The Essential James Beard Cookbook (61 page)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake the monkey bread, covered with the foil, for about an hour; it may take a minute or two more. Tap the top: it will sound hollow when the bread is ready. (If the top browns a little too much don’t worry, because this will be served inverted.) Unmold and let cool thoroughly before slicing, or serve warm and pull apart.

MRS. MAYNARD’S CINNAMON ROLLS

MAKES 12 ROLLS

If you make it by hand, it is wise to begin the kneading with the aid of a dough scraper, which looks something like a paint spatula, until you have a slightly firm dough.

For the Dough

Three ¼-ounce packages (6¾ teaspoons) active dry yeast

½ cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup warm (110° to 115°F) water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 teaspoons plain salt

3 large eggs, beaten

3 cups all-purpose flour, as needed, plus more for rolling the dough

For the Filling

1 cup golden raisins

¼ cup dark or golden rum

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ cup chopped pecans

Softened butter, for the baking sheet

For the Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons water

To make the dough: Dissolve the yeast and the 2 teaspoons granulated sugar in the warm water in a small bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve.

Using an electric stand mixer, cream together thoroughly the softened butter, the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar, and salt for 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs. Add the yeast mixture and blend well. Stir in enough flour, mixing it in thoroughly, so that the dough is soft and tacky, but not sticky. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, put it in a warm place, and let the dough rise until double in bulk, about 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Set both aside while the dough is rising.

Punch the dough down. Roll on a lightly floured board into an 18-inch-long rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Drain the raisins, distribute them evenly over the top, and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Roll up the rectangle lengthwise so that you end up with a long cylinder, and pinch the long seam closed. Cut the cylinder into 1½-inch slices and place them on a buttered cookie sheet, not touching. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise again for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they are nicely browned.

To make the icing: Mix the confectioners’ sugar and water into a thick paste in a bowl. Spread on top of the hot rolls. Serve warm or cooled.

CORNBREAD

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

There are innumerable recipes for corn bread, which is leavened by baking powder. This one, which is very moist and rich, happens to be my favorite.

Softened butter, for the pan

1½ cups yellow cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon plain salt

1 cup whole milk

3 large eggs, well beaten

¼ cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons (½ stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter an 11 by 8½-inch baking pan. Sift the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl, to mix the ingredients thoroughly and distribute the baking powder evenly. Beat in the milk and eggs with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Beat in the cream and, lastly, the melted butter. Pour into the buttered pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until risen and golden brown. While still hot, cut into squares and serve wrapped in a napkin.

HELEN EVANS BROWN’S CORN CHILI BREAD

9 TO 10 SERVINGS

The late Helen Evans Brown was a specialist in California’s traditional foods. This recipe of hers is an extremely moist, rich bread that is delicious with plenty of butter. It can be served with such things as roast pork or a roast turkey or even with a good stew. It is one of my oldest bread recipes, and one of my very favorites. As a matter of fact, I have often served it for large parties, doubling the recipe, which is very simple.

3 ears of corn, husks and silks removed

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup sour cream

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for serving

2 large eggs, well beaten

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons plain salt

1 cup very finely diced Gruyère or Monterey Jack cheese

One 4-ounce can diced green chilies, drained

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scrape the kernels from the corn cobs. Put in a large bowl. Add the cornmeal, sour cream, melted butter, eggs, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Fold in the cheese and chilies. Pour into a well-buttered 9-inch square baking dish or 2½-quart soufflé dish. Bake for 1 hour. Serve with melted butter.

CLAY’S CORNSTICKS

MAKES ABOUT 14 CORNSTICKS

Cornsticks are different in their way from cornbread. They are baked in a mold shaped like a row of corn ears. The mold is heated as hot as possible after you have greased it with bacon fat, goose grease, or homemade lard, which will give a good flavor and won’t burn the way butter will. The cornsticks usually bake to a golden color and are puffy inside and deliciously crunchy on the outside. For a variation, add 2 tablespoons of fresh grated corn.

This recipe will make about 14 sticks. Most cornstick molds make 7 or 8, so you can bake one batch, quickly regrease the mold, and bake another batch during the meal. Before using a new mold it is wise to follow the rules for curing it, generally given on the label. Then try these very good, simple-to-make cornsticks.

“Clay” is Clayton Triplette, who has been my assistant and housekeeper for many years, and who is no mean cook himself.

1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone ground

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon plain salt

1 cup whole milk or buttermilk

2 large eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Rendered bacon or pork fat, lard, or vegetable shortening, for the molds

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Sift the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk, eggs, and melted butter to make a light batter. Generously grease the mold with the fat and heat in the preheated oven until very hot. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them three-quarters full. Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes until the cornsticks are brown and puffy. Remove at once, regrease the mold, and refill with the remaining batter. Serve the cornsticks hot with plenty of butter.

Editor: If you want to serve all of the cornsticks at once, keep the first batch warm by loosely wrapping in aluminum foil and returning to the oven with the second batch for the last few minutes of the baking time.

IRISH WHOLE-WHEAT SODA BREAD

1 ROUND LOAF

Traditionally, soda bread is baked over a peat fire in a three-legged iron pot that can be raised or lowered over the fire in the old-fashioned way [
Editor: That is, with a chain
]. Soda bread is very different from any other bread you can find in the world. It’s round, with a cross cut in the top, and it has a velvety texture, quite unlike yeast bread, and the most distinctive and delicious taste. Sliced paper thin and buttered, it is one of the best tea or breakfast breads I know, and it makes wonderful toast for any meal.

3 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons plain salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

1½ to 2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Combine the flours, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix thoroughly to distribute the soda and baking powder. Stir in enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, similar in texture to biscuit dough but firm enough to hold its shape. Knead on a lightly floured board for 2 or 3 minutes, until quite smooth and velvety. Form into a round loaf and place in a well-buttered 9-inch cake pan or on a well-buttered cookie sheet. Cut a cross on the top of the loaf with a very sharp, floured knife.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the loaf is nicely browned and sounds hollow when rapped with the knuckles. (The cross will have spread open, which is characteristic of soda bread.) Let the loaf cool before slicing very thinly; soda bread must never be cut thick.

VARIATION

WHITE SODA BREAD:
Use 4 cups unbleached flour, and decrease the baking soda to ¾ teaspoon. Otherwise, the bread is prepared in exactly the same way as in the master recipe.

CREAM BISCUITS

ABOUT 10 BISCUITS

We had a reputation at home for very special biscuits, which were made by our Chinese cook, who was with us for many years. After he left us they became a standard item in our household, and I still make them very often. The secret of their unique quality is this: They use heavy cream instead of butter or shortening.

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon plain salt

¾ to 1 cup heavy cream

Softened butter, for the baking pan

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, pour into a small bowl, set aside to cool until tepid. Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Fold in the cream until it makes a soft dough that can be easily handled. Turn out on a floured board, knead for about 1 minute, and then pat to a thickness of about ½ to ¾ inch. Cut in rounds or squares, dip in the butter, and arrange on a buttered baking sheet or in an oblong baking pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown. Serve very hot.

Editor: If you cut the dough into rounds, gather up the scraps of dough, and gently knead them together. Pat out the dough and cut out more biscuits until all of the dough has been used. The biscuits made from the scrap dough will be a bit tougher because the gluten has been activated more than the first batch. Square biscuits have an advantage—there will not be any scraps.

GIRDLE SCONES

8 SCONES

Among the breads baked on a griddle (the Scots insist on saying “girdle”), scones seem to run high in popularity. They are rather sour-flavored because of the buttermilk content, and their delicate texture makes them excellent when hot, split, buttered well, and spread with raspberry jam. Cold, they are best cut in half, toasted, and served swimming in butter. Exceptionally easy to make, they are apt to be a novelty to some people.

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dipping

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

½ teaspoon plain salt

¾ cup buttermilk or sour cream, as needed

Sift the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, sugar, and salt together. Combine it with enough buttermilk or sour cream to make a soft dough. Pat it with the hand on a floured board and form into a circle ½ inch thick. Cut into 8 equal wedges. Dip each wedge in flour. Cook on a heated griddle over medium heat until lightly browned. Turn to brown the other side. Serve hot or cold.