Rye-Cocoa Gougeres

The snow and ice storm that swept through Eugene last weekend may have forced us to hold dinner by candlelight, but in general it put a chill on Valentine's Day planning. Still, a little celebration is in order, and as a twist on the endless chocolate sweets, I can recommend these savory rye flour and cocoa gougeres from Chad Robertson's Tartine Book No. 3. I made these with Lonesome Whistle Farm rye, skipped the fancy piping (beyond my skill set) or egg wash (too lazy), and we had these alongside a comforting pot of leek and potato soup. The rye and unsweetened cocoa give these a deep, slightly bitter flavor that is a nice complement to the richness of the dough. A delicious treat to make for your sweetie this Valentine's Day.

Rye-Cocoa Gougeres

from Chad Robertson's Tartine Book No. 3

yield: four dozen gougeres

Rye-Cocoa Pate a Choux Dough
310 ml/ 1 1/4 cup nonfat milk
140 g/ 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp fine sea salt
166 g / 1 cup plus 3 Tbsp whole-grain dark rye flour
15 g/ 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
250 g/ 5 large eggs, at room temperature 

In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the milk, butter, and salt and place over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture comes to just under a boil. Add the flour and cocoa all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture has formed a smooth mass, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and some of the moisture has evaporated, about 3 minutes.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a heatproof mixing bowl.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix at medium high speed or vigorously by hand with a wooden spoon, incorporating each egg before adding the next. When all the eggs have been added, the mixture will be very thick, smooth, and shiny. Use immediately.

Gougeres
115 g/ 3/4 cup grated Comte or Gruyere cheese
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh marjoram
1 1/2 tsp minced thyme leaves
1 recipe Rye-Cocoa Pate a Choux Dough

Egg wash
50 g/ 1 large egg
pinch of fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 75 g/ 1/2 cup of the cheese, the pepper, the marjoram, and the thyme to the pate a choux dough and stir well with a rubber spatula to incorporate.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip. Pipe 1 inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart, or use a spoon to drop the dough into 1 inch mounds.

To make the egg wash: in a small bowl, whisk together the egg and salt. Lightly brush the top of each dough mound with the egg wash , then top with the remaining 40 g/ 1/4 cup cheese, dividing evenly.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed, golden brown, and light for their size, rotating the baking sheet after 20 minutes to ensure even browning. Serve warm. You can also cool completely and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days. To serve, recrisp for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

Note: you can form the gougers on a baking sheet, place in the freezer unto, frozen, and then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake them straight from the freezer on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Brush the tops lightly with egg wash, sprinkle with cheese before baking, and increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.

Elin's Farmor's Limpa

Our baking traditions this season include German Christmas stollen and cookies for Santa such as Swedish rye cookies, hazelnut cloud cookies, award-winning buckwheat cocoa nib cookies, and rugelach (because why shouldn't Santa enjoy a Jewish treat). This year, as an addition to our Swedish Smörgasbord, I made limpa, a Swedish rye bread from Elin England's new book Further Adventures in Eating Close to Home: Beans, Grains, Nuts and Seed. 

This is a dense bread full of fragrant spices and orange rind, with just a hint of sweetness. I used our new crop of rye and wheat flours from our Lonesome Whistle Farm CSA. Today the aromas of freshly baked yeast bread, anise, fennel, and cardamom mingled throughout the house with the excitement of anticipation for Christmas.

Elin's Farmor's Limpa

from Further Adventures in Eating Close to Home: Beans, Grains, Nuts and Seed

2 packages (4 1/2 tsp) yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp each: fennel seed, anise seed, and cardamom seed, pulverized together in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle
Grated rind of 2 oranges
2 Tbsp soft butter
2 1/2 cups rye flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over the warm water, and stir until it is dissolved. Set in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes to proof the yeast.

When the surface is nice and bubbly, add the molasses, sugar, salt, spices, orange rind, and butter. Stir in the rye flour, then when thoroughly blended, mix in the whole wheat flour, a cup at a time.

When the dough is too stiff to work in the bowl, turn it out onto a counter or breadboard dusted with flour and knead until the dough is satiny, about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, set in a warm place, and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down and let rise again, until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch down yet again and divide the dough in two. Shape each half into a round loaf, then place both loaves on an oiled baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 35 minutes. When the loaves come out of the oven, brush the tops with melted butter and let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy warm out of the oven or toasted and slathered with butter.

Traveling Companion Bread

Last weekend we retreated to the coast to celebrate a couple of family birthdays and marvel at the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. While packing, our luggage, as always, became densely populated with co-traveling stuffed animals, because you never know when makka pakka or totoro will be needed (and in fact they came in handy as a Bludger and Snitch, respectively, in an impromptu game of Quidditch).

