the hungry expats

There is nothing like the comfort of a delicious cinnamon roll. The original recipe has been slightly amended (I added orange zest to the dough and chopped pecan nuts to the filling) to please our palate even more. Makes 9-10 rolls (I placed 9 in a round baking pan and one in a single cupcake pan as an experiment). Dough   ¾ cup warm 2%-fat or whole milk 2 ¼ teaspoons active yeast (I used 20 grams of fresh yeast)   ¼ cup granulated sugar   1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature   ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted   3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting   3/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon orange zest (optional) Filling   2/3 cup dark or light brown sugar 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon   ¼ cup ...

Made with yeast instead of baking powder, these are my favorite waffles, and a speciality from the Belgian city of Liège. 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour 1 cup (23 cl) milk, warm 1 packet active yeast (1 used 10 grams of fresh yeast) 2 large eggs 1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp of vanilla extract + 1 tablespoon caster sugar) 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp (150 g) unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup (100 g) pearl sugar (can be tricky to find) 1 teaspoon salt   In a bowl, mix the flour with the vanilla sugar and the salt. Make a well and break the eggs in the center. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk and stir until dissolved. Pour yeasty milk over the egg-flour mixture and mix well with a tablespoon or spatula, the dough should be fairly compact. Cover with cling film and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then add the melted butter and the pearl sugar, and mix until well incorporated. Cover again and let rise for at least 30 minutes before using (I gave it an hou...

This is by far the easiest way to make the best bread ever. Chewy on the inside, with the crunchiest crust on the outside, and still tasting fresh the next day! 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups hot water (not boiling) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon yeast (I used 10 grams of fresh yeast)   In a big bowl mix the flour and salt together. Sprinkle yeast into the hot water (not too hot or it'll cook the yeast) and stir until dissolved. Pour yeasty water into the bowl and using a wooden spoon mix it until well incorporated.   Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 3 hours (until dough doubles or triples in volume) . Preheat oven to 450 °F/220°C degrees. Place your  cast iron pot in to the oven and let it heat up until the temperature in the oven reaches 450 °F/220°C. In the meantime, sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough and on your work surface. Punch down the dough, remove it from the bowl with a spatula and roughly s...