Category Archives: Bread

Two of My Favorite Foods Merged

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sourdough bread

Sourdough bread…..just fine all on its own.

 

mexican spiced veggies

But what happens when you decide to use the brine from some fabulous Mexican Spiced Pickled veggies instead of water in your bread recipe?

 

pepperjack cheese

And toss in a generous helping of pepperjack cheese?

Spicy Sourdough Bread

Don’t expect much rise….I suspect the pickle just has something to do with it. The dough just smells dangerous.

Spicy Sourdough Bread

The advantage of minimal rise, I discovered, is that I can score it really deep without deflating.

Spicy Sourdough Bread

You can tell by the spaces between the cut lines that it really rose in the oven (it’s called oven spring).

Spicy Sourdough Bread

By far, the most beautiful loaf I’ve ever baked. A hint of heat but not as spicy as I would have hoped. The first loaf was a bit dense and gummy so I let the second loaf sit for a day or two and it sliced up just fine.

As long as I live, I’ll probably never be able to replicate this recipe.  But for those of you that want to try, pickle juice will work in place of the veggie brine (reduce the salt in your bread recipe).  I use the Extra-Tangy Sourdough from King Arthur Flour.  For the Mexican Spiced Veggies, click on the link.

 

Mini Pizzas for Everyone!

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In full accordance with the “Meanest Mom Ever” title I hold proudly, I do not make a separate meal for the kid who suddenly doesn’t like what we’re having for dinner.  I do try though to make meals that are modular so the kid that doesn’t like red sauce can have pesto and the kid that likes pineapple doesn’t impose it on the one that claims not to like it (though I suspect he’s never actually tried it).  Mini pizzas are a great way to satisfy everyone, especially when hosting other kids for a sleepover.  Plus, kids are much more inclined to eat something they made (shhhhh don’t tell them!)

My basic pizza dough recipe is adapted from Cooking Light’s All-Purpose Pizza Dough recipe (which is fine on it’s own, but of course I have tweaked it!)

Ingredients

  • 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
  • 3 cups (360 grams) flour* (plus additional for dusting the rolling surface)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 TBSP honey
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • Cooking spray

* the recipe calls for all-purpose.  I use white-wheat or half AP and half whole wheat.

Preparation

  1. Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife (or weigh). Add 1 cup flour, salt and olive oil to yeast mixture, and stir well. Stir in 2 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes), and add enough flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent the dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).  (DISCLOSURE: Once the yeast has proofed, I dump everything into my stand mixer, turn in on, walk away, check facebook and when I come back it’s pizza dough.  You can also skip this step entirely and buy pre-made dough at Trader Joe’s for 99 cents.  I will not judge you).
  2. Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.
  3. Heat oven to 450 degrees (if you have a baking or pizza stone, put it into the oven to heat up).

Now for the fun part!

dividing the dough

One recipe above makes enough dough to make four adult-sized-servings. Sometimes I get obsessive and weigh them to make sure they’re equal (and will cook at the same rate). With kids, I make smaller portions.

topping bar

Lots of different topping allow for the pickiest of eaters to be happy.

 

topping their pizzas

Kids really like to roll out and shape their own dough.

par-baked

I like to top mine with parm cheese and brush with olive oil (a few lonely roasted red peppers I found in a jar in the fridge also made their way onto the crust).

 

topped with salad

Once the crust is baked, I top it with arugula tossed with olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle on pine nuts (and pomegranate seeds if I have them).

mini pizzas

Your possibilities are endless.

4.  I roll out and shape the pizzas on parchment paper (which CostCo now carries!).  Once topped, use a pizza peel if you have one to slide onto the heated baking stone (keep pizzas on paper).  If you don’t, bake on a cookie sheet on parchment paper or covered with foil and sprinkled with cornmeal.  Check the bottom of the crust to make sure it’s not burning.

5.  Bake at 450 for about 8 minutes.  Cooking time will vary based on your own oven, size of pizza and cookie sheet vs baking stone.

homemade lunchable

Extra dough? Bake up a few plain crusts and use to make your own version of Pizza Lunchables.

 

Fine, I’ll just do it myself…..

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Churros are a great disappointment in my life.  They are the culinary equivalent of a false promise, never living up to the hype of the smell.  Churro-scented air is amazing. The actual article, not so much.  According to people who know churros, the solution is 2,000 miles and a border crossing away.  Pass.  I’ll just do it myself.

Thanks to Pintrest-trolling friends (yes, I’m looking at you Clare), the solution to my churro craving is only 24 hours and 1 1/4 cups of sugar away.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread by DelishHH

Adapted from: Joy The Baker

Yields: one 9x5x3-inch loaf | Prep Time: 2 hours | Bake Time: 35 minutes

 

For the Dough:
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 oz unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together.  Keep stirring.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  That’s just right.

churro dough

Dough mixed, ready for a slow rise in the fridge overnight. The slow fermentation overnight creates more flavor in the dough.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Note: The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

morning dough

After a slow rise in the fridge, ready to be rolled out.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Set that aside too.

dough rolled out

Use a pastry or basting brush to coat the dough with melted butter.

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  It might seem like a lot of sugar.  But just go for it.

sugar mixture

It is an obscene amount of sugar. Do it anyway.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.

layering in the pan

It won’t look perfect but that’s fine. When it rises it will even out a bit.

Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

layered in pan

Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and a clean towel to keep the dough warm while it rises. If the pan is on a tile counter, place a towel under your loaf pan also.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board.

finished loaf

Cooling in the pan. Coffee brewing.

Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.  Serve warm with coffee or tea.

out of the pan

Out of the pan, beginning to pull it apart.

This bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

 

half gone

Like it’s going to last for two days…we ate 3/4 of the loaf in one sitting.

It’s not a churro, but I was not disappointed.  And my house smelled like churros for an entire day.  I can settle for that.

 

Savory Beer-Cheese Bread

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ethel's beer bread recipe card

My Great-Aunt Lora’s beer bread recipe written in my grandmother’s hand.

One of the first breads I learned to bake was my Aunt Lora’s beer bread.  It goes together quickly and is impossible to screw up. It had been my standby quick bread for years but there was always a slight off taste to it which I suspect was the self-rising flour. (I can hear my grandmother’s voice in my head wondering Why would anybody would want to see an old recipe card on their computer????  Damn, I wish she was still around, for a lot of reasons, but the top two related to cooking would be to bake bread with her and to show her all the pictures I’ve taken of food and watch her shake her head in disbelief.  Who would be interested in what you had for dinner????  You’d be surprised, Grandma.)

Over the years my last-minute quick bread has been the cornbread mix from Trader Joe’s.  Throw in a handful of cheese and possibly a can of green chilies, bake in a cast-iron skillet and it’s as good as cornbread from scratch.

skillet cornbread

Yes, it’s Grandma’s cast-iron skillet too.

The beer bread I made today is my current favorite, a basic Beer & Cheese bread from Cooking Light.  The sauteed onions and garlic add a savory touch and makes your kitchen smell heavenly. I substitute white-wheat flour in place of the all-purpose.  In place of the Monterey Jack cheese I used a shredded blend from Trader Joe’s- it’s what was in the fridge.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 13.5 ounces white-wheat or all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1 (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer (such as Budweiser)
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter, divided

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.

    weighing flour

    Get into the habit of weighing your flour. It is so much faster.

  3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
    cheese/onions/dry ingredients

    Make a well and place the cheese and onions into the well.

    add beer

    Slowly pour in the beer.

    all ingredients

    Stir until ingredients are combined but do not overmix.

  4. 4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes.

    ready for the oven

    Ready for the oven.

  5. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter.

    par-baked

    Halfway done, time for the rest of the butter.

  6.  Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

    finished bread

    The recipe specifies 16 slices, I get about 8 but I like it thick to dip into soup.

OTHER OPTIONS:  Apple-Cheddar Beer Bread: Substitute 1/2 cup minced shallots for onion. Place 1/2 cup shredded peeled Gala apple in paper towels; squeeze until barely moist. Cook shallots and apple in oil over medium heat for 7 minutes. Substitute 1 cup shredded extrasharp white cheddar cheese for Monterey Jack. Substitute 1 (12-ounce) bottle hard cider for lager. Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Focaccia for Beginners

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Focaccia is one of my favorite breads to bake, mainly because it is both very forgiving AND can be ready at dinner time when you realize at 3pm that you do want fresh bread with dinner after all.  An excellent starting point for beginning bakers, it can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be.  And like me, some days I’m easy and some days I’m more complicated.

I use a lot of the Cooking Light recipes for bread.  They’re written for the home cook with some skill but not a degree from the CIA.  I have their baking book but I’m intimidated by most of the recipes in it.  Here are two of my most-used focaccia recipes.

Herbed Focaccia from Cooking Light

Ingredients

  • All-purpose Pizza Dough (I add about a TBSP of honey and 2TBSP olive oil to dough, click link for recipe).
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

  1. Roll prepared dough into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme over the dough. Fold the dough into thirds. Knead lightly 1 minute or until the herbs are blended into the dough. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Roll dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle. Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place 35 minutes or until doubled in size.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°.
  3. Uncover the dough. Make indentations in top of dough using the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingertips. Gently brush the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake dough at 450° for 15 minutes or until browned.

When you’re ready to attempt one that’s a bit more time consuming, here’s another one I like (tweaked of course). It calls for creating a sponge first which is a lot less complicated than it sounds.  I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light’s Rosemary Focaccia, which is also very good, especially in the winter when good tomatoes are hard to find. Thinly sliced potatoes are another winter topping option.

Tomato Basil Focaccia

Ingredients

  • Sponge:
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°)
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Dough:
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (60 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • Cooking spray
  • Topping:
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup basil, cut in a chiffonade
  • 1 cup very thinly sliced tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

  1. To prepare sponge, dissolve honey and yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife or weigh flour. Add 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons oil to yeast mixture, stirring until well combined. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour.
    focaccia sponge

    The sponge covered with plastic wrap to keep the humidity in. I place a towel under and one over the bowl too.

    sponge + 1 hour

    After an hour.

  2. To prepare dough, lightly spoon 1 cup all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife or weigh. Stir 1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and chopped basil into yeast mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed 6 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic (dough will be sticky). Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size (dough will be wet).
    dough in mixer

    Dough is sticky, scrape into a bowl or dough doubler to rise or cover mixer bowl and leave to rise.

    dough doubler

    I use a tightly sealed container to rise dough.

    finished rising

    Dough was ready in about an hour, deflate then scrape out onto pan.

  3. Preheat oven to 400°.  Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is really hot.
  4. Scrape dough into a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.

    scraped dough

    Resist the urge to touch it with your fingers. It’s still really sticky.

  5. Gently press dough into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.

    push into pan

    Use a rubber spatula to scrape dough and push into shape.

  6. Brush dough with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

    brush dough with oil

    Brush dough with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise again for about 30 minutes.

  7. Cover; let rest 30 minutes.
  8. Slice tomatoes thinly.  Chiffonadebasil.
    mandolin

    I used a mandolin to slice the tomatoes.

    basil and tomatoes

    About a cup of each.

  9. Par-bake bread for 15 minutes if you are using a wet topping.
    par-baked bread

    Bake the bread for 15 minutes, then pull out of oven to add the toppings.

    focaccia toppings

    Quickly add toppings then finish in the oven.

  10. Bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes.  Slice with a pizza cutter.
tomato basil focaccia

The finished product- YUM!

 

 

 

 

 

Basil Beer Bread

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I am a big fan of spoon breads (breads you mix up with a spoon as opposed to a yeast bread that needs to be kneaded and rise and be kneaded again and rise again….)  A spoon bread can be ready for the oven before the oven is ready for the bread.  I was intrigued by a spoon bread that also required yeast but no rise time.  After a rainy afternoon spent on the soccer field I wanted a bread that could be ready quickly but also complemented the baked ziti I was making for dinner.  Beer breads usually go best with chili or stew but I was willing to give this one a try.  As a added bonus, it was easy enough to put together that Princess Leia could actually do most of the work.

Basil Beer Bread from Real Simple

Makes 1 loaf | Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 1hr 05m

Ingredients

scale

Get into the habit of weighing your flour. It’s faster, less messy and more accurate.

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400° F. Oil a baking sheet. In the bowl of a standing mixer on low, or in a large bowl using a spoon, combine the flour, yeast, salt, pepper, and Parmesan.

    grating cheese

    Lots of jobs for little hands.

 

 

2.  Add the beer and mix just until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with the basil and knead gently just until incorporated. Shape the dough into a round loaf and transfer to the prepared sheet.

 

3.  Bake until the loaf is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Turn the loaf onto a wire rack. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Basil Beer Bread

The finished loaf.

The bread looked finished at 40 minutes, but upon cutting it open I realized it needed that additional 5 minutes.  Err on the side of overcooking it a bit.  It’s so moist it can handle it.  I think I would use a slightly lighter beer next time (I used a Newcastle).  Fans of ales or darker beers would probably be just fine with the result.  That being said, there’s hardly any left post-dinner tonight. Toasted in the morning with breakfast?  Absolutely.

Baked Ziti

PS This is the baked ziti we had for dinner.