Amazing Pastry Dough

Hello – Marhaba to all my dear friends, amazing blogger and lovely followers, I missed you so much, missed visiting your amazing blogs, reading your mouth watering posts, also I miss my followers and reading your comments, and feedback.  

My apology for staying away for so long, sometimes Life put you through many tests, and trails and I thank God, that I am back to blogging and sharing my food and baking with you all… I hope you forgive me for being away for so long.

I need to thank you all being sincere followers, and kept visiting my blog all this time, and  checking my recipes specially the Lebanese Street Kaak  and Homemade Yogurt , which have more than 6000 visits.

I like to share my amazing dough recipe with you ,but to be honest, I don’t measure my ingredients when I am making this dough I use the basic 10 minutes sponge and add the  ingredients to make an amazing dough, sometimes I am short on yogurt I add sour cream but in less than required, sometimes all I have is 2% milk so I use that, sometimes I add olive oil instead of butter, and when I start kneading the dough by hand I can tell if it needs some of this or that... I can feel it in my hands .

I start my recipe by preparing the “10 minutes sponge dough”

For the sponge

2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of warm milk - you can use warm water instead
1 tablespoons of yeast (this depends on the amount of flour you are using)
2 tbsps. sugar
Mix well either by hand or in the machine until well combined and let it rest for 10-15 minutes
its okay to leave it more.

For the dough

5 cups of flour
1 cup of full fat yogurt or sour cream
warm water for kneading in case it requires
2 eggs
½ cup sugar if you are making sweet dough only
1 tsp. of group mahleb (I love the smell of mahleb in the dough)
1 Tsp. or 1 tbsp. of sea salt depends if you are using the dough for savoury or sweet
½ of butter 

Direction

Mix all ingredients well to combine ,the dough has a sticky texture, this is how its supposed to be.  Keep kneading until it will form a nice soft dough a bit sticky, I don't recommend adding lots of flour to turn it into a dry and stiff dough, you will not get the same results, and will be hard to work with.

I don’t let it rest to rise, I put it in a freezer bag or a big Tupperware and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 24 - 48 hours before I use it.
You can take the recipe play with it, add more flavours, spices.  Its an amazing dough for spongy fluffy /brioche texture.  I made lots of braided bread, stuffed it with savoury and sweet flavours.   I hope you will give it a try then share your experience and maybe your photos.  Here is some of the photos using the dough

  

Friendship

 

Friendship is love,

Without friendship love means nothing!
Without friendship love is empty…
Without friendship love is boring...!
 

Friendship means sharing…

People learn to share from friendship,
Share everything they have in life,

Friendship is like stars,

Even though we always see them together
Always mean to each other…
But,
Sometimes they argue!

Friendship is like flower,

Soft but strong!
Friendship is like sun,
Bright and beautiful!

Friendship is everything in life,

Life without friendship is like life without air…
Life without friendship is like eats without food
And
Life without friendship is like body without soul…

Friendship is wide!

Anybody can be our friend,
Our parents, our grandparents, our sister, our brother, our school principal!
and even our followers and subscribers.   I miss you all and sorry that I've been away
for such a long time.

Friendship….

Is everything!

 

Qistina Zaini

FESTIVE RICE PUDDING - ME-GH-LEH

This is a Special Christmas Eve Pudding, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, then the tradition continued to include every house celebrating a new born baby, the pudding will be served to family and friends
Ingredients:
1 cup of pounded rice (Rice Powder)
8-9 cups of water (some rice requires 9 cups)
1 ¼ cups of sugar (depends on your taste) or 1 cup of healthy sweetener(swerve,stevia or your choice)
1 tbsp of Caraway seeds
1 tbsp of anise seeds
1 tbsp of Cinnamon
preparation
Rinse the spices specially the anise seeds, which grew in earth and contains sand, let them dry on a paper towel, then ground them in an electric spice machine.
In a thick bottom pot add 4 cups of water and the rice, if you are using store bought ground spices, add the spices to the other half of the water, in a bowl, and stir by hand, then wait around five minutes you will notice that the spices will float to the surface. Carefully and making sure not to stir the bottom drain the water and the spices, over the pot with the rest of the water. You will notice that there is sand resting in the bottom of the bowl.
Stir the mixture in the pot and cook on a medium high heat until it boils, lower the heat, and keep stirring as it stick to the bottom of the pot, add the sugar and keep stirring, if the rice thickened before it cooked completely add ½ cup of water, and stir the rice when it cooks completely will thickens and the seeds will double it will take around 30 minutes or so depends on the rice , you can taste to check for doneness turn your wooden spoons and run your finger through the middle of the pudding or "custard " if a clear path is left and an even run less film is left on the spoon the pudding is ready.  Serve in bowls or in a big platter. Leave till cool completely before you decorate the top with unsweetened coconuts, silvered almond, walnuts, and pine nuts or any toasted unsalted nuts.

