This is one of the laziest bread recipes I have come across. On the whole it tastes pretty decent. At least it doesn't have a ridiculously long proofing time like the Jim Lahey no-knead bread recipe. It probably also won't taste as delicious as an artisan bread. The bottle that went into this version was a Costco-brand pale ale. I made it as a backup bread for the stuffing.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c warm water (110 degrees F) + 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast + 1/2 c all purpose flour
One (12 oz) bottle of beer or ale
1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
some cornmeal, for the bottom of the bread (optional)
Directions
After proofing the yeast, stir all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Let rise once for a couple hours until doubled in size. Fold dough into itself to make a ball or loaf or an oblong shape and transfer to a baking sheet. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise again for 45 minutes. Score top of the loaf a few times with a sharp knife. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a pan filled halfway with warm water below the loaf. Bake for 30 minutes.
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Buttermilk Biscuits
I'm not sure what I did wrong here. They didn't rise at all; but at least there weren't any leftovers for this side dish. The only ones that looked "normal" had two biscuit rounds stacked on top of each other when baking. Maybe if I had used fake ingredients like vegetable shortening they might have risen to great poofiness like the Staypuft marshmallow man. When it comes to preparing dishes for Thanksgiving, I shudder at the notion of using post-industrial methods; like using shortening in baked goods. Frankly, I don't think vegetable shortening existed in 1621, but hey, in today's America it's all about speed and convenience.
These biscuits are easy enough to make and I could have posted the recipe years ago; but never got around to it because it is so simple.
Ingredients
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cut into chunks
3/4 c buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
1. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add buttermilk and mix. Dough will be sticky.
2. Pour dough onto a floured surface and roll out with rolling pin. Be sure to not overwork the dough, because I think that's what I did during the folding-in-half and rolling out part.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness, fold in half and cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter.
4. Place onto a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and set onto a rack to cool before putting into a clean kitchen-towel-lined bowl or basket.
These biscuits are easy enough to make and I could have posted the recipe years ago; but never got around to it because it is so simple.
Ingredients
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cut into chunks
3/4 c buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
1. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add buttermilk and mix. Dough will be sticky.
2. Pour dough onto a floured surface and roll out with rolling pin. Be sure to not overwork the dough, because I think that's what I did during the folding-in-half and rolling out part.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness, fold in half and cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter.
4. Place onto a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
5. Remove from oven and set onto a rack to cool before putting into a clean kitchen-towel-lined bowl or basket.
(Sweet) Steamed Bao
This week I made this twice: once with salt and again without. The unsalted bao ("bread") tasted better. One thing to note about this bread recipe is that leftover rounds of dough can't be left out (even in a food storage container) overnight. The dough will rise and deflate again, and if there isn't enough room, the balls of dough will stick to each other making it a terrible (but edible) mess.
One batch of dough yielded 12 bao. It'll be a good base recipe when get around to making sweet black bean steamed buns. The smooth consistency of the black bean brownies will make a good addition to this future recipe.
To make cake flour: Substitute 2 tbsp cornstarch per cup of flour for flour. An easy way to measure this out is to first put the cornstarch in a two-cup measuring cup and fill it up with all purpose flour. For this recipe, put in 4 tbsp cornstarch and fill the rest of the two-cup measuring cup with flour to make two cups of cake flour.
Ingredients
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/3 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 tsp organic granulated sugar
2 c cake flour
1/4 c organic granulated sugar
3 tbsp dry milk powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
Directions
1. In a small bowl, proof yeast in 3 oz warm water (110 degrees F) with 1/4 tsp sugar. After 10 minutes if the yeast hasn't turned foamy, it is probably dead or the water was too hot. There is a tiny bit of baking powder in the recipe, but if your yeast is dead, the dough won't rise properly.
2. In a larger mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, olive oil, milk powder, and water. Mix well, but don't overwork the dough. Add in the yeast water. Mix again. Gently knead the dough by hand and form it into a ball. Cover the mixing bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour.
3a. Knead the risen dough until it is smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky at this point, and a little bit of flour can be added while kneading. Roll out dough into a log or to 1/2" thickness with a rolling pin. Separate the dough into equal portions and roll each portion into a ball, if making steamed bao.
3b. This recipe is the same for making steamed bao for roast duck, and balls can be rolled out to a 2" diameter, 1/4" thick circle. Brush some vegetable oil on half the circle and fold it in half. Set aside on a 4" square parchment paper. Repeat until done.
4. Heat a pot with a steamer rack inside to boiling. The amount of water in the pot should be just below the height of the steamer rack. If using bamboo steamer baskets, make sure that the boiling water doesn't touch the bottom-most basket. Place prepared dough (with the parchment paper) into the baskets. If you don't want to be scalded by the hot steam, you could turn off the heat, insert the steamer basket, cover the pot, then crank the heat again. Steam bao for 10 minutes. When done, immediately remove from pot and baskets. Peel off the parchment paper and serve.
One batch of dough yielded 12 bao. It'll be a good base recipe when get around to making sweet black bean steamed buns. The smooth consistency of the black bean brownies will make a good addition to this future recipe.
To make cake flour: Substitute 2 tbsp cornstarch per cup of flour for flour. An easy way to measure this out is to first put the cornstarch in a two-cup measuring cup and fill it up with all purpose flour. For this recipe, put in 4 tbsp cornstarch and fill the rest of the two-cup measuring cup with flour to make two cups of cake flour.
Ingredients
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/3 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 tsp organic granulated sugar
2 c cake flour
1/4 c organic granulated sugar
3 tbsp dry milk powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c warm water (110 degrees F)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
Directions
1. In a small bowl, proof yeast in 3 oz warm water (110 degrees F) with 1/4 tsp sugar. After 10 minutes if the yeast hasn't turned foamy, it is probably dead or the water was too hot. There is a tiny bit of baking powder in the recipe, but if your yeast is dead, the dough won't rise properly.
2. In a larger mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, olive oil, milk powder, and water. Mix well, but don't overwork the dough. Add in the yeast water. Mix again. Gently knead the dough by hand and form it into a ball. Cover the mixing bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for an hour.
3a. Knead the risen dough until it is smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky at this point, and a little bit of flour can be added while kneading. Roll out dough into a log or to 1/2" thickness with a rolling pin. Separate the dough into equal portions and roll each portion into a ball, if making steamed bao.
3b. This recipe is the same for making steamed bao for roast duck, and balls can be rolled out to a 2" diameter, 1/4" thick circle. Brush some vegetable oil on half the circle and fold it in half. Set aside on a 4" square parchment paper. Repeat until done.
4. Heat a pot with a steamer rack inside to boiling. The amount of water in the pot should be just below the height of the steamer rack. If using bamboo steamer baskets, make sure that the boiling water doesn't touch the bottom-most basket. Place prepared dough (with the parchment paper) into the baskets. If you don't want to be scalded by the hot steam, you could turn off the heat, insert the steamer basket, cover the pot, then crank the heat again. Steam bao for 10 minutes. When done, immediately remove from pot and baskets. Peel off the parchment paper and serve.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I can't say that zucchini is one of my favored vegetables, but it certainly tastes a whole lot better when it gets deep fried or baked up into a dessert bread.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c raw zucchini, grated
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 c Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate and cocoa
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering it all, especially the corners and ridges, if using a Silpat loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together dry and wet ingredients.
3. Fill loaf pan with batter and bake for an hour, or use the toothpick method at 50 minutes to check if it is done.
Pan de los Muertos Bread Pudding
What to do with leftover bread? Why.. make bread pudding, of course. If it hadn't been shaped so oddly, I might have been able to make French toast out of it too. Because Day of the Dead Bread is a sweetened bread, there is less sugar in this bread pudding than what it traditionally calls for. The first batch just had added raisins, it also used two leftover egg whites plus one leftover egg wash and two whole eggs; the second batch had less bread to work with and used two whole eggs and six ounces of half-and-half cream with raisins and a random tart apple from the fridge.
I suppose I could have taken a picture of it. While bread pudding tastes good, it's just not that sexy to look at.
Ingredients
leftover bread cubes (do not use croutons)
4 large eggs
4 c whole milk (organic or rBST-free)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 organic tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)
1 tbsp rum (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Cube the bread. Depending on the size of your leftover loaf, you'll have plenty of bread to fill a 2-quart baking dish. You can nest an 8" x 8" baking dish inside a 9" x 13" baking dish for the water bath; but at the time the square dish was in use by another food item. I used a round baking dish inside a rectangular baking dish and that worked out all right.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together sugar, melted butter, eggs, milk, spices, vanilla, and rum (if using).
3. Put the cubed bread inside the smaller baking dish. Add raisins (and chopped apple). Stir to combine. Make sure that the raisins are not on the top layer on top of the bread, otherwise they will burn to a crisp when the dessert bakes. If you don't have enough custard liquid to submerge the bread, then don't put all the bread in. Pour in the custard liquid. Let this sit for 10 minutes.
4. Bake using a water bath method for 45 minutes, up to an hour, or until the custard has set. At the 45-minute mark, you can test doneness by pressing on the bread with the back of a spoon. If liquid comes to the surface, the custard has not set yet.
5. Remove from oven. Serve warm or cold.
I suppose I could have taken a picture of it. While bread pudding tastes good, it's just not that sexy to look at.
