Another successful recipe from my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook.
And aprons! Aren't we cute!
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Bagels!
Another successful recipe from my Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook.
And aprons! Aren't we cute!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Well, we tried...
These past few months I've had a great time trying out new baking recipes. From new sweet bread and cookies to pies and brownies, we've had something new in our kitchen almost every week. As delicious as these recipes have been, they haven't been helping our wasitlines, and it's something we need to be more conscious of. So yesterday I got down a book from my cabinet that I've had for a while but never really went through or tried out. Secrets of Fat-Free Baking.
I have a weakness for chocolate and was looking through the book to find something quick and easy that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand. A recipe for Honey Oatmeal Brownies seemed to fit that bill so I set about mixing them up. The original recipe calls for honey and unbleached flour but as I didn't have either of these I used orange marmalade (there's a whole chapter about substituting sweeteners) and whole wheat flour. I had the brownies in the pan in less than 5 minutes and the whole process cleaned up before Steve came down from getting the twins to bed.
On the whole we weren't impressed though. I have a feeling that chocolate and orange, though a popular combination of flavors, is something of an aquired taste. The texture of the oatmeal didn't really help matters much. I could tell Steve really wanted to like them, he came back after his first bite for another taste, but shook his head and gave up on them. I wasn't quite so bothered. The orange flavor was quite strong, I have a feeling it would have tasted better with the honey or perhaps a raspberry preserve.
On the plus side though the kids gobbled them up, and I didn't feel bad about them eating brownies. Also, they only have 75 calories and 0.5 grams of fat per serving. That's impressive. Although, if you're turned off by the flavor and texture so you head back to your stash of halloween candy, it kind of defeats the purpose. I'm hopeful that other recipes will turn out better.
I have a weakness for chocolate and was looking through the book to find something quick and easy that I could make with ingredients I already had on hand. A recipe for Honey Oatmeal Brownies seemed to fit that bill so I set about mixing them up. The original recipe calls for honey and unbleached flour but as I didn't have either of these I used orange marmalade (there's a whole chapter about substituting sweeteners) and whole wheat flour. I had the brownies in the pan in less than 5 minutes and the whole process cleaned up before Steve came down from getting the twins to bed.
On the whole we weren't impressed though. I have a feeling that chocolate and orange, though a popular combination of flavors, is something of an aquired taste. The texture of the oatmeal didn't really help matters much. I could tell Steve really wanted to like them, he came back after his first bite for another taste, but shook his head and gave up on them. I wasn't quite so bothered. The orange flavor was quite strong, I have a feeling it would have tasted better with the honey or perhaps a raspberry preserve.
On the plus side though the kids gobbled them up, and I didn't feel bad about them eating brownies. Also, they only have 75 calories and 0.5 grams of fat per serving. That's impressive. Although, if you're turned off by the flavor and texture so you head back to your stash of halloween candy, it kind of defeats the purpose. I'm hopeful that other recipes will turn out better.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Treats
To celebrate this Easter and to thank our employees that had to work today I made some cupcakes. This great idea came from a book I was given for Christmas called Hello, Cupcake. Those are regular and mini sized Oreo cookies used for the sunflower centers, icing petals, m&m ladybugs and leaves made from green fruit roll-ups. 
They were a lot of fun to make, though a little time consuming. One cupcake on it's own came together relatively quickly, but putting together 2 dozen was a bit of a task.
Steve offered to take the kids to the store to let me finish undisturbed and went about getting Gabe into the car. He stepped back into the house and yelled to me to come see Addie. I turned the corner of the kitchen to see this
Someone got her grubby little hands on the counter top and snuck off with some coloring gel (to tint icing.) I was able to get most of the dye off of her face but her hands were still cherry red. She did clean up well in the bath this morning though, just in time for Easter.
Friday, March 27, 2009
More on baking bread
At the request of a friend, I recorded the process of forming the dough into a ball and then into a loaf.
At this point in the process, my dough had already risen and been separated into 2 portions. The way that I'm forming the dough ball here is the same technique you will use to form the dough for the first rise, and also if you desire to make dinner rolls or hamburger buns. (Though you will want to pinch the bottom of the dough ball together tightly and roll it around to smooth out wrinkles on the bottom.)
At this point in the process, my dough had already risen and been separated into 2 portions. The way that I'm forming the dough ball here is the same technique you will use to form the dough for the first rise, and also if you desire to make dinner rolls or hamburger buns. (Though you will want to pinch the bottom of the dough ball together tightly and roll it around to smooth out wrinkles on the bottom.)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Baking Bread
I am by no means an expert baker, but have been working at this recipe for several months now and have had consistently tasty results. Here is a tutorial for making plain white sandwich bread. This recipe makes enough dough for 2 loaves, but you could also make dinner rolls or hamburger buns. This time, I made one loaf and 10 dinner rolls.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine 1 Tbsp active dry yeast and 2 Tbsp sugar. To this, add 1 3/4 cup rice milk (you can use regular, I'm just a non dairy gal) that has been heated to between 100 and 110 degrees. (Too cool and the yeast wont activate. Too hot and you'll kill it.)
Whisk until yeast is dissolved, then add just over 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil, whisk again. Let this sit for 5 minutes so the yeast has time to activate. It should look bubbly and frothy.
While the yeast is activating, weigh out 1 lb 8 oz of bread flour and measure 2 1/4 tsp of sea salt. After the yeast has activated, add around 1 cup of flour and the salt and turn mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) to the lowest speed to incorporate. Then slowly add remaining flour, or as much as it takes to clean the side of the bowl. (I usually will have to add more, depending on humidity, up to 1/3 cup.) Pay attention to how much dough is sticking to the sides and underneath the paddle.
Remove the paddle and switch to the dough hook. Start mixer back on lowest speed and add another sprinkling of flour if needed. (It might not seem like much, but you can see the difference between how clean the bowl is with the paddle and how clean it is with the dough hook. You want a nice shiny bowl with nothing sticking to the sides.) Turn mixer up to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. The easiest way to do this is to pull the sides together toward the back. Rotate, and repeat, so you're stretching the dough around to one point (the bottom of the ball.) The skin should be smooth and elastic with no tears. Pinch the dough together on the bottom to seal and gently shape. Transfer to a large, generously oiled bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap then a tea towel. Place in the oven (which is off) along with a shallow dish of steaming hot water. Allow to rise for one hour.
After the dough has doubled in size, punch down and remove from bowl. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Gently work in your hands to remove excess air bubbles and form into a rough ball shape. Weigh the dough, then cut into 2 equal portions. Take one portion and repeat process of forming a ball to get the nice, tight smooth skin on top. Put this side of the ball down on your work surface. Using your fingers, gently press into a rectangle, about the length and width of a 9x5 bread pan. Working lengthwise, tightly roll the dough and pinch the seam to close. Turn ends under and pinch to close. Place in bread pan sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with a damp tea towel and place in your microwave with a cup of steaming water. Let rise 45 minutes.
Take second portion and divide into 2 oz portions (I ended up with 10.) Gently form each portion into the same ball as before, being sure to tightly pinch the bottom to close. Place ball on unfloured surface, cup your hands over top and roll until skin is tight. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, enclose in a plastic bag and let rise for 15 minutes.
Bake rolls at 375 degrees for around 15 minutes or until golden brown. Be sure you still have steaming water in your oven, they will continue to rise while baking.
After removing your rolls increase oven temp to 400 degrees. Put bread in oven (check that steaming water again!) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until browned. (Mine is usually done in just over 20.) Remove bread from pan asap and let cool on cooling rack. (To check doneness, tap on the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow.) Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before cutting.
And that's it! Hot, fresh and delicious. (I know there are are several steps, but each step in itself is very easy. I usually am able to make this while the kids are up and running around without a problem.) Let the bread cool completely then wrap in saran wrap, or better yet, stick in an old grocery store bread bag.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine 1 Tbsp active dry yeast and 2 Tbsp sugar. To this, add 1 3/4 cup rice milk (you can use regular, I'm just a non dairy gal) that has been heated to between 100 and 110 degrees. (Too cool and the yeast wont activate. Too hot and you'll kill it.)
Whisk until yeast is dissolved, then add just over 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil, whisk again. Let this sit for 5 minutes so the yeast has time to activate. It should look bubbly and frothy.
While the yeast is activating, weigh out 1 lb 8 oz of bread flour and measure 2 1/4 tsp of sea salt. After the yeast has activated, add around 1 cup of flour and the salt and turn mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment) to the lowest speed to incorporate. Then slowly add remaining flour, or as much as it takes to clean the side of the bowl. (I usually will have to add more, depending on humidity, up to 1/3 cup.) Pay attention to how much dough is sticking to the sides and underneath the paddle.
Remove the paddle and switch to the dough hook. Start mixer back on lowest speed and add another sprinkling of flour if needed. (It might not seem like much, but you can see the difference between how clean the bowl is with the paddle and how clean it is with the dough hook. You want a nice shiny bowl with nothing sticking to the sides.) Turn mixer up to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. The easiest way to do this is to pull the sides together toward the back. Rotate, and repeat, so you're stretching the dough around to one point (the bottom of the ball.) The skin should be smooth and elastic with no tears. Pinch the dough together on the bottom to seal and gently shape. Transfer to a large, generously oiled bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap then a tea towel. Place in the oven (which is off) along with a shallow dish of steaming hot water. Allow to rise for one hour.
After the dough has doubled in size, punch down and remove from bowl. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Gently work in your hands to remove excess air bubbles and form into a rough ball shape. Weigh the dough, then cut into 2 equal portions. Take one portion and repeat process of forming a ball to get the nice, tight smooth skin on top. Put this side of the ball down on your work surface. Using your fingers, gently press into a rectangle, about the length and width of a 9x5 bread pan. Working lengthwise, tightly roll the dough and pinch the seam to close. Turn ends under and pinch to close. Place in bread pan sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with a damp tea towel and place in your microwave with a cup of steaming water. Let rise 45 minutes.
Take second portion and divide into 2 oz portions (I ended up with 10.) Gently form each portion into the same ball as before, being sure to tightly pinch the bottom to close. Place ball on unfloured surface, cup your hands over top and roll until skin is tight. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, enclose in a plastic bag and let rise for 15 minutes.
Bake rolls at 375 degrees for around 15 minutes or until golden brown. Be sure you still have steaming water in your oven, they will continue to rise while baking.
After removing your rolls increase oven temp to 400 degrees. Put bread in oven (check that steaming water again!) and bake for 20-30 minutes or until browned. (Mine is usually done in just over 20.) Remove bread from pan asap and let cool on cooling rack. (To check doneness, tap on the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow.) Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before cutting.
And that's it! Hot, fresh and delicious. (I know there are are several steps, but each step in itself is very easy. I usually am able to make this while the kids are up and running around without a problem.) Let the bread cool completely then wrap in saran wrap, or better yet, stick in an old grocery store bread bag.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Steve had the evening off and we all met at mom and dad's for dinner. Dad cooked up a great meal of chicken, onions, mushrooms and potatoes seasoned and fired on the grill with a side of brown sugar glazed carrots to sweeten the deal. Everyone had a great time laughing and visiting; it was wonderful to be able to have all of us there to celebrate.
I had a lot of fun making this cake to celebrate mom's birthday today. This is a butter cake with lemon curd and raspberry layers and frosted in buttercream. The recipe for the cake is from The Bakers Dozen, a wonderful book full of detailed recipes and insights into the subtleties of baking.
I had a lot of fun making this cake to celebrate mom's birthday today. This is a butter cake with lemon curd and raspberry layers and frosted in buttercream. The recipe for the cake is from The Bakers Dozen, a wonderful book full of detailed recipes and insights into the subtleties of baking.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
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