Crumpets

I may have mentioned that sometimes I go to Sydney for work. It's a lovely job perk, to go hang out in Summer weather in January, explore another city, and eat many things served on wooden boards. 

The unfortunate part is that the Sydney office is far superior to our SF office, in many ways, but especially in the breakfast department. In our office, we have bread and jam and a toaster, and cream cheese as long as the leftover supply from Bagel Monday holds out. Inexplicably, though, there is never any butter.  In Sydney, they have about 5 kinds of butter, jam, and a variety of bread options, from plain, to thick cut cinnamon raisin toast, and sometimes, crumpets. 

The crumpets are the ones that really get me. I LOVE them. Think of an inside out english muffin, but richer, and one that has all its nooks and crannies on the outside. Throw one of those in the toaster and spread on some butter and it melts all into the cracks and crevices. It's divine, even the obviously commercially produced ones in the office.

Since crumpets aren't exactly a thing here in the US, it's kind of hard to relive the experience at home. So I decided to make them! The result was not exactly what I was remembering, but close enough to satisfy any cravings until my next trip to Sydney. I guess I'll need to make another batch to get me to 2019!

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Crumpets

Adapted from David Lebovitz

• 1 1/2 cup milk, warmed slightly
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup + 1 tbs tepid water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine milk, sugar and yeast and let stand 10 minutes until slightly foaming. Mix in the flour and salt with the paddle attachment, and then beat for 3 minutes on high. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, 1 hour.
2. Mix the water and baking soda together and then beat into the dough with the paddle attachment. 
3. Heat a skillet or pan over medium heat, and brush with oil. Oil round biscuit cutters or tart rings or whatever round, heat-proof tool you are using (I found regular cooking spray to work best for creasing both the pan and the rings). Place rings on the skillet and fill with batter, just enough to cover the bottom if you are using biscuit cutters (a little less than 1/4 cup batter). Cook the crumpets until bubbles begin to appear, then gently lift off the cutters or rings with tongs and continue to cook about 4-5 minutes, making sure bottoms aren't browning too much. Flip, and continue cooking on other side until golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

Preserved Lemon Bars

At the risk of hyperbole, can I say that these are among my favorite things I've ever baked? 

I'm sure I've said this same thing about many other dishes I've made, but this time, I swear I really mean it! 

I really thought a lot about how I wanted these to taste (for like, two years, ever since I first put preserved lemons in curd. Check out the hyperbole when I talk about curd in that post too!). I knew the recipe I was going to try to adapt (Melissa Clark, how could I go wrong?).  And so, three weeks ago, when the arrival of Spring had me craving lemony sweets, I filled up a jar with lemons and salt and waited eagerly for the day I could realize my dreams. 

LOL.

I don't think it would be fair to say that I failed miserably on my first attempt, because the end result, while messy, was incredibly delicious. But, considering that instead of setting as promised, my filling ballooned up and over the sides of the tart pan in a volcano of lemon mockery, I'm not sure I can honestly call it a success. I certainly wasn't going to photograph it. As I stood in my kitchen, scraping the overflow of curd off the baking sheet with a spoon, I tried to figure out where I went wrong.

This is the part where I admit I've never made lemon bars before. Ever. And if you've been reading this blog for a while you know I have a spotty history with curd (just so much failure, near failure, and unnecessary masochism). But I am stubborn, and ever overconfident in my ability to succeed at a recipe on my first try, even when messing with the science of yolk ratios and acids and salt and baking pan sizes. This confidence might be charming if it didn't so often lead to disaster. 

And yes, I did all of the above here. I cut the recipe by 1/3. I changed the baking pan type. I messed with the acidity and salt content by subbing preserved meyer lemons. Oh, and I was also going off of a recipe already made trickier because it uses olive oil in place of butter, because of course I was. I'm not sorry, but I do recognize I made this harder on myself.

So I tried again. I carefully baked off the crust and filled it with curd that I stirred into existence with reverential care. Then I baked it off, parking myself in front of the oven with a CONSTANT VIGILANCE! that would make Mad Eye proud. 

In the end, I won out over the curd gods in my own Easter miracle. Jesus rose, my curd did not. I dusted my beautiful creation in powdered sugar and enjoyed. Amen.

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Preserved Lemon Bars

Recipe adapted from Melissa Clark

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbs powdered sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 10 tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

For the filling:

• 1 cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup preserved lemon brine (homemade, or storebought, this is just lemon juice + salt + a little sugar)
• 1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 2 2/3 tbs butter
• 1/6 cup (40ml) olive oil
• powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Make the crust: Pulse all dry ingredients and the zest in a food processor, then add the butter pieces and pulse until a dough forms (it will be crumbly). Press into a 14x4.5 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, about 1/4 inch thick. You will have a little extra dough for snacking. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 325 for 30 minutes, until golden. The shell will shrink down a bit and puff up. 
2. While shell is baking, make the filling: In a small saucepan, rub the zest and the sugar together to release the oils in the zest. Add the fresh lemon juice, preserved lemon juice, egg, yolks and cornstarch. Whisk over med-high heat, about 5 minutes, until it comes to a boil. Boil for at least 30 seconds but no more than 1 minute. The curd will thicken, but if you over boil it will thin out again. Remove curd from heat and strain into a bowl, then whisk in the butter and olive oil. 
3. Using the back of a small spoon, smooth down the puffed crust as best you can to deepen the shell. Pour in the filling and bake 10-15 minutes, to just set. Curd will appear to be very jiggly and not set at all, but if you see it start to bubble and rise, remove it from the oven immediately. Cool to room temperature, then chill until firm. Cut into 16 squares and dust liberally with powdered sugar.

Notes:

• Version 3 is happening, and I'm going all in with 100% preserved lemon. What can I say, I just want more of that salty, briny lemon joy. If you don't want to do that but you want a little extra salt, sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top of the powdered sugar before serving.

Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins

At one point does a muffin become a cupcake in yoga pants?

That is the question I began to ponder as I tested these muffins again and again, trying to make the blueberry lemon spelt muffin of my dreams. The only problem is that spelt, unlike refined white flour, has a stronger flavor that overpowers the delicate baked flavor of lemon zest. No matter how much zest I rubbed into my sugar or lemon juice I added to the batter, I couldn't taste the lemon at all. I considered lemon extract, but I really didn't want to go that route. I thought about a lemon syrup or glaze, and it was at that point that I realized I was crossing the border to cupcake land.

So, I switched to ginger! The stronger flavor can hold its own against the spelt flour, and pairs wonderfully with the blueberries. Even better, the ginger kept these on the muffin side of the spectrum, towards the healthier end. Plus, the spelt has such great, naturally buttery flavor that you don't even really need butter on these (but you still could, photo evidence above).  I consider all of this to be awesome news, considering I ate the leftover bag of "experiments" sitting in my freezer for breakfast everyday last week (insert emoji shrug lady here).

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Blueberry Ginger Spelt Muffins

Adapted from Babycakes

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or another 1/4 cup spelt flour)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2/3 cup buttermilk (plus a little more if mixture seems dry)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2/3 cup frozen wild blueberries
• 1/4 cup chopped crystalized ginger (optional)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin or silicon baking cups.
2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then mix in the liquids and whisk or stir until smooth. You may need to add a little more milk if mixture seems dry. Stir in blueberries and crystalized ginger, if using. 
3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes, then rotate pans and bake 7 minutes more. Cool in muffin cups for 5 minutes then flip muffins and continue cooling. Serve warm or room temperature.