fun with baking!

apple crumble

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

We've been experimenting with apple recipes over here as we have a few apple trees on the property we are renting. This recipe has been a favorite so far. The filling is adapted from a recipe from a Dutch Apple Pie and the crumble topping is from our favorite Blueberry Crumble recipe (from America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two 2009).

Apple Crumble

Filling:
8 small to medium apples (mix of firm and sweet or firm and tart) peeled, cut, cored, and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces and chilled
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Method:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place four 12-ounce ramekins on a cookie sheet. To make the filling, melt two tablespoons butter over medium-low in a large stockpot. Add apples, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir, then cover to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, disperse apples evenly amongst the ramekins. Add heavy cream to liquid left over in the pot and cook over medium for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly while liquid thickens. Remove from heat and pour cream evenly over the apples.

To make topping: Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt together in a medium bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and, using your fingers blend the butter into the dry ingredients until dime-sized clumps form. Pinch together any powdery parts, then sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.

Bake crumbles for 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Top with your favorite vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Notes: This recipe can be baked in an 8x8 pan, I just prefer the individual servings. Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.

The addition of heavy cream adds a nice touch, but I am sure this recipe would still be delicious if you didn't have it on hand.

This is my husband's serving. He PILES on the ice cream!

pumpkin bars with orange frosting

2011-11-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

My husband asked why these are pumpkin bars, when they clearly look like cake. I don't really know. Maybe because it is more dense than cake? Bars or cake, it doesn't really matter because these things a) have pumpkin in them and b) are tasty!

I will warn that the frosting is really sweet. These would also be great with a cream cheese frosting on top or left unfrosted. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars with Orange Frosting

adapted from a recipe my mom had, that I copied down before I went to college

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

Cream shortening and brown sugar together till well combined. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread into greased 13 by 9 inch baking dish. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, till toothpick comes out clean.

Orange frosting:
3 tbs. shortening
2 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
3 tbs. orange juice
1 tbs. grated orange peel

Combine shortening and sugar together in mixer. Add orange juice and peel. Frost on cooled bars.

*Note: One orange should give you the 3 tbs. of juice that you need.

pumpkin lovin'

2011-10-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

The happiest time of year for my tastebuds is most definitely fall. It is also the least happy time of year for my waistline... even though pumpkin is a vegetable (right?)! I've got some pumpkin recipes that I've made recently to post about. One that was not much of a winner. Probably the first pumpkin recipe I haven't loved. How sad! But yeah, I am still posting it because I took pictures and maybe someone else will loooove it. Pumpkin recipes to come this week. In the meantime, here is a list of my favorite commercial pumpkin products to buy/eat. Add to the list in the comments if you can! Oh and I would LOVE if you shared a favorite pumpkin recipe.

Pumpkin goodness:

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Ice Cream
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Tea Loaf
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Cake
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cream Cheese
Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash Smoothie
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Steamer (make it extra hot!)
Starbucks Pumpkin Scone
Pumpkin Egg Nog
Pumpkin Bagels
and I haven't ever met a Pumpkin Spice Muffin that I didn't like.

I have this problem. I see any seasonal pumpkin product and I just pounce on it. Pounce. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Pumpkin and apple recipes to come. Because, did you know? I have three apple trees and we are drowning in apples over here.

pie crust

2009-09-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

Pie crust can be finicky. Sometimes I am lazy and just buy the frozen pie crusts from the grocery store. When I'm baking more than one pie I try to use my great-grandmother's recipe. She made wonderful pies all of the time. My mom has perfected the pie crust recipe and every year I try to get better at it. The trick is to have a light hand and try to only roll it out once. The more you play with it and roll it out, the tougher it gets.

Nana’s Pie Crust

*makes 2 pie crusts

2 cups flour

¾ tsp salt

1 cup shortening

6-8 Tablespoons ice water

Before starting, put ice and water together in a cup, so that it will be cold enough when you need it.

Mix flour and salt, cut in shortening with pastry blender or knife, add 6-8 tablespoons of ice water. Mix gently till water is absorbed, will be slightly wet and soft.

Spread flour onto counter; roll out ½ of the dough into a circle for one pie, and the other ½ for a second pie. After setting rolled pie crust into pie pan, trim edge with knife, create design around edge with fingers.

Fall is my favorite :)

2009-09-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Fall is the best time of the year as far as I am concerned... and apple pie is a big part of what makes fall so wonderful! I have a great apple pie recipe. I love it because it is relatively easy (especially if you have a food processor to slice the apples) and the crumbly top is so good! Enjoy it Lori!

French Apple Pie

6 cups slice peeled apples, thinly sliced

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 uncooked pie crust

Directions:

Place pie crust in pan.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Toss with the apples until they are evenly coated. Arrange apples in the pie pan.

Crumb topping:

½ cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter

Use pastry blender or knife to cut until it is crumbly. Top the apples with the crumb topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for an hour, check to the top of the pie around 45 minutes and cover with foil if top is getting too burned.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Lemon Cupcakes

2009-05-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

To say that I haven't been baking for a while is an understatement! It seems like it has been FOREVER! The good news is that I have successfully moved to California and my internship is going well so far. Now I can bake again!

This is actually I recipe I tried out before I moved, for one of my dear friend's baby showers. The lemon cupcakes were so fresh and spring-like, and I think they were a big hit. Honestly though, this is just for the lemon lovers out there, as they are pack a big lemon punch!

Perfect Lemon Cake
From My Kitchen Cafe
via You Got Served

Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Pour into a greased 9x11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don't overbake or the cake will be too dry!

You can also make cupcakes and bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. The cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal. Just fill up the indentation with more frosting.

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added about 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don't refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired.

Cinnamon Bun Cookies

2009-03-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yum! I love cinnamon rolls, so when a friend of mine shared this recipe with me, I knew I had to try it. These cookies have a shortbread dough that you roll out, fill with cinnamon and sugar, roll up like cinnamon rolls, then slice and bake! After they are cool you ice them with a very yummy cinnamon icing. In fact, I liked the icing so much that I think I'll try it for the icing the next time I make cinnamon rolls. So the verdict is that these babies are delicious, and I think quite pretty!

Find the recipe HERE.

Enjoy!

Inspiration and good news!

2009-03-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

I made this for dinner the other night. It was a hit and I absolutely love the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog! She has step by step photos and great commentary to her posts. Go check it out! It may inspire you to cook something new tonight.

So.. I have good news! I got an internship and will be moving to California for the summer! I'm excited to be trying something new, and I'll be lucky enough to live with my aunt during the internship. She's a great cook and I'll be able to learn a lot from her!

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

2009-03-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here is an idea for when you want to make a pretty cake.. but have very limited time :)

I used a chocolate cake mix to make two 9'' layers and then filled the layers with an easy peanut butter filling. I just got a bowl, dumped some peanut butter and powdered sugar in.. then mixed and added a little bit of milk for desired consistency (make sure you taste it to test if it is sweet enough). It was tasty and made the cake seem less ordinary. Then I used some store-bought chocolate frosting to frost the cake, and topped it off with some sprinkles.

If I were to do this all over again, I would have made my own chocolate buttercream frosting. But not too bad for store bought ingredients and limited effort on my part :)

I promise to post something from scratch soon!

I'm still alive!

2009-01-15T11:26:00.001-08:00

So, I bet that no one looks at this anymore.. since it's been so long since I've posted. I've just had a really busy semester! The good news is that I'm almost done with college! I am finished with coursework in April and am looking for an internship for the summer. I can't wait to know where I will be going. My goal is to keep posting recipes on here every once in a while :) I hope everyone out there is doing well and is enjoying a fresh start with 2009!

Peanut butter cookies and a picnic

2008-06-06T23:46:00.000-07:00

I went to a potluck picnic recently to celebrate a friend's graduation. When I hear of a potluck, I really don't think to bring anything but dessert. Can you ever have too much dessert at a potluck really? Peanut butter cookies sounded like a great thing to bring, and I thought I'd be safe because I figured that most people would bring chocolate chip cookies or brownies. When I got to the picnic and placed my cookies on the dessert table, I was surprised to see that almost every dessert there included peanut butter in some form or another. Peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses, peanut butter bars, rice crispy peanut butter treats, and the list goes on. So much for trying to be different!
Luckily, the guests didn't mind the surplus of peanut-butter desserts. These cookies are a crowd pleaser and are definitely fast and easy to make. Next time you go to a potluck, make sure that everyone gets enough peanut-butter at the dessert table... enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cream the shortening and peanut butter together with the sugars. Add the egg and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture till incorporated. Shape into balls and place on parchment paper or Silpat. With the tines of a fork dipped in water, make criss cross designs to flatten the cookies. Bake @ 375 for 8-10 minutes.

It's been a while

2008-06-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't put a new post out for almost a month! The bad news is that I haven't been blogging, but the good news? I'm being a really good student :) Below are some pictures from the beginner cake decorating class I took last month. I had a really fun time and I'd love to learn more! The next class I want to take is about fondant. We'll see if I can fit it into my schedule sometime soon..

This is the first cake I did. It was a really simple design that was inspired by some Ikea fabric.

For our final class I did a chocolate frosted cake. It was lots of fun to make, especially as we learned to make a rose.

Time to eat! Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with the cake recipe I used. I tried Magnolia bakery's traditional birthday cake recipe and it was too dry for my taste. But, since it was so dry, it was easy to frost, so I guess I can't complain about that :)

Boys who make cheesecake are winners

2008-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything. When finals were done I spent a nice week with my family and then came back to school to start spring term. I'm trying to get used to a new schedule and my kitchen has been disheveled because I got a new roommate. There are kitchen things strewn about for two reasons... one) we have practically zero cupboard space, and two) the cupboard space we do have is packed full of baking stuff! :) Anyway, I'm back into the swing of things and will post some more recipes! Keep an eye out for new cake recipes too. I enrolled in a cake decorating class and am determined to use some new recipes and make pretty cakes.
So now.. on to the recipe! This is hands down, my favorite cheesecake. It's restaurant or bakery quality, seriously! It's got a perfectly smooth texture that pairs well with any cheesecake flavor you can think of. My favorite variation on this is pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap cookie crust. YUM! This is a great go to recipe to have in your files. It's easy to bake a day in advance so that it may chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Anthony’s New York Cheesecake

Prep Time: Approximately 30 Minutes.
Cook Time: Approximately 1 hour.
Ready in: Approximately 9 hours.
Cooking supplies:
• One 9-inch springform pan (12 servings).
• Large pan (or deep cooking tray) big enough for the springform pan to be placed.
• Mixer
• Tinfoil

Ingredients:
15 graham crackers, crushed (or 2½ cups)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
8 oz. of pecans, crushed
Four (4) 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1½ cups white sugar
¾ cup of milk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs and crushed pecans with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. Place springform pan with graham cracker crumbs in preheated oven for approximately 7 minutes. Remove and cool at room temperature (after cooled a little, you can place in fridge but if it cools too fast it will crack).
4. Cover bottom portion of springform pan with foil so that it covers the bottom and up the sides. Make as tight as possible to prevent leaking.
5. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
6. Place springform pan in large pan in center rack in oven. Pour water in large pan to .5 inches to .75 inches high (this is called the ‘broil method’ where it will allow for even baking which will produce a smooth top and no cracks).
7. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours (this prevents cracking). Do not open oven door even to check it (this will make it cool too fast). Chill in refrigerator until serving (at least 3 hours).

Recommendations:
• Use Philadelphia Cream Cheese, imitations do not produce quality cheesecakes.
• If you don’t want to crush 15 graham crackers, buy the precrushed graham crackers.
• Great with toppings such as canned pie filling cherries!
• If you want to make a “healthier” cheesecake, buy Neufchatel cream cheese (it has 1/3 the fat), lowfat sour cream (advise against nonfat), reduce sugar to ¾ cup, reduce butter for graham crackers to 2 tablespoons.

Note: A variation of the broil method to baking the cheesecake is to fill a broiler pan with water and place it in the rack below the cheesecake. This will prevent any water leakage into the pan, and still create a beautiful cheesecake.

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Brownies

2008-04-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

I have some very good advice for you, the reader of this blog. Please drop everything you are doing, go to the grocery store, and buy any ingredients you might need for these brownies. You will thank yourself as soon as these little delights are out of the oven and into your mouth. I am not joking at all with this. GO... NOW.. or as soon as you read the ingredient list :) These brownies are fantastic. They have peanut butter cheesecake marbled throughout the batter and peanut butter cups on top!! Both! And it's all tied together with a dense, moist, chocolate brownie base... So tasty and fudge-like. Really, do I need to go on any more? If you like peanut butter, and cheesecake, and brownies... congratulations, you're about to meet your ultimate brownie match.

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirled Brownies
from bakingblonde

3/4 cup butter, very soft (not melted but softer than room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cups creamy PB
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

5-6 Reese's peanut butter cups (regular size) cut into 6-8 pieces each

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8" square pan with foil and lightly coat with PAM cooking spray. (This really helps when removing brownies from the pan and slicing them.)

In a microwave safe bowl melt the two baking chocolate squares in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth and melted after stirring. Be very careful not to burn the chocolate. Remove from microwave and allow to come to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, Beat together butter and sugar until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until blended. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix to combine. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and whisk together. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Do not over mix the batter.

In separate mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.

Spread about 2/3 of chocolate brownie batter into prepared pan. Evenly drop 1/2 of cheesecake batter in dollops over brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl.

Dollop remaining brownie batter and cheesecake batter over swirled mixture. Run knife through the brownie and cheesecake dollops (not all the way through the already swirled layer) to create a swirled pattern.

After approx. 35-40 minutes of baking, gently place cut up Reese's cups over the top of the almost fully baked brownies. Finish baking (about 5-7 minutes) until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it. Remember that this is your guide, do not over bake or they will be too hard, do not under bake or they will be too gooey. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. I even stuck them in the fridge after they were cool to make them easier to cut and serve. They were fantastic.

The most chocolatey thing I've ever baked

2008-04-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

I made these chocolate cakes for dessert to end a special dinner that I made for my significant other. He LOVES chocolate. I cannot stress that enough. Absolutely loves it. NOTHING can ever have too much chocolate in his books. Nothing. For this reason I think he is crazy. Hee hee. I on the other hand, would prefer a fruity or vanilla based flavored dessert to a chocolate one almost every time. I say almost because there are a few exceptions. Anyway, back to these ooey gooey cakes. He really liked it. It was super rich and decadent. So rich that I had to gulp a glass of milk down for every bite I took. But nonetheless, it was delicious. It was also easy to make which was a big plus in my books. I've been looking for a molten cake type recipe for a while now and I was very pleased to see this one made in a cupcake pan. This is definitely a must try if you loooooove chocolate :)

Gooey Chocolate Cake
from Baking from my home to yours

Ingredients:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate,
4 ounces coarsely chopped,
1 ounce very finely chopped
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar

Getting ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. butter (or spray - it’s easier) 6 cups of a regular-size muffin pan, preferably a disposable aluminum foil pan, dust the insides with flour and tap out the excess. Put the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Sift the flour, cocoa and salt together.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, put the coarsely chopped chocolate and the butter in the bowl and stir occasionally over the simmering water just until they are melted - you don’t want them to get so hot that the butter separates. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and yolk until homogenous. Add the sugar and whisk until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients and, still using the whisk, stir (don’t beat) them into the eggs. Little by little, and using a light hand, stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle the finely chopped chocolate over the batter.

Bake the cakes for 13 minutes. Transfer them, still on the baking sheet, to a rack to cool for 3 minutes. (There is no way to test that these cakes are properly baked, because the inside remains liquid.)

Line a cutting board with a silicone baking mat or parchment or wax paper, and, after the 3-minute rest, unmold the cakes onto the board. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the cakes onto dessert plates.

Grab some milk... you are going to need it!

Perfect Party Cake

2008-04-09T15:30:00.001-07:00

I drooled over this cake. Literally drooled. It was the end of March and the food blogging group known as the Daring Bakers revealed what they had baked for the month. It was Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake from her fabulous cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours and images of this cake dotted the internet. With every image I saw, I knew I had to make this cake. I also knew that I did not have time to make this cake. In an effort to rationalize, I baked this cake after I had done enough work for the day. Consequently it was a time that I should have been sleeping... but who cares?! I got to eat this cake!

The cake has a light texture with a hint of lemon flavoring. The cake layers are separated by raspberry preserves and the most decadent (and most buttery) lemon buttercream frosting that I have ever made. Really it was fantastic. To prove this point, so much of the frosting was eaten before it actually touched the cake that there wasn't enough to frost the sides. ^^ oops! The original cake also calls for coconut on the sides, but it was omitted because one of my lovely roommates is allergic. This lovely roommate also asked if I could make this for her wedding cake. I told her she better not get married soon... my decorating skills need cultivating! On that note, I enrolled today to take a cake decorating course in May. It should be fun!

PERFECT PARTY CAKE
From Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (pages 250-252)

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

For the Cake
2 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in more lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Party Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Because they can't all be winners!

2008-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I've been putting off posting this bread recipe. The reason for this is because I feel like through the four loaves I made from the dough, I never once got it right. Don't get me wrong, I still ate most of it but I never felt like it was how it was supposed to be. The crust was beautifully crisp and crunchy, but for every single loaf it made, the dough was too dense on the inside. On the second loaf I made, when baking it for even 10 minutes longer than the recipe suggested, I still cut into it to find DOUGH inside. I've read so many good reviews of the recipe that I fear that I did something wrong when mixing the dough initially! No worries right? I'm still an amateur baker and it's always good to learn something new :)

I do plan on trying this recipe again. Baking good bread really does take practice. The neat thing about this recipe is that it is fairly fast. You mix the dough, let it rise for a few hours, then pull off a piece to bake. The rest of the dough can be stored in the fridge. When you'd like to bake more you only need to pull out the desired amount, let it rest on the counter for 20 mins. and then bake it for 30 mins. The dough can stay in the fridge for up to two weeks, making it quite handy to have around.

I found the recipe here.

I promise to try it again, and re-post the results!!

Tastes like home

2008-03-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

These are the rolls my mom makes. This Easter was my first attempt at making them and I'd have to say... Mom, you'd be proud :)

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup butter, shortening, or margarine
1 egg
5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or bread flour

Method:

In large bowl or electric mixer, combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg, and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then for 2 minutes at medium speed. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand). Add about ½ cup flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour).

Scrape dough off sides of bowl and pour about one tablespoon of vegetable oil all around sides of bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so it is covered with oil. (This helps prevent dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in warm place until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Scrape dough out onto floured board. Turn dough over so it is floured on both sides; gently flatten to about 1 inch thick. With rolling pin, roll out to a rectangle about 18 inches long, 8 inches wide, and ¼ inch thick. Brush with melted butter. With pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut dough in half to make two strips about 4 inches wide. Make cuts through strips of dough every 2 inches, making about 18 pieces of dough.

Starting with short end, roll up one piece of dough, with butter on the inside. Place roll on parchment-lined pan with other short end down on the paper. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Be sure all rolls face the same direction on baking pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, or until light to medium golden brown. Brush tops of rolls with melted butter. Serve with Honey Butter. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls.

Helpful Tips for Making Rolls

Always add flour gradually and keep dough as soft as you can handle. A soft dough will produce a lighter roll.

It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour called for in the recipe—add only enough flour to make dough manageable.

To shorten dough's rising time, use one of these methods:

1) When dough is thoroughly mixed, oil bowl and cover dough with plastic wrap. Fill sink or larger bowl with about 2 inches of hot water or enough water to come about half or three-fourths the way up outside the dough bowl. Place bowl of dough in bowl of water and allow to rise until double in size.

2) Just before mixing dough, turn oven on lowest possible temperature. Place a pan of hot water on bottom oven rack. When dough is thoroughly mixed, place in oiled bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap; place in oven. Turn oven off, shut oven door, and allow dough to rise until double in size, about 50 to 60 minutes. Shape or cut into desired rolls. Place rolls on greased or parchment-lined pans and allow to rise until double in size. Bake according to recipe.

Brush top of rolls with butter when first taken from oven. (They taste great even if you don't do this)

How to consistently make attractive, good-tasting rolls? Practice! Practice! Practice!

My new favorite cake...

2008-03-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

For Easter dessert I thought I'd try something new. A carrot bundt cake with *gasp* no cream cheese frosting? I'm a huge fan of carrot cake. Safe to say it's my favorite type of cake and mostly because of the cream cheese frosting. So when I found this recipe I have to say I was intrigued. This recipe was such a huge success. It has a delicious orange flavor and the texture is perfect. Moist and delicious on the inside with a perfectly, slightly crunchy, bundt cake crust. I loved it! I found the recipe here and will post the recipe below because I made just a slight adaptation.

Carrot Bundt Cake
(Adaptation of recipe from Nicole at Baking Bites)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
2/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh, if possible)
zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots (from about 4 large carrots)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Grease every little nook and cranny so that the cake will come out of the pan with ease.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, butter, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until almost combined. Stir in shredded carrots, followed by raisins. Batter should have carrots evenly distributed and flour should be fully incorporated. Pour cake batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool (cake will be dark on the outside from the caramelization of sugar against the pan; don’t worry if it looks a bit darker than you’d expect) completely before frosting.

Orange Glaze
1 tbsp butter, very soft
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Add in a few drops more orange juice in the event that the frosting is too thick to pour easily.
Scrape glaze into a plastic bag and snip off the corner. Drizzle over finished cake (it is best to have the cake on a serving platter or on a wire cooling rack, where the excess can drip off if it runs down the sides of the cake) as desired.

Lawsuit Buttermilk Muffins

2008-03-21T13:06:00.001-07:00

Last night a friend of mine helped me carry in a massive amount of groceries (mostly baking ingredients) into my apartment. When he dropped the bags off in the kitchen, I offered him a slice of cake or a piece of banana bread for his efforts. Then I told him I needed to quickly start baking bread for dinner or it wouldn't be ready in time. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard with the baking?" he said. Uh... no! And while yes, I've baked a cake, banana bread, and "artisan bread in 5 mins a day" (that's the next post to come) ... I've still found time to make the blueberry muffins I've been dying to make, ever since I found them here. So yeah, maybe I'm going overboard and it's fun. I'll take a break this weekend... er, I mean just this Saturday... because Easter is coming and it wouldn't be Easter without fresh homemade rolls like my mom makes... drool... oh yeah, and some type of dessert. So for anyone else out there, that loves to bake like I do, there's much more to come :)

And now for a review of these muffins. First of all, I think the name is funny. Lawsuit for what? How good they are? A bit pretentious, no? But bake them and you'll know... they are what they live up to. The smell alone will make you forget all about the dumb name. I really wanted to make them using blueberries (the recipe says you can use whatever fruit you'd like) and I think that next time I might try a different fruit, or use smaller, and fresh, not frozen blueberries. This was the first time I baked with blueberries and the ones I had were huge and a bit mushy for the muffin. But other than that, a great muffin. Perfect for breakfast or brunch. Try it out!

Notes: The recipe has oven temperatures in Celsius (crazy Aussies!) so 200 degrees Celsius is approx. 392 degrees F and 160 degrees C is approx. 320 degrees F. Also, I used the nut topping, with pecans. And don't overbake them! I pulled the muffins about 4 mins. earlier than the recipe suggests. Enjoy :)

Coconut Cake!

2008-03-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

This cake is so messy! But so good, especially if you really really love coconut. I was looking through my "2004 Deerfield Ward Cookbook" looking for something to make for dinner, when I found myself in the dessert section, staring at the Rave Reviews Coconut Cake recipe. How'd I get there? Who knows... :) Anyway... I decided to make it. It's a moist cake full of bites of coconut and because it uses a cake mix, it's pretty quick to make. Here's the recipe...

Rave Reviews Coconut Cake (courtesy April Schummer)

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 (4 serving size) pkg. Jell-O brand vanilla flavor instant pudding ( I used coconut cream flavor)
1 1/3 c. water
4 eggs
1/4 c. oil
2 c. Baker's Angel Flake coconut
1 c. chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds) (optional)

Blend cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for 4 minutes. Stir in coconut and nuts. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9 inch layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 15 mins, the remove and place on cooling racks. Fill and top with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 Tbsp. butter
2 c. Baker's Angel Flake coconut
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 tsp. milk
3 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet; add coconut. Stir over low heat until golden brown. Spread coconut on absorbent paper to cool. (You can skip this step if you want to toast the coconut in the oven. Simply preheat your oven to 350 degrees, spread the coconut on a sheet pan, and let bake for 5-7 minutes. Watch it closely, you want to pull it out when it's just golden brown. Coconut can burn.. fast!) Cream 2 tablespoons butter with cream cheese. Add milk; beat in sugar gradually. Blend in extract; stir in 1 3/4 cups of the coconut. Spread this frosting on top of cake layers, stack and frost the sides. Finish it off by sprinkling with the remaining coconut.

The results are in...

2008-03-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I held a chocolate chip cookie bake off in an attempt to find the most crowd-pleasing chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made six different recipes and asked participants to vote for their favorite cookie

Thanks to all of you that came to my chocolate chip cookie bake-off! I had fun baking so I hope that everyone else had fun eating. After a tally of the votes, cookie E was the favorite. Cookie E was actually the recipe for Jacques Torres's Secret Chocolate Chip Cookies. The recipe can be found here.

Two recipes tied for a close second. These were cookies D and F. Recipe D was for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies from the cookbook Baking Illustrated. The recipe can be found here. And I know my mom would be proud to know that cookie recipe F is actually her recipe. It's just a simple change from the original Toll House cookie recipe. Who knew.. I've been searching for a cookie recipe that would get rave reviews and it's the one I've probably eaten the most of in my life. Thanks mom!

My Mom's Cookie Recipe
(adapted from the back of a Toll House chocolate chip bag)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick at room temp.)
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Add to the wet mixture, in thirds. Beat on low speed till incorporated. Stir in desired amount of chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 mins or until cookies are lightly browned.

Bread in one hour?

2008-03-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

Yep, thats right, you can have a tasty, warm loaf of bread in just an hour. This recipe is really versatile and can be use for cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, foccacia bread, breadsticks, scones, and more!

Here's how to make it:

Yields 2 loaves

5 1/4 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour is okay if you don't have bread flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 T salt
1 1/2 rounded T Saf-Instant Yeast
1 1/2 T liquid licithin (available at a health foods store, or you can just use oil, the lecithin makes the bread a little lighter and fluffier)
2-2 1/2 cups hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients in a mixer fit with the dough hook. Add lecithin (or oil) and 2 cups of hot water. Mix for about 1 minute, then add a little more water if the dough is too dry. Mix for 5 minutes. (Don't add any water or flour after you've started mixing for the 5 mins). Spray counter and pans with cooking spray. Shape loaves and cover with towel. Let raise for 25 minutes then bake at 350 for 25 mins.

Notes:
You can make this using whole wheat, but add 1/2 cup of applesauce in place of 1/2 of the cups of water and mix for 10 minutes instead of 5

To make this into pizza dough, roll out half the dough on a pan or stone and add toppings. Don't let the dough raise- Simply bake at 400-425 for about 15 mins.

Happy Un-birthday!

2008-02-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

My younger brother is in town and decided to celebrate his birthday (which was in October) with his friends here in Utah last night. I made him some cupcakes to help make it seem like it was somewhat of a birthday celebration. The cupcake recipe I found was from the Magnolia Bakery in NYC. I've never been to that bakery, so I can't compare the cupcakes, but these definitely got the approval of my brother.

Here is a link to the cupcake recipe, and on the page you'll find a link to the buttercream frosting too:
http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/2005/0743246616_2.html

This batter is a thick consistency. I had leftover batter after I had filled the cupcake tins 2/3rds full. If you are tempted to fill them even higher, don't! I make that mistake sometimes and not only do you risk ruining your cupcake when you try to get it out of the pan, but you make a big mess and more work for yourself.

That's bananas!

2008-02-21T20:35:00.001-08:00

You know you've found a good banana bread recipe when your roommates are finding excuses to let bananas get overly ripe. This is a really quick and easy recipe that will yield 2 small loaves. It gives a perfect snack-sized slice. I decided to add a bit of brown sugar on top while baking in the oven and it makes a delicious topping for a perfect crunch. Next time you have some brown bananas sitting around, don't throw them away!! Make this!!

Banana Bread- Adapted from foodnetwork.com

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Brown sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mash bananas and set aside. In a large bowl, cream together eggs and sugar till smooth. Add bananas, vanilla, oil, and cinnamon. Gradually add the flour mixture until the dry ingredients are fully combined. Divide batter evenly into the pans. Bake for 5 mins and then pull out of the oven and sprinkle brown sugar on top of the loaves. Do this as quickly as possible. Return to the oven for approx. 45 mins. or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire racks. Or cut a slice immediately and enjoy!

More cookies

2008-02-20T10:14:00.001-08:00

I'm always intrigued when I see a chocolate chip cookie recipe that isn't identical to one you would find on the back of the chocolate chip package. This cookie recipe produces cookies that are soft and perfect to dip in milk. Feel free to experiment by adding a cup of chopped nuts or substituting the chocolate chips with toffee or another kind of chip.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth, for about 3 mins. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Add flour mixture till it is well incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Put only 12 cookies on a pan to give enough room for spreading. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool cookies on sheet for one minute, then cool on wire racks.

My suggestion:
Double this recipe! After "tasting" the cookie dough a few times, this makes 3 dozen cookies.

My significant other's suggestion:
Put more chocolate in it!

An easy pasta dish

2008-02-20T09:42:00.001-08:00

My Aunt Stephanie taught me how to make this pasta dish. It's so delicious and it's pretty quick to make. I don't really measure out the ingredients so please forgive me when I try to explain how to make it, but trust me, it's a really forgiving recipe and you can basically put however much you want of each ingredient in there. Here are the basics:

1 box of penne pasta
1 smoked sausage
1 container of cherry tomatoes
Some fresh basil leaves
approx. 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil (to taste)
toasted pine nuts (optional)

Chop the basil and set aside. Cut the tomatoes into halves or fourths, just a manageable bite size, and set aside. Begin to boil water for pasta and slice the smoked sausage into bite size pieces as well. As soon as the water is boiling, cook the pasta according to the package directions. While pasta is cooking, cook the sausage over medium heat until brown. If you are doing the pine nuts, you can toast them now as well. The sausage and pasta should be done around the same time. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Drizzle olive oil over pasta and add the basil. Give a quick stir and then dump the sausage, tomatoes, cheese and pine nuts in to the pot. Mix well and serve hot. Add a little extra cheese on top when serving.

If you use the whole sausage and a whole box of penne it should feed approx. four people. I usually make this amount for two people and then we both have leftovers for the next day.

"Caramel" Popcorn

2008-02-18T22:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's a quick post with a recipe in honor of my cousin Hailey. She taught me this awesome trick to turn popcorn into a sweet treat. It's so easy! Here's what you do:

Pop 2 bags of Pop Secret Light Butter Popcorn (Hailey says this gives a good ratio of gooeyness to popcorn)

Dump the popcorn into a bowl that will fit it all, or if you are like me and don't have a bowl that big, use two...

Over low heat in a saucepan melt 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar. When melted, add 30 BIG marshmallows. Stir till that melts too.

Pour over the popcorn and stir to cover all of the popcorn. Let it set up for a few minutes, or however long you can wait and ENJOY!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-02-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

I have a few recipes for chocolate chip cookies and I'm always looking for a new one to try out. The other day my friend told me she used whole wheat flour in her cookies for something new. So since I had plenty of flour from my recent wheat bread baking, I thought I'd give it a try too.

My parents gave me a baking stone for Christmas and I used it to bake these cookies. The result was a delicious cookie that was soft in the middle and crispy on the edges. I used big milk chocolate chips for extra chocolatey goodness. If you're into that of course... Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 c. wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 c. butter (softened)
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Milk chocolate chips (1 to 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk flour, soda, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until soft. Use a low speed while mixing. Add eggs, one at a time. When eggs are fully incorporated, add vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients into the bowl till all of the flour is mixed in. Add as many chocolate chips as you'd like! Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto your prepared pans (greased cookie pans, or on parchment paper, or a baking stone). Bake for 7-10 mins, until cookies are golden brown. Cool on cooling racks.

Mmm bread...

2008-02-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

What's more domestic than baking your own bread? Since I'm a novice bread baker, I was happy to find a recipe that called for no kneading and was easy to follow. This yummy whole wheat bread is tasty and great for sandwiches. Try it out!

Dad's Best Whole Wheat Bread (recipe courtesy Maria Payne)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 Tbsp. salt
6 to 8 cups wheat flour

Combine water and yeast. Let sit 5 mins, or until yeast is dissolved. Add oil, sugar, white flour, gluten, and salt. Mix while adding whole wheat flour until dough is no longer sticky. Mix or knead for 10 mins (This is important to activate the gluten and make the bread softer). After mixing, cover and let rise until double (a few hours). Shape dough into loaves and place in greased pans. Cover and let rise again until double (a few more hours...). Bake in the oven for 35- 40 mins at 350 degrees. Cool on cooking racks (not in pans). Yields 2 large loaves.

A couple of notes on this...
Mixing the dough: I do it for about 10 mins like the recipe says, but if you have a super powerful mixer (like a Bosch) you might need to reduce this time by a few mins.

Letting the dough rise: After the dough is properly mixed, I lightly oil a big bowl and dump the dough into the bowl, then flip the dough so it is evenly covered in the oil. Then spray some plastic wrap with PAM and put the PAM side down so that when the dough rises the plastic wrap won't stick to it. Try to find the warmest place in your house to put the dough while it rises.

Happy baking!

Welcome to my blog!

2008-01-29T11:58:00.001-08:00

So... I decided to create a blog. On here I hope to post good recipes to try and also anything else that suits my fancy. I have no idea what I'm really doing, so I hope that this thing becomes more high-tech looking as time goes on.