Buttermilk Waffles

 

Fluffy, Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Hi, my name is Memoria, and I LOVE buttermilk biscuits. In the south, it is not uncommon to see homemade buttermilk biscuits show up on the dining table, especially on Saturday mornings. Because of the buttermilk, butter, flour, and accompanying dishes (e.g., gravy, sausage, eggs, etc.) that pair with biscuits, I do not recommend eating these often. . .unless you have great metabolism, which I don't.

Applesauce Pancakes

In the United States, most of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day (Tday) on the 27th of November, and I'm sure you've seen many Tday recipes floating around the blogosphere.

Pan de muerto Revisited

This weekend (el primero y 2 de noviembre), the day after Halloween, a very sacred holiday will take place - El día de los muertos. Although I am not Mexican, I celebrate and respect this holiday even more than Halloween. Why? Because I am comforted by the idea of honoring loved ones who have passed on and "bringing them back" into the present world via a multitude of tangible symbols such as altars showcasing loved ones' photos and momentos, skullface paintings, sugar skulls. I especially enjoy the culinary dishes that are usually present around these two days, such as mole and pan de muerto.

Dessert Braids: Nutella, Strawberry, and Banana/Cinnamon Roll

I'm back in the States.  After living for approximately two and a half wonderful months in Portugal, et al., you can imagine my reluctance to return here.  Still, I'd thought I'd muse about a few homeland items that I had taken for granted and truly missed that are not readily available in Western Europe (at least at the places I've visited):

Southern Skim Milk/Fat-Free-Yogurt Biscuits

 

Due to my sudden craving for buttermilk biscuits and conflicting unwillingness to go to the store and spend money on buttermilk, I conjured up these bad boys. I am not a fan of the so-called "buttermilk substitute" of milk and lemon/vinegar (too "liquidy" compared to the real deal and not as flavorful) nor did I have lemon, so I decided to combine skim milk with fat-free, Greek yogurt and use that as a substitute.

White Chocolate Crumb Muffins

Wow. I haven't updated in more than a month! Things have been pretty rough for me here in LA because I hadn't found a job even after submitting 10-20 applications a day and 3 interviews. To make matters worse, I will have to move out of my girlfriend's house very soon because she is allowed to have only 3 people in her rental home. I will have to live in my car if I don't start earning money soon! After having worked so hard in school for so many years, the thought of living in my car is a terrible one. Fortunately, I just landed a job teaching Spanish online for Oklahoma public schools (if you knew my family background (most of them live in OK), you would understand the irony in all of this). I will be teaching 7 hours a day as a substitute until I get my emergency certification to teach in Oklahoma while still residing in California (ah, the power of the internet and Skype). Anyway, I just hope you all can keep me in your thoughts and prayers while I go through this difficult time.

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Quesadillas and An Award!

My lame attempt to "tell a story" through a food photo. Before leaving for Brazil, his home country, my friend lent me this collection of works from Mark Twain. I cannot wait to read it!

I rarely eat bacon, but I had some in the refrigerator that needed to be used up. Also, I never buy store-bought flour tortillas since homemade ones are so much better, but my mom was too impatient to wait for me to make some for her, so she bought some instead. Therefore, I took advantage of her impatience and frustration with my laziness by making these quesadillas with her tortillas.

While they tasted amazing. I was just missing one thing - salsa. There weren't anymore tomatoes in the house, and I didn't feel like going anywhere, so I had to eat them as is. If you decide to make these yummy, simple quesadillas, please make sure you have some homemade or store-bought salsa on hand. I'm sure that cold, red, flavorful concoction would amp these quesadillas up a few notches.

Versatile Blogger Award: 

I was so blessed to be awarded by Lynne of Cook and Be Merry a few days ago, and I feel so honored to be awarded by such a talented blogger and food photographer. Her photos are so bright and clear; the presentation is lovely as well. I can only wish that I could photograph as well and consistently good as she does. One day I'll get there, though. Anyway, thank you so much for the award, Lynne!!

