Baked Goods
Cheese Zelnik
Step 1: Yeast
3 Teaspoons Yeast
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Ounce Water
Combine yeast, sugar and water and let rest until bubbly (roughly 10 minutes).
Step 2: The Dough
9 Cups Flour
Prepared Yeast
1 Egg (Room Temperature)
3 Cups Water
⅓ Cup Oil
1 ½ Teaspoon Salt
Create a well in the flour in a large bowl and combine with yeast, egg, water, salt, and oil. Mix in a bowl until combined, and then turn out onto a cutting board to knead. Knead by hand for 10-15 minutes. Separate dough into 3 sections. Oil 3 pans for the dough to rest, place dough in pans and oil the tops of the dough so that it does not form a crust. Place each pan in a large plastic bag and allow it to rest for 20-30 minutes.
Step 3: The Filling
1 ½ Packages Cottage Cheese
3” x 3” x 1” Chunk of Feta Cheese
4 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
Guide: for every 1 egg, use 250g of cottage cheese
Combine the cottage cheese, feta, eggs, and salt. Mix until combined.
Step 4: Time to Roll
Lay out a cotton tablecloth on a large table and lightly flour the surface. Turn out the dough on the table. Press air out of the dough. Form a circle by hand, making sure the dough is even. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an even round. Continue to roll the dough as thin as possible, then lift the dough little by little allowing gravity to stretch it while turning frequently. Stretch the dough over the table as far as it can go, it should be translucent. Make sure the edges are thin. Sprinkle melted butter over the dough and brush it evenly. Fold the dough into thirds, sprinkling butter over the first fold. Slice in half lengthwise. Using a kleenex as a guide for size, slice the dough into squares. Spoon filling into the centre of the square, spreading it out evenly. Fold over dough to completely overlap the centre, and fold over both ends to cover the centre. Place them in a parchment lined pan, brushing the tops with butter. Repeat 2 more times with the remaining dough. Let rest for 1.5 - 2 hours.
Step 5: Bake
Place them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place a tea towel over the tray and allow them to cool.
Detroit Style Pizza
Ingredients
Dough Mixture
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 ¼ Cups All Purpose Flour
1 ½ Tsp Sugar
1 ½ Tsp of Instant Yeast
1 Cup Warm Water
3/4 Tsp Salt
Toppings
1 Cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 Cup Good Tomato Sauce
Whatever your favourite toppings are!
Preparation
Prepare. Using a 9x13" non-stick baking pan, spray with vegetable oil spray and add an additional tablespoon of olive oil and brush all sides and bottom of the pan to coat, this prevents the cheese from sticking to the sides of the pan. Set aside.
Dough. Combine the flour, sugar, and yeast and mix until incorporated. Place into the bowl of a stand mixer and turn on low speed. Slowly add water until the dough comes together, roughly 2 minutes. Turn the mixer off and allow the water to absorb into the flour, rest for 10 mins.
Knead. Add the salt, and allow the mixer to knead the dough on medium speed for 8 minutes until soft. Pour your dough on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is no longer sticky, roughly 20 seconds. Form a ball and transfer it into the oiled baking pan. Allow the dough to sit for 15 minutes covered in plastic wrap.
Rest. Coating your knuckles in olive oil, gently press the dough to fill out the pan bringing it as close to the corners as possible. Rest for 2.5-3 hours or until the dough has tripled.
Toppings. You may top the pizza with whatever your favourite toppings are. Monterey Jack cheese and a homemade or good store bought tomato sauce will do the trick. I like using fried onions and sweet bell peppers to top my pizza. In Detroit style pizza, you place the shredded cheese directly on the pizza. Then, you drizzle your tomato sauce on top of the cheese. Then you can follow with your favourite pizza toppings.
Bake. Bake the pizza in a 500F oven for 15 minutes or until the bottom of the pizza crust is browned.
Enjoy! Allow to rest for 5 minutes, slice and enjoy! This pizza reminds me of my Baba's pizza which I will forever hold closely to my heart. Absolutely delicious!
Chris & Faye's Garlic Crepes
Ingredients
Batter
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
8 Eggs
8 Cups of Whole Milk
1 Can Evaporated Milk
Garlic Sauce
2/3 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
Salt, to taste
5 Cloves Grated Garlic
Preparation
Combine. Combine the whole milk and evaporated milk together, put it in a large glass bowl and warm in the microwave. Once warm, slowly add the flour while whisking and dissolving well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between to combine well.
Cook. In a non-stick pan, add a little oil and pour a spoonful of batter in the centre and begin to turn the pan in a circular motion to spread the batter evenly. Turn when the edges start to curl up, about 2-3 minutes.
