Pâte à Choux

Pâte à choux - making it, at least - entered my life back when I was fifteen and in the Culinary program at my highschool. Unbeknownst to me, I had been eating it in various delicious forms since I had teeth - French crullers (still a favourite), churros, and cheese puffs. Ironically, I quite detest the best known use for the dough - eclairs and cream puffs. The few I've had over the years have always been bland and either dry or soggy, and I'm not a fan of either plain whipped cream or industrial "whipped filling".  Likewise, the ones we made by the hundred in class were rather anaemic-looking and, well, mass produced in appearance as well, with the same disgusting filling. More than that, the stench of the cooking "roll in fat" (which, at my best guess, is some sort of margarine-shortening hybrid) and steaming dough while we added egg after egg was awful - it truly did smell of (gym) shoes, earning it the name "shoe paste" amongst us Grade 10s. After three years of churning out the mixture (along with chocolate chip cookies for 180, with 10 kilos of flour and 4 kilos of chocolate chips per batch), I graduated with the mentality that cream puff dough was anything but worth my time and nasal receptors, and swore off making pâte à choux. 

Eventually, in baking school, I was introduced to the "real" stuff - using nothing more than butter, flour, water and eggs. The quality of each ingredient - from European high-fat butter to filtered water and the freshest flour and eggs - was impressed on us as paramount to achieving a successfully crisp, rich-tasting and airy shell post-baking, and while we did learn a "large quantity" method on a stand mixer, we were encouraged to make individual batches for 12-24 by hand, with a wooden spoon and old-fashioned elbow grease. Rather than smelling of a gym locker room, the batter smelled of a cross between Challah and brioche dough - pleasantly eggy and buttery, with a hint of sweetness in batches intended for profiteroles and a slight air of pepper and salt in those turning into cheese-topped poppers. When our instructor demonstrated how to make pastry swans - which looked impossibly difficult - I was taken aback by the simplicity once again. 

When it came time for me to plan my own lessons for Home Ec, I knew I had to somehow incorporate this ridiculously simple, elegant recipe. We also did it the "old school" way - pot, burner, wooden spoon and arm strength - and while a small amount of complaining occurred over beating the fairly stiff "roux", they enjoyed piping the puffs onto the sheets and imagining what we were going to do with them in the future. I've planned a lesson on Crème Diplomat next week, after trying out both it and a standard chocolate pastry cream (used in the swans) over the holidays and finding the diplomat version more impressive (looks are everything to pre-teens). However, this sweet recipe for choux can also be filled with ice cream, whipped cream, whatever! 

Prefer savoury? Drop the sugar to 1 tbsp, use ½ tsp salt, a pinch of pepper (white or black) and either fold in or sprinkle over some cheese and smoked paprika. Like I said before, the quality of ingredients here matters - don't skimp and use margarine or shortening. They will work and puff the dough, but I won't be blamed for the offensive smell and absent taste. Don't be afraid to make the whole batch of these, either, even if you're only serving a few right away. The baked puffs freeze like a dream!

Beet Rye Bread #BreadBakers

Bread making is one of the biggest joys in my life. A loaf of bread holds a world of possibilities - do you make it rich with milk, butter, eggs and cheese? Sweet? Fruit and spice laced? Sourdough or straight-dough method?

While I make my fair share of heavier, richer loaves during the year, at the moment we're looking more towards lightening the palate, digestion and waistline. My mom and I both adore rye bread, especially the slow-fermented, slightly sour kind, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do this time around. I had a bagful of homegrown beets still sitting in the fridge (we got sick of them after weeks of beet-laced meals), so I slow-roasted them and added some of the puree to the dough along with more Slavic-inspired flavours - buckwheat, caraway and fennel. While the beets were sweet on their own, I upped the ante a little bit with a handful of some homemade honey roasted sunflower seeds - not only did they perk up the sweetness but they added a delicate crunch.

This bread is a slow-fermented sourdough, which also helps temper the sweetness in the beets and honey. In addition to flavour, sourdough breads also spike blood sugar less than straight-yeast doughs, and rye is a highly digestible grain with a myriad of health benefits. Since the #BreadBakers are focusing on healthy loaves this month, a boule like this is perfect!

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Check out the Healthy Breads that our fellow #BreadBakers have baked this month:

• Amaranth Flatbread from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Beet Rye Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Blueberry Almond Bread from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Brain Booster Pancakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Banana Flax Almond Meal Muffins from Spill the Spices
• Eggless Whole Wheat Brioche Buns from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Grain-free Nutty Carrot Flatbread from A Baker's House
• Healthier Applesauce Spice Bread from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Healthy Whole Grain Bread from The Bread She Bakes
• Honey Almond Brioche from Kidsandchic
• Honey Oatmeal Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Multigrain Pesto Swirl Bread from Herbivore Cucina
• Oatmeal Crispbread (Oatmeal Knäckebröd) from Baking Sense
• Organic Honey Whole Grain Bread from Hostess At Heart
• Quick Whole Wheat Bread from Ambrosia
• Spiced Besani Paratha from Sneha's Recipe
• Sprouted Wheat Bread from Palatable Pastime
• Sweet Potato Bread with Honey from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Sweet Potato Millet Bread from The Schizo Chef
• Ten Grain No Knead Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Whole Wheat Carrot Apple Walnut Quickbread from A Salad For All Seasons
• Whole Wheat White Bean Bread from Cooks Hideout

Oatless Chocolate Hazelnut Granola

Are you a sweet or savoury breakfast person? As a child (and like many of the children I teach), I was almost always in the savoury camp, but aside from bacon (Canadian or otherwise) and homefries, my selections tended to be rather removed from "typical" breakfast fare. Instead, you'd find me, bleary eyed and clad in my school uniform, cooking a pot of spaghetti for oil and garlic, heating up a can of soup or baking off a pizza pocket at 6AM - maybe even digging into cold Chinese leftovers if we had eaten them the night before. Once in university, I was at the mercy of my dorm room's amenities - being a mini fridge, a kettle and a coffeemaker - so my tastes flipped over to a rotation of dry Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and Vanilla Almond Special K, both sans milk if you please (even then I wasn't a huge milk fan). I'd grab a spoonful of peanut butter between classes if time allowed me to get back to my room, or I'd back a yogurt and roasted chickpeas for protein mid-morning. Once I was able to get to and from the grocery store with regularity, I started picking up boxes of oatmeal adding a mashed banana, a drizzle of honey and some peanut butter, or if i was feeling decadent, brown sugar and cocoa.

These days, breakfast is almost always an afterthought with me - by the time I'm actually hungry (my stomach sleeps later than a teenager), it's my lunch hour, so everything gets "pushed" back - save for copious cups of coffee or tea during the winter to stay warm. When and if I do get peckish, I still reach for dry cereal mixes - they're portable, easy and delicious, not to mention variable. Making my own granola is an extension of that, and with the rising numbers of people needing gluten-free options and the (often ridiculous) cost of certified "clean" oats, I made a batch for myself and a few of my GF friends that is completely devoid of oats altogether. In their place, a mix of cooked rice, seeds, rice bran and germ powder and hazelnuts married with cocoa, dried cherries, tahini and vegan honey, creating crunchy clusters of decadence that tasted far too rich to be a nutritious snack or breakfast addition. However, the mix is as nutritious as it is delicious, with almost two grams of protein and just over 80 calories in a quarter cup. Think of it as a new way to eat "rice cereal" for breakfast!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays 

Winchester Candy

Are you a fan of Supernatural? Around here, it is one of our favourite shows - especially when my sister's home. We will easily binge-watch hours upon hours of it, relishing the eye candy and postulating various theories as to the paranormal storylines taking place, often laughing our butts off along the way.

One of the common themes throughout the shows is the constant mention of food. Early on in the series, there is almost a whole show dedicated to the mentions of pie in diners as they cross the USA, and a couple seasons later there's an episode where the boys are told to use the phrase "fudge" rather than dropping the "F bomb". With those two things (which have quickly become inside jokes, along with the phrase "pig in a poke") in mind, I knew I had to try combining the two when I came around to making my holiday candy. A couple tweaks, a shop for cinnamon chips and a handful of dried apples later - BAM - I had my very own Winchester Candy. The best part for me was the sprinkling of ground Graham-Like Crackers on top of the soft candy, which added the "crust" missing from most apple fudges.

If you know Supernatural - and even if you don't - you'll love this Apple Pie Fudge!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays 

Tuile "Pirouettes"

Are you a fan of those delicate, chocolate-filled pirouette cookies? I know I am - nothing helps quench a starting-to-flare sweet tooth like a few of the slim, crispy treats and a cup of coffee. Being so light and delicate, though, I never pictured the possibility of making them at home - how on earth do you get them that thin? 

Well, it turns out the secret is all in the tuile-style cookie, which relies on a batter - even thinner than crepe batter - and careful spreading to achieve the lacy, crisp throughout texture. Rather than my expectations, making the batter is a breeze, and baking and shaping them wasn't that difficult either! The best part of making these was that it was a simple, almost foolproof way to use up a few extra egg whites leftover from cookie making. Tuiles only need four ingredients in the basic workup, but of course there are many many ways to vary the theme. In my case, since I knew I'd be making filled cookies, I stuck with vanilla, accented with a pinch of nutmeg and a little butter flavouring to make up for the absence of butter in the batter itself. While you can use melted butter, but it's a little harder to work with temperature-wise and refrigerating the batter is not recommended. Oil-based batter, though, can hang out in the fridge up to 2 days before you bake it.

Tuiles are also one of the most versatile cookies out there in terms of use and shape. The cookies are still somewhat flexible right out of the oven, and as such can be formed into the cylinders I did, bowls (drape circular cookies over an upturned muffin tin) and the traditional "Pringles" style as well as simply spread onto a designed template and left to cool flat. If you do make the cylinders, I highly suggest a fudgy filling for them - I used a chocolate sour cream frosting with a shot of concentrated cherry juice and a little extra melted chocolate for thickness. I'd recommend Nutella, too. 

On the outside of un-filled tuiles, flaked almonds stick wonderfully to the wet batter and make a decorative accent, or you can drizzle or dip the cooled cookies in melted chocolate for a bit of flair. Try that the next time you serve a bowl of ice cream for dessert!