Irish Soda Bread - Spotted Dog

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make some Irish soda bread. I made a loaf last year that was rather unimpressive, and I knew there had to be better ones out there. I chose this one because I happened to have several of the ingredients left over from the recipe for Nick's birthday cake, and also because it had raisins in it. My husband is away right now on an internship (he LOATHES raisins; I really enjoy them) so he doesn't have to be subjected to them!

This bread was so good, I ate about 3 slices as soon as it had cooled enough to eat. The buttermilk adds a delicious light and flaky quality to what can be a very dense bread, and the raisins and caraway seeds round out the flavors with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness.

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway (also called Spotted Dog)
Good Things Catered

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 c. cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 - 2 c. buttermilk (I used about 1 3/4)
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a heavy baking sheet with parchment.
-In large bowl combine dry ingredients, caraway and raisins.
-Whisk to combine.
-Add buttermilk and slowly fold in with a spoon until it starts to come together.
-Turn dough out onto floured surface and with floured hands, divide into two and knead one half until just coming together.
-Form dough ball into 6 by 2 inch disk and place on prepared baking sheet.
-Repeat with other half of dough, placing the two disks as far apart as you can on the baking sheet.
-Cut cross in top of dough and place in oven.
-Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until middle of loaf is set and outside has started to brown to a light golden color.
-Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter.
-Let cool on pan for 10 minutes.
-Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely or let cool for 10 more minutes and serve warm.

Doughnut Muffins

These muffins are very, very dangerous to have around. They may not be as good as an actual doughnut, but they come pretty darn close. I saw this recipe last week on the blog Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen and I've been dreaming about them ever since.

I went a little heavy on the cinnamon sugar topping (key word: sprinkle), but otherwise I thought these were excellent muffins with that distinct doughnut flavor. I think I would probably bake them at a little bit lower temperature, as they were a little crispy by the time I took them out (and I took them out after about 17 - 18 minutes of baking.) I am trying to keep from eating anymore today, as I have already consumed 3. I will definitely put these in my favorites category - they are fantastic!

Doughnut Muffins
from Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen,
Source: Marjorie Standish

Yield: One dozen medium sized muffins

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar

Beat egg and then add oil and milk. Beat. Sift the dry ingredients. Add dry to wet and stir with forks. Pour into greased muffin tin. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and dot with butter. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes (mine were definitely ready to come out around 17 minutes, but my oven tends to run hot, so just check on them around 15 minutes.)

Optional: Once the muffins came out of the oven I brushed each with melted butter then rolled completely in cinnamon and sugar.

Yogurt Scones

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

This post marks my 1st Blogiversary! It has been an amazing year experimenting with different recipes and posting to a food blog, and I look forward to many more posts in the future.

I found this amazing recipe on the blog Chocolate & Zucchini. I was attracted to this recipe because it only called for 2 tablespoons of butter. (I know, I know, there's nothing wrong with using lots of butter in your scones. But I was looking for something that would be a tad bit lighter in the calorie content.) Trust me, you won't even notice the lack of butter once you taste these light, fluffy scones.

I took her basic recipe and added cranberries and lemon zest, but you can mix any add-ins that you like. And the best part is you won't feel quite so guilty reaching for a second (or a third...)

Yogurt Scones
Chocolate & Zucchini

1 2/3 cups flour
2 heaping Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter, softened & diced into cubes
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 Tbsp milk
2 - 3 Tbsp chopped nuts or dried fruits, or a teaspoon citrus zest (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add in diced butter and blend it in with a fork or pastry cutter, until no visible lump of butter remains. Add the yogurt, milk, and zest, as well as any add-ins (cranberries), and blend them until the dough forms a ball. Handle the dough as lightly as you can, without overmixing, or the scones won't raise as much.

Pat the dough into a flattened round, a little over an inch thick, and cut into eight wedges. You can also divide the dough into eight balls, which is what I did.) Place the eight wedges/rounds a couple inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until the top of the scones are set and lightly golden.

Yields 8 scones

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Cranberry Orange Muffins

I guess I went a little crazy with buying cranberries when they went on sale for .39 cents a bag after the holidays...I was starting to run out of room in my freezer after a recent trip to the grocery store and decided I needed to use some of them up. I had saved this recipe in my Google Reader in December, and came across it this weekend as I was looking for cranberry-related goodness.

I really love the way cranberry and orange go together, and what better way to start your day off but with some tasty muffins? Despite the fact that this recipe only uses whole wheat flour, they were still quite light and fluffy, and make for a (somewhat) healthy breakfast.


Cranberry Orange Muffins
From The Way the Cookie Crumbles,
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Makes 12 muffins

1½ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup quick-cooking rolled oats
¼ cup buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon orange zest (finely grated orange peel)
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 large eggs
⅔ cup (4.67 ounces) sugar
¾ cup milk
⅓ cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Glaze (I omitted)
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons sugar

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.

2. Whisk flour, oats, milk powder, baking powder, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk egg until broken up. Add sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in butter (or oil) and milk.

3. Add cranberries and nuts, if using, to dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add milk mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together. Do not overmix.

4. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack.

5. If using glaze: In a small saucepan or the microwave, stir together the glaze ingredients. Bring just to a boil, to dissolve the sugar. Dip the tops of the warm muffins into the glaze.

No-Knead Bread

I recently celebrated my 28th birthday, and luckily my family and friends know me well, as I received many kitchen-related gifts. I have been wanting a french oven for the longest time, and when I saw the no-knead bread recipe going around the blogging community, it only solidified my desire. My mother-in-law, Teresa, surprised me with a beautiful, red, 7-qt. cast iron pot, and I finally got to break it in today, when at long last, I made the infamous bread.

I could not believe how easy this bread is to make. There are only four ingredients, and you literally mix them together, let them sit overnight, and make the bread the next day. Amazing. The crust is nice and crunchy, and the interior is so soft and light. One of the easiest and best bread recipes I have ever seen; my new pot is going to be put to great use!

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

No-Knead Bread, revisited
from Steamy Kitchen
adapted from Mark Bittman of NY Times, who got it from Sullivan Street Bakery. When the recipe first came out, it was the blogging community who took the bread to new heights, especially Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible.

Yield: one 1½ lb loaf
3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water
Covered pot (five-quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel…something that can go into a 450F oven.)

1. Mix dough: The night before, combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together. It will be a shaggy, doughy mess. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12-20 hours on countertop.

2. Shape & preheat: The dough will now be wet, sticky and bubbly. With a wet spatula, dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape. You can use your hands if you like, just keep your hands wet so that the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel (not terrycloth) with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it nap for 2 hours. When you’ve got about a half hour left, slip your covered pot into the oven and preheat to 450F.

3. Bake: Your dough should have doubled in size. Remove pot from oven. Holding towel, dump wobbly dough into pot. Doesn’t matter which way it lands. Shake to even dough out. Cover. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F. Remove and let cool on wired rack. If not eating right away, you can re-crisp crust in 350F oven for 10 minutes.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Whole-Wheat Orange Juice Muffins

I found this recipe on Cooking Light, but adapted it to make it a little healthier and more low-cal. They were a just a little bland, but they were very moist and since I had most of the ingredients on hand, they were totally easy to throw together.


Whole-Wheat Orange Juice Muffins
Adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup Splenda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (I omitted as I didn't have any, but added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. I think the lemon rind would've given more flavor)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup rolled oats
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine all-purpose flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine juice, applesauce, vanilla, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Stir in rolled oats. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

La Brea Country White Sourdough or: The 360-Hour Bread

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I asked my husband to buy me this book featuring breads from La Brea Bakery. All I knew was that the La Brea breads we purchased at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods was some of the best bread I had ever tried.

My dear husband bought me the book, and I opened it up. The first 28 pages are devoted to all of the proper "tools" you will need to make the breads in this book. I was a little overwhelmed. Then I got to the chapter titled "A Lesson in Bread Making." It proceeded to walk me through a day-by-day tutorial of making a sourdough starter. Which, for baking a loaf of bread worthy of Nancy Silverton (the author), involves 14 days. Fourteen. (Thankfully, as long as I never kill off my starter, I won't ever have to repeat this process again.)

Needless to say, I was a little overwhelmed. The first 9 days involve fermentation of the culture. Day 10 is the day you begin to feed the starter. Three times a day. For five days. I followed her every instruction to a T, and by Day 15 I was ready to make my first loaves of bread. After this extensive process to which I committed so much time and energy, I wanted some payoff!

But the process to make my first loaf of bread was a 2-day process. Well. Technically, according to her bread baking schedule, it COULD be completed in one day (18 hours). So of course, I was going to do it in one day. One looong day.

I got up that morning at 6:00 am to begin mixing. The bread finally went into the oven to bake at 11:45 PM and was done baking around 12:20 AM. So for next time, I think I'm going to stick to the 2-day bread making schedule. Because by 1:00 in the morning, when the bread had cooled and I could finally, at long last, try some of this masterpiece bread, I was super tired and frustrated and just wanted to go to bed.

(The bread was absolutely amazing. It was just a royal pain in the butt to make.)

I will include the original recipe, for anyone who might already have a sourdough starter at home; I am also including a link to Williams-Sonoma's site for a similar La Brea recipe for those who want to use active dry yeast.)


Country White Bread
Nancy Silverton, La Brea Bakery

12 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) starter
2 pounds plus 2 ounces (about 7 cups) unbleached white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 pound plus 2 ounces (about 2 1/4 cups) cool water, 70 degrees F
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
4 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Vegetable oil

Using your dough hook on your electric mixer, measure the water, starter, flour and wheat germ into the mixing bowl; mix on low speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be sticky and pliable. If it appears too dry, dribble a bit more water in slowly and keep mixing.

After 5 minutes, turn off mixer, cover dough with proofing cloth, and let dough rest for 20 minutes. Add the salt and mix the dough at medium speed until the dough reaches a temperature of 78 degrees F, looks satiny and feels smooth (about 5 more minutes.)

Remove dough from mixing bowl and place it in a clean bowl lightly coated with vegetable oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to ferment at room temperature, until it doubles in volume, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into two equal pieces. Slap each piece gently against the work surface to deflate the dough. Tuck all the edges under to form a sort-of rounded mass; don't bother making it look like loaf at this point, you are simply preshaping to suggest the shape to come. Cover the two pieces of dough with a piece of cloth. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.

Using a strainer, sift a thin, even layer of flour along the sides and bottom of a cloth-lined proofing basket. (If you don't have proofing baskets, you can proof the bread directly on a proofing cloth similarly dusted.) Wrap your hands around the side of one piece of dough and with a rolling motion, rock it into a ball. Do not overshape; don't worry about getting a super-compact ball, just apply even pressure all around to get a taut ball with smooth skin stretching over the surface of the dough.

Put the shaped boule smooth side down into a basket. Pinch the seam closed with your fingers. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Cover each basket with a piece of plastic wrap, and place them at room temperature to let the dough proof just until it starts rising up the sides of the baskets, and increases volume by one-fourth. This will take approximately one hour.

Next, the dough needs to age. Retarding the dough helps allow it maintain the long, slow rise required to develop flavor and texture. Place the boules in your refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours, but no more than 24 (this step allows for a range of flexibility in the times.)

Remove the boules from the refrigerator, and take off the plastic wrap. Cover the boules with proofing cloth. (If your oven cannot accommodate both boules, you should bake them one at a time. That means you should remove the second boule 1 hour after the first so it is ready to bake just as the first loaf is removed from the oven.)

Proof the boules at room temperature, away from drafts; the dough is ready to bake when it has doubled in size, no longer springs back when poked with your finger, and has come up to a temperature of 62 degrees, about 3 hours. While the bread is proofing, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, placing a pizza or baking stone on the bottom rack of the oven.

When the boules are properly proofed, lightly dust them with flour and turn them out onto a baker's peel (I didn't have one, so I just used a giant spatula from our grill set.) Slash the top of the dough at a 45-degree angle, starting about 1 inch from the top edge of the boule down to the bottom (I just did a simple X.)

A minute before you place the bread in the oven, spritz water heavily onto the preheated baking stone, and all around the sides of the oven; quickly close the door.

Open the oven door, slide the boule from the peel directly onto the baking stone, and close the door. Turn the oven temperature down to 450 degrees. *My first loaf was baked exactly according to these instructions, and got really crispy, almost burned. I turned the temp down to 400 for the second loaf and got perfect results.

During the next five minutes, spritz the oven with water 2 more times. After those five minutes, don't open the oven door for 20 minutes. You want to maintain the steam you've created.

After 25 minutes, check the bread and rotate the boules as necessary. Continue baking for another 20 minutes, for a total of 45 minutes (my bread was done in just about 40 minutes.) Tap the bottom of the loaf to check for a hollow thud; this means the bread is done.

Place the boules on a cooling rack and allow to cool.

Almond Poppyseed Muffins

I had a hankering for something almond this weekend, and after seeing many posts about delicious lemon-poppyseed muffins, I decided to search for a muffin recipe that was adaptable to almond flavoring. I found this recipe at Nook & Pantry and decided to try it out. These muffins are a little lighter than some of the other recipes I found (contain less butter & sugar), and the buttermilk keeps them nice and moist. I am also really happy they turned out well, because this was the first time I made muffins without using muffin-tin liners. (Hooray for using less paper/being environmentally conscious!) I like having a base muffin recipe that's adaptable to different add-ins, and I am excited to try other combinations of fruits/nuts next time.


Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

Buttermilk Base Recipe
2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 C sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 C buttermilk

Almond Poppy Seed
1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp of almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, adjust a rack to the middle position. Spray a 12 cup regular size muffin tin with some nonstick spray.

Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and poppy seeds in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk egg, sugar, and almond extract together until combined, then whisk in the buttermilk and melted butter.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and fold to combine. There should be not large pockets of flour but small streaks may remain. Do not over mix. The batter will be fairly thick.

Divide the batter evenly into the tin. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Flip the muffins out of the tin and cool them right side up on a cooling rack.

Strawberry Scones

I got this recipe off of Katie's blog, Good Things Catered. They are pretty much the best scones ever, with fresh, juicy strawberries and a hint of orange. I made these for a nice brunch with my husband this Memorial Day, and luckily I had enough left over to freeze a few for breakfast later this week!

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Juicy Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour (depends on how ripe your strawberries are)
1/4 c. granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 c. yogurt
1/4 c. milk
2 tsp orange zest
1 c. fresh strawberries, diced

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment
-In small bowl, combine egg, yogurt, milk, zest, whisk to combine thoroughly and set aside.
-In large bowl combine flour, sugar, powder, salt, and whisk to combine.
-Using pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into flour until all pieces are smaller than pea-sized.
-Add strawberries, and toss to coat.
-Add wet ingredients to dry and mix in lightly with fork until dough just comes together.
-Turn dough out onto well floured work surface and pat into large ball.
-Cut dough in half.
-Shape half of dough into flat disk shape and cut into 8 slices.
-Place on baking sheet and repeat with other half of dough.
-Sprinkle tops of scones with sugar and place in the oven.
-Bake until turn slightly brown, about 25 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
-Transfer to a wire rack and let cool (or eat right away!)

Are you going to Scarborough Fair...

....parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme. This bread contains all four of these herbs from the famous Simon & Garfunkel song. The flavors all complement one another very nicely, making a very tasty bread.


Scarborough Fair Herb Bread
Source: Salt Lake Tribune, courtesy of Melanie Wilhelmsen, Ogden as published in American Profile Magazine

6 cups all-purpose flour, divided (I used King Arthur Bread Flour instead)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm (120 to 130 degrees) water
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped sage (I used 2 teaspoons of each - sage, rosemary & thyme)
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
1 tablespoon melted butter

Grease two (9-by-5-inch) loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine four cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and 2 1/2 cups warm water. Add herbs and stir until well blended. (I let my KitchenAid do the work.) Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Stir dough for 25 strokes. Divide between pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake loaves 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and bake 15 minutes longer or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. If necessary, cover loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking time to prevent over-browning. Remove from pans immediately and brush with melted butter. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 2 loaves.

Photos courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Whole-Grain Blackberry Spice Muffins

I had been wanting to make some berry muffins lately, and I had been holding on to this recipe for sometime now, so I decided to make these last night. I will definitely not make the mistake of using fresh in place of frozen next time (I had a TON of fresh blackberries I wanted to use up), since my batter turned slightly gray in color. Oops. Although they aren't the greatest-looking muffins, they are quite tasty.

Whole Grain Blackberry Spice Muffins
Cooking Light

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon apple-pie spice
1 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries, coarsely chopped
Cooking spray
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through apple-pie spice) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, butter, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Gently stir in blackberries.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each of 17 paper-lined muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes. Sprinkle muffins evenly with granulated sugar; bake 3 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks.

Yield

17 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ciabatta

Surprise, surprise...another post about bread. I actually wasn't planning on making this bread this weekend, but was missing one of the ingredients for the other bread my husband was begging...er...asking me to make (the Honey Wheat bread I made several posts back - it was a smashing hit!) But I was secretly thrilled because I had the opportunity to try yet another recipe on my list. I found this Ciabatta recipe on Williams-Sonoma's website. I have learned to be very careful when scanning recipes, particularly for bread - they can be very time-consuming, and I find it is best to plan my baking carefully around my schedule. This bread is made over the course of 2 days, but is actually really easy to make. It just involves a little bit of babysitting. I was pleased with the texture and taste of the end result - I will definitely make this again.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Ciabatta

The Italian word ciabatta, or "slipper," describes the shape of this loaf, which is like a flat slipper or old shoe. The dough is so wet that it is easiest to mix by machine. It is made with an Italian-style starter called a biga, which is firm like a bread dough rather than soft like a sponge. The biga must rest overnight, so plan to make this bread over the course of 2 days. The chewy loaf is dimpled with big, uneven holes, known as occhi, or "eyes."

The bread is baked on a baking stone, also called a pizza stone or a baking tile. These are available in large rounds and rectangles. Made of high-fired unglazed clay stoneware, they retain and distribute heat evenly, producing a more uniformly baked loaf and nicely browned crusts. To be effective, the stone must be preheated in the oven for at least 30 minutes before the bread is placed on it. Wipe the cooled stone clean after use; do not use soap and water.

Ingredients:

For the biga starter:
1 1/3 cups water, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
3/4 tsp. active dry yeast

3 Tbs. warm water (105° to 115°F)
3/4 cup warm milk (105° to 115°F)
2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 to 2 1/3 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for greasing

Directions:

To make the starter, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the water, 1 cup of the all-purpose flour and the yeast. Mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour and mix until smooth and soft, about 1 minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until almost tripled in bulk, 4 to 6 hours. The starter will smell yeasty. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours or for up to 3 days. When ready to make the dough, remove the starter from the refrigerator and let stand for 1 to 2 hours.

To make the dough, fit the mixer again with the paddle attachment. Add the warm water and milk and the yeast to the starter and mix on low speed, making a souplike mixture. Add 1 1⁄2 cups of the bread flour, the salt and the 2 Tbs. olive oil. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add only as much of the remaining bread flour as needed to form a very soft, moist dough, and mix on low speed for 5 minutes, occasionally scraping the dough off the bowl sides and paddle. The dough should be very soft and sticky, pulling away from the sides of the bowl but sticking to the bottom.

Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled or tripled in bulk, about 2 hours. The top will be smooth, but the dough will be sticky under the surface. Line a large, heavy baking sheet with aluminum foil and sprinkle generously with bread flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board (it will deflate), sprinkle lightly with flour, and pat with your fingers into a 14-by-5-inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle like a letter, overlapping the 2 short sides in the middle to make 3 layers. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat the sprinkling and folding, letting the dough rest for 10 minutes if it seems too springy to fold. Cut the dough crosswise into 2 equal rectangles and place each half on the prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the tops generously with flour. Holding your fingers in an open, splayed position, press, push and stretch each dough rectangle, making an irregular rectangle about 11 inches long and the width of your hand. Your fingers will press the dough unevenly, producing the characteristic dimpled texture in the baked loaf. Cover again loosely with plastic wrap and let rest until tripled in bulk, about 1 1⁄2 hours. Press the dough to accentuate the dimpling 2 more times during this rise. The loaves will remain relatively flat.

Place a baking stone on the lower rack of an oven and preheat to 425°F.

Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with flour and place the baking sheet on the stone. Bake until the loaves are deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 2 large loaves.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Bread, by Beth Hensperger (Simon & Schuster, 2002 ).

French-Style Country Bread

After last weekend's success with the honey wheat bread, as well as the Easter sweet bread, I decided to find a recipe for some really delicious French bread. I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website, and it was everything I was looking for. Crusty on the outside, light and airy on the inside. I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but it came out amazing. I will definitely be making this one again...and soon!

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

French-Style Country Bread
King Arthur Flour

This bread uses the sponge, or poolish, method: sort of a poor man's or woman's sourdough starter -- no feedings, little pre-planning, lots of flexibility and superb bread. I usually make this dough, sponge starter and all, in the bread machine, but you can do it by hand, processor, or stand mixer. After barbecue season, bake this bread in the conventional oven but atomize it with water to get that crisp crust. If you've always wanted crusty, hole-ridden, French-style bread, this is the ticket.

Sponge Starter (Begin 2 to 16 hours ahead)
1 cup (8 ounces) cool to lukewarm water, preferably spring water (90 to 100°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
1 1/4 cups (6 3/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) King Arthur White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour

Dough
All of the sponge starter (above)
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water, preferably spring water (l00 to 115°F)
3/4 teaspoon active dry or 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 3/4 to 4 cups (1 pound to 1 pound 1 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

To Make The Sponge: Stir all of the sponge ingredients together to make a thick, pudding-like mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on a counter overnight or for at least 2 to 4 hours. If you're making this in a bread machine, place the sponge ingredients inside, and turn the machine on for just a few seconds to mix the ingredients together. Turn the machine off and close the cover. Let the sponge rest for 4 hours or overnight (anywhere between 2 and 16 hours is fine, the longer the better).

To Make The Dough: Stir down the sponge with a spoon and add the water, yeast, sugar, most of the flour (hold back about 1/2 cup to use if required), and salt. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, to make a soft dough, 10 to 12 minutes.

Note: You may also do this in your bread machine, using the Dough or Manual setting. After the dough has finished kneading, place it in a lightly greased bowl, and continue as directed below.

Big Tip: Mix ingredients together using up to 80% of the flour called for: it will be a loose, messy mass. Let the dough rest for 12 minutes, and you'll see it change in texture, to be come much smoother. Continue, kneading and adding additional flour as required. Overall, the dough handles better once its had time for the flour to absorb the water while resting and relaxing. By using this method, you'll tend to add less flour, and have much bigger holes in your finished bread.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or plastic container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and a damp towel, and let it rise until almost doubled (depending on the weather, this could be l to 2 hours). If you're going out, or if you prefer, let the dough rise slowly in the fridge. If your dough has been refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature; it'll warm up and rise at the same time. After its first rise, deflate the dough gently, but don't knock out all the air; this will create those "holes" so important to French bread. Form the dough into a round ball. Place two cookie sheets atop one another, and place a semolina- or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment paper on top. Gently place the ball of dough on the cookie sheets, seam-side down. Cover it lightly with a tea towel, and let it rise the second time until it's puffy and about 40% to 50% larger, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes (depending on the weather, luck, and magic). Slash or cross-hatch the bread with a sharp knife or lame. Dust it with a little flour.

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Slash the bread, spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister, and place the bread in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and spritz with water every few minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking. Bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it tests done.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Yield: 1 large round bread or two medium breads, 10 to 12 servings.

Crumb-topped Banana Muffins

I had a bunch of bananas that were going bad, so I figured banana-nut muffins were the way to go to use them up. I found this recipe on Recipezaar, with a ton of rave reviews. They did not disappoint! The topping is sweet and crunchy, and the muffins are so light and moist. Very, very good - I doubt they will last long in our house!

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Crumb-topped Banana Muffins
(makes 12 muffins)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional) - I used chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients; set aside. Mix bananas, sugar, egg, and butter. Stir into dry mixture just until moistened. Pour mixture into muffin cups, about 3/4 full.

Combine first three topping ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the muffins. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Tulips & Easter Bread

My mom sent us some tulips for Easter; they were so beautiful I thought they deserved a post of their own. They were the perfect spring addition to our brunch on Sunday. Thanks Mom!

So I decided to go all out for Easter this year. (So I was a little overambitious.) We had a really yummy brunch on Sunday morning with coffee-nut scones, fresh berries, coffee & o.j. (and mimosas for Nick.) We rarely get time to sit down to breakfast together, so it was a really nice departure from our normal coffee-&-cereal-bars grab & go breakfast.

Then came the Easter Bread.

After my success with the honey wheat bread, I decided to try my hand at this recipe for Greek Easter Bread that I found on Cooking Light. The photo of the buttery, golden, braided bread on the website was a bit intimidating, but I was confident I could pull it off. And I did! It was slightly sweet, with a little spice...delicious with a little honey and butter.

Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography

Greek Easter Bread
from Cooking Light

1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 cup warm water (100 - 110 degrees)
Dash of salt
Dash of sugar
2 packages dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons each)
4 3/4 cups bread flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg yolk

Place allspice and cinnamon in a spice or coffee grinder, and process until finely ground. Set aside.

Combine water, dash of salt, dash of sugar, and yeast in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour to yeast mixture, stirring until well combined. Let stand 20 minutes.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in allspice mixture. Add yeast mixture to butter mixture; stir with a whisk until well combined. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Add 3 1/2 cups flour, about 1 cup at a time, stirring until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky.)

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press 2 fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

Divide dough into 3 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 14-inch-long rope. Place ropes lengthwise on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray (do not stretch); pinch ends together at one end to seal. Braid ropes; pinch loose ends to seal. Lightly coat dough with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine 1 tablespoon water and egg yolk, stirring with a whisk. Brush half of yolk mixture over loaf. Let stand for 5 minutes. Repeat procedure with the remaining yolk mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Yields 20 servings.

Honey Wheat Bread

I have always been a tiny bit afraid of yeast breads. Quick breads, no problem. But I had never attempted a recipe for yeast bread. I am happy to say that after this weekend, I have conquered my fear of yeast and now have a whole slew of new recipes I want to try. I am a total carbaholic (and I suspect my husband is too), as we devoured an entire loaf of this in a day. It was a great recipe for my foray into bread-making, as the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. A great beginner bread, and the end result was delicious!

I used butter in place of the shortening, and it came out beautifully. I used my Kitchenaid mixer to help with the kneading, but I also found some great tips on kneading and shaping bread here.

Honey Wheat Bread

from All Recipes

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ready in: 2 hours 30 minutes

Yields: 24 servings

1 (.25 ounce) package rapid rise yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F - it took about 30 seconds in my microwave to reach this temperature)

1 (12 fluid oz.) can evaporated milk

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons butter

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm water.

Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, butter, honey, salt, and wheat flour in food processor or bowl (I used my mixer with the dough hook attachment.) Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add white flour, and process until dough forms a ball. Knead dough in mixer for an additional 80 seconds, or mix and knead by hand 10 minutes. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.

Punch down, and divide the dough in half. Roll out each half, and pound out the bubbles. Form into loaves (see site listed above for hints on shaping your bread), and place in buttered 9 x 5 inch bread pans. Butter the tops of the dough, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm area* until doubled; second rise should take about 30 minutes.

Place a small pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tops are dark golden brown. Butter crusts while warm. Slice when cool.

*I searched for recommendations for places in my home where I could find a "warm area", or a place that is about 85 degrees and draft-free. One site recommends using an electric heating pad set on medium; to test the temperature of your heating pad, place the container you plan to let your dough rise in on the pad for 15 minutes with an oven thermometer in the bottom, and adjust heat levels accordingly. I also found a site that suggested turning on the oven for 30 seconds - mine is gas - and testing the temperature with an oven thermometer. This method worked best for me - a quick and easy way to control the environment for your bread to rise in.

Classic Banana Bread

I wanted to make some sort of baked goods for breakfast this weekend, and had a hankering for some banana bread. This recipe is from Cooking Light, and came out really moist and tasty.

(Photo courtesy of Nicholas Draney Photography)

Classic Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (I substituted Splenda)
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (I used 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.