Zucchini Country Bread

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014Leave a comment

I’ve been on this kick to bake bread daily (which means it happens about 3-4 times a week, because anything I try to do daily usually only happens 3-4 times a week), so I’ve been going through my bread cookbooks. This recipe comes out of Beth Hensperger’s Bread for All Seasons, which I recently gave to my sister, and I remembered how much I love this book. I was so happy to find a recipe that uses zucchini but isn’t sweet, just to give me another option for all the zucchini that is starting to appear. This loaf is great to accompany salad or soup, or we had it with a homemade boursin (goat cheese with a little minced garlic, chopped basil, parsley, and rosemary), and an array of fresh fruits and vegetables for dinner. Perfect summer meal. Note that one batch will make two long loaves.

Zucchini Country Bread

1 T. active dry yeast
pinch of sugar
5 to 5 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour (I substituted 1 c. whole wheat)
1 1/4 c. warm water
4 or 5 medium zucchini (or one baseball-sized one!)
1 T. olive oil
1 T. salt

In a standing mixer, sprinkle the yeast, sugar and 1 1/4 cups of the flour over the warm water. Beat well until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until bubbly, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, coarsely grate the zucchini to make 2 packed cups and drain in a colander set over a plate (with a little sprinkle of salt) for 30-60 minutes.

Add 1/2 c. of the remaining flour, oil, salt, and grated squash, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, until a soft, sticky dough is formed that just clears the sides of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead vigorously until smooth and springy, about 2 minutes, adding 1 T. flour at a time, if necessary. The dough will be soft and smooth. Place in a greased deep container, turn once to coat the top, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Turn the dough onto the work surface and divide into 2 equal portions. Form each portion into a 10-inch cylindrical log with tapered ends, dusting the entire round of dough with a bit of flour, and place seam side down on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

With kitchen shears, snip the top of each loaf on the diagonal 3 or 4 times. Brush the top of the loaf with olive oil, if desired. Place the loaves in the center of the preheated oven and bake 40-45 minutes or until crusty, brown, and sound hollow when tapped. Remove to a rack to cool completely.

Chewy Italian Rolls (Ciabatta)

July 29, 2014Leave a comment

There’s these rolls at Costco, with the La Brea Bakery label, that are so versatile, and such a perfect star for summer dinners: tomato, basil, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar sandwiches, BLTs, grilled veggie paninis, grilled cheese with cherry jam and basil, etc. But, I hate going to Costco just to buy these rolls (because I can never leave without spending at least $50, even though my kids emerge happier than when they went in), so I was delighted to see this recipe in a King Arthur Flour magazine. And, they are totally great–not quite the same texture as La Brea, but they have their own great texture and a way shorter list of ingredients! Plus, I used half whole wheat–my miracle cure for the great ail of the American diet. Note that you have to start the biga, or starter, a day in advance, which is a great thing to do right as your cleaning up dinner or just before bed. It feels so good to start a new day with some bread already in the making! Plus, rolls are the perfect summer bread, because they don’t have to bake nearly as long as a loaf, so I can turn my oven off quicker!

Chewy Italian Rolls

For the Biga

1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. water
1/8 t. instant yeast

For the Dough

biga (from above)
2 1/2 c. flour (I substituted half of this amount with whole wheat)
1/2 c. water
2 t. salt
1/2 t. instant yeast

To make the biga: Mix all of the ingredients until well blended. Cover the bowl, and let rest at room temperature for 12 to 20 hours, until the mixture is very bubbly.

To make the dough: Mix the biga with the remaining ingredients for 2 to 4 minutes, using an electric mixer set on slow speed. Increase the mixer speed to medium, and mix for about 4 minutes; the dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Add additional water or flour if necessary.

Let the dough rise in a greased bowl, covered, for 1 to 2 hours, until very puffy.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and shape it into a 6″ x 12″ rectangle. Using a bench knife or pizza wheel, cut out eight 3″ square rolls. Place the rolls, floured side up, onto parchment paper. Let them rise for about 45 minutes, lightly covered, until they’re puffy.

Place a baking stone in the top third of your oven, and preheat the oven to 450°F.

Bake the rolls for 13 to 15 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield: 8 rolls.

So great for sandwiches and so easy to shape!

Dutch Oven Apple Pie

July 26, 2014Leave a comment

Well, we don’t venture out camping very often, but last week we spent two nights in the great outdoors, so of course, I was excited to do a little dutch oven baking! I have made bread in our dutch oven before, baking it just in our home oven, and it works beautifully, but I was a little scared to try it outside. I decided to make soup, bread, and pie, but I was especially happy with how the bread and pie turned out. I used a bunch of granny apples I had on hand, and I went ahead and prepared the crusts (I rolled them out on parchment and put them in the dutch oven before we left), and then brought all the filling ingredients pre-mixed, so all I had to do was core the apples (we had to get a little creative for that), and then toss it all together and bake.

Here’s the hubby and baby boy helping out with the cooking. We didn’t realize until later that this was perhaps a little precarious of a situation to be putting our baby in (since he kind-of looks like he’s about to fall out of the backpack–into hot charcoals. Whoops). So dutch oven soup, bread, and pie were all a success, but I especially pleased when we opened the lid to the pie. It was like magic!

Dutch Oven Apple Pie

5 large tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (5 cups)
1 c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. flour
1/8 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
double crust pie dough (recipe below)
sugar for dusting
1 T. butter, cut into 6 pieces

Combine all ingredients except butter and let stand while preparing pastry. Line 10-inch dutch oven with pastry [I left the pastry on the parchment paper, and placed the dough and parchment paper inside the dutch oven, which also made for easy cleaning]; add filling and dot with butter. Cover with rolled dough for top crust. Seal and flute edge, then sprinkle crust with sugar. Make slits to allow steam to escape, and cover with the dutch-oven lid.

If baking at home, bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce to 350 degrees and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is golden. If baking outdoors, place 10 charcoals under the dutch oven and 12 coals on top of the lid, and bake for about 45 minutes, or again, until the crust is golden.

No-Fail Pie Crust

2 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 t. salt
1 c. butter
1/4 c. cold water
1 T. vinegar
1 egg, beaten

Sift together flour and salt. Cut in 1/2 the butter until the mixture resembles small peas, then cut in the rest of the butter until the mixture resembles navy beans [I love these directions–never read anything like it before!]. In a mixing bowl, combine water, vinegar, and egg. Pour into flour mixture and mix lightly with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry forms a ball. Divide pastry into two portions (2/3 for bottom, 1/3 for top). Roll out between parchment or waxed paper.

Recipe from The Friends of Old Deseret Dutch Oven Cookbook

Simple Peach Ice Cream

July 23, 2014Leave a comment

I love when I’m reading a magazine, and I come across a recipe that I have both the time to make as well as all the ingredients, so I can make it pronto! This recipe from Martha’s Living definitely qualified. The simplest ice cream ever, with a lot of fresh fruit. I can’t wait to try it with the cherries in my freezer, too!

Simple Peach Ice Cream

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 quart frozen peaches (made from about 4-6 medium fresh peaches)

I already had frozen peaches on hand, but if you don’t, just boil fresh peaches for 30 seconds (to loosen the skins), remove from pot, and let cool until you can handle them. When ready, skin and slice the peaches, then either flash freeze them on a cookie sheet in a single layer or place in a quart baggie and freeze for at least one day.

When ready to make the ice cream, place the sweetened condensed milk and peaches in a blender (if you have frozen them in a baggie, you may want to microwave them briefly to separate, and smash them a little to help your blender out), and blend for about 1 minute. This makes a beautiful soft-serve consistency ice cream. You can return it to the freezer if you’d like something harder, but we enjoyed this ice cream right away! We thought this was a perfect end to a summer day.

Real Burger Buns

July 21, 2014July 21, 20141 Comment

I just really, really dislike store-bought burger buns. I think there is nothing about them that is appealing, except that they have a nice, uniform shape. But they have no flavor, and their ingredient list is incomprehensible. I just would rather avoid them altogether.

Of course, that puts me up to a lot of work, but honestly, when the burger tastes so much better, I’m willing to do it. This is another recipe that I like (my other favorite has mashed potatoes, so this one is a little bit easier). I am also finding that bread recipes with cream instead of butter have a great crumb, and it’s a little less time-intensive as well. This batch made up about 12 for us, and they were good-sized. The recipe comes from a Gourmet Grilling magazine, and it can also be used for hot dog buns, if you like! Just shape into cylinders and cut.

Real Burger Buns

1 1/4 c. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. warm water (105—115°F)
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast
1/4 c. sugar
5 c. all-purpose flour (can substitute 2-3 cups with whole wheat)
2 t. salt

For the top

1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 t. sesame seeds

Bring milk and cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cool mixture to 105 to 115°F. [I just heated them in the microwave for about 45 seconds.]

Meanwhile, stir together warm water and yeast in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Add warm milk mixture, sugar, flour, and salt to yeast mixture and mix at low speed, scraping down side of bowl as necessary, until flour is incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 6 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.)

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours.

To make hamburger buns:
Butter 2 large baking sheets. Punch down dough, then roll out on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round (about 1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with floured cutter, arranging 3 inches apart on baking sheets. Gather and reroll scraps once, then cut out more rounds. [If you just cut, the final bun looks like a biscuit. I like to cut with the circle cutter, and then wrap the sides under–like you are pinching all the sides into the bottom of the bun–in order to get a dome on the roll.]

Loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until they hold a finger mark when gently pressed, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Brush buns with some of egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until tops are golden and undersides are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

July 21, 2014July 21, 2014Leave a comment

Need a fast treat that’s sturdy and can be done in less than an hour? I have needed this special something several times in the last few weeks of summer, so this recipe has been a lifesaver. It gets to the oven quite quickly, bakes, and then is easy to take to the lake, camping, for a picnic, or just to have around the house as friends are stopping in. I also love that it’s mostly whole grain and since I don’t think butter is all that bad for people (in moderation, of course), I think this is really a great treat. Hope someone else loves it too! This recipe came from an old Everyday Food magazine.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars

3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
3/4 c. packed light-brown sugar (I’ve also substituted for 1/2 c. honey, and it works fine, too)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon [I use 1 t., ’cause we love cinnamon]
1 c. all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
1 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter paper. [I just line the baking pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.]

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon until smooth. Add flour, oats, and raisins; fold in just until combined.

Spread batter in prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift bars onto a work surface; cut into 16 bars.

Brown Bag Caramel Popcorn

July 9, 2014August 18, 2015Leave a comment

I couldn’t believe this recipe would work, but I was in a time crunch, so it was worth a try. Amazingly, it works! And it’s delicious! I first made it for my Lucy to take for a class treat, but I have since made it several times, including for 4th of July firework shows. It takes a little less than half an hour, start to finish, and is really as delicious as other, more time-intensive, versions. This recipe is adapted from AllRecipes.com, but I’ve changed it here to reflect many of the great suggestions from the readers, as well as eliminate the margarine.

Brown Bag Caramel Popcorn

8 quarts popped popcorn
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. light corn syrup (honey can also work)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. baking soda

Spray the inside of a large (grocery-sized) brown bag with cooking spray. Place the popped popcorn into the bag. Set aside.

In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.

Now to the potentially tricky part. The original directions say to heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and then stir in the baking soda, but I thought it would burn in my microwave (as other cooks had noted it did in their microwave), so I adapted it to microwaving it first for 90 seconds on high, then stirring it to make sure it’s completely combined, then I microwaved it for another 90 seconds on high, and then added the baking soda. I would recommend going with the lower time amount first, because you can always cook it longer, if needed.

Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 1 minute and 10 seconds (I only did 1 minute). Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 1 minute and 10 seconds (again, I just did 1 minute). Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

Cherry Clafouti

July 8, 20142 Comments

I really love cherry season, and for some reason, cherries are the fruit I get most excited about baking with. I know this is strange–I think it has something to do with memories of Hostess Cherry Pies. Anyway, turns out that nothing from my kitchen has ever tasted like a Hostess Cherry Pie (I’m not really sure how they accomplish it, to be honest), but my adult tastes don’t enjoy them much anymore, anyway. So, if you’re interested in doing something with the cherries you’ve just picked up from a fruit stand, here’s a great option. A clafouti (which, I believe is pronounced “cla–foo-tee”) can be a dessert or if you live at my house, a breakfast food. Ina Garten’s recipes, which I’ve used here, calls for pears, but I’ve adapted it back to the more traditional cherries. Essentially, this is a custard (crepe-like) batter baked with fruit. It’s very simple to make and it looks great straight out of the oven, but stays quite hot, so if you’re serving it to kids, best to wait for 15 minutes or so (the cherries capture a lot of heat). This recipe is adapted from Garten’s Barefoot in Paris.

Cherry Clafouti

1 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 c. plus 1 T. granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
6 T. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. heavy cream (you can use milk here, it will just lessen the creaminess, which works for me!)
2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 t. grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. almond extract
1 c. sweet cherries
Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 10 x 3 x 1 1/2-inch round baking (pie) dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with 1 T. of the granulated sugar.

Beat the eggs and the 1/3 c. of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, mix in the flour, cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, and almond extract. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pit the cherries either by slicing them in half or with a cherry pitter. Sprinkle the cherries in the baking dish, and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.

(My husband liked this picture better, so I included them both!)

Chocolate-Coconut Pound Cake

June 17, 2014Leave a comment

I had this recipe clipped, and I finally tried it two weeks ago. Though not nearly the hit that its companion of the afternoon was (French Lemon Yogurt Cake–I’ll be posting that recipe soon!), I love that it uses coconut oil and has quite a nice, tender crumb, and that the texture even becomes silky the next day. Definitely keeps well, and freezes well, too. You’ll also note by my photo that I didn’t take the time to put in parchment, and it was fine. (I’m also posting it by request. Hope you enjoy it, Mom!). Taken from Bon Appetit, March 2014.

Chocolate-Coconut Pound Cake

1/4 c. unsalted butter, plus more
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour [I used whole wheat]
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. kosher salt
3/4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. virgin coconut oil, room temperature
1 1/2 c. plus 1 tablespoon sugar (I cut this down to just 1 c.)
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8×4″ loaf pan; line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat oil, 1/4 c. butter, and 1 1/2 c. sugar until pale and fluffy, 5–7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions; beat until mixture is very light and doubled in volume, 5–8 minutes. Add vanilla.

Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients (do not overmix; it will cause cake to buckle and split). Scrape batter into prepared pan and run a spatula through the center, creating a canal. Sprinkle with coconut and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake cake, tenting with foil if coconut browns too much before cake is done (it should be very dark and toasted), until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 70–80 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan 20 minutes before turning out.

Rosemary Raisin Crackers

June 17, 2014Leave a comment

I’m obsessed with Trader Joe’s Rosemary Raisin Crisps, but Trader Joe’s isn’t very close to my home, so I’m committed to figuring this recipe out myself. This is my first attempt, and it’s good, although not an exact likeness (not quite as dry and has wheat germ–tastes a little more like a graham cracker, and also wasn’t sliced in squares). The flavor is so similar, though, that I have to write this down, so I remember it, even if I continue tweaking it!

Rosemary Raisin Crackers

1 1/4 c. whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 c. toasted wheat germ
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1/4 c. raisins, minced
1 T. fresh (or 1 t. dried) rosemary, minced
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 T. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c. nonfat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray; set aside. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour, wheat germ, sugar, sunflower seeds, raisins, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (you may also just do this with a whisk, by hand). Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal (or use your fingers and do the same). With machine running, gradually add buttermilk; process until dough comes together and is moist (if doing by hand, switch to a wooden spoon and mix until the dough just comes together, adding a little extra buttermilk, if needed).

Transfer to a lightly floured surface or to a sheet of parchment paper precut to the size of a baking sheet. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. Roll until 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.

Cut dough into diamonds or rectangles using a pastry knife (or butter knife). Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Pierce each cracker liberally with a fork. Bake until hard, about 16 minutes. Transfer crackers to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight plastic container, at room temperature, up to 1 week.