Baked

Hello all! Hope you've had a good week. Any exciting plans for the long weekend?

This week has been mostly spent in front of my computer, catching up on editing a few shoots. I wanted to make some kind of a loaf/bread the other day, to help ease the pain of editing, but had no bananas. I did have dates, walnuts and coconut though, so tossed them all in a basic bread mix.
Since there are a lot of dates in this recipe, it's already super sweet, so I didn't add sugar. If you want to add sugar, I wouldn't add more than half a cup.

Date Walnut and Coconut Bread - makes one 9"x5" loaf (I couldn't find my large loaf tin, so I used my old Hovis tin, which is smaller. The result was just taller bread!)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 cup pitted dates, soaked in hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup large flake coconut
a little raw sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line loaf tin with parchment paper, and set aside. In a small bowl, cover chopped dates with 1/2 cup of hot water. Cover and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Beat the butter, in a large bowl, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry mixture to creamed butter, a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Drain water from dates, and fold into batter along with walnuts and coconut. Spoon batter into loaf tin and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean.

If you try out this recipe, I'd love to know what you think!

Have a lovely long weekend!

janis

Baked

Hello weekend! Hope you all had a great week. If you're in Vancouver, did you enjoy the little bit of snow we had? It was so pretty! Really wish we'd see more of that lovely white stuff. 

I haven't made bread in awhile, so I made a basic white bread, and added some spicy chilli chocolate to the centre. So good and pretty easy to make too. 

Mini Bread Loaves with Spicy Chocolate - makes 4 loaves

1 eight gram packet of active dry yeast

3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon sugar (1 tsp for yeast mixture, 3 tblsp for dough)

1 cup lukewarm milk

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 85g spicy dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces

To glaze:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 320f/160c. Grease and line with parchment paper, 4 one cup baking tins and set aside. 

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, one teaspoon of sugar, and milk. Set aside in a warm spot until bubbles form on the surface, about 5 minutes (see pic below).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil, 3 tablespoons sugar and yeast mixture and stir until a smooth dough forms (I use my hands for this). Knead the dough, on a lightly floured surface, for a about 5 minutes, until it's elastic and smooth.

Divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Flatten out each piece and place chocolate in centre. Fold around chocolate and pinch together to close. Smooth into a ball and place, pinched side down, into prepared baking tin. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rise, in a warm spot, until about doubled in size. This should take 45-60 minutes. 

Brush the tops with the egg mixture and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. 

Allow to cool a little, in tins, before removing.

Have you made bread before? It's a pretty fun thing to do, and I find it so relaxing to knead dough by hand. Kids love it too! Maybe something to try out over the weekend? 

Have a great weekend! 

janis

Baked

I feel like I haven't baked for ages. Still thinking about Maui and, in particular, a little road side stop along the road to Hana that sold coconut pineapple bread. Thought I'd make some, but added mashed bananas to the combo (I had some really dodgy bananas kicking around). Very simple recipe, especially since I didn't hassle with a fresh pineapple, just opened a can instead ;) Wrapped them up for a picnic and that was that!

Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread - makes 6 mini loaves or one large loaf.

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup coconut flakes, and a little extra for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Spray a little vegetable oil into each pan, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, coconut milk and mashed banana in a medium size bowl. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly add to the banana mixture. Fold in the coconut and pineapple. Spoon into pans and top with coconut. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean. Allow to cool a little on a wire rack, then enjoy!

Have a good day!
janis

Baked

How was your weekend? Were you celebrating Father's Day?

I baked some apple cheddar buns over the weekend. I love full on white bread anything....I've missed that, since I've been trying out gluten-free baking.  A few ingredients put together to make something so simple and delicious - the humble bun.

Apple Cheddar Buns - makes about 9

1 cup warm milk (about 105f)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 packet (8g) active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium gala or granny smith apple, chopped
1/2 cup aged cheddar, grated

Preheat oven to 320f/160c. In a small bowl, mix together the milk, yeast and sugar. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, oil and yeast mixture until a dough forms.

 Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead in chopped apples and cheese. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Knead for about 5 minutes, until dough becomes smooth and elastic.

 

 

Roll dough out to about 1 inch thick and cut out shapes with a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Place in a greased 7"x7" baking tin. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm spot, for about one hour, or until doubled in size. Brush tops with a little milk, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. These are great for "bunwiches", or with just a little butter.

That's it for today! Back soon.
janis

Baked

Regular, gluten-full wheat bread, I've missed you. Life has been pretty crazy lately, and I needed to "knead", so I made a good old fashioned loaf of whole wheat bread and added apricots and pistachios. Gluten-free bread can be tasty, but I miss the kneading. ;)

Whole Wheat Bread with Apricots and Pistachios - makes one large loaf

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup (I used honey this time)
1 packet yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup pistachios, chopped

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cups warm water (about 115f), honey and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until mixture becomes foamy. In a separate bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, apricots and pistachios. Add yeast mixture, then oil. Stir to combine, then turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Now here comes my favourite part: knead for about 8 minutes, or until dough is elastic and smooth. Whoohoo!

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand, in a warm spot, for about 90 minutes or until dough doubles in size.
Punch down dough, and knead a few times, on a lightly floured surface. Shape into a round loaf, and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375f.  Make a couple of slashes, with a sharp knife, on top of dough and bake for about 45 minutes or until bread sounds "hollow" when tapped. Cool on a wire rack. This bread is perfect, toasted, for breakfast, and also makes great sandwiches. Love it.

Have a good day! Back soon.
janis

Baked

Happy hump day! Hope your week is going well.

I love this bread. Really. It's amazing. You wouldn't think it was gluten free, as it's not the least bit dry, and it doesn't crumble apart when slicing it. Super easy to make too. Promise.

Brown Rice Bread with Pumpkin Seeds - makes one 3"x8" loaf.

1 cup very warm water
1 8g packet of instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup sorghum* flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup skim milk powder
2 teaspoons guar gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 egg whites
1 egg
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

* for the what's what on sorghum, click here.

Spray a 3"x8" loaf pan with oil, then line with parchment paper and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes until mixture starts to foam. In a large bowl, stir together all dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat together egg, egg whites, vinegar and oil until well blended. Add yeast mixture and beat to combine. With mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry mixture. On medium speed, beat dough for 5 minutes. Scrape dough into prepared pan and allow to sit in a warm spot, for about 60 minutes, or until dough has risen to top of pan.

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Bake for about 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped on bottom. Allow to cool, in pan, on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Have a great day! Back soon.
Janis

Baked

Hello to a brand new week. Hope your Monday has been a good one!

Pomegranates are plentiful these days, so I thought I'm make one of my favourite snacks - Pomegranate Apple & Pistachio Bread. The recipe is a pretty big one, so I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves. Love a mini bread ;)

3 cups spelt flour (definitely feel free to swap the spelt for all purpose flour!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup apples, finely chopped
1 cup pomegranate arils
3/4 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 350f/180c.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sugar, and brown sugar. Set aside. Melt butter, then mix in a small bowl, with the applesauce. Beat eggs and milk together, add to the applesauce/butter mixture and mix together then add to the dry ingredients. Add the chopped apples, pomegranate arils and pistachios then stir together until just blended. Don't over mix the batter, or your bread could end up on the tough side ;)

Pour mixture into two 8 inch by 4 inch loaf tins, that have been lightly greased (I made one large loaf, and 4 mini loaves instead). Bake for about 45-50 minutes (large loaf pan) and about 25 minutes for the mini loaves, or until a skewer inserted in centre, comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes before removing from tins. Enjoy!

Have a great day!
Back soon,
Janis

Baked

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend.

I really love baking bread (a great stress reliever!), but I'm finding it does take heaps of practice. I'm trying to make bread that has a little less white flour, so this weekend I attempted Kamut baguettes. This is the third go, and I'm finally starting to get the hang of it. Kamut flour dough takes a little longer to rise, and is a bit more dense than a white flour bread. This recipe is a mix of Kamut and regular flour. They are not a perfect shape, but they do taste good. For some more info on Kamut, click here.

Kamut Baguettes - makes four small baguettes (so they fit in my oven!)

The night before baking:
150 g all purpose flour
150 ml of warm water
1 teaspoon instant yeast

Mix all of the above together in a medium bowl, then knead for a few minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let sit for one hour. Punch down dough, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

The next day:
200ml of warm water
1 teaspoon salt
100g of all purpose flour
260g of Kamut flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar

Take the refrigerated dough out, and add a little of the 200 ml of warm water to it. This will activate the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together the salt, yeast, all purpose flour, kamut flour, sugar and the remaining warm water. Add the refrigerated yeast mixture and combine. Knead dough for about 5 minutes. Place dough in a bowl with a little oil in it, and roll dough to slightly coat. Let stand for one hour, or until dough doubles in bulk.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces (mine worked out to about 200g each). At this point, I'll direct you to this site for a little baguette shaping lesson. It's really helpful! We might be here all day if I tried to shoot each step ;) This video is based on a regular flour recipe, so don't let it throw you off. Just be concerned with the shaping and scoring.

Once you've shaped and scored your baguettes, place them on a pan with a little cornmeal on the baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel, and let stand for another 45 minutes. Bake in a 375f oven for about 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy immediately!

If you have any bread baking tips, feel free to pass them on to me ;) Back on Wednesday!
janis

Baked

Hope you all had a nice weekend. We had a vicious hail storm, here in Vancouver. Crazy. Does May hail bring nothing but sunshine for June?

I'm really into making bread these days. There's something very calming about kneading dough. It's a bit of a workout for my teeny forearms too!

Cracked Wheat and Hazlenut bread - makes 2 round loaves

1/2 cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup boiling water
2 packets active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Egg glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Pour boiling water over cracked wheat, in a small bowl, and let stand for a few minutes. Drain and press out excess water. Place warm water and honey in another bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand until mixture starts to foam, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, salt, 2 cups of white flour and the yeast mixture. Beat until it's the consistency of cake batter, about 2 minutes. Gradually mix in the remaining flours, 1/2 cup at a time, and 1/4 cup of the soaked cracked wheat. Using a dough hook, mix for about 8 minutes, or knead dough by hand (which I did). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts, and gently knead into dough. Divide dough into two even pieces. Form into, approximately, two 8 inch discs, about 1 inch thick. Place on lightly greased baking sheets, and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise for another 45 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with the egg glaze, then sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and cracked wheat. Bake in a 375f oven for about 30 minutes on the centre rack. Allow to cool on wire racks.

This is a really great tasting bread, and good for you too. If you try out this recipe, I'd love to know.

Back soon!
janis