Everyone loves Laurie Ellen!

So excited to share these photos of Laurie Ellen’s Holiday 2021 Collection. Head over to www.laurieellen.com to place your order!

Recipe: Nan-e Barbari (Persian Flatbread)

Dave was screaming at me yesterday when I opened the refrigerator. To be fair, I’d left him in there a pretty long time, so it’s no wonder he was feeling neglected. Luckily, he wasn’t so much angry as he was raring to go, so in the end we both made out okay.

(I should say at the outset that Dave is my sourdough starter, named after David LaChapelle. Ten points to anyone who can thread that needle.)

A couple weeks ago in my mindless instagramming I came across a recipe for nan-e barbari, a Persian flatbread I first encountered at a Before Times dinner at @sofreh_brooklyn, and it seemed like a perfect way to put Dave to good use. Crisp, tender, salty and savory, perfect for dipping or on its own.

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Nan-e Barbari (adapted from @kates_bread and @hotbreadkitchen via @kingarthurbaking)
Makes 2 

For the dough:
425 grams bread flour
75 grams whole wheat flour
385 grams water
100 grams sourdough starter
10 grams Diamond Crystal kosher salt
olive oil, for the bowl
Semolina flour, for dusting

For the glazing paste and finishing:
2 teaspoons bread flour
60 grams water
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Combine the bread flour, whole wheat flour, water, and sourdough starter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together by hand until a sticky dough forms. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes.

Add the salt and mix on medium speed using the dough hook attachment until the dough cleans the sides (but probably not the bottom) of the bowl. It might take as long as 15 minutes to get there, so be patient. 

Form the dough into a ball and place in a generously oiled bowl. Cover and set in a warm spot to rise until doubled, about 4 hours. Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl at the 30 minute and 1 hour marks, then leave to rise undisturbed for the remaining time.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface dusted with semolina flour. Divide into two pieces and shape each into an oval. Set on semolina-dusted parchment sheets to rest, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475F with a pizza stone in the upper-third position about 1 hour before baking.

Make the glazing paste: combine the flour and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Working with one loaf at a time, rub the glazing paste over the dough, gently stretching it. If you’re feeling bold, you can transfer the shaped loaf to a pizza peel, or you can bake directly on the parchment paper. Either way, use your fingers to press deep grooves into the surface. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and brush away any excess flour from the parchment or peel.

Bake until deep golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack too cool.

FRUIT CAKE x food52 →

A video recipe for a PB&J cake

This PB&J cake from FRUIT CAKE is too easy to make *and* too easy to eat. I’ve still never been to Fire Island but I imagine it tastes just as good with a little sand on top. If you haven’t bought your copy yet, head over to food52 for the recipe.

A Rather Distraught Spoon (Cookbook Giveaway!)

A stop motion video of a spoon performing a poem

A rather distraught spoon recites a poem about the trials and tribulations of baking from my book FRUIT CAKE: Recipes for the Curious Baker (William Morrow, 2020)

“The oven’s preheated
The butter’s well-beated
The dry’s folded into the wet
The chocolate is melted
The vanilla sweet smellded
The timer is precisely set
The pan has been filled Anticipation builds
Will it be a delight or a dread?
You forgot the sugar
Too late to recover

F#©k it I’m going to bed”

— Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker

A Very Dramatic Apple

A very dramatic apple reads the opening poem from my book FRUIT CAKE: Recipes for the Curious Baker (William Morrow, 2020).

“First to show was sweet Clement
Richard often came and went
Unlike Sal who settled in
Instantly becoming kin
Thinking there was room for more
Florence flitted through the door
Leon, Gerald, Evan, Ray—
It seems their numbers grow each day
Exhausted as I try and try
Still these fruit flies will not die”

— Fruit Cake

Cornbread Disco

A video recipe for cornbread

Cornbread Disco by Jason Schreiber. Music by Jess Damuck.

MAPLE ORANGE CORNBREAD

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS  

Each November, an email exchange between my mother and me resurfaces. The conversation goes back more than ten years, which is a testament to both our forgetfulness and the resilience of modern technology. The subject: cornbread, and how. Each year the recipe is tweaked and changed, adapted and scaled. No more. I have put it down in ink now, for my mom and yours

FOR THE CORNBREAD
Pan Goo (below), for greasing the pan
2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (115 g) stone-ground cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp (4.5 g) coarse salt
1 tsp (3 g) baking powder
1/2 tsp (3 g) baking soda
2 tsp (4 g) finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange) 3/4 c (159 g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (84 g) pure maple syrup, preferably dark and robust
1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk, room temperature

