Herb Sourdough Crackers

You know that sourdough starter I've been nursing? Well I've got another way for you to use the discards you have before feeding it, courtesy of my friend Joanne Sherif, owner of Cardamom Cafe & Bakery. Joanne recently launched the San Diego Friendship Bread group on Facebook and she posted what I thought was the coolest idea!

Sourdough crackers!

Now if you've been intimidated by the idea of making bread, you should definitely give far less challenging crackers a try. And these, which she found on a wonderful blog called Sourdough & Olives, are very good and very easy to make--and adaptable to your own tastes.

When using discard starter, you have to understand what you're making with it to figure out if you can use it when it's flat (as in having spent the week in your fridge without having been fed) or if you need to rebuild it by feeding it with more flour and water to get it all nice and bubbly and yeasty again. If you're just going for flavor, then feel free to stir it up (since there will probably be some liquid sitting at the top) and use it as is. But if you're going to rely on it for a rise, then you have to feed it again and let it sit for several hours to reach its peak.

Crackers? In this case, at least, there's no rise. It's all about the sourdough flavor. So just stir up the starter discard and go for it.

This recipe, which can easily be doubled, calls for dried herbs. Now, depending on your taste or how you'll be using the crackers you can also just leave them out. But I used my dried herb rub. This is something I always have around--and making it turns my house into the most divinely aromatic environment. Once it's dried I use it on everything from olive oil dip to a poultry rub to vinaigrette. It's made up of rosemary, thyme, oregano, garlic, sea salt, and lemon zest. Joanne said she has used nigella seeds and inspired me with bringing up everything bagel topping mix. The herbs and/or spices/seeds go into the dough, which after it's rolled out very thin is brushed with olive oil and then sprinkled with sea salt.

The other thing that can be a variable is the flour you use. I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour, but you could use cornmeal--which Joanne has done--or spelt flour.

One thing to caution you about. Every oven, of course, is a little different. Crackers can overcook or even burn easily. So even though the recommended bake is 20 to 25 minutes, check your crackers at 15 or 20 minutes to avoid over baking.

I really enjoyed these crisp, herbaceous crackers, especially with my Italian Marinated Eggplant. For this I didn't cut the crackers into small squares but instead into rectangles to better hold the eggplant.

Herb Sourdough Crackers
Adapted from Sourdough & Olives
(printable recipe)
Yield: 30 square crackers

Ingredients
100 grams sourdough starter, spent or active, made with equal amounts flour and water by weight)
60 grams white whole wheat flour
20 grams unsalted butter, softened
2/3 tablespoon dried herb rub (or other herbs/seeds/spices you like)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Olive oil for brushing
Flake sea salt for sprinkling on top

Instructions
1. Mix together starter, four, butter, herb rub, and salt. Form into a stiff dour and shape into a rectangle.

2. Let the dough rest for 5 to 8 hours if you want a tangier flavor. Otherwise you can continue on to rolling it out.

3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Flour both the work surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough to about 1/16" thickness. Trim for straight edges, and re-roll the excess to avoid waste. Transfer the rolled out dough to parchment paper on top of a sheet pan. Brush with olive oil and cut the dough into squares using a sharp knife of pizza cutter. Prick each square with a fork and sprinkle some sea salt on top.

4. Bake the crackers for 20 to 25 minutes, checking at 15 to 20 minutes to make sure they haven't already browned. Once the squares begin to brown around the edges, remove from the oven and use the parchment paper to transfer the crackers to a rack to cool.

P.S. If you're an avid home baker in San Diego, you'll want to attend Grains: Learn, Eat & Drink! It's going to be held on Feb. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Cardamom in North Park. Ca Grain Campaign and Slow Food San Diego have partnered with three local bakers and a brewer for this fun, informative and tasty event around the joys of whole grain. Come hear from Farmer Mai how to access flavorful California whole grain and support small farms. Learn about Slow Food's commitment to supporting local California Grain. Catt White of San Diego Markets will share how local Farmer's Markets may implement Ca Grain Campaign's 20/20 Goal. Taste whole grain products from Christina Ng (Chinitas Pies), Crystal White (Wayfarer Bread) and Joanne Sherif (Cardamom Cafe and Bakery) and drink local Brew (liquid grain)! Tickets are $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite. 
 

