"Herb" Loaves

Everyone liked this bread so much that I made two more loaves without the herbs.  The bread flour makes the loaves light and fluffy, while the 1 cup of whole wheat flour adds great flavor.  These two loaves didn't last long.  Time to go make dough...

Braided Herb Loaf

Hi!  I hope you’re having a fun and relaxing July.
I made this Braided Herb Loaf today - an unusually chilly day for July, when my husband suggested fresh bread and homemade soup for dinner.  Dinner is the noon meal at the farm, and it was already 9:00 in the morning.  To be done by noon, I shortened the time I softened the whole wheat flour (which the original recipe doesn't call for) in a sponge to half an hour.  Here's how I made it:
Braided Herb Loaf
In a large mixing bowl, stir together thoroughly:
1 tsp. yeast
2/3 cup warm tap water
1 cup whole wheat flour
Cover with a dish or plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes.
Next, stir in:
3/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2/3 cup warm milk
1 Tbsp. finely chopped herbs (I used fresh basil.)
 Gradually stir in, until you can no longer mix the dough with a spoon:
3/4 - 1 cup bread flour
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes, adding more bread flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking, until the dough is still soft, but not sticky.  Turn into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.  Punch dough down and divide it into 3 equal sections.  Roll each ball of dough into a rope approximately 12" long and braid the three ropes together.  Brush with:
1 beaten egg
Sprinkle with more of the same fresh herb as you put in the bread.  Place dough on a greased cookie sheet and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough is finished rising.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Lower oven temperature to 375, and continue baking bread for 10 minutes.  Cover bread with a foil tent to prevent over-browning.  Lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

I had a test in Latin to study for, so what did I do?  I made pita bread.  This pita bread recipe comes from the Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook (1997).  It calls for potatoes, and - the thing that adds a delicious tangy flavor - yogurt.  This recipe only called for 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, so the designation "whole wheat" is a bit of a misnomer, but they taste fantastic!  You could probably use just about any basic pita bread recipe and just substitute part of the liquid for yogurt to get the tangy flavor, but, if you have this cookbook, you should give this recipe a try.

Damson Plum Jam

I made Damson Plum Jam last night from some plums I bought at the farmer's market last weekend.  According to the Pilsbury Family Cookbook (1979) you can only keep plums in the refrigerator for 3 to 5o days, so I figured I should do something with them.  I didn't have quite 5 cups as the recipe called for in the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (2009), so I chopped up a jonagold apple, which made a heaping 1 cup.  Here's the recipe as I made it:
4 cups chopped Damson plums
1 cup chopped apple
3/4 cup water
3 cups sugar
Combine all in a large saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil.  Boil until setting stage is reached.  (For me, this was when it started splattering against the walls, since my lovely thermometer us useless).  Remove from heat, and pour into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space at top.  Screw on two-piece lids.  Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes.  Remove from water and let stand.

Applesauce

My favorite time of year is when a telltale nip in the air signals the Maples to turn crimson and gold; leaves crunch beneath my feet as the wind and frost bring them falling to the path; and I walk in the evening mists, glad I decided to wear my jacket, so I can stuff my chilly fingers in my pockets.  It is this time of year that I associate with apple picking time at the farm in Minnesota - a time I have regretfully missed out on since I left for Kansas several years ago.  This year, I decided to dust off and polish up an old family tradition in preserving the Autumnal harvest.  I went to the local farmers market to find my beloved apples.  I bought a 4 pound bag of jonagolds, and a 3 pound bag of jonathans.  I peeled and pared every one with a small paring knife - no fancy gadgets in sight. Peeling apples is a peaceful task, and it brought to mind the long history of many others who have preserved the harvest before me.
I still had a few apples left over by the time I filled my 5-quart Dutch oven with sliced apples.  I added a small amount of water, and heated it all, covered, over medium-high heat.  I stirred them occasionally until they were soft, and then pushed the softened apples through an antique sieve, made for the task.  After adding a 1/2 cup of sugar, I heated the mixture again, and then put it in sterilized canning jars, covering them with new two-piece lids.  I lined a large soup kettle with washcloths, and put my four pint jars into it, surrounding them with more washcloths to prevent them from banging together.  I poured in enough hot water until it just covered the jars, and then boiled them for 20 minutes.  The jars didn't take long to seal after I pulled them out of the water.  I just love watching them seal; and the sense of accomplishment one feels afterwards makes me think that this is a tradition worth repeating.

Ny Favorite Cinnamon Rolls

I'm way behind on my posting.  My brother and I made these lovely cinnamon rolls in the first week of August, and mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!  They were so good!  This is my favorite cinnamon roll recipe.  It originally came from the Better Homes and Gardens Brunches and Breakfasts cookbook (1989), but, of course I've made several changes to it.
Cinnamon Rolls

In a large bowl, stir together:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

In a saucepan, heat until just warm:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cool milk mixture, and add it to the flour mixture.  Add:
3 eggs

Beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping bowl often.  Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon stir in all purpose white flour until you can no longer stir it with the spoon.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for about 6 - 8 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic.  Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover; let rise in a warm place till double (about 1 hour).

For filling, combine in a small bowl:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon shredded orange peel )optional)
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
Set aside.

Punch dough down; divide in half.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough into a 12-inch square.  Spread half of the filling over each dough square.  If desired, sprinkle with:
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Roll each square up jelly roll style; pinch edges to seal.  Using dental floss, slice each square into 8 pieces.  Place 8 pieces in a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.  Repeat with remaining dough,

Let rise 45 minutes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from pans.  Cool slightly on a wire rack.  Drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.

Mini Cherry Pies

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I made these mini cherry pies yesterday when I didn't have enough cherries to make a full-sized pie. The crust has a little cinnamon in it.  I mixed the cherries with a little sugar and tapioca to draw out the juices and thicken them before baking. I think they're adorable!

Beefy Bean 'n Biscuit Casserole

Here's an interesting use for biscuits.   I tried this recipe for Beefy Bean 'n Biscuit Casserole from the Pilsbury Family Cookbook (1979).  Typically, I left out the sugar, because I don't appreciate sugar in hot dish.  The biscuits are cheese filled, which was a tasty treat.  I used homemade baked beans instead of canned Pork 'n Beans.  The more homemade you can make it, the better.  The hot dish itself calls for water and tomato paste.  I thought it turned out a little pasty.  Next time, I would skip the water and tomato paste, and just use a 16 ounce can of tomatoes - no more pasty.  The one mistake I made was adding a garlic clove instead of garlic salt, and then neglecting to add salt.  It was a little bland.  I think tomorrow, when I serve leftovers, I'll add some salt when I heat it up on the stove top.
I made the apple pie for dessert - also from the Pilsbury Family Cookbook.  The apples were from our trees outside, which tend to be particularly sweet, so I didn't add as much sugar to the apples as the recipe called for.  I made streusel topping instead of a double-crust.  I like the crunchy sweet goodness of streusel, and that saves the work of rolling out another crust.  This pie was particularly easy, since both pie crust and sliced apples had been made earlier, and came out of the deep-freeze.  All I had to do was add the butter, cinnamon, flour, and sugar, pop it in the oven.  That's my version of an instant dessert!

Pumpkin-Pecan Tea Loaf

I made this Pumpkin Bread from some pumpkin I had in the freezer from last Fall.  The recipe called for raisins, but I put in snipped dates.  The pecans add nice texture. I also cut down on the sugar by almost 2'3 cup.  It's from Sunset's Cook Book of Breads (1978), a book I really enjoy; the recipes are wonderful, and the pictures look so 70's and homey. 
I'm glad I baked that pumpkin in the Fall, so I can enjoy goodies like this.  It saves a trip to the grocery store for a can of pumpkin, and a trip to the recycling center with the empty can.

Date Tarts

I finally made these Date Tarts after the dough sat in the refrigerator for nearly a week. My Grandma used to make Date Pinwheels - my favorite kind that she made. My Mom made stuffed date cookies similar to these. Looking through my Sunset Cookies (1989) book last week, these cookies sounded just too good to pass up. I stirred the dry ingredients together that same evening, and mixed up the rest of the dough the next day. I tried out a couple just to be sure the recipe was working, and I was not disappointed. The freshly grated ginger in these tastes amazing!
I lowered the amount of sugar in these cookies, and added a couple tablespoons of milk, because the dough was too stiff without it.
"Date Tarts"
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup toasted unsweetened wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 - 3 Tablespoons milk
Beat butter and sugar together until creamy; beat in eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, blending thoroughly. Cover dough, and refrigerate for at least two hours, or up to 3 days. (I refrigerated mine for several days.) Meanwhile, prepare date filling.
Take out half the dough, and roll it out on a floured board to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out into 3-inch rounds.
Place half the cookies slightly apart on greased cookie sheet; spoon a heaping teaspoonful of filling onto each. Dampen edges of cookies with water, using a pastry brush. Cover each cookie with another cookie round; press together with a fork around edges. Cut a decorative x in the top of each cookie. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks and let cool.

Date Filling. In a small pan, combine 1 1/2 cups lightly packed snipped, pitted dates, 1/2 cup water, and 2 Tablespoons honey. Cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing with a spoon, until mixture is thick and smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Let cool; then cover and refrigerate.

Egg Yolk Doughnuts

This evening, I made one of my favorite kinds of bread: doughnuts. My students and I were discussing sweets in class yesterday. They were trying to convince me that I would like Crispy Cream Doughnuts, and were incredulous when I told them I like to make my own doughnuts. After a long day of teaching and studying today, the thought of doughnuts sounded so inviting that I made half a batch of my Mom's recipe for Egg Yolk Doughnuts with freshly grated nutmeg. The apartment smells heavenly! It's amazing how the scent of frying doughnuts brings back so many lovely memories of home. They taste amazing, too! And I was even able to restrain myself to the extent that I have enough leftover to share with my students tomorrow.

Maple Nut-Cardamom Rolls

It's a hot day in August. Christmas music accidentally chiming from the I-pod on my stereo brings a celebratory mood to the atmosphere of my apartment as the scent of cardamom lingers in the air. That's right, I made cardamom rolls, not cinnamon. All I can say about the source for this recipe is that the inspiration for it came from Better Homes and Gardens Comfort Food (1992), because I changed the whole recipe.
Maple Nut-Cardamom Rolls
In a saucepan, heat until butter melts:
1 1/4 cups milk
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter
Allow milk mixture to cool, transfer it to a large bowl, and stir in until combined:
1 cup whole wheat flour
Cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove dough from refrigerator, and add:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, and on high speed for 3 minutes.
Stir in unbleached white flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it can no longer be stirred. Turn out on floured surface, and knead in enough unbleached white flour to make a moderately soft dough. Place in an oiled bowl, and turn dough over once, so that entire surface of dough is covered with oil. Cover; let rise about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, mix together in a bowl:
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
When dough has risen, punch it down, and divide it in half. Roll each half into an 8 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread each half with:
1 Tablespoon butter
Sprinkle each half with half of the pecan mixture, and roll up with a long side facing you. Pinch closed, and slice each half into 8 pieces. Place rolls cut side down in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Let rise 30 - 45 minutes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, for Maple Glaze combine in a small bowl:
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon Maple syrup
Enough milk to make of drizzling consistency (2 - 3 teaspoons)
When rolls are finished baking, remove them from the oven, and drizzle them with the Maple Glaze.

Farmer's Tomato Pie

It's almost time for school to begin again, which means attending meetings and teaching classes, but August is not quite over yet, and we're just beginning to enjoy the tomato bounty, one of the wonderful gifts of the end of summer.
I've made this tomato pie from Better Homes and Gardens 2001 Recipe Annual three times over the past couple of weeks. It's delicious! Use your favorite pie crust recipe, bake it, and fill it with divine tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, garlic, and bread crumbs, bake it, and then sprinkle it with fresh basil leaves. Amazing!

Farmer's Tomato Pie
1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 coves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fine dry bread crumbs
2 lb. ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (about 6 cups)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Baked 10-inch pie shell
Layer first four ingredients in baked pie shell. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves, and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
I have simplified the instructions. If you want the original recipe, find it in the August section of the Better Homes and Gardens 2001 Recipe Annual. Their recipe also calls for cherry tomatoes, which would also be good, but they're not necessary.

Apple Muffins

I had fun making Apple Muffins for breakfast this morning. These lovely sugar-and-cinnamon topped muffins have half a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg in them. They made my whole apartment smell like freshly fried doughnuts, and they were really tasty, too!

Ruhbarb Cheese Pie and Lemon Curd Tartlets

I've been on a baking spree lately. A few days ago, I decided it was time to use up some frozen rhubarb in my freezer. I bought the rhubarb for the "Springtime Cheese Pie" recipe from Pillsbury's 17th Annual Bake-Off (1966). If you try this recipe, you certainly won't regret it. Man, I really need to buy a house up in the northern states, so I can plant a garden, and grow rhubarb for free every year; this rhubarb and cream cheese pie is too tasty to pass up.
Today, I was feeling a little blue, and the rhubarb pie was almost gone, so I decided to cheer myself up again with one of my favorite activities - baking! :-D I had made this pastry two days ago, and it was all ready and waiting to be rolled out, so I took it out of the refrigerator, and broke off small pieces of it to fill these 3-inch tart pans. Then, I made "English Lemon Curd" from Volume 10 of The Family Creative Workshop (1975). I improvised a double boiler using a 3-quart saucepan, and a heavy aluminum souffle pan. That worked like a charm! I was thrilled when my two jars of lemon curd sealed unintentionally, even though I didn't buy new vacuum lids. This is so much fun!

Five Grain Bread

Here s my own recipe for Five Grain Bread. I whipped up a batch this morning, and I'm all done by 12:30. I started out with 2 cups warm water, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and enough whole wheat flour to make a thick batter. Then, I let it sit while I cooked a 1/2 cup of whole millet. While the millet was cooling, I added to the batter: 2 Tablespoons wheat bran, 1/2 cup barley flour, and 1/2 cup spelt flour. When the millet was cool, I added it to the batter as well, along with: 1 egg, 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast, 1 Tablespoon corn oil, 2 Tablespoons raw honey, and 1 teaspoon salt. I stirred this together, and then added enough whole wheat flour to make a soft dough, kneading and adding more flour until it was only slightly sticky to the touch. (It's best not to add too much flour to whole grain breads; they only get too heavy for the yeast to work.) I put the dough into a clean, oiled bowl, and let it rise for one hour. It nearly lifted the plate off the bowl! Then, I formed the dough into loaves, and put them in two greased pans. When they had risen, I baked the loaves at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, and then lowered the oven temperature to 375, and baked them for 30 minutes. I check to see if the loaves are done by removing them from the pans, and tapping he bottoms to see if they sound hollow. If they sound hollow, they're done. There you have the recipe. I'm going to go eat warm-from-the-oven bread. Enjoy!

Golden Pumpkin Twists II

Here is the result of my second Golden Pumpkin Twist attempt. I used poppy seeds on half, and sesame seeds on the other half this time. Mmmmmmm!

Golden Pumpkin Twists

I know what you're thinking: Melanie has just moved to a new apartment, and come down with a nasty cold, so she hasn't had time to start any bread baking escapades. Actually, the kitchen is my favorite room in the house, so it was the first room I put together; and what's a little bronchitis to a dedicated break baker? I love my new apartment so much, I could have kittens, as my brother would say, and I've already baked two batches of break in my new, cozy kitchen. I made Rosemary Raisin Bread, which I only got one piece of before it disappeared at a friend's house, and then I made my favorite Banana Bread recipe - my Grandma's. I ask you, what good is a cold if you can't gain a pound or so on your Grandma's rich Banana Bread recipe?
Today, I decided to try my hand at my Mom's Golden Pumpkin Twist recipe again, just to get the baked pumpkin out of the freezer - or some of it anyway. I followed the recipe up though heating the milk and the butter on the stove. Okay, so I didn't melt the 1/2 cup butter before I put in the cup of milk. Then, I added about a cup and a half of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast to make an extra thick sponge. Sure, technically a sponge wouldn't have any oils in it, but who said I was playing by the rules? I only wanted to soften the wheat anyway. I can't wait to see how it turns out after my meeting with my dissertation adviser this morning. :-)

Golden Pumpkin Twists

There's nothing more fun than sharing recipes with those you love. My Mom gave me this recipe a few years ago, and I finally got around to trying it today, namely because I have a nasty cold, and I couldn't stand to study anymore. Hot pumpkin rolls sounded a lot more intriguing than the Christianization of Iceland in 1000 A.D. I even almost followed the recipe. I cut down on the sugar by half, the yeast by a teaspoon, and used mostly whole wheat flour. They still turned out really puffy and light. The recipe says to sprinkle them either with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. I didn't have any poppy seeds, so I sprinkled some with sesame seeds, and the rest with cinnamon sugar. I have yet to taste the sesame ones, but the hint of cinnamon on the others is delicious! Now, I'm going back to my hot water bottle, and my tea. Good night!

Baked Goods

I just filled out a store survey, which included the question: Where do you buy your breads and baked goods? I don't buy breads and baked goods; I bake them. Purchasing baked goods would spoil the fun of making them myself. I buy various grains and flours at a food co-op, which is as close as I come to buying bread. I recently counted 10 different grains/flours in my kitchen that I use to bake my favorite bread recipes: whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour, millet, cornmeal, oatmeal, etc. Then, there are the extras I like to add, like sesame seeds, herbs, and nuts. I found it surprising that there's a whole category of food stuffs that I don't buy at the grocery store. Now, that I come to think of it, sometimes I don't even buy the grain there! My Dad grinds dried sweet corn from our fields that I turn into naturally sweet Johnny Cake. He also grinds whole kernel wheat. I can't always get out to the farm though to acquire the grains I need for bread. That's why I'm grateful I can get them in bulk from my local food co-op. Happy baking!