Tag: bakery

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The Power of B: Bernese Butter Braid (Cappuccino on the Foredeck)

“Bärner Ankezüpfe” (Bernese Butter Braid) is an absolutely non-diet Sunday breakfast/brunch classic. It’s named after the canton (state) of Bern, home to the Swiss capital of the same name. Züpfe – or Zopf as it’s called in other parts of the country – has been baked in Switzerland for hundreds of years.

Making Zopf takes time, but the smell and taste of it makes every minute well spent. The recipe yields 2 loafs of approximately 800 g each. It pairs very well with honey and jam.

By the way, in case you wondered, the name is pronounced [BAE-rner AHNG-keh-TSUP-fae] or just [TSO-pf].

Ingredients

  • 1 kg white flour
  • 30 g fresh yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 5 dl lukewarm milk (max. 35° C / 95° F)
  • 180 g butter
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • for egg wash: 2 egg yolks, 1 pinch of salt

Method

  • Sieve flour into a larger pre-warmed bowl. Create a well at the center.
  • Mix yeast and sugar until liquid. Add a cup of milk and mix thoroughly.
  • Pour mixture into well.
  • Blend with a small quantity of flour with your fingers to obtain a pre-ferment.
  • Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes.
  • In the meantime, melt the butter in the remaining warm milk. Heat temporarily if needed, but make sure temperature drops to under 35° C / 95° F before carrying on.
  • Bury the pre-ferment under flour and sprinkle the salt across the top.
  • Add the butter/milk mix slowly.
  • Knead until no longer sticky (around 10 minutes).
  • Cover again and put back in warm place for 1.5 hours.
  • Remove dough from bowl and divide into four equal parts.
  • Work each part into a strand around 75 cm / 2.5 ft long, with the center slightly thicker than the ends.
  • Braid the two loafs as seen in the first part of this video. (The five-strand braid in the second part is not for beginners…)
  • Place the loafs on a buttered baking sheet and leave to raise for 20 minutes.
  • Generously brush the loafs with the egg wash. Leave in a cool place for 30 minutes while pre-heating the oven to 200° C / 390° F.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes.

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Godmother’s Camembert & Ham Quiche

Another recipe from my childhood that has got and kept its name within the family over decades.

I first ate this quiche at my godmother’s home on one of the rather rare occasions I was visiting her near Zurich Airport. She worked as a VIP ground hostess for the former Swiss national airline Swissair, and I dearly remember roaming parts of the airport not usually accessible to ordinary mortals – including running into Peter Ustinov at the VIP lounge at one point.

As for her quiche recipe, much as Squeaky’s Tarte Flambée, it has stayed in my personal cookbook because it’s quick and easy. Combined with a simple green or lamb’s lettuce salad, it makes for an enjoyable light lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 1 rolled-out round dough of 30-32 cm diameter / 250-300 g
  • 150 g ham, in small cubes
  • 150 g Camembert cheese, in bits
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 dl cream
  • 1 dl milk or natural yoghurt
  • salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method

  • Preheat oven to 200° Celsius.
  • Place dough in round baking tin and prick evenly with a fork.
  • Sprinkle with ham cubes and Camembert bits.
  • Mix eggs, cream and milk/yoghurt in a bowl. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour.
  • Bake for approximately 35 minutes until dough and filling are nicely coloured.
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The Bonnag Trilogy (Cappuccino on the Foredeck)

My job usually involves a lot of business travel which I’ve been direly missing during the pandemic. As a surrogate, I’ve started exploring many parts of the world through Youtube videos of boat trips and maritime expeditions. Most of them don’t fail to talk about local cuisine.

That’s how I came across Bonnag, a buttermilk soda bread originating from the Isle of Man. Luckily enough, a pal of mine grew up there and was able to find me a family recipe. I turned it into three Bonnag variants – just in time for the Cappuccino on the Foredeck last Sunday!

Let’s start by preheating the oven to 190°C.

The dough is made by mixing the following ingredients thoroughly by hand:

  • 1000 g white flour
  • 20 g baking soda
  • 10 g salt
  • 750 ml buttermilk at room temperature

Now split the dough into three equal parts. Use one part for each of the following variants.

Plain Bonnag

  • Incorporate 20 g of white sugar into the dough.
  • Shape into two or three balls and place on baking sheet.
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned. Knock on the bottom of the Bonnags with a knuckle. If you hear a hollow sound, they’re done!

