Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Another weekend, another bread. I decided I wanted to experiment with some whole-wheat flour today and experiment with my recipe from a couple of weekends ago. Today, Tony was in the mood for a Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~2.0 hours rise time, 45 min oven time.

Ingredients:

1. 3 and 1/3 cups All-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 2/3 cup Whole-Wheat flour
3. 1 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten
4. 1.5 cups + a couple extra tbsp Water
5. 1.5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
6. 1/3 cup Raisins
7. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
8. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

Measure out both kinds of flour, gluten, yeast and salt into the bowl. I'm trying the gluten trick for the first time today. I read recently that VWG helps with the rise in WW bread by providing more gluten fibers. Get the yeast started by dissolving in a cup of tepid tap water (the water should be barely warm to touch) and set aside. In the next 5-10 minutes the water will be become cloudy and foamy (if it doesn't, discard and start with fresh yeast, and check the expiration date on your packet). 

Mix water/yeast mix with the flour in the bowl of a Cuisinart Stand Mixer to form the dough. The dough should come together as a large ball. If not, add water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is well incorporated, but doesn't look too dry. Be patient with this step as it is easy to add too much and you will most likely not need to much. Today I needed 4 tablespoons of water to get to a nice wet, but not slippery consistency. Once you have everything incorporated, make note of the clock time and knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes. Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading (when stretched out dough looks somewhat translucent - light goes through it like a windowpane). 

One ready, remove the dough onto a well floured surface. I used a silicone baking mat. Lightly dust your fingers and shape the dough into a ball. Keeping the seam side down, transfer to a bowl. I also tried another trick today, which used wax paper instead of putting the dough directly in a bowl to rise. The recommendation was that you can then transfer everything directly into the cooking vessel. This did not work for me at all.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 2-3 hours. If your house is cold, try the oven method I talked about in the last recipe). I only allowed around a 2 hour rise time today because the dough was ready to spill out of the bowl after 1 hour. After 2 hours, the surface of the dough was dotted with a lot of tiny bubbles and crevices. 

Preheat the oven and dutch oven (a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset) to 450° F.  Remove dough from bowl and gently form into a round ball using the silicone mat and some flour for dusting. I did not score the loaf I made today.  For some odd reason, when I formed the ball this time, my down lost its rise and dropped to the same size it was prior to my 2 hour rise. I knew something was up :(! 

Remove preheated pot from the oven. Set lid aside. Do not grease the pot. Gently drop the dough into the pot, seam side down. Shake the pan a couple of times to help distribute the loaf, if necessary. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450° F. 

After 30 min, remove the lid and set aside, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown. Remove pot from oven, give it a good shake and the loaf should shake loose immediately. Gently remove the loaf from the pot and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it.

The loaf today was a little lopsided :) !! The flavor was great. The raisins were moist and the cinnamon aromatic. I did get rise and a lot of alveoli (bread speak for air pockets) but it was still a pretty dense loaf! My whole-wheat loaf still needs work. 

Suggestions: If you were to make this loaf with 4 cups of All purpose or bread flour, it would be the perfect cinnamon raisin bread!! One your guests would rave about.

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1940 (Fat Calories 47)

Total Fat 5.2 g; Carbohydrates 414.6 g; Fiber 17.6 g; Sugars 30.0 g; Protein 53.5 g


If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Garlic Rosemary Artisan Loaf

As most of you know by now, I've been on a bread-making kick since I received a bread machine for Christmas last year. To be honest, my bread machine adventures have been far from successful. Okay maybe that's overstating how it's been. I've just not gotten the success I was hoping for. A few weekends ago, we finally bought a cast iron Le Creuset and I made Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread and that came out great. Wasn't perfect but was pretty darned good. I've tried to make it a few times since then and the kids love it. I don't like the commitment required for it though. If I start the dough on Saturday, I have to make sure I'm home on Sunday, or Tony needs to complete it for me (which he does great at by the way!!). 

Garlic Rosemary Bread

This weekend, I was reminded that I don't need to worry about only looking for no-knead recipes because I have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer - that came with a handy-dandy dough hook (duh!). I decided to search for a bread recipe that used both my stand mixer for kneading and my cast iron dutch oven. After a few trials and tribulations, I found this recipe. It used a full stick of butter but I figured I'd easily substitute with good old water and even if my bread didn't 'bloom' like Pastor Ryan's ... I'd have a pretty good loaf. Also, I can make this in one day, without the need to commit an entire weekend. Also, this recipe can be made without a Stand Mixer by using your hands for kneading. It just takes longer to knead the bread to the right consistency. 

