Schnittbrötchen mit Sauerteig (German sourdough bread rolls)

This is a recipe for making great sourdough based bread rolls. The crust is perfect, and so is the taste. I am using diastatic malt in this recipe, which I made myself by sprouting wheat grain, drying and grounding it. Ed and Marieke explained how to do this on their great site Weekend Bakery. But if you don't have any diastatic malt just leave it out (perhaps you can add some more flour to your dough preventing it getting too wet). But never leave out the sourdough based starter, because it brings a wonderful taste to your buns!

The evening before baking the buns you can prepare your starter:

- 100 g wheat flour (I use biological flour type 550 from Germany)
- 100 g lukewarm water
- 35 g sourdough culture (again, check Weekend Bakery for making your own sourdough)

Mix the flour and the sourdough in a small bowl with the water and leave it at room temperature (covered with some plastic). The next morning the starter should be active, forming bulbs).
Now make your final dough:

- 400 g wheat flour
- 15 g diastatic malt
- 4 g dry yeast
- 11 g salt
- 5 g soft butter
- 200 g lukewarm water
- 235 g starter

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them well (I use a whisk for this) and add the butter, the water and the starter. Form a dough and knead well for about 15 minutes. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Now divide the dough into 9 equal parts (weighing 95 grams each) and make boule shapes. Cover them and let them rest a few minutes. Roll the boules into a more rectangular form using the palm of your hand and the tips of your fingers. Slash the top with a lame or bread scoring knife and transfer them upside down to a cloth which has been floured well (see below).

Cover with a cloth and let them proof for a least 45 minutes.
For baking I use a perforated aluminum (baguette)form. It works great.

Now they are ready for the oven, The 'Snitten' should be up now. Transfer them to the roasting oven and for getting a nice crust, create some steam by putting a small metal baking tray on a rack high in the oven and pour in half a cup of hot water immediately after putting the bread in the oven. Besides this, spray the rolls after 2 minutes of baking with water. Bake them for 25 tot 30 minutes.
Take them out an d let them cool on a rack.

Thanks to Der Hobbybrotbäcker for the original recipe!

Klik hier om het recept in het Nederlands te lezen.

Brabantse worstenbroodjes (Sausage Rolls from Brabant)

Brabant is a large province in the south of the Netherlands, forming the border with Belgium. One of the specialities in Brabant is sausage roll. In Dutch: worstenbroodje.
It can be made very easily in an Aga and it is a perfect warm lunch!

Ingredients (dough):
- 250 g flour
- 6 g dry yeast
- 7 g salt
- 10 g sugar
- 20 g soft butter
- 200 g lukewarm milk

Mix the ingredients and form a nice, soft dough (perhaps you don't need all the milk, when the dough turns too wet you can add some extra flour). Knead the dough for at least 15 minutes and let it proof at a warm place for an hour or so, until doubled in size. The warming plate of the Aga is a perfect place for this (cover the dough with plastic and place it on a rack).

Ingredients (sausages):
- 350 g minced meat (half beef/half pork)
- 3 g ground black pepper
- 7 g spice mix
- 8 g bread crumbs
- 8 teaspoons tomato paste

Mix the ground meat with the other ingredients and form 12 sausages, about 15 cms long.
Divide the dough in 12 equal parts, about 40 grams each. Roll them out and to a rectangle.
Wrap the individual meat sausages into the dough and pinch the edges to make sure the meat is sealed.

Place each sausage roll on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic and let proof for forty minutes to an hour. Mix an egg with a little water and brush the sausage rolls with the egg wash. Bake them half high in the roasting oven for about 20 minutes.

Melitzanes Moussaka (Greek Eggplant Casserole)

This traditional Greek dish takes some time to prepare, but the result is always worth the labor. The combination of eggplant, tomatoes, minced beef (or lamb) under a thick layer of béchamel sauce will make your mouth water! Actually, the main reason why I baked this casserole is the abundant crop that the six eggplants in my vegetable garden produce this summer. The recipe comes from an old booklet which I bought when I worked in Greece in the eighties: The Best Book about Greek Cooking by Chrissa Paradissis.

Moussaka consists of three elements: layers of eggplant, a meat sauce and a béchamel sauce.

Ingredients:
- 1250 g eggplant

- 1 large onion diced
- 750 g ground beef
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 large tomatoes (diced)
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- half a teaspoon cinnamon
- a bunch of parsley, chopped
- some olive oil
- a small glass white wine
- salt and pepper

- 100 g butter
- 100 g flour
- 875 ml milk
- some nutmeg
- 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
- 150 g grated cheese
- salt and pepper

Method:
Cut the eggplant into 1-2 cms thick rounds, sprinkle them with salt and let sit in a colander for an hour. Rinse well, pat dry and place the rounds on a baking plate, which is greased with some olive oil. Brush the top sides with olive oil. Roast the eggplant in the baking oven until golden (about half an hour),

Saute the diced onion in a pan with some olive oil for a few minutes on the boiling plate, add the (sliced) garlic and let saute on the simmering plate until the onions are tender. Add the ground beef (or lamb), transfer the pan to the boiling plate and brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the paste, the sugar, cinnamon and white wine. Bring to a boil and add pepper and salt to taste. Add the parsley and put a lid on the pan. Transfer to the boiling for half an hour.

In the meanwhile, make the béchamel by melting the butter in a pan on the simmering plate, whisk in the flour and let it fry for a few minutes, stirring well. Ad some milk and keep stirring. Bring to a boil and add more milk, constantly stirring, until all the milk is added. Let the sauce boil very slowly for a few minutes. Take the pan from the simmering plate and whisk in half of the grated cheese and the nutmeg. Bring to taste with pepper and salt. Lightly beat the egg and the yoke, but do not add it to the béchamel yet.

Place one layer of eggplant in a 20 x 30 cms pan (greased with some olive oil), add the meat sauce and cover it with the second layer of eggplant. Now whisk in the beaten egg into the béchamel sauce and spread it over the second eggplant layer. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Place the moussaka in the baking oven for an hour or more, until beautiful and gold.
Let it stand 10 minutes before serving.
Kali Orexi!

Klik hier om het recept van moussaka in het Nederlands te lezen.