Ingredients
leftover bread cubes (do not use croutons)
4 large eggs
4 c whole milk (organic or rBST-free)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 organic tart apple, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)
1 tbsp rum (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Cube the bread. Depending on the size of your leftover loaf, you'll have plenty of bread to fill a 2-quart baking dish. You can nest an 8" x 8" baking dish inside a 9" x 13" baking dish for the water bath; but at the time the square dish was in use by another food item. I used a round baking dish inside a rectangular baking dish and that worked out all right.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat together sugar, melted butter, eggs, milk, spices, vanilla, and rum (if using).
3. Put the cubed bread inside the smaller baking dish. Add raisins (and chopped apple). Stir to combine. Make sure that the raisins are not on the top layer on top of the bread, otherwise they will burn to a crisp when the dessert bakes. If you don't have enough custard liquid to submerge the bread, then don't put all the bread in. Pour in the custard liquid. Let this sit for 10 minutes.
4. Bake using a water bath method for 45 minutes, up to an hour, or until the custard has set. At the 45-minute mark, you can test doneness by pressing on the bread with the back of a spoon. If liquid comes to the surface, the custard has not set yet.
5. Remove from oven. Serve warm or cold.
Cornmeal Pound Cake
Last autumn I picked up some stone ground cornmeal from the Grist Mill and thought I'd see if it was still usable. This cake came out pretty heavy and dense. I think it would go well with a fruit or berry compote with a slice of this as its base.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 c. finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. organic granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 c. whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Whisk in milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Gradually stir in flour mixture.
3. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering the insides. Pour in batter.
4. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown on top. Cool in pan on a rack. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely before serving or storing.
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 c. finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. organic granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 c. whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Whisk in milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Gradually stir in flour mixture.
3. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering the insides. Pour in batter.
4. Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown on top. Cool in pan on a rack. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely before serving or storing.
Sweet Butter Bread
I suppose if you wanted a very square looking loaf, you could make this in a bread machine. It is a standard bread recipe that is easy to do in a few hours, start to finish. I ended up baking this in the oven in a real loaf pan because I wanted my loaf to look like a loaf. Besides, it is summer and warm enough that the yeast doesn't need a protected container to retain its heat while proofing. Regardless of how this dough comes together (by stand mixer, food prep, bread machine, or by hand), it still needs to double in size for proofing, then baked for an amount of time.
Ingredients
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp dry milk powder
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 c. water
Directions
Mixing the dough. The easiest way to mix these is to take all the wet ingredients and add them to a bread machine, followed by the dry ingredients with the yeast being the last to be added. Setup the bread machine for the 'dough' cycle and press 'start. Pretty lazy huh? After 1.5 hours of mixing/proofing, take the dough out of the bread machine, squish it a few times and let it rise in a prepared (buttered) bread pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool, slice while it is cooling, or rip it apart while it is still hot (I did the latter). This loaf will not last long in any household with avid bread eaters.
(alternate) Mixing the dough without a bread machine:
1. In a small bowl, add yeast and a pinch of sugar, to warm water (110 degrees F). Set aside for 10 minutes, until yeast foams up a bit.
2. In a food prep, combine flour, sugar, dry milk powder, and salt. Add egg and yeast water. Mix until the ingredients come together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Gather up the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel (or another bowl) and let rise for an hour.
3. Prepare a bread pan by lightly oiling its insides with butter. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, if necessary, and place it in the prepared bread pan.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Once the top and sides are lightly browned, the bread should be done.
This bread tastes good slathered with even more butter. Yum!
Ingredients
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp dry milk powder
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 c. water
Directions
Mixing the dough. The easiest way to mix these is to take all the wet ingredients and add them to a bread machine, followed by the dry ingredients with the yeast being the last to be added. Setup the bread machine for the 'dough' cycle and press 'start. Pretty lazy huh? After 1.5 hours of mixing/proofing, take the dough out of the bread machine, squish it a few times and let it rise in a prepared (buttered) bread pan. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool, slice while it is cooling, or rip it apart while it is still hot (I did the latter). This loaf will not last long in any household with avid bread eaters.
(alternate) Mixing the dough without a bread machine:
1. In a small bowl, add yeast and a pinch of sugar, to warm water (110 degrees F). Set aside for 10 minutes, until yeast foams up a bit.
2. In a food prep, combine flour, sugar, dry milk powder, and salt. Add egg and yeast water. Mix until the ingredients come together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Gather up the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel (or another bowl) and let rise for an hour.
3. Prepare a bread pan by lightly oiling its insides with butter. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, if necessary, and place it in the prepared bread pan.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Once the top and sides are lightly browned, the bread should be done.
This bread tastes good slathered with even more butter. Yum!
