What to use?

5g dry yeast

350ml water

a teaspoon of sugar

500g Graham flour

7g sea salt

2 tbsp of olive oil

Mix the water, dry yeast, and sugar; let them sit for 5 minutes.

Add the sea salt to the Graham flour; then, pour the olive oil and the mix of yeast and water mentioned above over the flour.

The mixture will be quite liquid. Use a wooden spoon to homogenise it; let it rise for one hour.

Line a pound cake tin with baking parchment; pour the batter into it.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven at 200⁰C.

I’ve tested ciabatta recipes before – mini-ciabatta recipes, to be more exact –, but this recipe seems the optimal version. I keep baking it because it is in demand. :D

For 2 ciabatte, you’ll need:

400ml water

5g dry yeast

2 teaspoons of sugar

500g flour (+ flour for the baking mat)

10g sea salt

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (+ 2 more tbsp for the baking mat)

It takes a bit more, but it is worth the work and wait!

Let the water-yeast-sugar mix sit for 5 minutes.

Then, pour it over the flour on the opposite side to where we added the salt in order not to deactivate the yeast.

Add the olive oil. Then, knead until you incorporate the entire flour amount. The dough will be sticky.

Let it sit for 10 minutes in a bowl.

* Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil onto the baking mat, knead the dough through it, pull it, and let it sit for 10 more minutes.

** Repeat this step twice more without adding more olive oil.

*** Add flour onto the baking mat, knead the dough through it and let it sit for 30 minutes.

**** Divide the dough. Spread one of the dough pieces into a rectangular shape. ’Stick’ the large sides. Then, turn your ciabatta onto the other side and place it in the baking pan lined with baking parchment. Do the same with the second ciabatta.

***** Bake in the preheated oven, at 220⁰C, for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 180⁰C. Bake for 3 and a half minutes more.

Let them cool and... enjoy them! ♥

Makes 35-40

I used to bake these snacks pretty often (Marcel was a big fan). Then, I stopped. On New Year’s Eve, I baked them again. Several weeks later, I baked them again.

They’re lovely!

We will use this recipe for the dough. Consequently, you’ll need—

250g flour (+100g flour depending on the type of flour used)

10g fresh yeast or 5g dry yeast

250 ml water

some sugar

some salt

+1 l water & 2 tbsp of baking soda

+15g butter & salt

We will make the dough based on the above recipe. After it rises, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a cylinder. Cut each cylinder into 8-10 pieces, 2-3 cm in width.

Meanwhile, pour the water into a deep pan, on low heat, and let the sodium bicarbonate dissolve. When the water starts boiling, take the small pieces of dough (3-4 at a time) and put them into the water. Turn them on the opposite side after they rise (for no more than 30 seconds on each side).

Then, place them in a large baking pan, lined with baking parchment. Continue with the remaining pieces of dough. When you’re done, sprinkle some salt on the small pieces of dough and leave them in the preheated oven, at 250⁰C, for 10-12 minutes.

While they’re baking, melt the butter. After removing the baking pan from the oven, butter each snack using a pastry brush.

Let them cool and... start eating them. You won’t be able to stop anyway!

10g dry yeast

400ml water

1 teaspoon of sugar

500g einkorn flour (+6 extra tablespoons)

10g salt

baking pan: 25 cm (long)

As I took a break from gluten this year (I needed to) and as things come to people when they need them, I learned about einkorn. It is very close to wild wheat, consequently, its untreated form. This means it is not bad for me, with a lower amount of gluten.

(It is obvious that if we had left food as it was at the beginning of time, we wouldn’t have had allergies and invented diseases.)

It is so easy to make. Let the yeast and the sugar rise for 5 minutes in lukewarm water. In another bowl, add the einkorn flour, the salt, and the mix prepared above.

Knead (the dough will be a bit sticky, so add up to 6 additional tablespoons of flour). I left it to rise for 1 hour in a proofing basket but, if you haven’t got any, you can use a regular bowl and cover it with a kitchen towel.

Then, transfer the dough (still sticky a bit) to a pound cake baking pan lined with baking parchment. Bake in the preheated oven at 250⁰C for 10 minutes, then at 180⁰C for 20 more minutes.

It is very tasty and filling. It keeps well from one day to the next.

My inspiration came from a Tuscan speciality. But then, I let my imagination and senses carry me away. It was labelled as ’delicious’ and I hope you like it, too.  

4g dry yeast

2 tbsp Marsala wine

1 tbsp agave syrup

90ml (warm) water

100g almond meal

50g tapioca flour

30ml olive oil

a pinch of salt

a bunch of grapes

40g coconut sugar

+tapioca flour, olive oil, agave syrup

Mix the yeast, the wine (not necessarily Marsala wine), and the agave syrup. Then, pour the warm water, starting to mix in the almond meal and the tapioca flour (you may add some extra tapioca flour if the dough is too sticky). After adding the olive oil and the salt, knead the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the grapes and grease and flour (using olive oil and tapioca flour) a baking pan of 15x22 cm.

Spread half of the dough on the bottom of the baking pan, placing half of the grapes on top. Sprinkle the coconut sugar and cover with the remaining dough (be careful, it is crumbly); place the remaining grapes on top and pour agave syrup over the cake.

Bake in the preheated oven, at 170°C, for 20 minutes, and then for 25 minutes more, at 150°C.

This cake fills you up and is... surprising, too!

16 brânzoaice

Dough

450g flour

1 egg

40g dry yeast

350ml sana or yoghurt

Filling

250g cottage cheese

1 yolk

a pinch of salt

150g sugar

raisins (as many as you like)

+1 egg white for brushing, flour for rolling out the dough

I used to love brânzoaice as a child – we could find them in all pastry shops around Romania. So, I wanted to bake them myself. I found an old recipe and I adapted it. It wasn’t as hard as I thought – and it never is when we do it with love.

If you like raisins, hydrate them in a cup of water a few hours before baking the brânzoaice.

Make the dough combining the flour, the whole egg, the yeast, and the sana (=fermented milk found in Romania) or the yoghurt and then knead a bit. Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour in a warm place.

Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing the cottage cheese, the yolk, the salt, the sugar, and the raisins.

On a baking mat, cut the dough into four pieces and roll out each sheet of dough adding as much flour as needed. From the centre of the sheet, cut out a rectangle and split it into two squares. Fill each square with the cottage cheese mix and stick the corners of the square in the middle, by also sticking together the dough on the sides, like a rag bag. Roll out the remaining dough – it will make two more brânzoaice; that’s four for each sheet of dough.  

After you finish rolling out all the dough sheets and shaping the brânzoaice, brush them with the egg white and place them into two baking pans (that’s what I needed) covered with baking parchment. Bake them in the preheated oven, at 200°C, for 12-13 minutes.

I really hope you like them! J

Makes 10

330g flour

5g dry yeast

½ sachet vanilla sugar

125g sugar

100g butter (at room temperature)

1 egg

1 tbsp of yoghurt

80ml water

Filling

140g ground walnuts

1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

3 teaspoons of sugar

1 tbsp of milk

+

1 egg white

1 teaspoon of sugar

+ honey for serving

Here’s a dessert that I wished to prepare for a long time. My Mom used to bake it when I was a little girl. It seems pretty autumnal to me!

Knead a dough from flour, yeast, vanilla sugar, and sugar. Add the butter at room temperature (it will crumble), the egg, the yoghurt, and the water. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, and milk into the ground walnuts.

Cut the dough into two equal parts. Roll out the first sheet (30x20cm); brush the walnut mix onto it. Roll out the second sheet and place it on the first sheet. Beat an egg white with sugar until stiff and brush it onto the second sheet.  

Then, roll both sheets, stick them with a few drops of water and brush the roll with the egg white and sugar mix that will be left. Cut 2 cm-thick pieces and place them into a baking pan lined with baking parchment. Bake in the preheated oven, at 200°C, for 10-12 minutes.

They are wonderful with honey! ♥