Whole Wheat Bread

There is so much to love about homemade bread--the smell and feel of the dough, the combining of simple ingredients that rise up into beautiful loaves, the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the house, and of course a slice of warm bread with some butter on it.

About five years ago I decided to start making my own sandwich bread.  My children consume more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches than anyone else I know.  I have one son who even likes them for breakfast.  I wanted to make these PBJs as healthy as possible, so I decided to tackle 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.  I turned out many a wheat brick loaf and tried so many recipes before finally finding one we all loved.  I use freshly ground flour and a Bosch mixer, both of which are specifically called for in this recipe.  I imagine the bread would still be good if kneaded by hand and with store-bought flour, but I can't vouch for the results since I've never tried it.

I make six loaves at once and they last us for about two weeks.  (Before I owned six bread pans I halved the recipe.)  As much as I enjoy making bread, it's nice to only have to do it every other week.  After the bread cools I slice it all, put it in freezer bags and pull out about half a loaf each day to thaw.  It tastes delicious even after having been frozen.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ingredients:
6 cups warm water
2 tablespoons salt, scant
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons yeast (I use instant yeast)
10-11 cups wheat berries before grinding or 14-16 cups whole wheat flour*
(I use hard white wheat berries)

Directions:
Add water and 4-5 cups flour to Bosch mixer.  Mix with dough hook.  Mix in salt, oil, honey and yeast.  Add remaining flour until it pulls clean from sides of bowl as it mixes.  After enough flour has been added, put lid on and mix for 10 minutes on speed 1 or 2.

Grease the countertop and 6 medium sized bread pans.  After kneading, turn dough onto greased countertop and divide dough into six equal portions.  Shape into loaves and place in bread pans.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes.  While bread is rising preheat the oven.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  If you have an instant read thermometer and want to check for doneness, it should be about 200-210 degrees F.  When done, turn the loaves onto a wire rack to cool.

*I have never made this with store-bought flour, but I imagine you would not use the entire 14-16 cups since it will have settled in the bag.  I imagine one cup of freshly ground flour is going to be lighter and airier than flour from the store that has had some time to settle.  Rely more on the look of the dough rather than measurements here.  When it pulls clean from the sides of the bowl and feels dry and pliable enough to shape into loaves, it has enough flour.

Source: posted on a listserve by Karen F.

Lemonade

I kept telling my kids we would make lemonade as a bag of lemons from Costco sat waiting on the kitchen counter.  One morning we took a break from music practice, library trips and family baseball time and spent a summer morning making old-fashioned lemonade.  My four year-old got his turn to help juicing, and my almost one year-old absolutely LOVED his job of mashing lemons.  He was not happy at all when it was time to be done smashing up the lemon slices.

I looked at several recipes and decided to try two recipes that used very different methods to make lemonade.  One was from the Cooks Illustrated Cookbook.  It involved the aforementioned mashing of thinly sliced lemons with sugar, then straining it and adding water.  The idea is that mashing the whole lemons with sugar will help the sugar completely dissolve and the citrus oils from the lemons will give the lemonade a wonderful citrus flavor.  Well, I don't know if my baby and I mashed the lemons too much and the white pith gave off a bitter flavor, but both my kids and I thought the flavor was way off on this lemonade.

We all enjoyed the classic sweet-tart lemonade adapted from a recipe on allrecipes.com.  The recipe calls for boiling the water and sugar to ensure that the sugar dissolves completely, then adding lemon juice and water.  My kids took their taste testing job very seriously, and it was hilarious to hear my four year-old ask specifically for the "allrecipes" lemonade.

Lemonade
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar (I may try cutting this down by a couple tablespoons and see if it' still sweet enough)
4 cups water, divided
1 1/4 cups lemon juice (from about 6 lemons)

Directions:
In a small saucepan combine sugar and 1 cup water.  Boil and stir to dissolve sugar.  Cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate until chilled.  (I might try adding ice to speed this up if needed.)

Remove seeds from the lemon juice.  Strain out pulp if desired.  In a pitcher stir the chilled sugar syrup, lemon juice and remaining 3 cups water.

Source: adapted from allrecipes.com

Peach Puff Pancake

When I was growing up my dad would often be hard at work at church meetings before the rest of us had to leave on Sunday morning.  That left my mom to get me and my four siblings ready for church.  Now that I have three young ones myself, I understand better that getting kids ready for church is no small task! Looking back, I now realize that this Peach Puff Pancake was my mom's secret weapon to get us up and fed on time on Sunday mornings.  Rather than just announcing it was time to get up, we would hear her call out, "Peach puff is ready!"  That got us up and to the breakfast table in record time.  Genius.

