Baking Eggless July Challenge - Savory Pie

Have you ever experienced doing something based on someone's guidance only to vary the execution to suit your needs and situation at every step of the way such that the end result is completely different but yet a success? More specifically in cooking, we start with a tried and tested recipe given. We adapt and adjust to ingredients available or permitted and vary it along the way. And at the final stages of cooking we keep our fingers crossed hoping the final outcome of the dish is as expected. The joy when the dish turns out successful is a clear indicator that inspite of the variations we did get the technique right and we nailed it.

This months Eggless Baking Challenge was Savory Meat-Pie from Saveur with the option to vary the stuffing as per our choice.

I had no meat at home this weekend, so meat stuffing was ruled out. Mushrooms were the next natural choice, but I did not have mushrooms either. So I went through other options from Popina's book. There is a whole section on savory pies in this book. But unfortunately for no recipe do we get all ingredients in this part of the world. Spinach and garlic, sorry not available. Feta and tomatoes, what is that? just to name a few options.
I could not choose any of those recipes but got some ideas on what veggies go with what spices/herbs and how to prepare the veggies before stuffing them in the pie shells. What did I finally choose? Keep reading to the end...

I am not presenting the original recipe for the stuffing this time. The egg substitution was only for the pastry dough. So here goes the original recipe for the dough.

FOR THE DOUGH
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1¼ cups lard or vegetable shortening
2 eggs, beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

For the dough: Sift together flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 knives, cut in lard; then add up to 1 cup ice water, stirring with a fork until dough holds together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface, and shape into 2 balls. Roll out each ball until ¼'' thick. Use a 3'' round cutter to cut 36 circles from each half of dough. Fit half the circles into 2 ½'' round fluted tart tins. Fill each with 1 tbsp. filling, and cover each with remaining dough circles. Seal edges with a fork. Brush with egg wash, and prick top once.

I scaled the recipe down, varied the butter to flour ratio slightly and substituted a little all-purpose flour with wheat flour. I made 6 small tarts and 6 medium tarts with this recipe.

My egg-less version follows:
For the Dough
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup - wheat flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup - cold butter
1/4 cup - cold milk
2-4 tbsp - cold water

Method
Sift together flour and salt. Cut the butter into the flour and gently rub it with fingers together until you get a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle the milk as you combine the flour with your fingers. If the dough comes together then you are done. If not add a tablespoon of cold water at a time and try to bring the dough together with the finger tips only, without kneading. 

For the filling:

Potatoes - 2 medium sized, sliced in rectangles. 
Onions - 2 medium sized, diced
Sweet Corn kernels - 1/4 cup

Olive Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

Spices
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp (or to taste)
Thyme - 1/4 tsp
Oregano - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Basil - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Binding
Cheese, grated - 1/4 cup (I used cheddar) See Note
Garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Combine the potatoes, onions and sweet corn with the spices and olive oil. Arrange on a roasting tray and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees C. Allow it to cool for 10 mins.
Combine the roasted vegetables with the binding ingredients (cheese and garlic), and keep aside. 

Roll out the dough and cut out circles that will just cover the tart tins. Grease the tart tins slightly and line the bottom and sides of the tart tins with 4 mm thickness of dough. Stuff as much filling as possible and place the cut out circle on top. Try to seal the edges. If the edges do not seal then you can skip pricking the top. If the edges seal well then prick with a fork. Brush the tops with milk or egg-wash. I always use milk to brush the tops. 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Place the filled out tart tins on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until the tops turn golden brown. 

Note:You could add more cheese if you like your filling very cheesy. You could use pizza cheese too if you please.

Verdict 
These were delectable - mildly spiced and utterly delicious filling. I only felt that the filling could have been a little juicier. The idea was to add cream and cornflour paste to add to the moisture content, but I was out of cream too. I plan to try it out next time with either extra cheese or cream filling. So I finally decided to call it potato-corn-cheesy pie. What do you say?

 

Crispy Cream Doughnuts - Eggless

Doughnuts are a relatively new baked good to us. It is not available at a local bakery and one would have to go to specialized stores to find it. But with yeast in hand, we can bring the specialty store home and that is exactly what this recipe did to us.
Recipe Source: Allrecipes

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 18 doughnuts:

2 teaspoons - instant dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup curd (this was substituted for 2 eggs)
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

For the Sugar Glaze
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water or as needed

For the Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup cooking chocolate finely chopped
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter

Method

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. 

Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.

Sugar Glaze
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set aside.
Chocolate Glaze
Heat water in a saucepan. Place a heat proof bowl over the saucepan. Let the water in the saucepan not touch the bowl. Place the chocolate, butter and milk in the bowl. As the heat reaches the bowl, slowly stir with a spoon until the chocolate melts and becomes a smooth paste.

Frying doughnuts Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. 

Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. 

Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Verdict: My little girl warms up to new stuff after a couple of tries. But these doughnuts were an immediate hit with her. They tasted divine.

Jam-swirled muffins - Eggless Baking Challenge June, 2013

Weekends come and go. There is so much domestic stuff to be taken care of. Laundry, finding the kid's stationary, getting her to complete her homework, cooking up something delicious to get her to eat properly. These take preference... and by the time that long pending curry you wanted to make for rotis is made and you have successfully made her eat a couple of spoonfuls of it, you realize that the weekend is already over. Pantry clearance is the last on the list. And sometimes, the monthly challenges from baking groups misses the list. In this rigmarole, I was late for last month's challenge. Unable to do much about my weekend routine, I was hoping this month's challenge will be something simpler to bake.

Thank you Priya for choosing a simple yet delicious recipe for this month's challenge. If it had been something like a Tiramisu I would have had to skip this months challenge too...

As always I will present the original recipe first.

Recipe Source: Technicolor Kitchen

Jam swirled muffins

Adapted from Dorie's lemon poppy seed muffins

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
/3 cup jam of your choice – if too thick, thin it with a little lemon juice

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 regular size muffin pans.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins.

Add the jam and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Now for the eggless version:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup (133g) caster sugar
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt (originally 3/4 cup of yogurt, add 1/2 cup to substitute two eggs, I added 1/4 cup more for the consistency)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup Nutella

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F; butter or spray 12 - 16 regular size muffin molds.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the yogurt, vanilla and melted butter until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork – do not overmix the batter, otherwise you’ll end up with tough muffins. 

Whisk the nutella vigorously with a fork to loosen it up. Add the nutella to the muffin batter and whisk lightly, to keep the marbled effect.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack, cool 5 minutes, then carefully unmold. Let cool completely on the wire rack.

Verdict: If you are wondering about the empty silicone mold in the above picture, here is the answer. The muffins had barely cooled down, and the little girl was munching away at one.