Sourdough Tiger Bread and High School blast to the past / Pane tigre al lievito madre e ritorno al Liceo

I do not remember at all the first time I came across ” Tiger Bread “. I have no memories, no anecdotes. But I’ll never forget the first time I was able to bake a beautiful batch (I’d rather not talk about the first attempt, it is still an open wound!). A month ago I received an invitation from an old teacher of my former Art School, Prof. Fasola, to participate in an event organized by the school to celebrate his 60th birthday.

“Cuochi d’artificio”: Bicycle! / “Cuochi d’artificio”: La bicicletta!

Bicycle! Bycicle!, when Alice proposed me this theme I clearly sensed her perplexity…what would I do of it? Was it feasible, with bread? Her uncertainty was palpable and I had to think quick in order to convince her everything would be fine and not miss this opportunity. Paris-Brest, of course! One of the most famous and popular French pâtisserie classics was created in 1910 by chef Louis Durand to commemorate the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race begun in 1891. It’s basically a wheel shaped choux filled with praline flavoured cream. What about a bread wheel, filled with a foie gras cream? To recreate the craquelin effect, a decorative crackly topping, I relied on the recipe for the topping for tiger bread rolls. The result? Simply stunning! Unfortunately due to ethical issues my first recipe for the filling was rejected. But since I personally find it amazing and love foie gras I decided to post it, in case you would like to try it. The recipe I cooked in the studio has more of a strong and rustic flavour, but is still very good.

Here you will find the list of ingredients needed and the directions to bake the bread and to whip up the filling (sorry it’s in Italian but I’m pretty sure google translate will be ok) and here you can find the whole episode with me explaining all the steps to bake this beauty at home. Are you ready?

MTChallenge June: Horse Meat Hamburger with Eggplant, Beetroot crisps, pepper ketchup in a liquorice bun / MTChallenge Giugno: Hamburger di cavallo con melanzana, barbabietola e ketchup di peperoni in panino alla liquirizia

Here I am a little sleepy and with half closed eyes as I sit here, typing at my computer. What an adventure for this month’s MTChallenge! Diabolical Arianna saparunda.blogspot.ch, who won the contest last month, launched a pretty complex challenge inviting us to cook our own version of the world famous American Hamburger. I can’t deny it, as all the staff of the challenge is very understanding when allergies and special diets ar involved I first contemplated the option of participating with a macrobiotic hamburger. That thought lasted about thirty seconds, then I realized that it had no sense at all, at least from my personl point of view on this dish. Let’s face it hamburgers must be rich, fat and rewarding. It didn’t feel quite right to stick a vegetable burger into a wholemeal bun with a tahini and umeboshi sauce. Hey, hold on a second…now that I came up with this I must admit it does sound quite appealing. Maybe I’ll give it a try soon. But anyway back to my burger. Blame it on the diet restrictions or just my own view on burgers (burger = meat), but I decided to focus on a juicy and tasty version of the American fast food par excellence. And I don’t regret it.

Recipes

 

BISCUITS

Aniseed biscuits

Chocolate and Cherry Jam Cookies

Cream Biscuits with Saffron and Raisins

Gingersnaps biscuits

 

BREAD

Beetroot, tangerine, tonka bean and vanilla bread

Braided Butter Bread

Buckwheat, carrot and leek Autumn Loaf

Buckwheat ciabatta (approx 75% hydration)

Candied orange peel, aniseed and almond meal bread

Caramelized Pecans Ciabattas

Cast Iron Pot Bread 

Ciabatta, Maroggia’s Mill recipe

Ciabatta, my first recipe

Ciabatta, sourdough

Ciabatta, Vittorio’s recipe

Ciabattas with Garlic and Lemon Thyme

Cazzottini with Senatore Cappelli and thick semolina flour

Courgette, feta, honey and sesame seeds pull-apart bread

Croissants

Dill and Lemon Baguette

Excess Sourdough Wholewheat Bread

Graham flour and mixed seeds Marguerite (bread flower)

Graham Flour Tin Loaf

Guinness beer, blackcurrant and dark chocolate bread

Mixed seeds and Graham flour Boulot 

Pain Fendu

Rye and Coarse Oat Loaf

Saffron, aniseed, caramelized onion and orange zest baguette

Seed and Rye Saucisson

Spelt, wholemeal bread, and wheat bran bread

Spelt, Semi-Whole Wheat, Buckwheat flour, Wheat Germ Sourdough Bread

Ticinese Bread

Tin loaf bread

Wholewheat and AP flour Epi

 

BREAD ROLLS

Bao Bunnies filled with Greeen Azuki

Cherry and Beetroot Buns wrapped in Bacon

Chestnut flour, Potato and Walnut bread rolls

Farina bona, Potato and Walnuts rolls

Hot dog buns

Mantovanine

Pain de beaucaire

Potato and Za’atar bread roses

Rye and fennel seeds snails with blood oranges and red onion chutney

Rustic Mini Babà

Sweet potato bread rolls

Soft butter rolls with rye flour with quick hummus

Sourdough Tiger bread rolls

 

CAKES, MUFFINS & CO.

