Homebaker’s Cookbook: Baghrir/ Il Ricettario di Homebaker: Crèpes millebuchi

Today’s recipe for Homebaker’s Cookbook is a reinterpretation of baghrir, a bubbly pancake often used as an accompaniment for both sweet and savoury dishes. I wanted to propose you with a sweet version like the one I tasted at the home of my friends Simone and Ramzi. I made an addition of saffron to perfume these pancakes that will drive you crazy. Try them for breakfast, you will love them.

Baghrir
x about 24-30 crêpes

330 g water
180 g homebaker’s pizza and pasta flour 
7 g baking powder
5 g sugar
2 g salt
1 g instant yeast
½ packet of saffron powder

In a large bowl blend all the ingredients except the baking powder and salt.
Stir up with a whisk for about 4 minutes, then cover the bowl with clingfilm and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour.
Add the baking powder and salt.
Stir up for a few seconds, just to mix all the ingredients.
Cover the bowl again with clingfilm and let it rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Take a non-stick pan and heat it.
Do not grease and pour a ladle or a spoonful of mixture.
The mixture will form many bubbles on the surface.
Baghrir are ready when all the bubbles have burst.
They are cooked only on one side so resist the temptation of flipping them over.
Do not overlap the pancakes and store them covered under a towel.
Proceed like this with all the dough.
Baghrir are excellent with butter and honey melted together in a saucepan.

Il Ricettario di Homebaker: Crèpes millebuchi

La ricetta di oggi per il Ricettario di Homebaker è una mia reinterpretazione dei baghrir, o anche chiamati crêpes millebuchi. Una specialità marocchina spesso usata come accompagnamento per piatti dolci e salati, ma io ho voluto proporveli nella versione dolce come quella che ho assaggiato a casa dei miei amici Simone e Ramzi. Ho fatto una aggiunta di zafferano per profumare queste crêpes che vi faranno impazzire. Provatele per la colazione, non vi deluderanno.

Crêpes millebuchi
x circa 24-30 crêpes

330 g acqua
180 g farina homebaker per pizza e pasta 
7 g lievito chimico per dolci
5 g zucchero
2 g sale
1 g lievito di birra
½ bustina di zafferano in polvere

In una ciotola capiente frullate tutti gli ingredienti tranne il lievito chimico e il sale.
Rimescolate con la frusta per circa 4 minuti, poi coprite la ciotola con pellicola alimentare e lasciate riposare a temperatura ambiente per circa un’ora.
Aggiungete il lievito per dolci e il sale.
Rimescolate per pochi secondi, giusto per amalgamare tutti gli ingredienti.
Coprite nuovamente la ciotola con pellicola alimentare e lasciate riposare a temperatura ambiente per circa 20 minuti.
Prendete una padella antiaderente e scaldatela.
Non ungetela e versate un mestolino oppure un cucchiaio abbondante di composto.
L’impasto formerà sulla superficie tante bolle.
Le crêpes sono pronte quando tutte le bolle saranno scoppiate e vengono cotte solo da un lato.
Non sovrapponeteli e conservateli coperti sotto un telo.
Procedete così con tutto l’impasto.
I baghrir sono ottimi con burro e miele fusi insieme in un pentolino.

Homebaker’s Cookbook: Almond and Sesame Biscuits / Il Ricettario di Homebaker: Biscotti alle mandorle e sesamo

Some time ago I discovered reginelle palermitane, very simple but delicious biscuits. This recipe is simply inspired by the original biscuits, which I thought were the result of a mix between wheat flour and almonds an ingredient in fact missing in the original recipe, as found out after a fairly detailed study, nonetheless I decided to put in the mixture to make my own version for Homebaker’s Cookbook. I chose to use homebaker’s farina 400, a flour specific for biscuit baking. Since I started using it in my recipes for biscuits and crackers I keep a package in the pantry…the difference, compared to biscuits baked with all purpose flour, is tangible and all the baked goods resulting are definitely more crisp! These almond and sesame biscuits are not too sweet and are ideal for both breakfast and a coffee break.

MTChallenge nr 60: Marchesa Casati’s tapas / MTChallenge nr 60: Infiniti auguri alla nomade! O anche le tapas della Marchesa

Another month, another MTChallenge! Mai‘s challenge is a tough one. Tapas! This month our MTC judges were really tough on us and we were asked to develop three recipes.

“Cuochi d’artificio”: Soft, sweet…Asia! / “Cuochi d’artificio”: Soffice, dolce…Oriente!

For this episode of “Cuochi d’artificio” I was given a very specific theme: steam. Not an easy one, especially since I was given the task of developing one or more idea for the long recipe part of the program. My first thought went to Chinese steamed bread, baozi, which I had been thinking of for a long time and planned to develop a sweet recipe soon.

A new adventure: “Cuochi d’artificio”…my recipes on tv, starting with seduction! / Una nuova avventura: “Cuochi d’artificio”…le mie ricette in tv, partendo dalla seduzione!

I have been keeping a secret from you. Since August I’ve been biting my tongue out of superstition. Ok some of my closest friends knew and eventually, when drawing nearer to the first recording, I disclosed the news to some acquaintances. A new adventure has started for me since I’ve been called to collaborate with “Cuochi d’artificio” the newest cooking show on La1, the first channel of the Swiss Italian Broadcasting Corporation. On the 13th of October my first recording was aired, and to much of my surprise it went down very well even though all my friends underlined the fact I came across as quite bossy towards the tv presenter, who I say in truth I simply adore and must thank once more since without her by my side I would never have been so “relaxed”. And lets face it I was funny bossy not bossy bossy…I just hope people at home got the playful mood! Here is the link of the episode which of course is in Italian. I baked a saffron and cardamom flavoured bread to accompany a beetroot and mango gazpacho. Unfortunately due to copyrights reasons I am not able to post the recipe directly on the blog, so if you’re interested you will have to click directly on the link and use a translating tool. I’m pretty sure you won’t have any problems, the recipe is easy peasy! The bread pictured is different from the one I baked for the tv. Since the whole process was too long I had to skip the first proofing. To achieve a more brioche-like texture like the bread picture i suggest you proof the dough untile doubled in size, shape it and then go to the final proofing. To help fermentation I use a little trick putting a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven. Moisture and heat help a lot proofing of the dough, speeding up the overall time of fermentation.

A Spring Menu nr 4 / Un menù primavera nr 4

This is the last appointment with my spring menus (you can check the first, the second and the third menu by clicking directly on them). Here are the four courses of my forth spring menu:

Kidney Bruschetta on Rocket and Hazelnut Spread
Gnocchi with nettles, butter and mint
Fried Lamb Chops with Mustard and Apple Compote
Frothy Custard with Saffron, Cardamom and Rose Water

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Multigrain Pizza / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pizza con farina 4 cereali

Pizza, oh my beloved pizza… Anyone who knows me well knows as well how much I love this dough and how hard I worked over the years to get perfect results. The funny thing is that I’m the queen of “neapolitan style” pizza while I can’t get proper results with the dish version.

Sourdough Surprises: Sourdough, Saffron and Black Pepper Apple Fritters, diet can wait! / Sourdough Surprises: Frittelle di mele allo zafferano e pepe nero…e la dieta può aspettare!

I admit it, when I read this month’s Sourdough Surprises theme I was very pleased, and not pleased at all at the same time! It no secret to those who know me well and see me on a weekly basis that I have gained weight. Not a lot, but still those 2 almost 3 kilos one starts to gain without noticing and then it’s almost too late. For a long time my weight has been more or less stable but probably at 33 I should take a little more care about what I eat. Well luckily summer has hit Switzerland with a terrible heatwave and I’ll probably be able to shed off the extra weight I put on. Frying was not really in my book, oh well it surely was in one book…the black one! But these fritters, oh these fritters!

MTC Challenge May: Orange flavored Babà with Saffron Cream and Chopped Pistachios / MTC Challenge di Maggio: Babà aromatizzato all’arancia con crema allo zafferano e pistacchi tritati

When I read this month’s MTC Challenge recipe I jumped for joy. Babà! A sweet treat that has always fascinated me, a leavened which is not easily baked at home. In short, a real challenge! I thank Antonietta (not Antonella as I called her wrongly in my excited comment to the post on the official page of MTC Challenge…I do have a problem with names…) from the blog La Trappola Golosa, for throwing such a high standard challenge and especially for providing us with a GOR GE OUS recipe.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Cream Biscuits with Saffron and Raisins / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Biscotti alla panna con zafferano e uvette

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook is back, this time with some cookies which in reality are a little of a failed experiment from an aestethic point of view but then such a delightful for the tastebuds I decided to publish them anyway. Let’s call them ugly but tasty cookies!