Category: Boulangerie

  • New Orleans beignets of my dreams

    New Orleans beignets of my dreams

    I might have never been to New Orleans, but every time I make these beignets, I almost inevitably feel like I’m right in the heart of the French Quarter – where the air hums with music, and the scent of chicory coffee drifts from the iron-lace balconies.

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    New Orleans beignets

    Beignets – French for doughnuts – are made much like brioche. Flour, milk, eggs, sugar, yeast, and salt. A smooth dough, easy to work with.
    I like to place my shaped ones, ready for their final proof, onto parchment-lined trays, lightly sprayed with oil. And just before frying, I cut the paper into squares, each holding a beignet or two, and lower them into the hot oil, paper and all.
    They puff and turn golden in moments, crisp at the edges, impossibly light within. Straight from the fryer, they’re tossed in icing sugar, which melts into a delicate, fudgy glaze. Best eaten warm, while the sugar still clings to your fingertips.
    Bon Mardi Gras!!

    Notes

    On timing
    These beignets are best eaten the same day – preferably hot, fresh from the oil, when they’re at their lightest and crispest. If you need to plan ahead, you have two options: you can proof the dough overnight in the fridge, then shape, do the final rise, and fry the next day, which deepens the flavour and fits neatly into a morning schedule. Or, for a longer make-ahead option, freeze the shaped dough on a silicone mat until firm, then transfer to freezer bags, pressing out as much air as possible. When ready to fry, place the frozen beignets onto lightly greased baking trays, cover with clingfilm, and proof until doubled – around 4 hours (to account for the thawing time as well) – before frying as usual.
    On coating
    The traditional way to coat beignets is to toss them into a brown paper bag filled with icing sugar and give it a good shake – quick, effortless, and wonderfully nostalgic. A large bowl works just as well, allowing for a more controlled dusting, but either way, the goal is the same: a generous flurry of sugar while they’re still warm.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time1 hour
    Cook Time30 minutes
    Total Time3 hours
    Makes 24 beignets

    Ingredients

    • 250 g whole milk
    • 2 eggs
    • 510 g plain flour
    • 55 g caster sugar
    • 20 g fresh yeast or 7g instant yeast
    • 3 g fine sea salt
    • 90 g salted butter thinly sliced
    • neutral oil for frying
    • 400 g icing sugar to coat

    Instructions

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the milk, eggs, flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and butter. Knead on medium speed until smooth and elastic. The dough should pass the windowpane test.
    • Lightly spray a baking dish with cooking spray – my favourite is a 23×30cm Pyrex glass dish. Transfer the dough to the dish, turning it to coat the surface. Flatten it to fill the dish evenly, and cover with clingfilm.
    • Leave to rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
    • In the meantime, prepare 2 baking trays lined with parchment paper; spray lightly with cooking spray.
    • Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough into a slightly larger rectangle – around 2cm thick – and dust with a little flour.
    • Using a long knife, cut the dough into 24 pieces. Place them onto the prepared trays, loosely cover with clingfilm or clean kitchen towels, and leave to rise again for around 30 minutes.
    • While the beignets are rising, heat a generous amount of neutral oil in a deep-fryer or a heavy-bottomed pot to 180°C.
    • Put the icing sugar into a brown paper bag or a large bowl.
    • Fry 4–6 beignets at a time, turning with a metal spider or tongs, until deep golden brown, around 1-1½ minutes per side.
    • Transfer the hot beignets straight into the bag of icing sugar, close tightly, and shake well to coat. Place on a cooling rack over a tray. Repeat with the remaining beignets, adding more icing sugar as needed.
  • Bagarstuga essentials

    Bagarstuga essentials

    I drew these on a quiet afternoon, thinking about the tools that are the essence of the bagarstuga [bakers’ cottage] — worn smooth by years of flour and dough. A randkavel and kruskavel for rolling the soft rye dough. A spjälka for flipping the shaped loaves. A wide bunke where dough rises slowly. The fjöla, ready to slide bread into the heat. And the simple degskrapa, scraping, folding, dividing.

    Tools that ask for nothing, but carry the stories of every loaf they’ve helped bring to life.

  • A brioche study, part II: the ingredients

    A brioche study, part II: the ingredients

    It is February 2025. And yes, it’s been nine – NINE – years since I last wrote about this brioche study. And yet, it is one that I still think about often, perhaps because I never completed it, but also because I get emails, almost daily, requesting the parts that never were.

    Naturally, I thought I’d start where we left off. For those of you who wonder, here is the first part, describing the approach of this study. And you’ll find the control recipe here, along with notes and pictures on oven spring, crust and crumb texture.

    For an overview, click here: BRIOCHE STUDY OVERVIEW.

    CONTENT TABLE

    – Part I: the approach

    – Part II: the ingredients – this is where you are.

