Herbed Focaccia Rolls

I always thought I had a good focaccia recipe and yes, I still do. However, my old recipe is complicated and difficult to knead. So I came up with a ‘revised’ version  of my herbed focaccia.

This idea first came to mind while I was eating pasta with a dinner roll. I though that focaccia is still the best bread that can be paired with a pasta so why not make individually sized focaccia breads. The germ of an idea further developed into my focaccia rolls now.

The first batch I made with my new recipe wasn’t really a success. There were a couple of issues I had to address. One was the fluffiness of the bread. Although this is a personal error because I used an old stock of yeast at home which have been sitting in the pantry for over a year already. I have no idea regarding the shelf life of yeast once exposed to air that’s why I still used them with my first attempt. They still “rose” a bit , but the texture of the bread was dense and heavy. Another issue was the portion size  which is somehow related to the first error. Also, it was a bit bland so I had the adjust the savory aspect of the bread.

My first version of the focaccia rolls: bland and dense. Also, they look unappealing.

So I made another version. This time, I used a new stock of yeast,  and added more salt and herbs. Also, I made them look more appealing by rolling them first in herbed bread crumbs. This extra step made the rolls more savory. Also, the outer bread crumb ‘shell’ sort of protected the bread itself from being dry. Thus resulting into a fluffy and moist focaccia roll.

Here’s my recipe:

I’m still here!!!

Hi friends! Sorry for not posting anything new for 2012! But don’t worry, there are new recipes I’ll be sharing soon

Ken

Triple Chocolate Mousse

Reblogged from Kiss The Foodie:

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Sweeten your holiday dinners with this yummy dessert and Indulge in 3 layers of  velvety goodness.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

So what are the general guidelines for making ganache?  Joyofbaking.com says: To make a glaze or coating: use one part cream to three parts chocolate. To make a truffle filling: use one part cream to two parts chocolate. To make a light filling: use one part cream to one part chocolate.

Read more… 729 more words

The blog post that started it all :)

Kabayan (Filipino Muffins)

Kabayan, Kababayan, or Puto-puto. These little Filipino muffins are sold in any bakery here in the Philippines. One of the popular bakery staples, the kabayan is a personal favorite.  I love these little munchkins so much that I can finish 5-7 in one sitting.

I’ve been wanting to to bake some but I couldn’t find a recipe online. Until I stumbled upon this site. The recipe is actually simpler and resembles a typical American muffin except  for the brown sugar and oil substitution.

With a few tweaks, here’s my kabayan recipe:

Still smokin’

Hi Friends!

I’m really sorry for being out of the blogosphere these past few weeks.

I’ve been busy with work and with my sister’s wedding preparations. Now that the latter’s over and done with, I only have the former to worry about

I still have lots of recipes and blog posts stacked in the drafts section that still need some modifications. Also, this coming 2012, I have some new things happening in this blog, so watch out for that too

Ken

S’mores Pie

Hmmm, I’m not really sure if I’d be sharing my recipe for this or not. I’ve been thinking of selling these delightful bars, hence my ‘selfishness’.

Just so you know, this dessert is composed of three layers: a graham crust, some homemade marshmallow and a rich topping of dark chocolate ganache.

I really had some trouble when I first made this this dessert. The crust was crumbly, marshmallow was runny and the ganache was chunky! To make things worse, I added too much sugar which made it toooo sweet. It was a dessert catastrophe. Surprisingly everyone loved it! (Maybe the chocolate triggered an increase in the brain’s level of dopamine ) Still, I was determined to perfect the recipe. Good thing I was able to fix the errors of my previous recipe and came up with a new one! (Which is still stored in the recipe archives of my brain)

Spaghetti alle Vongole

Spaghetti alle Vongole, Italian for spaghetti and clams, is one of my favorite pasta dishes and probably the easiest to make. I first tasted this dish at Trattoria Gourmet in Shangri-la Plaza Mall and instantly fell in love with it. The taste is so simple, it reminds me of Catbalogan, my hometown.

This dish is traditionally prepared in two ways: with tomatoes (in rosso) and without (in bianco). Traditional ingredients are limited to spaghetti, live clams, garlic, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper. The live clams open during cooking, releasing a liquid that serves as the main flavoring agent and sauce. Others include white wine to the in bianco version of this dish but I personally prefer this without the wine. Unlike most pasta dishes, cheese is never added to this dish.

Aside from spaghetti, linguine is also a popular pasta used in this dish.

A simple description of this dish is that it tastes like the sea. Therefore, using fresh clams for this dish is a must. Here in the Philippines, halaan or Manila clams is used. I even saw an episode of Martha preparing this dish also using Manila clams. When in Catbalogan, I use mayahini.  It’s quite funny how expensive clams are here in Manila. A kilo of these can cost upto P100 in the supermarket while in Catbalogan, I can get the same quantity for only P30!

Here’s my recipe: