Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives

I will start by saying that this month’s Daring Bakers definitely ranks right up there in the ‘DARING’ mode, except this did not involve anyone who’s surname is Knievel  However, it did involve a pirhouette that would make most ballerinas jealous, a twist that would put Chuck Berry to shame, and a fall that would garner straight 10’s from Olympic judges in terms of the worst balance and maneuverability on the entire planet aka “What a putz, but damn, she can ‘KLUTZ’ with the best of ‘em!”.  This occured when I was setting up the tripod, camera, lavash and dip.  Until I’m home and comfortably nestled in front of my own PC, with a leg that no longer looks bionic and feels like a bag of stones, I’ll refrain from the complicated, long-winded explanation detailing how I ended up on the floor with a leg that looked like it had been attended to by Gilderoy Lockhart’s wand.

Without getting into the gory details, I’ll just tell you that I’m completely immobile with a torn ALL-CL (translation – I tore every damn ligament in my knee) AND a broken fibula.  My leg is in a brace as I wait for the broken fibula to fuse so they can perform surgery and put my knee back together again.  Until then you may call me Humpty Dummy.

That being said, since I’m on this teeny, tiny, somewhat ancient  MAC (which I know nothing about!) laptop at the hospital,  it’s hard to see and/or figure out how to work this thing to my comfort level, especially with the meds they’ve got me on.  Loopy and uncoordinated are incredible understatements, so bear with me!  I was not able to get photos of the finished product, but my SO came back to the scene of the ‘Olympic Event’ once I was placed in a room, drugged, and fast asleep and took some photos of my partially finished, partially composed lavash and dip.  Kudos to him, as that was an amazing thing to do without my asking, especially when he had no clue how to use my camera, other then looking into the view finder and pressing the shutter *CLICK*.

Now, on to this month’s DB challenge.  First off, I’d like to thank Natalie and Shellyfish for such a great challenge recipe and idea.  I’d never purposely made a vegan dip before, and Peter Reinhart’s crackers were simply out of this world.  The Bread Baker’s Apprentice is a book I own and enjoy immensely, but I had never tried his lavash crackers.  Now I have dozens of requests to make these again and again, although it looks like they may have to wait a while  Well, enough whining and bitching, and on to my crackers and dip!

I decided to incorporate a little Japanese flavor into my lavash crackers, starting with a Japanese 7-spice blend called Shichimi Togarashi,  I love this stuff!  Hot, slightly sweet, spicy, sesame(Y) (another one of my strange, new adjectives) et al, it goes great with so many things, including sweets, especially anything that includes chocolate.  You can usually find this spice in Asian or specialty markets, but if you can’t, it’s really simple to make on your own.  I made my own, since I happened to be out of it when I decided to make the first of several batches of the crackers (everyone kept *OOPS* eating them since they were so damn good!)

Clockwise from the left: dried tangerine peel, nori, dehydrated ginger, whole sichuan pepper, black sesame seeds, chili flakes, white sesame seeds.  Second photo – Ground and ready to use.

Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7-Spice Blend- ingredients may vary but this is the one I always use)

• 1 teaspoon nori flakes
• 3 teaspoons dried tangerine or orange peel
• 3 teaspoons ground chili pepper or chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon white or gold sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons dehydrated ginger, minced or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Grind the sesame seeds with the whole sichuan pepper and chili flakes in a mortar and pestle or small spice grinder.  Stir in the nori, tangerine or orange peel and ginger.  Store in an airtight container or spice jar. (UGH, still can’t get used to this tiny mac lappy, nothing is posting correctly, do over this, do over that..ARGH!) 

I used the Shichimi on all the crackers, but varied toppings in conjunction with it, such as rows of white and black sesame seeds, garlic chives, poppy seed, and dehydrated garlic.

