Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Tart with Odlum’s Coarse Whole Wheat Flour French Pastry Crust

One of the best things about cooking in the internet era is that almost always, someone, somewhere, has tried making what you have your tastebuds set on and written about it. So naturally, when I came up with the idea of using Odlum’s coarse wholemeal flour for something other than soda bread, I turned the the internet. I discovered that people add coarse wholemeal flour to yeasted loaves and quick breads other than soda bread, like muffins and scones, but I couldn’t find a recipe anywhere for a tart crust made from it.  

This surprised me because the coarse texture and nutty flavor, reminiscent of a digestive biscuit or graham cracker, seem like the perfect fit for either a sweet or savory tart base. Having had no luck finding the tart crust I was looking for, I started googling “whole wheat crust” and found multiple pie crust recipes as well as pizza crust recipes.  None of them really fit the bill.   

Eventually I came to the realization that I was just going to have to experiment a little and come up with my own. I decided to start with David Lebovitz’s French Pastry Crust recipe because it’s tough to mess up and, having made it before, it seemed like the type of crust I was looking for to complement the coarse wholemeal flour I wanted to use.

It’s an odd recipe.  First you put the butter, oil, salt, sugar and water in the oven until everything is melted together and the butter starts to brown. Then you take it out and stir in the flour until the dough comes together in a ball. When the dough is cool enough to handle, you press it into your tart dough, dock the bottom of the crust with a fork and blind bake it without even using pie weights. There’s so much to love about it.  Nothing needs to be cold, rested or rolled out and you don’t even need pie weights! It really is the best tart dough ever.

I adapted the recipe to use my beloved Odlum’s and filled the cooled crust with a roasted tomato and ricotta filling born out of my refusal to go to the grocery store for a few days too long.  Funny how back in late summer I was cursing my prolific cherry tomato plant and now I’m hoping that our next crop is just as large. Someone, please remind me not to be lazy about roasted and freezing those little babies. They come in handy in so many ways. I’ve been using them on grilled cheese sandwiches (genius, if I do say so myself), salads, pizzas, as part of a cheese plate, and now this.

I tested the crust recipe a couple of times.  Whole wheat flour doesn’t behave exactly like all-purpose flour so it took a couple of tries before I felt like I had the fat, water, flour ratio quite right. But as with the all-purpose flour version, the basic technique produced an impossible to mess up, delicious crust that was both easy to put together and held together well. The flavor and texture were just what I had in mind, a cross between a wheat thin and a digestive biscuit.

This tart, coupled with a salad (topped with more roasted tomatoes) makes a perfect, simple lunch. As for the crust, I’m already thinking about how I want to pair it with chocolate, a la chocolate digestives, or fruit. It would also be nice for a cheesecake.

Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Tart with Odlum’s Coarse Whole Wheat Flour French Pastry Crust

Makes 1 - 7 by 1-inch tart

 For the crust:

• 4 tablespoons (2 oz) butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup Odlum’s coarse wholemeal flour 

For the filling:

• 8oz full fat ricotta cheese
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup pistachio nuts
• 1 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (roasted red peppers would work well)
• ¼ cup sauteed minced green onions
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.  

 Add salt, sugar, butter, oil and water to a heatproof bowl and place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until butter begins to brown around the edges.

 Remove from oven and mix in 1 cup of Odlum’s Coarse Wholemeal Flour with a spatula until no dry flour remains.

This is what it looks like when it's ready to press into the tart pan. 

 Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the tart pan.

Ready for the oven. 

Dock the bottom of the tart with the tines of a fork and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until the dough is brown all over.

Blind baked. I couldn't wait for this to cool. Probably not a good idea to start cooking projects when starving. 

While the tart crust is in the oven, combine all of the ingredients for the filling except 1 tablespoon of the parmesan cheese until they are well incorporated, it should be thick.  

When the crust is ready, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before adding the filling.

Once the crust is cool, pour in the filling, sprinkle the reserved parmesan on top of the tart, and cook until it is set and only jiggles slightly in the middle when you move the tart pan from side to side, 20-30 minutes.

If you like, place under the broiler for about two minutes to brown the cheese on the top. Be careful you don’t burn the exposed top ring of  crust when you do this (I did - but it was easy enough to remove the burned parts afterwards (see below) whew!). You may want to cover yours with foil before you turn on the broiler to be safe.

Rachel Allen’s Brown Scones with Black Treacle

Having four kids under the age of 5 requires a lot of energy in every sense of the word.  This includes energy in the form of calories.  If I wasn’t before, I am now (justifiably, I think) ALWAYS hungry.  Now that the enormous quantities of Christmas cookies, brioche and other forms of simple carbs in my house have been successfully annihilated, I’m turning to something simple and a little more healthy for the energy (and carbs) I both need and crave. A touch more decadent than a simple brown soda bread, I discovered the recipe for these scones by Rachel Allen in her book Bake.

I cannot say enough about the virtues of baking with Coarse Wholemeal Flour. The taste and texture it gives to baked goods is like nothing else. It has a warm, nuttiness, almost like almond flour, though it bakes up lighter and more moist than any nut flour.  The texture is coarse but unlike most other coarse flours, it is unevenly so, which gives it an unmistakable consistency. I got two bags of the good stuff from Paddy’s over the holidays which came in handy when I woke up one morning wanting a warm brown scone.

See what I mean about the texture?

These scones are fabulous.  I made them on a school day in about 30 minutes all in (washing up included)! I love that they only have 2 tablespoons of butter in them and just one tablespoon of sweetener.  I still don’t understand how they taste so good but they do. I probably wouldn’t have tried these if the recipe came from someone other than Rachel Allen, my secret best friend. She proves that time and time again, simple totally works. I didn’t have any sesame seeds but I did add a small amount of cardamom, which I strongly recommend if you like cardamom. I sprinkled them with sea salt and coarse sugar before baking which was also a very good idea, if I do say so myself.  I loved the salty, sweet crunch it gave each one.

Try this! Please! You can find coarse wholemeal flour at Paddy’s on the Square, or you can stop by my house and I’ll give you a couple of cups if that’s what I have to do to convince you that you need this in your pantry. Seriously. You do.

Rachel Allen’s Brown Scones with Black Treacle

Adapted ever so slightly from Rachel Allen's recipe that can be found here

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

• 1 ½ cups coarse wholemeal flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)*

• 2 tablespoons butter, diced

• 1 egg

• 1 ¼  cups buttermilk or soured milk (add 2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to 1 ¼ cup cow’s milk or soy or rice milk and leave to stand for 10–15 minutes)

• 1 tablespoon black treacle (or dark molasses)

• Sea salt and coarse sugar for sprinkling on top

*I didn’t have any sesame seeds but added a ½ teaspoon of cardamom, because I love it.

Method

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Dust a baking sheet with flour.

• Put the wholemeal, all-purpose flour and salt into a large bowl. Sift in the baking soda.

• Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

• In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with the buttermilk or soured milk, then stir in the treacle (or molasses) and pour most of the liquid into the dry ingredients. Using one hand with your fingers held out like a claw, mix in full circles to bring the flour and liquid together, adding more liquid if necessary. The dough should be quite soft, but not too sticky.

• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently bring it together into a ball, but without kneading it, then flatten it slightly to about an inch high. Cut the dough into 10–12 square or round scones. Brush the tops of the scones with any leftover liquid and sprinkle with some sea salt or coarse sugar (I used a combination of the two)

• Put the scones onto the prepared baking sheet and pop in the oven to bake for 15–20 minutes (depending on the size of the scones). Have a look at them after 10 minutes: if they’re already a deep golden brown, then turn the heat  to 400°F, for the remainder of the cooking time. When cooked they should sound hollow when tapped on the base.

• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Brioche Two Ways

I own a bread machine and I actually use it. I’m not sure I know anyone who can say that. It seems like most bread machines are relegated to basements and second hand stores or gifted and regifted until they find themselves in one of the aforementioned spots. I think that most people who like to make bread like the tactile part of the process, kneading the dough, feeling the moisture level of it in their hands, punching it down, shaping it - that’s all part of the baking experience with breads. Others are so intimidated by yeast that even the bread machine can’t help them get over it. I’m one of the few that exists somewhere in the middle. I don't mind missing out on that kneading and artistry.  I use my bread machine all the time and having it has taken some of the “fear” out of working with yeast for me in general, even when I’m not using it.  I also love that I can just throw the ingredients in, set the timer, and have fresh bread in the morning. 

Little fingers can't wait to get their hands on this.

Just recently, I started to use my bread machine to make dough for shaping and baking in the oven.  This has definitely been one of those “ah-ha moments” for me, as I’ve been making no-knead pizza dough ever since burning out a gear in my stand mixer making dough a few years back. No-knead dough is incredible but requires more planning than I have in me most of the time. Bread machine to the rescue.  Now I can throw the ingredients in, set the timer and have perfect pizza dough ready to bake when I get home from work. #winning. And while I’m winning, it occurred to me that I can make brioche dough in the bread machine too. I LOVE brioche. Pillowy, eggy, golden, beautiful brioche. I love you slathered with anything, or nothing at all.  

Because making brioche dough is so easy in my bread machine (it’s pretty easy to make in a bowl too), I’ve been experimenting with different fillings and shapes. Here were two weekend winners for me.

Dr. Seuss bread - so called for its funny shape. You can read more about how to shape it here.  I used the brioche recipe that came with my bread machine, which, by the way, was handed down twice and in a friend’s basement when I unloaded it from her (full-disclosure, it took me a couple of months to use it but ever since then, we’ve been thick as thieves).  Here is a simple recipe that works great. I cut out the pieces, sprinkled them with cinnamon-sugar and slipped a few chocolate chunks inside before rolling them up and standing them upright in the pan.  I let the dough rise in the pan overnight and before baking, I brushed the loaf with egg wash and sprinkled more cinnamon-sugar over the whole thing.

Then, with the leftover dough, I made bagel bites.  I rolled out the dough in portions, stuck a ball of cream cheese in the center and closed the dough over it.  I let these rise overnight and in the morning, after preheating my oven, I brushed them with egg wash and sprinkled them with everything bagel seasoning.  

We devoured pretty much all of this buttery deliciousness. Emmett was really into the Dr. Seuss loaf and, after eating little else for a 24-hour period, insisted on taking some to school for his snack on Monday. Me, Paul, Isla and Eve polished off the bagel bites in short order.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that we also had a cherry and almond cream brioche loaf earlier in the week? I have got to stop the insanity. But it’s SO hard. I’m partial to the little filled buns and I’m already thinking of new variations.  Almond cream, Nutella, Speculous, peanut butter, black sesame, honey-tahini? Yes to all. Or savory versions like blue cheese and bacon, jalapeno-cheddar, pimento cheese, pulled pork or sundried tomato? Yes again. You could make one large batch of dough and a few different fillings and there would be something for everyone. Our bagel bites never made it past the counter but I’m sure they would be welcome at a brunch get together or playdate.  How about corned beef and cabbage filled brioche buns for your Saint Patrick's Day festivities? 

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Happy weekend!