The guidelines for accepting this award are:

Thank the person who gave it to you.
Tell 7 things about yourself.
Pass the award on to 15 bloggers whom you have recently discovered and think are fantastic.

So, here are seven facts about me:

1. On my mother's side of the family, I am an only child and was raised as such since my dad wasn't around.
2a. I changed my last name to my mother's last name so that she could get all the credit for how awesome I was to become! :D
2b. I am humble. LOL
3. Despite what I wrote in #2, I have very low self-esteem.
4. When people write or say "anyway" with an "s" at the end, my mother and I cringe.
5. I have been in a tumultuous, yet amorous relationship with a woman for more than 10 years off and on.
6. Even though I don't write well, I love to talk about grammar more than any other topic, including cooking and baking.
7. I detest watermelon and very rarely eat fried chicken despite the racial stereotype ;).

I am passing along this award to the following 15 bloggers I have recently discovered. However, I won't be hurt if you were chosen yet don't feel like participating. I know how it is.

1. Hilah Cooking - I love her personality on the videos and the fact that we live in the same city.
2. Namely Marly - The lady obsessed with names (including mine!) and vegan cooking. She is so lovely!
3. Asopaipas - He comments on each and every post I create, and I adore him for that, the fact that his native language is Spanish, and that he shares great, simple dishes. ¡Este premio es especialmente para ti, José Manuel! Gracias por ser un lector tan fiel.
4. Like Mother Like Daughters - One of the daughters of this blog was a student of mine! I adore her and the fact that this blog is written by her, her sister, and her mother. 
5. Jessiker Bakes - This woman loves sweets even more than I do! I love to see what she makes.
6. Scrambledhenfruit - I discovered her lovely blog because of the paella pan giveaway, and she actually won! 
7. Baked Bree - I've been going to Bree's lovely blog for a little while now. I love how bright and clear her process photos are. I'm constantly envious of how much light she gets in her kitchen.
8. Frieda Loves Bread - She makes bread as much I wish I could make bread. Seriously.
9. Ambrosia e Nettare - Check out the lemon cheesecake on this blog! Complimenti, Lucia!
10. Cake on the Brain - The name of the blog itself tells you why I included this one on the list. YUM!
11. Jolts & Jollies - Another fellow Daring Cook! I love her process photos.
12. One Cake Two Cake - The blog title lured me in. Then the photos of yummy desserts kept me there.
13. TheArdentEpicure - Run, not walk to this website, and check out the enchiladas. Goodness!
14. Baking Powders - I love the title and the blog. Fantastic large photos and delectable treats. YUM!
15. i am mommy - I'm sure just about everyone knows about this blog. Her treats are so AMAZING!

And there you have it! Remember, this is a list of recently-discovered blogs, so there are a LOAD of amazing blogs I've known about for a long time that I didn't include here. Have a great week, everyone!

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Quesadillas

Yield: 2-3 quesadillas

3 - 4 strips of bacon
1 1/2 - 2 Tbsps unsalted butter, separated
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste (don't use too much salt because of the bacon and cheese)
1/2 - 3/4 cups of monterey jack or cheddar cheese
4-6 taco-sized flour tortillas (homemade or storebought)

Prepare the bacon on a clean skillet. At the same time, prepare the eggs in another skillet after melting the half a Tbsp of butter. Lightly season the eggs with salt and pepper. Set the bacon and eggs aside.

Wipe the skillet that had the bacon in it clean with a paper towel, and place half of a Tbsp of butter in there. After the butter has melted, place one tortilla in the skillet; add some of the eggs and bacon. Add half (or a third if making 3 quesadillas) of the cheese on top of the bacon and eggs. Place a second tortilla on top of the mixture. Grill the tortilla for about 2-4 minutes per side until both sides have browned and the insides are melted. Repeat the process with the other tortillas. Serve with fresh salsa. YUM!

Lemon-Lime Danishes, my First Blogiversary and a Giveaway!

