BBA Challenge: Christopsomos (Greek Christmas Bread)
May 24, 2009 by Andrea 
Print This Post
Filed under Breads
Even though it was originally intended for Christmas, this is a bread I would gladly bake any time of year. The BBA Challenge bread for this week was Artos, Greek celebration breads, and I chose the fruited Christmas version, Christopsomos. My family adored this orange and spice flavored bread, and I can easily imagine making a delicious bread pudding or French toast with this loaf.
For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
BBA Challenge: Anadama Bread
May 16, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Breads
Last week when Nicole of Pinch My Salt casually tweeted about starting a challenge to bake every single bread in Peter Reinhart’s masterwork The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, I didn’t even think. My subconscious took over and my fingers seem to type of their own accord, “I’ll take on that challenge.” I’ve had the book in my personal collection for a few years and have attempted several of the breads, some on my own and some as Daring Baker’s challenges. His Napoletana pizza dough has become a regular in our kitchen and every time I make it I want to break into a rendition of That’s Amore or Funiculì, Funiculà. Though I’ve failed the first time around on some of his formulas (er, the bagels), I now have a chance to redeem myself…hopefully.
Well, there’s a bunch of us doing what we now call the BBA Challenge, about 200 to be exact. Yes, the challenge went viral, but we decided to be relaxed about it and just have fun. We’re working loosely on a schedule of one formula per week going through the book in order from beginning to end. The first challenge is the Anadama bread.
Each week I will post a photo journal of the loaf or loaves I made that week. After today, my posts on the challenges will be mostly wordless posts, merely an opportunity to show what we’ve been working on. For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
Honey Wheat English Muffin Bread
April 16, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Breads
We’re continuing our quest to convert some of our favorite recipes to a whole grain version, and this family favorite turned out very well. I started with the Meyers family English muffin bread recipe and substituted whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose flour, and honey for the sugar. The boys could hardly contain their excitement as I sliced it up for photos and their little hands reached out eagerly for a piece. Top Gun and Monkey Boy wanted jam on theirs and Builder Guy wanted butter, also my choice. For the rest of the afternoon they followed me from room to room, begging for more and to save my sanity I promised more slices with dinner. They finished off the first loaf for breakfast the following morning and enjoyed every bite.
It’s an easy yeast bread to start with if you haven’t made yeast breads before, just mix and plop the stiff batter into prepared loaf pans and let the loaves rise in the pan, no shaping or kneading required. You could say English muffin bread is the original no-knead bread. Read more
Banana Bran and Toasted Walnut Muffins
March 30, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Breads, Breakfast
A couple weeks ago I scored a deal on bananas—14 overripe bananas in a bag for $1—and bought a bag with plans to make muffins, smoothies, and freeze a few, only none of them made it to the freezer because we used them up. I had wanted to try this banana bran muffin recipe from The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread, and this was the perfect opportunity. (Cookbook reviewed at Andrea’s Reviews.)
The recipe made a large amount of batter and I had to abandon the usual instructions about filling a muffin cup 2/3 full because the cups overflowed with batter. The baked muffins were large and hearty with a lot of texture, and one was more than enough for my breakfast or a snack, though my hungry crowd seemed to disagree. Read more
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
March 19, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Breads, Grow Your Own
Cornbread is a staple of Southern cooking, and it made regular appearances at our family table when I was growing up. I don’t remember my mother ever diverting from her standard cornbread recipe; it was always the same warm, comforting bread we enjoyed with beans and other foods.
Last week I planned to make a pot of spiced up beans using the ham bone from a recent Sunday dinner, and I wanted a spicy cornbread to go along with the beans. I used equal amounts of flour and cornmeal, but instead of buttermilk for the liquid I used plain yogurt, which gave a wonderful taste and texture. We only used one jalapeño this time, but I think we would use another next time for a little more kick.
I wish I could say that the jalapeños came from our garden, but we’ve run out of the stash we grew last year, though the scallions came from the pot I started in September and still have going in the kitchen. I just snip off the green part and leave the white in the ground, and they keep growing back. We’re planting scallions in our raised beds this year, so hope to have plenty of them.
This is my contribution to Grow Your Own, a blogging event that celebrates the dishes we create from foods we’ve grown, raised, foraged, or hunted ourselves. I am hosting this round, so please send your post to me at andreasrecipesgyo AT gmail DOT com by March 30. If you are new to the event, you can read more about the rules for participating at the Grow Your Own page. Read more
Yogurt Fantail Rolls
February 26, 2009 by Andrea Print This Post
Filed under Breads
We’re on the last week of baking rolls from the February issue of Gourmet magazine, and my family thoroughly enjoyed these. The boys liked peeling them apart and Michael and I liked the flavor.
The dough was soft and easy to work with, though the rise was not great, likely due to the temperature of the yogurt. I brought the yogurt out of the refrigerator a few minutes early so it wouldn’t be too cold, but next time I will let it come to room temperature or even warm it slightly before mixing, though that’s not mentioned in the original recipe. I brushed on less butter than the recipe called for, and we thought they still had a nice buttery flavor.
The recipe below reflects my changes. I work exclusively with instant yeast and modified the instructions for that type, and I included the instructions for active dry yeast in the Variations. If you prefer to use buttermilk per the original recipe, I’ve included instructions on how to make an acceptable substitute in the Variations.
Be sure to visit my friends Kelly of Sass & Veracity, Judy of No Fear Entertaining, Claire of The Barefoot Kitchen, Courtney of Coco Cooks, and Sandy of At The Baker’s Bench to see what they whipped up for the last week of the Gourmet bread challenge.
Read more
