Healthy Zucchini Bread - Attempt #1

Three small loaves are in the oven right now, but I don't have high hopes.  I realized as soon as I set the timer that I'd forgotten the ground flaxseed meant to bind everything together.  I also made a lot of changes from the healthy carrot bread based on instinct and also what I had on hand, which is why I'm typing this up immediately, just in case it turns out okay and I want to refer back.  Here is what I did, and I will report back afterward about how it turned out:

Ingredients
2 cups grated zucchini (approximately -- I didn't even measure; I used the fine grater and did NOT drain the liquid)
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 heaping cups Medjool dates + 2 cups boiling water + a couple pineapple rings and a few tbs juice, all combined in blender
1 cup raisins (it just wasn't sweet enough without)
1 cup dry toasted walnuts
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
about 1 cup homemade date syrup (because it was in the fridge and I wanted to get rid of it)
1/2 cup Ezekiel 4:9 cinnamon raisin cereal (because the consistency at that point felt a little too runny, probably on account of the date syrup, and I didn't want to grind up more oats and also no one in the house eats this cereal anymore and it would be nice to get rid of it)

Directions
1) Combine dry ingredients minus the nuts and oats (and cereal and raisins).  Meaning combine the dry ingredients with a flour-like texture.

2) Combine the blended date/pineapple slurry you just made with the vanilla and grated zucchini (i.e., the wet ingredients).  This part should've also included 2 tbs ground flaxseed.  Then stir in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.

3) Stir in the nuts, oats, cereal, and raisins.

4) Spray mini loaf pans (it's easier to get something this dense fully cooked without burning the edges by using smaller loaf pans) with Pam and fill each halfway with batter.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.  I just checked mine at the 30 minute point and put them in for another 10 because they aren't done in the middle.  They will probably end up baking for at least 50 minutes, but I'll keep checking them by stabbing them in the center with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean yet.

Okay, so I probably should've baked them at 375 instead of 350 and I probably should've used the amount of oats and nuts that are in the carrot cake recipe because, while the flavor of this bread was good and the sweetness seemed right, the texture was wrong and the centers of the loaves weren't fully cooked even after 50 minutes and even after the toothpick was seemingly coming out clean.  It's hard to make the texture good on a whole-grain, no oil bread.  It's edible and it will get eaten -- I put one sliced loaf in the fridge and the others in the freezer -- and Simran said she likes it better than the carrot cake bread and wants to eat it for breakfast tomorrow, but I think it was mostly because 1 tbs of cinnamon turned out to be a good amount.  Next time I make this, I will remember the flaxseed and increase the walnuts to 1.5 cups at least.  Rather than doubling the oats, I'll probably use the rest of that Ezekiel cereal we have and then add oats until I'm at 2 cups in total. 

Healthy Carrot Cake - First Attempt

I will completely forget what I did this time around if I don't write this down.  The cake (quick bread) is still cooling, so I don't know how it's turned out yet.  I will add that later, along with changes for second attempt. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tbs ground flaxseed
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (or pulse some old fashioned rolled oats through a food processor a little, which is what I do)
1 cup shredded carrots (about two carrots; I ran mine through my salad shooter)
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 sparse cup golden raisins
2 canned pineapple rings + about 2 tbs juice (I have a feeling I should've used more juice to brighten the flavor but I was afraid of making the batter too runny)
1 cup walnut pieces, dry toasted in pan
1 cup boiling water
about 1/2 cup date syrup (because that's how much was currently in the fridge)

Directions

1) Boil 1 cup water (I just did this with a glass measuring cup in the microwave) and cover dates and raisins with it.  Let cool a bit.

2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray inside of two small loaf pans with Pam.

3) Mix flour, salt, baking soda and powder, spices, flaxseed, and oats together in a large bow.

4) Pour water with dates and raisins into blender, add pineapple with juice, and blend for just a few seconds.  I should still have chunks of fruit in it.

5) Add walnuts, carrots, and wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to incorporate.

