Verdict on Walnut Bread

The bread is really good. The oatmeal added gives a sweet taste to the bread. It is very moist. I didn't get much rise out of the loaves as they were baking. I think next time I will only make one loaf instead of two. There are two versions to this recipe. The one I used today started with a basic sponge recipe - all purprose white flour, water and yeast. The other version calls for rye sourdough starter. I think next time I will use the rye starter and see if that makes a difference. All in all, I was very pleased with the results.

New Recipe - Walnut Bread

I am trying a new recipe today, Walnut Bread. This is a recipe I got from Mark Sinclair, Back Home Bakery in Montana. If interested, you can get this recipe also. Mark has produced two separate DVD's on baking bread - excellent videos! And he includes 3 different recipes. Today I am trying his Walnut Bread recipe.

You have to make a sponge and a "soaker" the night before. The sponge is basically all-purpose flour, yeast and salt mixed with water. I usually let the sponge set over night to be used in the morning. The "soaker" is some grains soaked in boiling water. In this recipe, it is rolled oats and cornmeal.

If this bread is anything like the other breads I have tried, it should be good!

To order the DVDs, do a search of Back Home Bakery in Montana.

More Christmas Cookies!

The Swedish Almond Bars turned out really good. I think next time I am going to roll the dough and use cookie cutters. The recipe calls for you to roll the dough in strips.

Bob Packer (Old Camp Cook) gave me another good cookie recipe - Vienna Vanilla Cookies. This were really good, also. I am not sure which was better the Swedish Almond Bars or the Vanilla Cookies.

Here is the recipe for the Vienna Vanilla Cookies. I used my Christmas Cookie cutters.

VIENNESE VANILLA COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/4 cup shaved Almonds (not slivered)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt

Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar for decoration

PROCEDURES:

Preheat oven to 350ºF (176.7ºC –
Gas Mark 4)
Cream butter and add the
sugar. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time,
mixing after each addition.
Add remaining ingredients.
Shape into a disk and chill for 30
minutes. (can also be frozen)

Begin to roll the dough about 1/4
inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters.
Place dough on parchment paper or a
greased cookie/sheet pan.
Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until
the edges are a bit brown. You may need
to lower the oven to 325ºF (169ºC – Gas Mark 3).

You can also shape the dough into a log rather than a
disc. When you do this, simply cut the
log in 1/4 inch thick rounds. These
bake for about 15 minutes

Once the cookies are baked, either cool them on the cookie
sheet or move the parchment paper to a cooling rack.

As the cookies cool, but before they are fully cooled, dust
with confectioner’s sugar.

Swedish Almond bars

Since all my craft shows and farmer's markets are done for the year, I have more free time to bake.

Today I am making the Rustic White Bread (which I love) and Swedish Almond Bars which Old Camp Cook was kind enough to give me the recipe. I started the sponge for the Rustic White Bread last night. Looked good this morning! So I added the rest of the ingredients and kneaded it for 10 minutes. The dough is doing its first rise as I write. This afternoon, after I bake the bread, I am going to try the Swedish Almond Bars - they sound really good and, fortunately, I have all the ingredients!

Christmas Cookies!

I am taking a break from bread baking and getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas cookies (of course, I am not going anywhere the bathroom scale until January 1!).

I got out my Mom's old cookbook. You can tell it has been used many times - the edges are worn, a lot of the pages are stained. I haven't brought out that cookbook for awhile. A cousin (from my Mother's side) got in touch with me through Facebook. The last time I saw her, I was in my teens (wish I could say that was only a couple of years ago!), but it has probably been 35 to 40 years ago. Anyway, I have been corresponding with my Aunt (my Mom's only sister) through my cousin. There have been a lot of memories this correspondence has brought up and made me think of the cookbook. There is a Swedish Christmas Cookie recipe in there that, according to my Mom, was very similar to her Grandma Lundgren's cookie recipe (she would be my Great Grandmother). The recipe is sort of a fruit-cake cookie - it uses Citron and a bunch of spices (Cinnamon, Cloves, and Allspice) and you have to let the cookies "ripen" in a cookie tin. I made the cookies yesterday and they are now safely tucked in a cookie tin - though I've had stolen one or two to make sure they tasted alright.

