Baked Chili Maple Bacon

Kick your brunch bacon up a notch by brushing it with chili-spiked maple syrup. This baked chili maple bacon is cooked in the oven, for crunchy bacon without the splattering grease.

I am a huge fan of bacon for breakfast or brunch, especially when it is combined with sweet and spicy elements like chili peppers and maple syrup.  Today my Sunday Supper group is sharing brunch recipes that can be made ahead of time. I suggest you bookmark this post for Mother's Day.

Ingredients
1 lb or 450g thick cut smoked streaky bacon
1 small hot red chili, stem removed
1/8 cup or 30ml maple syrup

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Place your bacon strips single file on wire cooling racks set in two baking pans.

Use a mortar and pestle to grind the chili pepper, even the seeds if you like things spicy, into a fine paste. Add in the maple syrup and stir well to combine.

Bake the bacon for 20 minutes, switching the pans from top to bottom shelves in the oven midway through.

Remove from the oven and brush with the chili maple syrup. Return to the oven and bake for 5 more minutes.

Remove from the oven and turn the slices of bacon over. Brush with the rest of the chili maple syrup. Return the bacon to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes or until the bacon is done to your liking.

Enjoy warm or to save it for the next day, wrap the baked chili maple bacon in foil and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven the next morning, still wrapped in the foil, or remove the foil to warm in the microwave.

Many thanks to our event manager, Cricket of Cricket's Confections and our host, Cindy of Cindy's Recipes and Writings. Check out these great links from our Sunday Supper tastemakers.

Make Ahead Sunday Supper Brunch Recipes

Breakfast Pastries

• Apple and Bacon Cornmeal Scones by Caroline’s Cooking
• Lemon Crumb Cake by Life Tastes Good
• Nana’s New York Crumb Cake by The Crumby Cupcake
• Overnight Nutty Coffee Cake by Family Around The Table

Eggs

• Asparagus Quiche in Hash Brown Crust by Wimpy Vegetarian 
• Baked Deviled Eggs with Toast Points by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Ham and Cheese Empanadas by Asian In America
• Make Ahead Baked Monte Cristo Cassarole by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Overnight Breakfast Casserole by Soulfully Made
• Sorrel, Chive & Duck Egg Frittata by Wholistic Woman
• Sous Vide Egg Bites by Cricket’s Confections

Sides and Veggies

• Asparagus Tart with Goat Cheese and Spring Greens by Monica’s Table
• Baked Chili Maple Bacon by Food Lust People Love
• Blackberry Orange Oatmeal Bowls by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Brussels Sprouts Salad with Lemon Shallot Vinaigrette by Helpful Homemade
• Vegetable Lasagna by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Sweets

• Carrot Cake Pancakes by Brunch-n-Bites
• Citrus Crepes with White Chocolate Drizzle by Gourmet Everyday
• Flourless Chocolate Torte by Pies and Plots
• No Bake Peanut Butter Pie by The Freshman Cook
• Raspberry Mascarpone French Toast Casserole by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

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Il Pane di Matera #BreadBakers

A wonderful crusty loaf made in the tradition of Matera bread, or il pane di Matera, from milled durum wheat and a sourdough starter.

Let me start off with a disclaimer. This loaf cannot officially be called il pane di Matera. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s what the title says. Hear me out. Pane de Matera is special, with specific requirements, including not just milled durum wheat (which I have used) but from 100% Lucanian milled semolina grain known as "Senatore Cappelli," which I have not. The water is also supposed come from a local source in the Matera area of Italy. Finally, it should begin with a piece of dough from the previous day’s loaf, with yeast made from a fresh fruit starter. I used a sourdough starter.

Such is the tradition and history behind this loaf that it was given the European Union Denomination of Protected Origin (DOP) which means, just like sparkling wine can’t be called Champagne unless it is produced in the Champagne region of France or random ham cannot be called Ibérico unless it comes from Black Iberian Pigs raised in the Iberian Peninsula region of Spain and Portugal, it must be produced the right way in the right place to be called Il Pane di Matera.

So while I’ve made a valiant attempt at producing my own version of il pane di Matera, and it’s a fabulous crusty loaf, it doesn’t officially qualify for the name. That said, you should make this guy. With all due respect to Italy, it reminds me of my favorite baguette tradition in France and that says a lot.

With the substandard help of Google Translate, I made my bread from this recipe in Italian. That was part of the fun!

Watch this video to see how to shape the dough.

Ingredients
150ml or 160g sourdough starter or 20g brewer’s yeast
3 3/4 cups or 600g Italian semolina durum wheat flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
warm water

Method
Mix your sourdough starter or brewer’s yeast with 6 3/4 oz or 200ml warm water and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and 1 1/4 cups or 300ml warm water and mix for a few minutes. Mine was too crumbly for the bread hook so I just kept mixing with the K cake beater.

Add in the yeast mixture and beat/knead for five minutes. At this point, I did change to the bread hook.

Add in the salt and knead another few minutes.

Put the dough in a bowl dusted with flour and cover it with cling film. Poke holes the film with a toothpick.

Leave to rise for two hours in a warm place.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface and put it back in the bowl, covered again for another two hours.

After those two hours are up, you can knead the dough, shape and bake. But at this point I strayed from the recipe I was working with and turned to another source I found online which said that traditionally the dough was left to rise overnight, then it was brought to the communal ovens in the morning to bake. So, after kneading again, I popped the dough in its covered bowl into the refrigerator. If you’d rather skip this step, preheat your oven to 220°F or 104°C, with a pizza stone on a middle shelf, if you have one, and proceed down one more paragraph.

The next morning, I removed the dough from the cold and left it to warm up again.

When it was no longer chilled, I preheated my to 220°F or 104°C with my pizza stone on a middle shelf.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface and knead it. (As you can tell from the photos, mine was still quite slack compared to the dough in the video.

Form the dough into a ball, press a crease in it, and then fold the ball in half.

Flour a baking sheet and transfer the dough to it. Use a sharp knife to slice three cuts into the dough. (See YouTube link above for a visual on this.) According to a source online that may or may not be Wikipedia in Italian (I forget but I read it somewhere and made a note), the three cuts represent the Holy Trinity.

Place the baking sheet on the pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes. Raise the temperature of your oven to 350°F or 180°C and bake for more about 40-45 minutes more, or until the loaf is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped. About midway through, I also slid the loaf off of the baking pan and straight onto the pizza stone.

There were plenty of holes, but I was expecting the rest of the crumb to be more open. Next time, I'm going to let the dough rise just a bit after shaping and before putting it into the hot oven but overall I was extremely pleased, especially with the crusty outside and the enormous flavor.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Bakers group are baking Italian breads and we have a fabulous line up for you. I can’t wait to travel all over Italy, loaf by loaf. Many thanks to our host, Anshie of Spice Roots for all of her hard work and this great theme.

• Casatiello by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Ciabatta Sandwich Rolls by Herbivore Cucina
• Classic Italian Bread by Hostess At Heart
• Cornetti by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Einkorn Parmesan Piadina by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Fingermillet and Rosemary Focaccia by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Focaccia Caprese by Sneha's Recipe
• Grissini by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Gubana - An Italian Sweet Bread by The Schizo Chef
• Il Pane di Matera by Food Lust People Love
• Italian BLT Focaccia by A Salad For All Seasons
• Italian Easter Cheese Bread by A Baker's House
• Italian Easter Cheese Bread by Palatable Pastime
• Italian Herb and Garlic Focaccia by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Italian Stuffed Pane Bianco by Cook's Hideout
• Mini Panettone by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pane Bianco by Veena's Vegnation
• Pane di Genzano by Spiceroots
• Piadina by Passion Kneaded
• Pizza alla Siciliana by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rosemary and Cabernet Salt Focaccia by What Smells So Good?

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Pane di Matera!

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Grilled Baby Octopus

Grilled baby octopus is one of our favorite dishes, for a main meal or appetizer. The octopus is cooked until tender with garlic, hot chili peppers and red wine, then grilled to add smoky flavor and crunch. Believe it or not, even children love this dish!

Years ago when we lived in Brazil, our house was just a block from the beach. Living so close to the coast meant fresh seafood at reasonable prices, even during a time of hyperinflation. We fell in love with octopus there and have looked for it and cooked it everywhere we’ve lived, ever since. This same recipe can be made with larger octopuses. Just extend the cooking time until they are tender and cut them into manageable pieces for grilling.

Ingredients
1 lb 10 oz or 750g baby octopus, ink sacs and beaks removed
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 red chili peppers, stems removed
1/2 cup or 120ml hearty dry red wine
A few generous grinds from a black pepper mill

Method
Cook the octopus in a covered saucepan or pot over a medium heat with the garlic, peppers and wine for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The liquid will come out of the octopus and the whole thing will look very soupy.

After the 15-20 minutes are over, take the lid off and continue to cook until the liquid reduces by at least half. Perhaps another 15-20 minutes. The octopus should be fork tender now.

Put the baby octopus on a hot grill just off to the side of the charcoal. Put the lid on because these are going to sputter and spit.

Remove lid every couple of minutes and shift the octopus around. Remove when charred your satisfaction. Ours took about 10 minutes.

Depending on the size of your octopus you might want to chop them up into bite-sized pieces but if they are really tiny, you can serve them whole.

Serve with plenty of fresh lime juice squeezed on and a good sprinkling of flakey sea salt.

Enjoy!

This week our Sunday Supper group is sharing our favorite seafood recipes. Many thanks to Em, our event manager and our host, Claire from Sprinkles and Sprouts.

Love seafood? Check out these Sunday Supper Recipes:

Appetizers

• Chili-Lime Scallops by Girl Abroad
• Cilantro Lime Shrimp by Simple and Savory
• Coconut Mahi Kale Salad with Citrus Dijon Vinaigrette by Gourmet Everyday
• Crab Cake Bites by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Easy Salmon Sliders by Sunday Supper Movement
• Grilled Baby Octopus by Food Lust People Love
• Manhattan Clam Chowder by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Mediterranean Shrimp Bruschetta by The Weekend Gourmet
• Salmon Tartare by Caroline’s Cooking
• Smoked Salmon, Orange and Avocado Salad by Sprinkles and Sprouts
• Ten-Minute Sweet and Spicy Shrimp by Jersey Girl Cooks

Main Dishes

• Cioppino by Monica’s Table
• Easy Tilapia Pomodoro Dinner by My Life Cookbook
• Frutti Di Mare by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lemony Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packets by Our Good Life
• New Orleans Style Barbecue Shrimp by Flour On My Face
• No Fail Beer Battered Fish by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• One Pan Mustard Crusted Halibut and Vegetables by Pies and Plots
• Pecan Crusted Cod by From the Bookshelf
• Salmon Honey-Lemon Teriyaki by Asian In America
• Saucy Cod Fillets Florentine by Turnips 2 Tangerines
• Scallops with Orange Butter Sauce by My savory spoon
• Seafood Fettuccine Alfredo by The Freshman Cook
• Seafood Laksa by Brunch-n-Bites
• Sheet Pan Salmon by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Shrimp Salad Sandwich by Soulfully Made
• Shrimp Scampi Pasta by Crazed Mom
• Soft Shell Salmon Tacos with Mango Salsa by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Sweet and Sour Salmon by Cricket’s Confections
• Teriyaki Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa by Wholistic Woman