This trip, I sneaked in my own traveling companion of a batch of no knead bread dough, made with Lonesome Whistle Farm red fife and rye flour. The slowly fermenting culture rode along happily in a large tupperware container, basking in the faint warmth of sun breaks as we played in the marbled sand. 

When we arrived at Yachats in the late afternoon, I plopped my friend into a loaf pan to rest as we explored the cottage and discovered a newt in a backyard stream. By dinnertime, the fragrance of yeasty bread enveloped our cottage, and even though the loaf was a bit mangled by the sticky pan and dull bread knife, it tasted delicious. Replete with the virtues of patience, adaptability, and ultimately good taste, this dough makes the perfect traveling companion.

Traveling Companion Bread

based on Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread

1 cup rye flour
2 cups whole wheat flour (such as Lonesome Whistle Farm red fife flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups water
coarse corn meal for coating the dough

1. The evening before your trip, or early that morning, combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended (a dough whisk is handy for this). Dust a large tupperware container with corn meal, put the dough in, and seal loosely. Let the dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, and preferably at about 70 degrees, but don't worry too much about temperature fluctuations during your trip.

2. Hopefully when you arrive at your destination, your dough will have doubled in size and become speckled with bubbles. Check whether there is a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) available for baking your bread according to Jim Lahey's method. Otherwise, locate a loaf pan or baking sheet.

Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Place it in an oiled loaf pan, shape it into a loaf on a baking sheet, or form it into a ball on a floured cotton towel. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise again, ideally for about 2 hours, but it will still be delicious if given less time.

3. About an hour before dinner, start heating your oven to 450 degrees. If using, put your heavy pot in the oven to preheat. When the oven is hot, put your bread in to bake. If using a preheated pot, carefully slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into pot; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake the pan once or twice if the dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with a lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. When you tap it with your fingernail it should sound hollow. Cool on a rack or devour immediately.

Strawberry Pinwheels

If you are tired of the cloyingly sweet Halloween candy kicking around your house, a good antidote is some fresh baked treats, such as these strawberry pinwheels from Liana Krissoff's Canning for a New Generation. The dough is flavored with ground cardamom and just a hint of sugar and is the perfect vessel for homemade strawberry preserves or some of Sweetwater Farm's strawberry spread, if you are lucky enough to have any left from the summer.

The assembly of these pinwheels may look a bit fussy, but it's actually quite simple and forgiving and a fun activity for kids who need some distractions now that the excitement of Halloween preparations is over. I let some rye flour slip into the dough (because it had proved so tasty in these cookies) and rather than chopped nuts as a topping I used this streusel, which meant these cookies could be packed for a snack at my daughter's nut-free school. These treats will fill your house with the delicious smell of baked yeast dough, and when everyone is sated, you can surreptitiously tossed out the rest of the Halloween candy.

Cardamom Pinwheel Danishes

adapted from Liana Krissoff's Canning for a New Generation

for about 24 pinwheels
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp instant yeast
1 cup rye flour
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp pure kosher salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus about 2 Tbsp softened butter for the filling
About 1/3 cup strawberry jam

for the streusel

2 Tbsp cup flour

1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp white sugar
pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp butter

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, yeast, and 3/4 cup warm water until smooth. 

2. In a large bowl, sift the flours. Stir in the salt, sugar, and cardamom. Then cut in the butter until the pieces of butter are about the size of peas. Now make a well in the center and pour in the egg mixture. Gradually incorporate the dry into the wet ingredients. You could also form this dough in a food processor.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and soft but not sticky. Clean the bowl, return the dough, and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. To make the streusel, combine the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse to mix. Then add the vanilla and butter and pulse until it is a coarse crumb. Reserve.

5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

6. Divide the dough into quarters. Roll one out into and approximately 9 inch long and 6 inch wide rectangle and cut it into half lengthwise and thirds widthwise to produce six 3 x 3 inch squares. Take one square and cut a slit from each corner diagonal toward the center, stopping about 1/2 inch before the center. Spread a bit of softened butter in the center of each square and spoon 1 scant tsp jam on top of the butter. Bring every other point (four total) to the center of the pastry and pinch them together tightly over the jam. Transfer to a parchment paper-covered baking sheet and sprinkle with streusel. Repeat with the remaining dough. 

7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Let cool on wire racks. Enjoy.

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market (from 10 to 2:30 on the corner of Agate and 19th) you can expect to find the following produce and prepared foods from SLO Farm and Sweetwater Farm:

• raspberries and marionberries
• snap peas (add crunch to a rice noodle salad)
• many varieties of greens, including bietola (try this saag paneer salad)
• cabbage (yummy slow cooked)
• carrots (use in carrot salad with a bite)
• fingerling potatoes (use in potato salad with a bite)
• turnips (try these with browned butter)
• onions and garlic
• tomato sauce and pesto (make pizza)
• pickles and sauerkraut
• kimchi (make a stir fry)
• homemade jams
• redcap raspberry apple sauce (serve with teff pancakes)

The fresh greens on sale at the market make wonderful tart fillings. A big bunch of Swiss chard can seem like a big commitment, but it will cook down to just the right amount of filling for one tart. I used a recipe from Heidi Swanson for rye flour pie crust, using my rye flour from Lonesome Whistle Farm. I included bacon and gruyere cheese for a take on the classic quiche lorraine, with the dark green chard leaves to offset the richness of the other ingredients. Lovely for a summer brunch. Happy Bastille Day!

Swiss Chard and Bacon Tart

tart crust (makes enough for two 9 inch tarts)

2/3 cup rye flour

1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose white flour

1/4 tsp salt

8 Tbsp butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2 inch cubes

~1/3 cup ice water

I followed Melissa Clark's instructions for making the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor and mix. Now pulse in the butter cubes until they are lima bean sized. Then add enough water for the dough to just come together when you press it between your fingers. Mold into two discs, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out into 12 inch discs, drape into buttered tart pans, flute the edges and patch where you need to, and now chill again for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cover the crusts with aluminum foil and use coins as pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, then allow to cook completely before you fill the crusts. One disk of dough can be frozen for later. 

filling for one tart

1 bunch Swiss chard

2 slices bacon

1 shallot or small onion

3 ounces gruyere cheese

3 eggs

~3/4 cup half and half

salt and pepper

1. Cut the stems from the chard leaves and dice. Chop the leaves. Dice the shallot or onion.

2. Heat a large skillet. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and saute until the pieces have browned on both sides and rendered their fat. Reserve the bacon pieces. Use the rendered bacon fat to saute the diced chard stems and shallot or onion. Then add the chard leaves and saute until wilted.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grate the gruyere cheese and spread in the prebaked pice crust. Layer on the sauteed chard mixture. Top with the reserved bacon pieces. In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and then add enough half and half to bring the volume to 1 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the tart filling.

4. Bake the tart for about 45 minutes until the filling is entirely set and the top has started to brown. Let rest for at least ten minutes before serving.

Rye Waffles with Clementine Syrup

Waking up last Saturday to an unexpected dusting of snow on top of the tulips called for a cozy waffle breakfast. And with plenty of rye flour from our Lonesome Whistle Farm CSA, I thought I would experiment with rye waffles, along with the trick of using corn starch in the batter for an extra crispy outside.

We often turn to our freezer chest of summer berries and peaches for waffle topping, but on this wintery morning, I thought I would use some seasonal clementines quickly warmed in maple syrup.

The rye flour gave the waffles a pleasant tartness, whipped egg whites kept them etherial, and the corn starch trick worked for crispiness. The clementine syrup, drizzled over a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of toasted almonds, had the taste of sunshine. And the smell of waffles lingered in the kitchen all morning, outlasting the snow.

Rye Waffles with Clementine Syrup
(makes about 6 waffles)

waffle batter 
3/4 cup soft white winter wheat flour
3/4 cup rye flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract


for topping
plain yogurt
slivered almonds, toasted
clementines (about 1 per person)
maple syrup (about 2 Tbsp per person)


1. Combine the dry ingredients (flours, cornstarch, leaveners, and salt). Whisk together the buttermilk, egg yokes, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, but do not over mix. At this point you should let the batter sit for at least 30 minutes to allow the cornstarch to cross link gluten in the flour, which will give the crispiness to the waffles.


2. Prepare the clementine syrup. Peal the clementines, slice them to bifurcate the sections, and separate them. In a small saucepan, combine the clementine pieces and the maple syrup and heat just until small bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan. Turn off and reserve for serving. Toast the almond slivers and reserve.


3. To finish the waffle batter, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold these into the batter. 


4. Heat a waffle iron and cook the waffles. Store them in a 200 degree oven or eat them immediately as the come off the waffle iron, topped with a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of toasted almond slivers, and the clementine syrup.

Other recipes for locally grown grains

Creamy Barley Risotto with Dandelion Greens

Barley Risotto with Grilled Vegetables

Barley Stuffed Cabbage

Barley and Cranberry Bean Soup with Kale

Barley and Root Vegetable Salad

Barley and Braised Cabbage with a Fried Egg

Buckwheat Blini

Buckwheat Crepes

Gluten-Free Waffles

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets and Kale

Swedish Rye Cookies

Swedish Rye Knäckebröt

Teff Grain and Ricotta Pancakes with Apple Topping

Wheatberry Tabbouleh with Green Beans and Feta

Wheatberries with Snap Peas

Swedish Rye Knäckebröd

Every Christmas season we prepare a Swedish Smörgasbrod, a tradition from my husband's family. This year, with a fresh supply of rye flour from Lonesome Whistle Farm, I was inspired to make our own knäckebröd or rye crackers for our Swedish feast.

I found a wide variety of recipes for knäckebröd on the web, and put together a version with a buttermilk starter sweetened with honey and lightened with a bit of yeast. To make the round crackers, we shaped the dough into a log, sliced it into disks, and rolled them flat.

Then my son cut out the centers, which we read were for cooling the crackers on a wooden spoon,

and my daughter made a pattern of fork pricks designed for breaking the crackers into radial sections.

The spoon cooling process required some precarious balancing, but the final crackers were a delicious component of our Swedish Smörgasbord of:

Knäckebröd (rye crackers)

Fyllda ägg (stuffed eggs)

Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs)
Inlagd Sill (pickled herring)
Inlagda Gurkor (pickled cucumbers)

smoked salmon and smoked trout
Bruna Bönor (brown beans, delicious prepared with Lonesome Whistle Farm's cranberry beans. Cook beans in water until tender. Mix in salt to taste, 1 tsp mustard, 3 Tbsp molasses, and 3 Tbsp cider vinegar and simmer for another half hour for the flavors to meld.)

Swedish Rye Knäckebröd

1 cup buttermilk

3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
2 cup rye flour
1 cup whole wheat flour, and more for rolling out dough

1. In a glass measuring cup, microwave the butter until it melts. Add the buttermilk and microwave a little longer until the mixture is warm but not scalding. Stir in the honey and yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes until frothy.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the salt and a cup of wheat flour. Pour in the milk mixture and stir to combine. Now stir in the rye flour in several stages until you have a firm dough. Gather together the dough and knead gently into ball. Put into an oiled bowl, cover, and let sit for at least an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a cylinder and then cut into eight disks. Roll each disk into a thin circle. Use a shot glass or cookie cutter to cut out a hole in the center (you can bake the holes as little crackers). Transfer the disk to a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Use a fork to prick all over including radial spokes along which the crackers can break.

4. Bake the crackers in batches for about ten minutes until they brown up along the edges. Cool on a wooden spoon threaded through the center holes.

Other recipes for locally grown grains

Barley Risotto with Grilled Vegetables

Buckwheat Blini

Buckwheat Crepes

Gluten-Free Waffles

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets and Kale

Swedish Rye Cookies

Teff Grain and Ricotta Pancakes with Apple Topping

Wheatberry Tabbouleh with Green Beans and Feta

Wheatberries with Snap Peas

Swedish Rye Cookies

My son, born four years ago on Winter Solstice, is the antithesis of winter. From the moment he arrived, he has been a fiery ball of energy with the sunniest of personalities. Defying the laws of Mendel, he seems to have inherited only his father's Swedish genes, and has a head of white blond hair the color of a field of grain in the height of summer. With a new supply of rye flour from Lonesome Whistle Farm, I recruited my little Swede to help me test out this recipe for Swedish rye cookies from 101 Cookbooks.

The recipe calls for a combination of butter and cream cheese, which gives the final cookies a pleasantly tart flavor. The dough was quite easy to work with, and in no time we had a herd of reindeers.

The poor things never knew what hit them when they encountered my son's blizzard of colored sugars. Luckily, the cookies themselves are not too sweet and could stand the heavy drifts of decoration. We all liked the subtle rye flavor and we think Santa will too. These will definitely become part of our regular holiday baking repertoire.

Swedish Rye Cookies

from 101 Cookbooks

1 cup (106 g) rye flour (from Lonesome Whistle Farm)

1 cup (120 g) pastry flour (such as soft white winter wheat flour from Camas Country Mill)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (113 g) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (100 g) fine sugar

1. Sift together the flours and salt.

2. In a mixer or food processor, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until very smooth. Then combine in the flour mixture, but avoid over-mixing. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Place on parchment paper-covered cookie sheets and dust with colored sugar. Bake for about 10 minutes until just golden around the edges. At this point you can dust them with powdered sugar, if they haven't already been thoroughly sugared.


Other recipes for locally grown grains
Barley Risotto with Grilled Vegetables
Buckwheat Blini
Buckwheat Crepes
Gluten-Free Waffles
Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets and Kale
Teff Grain and Ricotta Pancakes with Apple Topping
Wheatberry Tabbouleh with Green Beans and Feta
Wheatberries with Snap Peas