Not-so-Montreal Bagels

Guy, St Catherine, St Mathieu, Atwater, Rene Levesque...this was my neighbourhood when I was a student in Montreal. That was quite the location. Everything was at my doorstep. I shared an appartment with my sister, Nathalie, and she taught me where to get good eats. From time to time, we would get hazelnut coffee from Java U and head to Rene Levesque for wonderful breads. We got croissants from a small bakery on St Mathieu, groceries from the Faubourg, where we would also buy fancy cheeses, cold cuts, the best pad thai in the country and also wonderful bagels. ahhhh...the list is long...

The neighbourhood has changed a lot since then and some of our favourite spots have unfortunately closed. The bagel guy still operates, although not as much as before.

I am pretty sure Nathalie helped refine my taste buds. When she was still in high school, she used to make wonderful things like Crêpe with bechamel sauce, chocolate mousse, Bavarois à l'ananas...mmm mmm mmm. We don't get to spent too much time together anymore. We're separated by oceans. So I'm dedicating this one to her as good bagels remind me of good times in Montreal.

Here's the recipe.

In a food processor, pulse:

• one medium onion

Remove the onion from the bowl and reserve for later use.

Without washing the bowl, add to the food processor:

• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp salt

Turn the food processor on and while the motor is running, add:

• 1 3/4 cups water (room temperature)

Process the dough for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes soft and heats up a little bit. Transfer the dough to a board and knead briefly. Place the dough back in the food processor. Process for a minute and knead again on a board. Repeat this process a 3-4 times to work the dough so it becomes very smooth and strong.

Allow the dough to rest (2 hrs) until it doubles in volume. When the dough has doubled in size, cut it into 12 round pieces and allow to rest for 1 hr.

To prepare the onion, in a low heat pan:

• Fry the onion with some olive oil and stir until the onion caramelizes into a paste

Stretch each dough ball out slightly, making a hole in the middle for the bagel shape. Spread a little bit (1/4 tsp) of the onion paste on top. Bake in a 450 F oven for about 15 min.

Smell the aroma in the house... It's quite wonderful.

These aren't quite the Montreal bagels from my old neighbourhood but they're very satisfying and till the next time you can get the authentic Montreal bagels... Yummy.

Date and Walnut Buns

Ever gone to a dim sum restaurant and ordered sweet buns? Well these are similar but I am using dates and walnuts as stuffing instead and I'm also adding the traditional spices you find in hot cross buns.

In a sauce pan, warm up the following until the butter melts:

• 150 ml milk
• 50g butter
  
• crushed cardamom seeds (2 pods)
• 1 clove

Let the mixture to infuse off the heat. Strain the spices out when the liquid cools down. Then add:

• 1 egg

In a stand mixer, add:

• 400g whole wheat flour (or bread flour or a mixture if you prefer)
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast
• zest of an orange
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• all of the egg mixture

Knead and let the dough rest until doubled in size.

Prepare the dates by placing:

• 2 cups dates, just enough boiling water to cover

Leave the dates to soften for a few minutes, then strain, dry excess water, and chop into pieces. Prepare the walnuts by chopping:

• 1/2 cups of walnuts (reserve about 2 tbsp for the topping)
  

When the dough is ready, cut off a small piece, stretch it out a little. Sprinkle with some date and walnut pieces and roll up into a small bun. Repeat until you've used up all the dough and let it rest for about 40 min. Sprinkle the top with a few walnut pieces and bake at 400 F for 15-20 min.

Prepare a glaze for the buns by mixing:

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp boiling water

When the buns are ready, spoon over some of the glaze. Step back and admire your hard work; whole wheat buns stuffed with sweet dates and walnut crunch.

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut macaroons, coconut rocks, coconut pyramids, gato coco (in creole) are many names I've come across for this recipe. This one comes from a cooking class from when I was about 13 years old. It's made with condensed milk, grated coconut and egg whites. You can flavour this any way you like. I added cocoa once (although, next time I'd rather use dark chocolate chunks) and I also tried it with roasted almonds. A friend of mine has suggested cardamom which I have yet to try. My favourite, though, is a classic basic recipe with a dash of vanilla.