Oven-baked naan
The reason why packages of naan sell for $2.69 at Trader Joe's is because no one has the time to wait around for dough to rise for three hours before a meal. It's a bread that has a very short shelf life and this is because it tastes the best when piping hot and fresh from the oven. But, these reheat pretty well in the toaster the day after too. For today's experiment, I used ingredients that I had on hand. So, the yogurt inclusion isn't plain yogurt, it's vanilla whole milk yogurt. I like whole milk yogurts. The thickness and texture is very similar to Greek-styled yogurt. My pizza stone broke a few months ago (apparently it couldn't survive the self-cleaning setting of the oven), so I used the reverse side of a heavy baking sheet. Most of my bakeware, if it's not glass, is made of steel from the Baker's Advantage product line.
Makes 4.
Ingredients
1 tsp yeast + 3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees F)
2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
pinch of baking powder
2 1/2 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
bowl of water
Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes.
2. In a larger bowl, whisk together: flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in yogurt and olive oil. Next, add the yeast-water liquid. Mix until the dough comes together.
3. With floured hands, knead the dough until it is smooth. Put dough into a clean bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm room for 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Punch down dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and set aside.
5. Dip dough ball into flour and roll out into a 1/4" thick oval shape on a clean kitchen towel. If you're using a baking sheet instead of a pizza stone, it's not necessary to preheat the sheet in the oven. Simply place the rolled out dough onto the sheet. As many as will fit on its surface with roughly 1" spacing.
6. Before putting the dough into the oven. Use your fingers to moisten the top of the naan with water. The added moisture help the dough from forming a hard pita-like crust. Bake for 4 minutes, flip the naan over and bake for an additional 1 minute. Remove from oven.
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| Freshly baked naan |
Makes 4.
Ingredients
1 tsp yeast + 3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees F)
2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
pinch of baking powder
2 1/2 tbsp yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
bowl of water
Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes.
2. In a larger bowl, whisk together: flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in yogurt and olive oil. Next, add the yeast-water liquid. Mix until the dough comes together.
3. With floured hands, knead the dough until it is smooth. Put dough into a clean bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm room for 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Punch down dough and divide into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and set aside.
5. Dip dough ball into flour and roll out into a 1/4" thick oval shape on a clean kitchen towel. If you're using a baking sheet instead of a pizza stone, it's not necessary to preheat the sheet in the oven. Simply place the rolled out dough onto the sheet. As many as will fit on its surface with roughly 1" spacing.
6. Before putting the dough into the oven. Use your fingers to moisten the top of the naan with water. The added moisture help the dough from forming a hard pita-like crust. Bake for 4 minutes, flip the naan over and bake for an additional 1 minute. Remove from oven.
Irish Soda Bread
Made Irish soda bread today. As I managed to get buttermilk-sticky flour and raisins all over my counter, the process reminded me of a forgetful baker who first conceived the recipe. At first, it is like making a biscuit dough, but then caraway seeds are added and then it seems like you're making rye bread but without the rye flour nor the yeast. You think a savory bread is going to be made until raisins are added. I divided the mass of dough into four portions and shaped them all into mini rounded soda bread loaves. A floured kitchen towel works really well for kneading sticky dough.
This ingredient ratio comes from the Seattle Times. Nearly all of the ingredients are represented, except for the heavy cream for the egg wash. I substituted buttermilk. In retrospect, two cups of raisins is too much for this recipe. There were so many unused raisins, I had to stick the stragglers back into the dough. And, while baking, the dough pushed some of the raisins out to the surface.
Ingredients
4 c. unbleached AP flour, sifted
1/4 c . organic granulated sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter, cold
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caraway seeds
2 c. organic seedless raisins
1 1/3 c. buttermilk
1 whole egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp buttermilk (for egg wash, optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. In a food prep: sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in unsalted butter until coarse crumbs form.
2. Empty food prep into a large mixing bowl. Stir in caraway seeds until evenly distributed.
3. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, an egg, and baking soda. Pour into flour and stir to combine. Fold in raisins. Dough will be sticky.
4. Turn out dough onto a clean, floured kitchen towel. Knead a few times so that the dough comes together and shape it into a large ball; or divide into four equal portions. With a sharp knife or the edge of a pastry scraper, make a cross 1/4" deep in the center.
5. (optional) Brush bread with beaten egg yolk and buttermilk before baking.
6. If baking one large round, bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. If baking smaller rounds, bake for 50 minutes.
This ingredient ratio comes from the Seattle Times. Nearly all of the ingredients are represented, except for the heavy cream for the egg wash. I substituted buttermilk. In retrospect, two cups of raisins is too much for this recipe. There were so many unused raisins, I had to stick the stragglers back into the dough. And, while baking, the dough pushed some of the raisins out to the surface.
Ingredients
4 c. unbleached AP flour, sifted
1/4 c . organic granulated sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter, cold
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caraway seeds
2 c. organic seedless raisins
1 1/3 c. buttermilk
1 whole egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp buttermilk (for egg wash, optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. In a food prep: sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut in unsalted butter until coarse crumbs form.
2. Empty food prep into a large mixing bowl. Stir in caraway seeds until evenly distributed.
3. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, an egg, and baking soda. Pour into flour and stir to combine. Fold in raisins. Dough will be sticky.
4. Turn out dough onto a clean, floured kitchen towel. Knead a few times so that the dough comes together and shape it into a large ball; or divide into four equal portions. With a sharp knife or the edge of a pastry scraper, make a cross 1/4" deep in the center.
5. (optional) Brush bread with beaten egg yolk and buttermilk before baking.
6. If baking one large round, bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. If baking smaller rounds, bake for 50 minutes.
Rye Bread
The one food item that I enjoy when eating out are sandwiches, especially a good pastrami on rye or grilled cheese on rye or a ham and swiss on rye. Of all the different flavors of bread, rye is one that I like for its distinct taste of caraway seeds. And yes, I really enjoy a good soup in a sourdough bread bowl.
Makes one loaf.
Ingredients
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp caraway seeds, coarsely ground
1 tbsp caraway seeds, whole
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. rye flour
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (for a softer consistency)
unsalted butter (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, after the dough has risen and doubled in size.
1. Butter an 8" or 9" cake pan, set aside.
2. In a bread machine, combine all ingredients and set to "dough" setting. Depending on the size of your machine, you may have to remove the dough to a larger container to finish proofing. This amount of flour was apparently too much for my Mister Loaf bread machine.
3. The dough was pretty sticky and not all that elastic like what a proper dough should feel like. And, removing it from the bread machine was quite a task. Gently gather and briefly knead the dough on a lightly floured surface after it has risen for 30-45 minutes. Form it into a ball-like object and put it into the buttered pan.
4. Cover it with a plate or bowl and let the dough rise some more as the oven heats up. Score the top of the bread and dot with unsalted butter (optional).
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is evenly browned.
Makes one loaf.
Ingredients
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp caraway seeds, coarsely ground
1 tbsp caraway seeds, whole
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. rye flour
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (for a softer consistency)
unsalted butter (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, after the dough has risen and doubled in size.
1. Butter an 8" or 9" cake pan, set aside.
2. In a bread machine, combine all ingredients and set to "dough" setting. Depending on the size of your machine, you may have to remove the dough to a larger container to finish proofing. This amount of flour was apparently too much for my Mister Loaf bread machine.
3. The dough was pretty sticky and not all that elastic like what a proper dough should feel like. And, removing it from the bread machine was quite a task. Gently gather and briefly knead the dough on a lightly floured surface after it has risen for 30-45 minutes. Form it into a ball-like object and put it into the buttered pan.
4. Cover it with a plate or bowl and let the dough rise some more as the oven heats up. Score the top of the bread and dot with unsalted butter (optional).
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is evenly browned.
Pumpkin Bread (with yogurt)
Whole pumpkins keep for a very long time, it seems. I harvested two sugar pumpkins from my yard in October and only just now hacked one open for this recipe. The pumpkin yielded 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin meat and a ton of seeds that I'll be using to trade for other seeds at neighborhood seed exchange later this month. These pumpkins are the second generation from the same pumpkin source. Two years ago I purchased sugar pumpkins from Trader Joe's, cooked the pumpkins and saved the seeds. Last year I planted some of those seeds down and of the surviving plants with my inept ability to gauge when pumpkins should be planted into the ground, I managed to only harvest two sugar pumpkins. Each pumpkin yields a lot of seeds. I suppose these could be also eaten raw or toasted. I don't know how the original sugar pumpkins were raised, but mine were raised by organic farming methods.. y'know.. water, sunlight, dirt, mulch, pruning, etc. No fertilizers and certainly no growth enhancers like Miracle Gro.
While I have another pumpkin bread recipe on this blog, that one is made with tofu. This one has plain yogurt in it since my tofu seems to be a bit frozen in the freezer. This loaf didn't rise as much as I had hoped, but it smells delicious and tastes great.
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. fresh sugar pumpkin, cooked
1/4 c. plain, organic whole milk yogurt
1 egg
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each: sea salt, ground ginger, ground allspice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Use unsalted butter to grease a loaf pan
and set aside.
2. Whisk together egg and vanilla extract. Gradually whisk in brown sugar, melted butter, plain yogurt, honey, pumpkin puree, baking powder, spices, and flour.
3. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes, until the top has a golden brown color and a tester comes out clean.
