Salt sticks ...the cure for cancer

Ok , Ok, it's not exactly a cure for cancer.


I'm making some old fashioned German salt sticks to bring to share with my Mom at her Chemo appointment tomorrow. She loves stuff like that and so I figured since I will be spending a few hours with her while the chemicals are dripping into her I.V. Port I should bring something we can enjoy with a good cup of tea and some nice Mother Son conversation.

I've actually enjoyed being able to spend time with my Mom at her Chemo appointments because in an otherwise depressing setting we have kind of connected like we never have before. Not that we haven't had a good relationship because we have, but we share some laughs and even some cries and both come away feeling good about our time together.

Food has always been a point of interest for everyone in our family. For starters my Mother is an awesome cook and like any good German mother, she is always offering food when someone comes over. Of course I'm a Baker , My Dad is a baker , and my Mom's Dad was a baker as well so needless to say that is a point of commonality that we share.

Maybe in some way, things like the Salt sticks that I'm going to tell you about can be a healing touch for my Mom.

These Salt sticks are made with a very simple bread dough that I make quite often at home. Today I'm making them with whole wheat flour and white flour 50/50 blend.
I made these for my kids when they were teething, when they are a day old (the salt sticks that is) it's great for them to gnaw on them.

Salt sticks
1 lb flour (half white flour half, whole wheat flour)
1/2 oz salt
1/2 oz sugar
1/2 oz oil (I use canola oil)
1/2 oz active dry yeast
1 cup warm water

• dissolve the yeast in the warm water until it starts bubbling
• add the rest of the ingredients and mix in a stand mixer for about 10 minutes on a relatively low speed so you don't kill your mixer.
• allow the dough to rise for about 45 minutes
• divide into 1 1/2 oz pieces
  
• round the dough pieces up and set aside to relax for about 10 to 15 minutes
• roll the pieces into a flat oval and roll them up the long way similar to a croissant
• allow to rise again for about 30 to 45 minutes or until they double in size
• brush with whole egg and sprinkle a light amount of Kosher salt on them (good with cheese also)
  
• bake in a 425*F oven for about 10 -15 minutes or until light golden in color

These make a great midday snack or even an interesting sandwich.

Here's to the healing touch of a salt stick.

Dr. Mike the Baker

Ham and Cheezy if you pleazy!

I was graciously invited to a birthday party this weekend and I was trying to think of what I should bring for some finger foods.

What to do ... what to do...

I remembered I had some danish pastry dough in the freezer and thought " hey, maybe I could use that". I picked up some sliced ham and some fresh spinach and some colby/jack cheese.
I rolled out the dough to about 1/16th of an inch and placed a leaf of spinach and 1/4 slice of ham and rolled it up like a croissant and placed a thin slice of cheese on top. In half of them I spread a small amount of cream cheese to add creaminess, Mmmm yum!
I kept them nice and small so they would be about two bites worth.

They were a big hit at the party and everyone asked for the recipe. Of course that was an easy one I just explained the way I put them together as I did above
.
You can use all kinds of different dough types , such as puff pastry, biscuit dough, or even bread dough. The danish dough I used was buttery and flaky which you won't get with a bread dough.

I love using dough like this for something savory. It's a great combination of sweet and savory. Danish dough is used almost exclusively for sweet pastries.

I hope you'll try this some time and let me know how it turns out.

Mike the Baker Boy

Blondies !

Blondies?
Here is a cool recipe.
These are basically Brownies without the brown... if you know what I mean.

This recipe is very simple and can be made with almost any boxed cake mix in the market.
I made this for my kids one time and they loved them. Of course kids love just about anything sweet that you put in front of them or within smelling distance and as long as it doesn't have something that is "good for you" in it.

Now I usually like to make stuff from scratch at home but I happened to have some cake mix left over from some testing I was doing ( because I work for a bakery supply company). The mix I was using is not too different from the box mixes you can buy at the local market , there might be a slight difference in how much liquid it absorbs so just adjust that with a little water.

Here's the recipe,

1-box of cake mix (usually around 18 to 20 ounces)
2- fresh eggs
4- ounces of oil (1/2 cup)
4- ounces of brown sugar (2/3 cup)
add enough hot water to get it to the right consitency

• put all ingredients into the mixer and blend on a medium speed until it forms a smooth batter.

If it is not pourable add enough water to make it pourable yet still thick.

• Pour batter into a oil sprayed/buttered 9 x 12 cake pan or casserole dish.

• Place this in a pre-heated 350*F oven for approximately 20 to 25 minutes just until barely set. In fact it's ok if it sinks a little out of the oven. And if your oven is anything like mine it runs a little hot so you might want to set it on a lower temperature( I use 325*F setting to get to the 350*F mark)
  
• While still warm loosen the edges and turn out onto a cutting board or whatever you want to cut it on.
• allow to cool before putting on toppings

Watch it to make sure you don't over bake the Blondies because you don't want them to be dry and cakey, you want them to be a little on the goey side.

Finishing is totally up to you. I like just a little powdered sugar on them. You can use icing, White chocolate fudge, or any number of other toppings, or what the heck , you can leave them plain(they're good that way too). I personally stay away from using chocolate on them because I like them to be blonde ... if you know what I mean.

Enjoy this simple yet delicious treat with a little ice cream and a good movie!

Mike the baker man