Playing with Star Bread

The finished lamb, mint, rosemary bread

We ran across a fun, dressy bread over at Food 52 before the holidays this year. This Cheese and Herb Star Bread is pretty straightforward in terms of what's in it. A little fancy dancy twisting and its quite a beauty.

Lloyd, the baker of the family, was intrigued. So he made it. We loved the fancy style but the flavor reminded us on some kind of pizza bread - underwhelming. And the recipe itself seemed to be over the top with butter (anytime you take something out of the oven and butter drenches the pan in a pool, you know something is off). But man was it pretty.

The second time, we made a few key changes and liked the results more.

Egg wash finish

We left the dough as it was. For the filling.we skipped creating a herb butter (using 1/2 c. of butter). Instead, we melted a tablespoon or two of butter and simply brushed a layer on the dough and sprinkled the herbs and cheese on each layer. Worked swell. It was a croissant-y bun - fluffy and flavorful - although still reminding us of pizza.

Our newest idea was to incorporate meat and see if we could create a little sandwich bun feeling. We browned 6 oz of ground lamb and chopped it finely. We thought about herbs we love with lamb and used mint, rosemary and garlic powder. We again just brushed each layer with butter.  It was a bit more challenging to twist but the results were delicious.

A salad on the side and half the loaf made a tasty winter meal!

Solstice Lefse Madness

Holiday baking and cooking traditions are often ones that are specific to cultures and ethnic groups. Growing up in Green Bay, we had alot of Belgian, German, Polish foods that showed up around the Christmas holidays that we learned to make. When I joined my husband's family, Swiss delicacies were introduced. Other traditions have been shared by and learned from friends.

The equipment - borrowed from Lloyd's mom

Our newest foray into foods from another tradition is lefse. I am a huge potato fan and so lefse has long called my name. This Norwegian flatbread is most easily made with specialized equipment (a grooved rolling pin, flat griddle and turning stick) - none of which we actually owned. Although we had made this delicacy once or twice with Lloyd's family, it has been decades since we did this. We often promised ourselves we would give it a try.

the results

A local community education class this fall got us going. Two Norwegian-American sisters took 17 of us eager lefse-makers-to-be under their wing. The sisters had peeled, boiled, riced and incorporated cream and butter into the potatoes the night before. We added flour by the cupful and used our hands to fold it in until we achieved a firm, non-sticky consistency. During the rest of the class, we all had plenty of opportunities to hone our rolling and griddling skills. And each of us proudly took home the results - twelve soft, goldeny rounds that last a week in the fridge or can be frozen. They are eaten plain, with butter, with sugar and in place of tortillas. Oh and the family recipe. I mean, really, what's not to love?

Madison lefse crew

When my friend Lynne saw our Facebooked class excitement, she extended an invite to join a band of friends and family who have long gathered (decades!) annually in Madison to crank out a leviathan's share of lefse. 40# of potatoes, four griddles, three rolling stations, one lesfe-ball-maker and seven makers worked five hours to crank out 194 lefse rounds.

Lynne mixing the lefse dough

It was mad fun! Flour everywhere, who could roll the thinnest round, disasters at the rolling station (if there isn't enough flour, that dough loves to stick and rip as you lift it off;  a cloth up in flames but quickly doused), strategizing how to improve the process next year (another annual tradition) and stowing lefse rounds under card table-sized cloths after baking to keep them soft. Much laughter and talk. Oh and moo shu pork lefses for lunch!

Working with this crew helped me feel confident about our own solstice lefse making planned the next day with Lloyd and me. We made 5# of potatoes and got about 50 smallish rounds. Enough to share with our families and set a few aside for our own lefse love. We think next year we should use two griddles.

I think we have another annual holiday tradition!