Mohnflesserl – Austrian Poppy Twist

Mohnflesserl

Growing up in Austria, I loved the fresh baked breads.  My absolute favorite was Mohnflesserl – a savory roll that had been braided and was topped with poppy seeds.  Recently I wanted to make my own at home.  I found a recipe in German and translated it into English.  Before I post the recipe, I have to share a funny story.  My mother would pronounce it Mohnfresserl – and growing up that is what I called it.  Upon my return to Austria in 2011, I landed at the airport in Linz, Austria and promptly ordered myself one, since my ride had not arrived yet.  I did not understand why the lady behind the counter was smirking.  Later I learned, I had been saying it wrong all my life – fressen means to eat like an animal would, flesserl is a braid; I laughed at myself (and my mother).  No wonder my web searches to find a recipe for Mohnfresserl gave me no results…

I realize my last blog post was in October of 2017 – life has been keeping me busy with homeschooling and a new passion for quilting. I still love to cook, so this year I hope to post a few more recipes than I did last year.

Mohnflesserl – Austrian Poppy Twist

Serves 8

translated from German by Becky Pallmann

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 packet yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon malted barley flour
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• additional:
• egg white
• poppy seeds, salt, other bread topping

Instructions

Place warm water, yeast and malted barley flour (available at Amazon – get diastic type- it adds sweetness and flavor to your bread- if you cannot find it, use sugar in its place).  Add flour, and salt to the yeast and knead until it becomes one ball of dough and pieces have pulled off the sides of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Divide into 8 sections and roll each piece out into a snake. Form into a braided twist (https://christinawaitforit.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/mohnflesserl-flechten-rezept-und-anleitung/ has a great series of pictures that illustrate how to do this.)

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Add a little water to the remaining egg white and beat. Brush your twists with egg wash and sprinkle them with poppy seed, kosher salt or other bread topping seeds you may have on hand.

Place a pan of hot water in the bottom of your oven for steam or spray the twists with a mist of water during the baking process.

Bake at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes.

I love these with a nice slab of butter while they are still warm.

translated from:  http://www.backenmitchristina.at/mohnflesserl/

Printable Recipe: http://goodcookbecky-printablerecipes.blogspot.com/2018/02/mohnflesserl-austrian-poppy-twist.html

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Baked Oatmeal

Last summer our family traveled to the East Coast to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of my parents.  It was also a joyous family reunion with my two brothers, whom I do not see very often.  We spent a few days in Lancaster PA together.  We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast that was run by a Mennonite family.  One of their breakfast dishes was baked oatmeal.  I had never had it in this form before and really liked it a lot.  I recently found a recipe for baked oatmeal at a Bed and Breakfast site that also has recipes submitted by various bed and breakfast establishments around the country. This one is adapted from Blue Rock Bed and Breakfast.  I halved the recipe and then added a chopped honey crisp apple.  Next time I will also add raisins or dried cranberries and chopped pecans.

 

Baked Oatmeal

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp canola oil
• 6 Tbsp honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup milk (or coconut milk)
• 1 sweet apple, peeled, cored and chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a medium bowl, combine the oil, honey, and egg and beat together.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate.

Spray a 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray.  Pour the oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with milk.

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Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

My daughter asked for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins one morning.  I of course knew where to turn: Pinterest and my many pins!  The pin led to this link. I followed the directions exactly – but was disappointed in the baking time they recommended – they  muffins were seriously over-baked and dry. The next time I made them, I reduced the cooking time to 15-18 minutes and was much happier with the results.  It is not as chocolatey as the ones you can get at Costco – or the like, but they are still quite good.  Here is my adaptation:

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

adapted from Ingredients, Inc (see link above) Makes 1 dozen regular sized muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup plus 2 tsp canola oil
1 egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

additional mini chocolate chips to sprinkle the tops of the muffins before baking.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, sour cream, canola oil, egg, and vanilla.  Whisk to combine.

Add about 1/2 of the flour mixture into the liquids and stir to combine, using a spatula.  Add the remaining flour and incorporate it into the batter.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin cups (lined ones- or spray the muffin tin with a non stick spray like Pam)

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with additional mini chips if you have them on hand (about a teaspoon per muffin).

Bake for 15-18 minutes. (originally 20 minutes, but I found that to be too long for this preparation)

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Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Okay, Pinterest has  become an obsession, but I have not made very many recipes that I have found at that site.  This one is though- Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips called to me- it is a winner.  I used a banana more than it called for because I had that many! It worked out really well. I think these would be great as muffins too, just reduce the cooking time – for those breakfast on the go mornings. I would even increase the peanut butter amount to bring out the flavor even more – it was subtle, and increased the vanilla as well, because I love the flavor of vanilla. My recipe is adapted from the recipe found here.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

adapted from For Goodness Sake Catering

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (King Arthur)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (King Arthur)
• 6 Tbsp white sugar
• 6 Tbps brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3-1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I used natural)
• 2 Tbsp yogurt (Greek works too)
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips (tossed in 1 Tbsp flour)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper (this will help remove the loaf from the pan).

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, or the bowl of your mixer add: bananas, peanut butter, egg, vanilla, and oil.  Mix to combine.  Add about half of the flour mixture and mix to incorporate.  Add remaining flour mixture and mix until you do not see any more dry flour.  Fold in the chocolate chips (the flour helps them not sink to the bottom for the loaf pan as it bakes.  Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread with the spatula to even the batter.  Bake 40-50 minutes (mine took almost an hour, but every oven is different, so test if it is done with a toothpick or skewer.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before removing the pan.  Cool completely before slicing (this is totally optional– we tore into the loaf as soon as we removed it from the pan.  Delicious!

I imagine the baking time in regular size muffins would be around 20 minutes.  I will have to try that next,because I have bananas to use up!

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Tomato – Parmesan Appetizer

A few years back, when we were on our cruise in Hawaii, the cafeteria of the ship offered a roasted tomato and Parmesan dish for breakfast that I loved.  I recently have been addicted to Pinterest and found a version of these nuggets there.  Here is my twist. It would be great for finger food at a brunch, breakfast, or other gathering.

Tomato-Parmesan Appetizers

• 3 tomatoes, sliced (on thick side- about 3 slices per average tomato- 5 in the larger ones)
• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• garlic powder
• Parmesan cheese
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Line the sheet with the tomato slices.

Season the slices of tomatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a dash of oregano.  Top the tomato slices each with 1-2 teaspoons of shredded Parmesan cheese (or more if you like).  Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 450 F.  Cool slightly and enjoy.

 

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February 5 World Nutella Day

I grew up in Europe and am a sucker for this stuff!  Because a very good friend of mine told me that it was World Nutella Day, I had to start the day off on the right foot.  It was not about the Super Bowl at our house yesterday – but World Nutella Day got breakfast attention!  I made French Toast and spread it with the Nutella Hazelnut Spread. Nutella (link)

Nutella French Toast

Serves 5

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• butter
• 10 slices bread
• Nutella Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

Instructions:

Beat the eggs and milk with a whisk to combine.

Heat a non stick skillet over medium to medium- high heat and melt butter in the bottom to cover.

Dip the bread in the egg and milk mixture and place the bread in the pan with the melted butter and brown on both sides.  Reducing heat as needed, to prevent burning.  I could only fit 3 slices in the pan at a time.  Remove the French Toast and keep warm in the oven until you have cooked all the French Toast in batches.

Spread with Nutella.  Enjoy!

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Sausage Gravy

Wake up sleepy head!  Biscuits and Gravy will get them up and out of bed!

I found this recipe on my all time favorite site (allrecipes).  The recipe was posted by Bob Evans.  It is a restaurant chain on the East Coast that serves incredible breakfasts. I tweaked the recipe here and there.

Biscuits and Gravy

adapted from Bob Evans recipe on allrecipes.com

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and black pepper to taste

additional ingredients:

• 8 prepared biscuits
• 8 fried eggs

Instructions:

Bake biscuits (I used the Bisquick Mix and used the recipe on the box).

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the sausage, crumbling the sausage as you cook it until it is no longer pink.  Move the sausage to the side of the pan and tilt the pan to let the drippings flow to the other side.  Add the flour and about 1/2 tsp of salt to the drippings (oh this is BAD!  But I feel a tingle! I should really not be eating this, but oh it is sooo good for you –oops tasty!)  Stir the flour into the drippings and combine until there is no raw flour left.  I actually added 2 Tbsp of butter to the drippings so the flour was not clumpy.  Heat the milk up in the microwave.  I find it combines better adding a warm liquid.  Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture and whisk it into the pan.  Add the sausage back in.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Bring the gravy to a boil and allow to thicken.  If it becomes too thick you can thin it out with additional milk.

To serve, split a biscuit in half  Top with a fried egg and ladle sausage over the egg, replace the top of the biscuit and ladle more gravy over the dish.  Soon you will have all sorts of creatures (children) crawling out of the woodwork to eat breakfast (big ones too).

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Eggs in a Hole

I remember having this several years ago – I don’t want to go into how many years that was, because then I will just get depressed.. let’s just call it several years ago.  Pioneer Woman featured this breakfast in a recent episode on the Food Network and it reminded me of it.  Enough to want to make it again.  So this was breakfast, especially since I have three dozen eggs to use up!  It is really easy enough for a beginner to make!

Eggs In A Hole

Serves 2 (2 eggs size)

• 4 pieces of toast
• 4 eggs
• butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Melt butter in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat.  Cut rounds out from the center of each piece of toast with a biscuit cutter.  Place the rounds and toast into the butter and allow to brown on both sides a little.  Crack an egg into the center of each toast. Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 2 minutes.  Use a spatula and turn the toast and egg over.  Cook 2 more minutes.  Remove to plate.  Serve with toasted bread rounds on the side.

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

Last spring I bought some beautiful organic blueberries and froze them for later use.  I was craving French Toast and did a twist on the Strawberry French Toast. This time I used blueberries instead of strawberries.  It was delicious and is easy to assemble. My kids flip over blueberries — maybe they will clean my car in appreciation, but I won’t be holding my breath for that miracle! hehe

Becky’s Blueberry Stuffed  French Toast

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 loaf of french bread, cut into 2 inch slices
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• butter
• Powdered sugar, to dust

Preparation:

1. Put 2 cups of blueberries in a skillet and add sugar and water.  Heat over medium high heat, using a fork to crush some of the berries as they cook.  Cook until the syrup is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat.
2. Mix the cream cheese with 2/3 cups of the blueberry “jam” until combined.
3. Slice the french bread in 1 1/2 inch 2 inch slices (6 large slices in one loaf of french bread- slicing off the end pieces)  Score only the top of each slice of bread at the half way point.  Gently pry your fingers inside the bread to make a pocket, being careful not to puncture the sides.
4. Fill each pocket in the french bread with about 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese mixture.  Close the top by pressing the edges together gently (not crushing the bread though).
5. Beat the eggs, vanilla and milk together until well combined.
6. Heat a non stick skillet over medium heat.  Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in the skillet.  Quickly dip the french bread in the egg mixture, turning to coat the other side and place carefully in the melted butter.  Turn the french toast when it is golden brown (about 2 minutes each side).  I also turned it to cook the top and bottom of the french toast to give it a nice crunch.
7. Serve with more blueberry syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serves 6

Printable Recipe

 

Egg Omlette Sandwich

This morning I was in the mood for a breakfast sandwich.  I made a two egg omlette, seasoned it with salt and filled with deli sliced Black Forest Ham and grated Cheddar cheese.  After folding it in half I put it on a toasted French Roll.  It was a delicious and filling breakfast.

Becky’s Egg Omlette Breakfast Sandwich

Serves 1

• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt, to taste
• 3 slices of deli sliced Black Forest Ham
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 French Roll, toasted

Preparation:

Preheat a non stick pan over medium heat and spray with Pam Cooking spray.

Beat the eggs and pour into the heated pan.  Season with salt, top with ham and shredded cheese.  Cook for 1 minute.  Fold the egg over the filling and heat for 30 minutes.  Turn the omlette over and cook for another 30 minutes to melt the cheese.  Fold the omlette in half again (making a triangle) and gently remove with a spatula to your toasted French Roll.  Place the top over the egg omlette.  Enjoy.

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