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman - The Bread, In His Words

Time Required: 20 min prep time, ~3.5 hours rise time, 45 min oven time. 

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups All-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
2. 1.5 cups + 2 tbsp Water 
3. 2 tbsp Minced fresh Rosemary
4. 2 tbsp Minced Garlic 
5. 2 tsp Coarse Salt (Sea or Kosher)
6. 1 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

Directions:

To get the yeast started, dissolve in a cup of tepid tap water (the water should be barely warm to touch) and set aside while you're measuring your other ingredients. In the next 5-8 minutes the water will be become cloudy and foamy. 

Measure out the flour, coarse salt, minced garlic and rosemary in the Stand Mixer bowl. If you're using dry rosemary, you may need to add a tad more, about 3 tbsp to get the same flavor as the essential oils in herbs are often volatile and tend to evaporate over time. 

Add 0.5 cups of water and start mixing (I used the lowest speed setting). As the yeast/water  mix begins to cloud and froth, start adding small portions of it to the mixer bowl (adding all that water at once makes a mess with flour flying everywhere ;)!!). In the end, the dough should come together as a large ball. If the dough looks like it's not coming together and there are crumbs still sticking to the sides, add water in 1 tablespoon portions until everything is incorporated. Depending upon how fresh or old your flour is it may sometimes need just a tad extra water.  Be patient with this step as it is easy to add too much and you will most likely not need to much. I needed just 2 additional tablespoons of water.  Once you have everything incorporated, make note of the clock time. You will need to knead for about 10-15 minutes depending upon the dough. 

If during this time, all you see is a big fat pillar like in the picture above, I would stop the unit, use a rubber spatula to make the dough drop to the bottom of the bowl and then turn the mixer on again. 

Once you successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough, you can stop kneading. This is when stretched out dough looks somewhat translucent (light goes through it like a windowpane). Mine took about 13 minutes to get to that point. The original recipe indicated that they needed only 10 minutes.  I took a picture of mine but you don't see the translucency very well. Another good sign is when you can stretch it a lot without tearing.

At this point use a rubber spatula to remove the dough onto a well floured surface. In my trials and errors I've used pastry stones, the kitchen counter itself and found that what works best is a silicone baking mat. It uses very little flour to help shape the dough and doesn't stick as much as some other surfaces do. Lightly dust your fingers and shape the dough into a ball.

before rise .. 

Keeping the seam side down, transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approximately 4 hours. Yeast needs a temperature of 80° F–90° F (27° C–32° C) to grow and reproduce at dough fermentation stage. It will however, work as low as 70° F although it takes longer. One way to aid the process is Oven Rising. Turn on your oven at the lowest temperature setting (usually 150-170 F) for home appliances. Leave on for 2-5 minutes and turn off. Do this just before or while you're preparing your dough. Then, once the oven feels like it just nice and cozy warm, put the bowl of dough to rise in there. Make sure that the air feels only barely warm and anything over 90° F will burn i.e. KILL the yeast. Here's a nice primer on the Science of Bread. This is especially helpful in spring/fall when our houses are cooler than usual.

After a 2-hour rise .. 

At this point, I could smell the awesome garlicky yeasty aroma of the rising bread every time I came into the kitchen. Because the dough was rising in the oven today, my husband could not smell it very well. I allowed around a 3.5 hour rise time today. The rough was ready to spill out of the bowl I'd used today (see picture). Also, the surface of the dough was dotted with tiny bubbles and crevices. About 30 minutes before the rise is complete, start preheating your oven to 450° F. Set your dutch oven (I used my 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset) in the cold oven and preheat at the same time as the oven. 

After a 3-hour rise .. 

Remove dough from bowl and once again knead into a round ball using a silicone mat and some flour for dusting. Score the loaf either once or twice across the top. While scoring is not essential for loafs made in pans, I think they make for a pleasing visual effect. 

According to The Fresh Loaf - "... the purpose of scoring is primarily to control the direction in which the bread will expand during “oven spring.” Intentionally creating a weak spot on the surface of the loaf prevents the loaf from bursting at weak spots created during shaping. The pattern of cuts made, the angle at which they are made and the depth of the cuts also influence the rate of expansion and the formation of an “ear” - a raised flap of crust at the edge of a cut. The pattern of cuts also can create a pleasing visual pattern on the surface of the loaf. While there are some very traditional patterns, for example for baguettes, the baker can use the scoring pattern to identify the type of bread or to create an unique pattern that identifies the loaf as coming from his or her oven."

