of the dough. Let the dough proof in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.

Prepare the filling:

Heat the oven to 350°F and, on a piece of foil on top a cookie sheet, toast the pecans until they are a few shades darker and very fragrant, about 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and transfer the hot pecans to a cutting board and chop them finely until the pieces are just larger than the size of a grain of rice.
In a medium bowl, mix together the pecans, softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until the nuts are evenly distributed and you have formed a crumbly paste. Set aside.

Form the babka:

Once the dough has proofed, generously grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Grease the parchment and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge, cut in half and wrap one half in plastic and freeze for up to a week for another use. Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour and scrape the remaining half of dough onto the surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a thin rectangle, roughly 10 inches wide by 12 inches long.
Scatter the pecan filling over the surface of the dough and, using your hands or a spoon, spread into an even layer, leaving about an inch of clear border at the top.
Starting with the short end closest to you, carefully roll the dough into a log. If any filling falls out, just tuck it back in. When done rolling, pinch the edges of the dough to seal it closed. Dip a very sharp knife in water and gently, but swiftly, slice the log down its entire length, creating two halves with the inner layers revealed.
Turn the halves so that the filling is facing up. Pinch together the tops of the two halves, then twist the halves around each other twice creating a spiral. Press the halves together again at the bottom. Lift and place the loaf into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic or a clean dishtowel and let rise until puffy and just starting to dome over the tops of the pan, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Bake the loaf:

About a half hour before baking, place oven racks in the center and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk the yolk with a splash of water to make the egg wash and gently brush it all over the surface of the loaf. Transfer loaf to the center rack of the oven and slide a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any syrupy drips. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the center is around 200°F and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out free of wet dough (it’s okay if it has some filling on it though). Check the loaf after about 30 minute and cover with foil if the edges are starting to brown too quickly.
IMPORTANT: When you remove the loaf from the oven, let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes to firm up but not much longer or the sticky filling will make it hard to get out of the pan. Run a knife around the edges of the loaf to release it from the pan, and then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Best served still slightly warm, but actually stays tasty for several days after. Store covered at room temperature for up to a week or wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

Total time: 45 minutes for baking, up to overnight for proofing

Adapted from The Kitchn

https://www.butterlovescompany.com/2015/10/27/sticky-bun-babka-recipe/

butter loves company | jenna larsson

tourte milanese

April 23, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

While brunching out is one of my favorite things to do—give me eggs ‘beni’ and a spicy bloody and I’m on cloud nine—there is something lovely about having brunch at home on a lazy weekend morning. It forces you and your company to slow down, catch up, and laugh into the afternoon with no real agenda.

Brunch, whether out or at home, often includes some sort of egg dish; a quiche, an omelet, the aforementioned eggs benedict, or, if you rewind to our apartment a few days ago, this Tourte Milanese. When flipping through cookbooks Saturday morning looking for a cookie recipe to make for Easter Sunday, I saw this tourte and said out loud “Oh!!! PRETTY! I’m making this!” Layers of herbed eggs, ham, cheese, spinach, and roasted red peppers all wrapped in a buttery puff pastry: it is a bold, beautiful thing. Little did Greg know, when I said I was making this, I meant I was making this this minute (not uncommon), and he was tasked as sous chef. The cookies had to wait.

This is a perfect recipe for brunch entertaining because you can prep and cook the entire tourte a day ahead and just bring it to room temperature or lightly warm in your oven before guests arrive. It saves you morning stress with the additional perks of extra shuteye, a tasty meal, and impressed friends.

At first glance, this tourte may look complicated, but it is really not hard to make at all. It has a few simple components that need to be prepared separately before assembly: scramble the eggs, sauté the spinach, and blister the red peppers under a broiler. The long instructions are only an illusion of difficulty, though I would suggest budgeting yourself a bit of time for the prep, chilling, and cook time.

Tourte Milanese
Adapted from Michel Richard’s recipe in Baking with Julia

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves: 6–8

Ingredients:

1 pound puff pastry, homemade or store bought (If using store bought, it’s often sold in 1.1 pound packages. This works great.)
4 large red bell peppers
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1½ to 2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons heavy cream (optional)
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
11 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
½ pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
½ pound thinly sliced ham
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Instructions:

Coat an 8-inch round spring form pan with butter or non-stick baking spray. Roll out ¾ of the puff pastry ¼-inch thick and line bottom and sides of pan leaving a 1-inch overhang. Roll out the remaining pastry into a ¼-inch thick circle (this will be the top of the tourte). Transfer onto a plate. Keep both pastries refrigerated while preparing the filling.

Prep Peppers: Turn on your oven broiler and fill a large bowl with cold water. Place the whole red peppers on a baking sheet and cook under broiler until skin begins to blister. Rotate peppers until all sides have blistered and then transfer peppers to the bowl of cold water. Using your hands, peel the skin off the peppers and discard. Remove the peppers to a cutting board, cut into flat 1 to 2 inch wide flat strips, trimming inside veins and discarding seeds. Set aside.

Prep Spinach: Heat oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet. Add spinach and garlic and sauté until spinach just wilts, about 3 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, if using. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat, set aside.

Prepare Eggs: In a large bowl, lightly beat all 11 eggs. Add the scallions, chives, tarragon, and salt to taste. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat (you can use the spinach skillet, just remove spinach to a bowl, discarding extra liquid). Pour the egg mixture and stir briefly. As eggs start to set, lift edges so liquid can run under. Continue lifting and pushing the eggs to scramble until eggs are completely set but still moist (keep in mind they will be cooking further in the tourte). Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic and let cool completely.

Assemble Tourte: Remove the lined pan from the refrigerator. Layer ingredients in following order: half of the eggs, half of the spinach, half of the cheese, half of the ham, all of the red bell peppers. Repeat layering in reverse order using the remaining ingredients. It need not be perfect. Fold the 1-inch overhang of puff pastry onto the top of the tourte and then brush the top of the pastry with egg wash. Remove the other circular pastry from refrigerator and place on top of tourte and seal edges with your fingers. Brush top with egg wash. With a sharp knife, cut a small hole in the center of the tourte as a vent. Cut any additional desired designs into the pastry, careful not to pierce through the dough entirely. Refrigerate assembled tourte for 30 minutes.

Cook Tourte: Position rack in lower third of oven, preheat to 350 degrees F. Remove tourte from refrigerator, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until deep golden brown, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes (we I was impatient and took it out after 1 hour. It definitely needed a little more time to full cook all sides of the pastry). Cool for 30 minutes, release from pan. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. *Can be made one day ahead, refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.