Danish 2: The "fallen" danish

1. Blog Updated!: Instead of focusing on my dissertation proposal, I worked on updating this blog all weekend. I have come to the realization that while most people like WordPress for its snazzy themes, I much more prefer Blogger for its ease in adjustments and settings (I wrote this before it messed up today). I spent literally hours trying to upload a theme to Wordpress.com only to find out that you couldn't upload unaffiliated themes to wordpress.COM, but you could do it to Wordpress.ORG! Then, you have to get a domain host before you can download the .ORG version. So, before I found that out, I had paid money to get a new theme. When I found out I couldn't use that without paying more money for a domain, I felt like screaming. I bought a cheap domain at godaddy.com and still couldn't move forward because I couldn't find some authorization EPP code. At this point, I had spent more than 5-7 hours working on this stuff.

I finally gave up and went back to blogger to find a theme to my liking. I was hoping to find one with a three column footer and a dark, simple, sleek background, and I found it...for FREE. I downloaded it in a matter of seconds and then moved things around and was very pleased. Then, I decided to change the header to add my own photos but didn't know how. I found a great tutorial on Digital Photography School and was finally able to make my header once I figured out what was going wrong with the Rectangular Marquee Tool on my limited, free version of Photoshop. Two hours later, I made the header you see above. I am happy. I am pleased. I don't ever want to update my blog again....well, not until my next blogiversary. LOL!

Danish 1: The burnt danish

2. FIRST Blogiversary!/Danish Revisited: Anyway, since this is my first blogiversary, I decided to revisit what I made on my very first post: a cherry cream cheese danish braid. Instead of making a cherry danish this time, I made a lemon-lime danish and a lemon-lime danish with fresh strawberries (I'll explain next while I ended up making two danishes). Both danishes had a lime glaze on top and the last one had candied lime zest as well.

Danish 2: Before it fell

Well, to go along with all the trouble I went through to update my blog, these danishes didn't turn out as well as I had wanted. The first one I burnt even after baking it a few minutes under the time suggested (remember I always do half the time and then I went a few minutes under that). It still tasted fantastic, but as you can see, it was burnt and the braid didn't stay together as well as the one on my very first post.

A yummy slice of the burnt danish

I didn't burn the second one. Instead, I dropped it on the kitchen floor right before I baked it (fortunately, it was covered with clear wrap), and the braid loosened up and just opened up completely while baking in the oven. Everything was a total disaster but still tasted great. After, drizzling a bunch of glaze and candied lime zest on top, you couldn't see its "lime pastry cream guts" sticking out as much.

Generous portion of lime glaze to cover the damage

I am sorry that I can't share with you all a beautiful, perfect danish. I will make another one....next year for the next blogiversary (if I last that long). I will do it well enough ahead of time so that I'm not stressed and pressured for time. I will do it before spending hours on fixing up my blog.

The burnt, yet in-tact danish! It was still so good!

3. FIRST Giveaway!!: On a positive note, I am offering my first giveaway. I wasn't sure what to offer. So, I thought of something related to the theme and feel of my blog, which I hope deals with international culture, foods, and languages. So, for my giveaway, I am giving one of the following cookbooks to one of my lucky readers, lurkers, and/or visitors residing in the UNITED STATES, CANADA, or MEXICO (I apologize to readers not residing in those countries; I am a lowly graduate student and can't afford much more.). Deadline: Thursday, April 1st at 12 midnight, Pacific Time.

THE GIVEAWAY DEADLINE HAS PASSED.

Click on photo to enlarge. Photos of book covers courtesy of amazon.com

In order to participate in the giveaway, answer ALL of the following questions in the comment section below:
Para participar en el concurso, contesta todas las siguientes preguntas en la sección de comentarios abajo:

1. Which cookbook would you like? ¿Cuál libro escojerías?

2. What international (i.e., outside of the U.S. for me) dish would you like to see on Mangio da sola? OR What international (i.e., any dish not traditional to your country of residence) dish have you prepared?
¿Cuál plato internacional te gustaria ver en Mangio da sola? O ¿Cuál plato internacional has preparado tú?

3. And because I am a linguist, how many languages do you speak? AND/OR What languages would you like to learn, if you could?
Y porque soy lingüista, ¿cuántos idiomas sabes? Y/O ¿Cuántos idiomas te gustaría aprender si pudieras?