    – Part III: the process – method, techniques and tips

    – Recipe: brioche #1, the control

    – Recipe: brioche #2, the almost Chavot-brioche

    – Recipe: brioche #3, the pain au lait

    – Recipe: brioches #4 and #5

    – Part IV: impact of the egg-to-milk ratio in rich doughs

    – Ressources: Brioche in literature

    Explore the feature: A brioche study and follow our discoveries on instagram: #BRIOCHESTUDY.

    Today, we’ll go through the ingredients, starting with eggs and milk and working our way down. The one question we’ll try to answer is:

    How does each ingredient affect the rheological properties of brioche dough?

    Rheology is the science of of the deformation and flow of matter under applied forces. It is widely used in the scientific community to deepen the understanding of how dough will behave during the bread-making process.

    Dough has many rheological properties that can be studied using different methods, but we’re mostly going to focus on elasticity, extensibility, and strength. Other notable properties include resistance to deformation and viscosity.

    1. Elasticity, the ability of dough to stretch and return to its original shape after being deformed or stretched.
    2. Extensibility, the ability of dough to stretch without breaking. It is an essential property for shaping and forming the dough.
    3. Strength is a function of both elasticity and extensibility. The more extensible and elastic a dough is, the stronger it is considered to be.

    THE INGREDIENTS

    Eggs

    The eggs I use: Organic, weighing 50g each.

    Eggs contain a variety of molecules that can affect the rheological properties of a dough:

    – Proteins: egg whites and yolks contain different types of proteins, including ovalbumin, ovotransferrin, and ovomucin. These proteins can interact with gluten proteins in the dough, weakening the gluten network, leading to increased extensibility and decreased elasticity.

    What does it mean for a finished baked product to have higher extensibility and lower elasticity?

    Higher extensibility: a dough with higher extensibility is easier to stretch and shape. This is beneficial for certain types of bread, where a more extended shaping process is desired – for example baguettes, croissants, pizza…

    Lower elasticity: a dough with lower elasticity means that the finished product may have a softer , fluffier texture. The crumb structure might be more open and airy because the dough doesn’t resist rising as much during fermentation and baking.
    It can also mean that if not baked in a tin, the dough may spread more during baking rather than holding a tight, structured shape.

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

    Why is a dough that has just been mixed harder to shape than one that has rested?

    A dough that has been recently mixed is often difficult to shape because the gluten strands are still tight; during the resting period, the flour absorbs more liquid and the gluten strands relax, making the dough more pliable and easier to shape. The resting period also allows enzymes in the flour to break down starches into simple sugars, which can be fermented by the yeast and improve the flavor of the dough.

    At the same time, the egg proteins – especially albumin, the egg white proteins – provide additional strength and stability to the brioche´s crumb structure as they coagulate when the temperature reaches 80°C. In fact as the egg white protein set, they form a solid mass which gives additional structure to the bread, contributing to its overall volume.

    It is also worth noting that the egg proteins also have a role in the organoleptic qualities of brioche. They do indeed participate in the Maillard reaction, also called non-enzymatic browning that occurs when proteins and sugars react under heat. This reaction contributes to the crust colour and the flavour of the brioche.

    Organoleptic qualities

    Organoleptic qualities refer to the aspects of a substance, that create an individual experience via the senses. This includes taste, colour, odour, and feel. These qualities are often used in the evaluation of food products, but also in other fields.

    – Lipids: egg yolks are high in fat, which has a tenderising effect on the dough by interfering with its gluten development. By coating the gluten proteins and preventing them from forming a strong network, lipids make a dough less elastic and more extensible, leading to a more tender and delicate crumb in the final product.

    The lipids in egg yolks also provides a richness of flavour.

    – Emulsifiers: egg yolks contain natural emulsifiers, most notably lecithin, which helps stabilise the emulsion of fat and water in the dough. This contributes to a smoother, more uniform texture in the finished product.

    Milk

    The milk I use: 3% fat.

    Whole milk is a complex liquid that contains several components, each of which can influence the rheological and organoleptic properties of dough in different ways:

    – Water: the water in milk increases dough hydration, a fundamental point for both gluten development and starch gelatinization.

    – Proteins: milk proteins, particularly caseins and whey proteins, interact with the gluten network. They can lead to increased elasticity. The amino acids from these proteins also participate in Maillard reactions during baking, along with the milk sugars.

    What does an increased elasticity mean for the finished baked product?

    Increased elasticity in a dough can lead to:
    – a denser crumb: as the dough resists rising during fermentation and baking, the brioche will have smaller, more evenly distributed air pockets.
    – a structured shape: the dough is more likely to hold its shape during baking, even if not baked in a tin. This is because a dough with increased elasticity resists deformation and tends to spring back to its original shape.
    – a chewier texture: on a molecular level, highly elastic doughs often mean a more tighly-wound gluten matrix, which makes for a firmer, chewier texture.

    FLour

    The flour I use: Swedish plain flour, averaging at 10% protein content.

    Flour is the primary structural component of brioche dough. Although you could possibly make brioche from virtually any flour containing gluten-forming proteins, we will stick to plain wheat flour today.

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

    How is the best way to incorporate whole grain flours in brioche? And how far can you push the substitution?

