Category: Breads

Blueberry-Almond Quick Bread

Today’s post prompted me to do a little research on the difference between a quick bread (i.e. pumpkin or zucchini) and a loaf cake (i.e. a marble loaf cake) and what I ended up finding was some conflicting information. A few articles said quick breads are usually savory and often call for buttermilk (not entirely true) and then there was some baking science information regarding baking soda. What it comes to in basic terms is that quick breads are denser than loaf cakes. Something I completely agree with!

One of the best things I found about making this quick bread, a Blueberry-Almond Quick Bread that is, is that I didn’t have to break out my hand mixer or pull my stand mixer out from the corner of my kitchen counter. I simply used one whisk to whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another and then used a rubber spatula to fold everything together. It doesn’t get easier than that.

Initially I thought the recipe may have called for too many blueberries as the first few slices were heavily laden with them and there was barely any bread/cake, but after a few more slices the blueberries appeared to be more evenly dispersed.

And while this bread is dense, it is incredibly moist. The reason for both of those things, using oil instead of butter in the batter. Oil tends to result in a cake that has a more even crumb that can stay moist for days. So, why aren’t all cakes made with oil then? Well, because cakes made with butter tend to taste better. That should in no means deter you from making cakes with oil though. You just have to balance the flavors and add a little extra of this and that (spices, extracts and nuts) to get the flavor you want.

One last thing about this quick bread, it’s the perfect treat for any time of the day. Be it breakfast, brunch, an afternoon treat or a yummy dessert! Personally I had a piece for breakfast one day and dessert on another.

Blueberry Almond Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5 – inch loaf pan with cooking or baking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour (1 1/2 cups), sugar, almonds, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl whisk together the vegetable oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined and then fold into the flour mixture until just combined.

Toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour and then fold into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour and then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Food Network

No-Knead Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Bread and Roasted Tomato Soup

Today’s blog post is a two-for-one special. A bread & soup pairing. And with the rainy days of April just around the corner this may be exactly what you will want to eat.    

I’ve made quite a few No-Knead breads that have turned out to be delicious. When you can take the guesswork and work out of how much to knead your dough it’s hard to end up with something inedible. For today’s version, I am sharing with you a No-Knead Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread (YUM!) and for something warm and tasty to dunk it into a Roasted Tomato Soup (Double YUM!).

I started by making the bread. First up I roasted a head of garlic in the oven. I trimmed about a 1/2-inch of the head off and removed some of the papery outer layers. I placed the garlic in an aluminum foil packet and drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt. I then sealed the aluminum foil and placed on a baking sheet and roasted it in the oven for about an hour. After letting it cool completely, I squeezed the cloves out and mashed them.

I then added the garlic with chopped rosemary into my dough. After letting the dough rest for about 12 hours – which is the key to No-Knead Bread – it was time to bake it. I ended up with a perfectly golden crust on the outside and soft bread on the inside.

While the bread cooled, I made the soup. I roasted the tomatoes in the oven along with garlic cloves. I opted to remove the seeds from the tomatoes prior to roasting this way I wouldn’t have to worry about straining the soup afterwards to remove them.

I added the tomatoes to the pot where I caramelized the onions along with basil and some vegetable broth and used an immersion blender to blend everything together. I immediately regretted not using my food processor instead. No matter how careful I was there was splatter!

But the mess was worth it. The soup was delicious, and it paired perfectly with the bread.

No-Knead Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

1 head of garlic, roasted & mashed

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 1/2 cups warm water, 95F-100F

Olive oil and additional salt to roast garlic

Directions:

To roast garlic: Preheat oven to 400 F. Trim the head of the garlic about 1/4 to 1/2 inch and remove the papery outer layers of the bulb. Place on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Seal the aluminum foil to create a packet and then place on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes – 1 hour. Let the garlic cool and then squeeze the cloves out of the bulb. Mash the cloves prior to adding to the dough.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, yeast, garlic and rosemary. Add in the water and continue to stir together until the dough forms. It will be sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and then tightly cover the bowl with a piece (or two) of plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size and be covered with air bubbles.

Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 F and turn your dough out onto a workspace lightly dusted with flour and with floured hands shape the dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper – large enough to fit inside of the Dutch oven – and then place in a bowl – one that won’t allow the dough to spread much – and cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting place your Dutch oven in the oven for the 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place the dough along with the parchment paper inside and cover. Bake for 25-30 minutes and then remove the lid and bake for additional 10-15 minutes, until the bread is golden brown.

Remove the bread and parchment paper from the pot and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes prior to slicing.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes:

Make sure to check the highest temperature your parchment paper can safely be used in the oven.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a heavy-duty pot instead.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

3 lbs. plum tomatoes, sliced in half and seeds removed

8 garlic cloves

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

For the Caramelized Onions:

2 yellows onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

Remaining Ingredients:

1/4 cup basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 cups vegetable broth

Additional salt & pepper

Directions:

For the Roasted Tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tomatoes & garlic cloves on the parchment paper cut side up, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

For the Caramelized Onions:

In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  

To Make the Soup:

Transfer the tomatoes, onions and basil to the bowl of a food processor (or a large pot if using an immersion blender) and process until everything is smooth and combined.

Transfer the mixture to a large pot or use the same pot if blended with an immersion blender, add in the vegetable broth, oregano and salt & pepper to taste and simmer on medium low heat for 10 minutes to heat through.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Some pairings just taste good together – like peanut butter and chocolate, peanut butter and banana and banana and chocolate – so I figured that three would taste just as good (or better) together. And that’s how I came up with this Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Loaf.

Although, I was a little discouraged when I tasted the first loaf I made. It was a bit dense, and the banana flavor was overpowering. With my second loaf, I reduced the amount of flour in the batter and increased the amount of peanut butter. The loaf then ended up being super moist with an equal balance of peanut butter and banana flavor. Now some people who tried it tasted the banana more or the peanut butter more. I think that might be due to preference of one over the other. I was able to taste both.

Now, I would like to think this loaf is somewhat healthy since the bananas are a good source of potassium and the peanut butter protein, but I am sure some would beg to differ since there is sugar and chocolate chips in the loaf as well. But a little sweetness isn’t a bad thing sometimes. If you’re really trying to stick to any health-related New Year’s Resolutions though, you could omit the chocolate chips and use maple syrup in lieu of the sugar. In doing so though you will have to add a little extra flour to the batter to account for the extra liquid.

Peanut Butter & Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray 9 x 5 loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Add the vanilla extract. Stir in the mashed bananas and peanut butter until just combined.

With the mixer on low add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf ban and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe first appeared on Bead Yarn & Spatula.

No-Knead Olive Bread

I love bread recipes that don’t require too much work. And if you agree with me, then No-Knead Bread recipes are perfect for you as well. Instead of having to knead the dough to form the gluten strands that give the bread its texture, you allow the dough to rest for 12-18 hours. And for someone who is never quite sure if they have kneaded their dough too long or too short this is the perfect method. Today I am sharing with you a No-Knead Olive Bread. Don’t like olives, read on to get ideas on other No-Knead Breads you can try instead.

To start, in a large bowl I mixed all the ingredients – flour, sea salt, yeast, oregano, garlic powder, chopped olives and water – together using a wooded spoon and then shaped the dough into a ball before covering it with a piece of plastic wrap and aluminum foil.

I let the dough rest on my counter for about 18 hours, I did peak at it a few times during those hours to make sure it was rising. Hence using a piece of plastic wrap and then aluminum foil on top. And I happy to say that it did rise considerably, although it didn’t have many air bubbles.

After shaping it again into a ball and letting it rest for an additional 30 minutes I baked it in my Dutch oven. And after letting it cool I had a delicious bread to slice into.

What’s great about this recipe is that it can easily be switched up. The base of it is the flour, sea salt & water. And from there you could add in anything to satisfy your taste buds. Think a Cranberry Walnut Bread, a Jalapeno Cheddar version, or maybe a Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto one… The possibilities are endless.  

No-Knead Olive Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups + 2 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 cup chopped olives*

1 1/2 cups warm water (95 F)

*I used 1/2 cup black olives and 1/2 cup pimento stuffed Manzanilla olives

Directions:

In a large bowl stir together the flour, sea salt, yeast, oregano, garlic powder and chopped olives. Add in the warm water and stir. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Let it sit on the counter at room temperature for 12-18 hours. The dough will double in size and be covered in air bubbles.

Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 F.

Lightly dust your work space with flour and turn out the dough. Using lightly floured hands shape the dough into a ball and then transfer to a large piece of parchment paper*. You want your piece of parchment paper to be large enough to fit in your Dutch oven**.  Score an “X” into the top of the dough with a sharp knife and then cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap for 30 minutes. During these 30 minutes, place your Dutch oven in the preheated oven.

After the 30 minutes carefully remove your pot from the oven. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of your dough and place the dough, along with the parchment paper, into your Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the bread is golden brown on top. Remove the pot from the oven and transfer the bread, along with the parchment paper, to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

*Make sure to check your parchment paper to see what the highest and safest temperature it can be used at.

**If you don’t have a Dutch oven you could also use a heavy-duty pot.

Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Apple Fritter Bread

Are you tired of apple recipes? I hope not, I have one more that’s just as good as the previous two I posted recently – Apple Pie Spice Cake & Apple Butterscotch Cookies. Today I am bringing you an Apple Fritter Bread. All the deliciousness of an Apple Fritter without the guilt of it being fried. And just for a quick recap, an Apple Fritter is a deep-fried donut filled with apples and cinnamon.

With this bread, cinnamon coated apple pieces are layered between the batter and then swirled in before baking.

The result, each slice is filled with apple cinnamon goodness. For that final apple fritter touch, the bread is drizzled with a sour cream icing. If you are not a fan of icing though this bread would be just as delicious without it.

Apple Fritter Bread

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Sour Cream Icing:

3 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Milk, if necessary

*I used whole milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 9.25 x 5.25 loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the apples, light brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk and vanilla until the mixture in smooth. With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread half of the apple mixture on top. Top the apples with the remaining batter and then top with the remaining apple mixture. Gently pat the apples in the batter and use a knife to swirl the apples into the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.

Once cooled, make and drizzle with the sour cream icing. In a medium bowl whisk together the sour cream, vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. If you find that the mixture is too thick whisk in 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until it’s a consistency easy to drizzle.

Place the wire rack with the cake over a baking sheet or a piece of wax paper and drizzle with the icing. Let sit for a few minutes to let the icing set before slicing.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens

Rosemary & Tomato Focaccia Bread

I decided to plant some veggies and herbs again this year. I passed on planting zucchini again, which I used to make these delicious zucchini fries last year, and went with cucumbers and eggplant instead. I haven’t picked any eggplant yet, but, I have picked quite a few cucumbers. Some of which I turned into some yummy pickles. That’s another post though. I also planted tomatoes again this year, but instead of beefsteak one’s I went with cherry tomatoes. And for the herbs, I went with rosemary, basil, sage and lemon thyme. I mainly planted the herbs in hopes of repelling mosquitoes. While they have been around I will say that it hasn’t been as bad as past years. Initially I wasn’t planning on picking any of the herbs, but, they grew so well that I decided it would be a shame not to use them. So, I decided to use the rosemary and some of the tomatoes to make homemade focaccia bread.

Now, I am always leery of working with yeast. I am apprehensive that it won’t proof well enough, that my final product will be tough and not flaky and whatever else can go wrong. Believe it or not, the weather also plays a factor. While you may think that a humid day will help your bread rise quicker, that’s not always the case and a very cool day can make your bread take even longer to rise. I baked this focaccia on a rainy unseasonably cool summer day that had very low humidity and it came out perfect.

I completely relied on my stand mixer to knead the dough using the dough attachment. And for the first rise I preheated my oven to 200 F, turned it off and then put my dough, that I had placed in a greased bowl, in there for about an hour so it could rise. It’s a good trick I learned and have done it every time I need dough to rise. When I removed it from the oven it had doubled in size. And for the second rise I rolled the dough out on my counter that I dusted with flour and let it rise for a few more minutes.

Once the dough was ready, I transferred it to a 9 x 13 – inch baking pan that I lined with parchment paper. I stretched the dough to fill the pan and then poked deep holes into the dough. Next, I sprinkled the dough with minced fresh rosemary and sliced cherry tomatoes. I drizzled a few tablespoons of olive oil over everything and then sprinkled it with salt.

I then baked it in a 400 F preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until it was lightly golden on top and the bread had cooked through.