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Chocolate Sourdough Snack Cake

After years of living without a sourdough starter in my fridge, it's back. And that's thanks to my friend Joanne Sherif of Cardamom Cafe and Bakery. I just wrote about her new Friendship Bread project for my last Close to the Source post for Edible San Diego.

With her new project, Joanne is sharing her sourdough starter every Friday morning. If you haven't cultivated starter, you need to know that it requires regular feeding with equal parts flour and water--but before you add the new you have to discard much of the old. Those discards are what she's sharing--and encouraging those of us who take it in hand in our homes to do--hence, "friendship bread."

I got some of that starter on that Friday morning and on Sunday decided to feed it. But I didn't have anyone to give my discards to. So, what to do?

I spent some time online trying to come up with a recipe to make. Now you may think that sourdough starter is strictly for use in leavening and flavoring sourdough bread.

Not true.

Sourdough starter, whether freshly fed or discarded, can be used in all sorts of applications: pancakes and waffles, cakes, quick breads, muffins, crackers, and crepes. Joanne has been using hers for cornbread and banana bread, which you can buy at the bakery.

I had a limited range of options only because of simple quantity--my first discards were limited to half a cup. When I fed the starter I added four ounces each of King Arthur white whole wheat flour and water. So, I should have more discards this weekend. (And note, I add ingredients by weight, not volume.) Unless I need more starter for a big baking project, I'll add two ounces of flour and water each in the future, let it sit on the counter for several hours until it bubbles up, then store it in the fridge. I put a line on the see-through container that shows the starting point so I can see how much it grows. Because it's being refrigerated I only need to feed it weekly. If left on the counter, it would need daily feeding. I don't think I have enough interested friends to share discards from that or the time to use it up daily.

As I scoured online resources I came across a site I wasn't familiar with but that I discovered, along with the ever-reliable King Arthur Flour, is hugely informative: Cultures for Health. The site has an entire section devoted to how to use discarded starter. And from there I found my recipe: Chocolate Sourdough Snack Cake.

Yes, I was lured by biscuits, including biscuits with cheddar cheese, and pretzels, and English muffins... but I didn't have enough starter. Curious about a sourdough dessert, and honestly getting a little desperate, I clicked on desserts and found this cake. Bingo! It sounded divine--and only needed half cup of starter.

This recipe is super simple and yields a deep chocolate brownie-like consistency. It calls for baking in a cake pan, but I fiddled around with measurements and decided to use a loaf pan instead--and it worked just fine. I also didn't have non-alkalized cocoa powder and worried that since the recipe called for baking soda there might be an issue. But no, it all turned out well. (I've since found--and ordered--natural cocoa powder for when this comes up again.)

I actually didn't taste much of a sour/tangy flavor from the starter, but the cake benefitted in moistness and richness. And, oh, how wonderful it is with a cup of coffee or tea.

And, really, the point of this bake was to demonstrate to myself that I could relax a bit about having a starter again since the pressure is off to bake bread at a pace I can't keep up with. And, if anyone would like my discards, let me know. I'm happy to share when I feed on Sundays.

Chocolate Sourdough Snack Cake
From Cultures for Health
(printable recipe)

Ingredients

1 cup unrefined cane sugar
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. cold, strong coffee
1/2 cup fresh sourdough starter
1 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened, non-alkalized cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts or naturally sweetened mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper; lightly butter and set aside.
3. Mix unrefined sugar and butter together in a large bowl until sugar is thoroughly incorporated into butter. Beat in egg, vanilla, coffee, and sourdough starter.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Blend dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until batter is mixed through.
6. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool on a rack and serve plain or frosted.