While I have another pumpkin bread recipe on this blog, that one is made with tofu. This one has plain yogurt in it since my tofu seems to be a bit frozen in the freezer. This loaf didn't rise as much as I had hoped, but it smells delicious and tastes great.
Ingredients
1 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. fresh sugar pumpkin, cooked
1/4 c. plain, organic whole milk yogurt
1 egg
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each: sea salt, ground ginger, ground allspice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Use unsalted butter to grease a loaf pan
and set aside.2. Whisk together egg and vanilla extract. Gradually whisk in brown sugar, melted butter, plain yogurt, honey, pumpkin puree, baking powder, spices, and flour.
3. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes, until the top has a golden brown color and a tester comes out clean.
Bread Machine Pita Bread
The easiest way to knead dough is to have someone else do it for you. For this recipe I used a bread machine that typically spews out 1-lb loaves of squarely-shaped bread. Like most people reading/doing a recipe for the first time, things don't always come out in uniform shapes nor is the dough cut into equal-sized pieces. The flour used for this attempt is a mix between all-purpose unbleached flour and whole wheat all-purpose flour because I only have one container large enough to store 5+ lbs of flour and I bought whole wheat by accident the last time I was at the store. Anyhow...
A 500 degree F oven is very hot and was the perfect complement to the start of the rainy season in the NW. I was concerned that the dough wouldn't rise properly after it'd been cut and rolled out to form pita-like shapes (roundish) from the apparent humidity and cooler weather. The most awesome thing to see was the pitas being baked. They swelled up like little balloons in the oven. Taking them out was a challenge. Hot oven = hot pita bread. I'd advise against using tongs because they ripped through a few of the pitas. Only half way through the batch I realized that a metal spatula worked much better.
This is an average pita recipe which you can find just about anywhere on the Net. The bread machine not only kneads the dough, but provides a nice, warm enclosed space for the dough to rise properly. I also misread the original recipe and cut the dough into 12 pieces instead of 8. No wonder why I couldn't roll them out into 6" diameter circles.
Ingredients
1 1/8 c. warm water (110 degrees F)
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1. Put all the ingredients into bread machine and select the Dough setting.
2. Once risen (in the machine), turn dough out onto a floured surface. Gently roll and stretch it into a 12" rope. Divide dough into equal pieces. Set aside to rise for 30 minutes or until puffy.
I used lightly floured parchment sheets for this step so that the pitas wouldn't stick together.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place a few pitas directly onto the oven rack and bake pitas for up to 5 minutes. If they turn golden brown, you've cooked them for too long.
4. Remove puffed up pitas from the oven and place in a large paper bag lined with a kitchen towel. Look, I don't know why this step works better than say, laying them out on a cooling rack, but it does.
5. Store pitas in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week; or store in freezer for 1-2 months.
These pair well with the baba ganoush recipe.
A 500 degree F oven is very hot and was the perfect complement to the start of the rainy season in the NW. I was concerned that the dough wouldn't rise properly after it'd been cut and rolled out to form pita-like shapes (roundish) from the apparent humidity and cooler weather. The most awesome thing to see was the pitas being baked. They swelled up like little balloons in the oven. Taking them out was a challenge. Hot oven = hot pita bread. I'd advise against using tongs because they ripped through a few of the pitas. Only half way through the batch I realized that a metal spatula worked much better.
This is an average pita recipe which you can find just about anywhere on the Net. The bread machine not only kneads the dough, but provides a nice, warm enclosed space for the dough to rise properly. I also misread the original recipe and cut the dough into 12 pieces instead of 8. No wonder why I couldn't roll them out into 6" diameter circles.
Ingredients
1 1/8 c. warm water (110 degrees F)
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1. Put all the ingredients into bread machine and select the Dough setting.
2. Once risen (in the machine), turn dough out onto a floured surface. Gently roll and stretch it into a 12" rope. Divide dough into equal pieces. Set aside to rise for 30 minutes or until puffy.
I used lightly floured parchment sheets for this step so that the pitas wouldn't stick together.
3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place a few pitas directly onto the oven rack and bake pitas for up to 5 minutes. If they turn golden brown, you've cooked them for too long.
4. Remove puffed up pitas from the oven and place in a large paper bag lined with a kitchen towel. Look, I don't know why this step works better than say, laying them out on a cooling rack, but it does.
5. Store pitas in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week; or store in freezer for 1-2 months.
These pair well with the baba ganoush recipe.
 |
| Pitas Baking in the Oven |
 |
| Finished Pitas Cooling in a Paper Bag |
When making bread...
The recipe calls for dried onion as one of the ingredients for curry bread. I don't like onions and don't eat onions, if I can help it. If I swapped that out for powdered garlic, would that still taste ok?