Raisin Bonnag

  • Proceed like for plain Bonnag, but, in addition to the sugar, incorporate a handful of raisins into the dough before shaping.
Plain Bonnag
Raisin Bonnag

Spicy Bonnag

  • Incorporate 1 crushed or finely chopped clove of garlic, 100 g grated cheese (2/3 gruyère and 1/3 parmesan worked well) and 3 tablespoons of chopped herbs (rosemary, thyme, flat-leafed parsley, chervil) into the dough.
  • Shape into one loaf.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes.

The Spicy Bonnag turned out to be my favorite while the First Mate preferred the plain variant and the Second Mate the one with raisins. So there was one to please every taste!

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The Secret of Squeaky’s Tarte (Flambée)

In the late 2000’s, Swiss television ran a cooking show featuring Sibylle Sager, a lady of exceptional culinary talents with a no less exceptional high-pitched voice. We used to jokingly call her “Squeaky” in the family, and when she presented her interpretation of a tarte flambée one night, we couldn’t help but memorize the recipe under the name of “Squeaky’s Tarte”.

Since then, I must have served Squeaky’s Tarte dozens, if not hundreds of times to family and friends, be it as a light lunch or dinner accompanied by a salad or as a snack with apéritif. While I still like the basic recipe very much, I’ve come to add countless twists to it over time. Enjoy inventing your own!

Ingredients

The Constants

  • 1 ready-made rectangular tarte flambée dough of approximately 25 x 40 cm
  • 150 g crème fraîche
  • 2 large spring onions, finely chopped
  • 250 g cherry tomatoes, quartered

The Crème fraîche seasonings (choose 1 to 3, or more if adventurous)

  • 1 pinch of hot chili powder (I prefer Piment d’Espelette) [original recipe]
  • 125 mg saffron [shown in pictures]
  • 1 tsp of curry [shown in pictures]
  • 1 tbsp fresh herbs like parsley, chives, …, chopped
  • 1 tbsp dill (to combine with salmon topping), chopped

The Toppings (choose 1 to 3, or more if adventurous)

  • 20 black olives [original recipe]
  • 75 g bacon, in small cubes [shown in pictures]
  • 75 g ham, in small cubes [shown in pictures]
  • 100 g pumpkin or carrots, in small cubes
  • 100 g chanterelles or other mushrooms, coarsely chopped
  • * 100 g Munster cheese, in small chunks
  • * 100 g parmesan, shaved
  • * 50 g gorgonzola, in small chunks
  • ** 100 g smoked salmon, in patches
  • ** 50 g arugula

Method

  • Preheat oven to 220° Celsius.
  • Place dough on baking sheet lined with paper.
  • Mix crème fraîche with seasoning thoroughly, spread thinly over the whole surface of the dough.
  • Sprinkle with tomatoes and spring onions. Salt lightly.
  • Add non-starred toppings.
  • Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Add * toppings.
  • Continue baking for approximately 20 minutes until the dough is golden brown.
  • Add ** toppings.
  • Serve immediately.
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Cappuccino on The Foredeck: Scones

It was a silent moment this morning when my First Mate and I realized that we had no fresh bread left for breakfast. Then she grabbed our new copy of 100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood and flipped through it frantically. “Scones!” One hour later, we sat on our imaginary foredeck with coffee and our freshly baked treats loaded with grandma’s blueberry jam. No clotted cream, unfortunately, but still a really good start into the day!

Makes 12 scones with approximately 250 kcal / 1025 kJ each.

Scone
Scone with blueberry jam

Ingredients

  • 500 g white flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 75 g sugar (preferably caster sugar)
  • 30 g baking powder
  • 75 g butter
  • 225 ml milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • (optional) 100 g raisins

Method

  • Beat the eggs.
  • Soften the butter with a fork.
  • Mix all ingredients up to milk by hand for 5 minutes.
  • (optional) Incorporate the raisins.
  • Tip on lightly floured surface and roll to 3-4 cm thick.
  • Cut out scones of 5-8 cm diameter.
  • Put on lined baking tray and brush with egg yolk.
  • Leave to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 220° Celsius.
  • Brush with egg yolk again.
  • Bake for 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm.