Baking

Chocolate Milk Bread

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One of my recent bakes. Recipe is from The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread, and can be found here: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/chocolate-milk-bread-recipe

No actual chocolate milk here, just a chocolate variation of Japanese milk bread, with cocoa powder and chocolate chips. I did use the optional dry milk. I don’t know that the raw demerara sugar on top adds anything extra, but it was fun forming the four dough logs that give this bread its fun shape. Only a little sweet, and quite delicious.

Another recent, simpler bake was strawberry shortcake, including a parfait form, with strawberries from a farmer’s market. Recipes for the sweet biscuits and vanilla whipped cream from Sally’s Baking Addiction, found here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/easy-homemade-strawberry-shortcake/#tasty-recipes-68038 . My buttermilk was a month after the best used by date, so I added a little lemon juice to milk and let it sit for about 10 minutes. My next planned bake is banana muffins with coconut and macadamias, from America’s Test Kitchen. I’m not a fan of raw bananas, but like them pretty well cooked or baked.

Brenda

Almond Croissant Milk Bread

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This is the fanciest and tastiest bread I’ve made that I am looking forward to baking again. Medium effort, high reward baking. I started the milk dough after dinner one night, put the dough in the fridge overnight after the first rise, and we were eating the delicious bread for lunch the next day. It also smells wonderful during and after baking. I don’t think there is a big resemblance to croissants, but it’s more of a coffee cake bread. The almond flavor comes from sliced almonds, almond flour, and almond extract. No almond paste or marzipan. Only two eggs are needed, and one stick of butter. Swedish pearl sugar is listed in the recipe, which I’ve never bought, but granulated sugar or turbinado sugar are good substitutes. There is some nonfat dry milk powder in the recipe, but The King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Breads states that the milk powder is entirely optional. It does take quite a while to mix the soft bread dough in a stand mixer, but the almond filling is easy to make.

This bread also freezes well, and tastes great plain, with butter, jam, or other toppings. I only wish it made two loaves! Isn’t it gorgeous?

The recipes, with excellent step-by-step instructions are freely available on the King Arthur Baking website, here.

Enjoy!

Brenda

Big Book of Bread

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Big Book of Bread: 125+ Recipes for Every Baker by King Arthur Baking Company

Flour Tortillas
Sky-High Nanterre Brioche
Mexican Chocolate Swirl Bread
Molasses-Oat Bread

This cookbook has recipes for all sorts of breads: flat breads, sourdough, sandwich loaves, round artisan breads, and fancy enriched breads. It’s suitable for bread bakers at all skill levels and has recipes from many countries. All four recipes I tried turned out very well. First I made flour tortillas, cooked in a skillet, using coconut oil as the suggested substitution for lard. Next I baked molasses-oat bread, and liked the technique given to add oats to the top of the loaf. Then I baked Mexican chocolate swirl bread, which is a lightly enriched dough. I omitted the optional chipotle powder in the filling, which included cocoa powder, cinnamon, and sugar. This was even more delicious than cinnamon and/or raisin swirl bread, and made excellent toast. Finally I made the brioche dough, and used my new Pullman loaf pan to bake the sky-high Nanterre loaf. This dough did take four hours for the second rise, one hour more than the recipe said, but it was worth the wait. The texture is much better than store-bought, mass-produced brioche.

Since there is a section on sourdough, I was pleased to see the the large majority of the recipes don’t require a sourdough starter. Some that suggest using a couple of tablespoons of sourdough have an alternate method, which I used in the swirl bread. Except for my brioche dough, the times given for mixing, shaping, rising, and baking in a bar graph at the top of each recipe worked perfectly for me, and the directions are clear with plenty of color photos. There are quite a few more breads I’m looking forward to baking!

Brenda

Hot Sheet

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Hot Sheet: Sweet and Savory Sheet Pan Recipes for Every Day and Celebrations by Olga Massov & Sanaë Lemoine

Lots of fresh new ideas for sheet pan cooking and baking in this beautifully photographed cookbook. Olga is a food editor at the Washington Post while Sanaë is a cookbook editor at Phaidon Press who took over Olga’s desk and files. They became friends and love to discuss recipes.

I tried three of the savory recipes, and would happily make all of them again. First, I made Roasted Greek-ish Salad with Halloumi, which includes a cucumber yogurt dip made with grated Persian cucumbers and chopped parsley. We’re roasted halloumi cheese fans here, but the cucumber yogurt dip stole the show. Next, I made Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Whipped Ricotta, which features a honey drizzle and optional endive leaves, and was excellent on crusty bread. Finally, I cooked Sausages with Fennel, Peaches, and Spinach. I substituted Field Roast veggie sausages, which worked well, and skipped the fresh basil. The roasted peaches, made with sliced frozen fruit, were an awesome touch.

Directions were clear and the flavors were delicious. Besides the savory sheet pan recipes there are also desserts, breakfast dishes, and simple pantry recipes. Many other recipes look enticing. If you enjoy sheet pan recipes, Deb Perelman’s Smitten Kitchen also has plenty. Enjoy!

Brenda

Holiday Baking: Two Cookies

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Coconut Macaroons and Pecan Sugar Cookies

I had fun baking last week. I made the pecan sugar cookies first. I used fresh Georgia pecans from Sunnyland Farms that I lightly toasted and chopped. The cookie batter, even before it was baked, smelled like butter pecan ice cream. The dough is rolled out, then chilled before being cut out, then baked. They have a simple brown butter icing that adds to the deliciousness. I tinted the icing pink just to be festive. Chopped pecans are sprinkled on the top. A variety of cookie cutters can be used, and no decorating skills are needed. The dough can be made in advance and chilled, and the cookies freeze well. The recipe is from Sally’s Baking Recipes, here.

I also made coconut macaroons, dipped in melted chocolate and drizzled on top. These are naturally gluten free, and also freeze well. Also from Sally’s Baking Recipes, here. You can use semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the chocolate, and almonds would make a nice addition.

My next baking project is kolacky with almond and cherry fillings and Neapolitan cookies.

Brenda

Sicilian Style Pizza

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I mentioned I’d have a few posts about holiday baking. But this is what I wanted to share first. This Sicilian style sheet pan pizza is the best pizza I’ve ever made. I used jarred pizza sauce, diced mozzarella cheese, grated Gran Padano cheese ( I would usually have Asiago or a Parmesan) and added chopped grape tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and sliced Kalamata olives. The recipe is from Alexandra Cooks, here. This is a thicker crust than a Grandma pizza, more like focaccia with toppings. I used half all-purpose flour and half bread flour, but only let it rise, alternately on the counter and in the fridge, for most of one day instead of the overnight fridge rise recommended. The crust is baked for about 10 minutes before the sauce, cheese, and toppings are added. It was delicious hot, and leftover. I put my sheet pan on a pre-heated round pizza stone, but that’s optional. I also just preheated my over to 485, then lowered the temp to 475 before the crust was finished baking solo.

Three Kinds of Muffins

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Raspberry Struesel Muffins
Healthy Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

 

 

Muffins are one the easiest and most delicious things I like to bake. You can make mini muffins for a large group, or regular size muffins to enjoy at home, and they freeze well. Blueberry muffins are a classic, and I have several different recipes I’ve tried, having been baking them since I was a teenager. A couple of months ago Deb Perelman of the very popular Smitten Kitchen blog and author of three cookbooks, posted the recipe for Raspberry Streusel Muffins. Deb is known for her very funny descriptions of her recipes, or headnotes. She states that these might be the best muffins she’s ever made, so I had to make them. They are made with frozen raspberries. Like many bakers who’ve tried this recipe, I made 9 muffins, not 6. The cooled muffins stuck to the cupcake liner. They are tangy and have a good texture if you like raspberries. I added ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to the streusel and added the zest of half a lemon to the batter. If I make them again, I would brush melted butter in the muffin tins and skip the cupcake liners. These are fine, but not the best muffins I’ve ever baked. If you make them, follow the directions carefully.

For easy and very reliable muffins recipes, I rely on Sally’s Baking Recipes. Sally McKenney also has a popular blog and is the author of three cookbooks, but isn’t quite as well-known as Deb of Smitten Kitchen. The Apple and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins recipes are on her blog. If you’re looking for a very healthy muffins recipes, look no further. For seasonal baking, I really like the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Mini chocolate chips are used, and that makes it easy to bake mini muffins, or regular size. Even Sally’s bran muffin recipe is delicious. Even though these are easier to make and healthier, I like both of these recipes better.

Brenda

Blueberry Pie Bars

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August is peak season for Michigan blueberries. While these berries were bought at a grocery store, I have many fond memories of picking blueberries near Bridgman, Michigan. I plan to buy my next batch of blueberries at a local farmers’ market. This is my first time baking Blueberry Pie Bars, but it won’t be the last. The easy recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction, one of my favorite websites for baking recipes. I own two of her cookbooks, but get many of my newer recipes online. Her website also has short but very helpful videos.

This recipe can be found here.

Happy baking!

100 Morning Treats

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100 Morning Treats by Sarah Kieffer

Sarah Kieffer’s first cookbook, 100 Cookies, is a favorite of mine, and I especially like her recipes for Neapolitan Cookies and Cinnamon Roll Blondies. I’ve been in more of a savory baking mode than sweet lately. I’ve made and can easily recommend four recipes from her brand-new cookbook, 100 Morning Treats: Ginger Orange Carrot Bread, Toasting Bread, Crème Fraîche, and especially the Overnight Crème Fraîche Waffles. This recipe makes quite a few waffles, and there are still some in my freezer.
Next up are probably Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake and Cinnamon Scones. There are quite a few other recipes I’d like to try, including Milk Chocolate Rye Bread and Popovers with Fig Butter. Sarah’s recipe directions are clearly written, and there are one or more color photos for most of the recipes. Many of her delicious recipes, including the Ginger Orange Carrot Bread, can be found at Vanilla Bean Blog.

Happy Baking!
Brenda