So finally, weeks and weeks later, I got around to making these again during the brief period between the now infamous DC Snowmaggedon of 2010 and the current blizzard. As I write this morning I peek out our windows and see heavy snowfall mixed with gusty winds that whip up the snow to occasional whiteout. Fortunately the power is still on and the English muffins, though still not perfect, at least this time were edible and a hit with the family. We warmed them up and slathered on salted butter and a delicious tart cherry jelly that my sister sent for Christmas, and we were thankful for being together safe and warm.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge. For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

More Breads from the BBA Challenge

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With wide eyes and a booming voice, Top Gun shouted, “Mommy, are you making stones? I love those!”

Our boys adore scones (even if they still can’t say it) and with all the excitement in the kitchen you would think some fabulous dessert was in the works instead of simple gingerbread scones for breakfast. After the scones had cooled a little I arranged them on the plate, leaving one for the boys to share while I quickly took a few photos. The flavor of these is such a delight that there wasn’t a single crumb left after breakfast and Michael asked me to make a double batch next time.

This particular recipe uses some whole wheat flour, making the scones a little more substantial rather than delicate, but that’s a plus for us. They are flavored with molasses, crystallized ginger, and gingerbread spices. The cloves and nutmeg are my addition as I just couldn’t imagine gingerbread scones without them.

The scones are easy enough to whip up on Christmas morning or you can make them the night before. If your house is anything like ours, getting the boys to stop and eat amid a flurry of wrapping paper excitement is almost impossible, but these just might tempt them.

GINGERBREAD SCONES

Adapted from Midwest Living magazine.

Makes 12 scones.

Equipment

food processor
3-quart mixing bowl
large baking sheet, lined with parchment

Ingredients

1 cup (120 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (128 g) whole wheat flour (traditional or white)
1/3 cup (37 g) packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons (57 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup (80 g) golden raisins (or currants)
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (120 ml) whipping cream
1/4 cup (60 ml) mild-flavored molasses
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon water
granulated sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

1. Place oven rack in the middle and preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.

2. In the bowl of the food processor, add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Pulse a few times. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse about 12 to 15 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour into the mixing bowl and stir in currants and crystallized ginger. Make a well in the center of the mixture.

3. In the small bowl, stir together the egg, whipping cream and molasses, then add all at once to flour mixture. Using a fork, stir until ingredients are combined. (If some flour remains on the bottom, wet your hands slightly and mash it all together, then clean and dry your hands.)

4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently for just a few strokes, then divide dough in half. Lightly pat or roll each dough portion to a 5- to 5-1/2-inch circle, 3/4-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Place wedges about 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine egg white and water. Brush tops of scones with egg white mixture and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. (We like the crunchy sugary top.)

5. Bake in the preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until a wood toothpick inserted into a crack in top of scones comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 scones.

Make Ahead

Cool scones completely and wrap in a single layer in foil, then place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, remove from freezer bag. Place frozen, foil-wrapped scones in a 300° F/150° C oven and heat for 20 minutes or until warm (12 minutes, if thawed).

More Scones Recipes

More Scones Recipes From Around the Blogs

Farmgirl Fare – Christmas Cranberry Scones

101 Cookbooks – Orange and Oat Scones

Karina’s Kitchen – Pumpkin Scones with Maple Nutmeg Icing

Food Blogga – Date, Fennel, and Pistachio Scones

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This particular bread is our favorite so far, and with cranberries and orange for flavoring it is a perfect bread for the holidays and would be a lovely bread to toast and slather with maple cranberry butter for Christmas morning. This was quite a hit at home and will become a Christmas tradition for our family. The only thing I did different was to use part bread flour and part white whole wheat flour, and we thought the texture was excellent. We found that the orange extract perfumed the bread but we didn’t really taste the orange and will probably add some orange zest next time. As far as technique goes, this is one of the easier breads to make if you stick with a simple boule (round loaf) shape. If you want an elegant loaf to grace the holiday table, making the double braid as shown in the book is very festive.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge! For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

Other Breads from the BBA Challenge

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This whole wheat and flaxseed bread is one of our favorites we have made from the new Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (review). It truly is a whole grain bread, no all-purpose flour in the formula, just flaxseed and whole wheat flour. The flaxseed adds many important nutrients as well as flavor to this dense loaf. The vital wheat gluten is added to help the loaf maintain structure while rising and baking, otherwise the loaf could collapse under the weight of the ingredients.

We made the bread exactly as instructed the first time, then played around with it. The loaf with roasted garlic had some fabulous flavor and we’ll definitely make that variation again.

The method is easy, just stir together all the ingredients in a bucket, cover and let it rise, then refrigerate the dough until you are ready to bake. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 10 days and makes up to four loaves, an easy way to keep dough on hand and get healthy quality bread on your family’s table.

WHOLE WHEAT AND FLAXSEED BREAD

Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoë François. (review)

Makes 4 (16-ounce) loaves.

Equipment

dough bucket with lid (I use food service buckets.)
pizza peel or flat cookie sheet, dusted with flour
parchment paper (optional)
baking stone
small cast iron pan or roasting pan
serrated bread knife or lame

Ingredients

1/2 cup (52 g) ground flaxseed
7 cups (896 g) whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (36 g) vital wheat gluten
3-3/4 cups (900 ml) lukewarm water

Preparation

1. MIX: Whisk together the flaxseed, flour, yeast, salt, and gluten in the bucket. Add the water and stir with a heavy wooden spoon. The dough is heavy (really, not kidding) and you might need to use your hands to incorporate the last bit of dry flour. (You can also do this in a heavy duty stand mixer with the paddle attachment.)

2. Cover the bucket (not airtight) and allow the dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, about 2 hours. Refrigerate for up to 10 days. (The dough works best when it’s had time to chill.)

3. SHAPE: Dust the surface of the chilled dough with flour. Cut off a 1-pound piece of dough (about the size of a large grapefruit). Dust it with more flour and quickly shape into a round ball or batard.

• Ball: Stretch the surface of the dough on all four sides, rotating one-quarter turn as you go.
• Batard: Shape into a ball then start elongating and stretching the dough until it has a diameter of about 3 inches. Roll the dough into a shape that tapers at the ends.

4. REST: Place the shaped dough on a pizza peel or unrimmed cookie sheet dusted with flour or covered with parchment. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 90 minutes (40 minutes if using fresh unrefrigerated dough).

5. BAKE: Thirty minutes before baking time, place baking stone on middle rack and preheat the oven to 450° F/230° C. Place the cast iron skillet or empty broiler pan on rack below. Just before baking, slash the dough in three diagonal 1/4-inch deep parallel cuts using the bread knife or lame. Slide dough directly onto the hot stone, or you can also slide the parchment onto the stone. Pour 1 cup tap water or ice cubes into the skillet or broiler pan and quickly close the door. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until richly browned and firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. (Trust me, waiting is the hardest part.)

Variation

Roast a head of garlic and mix the roasted cloves in with the dough. Refrigerate and bake as directed above.

More Bread With Whole Grains

More Healthy Bread in Five From Around the Blogs

Kalyn’s Kitchen – White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil

Big Black Dog – Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest

Lor’s Lipsmacking Goodness – Ten Grain Bread

Carrots ‘n’ Cake – Chocolate Espresso Whole Wheat Bread

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Now for the cornbread. This is one challenge where I suspected Mr. Reinhart and I might butt heads. I grew up eating my Southern mother’s and grandmothers’ cornbread, which is definitely not sweet. For me, eating sweet cornbread is akin to eating dessert, at least some of the versions I’ve tasted. Reinhart’s recipe has granulated sugar, brown sugar, and honey, a triple punch of sweet, but I made it exactly as directed so I could get the full essence of what he intended.