    Whole grain flours are ground from whole, unprocessed wheat kernels, grains, or seeds. Unlike refined flours, such as plain flour, whole grain flours include the germ and bran, which are more absorbent (the bran is rich in pentosans, a family of polysaccharides that can absorb up to 15 times their weight). In practice, this means that the total dough hydration needs to be increased to allow for gluten development.

    In her fantastic newsletter, Nicola Lamb, writes that one can substitute around 30% of the total flour by weight. She also mentions a wonderful technique, which I’ve also been partial to, which consists in separating the bran, and soaking or cooking a porridge before re-incorporating it in the dough. This way, you get the wonderful nutty flavours of whole grain flour without it being detrimental to gluten development.

    Read more here: https://kitchenprojects.substack.com/p/kitchen-project-38-tart-tropezienne

    TO DO: test different brioche doughs made using whole grain flours.

    – Proteins: the most important proteins in flour – both for their function but also by their occurrence – are glutenin and gliadin. These two proteins are the building blocks of gluten – when water or a liquid containing water, like milk or eggs, is added to these proteins, they link together, forming gluten.

    Glutenin gives the dough extensibility, while gliadin contributes to its elasticity.

    The protein content in flour varies greatly depending on the type of flour. The one I used: kärnvetemjöl, has a protein percentage of 10% – the standard for Swedish plain flour, slightly lower that English or American all-purpose.

    Although, the protein content in flour is crucial, it can also be misleading – some flours can be rich in proteins but relatively poor in glutenin and gliadin. However, on paper, higher protein flours can absorb more water and form a stronger gluten network, resulting in a dough with greater elasticity and strength. This means the dough can stretch more without tearing, allowing it to trap the gases produced during fermentation and rise effectively.

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

    How does the protein content of flour affect the rheological and organoleptic properties of brioche – both dough and finished product?

    In order to answer this question concretely, we’ll need to conduct a new mixture-design experiment, with the protein content of flour as a variable.

    TO DO: test different brioche doughs made using flours with varying protein content.

    – Starch: forms around 70-75% of flour. It absorbs water and swells during baking. This process is called gelatinization. As gas bubbles in the dough expand and eventually burst to form a porous structure, the starch gel and coagulated gluten matrix surrounding these bubbles increase in viscosity, forming a firm structure, essential for setting crumb structure and texture.

    Sugar

    The sugar I use: plain caster sugar.

    Caster sugar is made of sucrose, a disaccharide that affect both the rheological and organoleptic properties of brioche.

    Sugar significantly influences the taste and colour of the finished product. It enhances the sweetness, and contributes to a golden-brown crust through the Maillard reaction that occurs during baking.

    Sugar also affects the crumb texture. In fact, the hygroscopic nature of sugar allows it to absorb moisture and retain it over time, resulting in a softer loaf.

    hygro·scop·ic
    adjective
    (of a substance) tending to absorb moisture from the air.

    Of course, sugar acts as food for the yeast in the fermentation process.

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

    How do different proportions of caster sugar in the dough affect the finished product?

    I feel like it would be a fun experiment to conduct a mixture-design using sugar as a variable.

    TO DO:
    – test different brioche doughs made using varying levels of caster sugar in the formula
    – read the following reasearch paper: Timmermans, E.(2022). Sugar Levels Determine Fermentation Dynamics during Yeast Pastry Making and Its Impact on Dough and Product Characteristics. Foods, 11(10), 13881

    Salt

    The salt I use: both flaky sea salt and fine salt.
    It’s worth noting that different salts have different volumes, making it difficult to substitute flaky salt for fine salt if using spoon-measures. By weight, I’ve found that there is virtually no difference between these two salts, however, certain salts, like Himalayan salt are much less salty.

    Salt strengthens the gluten network in the dough, which improves its elasticity and extensibility. This results in a dough that is easier to handle and shape.
    It also regulates the rate of yeast fermentation by slowing it down.

    And perhaps most importantly, salt enhances the flavour of the brioche.

    Yeast

    The yeast I use: fresh yeast.

    Substituting fresh yeast

    For 10g of fresh yeast, use either 5g of active dry yeast (approximately one teaspoon: 5mL) or 3g of instant yeast (a heaped half teaspoon: 2.5mL). Note that the active dry yeast should be rehydrated in warm water or milk (around 40°C) for 5 to 10 minutes; however, both fresh yeast and instant yeast can be weighed out along with the flour, and used as is in the recipe.

    Note: If making a very wet dough with over 80% hydration, I tend to crumble my fresh yeast to make sure it gets fully incorporated; otherwise, I just leave it into large chunks and let the kneading do the job.

    Fresh yeast is made of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. In the right settings, yeast will convert sugar and starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol – this process is called fermentation.

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

    How does fermentation time affect the qualities of the finished product

    I would love to test one brioche dough and see how far we can push the fermentation.

    TO DO:
    – make a dough and test different fermentation times under constant settings like temperature and humidity

    FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS AND NOTES

    1. Tangzhong method

    How does adding a tangzhong (a cooked flour-water paste) alter the hydration and softness of brioche?

