Tuesdays With Dorie: Blueberry Nectarine Pie July 31, 2012

This weeks Tuesdays With Dorie is being hosted by Hilary of Manchego’s Kitchen and Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake. The recipe they were chosen for is the Blueberry Nectarine Pie which is located on page 384 in Baking With Julia.

I think for the past month I have made a pie each weekend, and of course I haven’t posted about any of them. So far I have made a peach pie and a cherry pie. I have actually never made a blueberry pie so this was a first for me. I decided to add half the zest of one lemon instead of a “large pinch” like the recipe calls for. I did this because I love the flavor of lemon and it pairs so perfectly with the blueberries that I couldn’t help myself. I also added 2 tbsp of tapioca after the filling was cooked. I didn’t think that 1 1/2 tbsp of flour was enough to thicken all of the filling.

The pie was absolutely FABULOUS. The only problem I had with the recipe was the pie crust. I chilled the shortening and the butter, and the whole time I was thinking that this is WAY too much shortening. I only had to add half of the water called for to get the dough to come together and I probably didn’t even have to add that much. I was thinking it might have been that I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half all-purpose, which is probably the case. The dough rolled out fine but when I went to put it into the pie pan it fell apart. It was also very crumbly when trying to serve a piece of pie. It had the sandy texture of shortbread. The crust was good, it was just giving me a hard time. I guess that is what I get for not having enough all-purpose flour in the house.

We will see what happens for the next pies I make because I still have 1/2 a recipe of dough in the freezer.

Tuesdays With Dorie Catch-up: Hazelnut Biscotti and Semolina Bread July 17, 2012

Okay, I have actually been baking a long but I haven’t posted anything.

Imagine that happening.

During the week of July 3, the hosts were Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome and Katrina of Baking and Boys. They were chosen out of a hat to make the recipe for Hazelnut Biscotti. Which is located on page 315 of Baking With Julia.

I was thoroughly impressed by this recipe for hazelnut biscotti. First, I learned anew method of peeling hazelnuts using boiling water and baking soda. It was AWESOME and worked perfectly. I usually just toast them and rub the skins off but this was so much easier and it removed all the skins, unlike just baking them. Granted it is another step if you have to toast the nuts too, but it worked too well not to just take the extra step.

I was actually surprised by the recipe because I have made many biscotti recipes and this one contained no added fat except for those of the egg yolks and in the nuts. When I thought about it it did make sense because added fat will make the product more moist and you want dry biscotti. I have to say that this have to be one of the best biscottis I have ever tasted, if not the BEST. The flavor of the toasted hazelnuts was perfect along with the crunch of the biscotti; perfect with coffee.

This week the hosts are Renee of The Way to my Family’s Heart and Anna of Keep it Luce, and they were picked to host the recipe for Semolina Bread. Which is olcated on page 102 of Baking With Julia.

The only downside of this recipe was the time it takes to make the bread: 2 hour rise for the started, 2 hour rise for the dough, 2 hour rise after shaping, and 35 minutes baking. So as you see, a lot of time. Which explains why I stayed up until 1230 am making this bread, but it was worth it. The bread was actually really simple to make and doesn’t require any kneading. The flavor of the bread reminded me of a bread from my childhood.

Every time we would go visit my grandparents in Pittsburgh they always made sure there were a couple of loaves of Mancini’s bread and a nice stinky provolone in the house. Both are still things I seek out when I visit Pittsburgh or my Grandparents come visit me. One time in college the visited me and I received 2 loaves of bread, provolone on a rope, and pepperoni, yummy. The flavor of Mancini’s is perfect to me, slightly soft and very good toasted Italian Bread. The semolina bread has a slightly firmer texture (reminiscent of dry Mancini’s), and a little bit of a sour flavor (which I assume if from the started). But it will due when I have a craving for Mancini’s bread.