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Herb & Eatery's GF Almond and Walnut Coffee Cake

One thing you learn about pastry chefs: they are all about precision. Case in point. I was with pastry chef Adrian Mendoza of Herb & Eatery last week so he could teach me how to make his Gluten-Free Almond and Walnut Coffee Cake. We got to talking about the kitchen and he told me a story about a new pastry assistant who came to work. When it came time to label a batch of pastries, she automatically ripped off a piece of masking tape to write on with her sharpie. Nope. Mendoza told her she needed to use a scissors to cut the tape. Apparently, she laughed, thinking he was joking. He wasn't.

"I know it seems like a small thing," he acknowledged. "But I'm meticulous about what I do and those details create discipline in the kitchen, which you need in baking. So, yeah, I had her go back and cut the label with scissors."

Mendoza grew up in Apple Valley, California. He didn't grow up cooking, although he enjoyed watching his mom. But once he got into high school he attended after school cooking classes from 3 to 7 p.m. three to four times a week.

"I loved it," he said. "But I didn't think about becoming a chef. Actually I was thinking of becoming a mechanical drafter. I loved the precision. I remember learning how to build bridges from toothpicks."

But when Mendoza graduated from high school, he decided to leave home for San Diego to attend the Art Institute's cooking program. It was a choice, he said, of working behind a desk all day or being able to move around and produce something creative that people would enjoy. He also got a job at MacDonald's--on Aero Drive. There, he said, he learned about organization skills and timing. And, he got a job working on the savory side at Oceanaire, which is where he met Chef Brian Malarkey, whom he works for now and at Malarkey's previous restaurants.

Mendoza also took some time to go to L.A. to work, including a one-year stint at Spago plating desserts. A bakery then hired him, and sent him to France for two weeks to train on equipment.

"That's where I got really in depth with croissants and baguettes," he said. In fact, Joanne Sherif of Cardamom Cafe and Bakery, whom he worked for part time while he was working at Oceanaire, told me recently that she thinks he makes the best croissants in San Diego--and they are magnificent.

Today, Mendoza works with six assistants--a bread baker and five pastry assistants--along with an intern to produce a wealth of breads, croissants, bagels, bialies, and sweets for both Herb & Eatery and Herb & Wood. The morning I was there, his assistants were working on a huge batch of Sea Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies. Earlier in the morning there were loaves upon loaves of challahs--both plain and topped with spices. They were almost gone by the time I was ready to leave a couple of hours later. I was able to snare one small plain one and a bagel--a really great bagel, in fact.

But what I was there for was the coffee cake. Now I'm not gluten free so I didn't care about that aspect of it, but I love a good coffee cake. The fact that it is gluten free makes it that much more interesting in terms of baking science. Mendoza uses Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, which is easily found at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Amazon, and Sur la Table. That means if you aren't interested in baking this cake gluten free you can simply use all-purpose flour in the same measurements. He also adds almond flour or almond meal, which, he says, acts as a tenderizer. You can buy it or grind it yourself from almonds.

The cake is pretty easy to make, but it has three distinct components. There's the cake batter, the streusel center--with walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon--and a crumble top--with butter flour, sugar, and sea salt.

We started with the crumble. Mendoza used a food processor (but you could use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment). It's a simple process of combining the dry ingredients in the bowl and pulse until combined, then adding the butter and pulsing until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces. Put the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

Then we moved on to the streusel center. You'll want to toast the walnuts to bring out the flavor. Don't care for walnuts? Not a problem. Use pecans or pine nuts or cashews. Or a mix. Again, you'll combine the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor and pulse about 20 times until the walnuts are about 1/4" pieces. Put that aside.

Okay, so then it was time for the cake batter. We switched to a Kitchen Aid mixer. Our butter was at room temperature and, as you can imagine, all the ingredients were already measured and waiting. First you'll cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla, starting on low for about 20 seconds and then amping it up to medium high for four minutes. What you're doing, Mendoza explained, is building air to help absorb the eggs. Your key to completion is light and fluffy butter and sugar.