I mentioned the cookie recipe to my good friend Old Camp Cook (someday I have to meet this incredible man!!!). He sent me a link to a website with International Christmas Cookies - what fun is that!!! Today, I made a Norwegian Christmas Cookie. As I said I am not going anywhere near the bathroom scale until after the Holidays!

If anyone is interested in any of the recipes, drop me a line at Diane@b-dgoats.com and I will send you a copy.

Verdict on Cinnamon Rolls

We have a winner! Baking the rolls in the pyrex dish definitely worked - the bottom of the buns weren't burned - nice and soft. I did drizzle some icing on the top of the rolls. The brown sugar/cinnamon sugar mixture was very good - I was afraid the brown sugar would melt and run, but that didn't seem to be a problem at all. Overall, very pleased with the end product.

Cinnamon Rolls Revisited

I am trying the cinnamon rolls again but this time I am using my good friend, Old Camp Cook, suggestions. Instead of granulated sugar and cinnamon, I am using 6 T brown sugar mixed with 1 T cinnamon. I rolled out the dough, spread some soft butter on the dough (not a lot), sprinkled the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture and spread raisins. The dough is rolled up and I cut 1 inch slices. Instead of putting them on a baking sheet with parchment paper, I sprayed two pyrex baking dishes with PAM and placed the slices in the dishes to rise. I sprinkled each slice with a cinnamon sugar mixture. I will leave them to rise for 2 hours and bake them at 325 for 30 - 35 minutes. So we will see what happens!

Update on No-Knead Sourdough Bread

I was not very pleased with the final results of this recipe. I didn't get much rise when baking. The crust was very hard - not much taste either. I talked to Eric at Breadtopia and he had several suggestions on how to make it better. First, reduce the first proofing time from 18 hours to 12 hours. Use more flour particularly when handling the dough. I don't think I will try this recipe again. I have too many other recipes that I like better.

Rustic Bread Recipe

I have been looking for a good "Rustic" bread recipe. I finally find a recipe on the Fresh Loaf website. I must admit, at first, I was very skeptical. I made the sponge the night before and set it in the cold oven with the oven light on. The next morning it had grown and was very bubbly, but very watery. Maybe I should have let it ferment on the counter instead of the oven. But, the house is so cold, I was afraid it wasn't warm enough.

I combined the necessary ingredients to make the final dough and added the sponge. The dough was very wet. So kneaded in extra flour to make it more manageable. I was very pleasantly surprised by the bread - nice firm crust, soft interior with a lot of holes - very tasty. This is definitely a keeper. The only thing I would change is baking time. The top of the bread was a little darker than I normally like. Maybe next time, I will cover them with aluminum foil.

Verdict on Sour Rye

Oh my, I have FINALLY found a good rye bread recipe. The bread is excellent. The crust is just right, the texture is good and it tastes wonderful. I used a light rye flour, dark rye gives more flavor. I know I can't buy dark rye flour locally, so I will search my Internet resources.

The only problem I had was with rising. The recipe makes 3 loaves. Three loaves were too big for my baking sheet. So either I do two bakings or maybe put the loaves into bread pans.

Unfortunately, my camera needs batteries so I wasn't able to take a picture.

Very pleased with how this turned out.

Sour Rye Bread

Today I am going to try the Sour Rye Bread recipe I got from Bob Packer (Old Camp Cook).

Last night I made the sponge (rye sourdough starter, rye flour and water). I checked on it this morning and it is nicely and bubbly. So a good start!!! I am really curious to see how this bread turns out. I have tried Sourdough Rye before but the loaves turned out very hard (probably make good doorstops!).