Once the loaf is ready, remove preheated pot from the oven. Remove lid and set aside. You do not need to grease the pot at all. No butter/oil is necessary. The enameled pot and the style of cooking (with lid) allows for the crust to form which helps prevent the loaf from sticking to the pot. Slide your hands under the loaf and gently drop the dough into the pot, scored side up. Shake the pan a couple of times to help distribute the loaf, if necessary. This is a more hearty loaf than the no-knead so may not move much.

Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450° F . After 30 min, remove the lid and set aside, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.

Remove pot from oven, give it a good shake and the loaf should shake loose immediately. Gently remove the loaf from the pot and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it. Enjoy!!! :)

My Assessment: OMG!! The flavor was amazing. If you love garlic bread, this loaf is definitely for you. The crust was awesome which prompted me to call it 'artisan' bread. The inside had some rather large alveoli but in other places the loaf was denser than I imagined it would be after the wonderful rise I got. I'm wondering if that was a combination of scoring and pan baking because there are websites which say that pan loafs need not be scored. I think I will play with the scoring a little bit as I make it more and more. Unless I can find another awesome recipe, this bread may just make it to my Thanksgiving table. 

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1879 (Fat Calories 55)
Total Fat 6.2 g; Carbohydrates 392.9 g; Fiber 17.5 g; Sugars 1.5 g; Protein 54.6 g

If you liked this recipe, be sure to check out my Recipe Index for more Whole-Food, Plant-Based, No-Added-Oil recipes. You can also like Rugrat Chow! on Facebook. Thanks!

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

This post should really be entitled "In Search of the Perfect Loaf #5" to continue with my previous attempts from earlier this year. I came across this recipe months ago on a blog called Simply So Good. Even the author of that blog found the recipe much before she realized that it was Jim Lahey's recipe. In recent weeks, I've also read Michael Pollan's Cooked where he dedicated a whole section to breads. Anyhow, my on-off interest in bread making was rekindled a couple of weeks ago when a friend posted a picture of a loaf of No-Knead bread made by her husband. Oh I wanted it so bad :) !! So what was holding me back? I didn't own a an Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven (like a Le Creuset) and I really really wanted one. I had put it on my Christmas list and my husband took a picture of the exact one I wanted at the local Williams & Sonoma. It's not everyday that you just go out and buy a $300 pot. 

As luck would have it, this past weekend we were strolling around in Ohio's Amish Country and walked into a kitchen store (both my husband and I love exploring kitchen stores for new gadgets!) and we came across a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset almost for free - it was so highly discounted (we can't find a single flaw with the pot!). Of course, we brought it home with us much in advance of Christmas. So here I am - baking my first loaf of Jim Lahey's No-Knead bread. He is the owner of Sullivan St. Bakery in New York City. This recipe has been published and discussed and talked about by multiple columnists and bloggers before me. Suffice to say, it is simple and in Jim Lahey's words "... a 4-year-old could master it - and the results are fantastic!''. So here I am .. trying out this recipe, with my Rugrat in tow. Since my li'l Nikhil is 4y old now, I was guessing the stars were in my favor today. 

Adapted from: Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread

Prep Time: ~60 min (in 3-4 sessions) and 14-20 hours rising time.  

Ingredients (1.5 lb loaf):

1. 3 cups All-purpose flour (more for dusting)
2. 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast 
3. 1 1/4 tsp Salt 
4. 1 5/8 cup Water
5. 2 clean 100% Cotton kitchen towels.

Directions:

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Mix to incorporate and then add water and stir for a minute or two until everything is well combined. I used a rubber spatula which several other bakers recommended as it is more flexible than a wooden one and helps combine everything quicker. The dough at this point looked rather soggy, shaggy and messy. 

Everything I read told me not to worry.  This is the trick used by Mr. Lahey. At this time the dough is about 42-43% water. From what I've read on other websites, the wetness of the dough is an important part of making this beautiful bread. Gluten molecules in the flour are more likely to be able to move around and align themselves (without kneading and sweating) and bind each other to make an elastic network. So fear not!! Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 12-18 hours at warm room temperature (about 70° F).  The dough increases by about twice overnight so make sure you use a large enough bowl.

The dough is considered ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Mine looked like this after about 15 hours of resting. In retrospect, I should have probably left it for the full 18 hours recommended. At this point, lightly flour a work surface (I used my marble pastry board) and transfer the dough on to it using a rubber spatula. The dough at this point was nicely aromatic. It had a yeasty aroma to it, but the sweet yeasty aroma came a couple of hours later. Sprinkle more flour on top and using clean hands fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. This is how mine looked just before I covered it.

After about 15 minutes, using flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers or the work surface, gently and quickly shape the dough into a ball. Mine looked like a flat disk even after this stage (despite trying to shape it into a ball and I decided I wasn't going to worry about it and hope for the best). Sprinkle flour on a cotton towel (make sure it is not terry cloth, or mixed fibers), place towel on a flat surface and gently transfer dough, seam-side-down on towel. Dust it with more flour (if needed) and cover it with a second cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. This is how mine looked just before I covered it.

Set a kitchen timer to 90 minutes. When the timer beeps, start oven to preheat to 450° F. Some online recipes called for a 6-8 qt Dutch oven while another one said they used a 5.5 qt size. Mine is a 5.5 qt Round Le Creuset and it worked perfectly for a loaf this size. Set the dutch oven in the cold oven and preheat at the same time as the oven.

At this point the sweet yeasty aroma of the rising bread should have overtaken your kitchen. I was beginning to feel hungry. When the dough is ready (about 2 hours or so), it should more than double in size. Mine grew in girth more than height and did rise really well. I wonder if the next time I should put the ball of dough in a bowl to help it grow in height more than girth.  Here's what it looked like after 2 hours of rising. At this time, the dough should not readily spring back when poked with a finger. 

Remove preheated pot from the over, remove lid and set aside (remember it is very hot so watch your fingers and knuckles). You do not need to grease the pot at all. No butter/oil is necessary. The enameled pot and the style of cooking (with lid) allows for the crust to form which helps prevent the loaf from sticking to the pot.  Once the pot is ready, remove top towel from dough, and then use your hand to slide under the towel (and loaf) and gently turn the dough over into the pot, seam-side-up. I tried using the towel, but for me it was easier to pick up the ball of dough an place it in the pot with my hands.  Also, it seemed like despite the amount of flour I had added to the bottom towel, it still wasn't enough, so I had to peel off the loaf with my hands as well.  Once placed, if looked messy, so I shook the pan once or twice to help distribute it evenly. I remember reading that online.  But also remember, it is a loaf of bread and it will straighten itself out to some extent as it bakes. Mine looked perfectly rounded when it came out. 

Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F. And be prepared to be in awe of what you will find in your pot 30 minutes later. I've posted a few extra pics here ;)

Remove lid, and return the pan to the oven to bake for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown.

And with slightly different lighting. It was a real beauty. Perfectly rounded with a nice golden crust!

Remove pot from oven and gently remove the loaf of bread from the pot (without scalding yourself) using hot pads. I shook the pot just a tad as I took it out and the loaf immediately came loose. I simply used one hand to tip the pot over and use the other hand to support the loaf onto the cooling rack. The pot is heavy so be prepared to ask for help if you can't lift your pot with one hand. 

Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into it. Dig in!!! 

My Assessment: The loaf was definitely fighting gravity. It was broad and squat, unlike the nicely rounded loaves I've seen in artisan bakeries. Overall, the crust was where I think this loaf aced it. It was nice and rugged like it came from an actual bakery (and not my humble kitchen). The inside was nice and crumbly with a lot of alveoli. It was a little denser than I imagined it would be and the flavor was pretty darn good - slightly nutty, slightly yeasty and also slightly sweet. Pretty awesome transformation of flour and salt with just a quarter teaspoon full of yeast. 

Nutrition Facts (One Loaf): Calories 1368 (Fat Calories 34)
Total Fat 3.7 g; Carbohydrates 286.5 g; Fiber 10.3 g; Sugars 1.0 g; Protein 39.1 g

Raisin Bread w Cinnamon

For Easter dinner tonight, I decided to make a loaf of home-made bread. Since my last several attempts at making whole wheat bread have ended in a rather miserable loaf ;) I've reverted to All-Purpose Flour (at least when the intention is to feed my omnivore family!) and I've gone back to one of the recipes I've tried previously (see here). 

