Hearty All-Purpose Bread

After a long hiatus from recipe blogging, I spent most of Sunday afternoon cooking and baking up an absolute storm in my kitchen.  I have no idea where I got the energy, but I turned out a pan of dulce de leche brownies, a killer grilled cheese sandwich, and two loaves of this hearty, rustic-style bread.  Now I'm exhausted, but I am forcing myself to get at least one of these recipes on the blog before I pass out!

For the past few days, I've been daydreaming about homemade bread.  I rarely buy bread at the store, with the exception of baguettes, so if I want bread in the house, I usually have to make it.  The last time I made homemade sandwich bread was probably a year ago, but there are a few sandwich recipes on my to-do list, so I decided it was time to bake up some bread.  Baking bread is actually a very easy task.  In fact, waiting for the dough to rise is probably the most challenging part of the entire process.  I snagged this insanely easy recipe from one of my new favorite cookbooks, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese. 

As an aside, I adore this cookbook (props to my dad for the great Christmas gift!) and it's given me a lot of great ideas on cooking more from scratch.  With spring in the air, I start craving all things healthy, all things local, and all things homemade.  You might start to see some more of these types of recipes on the blog!  But if you are a frugal shopper, this cookbook will also give you price points for all of the things that you could be cooking instead of buying.  For example, according to Reese, cooking your own bread costs you less than $1 per loaf.  And that includes the cost of heating your oven.  Plus, you control the amount and quality of your ingredients, and you can be more creative.  And there's nothing like bread fresh from the oven.  Am I right? 

So I cooked up two rustic-looking loaves of bread (rustic because I barely kneaded them), with crunchy, chewy outsides, and soft insides.  The whole wheat flour gave the bread a touch of heartiness, but it still tastes like a very versatile bread.  One will go into the freezer for later use, and the other will likely be gone by the middle of the week!  If you've never baked bread before, this is a great starter recipe for everyday use. 

Hearty All-Purpose Bread

adapted from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

makes 2 medium-sized loaves

Ingredients

1 teaspoon instant yeast (don't use a packet...that will contain more than needed)

3 1/2 cups of lukewarm water

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups bread flour (optional; you can use all-purpose as well)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons salt

Directions

In a large liquid measuring cup or in a medium-sized bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar.  Allow the yeast to proof for about five minutes.  It should be foaming.  If it's not, you might need to try again with new yeast.

Prepare two loaf pans by spraying them with cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, combine the flours and salt.  Pour the yeast mixture into the flours, and combine using your hands.  The dough should be shaggy.  Knead it in the bowl briefly until it comes together.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Place the dough into the two bread pans and cover with a towel.  Let the dough rise until it reaches just about the top of the loaf pan, about two hours.  If your dough is having trouble rising (as mine usually does because I keep my apartment cool), preheat your oven to 450 to warm up the kitchen.  You can also try putting the covered loaf pans on top of the stove to warm them up.

Once the dough has risen, bake at 450 for 30 minutes.  Then remove the bread from the pans and bake directly on the oven rack for another 15 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove the bread from the oven, and snag a quick slice of warm bread.  Then allow the bread to cool. 

Enjoy!

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Here's an interesting story.  The summer after my senior year of high school, I was a server at the Red Lobster near my house.  At the time, I also hated seafood, which made the job even more interesting.  I loved working as a server -- it was fun to meet new people and try to upsell them to a lobsterita or the "all you can eat crab" special.  While these days I would never go to Red Lobster for any of the menu items, I'm still completely obsessed with their cheddar bay biscuits!  As a server, we could eat them as often as we wanted during our shifts.  It was the way to keep hunger at a minimum when working a double shift or working through dinner.  Now, it's the only way someone can convince me to go to Red Lobster! 

Paging through an old issue of Food Network magazine I saw a copycat recipe for these delicious biscuits.  I figured I would give it a try and I might get to enjoy these cheesy biscuits whenever I wanted.  While there was still something missing from this version -- it might need more garlic, more salt, and more cheese (three things that will guarantee recipe success!), but these biscuits bake up wonderfully.  Golden brown on the outside, soft on the inside, with a hint of cheese and garlic.  These biscuits are mouthwatering, and would make the perfect pairing for any meal.  Full disclosure: I ate three of them for dinner tonight!

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

from Food Network Magazine

makes 12 biscuits

Ingredients

for the biscuits

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening at room temperature

4 tablespoons cold butter, diced

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

for the garlic butter

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to combine.  Add the shortening and pulse to combine.  Add the butter and pulse 4-5 times, or until the butter is in small pieces.  Add the cheese and pulse again to combine.  Pour in the milk and pulse until the mixture comes together into a shaggy dough. 

Pour the dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead it until the dough comes together.  Then drop pieces of the dough onto the baking sheet, about small handfuls worth.  Bake until golden, 15-20 minutes.

While baking, heat the remaining butter and garlic in a small sauce pan.  Once melted, cook for one minute.  Then remove from heat.  Brush the garlic butter onto the warm biscuits.  Sprinkle a bit more salt on top of the biscuits (optional).  Serve warm. 

Pan de Muerto

I haven't posted in over a week (my apologies!) but I'm thrilled to be back with one of my favorite sweet breads of the season -- pan de muerto.  This requires a little bit of a back story.  From junior high through college I regularly took Spanish classes.  Come November, my Spanish teachers would always take a day out of lecture to have a party celebrating Dia de los Muertos, and it became my favorite event of the fall semester.  We would listen to music, decorate masks, and eat the oh-so-delicious pan de muerto to celebrate this day.

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and around the world that honors loved ones that have passed away.  People create memorials to honor the dead and spend the day remembering with gatherings and offerings to encourage the departed souls to come back to Earth.  People celebrate with brightly decorated skulls (in obvious contrast to our Halloween celebrations), marigold flowers, and food. 

source

Overall, it's a wonderful holiday that celebrates life and honors the dead.  One of my favorite parts about Dia de los Muertos is pan de muerto.  This delicious sweet bread is traditionally served during Dia de los Muertos and can be either shaped into a bun or into a skull with colorful sugar decorating the top.  I couldn't get enough pan de muerto during the high school celebrations, and the same is true today!  Not only is this bread completely delicious, but baking it reminds me to honor my friends and family that are no longer with me.  Consider celebrating this great holiday by baking some of your own pan de muerto!

Pan de Muerto

makes one giant loaf of bread
source

Ingredients

5-6 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 packets dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon anise seed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
zest from one orange

Directions

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, salt, anise seed, and sugar.  Mix to combine. 

In a small pan, heat the milk, water, and butter until nearly boiling.  Stir the warm liquid and the dry ingredients together until blended.  Mix in the eggs and add remaining flour gradually as needed until the dough is soft and not tacky.  I ended up using about 5 cups of flour total.  Knead the dough on a floured surface for ten minutes.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl in a warm environment.  Cover.  Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. 

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a large round.  Add additional molds to the top if desired.  (My "bones" didn't work out well!)  Let the bread rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the dough on top.  Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown.

In a pan, mix the 1/2 cup of sugar, orange juice, and orange zest.  Heat over medium-high heat and allow to boil for two minutes.  This will make a glaze for the top of the bread.

When the bread is still warm, top with powdered sugar and then brush on the glaze.  Sprinkle colored sugar sprinkles on top in a design if desired.

Eat, enjoy, and happy Dia de los Muertos!

Potato & Green Onion Pizza

Last year I tried a pizza that changed my life.  It was a seasonal offering at Pizza Nea in Northeast Minneapolis, and it had potatoes, asparagus, and green onions on top of a olive-oil based sauce.  I was a woman in love.  In love with a pizza.  And I was not afraid to say it.  Tonight, a year later, I thought I'd see if I could replicate this pizza and add my own tasty twist.

I started with a pizza dough recipe from a blog that is no longer (which is sad because it was awesome!).  I made it the night before, and I let it rise a second time while I prepped the veggies.  The dough turned into a chewy, tasty crust.  I made mine a little thicker just because that's my preference, but you can shape it however you like!  For toppings, I opted for a swipe of olive oil, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced fingerling potatoes, green onions, and goat cheese.  Topped all that yumminess with salt, pepper, and freshly cut basil.  The tomatoes were the perfect replacement for pizza sauce and the green onions were amazing -- crispy with a light onion flavor.  It was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.  Happiness!!! 

Pizza Dough
makes enough for two medium-sized pizzas

Ingredients
1 yeast package
1 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbls olive oil
pinch sugar

Directions

Mix the yeast package in the cup of warm water.  Let it sit for 2-3 minutes until the yeast proofs.  It should be a little bubbly.  If not, your yeast package might be expired and you should try again!

To the yeast mixture, add the salt, olive oil, and sugar and mix together.  Add in the flour, starting with 2 1/2 cups, kneading it with your hands.  If it's still tacky, add in more flour.  Knead for about five minutes until it's a smooth dough.  Put the dough in a well-oiled bowl and put it in a warm place to rise.  Let the dough double in size, which should take about 30 minutes.

Separate the dough into two pieces and pat into two balls.  Cover with a damp towel and let rise again.  Or if you are making this ahead of time, put the two dough balls in the fridge.  The next day, take one out and put it in a bowl covered with a damp towel to rise. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Stretch or roll into a circle to your desired thickness.  Add toppings, bake for 15-16 minutes.  I baked mine on a stone, but you could use any regular pan. 

Potato & Green Onion Pizza

Ingredients
4 green onions, chopped into one-inch pieces at an angle
1 cup (or two handfuls) of cherry tomatoes, halved
4-5 fingerling potatoes, sliced lengthwise very thin
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Salt & pepper
1 tbls freshly torn basil

Directions

On the uncooked dough, sprinkle the goat cheese in an even layer.  Then add the potatoes in an even layer.  Sprinkle the tomatoes and green onions on top, and add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Brush the top with olive oil. 

Bake at 450 degrees for about 16 minutes.  Cut into slices and enjoy! 

Be creative with your pizza toppings!  I've made a pizza topped with goat cheese and roasted veggies (summer squash, tomatoes, red onion, and mushrooms), and my friend Leigh had the inspired idea of a pizza topped with goat cheese, figs, and sausage.  You could also go totally classic with pizza sauce and a bunch of cheese.  But it will be delicious because you made it yourself!

Baking Bread - It's Not Just for the Pioneers

There's nothing quite like the smell of bread baking in the oven.  The aroma wafting around your apartment will make your mouth, and your neighbor's mouth, water.  There are some pretty decent packaged breads and a handful of bakeries around here that also make a tasty loaf, but I decided I wanted to bake me some bread and one Saturday morning I got to it. 

I pulled my recipe from Deborah Madison's "Vegetarian Cooking for Everybody" - a veritable encyclopedia of vegetarian recipes and helpful tips.  But even if you don't eat all veggie, it's still a great resource for anyone who likes to make food.  If you don't believe me, check it out from the library first.  (Did you know you can do that?)  It won't be long before you're off to the store to get your own copy because you kept spilling flour all over the library copy.......

Anyway!  Baking bread is pretty simple.  But it takes time, patience, and an attention to details.  I have a hard time with baking because I'm not a fan of the details.  I don't like to measure my ingredients and I often make last-minute substitutions when cooking (all recipes taste better with a splash of wine, right?).  But armed with a full pot of coffee, I thought I could do it.  Oh did I mention that this recipe is also the starter for homemade cinnamon rolls?  Now get to baking!

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm milk
1 tbls honey*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3-4 cups bread flour

Directions
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the warm water with the yeast package.  Add the sugar and let the mixture sit until it gets foamy, about 10 minutes.  It's called "proofing" the yeast.  If the mixture doesn't foam up after 10 minutes or so, then the yeast is bad and you'll have to start over with a new package. 

In a large bowl, combine the milk, remaining water (1 cup), honey, oil and salt, and then stir in your proofed yeast.  Using a wooden spoon, or the paddle attachment of your fancy Kitchen Aid mixer, stir in the flours one cup at a time until you have a shaggy dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl.  It should look a little something like this:

it's pretty, right?

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and put the flour that you didn't use in the previous step near your dough.  Now comes the kneading process.  Knead the remaining flour into the dough a little at a time until it is smooth and tacky, but not wet.  If you don't use all of the flour, that's totally fine.  You knead the dough by grabbing the portion furthest away from you and pulling it over the bulk of the dough, basically folding it in half.  Then press the grabbed portion into the dough, pressing away from you.  Give the dough a quarter turn and repeat for about 5-8 minutes.  Your dough should now look something like this:

notice all of the flour?  it's a fun but messy task.

Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn the dough around in the bowl to make sure it's coated with oil as well.  Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and set it in a warm spot in your kitchen to rise for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Quick Tip: If your bread is not rising but your yeast proofed, then your kitchen may be too cold.  Turn on your oven for 10 minutes, then turn it off and place the bowl with the dough inside the oven.  That should get 'er going.  If it still doesn't rise, the water or milk may have been too hot and you'll have to try again.

Press down on the dough to deflate it, then divide into two equal pieces.  Form those pieces into two balls, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Quick Tip: If you only want to make one loaf and want to save half of this recipe for, say, CINNAMON ROLLS, then place one of the dough balls in a well-oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate.  The dough will keep there until the next morning.  Just take it out and allow it some time to come to room temperature.  Then let it rise again, according to the rest of these instructions.

Oil your bread pan(s).  Flatten your rested dough into a pan-shaped rectangle.  Roll up the rectangle tightly and press the seam together.  Place the dough seam-side down in the pan and allow it to rise for another 35 minutes, or until the dough rises just above the top of the pan.  In the interest of full disclosure, my dough never reached the top of my bread pan but I baked it anyway.  Still turned out pretty good!

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Bake until the bread is browned on top and pulls away from the side of the pan.  It should take 40-45 minutes.  Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and tap the bottom.  It should sound hollow. 



tasty bread in a messy kitchen!


Very important step!  You MUST try a slice of your homemade bread right away.  Bread is never as tasty as it is warm from the oven and coated with butter.  (Another great topping from my college days: peanut butter and honey.)  This bread is light, sweet, and delightful.  Congratulations -- you just made your own homemade bread!  You now have some serious bragging rights. 

*Food Tip: If you have to measure honey, first spray the measuring cup or spoon with some cooking spray.  Then when you want to pour the honey into your mixture, it comes out nice and clean without any annoying stickiness left.

Food for St. Patrick!

Ah St. Patrick's Day.  The time of year when all great things collide: March Madness, spring, the ability to wear all green without looking stupid, and drinking beer during the day without being judged.  I'm not Irish -- far from it actually.  I'm German, French, and some crazy mix of Scandinavian heritage.  All of those backgrounds come with some pretty excellent food traditions, but I wanted to try out some Irish recipes on this St. Paddy's day.  It was hard to find veggie friendly recipes -- the Irish love their beef stews and lamb.  Who can blame them, really?  So I settled on two comfort foods: Potato & Leek Soup and Irish Soda Bread.  Both of these recipes are from Cooks Illustrated with slight adaptations based on my own cooking experience (failures). 

Potato & Leek Soup
This soup turned out great -- thick and creamy without being overly heavy.  The bread addition to the recipe is key for making that happen.  And while I think the first step of making a "leek stock" really added a lot to the soup, it could probably be omitted for time and energy's sake and you'd still have a really great and tasty potato leek soup!

Ingredients:
4 medium leeks, white & light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and sliced thin; dark green parts halved, washed, and cut into 2-inch pieces (keep them separate and wash the dark green parts very well)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
4 tbls unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped (about a cup of onion total -- I used a half of an onion)
1 small russet potato peeled, halved, and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme or tarragon
1 large slice sandwich bread, lightly toasted and torn into 1/2 in pieces
Salt & pepper

Instructions
Bring dark green leek pieces, stock, and water to boil in large saucepan.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer, press on the leek pieces to get all of the stock out of the veggies.  Discard the leek pieces and set the broth aside.  Rinse out the pan.

Melt the butter in the now-empty sauce pan over medium low heat.  When butter foams, stir in white/light green leek pieces, onion, and 1 tsp salt.  Reduce heat to low, stir frequently and cook until veggies are softened -- about 10 minutes.  Increase heat to high, stir in reserved broth, potato, bay leaf, and herb sprig and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add toasted bread pieces and simmer until bread is saturated and starts to break down -- about another 5 minutes.

Remove and discard bay leaf and herb sprig (the leaves should have fallen off).  Transfer soup to blender in batches and process until smooth and creamy.  If necessary, strain soup through a fine mesh strainer to get any veggies that did not break down during cooking. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste, top with croutons or bacon if you prefer, and enjoy!
Makes 4 servings.

Irish Soda Bread
This bread is rustic and hearty -- a perfect complement to the potato and leek soup.  It's crunchy on the outside but ridiculously soft on the inside.  It's crazy easy to make and it also keeps for a while.  Wrap the leftovers in plastic and enjoy at your leisure.

Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cake or pastry flour (you can use 4 cups of all purpose I'm sure -- it will just be a little heavier)
2 tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbls unsalted butter (2 tbls softened and 1 tbls melted -- keep separate)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl.  Work softened butter into mixture with fork or fingertips until mixture looks like crumbs, or until you can't see any big chunks of butter.

Add buttermilk and stir with fork until dough just comes together.  Turn out onto flour-coated surface.  Knead dough until it becomes cohesive and bumpy.  Don't knead until it becomes smooth -- you'll have a tough bread!  Just work it until most of the flour is incorporated into the dough.

Pat dough into a 6 inch round.  Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.  (Bake in a cast-iron skillet for a crunchier bread.)  Cut a big "X" into the top of the bread.  Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean.  Brush with melted butter and let the bread rest for 20 minutes.  Eat and enjoy.

*Food Tip: If you don't have buttermilk you can just "clobber" regular milk with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar.  For every cup of milk, add 1 tbls of the acid.  I had to do that with this recipe because Whole Foods doesn't sell buttermilk.  (What?!)  So for the 1 1/2 cups of milk, I added 1 1/2 tbls of vinegar and let it sit for about 10 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredients.  It will curdle the milk a bit, which is fine, and you'll get the same outcome as regular buttermilk.  It'll be slightly less creamy, but it works in a pinch!

Ruby says "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"