We loved this peachy version of German pancakes--especially since we got to sprinkle some powdered sugar on our individual slices.  My mom always used canned peaches, and I have always made it that way as well.  But this time I decided to experiment with fresh peaches.  How can I used canned when fresh summer peaches are on sale for 68 cents a pound?  I can now report that this hot breakfast is delicious either way.  It is quite quick to prepare, though using fresh peaches does increase the prep time because of the peeling and slicing involved.

Should someone in your life need a little extra help getting out of bed in the morning, grab a bowl and a whisk and give this unassuming little peach puff a try.  As for how to get kids to get dressed and brush their teeth without asking them dozens of times--you're on your own there.

Peach Puff Pancake

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter

6 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 29-ounce can sliced peaches, drained or 2 cups fresh peach slices

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Melt butter in baking dish in the oven.  

In a large bowl, beat the eggs slightly with a whisk or electric mixer.  Add flour, sugar, salt, milk and vanilla and whisk or beat until smooth.  

Stir peaches into butter in the baking dish; return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until sizzling.  

Pour batter over peaches.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.  Garnish with powdered sugar and serve immediately. 

French Baguettes

I get so much satisfaction out of making bread at home.  It always amazes me how a few simple ingredients can be combined to make so many varieties of bread.  When I decide to make bread, it's almost always whole wheat sandwich bread.  I love that bread, but sometimes it's fun to do something different.  Something that isn't just going to be turned into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

This bread takes some planning ahead and more time to make than sandwich bread, but here are a few reasons why I'm excited to keep making baguettes at home on occasion:

1. These taste SO GOOD when still warm from the oven.  That is really reason enough.

2. I can get some whole wheat flour into my baguettes if I make them myself.  The first time I made these I used all-purpose flour.  The second time I used all-purpose for the sponge, and then experimented with using 5 ounces all-purpose and 5 ounces white whole wheat for the dough.  I was happy with the result!

3. These are pennies on the dollar cheaper than buying them from the grocery store bakery.

When my husband took a bite of this freshly baked bread he exclaimed, "This is the best thing I've eaten all day!"

Now, normally that would not mean much since he skips breakfast and takes leftovers or PBJ sandwiches to eat for lunch at work.  But the day I made this bread happened to be his nice once-a-month catered lunch at work, so I was quite pleased that he liked this bread better than the catered seafood he'd eaten for lunch.  These are chewy, slightly crusty and so very tasty.  I made these to serve alongside salad, but I can't wait until the weather turns cooler and I can have these with some kind of chunky soup.

This recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook.  While I love the end product, the instructions they give are incredibly long, so I will condense them.  They give two sets of instructions: one for baguettes baked in time for breakfast, and slightly different instructions to get them done in time for dinner.  I will give the dinner instructions here, since that is when I normally want them done.  The biggest thing to remember is to plan ahead!  The sponge needs to be started the day before you want to serve these.

French Baguettes
Note: Start the sponge at about noon the DAY BEFORE you want to eat these for dinner.  The instructions seem quite long, but most of the steps require very little time.  The biggest chunk of time required is to mix and knead the dough by hand, which would be from about 6-6:30 am.  Here is a rough time table:

12 or 1 pm: start sponge
6 pm: put sponge in refrigerator
6 am: Knead dough
6:30 am: let dough rest
7 am: deflate dough, then let rise
8:30 am: shape into torpedo shape, let rest 15 minutes
8:50 am: shape into baguette shape and put in refrigerator to rise
4 pm: remove from refrigerator
4:45 pm: remove plastic wrap, preheat oven
5:00 pm: bake
5:15 pm: cool slightly
(I accidentally let my sponge sit at room temperature for about 8 hours and everything was fine.  These times are approximate!)

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (6 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water, heated  to 75 degrees
1/8 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

For the dough:
1/2 cup water, heated to 110 degrees, plus extra as needed
1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 cups (10 ounces) flour (I've used 5 ounces all-purpose and 5 ounces white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
1. For the sponge: Stir flour, water, and yeast together in a medium bowl with wooden spoon to form thick batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and punch holes in plastic with knife.  Let stand at room temperature for 5 to 6 hours, then refrigerate overnight, 12 to 14 hours.

2. For the dough: Reserve 2 tablespoons water.  Add remaining water and yeast to sponge and stir until incorporated.  Stir in flour.  Transfer dough to counter and knead by hand for about 2 minutes until dry bits are absorbed into dough.  Stretch dough into a rectangle, make indentations on top and sprinkle 1 tablespoon reserved water.  Fold edges of dough up toward center to encase water, and pinch edges to seal.  Knead dough 30 seconds.

3. Begin "crashing" dough by flinging dough vigorously against counter in order for dough to absorb water more readily.  Knead and crash dough alternately until soft and supple, about 7 minutes.  Stretch dough again into a rectangle, make indentations, sprinkle dough with salt and remaining 1 tablespoon reserved water.  Fold and seal edges and crash and knead dough again until soft and supple, about 7 minutes.  If dough still feels tough and nonpliant, knead in 2 additional teaspoons water.

4. To determine if the dough is adequately kneaded, tear off a piece and stretch it until nearly translucent.  If dough tears before stretching thin, knead 5 minutes longer and test again.  Gather dough into ball, place in large, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic.  Let sit for 30 minutes, then knead for 10 seconds to gently deflate.  Reshape into a ball and replace plastic.  Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

5. Gently deflate dough.  Transfer to counter, divide in half, and form into a rough torpedo shape with smooth, taught surface, about 6 1/2 inches long.  Repeat with second piece of dough.  Cover and let rest 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Top inverted rimmed baking sheet with parchment  paper.  Fold the torpedo shape in half lengthwise and pinch seam together to seal.  Roll and stretch dough cylinder until it measure about 15 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide.  Place seam side down on prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with second piece of dough and place on baking sheet about 6 inches from the first piece.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, place in refrigerator and let rise 7 to 10 hours.

7. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes.  Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest position, place baking stone (or another inverted baking sheet) on upper rack.  Place another rimmed baking sheet on lower rack.  Fill the lower baking sheet about halfway with water.  Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

8.   Remove the plastic wrap from the baguettes to let surface of dough dry, then let stand for 15 minutes longer.  (Baguettes should have nearly doubled in size and feel springy to touch.)  Make five diagonal slashes on each baguette.  Brush baguettes with egg white mixture and mist with water.  Working quickly, slide parchment with baguettes onto baking stone.  If water is getting low in lower baking sheet, add more hot or boiling water.  Quickly close oven door.  Bake until crust is deep golden brown and baguettes register 210 degrees, about 15 minutes, rotating baguettes after first 10 minutes of baking.  Transfer baguettes to wire rack to let cool slightly, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

Source: Cook's Illustrated Cookbook via annies-eat.com (directions slightly simplified)

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Taking time to make and eat a hot breakfast is one of life's little pleasures.  When I want a hot breakfast, I usually turn to the oatmeal pancake mix that is a permanent resident in my fridge, but baked oatmeal is a delicious alternative.  And while it does take a few minutes longer to bake, I almost think it's easier than cooking pancakes.  (No need to stand around playing flapjack flipper!)

I happen to love desserts with peanut butter in them, and this particular version of baked oatmeal is a fun little treat because it has the flavors of peanut butter oatmeal cookies.  But you can eat it knowing you're consuming a lot less sugar and butter than if you actually did decide to eat cookies for breakfast.  I prefer to eat this with a splash of milk poured on top immediately before eating.  We have breakfast food for dinner once a week or so, and I look forward to this no matter what time of day I make it.

Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal
Ingredients:
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions:
Grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and add the milk, butter, eggs, vanilla and peanut butter.  Mix until combined.

Spread into greased pan.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Serve with a splash of milk, if desired.

Source: adapted from lynnskitchenadventures.com

Candied Coconut Pecan Sweet Potatoes

When asked about my favorite dish, I have been known to answer with just one word: "Thanksgiving."  There wasn't any one food on my plate at Thanksgiving I could claim as a favorite, just the whole combination.  I love the taste combinations of it all, plus vibrant colors that often make an appearance at a typical Thanksgiving dinner--the deep red of cranberry sauce, green beans, and of course bright orange sweet potatoes.  I like the marshmallow-covered sweet potato casseroles, but this version with coconut and pecans is definitely my new favorite.  I typically do not make a pecan or coconut cream pie on Thanksgiving, so I love that this side dish offers some pecan and coconut flavor.
The pecans and coconut get slightly toasted while baking, which sends this side dish over the top.  After finding this recipe I may have to admit that I do have a favorite part of my Thanksgiving dinner.

Candied Coconut Pecan Sweet Potatoes
Note: You can make the sweet potato mixture a day or two ahead of time.  Just keep it well covered in the fridge and put the topping on just before baking.  

Ingredients:
For the filling:
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (2 medium sweet potatoes or about 1 large sized can)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
If using fresh sweet potatoes, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prick each sweet potato with a fork and place on foil in oven.  Bake for 40-60 minutes or until tender.

When they are cool enough to handle, slice each sweet potato in half and scoop out the insides into a mixing bowl.  Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, egg, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla.  Mix with an electric mixer until desired consistency is reached.  I like to leave some of the sweet potato in larger chunks.

Spread the mixture evenly into an 8x8 pan.  (You can cover and refrigerate at this point if desired.)

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, coconut, pecans and melted butter.  Sprinkle evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly and the top is browned.

Source: adapted from ourbestbites.com

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Shortbread Cookies

For most of my life I have not been a coconut fan.  I don't know exactly when that changed, but I am trying to make up for all those lost years now.  I saw this recipe for Coconut Shortbread cookies and had to give it a try.  Since dipping things in chocolate is one of my favorite pastimes, I had a blast making these cookies.  I successfully tempered chocolate one of the times I made these cookies, and was way more excited than anyone should be over that kind of thing.  The chocolate hardened beautifully after cooling.

These cookies are more of a project kind of cookie rather than the kind you decide to make after dinner on Sunday evening.  I prefer to mix the dough in the morning, bake them in the afternoon, then dip them the next day.

I shared some with my neighbor before I had even dipped them, and she loved them so much she begged me to teach her how to make them.  I also gave her some of the chocolate-dipped ones, and later asked her which she liked better.  She said she prefered them without chocolate.  To each her own, I say.

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Shortbread Cookies
Note: Unsweetened coconut can be hard to find.  I happened to find some in the baking aisle at Target.  And I have often seen it in the bulk bins with the "natural/organic" food.  If I'm in the mood for more coconut flavor I may try replacing some or all of the vanilla with coconut extract.  Also, I may try taking the flour down to 2 2/3 cups next time I make these.  The dough can be a little crumbly and difficult to roll.

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour

To finish (optional):
Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, melted (tempered, if desired)
Sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Directions:
Add the unsweetened coconut to a medium skillet over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the coconut is lightly browned, being careful not to burn it.  Set aside to cool.  (If you will be dipping the cookies in chocolate and garnishing with more coconut, you can also toast the sweetened coconut in the same pan.  Let it cool, then store covered until ready to garnish.)

Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Blend in the salt and vanilla.  On low speed, mix in the flour until just incorporated and dough begins to form.  Mix in the unsweetened, toasted coconut.  Form dough into a disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill at least 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 325.  Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to just less than 1/4-inch thickness.  Use a cookie cutter or pastry cutter to cut out cookie shapes.  Transfer to the prepared baking sheets.  Reroll dough scraps as needed.

Bake until light golden and crisp, rotating the pans halfway through baking, about 16-18 minutes total.  (Baking time will vary depending on the size/shape of your cookies.  Keep an eye on them!)  Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

If desired, dip cookies or drizzle with melted chocolate.  Transfer to a pan lined with wax or parchment paper.  Sprinkle with sweetened shredded coconut.  Let chocolate set completely before removing from the pans.

Source: adapted slightly from annies-eats.com, via Smitten Kitchen, originally from Bon Appetit, March 2004

Apple, Bacon and Pecan Salad

When my sister, a self-proclaimed non-veggie person, sent me this recipe I knew I had to try it.  I've choked down many an obligatory salad in my life in an attempt to eat healthy.  But this is a salad I can actually look forward to eating.  It uses common, easy-to-find ingredients that taste kind of like a glorified BLT when combined.  With sweet apple, salty feta, bacon, and the nutty flavor of toasted pecans, it's hard not to like this.

One night when my husband got home late from work we ate this as a late dinner after the craziness of putting the kids to bed and we couldn't stop talking about how good it was.  He even asked if he could take the rest to work the next day for lunch and commented that we should keep this salad recipe in our summer dinner rotation.

Apple, Bacon and Pecan Salad
Ingredients:
1/3 cup pecans
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 small apple, chopped\
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup crumbled feta

For the dressing:
1/4 cup poppyseed dressing
1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place pecans on baking sheet in single layer and toast 3-5 minutes, until fragrant and lightly toasted.  Allow to cool and then lightly chop.

Combine and toss all salad ingredients.  For the dressing combine 1/4 cup poppyseed dressing with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette and stir well.  Drizzle over salad.