I let it rest for a few minutes before removing it from the pan using the parchment paper and slicing off a piece to enjoy! The texture was spot on. It was firm with just enough chew. You can definitely customize this focaccia to your liking by using different herbs, vegetables and so forth. One thing I would avoid using though is sun-dried tomatoes. That’s what I was initially thinking of using instead of the fresh ones, but, I thought that the sun-dried tomatoes would burn while they were in the oven. The fresh tomatoes do get a nice sweetness to them while baking.

Rosemary & Tomato Focaccia Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup warm water (about 110F)

1 teaspoons sugar

1 package of active-dry yeast (0.25 ounces)

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

1/4 cup cherry/grape tomatoes, sliced

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment add the water and sugar and stir combine. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and give it a quick stir to mix it into the water. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy.

With the mixer on low speed gradually add in the flour, olive oil and salt. Once everything has been added increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl. If it isn’t, this means that the dough is too sticky and you should add in additional flour, about 1/4 cup. Add it gradually until the dough is the right consistency.

Remove the dough from the bowl and use your hands to shape it into ball. Grease the mixing bowl, or another bowl, with olive oil and place the dough inside of it and coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and place in a warm spot for 45-60 minutes so it can rise. It should just about double in size. To ensure a warm spot, preheat your oven to 200 F and then turn it off and place the bowl inside of the oven with the door closed for the allotted time.

Once the dough has risen turn it out on a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle that’s about a 1/2 inch thick. Cover the dough again with a damp paper towel (you will probably need two) and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 F and prep a 9 x 13-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper leaving a slight overhang. Transfer the dough to the pan and use your hands to stretch the dough to fit into the pan. Use your fingers to poke holes all over the dough. The holes should be deep enough that you reach the bottom of the baking pan. Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil all over the dough and then sprinkle with the chopped rosemary, sliced tomatoes and additional sea salt.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the dough is slightly golden on top and is fully cooked through. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the bread using the parchment paper and let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. If you are not planning on serving all of the bread at once, slice what you are going to eat and wrap the leftovers in wax paper and store in an airtight container or resealable bag.

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Pumpkin Quick Bread

It’s officially Fall… Bring on the pumpkin treats! While I have purchased and enjoyed some pumpkin spice treats – Special K cereal (I’m yet to try it), Pumpkin Pie Spice Butter (still haven’t tried this either), Pumpkin Pie Kit Kats (I definitely didn’t need a whole bag of these) and Werther’s Original Caramels (just a nice hint of pumpkin spice) – I have refrained from posting any pumpkin treats on here until Fall officially began. And while last week brought some Fall-like days this past weekend felt more like Summer. I guess Summer wanted to go out with a bang.

For my first pumpkin treat of the season – there will definitely be more, just not sure how many more – I bring you a Pumpkin Quick Bread. Now, I have shared a Pumpkin Bread recipe on here before but this one is a bit different as it doesn’t involve using any canned pumpkin. Some of you might be taken back by the ingredients, but, trust me, it’s delicious. It involves a box of yellow cake mix and a box of Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix. I got the idea for this quick bread after making a Pistachio Quick Bread earlier this year with a box of white cake mix and a box of pistachio pudding mix.

I began by making cinnamon sugar and then setting it aside. In a large bowl I whisked together the cake mix and pudding mix. I then added in eggs, sour cream, water and oil and beat it with a hand mixer. I poured about 1/2 cup of batter into the bottom of two loaf pans that I sprayed with baking spray. The batter was thick so I used a spoon to spread the batter evenly across the pan. I then sprinkled the top of both with 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar. I spread the remaining batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar in both pans and smoothed the top with an offset spatula and then sprinkled the remaining sugar evenly over both. There didn’t seem to be a lot of batter in the pans and I thought that I was going to end up with loaves that lacked height…

But, after baking both loaves for about 40 minutes both had risen nicely.

I let them cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

And once they were cool it was time to slice into one of the loaves. You can see the cinnamon sugar swirl in the bottom of the bread and a little up the side of the cake. As for the cinnamon sugar on top, it baked in nicely to the breads.

I kept one loaf for myself and brought the second one to a friend’s house for Sunday dinner and it was a hit!

 

Pumpkin Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1 package yellow cake mix

1 package instant pumpkin spice pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola or corn oil

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prep two loaf pans by spraying them with baking spray or greasing them with butter.

