You ask, what could be more decadent, and I say absolutely nothing. Cartellate are traditionally made during Christmas. They are traditional Pulgiese fried pastries, filled with roasted almonds, honey, spices and chocolate.

They are a holiday cookie and although mostly made at Christmas we made they are our star dessert on our Thanksgiving table.  They just seemed so suited to a beautiful Thanksgiving dessert table. 

These cookies are a labor of love and not easy to make, but the good news is that you can place the shells in a brown paper bag and keep some for Christmas.

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/traditional-holiday-cookie-cartellatecluster-are-filled-with-honey-nuts-spices/ 

Look out for episode 3 of the new Gourmet TV series 'Adventures with Ruth', screening tomorrow 1 November on PSB in which Richard Bertinet shows Ruth and Oscar Winning actress Diane Weist how to bake bread.

Richard Bertinet is a baker, chef and owner of The Bertinet Kitchen cookery school in Bath, UK.  He has written two award winning books on bread-making Dough - Simple Contemporary Bread (2005 ) and Crust - Bread to get your teeth into (2007).  His third book - a cookery book is due to be published next year.  (All books published by Kyle Cathie in the UK / Kyle Books in the US)

For the trailer for this and other episodes see the Gourmet website at http://www.gourmet.com/adventureswithruth/season-1

For more information about Richard Bertinet and The Bertinet Kitchen visit http://www.thebertinetkitchen.com

Hello all!

Was wondering if baking in a toaster oven is any different from a "normal" oven - the kind that's usually wall-mounted. What is your experience?

I'm not too sure what my current wall-mounted oven is - it does have a heating element on the bottom though.

The last gas and electricity bills have been niggling at me - they were higher than usual, and since I only recently started baking I'm guessing my wasteful use of the oven is causing the bill increase. As a person who doesn't bulk-bake (we eat pretty sloooowly in this household!), I'm starting to wonder if a toaster oven is the better choice for me. I usually bake 12 muffins or a single medium loaf at a time. (Did you guess I only own 1 of each type of baking equipment? haha!)

A friend on Foodbuzz was looking for a way to use Ficoco - fig jam with cocoa. In Italy sugar was expensive to produce so many things were made with jams or mosto cotto (grape syrup) to sweeten cakes, cookies etc. Itlians have many jam filled cookies and ficoco would be perfect for raviolo dolci, in fact figs were also used to make mosto cotto. A recipe we make during holidays, Ravioli Dolci is a great way to use different jam fillings and make your cookie different everytime.

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/ravioli-dolci-di-pulgia/ 

Baking, bread, cookies, cake

Hello everyone,

Hope you all are doing well. Hey does anyone know any Egyptian bread cook book or an African bread cook book or at least a website that deal with nothing but African bake recipes? Thanks and look forward in hearing from you.

Thanks! !

I spent my summers on Cape Cod where there were cranberry bogs in our back yard. After the harvest was over there were often many berries just lying on top of the bog that got missed in the harvest and we would collect them and make muffins, cranberry bread and mix them with apple pie - they add a little tartness to the pie that I really like. 

View my recipe for Cranberry Walnut bread  at

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com

In Italy desserts are often flavored with honey, chestnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts and almonds. Cantucci originated in the Tuscany and it is thought that they were flavored with almonds from Prato. They can be found in every pasticceria in the Tuscany. Cantucci are mostly eaten with a glass of “Vin Santo” a sweet wine. Many restaurants serve small almond biscotti with coffee and some will have a bowl of them on the table at all times. It is probably the most well-known and popular biscotti in Italy.

Following is our family recipe for cantucci. Make a full recipe and stored in a metal container, they will last a few weeks. They can be frozen up to two months – they defrost very quickly. You will always have biscotti to serve with coffee when friends drop by. 

If this link doesn't connect, go to http://turosdolci.wordpress.com

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/almond-biscotti-“cantucci”-recipe/

...and rounding up this year's interns at the Back Home Bakery was Brendan visiting from Washington, DC.  He came prepared with two-handed-roll-making-skills and a willingness to work his hardest at everything.  Thanks a lot Brendan for all of the help;  hope to see you running your own bakery some day.

-Mark

http://TheBackHomeBakery.com

shaping rye, stretch and fold on 15# Rustic White, ready to sell on a chilly Saturday morning

Taralli are a biscuit that is eaten by Italians any time of the day. It should be named the national biscotti because taralli are enjoyed by young and old. Wheather it is for breakfast, as a snack, dunked in wine, as a treat for children, they are a biscuit that fills every occasion.  They can be found  in every bakery, market and in every Italian home.  There are many preparations of taralli, but the one here is from the village where my grandparants come from, "Vieste (FG) Italy".

Puglian Taralli
Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 50 minutes 
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes @ 375 degrees F 
Yield: 5 Dozen

Dry Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

2 cups semolina flour

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed, or 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns, or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

WET INGREDIENTS

1 cup dry white wine, warmed

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, warmed

DOUGH

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm wine and let it stand for several minutes, then stir it into the wine and mix well.  In a large bowl put all the remaining ingredients and your chosen seasoning. Mix and knead well until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Return to a clean bowl and cover the dough with plastic wrap or a dampened towel and let it rise for 30 minutes or longer in a warm place.

ASSEMBLY

Divide the dough into pieces. Roll them into 1/2” cylinders. Cut them into 6” lengths. Bring the two ends together and join them to make a round doughnut - like shape. Press your thumb on the ends to seal them.

BOILING

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and drop the taralli in a few at a time. When the taralli rise to the surface, remove them and put them on a clean towel to dry.

BAKE

Arrange the boiled taralli on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Note:  When crushing the black pepper, do not use a grinder.  The finely ground powder from the pepper will make the taralli taste hot.  Use only hand crushed pieces.

 An old Italian say: "No matter what the argument, it can be resolved with a glass of wine and a handfull of taralli"

I have a Sharp Micro/conv. oven  The manual says use low mix bake for bread/rolls . It also will let you put in a different temp than the 325 Degree normal and time. My recipes calls for pre heat. Sharp manual says no pre heat needed.  I have tried 40-50 lbs of flour over the last 4-5 months and have never got a good loaf of bread no matter what way I bake. convection alone or combo from manual.

Has any one had any luck . I lower temp25 degrees if convection only.

Did nothing but change the temp and on the low bake side . So discouraging. Sharp technical knew less that I did after a long conversation with no answers.

Thanks for reading my post and any help would more than be appreciated books or stand alone recipe for any kind of bread in a conv/microwave combination oven that I can at least try. I just am not sure if it is a operator problem with lack of knowledge on how to read after 70 plus years.

Thanks

Mr. Bob

www.siemann.us