Caraway rye rolls

Rye flour has become a more frequently used ingredient for me in recent years, so when Steve requested a caraway rye bread of some sort, we procured a jar of caraway seeds for that very purpose. This is my first bake with those seeds.

After a quick look online I learned that caraway seed is also referred to as Persian cumin and is the fruit of a plant from the same family as fennel, carrots, and anise. Interesting!

The recipe is based on one I found on King Arthur Baking Company’s site. I tweaked it a tad and decided to make rolls instead of a loaf. Once you’re on their site you’ll find all sorts of recipes and indulgences.

Pssssst - there’s a “secret” ingredient - dill pickle juice! Not being a dill pickle eater, I have however enjoyed the flavor the juice can impart from enjoying my mom’s potato salad over the years. Gives it that certain je ne sais quoi.

Mise en place

Rye flour is lower in gluten and the dough made with it tends to be more sticky. I used a combo of Bob’s Red Mill dark rye and the coarser rye flour I bought back in the early summer at Farm Club in Traverse City MI. I talked a bit about that here.

Here’s the recipe. To begin you’ll blend 120 g medium or dark rye flour, 232 ml/one cup lukewarm dill pickle juice (or water), 4 teaspoons granulated sugar and 7 g / 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook to make a very soft batter. Let that rest for 20 minutes to allow the rye flour to absorb some of the liquid.

Just blended - pretty loose

Getting more sludgy

Now add 120 g / 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream), 7-14 g / 1-2 tablespoons caraway seeds (I did ~10 g - would go up to 14 next time!), 4 g / 3/4 teaspoon table salt (if using water instead of pickle juice, increase salt to 9 g / 1.5 teaspoons), 290 g / 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour.

Knead the dough on low-medium speed 5-7 minutes until smooth. It will be sticky - don’t add more flour. With lightly oiled hands do a fold set and form into a ball.

Let the dough rise until puffy, 60-90 minutes.

Gently deflate the dough and divide into nine portions (about 85 g or 3 ounces each).

Shape each portion into a rough ball and let rest 20 minutes under lightly oiled film wrap. Then proceed with final shaping, creating nice tight rounds. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan.

Cover with lightly oiled film wrap and let rise 1.5 hours. During winter months I’ll use my turned off oven as a proof box. Place a bowl of warm water on the bottom rack and the tray of rolls above it. Just be sure to take them out before you heat your oven for baking!

Toward the end of the rise heat the oven to 350ºF.

Before popping them into the oven brush with water and make a crosshatch snip into the tops.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Brush the tops with melted butter if desired. Cool and enjoy.

Steve and I enjoyed these a few ways: as tuna salad sandwiches; with a simple slice of cheese; with scrambled egg/chopped greens. The dill pickle juice makes for a wonderful flavor combo with the caraway. Yes.

Enjoy!

Ricciarelli

A classic Sienese almond meringue cookie, these gluten free treats are delicious and straight forward in their preparation. Some say the name comes from the fact that the cookies are shaped to resemble grains of rice (riso in Italian), although I’ve also read it comes from the Italian word riccio which translates to hedgehog. Who knows!?

Historically made for the Christmas holiday season, over time they have become so popular that they can be found year round. Steve and I first discovered them on a trip to Italy back in the late 90s and not only loved their flavor and texture but their shelf life as well.

Made with almond flour, confectioners sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, lemon or orange zest and vanilla and almond extracts, they require just a couple of bowls, a hand mixer with whisk (or stand mixer if you prefer), spatula, bowl scraper and your hands. Have the egg whites at room temperature - they whip better that way.

Here’s the recipe. I use a large bowl to blend together 250 g almond flour, 250 confectioner’s sugar and the zest of one orange (or two lemons, or a mix!). Place 85 g / about 3 large egg whites in a medium bowl along with 1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar. Start whipping on low-medium speed until they get foamy, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract then increase speed and whip to stiff peaks (kind of like that dacquoise I showed you recently).

Stiff peaks!

Now blend the whipped whites into the almond flour/confectioners sugar mix. You’ll be knocking the air out of the meringue - that’s OK. It will be like a paste. Once blended, form a rough oblong and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night.

The next day, when ready to proceed, remove the paste from the fridge; dust your work surface generously with confectioner’s sugar and roll the paste into a 5 cm (~2 inch) diameter log.

I made a double batch of paste for an upcoming demo so what you see below are two single quantities of paste. Make sure the log is well coated with confectioner’s sugar.

Slice the log into 12 cm (1 inch) wide discs, continuing to dust with confectioners sugar to prevent sticking. Form each disc into a sort of rice grain shape and place them on parchment lined sheet pans.

Dust with more confectioner’s sugar then set the pan(s) aside and let the cookies dry for 1-2 hours, uncovered and at room temperature.

Heat your oven to 300ºF. They’re ready to bake when you push on the edge with your fingertip and feel some resistance with the paste starting to crack.

Dried

Bake for 5 minutes, increase the oven temp to 350ºF and bake an additional 10 minutes. The cookies should crack during baking, showing golden cracks amongst the powdered sugared surfaces.

Let cool fully on the sheet pans then store in a covered container for up to a week.

Try ‘em, you’ll love ‘em!