Let’s bake it slow

The ensaimada I grew up with was more bread than cake. You can still get it that way at most bakeries, if the kind Eva calls “too commercial,” and by that I imagine she means the ensaimada at Goldilocks or Red Ribbon is not.

“What’s not commercial?” I say. “How do you think they keep corned beef cheap? It’s mostly carabao meat!” And she says she doesn’t eat that. She should see my ensaimada; it looks like the ones at the neighborhood Mang Tinapay, only bigger. Appearances deceive. Mine may have butter instead of margarine, and real Edam (read: queso de bola), plus Parmesan to boot, but would you even suspect that it “baked” in a slow cooker?

Yep — I gone ahead and done it. My crock pot has never been busier and I’ve never been more relaxed about baking. You could say I have finally put the thing to good use. I will make no claims (as yet) about the quality of the bread that came out of it except that they turned out okay (if a little pale) and were received well enough by family and friends.

If you’ve always wanted to bake but were too daunted to use the oven, or have no oven at all, give the slow cooker a try. Don’t have one? Ask around the house. You never know; it could be in storage somewhere, along with other relics from the recent century like bell-bottom pants, vinyl records, and the Betamax. Line the slow cooker with parchment paper, make dough as indicated in any bread recipe, then cook for 90 minutes. Remove the lid, lay a paper towel over the cooker’s mouth, and replace the lid. Allow towel 10 minutes to absorb the condensation (who likes soggy bread?). Remove and serve. Voila — you have a new career!

Aside from garlic rolls, I’ve also made focaccia, that classic dimpled Italian bread with rosemary and lots of olive oil. The last time I made this bread, it had been a disaster — dense and overbaked. This one was by far the better version. It contains at least a third of a cup of EVOO.

By the way, did you know that Italians never dip bread in olive oil — much less in olive oil with balsamic vinegar? It’s an American thing, although that does not make the combination any less heavenly. It’s your bread; I say eat it however the hell you want. Then make some more. I am.