The best gingerbread cookies in Moscow

Hello,
At the moment I am in Moscow, working at a new artisan bakery. As you all know Christmas and New Year are on the way and Moscow is getting ready for the holidays .I took some photos of what the staff is working on here.

They are preparing traditional shapes of gingerbread cookies.
It is the middle of November and the orders for the gingerbread cookies are already more than 20,000!!!

Even it is still the middle of November the orders for the gingerbread cookies are already more than 20,000 unit’s wow!!!

It is a secret recipe and all my efforts to get it left me empty handed.
All I can do here is to share the photos with you. I hope you will enjoy.

Avner

Jewish Babbka cake

babbka is a yeast cake, also known as Ugat Shmarim in Hebrew. It is an Eastern European cake most well known among the Jewish community the most classical and traditional weekend cake for Jewish people. Friday is the most crawdad day in the bakeries and it’s a tradition to buy baked goods for the Shabbat (Jewish weekend) .
babbka is laminated sweet yeast dough very similar to Danish pastry but with lass batter in it.
The most propellers are the chocolate babbka but you can find it with nuts, almonds, cinnamon batter dates or poppy seeds.
Recipe makes 4 long rolls of cake that can be frozen if they are not all gobbled up as they come out of the oven. It does take a bit of effort the first time you make them but the taste will keep you making it time after time. Don’t let the length of this recipe put you off, it is simple and easy. It can be filled with chocolate, dates or poppy seeds
Ingredients:

Dough:
1kg White flour
160g cup sugar
200g soft batter
200g water
100g milk
2 large eggs
100g fresh yeast
1 egg beaten for brushing the cakes.
Filling:
200g soft batter
1 cup cocoa
300g sugar
Syrup:
100g sugar
100g water

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 c/375 f.
Make the dough by mixing all the dry ingredients then adding the batter , water,milk and kneed the mixture into a sticky dough.
Leave the dough to rise for about three quarters of an hour.
Split the dough into balls that fill the palm of your hand. You should get 8 balls, although. It takes 2 of these balls for each yeast cake.
Mix the cocoa, batter and sugar for the filling with an electric mixer .
Roll out the first ball of dough into a square, the dough is sticky and once rolled out is quite thin.
Spread the filling over the dough.
Roll up the square into a sausage.
Do the same with another ball of dough, and then plait the two together.
Lay the cake in an individual oblong container for baking.
Let it prove for 60 mints in a worm spot.
Brush the cake with egg.
Put in the oven for 35minutes or until the cakes are a dark golden brown.
While the cakes are in the oven make a syrup on the stove by mixing together the sugar, water and lemon juice.
As the hot cakes come out of the oven cover them with the syrup. Be very generous with the syrup, as this is what gives then their moist quality.

Challah bread

According to Jewish tradition, the three Sabbath meals Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon and two holiday meals one at night and one in the morning each begin with two complete loaves of bread This “double loaf” (in Hebrew: lechem mishneh) commemorates the that fell from the heavens when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years after the Exodus from Egypt. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath or holidays; instead, a double portion fell before the Sabbath and holidays. It is these hunks of bread, recognizable by their traditional braided style, that are commonly referred to as challah.The simple reason why the challah is covered at the beginning of the Shabbat meal is actually based on some very technical rules governing the various blessings recited over food.

Not only do different types of food require different blessings, but there is actually a hierarchy when it comes to these blessings so that if one intends to eat many different items in one meal – each one requiring its own blessing – one must take care to bless and eat those foods according to the protocol of kedima (literally: “priority” in Hebrew).

The food which has the highest priority of all is – wouldn’t you know it? – Bread, the quintessential staple food, the proverbial “staff of life.”

