Dutch Cooking (2005-2006)

[yunnermeier]

hey chufi! is it possible to make the appeltaart with jonagold apples?

[Chufi]

hey chufi! is it possible to make the appeltaart with jonagold apples?

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yes, you can make a very good appeltaart with jonagopld apples. let me know how it turns out!

[racheld]

I'm bumping this up for yunnermeier , who has this week's blog, and should see what wonderful cuisine Dutch Cooking has to offer. She's living in Weesp, and has no idea of the glorious dishes and lovely food to be had in her temporarily-adopted country. She's going to give us a tour of her travels and dining experiences this week, in her new home and in several other countries surrounding.

She's very young, and there's a whole world of flavour and exciting tastes and combinations and new vegetables and fruits to savour in the year that she lives there. I hope she'll take every opportunity to give the wonderful fare a try. She'll go home seeing other cultures and cuisines through new eyes.

Klary is a masterful teacher, patient and thorough, with a deft hand in the kitchen, a boundless knowledge of her subject, stunning photographic skills, and a happy, enjoyable manner which draws in even the most reluctant observer. This is one of my favourite blogs of all time, and I hope yunnermeier will enjoy it as well.

edited for caps

Edited October 31, 2006 by racheld (log)

[Chufi]

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remember these?

it is the season again! I can't believe a year has passed since I posted those.

The smell of speculaas is wafting through the streets of Amsterdam again. It's November, it's cold and grey out, and time to bake!

I've (finally) added the recipes for gevulde speculaas and speculaaskoekjes to Recipe Gullet.

No speculaas spices and you don't have the inclination to make your own? I'll happily send a small packet of spices to anyone who wants to make these cookies. Just PM me.

edited to add: thank you, rachel, for your very kind words!

Edited November 7, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Lori in PA]

Klary, can you quickly tell me which post # has the sugar bread recipe -- the one with the pearls of sugar? I have the sugar -- now I need to bake...

[Chufi]

Lori,

it's here.

I did not add it to RecipeGullet yet because when I made it, I felt it was just a bit too yeasty for my taste. I used 2 packets of instant yeast for the 500 grams of flour. I've been meaning to make it again with only one packet and see if I'd like that better, but I haven't yet.

I'd be very interested in your feedback, if you make this, could you make notes as to what you change or feel should be changed, then I can put the 'definitive' recipe in RG. Thanks!

[Lori in PA]

And thanks to you, too! I had a feeling you could find it a bunch faster than I could.

[Lori in PA]

Yesterday afternoon, I made Klary's Sukerbole or Sugarbread. Here is her description and recipe from an earlier post in this thread:

Somewhere between a cake and a bread, this is a lovely loaf with crunchy-soft bits of sugar melting in a sweet white bread dough, very faintly spiced with cinnamon. To be authentic you should use soft sugarchips ( I think these are known abroad as pearlsugar), I could not find them anywhere in the regular stores, and ended up buying a large bag from a local bakery. You could substitute crushed lumps of sugar, only make sure that the lumps aren't crushed to a powder because you want texture and crunch in your finished loaf.

ingredients:

500 grams of flour

2 sachets dried yeast

200 ml. lukewarm milk

3 tablespoons syrup from the gingerjar

50 grams of sugar

75 grams melted butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

a grating of nutmeg

pinch of saffron

filling:

1 tablespoon cinnamon

150 grams sugarchips

Lots of butter and coarse sugar for your tin.

Loaf tin: this recipe is for a 2.5 liter bread tin. I don't have one so I used a 2 liter cake tin for most of the dough, and baked the extra dough in a small round cake tin.

Mix the flour and yeast. Add the rest of the ingredients except the sugarchips and cinnamon. Mix to a dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, then set it in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

Mix the sugarchips with the cinnamon.

Very thickly grease your tin with butter, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Punch down the dough a bit and start incorperating the cinnamon-sugarchips into the dough. Now the important thing is to not mix this too much. You want the finished loaf the have sugarlumps distributed unevenly through it, and you want ripples of cinnamon.

Press the dough into a large rectangle, about the length of your loaf tin. Roll it up. Now push back the protruding bits of sugar into the dough.

Place the roll of dough into the tin, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for another 20 minutes or so.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 200 C / 390 F.

Sprinkle the loaf with a bit more coarse sugar and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

take it out of the tin the minute it comes out of the oven and leave to cool on a rack. Very good as it is, even better with a thicvk smear of butter. And as you can imagine, this make the very best breadpudding...

I've wanted to make this bread for a long time. I found sugar I thought might work at an IKEA store a couple of hours from my house last winter, I think, and it's been sitting in my pantry, uncomplaining about its neglect, ever since. I must warn you up front not to expect a beautiful result. I modified the recipe a bit, partly to its benefit but in one significant way -- not!

When I ran the metric amounts of ingredients through a converter, I was surprised to find it called for just over 2 cups of flour. It seemed clear to me that I was looking at a basic recipe for a rich sweet dough and the other amounts made me suspect I'd want about 3 cups of flour. That turned out to be true, and I ended up with a nice, soft dough. Also, assuming a sachet of yeast is the equivilent of an American "packet," or 1 scant tablespoon, I chose to only add 1 tablespoon instead of the two called for. I had no ginger preserved in syrup to give me some flavored syrup, so I put in 2 T. of ginger jam and stood ready to add a little extra liquid, but it wasn't necessary.

After the first rising, I prepared to knead in the cinnamon/sugar pearls mixture:

I tried to be careful as per Klary's instructions to not mix it in TOO thoroughly so as to end up with streaks of cinnamon-y sweetness. Handling the dough was satisfying, as always, and I felt confident that things were progressing well. The instructions call for a 20 minute second rising, but with half the yeast, I expected it to take more like an hour, which turned out to be true. Into the oven:

Here comes the glitch. The instructions called for a bake temp of 390 degrees F, which seemed too high to me, so I baked at 350 degrees F. Thirty minutes later my loaf was brown and beautiful, so I tipped it out of the tin and totally ignored the instructions to let it cool -- are you kidding? This baby begs to be eaten warm! I sliced off a couple of pieces and presented them to my sons with a generous smear of butter and got appreciative comments all around. I sliced one for myself as my coffee maker hissed my snack's companion into my mug. I was all eagerness for this treat, but, alas, the next cut of the bread knife revealed unfinished doughiness one-third of the way into the loaf. Dismay! There was nothing for it but to pop Mr. Dutch Loaf back into the oven to cook some more. I knew the result wouldn't be pretty, and I even thought of you egulleteers and how disappointed you'd be in me, but it was needs must. Here is the sad-looking (but not sad-TASTING once you got past the first pathetic crusted-over slice) result:

For a moment, I was tempted not to report at all, but I overcame my reluctance and am here to confess, "Bless me, Klary, for I sort of screwed up your good bread." There. I feel better. And, I have enough pearl sugar for one more go.

[Chufi]

Lori, thank you so much for this report. It does confirm my suspicions that the recipe I put up earlier, needs tweaking!

So, the reduced amount of yeast is good, I think. It just means the bread has to rise a bit longer.

the fact that you needed so much more flour, does surprise me. I know all flours are different, but a whole cup extra is a lot! But your dough does look just like it should, nice and moist.

Gingerjam as a substitute is a great idea.

Now, as for the baking.. you think it should have baked longer, maybe at an even lower temp?

I guess I need to make it again...

[Lori in PA]

Well, baking at 400 degrees F. for thirty minutes might have done the job properly. I might have needed to tent it with some foil toward the end, though. Anyway, I'm sitting here eating a slice of the world's best cinnamon toast right now. Mmmm.

[Cadbury]

If anyone in Australia is looking for speculaas spices and other Dutch items, I have found this online store very good to deal with. The Silvo brand of speculaas kruiden is a little more peppery than the Euroma brand I'm used to, but good none-the-less.

[Jensen]

Melt 75 grams of butter in a pan that will accommodate all the beef lying flat.

Brown the beef over gentle heat.

Add water to come almost to the top of the beef.

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Klary, if I make this recipe using 3 lbs. of beef, would you recommend increasing the amount of butter? I've made this twice before using a chuck roast of that size but, for the life of me, I can't remember if I increased the butter or not!

[Chufi]

Melt 75 grams of butter in a pan that will accommodate all the beef lying flat.

Brown the beef over gentle heat.

Add water to come almost to the top of the beef.

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Klary, if I make this recipe using 3 lbs. of beef, would you recommend increasing the amount of butter? I've made this twice before using a chuck roast of that size but, for the life of me, I can't remember if I increased the butter or not!

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The important thing is to be able to brown all the beef in a single layer.. I'm guessing that will be very hard if you have 3 lbs? Browning in batches will take forever (I don't think it says so in my orginal post, but I adapted the recipe in RG to 'brown the meat very slowly for at least 10-15 minutes') so maybe you'd better start off with 2 pans, basically doubling the recipe, and then putting it all together to braise?

[Jensen]

The important thing is to be able to brown all the beef in a single layer.. I'm guessing that will be very hard if you have 3 lbs? Browning in batches will take forever (I don't think it says so in my orginal post, but I adapted the recipe in RG to 'brown the meat very slowly for at least 10-15 minutes') so maybe you'd better start off with 2 pans, basically doubling the recipe, and then putting it all together to braise?