    – Experiment: Test a brioche with and without tangzhong and compare moisture retention over time.
    – Suggested reading:The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt (discusses hydration techniques in bread baking).

    2. Pre-ferments

    How does using a pre-ferment (such as a poolish or sponge) change the flavor complexity and structure of brioche?

    – Experiment: Make three brioches: one with direct yeast addition, one with poolish, and one with a stiff biga.

    3. Impact of hydration on brioche crumb

    How does altering the hydration level affect the crumb structure and softness? How much can hydration be increased while maintaining dough integrity?

    4. Effects of the cold fermentation

    How does a long cold proof (12-48 hours) change the gluten structure and overall rise compared to a same-day bake? Is the ideal proofing time different for dough with pre-ferments?

    5. Butter incorporation methods

    Should butter be added in one stage, or would gradual emulsification affect texture positively?

    Experiment: Compare direct incorporation vs. gradual mixing at different butter %.

    6. Dough temperature before baking

    What is the optimal final dough temperature before baking?

  • Buttermilk biscuits

    Buttermilk biscuits

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    Buttermilk biscuits

    Adapted from Sally’s Baking Recipes.
    This recipe is a staple in our home for late week-end breakfasts and quick school-night dinners. I love to serve them with bacon and fried eggs, and loads of freshly-sliced vegetables.
    They also make for a perfect afternoon fika, with whipped cream, jam, and fresh berries.
    As with every biscuit recipe, it is fundamental not to overmix the dough. I usually mix in the butter until rather large chunks are left, then add the buttermilk and mix until JUST combined.
    This produces very soft and flaky biscuits, exactly as they should be.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time30 minutes
    Cook Time20 minutes
    Total Time50 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 310 g plain flour
    • 2 tbsp baking powder
    • 1 tbsp caster sugar
    • 1 tsp flaky sea salt
    • 120 g salted butter very cold and cubed
    • 240 ml cold buttermilk
    • whipping cream to brush

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 220°C / fan 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
    • Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rolled oats.
    • Make a well in the centre, and pour in the buttermilk. Gently fold everything together with a spoon or spatula until it just starts to come together. The dough should look rough and slightly crumbly in places.
    • Tip the dough onto a floured surface and bring it together using your hands. Pat into a 2cm thick rectangle and do 3 consecutive letter folds, rotating the dough 90 degrees between each turn.
    • Cut the biscuits. Roll or pat the dough to 2cm thick, then cut into a 3x6cm biscuits. Gather any scraps, reshape, and cut out more until all the dough is used.
    • Bake. Arrange the biscuits close together on the prepared tray, so they support each other as they rise. Brush the tops with whipping cream, and bake for 15–18 minutes or until golden-brown.
  • Start a new sourdough starter with me

    Start a new sourdough starter with me

    There’s something special about new beginnings. A clean jar, a fresh bag of flour, the quiet anticipation of what’s to come.

    A sourdough – flour and water, mixed together and left to rest. At first, nothing much happens. Then, after a couple of days, tiny bubbles appear, a sign that wild yeasts and bacteria are waking up. The smell shifts – sweet and slightly tangy, reminiscent of yoghurt and apple cider vinegar.

    I’ve made many starters over the years. Some I’ve carried with me across kitchens, feeding them daily. Others I’ve left too long in the back of the fridge, until they turned greyish, then still. But now, in the quiet of winter, I feel like starting again.

    I’m doing as I always have – a 100% hydration starter, equal parts flour and water. It’s familiar, reliable, and the foundation of so many loaves I’ve loved. But I’ve been reading about stiff starters – not unlike a sourdough biga – and I’m curious. Perhaps next time! 

    For now, it’s just organic wheat flour, full of natural yeasts, and lukewarm water. 

    If you’ve never made a sourdough starter before, now is as good a time as any. The process is slow, but that’s part of the charm. Stir, wait, feed, repeat.

    Are you starting one too?

    There are as many ways to start a starter as there are bakers – really, you could talk to two hundred people and get two hundred different processes. I like to keep things simple, because it shouldn’t have to be complicated.

    I’ve written down my method, the one I follow loosely. Twenty-two hours instead of twenty-four? That IS okay. The “recipe” is in grams, though I’m mostly partial to my Swedish decilitermått [measuring cups that fit 1dl = 100ml]. And while I write 50g/50g on paper, in practice it’s usually a little over ½ dl water (about 60g) and 1dl flour (scooped and scraped, around 60–65g) – especially once the starter is established and I’m discarding or baking, and feeding daily.

    DAY ONE

    In a clean jar, mix 50g of lukewarm water (30°C and filtered if needed) and 50g ORGANIC plain flour. Stir well, cover with a lid, and place somewhere warm-ish – 22-24°C. You might want to write the time on your starter jar for future reference.

    Notes: When mixing water and flour, I ALWAYS start with the water to avoid pockets of flour at the bottom of my mixing container/bowl.

    DAY TWO

    Timeline: 24 hours after you first mixed the starter.

    Add 50g lukewarm water and 50g of flour. Mix well, cover with a lid, and leave to rest. The starter now weighs 200g.

    Our feeding ratio for day 2 is 2:1:1 (starter:flour:water) – the first couple of days is possibly the only time I would have more starter than water/flour.

    Notes: No discard on the second day!

    DAY THREE

    Timeline: 24 hours after the last feed. Keep in mind that depending on whether you started your starter in the morning or evening, your next feed will be 12 hours after this step.

    You might have started seeing some activity in your starter – totally normal for it to smell slightly cheesy at this stage. This comes from lactic acid bacteria, which are also found in yogurt and cheese.

    Stir your starter, then place onto scales and tare. Discard starter so that you get -125g on the scales – we’re saving 75g starter. Now, add 50g lukewarm water and 50g of flour. Mix well, cover with a lid, and leave to rest. The starter now weighs 175g.

    Our feeding ratio for day 3 is 3:2:2. Depending on whether you starter you starter in the morning or in the evening, you’re going to have to next feed it 12 hours after this step.

    Notes: I like to stir my sourdough starter before discarding and feeding. This ensures the wild yeasts and bacteria are evenly distributed, promoting consistent fermentation.

    DAY FOUR & FIVE

    Timeline: We’re going to do two feeds today – one 12 hours after the last feed and another one 12 hours later.
    I, of course, forgot to feed my starter after 12 hours last night, so it ended up being closer to 20. I couldn’t help myself and added some rye to the mix today. To keep things consistent, I usually mix 350g organic flour with 150g coarse rye flour, which I’ll use for feeding my starter from now on.

    On Day 4, you’ll follow the instructions for both the first and second feed. After that – Day 5 and so on – you’ll only perform the second feed but TWICE a day – discarding 100g of starter and feeding as follows.

    First feed:

    Stir your starter, then place onto scales and tare. Discard starter so that you get -150g on the scales – we’re saving 25g starter. Now, add 50g lukewarm water and 50g of rye flour mix (read note above). Mix well, cover with a lid, and leave to rest. The starter now weighs 125g.

    Second feed:

    Stir your starter, then place onto scales and tare. Discard starter so that you get -100g on the scales – we’re saving 25g starter. Now, add 50g lukewarm water and 50g of rye flour. Mix well, cover with a lid, and leave to rest. The starter weighs again 125g.

    Our feeding ratio for day 4 & 5 is 1:2:2.

     

    DAY SIX & more

    Is your starter ready to bake with?

    Look for consistent fermentation patterns: it should reliably double in size within 4–6 hours of feeding and have a pleasantly tangy smell. If not, keep repeating the process from Day 5 : discard 100g, feed with 50g lukewarm water and 50g flour mix, twice a day, until it gains strength

    If your starter is ready, you can now bake with it – simply mix a levain as written in your bread recipe. Keep in mind that a starter strengthens over time; it typically takes around one month to become fully developed.
    Now is also the time to transition to a maintenance feeding schedule: save 6g of starter and feed using 60g lukewarm water and 60g flour mix. 

     

    ON FEEDING RATIOS

    Feeding ratios are written as starter:flour:water. For example, 1:2:2 means 1 part starter, 2 parts flour, and 2 parts water, all measured by weight. Keeping a consistent ratio helps maintain a healthy, active starter.

    Adjusting the ratio changes how your starter ferments. Higher ratios (e.g. 1:5:5) provide more food, slowing fermentation and extending the time before it peaks. Lower ratios (e.g. 1:1:1) speed things up, making the starter ready sooner. The right ratio depends on your room temperature, how quickly you need your starter, and your baking schedule.

    Common feeding ratios:

    – 1:1:1  A quick feed. Good if you plan to bake within a few hours, as the starter becomes active in 4-5 hours at room temperature.

    – 1:2:2 or 1:3:3  A longer fermentation, ready in 8-12 hours.

    – 1:5:5 or 1:6:6  A slow, steady feed, great for strengthening your starter. I love using this for overnight feeds or even maintenance (10g starter:50–60g both water and flour), so that my starter is ready to bake with first thing in the morning. It’s also a great way to increase the total weight of your starter, especially if your recipe calls for 200–300g of starter or levain.

    – 1:10:10 The ultimate maintenance feed!

    More than a strict and unmovable rule to follow, adjusting the feeding ratio is a way to make sourdough work for you – fitting baking into your timeline rather than the other way around.

  • A day in the baking cottage

    A day in the baking cottage

    Photos © Joann Pai / Bake Magazine

    There is nothing quite like winter in the north of Sweden – crisp air, snow-covered fields, and the northern lights flickering beyond the windows. In the depths of the season, I was honoured to welcome Bake from Scratch Editor-in-Chief Brian Hart Hoffman and photographer Joann Pai to the old baking cottage in Tjärn, just outside Skellefteå, for a day of baking – warm hands, golden light, and the scent of saffron and citrus filling the room.