FOR THE GLAZE
1/4 cup (62 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp (42 g) pure maple syrup, preferably dark and robust
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter
coarse salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the center position. Brush a 9 x 2-inch square cake pan with Pan Goo.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, use your fingers to rub
the orange zest into the sugar, releasing all the fragrant oils. Whisk the eggs into the sugar one at a time until well combined. Slowly whisk in
the maple syrup, followed by the melted butter. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk. The mixture should be very smooth.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon to gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet as you would pancake batter. Be careful not to overmix or the cake will become tough; leave some lumps of love. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

5. Bake until the top springs back when gently pressed and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. 

6. Make the glaze while the cake is in the oven: In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, maple syrup, butter, and salt. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture boils. Continue boiling without stirring for 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

7. Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack. Brush the top of the cornbread with the maple orange glaze as soon as it comes out of the oven, then let it cool completely in the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

STORAGE
Cornbread is really best eaten the day it’s made but will keep reasonably well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

PAN GOO
1/4 cup (62 mL) neutral oil, such as safflower
1/3 cup (47 g) all-purpose flour.

In a small container with a lid, whisk the oil and flour together until combined. Brush onto baking pans in place of parchment paper or cooking spray. Keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks. A month seems like maybe too long

From FRUIT CAKE: Recipes for the Curious Baker (William Morrow, 2020).

Free Download: Sketches for Fruit Cake

Here’s something to take your mind off the dumpster fire: This week is exactly one year from when we shot FRUIT CAKE, and I’ve put together a sketchbook full of the drawings I made when I was prepping. You can head here to sign up for my mailing list and download a free PDF. We’re also just about 1 month out from publication and pre-orders are super important, so (if you haven’t done so already) you can find some links to purchase from indie bookstores here.

Get Ready to Vote in the NYS Primary Election on June 23

🗳New Yorkers: The last day to request an absentee ballot for the June 23rd primary election is June 16th — less than 2 weeks away.

Just because Joe Biden has the de facto nomination does not mean you don’t need to vote, or that you need to vote for him. By selecting the candidate and delegates whose values most closely resemble your own, you can help shape the Democratic Party platform for the November general election.

There are also important local elections at stake. Click here to see a sample of your ballot and to learn about who is running for office and what they stand for. The systemic changes we are fighting for start at home, which is why I’m supporting @jabariforstatesenate for NY State Senate District 25.

#vote #newyork #defundnypd #protest #election2020 #thinkglobalactlocal #lgbtqiaplus #pride #blacklivesmatter #justice

Buckwheat-Spelt Cake with Pears and Chocolate

One of the great ironies of pandemic baking is that specialty flours seem to be easier to find than ever, which is great for me because there’s almost nothing I don’t want to mix with buckwheat and spelt. Here their nutty flavors provide the perfect bass note to balance out the sweetness of the pears and chocolate. This is the epitome of a snaking cake: sturdy enough to eat out of hand and needing no accompaniment.

86 grams	unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing pan
100 grams	all-purpose flour
50 grams	buckwheat flour
50 grams	whole spelt flour
½ teaspoon	coarse salt
½ teaspoon	baking powder
¼ teaspoon	baking soda
150 grams	granulated sugar
2	large eggs
50 grams	pure maple syrup
75 grams	whole milk plain yogurt
2 teaspoons	pure vanilla extract
2	firm ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped into ½-inch pieces
150 grams	chopped chocolate (bittersweet, milk, or a mix)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the center of the oven. Brush a 2-quart baking dish with butter.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, spelt flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the butter is brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl, making sure to scrape all the brown bits from the pan. Add the sugar to the browned butter and whisk to combine, then set aside for a few minutes until the mixture is warm but not hot. Vigorously whisk in the eggs one at a time, then continue whisking until the mixture is the texture of a loose aioli. Whisk in the maple syrup, yogurt, and vanilla.

4. Whisk in the dry ingredients until just combined, then fold in the pears and chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

5. Bake the cake until golden brown, the center springs back to the touch, and a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

6. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

Support our Farmworkers

This earth day, let’s take a moment to consider those whose livelihoods are inextricably tied to the growing covid and climate crisises. Farm workers are on the invisible front-line, ensuring that our grocers continue to be able to stock the foods we use in our recipes and put on our tables. Farm work is skilled, grueling, and underpaid labor. Many of the workers are migrants and undocumented, and despite the fact that they pay taxes on their income, they are ineligible for many of the basic services that are seeing us through this crisis.

If you have any money to spare, please consider making a donation to Hispanics in Philanthropy and their partner Justice for Migrant Women to support the Farmworkers’ COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund, which will provide immediate financial assistance and much-needed protective equipment to workers around the nation.