Brioche Sliders

This should really be subtitled: "Jenna Still Isn't Very Good with Yeast" because few things are more accurate than that statement.

While I've had plenty of experience baking loaves of pumpkin bread, zucchini bread and the likes, working with yeast isn't one of my stronger skills. I think mainly because it takes so much time and time can be hard to come by. Don't get me wrong, I like to bake with yeast. I like smelling what baking with yeast smells like. I'm just not that good at it.

Now that I have some extra time on my hands, I decided this is the perfect time to work on those recipes that take a little more time.

Some friends brought back a pack of pork belly from the (not so) local H-Mart. If you're keeping track at home, I'm funny about pork products. I happen to like it in Asian cuisine and as ground sausage or sausage patties. I don't particularly care for pork chops, roast pork, smoked bacon, or link sausage. I don't understand either. It's a mix of texture and taste reasons why I like some and not others.

At first I thought about making bao but then I realized I had everything I needed to make brioche. So sliders edged out bao (maybe another day) and I found myself making my first batch of brioche dough.

Ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk, butter, eggs

This did not go so well. I'm not sure what the problem was. My money is on my lack of skills with yeast and the recipe being wrong. Regardless, the dough was runny, which is not a very good look for bread.

So batch one went down the garbage disposal.

Attempt 2: Fingers Crossed

Not to be beaten by food, I immediately decided to give it another shot. The second batch looked a little better but the consistency of the dough was still a bit concerning. The dry yeast packets come in a three-pack so I figured, if this batch fails there's always one more pack left.

I let the dough rise for one hour and it did, in fact, double in size. Now, the recipe I was following was for the food processor. I (#1) did not think rising dough in a food processor sounded like a good idea. I (#2) do not own a food processor. So my dough was made in my KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer. Instead of letting the dough rise in the mixer (or food processor), which made zero sense to me, I transferred it to a bowl and let it rise on the stovetop with the oven preheated.

When I punched it down, the whole thing deflated. I thought this seemed like bad news bears so I researched some additional recipes. After reading a handful of recipes, it seemed like this particular one I was using was pretty low on flour. While many called for 3 or more cups of flour, this one only called for 2.

Figuring I had nothing to lose, I added some more flour to the dough to firm it up a bit. I rolled it into slider-sized balls and let it rise again for another hour. I was lucky that dough double in size, too.

Slider-sized Dough

Sandwich-sized Dough

The sliders ended up baking for about 11 minutes and the sandwich-sized ones baked for close to 14. I was really nervous about these, especially since I had so many issues with the dough. Would the stay flat? Would we use the for hockey pucks? Who knew?

Luckily, they turned out  just fine, perhaps slightly drier than I'd hoped, but fine nonetheless.

Next time I plan to try a different recipe. This one just didn't work out as well for me as I'd hoped. Maybe there was just something I was missing. If you have any tips or a recipe you'd like to share, I'm interested in both!

To see what I did with the slider buns, check it out here.

Pie Crust: Don't Leave It Up to Pillsbury

In light of recent marijuana news, I feel like I should make some kind of baking joke here. I won't because, to be honest, it probably wouldn't be that funny.

But here is a recipe I've been meaning to post for quite some time, and I think it's one you should all try. I can't take credit for this recipe; I found it in a cookbook my mom put together for the preschool where she used to teach. However, I've been using this recipe for about 10 years now, and it's only really failed me once (because I forgot part of the ingredients). So that doesn't really count.

Moving on. One thing I strongly believe in is making your own pie crust. The stuff you buy in the refrigerator section tastes like cardboard (or how I imagine it would taste if I ever ate it). I'm sorry, Dough Boy, your crescent rolls are tasty but your pie crust is just awful.

This recipe will make two crusts. So you can use it for the bottom and top of the pie or make two crumb pies, etc.

3 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/3 C Crisco
1 tsp white vinegar
5-7 T ice water




Combine first 5 ingredients. Add 5-7 T of ice water.

You don't want the dough to be too sticky, but don't overwork it.

Half the dough and roll out on pastry mat or wax paper until it suits the size pan you're using. This recipe will fit both shallow and deep dish pie pans. I find it is easiest to roll out on the pastry mat with a little flour and flip onto the pie pan rather than try to lift if off your counter after it's rolled out.



Note: You can use part butter and part Crisco, but I do not recommend using margarine (ever, for anything). I imagine you could use lard, if you have it, but I have yet to try! Lard is usually in the refrigerator section near the bacon and sausage, not by the dairy.

Homemade Pie Crust - A Battle with My Mom

Ever since I was young, my mom and I have fought over anything and everything - from what was appropriate to watch on tv, to buying a Trapper Keeper (mine had a cat on - big surprise), to my curfew, to cutting my hair (I won that one), and a number of things I won't even bother to mention. I credit my mom for part of my love of cooking. Growing up, she baked all my friends' and neighbors' cakes, believed in a home cooked meal and dinner time with family, and could usually be relied on to come up with some kind of dessert. Not to mention, she has made her own jam and canned her own vegetables. But the one thing she doesn't do, the one thing we still fight about is making homemade pie crust.

She firmly believes that making homemade pie crust is too difficult, even though I can't recall the last time she even made the attempt. Here is a woman who makes frosting from scratch and takes the time to make homemade strawberry jam but who is convinced a pie crust is beyond her talents. Of course, I hold my stance that while it does take more time than unrolling those crappy refrigerated Pillsbury** ones, it is more than worth it to make your own crust. Not only does it taste 1000x better (this has not been scientifically tested, btw) - kind of the difference between eating cardboard and, well, pie crust, but it's very easy to learn to do. Maybe the first time, it won't come out exactly how you want, but many of your best recipes probably haven't either. And if they have, then you really need to give making pie crust a try. It will probably take you 15 minutes longer, but it is absolutely worth it to get that flaky, buttery crust that is only achieved with a homemade crust. Plus, your pie will actually look homemade, and where I'm from (the glorious PA Dutch country), people know the difference.

*If you have leftover pie crust, try making a cinnamon roll style treat with the leftover dough! In my mom's family, her mom called them 'dough hickeys'. I have no idea why, but it is a tradition now every time I have leftover crust, which is pretty much every time. Just roll or press out the extra dough, spread a layer of butter on the dough, sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar, and roll up the dough. Then cut it into little cinnamon roll shaped pieces and bake for a few minutes. My mom would always wait for my extra pieces of 'dough hickeys' when I was making a homemade pie. They're only good if you use homemade crust though. So don't try this with cheater pie crust!

**As a sidenote: I have nothing against Pillsbury. I happen to really like their crescent rolls - especially the garlic butter flavor. I also really like the Grands biscuits, although I don't buy them often because they are a killer on calories (well for me since I could eat them all in one sitting). I just don't get why they have such a crappy tasting premade pie crust. It is really awful.