At the beginning of the Shabbat meal, we recite the Kiddush prayer, officially announcing the sanctity of the day and thereby fulfilling a positive Biblical commandment to “remember” the Sabbath.
My challah is not the triditionel one it is a version of mein and all the pepole around me thinks that it is exelent.
1 kg bread flour
2 eggs
50 g sugar
50 g Yeast
200 g milk
300 g Water
50 g butter
20 g salt
1. Place the water,milk, eggs,butter, yeast, bread flour in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer with a kneading hook to knead on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and increase the speed to medium. Knead for 6 minutes.
2. Transfer the dough to a floured bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let stand to rise for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and divide it to 6 mini balls roll every ball to along strip and put a side,after you finished that mace the Challah the Bride using 3 long strips of dough .
4. Place the challas on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and let stand to rise in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 180 ºc and brash with eggs on top at that point you can put pappy seeds or sesame seeds on top.
6. Bake for 35 minutes.

The franch croissant

The franch croissant –

croissant was created culinary legends, at least one going back to the 19th century. These include tales that it was invented in Europe to celebrate the defeat of a Muslim invasion at the decisive Battle of Tours by the Franks in 732, with the shape representing the Islamic crescent; that it was invented in Poland in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Turkish flags, when bakers staying up all night heard the tunneling operation and gave the alarm; tales linking croissants with the kifli and the siege of Buda in 1686; and those detailing Marie Antoinette’s hankering after a Polish specialty.

Several points argue against the connection to the Turkish invasion or to Marie-Antoinette: saving the city from the Turks would have been a major event, yet the incident seems to be only referenced by food writers (writing well after the event), and Marie-Antoinette – a closely watched monarch, with a great influence on fashion – could hardly have introduced a unique foodstuff without writers of the period having commented on itThose who claim a connection never quote any such contemporary source; nor does an aristocratic writer, writing in 1799, mention the pastry in a long and extensive list of breakfast foods.
To preppier a good croissant you need to have a very good flour and a very good aromatic batter ,there are Meany ways and methods to preppier the sheep and layer’s the basic rolls is to work with a cold dough and let it rest bit win every time you fold it.

The story of Tarte Tatin

Tradition says that the Tarte Tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France in 1898. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. Stéphanie Tatin, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day. She started to make a traditional apple pie but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests appreciated the dessert. The Tarte became a signature dish at the Hotel Tatin and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant Maxim’s of Paris.
I am preparing my Tarte Tatin with Granny smite apples I love to cook them in the butter caramel there acidic flavour mixed with the caramel give them a wonderful taste.

Serves 10
150g butter
200g sugar
10 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
300g Basic Short crust Pastry

1. In a 26 cm heat resistant pie pan (or ovenproof fry pan), melt the butter and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized.
2. Remove from heat and set aside. Let cool for 15 minutes.
3. Place the apple slices in the pan in 2 layers of concentric circles.
4. Return the pan to lowest possible heat and cook for 1 hour. Check from time to time to make sure that pan juices are gently simmering and not boiling.
5. Take the pan off the heat source and let cool for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 180c.
7. In the meantime, roll out the short crust pastry 3 mm-thick on a lightly floured surface. Drape over the cooked apples, and use a sharp knife to cut the dough to fit the pan. Gather up the excess pieces of dough and make a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for future use.
8. Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven.
9. Place a large plate over the top of the baking pan. (The plate should be larger than the pan). Using oven mitts hold the baking pan and plate together on both sides and quickly turn it over. Knock the bottom of the baking pan, and then remove it, to reveal a beautiful golden-colored cake. Serve immediately or store for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Serve warm.

Clasisc baguette

For me a fresh baguette with very crisp crust and a good buter is haven!!!

There is a very inportent thing to know abut the baguette it has to have a very littl amunt of yeast in the dough .
I am prepring difrent tipes of baguettes all of them are hand shaped and I use a clasic triditionl bread oven that give it a very crisp crust and exellent color .
My children are my biggest critics and they will fell immediately if the baguette is good or not. I am prepring baguettes at home 3-5 times a week so there is allways a good baguette in the kitchen .

