First Feeding of Martha Stewart's Tartine Adventure

If you are following along on this adventure, you will have found a rather unpleasant sight when you removed the dish towel from the bowl containing your starter.  If you remember, we added the flour blend and water, covered it with a dish towel and let it sit for two days.  Hopefully, you will see some bubbles, most likely you will found a thin liquid on top of the flour mixture.  This is called hooch.  Don't be alarmed.  This is OK!  Just stir this all together.

Now the confusing part comes (at least for me).  Measure out 75 grams of the starter and discard the rest - which basically is 90% of the starter.  OK - here comes the sermon!  What a waste!  You are throwing away so much flour.  When I work with my starters, I deal with very small feedings.  My feedings consist of 4 T flour and 3 T water.  I never throw anything away unless my jar gets too full. Then either I make bread or dry the starter as a back-up.  So throwing away this much starter seems so wasteful.  End of lecture - class dismissed!

Back to the adventure.  I now put my 75 tiny little grams of starter in a mason jar to which I added 150 grams of the flour mixture and 100 grams of lukewarm water (78 degrees).  Mix this all up.  According to the directions you will have a thick batter.  HA!  It is more like a paste, but don't be alarmed.  I've have dealt with starters that are of this consistency and they do work.  So now cover the jar or bowl or whatever you have your starter in with a dish towel and we will repeat this experiment again tomorrow and for the next 14 to 19 days!  Now wasn't this fun!

Another Martha Stewart Adventure!

Don't you just love Martha Stewart "Adventures"?  To me it is a challenge!  Bring it on girl!  I know, Diane, get a life! 

In the January, 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living is an article on Tartine Country Bread made by Chad Robertson at the Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco.  Martha describes the bread as a "naturally fermented bread" - a polite term for sourdough!!  There is the challenge!! The whisks have been drawn, let the dueling begin!

This starter is very unique in that it is a combination of both white bread flour and whole wheat flour.  The recipe for the starter is:

1,135 grams of White bread flour
1,135 grams of Whole Wheat flour
455 grams of lukewarm water

It does sound like a lot, but this is what you will use over the next 15 to 20 days.

First, combine the two flours.  Place the 455 grams of water in a separate bowl and add 315 grams of the flour blend.  Mix until you have a thick, lump free batter.  You will now cover that with a dish towel and place in a cool, dark place until bubbles form around the sides of the bowl and on the surface.  This should take about two days.  Once this happens, it is time for the first feeding.

With each feeding, you will remove 75 grams of the starter (this you will keep) and discard the rest.  Feed the 75 grams with 150 grams of the flour blend and 100 grams of luke warm water. Like before, you will mix until you have a thick, lump free batter.  Repeat this for every 24 hours for the next 15 to 20 days.

See you in 15 to 20 days!

I made Pasta!

Well, it is not exactly earth-shattering news.  Don't stop the presses sort of thing!  But, I've never made pasta and I've always heard that it was hard to make.  I've always wanted to do it.  So I bought the book "The Complete book of Pasta and Noodles" - sort of the "everything you wanted to know about pasta but were afraid to ask"!  It is a HUGE book.  Trust me, only the first couple of chapters deal with actually making noodles, the rest are pretty much pasta recipes!

My good friend, old camp cook, sent me a pasta machine.  So today was a good day to give it a test run.  The recipe is so simple!

2 cups all purpose flour (either bleached or unbleached)
3 large eggs, beaten

That's it!  Throw this all together in your food processor, pulse it for about 30 seconds until the dough comes together (if it doesn't, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time), take the dough out of the food processor, knead it on a clean surface for about 2 minutes, cover the dough and let it "rest" for about an half hour. 

Follow the instructions on your pasta machine.  I found out the hard way that you really need a pasta drying rack.  Oh well, live and learn.  Off to ebay to find a drying rack.  Looks like homemade pasta for dinner tonight!

And visions of Sugar Plums danced in their heads

Have you ever wondered about that line in "Twas the Night Before Christmas"?  What exactly are Sugar Plums?  I always figured that maybe they were just a variety of the plum.  But why would children dream of plums?  It would be like dreaming of  dancing apples or oranges - that doesn't sound like a very good dream.  So once again I did a little exploring on the Internet.

Sugar plums are confections (candy) and are quite easy to make.  The original Sugar Plums were sugar coated coriander with small bits of dried fruit added.  The current recipe is not as spicy.  Anyway, the reason why the childen had visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads is because they tasted so good.  Here is the recipe so you too can have dreams of dancing sugar plums:

Sugar Plums

from Saveur Magazine

2 cups whole almonds
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in oven for ten minutes. Set aside to cool and then finely chop. Meanwhile, combine honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Mix almonds, apricots, dates and spice mix in a large bowl. Mix well. Pinch off rounded teaspoon-sized pieces and roll into balls. Dust the sugar plums with powdered sugar and refrigerate in single layers between sheets of wax paper in airtight containers for up to one month.

Enjoy!!

O Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding

Have you ever wonder what the heck was Figgy Pudding?  It must have been good because the next verse in the song is "We won't go until we get some!"  Well, if they were in my house, they would be here for a very long time!  So out of curiosity, I did a search on Figgy Pudding and, much to my amazement, there is such a creature!!  It is a traditional steamed English pudding that is usually served during the Christmas holiday.

Traditional Figgy Pudding is similar to spice cake made with ground or chopped dried figs (obviously) and usually is served with custard sauce.  If you can't find dried figs, you can substitute dried dates.  You can always use whipped cream in place of the custard sauce.  The traditional version uses walnuts, but I think any type of nut would work, except peanuts.

Traditional Figgy Pudding

Ingredients
½ cup butter (at room temperature)
½ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons rum extract (or flavored extract of your choice)
1 apple, peeled and cored and finely chopped
1 pound dried figs, ground or finely chopped
Grated peel of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 cup chopped nuts
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 ½ cups dried bread crumbs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

Custard Sauce

Ingredients
2 cups milk
1 large egg
¾ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Generously grease an oven-proof 2-quart bowl or mold; set aside.

Cream together butter and shortening. Gradually add sugar, egg yolks, milk, extract, apple, figs, lemon and orange peel. Add next 6 ingredients, mixing well. Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into mixture.

Pour into prepared bowl or mold and place into large shallow pan and place on middle rack in oven. Fill the shallow pan half-full with boiling water and slowly steam pudding in oven at 325°F (160°C) for 4 hours, replacing water as needed.

For Custard Sauce: In saucepan, scald milk and allow to cool.

Mix together remaining ingredients, except for butter. Add to cooled milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter, mixing well.

Serve pudding warm with custard sauce or sweetened whipped cream. Store unused portions in refrigerator.

Makes 12 servings.

So the next time people show up at your doorstep singing "Bring me some figgy pudding" -  now you can!!

Today's Adventure

Well, it's really not an "adventure".  I am just trying out a new recipe from Mark Sinclair.  He is one of my "bread" heroes.  I will not post the recipe here since he has it posted on his blog, http://thebackhomebakery.blogspot.com/2010/08/soft-white.html

I have made several of Mark's breads and have been very pleased with all of them.  My favorite is his Portugese Sweet Bread recipe.

This recipe is called Soft White Bread.  He says it is for people who don't like hard crusts, so this should be perfect for my husband.  Mark sells this particular loaf to restaurants for their grilled cheese sandwiches.  I started the dough this morning around 8:00.  You let it rise twice before you divide the dough and shape it for 3 loaf pans.  The bread goes through a third rising in the loaf pans for 2 hours.   I love the feel of the dough, very nice to handle.  It bakes in the oven for only 35 minutes.

The bread turned out very nice - soft crusts like Mark promised.  The crumb (or interior part of the bread) is very soft.  This bread reminds me a lot of the Portugese Sweet Bread.  This is definitely a keeper recipe!
For those interested, here is Mark Sinclair's website:

http://www.thebackhomebakery.com/

A Christmas adventure!

We have a winter storm that "stalled" over the eastern part of Cincinnati last night and the early part of this morning dropping 4 1/2 inches of snow.  My husband took our truck, leaving the little Toyota Corolla which doesn't like it when it rains (don't even want to think what it would do in the snow!).  This is the perfect day to experiment.  So thanks to my good friend OldCampCook from Oklahoma who sent me a Stollen recipe to play with.  According to OldCampCook, Stollen is a German Fruit Cake.  I bought the ingredients last week in anticipation of a snow day (didn't think God would send one so fast!). The only ingredients that you might have to buy are fruit cake mix (candied fruit), sliced or chopped almonds, golden raisins, and instant dry yeast.  I will not post the recipe here since this is Bob's recipe.  It is listed on his web site - www.allthingsbread.bravehost.com  It is listed under Holiday Stollen.

It is a very easy recipe to make.  The kneading takes up most of the time.  The fruit, raisins and almonds are added last and kneaded into the dough.  The dough looks so pretty with all the candied fruit and golden raisins.  You let the dough rise twice.  The second time is after you have divided the dough in half and created the two braided loaves. 

The loaves bake for about 45 minutes and are dusted heavily with powdered sugar after you take them out of the oven.  I think it looks more like a festive coffee cake than a fruit cake.  I probably should have taken a picture of the loaves before we dusted them with the powdered sugar so you could see how pretty the braiding looks.  Anyway, this is definitely a keeper recipe!  One of the loaves is already half eaten!

Verdict on "Pumpkin" Pie

Here is the final product:

Pumpkin Pie made with Butternut Squash

Last night, there was only one slice left, so I guess that tells you how good it was!  It tasted like a pumpkin pie.  Obviously no one complained!  And I had plenty of the pureed squash left (you can freeze it) - so looks like I will be making another squash/pumpkin pie!

New Twist on Pumpkin Pie

When my son was in the second grade (many, many years ago), his class went on a field trip to a local pumpkin farm so the kids could get a pumpkin for Halloween.  I was talking to the farmer and he made an interesting comment.  He said the best pumpkin pie is not made from a pumpkin but made from butternut squash.  Every year when I make a pumpkin pie, I always remember that farmer's comment.   So this year, I decided to give it a try.

I bought these two butternut squash from one of our local farmer's markets.  To bake them, I will slice them in half and remove the seeds (being the "semi-farmer", I will save the seeds for next year so I can grow my own squash).  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Put the squash face down in the baking dish, fill with an inch of water and cover pan with aluminum foil.  Bake for about an hour or until squash is very soft.  Let it cool down and puree in a blender or food processor.

Pureed butternut squash

Here is my "pumpkin pie" recipe but I will be substituting the squash for the pumpkin.

2T butter, melted (I always use unsalted butter)
1 3/4 cup pumpkin (squash)
2 eggs
2 T flour
1 c evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 t ginger
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t mace
1/4 t ground cloves
1 uncooked pie shell

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 
Beat the eggs until frothy. 
Mix in the sugars and the flour. 
Mix in the spices.
Mix in the pumpkin (squash)
Add the melted butter.
Mix in the evaporated milk.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Decrease heat to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes
Remove the pie from the oven and set it out to cool.
ENJOY!

For those curious few, you can buy a real pumpkin and bake a pumpkin pie from it.  I have done it and it is not hard at all.  Just a little more time-consuming.  To make a pumpkin pie using a "real" pumpkin, buy one or two "pie" pumpkins at the store or local farmer's market. 

Cut it in half and remove the seeds and strings.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut the pumpkin in wedges and place on an oiled baking sheet.  Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes until it is soft.  Allow the pumpkin to cool.  Peel away the skin and puree the pumpkin in a blender or food processor - see, isn't that easy!!  Give it a try next time you want to make pumpkin pie!

Rye Sourdough Starter!

Today I am trying a new adventure!  I have the best recipe for a Sourdough Rye Bread (thank you very much Old Camp Cook!).  And, thank you again Old Camp Cook for sharing the Sourdough Rye starter with me.  I found a recipe for making your own sourdough rye starter - how exciting is that! (I know . . . I need to get a life!).  This is one of those recipes tucked in that folder that I printed off the Internet many moons ago from some web page I have long forgotten.  If I remember, I promise I will give the person credit for this fine recipe! 

This recipe is very versatile - you can use it to make a white flour starter, whole wheat flour starter or rye starter.  In this "adventure", I am going to make rye.  Maybe in some later "adventure", we will make a whole wheat starter (don't want too much excitement in one day!).

1/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup bread flour (do not use all purpose flour)
1/2 cup apple cider or pineapple juice (I used apple cider)

Mix all 3 together in a mason jar.  That's it (well, for today).  This is a several step process.  This is officially "Day 1"

"Day 2" is just as exciting.  All you do is stir it!

"Day 3" gets a little more intense!  Pour half of your starter off (probably best in a baggie - this will be like paste and could clog your drains).  Add 1/4 cup rye flour, 1/4 cup bread flour and 1/2 cup apple cider or pineapple juice (stick with the liquid you started with - don't change) - mix together so they are blended.

"Day 4"  will just be a repeat of "Day 3"

"Days 5 -14" gets more exciting.  Now you don't need juice any more.  I guess our starter has grown up.  Pour off half of your starter (don't forget the baggie!) Use 1/2 cup water (some "experts" say don't use tap water, while others say you can - I use tap water without any problems).  Here is where the decision making comes in - do I want a white flour starter, whole wheat starter or rye starter.  The answer is RYE STARTER (if you picked C - you win!).   So you will add 1/2 cup rye flour - mix until blended.

At this stage, the starter should be very active and be ready for bread.  So, hopefully, in 14 days from now we will have Sour Rye bread!

We have bread!

We have bread!  This picture was taken from my camera phone so it is not the best.  The hardest part is waiting for it too cool.  And, boy, does my house smell good!  This recipe is so easy.  If you can't find it in the archives, send me an email (diane@b-dgoats.com) and I will send you a copy of the recipe for the bread and for making the pineapple starter.

Pineapple Sourdough Starter

I don't know if you remember back in June I experimented with creating a sourdough starter using pineapple juice.  I have been feeding the starter on and off during the summer (when I haven't feed it, it has been living in my refrigerator - be sure to label it as sourdough starter because someone might think it is a nasty "science experiment" and throw it out - trust me - I know!). 

For some reason, Fall makes me feel like baking bread, so I brought the pineapple starter out of hibernation and started feeding it.  Usually it takes a day or two to get the starter active again.  When you take the starter out, there is usually a brown/grayish liquid on top, this is call hooch.  Don't pour it off - just stir it back in.  The starter will also be very thick.  Don't worry - that is normal.  Below is a picture of the starter after it has been feed a few times.  Feeding a starter consists of 4 T flour and 3 T water.

See all the bubbles!  This starter is alive and kicking!  And it should have a strong yeasty or beer smell.  So today I am making Bob's Basic Sourdough Bread.  I believe that recipe is in the archives.  I will take pictures of the finished product.

"Award-winning" Apple Pie recipe

On the weekends, I sell at Farmer's Markets.  A couple of weeks ago, one of the farmer's markets decided to have an Apple Pie baking contest.  The market manager said I "HAD" to sign up for it.  So I reluctantly did and completely forgot.  Friday night rolled around and my husband came home from work.   He walked into the kitchen asking where was my pie for the contest.  HUH?  Guess who forgot?  And guess who spent Friday night baking an apple pie???  And guess who ate pizza for dinner that night?

I almost didn't take the pie to the Farmer's Market the next day.  I thought for sure there is no way this silly pie is going to win.  I threw this thing together at the last moment.  But, I promised the Market Manager that I would enter the contest, so I did.

Later on at the market I was told that I needed to go the tables at the top of the market because I won "something".  I figured 3rd place, maybe 2nd.  So up I went.  They didn't call my name for third place.  They didn't call my name for second place.  I thought - NO WAY, there is NO WAY I won first place.  Then they called my name for First Place.  I was completely blown away.  I won a trophy with an apple on it and $100.  The trophy is now sitting on my mantel next to the Grand Champion award one of our Alpine Goats won at the County Fair.

So . . . here is the "award-winning" apple pie recipe

Deep Dish Apple Pie Recipe


1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust
1 large egg yolk beaten

brush egg yolk on crust
Bake in oven at 375 for 5 minutes

Pie
8 cups sliced, cored and peeled apples (I used Granny Smith apples - but any baking apple will do)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

put sliced apples in large bowl
mix dry ingredients and pour over apples
stir apples making sure all slices are evenly coated (if this gets "too juicy", pour some of the "juice" off)
place slices into baked pie crust and evenly distribute around pie crust

Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (I use unsalted butter)

mix together - I use a fork to mash the butter into the dry ingredients
completely cover the apples with the topping
Bake in 350 oven for 55 minutes

Enjoy!

This is really good with ice cream (of course, anything is good with ice cream!)

Purple Hands

I live out in the country.  One of the advantages of living in the country is that country folk don't pay with cash, we swap.  I raise dairy goats and you would be amazed what I can "buy" with the products that my dairy goats produce.

Last week one of our neighbors called to let us know that his berry bushes were loaded and we should come pick "us some berries".  So for a couple bars of goat's milk soap and a bottle or two goat's milk lotion, we "picked us some berries."  If you ever pick blackberries, wear gloves, otherwise, you will have purple hands.  BUT, you will have the best berries you ever tasted.  (Just in case you forget the gloves, the purple stain does go away after a day or two - don't worry - you won't have smurf hands forever!)

I froze a lot of the berries, also made some blackberry jam.  And I found this recipe on the Internet for Blackberry Cobbler.  This is an adaptation of a Betty Crocker recipe.  I had to make two because the first one didn't last very long. 

Mix the batter gently - helps make the cobbler moister.  Also, you can use half blackberries and half raspberries for a different taste.  The recipe says not to use blueberries - not sure why - can't see why that would make any difference.

Blackberry Cobbler

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blackberries (do not use blueberries)

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 T sugar
1/4 t vanilla or 1/4 t cinnamon (depends on your taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I omit the salt - didn't seem to make a difference)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted (I always use un-salted butter)

1. In medium bowl, stir together blackberries and sugar. Let stand about 20 minutes or until fruit syrup forms. Heat oven to 375°F.

2. In large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Stir in melted butter until blended. Spread in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Spoon blackberry mixture over batter.

3. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until dough rises and is golden. Serve warm with ice cream. - YUM!

Glazed Lavender Tea Cakes

Oh, these are so good!  I use the small mini loaves pans and they are perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning - my teenage son even loves these (and this is the child that gives out our local McDonalds as his second address!).  The recipe uses the lavender leaves which gives a slight lavender taste.  If you want a stronger lavender flavor, use fresh lavender buds.  If you are using dried buds, usually only half the required amount - dried herbs are much stronger than fresh.

Glazed Lavender Tea Cake
Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar
5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened  (I use only unsalted butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh lavender leaves (see note above)
Cooking spray

Glaze:
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°

To prepare cake, beat granulated sugar, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg and egg white, 1 at a time; beat well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in lavender.

Pour the batter into an 8-inch loaf pan **coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour *** or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
** I use the mini loaf pans
*** I adjust the baking time for the mini loaf pans

To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar and remaining ingredients. Spread over hot cake. Cool in pan 20 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 slice).

Enjoy!

If you don't have lavender available, do a search on the Internet for Culinary lavender.  There are several lavender farms that sell lavender buds.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Baking is only as good as the ingredients as you use.  A lot of time our budgets just don't allow us to buy the best so we have to compromise.  I hate buying imitiation vanilla extract - it just isn't quite the same as the "real" stuff.  A fellow bread baker shared this recipe for true vanilla extract and I haven't looked back since.  Who would have known it was so easy to make!  Of course, I have to explain to my husband why he comes home to find a half empty bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

2 cups Vodka (I buy the cheap stuff from Walmart)
5 to 6 vanilla beans

Split the vanilla beans in half and cut in 1 inch lengths.
Put vanilla beans and Vodka into a glass container (I use a quart mason jar with a secure lid) that will hold 2 cups.

Put the container into a dark location.
Shake the container periodically, every day or so.
Mark a calendar or label the jar with the date it was prepared.
The vanilla flavoring should be ready in 6 (six) weeks from the day it is started.

After the first batch is finished, pour it into smaller bottles, as desired, and pour 2 cups of Vodka in the
original container and let it set 6 (six) weeks. This will make a second batch of flavoring.

When you reach the point where the beans will not color the Vodka in the prescribed time, start over with new beans.

I get my vanilla beans from a seller on eBay called VanillaProducts. I am not affiliated with this individual - they have a great product and offer great services.

You can do the same with Cinnamon sticks and get a cinnamon extract.

Remember me?

Life kind of got in the way and I haven't had much chance to do any baking in quite a while.  I miss it terribly.  It is sort of my therapy.  So I decided it is time to dust off the ole mixing bowl and get back to baking. 

Do you have a folder of printed recipes that you have no idea WHY you printed them off and put them in a folder?  Well, I found THAT folder the other day and started looking through it.  I came upon a recipe for a sourdough starter using pineapple juice.  As luck would have it, I have pineapple juice in my refrigerator!  Obviously the Baking Gods have a plan in mind!  What the heck, I have nothing better to do with my time.  Besides, I thought it might be an interesting experiment on a rainy, stormy day. 

The "recipe" calls for 3 T pineapple juice and 4 T flour (easy enough!) - I use unbleached all purpose flour but I would imagine bleached all purpose flour would work as well.  I am using a quart mason jar (cleaned, of course).  Once I mixed the pineapple juice and flour, I covered the top with a couple layers of cheesecloth secured with a rubber band.  According to the recipe, repeat this for a total of 3 days.  So tomorrow, I will add 3 T pineapple juice and 4 T flour to the mixture and the following day, I will add 3 T juice and 4 T flour.   We will then switch from the pineapple juice to water.  Life just can't get any more exciting!

If this does work out and we do get an actual active sourdough starter, I have a ton of sourdough recipes to try!

I am becoming a cookbook junkie!

My name is Diane E and I am a cookbook addict!  I wonder if there is such an organization as cookbook anonymous!  I am sure Amazon and Half.com just love me!!!  I have bought almost every cookbook imaginable!  Don't have a favorite one yet.  Now how's this for a Julie/Julia project - a cookbook called Pie.  Can you imagine making a pie a day - 2000 pounds later!!!  It has every possible pie recipe - fruit pies, cream pies, meat pies, etc.  I have a Cupcake cookbook by Martha Stewart - I must say this is my favorite cupcake cookbook.  I bought a muffin cookbook - which is OK - definitely not a keeper!

I guess my two favorite cookbooks are the cookbooks that I inherited from my Mom and my Mother-in-Law.  These books have a lot of wear and tear from many years of lovingly preparing meals and baked goods.  Looking through the cookbooks is like looking through an old picture album - brings back so many good memories.  The "special" recipes usually have some notation in the margins for suggestions on improving the recipe.  You can tell which ones are the "good" recipes because those pages are usually stained with food splatters.  My Mother-in-Law's Joy of Cooking was a wedding gift she received.  The poor book is now being held together by duck tape.  My husband told me he would buy me a new copy but it won't be the same.  I guess I could always start a copy for my someday daughter in law.

Mozzeralla Cheese

I know this isn't exactly baking but it is so easy to make and you can use store-bought milk!   This will make about a pound of mozzeralla cheese.

You will need the following supplies.  You can order these from New England Cheesemaking Supply (http://www.cheesemaking.com/).  I think it all will be under $20.

Citric Acid
Lipase Powder
Rennet (I always get vegetable rennet)

Recipe:

1 gallon milk  (I use Vitamin D Milk - this doesn't work well with skim milk)
1 1/2 t citric acid
1/4 t lipase powder
1/4 t vegetable rennet

dissolve the citric acid in 1/2 cup cold bottled water (do not use tap water!!)
dissolve the lipase powder in 1/4 cup cold bottled water
dissolve the rennet in 1/4 cup cold bottled water

heat the milk to 55 degrees
add the dissolved citric acid and lipase powder
continue heating the milk to 90 degrees
slowly add the rennet
reduce heat
the milk should curdle and separate from pan
(the curds should be surrounded by a clear liquid - the whey)
remove pan from heat
ladle the curds into a microwave bowl
drain whey
(You can save the whey to use in baking - it also freezes very well)

You will need playtex gloves for the next series of steps, the curds get really hot!
put in microwave - heat at high for 1 minute
knead the curds and drain whey
heat in microwave at high for 35 seconds
knead the curds and drain the whey
heat in microwave at high for 35 seconds
knead - the curds should get taffy-like and look shiny
form into balls and drop into ice cold water
drain and enjoy

If you want to use the cheese for pizza, freeze the cheese - it will grate easier (wrap the cheese in saran wrap and then wrap in aluminum foil).

This is so much better than store bought and so simple to make!

Enjoy!

Prairie Pioneer Bread

I was very pleased with how the bread turned it. It is really good toasted and served with a nice salad or bowl of soup!

I took a couple of loaves of the Prairie Bread and the Rustic White bread to a farmer's market this weekend.  The Rustic White bread sold out - didn't sell a loaf of the Prairie bread - maybe I should change the name to something more exotic - Wild, Wild West Bread . . . I will think of something!

There is another recipe in that book that I wanted to try - it is made with the pioneer potato starter and uses graham flour - I think I see another adventure forming!

Prairie Pioneer Two-Day Bread

I bought the book, Prairie Home Breads by Judith M. Fertig about a year ago.  I guess it is time I try some of the breads in her book.  The recipe called Prairie Pioneer Two-Day sounded interesting.  So I thought I would give it a try.  Only problem that she uses a starter that she creates using grated potatoes.  What the heck, I am always open to a challenge.  So I decided to give her starter a try.  Much to my surprise, it is a very active starter.  I will post the recipe for it shortly.  You could  probalby use any sourdough starter without any problems

You make up the sponge the night before and let it rise. The only difference in this bread is that you don't need a warm place to let it rise. I had my doubts but this morning the dough was ready to spill out of the bowl (a good sign!).

I love the way this dough feels - very silky (if bread dough can be silky). Very easy to work with!

The recipe:

Prairie Pioneer Two-Day Bread

2 cups Potato Yeast Starter
2 cups warm water

1 T honey

5 1/2 cups bread flour

Make the sponge by combining the starter, water and honey in a bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer). Add flour 1 cup at a time until you get a manageable dough.

You can either knead this with your Kitchen Aid dough hook for 5 minutes or by hand for 8 minutes. I choose to knead by hand. Yes, a lot more work, but you have more control over the dough. This is a very sticky dough and does require more flour added.

Put the dough in a greased bowl covered with saran wrap. Let it rise at cool room temperature until doubled in bulk (I let it rise over night) - or let it rise 8 to 12 hours until it is doubled in bulk.

Punch down the dough - dust your countertop with flour. Split the dough into 2 balls and form into desired shape - I am using my bannetons to give my dough a round, spiral look. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the bread for 40 to 50 minutes until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

I will be popping my bread in the oven in the next 15 minutes, so we will see what happens!

Verdict on the Whey Bread

Not a show stopper!  Didn't get much of a rise out of the dough, seemed like it took forever for the dough to do anything.  The bread had a very slight "tangy" taste and the crumb was definitely different - maybe softer?  My husband didn't like it and my teenage son won't try it because it sounded "gross".   I have seen recipes for Whey Bread.  Maybe it was the recipe. 

I know you can use the whey to make ricotta cheese.  I think I will try that next time.  It was a fun experiment, though. 

A new adventure!

Last week I made homemade mozzeralla using store bought milk.  (I raise dairy goats and normally would use their milk BUT I have 7 baby goats that need the milk more.)  Just in case anyone wants to give the mozzeralla cheese a try, the recipe can be found in Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll.  The recipe is called 30 Minute Mozzeralla.  I digress . . . The cheese makes almost a gallon of whey.  I've heard that whey is wonderful to use in cooking and baking.  SO I decided to give it a try in Bob's Basic Sourdough bread.  I replaced the 1 1/2 cups of water with the whey.  The whey was heated to 100 degrees.  Other than the whey, I followed the recipe exactly.  I am curious to see if there are any noticeable differences in the bread - texture, taste, etc.  Stay tuned!

Bob's Basic Sourdough Bread

This is the most versatile recipe I have ever used AND it makes the best bread - very light, almost melts in your mouth.  Earlier this week I used the recipe to make the cinnamon raisin bread.  Today I decided to use it to make sandwich bread for my son's lunch.

The recipe is so easy.  I use my Spuds Sourdough Starter (made from mash potato flakes)

BOB’S BASIC SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Yield: 3 large loaves or 4 small loaves

INGREDIENTS:

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

Start with 5 cups of bread flour and then add the remaining cup as needed.
Mix ingredients in a large bowl.
Grease or oil a large bowl (I use a large mixing bowl)
Put dough in container and flip over to cover top of dough with oil or grease.
Cover with a clean, damp cloth.
Let stand 6-8 hours or overnight.

Punch down and divide into 3 parts. Knead each part 8-10 times on a lightly floured surface.
Shape and put into 3 greased (I use a non-stick cooking spray) pans

Cover and let rise 4-5 hours. I put pans in a large plastic bag and tuck the
ends under the pans to make it airtight. Make sure you “tent” the bags so the rising bread
doesn't stick to the bags.  If the house is cold, I usually do my rising in the oven wiht the
oven light on.

Remove the bags, the bread should have risen above the edges of the bread pans.

Bake at 325F to 350F for 30-35 minutes.

Isn't this the most gorgeous looking bread you have ever seen!  I've outdone myself on this one!  Almost
too pretty to eat.

When cool, wrap in plastic cling wrap, then aluminum foil and freeze.


Adapted from a recipe at www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,164,147175-243201,00.html

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I wish you could smell my house - it smells heavenly!  I just took these two loaves of Cinnamon Raisin bread out of the oven. 

I used Bob's Basic Sourdough Recipe.  I believe it is posted in an earlier blog - I used it to make the Cinnamon Rolls (do I notice a pattern here?).  I used my Spuds Sourdough Starter to make this bread.  The Spuds Starter was made using instant potato flakes and makes a "sweet" starter.  Excellent for cinnamon rolls (or bread). 

I made the dough following his recipe. Combine the starter, flour, warm water, sugar, and vegetable oil.  Let it sit overnight in a warm place.  In the morning, instead of shaping the dough into loaves, I rolled them out into a rectangle and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and raisins (I believe Bob also adds chopped pecans).  The dough is then rolled up in jelly roll fashion and put into a prepared loaf pan.  This is allowed to rise for 3 to 4 hours in a warm place. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  The loaves are baked for 30 to 35 minutes.  The hardest part is waiting for them to cool down.  This bread is excellent for making french toast - YUM!  Sorry Peter Reinhardt, but I think this is the better cinnamon bread recipe!

Proofing Box for rising bread dough

All bread recipes usually call for one or two risings.  The first rise is after all the ingredients are added to the dough.  Typically, you want the dough to double in size, roughly 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  The second rising is when you mold the dough into the final shape for baking - either freeform or in a bread pan of some sort.  Again, the goal is for the dough to double in size.  To get the dough to rise, you must put it in a warm spot.  Normally, I will put it in my cold oven with the light on.  Sometimes that is not an option particularly if you have recently done some baking - the oven would be way too hot! 

My husband built this  "proofing box" for me.  It works wonderfully!  He used a plain old styrofoam box he got from work (I've seen these all over the place, so it shouldn't be too hard to find).  He bought the electrical supplies from Walmart.

The most labor he did was drilling a hole in the lid and assembling the light bulb fixture with the electric wire and plug.  It uses a 15 watt bulb.  You won't think this small bulb would put out any heat, but it does.  It almost gets too hot, so I have to prop one side of the box open to keep it cool.

I've also used this in my cheesemaking (I own a small dairy goat farm).  This is a very versatile little box!

Low Salt Classic White bread - the result

Looks good, doesn't it!   First of all, using the unbleached flour did make the crust alot lighter.  I will have to try this on my other bread recipes to see if I get lighter crusts (I really must have been a mad scientist in my former life!).  More adventures!!!

I did notice the dough rose a lot faster and bigger.  I am sure this is due to the less salt.  I did watch the risings because some rising is good, but a whole lot of rising is not!

I did, impatiently, wait for the bread to cool before I had my first taste.  OH MY!  It is good.  I don't taste any salt (so there! salty customer!).  It has a nice crust and good crumb.  This is definitely a keeper. 

So if you want to get the same results, on the recipe change the salt to 10 grams and change the flour to unbleached all purpose flour.  Everything else stays the same.  Enjoy!!!

Martha Stewart's Classic White Bread - Revisited

I had a customer complain the other day that she thought Martha's bread was too salty.  It does contain 20 grams of salt.  The second time I made the bread, I used salted butter which made it taste salty to me (now I only use unsalted butter).  So today I am going to cut the salt in half and use only 10 grams of salt.  This shouldn't affect the final product because salt is mainly used to enhance the flavor.  Also, to test my theory on the dark crusts, I am going to use unbleached all purpose flour. 

On the website Sourdough Companion (http://www.sourdough.com/), one of the bakers in his blog wrote about reducing the salt in baking.  He found that it enhanced the flavor.  Very interesting article - if you would like to read it:

http://sourdough.com/blog/rossnroller/salt

Off to the kitchen to begin another adventure!

Mystery of the Dark Crusts solved!

Remember my main complaint about Martha Stewart's Classic White bread and the dark crusts.  Well, Sherlock, I believe we have solved the mystery. 

The other day I ran out of flour, so off to Kroger's I went.  Fortunately, for me, their flour is on sale $1.32 for 5 pounds (I know it is cheaper at Walmart, but I was at Kroger's not Walmart).  BUT, Kroger's was out of the bleached All-Purpose flour.  So I bought several bags of the unbleached All-Purpose flour.

The next day, I made another batch of Martha's Classic White bread.  The loaves came out beautiful!  I just sat there and marvelled at my creation!  Then I realized I had used unbleached flour - mystery solved.  Who would have thought using bleached flour would make the crusts dark!  So if you like nice golden crusts, the next time you make Martha's Classic White bread, use UNBLEACHED All Purpose flour.  I am so proud of myself (as I pat myself on the back!)

Mum's White Bread Recipe

This recipe is "from across the pond".  My good friend, Old Camp Cook,  gave me this recipe that he got from a friend over in England.  It is so simple!

12 grams of salt (1 1/2 tsp)
6 grams sugar (1 tsp)
10 grams butter/lard (1 T)
1 1/4 cup warm water
6 grams dried yeast (1 1/2 tsp)
450 grams bread flour (3 cups)

If you are using Instant Yeast (like SAF) mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in large bowl.  I usually add the butter to the hot water, let it melt a little and add that to the flour mixture.

Using my Kitchenaid mixer and a dough hook, I "knead" the dough for 8 minutes until it pulls away from the side of the bowl as shown below:

Remove the dough from the dough hook.  I grease a bowl to let the dough rise in - cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it rise for about 1 1/2 hours.  The second rising is when you shape the dough to fit into a bread loaf pan.  Let it rise another 1 1/2 hours.  Bake the loaf for 25 minutes in a 375 oven.

I was concerned at the first rising.  Seemed really slow, but then the house is rather cool so that could be the culprit.  I put it in a standard bread loaf for the second rising - OH MY!  The bread took off!   I do love it when I bake bread - just love the way the house smells - YUM!  warm bread!  The hardest part is waiting for it to cool.

The bread is really good.  A thin crust and the crumb is very nice.  This is definitely a keeper recipe.  It only makes one loaf.

Why do I bake?

My husband commented the other day how boring it must be to stay at home and bake muffins!  I guess to a man, baking would seem boring.

Why do I bake?  Is it because I get bored and baking fills the time? No, because I have plenty of things to do if I weren't baking.  I enjoy baking.  I must have been a mad scientist in my former life.  I love trying new recipes, new foods, etc.   To me baking is very relaxing and also very creative. You take a egg, mix it with flour, sugar and butter and you have a delicious cookie or cake.  Granted it is not the most glamorous job and, it certainly doesn't pay much!  But think of all the wonderful things you can make!  The nice thing about baking is that you know exactly how it is made and what ingredients were used.  Homemade is so much better than store bought!

Go into any bookstore and look at the cookbook shelves!  So many cookbooks, so little time!  I cheat - I see a cookbook I am interested in - I go to the library and borrow the book.  If I like, I then buy it ( usually on eBay or Half.com).  If I don't like, nothing lost - just return it to the library and get another cookbook.

Someday after we win the lottery, I would love to build a commercial kitchen and get a professional bakery license.  Someday is far away right now, but someday . . .

Martha Stewart's Classic White Bread Recipe

I think this is the best homemade white bread I have ever tasted.  The only thing I don't like about it is the crusts get too dark.  I like nice golden crusts.  My friend, old camp cook, and I have been experimenting with different techniques to see if we could fix this problem  Yesterday, I made the bread again.  What I did seems to work (at least for me).  The recipe calls for you to turn the loaves after 20 minutes.  I moved the loaves down one shelf level.  Also I did not butter or put oil on the crusts prior to baking.  This seemed to help. 

Here is the recipe.  Martha uses measurements, I prefer to use weight.  When measuring, you can not guarantee consistent measurements - one day the flour might be fluffier, you packed it a little heavier, etc.  100 grams of flour will always be 100 grams of flour.  Also it is easier doubling, tripling or halving (is there such a word??) when using grams - to double 100 grams - you get 200 grams - to half 100 grams of flour - you get 50 grams.  Now how would you half 1 2/3 cups of flour.  It can be done, but if you are not a mathematical genius, you could be in trouble. 

Here is Martha's recipe with both measurements and weights (weights are shown in parenthesis):

Classic White Bread


INGREDIENTS:

1 T plus 1 1/2 t active dry yeast (20 grams)

2 1/2 cups warm water -100ºF. (552 grams)

3 T plus 2 t (175 grams) honey

4 T (50 grams) unsalted butter, melted **** don't use salted butter - it makes the bread taste very salty!

7 cups (945 grams) Unbleached All Purpose flour

2 T (38 grams) salt

PROCEDURES:

1. (If using Active Dry Yeast) - Sprinkle yeast over 1/2 cup water. Add 2 teaspoons honey. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Let stand for 5 minutes - should get foamy. Transfer to mixer bowl. Add melted butter and remaining 1 3/4 cups water and 3 T honey. Whisk flour with salt. Add 3 cups to yeast mixture. Mix on low until smooth. Add remaining 4 cups flour - 1 cup at a time until dough comes away from sides of bowl and forms a ragged, slightly sticky ball.

(If using SAF Instant Yeast) - Pour all of the water and the yeast in the mixing bowl. Stir to mix. Add all of the honey and the melted butter. Add approximately 3 cups (305 grams) of flour and stir. Let rest 5 minutes. Add remainder of flour and salt. Mix for about 5 minutes until dough forms a fairly smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

2. Remove dough from mixer.

3. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic, but still slightly tacky - about 5 minutes.

4. Shape into a ball. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap.

5. Let dough stand in a warm place until it doubles (about 1 hour).

6. Grease 2 loaf pans. Punch down dough and divide into half.

7. Shape dough and place in pans. Brush each loaf with butter.

8. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

9. Put pans of dough in a plastic bag and tuck open ends of bag underneath.

10. Let stand until dough rises about 1 inch above tops of pans (45 minutes to 1 hour). - not in oven!!

11. Reduce oven temperature to 400.   Remove plastic bags from bread pans.

12. Bake, rotating pans after 20 minutes, until tops are golden brown - total bake time about 45 minutes. ** I bake for a total of 40 minutes - see my notes above.

13. Remove loaves from pans and transfer to wire racks.

The hard part is waiting for the bread to cool!!! It is so good warm with butter melted on it.  This makes an excellent sandwich bread and also great as french toast!

Verdict - Julia Child's Country Bread

Very easy recipe to work with.  The dough rises like it should and in the time period it was supposed to.  Several aspects I wasn't really pleased about.  I am used to bread turning a nice golden brown.  The loaf pretty much remained the same color as the original dough.  The crust is very hard.  This bread reminds me a lot of Eric's No-Knead Bread from Breadtopia, though Julia's bread had a better taste.  Whether I would make this bread again - not sure.  It was good, but not a show-stopper.

Julia Child's Country Bread

This recipe is taken from Julia Child's Baking with Julia cookbook.  You create a sponge which consists of flour, warm water and yeast.  The interesting aspect of this particular sponge is that it consists of 3 different flours:  Unbleached All Purpose, Whole Wheat and Rye.  Last night, I mixed the 3 flours, warm water and yeast and covered the bowl with Saran wrap and a dry dish towel.  I left it on my kitchen counter.  This morning the sponge was very much alive and well!  This will be added to the ingredients that make the final dough.  The final dough will have two "risings" before it is finally baked.   I am off to the kitchen.  Let's see what happens!

The Cupcake Experiment continues . . .

Yesterday, I tried Martha Stewart's Gingerbread cupcakes from her appropriately named Cupcakes cookbook.   I had an interesting thing happen with these cupcakes.  When I was removing the cupcakes from the muffin tin, the bottom of each cup was a small pool of what looked like butter.  The paper liners all felt greasy.  I've never had this happen before.  The cupcakes tasted good - my family loved them and they were almost gone by last night.  Per the recipe, I used room temperature butter, so I don't understand why the butter would melt - I guess one of life's little mysteries. 

Today I am going to make my Sour Rye bread.  I love that bread.  It is so good.  And I can guarantee it is better than Martha Stewart's rye - sorry Martha - you lose on this one!  And I do promise to try Julia Child's French Sandwich bread this week, so stay tuned for more adventures!

