Fare Exchange: Lemony tart with gingersnap crust can accommodate alterations

Jane Henegar

Good morning, readers. We have a lovely repast today, as always, and two correspondents to thank - or shall I say three, as the Sundays are a pair.

But first, as always, we have a call for help - one from Anonymous in Brainerd. This cook would like to know "how to use mascarpone cheese in recipes, both dessert and otherwise, as well as recipes using maple syrup."

A. in B. added a shopping request. "Is there a place locally where you can buy crunchy almond butter similar to what is sold at Trader Joe's?"

While we are at it, let's add this: When, oh when, will Chattanooga have a Trader Joe's?

LEMONY TART

Ginny Gaines sent a tart with a recipe suited to September, a lemony tart with a gingersnap crust. She explained, "It's called Meyer Lemon Tart. Meyer lemons are a bit tricky to find. Whole Foods often has them, as well as Publix sometimes. I have made this with regular lemons, and it works nicely. I have also made the crust with graham crackers, and it's quite delicious. I guess what I'm saying is don't be put off by some of the ingredients if you don't happen to have them. Use what you have. Cooking should be fun, not stressful because you don't have gingersnaps or Meyer lemons. Besides, you can't go wrong with graham crackers or regular lemons."

We agree, Mrs. G.

Meyer Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust

2 cups crushed gingersnaps

1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly; plus 6 more tablespoons, cut into small pieces

2 eggs, plus 3 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (about 3)

3 tablespoons lemon zest

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix crushed cookies, brown sugar and cooled melted butter to combine with a spoon. In a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, press cookie mixture in an even layer on the bottom and up the sides. Bake until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack to cool. (I didn't let it cool all that long, as I didn't see the point in cooling all the way.)

Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. In a saucepan, off heat, whisk eggs and yolks, sugar and cornstarch to combine. Transfer saucepan to medium-low heat. Add lemon juice and zest, and whisk continuously until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in butter pieces.

Pour mixture into cooled cookie shell. Transfer to oven, and bake until crust darkens slightly, 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let tart cool to room temperature.

Variations: If you really want to make it decadent: Whip a cup of heavy cream, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar. Add a scant 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. Put a dollop on top of each slice when served.

I think you could add about 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans into this particular crust, and it would taste delicious. The key is to put them in a blender and chop fine.

NUTTY CRUST

Mrs. Gaines also suggested the following pastry recipe for adding nuts, as per your request. "A galette is just a country crust where you put fruit filling in the center and pull up the sides over the filling. It won't meet, but looks charming with the loose crust and bubbly fruit. I think the nuts might work with this recipe - again, add 1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped in the blender."

Galette Pastry

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (maybe substitute 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans for the cornmeal)

1 tablespoon sugar

10 tablespoons butter (cold), cut into pieces

3-5 tablespoons ice water

Place flour, cornmeal and sugar into a food processor. Add butter, and pulse mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until a dough forms. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Here is one way to bake the galette crust, using your favorite fruit filling. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough out to a 12-inch round (it can be ragged). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and chill while preparing the filling. My favorite line in this New York Times recipe is "sloppy is fine."

Pile fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently fold the pastry over the fruit, pleating to hold it in (sloppy is fine). Brush pastry generously with leftover egg and cream mixture. Sprinkle remaining sugar on the crust.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the filling bubbles up vigorously and the crust is golden. Cool for at least 20 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BREAD BASICS

At this point serious bread bakers can sit down and get ready to digest the yeasty expertise of Mr. and Mrs. Sunday. They began, "Our apologies to the serious bakers; this is a gross oversimplification, but we hope it'll help folks understand the basics." Thank you for making it accessible to all of us.

Kneading/Mixing:

"Pancakes and (Southern) biscuits use a lot of liquid ("high hydration" to a baker) and are mixed very little so they don't get tough. This toughness is the formation of gluten from two proteins in flour. Soft (low-protein) flours like White Lily and Martha White make this easier as there are less gluten-forming proteins available. Pity our cousins in the North who have to order them online; other flours (hard, high protein) make their biscuits and flapjacks (aka "gut plasters") chewy unless they're REALLY careful.

"Sidebar: A well-mixed pancake batter looks like blue cheese dressing; there are a lot of smallish lumps in it. The same goes for drop or cream biscuits. You firm up the biscuits by dropping them in and then dusting them with flour so you can move them to the pan. Yes, shake off the excess. This keeps them so moist that they spring up high and tender in the oven. (Thanks, Shirley Corriher in Cookwise).

"Rolls, breads and rustic breads, on the other hand, are enhanced by some chewiness.

"The usual way to achieve this is to change from soft to hard flour (more protein) and deliberately mix more and harder to develop the gluten (aka, knead). Gold Medal and Pillsbury all-purpose flours are harder than White Lily, and bread flours are harder yet. In general, the harder the flour and the harder you knead it, the chewier the result is. It's difficult to make a good bagel with White Lily and just as hard to make a good biscuit with bread flour."

No-Knead Breads:

"A few years back, Jim Lahey ('My Bread' is the book) realized that if you added a lot more water to a rustic bread recipe and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few days (aka 'autolyze' in baker speak), the gluten would be formed by chemical, not mechanical, action while greatly improving flavor. This happens because byproducts of fermentation are one or more organic acids which add taste: acetic (vinegar), lactic (milk) or malic (apple). Find a known-to-be-good recipe and follow it carefully, and the results will be superior. There are many on the internet."

Sourdough:

"It can mean a rustic bread made famous by bakers in San Francisco, a dough leavened by a constantly maintained living yeast culture (aka the "starter") or a dough kept working (rising/fermenting) for many hours leading to greatly improved flavor. Yes, they're all intertwined.

"The primary difference is the yeast you're using: San Francisco sourdough uses a yeast endemic to Northern California. The spores are in the air there, and exposing a flour/water slurry to the air for a few days will get you a San Francisco yeast culture. Individual bakeries in San Francisco cherish and purify their cultures over decades.

"Chattanooga Sourdough can be made the same way and will be unique to Chattanooga.

"In both cases, long exposure to the acidic fermentation products breeds a yeast very acid-tolerant, which means the dough will tend toward the sour if left to develop long enough (8-72 hours).

"Ordinary yeast - cake (obsolete) or active dry - if left to ferment for long periods develops nice flavors but goes dormant if the acid level gets too high.

"Moral of the story: Whatever yeast you use, let it work for many hours for the best "flavor."

There is more to this particular chapter of the Sundays' story, but we are out of room. Come back next week, though, to get some clever ways to use vinegar in your bread.

Every week, I learn a thing or two or more from all of you. Please do keep that up.