Mix together:

• a can of condensed milk (300 ml)
  
• 3-4 cups of grated coconut (If using fresh, squeeze some of the water out)
  
• dash of vanilla

Fold in:

• 2 egg whites beaten to stiff peaks

Fold the egg whites in the coconut mixture. Spoon the batter on a lined tray and bake at 400 F for about 15-20 min.

The challenge will be to not eat a handful of these : )

Cheese Biscuits

Cheese biscuits are comfort food any time of the day. They pair up well with a cup of tea, a bowl of stew or just on their own. I used to make them with bread flour only but recently I've started sneaking in some whole wheat flour. I once read that whole wheat is a better option than adding bran to recipes since bran doesn't have the nutrients that whole wheat has. So when we have the option, why not use some whole wheat flour?

"Whole wheat makes a tough dough," you ask? In my opinion, these are still really light and fluffy. Give them a try!

In a food processor, pulse the following ingredients together:

• 250g bread flour
• 250g whole wheat flour
• 30g baking powder
• 125g unsalted butter

Grate:

• 125g cheddar cheese and reserve for later
  

In a separate bowl, combine:

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
  

Place the flour mixture in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in all the buttermilk mixture, followed by the grated cheese. Mix using the handle of a wooden spoon and finish combining with your hands. Speed is key in this step. Overworking the dough will produce tough biscuits.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface (even if not yet combined completely) and shape into a ball. Let the dough rest for a few minutes.

Then roll out the dough to about 1 1/2 cm, cut into shapes, place on a lined tray and brush with an egg wash (or milk or cream). Bake at 400 F for about 15 min.

Voilà!

Basic Rustic Bread

Growing up, we always had fresh bread (pain maison) in the house every morning. They came in individual sizes with a signature slit in the middle that's so typical of this type of bread. The crust - perfect and rustic. The crumb - soft and has a good bite. Pain maison was the staple of all breads.

This recipe is reminiscent of pain maison. It's effortlessly glorious and rustic. This is the only bread recipe that I make by hand. It doesn't take kneading at all. Roughly mix all the ingredients in the order below in a very large mixing bowl. Don't worry about getting all the ingredients to distribute evenly. The whole process is a matter of a few minutes only. Wet your hands towards the end to make things easier.

This recipe makes about 5 medium size loaves. I usually bake two loaves and refrigerate the rest. This way, I can have fresh bread for the rest of the week!

Dough:

• 3 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp yeast
• 1/2 cup rye flour (or substitue for another type of flour you've been dying to try like semolina flour, spelt or kamut)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp salt
  

Leave the dough to rest for a couple of hours or until doubled in size. To make a loaf, sprinkle some flour on the surface of your dough and cut off a piece of dough (size of a grapefruit). Flour your hands and stretch the surface of the dough gently and around to the bottom. This will help smooth the surface of the dough. Pinch the dough closed at the bottom and let it rest on a well floured surface (or sheet lined with parchment paper) for 40min.

You can either use up the rest of the dough by making additional loaves or refrigerate it for use later.

Baking:
Organize 2 shelves in your oven. One in the middle and the other in the bottom third of the oven. If you have a pizza stone, place on the middle rack. Preheat to 450 F while your dough is resting. When ready, sprinkle some flour on your dough, slash the top a few times and slide your dough on the middle rack. Add a pan with a cup of boiling water on the lower rack to add steam to your oven. Bake for 40 min.

There they are! Golden and fabulous.

If you can resiste the temptation, let the loaves cool down completely before tearing into them. The crumb will be much better. Reheat your bread slightly if you want to have it warm later.

You can add more flavour to your bread by stretching the dough like you would a pizza dough and adding a few toppings like herbs, nuts etc. Try oregano, few chunks of fresh figs, garlic and sharp cheddar cheese. I won't even mention waiting till the bread cools down completely : ) May I suggest pairing this warm bread with a creamy Bleu d'Auvergne?... ah, so delicious. Perhaps I've lost a few of readers at the mention of blue cheese? mmm...

One last thing, if taking dough from the refrigerator, cut off a piece of dough, shape and let come to room temperature for about 45min before baking.