    We started at Svedjan Ost, collecting buttermilk and butter, then stopped at ÓGIN Distillery, where Jón Óskar Arnason distils the flavours of the subarctic into bottles. Back in the cottage, fire crackling, we turned to winter’s brightest flavours: saffron, citrus, and cloudberries. By the time the light faded, our table was filled with golden brioches, rye soda bread, saffron cakes, and almond-orange biscuits.

    A day of simple joys, traditions and warmth. The full story is in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue of Bake from Scratch – a glimpse into my world of winter baking. You can purchase the issue here.

    Photos © Joann Pai / Bake Magazine
    Photos © Joann Pai / Bake Magazine
  • Simple focaccia

    Simple focaccia

    The Easter weekend arrived like a much-needed balm for our souls. A few days off with no plans; just the three of us enjoying sunny skies, walks through the snow, and, of course, good food.

    Our holiday began on skärtorsdag [Holy Thursday] with a dinner that I had had in mind for days. Nutty coppa, served alongside a creamy burrata, roasted Marcona almonds, and blanched white asparagus. The combination was wonderful, with the savory notes of the coppa balancing out the mild sweetness of the almonds and the delicate flavor of the asparagus. I couldn’t help but think something pickled would have made it even better – perhaps some tangy cornichons, capers, or pickled baby onions.

    On the side, a focaccia, which had no other choice than to be quick-to-make, as it was very much not planned.

    As with most thing bread, I turned to baker-extraordinaire Dan Lepard, of which I’ve already shared a fantastic focaccia recipe. And while it is everything I want and more, it unfortunately takes many hours to prepare. So I looked through my notebooks and found one of his recipes for a simple focaccia that happened to be gloriously pillowy, and the perfect complement to our dinner.

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    Quick and simple focaccia

    The recipe that is on its way to becoming my go-to!
    A little more hydration and yeast makes for a quick and simple focaccia- 2 hours-ish from the cupboard to the table.
    And by adding a bit of old dough or some sourdough discard, the flavour is just as wonderful!

    Notes

    – My favourite flour for focaccia comes from a Swedish mill. It is a high-protein organic flour made with a spring-wheat sort, called Quarna. A must try if you ever find your way to Sweden. You can order their flours and grains here.
    – I like to use a bit of old dough, or even some sourdough discard, when making bread that only relies on yeast as leavening agent. I find that it adds complexity to the bread, creating a unique flavor profile that is not possible with just yeast. The longer the old dough or sourdough discard has been fermenting, the more complex the flavour will be. I also think that it helps to improve the texture of the dough, making it more elastic. And of course, it is a wonderful way to use your discard and reduce waste in your kitchen.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time30 minutes
    Cook Time30 minutes
    Total Time2 hours 30 minutes

    Ingredients

    • 500 g Italian 00 or strong white flour read note above
    • 400 mL warm water
    • 21 g fresh yeast or 7 g instant yeast
    • 2 tsp sea salt
    • 125 g old bread dough/starter discard optional, read note above
    • olive oil
    • flaky sea salt to sprinkle

    Instructions

    • In a large bowl, stir all the ingredients to a very soft dough. I like to add a bit of old bread dough from the restaurant for added sourness, but you could leave it out or use a sourdough starter/discard.
    • Give the dough a vigorous beating with your hand for 30 seconds. Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
    • Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough and on top of your workbench, and rub liberally.Flip the dough on to it, using a scraper to gently pull the dough away from the bowl. Pull the dough into a 30cm or so rectangle, fold in by thirds and then a second time. Return to the bowl for 30 minutes.
    • Line a baking tray with nonstick paper and rub a little olive oil over it.
    • Heat the oven to 225°C/fan 200°C.
    • Place the dough at the centre of the prepared tray, and repeat the stretch and fold of the dough. With the tips of your fingers pointing straight down, dimple the dough about a dozen times, then leave for 30 minutes.
    • Stretch out the dough again to cover the tray. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top. reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/fan 180°C and bake for 25-35 minutes, until golden.
    • Allow to cool on a wire-rack.
  • Fullkornsskorpor

    Fullkornsskorpor

    [Wholewheat rusks, a Swedish twice-baked bread]

    Skorpor are a traditional twice-baked bread from Sweden. And although I haven’t had time to do much research, I can only imagine that, like many other rusks, they originated from the need to either use old loaves or to conserve bread over an extended period of time.

    Often made with white flour and cardamom, you can now find many different kinds of skorpor on the shelves at the supermarket. I’ve even seen people make them out of leftover kanelbullar; which is something I might try but we rarely have uneaten bullar and when we do, they almost always end up as a French toast.

    Here in Sweden, skorpor are eaten as a mellanmål [afternoon tea], with butter and cheese, perhaps a spoonful of orange marmalade. Sometimes even dipped in warm rosehip soup.

