Food

Favorite Bread

I started baking bread a couple of years ago and have finally found the perfect recipe.  I tend to bake bread in mass during summertime when tomatoes are in season because there are few things better than a tomato sandwich on fresh homemade white bread.  Unless it's a tomato sandwich with BACON on fresh homemade white bread.  Once I got all the right tools and mastered my recipe, throwing together a couple of loaves of bread is truly no big deal.  Honestly, a stand mixer with a dough hook is essential for this recipe.  Beyond that, if you have bread size loaf pans (12 inch) it helps make more of a sandwich bread loaf.  An electric knife will make your bread making life easier too and eliminate the need to wash your mouth out with soap after you've tried to use a regular knife to slice a piece of fresh bread that doesn't look like someone sat on it.    Trust me.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 tsp. instant yeast (rapid rise)
3/4 c. warm water + 2 2/3 c. warm water
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp. salt
8 c. all purpose flour*

*I sometimes use 2 cups white whole wheat and 6 cups all purpose.  When I want to pretend it's really healthy.   I also use King Arthur flour but any kind will work.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in 3/4 cups warm water (between 105-115 degrees).  Next add the remaining 2 2/3 of warm water, olive oil, honey, salt, and 5 cups of flour and combine with dough hook on low.  Once combined, slowly add the remaining flour (1/2 cup at a time).  Knead for 6-8 minutes.  Transfer to an oiled bowl (I actually just throw some oil into my mixer bowl and roll the dough around in it), cover with plastic wrap and a towel and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour.  After dough has risen (usually after about an hour it reaches the top of the bowl), divide in half.  Shape into loaves and place in oiled pans.  Cover with a towel and let rise for about another hour or until they reach desired size.  Brush tops of loaves with melted butter or olive oil.  Place into preheated 400 degree oven.  Bake 10 minutes and rotate pans 180 degrees.  If tops of loaves are getting too browned, cover with foil.  Bake an additional 10 minutes or until thermometer inserted into center of loaf reaches 190 degrees.  (I use a digital meat thermometer because it's all I have.  And it works.  And bread and meat are all the same in my book.)

I think you're supposed to let them cool slightly but we usually can't wait.  I do take the loaves out of the pan and let them cool on a rack.  But usually we're slicing into them right away and fighting over the end pieces.  Which, by the way, are divine with butter and cracked black pepper.  You're welcome.

Adapted from www.annies-eats.com

Zucchini Muffins

I bought a pile of zucchini at the farmers market a week or so ago and made some delicious oven fried zucchini.  I don't really remember how I did it even though it was delicious.  This recipe is about muffins anyway.  But the point is I had a whole zucchini left over and decided to make zucchini bread with it.  Except that the recipe I found called for a full cup, and as it turned out my little squash was only a half a cup.  So I improvised by adding grated carrots to make up the whole cup.  I also made some other substitutions, including making muffins instead and the result was a dozen tasty muffins that we devoured.  So not only am I wanting to share the recipe with you, but I need to make sure I can recreate it because my people are asking for it again.  Oh and it's also gluten-free.  And gluten is so 2010.  

Ingredients:

1 full cup grated zucchini (or 1/2 c zucchini and 1/2 c grated carrots)

1 1/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour blend (I use Mama's Coconut Flour Blend)

1/4 cup almond flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xantham gum OR chia seeds (I used chia seeds)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola oil)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup milk (can use coconut or almond milk)

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Optional:  1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, 1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil/spray 12 muffin cups.  

Place shredded zucchini in a clean dish towel and squeeze out all moisture.  Fluff with a fork and set aside.  In one bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, chia, salt, and cinnamon.  In another bowl whisk together coconut or brown sugar, oil, eggs, milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir.  Fold in zucchini/carrots, nuts and/or raisins.  Fill muffin cups and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.  

Adapted from www.agirldefloured.com