Baking

The Enchanted Greenhouse

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The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

A fantasy novel as cozy as a warm hug, this is connected to The Spellshop. Terlu awakens on a cold, snowy island, alone. She is stunned, because her last memories are in the Great Library of Allysium, where she’s been a wooden statue. Before that, Terlu was a lonely Fourth Librarian who cast a spell from a library book on a spider plant, and later ended up a statue.

An unlocked door on Belde Island reveals an amazing greenhouse, leading to more and different greenhouses. One has singing plants; another has a sunflower maze protected and pollinated by tiny dragons. There is a greenhouse dedicated to garlic, others to roses, even one with a sea turtle! These are enchanted, and are cared for by Yarrow, the single remaining gardener, who grew up on Belde. Yarrow is mostly silent, very busy, grumpy, and an excellent cook and baker. A winged cat and a talking rose plant are the only other island residents. Yarrow was hoping for someone to help the greenhouses that fail, going cold and dark with broken glass, and is very disappointed to get a talkative librarian instead of a sorcerer.

The greenhouses are simply amazing, and Terlu, Yarrow, and Lotti (the sentient rose plant) are very good company. More people arrive on the island, with startling news from Allysium, and Yarrow and Terlu look for ways to repair the broken greenhouses. This story would make lovely reading in a warm, bright room on a cold, wintry night. Fans of The Spellshop will be pleased, and look forward to more cozy fantasy from Durst.

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

A Pair of Cozy Fantasy Novels

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Bread and Burglary by Shanna Swendson (Tales of Rydding Village, Book 2)

This is a lovely cozy fantasy novel set in a half-abandoned village. Baker Lucina loves her work and the small village of Rydding, but becomes anxious when the the new smith’s apprentice speaks to her in Tufanan, her native language. Also, Nico was a duke’s guard, and a past relationship with a guard led to Lucina’s fleeing Tufana after an uprising. Wyn makes her tea to help prevent nightmares.

Lucina is hoping to save enough money to send for her Nonna, who raised her and taught her to bake. Some recent thefts in the village have people suspecting Nico, the newest resident. Lucina and the smiths are the only ones not to have been targeted. Does the bread and cream Lucina leaves on her back doorstep every evening help protect her from theft? Her Nonna did the same back in Tufana, as thanks for the magic that makes the bread rise. In this sequel to Tea and Empathy, it’s nice to see the village growing slowly, and for a couple of romance to begin. I look forward to the next Rydding Village tale.

The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught

This is a graphic novel with colorful and charming illustrations. Juniper works at Mira’s bakery. Hadley plays the flute, makes deliveries for the bakery, has a pink pet snake, and longs for adventure. Neither teen look quite human.

A large rush order for tarts made with glowing mushrooms come in to the bakery. Mira asks Juniper and Hadley to travel to the woods to gether the fungi. Of course, their quest does not go smoothly, but they make friends along the way. This includes a fey named Thistle, who has giant caterpillar friends. This is a sweet and cozy queer fantasy.

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.

Bookshops & Bonedust

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Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

Have you read Legends & Lattes yet? Then you’re in for a treat, and you don’t need to be a coffee drinker to enjoy it. This new novel, due out November 7, is a prequel.

Viv, an orc, is at the beginner of her career as a mercenary here. Recovering from a severe injury, Viv is stuck in the seaside village of Murk until Rackham’s Ravens return. While occasionally following the doctor’s orders, Viv is bored. So very bored. Constant questions from Gallina, a young gnome who wants to join the Ravens, doesn’t help. But Fern and her shabby bookshop do. One book, suggested by savvy readers advisor Fern, leads to others. Viv, with the help of Pitts, a poetry loving orc who hauls things, help make the bookshop more welcoming. Then there’s Maylee, a dwarf who runs the local bakery. Baldree writes so lovingly of scones and pastries in both books that you’ll want to make a quick trip to a local bakery or bake some scones, cookies, or muffins yourself.

Many cozy mysteries are set in bookstores or bakeries. I start quite a few, finish some, and am delighted by only a few. Baldree’s cozy fantasy books featuring Viv, though, are awesome. Besides an injured orc and a bookshop that needs spiffing up, there’s also a gryphet, a reclusive romance author, some sweet kisses, and a greatsword belonging to an evil necromancer. Also, a gray man, smelling of ice and death, has Viv and the local guard on high alert. What could possibly go wrong before the Ravens return? This is a charming read, well worth savoring. These books can be read in either order. More, please!

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

100 Cookies

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100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer

Cookies shown include Thumbprint Cookies, Neapolitan Cookies, Cinnamon Roll Blondies, and Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies. The Neapolitan cookies, made with a vanilla sugar cookie dough to which one part has cocoa powder added, and another part pureed freeze-dried strawberries, is always popular. I make some without strawberries for the vanilla and chocolate fans. These disappeared first, along with the Chocolate Oatmeal cookies. These are one of Kieffer’s famous pan-banging cookies, where you lift up the edge of the sheet pan then drop it with a bang a few times during baking to add ripples to the dough and make the edges crispy while the middle remains soft and chewy. I make the cookies rather smaller than the recipe, and the method doesn’t really produce ripples, though the cookies are delicious. The slightly less gorgeous Cinnamon Roll Blondies and Thumbprint cookies are tender and delicious. Kieffer includes a chocolate bark recipe, but I used a different one here. All told, this is a delicious platter of cookies made from recipes I had tried before. These cookies all freeze well after baking, for at least one month. Another favorite is her Lemon Oat Bars. I am really looking forward to Kieffer’s forthcoming cookbook: 100 Morning Treats, to be published this May.

Brenda