    I must admit I’m partial to butter and marmalade. And the slight nuttiness of wholewheat flour. Perhaps it was the breakfasts made of Krisprolls and thé au lait [milk tea] that I fondly remember from my childhood.
    And yet, it took me almost thirty years to make skorpor in my kitchen. I think I started a couple of years ago. It was the end of blood orange season.
    That day, I took out the old Swedish baking books I had collected and went through every skorpa recipe I could find. I made blood orange marmalade too.

    I wrote weights down and calculated bakers’ percentages. I compared, and tasted, and made notes. And from them came the recipe that now sits in my notebook, the one I’m sharing with you today.
    I didn’t really consider doing so. But then, the other morning, a week or so ago, as I kneaded butter into the dough of my monthly batch, I thought that perhaps you’d like to make your own too.

    Notes

    – If graham flour isn’t available where you live, you can use 300 g wholewheat flour and 60 g wheatgerm.

    – All the recipes I’ve found use around 60 g of fresh yeast for each kilogram of flour; and while it may seem like a lot, it does reduce proofing times tremendously.
    You could get away with using half the yeast and allowing a longer proof. I have however decided to stay true to the recipes I’ve used to develop this formula and the amount of yeast did not cause any noticeable shortcomings.

    – I think it is fundamental to use a fork to make deep indents in each bread around its entire perimeter before breaking it in half; and I wouldn’t recommend slicing with a knife, no matter how much faster it would be.
    It is precisely the rugged surface created by the fork that makes for an interesting texture and flavour, due to the uneven browning.

    Fullkornsskorpor

    Makes around 80 pieces.

    485 g milk
    420 g plain flour
    360 g graham flour
    40 g fresh yeast
    14 g salt
    100 g butter, thinly sliced

    Place all the ingredients aside from the butter in the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the dough hook.

    Mix on medium speed for 10 minutes, or until medium gluten development. Add the butter, one slice at a time and knead for a further 10 minutes or so until the dough is smooth and elastic.

    Cover with clingfilm, and leave to proof at room temperature until doubled in size, around 30 minutes.

    Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

    Place the dough onto a lightly floured work bench. Press to get rid of the gases, and divide in 40 pieces, at approximately 35g each.
    Ball each piece and place onto the prepared baking trays. Flatten each ball to 5-6cm in diameter using the palm of your hand.

    Cover with clingfilm and proof until doubled in size, around 45-60 minutes.
    While the bread if proofing, preheat the oven to 250°C/fan 230°C.

    When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 225°C/fan 200°C. And bake, one tray at a time for 14 minutes, rotating halfway through baking if needed.

    Allow to cool down slightly, and using a fork, make deep indents in each bread around its entire perimeter; then break in half.

    Arrange the halves on the baking trays, and return to the oven for 8 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 120°C/fan 100°C and bake for a further hour, or until fully dried.

    The skorpor will keep beautifully in an airtight jar for well over a month.


  • Kavring, the Swedish summer classic

    Kavring, the Swedish summer classic

    As written on June 20th, 2017:

    I didn’t mean to be gone for so long; from the winter solstice to the summer one. Yes, now a few days shy of midsommar, half a year has gone.

    Can we pretend that winter is barely over?

    In many ways it is. At least for us in the North. Snow has creeped into our sky way into June, and it’s only been a couple of weeks since the birches’ foliage flourished into the lush mantle that now covers every forest. We celebrated the first summer rain a few days ago; and sometimes, I can’t help but wonder how something so mundane can cause such thrill, if it wasn’t for the fact that we almost skipped spring this year, or that our winters are most silent, with the world around us resonating in a felted echo.

    I come to you today with a Swedish summer classic: kavring. A soft, slightly sweet bread, traditionally eaten over Midsommar with sill [pickled herring] or gravlax, and even for Easter and Christmas. Yes, in Sweden, the holiday table stays rather unchanged throughout the annual festivities, with only slight variations, like a stronger focus on meat (köttbullar [meat balls], game, julskinka [Christmas ham]) for Christmas, while Easter and Midsummer are all about herring.

    I would love to delve into kavring‘s origin and history, but then I would probably have to wait for a year or two before I’d be able to share this recipe with you. One that I’ve worked on for the past few weeks as we changed the menu at the café.

    A good starting point, however, is the etymology, which I find especially helpful when it comes to the Nordic countries, where different languages and cultures have inextricably intertwined over the past centuries.

    From Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Elof Hellquist (1922)

    In E. Hellquist’s 1922 Swedish etymology dictionary (Svensk etymologisk ordbok), the origin of the word kavring is a complex one, dating from the early 1500 with the Russian kovríga that became the Danish kavring, which the Swedes embraced with a minor orthographical variation until recent times: kafring.

    “Kavring (in the southern Sweden folk dialect), a sort of twice-baked sourdough rye bread or an oven-dried loaf. Kafring, in early modern Swedish, dated from 1544, possibly originating from Norwegian, while the word kavring was first encountered in the early 16th century in the Danish language from the Russian kovríga, a round bread, literally ring or circle in old Russian.”
    ー Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Elof Hellquist (1922)

    The etymology tells us more than the origin of the word itself, it tells us the story of a bread that travelled through the Nordic countries. Originally a crisp rye bread (which it still is in Norway), kavring then morphed into the soft, sweet and fragrant loaf in the late 1800, mostly in southern Sweden according to Å. Campbell’s The Swedish bread (Det svenska brödet, 1950), a wonderful read that gives an insight into the cultural contrasts in pre-industrial Sweden through bread traditions in its regions.