If you would like to leave a comment without entering in the giveaway, you don't need to answer the questions. Just leave some love!

¡BUENA SUERTE! BOA SORTE! BUONA FORTUNA! GOOD LUCK! BONNE CHANCE! 행운!

I am submitting this post to yeastspotting!

Lemon-Lime Danish Braid

dough and candied lime zest adapted by Cooking Bread (process photos of dough and danish braid) and lemon-lime pastry cream adapted from Make a Whisk

DOUGH:
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup whole milk
3 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
2 cups bread flour
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cardamon (optional)
1 tablespoon butter2 large eggs (beaten)
2 cups unsalted butter (cold)

DOUGH: Pour milk and water into a saucepan; heat to a scald. In a large bowl, add in sugar, salt, cardamon and flour. Add a tablespoon of butter to the scalded mixture. Stir till the butter is melted. Add in two beaten eggs and mix with a whisk. Cook mixture to 110F.

Once cooled, add in instant yeast. Pour liquid into the bowl of the flour mixture; mix with a wooden spoon. Pour out onto a lightly-floured surface, and knead for 6 minutes or till smooth and elastic. Wrap into plastic wrap and place into the fridge for 30 minutes.

BUTTER BLOCK: Prepare the 2 cups of butter. Place the butter onto some plastic wrap. Place more plastic wrap over the top. Using a rolling pin roll out to a 6 x 12 inch rectangle. If you roll the butter to large, just cut the sides and place the excess butter on top and re-roll. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
DOUGH PACKET: Take the dough out of the fridge, and roll into a 9x18 rectangle. Place the rolled butter onto the bottom 2/3rd of the dough. Fold over the top part of the dough to the middle. Brush off any excess flour. Fold over the bottom half over top the first. Pinch the seams closed. Turn the dough 90 degrees, so the narrow end is facing you. Roll out the dough into another 9x18 rectangle. Brush off any excess flour. Do the three fold again and seal the ends.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and place a black dot or make an impression with your finger on the plastic wrap. Place into the fridge for another 30 minutes. Remove the dough, and roll out again and fold again. Wrap with plastic wrap and place another dot or impression on the plastic wrap. Place back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Again, remove the dough and roll out again and fold for a third time. Cover with plastic wrap and place another dot or impression on top so you will have three dots to remember how many times you have done this. Place the dough back into the fridge for at least 1 hour or over night. Now the dough is ready to use.

DANISH BRAID:
Remove the Danish dough from the fridge. Sprinkle a little flour on a flat surface and then unwrap and cut the dough in half. Wrap one piece with plastic wrap and place back into the fridge. Roll the dough into a 10x15 rectangle.

Brush any excess flour from the top. Now, place the dough into a piece of parchment paper. Using a pizza slicer lightly score the dough 3 inches from each side. Do not cut through the dough. It's just to be used as a guideline.

Place your filling into the middle without crossing the score marks. Using your pizza cutter and a rule cut slices down each side on the dough. Do not cut past the score line. It will be about 9 slices down both sides.

Cut off the two bottom pieces and the two top pieces. Fold over the bottom onto the filling.

Beat one egg and 1 tablespoon of water into a small bowl. You will use this as glue. Brush each piece of dough as you create the braid. Begin at the end of the dough and fold one piece of dough over the filling. Brush with the egg wash. Now, take one piece of dough from the other side and fold that over the other piece. Continue till you have created a braid. Brush the top of the braid with egg wash. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and egg wash once again. Place into a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Drizzle with some icing over top.

To make the spirals, roll out the other half of the danish dough in a rectangle shape about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Fold in half and using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1/2 inch thick strips.

Take each piece of dough, gently stretch it slightly and twist it over and over until it is tightly wound. Coil the twist rope into itself.

Place onto a piece of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof for about 30 minutes. Make an indent in the center of the coil ( I used the bottom of a shot glass to make the indent ) and fill with filling. Brush with an egg wash and bake in a preheated 400F oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Drizzle some icing over top.