In a large bowl combine the cake and pudding mix. Add the eggs, sour cream, water and oil and beat until blended (the batter will be thick).

Combine the sugar and cinnamon. Spoon about 1/2 cup of batter into each of the prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar over the batter in each pan. Divide the remaining batter among the two pans and sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe modified from Taste of Home

Hot Cross Buns

As Lent season comes to an end you may be seeing Hot Cross Buns available in the bakery section of your local supermarket or at your favorite bakery. They are synonymous with this time of the year due to their symbolism for the holiday.

I attempted to make them last year and while they smelled great while they were baking, the end result were buns that were hard and dry. And I instantly knew what the problem was, my yeast mixture was off. The recipe stated that when you added the yeast mixture to the flour mixture the dough should be shaggy. That never happened, but, I forged on hoping for a soft and tasty bun in the end. This time around though I got it all right. In my mind there’s an emoji of me jumping up and down with excitement.  See, I am not a fan of working with yeast. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I recently made bread three weekends in a row – Irish Soda Bread, Cranberry Walnut Bread and Jalapeno Cheddar Bread. Irish Soda Bread doesn’t require yeast so I am very comfortable baking it and the latter two while they do require yeast, both are no-knead breads. You combine all of the ingredients, form it into a dough and then place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 18 hours so it can rise – 100% foolproof.  And while these buns aren’t all that difficult to make, sans the yeast part, they do require two things from you, time and patience. Give yourself at least 3 to 3.5 hours to prep and bake them.

I started by making the yeast mixture. In a medium saucepan I combined water and milk and heated it on low heat until it reached a temperature of 100 F, making sure it didn’t go above 110 F. I used my candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature. Once it reached the right temperature I removed the saucepan from the heat and sprinkled yeast and a pinch each of sugar and flour over the surface. I left it undisturbed for about 30 minutes. I was waiting for the mixture to become foamy and begin to rise up the sides of the pan.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl I whisked together flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Once the ingredients were well combined I made a well in the middle.

Once the yeast mixture was ready I whisked in an egg yolk, melted butter and vanilla extract into it. Once all of these ingredients were well combined I poured them into the well I created in the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon I mixed all of the ingredients together and a thick, shaggy and sticky dough formed. I stirred in raisins and then turned the dough onto a floured surface and kneaded it until it was soft and elastic and formed it into a ball.

I quickly washed the large bowl I had used to make the dough and then rubbed the inside with softened butter. I returned the dough to the bowl and began turning it to coat it with the butter from the bowl. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 90 minutes until it was doubled in size.

Just before I began forming the buns, I greased a baking pan with softened butter and preheated my oven to 200F. Once the dough was ready I removed it from the bowl and formed it into a 16 x 8 rectangle. I then divided the dough in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise and then divided each of the sections into three equal parts. To make the buns round, I tucked the edges in and then placed them into the prepared pan leaving a little space in between each. Next time I make these I will form the dough into balls by rolling it between my hands to get a better round shape. The tucking method resulted in buns that looked a little more square / rectangle. I then covered the pan with a piece of plastic wrap that I coated with softened butter. At this point, I turned off my oven and placed the covered pan in the oven so the buns could rise. Here’s a tip, when yeast recipe calls for something to be placed in a warm spot to rise, preheat your oven to 200 F, turn it off and then place the item in the oven. It’s the perfect environment for it to rise. I left the buns in the oven for about 40 minutes, they more than doubled their size. Once I removed them I preheated the oven to 375F and brushed the tops with a beaten egg before returning them to the oven for 25 minutes, until they were golden brown on top and puffy.

I let the buns cool completely in the pan. Once cooled, I made the traditional cross pattern on each bun with a confectioners’ sugar glaze.

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:

For the Buns:

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 oz. packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted (plus more at room temperature as needed per directions)

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup raisins

1 egg beaten, for brushing buns

 

For the Glaze:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

In a medium saucepan combine the water and milk. Heat on low heat until it reaches a temperature or 100 F, not exceeding 110 F. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar and flour over the surface. Set aside without stirring until the mixture becomes foamy and begins to rise up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and set aside.

When the yeast mixture is ready, whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla extract.

Pour the yeast mixture into flour mixture and using a wooden spoon mix it to form a thick, shaggy and sticky dough. Stir in the raisins. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it is soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball.

Brush the inside of a large bowl with softened butter. Put the dough into the bowl and turn it to coat it with the butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Butter a 9 x 14 inch baking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl and pat into a 16 x 8 inch rectangle. Divide the dough in half lengthwise and then again crosswise. Divide of each of these pieces into thirds and form the dough into rounds. Place in the prepared pan, leaving a little space between each. Cover the pan with a buttered plastic wrap and set the rolls to rise, they will double in size, in a warm place. About 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Remove the plastic wrap from the pan and brush the top of the buns with a beaten egg. Bake until golden brown on top and puffy, about 25 minutes. The internal temperature of the buns should be 190 F. Let the buns cool in the pan.

In a medium bowl combine the ingredients for the glaze and stir until smooth. Transfer the glaze to a piping bag or zip bag and make a small cut on the end or corner. Ice each of the buns with a cross.

Recipe from Food Network

Pistachio Quick Bread

I’ve been using Jell-O pudding mixes for quite some time now as a base to make mousse fillings for my cakes. I’ve actually started picking up different flavors of the boxes to switch up my filling flavor. While there is nothing wrong with vanilla and chocolate of course, a chocolate cake with either a caramel or banana mousse flavor wouldn’t be too bad either. I sometimes wonder though what other desserts they can be turned into and then recently I found the perfect recipe to use a box of pistachio pudding, a Pistachio Quick Bread. Combined with a package of white cake mix and a few other ingredients you have two delicious loaves in less than an hour. For a little more texture and crunch add in a cup of chopped of pistachios to the batter, or scatter them along the top of the batter before baking. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe with a box pumpkin spice Jell-O (I finally found them at the supermarket, as you may recall I used my last box to make a Chocolate Roll Cake with a Pumpkin Mousse Filling) and a box of yellow cake mix. Baking from scratch is great, but, taking short cuts and sprucing up a box of store bought cake mix is never a bad thing.

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Pistachio Quick Bread

Ingredients:

1 Box White Cake Mix

1 3.4 oz. package of pistachio pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray 2 8×4-inch loaf pans with baking spray (or grease with butter) and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cake mix and pudding mix. Add the eggs, sour cream, water and oil. Beat on low for 30 seconds to combine and then raise the speed to medium and continue mixing until well blended (the batter will be thick)

Divide the batter amongst the two prepared pans and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle come out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

The original recipe included a cinnamon sugar swirl which I decided to omit. The link for the recipe with the swirl is below.

Recipe from Taste of Home

Slow Cooker Sunday: Zucchini Bread

I recently started using my slow cooker again. Ideally it is the perfect appliance to use in the warm summer months to avoid turning on the oven, but, I just find that the meals it produces are bit heavy for the dog days of summer. Granted, I should have been looking for recipes for desserts as there’s never a bad time of year for a sweet treat. This recipe today, Zucchini Bread, is perfect for the summer months with the abundance of zucchini available at the supermarket and at your local farm stands, but, thankfully zucchini is one of those vegetables that is available year round and always seems to taste the same.

To start I made the batter. Using my food processor I grated two small zucchini and squeezed out the excess water. In one bowl, I whisked together the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl I whisked together eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. I folded in the zucchini and then whisked in the flour mixture. I then transferred the mixture to my 4-quart slow cooker that I brushed with oil.

I covered it and set it to cook on high. Now, the directions said to leave the lid slightly ajar, I did this and after about 2.5 hours my bread was still undercooked in the middle. So, I decided to completely cover it and let it cook and it was done in about another 20 minutes. I turned off the slow cooker and let the bread sit uncovered for thirty minutes. I carefully removed it and let it cool completely.

I then sliced and enjoyed a piece. It was good, but, I think next time I make this I may use less cinnamon.

Slow Cooker Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups grated Zucchini, about 2 small zucchinis

9 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Brush the inside of a slow cooker (4 – 6 quarts) with 1 tablespoon of oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and the remaining oil until well combined. Fold in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture to the eggs mixtures and stir until just combined.

Transfer the batter to the greased slow cooker and spread in an even layer. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Uncover and let the bread cool in the slow cooker for 30 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread and then carefully remove using a large spatula. Slice and enjoy!

Recipe from Savory Online

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