Tagged with baking …

Dec 17 2011
8 Comments
Bread, Muffins, Biscuits and Scones

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins

Peanut Butter Banana Muffin on PlateI’m not going to lie to you.  These muffins are outstanding.  There’s no time to waste – bake them this very afternoon!  Dense, moist, toasty and peanuty with a hint of banana flavor and a whole lot of healthy ingredients.  For a really extra-special-delicious accompaniment serve these alongside a steaming mug of homemade Hot Chocolate-Mocha.

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins
Makes ~10

Pile of Peanut Butter Banana Muffins1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 toasted wheat germ
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. powdered stevia
3 medium-sized, very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter
1/4 canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. egg replacer + 6 tbsp. water (whisk together until foamy, then let sit for a minute)

Preheat oven to 400F and lightly spray 10 muffin tins with cooking oil.

Whisk together the flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt and stevia in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, combine the bananas, peanut butter, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and egg replacer until smooth.  Stir this mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.

Divide batter among the muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let muffins sit in pan for a few minutes, then remove them and place on a wire rack to cool.

(I believe this recipe came off of Epicurious.com.  Naturally, I swapped the refined sugars for stevia and reduced the amount of oil.)

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Dec 13 2011
4 Comments
Bread, Yeast Breads

Cracked Wheat No-Knead Bread

Slices of Cracked Wheat BreadIs it wrong to wax eloquent about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (as I do on my sister blog, Dough, Dirt & Dye)?  Well, if it’s wrong, I don’t want to be right.  This whole grain, soft, chewy and crunchy bread makes a killer PB & J and it’s a snap to make.  Without a lot of effort, you’ll get two big round loaves of bread from this batch – or make a whole bunch of small rolls with which to make sandwiches or as a wholesome side with soups, stews and salads.

Cracked Wheat No-Knead Bread
Makes 2 large boules

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches4 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cracked whole wheat
1 1/2 tbsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
4 1/4 cups lukewarm water

In a 6-quart food grade bucket, whisk together the flours, cracked wheat, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten.  Add the water and mix until there is no dry flour left.  You may need to get your (wet) hands in there to make sure everything is mixed together.  The dough will be heavy and wet.

Loosely cover the bucket and let sit out on the counter for two hours.  The dough will puff up quite a bit.  After two hours, transfer the bucket (securing the lid) to the refrigerator and let it ferment for at least eight hours.  This dough needs this time so that the cracked wheat can absorb the liquid and become soft.  You don’t want hard little wheat bullets in your otherwise tender bread.

When you’re ready to bake, take a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.  Sprinkle a little bit of flour over the surface of the dough in the container, then remove as much dough as you’d like (depending on the size loaf you want to make).  Quickly shape the dough into a boule using more flour as needed, and place on the prepared baking sheet.  (If using a baking stone, instead of lining the inside of a baking sheet with parchment paper as described above, turn it over and line the outside bottom – this way you can easily slide the dough/parchment onto the baking stone.)  Cover loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 90 minutes.

An hour or so into the rise, preheat the oven to 450F.  (If you’re baking on a stone, place it in the oven at this time.)  If not using a baking stone, just bake the bread on the prepared baking sheet.  Just before you’re ready to put the dough in the oven, spritz the loaf with water then quickly and firmly slash the loaf about 1/4″ deep using a serrated knife.  I usually do a simple cross or parallel lines.

Bake for 35-45 minutes.  The time will depend on how big the loaf is.  The bread should be a deep brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Allow the boule to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing into it.

(Thanks to Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day for this recipe.)

Cracked Wheat Boule

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Dec 08 2011
2 Comments
Bread, Yeast Breads

Rosemary Whole Wheat Rolls

Rosemary Whole Wheat Rolls on RackDig out that six quart food grade bucket and add a mere ten ingredients, then apply a little bit of elbow grease and stir.  Let sit on the counter for a few hours (where it will rise to glorious, fragrant heights) before popping it into the refrigerator.  Go to bed that night knowing that while you wander through dreamland, good things are happening in that food grade bucket.  Mysterious, yeasty things that will yield crunchy-outside, soft-inside rolls, baguettes or boules with a rich, rosemary-sourdough essence.  No incantations necessary and no kneading required.  Just patience.

Rosemary Whole Wheat Rolls Prior to BakingRosemary Whole Wheat Rolls
Yields 12 sandwich rolls, 4 baguettes or 2 boules

3 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 tbsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp. dried rosemary (or 3 tbsp. fresh, minced)

Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the water, olive oil, applesauce and rosemary.  Stir or use your hands to mix everything together until there is no dry flour left.  Mixture will be wet.  Cover loosely and let sit for two hours.  Dough will rise quite a bit.  It’s ready to use at this point, but it’s easier to work with (and you’ll get tastier bread) if you put the dough in the refrigerator overnight – or even up to 10 days.

When you’re ready to bake, take a large baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.  Sprinkle a little bit of flour over the surface of the dough in the container, then remove half of the dough (for 6 rolls, 2 baguettes or 1 boule; leave the rest for another batch).  Divide the dough into 6 roughly equal pieces (for rolls).  Quickly shape the dough into balls using more flour as needed, and place on the prepared baking sheet.  (If using a baking stone, instead of lining the inside of a baking sheet with parchment paper as described above, turn it over and line the outside bottom – this way you can easily slide the dough/parchment onto the baking stone.)  Lightly sprinkle flour over the rolls and cover loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 90 minutes.

A half hour before baking preheat the oven to 450F.  (If you’re baking on a stone, place it in the oven at this time.)  If not using a baking stone, just bake the bread on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake rolls for about 25 minutes or until a rich brown on top.  When you tap the bottom of a roll, it should sound hollow and feel firm.

Transfer rolls to a wire rack to cool completely.

(This beautiful recipe is adapted from the book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, MD and Zoe Francois.  I reduced the olive oil called for by half – subbing unsweetened applesauce for the remainder – and I omitted the egg white wash.  You could spritz the tops of the rolls with water prior to baking, if you wish.)

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Nov 06 2011
4 Comments
Bread, Breakfast, Yeast Breads

Noon Rogani (Cinnamon Turban Bread)

Noon Rogani Loaf on PlateI subscribe to King Arthur Flour’s quarterly publication, The Baking Sheet, because I’m obsessed with breads – especially yeast breads.  And while a good majority of the offerings are not vegan-adaptable (at least not by this humble baker), there are always one or two recipes that I want to try out immediately.  Noon Rogani, in their Holiday 2011 issue, was one of those recipes.  I did have to do a little bit of tweaking to make this vegan and also less “refined.”  First off, I used mostly KAF White Whole Wheat Flour and a little bit of AP flour.  I substituted walnut oil for vegetable oil and agave nectar for the tablespoon of sugar called for in the dough.  Instead of the butter/cinnamon/sugar called for in the filling, I used unsweetened applesauce and stirred in cinnamon and Demerara sugar.  Butter was called for in the topping as well, so instead I used almond milk and brushed it over the loaves then sprinkled more Demerara sugar on top before putting the loaves in the oven.  Oh, and one other change: the original recipe says to roll the dough into a 5 foot (yes, 5 feet) rope.  Sadly, I do not have 5 feet of counter space, so I divided the dough in two and rolled each to approximately two and a half feet.  This sounds like a complicated recipe, but it truly is not.  Take your time, enjoy the process.  The dough is forgiving.  You will definitely enjoy the results.

Slice Noon Rogani

Noon Rogani
Makes 2 generous loaves

Dough
3 1/2 cups KAF White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup unbleached, AP flour
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4+ cups warm water (I needed about 1 3/4 cups)
2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. agave nectar
1 tbsp. walnut oil

Filling
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup Demerara sugar (or more, depending on how sweet you like it)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping
almond milk
Demerara sugar

Dough: Stir together the flours, yeast and salt, then add the water, agave nectar and walnut oil and mix until you have a nice, soft dough.  Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Place dough in a large bowl that has been lightly spritzed with oil and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Filling:  Combine the applesauce, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Assemble:  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Divide the dough in half and working with one piece at a time (cover the portion you aren’t using so it doesn’t dry out) roll out to an approximately 16″ square and about 1/8″ thick.  Spread half of the applesauce mixture over the dough.  Roll the dough just as you would for cinnamon rolls.  It will get a little bit messy, but it doesn’t matter, persevere!  When you have the dough rolled, squeeze and pull gently until you’ve stretched it to about two and a half feet long.  Then, start twisting the ends so that you get a swirl going along the length of the “rope.”

Dough being rolled

Grab one of the baking sheets that you’ve lined with parchment paper and loosely roll the dough around and around.  It will look like a big cinnamon roll.  Set aside and do the same with the other portion of dough – placing it on the second baking sheet.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for about 45 minutes.

Two loaves rolled

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Once the loaves have finished their second rise, gently brush the tops with the almond milk and sprinkle with sugar.  Place in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes – rotating and switching the loaves between shelves halfway through the baking time for even browning.  The loaves will be a lovely, dark brown with a sparkly crust.  Remove loaves from their pans and let cool on wire racks.

Two loaves baked

See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

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