It’s been so nice to take a short break from work this week. I slept in, binge-watched Netflix shows (like Alice in Borderland and Emily in Paris) and baked a bunch of delicious things.
In Two of a Kind style, I tried a few new recipes – and, thankfully, all of them were hits.
- Dutch apple pie can be prepared in advance and eaten warm, at room temperature or cold. Serve it with freshly whipped cream or à la mode.
- Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging ginger molasses cookies are the perfect holiday treat, in my opinion. They’re at once crispy and chewy and subtly spiced (with ginger, cloves and cinnamon).
- Scallion star bread is a good option for those who prefer savory over sweet. A dash of Fly by Jing’s mala spice mix gives it an extra kick.
How did you spend the final days of 2022? Let me know in a comment below!
Recipe adapted from WoonHeng.
Scallion Star Bread
Makes 1 10" round loaf
Ingredients
Dough:
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (see notes*)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons ghee
Filling and finish:
- 8 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon mala spice mix (see notes**)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon ghee, melted
- sesame seeds (for topping, optional)
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a large bowl, heat water until warm - about 30 seconds in the microwave should do. Add the sugar and yeast. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the rest of the dough ingredients (flour through ghee) to the yeast mixture, stirring everything until it comes together to form a shaggy ball. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it’s smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (or less if using a stand mixer). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
Make the filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the green onions, flour, mala spice mix and salt.
- Heat vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Pour over the green onion mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.
Shape and bake the loaf:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 4 equal pieces.
- Using a rolling pin, roll one piece into a circle, about 10 inches in diameter, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Spread one-third of the filling in an even layer over the top of the dough. Repeat with remaining portions of dough, leaving the last circle bare.
- Place a 2" round cutter in the center of the stack of dough. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 16 wedges, leaving the area inside the round cutter intact.
- Using your hands, gently twist two adjacent wedges away from each other a few times and pinch ends to seal. Repeat with remaining wedges of dough.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Let dough rise for 15 minutes and then brush top of loaf with ghee and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 26-28 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
*I used a mix of all-purpose and Central Milling organic High Mountain bread flour.
**I used Fly By Jing's mala spice mix.
**I used Fly By Jing's mala spice mix.
