Kasha Bread

These two round, smooth loaves are whole wheat enhanced with the nutty flavor of cooked kasha (buckwheat groats).  I used the usual recipe and technique but added cooked kasha to the mix.  Into 1/2 cup boiling water I added 1/4 cup kasha and let it simmer, covered, until all the water was absorbed - about 10 minutes.  I let the kasha cool while the sponge was rising, then mixed the kasha into the oil, egg, salt, and honey mixture.  Then combined the mix with the sponge, added more flour, and let it rise once in the bowl, and again once the loaves were formed.  I baked them on pizza stones in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Cranberry-Carrot-Walnut Bread

Cranberries, carrots, and nuts complement each other in this dense, hearty bread.  I used a bread technique from Rose Levy-Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible.  This recipe makes two loaves of bread.

Sponge
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 2/3 cups warm water

Mix together the ingredients for the sponge in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Fruit and Nuts
1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 cup walnuts

Grate the above ingredients in a food processor until evenly ground.  Add them to the sponge and blend well.  Set the bowl aside while you blend together the following ingredients in a separate bowl:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt

Pour this dry mixture on top of the sponge (no mixing - just let is sit on top of the sponge) and cover with a plate or Saran wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour at room temperature, then set the bowl in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature about half hour, then mix the contents into a dough ball and turn it out onto a floured surface for kneading.  Add more white flour until you form a tight dough ball that is not sticky.

Flour a thin, cotton towel and use it to line a large,clean mixing bowl.  Set the dough ball into it.  Cover with a plate or Saran wrap.  Let rise for an hour at room temperature.

Remove from the towel onto the floured surface and flatten the ball with your hands.  Then fold it over itself in half, and in half again.  Then return it to the floured towel in the bowl.  Cover and let rise another 45 minutes.

Divide the dough in half and form two loaves.  Set the loaves into greased loaf pans.  Let them rise for 20-30 minutes in a 85 degree F oven.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temp to 400 for another 30 minutes.  Remove and test for doneness by tapping on the bottom of the loaves.  They are done when they sound hollow upon tapping.

Winter's Day Bread

This bread recipe came to me while thinking about how to accompany a hearty bowl of soup.  It was not the coldest day of the year, but mid-February weather is cold enough to want a hot bowl of soup and warm bread for dinner.  It might also be the bread for a lunch-time tuna salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato.

Ingredients

For the sponge,
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon yeast
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white unbleached flour

Bud the yeast in a large mixing bowl with the warm water.  Add the two cups of flour and stir until well blended.  Cover the bowl with a tight-fitting plate or saran wrap and let rise in a warm (70 degree F) place for a few hours.  It will double in bulk and there will be air bubbles on top.

Add to the sponge,
2 1/2 cups flour blended with 1 teaspoon salt
Mix in one cup at a time, stirring after each addition.  When the dough ball starts to form, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding the remaining flour, as much as it will take. 

Line a large, clean mixing bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle it with flour.  Place the dough ball onto the towel in the bowl, sprinkle some flour on top and fold the towel over it.  Set the plate or saran wrap over it.  Place in a warm (80-85 degree F) place for an hour or until doubled in bulk. 

Roll the risen dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface.  Fold it over itself, twice.  Cut the dough in half with a sharp knife and shape into two round loaves.  Sprinkle some corn meal onto a baking sheet and set the two loaves on it.  Let it rise for about 30 minutes until nearly doubled.

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.  If you have baking (pizza) stones, place them in the oven while pre-heating.  Then when the oven and stones is fully heated, slide the loaves from the baking sheet onto the stones.  Alternatively, you can bake the loaves on the baking sheet.  Set the sheet in the oven when the oven has pre-heated.  With an spray bottle, spritz the loaves once you have placed them in the oven, wetting them down thoroughly, or you can throw a handful of ice cubes onto the floor of the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, then turn the heat down to 375 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes until the loaves are golden brown.

Remove the loaves, test for readiness by tapping on the bottom of the loaves.  Do they sound hollow?  Yes, then they are ready; if not, set them back in the oven for 5 minutes and test them again.

Cool on a rack and wait until they have cooled somewhat before slicing.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread for Your Valentine

If your Valentine loves to start the day with chocolate, bake this quick bread for Monday morning.  Recipe makes two loaves.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3 cups flour (you can use 1 1/2 cups each whole wheat and unbleached white flour)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (or carob powder if chocolate seems a little too much for breakfast)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups grated zucchini

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, and extracts in a large bowl.  Add the cocoa powder or carob powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder and mix thoroughly.  Add the grated zucchini and blend in completely.  Grease two loaf pans.  Divide the mixture evenly between the two loaf pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Serve with nutella, cream cheese, or chocolate syrup!

Easiest French Bread

Following the theme and easy technique, this is a converted recipe for French baguette.  Instead of a long loaf, it produces an irregular shape but a nice, thick crust and light, moist interior.  It stands up well to butter or jam, and is perfect just by itself.

Seems like just about any bread recipe can be made simply, without much kneading, by letting it rise a long time and baking it in a super-hot covered crock or cast-iron pot.

Easiest Bread in the World!

This super-easy recipe is versatile, fuss-free, and delicious.  The basic recipe comes from "The Minimalist" column in the NY Times.  I'll bet that many a restaurant lets their bread dough rise overnight this way, then bakes it early in the afternoon so that there are always fresh, crusty loaves of bread ready for dinner.  The texture of bread baked this way is surprisingly light and airy on the inside, with a very substantial crust on the outside.  The most surprising part of this bread-baking technique is use of a covered cast iron pot, which keeps the moisture in the bread, and then you uncover it for the last part of the baking to form the thick, golden crust.  My recipe is a variation of the original.

Easiest Rye Bread in the World

1 1/2 cups water
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup coarse rye flour
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoons salt
1. In a large bowl combine  the water and yeast, and let it bud.  Add the caraway seeds, then the flour, one cup at a time, blending well after each addition.  Then add the salt and blend well.
2. Cover bowl the bowl with a tight fitting plate or plastic wrap.  Let it rise for 12- 18 hours at room temperature.  The dough will look like a sticky sponge, with lots of air holes.
3. Spoon the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it slightly, then fold it over onto itself, twice.  Place it on a floured cookie sheet and let it rise until about doubled, which may take another hour or two.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, put a heavy cast-iron pot, covered, in the oven and heat to 450 degrees.  Place the dough into the pot very carefully as it is extremely hot.  Cover the pot, place it back in the oven, and bake 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes until the crust is well developed.
5. Remove the fully baked bread from the pot and set it on a rack to cool.  Then slice and enjoy!

Bran Bread - High in Fiber and Taste

Whole wheat flour and bran pair up with molasses to produce a substantial loaf that is the basis for grilled cheese sandwiches. peanut butter and jelly, or toast with just plain butter.

Makes 2 loaves

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup wheat bran
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a medium mixing bowl.  When it starts to bud, add the canola or vegetable oil and molasses.  Stir in the wheat bran plus one cup of the flour.  Stir until well blended.  Add the salt and the additional flour, one cup at a time, stirring after each addition.  When you can no longer stir in more flour and the dough ball starts to form, turn it onto a floured board and knead in the additional flour.  When you have a smoothly kneaded dough ball, place it in a large, oiled bowl.  Cover it with a damp towel and place it in a warm, draft-free place (such as your oven heated to no more than 85 degrees F) for 45 minutes.  When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down with your floured fist and turn it out onto a floured surface.  Knead it for a few minutes.  Then divide the dough in half.  Use a rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a rectangle about a half inch thick.  Then roll each like a jelly roll, tightly, to form the loaves.  Tuck the ends under each loaf.  Place each one into a greased loaf pan.  Return to the warm place for about 20 minutes, until the loaves have risen to the tops of the pans.  Set the oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake for 40 minutes, or until done: the loaves should sound hollow when you tap them on the bottom.

Winning Technique for Bread Baking

A few expert bread-bakers influenced how I make breads.  I use their techniques in almost all of the breads I bake.  I learned a basic bread-baking technique from Mollie Katzen's classic, The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  She offers numerous recipes based on her sponge technique, as well as suggestions for modifying the basic recipe.  The best feature of her section about bread-baking is the exquisitely illustrated and detailed description of how to knead and shape bread dough.  For example, her best suggestion about knowing how much to knead is that the dough should be the consistency of an earlobe when pinched. 

If you are learning how to make bread, I recommend starting with the recipes in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest.  Learning Mollie Katzen's techniques will serve you well!

Holiday Bread - A bread for all celebrations

Have the post-New Year's Day blues got you down?  Does it feel like a long winter ahead?  This holiday bread, customarily served with Slovakian Easter dinners, is an excellent mood lifter.  It is buttery enough to be eaten plain, but is also delicious topped with fruit jellies and jams, or cream cheese, or even a slice of ham or Polish sausage.  This recipe is from my husband's family, who brought it with them when they emigrated from Slovakia to the US in the 1800s. 

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast, dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
2 beaten eggs, reserving one tablespoon
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour (white flour or white bread flour, or half whole wheat and half white flour)

Scald the milk, then add the butter and sugar.  Stir to dissolve the sugar and butter.  Cool to lukewarm.  Then transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the dissolved yeast in water, the two beaten eggs (less one tablespoon reserved for later), and  vanilla.. Gradually add the flour, one cup a time, stirring after each addition.  When the mixture begins to thicken into a ball, turn it onto a floured surface and knead the rest of the flour into it.  Place the dough ball in a larger oiled mixing bowl.  Cover it with a plate and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (45 - 60 minutes).  Once risen, punch it down with a floured fist, and leave it in the bowl, covered, for a second rise of about 30 minutes until doubled in bulk.  After the second rise, turn it out of the bowl onto a floured surface.  Grease two loaf pans.  Divide the dough in half and shape it into two loaves, placing them into the prepared bread pans.  Let the loaves rise to the tops of the bread pans for another 20 minutes.  Brush the tops of the loaves with the reserved egg.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until the breads sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  (Send them back to the oven in their pans for another few minutes if they do not sound hollow.)

Note: For regular bread, reduce the sugar for 1/4 cup and omit the vanilla.

Fruited Breads Welcome Winter

(Pictured: Apricot Bread)

Dreary days, wind chills, a drafty house all are saying welcome to the New Year.  How to reclaim the start of 2011: Warm up the house with some fruited loaves of bread.  Fruits are excellent additions to quick breads and yeasted breads.  Their flavors and fragrances remind one of spring and summer to come. 

Any pureed or dehydrated fruits will do well in yeasted breads.  Some of my favorites are

• Pureed, cooked apricots
• Oranges, pureed
• Dehydrated cherries or cranberries
• Raisins (with cinnamon)

For quick breads, the addition of pureed, chopped, whole, or dried fruits make wonderful breakfast breads.  Some delicious additions are

• Chopped apples or apple sauce
• Chopped pears or pureed, cooked pears
• Strawberries, whole
• Blueberries or pitted cherries
• Bananas

Where to find spring and summer fruits in January?  Bags of frozen fruits are available year-round at grocery stores.