LIME PASTRY CREAM:
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
2 cups cream
2 teaspoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I combined lemon and lime)

Mix together egg yolks and cream. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk every minute or so at first, but as it heats up and starts to boil and thicken, you will need to whisk constantly. This should take about 10 minutes.

Turn the heat to low/medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently and cook until it coats the back of a spoon, or when you can draw your finger through it and the line stays there. Stir in the butter and vanilla, and two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve/strainer to remove all lumps. Because the mixture is very thick, you may have to help the mixture through the strainer by pushing gently with a spoon.

Set aside and let cool to room temperature. Then place in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, with plastic wrap pressed gently against the surface of the cream.

CANDIED LIME ZEST:

1/3 cup of water

1/3 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of corn syrup

Zest of 3 limes

Using a zester, remove the rind from three limes. In a saucepan, add the water, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a soft boil, and add the lime zest. Continue to boil mixture for 15 minutes. The lime zest with become translucent.

Use a fork, remove the zest from the liquid, and place the cooked zest onto a piece of wax paper. Spread out the zest, and sprinkle on top with a little sugar. Allow to cool and place into an airtight container until ready to use.

LEMON OR LIME GLAZE:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice

Stir ingredients together well, and pour or drizzle on top of danish.

Churros con chocolate caliente al estilo español

Let me first tell you that I hesitated on making these churros because of the source of the recipe. My photos cannot even come close to her photos. I don't aspire to get to her level, but the caliber of her photos makes my photos look more like they did when I first started blogging LOL! But you know, I had to get over the intimidation and just make these. In fact, I thought about making these churros for so long that I'd memorized the recipe!

When doing research on different churro recipes, I found many variations. Some did not call for eggs while others did. Also, some Spanish churros do not have a cinnamon/sugar topping because of its dependence on the thick, hot chocolate drink that serves as a sugary accompaniment. Although these doughnut-like pastries originated in Spain, one can find many churros and variations (e.g., filled with dulce de leche) in México, Argentina, Perú, and other places as well. The recipe for the churros is very easy and is like making a pâte à choux.

If you're planning to make this just for yourself and/or one other person, please half this recipe. I had so much dough leftover that I ended up throwing it all away because I am not crazy about a lot of fried foods (except for French Fries!! hehe). However, you could use the rest for éclairs or gourgères, which I forgot to do!

For the chocolate caliente, I had to look for a recipe from another source because I didn't want to make a bisque or an egg custard. I wanted my hot chocolate to be similar to the hot drink found in Spain that normally accompanies and coats the churros. Sadly, my chocolate didn't get as thick as the drinks in Spain, but it was thick enough to coat my churros fairly well. Next time, I will use either another recipe or add more cornstarch. Nevertheless, this drink was so rich and delicious. I absolutely loved it. I'm glad I have another cup's worth left. I think I'll end this post and drink it right now.

Churros

from the honorable Cannelle et Vanille

125 ml (1/2 cup) water
125 ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
110 grams (about 1 stick) of butter
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
150 grams (about 1 cup + 2 Tbsp) AP flour
3 large eggs, room temperature
canola oil, for frying
cinnamon and sugar, for coating

Instructions:

Pour water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan, and heat just up to boiling point. Turn off heat, and immediately add all of the flour (español: en un golpe). Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it becomes a moist ball of dough (It will smell sort of like buttery, mashed potatoes YUM!).

Pour the oil in a cast-iron skillet or a deep fryer, and heat it up on medium heat until it reaches 365 degrees Farenheit.

Meanwile, transfer this flour/butter mixture to a stand mixer (or mix by hand), and mix the dough for a few minutes to cool it down.

Add the eggs one at a time. Once the dough is uniform, turn off the mixer, and transfer some of the dough to a pastry bag with a #5 tip (I used #21 b/c I didn't have the other tip) or churrera.

Once the oil is hot, squeeze portions of the dough into the hot oil, and use a knife, scissors, or your finger to break off the pieces. Fry for about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove with a slotted spoon, and place churros on a paper towel. Add cinnamon or sugar to the hot churros, if using.

Chocolate caliente al estilo español

adapted from Spanish.about.com

16 oz (2 cups) whole milk
1/2 tsp cornstarch (I suggest adding more)
pinch of salt
4 oz milk chocolate (I used Callebaut)

Pour in the milk and cornstarch into a small or medium saucepan, and stir well with a whisk. Turn on the heat and heat just to boiling point. Once the milk boils, take it off of the heat, and add the chocolate. Stir well with a whisk or wooden spoon. Once the chocolate has melted, return the mixture to low heat until it thickens. If it doesn't thicken, add more cornstarch to a small amount of cold milk. Stir the cornstarch mixture well and then add it to the chocolate mixture. Continue to heat on low heat until it thickens more.

Enjoy!

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies & Bars

I've been working on my paper these past few days (deadline was extended to the 28th), but I've been cooking, too. I don't have much time to write on here as before, so I'll just post mostly photos and the recipe for now. Those are the most important parts anyway, right?
I made oatmeal raisin cookies and bars using the well-known recipe, Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, from the Quaker's Oatmeal canister. They were as good as usual.
If you don't like scooping out cookie dough, it is much easier to make the bar version.

Oh my!

Yum!

O-M-G! Look at those raisins!

They taste very good with or without a cinnamon sugar glaze on top as well. Just be sure not to overbake them, so that they stay soft and chewy. Enjoy!

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and Bars
from Quaker Oats Yield: 4 dozen (48 cookies)

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked) (I had only 1 1/4 cups, and it worked fine)
1 cup raisins
1 cup nuts (optional)
1 cup chocolate chips (optional; omit cinnamon)

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Cookies: Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Bars: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan (or 9x9 if using half of the dough). The dough will be hard to spread, but it will eventually happen. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS.

HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I made this bread late at night and poured a glaze on top to intensify it even more. I knew there was a problem before cutting into it because it was sunken in the middle. I found out that the innards of the bread were not fully cooked. I went back to the website to see what others had said about the cake, and they mentioned that the gooey center was the best part, but my cake was a bit too gooey. I heated the cake up more, which caused the sides of the bread to burn even more and the top of the bread to form an extra layer of crust from the glaze I had put on before.
Even through all of these problems, this bread tasted fantastic. I hope you have better luck than I had on baking it right the first time around. Just make sure it doesn't sink down in the middle, which is a clear indication that it is not fully done. Nevertheless, you also want a semi-gooey center, which I lost from all the reheating. It was still softer, moister in the center, though. I put more glaze on top, which made the burnt sides softer. Don't let my mistakes deter you from trying this bread; it is beyond fantastic.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

adapted from Bake or Break

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (I didn't use)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk for extra moistness. YUM!)
1/3 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/flour/spray the bottom and sides of a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan.Combine 1/3 cup of sugar, pecans (if using), and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl or mixer bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Then, stir in milk (or buttermilk) and oil (I put these two together in a measuring cup). Make a well in the flour mixture (I didn't do this), and add the egg mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not overmix.

Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat. With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion (I couldn't do that for some reason).

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Then, cool completely on a wire rack.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Enjoy!

Bagels: Plain & Cinnamon Raisin

I didn't complete the Daring Baker's challenge this month. This is my first time skipping a challenge, so I feel really bad about it. I did, however, make the gingerbread dough and took process photos. The dough is now sitting in the freezer in Texas while I'm in Arkansas with my mother. So, there's no chance I'll be making a fresh batch of dough especially considering how much flour is required for an almost inedible creation.

Also, I'm not a creative person; thus, I didn't get excited about this challenge nearly as much as many other DBers did. I did enjoy looking at their work, though. They did a lovely job and worked very hard. I highly suggest going to the Daring Baker's blogroll to see their beautiful work.

Instead of making a gingerbread house, I made bagels for the first time! I've been wanting to make these chewy circles of bread for the longest time. However, since I'm not that crazy about eating them, I had to put the making of them on hold till the right moment arrived.

Well, the moment arrived when my mother said that she needed to go to the store to buy more bagels. I asked her if she would prefer to have homemade bagels made by her loving daughter or the store-bought variety. Fortunately, she quickly stated that she wanted the former.

I used the Peter Reinhart recipe because 1) he is one of the masters of bread-making; 2) I love his pizza dough recipe; and 3) most other bloggers prefer his recipe for bagels. Not surprisingly, making bagels the Reinhart way was a two-day affair, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Sure, you could go to the store and buy some bagels in under 10-20 minutes, but making homemade bagels is definitely a fun labor of love that yields bagels that are a million times better than the store version. Based on my mother's preferences, I split the dough into two and made plain and cinnamon raisin bagels.

Again, I made some process photos. Remember that the majority of these photos were made at night, so they don't look great, but they clearly illustrate what I did. Enjoy!

I am submitting this post to Yeastspotting, a great site for makers and lovers of homemade bread.

Plain and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (printable version)
found on Smitten Kitchen from Peter Reinhart's The Baking Apprentice

Yield: 12 extremely large, 16 regularly large or 24 miniature bagels

Sponge
1 teaspoon instant yeast
4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour (see note below)
2 1/2 cups water, room temperature

Plain Dough
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (I used 1 tsp b/c of the cinnamon raisin dough recipe below)
3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar (see note below)

Cinnamon Raisin Dough
1 teaspoon instant yeast
3 3/4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
2 cups loosely packed raisins, rinsed with warm water to remove surfact sugar, acid, and natural wild yeast

To Finish
1 tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting.

Optional topping for Cinnamon-Raisin bagels: melted butter with cinnamon and sugar on top. (YUM! This was a great topping)

1. Day one: To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl.

Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter).

My sponge didn't look like pancake batter with the required amount of water...
So, I had to add more water until it looked like pancake batter. Add little amounts at a time if this happens to you.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly.

After 2 hours...

It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt, honey, or brown sugar. (I split the dough at this point and added the cinnamon, sugar, and rinsed-off raisins to one half of the dough). [For cinnamon raisin bagels, increase the yeast in the final dough to 1 teaspoon, and add 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon and 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the final dough. Rinse 2 cups of loosely packed raisins with warm water to wash off surface sugar, acid, and natural wild yeast. Add the raisins during the final 2 minutes of mixing.]

I didn't have malt powder, so I used brown sugar, and it came out perfectly.
Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients for a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough. Can you see how the sponge has deflated?

I had to knead the dough in the mixer and by hand. It was a tough dough. I don't suggest putting all of the dough in the machine once all the flour has been added. I read horror stories about the mixer not being able to handle it well. Good thing I had divided this dough out for two different flavors!
The plain dough waiting to be needed....er, I mean kneaded.
Cin-Raisin dough has been beaten to death!
I had to keep adding flour or water to get the right consistency...
Plain dough has been kneaded...
3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 71 degrees F. If the dough seems to dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

Yeah, my dough was not satiny, but it was pliable. Look at all that flour on the cin-raisin dough!

4. Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired (my bagels were 3 ounces each and yielded 9 plain and 9 cinnamon-raisins). Form the pieces into rolls.


5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment or Silpat and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with shaping the dough balls into bagels.


SHAPING: Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough, and...

...gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter (half of this for a mini-bagel).
The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots.)

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 1-2 inches apart on the pans.


Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food-grade plastic bag, or cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water.

The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it.

If it floats (YEAAAA!),...
...immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float. Return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

9. DAY TWO (or when you are ready to bake the bagels): Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda.


Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds) for 2 minutes.

After 2 minutes, flip them over and boil them for another 2 minutes. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined or Silpat-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you decide to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.)

If you want to top the savory bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water (top the cinnamon-raisin bagels after baking them!). You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or a combination.

11. When all the bagels have been boiled,...

...place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 5-10 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown (I baked mine for 5 at 500 and then 10 minutes at 450). You may bake them darker if you prefer.

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels: When they come out of the oven and are still hot, brush the tops with melted butter and dip them in cinnamon sugar to create a cinnamon-sugar crust, if desired.