And, by the way, you'll notice that Mendoza uses crème fraiche in the batter. He doesn't buy it, of course. He makes it. It's just two ingredients--cream and buttermilk. If you want to make it yourself, use a 4 to 1 ratio of cream to buttermilk and leave it on the counter, covered, for two days at room temperature. You'll have a terrific, tangy sour cream.

Back to the batter: While the butter, sugar, and vanilla are creaming, sift together all the dry ingredients but the almond flour (over parchment paper so you can pick it up and use it as a funnel to add to the wet ingredients. Once, the dry ingredients are sifted, you can add the almond flour on top. Put that aside and--once the butter mixture is fluffy--add the eggs, one at a time, stopping and scraping down the mixture with each egg. Then you'll add a third of the dry ingredients, mix on low briefly, then add half of the crème fraiche, then the dry ingredients, the rest of the crème fraiche, and then the rest of the dry ingredients--scraping down with each addition. Don't over mix the batter or it will turn gummy.

We're almost there; it's all assembly now. You can make the cakes in muffin pans, as we did, or cast iron pans (which will take a little longer to bake). Whatever you choose, butter the pans (Mendoza uses a spray product called Vegalene, which is gluten free). You can also use cupcake liners.

To add the batter you can use a spoon or ice cream scoop--or a pastry bag, which Mendoza used. He uses KopyKake disposable bags (Amazon sells them). Place a 1/8" layer of the batter at the bottom. Then a small handful--about a tablespoon or two--of the streusel over that. The another thin layer of batter followed by a couple of tablespoons of the crumble topping.

Bake in a 350° oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until golden dark brown.

I have to say that gluten free or not, this is a terrific coffee cake. The cake itself is moist and you'd never know that alternative flours were used. You get a fun surprise in the middle with a bite of the streusel--and I'm all about a good crumble. The cake just works. I brought some to my mom and she loved it. It's a hugely popular menu item at Herb & Eatery, but Mendoza told me the staff does give customers a heads up that while they do their best to segregate their gluten-free baked goods from their conventional wheat pastries, there is always a risk of cross contamination of flours in the air. If that's an issue, be forewarned. If not, enjoy!

GF Almond and Walnut Coffee Cake
from Adrian Mendoza of Herb & Eatery
(printable recipe)

Crumble:
1 stick plus 1 ½ tablespoon butter, cold, ½" cubes
½ cup Cup4Cup gluten-free flour
½ cup almond flour or almond meal
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons sea salt

1. Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the blade attachment or in the bowl of the kitchen aid fitted with the beater attachment.
2. Process until combined.
3. Add the butter and pulse or mix on low until they are pea-size pieces.
4. Place into a mixing bowl, cover, and keep under refrigeration.

Streusel Center:
1 cup walnuts, lightly toasted at 325° for 10 minutes
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon

1. In the same bowl of the processor, combine all ingredients and pulse about 20 times until the walnuts are ¼" pieces.
2. Set aside.

Cake Batter:
1 ½ cup butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 extra large eggs, cage free
2 ½ cups Cup 4 Cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup almond flour or almond meal
1 ½ cups crème fraiche

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract on low speed for 20 seconds.
2. Increase the speed to medium high and allow to blend for 4 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients except the almond flour, and sift. Add the almond flour on top.
4. Scrape down the butter mixture and add the eggs in 1 by 1 scraping down after each addition.
5. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, mix on low for 10 seconds, add ½ of the crème fraiche and, scraping down after each addition. Repeat until you finish adding the in dry ingredients.

To Assemble:

1. Spray pans well or can line with cup cake paper.
2. Place batter into pastry bag and snip a ½ “ tip or can use a spoon.
3. Place a 1/8th inch layer of batter first.
4. Place 1-2 tbsp of walnut streusel.
5. Place another 1/8th to ¼” layer of batter on top.
6. Followed by 1-2 tbsp of crumble topping.
7. Bake in a 350F oven for approximately 30-35 minutes until golden dark brown.
8. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before taking out, they are fragile.
9. Dust with powdered sugar or however you would like to decorate. A scoop of ice cream on top with fresh berries is a nice dessert.