Raisin Bread w a hint of Cinnamon

Prep Time: 10 min + 3.5 hours in the Bread Machine

Ingredients (Serves 12):

1. 1.25 cups Water
2. 0.25 cup Maple Syrup
3. 3.5 cups All Purpose Flour
4. 1 tsp Cinnamon
5. 1.5 tsp Sea Salt
6. 2.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast
7. 0.25 cup Raisins (@ "add ingredient" stage, optional)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine, with the exception of the raisins. Start the machine using the menu selection for basic white bread. Set the crust to medium or light. Start the cycle and when the machine beeps at the 'add ingredient' stage (just before the last 5-10 minutes of kneading), add the raisins. Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes before slicing/cutting into the loaf.

My Assessment: My first loaf that was a complete hit and consumed 100%!!! Instead of cutting slices, I cut it into 2 halves straight down the middle and then cut each half into 6 wedges. Worked well as everybody got some part of the crust and everybody got some part of the soft middle. This recipe, was a hit for sure! 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 162 (Fat Calories 4)
Total Fat 0.4 g; Carbohydrates 35.1 g; Fiber 1.4 g; Sugars 5.8 g; Protein 4.2 g

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #4

The saga continues. My last bread making attempt was a disaster. The whole darned loaf ended up in the trash. My aim is to end up with a loaf that has as much whole wheat flour as I can get into it. I researched bread making a little more last week and came across this Bread Experiment. The author is a registered dietitian and  experimented with increasing proportions of whole wheat flour in all-purpose flour and made 5 different loafs. Being a scientist myself this approach made sense to me and I was all set to attempt it when I realized that my food scale is not precise to measure to the gram, or even to the 10 grams. So I've put this experiment on the back burner and will return to it soon. Meanwhile, here's the recipe I attempted today. It is a variation of an earlier attempt, without the oats, sunflower seeds or maple syrup. The boys don't like seeds/nuts and so I decided to skip those. Since my pan is non-stick, I didn't think I needed to use apple sauce to replace oil which I've seen in the original recipe. 

Still a little dense, but pretty good overall!

Prep Time: 10 min + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1 cup + 3 tbsp water
2. 3 cups All-purpose White Flour
3. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds
4. 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
5. 1.25 tsp Sea Salt
6. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine. Start the machine using the menu selection for Basic White Bread. I had initially added only 1 cup water but the dough looked and felt a little hard so I added more water, one tbsp at a time, until I felt the right springy consistency to the dough and it didn't feel too dry. I set the crust to dark today. The basic white cycle on my bread machine, lasts about 3.5 hours. When the kneading was done, I could not even see the ball of dough from the top, without peering straight into the machine from the top. It was bigger than a baseball, but much smaller than a softball when it was done kneading.

Here's what the dough ball looked like after 1 hour of rising (about 3x its original size).

Here's what it looked like after another 40 minutes of rising - it grew at least another 2x at least.

And here's what it looked like just a few minutes before the cycle was completed.

I removed the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allowed it to stand for only 5 minutes before slicing/cutting into the loaf. We were starving :)

My Assessment: It was pretty good. We ate almost all of it with dinner tonight. For being white bread, it was still pretty dense and I wonder if that had something to do with (a) Chia seeds or (b) brown sugar. It got a lot of rise and the original smaller than a softball size dough ball rose to be at least 4-5 times its original size.  I guess my experiments will have to go back to basic white bread (with no chia and no brown sugar) to see how fluffy I can make that, before I start adding seeds and whole wheat flour.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 209 (Fat Calories 16)
Total Fat 1.8 g; Carbohydrates 42.1 g; Dietary Fiber 2.8 g; Sugars 4.5 g; Protein 6.0 g

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #3

My adventures with bread making continue. After a brief hiatus, I attempted another loaf today. After a quick Google search revealed nothing immediately promising, I decided to improvise based on my last few attempts. I've been reading up on bread making and all in all - basic bread should consist of 4 ingredients - Flour (is the body of the loaf), Water (to dissolve all the ingredients; both too much and too little water prevent adequate rise in the loaf), Yeast (which helps the dough rise) and Salt (which helps retard the yeast and tempers the fermentation process). As the old fairy tale goes ... salt is essential also for our taste buds ... it adds flavor. Some folks would say that bread making also requires Sugar - to help feed the yeast, which is basically a microorganism that uses starches (and sugars) to grow and multiply. During this process, any simple sugars are converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide is released which bubbles through the dough and causes it to rise. During the baking process all the alcohol evaporates .. so you don't need to be worried about serving alcohol to your kids in the form of bread. So today, I tried a rather simple recipe, with only these basic ingredients and some Chia seeds for added fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.

