Baby Baked Beef Burritos

These little beef burritos are filled with spicy beef, jalapeño, onions, black beans, corn, cheese, and a mix of herbs and spices, and they are baked until slightly crispy. What makes them babies? They are made with taco sized flour tortillas.

They are not as small as egg rolls. They are about half the size of a regular sized burrito. They would be perfect for lunch or as part of a multi-course Mexican themed dinner. You can make these ahead of time and reheat them for a about 5 to 10 minutes in the oven (not the microwave, or they will be soggy).

I need to work on my burrito folding skills... which brings me to the reason why I made these burritos (besides the fact that they are delicious)!

It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day!! Each month we are assigned a member's blog from which to make a recipe. This month I was assigned the blog Sew You Think you can Cook! by Lauren. She is an aerospace engineer (I"m seriously impressed) who hopes to someday be a caterer.

When I first looked through her blog for something to make, these burritos called my name! I was a little intimidated at first because Lauren used to work at a burrito joint (it's where she met her adorable husband) and says she silently critiques others' burrito making skills. She says she uses the "shimmying" method. I need some lessons.

One of the cool things (among the many cool things) that Lauren is doing is cooking her way through the book Eating the Bible: Over 50 Delicious Recipes to Feed Your Body and Nourish Your Soul.

Nice to meet you Lauren! I love your blog!

Baby Baked Beef Burritos

Recipe adapted from Sew You Think You Can Cook!

Ingredients

1T vegetable oil

1 large onion, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 T tomato paste 

1 C canned corn kernels, drained 

1/2 C black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 C beef broth (I used a demi-glace mixed with some water)

1/2 tsp cumin

1 T fresh oregano, chopped

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 T brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

12 taco sized flour tortillas

1 C shredded Mexican blend cheese

Spray oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In  a large skillet, saute the onion and jalapeño over medium high heat for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant. 
4. Add the beef, and cook while breaking it up in the pan, until done. 
5. Add the tomato paste, corn, beans, and broth, and stir. Add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, brown sugar, and salt. Cook until the liquid has been evaporated, about a minute or two. 
6. Spray a sheet pan with spray oil. Fill the 12 tortillas with the filling and cheese and place them seam side down on the sheet. Spray them with spray oil. 
7. Bake the burritos for about 20 minutes. If you have a convection option, turn it on for the last 5 minutes. 
8. Serve immediately, with hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, cilantro, and guacamole if you like (and margaritas!). 
9. These can be made in advance and reheated in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 to 10 minutes to re-crisp. 

Water-Proofed Bread | A Sweet Brioche

This water proofed bread is enriched with eggs, milk, and sugar, and tastes amazing slathered in jam.

It's kind of a cross between brioche and challah, and the wild card is the amount of yeast that the recipe calls for. A lot.  And the water-proofing (which means proofing in water, not making the bread safe for taking out in the rain).

This month the Bread Baking Babes are baking a bread chosen by Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms. I am baking along as a Buddy.

This recipe is from the 1973 edition of the book Beard on Bread by James Beard.

The dough is proofed by wrapping it in a tea towel and plunging it in a bowl of warm water and waiting for it to rise.

The dough when it is first submerged into the water.

The dough after it has risen to the top of the water bath.

I'm pretty sure that doing the bulk rise the traditional way would have worked out just fine, but trying this method was a lot of fun. The rising time was definitely fast, only 30 minutes.

There was a lot of discussion among the Babes about the amount of yeast called for in this recipe, and a lot of the Babes cut back. Back in the day, bread recipes called for much more yeast than we use today. In the end, I wanted to stay true to the original recipe quantities, just to see what would happen.

I am still amazed that only 3 1/2 C of flour produced two loaves of bread. I definitely had my doubts. The dough was very wet and difficult to shape, and seemed like it would barely fill the loaf pans. Oven spring is an amazing thing.

If you use the two packets of yeast called for in the recipe, pay close attention to the dough so you don't over proof it.

In the end, the bread is wonderful. I took a loaf to work with a jar of homemade blackberry jam and it disappeared.

Water-Proofed Bread

Ingredients

2 packages of active dry yeast

1/2 C warm (100 to 115 degrees F) water

1 tsp sugar

1/2 C milk

1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

3 1/2 C bread flour, plus more for flouring the tea towel

Instructions

1. Place the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in the water and sugar, and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. 
2. Place the mild and butter into a heat proof bowl and microwave until the butter has just melted. 
3. Add the milk and butter mixture to the yeast and stir. Stir in the salt. 
4. Add the eggs and whisk.
5. Add the flour and knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. 
6. Generously flour a tea towel and scrape the dough onto it. Loosely wrap the dough with the flour and tie it with string.
7. Fill a large bowl with 115 degree water and plunge the package of dough into the water. 
8. Watch closely for the packet to rise to the top of the water (about 30 minutes). Remove the packet from the water, drain, and scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough in half and shape as best as you can into two loaves. Place the dough into two oiled 8 1/2 by 4 inch loaf pans and cover with plastic wrap.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. 
10. Brush the loaves with water and bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough reaches an internal temperature of about 190 to 200 degrees F. 
11. Remove the loaves from the pans onto a wire rack and cool on their sides. After about 10 minutes, flip the loaves to the other side for another 10 minutes. At this point, you can either slice and serve, or wrap it up for later.  

This bread will stay fresh for about a day. After the first day, it makes great toast or French toast. It also will freeze well for later. 

White Bread and Skillet Pizza with 80% Biga

Why is this bread called white bread with 80% biga? Because 80% of the dough is biga.

That clears it up, right? No? All righty then. I guess I'm going to get all bread geek on you.

Biga you ask? A biga is a a stiff dough preferment. What does that mean? Many Italian bread recipes call for a biga, which consists of flour and water, and a small amount of yeast. It is left out to ferment overnight and develop flavor.

The next day, the biga is mixed in with just a little bit more flour, water, salt, and yeast to make a 75% hydration dough. The resulting bread has a super thin crispy crust that crackles for several minutes after removing the bread from the oven. It has a wonderful flavor and stays fresh for several days.

You can make two loaves from this recipe, or make individual pizzas from half of the dough. If you choose to make pizzas, divide half of the dough into three pieces, form them into balls, cover them with oiled plastic wrap, and refrigerate them overnight or up to two days. I placed mine into plastic bags that had been sprayed with spray oil (see this photo on Instagram).

I decided to try the Skillet Pizza method from Ken Forkish's book, Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza.

This method calls for placing the stretched dough into a cold cast iron skillet, topping it, and placing it into a very hot oven for about 20 minutes. While it is my quest to master the method and flavor of Napolitano pizza, this was pretty darn fabulous, and so much easier than the pizza peel high wire act.

Of course I had leftover pizza for breakfast.

White Bread with 80% Biga

Ingredients

Biga

800 g unbleached all purpose flour

544 g 80 degree F water

1/16 tsp (.64 g) instant yeast

Final Dough

200 g unbleached all purpose flour

206 g 105 degree F water
22 g fine sea salt

2 g instant yeast

All of the biga

Instructions

1. Mix all of the biga ingredients in a large bowl or 6 quart tub by pinching and stirring the ingredients by hand. Cover the tub with plastic wrap and leave out overnight, about 12 to 14 hours. The dough should have about tripled in size. 
2. To make the final dough, mix the flour, water, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl or 12 quart tub by hand. Add the biga and mix by hand. Keep a bowl of water nearby to wet your hand to keep the dough from sticking. Alternate between folding and pinching the dough. The whole process should take just a few minutes. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Stretch and fold the dough at 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes. Let the dough rise for another 60 to 90 minutes, until it has risen to about 2 1/2 times its original size. 
4. Generously flour 2 (or one if you are making pizza with half of the dough) proofing baskets. I used a mix of all purpose and brown rice flour. You can also use a mixing bowl lined with a lint free kitchen towel that has been sprayed with oil and heavily floured. 
5. With a wet dough scraper or wet hands, loosen the dough from the sides of the bucket and gently turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into two even pieces (to make pizza, reserve half of the dough for pizza, see below). 
6. Shape the dough into boules, creating a taut skin over the top. Place the shaped dough into each basket, seam side down. 
7. Spray the top of the dough with spray oil, and cover with plastic wrap. 
8. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F with two (or one if you are making pizza with the rest of the dough) empty covered Dutch ovens placed on the middle rack. 
9. Allow the dough to rise about 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy. How to know if the loaves are ready? Here is Ken Forkish, the author, demonstrating the "finger dent test."
10. When you are ready to bake, cut parchment into two 9 inch by 15+ inch pieces. 
11. Remove the Dutch ovens from the oven and remove the tops. One loaf at a time, place the parchment over the dough and place a plate over it. Flip the dough over, remove the basket, and lift and place the loaf in the Dutch oven by using the parchment as a sling (leave the paper under the dough). Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the second loaf. 
12. Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then remove the Dutch ovens from the hot oven, uncover, and place the loaves on a baking sheet. Be careful not to burn yourself! Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the interior of the bread reaches 205 to 210 degrees F and the bread is a deep brown. My loaves were ready sooner, so check early. 
13. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Skillet Pizza

1. Divide half of the dough into three parts, form into balls, spray with spray oil, cover with plastic wrap or place into oiled plastic bags, and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.
2. To make the pizza, preheat your oven to 525 degrees F, or as high as it will go.
3. Generously flour a work surface with flour and place the dough ball onto the surface. Flip the dough over to cover the top with flour. 
4. With your fingertips, press the dough into a disk. Stretch the dough out into a 12 inch disk and place it into a 9 inch cold cast iron skillet (it will shrink back. 
5. Top with your favorite sauce, cheese, and toppings (I used about 1/3 C of fresh sauce, 3 ounces of mozzarella, and about 8 slices of pepperoni), and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, slide it onto a cutting board with tongs, and slice. Enjoy!!

Recipe adapted from Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza.

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Harvest Bread with Poolish

Harvest Bread with Poolish. Poolish? It is a sponge or preferment of half flour and water, and a tiny bit of yeast that is mixed up and allowed to sit overnight. It adds extra flavor and chew to the dough. The bread seems to last longer too. That's a good thing for this weekend baker.

While the poolish for this bread calls for white flour, the final dough for this bread also includes whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and wheat bran.

If you make the poolish the night before, and then mix the dough the next morning, you will have fresh bread by about 1 pm the next day.

The whole wheat flavor is fairly mellow. The bread is delicious with butter, toasted, and with melty cheese and garlic.

This recipe produces two 1 1/2 pound loaves.

I baked these loves in my Lodge Combo Cooker, but any Dutch oven with a heat proof handle will do. The advantage to baking bread in a Dutch oven is that the bread creates its own steam, which then creates an incredible crust.

This bread is also proofed with the seam side (the place where you gather up the ends of the dough when shaping) down, so that it bakes with the seam side up. It is not slashed, but allowed to split open wherever it chooses. When you lift the lid off of the Dutch oven, you are always in for a surprise. How cool is that?

Harvest Bread with Poolish

Ingredients

Poolish

500 g unbleached all purpose flour

500 g water, at 80 degrees F

.4 g instant yeast

Final Dough

400 g unbleached all purpose flour

100 g whole wheat flour

280 g bottled water, at 105 degrees F

21 g fine sea salt (or non iodized salt)

3 g instant yeast

50 g wheat germ

20  g wheat bran

All of the poolish

Instructions

1. In a 6 quart bowl or tub, mix the poolish ingredients by hand the night before you plan to make the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for about 12 hours. 
2. In a 12 quart tub, mix the final ingredients by hand, both stretching and folding the dough, and pinching the dough to incorporate all of the ingredients. (Check out all of my posts labeled Forkish for more details about the methods). The dough will be very sticky. This is okay.
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or the lid of the bucket, and allow it to rise for 2 to 3 hours, stretching and folding the dough every 20 minutes for the first hour. 
4. When the dough is 2 1/2 times its original size, it is ready to be divided. 
5. Gently scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half with a dough scraper or bench knife. 
6. Pour the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half with a bench knife or dough scraper. Shape each half into boules and place them seam side down into floured bannetons or flour lined bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap.
7. Place two Dutch ovens in the oven, and preheat it to 475 degrees F. 
8. Allow the dough to rise for about an hour. 
9. When you are ready to bake, cut parchment into two 9 inch by 15+ inch pieces. 
10. Remove the Dutch ovens from the oven and remove the tops. One loaf at a time, place the parchment over the dough and place a plate over it. Flip the dough over, remove the basket, and lift and place the loaf in the Dutch oven by using the parchment as a sling (leave the paper under the dough). Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the hot oven. Repeat with the second loaf. 
11. Bake covered for 30 minutes, and then uncover it and bake it for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the interior of the bread reaches 205 to 210 degrees F and the bread is golden brown. 
12. Lift the loaves out of the Dutch ovens with the parchment and let them cool fully on a wire rack (remove the parchment from the bottom of the loaves).

Excellent bread. Enjoy. 

Adapted from Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza. I'm pretty sure this is one of those cookbooks that I will bake my way through.

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Chocolate Espresso White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

The recipe for these chocolate espresso white chocolate chunk cookies calls for just 1/4 C plus 1 T of flour... for 24 three inch cookies. How do you get 24 three inch cookies with 1/4 C of flour? My mission (someone has to make the sacrifice) was to find out.

Carrot Soup Garnished with Bacon

This carrot soup is so easy to make and pretty healthy too (okay, okay, if you skip the bacon).

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce

This week's Wok Wednesdays dish was supposed to be stir-fried yau choi. In this case I substituted baby bok choy.

My excuse reason? I am late making this recipe and was too lazy busy to drive to the Asian grocery store when I knew I could walk to my local market and pick up some baby bok choy (it's for the environment... that's my story and I'm sticking to it). On our Wok Wednesdays Facebook page, Grace Young, the author of this recipe (on page 196 of Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories.), did mention that baby bok choy would be an appropriate substitute.

One of the reasons I wanted to try this recipe even though I am ridiculously late, is because I wanted to use this Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce. I had bought it in advance to make this recipe. Grace Young says it's the only brand to use. My various ingredients for all of my kitchen adventures are kind of taking over the pantry and fridge, so I need to use what I buy.. or Mr. Kitchen will call me out.

The oyster sauce smelled and tasted divine.

I am looking forward to trying this recipe with the Yau Choi (I promise Grace!), but for those of you who do not have access to the more difficult to find Asian ingredients, the baby bok choy worked out well.

This recipe is so easy to make. Along with the vegetables and oyster sauce, it also contains minced garlic, white pepper, and fish sauce. That's it! It takes less than 3 minutes to stir it up, and there are very few dishes to wash once you are done.

Oh... and it's delicious. I'm excited to use the oyster sauce for our next Wok Wednesdays adventure, Barbecued Pork Lo Mein.

I have three of Grace Young's stir-fry cookbooks, and all of them are amazing. I strongly encourage you to get a wok and get this book. It is so fun learning about cooking with a wok, using new and unfamiliar ingredients, and reading the stories in the book.

While you are waiting for your book to arrive (get it, get it, get it, you won't regret it), the recipe can also be found here.