It's so cold here in New England, despite it being May 19th, so thoughts turn to making the house warm and lightly scented. What better than bread? Now, we have a KitchenAid mixer, so kneading isn't really a concern. However, sometimes it's nice to not really have to work for your bread. With this in mind, I present to you a recipe I got from the New York Times, for No-Knead Bread. You can set this up at night, and bake it when you come home from work the next day.
3 cups flour (bread or all-purpose)
1/4 t instant yeast
1.25t salt (I think it needs more--use your judgement)
Combine above in a bowl. Add 1 5/8 C water and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 12-18 hours. Fold the dough over on itself a couple of times on a cutting board and allow to rest 15'. Shape the dough into a ball, and dust with cornmeal. Cover with a towel, place on another towel, and allow to rise 2 hours. While it rises, place an oven-safe pan with a lid into a cold oven, and preheat to 450. CAREFULLY remove the pot from the oven, place the dough inside, and shake the pan to evenly distribute the dough. Cover and bake 30', then remove the lid and finish baking 15-30'--bread is done when it's a lovely brown.
The thing I really like about this method is the wonderful crispy crust you get. This bread also made wonderful stuffing a couple days after baking. It is really sticky in the towel phase, so be sure to use lots of flour or cornmeal--I would recommend a 1/3 flour 2/3 cornmeal mix, to prevent your final loaf from being insanely floury on the outside. Enjoy the minimal effort/maximal reward feeling when you eat!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Making Bread
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Mmm...chocolate!!!
Okay, so it's winter, and nobody likes to go out. What to do, what to do? I have a solution! Make these delicious Milk Chocolate Brownies, from the Feb 2007 issue of Gourmet
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
8 oz fine-quality milk chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
Melt butter and half of chocolate in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until mixture is glossy and smooth.
Whisk together remaining ingredients, then stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate.
Spread batter in pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs adhering, 25 to 30 minutes.
Makes 16 brownies.
I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate, bought at Trader Joes in a big chunk. I got to use my kitchen scale to measure the 8oz of chocolate, and took great pleasure in taking out exactly half--yes, I am a geek! But one with good brownies!
I baked them for 25 minutes--the top got very crispy, but the inside was quite gooey--I did not, however, move the oven rack down to the middle position. So perhaps the top will get less done looking if you do so. However, my roommate and I are not picky about how done brownies are, and gooey is always good, so we were happy. I didn't skewer them to check for doneness (I thought one wasn't supposed to do that with brownies anyway?) but all was well. I highly recommend them to anyone!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Mom mom's Snickerdoodles
To prepare the cookies:
In a large bowl, mix together:
1 cup soft shortening (part butter)
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
In a smaller bowl, mix together:
2 3/4 cup gold medal flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time and mix together.
At this point you can either chill the dough or get right to baking the cookies. My grandmother preferred to chill them. It will make it easier to roll the dough into balls without it getting sticky.
Roll the dough into balls the size of a small walnut (about one inch) and roll in the following mixture:
2 tbsp sugar (I found another recipe on the Betty Crocker website for Holiday Snickerdoodles HERE. I experimented making green ones which can be seen in the photo. However, you could use any color sugar to tailor the cookies to any occasion.)
2 tsp cinnamon
Place the dough on an ungreased baking sheet about two inches apart.
Bake at 400 degrees until slightly brown but still soft (about 8-10 minutes). They will probably be done before they look done. I made the mistake of over-cooking my first batch. They will puff up at first and then flatten out.
This recipe makes about 5-6 dozen cookies. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Cranberry-ginger and orange pinwheels
These are the cookies that I made for the cookie swap I hosted this evening (it went smashingly). They turned out very well, but I'm not sure I'd make them again - I always find the rolling and cutting process pretty tedious!
Dough:
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. orange rind
2 eggs
1/4+ tsp. cinnamon
1/4+ tsp. nutmeg
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Filling:
1 c. cranberries
1 c. pecans
4 medallions of candied ginger, chopped finely
1/4 c. brown sugar
Cream together the butter and the sugar until it becomes very light in color (signifying that it has become aerated), about 5 minutes. Add the orange rind and eggs (one at a time please!), then the spices, baking powder and salt. Mix until very well combined. Blend in the flour a cup at a time - if you have a stand mixer, it will probably be able to handle this fine, but if you're using a hand mixer you may need to get in there with your hands to combine the last half cup or so. Divide the dough into two portions and put it in the fridge for at least an hour (we chilled ours overnight).
While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling (hey, that rhymed!). If you have a food processor, just throw all the ingredients in there and process until it's all chopped up. If not, mix everything together in a bowl and use your blender to do it in two or three batches.
Roll out one half of the dough into a 1/4" thick rectangle (about 10"-12" on the long side) on top of a piece of parchment paper or a flexible cutting board. Spread half of the filling on the dough, leaving an inch of dough on each long side and one of the short sides. Then, using the parchment paper, roll up the dough starting at the spread short side. Pinch off the ends and roll the dough in a sheet of plastic wrap, then pop it back in the oven, this time for at least four hours (!)
Once the dough has chilled - it should be super firm at this point - use a sharp knife to slice into 1/4" cookies. You should try to rotate the roll after every few cuts so you don't smush it on one side. Bake 8-15 minutes (depending on thickness) at 375°F.
And just for fun, here's the rest of the spread, post-party:
Dee-lish!
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Pumpkin Zucchini Bread
One of my favorite things about this time of the year is all the delicious desserts that can be made with pumpkin. I get excited for my aunt's home-made pumpkin pie a few months in advance of Thanksgiving.
I've never done any pumpkin baking before so I decided to give it a try. I figured an easy way to start would be this recipe of a variation on zucchini bread--something that I know to be fairly fool-proof.
I came upon this recipe in a "special bonus section" of a cooking magazine that I subscribe to, Taste of Home, which is published by Reiman Publications (http://www.reimanpub.com).
Ingredients:
-3 eggs, lightly beaten
-2 cups sugar
-1 cup canned pumpkin
-1 cup melted butter
-1 tbsp vanilla extract
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
-1/2 tsp ground cloves
-1 cup shredded zucchini
-1 cup chopped walnuts
The recipe called for canned pumpkin so that is what I used. I'm sure you could substitute with fresh pumpkin as well. After reading Jackie's post on how to break down a pumpkin I may use fresh next time.
When I shredded my zucchini I used a fairly fine sized grater. This resulted in loss of a lot of water which I removed from the zucchini before I added it to the batter. My bread turned out a little drier than I would have liked so I'd recommend letting some of the moisture from the zucchini go into the batter.
Making the bread:
-Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour 2 9in x 5in x 3in loaf pans
-Combine eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl
-To this, add the other wet ingredients (pumpkin, butter, and vanilla)
-In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients (baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, zucchini)
-Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well
-Mix in zucchini and walnuts
-Pour into the 2 pans and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the loaves come out clean.
For my first test run, I followed the recipe exactly in terms of sugar and butter. I'd expect that it would turn out well using margarine and sugar substitute (such as the baking Splenda) as well. I'm thinking of making them again in the future with the margarine and Splenda.
I omitted the walnuts as I don't like walnuts.
This nutritional information is for 1/12 of one loaf made with butter and sugar and without walnuts.
The bread turned out great and was delicious! It made far more than my boyfriend and I could eat, so I kept one loaf for ourselves and brought one into lab for other people to snack on. We'd finished our loaf in about a week but I'd imagine that you could freeze one loaf or part of a loaf if it will be longer than that before it is finished.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Apple chunk coffee cake
Something about October makes me buy several pounds of apples every time I go to the grocery store. I don't know if it's nostalgia for my childhood, when my family would go apple picking, bring home three bushels of apples and just bake bake bake for the next week straight, or if I just really like apples. Either way, I've been looking for new ways to cook them. This one is adapted from a recipe in "The Apple Lovers' Cookbook" and it came out beautifully. It's moist, a little crumbly, and perfect for breakfast, snacking or even dessert. Plus, it gave me an excuse to use the sunflower bundt pan that I got for my wedding.
Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
1 c. vanilla yogurt (can substitute sour cream)
1/2 c. butter
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. chopped apples
----
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease and "flour" (use confectioner's sugar to avoid a floury exterior for your cake) a bundt pan. Beat together liquid ingredients (sugar through eggs) until most chunks of butter have disappeared. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through allspice) and add them to the wet mix. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moist, then add the vanilla. Beat another 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl often. Fold in the apple chunks.
Prepare the streusel by combining the butter, cinnamon and sugar (just use your hands for this) until crumbly. Add in the nuts, if desired (I didn't).
Spread about half the batter into your prepared pan. Layer with the streusel, leaving the outer 1/2 inch or so bare, and then top with the rest of the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the fattest part of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes at least, then invert on a serving plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving, if desired (the cookbook suggests a glaze of 1 c. confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 3 tsp. milk, but that seemed like overkill to me). Makes 12-16 servings.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Very Cherry Brownies - an experiment
I got all excited in the grocery store earlier this week when I saw a huge bag of cherries at some ridiculously low price. After eating quite a few of them as-is, I realized I'd have to do something with the rest before they went bad, and gorging myself on a half pound of cherries wasn't an option. I really kind of wanted to make something cheesecake-y, but we had neither cream cheese nor sour cream on hand, so I just made some brownies instead.
I pitted and halved the cherries (about 3 1/2 cups total) during the 4th-6th innings of Sunday's Red Sox game, about an hour total. Not bad given that I was just using a paring knife - played around with technique a bit and determined it was easiest to slice around the pit, twist the halves apart, and then twist the pit out of the half it stuck with.
After pitting, I coated the cherries with about 1/4 cup of sugar and let them sit for more or less the remainder of the game - which went to 19 innings, so almost 3 hours - stirring occasionally. This got a lot of liquid out of the cherries, which I later drained into a saucepan, and reduced to a syrup (boiled on medium heat until thick) to drizzle on top of the brownies.
I doubled a basic brownie recipe from a Cooking Light cookbook [normally I'd go with a richer brownie, but I've been making a lot of sweet/fatty foods lately]; spread half the batter into our new-ish quarter sheet pan (13"x9"), layered on the cherries, spread the rest of the brownie batter over them, topped with the cherry syrup, and then baked.
I was kind of skeptical of the Cooking Light brownies. They came out chocolatey, fudgy and moist, but I'm sure the moistness was at least partly due to all the cherries and cherry juice. I wouldn't say I absolutely *love* these brownies, but I haven't had much of a problem eating them. I like the idea of them, though, and am curious to try it (or something similar) with a different brownie batter. Anyone out there got an AMAZING brownie recipe they're willing to share?
[this is the doubled recipe, can be halved to make an 8"x8" pan of brownies]
2 egg whites
1/2 c. margarine [I used butter]
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 Tbsp. water [this is why I was skeptical of the recipe]
4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside in a separate bowl. [folding the egg whites into the batter at the end of the recipe gives you a lighter texture... a little odd for a "fudgy" brownie recipe?]
Cream together margarine and sugar, add water, vanilla and eggs (one at a time) and beat until fluffy.
Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl (this is especially important for the cocoa, which tends to clump quite a bit) and stir loosely into the egg mixture. Fold in the egg whites.
Transfer the batter into a 13"x9" buttered and floured pan and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
One last note: While looking for something to do with the cherries, I came across a couple really, er, interesting recipes. I almost want to make this Cher-Rhuba-Chini Pie (cherries, rhubarb and zucchini mixed together in a gelatin base, with a brown rice pie crust) out of morbid curiosity. Shrimp and Cherry Quinoa, on the other hand, looks unique but still tasty, very sort of Iron Chef.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Classic Blueberry Muffins
This morning, while deciding what to have for breakfast before I headed into the lab, I realized we still had a significant number of blueberries hanging around the house. So why not make some muffins? Lab could wait while I whipped these up.
We pulled out one of my favorite cookbooks, Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for More Food and used his basic muffin recipe, which is good for all sorts of add-ins. Blueberries included.
Ingredients:
2 1/4 c. AP flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 c. plain yogurt (we used vanilla)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. oil (I learned my lesson and didn't attempt to substitute applesauce in this one.)
1-2 c. blueberries (we were on the 1 c. end of this range, but more would have been nice. AB also says that pretty much anything goes, but don't go over 1c. of chips if you're making chocolate/butterscotch/whatever chip muffins.)
Mix together the dry and wet ingredients separately, then combine loosely with a good spatula (no overmixing allowed!) When the wet and dry are about half mixed, add in the blueberries and finish mixing until most of the dry has disappeared into the wet. Scoop into a greased and floured (we just use canola oil spray) muffin tin, filling each spot 3/4 to entirely full - if you don't fill almost to the top, you won't get that nice dome look that you want in a muffin!
Sprinkle with a little extra sugar, about 1 tsp. total, if you want. I really like the extra crunch on top of my muffin, and we had some fancy vanilla sugar (bought at the Scharffen Berger factory by my mother) hanging around, which seemed perfect for this purpose. Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes until golden brown/about 210°F in the middle. Serve warm with butter, or without, they're tasty either way.
This makes 12 normal sized muffins, but we used a giant muffin pan and got 6 "restaurant size" muffins, which had to bake an extra 5 minutes. I wouldn't recommend making mini muffins with blueberries, but if you were using something smaller (currants, for example) it might be okay.
These were totally delicious and the perfect weekend breakfast food. The muffin was not too sweet and the perfect consistency - not too wet but not dry at all. In the future, I might try to play with adding some spices, but it's just right as-is. And it was quick! It took about ten minutes to prepare the batter, less than half an hour to bake, and I was able to wash and dry all the dishes AND make coffee while they were in the oven. So, I'm glad I "took the extra time" (in reality, maybe ten minutes tops) to bake something fresh and delicious for breakfast instead of just having a bowl of cereal.
I've seen a lot of other blueberry recipes floating around lately too. There are a couple that I'm aching to try, namely this Blueberry Cranberry Bread (from Coconut&Lime) and these Blueberry Breakfast Bars (from Farmgirl Fare). What's your favorite thing to make with blueberries?
Monday, July 03, 2006
Birthday Boston Cream Pie
A couple years ago, my husband (then boyfriend) asked me if I would make him a Boston Cream Pie for his birthday. My attempt - in the 90°, 99% humidity weather of a typical Massachusetts July, was less than successful. This year I tried again, with markedly better results. I fetched a Gourmet magazine recipe from Epicurious.com. Pretty basic - yellow cake, a custard filling (very similar to the pastry cream that went into the berry tart, actually) and a chocolate glaze for the top.
The cake:
3/4 c. unsalted butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. cake flour [using cake flour, which is lower in protein than all-purpose, gives you a more tender cake]
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt [omit if using salted butter]
3/4 c. milk
Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla (with a hand or stand mixer) until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture in about three portions, alternating with addition of milk. Pour equal amounts of batter into two greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans, and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes (or, use one 9" springform pan and bake for 50-55 minutes). The cake should be golden with brown spots on top when done; check to make sure that a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a rack at room temperature for about 20 minutes before removing the cake from the pan [see assembly tips below].
The custard:
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. milk
3 eggs
1/2 c. heavy cream [you could use 1 1/2 c. half and half in place of the milk and heavy cream]
1/4 tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and with seeds scraped out [or add 1 tsp. vanilla at the end]
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
The original recipe instructions are to whisk together all ingredients but the butter in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat and continue whisking about 2 minutes until thick. Then remove from heat, remove the vanilla bean pod and whisk in the butter.
I chose to use the slightly more complicated method described in the tart recipe - combining the cornstarch, eggs and about 1/4 c. of cream; boiling together the rest of the ingredients (except the butter). Then take 2 Tbsp. of the boiling cream/sugar mixture and add to the eggs, whisk, strain, and then add the strained egg/cornstarch to the pan. Apparently, adding a bit of the boiling cream to the eggs will cause some undesirable bits of the egg to coagulate, which you can then strain out; this gives you a smoother custard than just boiling it all together.
Whichever method you choose, transfer the custard to a cool bowl and cover directly with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool to room temperature before assembling.
Chocolate glaze: [It's easiest to make this after you've assembled the rest of the cake; see assembly notes.]
6 oz bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3 Tbsp. milk or cream
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
Melt all ingredients except the milk/cream together in a double boiler/bowl over simmering water. I don't have a double boiler, so I used an old metal cake pan that happened to fit perfectly over my saucepan. The important thing here is to not let any steam escape from the pan of water - if any water mixes with the chocolate, the chocolate will seize and be gross. Add the milk/cream a little bit at a time until you reach a good pourable-but-not-too drippy consistency - 3 Tbsp. should be about right, but it's best to be a little cautious.
Assembly notes:
I was very lucky in that both my cake layers came out very cleanly and pretty flat, so I didn't have to do any trimming. I also had the bottoms of two springform pans to help me with the assembly - one to use as a platform for the cake and another to provide a nice surface to turn out the cakes from their pans. If you don't have springform pans, you can cut a circle out of a clean, sturdy cardboard box to serve a similar purpose.
Put the first cake layer right side up on your serving platter. Using a spatula, scoop ALL the custard onto the cake layer, making a big glob in the middle of the cake. Spreading from the middle makes you less likely to pick up crumbs, etc. Spread this evenly to about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cake - it will squirt out a little bit when you put the second layer on. Then, place the second cake layer, upside down (this gives you a flat top) on the custard; it's ok if you don't get it perfectly centered, you can just wiggle it into place.
Finally, prepare the chocolate glaze, and spoon on top in the same way you did the custard to avoid getting crumbs in the glaze. Boston Cream Pie is nice because you don't really have to frost the sides (which is a pain), you can just let the glaze drip artfully down the edges. Stick the cake in the fridge for a little bit so the chocolate will set up, or serve right away.
I was very excited at how well this cake turned out. The cake layers were tender and not too dense; the custard was delicious and at the perfect consistency (although, okay, using a whole vanilla bean probably wasn't necessary), and the chocolate topping was not too overpowering. Best of all, it tasted JUST LIKE a Boston Cream Pie! If I make this again, and I probably will - this seems like it might become a birthday tradition - I might make a 1 1/2 or double batch of the custard so that layer will be more substantial. But it's definitely wonderful as-is.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Multigrain Cranberry Muffins
On a recent health food kick, I bought a box of multigrain cereal - the sort you cook like oatmeal. I tried a bowl and wasn't a fan, even after I loaded it up with honey and brown sugar (which kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?). So I had to think of something else I could do with the stuff. I also need some baked goods to bring to my lab meeting on Wednesday, so I decided to try this recipe for multi-grain cranberry muffins.
These came out fairly tasty, but a little dry - perhaps altering the vegetable oil-to-applesauce ratio would moisten them up a bit? As far as this batch is concerned, they'll be perfect heated up and slathered with (low-fat) butter (spread).
Ingredients
1 c. milk
1 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil [I used 1 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp applesauce, but I think the muffins would be moister - and therefore better - with more fat]
1 c. uncooked multigrain cereal
1 3/4 c. AP flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. allspice [the original recipe calls for mace, which I didn't have. Cinnamon would probably work equally well.]
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. dried cranberries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat milk, vegetable oil and applesauce in a saucepan over medium heat until very warm (but not boiling). Stir in multigrain cereal and let stand 10-15 minutes. While this is 'cooking,' mix together flour, salt, baking powder and spice(s) in a large bowl.
Stir brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract into the cereal mixture. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir very briefly, until flour is almost incorporated (big clumps/streaks are ok at this point). Stir cranberries in gently. [NB: You never want to overbeat this type of mixture (muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc) or your end product will come out very tough. Just stir until you don't see obvious streaks of flour. For this recipe, I think it's especially important as the whole grains will get very tough if you give them a chance to produce a lot of gluten during overmixing.]
Scoop into greased muffin tin; sprinkle the top with some turbinado (unrefined) sugar if desired. Bake 12-15 minutes at 400°F. I got 15 smallish muffins using an average cupcake tin from this recipe.