I love a lot of toppings, so naturally the old adage of ‘a little goes a long way’ doesn’t apply to my crackers, salt being the only exception, except I didn’t use any kind of salt as a topping  On another note, as I’m sure many Daring Bakers have mentioned, in order to get a nice, crispy cracker, you must roll this dough super, duper thin.  Dividing the dough into sections and running it through a pasta roller or machine is ideal.  However, if you don’t own a pasta roller, and lack the patience to roll and roll with a rolling pin, you’ll end up with a more ‘bready-chewy’ cracker, which is great too.  Even better, you can leave the dough a little thicker, and voila, pita wraps.  You simply can’t lose here.  As you can sort of see above and below, I cut these crackers into a myriad of shapes before baking them ranging from triangles to sticks to half moons, off kilter wedges etc..  I had some great ideas to showcase these shapes for this entry…BUT, CRASH, and all visions of pretty photos went bye bye.

 For the dip, I whipped up a batch of edamame hummus.  Edamame are green soy beans, and you find them as an accoutrement to or in many Japanese dishes.  I wanted to take some photos of them but never got around to it prior to my errr, spill. I decided to add some whole adzuki beans, of which I did happen to snap a photo of below, for texture.  These are the beans used in many sweet Asian delicacies, mashed and cooked down with sugar and a little oil to make a sweet red bean paste, which I’m sure most of you are very familiar with, whether it be in ice cream, steamed red bean buns, sesame balls, mochi et al.

I also added some roasted sesame asparagus tips, red bell pepper, and a little chopped scallion for a more chunky and flavorful dip.  Unfortunately, when I was setting up the photo prior to ummm (not mentioning it again), I had not yet added the asparagus tips nor a delicious drizzle of reduced tamari and a touch of toasted sesame oil, which not only took it up a level on the palate, but would have resulted in a much nicer photograph!

Lavash Crackers Two Ways – Gluten and Gluten-free.

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) unbleached bread flour or gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe)
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1.  In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball.  You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2.  For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough:  Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter.  Knead for about 10 minutes, or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.  The dough should pass the windowpane test for a description of this) and register 77 degrees to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), satiny to the touch, not tacky, and supple enough to stretch when pulled.  Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

or

2.  For Gluten Free Cracker Dough:  The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4.  For Non Gluten Free Cracker Dough:  Mist the counter lightly with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter.  Press the dough into a square with your hand and dust the top of the dough lightly with flour.  Roll it out with a rolling pin into a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches.  You may have to stop from time to time so that the gluten can relax.  At these times, lift the dough from the counter and wave it a little, and then lay it back down.  Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap while it relaxes.  When it is the desired thinness, let the dough relax for 5 minutes.  Line a sheet pan with baking parchment.  Carefully lift the sheet of dough and lay it on the parchment.  If it overlaps the edge of the pan, snip off the excess with scissors. 

or

4.  For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper.  Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment.  Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches.  Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper.  Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet. 

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf.  Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.)  Be careful with spices and salt – a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough.  You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking.  If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first. 

5.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6.  When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.  You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

Chunky Edamame Hummus with Adzuki Bean

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound fresh, shelled edamame, about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspooon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon light sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1/4 cup adzuki (azuki) beans, fully cooked and left whole (soaked in water to cover – overnight, drained, then cooked in fresh water for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours)
• 2 tablespoon chopped scallion, green part only
• 1 small red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and diced
• 1 lb thick asparagus, drizzled and coated with a little peanut and sesame oil, salt and pepper, roasted (about 400 F for 10-12 minutes) and cut up, using the tips for dip.
• Toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup tamari, reduced until thick and syrupy

Directions

1. Boil the beans in salted water for 4 to 5 minutes.

In a food processor, puree the edamame, tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, and coriander until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oils and mix until absorbed.

Transfer to a bowl, stir in the chopped scallion, adzuki beans, red bell pepper, roasted asparagus tips and drizzle with a little toasted sesame oil and a bit of reduced tamari.  Serve with the crackers and/or assorted vegetables.

Don’t forget to check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll to get the links to all the Daring Baker’s awesome takes on this month’s challenge.