6) Divide batter into loaf pans and bake for 25-30 minutes (I put them in for 25 minutes, at which point a toothpick came out clean but they still looked thin in the middle, so I let them sit in the oven with it off for about five more minutes, at which point I could smell them from outside the oven and they looked more done).  Let cool.

[Edited 5/18/2020: It's good.  It's pretty dense.  Tastes better (and sweeter) the next day.  I sliced it, put it in a sealed container, and stored it in the fridge, and it was better today than yesterday.  The fridge keeps it moist, which helps with the density.  Resembles the buttery, sugary carrot cake cookies I made a couple weeks ago by more than I'd dared to hope.  I wonder how this recipe would turn out if scooped into cookies on a cookie sheet instead of baked in loaf pans.  The only change I would definitely make for next time is changing the spice from 1 tsp cinnamon to 1.5 tsp and omitting the ginger and clove since those made it very closely resemble my pumpkin bread in aroma and flavor, which is fine but I want it to be different.  I'd also add 1 tsp vanilla.  I also wonder what would happen if I incorporated sourdough discard into the recipe.  Would it lighten it up?  It probably wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure if/how much I would need to add other ingredients to correct the consistency.]

[Edited 6/4/20: For my second attempt, I altered the spices as noted above, forgot the vanilla again, and had no date syrup so I steeped a sparse cup of golden raisins and a slightly heaping cup of dates in hot water and then continued from there as before.  Good amount of sweetness and consistency.  There might've been more pineapple juice this time; I didn't measure.  It was good though.  Only changes for next time are to remember the vanilla and maybe increase the cinnamon to 2 tsp because it's currently a very mild flavor.  Maybe add the ginger back in too.  I also have pecan pieces again, so I would replace maybe half the walnuts with pecans.]

Things to Bake

This post is for Patty.  Jackie said you might like recommendations of things to bake.  For her.  This is just a list of recipes I've made before and enjoyed eating.

Carrot Cake
I've never made carrot cake before, but Simran and I love carrot cake, so I'm planning to make this one next Friday.  The high number of positive reviews indicates it's probably a pretty reliable recipe, which is generally how I choose recipes.

Sourdough Bread
This is the recipe I'm currently using to make sourdough bread.  My starter is on day two of five, so I can't vouch for any of this yet personally, but I have high hopes. 

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies
Simran and I made these yesterday.  They're my go-to chocolate chip cookie because 1) they are delicious, and 2) the inclusion of peanut butter and oats makes them feel easier on my sugar-sensitive body than more buttery, sugary cookies often do.  Note:  The recipe calls for old-fashioned rolled oats, but they are a better texture if you use quick cooking oats or run old-fashioned rolled oats through a food processor until they are a little bit chopped up (i.e., hit the "pulse" button like 4-6 times). 

Blueberry Muffins
One of my two favorite muffin recipes.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins 
My other favorite muffin recipe. 

Cinnamon Rolls 
The mistake I've made before on these (because I've made them many times) is lining my pan with aluminum foil, preventing the surface from getting hot enough to cook the rolls through.  Don't do that.  The part of the pan the rolls sits on needs to be very very hot so you don't end up with doughy rolls.  Also, it's better to err on the side of using too large a pan rather than too small, again so you don't end up with doughy rolls.  I also increase the icing by 50% because I'm an adult and no one can stop me.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
This is my favorite quick bread recipe.  You can replace up to half the oil with applesauce and replace up to half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour (not normal whole wheat flour -- the pastry part is important for the right texture) if you want to make it a bit healthier without affecting the taste.

Buttermilk Cornbread
I grew up with Jiffy Mix cornbread, which was pretty dry and crumbly, at least at my house.  By contrast, this recipe is for a moist, cakey cornbread.  Good enough to eat plain, but if you put butter and honey on it (something I got from trying to recreate the experience of eating at Tippins, though in retrospect, I think they just used honey butter there), it's basically a dessert.

Gingerbread Cookies
This is probably my all-time favorite cookie.  I also used this recipe to make the walls and roof of a gingerbread house, which turned out much better than anticipated.  I increase the spices and sometimes add cream cheese frosting in place of royal icing, but I have never written down my exact changes so I would advise making these according to the original recipe.

