So the week leading up to the new year was filled with joy and craziness for me. I made all of Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners by myself and had a wonderful time trying new recipes. Also, two of my dearest friends were married in one of the most meaningful wedding ceremonies I've seen; the ceremony truly represented the couple's commitment to serving God and others through their relationship with each other.
Of course, like any wedding, there was definitely some frantic scrambling (um, try running out to radio shack during the reception so that we could have a sound system for the first dance...). In honor the of the craziness, but totally worth it and completely beautiful, wedding, I am posting a recipe for one of the most talk-about and revered foods, croissants. Most people think you have to be crazy to attempt these (yes, these are the beauties I spoke of the other day when mentioning that I was making something at 3am). You don't have to be crazy though, you just need a bit of patience. This is definitely a 2-3 day process, but it is not terribly hands-on or labor-intensive. Definitely try it. It will be worth saying that you've done it.
It was actually my 2011 New Year's resolution to make croissants from scratch. It only took me until late December to get around to.... it still counts though! I completed my resolution =).
Now, I am too lazy to re-invent the wheel, so I will be pointing you to several online tutorials for croissants and you can choose your favorite. I personally used Peter Reinhart's croissant recipe in Artisan Breads Every Day and highly recommend purchasing it (every recipe I have made from it has turned out extremely well, though make sure to use the weight measurements, not volume.
Alas, if you choose to skip checking Reinhart's book out from your local library or actually purchasing it, these recipes from some blogs will also work:
How Sweet It Is
La Tartine Gourmande
Delicious Days
P.S.
In case you are wondering what my resolution is this year, I believe it will be to make either a leg of lamb or a 7 layer Italian cream cake. I give myself some leeway by saying I will do either one or the other... is that cheating? Also, I intend to go to at least one yoga class a week this year. I went to a bikram yoga class for the first time this morning and didn't pass out, hyperventilate, or die. I'd say this is going to be a good a year. Btw, by the end of 2012, I will have my Master's degree, hopefully!
Showing posts with label yeast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yeast. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Walnut Sunflower Wheat Bread
One of the best things in the world is fresh-baked, homemade bread. It took me a little while to appreciate the different texture of my homemade breads compared to the bland, snow-white wonder-bread stuff (I only got to eat that classic white bread when I was at summer camp), but I love it now. The walnuts and sunflowers add a great texture to this bread.
This bread only takes about 10 minutes of hands-on time, so it would be perfect to make while decorating the house on the Friday after Thanksgiving, when you will be at home for a 4-5 hour stretch doing various holiday activities.
Wheat Nut and Seed Bread
Yield: 1 loaf. From King Arthur Flour
Yield: 1 loaf. From King Arthur Flour
1 1/3 cups (10 5/8 ounces) lukewarm water
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil
5 tablespoons (3 3/4 ounces) honey, molasses or maple syrup
4 cups (16 ounces) King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour or 100% White Whole Wheat flour
1 tablespoon King Arthur Whole-Grain Bread Improver, optional
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) sunflower seeds (feel free to use a bit more if desired)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) walnuts, chopped (feel free to use a bit more if desired)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil
5 tablespoons (3 3/4 ounces) honey, molasses or maple syrup
4 cups (16 ounces) King Arthur Premium Whole Wheat Flour or 100% White Whole Wheat flour
1 tablespoon King Arthur Whole-Grain Bread Improver, optional
1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) sunflower seeds (feel free to use a bit more if desired)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) walnuts, chopped (feel free to use a bit more if desired)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
Combine all of the ingredients, and mix them till you have a shaggy dough. Let the dough rest, covered, for 20 minutes, then knead till fairly smooth. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 2 hours, or until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk.
Gently deflate the dough, shape it into a log, and place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" bread pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap (or a clear shower cap), and allow it to rise for about 2 hours, till it's crowned about 1" to 2" over the rim of the pan.
Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 40 to 45 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil for the final 20 minutes of baking. Yield: 1 loaf.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
My First Attempt at Stollen
Stollen, my favorite sweet bread, at least until I try something new again.
Although I definitely do not enjoy spending an entire day reading for class and having to drink coffee by the gallon (one can only read about political theory and history for so many hours before having to fight off sleep), I do enjoy having an entire day devoted to sitting on the couch, which is conveniently located just a few yards from my kitchen.
Such vast amounts of reading need to be punctuated by physical activity, and by "physical activity" I mean kneading dough, measuring ingredients, and pulling various pans and bowls out of my cabinets. This bread definitely kept me busy and provided some nice breaks during my reading. I started it at 7:30am and finished it at about 1pm. Also, since the dough makes 2 loaves, so I baked one and I froze the other just at the stage before baking so that I can have one later when I want something sweet and holiday-like, but do not have the 6 hours to make it.
Overall, grad school and working is a bit hard to juggle (especially when you throw in my 5-day-a-week exercise regimen), but cooking and baking is here to stay... for now.
The beautiful layers of sugar on top remind me of undisturbed snowfall on a winter morning. No wonder this is a great holiday treat.
Stollen
Adapted from David Lebovitz
Adapted from David Lebovitz
You can certainly swap out any dried fruits you want although I’d keep the tang of the dried cherries or cranberries in there, if you can find them; the little nuggets will brighten up your winter just a bit.
⅔ cup dark raisins
⅔ cup golden raisins
½ cup dried cranberries or cherries
⅓ cup dark rum
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds, lightly toasted
¼ cup water
2 ½ (one envelope) teaspoons active dry yeast
½ cup milk (whole or low-fat), at room temperature
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour (or use similar amount all-purpose flour)
½ cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground dried ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest
¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract, or 1/2 teaspoon of powdered vanilla
1 cup, plus ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 large egg yolk
½ cup chopped candied ginger *optional. I feel this would be so good in it, but I did not have any, so I omitted it and the bread was still divine
½ cup diced candied citrus peel (I made my own as per the directions here)
½ cup powdered sugar, or more, if necessary
1. Mix both kinds of raisins with the cranberries or cherries with the dark rum or orange juice, then cover. In another bowl, mix the almonds with the water, and cover. Let both sit at least an hour, or overnight.
2. Pour the milk in a medium bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir briefly, then stir in 1 cup of the flour until smooth to make a starter. Cover, and let rest one hour.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, or by hand, stir together the remaining 2 ½ cups flour, the rye flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon of the dried ginger, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, citrus zest, and vanilla. Pour in the 1 cup of the melted butter, honey, and the egg yolk, and mix on medium speed until the mixture is moistened uniformly.
4. While mixing, add the yeasted starter, one-third at a time, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Once added, continue to beat for about four minutes until almost smooth: it should resemble cookie dough. Add the dried fruits (and any liquid), candied ginger, citrus peel, and almonds, and beat until they’re well-distributed
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead a few times, then place back in the mixer bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place for one hour.
6. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead the dough again, then return it to the bowl. Let rest for another hour.
7. Divide the dough into four pieces and shape each one into a oval, and place them evenly-spaced apart on a baking sheet (I used my stoneware one).
8. Cover the loaves with a clean tea towel and let rest in a warm place for one hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 350F. Remove the tea towel and bake the loaves for 45 minutes, or until they’re deep golden brown.
10. While they loaves are baking, mix together the remaining ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon dried ginger. When the breads come out of the oven, generously brush the remaining ¾ cup melted butter over the hot loaves, letting the butter saturate the breads, repeating until all the butter is absorbed.
(Feel free to lift the loaves to saturate the bottoms. Just make sure you don’t break the loaves.)
11. Rub the gingered sugar mixture over the top and side of each loaf then let rest on the baking sheet until room temperature.
12. Sift the powdered sugar over, under, and around the breads, rubbing it in with your hands. They wrap the loaves on the baking sheet in a large plastic bag and let them sit for two days. After two days, the loaves are ready to eat, or can be wrapped as gifts. You may wish to sift additional powdered sugar over the top in case they need another dusting.
Storage: Stollen can be stored for at least a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. Or frozen for at least one month.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Cottage Herb Bread
Anyway, work is going well (the best fast food restaurant ever, Chick Fil A, though I think I am supposed to refer to it as "quick serve" and not "fast food.") I love the people I work with, they make the atmosphere and work ethic fantastic. I've never worked somewhere that people act exactly the same when the boss isn't around as when he is.
However nice CFA is, I am definitely looking forward to going to graduate school in August and buying the iPad2 that is pretty much required for the program (the school gives us a grant with which we can purchase the iPad.) I'll let you know how I like reading books and magazines and newspapers on it when I get it, since that will most likely be its primary function in my life. Wow, I am going to have an iPod, iPhone, Macbook Pro, and an iPod. Can I get any more Apple products in my life?
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
¼ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese at room temperature, pressed through a sieve or pureed in a food processor or blender fitted with the steel blade until smooth
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated onion2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil¼ teaspoon baking soda¼ cup finely chopped dill
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
About 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
¼ cup lukewarm water
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ cups low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese at room temperature, pressed through a sieve or pureed in a food processor or blender fitted with the steel blade until smooth
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated onion2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil¼ teaspoon baking soda¼ cup finely chopped dill
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
About 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Let stand for five to ten minutes until creamy. Add the cottage cheese, egg, grated onion, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the baking soda and dill. Beat together well.
2. Add a cup of the whole wheat flour and the salt, and fold in. Add the remaining whole wheat flour, and fold in. Add enough of the all-purpose flour to make a dough that you can scrape onto a floured work surface. It will help to use a dough scraper, as the dough is sticky. Knead for 10 minutes, adding unbleached flour as necessary. The dough should be elastic and spring back when you press gently with a finger.
3. Oil a loaf pan with some of the remaining olive oil. Shape the dough into a loaf, and place in the pan with the seam side facing upward. Lightly brush the top with oil, then turn the loaf so that the seam side is down. Brush lightly again with olive oil. Spray or brush a piece of plastic wrap with oil, and place it, oiled side down, lightly over the pan. Cover with a damp kitchen towel, and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough reaches the edges of the pan, about one hour and 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack positioned in the middle.
4. Place the dough in the oven, and bake 45 minutes until it responds to tapping with a hollow sound. Remove from the pan, and cool on a rack.
Yield: One loaf, about 15 slices.
Advance preparation: Once cooled, wrap the bread well. It will keep for a few days and freezes well. But refrigerate the loaf after two days so it won't spoil.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Beignets, 'Cus it's Mardi Gras!

Since it's Mardis Gras and all, these seemed very fitting. Just make sure not to cook them too long (get them out of the oil when they are still light gold, before they turn dark brown.)
New Orleans Beignets
Adapted from Southern Living
Yield: Approximately 25-30
1 generous teaspoon active dry yeast (roughly half a packet)
3/4 cup warm water, divided
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 t salt
2 T shortening
3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour
Vegetable oil
Powdered sugar
Make the yeast mixture: combine the yeast, 1/4 c warm water, and 1/2 t of granulated sugar in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add milk, eggs, salt, and remaining granulated sugar..
Form a dough: microwave remaining 1/2 cup of water until hot (about 115F); stir in shortening until melted. Add to yeast mixture. Beat at low speed, gradually adding 2 cups flour, until smooth. Gradually add remaining 1 to 1 1/2 cups flour, beating until a stick dough forms. Transfer to a lightly greased bowl; turn to grease top. Cover and chill 4 to 24 hours.
Roll and cut: Turn dough out onto a floured surface roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 2 1/2 inch squares.
Fry until golden: pour oil to depth of 2 to 3 inches into a Dutch oven; heat to 360F. Fry dough, in batches, 2 minutes or so on each side or until golden brown. Drain on wire rack. Dust immediately with powdered sugar.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
OMS Bread!

I wasn't planning on posting this recipe, but since several people have asked about it and a.) don't own a printer and b.) am too lazy to write it out for them and c.) don't know some of their emails/facebooks, I have decided to post it here and give them the blog url.
The original creator of this bread, The Bunnery in Jackson Hole, WY, calls it the OSM Bread. However, there was a missions group at my college called One Mission Society, OMS, and so I can't help but call this OMS Bread. This recipe was adapted by Proof of the Pudding blog in its 11-20-08 post (www.proofofthepudding.wordpress.com). It is so delicious. I recommend it for anything from toast for breakfast to a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch (good quality ham and cheese, of course), or just with butter and honey for a snack.
Just a note: The original recipe calls for canola or safflower oil, but I use olive oil. Much like my flour collection, the variety of oils in my possession is pretty sad, but is growing with time. Also, I just love the taste of olive oil.
Oh, and if you use an 8x4 loaf pan, it gives you a taller loaf. I don't have one, so I just fold up some of my used/saved tinfoil and make my 9x5 more like a 8x5. -Yes, I save my tinfoil. I also wash and re-use my plastic baggies. Got a problem with that?
Oat, Millet, Sunflower Bread (OMS Bread)
1 package (2 1/2 teaspoons) dry active yeast
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup canola or safflower oil
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup millet
2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
3-4 cups whole wheat flour
If you wish to halve the recipe for one loaf, like I do b/c I have no room in my freezer and not enough stomach to eat 2 loaves:
1 1/8 cups lukewarm water
1 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/4 cup honey
1/4 canola or safflower oil
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 cup sunflower seeds
1/8 cup millet
1 cup bread flour
1 1/2 to 2 cups whole wheat flour
Mix together the lukewarm water and honey in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and stir until dissolved. Allow the yeast to proof for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast rises to the surface and starts to foam.
Stir the oil into the yeast mixture. Then add half (1 cup if whole recipe, 1/2 cup if half) of the bread (or all-purpose) flour and half (2 cups if whole recipe, 1 cup if half) of whole wheat flour and beat with a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment until the batter is smooth and glossy. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Add the salt, oatmeal, sunflower seeds and millet to the bowl; stir down the dough and blend in. Add the remaining cup of bread flour and stir well. Gradually add in the remainder of the whole wheat flour. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for about 10 minutes (or, switch to the dough hook on your mixer — this will take less time), until the dough is soft, but not sticky. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been oiled, cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
Grease two 9x5 loaf pans well. Punch down the dough and knead lightly and briefly to deflate. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a loaf, and place a loaf in each pan. Allow the loaves to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
About 20 minutes before you bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes, until the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped (the internal temperature should be around 200°F). Allow the loaves to cool in the pans for a few minutes, then remove from pans and let them cool completely.
Yield: Two 9″x5″ loaves (Or one, if you did a half recipe)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Fancy-Feeling, But Simple Breakfast

Granola bread slathered with plain Greek yogurt and drizzled with honey.
Complex carbs and fiber, protein and calcium, and yumminess. Oh, and the apple too, just to get a fruit in there.
I felt so European while I was eating my breakfast this morning. Like I should be in the French country side watching the sunrise and reading the newspaper. Being in the middle of Kentucky's rolling hills at 8am is good enough though.
I got the idea and the bread recipe for this from the blog www.proofofthepudding.wordpress.com's October 27, 2008 posting.
It's a no-knead bread, which I don't quite understand the point of, since kneading is my favorite part of making bread. Also, no-knead bread takes just as long as, or longer than, traditional kneaded breads, so the point of it really makes no sense to me. Oh well, this bread tastes delicious!
Anyway, Proof of the Pudding originally had this bread with ricotta cheese and honey, but I don't have any ricotta cheese in the house and Greek yogurt seemed much healthier.
Granola Bread
Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and www.proofofthepudding.wordpress.com
2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated yeast
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granola (any kind, I used my homemade stuff I had on hand)
Neutral-tasting oil for greasing the pan
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water)
In a 5-quart bowl or lidded container, mix together the water, yeast, honey, oil, cinnamon and salt. Stir well.
Mix in the flours and granola without kneading, using a wooden spoon. You may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
Cover the container — not airtight — and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses, about 2 hours.
The dough can be used immediately after this first rise, but it is easier to handle when it’s cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.
On baking day, grease a 9″x5″ (or 8″x4″) nonstick loaf pan (it is important to use nonstick, as the dough is very wet). Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and divide into two equal pieces. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
In other words, take each of the 4 the corners of the dough and fold them into the middle, look it up on youtube if you are still confused (I did).
Stretch the ball into an oval shape about the length of the pan and drop into the prepared pan. Allow to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes (or 1 hour if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 375F.
Right before baking the bread, brush the top with the egg wash and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of granola, if you would like. Place the bread in the center of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until richly browned and firm. You may need to cover the loaf with aluminum foil to prevent the granola topping from burning. When done, the bread will sound hollow when tapped and the internal temperature will be ~205F.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. Serve in thick hunks, covered with plain Greek yogurt and drizzled with honey.
Yield: 2 loaves worth of dough, although the recipe can easily be halved
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Homemade Complex Carbohydrates
This morning I taught Chris, the cutest two year old in the world, how to swim. Well, at least, the first part of swimming: being comfortable in the water and kicking. Afterwards, I decided that I just couldn't wait until the weekend to try making homemade bread, so I stopped at Kroger and bought some bread flour and active dry yeast. After the rapid rise yeast fiasco with the cinnamon goop, I wasn't taking any chances.
Even with it being my first time making bread, this is absolutely delicious. I couldn't help but sneak a slice before dinner time -it smelled way too good! The honey subtly flavors the bread and makes it just the perfect amount of sweet.
I ate it for dinner as a vanilla-almond-honey sandwich tonight (mix almond butter with vanilla extract, spread on bread, drizzle with honey). If I had the time to bake this every week, I might consider never buying store-bought bread again. Also, it was very easy, which is good, since I was quite scared to attempt anything with yeast again, just in case I happened to waste perfectly good flour and such like I did with the cinnamon goop.
I received this recipe from Grace, one of my hall moms on First Glide at Asbury University. She and Judy are one of the many reasons why Asbury is such a priceless experience. They truly love us First Glide girls. One of my favorite Asbury memories is the First Glide Brunch that they would host every year. So much delicious food and so much fun!
Grace calls this "Allen's Bread" because Allen, her husband, makes it so often.
Ingredients
3 cups warm water
2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup honey, divided
5 cups bread flour (white)
5 tablespoons, divided, melted
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Preparation
In a LARGE bowl, mix warm water, yeast and 1/3 cup honey.
Add 5 cups bread flour and stir to combine.
Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt.
Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour.
Flour a flat surface, or use a flour pastry cloth, and knead with whole wheat flour.
The dough dough should no longer be too sticky, just pulling away from the counter.
This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour.
Place in a greased bowl. turning once to coat the surface of the dough.
Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm for half an hour or so.
For a warm place, I heat the oven to 200F, turn off and let cool down for 5 minutes, then put the dough in.
Punch down and divide into 2 loaves. Place in greased 9x5 inch loaf pans and allow to rise for an hour.
Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake.
Lightly brush the tops of the loaves with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Cool completely.
The butter prevents the crust from getting too hard.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)