Tartine Bread

Gosh, it's been such a long time since I last posted. I didn't even post during Thanksgiving!! Which reminds me, how was everyone's Thanksgiving?? Even though I haven't been blogging lately, I've still been baking :) For Thanksgiving dinner, I made a pumpkin crunch cake and chocolate cream pie. I don't have a recipe for you guys today, but I realized I never posted about the bread I made waaayyyy long ago. Oops. Hehe.

This was my first attempt at the Tartine bread recipe, and if I may say, it turned out pretty good. Rustic, chewy, crackly exterior. The recipe calls for a starter, and then a small portion of that starter is used in the actual dough for the bread. Oh, and the recipe make two loaves. Hehe, one turned out well not so well (scroll down for a picture...). Turns out that even if a company says their pot can go in to an oven up to 450˚F, don't trust them! I initially put one of the loaves in said pot and the handles (which were rubber, I think?) started to burn! So I ended up just place the bread on a pizza stone, which worked pretty well.

Tartine Bread

What happens when you put bread in a hot pot, bake it for a little bit, then decide it was supposed to be the other side and end up flipping the cooked side on top! Oops!

Daring Bakers: Croissants!

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non- blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

After eating croissants in Paris, I was a little apprehensive about making my own. But, they actually turned out great! Flaky, buttery (def. buttery, very very buttery!), and sooo yummy! I used the croissant recipe from Tartine. 

With the cream/egg yolk wash

er...my attempt at a chocolate croissant...and a leftover dough patty

Look at all the layers! So flaky and buttery :)

just the crumbs!

Healthy Cinnamon Rolls

This morning I had this huuugggee craving for cinnamon rolls (wait, can you say you have a huge craving?), but I wanted to make a slightly healthy version, oh and I didn't want to wait for the dough to rise..that would've taken forever. So what did I do? I looked up healthy cinnamon rolls on google! And what came up? A healthy cinnamon roll recipe, of course.

 Do you see those white little sprinkles on top? It's pearl sugar! On my trip to London we stopped at a Swedish store and of course, I had to try some of their desserts. (Weird, yea? Swedish food in London.) Anyways, I bought pearl sugar there...

 with some icing...

Lighter Everyday Cinnamon Rolls from here

Banana Snacking Cake...banana cake w/o all the oil and butter

I love banana bread, but sometimes all that oil and butter makes me feel a little sick after (maybe it has to do with eating half the loaf... hehehe). Anyways, I wanted to create a simple banana cake without all the added fat. So, thanks to the internet I found a super healthy, yet amazingly tasty banana cake. And, since it has no butter or oil, I called it a "Banana Snacking Cake". Adding the snacking part makes it seem like I can eat it more often without feeling sick!

Banana Snacking Cake
Adapted from Shabbott's Habits
Ingredients:
1 Banana
1/2 cup pear sauce (or apple sauce)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tbs white sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg


Directions:
1.  Mash ripe banana and applesauce together until the mixture is uniform.
2.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla extract to fruit mixture.
3.  Add flour, sugar, baking powder and spices to wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined.
4.  Pour batter in a 8 x 8 pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
5.  Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until center is just cooked through.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

*I halved the recipe and baked it in a smaller pan. This is the full recipe

(Hot + Bread) x (Hot + Running) = ???

Do you know what (Hot + Bread) x (Hot + Running) = ?

A.) Hot ^2 + Hot Running + Hot Bread + Bread Running

B.) Soggy Bread

C.) A sweaty girl running home from the grocery store with a loaf of hot bread

D.) All of the above

E.) What the heck is she talkin about?!?!

The correct answer is....
.....
.....

.....
.....
D.)! If you answered E.), what is the world are you talking about!

If you thought of hot, bread, and running in algebraic terms, well then you'd get the first answer (Sorry if I just reminded you of your 8th grade Algebra class). Since the bread was sealed in a plastic bag - the one they give you at the store- the heat didn't have anywhere to go and yup, I ended up with some soggy sourdough bread, but it still tasted pretty good! And, the answer could also be C.). Can you picture it? You're driving in your car and you see this sweaty looking girl running on the sidewalk with a plastic bag dangling from one hand and a yogurt cup in the other (the yogurt was for homemade yogurt, if you were wondering). Strange, but oh so true. I bet you're wondering what this has to do anything. But....I just made some bread that tastes pretty darn good!

A couple weeks ago I started a sourdough starter and I'm finally getting a darn good loaf. Actually, it didn't taste that sour. Well, it was a whole wheat rye bread, so maybe that's why.... I used KA's Whole Wheat Rye Bread for the recipe as well as their recipe for a sourdough starter.

Oh, and it tastes delicious with fig jam! yum :)

Mutant English Muffins?

When I saw Sarabeth Bakery's recipe for English muffins I knew I just had to make them. I love english muffins and they didn't call for first cooking them on the stove top then baking them. I have english muffin rings (I've been meaning to make the real thing) but they weren't tall enough to use in this recipe. Rather than buying some more kitchen tools I'll only use a couple times...I baked my muffins in a popover pan.

The final product didn't remind me of an english muffin at all, but they still tasted great with some fig jam!

English Muffin

From Sarabeth Bakery
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
2 ½ tbs butter
2 tbs gran sugar
1 tsp salt
3 ½ tsp yeast
1 egg
4 cups flour
butter for rings
½ cup instant polenta
 
1. 4 hours before making muffins, bring milk, water (3/4 cup), butter, sugar, and salt to a simmer. Transfer to a stand mixer and cool to room temp
2. Sprinkle yeast over reaming water. Whisk to dissolve. Add to stand mixer. Add egg. Beat with paddle attachment. Gradually beat in flour. Once a stiff batter forms, increase to high speed and beat for 30 seconds. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
3. Butter the inside of 12 entrement rings (3 inch diameter 1 ½ inches tall). Coat insides with polenta. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and arrange rings on it. Sprinkle approx ¼ tsp polenta in each ring
4. Stir down batter, and fill rings using a 2 ½ inch scoop. Sprinkle with remaining polenta
5. Proof for 1 ½ hours
6. Preheat oven to 350˚F bake for 25 minutes, let stand for 5 minutes, then remove rings.

Bread in five minutes a day...say what?!

Do you remember back at the beginning of the year when I said my new years resolution was to bake bread? No? Well, I didn't either, at least it was until I found this recipe. Not only is it the easiest bread recipe ever, the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Which means hearty homemade bread every night. Or at least until we become sick of bread!

Doesn't that loaf look amazing? The recipe comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and is the easiest, and tastiest, dough I've tried. Above, and below, is their master recipe. This recipe can be halved, doubled, tripled, etc. for as many loaves as you need. What's also great about their recipe is that the ingredients together at the same time (say the weekend) and left to rise for a couple hours, then stored in the refrigerator for later use (say the rest of the week!). Sound simple? It is! And, all you have to do when you want to eat some bread is tear of a chunk, "cloak" it, let it rest for about 45 minutes, do the cool flour-knife-slash, bake, and enjoy!

But as a side note, do remember that the bread will expand even after you put it in the fridge. I forgot this crucial piece of information, stuck the dough in a container, shoved it in the fridge, and then uh oh, a few hours later I open the fridge draw to where a "bread bomb" seemed to have gone off. Oops! If you're short on space, try using ziploc freezer bags. Just don't put all the dough in one bag! I would divide the dough in to two pieces, maybe even three.

Master Recipe: Boule
Yield: Four 1 lb loaves
Ingredients:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (1 1/2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour, (scoop and sweet method)

1. Warm water slightly
2. Add yeast and salt
3. Mix in flour (Kneading is unnecessary!)
4. Allow to rise for 2 hours, then put in the refrigerator

Note: Do not put dough in mason jars, or sealed bags/containers as the dough might cause the container to explode .... as in my case.

On baking day:
1. cloak the the bread by first shaping the dough in to a sphere and then pushing the sides around the ball, and then in to the center
2. Allow to rise for 40 minutes, doesn't need to be covered
3. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
4. Twenty minutes before baking place a boiler tray and pizza stone
5. Dust loaves with flour, then slash
6. Place loaves in the oven and pour 1 cup of water in to boiler tray bake for 30 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch
Note: Dough can be stored for up to two weeks!

Daring Bakers: Coffee Cake with Meringue and Cinnamon Chocolate Pecan Filling

 The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake. Doesn't it look beautiful?

Actually, I can't take credit for making this bread all by myself. My cousin from D.C. visited for spring break, and as a sweet treat for breakfast, we made this coffee cake. Erica, my cousin, is not only an amazing ballet dancer, but also loves to bake. And guess what?! She has her own blog too. While she was here we baked many sweet treats besides this yeast cake, including daifuku mochi, dorayaki, a neopolitan cake, and visited many of Oahu's best restaurants. Don't worry, I'll post the recipes and pictures :) Or if you can't wait for the daifuku recipe (mochi with anko) you can check out Erica's blog.

 Now on to the bread or is it a cake? Well anyways, it was amazing. Soft and fluffy sweet dough encasing a chocolate filling. The meringue seemed to melt in to the bread, but where the meringue had oozed out were slightly chewy, slightly crisp, and very yummy meringue bits. We made this bread early in the morning and enjoyed this as a brunch treat. It was the perfect baked item to start our day, and would be perfect for a brunch or afternoon snack.

Coffee Cake with Meringue and Cinnamon Chocolate Pecan Filling
Ingredients
Dough:
2 cups flour
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/8 tsp (1/2 package) active dried yeast
3 fl oz. milk
2 fl oz. water
1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large eggs, room temperature


For the meringue:
1 1/2 large egg whites at room temperature
pinch salt
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla
1⁄4 cup sugar

For the filling:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbs granulated sugar
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup  semisweet chocolate chips

1 beaten egg

Directions:
For Dough:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes.
4. Add the egg and remaining flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
6. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes.

For Filling:
1. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, nuts, chocolate, and sugar

For the Meringue:
1. In a clean mixing bowl beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque.
2. Add the vanilla then start adding the 1⁄2 cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.





To assemble:
1. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper
2. Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time, roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 1⁄2 cm) rectangle.
3. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. 4. Sprinkle filling evenly over the meringue
5. Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
6. Using kitchen scissors, make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 1⁄2 cm) intervals.
7. Cover  with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
8. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
9. Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
11. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

In just ten minutes we ate over half of the cake! We didn't even have time to remove it from the pan!

Fig Bread

Whenever I'm not busy on a Saturday morning, my mom and I bike/drive to the KCC farmers market. Actually, we usually drive there. We buy too much stuff to bike! But anyways, we usually buy a loaf of bread from Ba-le bakery. My dad loves figs, and so our usual choice of bread was their fig and walnut, at least until recently. I think they've changed their recipe or something because, well, let's just say it's more of a walnut bread than a fig walnut bread.

Disappointed by the last loaf we tried, I set out to make my own, and this time the bread would be chock full of figs. So I made the bread, and let's just say my mom and I will be buying a different loaf. The fig bread wasn't bad, it was just too much work. Okay, maybe not a lot of work. I accidentally left a pan of water in the oven, and so there was an extra extra crunchy (almost too hard) crust on the bread.

The bread itself was a little too spongy, and wasn't the dense whole grain loaf I wanted. I'll probably tackle a fig bread recipe soon, but until then I think I will be at the farmers market on saturdays!

Fig Bread
Adapted from Pastry Pal
Ingredients:
4 cups (454 g) all purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
1 cup wheat flour
2 1/2 (12 g) teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated yeast
2 1/3 cup cool tap water (about 70 degrees F, a comfortable room temperature)
1 cup dried figs, chopped

1. Combine flours, yeast, and salt
2. Add water and knead until forms a stick ball, continue kneading. Knead in figs pieces
3. Allow dough to rest for 12-14 hours
4. Punch dough down and place in on a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours
6. Preheat oven and baking stone to 425˚F
7. Spritz water in to oven or leave a small baking dish filled with water inside the oven while preheating
8. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 400˚F and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

Daring Bakers: Christmas Stollen

This month's challenge was hosted by Penny over at Sweet Sadie's Baking. She chose Christmas Stollen as this month's recipe. I've never even tried stollen, so I was excited to try making it. When I looked over the recipe, it reminded me of a fruit cake in bread form. I'm not much a fan of the whole fruit and nut combo, so I chose to use dried cranberries and no nuts instead. I love the wreath-shaped look of stollen, but had a little trouble shaping it at first. Mine didn't turn out perfect, but it was still tasty.  Actually, my dad loved it, and even before I put the powdered sugar layer on he had already eaten some!

Recipe over at Sweet Sadie's Baking