I must report that though many of my fellow bakers greatly enjoyed the cornbread, it just didn’t strike my fancy. It is sweet, close in flavor to tomalito (sweet corn pudding or spoon bread), which is something I really like, thought the bacon adds enough savory to almost offset the sweet. But the combination of sweet, savory, and the texture didn’t thrill me, probably because we use cornbread as a base for beans or alongside chili. However I’m a grown up and I like to try new things and challenge my notions of how food should taste, and I can learn to appreciate foods that taste different than how I am accustomed to them, it just might take me a little while. Give me some time, Mr. Reinhart, and I may come around.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge and Peter Reinhart for supporting our efforts. For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

Other Breads from the BBA Challenge

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For the Daring Cooks September challenge, we made vegan dosas adapted from the reFresh cookbook by Ruth Tal. Fresh is a popular chain of vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Toronto, Canada with three published cookbooks teaching how to cook Fresh food at home. Our host Debyi of Healthy Vegan Kitchen chose this fun challenge for us, and I for one am grateful because this is the first time I’ve ever made Indian food and witnessed our two older boys actually eat it. Builder Guy (6) has recently developed a taste for spicy foods—good thing because we like our spices—and Top Gun (5) is finally coming around and trying new things. Monkey Boy is still a picky three-year-old, but he did eat one of the plain dosas. We thought the dosas were delicious and would eat that coconut curry sauce on just about anything.

The challenge had three components: the dosa pancakes, the garbanzo filling, and the coconut curry sauce. The primary rule was that everything had to be animal-free, but we were given freedom to come up with our own vegan fillings. Also, the challenge was to be 99% oil free, so we could use light amounts of cooking spray when sautéing, but that was it. The dosa recipe departs from the traditional fermented rice and black lentil base, calling for spelt or a gluten-free all-purpose flour. I forgot to acquire one of the recommended flours and had to use what I had on hand. The flour soaked up the liquids so much that the batter was too thick, so I thinned it with more almond milk a few tablespoons at a time until the consistency was thin enough to spread easily. Because I adore cilantro with curry, I added some chopped leaves to the garbanzo filling and used it as a garnish as well.

We were excited to use more of our homegrown tomatoes, garlic, and peppers for the dish. The tomatoes were a mix of what was ripe at the time, including a Cherokee Purple and some Early Girls, and the peppers were Tequila Hybrids and a Big Jim chile.

Thanks to Debyi of Healthy Vegan Kitchen for hosting this month. To see all of the dosas, visit The Daring Kitchen Blogroll and the Daring Bakers Gallery at Foodgawker.

VEGAN DOSAS

Adapted from reFresh by Ruth Tal.

Equipment

large bowl
whisk
griddle or skillet (or crepe pan)
ladle (or large spoon)
spatula
vegetable peeler &/or knife
large saucepan
food processor or bean masher

Ingredients – Dosa Pancakes

DOSA PANCAKES (Makes 8 to 12 dosas.)
1 cup (120 g) spelt flour or all-purpose, gluten free flour (I used 1 cup chapati flour.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup (120 ml) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
3/4 cup (180 ml) water
cooking spray

DOSA TOPPINGS
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
grated coconut
cucumber pieces, sliced with a vegetable peeler
cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and curry powder in a medium bowl. Slowly add the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.

3. Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes. (I made the pancakes a little smaller, yielding 12.)

Ingredients – Curried Garbanzo Filling

5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (I used Tequila Hybrid.)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced (I used a Big Jim chile.)
2 tablespoons cumin, ground
1 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 tablespoons turmeric
4 cups (960 g) cooked or canned garbanzo beans
1/2 cup (125 g) tomato paste (I used an entire 6 ounce/170 g can.)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional, my addition)

Preparation

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Spritz on a little cooking spray, then add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.

2. Mash the garbanzo beans by hand or in a food processor. Add the garbanzos and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Ingredients – Coconut Curry Sauce

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
3/4 teaspoon sea salt (coarse)
3 tablespoons (30 g) curry powder
3 tablespoons (30 g) spelt flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour
3 cups (720 ml) vegetable broth
2 cups (480 ml) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced

Preparation

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Spritz on a little cooking spray, then add the onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft.

2. Add the cumin, seal salt, and curry powder, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.

3. Gradually whisk in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Previous Daring Challenges

You can see all of my previous Daring Challenges in the the Daring Challenges tag list.

Thanks for reading this blog through a feed! Copyright © 2005-2010 Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening & four hungry guys.

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Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge. This week our baking group is buzzing with excitement over the Washington Post article “Too Many Cooks? No Such Thing” which features the BBA Challenge (as well as the Daring Bakers) and quotes Nicole! And if you click on the slideshow in the article you’ll find some of our bread photos, including one of mine.

For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

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I’m slowly catching up with the rest of the BBA Challenge crew, though summer keeps trying to derail my plans. Baking in the summer is always a challenge for me, whether it’s the heat making the kitchen unbearably hot or the distractions of three boys, each with his own agenda. The boys were my distraction during the ciabatta, when means I forgot to snap a photo of the poolish, and the final rise was about double what it should have been. My loaves didn’t stretch quite so well before going into the oven and were much higher than expected even though I dimpled the loaves. One even had a big gaping hole right under the crust.

Other than my challenge with over-rising, the ciabatta is not difficult to make and doesn’t require any special skills for shaping. If you can pick up a piece of dough and stretch it, you can make this bread. I chose to use the poolish starter method and left it to sit in the refrigerator for three days before mixing the dough. It bubbled up nicely as it came to room temperature and had a tangy, slightly sour scent. The bread baked up with a hint of sourdough aroma and flavor, a plus in my opinion. The crust was crispy and the crumb chewy, though I would like to have had more classic ciabatta holes, but supposedly you get more of that when using the biga starter.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge! For more bread inspiration and to see what we have been working on, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

Nicole found a video of Peter Reinhart speaking philosophically about bread on the TED website. My favorite quote from his talk, “Beer is basically liquid bread, or bread is solid beer.” I found the talk very informative and recommend it if you enjoy making bread.

Thanks for reading this blog through a feed! Copyright © 2005-2010 Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening & four hungry guys.

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I enjoyed making this loaf, though I had a few distractions along the way that caused the dough to over rise twice. Then I seemed to overwork the dough because the rolls were never quite smooth and my challah looks stretched, like it’s splitting open in the middle. One of those things I have to work on.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge! For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

Thanks for reading this blog through a feed! Copyright © 2005-2010 Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening & four hungry guys.

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The next brioche in the BBA Challenge was an Italian variation, a casatiello, which is usually made with some type of cured meat and cheese. Reinhart suggests a good melting cheese such as Swiss, Gouda, Cheddar or any of their variations. For meats he suggests salami, pepperoni, bacon, pancetta, chorizo, or sausage. I chose some applewood smoked ham and provolone, two flavors I like together.

The bread starts with a quick sponge, followed by mixing and two risings. Casatiello is traditionally baked in paper bags or panettone molds, though I used a tall round 8-inch cake pan, which worked well. The bread was popular with my family, so much so that Monkey Boy took a huge hunk out of it while it sat cooling on the wire rack. We liked the slightly salty flavor of the ham and the Provolone melted just right. Even after a day the flavor was still present.

Thanks as always to Nicole of Pinch My Salt for organizing the BBA Challenge! For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.

[Update: The Washington Post ran a story about online cooking clubs "Too Many Cooks? No Such Thing" featuring the BBA Challenge and included one of my photos of the casatiello.]

Thanks for reading this blog through a feed! Copyright © 2005-2010 Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening & four hungry guys.

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