Pavlova, Focaccia, and Bread, oh my!

This past Saturday I was in a cooking mood.

By the end of the day, I had made Pavlova, 2 baguettes, and a double batch of Focaccia!  Let me explain . . .

Last week I sprained my ankle and couldn't play my harp (you can't change the pedals with a twisted ankle).  When I can't play my harp I get very depressed . . .  So I woke up in the morning and decided to have a cooking day to cheer myself up!  I got out my California Culinary Academy's Cooking A-Z book and started flipping through the pages when I found the recipe for Pavlova!  We had lots of fruit in the fridge so it was the perfect thing to make:

     1 1/2 cups sugar
     2 tablespoons cornstarch
     6 egg whites
     1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (optional)
     2 cups whipping cream
     2 cups vanilla greek yogurt
     fruit (I used passion fruit, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.  Draw a 6-7 inch circle on a piece of parchment paper as a guide.  Set aside 3 tablespoons of the 1 1/2 cups sugar.  In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and remaining sugar.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whip egg whites to soft peaks, then add cream of tartar and 3 tablespoons of sugar and continue to whip until the peaks are stiffer.  Then add the cornstarch and sugar mixture, lemon juice, and vanilla and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form.  These are my egg whites before and after being whipped:
































3. Place your parchment paper circle on a baking sheet and spread your meringue inside the circle, making a bowl shape.  Bake in your oven on the middle rack for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  If your meringue is thicker, it will take longer, you don't want it to be burnt but you also don't want it to be gooey in the center.  I baked mine for 1 hour and 45 minutes, then turned of the oven and left it in.  This helps it dry out without browning.

4. About 1 hour before you plan to eat your Pavlova, start whipping your cream to stiff peaks.  Did you know that when your cream is fully whipped, you can hold the bowl upside down without the cream falling out?  Anyway, when your cream is whipped, add your yogurt and fold it in.  Spread your cream yogurt mixture on your Pavlova, keeping the bowl shape.  I had a little bit left over, so don't feel pressured to use all of it.  Sometimes if you do the meringue collapses!

5. Now it's time to layer your fruit on top of the cream.  You can do any pattern you want, but I was aiming for a flower.  That's why I put the strawberries on the outside and the blueberries and raspberries on the inside.  Passion fruit is a bit watery, so I served it on the side:

Since the meringue on the Pavlova takes such a long time to bake, and my sourdough culture needed to be used, I decided to make baguettes based on the Pan Rustic recipe in Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery!  Here's the recipe:

     4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3 1/4 cups all-purpose & 1 cup white whole wheat)
     1 teaspoon instant yeast
     1/2 sourdough culture
     1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water
     2 1/4 teaspoons salt

1. Place the flour and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook and give it a quick mix on the lowest setting.  Add the sourdough culture, salt, and 1 cup of the water, mix on low for 3-5 minutes, until it forms a dough.  It may need more water, if it does slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup.  Continue to knead on low for another 15-20 minutes.

2. Once the bread has been kneaded, cover it's bowl and let it rise for 1 hour.  Flour a working surface and form the bread into your desired shape.  You can make a traditional loaf, two baguettes, a round loaf, whatever you feel like!  Once your bread is shaped, transfer it to a baking sheet, cover with a clean plastic bag or heavily floured cloth, and let it rise for 2 to 3 hours.  Rising time will vary depending on how warm your house is, but when it's done it will be twice the size it started out as!

3. Preheat oven to 450 F.  Uncover your bread and bake it for 20 minutes on the middle rack.  It is very important that you spray the bread with water 3 times within the first 5 minutes of baking.  Once the bread is golden brown and has formed a crust, remove it from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack:

And everyone knows that bread takes a long time to rise, so I decided to make Focaccia to fill the time! Focaccia is the 'pizza bread' you buy at the store, it's just that no one calls it Focaccia.  This recipe based on the Focaccia recipe in California Culinary Academy's Cooking A-Z book makes 16 pieces:

     1 1/4 cups warm water
     3/4 teaspoon sugar
     1 tablespoon yeast or 1 package
     2 3/4 cups flour
     2 onions
     1 package mushrooms
     1/4 cup basil
     salt & pepper to taste
     1/4 cup olive oil, plus some for brushing

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine sugar, yeast, and 1/2 of the water.  Let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast dissolves.  Use dough hook to mix in 3/4 cup flour and let rise for 2 hours 30 minutes.

2. While your dough is rising, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over high heat.  Add onion and caramelize until they're a golden brown.  Add mushrooms, basil, salt and pepper, cook until mushrooms are done.  Set aside.

3. Mix remaining 2 cups flour, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 3/4 cup warm water into the dough with dough hook.  You may need to mess around with the water/flour balance, but it should look like this:

Let rise for another 1 hour 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 450 F.  Punch dough down into a 13-15 inch rectangular baking sheet.  Brush top with olive oil and let rise for yet another 30 minutes.  Now this is the fun part!  You hold your fingers like a claw and use them to make indentations in the dough!

Before Fingers

After Fingers

Now use your fingers to spread the filling on.  I put some goat cheese on, but you don't have to:




















5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes and slice into 16 piece.  I froze my Focaccia so that it's ready to eat with salad at any time, just be sure to heat it up!

So there you go, I cooked three things in one day, and now you have the recipes and can do the same!  Good luck, and happy cooking!