French Bread
I'm going to be making this bread this week for making po'boy sandwiches.  It's just a basic baguette and great for a variety of sandwiches.  I haven't bought eggs in ages, so I'm planning to try out aquafaba (which apparently just means the cooking liquid from chickpeas or the liquid from a can of chickpeas) in place of egg wash.  I've also made this without egg wash at all and it's fine, but I did miss the golden sheen a finishing egg wash adds to the crust.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits
A rip off of the biscuits from Red Lobster.  I made these because Sameer wanted to try them but had no other reason to visit a Red Lobster.

Cheese Herb Rolls
If you eat these warm from the oven with a pat of butter, they are the best thing ever.  They are good later, but they are EXCEPTIONAL warm from the oven.  

Pretzel Bread
I'm making pretzel rolls this week to use as sandwich and burger buns.

Scones
I usually omit the raisins and add Craisins and white chocolate chips.  Some people have feelings about whether you use salted or unsalted butter (salted yields a cakier scone, while unsalted is flakier) but I've had both turn out fine and use whatever I have.  It helps to freeze the butter and then grate it or food process it, or cut it into a tiny cubes and then freeze it for at least fifteen minutes before adding it to the dough.  It keeps it from melting while you mix, which is important for the right texture, like with puff pastry. 

Chocolate Cake
My go-to chocolate cake. 

Black Magic Cake
A rich, mocha sort of cake that I personally like even better than my go-to chocolate cake.

French Macarons
If you want to try something really labor intensive and a bit temperamental, these are great.  I rarely make them because they take an enormous amount of sifting and whipping and sitting.  The only reason I even bother making them is because they are better than any macarons I've ever had from elsewhere, which had a lot less flavor probably because they were older than mine.  Some people say you should let the flavors meld for a day before eating them, but I have found this to be a lie.  They are good as fresh as possible.  Like tiny clouds made of almonds and sugar.  Before making them for the first time, I also watched a video on YouTube to see what the egg whites should look like and how to pipe the batter and what the cookies should look like before they go in the oven (they should have a little bit of a sheen to them from sitting out for a few minutes -- I don't remember which video I watched, but there are tons of videos on making macarons, some from professional chefs) because there is a bit of technique involved.  I also totally use a food scale so I can measure by weight for these instead of volume.  Not sure how vital that is because I've never done it without.

Banana-Oatmeal Muffins -- 1st Attempt

This is my first recorded attempt at no-sugar, no-oil, vegan, 100% whole grain banana muffins.  I recall doing something of this sort last year in bread loaf form, but I can't find written evidence, so I don't know what recipe I used.  I just remember the flavor was good but it turned out a bit too wet from all the banana and didn't cook all the way through, which is why I'm making muffins this time.  It's also why I wanted to include rolled oats -- it seemed like they might hold things together as they hydrate and make the bread chewier and less dense.  If they still sort of fall apart, I'm going to try adding 1/4 cup wheat bran next time.  If they need to be sweeter, I think I'll have to add chopped dates or raw date syrup because they are significantly sweeter than bananas.  If they are too dry, I'll just add more bananas (or date syrup).  I tasted the batter before baking, and it seemed to have a slightly bitter aftertaste.  I think next time I'll reduce the baking powder to 1 tsp (and remember the baking soda).

I used this recipe from Saveur for an idea of dry measurements, but it was still kind of a crap shoot since I'm not using sugar or butter or eggs.

They just came out of the oven and are weirdly lumpy, though I'm not sure if that's because of the rolled oats or the lack of baking soda.  I'll post a verdict and outline plans for my second attempt after they're cool enough to taste.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda (which I just realized I forgot to include in the muffin batter -- I'm guessing this will make them denser than they would have been otherwise...?)
1/4 tsp salt
5 large bananas (why five?  because I had six overripe bananas on my kitchen counter, and one appeared to have gone bad)
2 tbs flaxseed meal
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with muffin cups.

2. Use a standing mixer (or very forceful arm) to beat bananas into mostly-liquid form.  Add flaxseed meal and vanilla.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add to wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated.

4.  Fold in rolled oats and walnuts.  Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.

[Edited 1/20/2015: These were surprisingly not bad.  The flavor was pretty good, obviously not as sweet as most muffins, but I will easily finish off the batch.  The texture was better than I've had with oil-free baking; I think the oatmeal helped a lot.  Next time I'm going to use six bananas for the added moisture plus sweetener, remember to include the baking soda, and reduce the baking powder to 2 tsp.  I don't think the kind of nuts used matters that much, but I do think their inclusion is vital to the semblance of normal texture.]

100% Whole Grain Wraps

I found this wrap recipe within another recipe for grilled veggie wraps.  It is easy, healthy, and tastes better than any store-bought wraps I've ever found.  I've made a couple small amendments to the original recipe, including doubling it.  I generally make a batch of these at least once a week.

Ingredients
2 cup whole wheat flour + extra for rolling out the dough
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground flax seeds

Directions

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  You want it to be hot before you put anything in it, so let it heat up while you make the dough.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground flax seeds, and salt.  Add the water and knead by hand until it forms a sticky ball of dough.  If this seems impossible, add tiny amounts of water until it works.  (Too crumbly means you need more water; too sticky means you need more flour.  Add whatever you need in miniscule amounts and you can fix pretty much any problems your dough might give you.)

3.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Divide into six pieces, and roll each into a ball in your hands.  Flatten the balls and roll each out into as thin a sheet as possible.  If they tear, just seal the tear by hand and roll over it.  Add a drop of water to seal it shut if necessary.

4. You can lightly oil your skillet, but I don't find it necessary.  Put a wrap in the hot skillet and allow to cook about 30 seconds.  It should brown slightly in places, but if you let it cook too long, it will end up tostada-hard rather than tortilla-soft when it cools (not inedible, just not foldable).  Turn it over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds.  (If you are in doubt about whether a wrap has cooked through, do what I did and tear off a piece and eat it to check.  You will quickly learn how to gauge doneness without eating them.)  Remove wrap to a plate and cook remaining sheets of dough in the same fashion.

Use immediately or seal in a container such as a large ziploc bag and refrigerate for up to a week.

Cherry Chip Cake with Cherry-Vanilla Frosting

I made a cherry chip layer cake a few weeks ago that I want to recreate for my birthday next week.  Now I just have to remember how I made it...  I got the cake recipe from completelydelicious.com. 

I came up with the maraschino cherry frosting recipe by looking at lots of different cherry frosting recipes, trying one, and then fixing it by making it more like the vanilla buttercream recipe on the site where I found the cake recipe.  If you reserve the juice from the 10 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, it should be enough to make the frosting. 

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 10 ounce jar maraschino cherries
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (I never buy unsalted butter.  I use salted for literally everything.  It's fine.  I usually cut the salt in half for the rest of the recipe though.)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites (save the yolks! I toss mine in the freezer and, when I have 8 yolks total, make ice cream)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups cake flour (I don't buy cake flour since I use it so rarely.  I substitute 2 cups minus 4 tbs AP flour + 4 tbs corn starch instead.  Just make sure to mix it up really well.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice 

For the buttercream frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or as much as needed (or cow's milk -- it hardly matters -- but almond is what I keep on hand)

Directions

To make the cake: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter (I use Pam spray instead) and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. (FYI: the secret to getting a cake out of its pan without destroying it is cutting non-stick parchment paper to fit in the bottom.  I cannot get a cake out of the pan in tact any other way.)
2. Drain the maraschino cherries, reserving the juice. In a food processor or with a sharp knife, finely chop the cherries. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar at high speed until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg whites one at a time, mixing after each. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk and maraschino cherry juice. Add the flour mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix after each addition and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Stir in the chopped maraschino cherries.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 30-35 minutes. Let cool in the pans 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. 
2. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. 
3. Beat in maraschino cherry juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract. 
4. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with small amounts of milk, until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Remember you want it to be spreadable.