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I have a new 5-qt enameled iron braising pan that I think will hold all the meat pieces in one layer. I'm actually making this to go into my stovepipe pies again. The very first time I made them I used your butter-braising technique but with some slightly different seasonings:

These current pies will be for dinner tomorrow night so time is not an issue. I'd planned to cook the beef today and then assemble the pies tomorrow.

Maybe I'll increase the butter a wee bit (100g?), just so that there is a certain depth of it in the pan. If the pan doesn't hold the meat in one layer, I will work in batches. Thank you!

[Chufi]

An extra wee bit of butter can never be wrong

I remember your stovepipe pies! They are so cute!

[Jensen]

I ended up using 115g of butter and I did brown the pieces in two batches. The braising pan will hold the 3 lbs of meat in one layer but they were too crowded for browning.

Thanks, Klary!

[apronstrings]

Hi Chufi! I have always enjoyed all your eGullet entries. This year for my Thanksgiving for 75, I have included 2 of your recipes-- the Dutch Almond Pastries and the Kofte/Kibbe. I prepared the cookie dough and it is ready to bake off from my freezer. It was all I could do to not eat all of the luscious raw dough. I will be baking it at 350 rather than the 250 stated in the recipe. I think that makes more sense in my American oven. I will let you know. Can't wait.

[Chufi]

apronstrings, I am honoured that the humble Dutch 'gevulde koek' will feature at your Thanksgiving! I hope the finished pastries taste as good the dough!

[apronstrings]

apronstrings, I am honoured that the humble Dutch 'gevulde koek' will feature at your Thanksgiving! I hope the finished pastries taste as good the dough!

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So I accidentally (heh heh heh) dropped a cookie after baking them off. Had to eat it, of course. Thanks so much for the recipe! They remind me of my father, who loved all things almond paste and marzipan. The cookies will earn raves tomorrow!!!! I also prepped the kofta rolls/balls. I inadvertantly added too many red pepper flakes, so I poured some pomegranate molasses into the mixture to balance the spiciness and keep the regional flavors. WOW! Great! If I have time tomorrow I'll try to get some pics for you.

[Chufi]

Slemp

This is an old fashioned Dutch winterdrink. And I mean really oldfashioned - you can't buy this anywhere, and I don't know anyone who makes it, and I don't know many people younger than 70 who actually know what it is!

This is the kind of thing you want to drink by the fireplace after a long walk in the crisp and cold outdoors. It looks like hot milk, and it is, but with warm spicy flavors, and the little kick of black tea. No alcohol, although a tiny drop of brandy wouldn't hurt it I guess!

Spices:

piece of cinnamon, 2 cloves, pinch of saffron, 1 tablespoon black tealeaves. (optional: piece of mace).

Tie this together in a piece of cheesecloth, or put in a tea-egg. I use one of those disposable teabags.

Put this in 500 ml. milk. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar (you can add more later if you like).

(I made less, which is why my 500 ml. jar isn't full!)

Leave to steep in a cool place, but not in the fridge, for about 2 hours.

Put milk & spicebag in a small pan and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer on low for a couple of minutes, be carefull it doesn't boil too hard. taste, and add extra sugar if you like.

Remove the spices. Strain into small cups or glasses (to keep the skin that has most likely formed on top behind) and serve hot.

Some recipes tell you to thicken the drink with a cornstarchslurry or with an eggyolk. I feel the milk (especially if you use a nice and creamy full-fatmilk) is rich enough as it is, but if you like it thicker and more egg-noggy, you could thicken it.

Edited November 22, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Milagai]

I'll be @#$%!

This slemp is almost identical to desi

Masala Chai (spiced tea) that's an Indian

staple I guess since tea entered India;

and is now sweeping Starbucks etc. in the West!

It's so fascinating that it's less known among the

younger generation of Netherlanders!

Chufi: Why do you think it faded away?

Milagai (getting so fascinated with similarities

along the spice route, not only on the sending countries'

end, but now also on the receiving countries.....)

[Chufi]

Milagai, that's really interesting.

I have no idea why this type of drink has gone out of fashion here (the same with 'anijsmelk', milk flavored with aniseed, although that is slightly more common and you can buy cubes to make instant anijsmelk in the supermarket).

I have noticed, when I travelled in the US, that American's seem to be much fonder of spiced sweets (drinks and pastry) than Dutch people. Cinnamon, for instance, seems to be really popular, and when it's used in pastries, it's used in abundance!

have you read Andrew Dalby's book Dangerous Tastes - the Story of Spices? I just got it and haven't read it yet, but it seems like the book for you!

Edited November 22, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Milagai]

Milagai, that's eally interesting.

I have no idea why this type of drink has gone out of fashion here (the same with 'anijsmelk', milk flavored with aniseed, although that is slightly more common and you can buy cubes to make instant anijsmelk in the supermarket).

I have noticed, when I travelled in the US, that American's seem to be much fonder of spiced sweets (drinks and pastry) than Dutch people. Cinnamon, for instance, seems to be really popular, and when it's used in pastries, it's used in abundance!

have you read Andrew Dalby's book Dangerous Tastes - the Story of Spices? I just got it and haven't read it yet, but it seems like the book for you!

←

Thanks for that book recommendation! Another book that had been

suggested upthread (when I asked why Dutch food seemed to

*use* so little spice though spice import was such an important

part of the economy) was Schama's "Embarassment of Riches"

and they're on my list of books that my library will get via

inter library loan - one at a time; very long list

Milagai

ps: I love this thread and am quite looking forward to making

the cheese-stuffed crepes some time this weekend,

and also the little cheese cookies (cant remember the name

they're upthread somewhere).....

[Chufi]

Banket

Sinterklaas is back in town!

Besides presents in your shoe (see my posts from last year..) this means that’s it’s time for one of the best parts of Dutch Cooking: December-pastries.

The one I’m going to show you now hardly needs a recipe. It’s more an idea, really: almond paste wrapped in puff pastry.

In December, this pastry is shaped in to a large S (for Sinterklaas) or a log. A couple of weeks later, you find the same pastry ready for Christmas: shaped into a circle (Christmas wreath) or again as a log, but this time decorated with glace cherries and candied orangepeel.

I like the Sinterklaas (plain) version best. For some reason, this pastry is only around this time of year. It’s called 'banket' (banketstaaf = the log, banketletter = the letter, banketkrans = the wreath). Banket also means pastry as in fine pastry, the kind a patissier makes.

You can buy this everywhere – bad banket (margarine pastry with artificially flavored ground up beans inside) and really good stuff at expensive bakers. But with only 2 ingredients, I thought it would be worth trying to make it myself. Now I know some people who might make this themselves, but they use storebought puffpastry and storebought almond paste. Today I made it all!

I made Julia Child’s simple puff pastry. I made the almond paste:

equal weights of almonds and sugar, ground together

mixed with egg (1 egg for each 125 grams almonds + 125 grams sugar)

Ready. Put it in the fridge so it can harden a bit. This is supposed to keep for weeks and the flavor will improve, but I used it rightaway.

Now, maybe because I used the paste rightaway, or because my almonds were not of the best quality, or because I am used to commercial almond paste which no doubt has some artificial almond flavor mixed in most of the time, this did not taste almondy anough to me. So the part that got used in the pastry, I mixed with a teaspoon of amaretto di saronno (because I was out of almond extract).

I also mixed in the zest of half a lemon.

Now, it's hard to give exact measurements. This is a 200 gram piece of pastry, with about the same weight of paste. Roll the pastry into a narrow rectangle, place a sausage of paste on top, carefully roll up so that the seam is underneath. it's easiest to do this right on the baking sheet.

There is no way you can take a decent picture of two puffpastry sausages like this. So you get my view in the background to distract you! Pastry is brushed with an eggwash.

Bake in a hot oven (200 C) for about 25 minutes. Now, this did not go completely as planned. My pastry cracked, some of the filling seeped out, and the logs came out much too flat. I'm not really sure why. I think maybe the pastry wasn't sturdy enough. Or, the oven wasn't hot enough. At times like this, I realize I am really, NOT a baker Afterwards, I took some storebought puff pastry from the freezer and baked a small log for comparison. So this is how it should look:

and this is how the home-made version looks:

Ofcourse the taste of the homemade version is infinitely better than the one with the storebought pastry, but it doesn't look as good. I mean, it looks good, but it doesn't look right. If anyone ever attempts this with homepade puffpastry, I'd love to hear how it works out.

note: I have said it before, but this is why some recipes don't end up in RecipeGullet. I don't want to put recipes up unless I am absolutely satisfied with them. Very often, when I make things for this thread, I make them for the first time!

Edited November 22, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Abra]

This looks wonderful, Klary. I love everything with marzipan and almond paste. I'm no help on the puff-factor, since I can buy good puff pastry so easily that I always cheat. I wonder if the colder, fresh from the freezer pastry puffs better? If so, maybe freezing your homemade log before baking would give better results.

Actually, you had a mini-version of this at my house, with store-bought all butter puff, and organic Sicilian marzipan, and I put in pain au chocolat sticks as well. And no cinnamon!