I hope you will give this dessert a try, its very tasty, economic depends on your topping, and above all its vegan, and gluten free, and healthy.

Kitchen Towels for Sale

Hello dear friends , the Farmer's Market Season Started last week. I want to appologize from all of you my dear friends, for not visiting so often and checking your amazing recipes and mouth watering photos...I even don't have the time to do new posting, though I am taking lots of photos.

Today my post is not about a new recipe but about a talented friend who does weaving at home, and creates amazing line of kitchen towels... I took some photos last weekend for her display to share with you, and to let you know that if you need to buy her towels you can contact me and I can arrange that for you.


These are some photos for the amazing towels with beautiful colors and designs. Later I will post an old towel she did eighteen years ago, the towel still brand new, and every time she washes it revitalizes. They are made from organic cotton. Her customers keep repeating that they have been using the towels since many years, and still look brand new. You can wash them in the washing machine, and the more you wash them the better they look.


The towels are very big 49 x 24. My friend also makes dish cloths; they are on top of the kitchen towels.... The price of each towel is $ 20.00 plus shipping.

Some customers buy these towels as Christmas gifts, wedding showers, and birthday gifts.

Also my friend makes baby blanket set , as well as she weaves winter wool blankets.


 

Navy & Green Towel - the small towel is dish cloth

Orange & brown towel

Pink & Green Towel

Almost the width of my dinning table

Turquoise , Green & light orange Towel

Light Blue and Yellow Towel

Orange & Grey Towel

Multi Color Towel

Orange & Navy Blue Towel

Orange and Brown Towel

Also my friend makes baby blankets and wool blankets

winter wool socks, and fabric toys. if any one is interested I can take some photos

Homemade Yogurt and Shankleesh

I promised you in an earlier posting about a homemade yogurt recipe, also from the same recipe we can make a mezza platter which we all enjoy- Shankleesh - you can serve it as a mezza platter or as side dish, or even for lunch. 


Homemade Yogurt is a healthy source of protein, calcium, magnesium, and other essential vitamins, whose active bacterial cultures aid in digestion. You can make yogurt in your own home for a fraction of the cost of the typical store-bought type and it requires no special equipment


Home made yogurt tastes better, and it doesn’t include preservatives, sugar, or chemical added, no packaging wasted.  This an old posting for making homemade yogurt.
http://phoeniciangourmet.blogspot.com/2009/03/home-made-yogurt-and-cheese-yogurt.html/

In a heavy bottom pot, dissolve the powder milk in liquid milk and heat on a medium heat to start the small bubbles around the edge soon as it reached the boiling point take it off the heat and let it cool to reach the finger test.  Make sure that your hands are extra clean; you are using your index to test the milk. To test the temperature of the milk, dip your index in the milk , you should be able to handle the heat till you count till No. 10 before the heat force you to withdraw your finger, if its cold you need to cook it couple of seconds more , if its too hot you need to cool it and try your index again. Make sure that the milk is at the right temperature to add the starter, if it’s cold it will not ferment, and if it’s too hot you will kill the starter.  Temper your yogurt starter with some warm milk mix well then add it to the milk and stir well to combine.

cover the yogurt and let it ferment in a non draft place.  It takes between four to six hours.

check after this time and if its turned to a solid yogurt leave the cover and put it in the fridge. 

for Shankleesh keep the yogurt covered in the fridge for at least four days to obtain the right flavour.

Now we are ready for the Shankleesh Recipe

In a clean thick bottom stainless steel pot add the yogurt and cook on a medium heat .  You will notice after 10 minutes it is starting to break and gather in the centre (like making homemade ricotta)

when you get the right consistency and you had a separated mixture transfer the cooked yogurt to a clean cheesecloth and let it drain

 drain well for couple of days , changing the cheese cloth every day

or you can let it dry on paper towel in the fridge.

before it dries completely add 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp chili pepper, and 2 tbsp of ground oregano, mix the spices well and roll the yogurt ball in this and let it dry completely (should feel like a dry white cheese, but still crumble)

some call for adding the salt and chili in the yogurt before you drain it, and I think you will loose the flavour as it will keep draining.

Leave it to dry in a cool place for couple of days more before serving.

Don't throw the leftover brine.  You can use it in making bread

To serve the Shankleesh, crumble in a plate and add chopped green onion and chopped tomatoes , adjust the salt and black pepper and cover with olive oil.

The flavour is a cross between Cottage Cheese and Greek Feta Cheese.

Note:  I am getting lots of emails asking about the temp of the milk before adding the starter.  I did some this weekend and I used a thermometer and i tried my finger first then took it off the heat and measure it , it was 54C or 136F try to take it of the heat when it reaches 53C .