Bread Machine (31 page)

To make the maple crème fraîche, place the crème fraîche in a small bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Remove the apples from the oven and let stand at room temperature in the baking dish until cool enough to serve, or cover and refrigerate overnight to serve cold or reheated.

Pear Brown Betty

Serves 6

This warm baked winter fruit dessert, similar to a crisp and popular in America since colonial times, should really be called a “brown Bethy.” Be sure to use pears that are ripe but still firm or they will disintegrate when cooked. This can also be made with apples. Serve with a pitcher of heavy cream on the side.

Two 1-inch-thick slices homemade white or whole wheat egg bread

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cup light brown sugar

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cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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teaspoon ground allspice

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teaspoon ground cloves

8 firm pears (2
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pounds), such as Bartlett or Bosc, peeled, cored, and sliced 1 inch thick

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

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cup apple or pear juice, or water

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cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8-by-8-inch shallow baking dish.

Place the bread in a food processor and pulse to coarse crumbs; you will have about 1
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cups.

Combine the crumbs, sugar, and spices in a bowl. Toss the sliced pears with the lemon juice in another bowl.

Sprinkle the baking dish with 3 tablespoons of the spiced crumbs. Top with half of the pears and pour the juice or water over. Top with half of the remaining spiced crumbs; dot with 3 tablespoons of butter. Top with a final layer of fruit, crumbs, and butter pieces.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and the fruit is cooked. Cool slightly and serve warm.

VIRGINIA LIGHT ROLLS
          
Makes 16 dinner rolls

T
his basic all-white dinner roll dough is slightly sweet and fluffy, producing tender rolls with that well-loved, good buttery flavor. I have given directions here for shaping the dough into finger rolls, but there are many shapes to choose from (see
Technique: How to Shape and Bake Soft Dinner Rolls
). Decide which whimsical shape you like and have a go. You can put seeds on these if you like. You can also prepare these ahead of time as
Brown-and-Serve Dinner Rolls
.

1
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- OR 2-POUND-LOAF MACHINES

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

3 tablespoons honey

2 large eggs

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces

4
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cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1
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teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2
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teaspoons bread machine yeast

4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine, for brushing

Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. The dough ball will be soft, but add no more than 2 to 3 extra tablespoons of flour, as needed, if you think it necessary.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half, then roll each half into a 2- to 3-inch cylinder. With a metal dough scraper or a chef’s knife, cut the cylinder into 8 equal portions. Repeat with the second cylinder, making a total of 16 equal portions. Shape each portion like a miniature loaf by patting it into an oval, then rolling up from a short side to make a small compact cylinder about 4 inches long. Place the rolls in two rows of 8 with their long sides touching. Brush some melted butter on the tops of the rolls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.