I know it's not technically baked but.....HUMMUS!

B and I were in Israel for a week at the end of August.  It was my first trip and it was absolutely amazing!  The food, the sights, the people, the culture....did I mention the food?!

One of the (many) culinary highlights of the trip was the hummus.  Honestly, it is worlds different than the stuff you buy off the shelves in the grocery stores here in the states!  It's much paler in color, and smoother in consistency, and the flavor....oh, the flavor....I can't even begin to describe!  We didn't get enough hummus while we were there (I know, it's hard to believe, but I was obsessed!), despite me telling people that in the seven days we were in Israel I ate at least 50 pitas with some sort of hummus or tahini.  I might be slightly over exaggerating, but I'm not entirely sure that it's not the truth.

So it was amazing that a few days after we got back from Israel, I saw a link on my Facebook feed titled "The Secret to the Creamiest, Dreamiest Hummus."  And even more fitting, it was a recipe from an Israeli guy who has a hummus restaurant in Philly, which B has tried and said was the closest to the hummus you can get over in Israel while here in the states.

And I knew I had to make it.  Now if only I could find good, fresh, authentic pita bread here to eat with it....guess that'll be up on the list of things I'll be needing to bake soon....(I served mine with pita chips and pieces of flour tortilla, but mainly because I forgot to buy pita at the grocery store, each of the three times I was there today).

Israeli-Style Hummus
Found on Bon Appetit, originally from Michael Solomonov

Ingredients:

1 cup dried chickpeas
2 tsp baking soda, divided
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/3 cup (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more
2/3 cup tahini
1/4 tsp (or more) ground cumin -- I despise hate cumin, so I left this out.  Next time I might up the lemon/garlic/salt mixture a little for a little extra flavor
Olive oil, paprika, and fresh parsley for serving

Directions:

Place chickpeas and 1 tsp baking soda in a medium bowl.
Add cold water to cover by 2 inches.
Cover and let sit at room temperature until chickpeas have doubled in size, 8-12 hours.
Drain and rinse (I didn't rinse them....oops).

Combine soaked chickpeas and remaining 1 tsp baking soda in a large saucepan.
Add cold water to cover by at least 2 inches.
Bring to a boil, skimming surface as needed.
Reduce heat to medium-low and partially cover.
Simmer until chickpeas are tender and really falling apart, about 45-60 minutes.
Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, process the garlic, lemon juice, and 1 tsp salt in a food processor until coarsely purred.
Let sit 10 minutes to allow the garlic to mellow.

Strain the garlic mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible.
Discard the solids.
Return the liquid to the food processor.
Add tahini and pulse to combine.
With the motor running, add 1/4 cup ice water by the Tablespoonful and process (it may seize up at first) until the mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick.
Add chickpeas (and cumin, if using) and process, occasionally scraping down sides, until mixture is extremely smooth, about 4 minutes.
Then with more water, if you prefer.
Taste and season with more salt/lemon juice/cumin, if desired.

Spoon hummus into a shallow bowl, making a well in the center.
Drizzle liberally with oil, and top as desired (my preference is paprika and fresh parsley).

Challah

I've made challah twice in my life.  The first time, I had the perfect braid, but it was a bit dense.  The second time, I made an apple challah for Rosh Hashana, and I remember it being good, but not much else.  I thought I made it for the blog but I can't find it anywhere in the archives, which means it was either pre-JulieBakes or I just never posted it.  Oh well.  I was hoping this recipe would be a keeper, and I could just forget about the other two.  Looks like it was a success!

Every year for the Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), I buy round challahs from a bakery in Crown Heights near my office.  (Round challahs are customary for Rosh Hashana and the high holidays, whereas other times they're usually long and braided.)  They are, in my opinion, the best challahs one can buy, -- and so well priced!  I like mine with raisins on the holidays, but my sisters don't.  So I end up bringing home a bunch of challahs, some with raisins and some without.  But this year, my schedule was such that my last day of work before Rosh Hashana was a few days before the holiday, and I didn't want so bring home challahs a few days before and have them be stale.  So since I was off the Friday before the holiday, I decided to attempt challah again.

I went with the recipe I found on SmittenKitchen, because, well, I think Deb's blog is amazing (I call her Deb though I don't know her at all; I assume if we did meet, we'd hit it off quite nicely) and everything I've made from it has been fantastic.  And plus, it was the first place I looked and I felt I didn't need to go any further.  Duh!  And added bonus, it makes two loaves -- so I went with one with raisins (for me!) and one without (for my sisters).

I had trouble with the braiding directions that she gave, so I ended up making a long 3-strand braided raisin challah (because it's not round, it won't be served on the holidays, but I don't mind that much since I can sample some today!) and a 6-strand braided plain round challah.

Challah
From Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (about 1.5 packages, but I ended up using two full packages)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing bowl (believe it or not, I couldn't find vegetable oil at Whole Foods, so I used canola)
5 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp table salt
8 to 8.5 cups all-purpose flour (I ended up needing 8 cups)
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained, and blotted dry
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional, I opted not)

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp sugar in water (I used my stand mixer bowl).
Set aside for 5 minutes until a bit foamy.

Whisk oil into yeast.
Then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time.
Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt.
Gradually add flour.
When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.  (Deb says: You can also use a mixer with a dough hook for both mixing and kneading, but be careful if using a standard size KitchenAid - it's a bit much for it, though it can be done -- I used the stand mixer for mixing but ended up kneading the dough on the counter).

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
Clean out bowl and grease it (I used a different bowl since I needed my stand mixer for other things....stay tuned!).
Return dough to the bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size (alternately you can let it rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees and then turned off).

Punch down dough.
Cover and let rise again in a warm place for another 30 minutes.

If using raisins, this is the point at which you should knead them in.

Smitten Kitchen talks about how to braid the challah but I had a really hard time following it, so I ended up doing a 3-strand braid and a 6-strand "fishbone."  Her directions on braiding are as follows:

"To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way."

Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches between.  I did this but they rose so much they were touching.  I recommend doing 2 separate baking sheets, with one challah on each.

Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves.  If baking challahs immediately, save egg for second brushing later on.

If baking immediately, let rise another house.  If freezing, freeze them now.

If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375F.
Brush loaves again with egg wash.  I brushed them for the second time right before placing them in the oven.
If using, sprinkle with seeds.
If you previously froze the loaves, remove them from the freezer 5 hours before baking.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cool loaves on a rack.

Deb also says: Note: Any of the three risings can be done in the fridge for a few hours, for more deeply-developed flavor. When you’re ready to work with it again, bring it back to room temperature before moving onto the next step.

Chocolate babka

Last week I attempted Babka.  I've tried it twice before, and I wasn't quite successful either time, so since then I have referred to Babka as my "Mt. Everest of baking."  I'm happy to report that as of then, I have conquered the mountain!

This babka is ah-maz-ing!!  And frankly, I wanted to make it again a few days later, but was deterred because of the amount of time it took for it to rise and my not-so-free day.  Suffice it to say, though, that this will be a recipe you'll be seeing over and over again in the near future.

See, B had a visitor in town last week and I wanted to bake something for him.  His last guest in March got Red Velvet Bundt Cake and New York-Style Coffee Cake Crumb Muffins -- and seeing as the guests know each other, I didn't want to let him down, and made some treats while he was here, too.  The babka was the perfect treat to make -- and it was well received!  I left the almonds out because of my dislike of nuts in my baked goods, which made the babka extra chocolate-y, and in my opinion, prefect.  The boys completely agreed!

Next up, I think I'm going to try for a cinnamon version...

Chocolate Babka
From Food52

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2.25 tsp or 1 packet active dry yeast
3/4 cups milk at 110F
6 Tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
6 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
3 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp salt.

For the filling:

3/4 cups finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted and finely chopped (I left these out)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold, unsalted butter

For the streusel:

2 Tbsp soft, unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sufar (I used light brown sugar)
1 pinch salt

For the egg wash:

1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Directions:

Make the dough.

Stir the yeast into the milk to dissolve.
Let sit until foamy.

While the yeast proofs, cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add the oil and vanilla and mix well to combine.
Then add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing until each yolk is incorporated before adding the next.
Increase the mixer speed to high and beat the mixture for about 2 minutes.

Turn the mixer to low.
Add the flour and salt.
Add the milk and yeast mixture.
Switch to the dough hook attachment.
Mix the dough until a soft, tacky dough forms.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead by hand for two more minutes.  The dough should feel soft, supple, and smooth.
Move the dough to a clean oiled bowl and cover with plastic crap.  Let the dough rise at a moderate room temperature for about 2 hours or until almost doubled in size.  *You can also let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and shape it the next day.

Prepare the filling while the dough is rising.
Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl and use a pasty blender or bench scraper to cut the ingredients together into a streusel-like crumble.

To shape the bread:
Roll the risen dough on a lightly floured surface into a roughly 15x18 inch rectangle.
Gently lift the dough to make sure that it will easily release from the work surface.
Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over the top of the dough leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edges.
Roll the dough from the long end into a tight log about 20 inches long.
Gently bend the dough into a "U"-shape.
Twist the arms of the dough 2 or 3 times around each other to form the loaf.
Pinch the seams together.
Place the dough into a greased x-5 inch loaf pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the babka fills the pan, 1-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Prepare the streusel:
Combine all of the streusel ingredients in a bowl and mix until crumbly.

Make the egg wash by mixing together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp of water.

When the loaf has risen completely, brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash.
Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the top of the loaf.
Use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the top of the load which will release any air pockets trapped between the folds of the dough and the filling.

Put the load pan on a baking sheet and place it in the oven.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Rotate the pan and bake for 20-30 more minutes.
The loaf will be deep golden brown on top and sound hollow when the bottom is tappen when finished.  *You can also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature (it should be 185F).

Let the babka cool to room temperature before slicing.

2013 - The year in review (in baked goods)

2013 was a busy year both for me personally, and for JulieBakes. 

I went to Thailand. 
JulieBakes turned two!! 
I graduated with my doctorate. 
JulieBakes reached 175 fans on Facebook.
This year, JulieBakes had a week of birthday treat posts leading up to my (33rd) birthday.
B and I celebrated a year together. 
JulieBakes had a record 23 posts in December (24 if you include this one!).
Oh, and on December 23rd was JulieBakes' 200th post!


I decided that to cap off this great year, I'd do a "Year in Review" of JulieBakes posts for 2013.  My version of a "Best of" JulieBakes, so to speak.  So I've gathered my favorite shots from the blog from 2013, categorized them my type of treat, and posted them all here for you to see in one place!

Hope you had a great 2013 -- and that you have a sweet and happy 2014! 

Love,
Julie

Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cakes, Pies, and Breads

Brownies

 

 

Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

Other Treats