Prep Time: 10 + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1.5 cups Water
2. 1/4 cup Apple Sauce 
3. 3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
4. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
5. 2 cups All-purpose White Flour
6. 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
7. 1 tsp Salt
8. 2.5 tsp Active Dry Yeast 

So I placed all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of my bread machine. Started the machine for Basic White bread. Set it to a medium dark crust. I peeked in a couple of times as the dough was mixing and it looked pretty wet. I thought that would not be a huge issue and it would be okay once it rose. the dough rose really well and then .... poof!! It fell in on itself!!! BIG FAIL!!! The loaf that came out was so bad, its not even worth a picture!!!  Oh well ... I learnt something from this failed attempt. .... and I will try again tomorrow!! :)

In Search of the Perfect Loaf #2

So last weekend, I started up my brand-spanking new Bread Machine and after 2 attempts at making Multi-Grain bread ... I was left with 2 half-loaves of dense bread that no one would touch about 30 min after the loaf had been cut into. Both loaves tasted great while still warm ... but they turned out to be bricks when allowed to cool. So this entire work week, as and when I got the chance, I researched recipes and techniques for multi-grain bread. One of the cool websites I found - The Fresh Loaf -has lots of interesting tips and recipes and even a primer for the novice bread-maker. One of the interesting things I read this past week, is that even supposedly whole-grain breads actually are "cheater" breads in that they are made predominantly with white flour with a portion of whole-grain flour mixed in. So that's why my loafs were like bricks. I can't find the website where I read this ... but I know I did. 

Also, this week, I saw a McDougall Moment video about the use of white rice vs brown rice. And one of the things Dr. McDougall says in this video is ... white rice is OKAY!! ... brown rice is better, but white rice, white pasta and white bread, are not deal breakers. So I decided to make an about face - no I'm not switching to white bread completely. But, I'm going to first find the perfect white loaf ... and then, I'm going to tweak it with whole grain flour, seeds and nuts and whole grains where possible to make it as nutritious as possible. Sound like a plan?? Here's the first recipe I'm trying today. I found it online Its intended for bread machines and uses 1/2 a cup of Oatmeal and 1/2 a cup of sunflower seeds and white all-purpose flour. So, its not all bad!! :)

Oatmeal Sunflower Seed Bread

Adapted from the Betty Crocker website:  Bread Machine Oatmeal-Sunflower Bread

Prep Time: 10 + ~3.5 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients: (8 servings/slices):

1. 1cup water
2. 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
3. 2 tbsp Apple sauce
4. 3 cups All-purpose White Flour
5. 1/2 cup Oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned)
6. 1.25 tsp salt
7. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast 
8. 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds

Directions: 

The Perfect Loaf?

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine, with the exception of the Sunflower Seeds. Start the machine using the menu selection for Basic white bread. Set the crust to medium or light. According to the original recipe - do not the delay cycle (I'm not experienced enough to know why!). Start the cycle and when the machine beeps at the 'add ingredient' stage (just before the last 5-10 minutes of kneading), add the sunflower seeds.  Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes before slicing/cutting into the loaf.

My Assessment: First off, I liked adding the nuts at the end of the kneading cycle. The last 2 times, the poor sunflower seeds I added were beaten to a pulp by the time the bread was done. This time I could see the whole seeds in the dough and also on the crust. Secondly, we had air ... yes, the dough actually rose and we had air pockets in the middle and the bread was soft and spongy. Lastly, it wasn't perfect. It was a great recipe and the bread came out real good - but tasted a bit sweet. I think I may need to cut back on the maple syrup. The sunflower seeds added a good amount of chewiness to the bread. And guess what? It was not a brick!!! :)

See the air in that baby?

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 237

Total Fat 2.3 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 47 g; Fiber 2.3 g; Sugars 6.3 g; Protein 6.5 g

Multi-Grain (Machine) Bread - Take 2

Homemade Multi-Grain Bread - Take 2

So my first attempt at using my bread machine turned out pretty good. It wasn't great 'to die for' bread but it had a lot going for it. It had 3 different whole grains, it had a nice and crunchy crust, and was soft inside. The downside - it had 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance (a vegan butter replacement) and it was pretty dense - almost the consistency of a dense banana bread. So this morning, I decided to make a few changes that would help reduce the density and replace the fat with a more healthy alternative. 

Prep Time: 10 min + ~4 hours in a bread machine

Ingredients (8 servings/slices): 

1. 1 cup almond milk
2. 2/3 cup water
3. 2 tbsp Natural (No Sugar) Apple Sauce (replaces Earth Balance)
4. 2 tbsp Agave syrup (I removed this because I figured Apple Sauce would add some sweetness)
5. 2 tsp Salt (I removed this because I added Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds)
6. 3 cups Whole Wheat flour 
7. 3/4 cup All Purpose flour
8. 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed Meal (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats) 
9. 1/4 cup Roasted Salted Sunflower Seeds (replaced 3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats)
10. 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (I doubled this from Take 1, as I added less than 3/4 cup seeds) 
11. 2.25 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Directions: 

Place all ingredients in the order they are listed into the baking pan of your bread machine.  I used the menu selection on my machine for whole wheat bread. 

Allow the baking cycle to complete, remove the bread from the pan onto a baking rack and allow to stand for 20-30 minutes. Let the awesome yeasty aroma penetrate the senses of every living being :) !! Once they're all begging for you to cut some slices ... slice away!! 

My Assessment: Its still not there yet! Even though Joules, the old dog is begging for a slice (and she got a little piece!) it was still too dense in my opinion. So its back to the drawing board for me. Also, next time I will add back the agave as replacing both the salt and the sweet with only roasted seeds and 2 tablespoons of applesauce made it rather bland. This was definitely a better version than yesterday's attempt.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 198
Total Fat 10/9 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 22 g; Fiber 4 g; Sugars 1.3 g; Protein 5.8 g

Ham and Vegetable Pot Pie

This is most definitely a 1 pot/1 dish weekend recipe!!

Ham & Veggie Pot Pie

Prep Time: 1 to 1.5 hours with store-bought pie crust.

Ingredients:
1) 1 box of Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie crusts
2) 1 lb ham - diced into 1/2 inch cubes
3) 1 big bag of Baby spinach
4) ~1 cup peas (fresh, or frozen)
5) ~1 cup carrots (sliced)
6) ~1 cup celery (diced)
7) ~1 cup fresh onion (diced)
6) 1 egg, whipped, mixed in 1/3 cup water (egg wash)
7) 2 to 3 tbsp all-purpose flour mixed in water (for thickening veggies)
8) 1 tbsp McCormick's Italian seasoning
9) butter, salt and pepper to taste
10) 1 tbsp Wyler's poultry seasoning.

Directions:

Let both pie crusts in the box sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before unrolling the first one. I used a 2" deep dish for this pot pie, so I used a rolling pin to make the crust a tad larger. Lay the pie crust in the dish, roll and crimp the edges if desired. I didn't roll or crimp mine as I am a novice at this ;) and also because I planning on using the second crust as a topping. Make sure to use a fork and poke a lot of holes on the bottom and sides of the pie crust to prevent it from rising away from the sides of the dish during baking.  I pre-baked the pie crust alone for about 10-12 minutes using red kidney beans as pie weights. Thanks to Nupur (http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/) for this idea. Check out her November 25, 2010 post for some pictures on how to use the beans (http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html).  Just like her, I now have a jar of dry red beans that are used again and again as pie weights. 

For the filling, in a large deep pan, melt the butter, and fry diced onions and celery until transparent.  Then i slowly added in the baby spinach a little at a time until wilted and then added more. All 3 items added so far, onions, celery and spinach will sweat enough to make the mix pretty wet. Add the rest of the vegetables, and spices and mix well. Finally add the ham. I tend to leave adding the meat until the very end to prevent it from becoming too chewy. Lastly, I mixed in some of the flour water mix to thicken the whole mixture and give it some a white-saucy appearance.  Transfer the mix to the pre-baked pie crust being careful not to damage the crust. 

For the top crust, I had big plans of making a weaved top crust. My attempts failed miserably so i simply placed the strips of crust I'd made in a overlapping pattern resembling a weave. The kids didn't care ... ! You can also leave the top crust whole, with just a few cuts across the top to allow the steam to escape. I used my fingers and a little bit of the egg wash to stick the sides and top crusts together. 

Bake at 375F for 40 minutes. Allow the pie to rest of at least 10 minutes before cutting into it. Despite the spinach, all 3 kids loved it.  This one was a success and will definitely be made again in the Coder household!