{"id":582,"date":"2017-03-07T21:25:24","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T21:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pastrysampler.com\/blog\/?p=582"},"modified":"2019-07-02T19:41:20","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T19:41:20","slug":"breaking-breads-by-uri-scheft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pastrysampler.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/breaking-breads-by-uri-scheft.html","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Breads by Uri Scheft"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Breaking Breads<\/em> by Uri Scheft gives spirit to old favorites, and is a reflection of the author’s travels. Traditional challah, laminated breads, flatbreads, and stuffed breads are all greatly described and made, and he mixes contemporary ingredients with traditional methods. And it’s not just about yeast breads \u2013 we are presented with wonderful treats for afternoon tea or coffee, too, and all the things to serve them with,  a surprising focus on the savory here.<\/p>\n

Secrets of Well-Proofed and Well-Handled Dough<\/h3>\n

While there are non-bread recipes, the bulk of the book details on creating the best bread at home, from start to finish. Actually, the introduction contains a great section on bread basics, from ingredients and mixing, to baking and creating your own steam oven easily at home. Scheft even goes into bakers percentages (using flour as your 100% benchmark) and the proper way of scaling up a recipe precisely and mathematically, since baking really is a science.<\/p>\n

The color photos throughout Breaking Breads<\/em> show the perfect baked recipe and step by step instructions on how to complete tasks. Examples include showing how to shape and braid a perfect challah and how to stretch the paper thin strudel needed for all its glorious wafer-thin layers. And let me tell you, nothing is as much fun as stretching strudel dough over a large table.<\/p>\n

Most of the recipes have long instructions, but don’t be turned off by that. It is like the author is there instructing you step by step. Without his clear guidelines it wouldn’t be as easy to recreate some of the treasures in the book.<\/p>\n

All the recipes make you want to spend a few days in the bakeshop baking, but my favorite recipe in the book isn’t even a bread at all, though. It’s a Middle Eastern twist on the traditional Mexican wedding cookies or Russian tea cakes (same thing) – with the addition of tahini paste and sesame seeds. A really lovely book all around.<\/p>\n

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Tahini Cookies<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\nAdapted from \"Breaking Breads\"<\/span>\n
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Middle East version of the sweet baked snowballs we call \"Mexican Wedding Cookies\" or \"Russian Tea Cakes.\" They are rolled in sesame seeds rather than powdered sugar before baking.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Servings <\/span>40<\/span> cookies<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Ingredients
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