shain

Oops, I'm a celsius head, that should be 440F.

I've noticed that you changed your description from tough to hard, if so, that means much over baking. Try to do the following: Spray your loaves with water before putting them in the oven and introducing the steam. Bake all the way at 440dF, but remove the loaves while somewhat lighter then your target shade. Make sure that the interior is fully baked before you do - use a thermometer if you have one. Let the loaves chill somewhat, at least until just warm to the touch,but they can even be frozen at that stage. Now place them in 400-410 dF until fully browned and hopefully crisp to your liking. I should mention that I haven't tried it on sourdough. I really hope it will work for you.

Manoush breads. It's something between pizza/focaccia in texture. Crispy at spots, slightly chewy, a little oily, and soft inside. I made 3 different toppings. The first is the most commonly found zaatar and olive oil. Iv'e added a touch more salt and a sprinkle of sumac post-baking for some tart-freshness. The second is my favorite, very thick tomato paste, cooked with garlic and thyme. Added lemon juice and plenty of olive oil, then a large sprinkle of zaatar. The third is a version I've yet to see, brushed with butter and topped with Egyptian dukkah. Iv'e made my own with peanuts, cumin seeds, seasame and plenty of coriander seeds, all well toasted. It went out very well. All were served with cherry tomatoes, sliced onions and loads of labaneh. Baked on preheated steel plate @240dC for about 10 minutes. Served hot.

Tartlets with ricotta and various stone fruits. Quick hot-water/no-roll crust. Chopped grilled fruits, topped with some ricotta mixed with honey and egg yolk. Baked to set, then topped with fresh fruit. Honey-amaretto syrup before serving.

Pasta "salad" (I prefer to think of it as a room temp pasta dish). With roasted bell pepper, sirene cheese, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, fresh oregano & basil, olive oil and wine vineger. Really quite good, I didn't want anything other then it this lunch.

I think no dish showcases good mangoes better then coconut rice. I go slightly nontraditional, and usually opt for non-sticky rice. I then let the coconut milk separate and brown, add a touch of chili, black pepper and enough salt to give it a savory backbone. Cut the mango into smallish cubes and mix into the warm rice. Then add a touch of mint. The mango fruits look very promising this year, so hopefully, I'll soon have some ripe for picking, and this dish is the first thing to come. Also, any leftover or over-ripe mango can be frozen and turned into a great yogurt based lassi or coconut milk based smoothie.

In my limited exprience baking with chia seeds, I have noticed they tend to retain moisture and alter the bread texture somewhat (in a mostly positive fashion). I'd like to hear if you notice something unusual as well.

@ProfessionalHobbit Now that's a real lunch! Both icecreams sound delicious, the pineapple one made me think of roasted pineapple pina-colda. My launch was bucatini with previously frozen pesto, and a soft boiled egg, for some protein and extra yums. I think I should start freezing more pasta sauces, to have them on hand.

Grape vine leaves "cake" stuffed with rice with lentils and bahart. It's essentially a faster alternative to the common rolled version and flavored the same. I placed tomatoes, onion and garlic slices below the first leaf layer, as a padding of sorts, and buffer against the heat. When flipped, they ended up on top, then removed and placed as a side to the dish. Plenty of lemon and some olive oil drizzled on top. All served with brined olives and labaneh with zaatar. I still have so many grape leaves in freezer...

Thank you very much! I personally find the color slightly odd, but the taste is what sets the bottom line

Our grape vine had plentiful yield this year, but it's not the most flavorful variant, it's slightly tart and boring to eat. So I made conserve. The grapes: Before cooking and canned. The cooking causes the grapes to develop a red tint. It is going to be kept refrigerated, so I didn't bothered with real canning, just poured it hot into mostly sterilized jars. The smaller jar in the front has some added cognac to it, I wonder how it will taste. I'll probably get to it in a month or so. And on a toast. It tastes quite good, bright and nicely tart. I always liked whole-preserved grapes, they like juicy pearls that burst when you bite them. Those green grapes look somewhat like green peas in a sauce... I usually prefer to eat jam with cheese (either fresh cottage cheese, aged cheese or a moldy one), but I wanted to taste it as is.

To be honest, I usually call it clafoutis, but that's improper if it's not made with cherries. And you definitely should make it.

Plum and nectarine flaugnarde. Flavored with amaretto and topped with crunchy sliced almonds. It's a very good weekday dessert, it's quick to prepare and can be baked ahead, scalable, uses whatever fruit is on hand (though I think stone fruits work best). It's also low on sugar and, most importantly, very tasty.

I'm a crisp addict, I like most things on the very dry and crisp side: french fries, cookies, bread crust. There is nothing I hate more then soft (read soggy) pastry. @Auro That is a tasty looking roll!

Thanks. If you'd halve the recipe and use gelatin powder, then you will make it as I do So yes, go ahead. @Deryn Again, thank you very much. I use fish based gelatin powder because this is what common in Israel due to kosher preference of many. I don't know to tell you the right conversion, but I guess that keeping the weight the same will be good enough. I just remembered a recent Serious Eats post by Stella Parks about this subject: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/06/how-to-avoid-problems-with-gelatin-dessert-baking.html

I completely agree with the cold water advise. It also helps to form a lighter color (which probably means it form a better emulsion). I also agree that mortar and pestle is better, by I usually use a garlic press since I make small amount and am lazy.

Thank you very much! Iv'e posted the recipe for you:

Many thanks! It is made with cream, cream cheese and formage-blanc (white-cheese sounds better in French). Iv'e posted the recipe: I do need to point the the crust and crumbs are obviously baked. @Patrick S @DianaB Bakeries that care about their product will fill choux to order, so it doesn't get soggy, and it's still best when really fresh from the oven. That's said, I'm also not much of a fan, there are so many tastier options so I almost never buy or make those.

Sorry, I was mid-editing. Started on my mobile, so I had to post it unfinished to resume on the computer.

Makes enough for a 27-28cm (10-11") pan or two 20cm (8") pans (preferably a spring-form). While the cheese and cream part of the cake is not baked, the crumbs and crust are baked. You can can use a shredded biscuits crust, if you want to omit baking completely. The crumb recipe is my go to pie crust. You can use another recipe you are used to make,just make sure to adjust the amounts. This recipe is much easier then I make it look with my limited writing ability. Crust: For crust and crumbs : 200g + 100g AP flour 90-100 g brown sugar (not dark brown) 1 teaspoon salt 180-200g cold, chopped butter Egg wash Optional jam Filling: 12g gelatin 50ml water 500ml whipping cream (I use regular cream, not heavy one) 500g fromage blanc (or any other soft, smooth, white and not too acidic fresh cheese, such as quarck or even ricotta) - 5% to 8% fat (not more, otherwise it will be to heavy) 250g cream cheese (reduced fat is acceptable, as long as it's flavorful and tart) 120g sugar (about half of a full cup) 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract To make the crust: Prepare oven safe cake pan, preferably spring-from. If using regular pan, cut a piece of parchment paper to the shape of a pan, but leave four "handles, extanding outside of the circular shape. Those handles will allow the release of the cake from the pan. Also, prepare another small baking sheet or pan to bake the crumbs in. In a food processor, combine 200g flour, sugar and salt. Add chopped butter and pulse until it form an even dough (it will be sandy at first, then start to form). Add remaining flour and pulse until the dough breaks into small pea sized crumbs. Remove slightly more then 1/3 of the dough, and gently spread on the second baking sheet/pan. Break any large chunks. Pulse remaining dough crumbs until it forms a rough dough. Remove from food processor and flatten to a rough disk shape. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate both it and the crumbs for about an hour or more. Preheat oven to 190 dC (375 dF). Roll dough disk so that it almost fills the cake pan. It will be very flaky and prone to brake. Take the rolled dough, in pieces if need be, and fit into the cake pan. Use your fingers to push the dough so that it fills the pan and sticks together. Try to make it somewhat evenly thick. Cover the crust in a thin layer of egg wash. This helps keep it crisp, and is not mandatory. Bake both the crumbs and crust until nicely browned and crisp (crumbs tend to be ready slightly sooner). Let chill completely. Store crumbs in a air tight container until ready to serve. Optionally, spread jam over the crust. To make the cheese filling: Pour the water into a small bowl and bloom the gelatin for 10 minutes. Heat the bloomed gelatin in the microwave for apx. 15 seconds until melting. Mix about 3 tablespoons of the cheese into the gelatin in order to make it blend in easier. In a large bowl, mix together cheeses, vanilla and the gelatin mix. Whisk cream and sugar until thick and airy. Fold a third of the cream into the cheese mixture. Fold the rest of the cream in the cheese mixture until even and light. Do not over mix. Pour onto cake crust. It's best to freeze the cake for 30 minutes in order to help it set faster and be more airy. Don't freeze for longer then that. (It's OK to skip this stage if you don't have free freezer space) Let chill for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight. Use an air drier or a warm towel to slightly heat the pan walls. Release from pan and top with the crumbs (Make sure there are no large chunks). Slice with with a moist and warm knife for the cleanest cut.

No bake cheesecake with streusel topping and bottom crust, with some blueberry jam. From the dinner thread. Ain't buttery dough and creamy cheese a heavenly combination

We had a Shavuot holiday dinner. It's a religious holiday in origin. For the agriculture and secular communities of the kibbutzim and moshavim, the Shavuot holiday was adapted to be focused on celebrating the time of wheat harvest (which is a major part of it's origin), agriculture and natures bounty. The religious part of the holiday is quite neglected by those. As can be excepted from this, this is quite a food focused holiday, with dairy products getting much focus in recent years. And to the food (AKA interesting part ): Palacsintas (similar to blintz, but somewhat more bite / slight chewiness). Filled with browned mushrooms, cream and scallion paste. Fried in butter to be crisp. Quiche with roasted bell peppers, feta cheese and kashkaval. Flaky and buttery crust. Bass fillet, breaded on the skin side and pan fried. Served on light but garlicky olive oil based bechamel with some thyme. (Sorry, no plated photo) Whole meal couscous, with grilled eggplants, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, purple onion, zaatar, cumin and sumac. Red wine vinegar and some sharp olive oil. Served gently warm. Not pictured: Baked whole cauliflower with a mildly mustardy glaze. Nice chopped Israeli/Arabic style vegetable salad. An OK Cabernet-Merlot blend wine (which was much better the next day) and beer. Dessert was a cold, no-bake cheesecake, with streusel topping and crisp bottom with brown sugar, it's hard to see, but there is a spread of blueberry jam below the cheese. Some grapes, apricot (meh) and plums (quite nice, santa rosa variety). I'm free from cooking for a few days, plenty of leftovers to take care of.

@DianaM Beautiful loaves. I love the shape of the rye bread. I always imagine sliced bread as having this form.

I've seen plenty of oil&sugar caramels, but I would also prefer to add the butter after the sugar is caramelized. I guess the key is in "you want the mixture to start turning a light brown. When this happens remove mixture from heat".

Here you go: