Carrot and Cupcake

No Knead Fasting Bread

Since mid-February, my husband has been fasting twice a week.  Bob is very disciplined;  I am not.  I am, however, happy to bake a special bread to help sustain him while he is skipping meals.  "Fasting Bread" is whole wheat dough fortified with dried fruit, toasted nuts, oatmeal, olive oil and maple syrup.  Bob forwarded me a recipe from Catholic Cuisine.  I knew that I wanted to adjust it to bake it using the "no knead" method. 

I have tried a few different no-knead recipes, but my favorite is Michael Ruhlman's NO-KNEAD BREAD.  I've made this delicious bread countless times by following his clear directions.  It's very simple:  you mix flour, salt, a bit of yeast and water to make a dough, then let it rise for a long time (14 to 20 hours).  Once the dough has been shaped, it rises a second time, then is baked in a preheated pot in a very hot oven.  My family is usually more excited about the bread than whatever I have made to accompany it.

Bob never complains about anything I cook.  Over the past several weeks, he's been happy to eat all of my mistakes, toasted and slathered with Irish Butter, no matter how bad they were.  He's sampled:

• Dense, doughy bread.  After consulting Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day, I learned that whole wheat flour requires more liquid than white to achieve the right hydration.
• A slightly funky tasting loaf. I added the oatmeal, cranberries and nuts with the first long rise and I think they may have started to ferment.  Now, I add them after the initial rise.
• Bread with mushy, bland nuts (nuts added with the first rise)
• Bread that stuck to the pan. When I make a white loaf of no-knead bread, I add the dough directly to the preheated pot.  After it is baked, the bread pops right out.  I tried that technique with the whole wheat bread several times but the dough usually fused to the pot.  A few loaves eventually fell out when I left the pot turned upside down to cool.  Most ripped when I tried to pry them out.  It wasn’t pretty.  To prevent it from sticking, I drop the parchment paper into the pot with the dough.   

I made small changes to the recipe each week until I had a beautiful loaf of crusty bread with a good crumb.  Each slice is studded with plump cranberries, almonds and walnuts.  The oatmeal melts into the bread.  Good Friday is next week and I'll be baking up another loaf of No-Knead Fasting Bread for the whole family.  The full recipe (without pictures) is at the end of the post.  

No Knead Fasting Bread

I use a scale to weigh flour but I included the measurements in cups as well.

• 2 cups bread flour (250 grams)
• 2 cupswhole wheat flour (250 grams)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• Water
• ½ cup oatmeal
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup toasted nuts, chopped

Mix all both flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl.

Add oil and maple syrup to a 2 cup glass measuring cup.  Fill with water to 2 cups.  Add water to dry ingredients and mix to moisten.  Make sure all flour is incorporated.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel.  Let it rise overnight, for at least 14 hours.  After this rise, the dough should be covered with bubbles. 

Coat a piece of parchment with flour.  Pour dough onto parchment, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. While the dough is resting, mix cranberries and oatmeal.  Pour ¾ cup boiling water over mixture. 

After 15 minutes, use the plastic wrap to pat the dough into a large rectangle, about 12inches by 12inches.  Make sure you have enough flour on the parchment so that the dough will not stick.  

Drain excess water from oats/cranberries.  Sprinkle mixture over dough. Sprinkle with nuts.  Press cranberries, oatmeal and nuts into dough. 

Roll dough up (like a jelly roll). 

Tuck ends under to form a round loaf.   Sprinkle top of loaf with flour.  Cover with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel.  Let rise for 2 ½ hours.

After 90 minutes, place a 4 quart oven safe pot in the center of your oven.  Prop the lid against the pot.  Turn the oven on to 500 and let the pot preheat while the bread finishes rising.

When the bread is done rising, slash the top of the dough 3-4 times with a sharp knife.

Pick up the corners of the parchment, and drop the dough, parchment and all, paper side down into the hot pot.  Put the lid on the pot.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid.  Bake for another 20 minutes. 

Take the pot out of the oven and carefully dump the bread onto a cooling rack.  Turn the loaf upright and peel off the parchment.  Let cool for at least one hour before slicing.

No Knead Fasting Bread

I use a scale to weigh flour but I included the measurements in cups as well.

• 2 cups bread flour (250 grams)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (250 grams)
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• Water
• ½ cup oatmeal
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup toasted nuts, chopped

Mix all both flours, salt and yeast in a large bowl.

Add oil and maple syrup to a 2 cup glass measuring cup.  Fill with water to 2 cups.  Add water to dry ingredients and mix to moisten.  Make sure all flour is incorporated.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel.  Let it rise overnight (at least 14 hours).

After the long rise, the dough should be covered with bubbles.  Coat a piece of parchment with flour.  Pour dough onto parchment, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. 

While the dough is resting, mix cranberries and oatmeal.  Pour ¾ cup boiling water over mixture. 

After 15 minutes, use the plastic wrap to pat the dough into a large rectangle, about 12inches by 12inches.  Drain excess water from oats/cranberries.  Sprinkle mixture over dough.  Sprinkle with nuts.  Press cranberries, oatmeal and nuts into dough.  Roll dough up like a jelly roll.  Tuck ends under to form a round loaf.   Sprinkle top of loaf with flour.  Cover with plastic wrap, then a kitchen towel.  Let rise for 2 ½ hours.

After 90 minutes, place a 4 quart oven safe pot in the center of your oven.  Prop the lid against the pot.  Turn the oven on to 500 and let the pot preheat while the bread finishes rising.

When the bread is done rising, slash the top of the dough 3-4 times with a sharp knife.  Pick up the corners of the parchment, and drop the dough, parchment and all, paper side down into the hot pot.  Put the lid on the pot.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid.  Cook for another 20 minutes.  Take the pot out of the oven and carefully dump the bread onto a cooling rack.  Turn the loaf upright and peel off the parchment.  Let cool for at least one hour before slicing.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread for a Cold Winter Day

On Sunday, the good news came in waves.  First, our high school daughter received a text that school would be closed on Monday, January 6th.  Shortly after that, our home and cell phones were buzzing with calls from the grade school, delivering the same news. The kids were thrilled and quickly conspired with neighborhood friends to put together a few sleepovers.  My wonderful husband had run all of our errands over the weekend, so we were happy to stay inside our cozy house all day.  I love spoiling the kids on snow days by making a special breakfast, but, after the holidays, I wasn't up for the sugar shock that would be delivered by either my cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.  I had some leftover brioche dough in the freezer and used it to make a fragrant loaf of Cinnamon Swirl Bread this morning.  It was a treat, but not too sweet.

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits with Maple Pecan Butter

Biscuits don't take long to make and everyone loves them.  The secret to tender, flaky biscuits?  Keep your liquids (cream/buttermilk/butter - whatever you are using) cold and mix them quickly into your dry ingredients.  This week, I needed to make an appetizer for a meeting, but didn't have time to run to the store.  My pantry is pretty well stocked, so I started looking around for inspiration.  The solution?  Cheddar Biscuits topped with Maple Pecan Butter.  The butter was leftover from Sunday's Chicago Food Swap.  I had everything I needed to make the biscuits: flour, cheese, cream, buttermilk.  I made them using Tillamook Cheddar (the big block from Costco - we eat alot of it) but I think they would be even better with a sharp cheddar cheese.  The dough came together quickly and I was at the meeting (with a glass of wine in hand) before I knew it.

Kid-Pleasing Homemade Bread in 5 Minutes

Maybe this takes a little more than five minutes, but a No-Knead Bread recipe requires little active time. I've been making variations of Jim Lahey's bread for a few years.  The recipe is very simple.  Mix flour, water and a bit of yeast together, then set it aside for a long rise - 12 to 18 hours.  Dump the wet dough onto a flour dusted cotton towel and let it rise again.  Plop the dough into a preheated hot pot, then bake.  You'll have a loaf of bread that looks like it came from a bakery in about 50 minutes.  

The kids suggested that I bake daily so that we can eliminate the need for store bought bread.  My husband suggested that I find a better way to clean the dough crusted kitchen towel used during the final rise.  No matter how much flour I use to dust/coat the towel, some of the dough always stuck, creating a sticky blob that was difficult to clean.  I had to agree - it was a mess.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

We are a chocolate loving house.  I buy my chocolate chips at Coctco so we always have plenty for sprinkling on morning waffles, mixing with peanut butter and pretzels as a quick after school snack and of course, for baking.  Shortly after my husband and I were married in October 1993, I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner. My good friend Mike joined us for the holiday and brought this delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread. It has become my kids' favorite after school treat on a fall afternoon.  The bread is full of warm spices and gooey chocolate, so, of course, they love it.  It also contains a cup and a half of bran cereal...but you don't need to tell the kids about it.  The cereal melts right into the bread.  You won't even know it is there but it helps give the bread a nice texture.  The original recipe called for one cup of oil, but I’ve found that the bread is just as good if you substitute water for some of the oil (substituting apple butter for some oil works well too).   This is shaping up to be a blustery fall day - wouldn't a slice of this warm bread be a perfect way to take the edge off of the chill?

Irish Soda Bread with Raisins / Lemon Butter Spread

A slice of tender, faintly sweet soda bread is one perfect way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.  I brought half this loaf to a friend.  She and her daughter hid it from the rest of the family and happily split the bread over the course of a day.  To me, that means this recipe is a keeper!  As with most soda bread recipes, the dough can be made in just a few minutes.  Mix briefly using a light hand until ingredients just come together and you will be rewarded with a beautifully browned loaf of tender bread in about an hour.

I loved the bright flavor of lemon butter on warm bread.  My husband thought it was a bit too sweet.  My advice?  Whip the butter with lemon zest and juice until fluffy, then taste it.  If you find it to be too tart (as I did), add a bit of sugar.  Otherwise, skip the sugar and enjoy the spread as is on your bread.  I also served the bread with delicious Cranberry Curd and Peach-Ginger Jam that I have been hoarding from my visits to the Chicago Food Swap.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Snow Day Sticky Buns

The kids finally got a snow day today!  My high schooler found out at 3pm yesterday that school would be cancelled.  Thank God they cancelled school for the little guys too (with phone calls at 11pm and 6am this morning;  thanks for waking me up twice) because I would have had trouble sending the younger ones to school this morning while my fourteen year old slept in.

I recently found my old copy of Baking with Julia.  If you like to bake, this cookbook is flat-out wonderful.  With detailed instructions for making everything from breads to chocolate pie crust to unbelievable cakes, the pages are filled with gorgeous photos.  I started the brioche dough for pecan sticky buns last night, then filled and baked them this morning.  I left out the nuts (kid-request), but used plenty of butter, sugar and cinnamon. One little guy was disappointed that they didn't have frosting (I usually make cinnamon rolls), but came around after sampling these sweet and sticky treats.  Even without frosting, they have more than enough sugar to fuel a fabulous day playing in the snow.  

Irish Soda Bread and Homemade Jam

Look for several Irish soda bread recipes over the next few weeks – I want to make sure you find at least one that you can use for St. Patrick’s Day.  First up is a simple, delicious brown bread recipe that is always a hit in our house.  I like it because of the whole grains;  the kids like it because there aren’t any raisins to pick out.  If you want to make it really special, cook up a batch of homemade raspberry jam to serve with the bread.  I’d never made jam until I went to the French Pastry School.  It was so easy and my kids loved the beautiful color and fresh berry taste.  The jam keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator.  Our Costco (sometimes) sells large bags of organic frozen raspberries;  they work really well in this recipe and my girls love to have the extra berries with breakfast.  Trader Joe’s also has a good price on frozen raspberries – you’ll need at least two of those bags.  At school, we used apple pectin to set the jam.  I haven’t found it yet so I used Pomona’s Universal Pectin from Whole Foods.  It worked well.

Pecan Cherry No-Knead Bread

Years ago, I received Nancy's Silverton's Breads from Le Brea Bakery as a gift.  I was absolutely fascinated by this book because all of the recipes require a homemade sour dough starter.  She gives clear, simple instructions for catching wild yeast from the air to create that starter.  Initially, I was so excited to try this, but the thought of feeding and caring for the sponge for several weeks before I could actually start baking was daunting.  I don't have many houseplants for a reason and really didn’t think I could successfully nurture a sour dough base with a reliable daily diet of flour and water (that would be after it had consumed the initial meal or two of crushed grapes).  I paged through the beautiful photos, read all the recipes, but never made a single loaf of bread from that book.

However, a few times a month, I do make Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread.  This bread is so simple.  You mix bread, flour, salt and a tiny amount of yeast, then cover the bowl and let the dough rise overnight.  Time and a piping hot oven do the work to create a flavorful bread.  The crust is chewy, the interior is soft and the loaf is usually almost devoured in a single meal.  Have I mentioned my picky kids are not picky about baked goods?  I use some bread flour in place of all purpose recommended in his instructions;  the results are amazing.  You need to try his recipe! 

Cinnamon Rolls

Fair Warning, this is a long post.  If you just want to make unbelievable cinnamon rolls without reading the background on the recipe, please skip to the end.

Cinnamon Rolls do require advance planning, but for anyone who has had the fabulous ones at Ann Sather’s, I promise, this recipe is worth the effort!  My kids love Ann Sather’s and I found an Ann Sather cinnamon roll recipe on-line a few years ago (I have since discovered this recipe, published by the Chicago Tribune).  It made 18 small rolls and used margarine in the glaze.  I wanted a big fat cinnamon roll, dripping with sweet glaze so I adjusted the recipe to make 12 instead of 18.  I also used butter in the glaze as margarine doesn’t really have a place in my baking (shortening does though).