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Madeleines Two Ways: Citrus and Chocolate

Ideas for what to publish in San Diego Foodstuff can come from the least obvious situations. Back in January on the morning of the big Women's March I met a number of friends in Little Italy to head to the Civic Center where the San Diego march was gathering. When I reached the parking lot my friend Joanne Sherif, who owns Cardamom Cafe & Bakery, was handing out the most stunning madeleines. Coated in sugar and grapefruit zest, you could almost eat the fragrance before taking a bite. And the bite! Crunchy from the sugar coating but with a bright citrus flavor in the subtly sweet chewy cookie. At that moment that's all I wanted and I told her I needed her to teach me how to make them.

Last week she did. And she added a chocolate version to the mix.

Now publishing recipes is all well and good but what you really get here is the benefit of Joanne's expertise--her tricks and tips. When it comes to madeleines, which she considers more of a cake than a cookie but with a thick, cookie-like dough, Joanne's firmest piece of advice is to refrigerate this dough for at least two hours before baking (and you can even refrigerate it overnight).

She has two reasons for insisting on this. The first is that you want the flour fully hydrated. The second is you want it completely chilled when it gets into the oven. Like bread baking, the steam for the cold moisture when it hits the heat will give it "oven spring." In other words, it will help it puff up.

Another suggestion Joanne has, and this is for the chocolate madeleines, is to use a top grade cocoa. Joanne discovered Guittard's Cocoa Rouge, which she adores. She gets it from Eclipse Chocolate, but I found it also on Amazon's and Sur La Table's websites, along with Guittard's own site.

Finally, again for the chocolate madeleines, add a bit of espresso powder. This brings out the flavor of the chocolate.

Now if you aren't a grapefruit fan, no worries. You can use any kind of citrus. The day I was with Joanne, she had blood oranges and the reds and oranges in the zest were striking. And assuming you have leftover citrus sugar, don't toss it! Instead, says Joanne, use it to sweeten iced team, rim a cocktail glass, or add to a homemade salad dressing.

Finally, as you place the dough in the madeleine forms, brush a little butter inside the forms to make sure the cookies won't stick. And don't fuss over smoothing the top of the dough. Use your fingers to press the dough into the molds but as they bake, the top will smooth itself.

Chocolate Madeleines
From Joanne Sherif of Cardamom Café & Bakery
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen depending on mold size
(printable recipe)

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons espresso powder
100 grams all-purpose flour
90 grams cocoa powder
pinch salt
185 grams plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup cocoa powder for sifting

Directions
1. In a stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder. Slowly add flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix and then slowly stream in 185 grams of melted butter. Mix until fully incorporated. Refrigerate dough at least two hours and up to overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush the inside of the madeleine molds. Place about a tablespoon of the dough in each mold.

3. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway for an even bake. To make sure they’re done, lightly tap the top. When it springs back, they’re fully baked.

4. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool.

5. In a medium-size bowl several madeleines. Place cocoa powder in a sifter and sift cocoa over madeleines. Remove and repeat with the next set of madeleines until all are topped with cocoa powder. Serve or place in a plastic bag. They’ll stay fresh for about 4 days.

Citrus Madeleines
From Joanne Sherif of Cardamom Café & Bakery
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen depending on mold size
(printable recipe)

Ingredients
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ¼ sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups sugar
2 pieces of citrus, zested (lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit all work)

Directions
1. In a stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Slowly add flour and then butter. Mix until fully incorporated. Refrigerate dough at least two hours and up to overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush the inside of the madeleine molds. Place about a tablespoon of the dough in each mold.
3. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway for an even bake. To make sure they’re done, lightly tap the top. When it springs back, they’re fully baked.

4. Remove the madeleines from the oven and let cool.

5. In a medium-size bowl, mix together the sugar and citrus zest. Place several madeleines in the bowl and gently toss them in the sugar and zest mixture. Remove and repeat with the next set of madeleines until all are coasted in the sugar and zest mixture. Serve or place in a plastic bag. They’ll stay fresh for about 4 days.