mayurisjikoni

Learning   The few cooking groups that I belong to are really educative. I have learnt new techniques, more about world cuisine, a bit more about other countries and its fun to see the photos of fellow bloggers. The same recipe turns out quite different in different hands. If it weren't for these groups I don't think I would have tried out different sorts of breads or baked goodies. I would have probably stuck to the more familiar recipes. Sometimes time does not permit me to bake on time but I do finish the challenge before the month ends. A lot of research goes into challenging the groups to a certain recipe.Research by both the one who sets the challenge and also by the ones who take up the challenge.    For the month of May Gayathri challenged the baking eggless group to a Kugelhopf. What is a kugelhopf?Kugelhopf, kougelhopf, kouglof, gugelhuph, is a yeast bread popular in parts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, France, basically many parts of Central...

Still catching up!    Yes I am still working on the backlogged recipes. Sometimes I get the feeling in my over enthusiasm have I joined too many groups? Maybe but don't feel backing out of any. They all offer different challenges.The baking eggless group was back in February after a short break. I couldn't do the Feb challenge but made the March one. The brownies are extra chocolatey, loaded with nuts and so delicious. The brownies turned baked well, and just as I turn it out onto the wire rack, the glass tray in which I had baked it fell and broke! The baking tray belonged to my mother in law and have been using it for over 32 years! Did feel bad. I found that my 8"X 8" baking tin was all rusted. We get salty water in our taps and everything rusts so quickly. We have to buy bottled water for cooking and drinking. Anyway next trip to the supermarket I am buying a 8 X 8" tin.    Coming to the brownies, the challenge is that we are given a recipe which has eggs. W...

an early Christmas treat!    What is a Swedish tea ring? Its a sweet pastry/ bread traditionally served during Christmas as a tea time treat or for breakfast. Thus the name tea ring. Its very much like the cinnamon buns but this tea ring is shaped into a wreath. The filling can vary from nuts to dried fruits and different spices. When Gayathri the initiator of the Baking Eggless group sent the recipe as the challenge for this month, I took one look at the picture and thought, that it would be complicated. It actually is not and its fun to make different shapes with yeast dough. I will be certainly making this recipe again and again as the tea ring was absolutely delicious. Perhaps I felt that way because I love cinnamon. I baked the ring when my niece and her family were visiting. Her daughter, my grand niece, had it again the next day as dessert.       Normally, its easier to substitute eggs in a yeast dough, as adding a bit more milk or yogurt does the t...

Confused?     It is stated in the Oxford food and nutrition dictionary that kipfel, kipferl (plural kipfels) were invented by  bakers in Vienna to celebrate the lifting of the siege of Vienna in 1683. They were made in the shape of a crescent. Kipfels (kip-fuhls) are rich buttery yeast pastries filled with lekvar and topped with sugar and nuts. Lekvar is usually made from prunes, peaches or apricots. Its like thick fruit jam or butter..It is claimed that Kipfel is the ancestor of the croissant. Kipfel is the German term for crescent. After that many versions of the kipfels spread around to different parts of Europe.The variations depended on what filling was used or what topping was used. From the little research available on the internet, I have come to the conclusion that kipfels are made from loads of eggs, lard, butter and yeast. The process of making kipfels is longer. Kiffles are cookie like dessert pastries, made using cream cheese, butter, and quicker to make. Kip...

sweet bread from Mexico     Conchas (pronounce the ch as in chair) are traditional sweet buns from Mexico. Also known as pan dulce, these sweet rolls have a slightly hard crust and a soft,slightly chewy,sweet inner part. Once you take a bite into the crust, it melts like magic in your mouth. Usually eaten for breakfast, these sweet rolls were a delight to prepare. Though I have to master the correct consistency of the sweet pastry(paste, topping) on top, the taste was heavenly. These sweet buns are known as conchas because of the shell like shape of the pastry created either by making the lines with a sharp knife or with a conchas cutter.    I recently joined the baking eggless group started by Gayathri of  Gayathri's cook spot. I love baking and what better platform to try out various challenges and learn new things? Every month the members are given a recipe which we have to bake without eggs. Joining this group just a few days ago and my first challenge was ...