Also, it seems that my area had a power surge and the electricity flickered.. resetting the timer for the current loaf (oatmeal bread) in the bread machine. Seeing how it's just in the first kneading stage, I wonder if an extra 10 minutes of kneading will affect how it rises. Hmm..
Making bread at home seems easier than going out to the store to buy, except now I have to go to the store to buy things to eat with the bread.
Trial & Error: corn tortillas from "scratch"
The other day at Vallarta's I picked up a small 2 lb bag of Maseca 'instant' corn flour because I wanted to try making corn tortillas from scratch. Maseca is a brand name and their corn is treated with lime before the grinding process. The lime that is added to the corn isn't from the lime fruit, but rather calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) which helps to loosen hulls from the kernels and soften the corn.
There are a few reviews of this brand of masa harina out on the Net and I'd have to say that I agree with most of them, leaning towards tortillas made with this flour tasting rather bland and flavorless. Well, here's the thing. Any corn product made with simple ingredients (corn, water, pinch of salt, etc) is bound to taste flavorless; like polenta. With the first few tries, the tortillas were bland. It is probably because I didn't add enough salt.
I don't have a tortilla press nor plastic wrap, so I used two sheets of waxed paper and a rolling pin to form my tortillas. I must be doing something wrong with the oil I'm using for frying because they're not even getting lightly browned. Ahh, I also only use EVOO for cooking/eating so.. maybe that's my problem instead of using a cooking oil like canola or grapeseed oil.
I probably have to play with the water / corn flour ratios a bit because Maseca recommended this ingredient list to make 4 tortillas. It made four very small tortillas.
1/2 cup Maseca corn flour
1/3 cup water
pinch of salt
This mix was a bit on the dry side and the dough just barely clung together. I think it needs more water. I have pictures, but I'll wait until I make a normal looking tortilla.. at least to the quality of "homemade" from a fast food restaurant.
Maybe for my next attempt with masa harina, I could try to make chicken sopes.
There are a few reviews of this brand of masa harina out on the Net and I'd have to say that I agree with most of them, leaning towards tortillas made with this flour tasting rather bland and flavorless. Well, here's the thing. Any corn product made with simple ingredients (corn, water, pinch of salt, etc) is bound to taste flavorless; like polenta. With the first few tries, the tortillas were bland. It is probably because I didn't add enough salt.
I don't have a tortilla press nor plastic wrap, so I used two sheets of waxed paper and a rolling pin to form my tortillas. I must be doing something wrong with the oil I'm using for frying because they're not even getting lightly browned. Ahh, I also only use EVOO for cooking/eating so.. maybe that's my problem instead of using a cooking oil like canola or grapeseed oil.
I probably have to play with the water / corn flour ratios a bit because Maseca recommended this ingredient list to make 4 tortillas. It made four very small tortillas.
1/2 cup Maseca corn flour
1/3 cup water
pinch of salt
This mix was a bit on the dry side and the dough just barely clung together. I think it needs more water. I have pictures, but I'll wait until I make a normal looking tortilla.. at least to the quality of "homemade" from a fast food restaurant.
Maybe for my next attempt with masa harina, I could try to make chicken sopes.
Pumpkin Bread (with tofu)
This is a pretty good dessert to bring into one's workplace. People always like eating healthy things, mostly.
Dry ingredients:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 c. granulated sugar
Wet ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin flesh, mashed
One 10.25 oz pkg. soft tofu, any brand
2/3 c. milk
4 eggs, beaten
Directions
1. Mix wet with wet. In a separate bowl, mix dry with dry. Gradually add dry to wet and mix until blended thoroughly.
2. Grease bread pan with olive oil and dust lightly with flour. Fill bread pan with mixture and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
3. Let cool on rack before emptying the pan.
Makes 2 loaves.
Dry ingredients:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 c. granulated sugar
Wet ingredients:
2 c. pumpkin flesh, mashed
One 10.25 oz pkg. soft tofu, any brand
2/3 c. milk
4 eggs, beaten
Directions
1. Mix wet with wet. In a separate bowl, mix dry with dry. Gradually add dry to wet and mix until blended thoroughly.
2. Grease bread pan with olive oil and dust lightly with flour. Fill bread pan with mixture and bake at 350 F for 1 hour.
3. Let cool on rack before emptying the pan.
Makes 2 loaves.
Asian Pear Bundt Cake
This is recipe was conceived on paper and born of a need to use several homegrown Asian pears. Our pears aren't that large and in a good season might even grow to be as large as your fist. Well, that is, if you're able to pick the fruit as its peak ripeness before the birds peck it to death. You don't see Asian pears in recipes that often and certainly not for cakes or breads because the flesh is quite dense with lots of water and fiber. There aren't that many bundt recipes calling for apples either. This experiment came out pretty well.
