Category Archives: Bread

Classic Biscuits (January Daring Bakers’ Challenge)

January 27, 2012 – 2:34 pm

So it’s time to reveal this month’s Daring Baker’s Challenge! If you remember, back in November I shared this very challenging cake with you and explained a little bit about the Daring Bakers.

This month’s challenge was much more manageable and so easy and fun to make. Who doesn’t love a good biscuit? Or scone as they are referred to in other parts of the world. Sure, they only have a few ingredients and are relatively simple to make, but ask anyone who has failed at attempting to make biscuits and they will tell you that just a few too many kneads or not using the ingredients at the right temperature and you may end up with hard, unappetizing biscuits that resemble hockey pucks more than you would actually like to admit.

But with a few helpful tips and fresh ingredients, you can make light, tall and flakey biscuits in literally just a few minutes. Before you know it, you will be smearing a warm and tender biscuit with honey, butter or whatever your little heart desires.

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Tips for making successful biscuits:

Butter and milk must be cold because the chunks of butter are what result in a flakey biscuit (and we want flakey biscuits)
Dough must not be overworked or your scones will be hard hockey pucks
Make sure your ingredients are fresh and more specifically your baking powder. How to tell if baking powder is fresh? Add a 1/2 tsp of baking powder to warm water and it should bubble. What about baking soda? Add the same amount to some vinegar and again look for bubbles. No bubbles=time for new leavening agents!

Biscuits (aka Scones)

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake bread side snack

Ingredients (6-8 biscuits)

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup milk (I used skim)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients and place in medium bowl.

Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to dry ingredients using pastry blender or food processor until coarse meal forms.

Stir in milk until just combined. Dough will be wet and sticky.

Pour dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead to gather into a ball. Only knead 4-5 times or the biscuits will not be tender.

Pat dough into 3/4 inch tall rectangle and cut with cutter of your choice that has been rubbed with flour. Continue reforming and flattening dough to combine and cut remaining scraps, but again, handle as little as possible.

Place biscuits onto baking sheet and bake 8 minutes.

Enjoy warm.

Recipe Source: Audax Artifex

combine dry ingredients and sift together

cut in cold butter until looks like tiny peas (coarse meal)

mix in milk

pour dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead minimally

flatten out dough to about 3/4 thick and cut biscuits

bake

What would you like to slather onto one of these tender, flakey biscuits?

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Monkey Bubble Bread and why brunch is the best

January 10, 2012 – 8:00 am

Is there anything more fabulous than brunch? It is two meals in one which is a perfect excuse to eat more and really indulge. In my opinion, a good brunch has both savory and sweet offerings, which can also be a reason for over-indulging. For example, I can only eat 3-4 bites of something sweet like pancakes or a yogurt parfait

and then my palate wants a bite of something salty to cut the richness. So then I will have a bite or two of eggs

or a salty starch, and what do you know? I am ready for something sweet again! It is a deliciously vicious cycle!

I also love brunch for another reason. When else (after your college years have passed ) is it acceptable to have a cocktail before noon? I love a refreshing bellini or mimosa to wash down my sweet and savory bites.

I was invited to a brunch this past Sunday and I was asked to bring “some type of bread” which in my mind meant a sweet bread. I wasn’t feeling scones and muffins just seemed a little blah so I turned to my good friends Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito and their book Baked Explorations. Ok, Matt and Renato are only my friends in my imagination, but I can still always count on them to offer something perfectly scrumptious for any occasion.

(image source)

Since I purchased this book, I have been waiting for a reason to make the Monkey Bubble Bread. I have had Monkey Bread many times before, but in this recipe, the dough is made from scratch and each dough ball is dipped in melted butter followed by a roll in a cinnamon sugar mixture which then makes a caramel while the bread is baking. Are you drooling yet? This Monkey Bubble Bread not only tastes amazing but it looks very impressive and is a fun dish to share because everyone can just pull apart as many pieces as he or she wants. And trust me, you will want many pieces.

Monkey Bubble Bread

by Baked Explorations

Keywords: bake breakfast bread caramel cinnamon

Ingredients (10-inch bundt pan)

For the bread

1 1/4 cups milk
2 tsp instant yeast
4 cups flour
5 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the cinnamon sugar coating

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

For the bread

Liberally spray a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Place milk in microwave-safe liquid measuring cup and microwave for 45 seconds or until lukewarm, but not hot. Add yeast and whisk to combine. (Do not heat milk above 110 degrees or you will kill the yeast.)

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer and paddle attachment combine the flour, sugar and salt.

Add egg and mix to combine.

Add the milk and yeast mixture followed by the 5 Tbsp melted butter and mix until combined.

Switch mixer attachment from paddle to dough hook and mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes or until dough mounds together but is not sticky. Dough should form easily into a ball and pull away from bowl.

Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place dough into the bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough with your hands. Use a clean kitchen scissor to cut the dough into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces. Roll the pieces into rough balls and place balls on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.

For the cinnamon sugar coating and to assemble the bread

Combine ingredients for cinnamon sugar coating in a small bowl. Melt 1 stick of unsalted butter in a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup.

Dip each piece of dough into the butter, allow excess to drip back into the bowl, then drop dough balls into bowl of cinnamon sugar and roll to coat. Place coated pieces of dough into bundt pan.

Wrap bundt pan in plastic wrap and again, set the pan in a warm place and allow the dough balls to raise and double in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove plastic wrap from pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes in pan and then invert onto serving dish. Serve warm.

NOTE: Dough can be made a day ahead and stored in refrigerator until ready to bake. To do this, after dipping dough balls into butter and cinnamon sugar, cover pan with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Remove pan and let it come to room temperature before baking.

combine warm milk and yeast

in another bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt

add egg, milk and melted butter and mix with paddle attachment

switch from paddle to dough hook and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes

dough should easily form into a ball and pull away from the bowl

cover dough and let rest until doubled in size

punch dough down and then cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces

dip dough balls into butter, then cinnamon sugar and place into bundt pan

let dough rest until doubled in size again, then bake and cool for 5 minutes

invert onto serving dish and serve warm

What is your favorite brunch dish?

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Strawberry-filled Pastry Braid

January 5, 2012 – 12:19 pm

My holiday break left me feeling very refreshed and optimistic about the year to come. There is something about spending time with family and friends that just seems to re-center me and remind me of what is truly important in life. It is our relationships and how we treat each other that makes our lives meaningful and that will leave a lasting impression after we are gone.

With my job, I get to develop at least 10 new relationships every 4 months or so and I just love it because I always get to interact with different personalities. Have you ever met someone and you are just instantly drawn to that person because he or she seems to exude a positive energy and attitude? That is the type of person I strive to be. Some people would consider this to be a negative desire. They would say that “you cannot please everyone and this is an unrealistic goal”. But getting everyone to like me is not what I mean. I know and accept that not every single person that I interact with will like me. But regardless of how they feel about me, I can sleep well at night knowing that I treated people nicely that day. I think if we all made a small effort to be conscious of the way that we communicate with others and do some simple good deeds, it could greatly improve the condition of our society.

Hold the door for someone behind you. Ask someone if they need help carrying their groceries. Tell someone that you appreciate their service. You do not have to be rich or Mother Teresa to make a difference.

Ok, I will get off of my soapbox now and move on to the sweet of the day.

I love recipes that are fairly simple but result in something that looks fancy and impressive and tastes delicious. When I saw recipes for these pastry braids over at Willow Bird Baking I hoped that the recipe was as easy as it seemed and that the resulting pastry was as yummy as it looked. I was not disappointed. The filling in my braid was a simple mixture of strawberry preserves and frozen blueberries, but you could really be creative and use anything you can think of to fill it (i.e. apple butter, nutella, fresh or frozen fruit, etc.).

The pastry itself is flakey and pie-crust-like and it is scrumptious when drizzled with a simply glaze and eaten warm out of the oven.

Strawberry-filled Pastry Braid

by adapted from Willow Bird Baking

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert bread fruit pastry

Ingredients

For the pastry and filling

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup strawberry preserves (or filling of your choice)

For the glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 Tbsp of milk
1/2 tsp almond extract

Instructions

For the pastry and filling

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Add butter and cream cheese and pulse to combine.

Add milk and extract and pulse again until the dough just comes together.

Place dough onto floured work surface and knead gently for 15 seconds.

Roll out dough between to pieces of wax paper and form into long rectangle.

Remove top sheet of wax paper and flip rolled-out dough onto prepared baking sheet.

Mentally divide the dough into 3 equal sections lengthwise. The filling will be placed in the middle section, but before placing the filling, cut the outer thirds of dough diagonally in 1 1/2 inch strips.

Place filling in middle third leaving 1/2 inch between the filling and the strips.

Fold the strips over alternating sides to give the dough the braided appearance.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until pastry is lightly browned.

For the glaze

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and almond to make the glaze.

Pour over warm pastry and serve.

NOTE: The pastry may be formed a day ahead without baking and then kept in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap until ready to bake.

combine flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor

add butter and cream cheese and pulse to combine

add other ingredients and pulse into a loose dough, then turn out onto floured work surface and knead for 15 seconds

roll out dough between two sheets of was paper until long rectangle is formed and place formed dough onto baking sheet

cut outer thirds of dough into 1 1/2-inch strips at a diagonal

place filling in the center leaving 1/2 inch between filling and cut strips

fold strips over on top of the filling alternating sides to give the braided appearance

bake about 15 minutes or until lightly browned

make glaze and pour over warm pastry

slice and enjoy while still warm (or re-warm)

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Tags blueberries, cream cheese, Fruit, Strawberry | Comments (15)

7th Day of Christmas: Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

December 20, 2011 – 8:51 am

On the 7th Day of Christmas, my sweet tooth gave to me Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

I think that this would be the most difficult time of the year to have a restricted diet. There are so many temptations around and if you have a food allergy or intolerance, you know that you will pay the price if you give in. So I wanted to make a treat for the people in our lives who have a gluten intolerance. There are so many gluten-free prepackaged foods, but nothing says you care like a homemade treat.

I made 14 of these mini loaves (9 regular and 5 gluten-free) and gave them to co-workers as a way of saying “Merry Christmas”. I don’t have a lot of experience with tasting different gluten-free items but one of the gentlemen I work has gluten intolerance and when I brought in chocolate chip cookies that I had made out of the Babycakes cookbook, he said they were the best he had ever tasted. So I was anxious to try another recipe and I hope he likes this bread just as well.

This recipe could also be made vegan if you simply substitute vegan chocolate chips.

To me, giving a gift from my kitchen is a way of showing love and appreciation to those people that bring joy to my life.

Are you making any special treats to accommodate anyone with different dietary needs this holiday season?

Also, my Triple Chocolate Mint Fudgies are in a cookie contest over at The Family Kitchen and I would greatly appreciate your vote! All you need to do is leave a comment at the end of the post saying that you vote for “Triple Chocolate Mint Fudgies”! Thank you!

VOTE FOR TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MINT FUDGIES HERE!

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

by adapted from Babycakes

Keywords: bake bread breakfast snack gluten-free vegan chocolate fruit

Fragrant and moist gluten-free banana bread with a special chocolate surprise!

Ingredients (5 mini loaves or 1-2 regular loaves)

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup rice milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease loaf pans.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cinnamon.

In a large bowl and with an electric mixer, combine the oil, agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Add mashed bananas and chocolate chips (if using) and mix to incorporate.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans to fill halfway and bake for 35 minutes for regular sized pans and 23 minutes for miniature pans.

Loaves are done baking when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool loaves in pans and then slide a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the bread.

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Honey Corn Muffins

October 25, 2011 – 8:00 am

Now that fall has flung (:)) I have been craving chili. So last weekend, I took my time, made a day out of doing things around the house and put some chili on the stove. I let it simmer and after smelling it all day, I couldn’t wait to dollop on some sour cream and add a sprinkle of cheese and dive in. Does anybody know why chili and cornbread are a natural combination? Me neither, but regardless, I was happy to try out another recipe from the Baked Explorations book.

I have a friend who puts Cheetos in his chili and another who eats cinnamon rolls with chili!

What is your favorite chili accompaniment?

Honey Corn Muffins

by Mercedes Porter

Keywords: bake breakfast side snack muffin

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
butter or honey for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Add buttermilk, honey, and melted butter and whisk to combine.

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugars and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold to combine until incorporated.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Serve with butter or honey.

whisk eggs

add buttermilk, honey and melted butter and combine