Sourdough Rye

In honor of the new year, I've been looking for some new healthy recipes to try.  One problem I regularly run into is finding a 100% whole grain bread that doesn't ruin every sandwich or meal it comes into contact with, or require some kind of butter to make it palatable and un-dry.  I found this recipe from Mark Bittman, whom I trust, on how to make a really time-consuming, no-knead, whole-grain sourdough.  I just finished assembling the sourdough starter and look forward to making it into bread sometime next week.  (It seems the trick to omitting sugar and honey from your bread is giving your yeast the better part of a week to feed off the flour and do its rising.)  I love both rye and sourdough, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Ingredients

For the sourdough starter:

• 2 2/3 cups rye flour, Pinch instant yeast

For the dough:

• Sourdough starter
• 2 cups rye flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat or white flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups cracked rye or rye flour

Directions

1. To make the starter: In a tall, narrow, nonmetal container (a tall, narrow bowl is fine), mix 2/3 cup rye flour with 1/2 cup water, along with the tiniest pinch of instant yeast — less than 1/16 teaspoon. Cover and let sit for about 24 hours, then add the same amount of both flour and water (no more yeast). Repeat twice more, at 24-hour intervals; 24 hours after the fourth addition, you have your starter. (From now on, keep it in the refrigerator; you don’t need to proceed with the recipe for a day or two if you don’t want to. Before making the dough, take a ladleful — 1/2 to 3/4 cup — of the starter and put it in a container; stir in 1/2 cup rye flour and a scant 1/2 cup water, mix well, cover and refrigerate for future use. This starter will keep for a couple of weeks. If you don’t use it during that time and you wish to keep it alive, add 1/2 cup each flour and water every week or so and stir; you can discard a portion of it if it becomes too voluminous.)  

2.  To make the dough: Combine the remaining starter in a big bowl with the rye flour, the whole-wheat or white flour and 2 1/4 cups water.  

3.  Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight, up to 12 hours.  

4.  The next morning, the dough should be bubbly and lovely. Add the salt, the cracked rye and 1 cup water — it will be more of a thick batter than a dough and should be pretty much pourable.  

5.  Pour and scrape it into two 8-by-4-inch nonstick loaf pans. The batter should come to within an inch of the top, no higher.  

6.  Cover (an improvised dome is better than plastic wrap; the dough will stick to whatever it touches) and let rest until it reaches the rim of the pans, about 2 to 3 hours, usually. Preheat the oven to 325 and bake until a skewer comes out almost clean; the internal temperature will measure between 190 and 200. This will take about 1 1/2 hours or a little longer.  

7.  Remove loaves from the pans and cool on a rack. Wrap in plastic and let sit for a day before slicing, if you can manage that; the texture is definitely better the next day.

No-Oil No-Dairy 100% Whole Grain Rolls

There seems to be limited variety when you're looking for a 100% whole grain roll recipe that doesn't involve any kind of oil.  It basically boils down to 1) flour, 2) water, 3) yeast, 4) some kind of sweetener to feed the yeast.  Then I saw another recipe on The Red Kitchen that sounded more promising, partly because it didn't ask me to do weird things with kneading or not kneading and would let me just use the bread machine like I always do.

I'm making so many crazy changes right out of the gate that I have no idea how it will turn out.  I wouldn't normally mess with a recipe I haven't even tried yet, but I'm trying to make this bread Esselstyn compliant.  I'm basically reducing calories from fat and sugar -- and probably making it quite a bit blander and possibly messing up the texture -- by switching the amounts of the soy milk and the water, as well as the amounts of honey (agave nectar or maple syrup would make this vegan, but I want to use my fancy orange blossom honey on this) and unsweetened applesauce.  I don't have quick cooking oats, so I figure I'll just prepare some old-fashioned rolled oats and see how that goes instead.  The crazy changed-up version I'm using this week is below.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3 tbs soy milk
• 4 tbs unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbs honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup to make vegan)
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 serving of prepared oatmeal

Directions

1. Put everything in the bread machine according to manufacturer instructions and set to "dough."  

2. After the first rise, pull out the dough and roll it into small balls, a la dinner rolls, on a baking sheet.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.  

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Place rolls on a rack to cool.

[Edited 9/18/2013:  These actually turned out fine.  The texture was soft and chewy, though the flavor was as bland as any other 100% whole wheat recipe I've tried -- I think this is just how such things taste.  I only liked them with butter or something on them, but Simran gobbled them up dry.  They did get a lot drier and tougher by the next day though, so these are a same-day sort of roll.]

Zucchini Raisin Muffins

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Ingredients
1/4 - 1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup oat bran (I plan to use wheat bran because I already have some in the pantry -- I assume this will work.  I don't know the difference.)
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey, maple syrup, or sugar
egg replacer for 2 eggs (2 tbs flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tbs water)
2 medium zucchini, shredded (2 cups)
1 cup whole-wheat flour or barley flour
1/2 cup blue or yellow cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Put raisins, bran, and boiling water into a small bowl.

3. Stir orange juice, honey, egg replacer, and zucchini together in a large bowl.  Add raisin/bran mixture and stir.

4. Stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl (good god, these Esselstyn recipes use a lot of bowls).

5. Fold dry ingredients into liquid mixture and stir.

6. Pour batter into a nonstick muffin tin.

7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

French Bread

This is one of the best breads I've ever made.  I found the recipe on AllRecipes when trying to make baguettes.  It's best eaten the day it's baked.  You can omit the egg yolk wash at the end to make it vegan.  The crust isn't as golden and pretty, but it doesn't affect the flavor much.

Ingredients
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbs white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tbs water

Directions

1. Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle, and press Start.
2. When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Sameer and I never go to Red Lobster since we're both vegetarian and the smell of fish disgusts him, but he found a post somewhere on the internet about how great those Cheddar Bay Biscuits are, so we made some at home.  The recipe I use is the one from AllRecipes.com, modified with reviewer suggestions.  They aren't as good once they cool, so I don't recommend making these far in advance.  They're really good hot though.

Ingredients
4 cups baking mix (e.g., Bisquick, or make your own Easy Biscuit Mixture like I do)
3 oz Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1 1/3 cups buttermilk (plain water or watered down yogurt also work in a pinch)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp chives (dried or fresh chopped -- optional, but I like them and use them when they're on hand)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the baking mix and one half of the garlic powder, onion powder, Old Bay Seasoning, and parsley. Then add the cheese and buttermilk. Mix until dough is firm. Using a small scoop, place dough on the prepared pan.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. Combine the melted butter and remaining garlic powder, onion powder, Old Bay, parsley, and salt. Brush over baked biscuits immediately upon removing from oven.  Sprinkle with chopped chives if desired.  Best served warm from the oven.

Buttermilk Cornbread

I love this cornbread (recipe from AllRecipes), especially served with butter and honey on top.  It calls for buttermilk, but unless I have some on hand for another recipe, I just use plain yogurt thinned with milk and it turns out about the same.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (alternately, use about half a cup plain yogurt thinned with another half cup of milk)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

French Macarons

I saw a picture of French macaron (macaroon?  I'm not sure which is the proper spelling) cookies a few weeks ago and decided I wanted to make some for Simran's first birthday party because they are the girliest looking food I have ever seen.  I don't like to serve untested recipes to guests, so I'm doing a dry run and making a batch this week to take to my monthly book club.  I found what looks like a reliable recipe and lots of troubleshooting notes on HowToCookThat, so that's the recipe I'll be using.  I'm keeping things simple and just dying the cookies and saving flavorants for the filling, as recommended by the recipe.

Ingredients
4 large egg whites (or 5 small) 140g (4.94 ounces)
70g (2.47 ounces) caster sugar (aka superfine sugar or baker's sugar) [*US cups 1/3 cup plus 1 tsp]
230g (8.11 ounces) pure icing sugar (aka confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar) [US cups 1 1/2 cups plus 4 tsp] OR 1 3/4 cups 230g (8.11 ounces) icing mixture [US cups 1 3/4 cups plus 4 tsp]
120g (4.23 ounces) almond meal [US cups 1 cup plus 3 teaspoons]
2g (0.07 ounces) salt (tiny pinch)
gel food colouring (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. Place egg whites and caster sugar in a bowl and mix with electric mixer until stiff enough to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out, continue to whip for 1-2 more minutes.  How long this takes will depend on your mixer.  Add gel or powdered food coloring and continue to mix for a further 20 seconds.

3. Sift the almond meal and icing sugar and salt twice, discarding any almond lumps that are too big to pass through the sieve. Fold into the egg white mixture. It should take roughly 30-50 folds using a rubber spatula.  The mixture should be smooth and a very viscous, not runny. Over-mix and your macarons will be flat and have no foot, under mix and they will not be smooth on top – see the macaron troubleshooting post for examples.

4. Pipe onto trays lined with baking paper, rap trays on the bench firmly (this prevents cracking -- in fact, drop them about a foot onto the counter a couple times, it works better), let sit for 20 minutes to an hour (you'll know they're ready when you can touch a cookie without the dough coming off on your finger), and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Let cool at least five minutes before trying to remove them from the baking sheet or they'll break apart.  Check if one comes off the tray fairly cleanly, if not bake for a little longer (make sure you are using NON-stick baking paper or they will stick).  Allow to cool.

5. Pipe ganache or buttercream frosting of your choice onto half of the cookies and use the other half to make them into sandwiches.  Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 3 months.  Let frozen macarons thaw half an hour before eating.

[Edited 3/8/13: This was the first time I've ever eaten a macaron, so I'm not sure to what extent the texture was correct (mine were mostly air inside), but they were AMAZING.  A few tips I took from online reviewers of other macaron recipes were that you have to use weight measurements -- standard volume measurements aren't precise enough for these temperamental treats -- and there were major disagreements about what sort of non-stick surface works best.  I used my electronic food scale (which I've never used any other time but own because Alton Brown said everyone should) and the amounts seemed to come out just right.  I used non-stick parchment paper (Reynolds makes the only one I could find that actually said "non-stick" on the package) and it worked perfectly (it feels exactly like my other roll of standard parchment paper, so I'm not sure if it's any different from that).  The only problem with sticking arose when I tried to remove a still-hot cookie and its top broke off its base.  Let them stand 5 minutes and you have no problem with that.  I've read that a silicone baking mat works well too but requires longer cooking times.  I ran the almond meal, sugar, and salt through my food processor, but in the future I'll also buy a sifter.  I put some of it through my sieve, but Simran was getting angry and I gave up and just threw everything in there.  It didn't affect the deliciousness or create a texture you could taste, but they had tiny visible grains on the surface that another website told me means I didn't sift enough (or at all).  One thing this recipe didn't mention but others did is that, after dropping the baking sheet to flatten out the dough, you have to let it sit for 20 minutes to an hour until a slight skin has formed around each cookie.  You know it's okay to bake them when you touch one lightly and dough doesn't come off on your finger.  I also recommend watching a YouTube video on how to pipe macarons.  And how to fill a pastry bag.  Not knowing how to pipe properly created most of my problems -- you're supposed to pipe a cookie without really moving the pastry bag, like it's an oversized dot, not draw the batter in a swirl like I did.  Please note: a little gel food coloring goes a LONG way.]

100% Whole Wheat Buns

This is my first attempt at baking anything with 100% whole wheat flour.  I found this recipe on Food.com that has positive reviews, so I'm using it.  I'm also being fancy and making an egg substitute to try to cut out as much of the unhealthy stuff in this bread as possible (by Caldwell Esselstyn standards, this essentially means no oil, salt, or animal products).  I'm not daring enough to take it further than that and leave out, say, the canola oil just yet, and I'm not sure the salt can go at all.

Ingredients

1 cup water
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg (I'll be substituting 1 tbs flax seed meal whisked with 3 tbs water -- just allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes before using it.)
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in your bread machine in the order dictated by the user manual.

2. Set to "dough" cycle.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Divide into 8-10 pieces and shape into hamburger or hot dog buns.

4. Place on greased cookie sheets, cover, and let rise for 30-40 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

6. Bake buns in oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Allow to cool on wire racks.

[Edited 2/27/13: These turned out great.  I made 8 hamburger buns, cooked them for 12 minutes, and did not grease the baking sheet (in my experience, this just tends to make breads brown too quickly on the bottom, and they don't stick to the sheet anyway).  The flax seed meal egg substitute worked perfectly.  I will definitely be making these again, and I will definitely try using flax seed meal and water instead of beaten eggs in breads again -- particularly anything wheaty or like a muffin or quick bread.]

Brownies

Sameer suggested I make brownies for his 32nd birthday rather than a chocolate cake so that we don't each end up eating half a cake.  This seemed like sound logic, and brownies are also a lot faster and easier than making an entire cake and frosting, so here is the brownie recipe I'm using, originally from AllRecipes, but my version below incorporates changes from one reviewer.  The frosting glaze ended up seeping into all the brownies when I made these before, possibly because the melted butter was too hot, but that turned out to be delicious, so I figure I'll just do things the same way this time and see how it goes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

frosting glaze:
3 tbs butter, melted
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

2. Mix together 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder in a small mixing bowl. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons melted butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Consistency should resemble a thick liquid glaze. Spread over brownies while they are still warm.  

White Rolls

I never buy hot dog or hamburger buns.  They're too underwhelming for how expensive they are, and they never come in the right number.  I always use this recipe instead to make my own.  The number produced is equally weird, but they taste so wonderful that Sameer and I end up eating the rest of them as dinner rolls, sometimes warm with butter, sometimes plain.  The entire batch is inevitably gone inside 48 hours.  Set aside plenty of time to make these since the dough has to rise more than once.  If dinner depends on these rolls, I typically make them a day in advance and keep them in a ziploc bag.  I'm being adventurous today and only making them 4 hours before dinner.  I plan to make veggie burgers tonight and have some more of the rolls tomorrow night with chik'n piccata and green bean casserole.

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C -- I know it's the right temperature when it feels warm on my hand, but just barely.  If you've heated milk for homemade yogurt, it's like that.)
2 tbs butter, softened
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (also known as 1.5 tsp, if you bake enough you buy the big jar like I do)
1 egg white
2 tbs water

Directions

1. Place the bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, water, butter, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove risen dough from the machine, deflate, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces (or eight if you want them big enough for burgers), and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes (longer is fine too -- I often abandon my dough for well over an hour when tending to Simran). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 tablespoons water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.  (If you skip or forget the egg wash, it's fine.  The only difference is they won't be quite as golden brown or crusty on the outside.  They taste just as good.)

 

Pie Crust

This Alton Brown recipe is what I've used for years any time I want to make a pot pie or most other sorts of pies or tarts.  I've also used it to make cheese and onion pasties (which are essentially hot pockets).  It's flaky and delicious and surprisingly easy to make (read: I cut a lot of corners with this recipe and it still turns out great).  I replace the lard in his recipe with vegetable shortening.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, chilled (use vegan butter such as Earth Balance to make it vegan)
  
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) vegetable shortening, chilled
• 6 ounces (approximately 1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 cup cold water
• Approximately 32 ounces of dried beans, for blind baking

Directions

1. Place butter and shortening in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times.

3. Remove lid of food processor and add a small amount of water. Replace lid and pulse 5 times. Keep adding small amounts of water slowly and pulsing until mixture forms into a large ball of dough.

4. Place ball of dough in large zip-top bag, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

6. Put pie pans in refrigerator to chill.  (I always skip this step and everything is still fine.)

7. Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. (I don't do all this; I just use the rolling pin to move the dough into the pie pan. The main idea is just not to stretch the dough.) Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough with a fork and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

8. Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

Easy Biscuit Mix

I have a hard time finding this recipe from AllRecipes.com each time I want to use it, so I'm saving it here now.  I mostly use it as a base for cheddar bay biscuits.  It's essentially just homemade Bisquick.

Ingredients
10 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups shortening

Directions

1. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Better yet, use a large food processor.  Blend dry ingredients first, then add shortening and pulse until it looks mealy.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks.