Tag Archive for: bread

The Softest Sourdough Doughnuts

Once you’ve tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you’ll never try any other! This one-and-a-half-day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

Here in Slovenia, we’ve had our carnival festival these past few days. And there is no carnival without some soft and fluffy doughnuts. Just like last year, I’ve made my sourdough doughnuts. While the ones from last year were okay considering I made them just a month after making my first sourdough starter or ever baking anything sourdough. However, the ones that I made this year were to die for!

I’m not exaggerating. The perfect size, the perfect shape, the softerst texture and the sweetest flavor. So good!

Lessons I’ve learned about sourdough in a year have paid off.

So if this is the first time making sourdough doughnuts, my number one advice is to be patient. There’s a lot of waiting involved and it’s easy to get very excited and not leaving the dough to rest or rise long enough. You just wanna go in there and work, right? However, it is really important to just watch your dough and wait, without really looking at the clock. This is also the reason there’s no very specific time frame in my recipe. The fermentation works very differently at different temperatures.

I will share my times and temperatures just so you can have some ideas of how long you should really wait.

One more thing. Be gentle with your dough. The more gentle you’ll be the more air will stay inside your dough, creating the sof center.

And the second thing, make sure to create enough dough strength so it can hold its shape. This is especially important when you’re shaping doughnuts into small balls. Take your time!

Note: if you’re not the sourdough type, I also have a very delicious yeast doughnut recipe here.

Okay scroll down for my timetable 🙂

Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.
Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.
Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

My sourdough doughnuts making timetable:

9 am – First Levain Feeding

9 am – 3 pm levain fermenting at a variable temperature from 23-25 °C until doubled in size

3 pm – Second Levain Feeding

3 pm – 8:30 pm levain fermenting at a variable temperature from 23-25 °C until doubled in size

8:30 pm – Making the dough (first mixing, resting, kneading, first coil fold)

9 pm – 10 pm – Bulk ferment at 23-25°C (I did a coil fold at 9:30 pm and 10 pm)

10 pm – Transfering the dough into the fridge (with around 8°C)

10 pm – 8 am – Bulk ferment in the fridge

8 am – Moving the dough back to room temperature

8 am – 11 am – Bulk ferment at 23-25°C (I waited for the dough to get to room temperature)

11 am – Shaping

11 am – 9 pm – Proofing at 23-26°C (I waited for the doughnuts to double in size!)

9pm – Frying and eating two hot doughnuts 🙂

Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.
Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.
Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

The Softest Sourdough Doughnuts

Adapted from sourdoughmania.com

Servings 20 small doughnuts
Author Anja Burgar

Ingredients

Sweet Levain – First Feeding

  • 20 g water at room temperature
  • 50 g strong white flour (all-purpose flour works as well)
  • 10 g sourdough starter (100% hydration)
  • 10 g white sugar

Sweet Levain – Second Feeding

  • 40 g water at room temperature
  • 90 g strong white flour
  • 20 g white sugar

Dough

  • 400 g strong white flour
  • 120 g milk room temperature
  • 2 larger eggs room temperature
  • 70 g white sugar
  • 4 g salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla seeds or vanilla extract
  • 60 g softened unsalted butter room temperature

Instructions

Levain Feedings

  1. First Feeding: Mix all ingredients for the first levain feeding. Mix just enough for all ingredients to bind. No need for kneading.

  2. Let sit at room temperature until the levain doubles in size. Anywhere from 21-28°C or 60-82°F is okay, but keep in mind that the levain will mature quicker at higher temperatures. This stage should take anywhere from 3-10 hours.

  3. Second Feeding: After the levain has doubled in size, it is time to feed it the second time. Add water to a bowl and shred in your levain. Mix a little to dissolve the levain. It won't dissolve entirely. Add all other feeding ingredients and knead just enough to make the levain come together in a dough.

  4. Let sit at room temperature until the levain doubles in size. Anywhere from 21-28°C or 70-82°F is okay, but keep in mind that the levain will mature quicker at higher temperatures. This stage should take anywhere from 3-10 hours.

Dough

  1. For the times and temperatures I used for this recipe, check the article!

  2. Making the dough: After the levain has doubled in size the second time, it's time to mix our dough.

  3. Dissolve the levain in milk.

  4. Add flour, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds or vanilla extract.

  5. Using a stand mixer, mix the dough just enough to bring the ingredients together. Leave covered for 10-15 minutes.

  6. After resting, add salt and knead the dough in a stand mixer for 8 minutes.

  7. Then add softened butter and knead until the dough can pass the windowpane test (link to see how the windowpane test works in the recipe notes). The dough will separate at first, but will come back together quickly.

  8. Bulk ferment: Transfer the dough to your bulk ferment container and do a coil fold (link to the coil fold method in the recipe notes).

  9. Cover the container and leave to ferment until doubled in size. This should take anywhere from 4-10 hours at room temperature. You can do a part of the bulk ferment in the fridge to slow the ferment. Do a coil fold every 30 minutes for the first two hours.

  10. Shaping: After the dough has risen about 50% in size, transfer it to your counter, but be very gentle to not release too much air from the dough.

  11. Divide the dough into 50g pieces and roll them into small balls. Make sure to create enough tension on the balls so they keep a nice shape.

  12. Proofing: Leave the doughnuts to rise at room temperature until doubled in size. This stage will take anywhere from 8-12 hours depending on the temperature.

  13. Frying: After the doughnuts have doubled in size, prepare the oil for frying.

  14. Use about 1 inch or 2.5 cm of oil and fry at a temperature between 160-170°C (320-340°F). A good indicator the temperature is perfect is to check with a wooden spoon. If little bubbles start to form around the spoon handle the oil is ready to go.

  15. Place doughnuts top side down in hot oil, but prior to that brush away the flour. A lot of flour will burn your oil and it will not be re-usable. Fry the doughnuts for about 3 minutes covered. When they turn golden, turn them around away from yourself, so you don’t burn yourself! Fry for about 3 more minutes on the other side uncovered.

  16. Transfer the doughnuts to a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

  17. Fill and decorate to your liking. Enjoy!

Notes

Link to the windowpane test here.

Link to the coil fold method here.

Once you've tasted these irresistibly soft and fluffy sourdough doughnuts, you'll never try any other! This one and a half day recipe is well worth the time it takes.

Black Sesame Covered Chewy Turmeric Bagels

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

Hey, guys!

Guess what, it’s the first time we’re making bread together. A shocker!! Ok, we’ve made some flatbread, but not bread like this.

Bread making is definitely one of my biggest cooking/baking passion. Digging in the dough and getting your hands all sticky and messy is the best part of making bread at home. And if you think it’s hard, it’s actually not. Sometimes it requires a little time, but it’s mostly just waiting and admiring your beautiful work. How’s that for a change of perspective.

If you’re kneading the dough by hand it’s also a great exercise. Win-win 😀

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

I’ve just recently discovered the art of cooking the bread before it goes to the oven and that’s so lame, right? How could I be ignorant for so long! Cooking the dough before putting it in the oven makes for a nicely browned crust and a chewy middle. Like all bread, I like bagels best when they’re hot. I was always told that eating warm bread would hurt my stomach, but I’ve been doing that for all my life and my stomach is just fine. For now 😀 What can I do, it simply tastes better and its so soft. Who’s with me?

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.
The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

The awesomest chewy turmeric bagels

Okay, enough of my babbling…

We’re making bagels today. Not the typical New York style bagels, but similar – chewy turmeric bagels with some amazing black sesame seeds on top. I’ve added a bunch of turmeric in the dough, which gives it such a beautiful vivid golden color and a nice aroma along with a hint of bitterness. And the black sesame is just awesome. It has a stronger taste than the lightly colored sesame and it contains a whole bunch of necessary minerals.

I was eager to try it for a while, but it’s not that easy get in Slovenia. And if you do get it it’s very expensive. Finnaly I got my hand on a big bag of it and tried it in this recipe. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Besides the obvious, that they look great, they are now even tastier and healthier 🙂

One thing that makes bagels different from normal bread is that we’re using less yeast, which gives it some extra flavor and dense texure inside. We don’t want the bagels to be bready, but rather chewy and moist. Cooking them in water infused with baking soda will make the crust seal and prevent it from rising more in the oven, which will also help create the dense middle and will give the crust a nice darker color. Actually in this case, because we’ve added turmeric to the dough it will become sort of orange or red in some places, so don’t get scared, nothing’s wrong 😛 It’s just more fun!

I like to serve bagels with cream cheese or some creamy beet dip with smoked salmon and some leafy greens like spinach or arugula.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.

Yum, yum…let’s go bake!

Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

BLACK SESAME COVERED CHEWY TURMERIC BAGELS

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish
Keyword bagels, bread
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 14 bagels

Ingredients

CHEWY TURMERIC BAGELS

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour (900g)
  • 1 TBSP active dry yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • 1 TBSP turmeric
  • 1 TBSP salt

COOKING

  • 1/2 TBSP baking soda per 2 litres of water

TOPPINGS

  • black sesame seeds
  • cornmeal Optional. I like to use it, because it prevents the dough to stick on the paper and it gives the bagel a nice crunch

Instructions

  1. In a bowl of your stand mixer combine 3 cups of flour, all the water and yeast using a whisk. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes you will see bubbles on the surface of the dough mixture. Add the remaining flour, turmeric and salt and using a kneading attachment start kneading the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes, then cover the dough with plastic foil and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour and 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
  3. Punch the dough and give it a couple of kneads. Divide the dough into 90-110 g chunks. Flatten each piece with hands fold in the sides and roll so you get a cylinder (like a spring roll). Using the palms of your hands roll out the cylinder to about 20 cm long, then overlap one end over the other, pinch hard and use your palm to roll these two ends together.
  4. Let rise covered with a cloth for an hour.
  5. Bring water with baking soda to a boil in a wide skillet. Let it gently simmer while you cook the bagels 60-90 seconds each side. Drain and dip one side of the bagel while still a little wet in black sesame seeds and the other in cornmeal.
  6. Place on a tray lined with baking paper and bake for 20-25 minutes at 220°C until you get a nice golden and red color.

Notes

NOTES
Don’t overcrowd the bagels in water, because they will rise a bit and they may change the shape if they touch other bagels.

The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich.
The softest low-fat black sesame covered chewy turmeric bagels that are ridiculously tasty and a great basis for a breakfast sandwich. Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Kiwi Yogurt with Mini Simit Grissini

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!

It’s official, you guys!

My favorite flavor combo of this winter is kiwi, yoghurt and honey. As simple as that.

Seems like these three foods have been on my breakfast menu almost every day for weeks now. We’ve still got some lovely homegrown kiwi, because they keep so well during winter and they get better with time, sweeter and richer in flavor. I don’t wanna loose words on yogurt and honey, ‘cuz we all know they’re awesome!

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!

I like my breakfasts simple and fresh. Okay, I don’t always make the effort to prepare a super healthy breakfast, but I try 🙂 This recipe for sweet kiwi yogurt is definitely one of them.

What makes it so great are the little cute simit grissini that I’m serving with the sweet kiwi yogurt. They were inspired by my all time favorite Turkish street food – the simit bagels. You can get them on literally every corner of Turkey. I ate tons of them during my stay in Turkey and I never got bored of them. 

They look very similar to bagels, but are prepared like regular bread, with lots of sesame on top. And who doesn’t like sesame?!

So why not make a tiny version of them that can keep for weeks, so we can have it on hand whenever we feel like a snack 😀

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!

Turkish people just like me are crazy about yogurt. The style of yogurt they eat is very similar to Greek style yogurt with a nice crust on top. Yep, that’s how I’d describe it. It sort of looks like mold, but it’s actually the most delicious part of yogurt. I had four other girls living in the appartment, so we had to carefully divide the crust in five. That’s how important it was to get the crust.

Oh yeah, you’re probably wondering why five girls shared one yogurt. It’s because they are so crazy about it, that the normal packaging is way bigger than I’ve ever seen in any other place 🙂 Like, waaaay bigger!

The recipe calls for Greek style yogurt, but if you can get hold of turkish style yogurt, even better! I can’t get it in Slovenia, therefore I’m using Greek style, which is also delicious 🙂

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!
This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!
This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!

You know what, the best part of this breakfast/dessert is licking the decorated rim of the glass. I decorated it with honey and sesame, but then realised that it’s such a nice finish to lick that at the end. Not when you’re in company, obviously 😀

Finally, if you wanna check another recipe inspired by my stay in Turkey, check the Turkish Chicken Feast.

KIWI YOGURT WITH MINI SIMIT GRISSINI

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Snack
Keyword grissini, kiwi, simit, yogurt cake
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Resting time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

MINI SIMIT GRISSINI

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (130 g)
  • 1 tsp dry active yeast
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground carraway seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg + 1 TBSP water for eggwash
  • sesame for sprinkling

KIWI YOGURT

  • 8 small or 6 big kiwis
  • 3 cups Greek style yogurt
  • 4 TBSP honey

Instructions

Mini Simit Grissini:

  1. Sift flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add warm water and yeast to the well and mix together with a spoon along with a small amount of flour taken from the sides. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes, then add olive oil, ground coriander seeds, ground carraway seeds and salt.

  2. Using a spoon start mixing everthing together from the center, adding flour little by little. Once it gets hard to use a spoon, start incorporating the rest of the flour with your hands, then knead for a few more minutes to get a smooth, soft, but non-sticky dough.
  3. Lightly oil an airtight container (or a regular bowl, that you are going to cover with plastic foil), place the dough in and make sure all the sides of the dough are lightly oiled as well. Cover and leave in a warm place to rest for an hour.
  4. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  5. After the dough has rested, gently knead it a couple of times, then roll it out to about 7mm thick. Cut 7mm wide and 8 cm long strips then fold the ends together to form a ring, pinching hard so it doesn’t open while baking.
  6. In a small cup whisk together an egg and 1 TBSP of water and use the mixture to lightly cover the tops of the rings.
  7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for about 12 minutes or until they get golden at the top and the crust is hard.
  8. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Kiwi Yogurt

  1. Purée the kiwis in a blender. In another bowl whisk together Greek style yogurt and honey for a minute, until the honey is evenly spread and the mixture is light and fluffy.

  2. For decorating the rim of the glass you are going to need a little extra honey and some sesame seeds. First dip the rim into honey then into sesame so it sticks to honey.
  3. Place kiwi purée on bottom of the serving glasses, add the yogurt mixture on top and serve with cooled mini simit grissini.
  4. For decorating the rim of the glass you are going to need a little extra honey and some sesame seeds. First dip the rim into honey then into sesame.

[yumprint-recipe id=’57’]

This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit!
This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit! Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!
This honey sweetened kiwi yogurt served with homemade mini simit grissini is probably the most delicious breakfast of this winter and it is inspired by some of the most popular foods in Turkey and some homegrown seasonal fruit! Click to find the whole recipe or pin and save for later!

Creamy Beet Dip with Herbed Buckwheat Flatbread

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there’s a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Happy 1st December 😀

You guys, I made the best beet dip in the world! A bold statement, I know…

It’s a dip we’ve been making for a while now. The idea was actually my husband’s. He ate a beet and corn spread in a sandwich once, so we thought to make our own version. Yes, there’s corn 🙂 and honey. Ok, you’re thinking it’s sweet, but no… It’s spicy, savory and of course sweet as well.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

I’m like obsessed with beetroot lately. How can I not be, because I have like tons of it. My grandpa grows it every year, but can’t really eat all of it, so we get the rest.

Not complaining!

I’ve been using it in soooo many ways, some recipes are about to come. Can’t wait to share them with you 🙂

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

We all know it’s nice to have something awesome to dip into a creamy dip like this, so I made some herbed flatbreads, but since I LOVE buckwheat, I made them with buckwheat flour mixed with all-purpose flour.

It’s actually an awesome recipe for summer too, when there are many many fresh herbs in the garden. Now, we only have rosemary, oregano and thyme, but basil would also be nice. You can pick whatever you like or have at hand. I love recipes like these!

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.

Let’s just dip into it!


Tag #useyournoodles so I can see your beautiful UYN creations. Also, stay in touch on Facebook and Instagram or subscribe to get the recipes directly to your mailbox ♥

CREAMY BEET DIP WITH HERBED BUCKWHEAT FLATBREAD

Course Appetizer, Breakfast
Keyword dip, flatbread, yeasted bread
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 3

Ingredients

CREAMY BEET DIP

  • 150 g cooked beets cut into chunks
  • 115 g cooked corn or tinned corn
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp honey
  • black pepper
  • cayenne pepper
  • salt

HERBED BUCKWHEAT FLATBREAD

  • 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1 cup natural yoghurt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup chopped herbes rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil or any other
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions

Creamy Beet Dip

  1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix untill smooth. Add more seasoning if necessary.

Herbed Buckwheat Flatbread

  1. Mix all ingredients by hand or in a food processor until it comes together. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Add more flour if necessary.

  2. Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll them out to about 2-3 mm thick.

  3. Heat a grill pan until it is very hot. No need for oiling it. Grill each rolled fladbread for about 1-2 minute on each side. You should see g bubbles form. If one big bubble over the entire flatbread forms, press it down to release air.

  4. Serve hot or cold.

Unsurprisingly, the hero of this luscious creamy beet dip is beetroot, but there's a little something else in that makes it even sweeter and tastier. And above all a very simple buckwheat fladbread with herbs.