    While I’m not surprised to see two spellings that eventually became one, I find it interesting to note that the Norwegian-originated spelling kafring was used in Swedish as late as 1915, like in this issue of the Idun newspaper where “Folket stegade till drängstugan för att öppna sina byttor och korgar och förtära sin enkla måltid, surmjölk, kafring och smör.” The people hurried towards the workman’s hut to open their boxes and baskets before consuming their simple meal made of sour milk, kavring and butter.

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    Kavring

    My recipe makes two loaves of this delicious Swedish classic bread, because trust me, you'll want to have one on your counter and one well-wrapped in clingfilm in your fridge where it will keep for up to two weeks.
    A few ways to eat kavring in the morning: butter and thinly sliced cheese (comté is a favourite). Butter and a seven-minute boiled egg. Butter and orange marmalade. Butter. You get it!

    Notes

    While extremely easy to make, this recipe necessitates a few ingredients specific to the Nordic countries, namely: rågsikt [sifted rye], brödsirap [bread syrup], and filmjölk [sour milk].
    However, I can only think that these can be substituted as follows.
    – Rågsikt is a blend of plain flour and sifted rye flour, usually 60% plain flour and 40% rye flour.
    – Brödsirap is a mix of 80% molasses and 20% malt syrup, with a little salt thrown in. The closest I could think of is to mix 40% golden syrup, 40% black treacle and 20% malt extract.
    Back when I lived in London, my favourite malt extract came from Hollands and Barretts, a small jar with a mustard yellow label.
    – Filmjölk, a cultured milk that is usually eaten for breakfast or mellanmål [literally “a medium meal”, snacks], can be replaced by cultured buttermilk, kefir, or even a runny yoghurt, unsweetened of course.
    I’ll write both recipes down, in case you live as close to the polar circle as we do. If you try the “Anglicised” recipe, please let me know how it turns out <3
    For the spices I decided stayed close to the classic trio of fennel, caraway and anis, only leaving the anis out, although I’ve seen recipes that call for cloves, ground ginger and even bitter orange zest, so it would be interesting to experiment with different flavours. I’m thinking an orange and lingon limpa [loaf] would be wonderful on our Christmas table.
    Author: Fanny Zanotti
    Prep Time20 minutes
    Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
    Makes 2 loaves.

    Ingredients

    Kavring with Swedish ingredients

    • 25 g fennel seeds
    • 25 g caraway seeds
    • 500 g rågsikt
    • 360 g plain flour
    • 20 g bicarbonate soda
    • 20 g salt
    • 275 g brödsirap
    • 1200 g filmjölk
    • coarse rye flour to sprinkle

    Kavring with English ingredients

    • 25 g fennel seeds
    • 25 g caraway seeds
    • 660 g plain flour
    • 200 g rye flour
    • 20 g bicarbonate soda
    • 24 g salt
    • 110 g treacle
    • 110 g golden syrup
    • 55 g malt extract
    • 1200 g filmjölk subsitute read more above
    • coarse rye flour to sprinkle

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 175°C/fan 155°C. Butter and line two 1.5L loaf tins with baking paper.
    • Crush the seeds in a mortar and set aside.
    • In a large bowl, combine the flours, crushed seeds, bicarbonate and salt. Whisk together to combine. In another bowl, mix the syrup(s) and filmjölk; pour over the flour mixture and mix using a silicon spatula until barely smooth.
    • Divide between the two prepared tins and generously sprinkle with coarse rye flour.
    • Bake in the preheated oven for 1h30, at which point the core temperature of the loaf should read 96-98°C.
    • Allow to cool down in its tin for 10 minutes, then unmould onto a rack and leave to cool down completely to room temperature. Wrap in clingfilm.
    • The loaves will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for a month or two, although the latter tends to make the crumb slightly drier.
  • Recipe studies: Brioche

    Recipe studies: Brioche

    In which we explore different aspects of the science behind brioche; from the study of the impact of the egg to milk ratio in the dough, to techniques and further questions.

    Follow the study here or on instagram: #BRIOCHESTUDY.

    Analysing the impact of the egg-to-milk ratio in brioche formulas

    CONTENT TABLE

    – Part I: the approach

    – Part II: the ingredients

    – Part III: the process – method, techniques and tips – TO COME

    – Recipe: brioche #1, the control

    – Recipe: brioche #2, the almost Chavot-brioche – TO COME

    – Recipe: brioche #3, the pain au lait – TO COME

    – Recipe: brioches #4 and #5 – TO COME

    – Part IV: impact of the egg-to-milk ratio in rich doughs – TO COME

    – Ressources: Brioche in literature – TO COME

    Other themes may include: research on flour protein variations, how to knead brioche by hand…