I was not very pleased with the No-Knead Sourdough bread. First, it was extremely hard to work with - a very wet dough. And I didn't get much of a rise when baking it. I talked with Eric at Breadtopia and he had a few suggestions for me to try next time - add more flour and shorten the proofing time from 18 hours to 12. Not sure I will give it a try or not.

No-Knead Sourdough Bread

I found this recipe on the website www.Breadtopia.com. Eric has a wonderful video on making this bread. I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I made the sponge yesterday afternoon and have let it proof over night. Since the house is cool, I let it proof in my oven with the oven light on. It is an extremely wet dough, so you need a lot of flour to work with this. Right now the dough is doing it's last 1 1/2 hour rise. So we will see what happens. I am not used to working with such wet dough. Eric does have a lot of neat variations that I am anxious to try, so I am hoping this works out. Of course, I can use those variations in my other bread recipes.

On another note, I made the Portuguese Sweet Bread again this week. Instead of dividing the dough into 3 loaves, I made only 2. The dough almost spilled over the sides of the bread pan and made really HUGE loaves of bread (great for sandwiches!). I think next time, I will go back to 3 loaves.

Verdict - Portuguese Sweet Bread

I am very pleased with how this bread turned out. Good texture, tastes great. I divided the dough into 3 loaves. Next time, I will make only 2 loaves because the loaves seemed a little small - no big deal. This recipe is very versatile - can be used as a bread, dinner rolls or buns. Definitely a keeper!

Portuguese Sweet Bread

Today I am trying a new recipe I got from Mark Sinclair (Back Home Bakery in Montana). I promised Mark that I would not share the recipe. I made the sponge last night and will be adding it to the other ingredients in about an hour or two. The sponge has to proof for 12 to 16 hours. I checked on it the first thing this morning and it is rising beautifully - so far, so good!

I also got another recipe from Mark - Sour Rye Bread. The recipe calls for Dark Rye flour. So I will have to check a few of my sources on the Internet to see if they carry Dark Rye. Most of the retail stores here carry "Medium" Rye flour. I am sure that would be OK, but the Dark Rye has a stronger flavor. I have started working on a Rye Sourdough Starter, which should be ready to use next week. Again, I promised Mark I won't share this recipe, but if you would like a loaf of either of these breads, just give me a holler.

Cinnamon Rolls Verdict

They look good. I will definitely shorten the bake time to 35 minutes, they did seem a little too brown. Also, on a couple of the rolls, the cinnamon/sugar mixture melted a little causing the bun to stick to the parchment paper. Raisin would be a definitely plus to add to the cinnamon/sugar mixture..

Normally, I use Peter Reinhart's Cinnamon Roll Recipe in his book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I think his recipe is better than this, but I will have to see what my local critics say (Bob and Nathan, my son).

Cinnamon Rolls

I am trying something new today thanks to my good friend in Oklahoma - Old Camp Cook- cinnamon rolls using sourdough. The sourdough starter is called Spuds - made using mash potato flakes. It makes a very "sweet" sourdough bread. I have been feeding the starter for over a week, so it is very active.

The recipe I am using is Old Camp Cook's basic sourdough recipe.

Bob's Basic Sourdough Recipe

Sugar - 2/3 cup (222 grams)
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup (120 grams)
1 teaspoon salt (8 grams)
1 cup active starter (273 grams)
1-1/2 cups warm water (364 grams)
6 cups bread flour (810 grams)

I combine all the ingredients to make the dough and let it "proof" overnight. Normally, I put the dough into an oiled plastic bowl, cover the top with saran wrap and a dry dish towel. I place the container in my oven with the oven light on. By morning, the dough has doubled.

I divided the dough into two equal balls, flour my countertop, and knead the dough balls for about a minute. With a rolling pin, I roll the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (6 1/2 T sugar, 1 1/2 T cinnamon). Roll the dough into a jelly roll and cut about 1" "rolls". I have two baking sheets covered with parchment paper. I evenly space the rolls, cover with a dry dish towel and let them rise for about 1 1/2 hours. I will then bake them at 325 for about 35 to 40 minutes. I will take pictures of the finished product.