Sauce. While the crepes are cooking, begin to prepare the garlic sauce. Combine water, oil, garlic and salt. Boil for a few minutes to allow the flavours to combine.
Stack. Remove the crepe from the pan and drizzle with the garlic mixture as you go, layering in between. They can be folded for presentation and served with feta cheese. Enjoy!
Baba's Altar Bread
Ingredients
This recipe makes 4 loaves of bread
Yeast Mixture
1 1/2 Teaspoons Yeast
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Cup Water
Dough Mixture
9 Cups Flour
Prepared Yeast
2 Cups Water
2 Ounces Vegetable Oil
2 Teaspoons Salt
Preparation
Yeast. Combine yeast, sugar and water and let rest until bubbly (roughly 10 minutes).
Combine. Add flour and salt to the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook attachment. Add the yeast mixture and oil and turn the mixer on the lowest setting. Slowly add the water to the mixing bowl until the dough has come together. Knead in the mixer for 15 minutes on medium speed or until soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, using a kitchen scale helps ensure the loaves will be equal sizes. Roll each 1/8th into a round disc. Stack two discs in a round cake pan that has been coated in oil and sprinkled with flour. Press the discs into each other and repeat with the remaining dough. If you have a bread stamp from the church for the top of the loaf, coat it with flour and stamp into each of your four loaves. Allow to rest for 1.5 hours covered in a kitchen towel.
Bake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the bread for 25-35 minutes or until you can knock on the loaf and it sounds hollow. Pop out of loaf pans and allow to cool on a wire rack with a clean dish towel over top of them. Enjoy!
Easter Bread
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture
4 Pkg. Dry Yeast
Sugar
Water
Dough Mixture
7lbs. All Purpose Flour
4 Cups Sugar
2 Tsp. Salt
12 Beaten Eggs
½ Lbs. Butter, Melted
½ Cup Oil
1 Quart Very Warm Milk
2 Beaten Eggs for Topping
Sesame Seeds
Preparation
Yeast. Prepare yeast according to package directions.
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and shut off. Prepare baking pans by greasing them with butter. Sift flour and make a well in the middle. Place sugar and salt in well. Mix in a little warm milk to melt sugar and mix by hand. Add butter and oil and continue mixing with one hand gathering a little flour from the sides. Put yeast into the middle, and then the eggs all at once. Continue mixing and adding the remainder of the milk, using up all of the flour from the sides. Dough should be neither too soft nor too hard. Turn out on the table without using more flour. Now knead for 15 minutes. Use a little oil on the table if the dough begins to stick.
Rest. Grease a large roasting pan and place the dough in the pan, allow it to rest and rise for about 3 hours. Punch down dough, cover, put in a warm place to rise again, about 1 hour. Oil your table and turn out dough. Divide as required; braid or make loaves or large rounds. Allow to rise again for about 30 minutes in a warm place. Brush the tops of the loaves with 2 beaten eggs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees, bake for about 1 hour or until brown. If it is browning too quickly, place a piece of parchment paper or tin foil over the top to prevent it from burning. Enjoy!
Fritters (Pitulitsi)
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture
1 Package Dry Yeast
1 Teaspoon Sugar
Lukewarm Water
Dough Mixture
4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Water
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Preparation
Yeast. Combine yeast, sugar and water and let rest until bubbly (roughly 10 minutes). Prepare using package directions.
Combine. Sift flour into a large bowl, make a hole in the middle and add salt, yeast, and eggs. Stir while slowly adding water to the mixture, the batter should be thick and drop gently from the spoon. Cover and allow it to rise in a warm place for ½ hour. Beat down for 1 minute and allow to rise again for ½ hour.
Fry. Pour about 2 cups of oil into a large pot and heat until 350-375 degrees. Drop large tablespoons of dough into the oil. Fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Enjoy!
English Muffins
Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Instant Yeast
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2/3 Cups Milk
1/2 Cups Water
1 Tablespoon Butter
Preparation
Combine. Combine dry yeast, salt, and flour. Do not place the yeast and flour on top of each other as the salt may kill the yeast. Whisk together to combine.
Mix. Combine milk, water, and butter and microwave for 30 seconds or until warm. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until it forms a dough ball. View the video below to know the right consistency of dough, withhold liquid until it is the proper consistency.
Rest. Once the dough comes together, form a ball and rest in a bowl with cling wrap and a towel to cover for 12-18 hours.
Shape. Once the dough has doubled in size, scrape out of the bowl onto a floured cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes with a clean dish towel. After resting, roll to about 2cm thick and use a 3 inch wide circle cookie cutter that is floured and cut out 8 circles. Cover to rest for 45 mins.
Cook. Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat, carefully transfer the muffins into the pan. Cover with a lid and allow to cook without touching for 6-8 minutes. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool and enjoy!