Here is a Clasisc baguette recipe

500 g bread Flour
320 g cold water
5 g Fresh Yeast
12g salt
1. Place the water, yeast and bread flour in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer with a kneading hook to knead on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the salt and increase the speed to medium. Knead for 8 minutes.
2. Transfer the dough to a floured bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let stand to rise for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Transfers the dough to a floured work surface and divide into 300g pieces roll into a ball and let it rest for 10 min. Shape the ball into an oblong loaf abut 60cm.
4. Transfer the loaf to a baking sheet lined with baking paper and let stand to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 250c.
6. Bake for 22 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

BARCELONA

Few months ago I had some work to do in Barcelona; I would like to share with you my experience there.

During my stay, I was very busy, but it happened that I had a Saturday off, and I decided to visit the city. As food is one of the most central things in my life, I decided to see how a typical Catalonian market looks like. I found myself visiting four different markets in different sites of the city with different characteristics addressing to different kind of customers.
I was impressed by the abundance and quality of the products exposed. It is a paradise for people who like food. The merchants are very nice and kind. It was impressing to see the expert clients doing their shopping choosing the best products.

The most impressive part of my visit there was the fish and seafood market. Barcelona is on the Mediterranean seashore having centenary years fishing tradition.

You can find a very rich choice of fish and seafood, beside the Mediterranean fish; they have a supply of Atlantic Ocean fresh fish and seafood so the market is colorful and nice for people who like fish and seafood. The market is so impressive that you have difficulties to decide what to buy.
In the fruit and vegetable market, there is a big possibility of choice. I liked most the external market dedicated to farmers who come to sell directly their products. They run small lots of agricultural biological production; the products are not equal in their form and shape. They look very fresh and remind me my childhood when the products were very tasty and grew without all the chemical fertilization agents they use today in agriculture.

Returning back to my hotel I felt that I couldn’t see or deal with food for few days. The abundance and quality made me feel saturated for 4 days.
At the end of the day I was exhausted but I was happy with that experience.

The best bakery in the world!!!!!

In 1998 I moved to Paris to study cooking and baking there.
In the firs week of school we went with the chef to the market next to metro duplex.
Next to this market we went to visit Poilâne bakery the visit there changed my life!
all that time in Paris I was looking for the best spot to learn how to produce this outstanding bread!
In the end of 1999 I moved to Tel Aviv Israel and open a bakery by the name of de luca that was very french oriented.
In the end of 2000 Mr. Poilâne visit tel aviv with his bread exhibition and I had the opportunity to meet him , he give me a compliment abut my bread and I was over whelmed from it.
In the next 9 year’s I did many thing around the bread production and I visit many bakery’s around the world, I love bread and for me this is away of life !2 days ago I come across a clip abut the Poilâne bread, I watched the clip 10 Times and now I can tall you that Poilâne bakery is the bast bakery in the world and Mr. Poilâne was the bast baker the world as ever seen.
Enjoy the clips’!!!!
Avner

the clip-Fabrication du pain Max Poilâne à LyonIn

clip 2 -Tha head baker

Lo Smeraldo Restaurant

Ristorante Los Meraldo on youtube

the pizza clip on youtube

Last year I was in Modena Italy in a restaurant by the name of Lo Smeraldo.
The owner of the restaurant, Mr. Lello, is originally from Napoli and the food features napolitan flavors.

Every weekend Mr. Lello, accompanied by his wife, drives 6 hours from Modena to Napoli to obtain the freshest ingredients of the campania. At Lo Smeraldo they serve outstanding food including amazing pizza. The pizza is baked in a wood fire oven as Lello’s family has done for more then two hundred years. My children can’t forget their food, especially the pizza. They ask me all the time: when we shall visit again the amazing restaurant Lo Smeraldo?

Lo Smeraldo is Ferrari’s favorite restaurant and all of their special guests eat there. Excellent food and wonderful people are everywere to be found at Lo Smeraldo. If you find yourself in Modena, Italy you simply must go there!

http://www.ristorantelosmeraldo.com/locale.htm<a

my new article

step by step a home bread making guide