Day Fifty-Nine: Overnight Waffles

February 29th, 2008, breakfast, daily bread, photos, recipes, Janaki, 0 Comments

I had a transcendental experience with a waffle once.

As with most such experiences, it came when I was completely not expecting it. We’d stayed at some hotel somewhere¹, and as many hotels do, it offered a free continental breakfast with your stay. And I was excited, because I do like breakfast, and even though I don’t usually buy Frosted Flakes or Froot Loops or any of the other cereals that are usually available in little tiny boxes in such places, I get an inexplicable joy out of seeing them all neatly stacked on a breakfast table. Even then, I don’t usually eat them, but they’re just so cheerful. And tiny. And cute. But I’ve digressed horribly; back to the subject at hand!

This place was different than I had expected. Oh, it had bowls of bananas, apples, and oranges. It had bagels, and some muffins, and little individual yogurt cups. And of course the inevitable pyramid of cereal.

But next to all this was a Belgian waffler. It was electric, and was already plugged in and preheated, and it had several cups of premeasured waffle batter waiting patiently next to it.

I was absolutely giddy. Eyes sparkling with ridiculously over-the-top levels of mirth, I poured the batter into the machine and followed the instructions. Waited. Flipped the waffler over (it was one of those ones that rotated). Flipped it again. Pulled my beautiful waffle out when it beeped. Took it to our table, sat down, cut it, and sighed blissfully around my first bite. Utter magic.

I’m sure it was a mix, but if you think all there is to waffles is either the frozen boxed kind or the slightly better ones you can get in restaurants (which is what my one I’d made at the hotel was like), I’d beg you to rethink that position.

Waffles are very much like pancakes in that they’re not very difficult at all to put together, and yet for some reason, they’ve sadly been relegated to the realm of boxed mixes or premade ones in boxes that you can find in the freezer section of your grocery store.

I know I have a tendency to say this a lot, but once you taste these, you’ll realize you’ve been missing something if the kinds of waffles I mention above are the only ones you’ve ever had. Don’t be daunted by the fact that the recipe says “overnight.” It’s actually very simple; you assemble most of the ingredients the night before, then let them sit out (covered, of course) at room temperature to ferment overnight. It does require a little planning beforehand, but you will understand why and you, too, will not accept any substitutes once you’ve tasted these waffles. And the yeast does all the work for you while you’re sleeping! What more could you ask for? Oh, it’s taken from Mark Bittman’s excellent How To Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food, which I think is one of those books that belongs in every collection. It’s basic, and straightforward, and amusingly written. ²

Overnight Waffles (adapted from How to Cook Everything)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 c. milk
• 8 tbsp (1 whole stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (MB says it’s optional; I say add it)
• Canola or other neutral oil for brushing on waffle iron (I didn’t need it; I’ve got a nonstick iron)
• 2 eggs

PREPARATION

The night before you intend to make these, combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Then stir in the milk, butter, and vanilla. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise overnight. ³

The next morning, preheat your waffle iron and then separate your eggs. Beat the yolks into the batter, then beat the whites until stiff peaks form. Fold these into the batter gently, and you’re ready to start waffling.⁴

Waffles will generally take about 3-5 minutes, depending on your iron. You should see a lot of steam coming from your iron as it cooks the waffles; this is natural, and don’t let it alarm you. You can keep the waffles warm in a low oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper if you like. Serve warm, with plenty of maple syrup. Serves up to 8, if each person has a single waffle; less if people have more.

These freeze terribly well, so if there are only two of you (as there are in our house), it’s a simple matter to freeze these for later enjoyment. When you’re ready to eat them for breakfast at a later date, simply pull out of freezer and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet in an oven set at 350F. Start with a cold oven when you put the sheet in; around the time the oven reaches temperature (about 10-15 minutes), the waffles will be heated to exactly the right temperature and texture for delicious eating. They keep tremendously well this way—although I’m certain they won’t last long once you taste these.

1. I think, possibly, in Arizona, which narrows it down a whole lot, I know. [↩]
2. I should mention here that I’m something of a nerd about my cookbooks. While of course I love gathering recipes, I love it even more when a cookbook makes me want to read it, cover to cover. Those are the kind of books that I always want to have in my collection, and this solidly falls into that category—there’s far more to cooking than just recipes, after all. [↩]
3. Make sure the bowl you choose is large enough for the task, and I’d also make sure it has a nice pouring lip, unless you want to use a ladle for your batter the next morning. [↩]
4. You could, at this point, cheat and simply beat the whole eggs into your batter. The waffles will still taste fantastic, but they won’t have the light, ethereal texture you can only get from separating them and beating the whites separately. Your choice. [↩]

Day Fifty-Eight: Pain Hawaiian

February 28th, 2008, daily bread, photos, recipes, Janaki, 0 Comments

I have no idea how often this bread is actually made in Hawaii, if at all. It seems a lot of recipes mysteriously become “Hawaiian” by way of the addition of exotic ingredients such as pineapple or macadamia nuts. Kona coffee is more understandable, I suppose, while sugar is too generally commonplace. In any case, this recipe comes from Beth Hensperger’s the Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes, and indeed, it’s full of macadamia goodness.

Her recipe makes 3 loaves; I took the recipe down a bit so that it would only make one. Here’s what I did:

Pain Hawaiian (adapted from Hensperger’s Bread Bible)

INGREDIENTS

For the sponge

• 2/3 c. warm water (105-115F)
• 1 tsp. instant yeast
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

For the dough

• 1.5-2 c. bread flour
• 1 tbsp nut oil, such as almond or walnut (I used macadamia, since I’m lucky enough to have an awesome friend named Elva who lives in Hawaii and was kind enough to send me some. Hi Elva! )
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2-3/4 c. coarsely chopped salted macadamia nuts (mine were unsalted, so I added a pinch more salt to compensate)

PREPARATION

Create the sponge first. Do this by pouring warm water into a bowl, then sprinkling yeast, sugar, and the flour for the sponge over it. Stir to combine into a creamy mixture. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.

To make the dough, add oil, salt, nuts, and a little bit of the flour and stir to combine. Add a little flour at a time, kneading when the dough has become too stiff to stir with a spoon. You don’t want the dough to be sticky, but resist the urge to add more flour than is absolutely necessary. Knead until dough is smooth and springy. Dust with flour as needed, but be very parsimonious with the flour.

Grease a bowl and put your kneaded dough into the bowl. Flip the dough around once in the bowl, so that the dough itself has a thin layer of your chosen fat surrounding it. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, for about two hours.

When two hours have elapsed, punch dough down and shape into a boule on a lightly-floured work surface with lightly floured hands. Dust dough with a little bit of flour. Place the loaf on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover loosely. Let rise until quite puffy, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450F with a baking stone on the bottom rack.¹ Using kitchen shears, gently cut three Vs at a 45-degree angle down the center or at the four corners; make each no more than 1/4″ deep. Reduce the oven thermostat to 400F if using a baking stone. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until the loaf is crusty and brown and sounds hollow when you rap the bottom. Cool on a rack and let cool completely before slicing.

As you can see from the photo above, one of my Vs decided to become a little horn. I think with some clever manipulation of cutting implements, one could easily have a little fun with this bread and manipulate it into various pleasing shapes. The first thing that immediately comes to mind is a Bowser shell, from the Super Mario Brothers universe. I might have to try that next time.

For now, instead, I’ll be content to slice it up and toast it. This bread, as can be expected, is pleasantly crunchy and nutty. It’s even more agreeable when toasted. Still not my favorite nut bread, but it’s quite a worth addition to anyone’s repertoire. If you toasted the macadamia nuts beforehand, it would be even better.

1. If not using a baking stone, only preheat the oven to 400F. [↩]

Day Fifty-Seven: Janni’s Chocolate Orange Buns

February 27th, 2008, breakfast, daily bread, photos, recipes, Janaki, 0 Comments

Of course it would be very ill-advised indeed to eat a chocolate orange for breakfast. Tasty, sure…but as what we’d like to believe are responsible individuals of a certain age, surely we can’t just whack and unwrap a breakfast consisting entirely of chocolate…or can we?

If you’re someone who operates the way I do, you’ll of course determine that it is your solemn, sworn duty, and in fact is in the very interest of furthering empirical knowledge to find a way to make a similar taste sensation come alive in an at least somewhat nutritionally-desirable breakfast food. For plate and country, hear me cry: give me chocolate orange breakfast buns or give me a hammer!

Janni’s Chocolate Orange Buns

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp orange blossom water
• 2.25 tsp instant or active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 1 c. orange juice (not from concentrate), plus more as needed
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface and dusting your hands
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
• Zest of 1 orange

PREPARATION

Mix orange blossom water and 1/4 c. warm water together in a bowl. Dissolve yeast in water, then stir in orange juice, butter, egg, and sugar. Stir dry ingredients into wet; if mixture is too dry, drizzle in more orange juice in small increments. Add melted chocolate and orange zest last. If mixture is too wet, add a little more flour. Mixture should not be TOO dry, however; it should be wet enough that at first, it’s still sticking to your hands just slightly as you knead it. This will be a slightly wet dough, and don’t be tempted to add too much flour, otherwise the buns will be too dense and dry, which isn’t what you want.

Knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes, making sure to stretch it and stretch it as you knead it. Don’t be afraid to abuse the dough; it does not need to be treated gently at this point. It will become more elastic and easier to work with the longer you work it and the more you stretch it, to a point; I suggest 10-15 minutes of kneading because more would have a negative effect on the desired texture for these buns.

Place dough back in bowl, cover, and let rise in warm place, free from draft, for about two to three hours (or until at least doubled in bulk). When this time has elapsed, punch dough down, knead a few times more, and replace in bowl. Allow to rise for an hour longer.

Preheat oven to 350F. Punch dough down for the last time, then break into 8-12 balls of the same size. With well-floured hands, knead and shape these balls into round buns. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and slide sheet into preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Drizzle with additional chocolate if you wish, or serve with hot chocolate or chocolate milk.

I should warn you that these won’t fall neatly into segments if you do happen to whack them very hard before eating them. But they also won’t melt in your hand, which I think can only be seen as a bonus.