Beetroot, Orange and White Chocolate Muffins

Blackberries and ricotta cheesecake

Chestnut flour and Rice Milk Popovers

Chocolate and orange plumcake

Dark chocolate, raisins and almonds muffins

Dark chocolate, raisins, blackcurrants and roasted almonds muffins

Dark chocolate, raisins, pistachio and orange zest muffins

French toast baguette

Leicestershire curd tarts

Madeleines with licorice and orange zest

Mini Sachertorte

Panettone Yule Log

Pastel de Tres Leches

Smithy Loaf

Spiced Baumkuchen

 

CRACKERS, GRISSINI, SAVOURY BISCUITS

Aniseed, White Chocolate and Lime Zest Grissini

Breadcrumb Grissini

Crunchy Licorice snails

Dried Wild Fennel leaves, Lemon and Pepper crackers

Emmer Knacker Brot with mixed seeds

Hazelnut Grissini

Hazelnut and Buckwheat flour savoury biscuits

Sourdough Bread Thins

Taralli Ticinesi with red Merlot wine and polenta breading

Whole Rye Flour and White Wine Taralli

 

DESSERT

Bavarian Cream with White Chocolate, Cinnamon and Orange and Dark Chocolate Butterflies

Chocolate Éclairs

Lobster Tails

Millefeuille part I

Millefeuille part II

Millefeuille part III

Millefeuille part IV

Millefeuille part V

Millefeuille part VI

Mincepies

Paris Brest

Perfect Pistachio Millefeuille

Red currant clafoutis

Ricotta and Candied Ginger Cheesecakes

White Chocolate, Cardamom and Fleur de Sel Caramel tartellettes

 

FESTIVE BREADS

Hot Cross Buns

Panettone tips

Three King’s Bread

Venetian Easter Bread

 

FLATBREADS

Msemmen, Moroccan Bread

Naan Bread

Piadina Menù

Sourdough Gozleme with Kohlrabi, Aubergines and Parmesan Cheese

 

FOCACCIA & PIZZA

Pide (Turkish pizza)

Potato Focaccia

Semolina Flour Focaccia

Sourdough Focaccia with Pickled Artichokes, Red Cabbage and Anchovies

Pizza with Zucchini, Lemon and Mint

 

FIRST COURSES

Buckwheat, Leek and Scampi Lasagna / Lasagna al grano saraceno, porri e scampi

Cassava gnocchi with Wild Garlic Pesto

Chestnut flour Ravioli, stuffed with walnuts and bread, topped with melted cheese

Garganelli and Ragù alla Mamma

Licorice Lasagna with Chicken Liver and Leeks

Pici with Luganega, Hazelnuts and Coffee Sauce

Ravioli with ricotta and zucchini with olive oil, lemon and wild fennel emulsion

Rye Tagliolini with Oil and Sage Emulsion

Savoury strudel with Butternut squash, creamed Cassava, Bacon and Walnuts with Roquefort cheese Béchamel

Spelt and spicy eggplant salad

Testaroli with almond sauce

Trofie with Chestnut and pumpkin sauce

Wheat and Emmer Focaccia with Leeks and Broccoli

Vegetables and Spices Latkes

 

SECOND COURSES

Licorice and Red Wine Veal Stew

 

SAUCES

My curry sauce

My tomato sauce

 

SAVOURY MUFFINS, CRUMPETS, SCONES

American Breakfast: Egg Benedict on english muffin, Butternut Squash Muffins and Beetroot-Tangerine Smoothie

Aniseed flavoured Blue Corn Johnnycakes

Buckwheat Sourdough English Muffins

Chestnut flour and Rice Milk Popovers

Cocoa surprise muffins

Farina Bona Crumpets

Savoury Muffins with Salami and Cheese

 

SAVOURY PIES AND FLANS

Curried vegetables double crust pot pie

Buckwheat and Hazelnut flour Pie with Broccoli and Walnut filling

Green Beans, Celeriac and Feta Tart

Shrimp, Turnip and Redo Oranges zest Soufflé with Licorice sauce

Spiced cauliflower flan

 

SWEET BREADS

Apple and cinnamon pull apart bread muffins

Autumn Brioche Flower with Chestnut and Butternut Squash

Orange flavored Babà with saffron cream and pistachios

Brioche

Chocolate Babka

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnuts Milk Rolls

Kolache with Chestnut Flour and Persimmon Jam

Licorice, Strawberries and White Chocolate Babka

Macadamia butter, honey and hazelnut wreath

Monkey Bread with Fleur de Sel Caramel topping

Poppy seed snails

Red Berries Soft Buns

Sourdough Banana Bread

White Chocolate and Pistachio Flower Brioche

 

SWEET SPREADS

Apple & Red Berries Curd

 

SWEET TREATS

Green Adzuki filled Mochi

Iranian sweets

Saffron and Pistachio Marshmallows

Sourdough, Saffron and Black Pepper Apple Fritters

Sweet Onigiri filled with Courgette Jam wrapped in Apple “seaweed”

 

VEGAN

Chocolate Orange and  Hazelnut Vegan Tart

 

VEGETABLES

Beetroot and Feta Salad

What I baked last weekend and a chocolate and orange plumcake / Cosa ho sfornato settimana scorsa e un plumckae al cioccolato e arancia

It has been a long one, last week. Full of appointments, things to do and unexpected events. I have baked and cooked, I’ve wrote posts, I’ve driven my car far and got stuck an a few queues. I got tired but didn’t let go, putting my alarm clock at 2 a.m. in order to bake a panettone I have been given at an evening at the bakery promoted by Migros and sleeping 4-5 hours maximum to bake ciabatte. I found the time to put together a quick pot bread but admit a little cheating with an addition of instant yeast (2 gr) which enabled me to bake a loaf in approx 4 hours avoiding the fridge proofing. And here I am, tired, trying to type up a new post for the blog.