The Cupcake Experiment

Cupcakes seem to be the latest rage.  So I thought I would give it a try and picked up a couple cupcake books at our local library

My first cupcakes are from a recipe in Martha Stewart's Cupcake book, Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. The recipe is supposed to make 30 cupcakes, but I decided to be clumsy today and dropped the second pan. I guess this happens to the best of the cooks!


These are very moist cupcakes because you use whipped egg whites instead of the whole egg. The whipped eggs also make the cupcakes very light and fluffy. So be very gentle when you fold the egg whites into the batter because you don't want to lose that fluffiness. My husband and I tasted one without icing and they are very good! So this is definitely a keeper recipe.

The icing is to die for! It made with cocoa powder, confectioner's sugar, chocolate and real butter - don't think you will find this on the Weight Watcher's menu!

Verdict - Martha Stewart's Rye Bread

Don't waste your time!  I was not impressed by her rye.  My Sour Rye bread is far more superior than her's.  It took over 2 hours to get the dough to double for the first time.  After dividing the dough into 2 loaves and putting them into bread pans, it took another 2 hours to get a rise.  There was hardly any oven spring.  The taste was OK, but not great.  I think my chickens are going to eat good tonight.

If anyone is interested in a good rye bread, send an email to Diane@b-dgoats.com.  I will give you my address for you to send a self-addressed stamped envelope plus $5 for rye sourdough starter and mySour Rye bread recipe.

Martha Stewart's Rye Bread Recipe

Today I am trying Martha's Rye bread recipe.  I do think my Sour Rye will be the better bread.  The bread is now doing its first rise in the oven (I use the oven sometimes to do my proofing if the house is cold - just turn on the oven light and put the covered bowl with the dough in on the first rack).  I have my doubts about this bread.  The dough seems heavy - very hard to knead.  I am curious to see what kind of rise I get out it.

Yesterday, I tried her Classic White bread again.  This time I accidentally used Salted butter instead of Unsalted.  Everything went well, except I thought the bread tasted very salty.  The recipe does call for Unsalted butter.

I read an article in Cook's Country magazine about using Salted versus Unsalted butter.  According to the article you should stick with Unsalted (unless the recipe specifically asks for salted butter).  There is no standard for how much salt the manufacturers put in the butter.  So one brand might be more saltier than another.  It is just easier for you to add how much or how little salt you want.  I do feel the Salted butter did affect the taste of the bread.  Today, I used Unsalted butter.

Martha Stewart's Bread -Verdict

The dough was really easy to work with.  I got good rises and a nice oven spring.  I did cut back on the baking time by 5 minutes - with 10 minutes left, the top crusts looked dark, so I covered them with aluminium foil.  I did take their internal temps when I took them out 5 minutes early and both showed over 200 degrees.  So they were definitely done.  It does have a very crumb and it does taste like white bread.  The bread I am comparing it to is my Portugese Sweet Bread which is definitely the better bread (da da I am the winner!)  I will have my husband and son try it tonight and get an unbiased opinion. 

The next bread I would like to try is in Julia Child's book, From Julia Child's Kitchen.  Apparently, she met with a bread baker in French and translated several of his French recipes into English.  The recipe that I want to try is called French Sandwich bread.  You are supposed to bake it in a pullman bread loaf (a bread loaf pan with a top - makes square bread).  I can't afford those, so I am going to improvise - just use my regular loaf pans and put a cookie sheet on top.

Stay tuned for further adventures!

A Challenge

The other day I was in our local Wally World and happened to be walking past the magazine aisle.  I saw Martha Stewart's Living magazine and noticed on the front cover the caption "One Recipe, 4 Great Breads".  I had to buy that magazine to see what type of breads Martha makes.  The basic recipe is a "Classic White" bread and the 3 variations are Multigrain, Cinnamon Raisin and Rye. 

I accept your challenge Martha!  Let's see who makes the better bread!  Today I am going to try the Classic White bread and next week I plan on comparing her Rye bread to my Sour Rye.  Let the best baker win!

For those interested in the recipes, they are located in Martha's February issue - it has a big chocolate Valentine Heart on it.

Follow-up on Cinnamon Raisin Bread

The bread does dry out fairly quickly.  Also the cinnamon sugar on top made the crust very hard.   Though the bread did taste very good, I am not sure I would make it again unless you are planning on eating both loaves within a day or two of baking.  So the search continues for the perfect Cinnamon Raisin Bread!

Verdict - Cinnamon Raisin Bread

The dough raised beautifully. The picture to the left is the dough after the first rise. It was very easy to work with. The only problem is that it makes the kitchen smell wonderfully so when you take it out of the oven, you can't wait for a nice warm slice.   After taking it out of the oven, I rubbed the tops of the loaves with butter and sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

It tastes as good as it smells. This is a keeper recipe.  The recipe makes two loaves, this is one of the finished products.  Definitely a good project for a cold, snowy afternoon.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread by Peter Reinhart

It is snowing here in Cincinnati and it is supposed to snow all day. Good day for baking. I got out my Peter Reinhart's book "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". What a neat book! I am planning on trying a lot of the recipes in his book. Anyway, the Cinnamon Raisin bread caught my eye. You can make it with walnuts, but my husband doesn't like nuts in his bread.

The bread is now "fermenting" for 2 hours. I didn't do the swirl, just added the cinnamon, sugar and raisins in the initial mixing. Well, you add the raisins in the last two minutes of kneading - this way they don't get crushed or mashed.

I am anxious to give this a try. My family does like his Cinnamon Roll recipe better than the Sourdough recipe I got from Bob Packer.

Whole Wheat Bread

If you don't own a copy of the "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Fancois, you should order a copy from Amazon. Great book! I have made several of the recipes in the book and can't complain about any of them. Much to my surprise, my son (the McDonald's Addict), loves the herb bread!

Basically, you make up the dough the day before, let it rise and store it in the refrigerator in a huge container. The next day, take out a "grapefruit size" of dough and bake it (this is a very simplified version). You do need a few pieces of equipment like a pizza peel and baking stone (you can easily find these on eBay).

I made the Whole Wheat version today and am quite pleased with the results. Most of the whole wheat bread I have baked make really good doorstops or hockey pucks!