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Baking Minute: bread week with the Canadian Baking Show

The second episode of the Canadian Baking Show focused on one of my favourite things — bread! The bakers were challenged to make some of the most difficult and technical kinds of bread, while still including a unique and personal flare on their creations. I was excited to watch this episode as bread is, unfortunately, not something I have mastered.

The first challenge was to make Focaccia, a fluffy Italian flatbread seasoned with oil, herbs, and various vegetables, meats, or cheeses. It’s a delicate bread — the dough must have even air pockets and too many toppings can turn this dish into a pizza. I was enthralled with Julian D’Entremont’s baking this week. His use of Nova Scotian dulse, a kind of seaweed, was really inspiring and representative of his hometown of Halifax. I loved that other bakers were trying it out while their breads cooked. At the end of the day, I think the unofficial winner of this particular challenge was Sabrina Degni, whose Focaccia was inspired by her Italian grandmother, and Linda Longson, who used rosemary-infused oil and sea salt for an absolutely gorgeous and simply delicious bread.

The technical challenge was, of course, the Montreal-style bagel. I thought this challenge would be easier, but I’ve since learned that bagels are deceiving. First you have to kneed the dough, but not over-kneed it. Then boil it in honey water. Then dry it. And then FINALLY you cook it. There are so many ways it could go wrong, even the bakers from Quebec had a hard time. The judges wouldn’t even try James Hoyland’s bagel as it was raw. Poor guy.

The showstopper challenge was to create a bread centrepiece with a sweet filling. I have to say, there is a huge difference between how these bakers performed last week and this week. Maybe it took them a while to get used to the cameras being in their faces or to get used to the tent-in-a-field atmosphere, but the final products of this challenge were a lot more put together and clean than the cake challenge in the premiere.

What was even better than the final product was the reaction of the bakers. When the judges cut into the bread and they saw how it looked in the inside, whether a bunch of even layers of filling or swirls of fruit. They were so proud! While there were a lot of amazing creations, my personal favourite was Julian’s, who made some mouth-watering cinnamon buns with a Kraken in the middle. Oh, and he also had fried bread as tentacles!

There has been some criticism about the judging of the Canadian Baking Show, and I do agree that at times it can get repetitive, especially during the technical challenge where they just keep repeating the words “crispy”, “soft”, and “chewy”. But, I was rather impressed with the commentary in the Focaccia challenge. The judges gave advice to the bakers, patiently explaining what went wrong and what went right. I’m hoping the judging gets a bit more creative as more contestants leave and there is more television time for this part of the show.

The winner of bread week was Sabrina, who rocked all three challenges and created a really unique centrepiece with a weaved bread basket. The person who left this week was Sinclair Shuit of London Ont. (hometown of Winnipeg), whose centrepiece pear puff pastry wasn’t cooked enough to please the judges.

Next week is dessert week…God help me!

Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments below! In the meantime, I’m going to go and eat a muffin…or some french toast…or maybe just a whole loaf of bread.

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Recipe

Recipe: Ethiopian chickpea stew

Don’t let the warm weather fool you, the traditional Fall weather will be here soon enough. Often with the change in weather, people start to crave comfort foods — soups, stews and slow cooker recipes are in high demand. Ethiopian chickpea stew is the perfect mixture of everything in one hearty bowl. This stew is originally called Ethiopian chickpea wat.

A wat essentially refers to a stew or curry made by adding different ingredients and vegetables. The mixture of different spices is called berbere and often includes salt, chilli peppers, ginger, paprika etc. So, expect to use different blends and adjust flavours accordingly, especially if you prefer something more spicy.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans chickpeas ( rinsed)
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic ( chopped)
  • 1 piece of fresh ginger ( chopped)
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro ( chopped)
  • 3 large red tomatoes ( diced)
  • 1 ½ cups chicken/vegetable broth or water
  • 1 lemon ( juiced)
  • 2 carrots ( chopped)
  • 1 red potato ( diced)
  • 4 tsp olive oil

 

Spices ( Berbere)

  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp all spice
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp brown sugar

 

Directions:

  1. Mix dry spices ( berbere) together on one bowl and set aside
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot set to medium heat
  3. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and toss in the pan for two minutes or until slightly browned.
  4. Add the lemon juice
  5. Stir in the dry spices, stirring occasionally ,for one to two minutes or until you form a paste.
  6. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, carrots and potato and pour in the broth or water
  7. Mix well and sprinkle brown sugar.
  8. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 25 minutes, checking halfway and adding more water or stock if necessary.
  9. Sprinkle cilantro before serving

 

This stew can be enjoyed by itself, or with rice and flatbread. In Ethiopia, it is often enjoyed with Injera, a sourdough flatbread with a spongy texture.

 

Let us know what you think of this delicious fall comfort food in the comments below.

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