Orange-Walnut Bread

Who here loves banana bread? I sure do. But I get sick of bananas pretty fast. And citrus is soooo in season right now. Bright, juicy, spirit-lifting citrus... EVERYWHERE. Aren't you loving it?

But what to do with it all? There's the usual standby of, you know, just eating it, but that gets old after a while too. And it would be such a shame to let citrus season pass without enjoying the wide range of its flavoring possibilities. So why not make some tasty bread with all that lovely orange goodness?

Like this bread. It's super tasty! Like banana bread kicked up a notch... except, you know, minus the bananas. Soft and dense with a subtle sweetness, a slight crunch from the earthy walnuts, and beautiful orange-y notes that sing, "Good morning, sunshine!" It's the perfect complement to your morning cup of coffee or glass of milk... a seriously sweet way to start your day. And it's seriously too good to pass up this citrus season. Trust me!

Dad's Baking Powder Biscuits

Growing up, it was a running joke that Dad made the best biscuits. For whatever reason, Dad's biscuits always rose until they nearly split in the middle, while Mom's were always flat and dense. (Dad used to call them hockey pucks, which is kind of rude but also kind of funny.) I don't know how much she played it up, but it always appeared that this drove Mom crazy, and Dad always joked that he'd never share his secret.

Well, years ago, Dad taught me the secret to epic-rising baking powder biscuits - folding. It's not enough just to roll out the dough and cut it out, you have to fold the dough over itself a few times, roll it out, and repeat at least three times. Folding creates little pockets of air to help with the rise - which you can often hear popping when you cut them out - and generates those nice flaky layers that we all love in a good biscuit. It works... just look at that rise!

These biscuits are perfect in every way. Flaky in the middle, with amazing buttery flavor that is even better than those silly biscuits in a can. They're the perfect accompaniment to warm beef stew, but they're also amazing smeared with a little berry jam or drizzled with honey. And, of course, they're a great base for biscuits and gravy!

Enjoy!

Bread of the Month: Fougasse

In the spirit of challenge and personal growth, I have set a goal for myself: a different kind of bread from my Dough cookbook every month for the next year. It's a fairly attainable goal - even with as busy as I am these days, it's easy enough to block out one afternoon a month to devote to the art of breadmaking. I bought this cookbook with the intention of putting it to good use, so why not make a project out of it? Plus, I'm one of those people who needs plans and deadlines, otherwise tasks as time-consuming as this one can easily get lost in the sea of ideas I have and fall prey to procrastination. So that's the plan! One bread recipe a month for a year.

This month's bread is one that looks way more complicated than it is: the fougasse. The author, Richard, says that he likes to use this as a beginner's recipe for the students in his breadmaking classes, because it's so simple and the results are impressive. It's a simple white bread recipe, cut into four or six pieces and then strategically cut to look like a leaf. That's it! 

However, as I mentioned in my original post about this book, the French method of working the dough is a different and interesting process. So, to briefly illustrate, I employed the help of my hubby-to-be to take pictures of me working the dough, so you can kind of see what I'm talking about. We were having issues getting the camera to focus well with the poor lighting in the kitchen, so bear with me, but I think you'll still get the idea. So, without further ado, let's make some bread!

Corn Bread Muffins

What a game this weekend, eh? I didn't really have my heart set on either team winning this year's super bowl - my fall schedule kept me too busy to keep up with football this season. But no matter which team you were rooting for you've gotta admit, it was an entertaining game at least!

I know it's a little late to be posting a game-worthy recipe... the super bowl (and football season) is over, afterall. But, still, I can't quit thinking about that delicious chili my girlfriend Dawn made for game day, and how well these little corn bread muffins went with it.

This recipe is sooo worth making more than just once a year. These savory little muffins are perfect for serving with chili or stew or soup... or anything, for that matter! I'll be the first to admit they are a bit dry, but I think that's what makes them go so well with any bowl of steaming broth. And with just a hint of sugar, this corn bread recipe can easily become a sweet breakfast or dessert... top with a little butter and honey or maple syrup, and enjoy!

Normally, if I'm baking for just Dane and I, I pour all of the batter into a greased pie plate and eat it in pie-like slices, but I find that muffins are perfect for gatherings since everyone can just grab one or two without having to worry about slicing it. One batch makes about 10-12 muffins, depending on how much batter you use for each, so I usually double the recipe if I'm planning to take them somewhere. No one wants to run out, after all!

Dough

One of my goals for this year is to learn to make yeast bread. Knowing that this process is both part science and part art, I felt I needed to step outside of my usual Better-Homes-and-Gardens-Cookbook box... I needed a book specifically about bread. I needed a book that would simplify things at first, and something that preferably included pictures... a bread-baking-for-dummies, if you will. But I didn't want to get bored either. I needed something that would continue to challenge me as I master the simpler recipes. I needed something on my level, but that would still keep things interesting... a tall order, I'm well aware.

Well, what I found, after a bit of searching, was this lovely book called Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads, by Richard Bertinet. 

This book delivered exactly what I was asking for. I wanted simple - how does only four ingredients sound? I wanted pictures - there are over 20 how-to photographs of everything from how to work the dough to a color guide for baking. It even came with an instructional DVD, where you can watch Mr. Bertinet's interesting technique! It really makes bread-baking pretty much idiot proof. And I'm certain that I won't be bored with it anytime soon... there are enough recipes of various skill levels and flavors to keep me (and my taste buds!) entertained for quite some time.

I tried my first recipe out of it this weekend, with much success. I chose the Epi for its pretty (but simple!) shape, and invited a couple friends over for homemade stew and bread. The little wheat-shaped loaves made a lovely centerpiece, and no one guessed how easy they were to make! This was really the perfect bread to serve to a crowd... the little "leaves" were easily torn off to be eaten as individual rolls, and the crunchy outer crust was perfect for dipping into the stew. All four loaves were quickly devoured between the four of us, to both my pleasure at their popularity and my disappointment that there wouldn't be any leftovers. :)

Since I've only tried this recipe once, I'm not quite ready to post it as a recipe for you all just yet. I made a couple of rookie mistakes, like using all-purpose flour instead of bread flour as the recipe called for, and I haven't yet perfected my technique. But trust me, I'll be using recipes from this book quite frequently and there will be recipes from it in the future!

But for now I'm happy enough to have had a successful first attempt. :)

Tasty Gifts: Pumpkin Bread

Every year at Christmas it seems there are more people to give to than I have money to spend on them. Between friends and family and extended family... the list goes on and on. And especially when someone is kind enough to give something to me, I cannot help feeling like I should give something in return.

Baked goods are a wonderful, relatively cheap and easy way to show you care. As long as you stick to a simple recipe - and something with a high yield helps too - you can give something tasty and comforting to many different people, without breaking the bank or your arms. And people say that it's the thought that counts anyway... that time is often a better gift than things... well, giving baked goods offers the opportunity to give plenty of both. :)

Following this principal, I decided that I'd bake a loaf of pumpkin bread for each person I wanted to give a little something to but couldn't afford to buy for this year. This seemed a relatively easy idea at first... until my list kept growing as I thought of more people, and I wound up committed to over 12 loaves of bread. Luckily this recipe makes 2 loaves per batch, haha!

This recipe is one that I tried earlier this fall, and one I fell in love with immediately. A moist yet dense bread, this sweet and spicy loaf lends itself well to a light slathering of butter and a warm cup of coffee. It makes for a lovely addition to breakfast - one of the last things many people have time think about this time of year - so it's easy to grab a slice and a cup of coffee and go! It's also sweet enough to act as dessert after dinner, if one so desires. Plus, who can resist pumpkin during the holidays?