About 1 quart Asian pear slices, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 tbsp. plus 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. almond extract
3 large eggs
1 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. saltpowdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan if it's not a non-stick pan.
1. Bowl #1: Mix apple slices, 3 tbsp sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Bowl #2: Combine sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and almond extract. Whisk to blend.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine.
4. Form a thin layer of batter in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
5. (Optional) Can use any other baking fruit (peach or pear slices) for the bottom fruit layer.
6. Spoon some batter on top of the 1st fruit layer.
7. Fill with Asian pear slices. Put remainder of batter on top.Basically it should be: batter, peach/pear slices, batter, Asian pear slices, batter, etc. until all the batter and fruit is used up.
In a bundt pan, what you put on the bottom will end up at the top when you invert the pan to take the cake out.
Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
About 1 quart Asian pear slices, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
3 tbsp. plus 1 c. sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. almond extract
3 large eggs
1 c. light olive oil
1/4 c. orange juice
3 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. saltpowdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan if it's not a non-stick pan.
1. Bowl #1: Mix apple slices, 3 tbsp sugar, ground cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. Bowl #2: Combine sugar, olive oil, orange juice, and almond extract. Whisk to blend.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine.
4. Form a thin layer of batter in the bottom of the Bundt pan.
5. (Optional) Can use any other baking fruit (peach or pear slices) for the bottom fruit layer.
6. Spoon some batter on top of the 1st fruit layer.
7. Fill with Asian pear slices. Put remainder of batter on top.Basically it should be: batter, peach/pear slices, batter, Asian pear slices, batter, etc. until all the batter and fruit is used up.
In a bundt pan, what you put on the bottom will end up at the top when you invert the pan to take the cake out.
Bake cake until top is brown and tester inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 15 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto rack. Cool at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Zucchini Bread
Almond extract isn't a necessary component to this recipe, but I like it because it enhances the sweetness of the apple and adds a hint of an unexpected flavor.
2 eggs
3/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1/3 c. olive oil
2/3 c. plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
1 c. grated zucchini (2 medium zucchini)
1 large apple, grated (optional, can also use 1/4 c. apple sauce)
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bowl #1: Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, and almond extract
3. Bowl #2: Mix flour, spices, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.
4. Combine dry ingredients (#2) into wet ingredients (#1). Fold in grated zucchini and grated apple. (You can also add grated carrots for color).
5. Pour into 2 lightly buttered loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Cook in pans for 10 minutes then cool on rack.
[update: 9/16/2009] - If you are using mini loaf pans, fill the loaf pan until it is no more than 3/4 full and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack before removing from pan(s).
Photo below is of a mini-loaf:
2 eggs
3/4 c. unbleached cane sugar
1/3 c. olive oil
2/3 c. plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
1 c. grated zucchini (2 medium zucchini)
1 large apple, grated (optional, can also use 1/4 c. apple sauce)
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg, optional
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bowl #1: Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, yogurt, and almond extract
3. Bowl #2: Mix flour, spices, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together.
4. Combine dry ingredients (#2) into wet ingredients (#1). Fold in grated zucchini and grated apple. (You can also add grated carrots for color).
5. Pour into 2 lightly buttered loaf pans and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Cook in pans for 10 minutes then cool on rack.
[update: 9/16/2009] - If you are using mini loaf pans, fill the loaf pan until it is no more than 3/4 full and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool on a rack before removing from pan(s).
Photo below is of a mini-loaf:
Sweet Herbed Rolls
Ever try a recipe printed on the back a yeast packet? This is one of them. It's pretty tasty, though much softer than the texture of a French dinner roll with a crusty exterior.
3 c. bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
1/8 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. butter, melted
Herbs: 1 tsp. each, dried basil, dried oregano, crushed -or- 2-3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and herbs; set aside.
2. Heat milk to boiling (120 to 130 degree F) and stir in butter until it almost melts.
3. Combine dry mix and milk/butter combo in a mixing bowl. Beat 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs. Beat 1 min.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. For knot rolls, use greased muffin tin.
5. Bake in 350 F preheated oven, 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. 6. Lightly brush with melted butter.
3 c. bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter (1/2 stick)
1/8 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3 tbsp. butter, melted
Herbs: 1 tsp. each, dried basil, dried oregano, crushed -or- 2-3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and herbs; set aside.
2. Heat milk to boiling (120 to 130 degree F) and stir in butter until it almost melts.
3. Combine dry mix and milk/butter combo in a mixing bowl. Beat 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs. Beat 1 min.
4. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead dough on floured surface 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic. For knot rolls, use greased muffin tin.
5. Bake in 350 F preheated oven, 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. 6. Lightly brush with melted butter.
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