Sweet Dough

Posted on August 11, 2011 by sparecake

After flipping through my King Arthur Flour cookbook last week, I decided to try their sweet dough recipe and make two variations. The dough ended up not as sweet as I expected (although the recipe allows up to 1/2 cup more sugar than I used – just be prepared for the rising to probably take longer if you add that much), but after an initial pout about it not being super sweet, I thought it actually went really well with the pineapple filling I made. The orange cream cheese filling I made for the other half of the dough was mostly absorbed into the bread, and I didn’t think was strong enough a flavor to be exciting once that happened. I’m just noticing, though, that the recipe says to refrigerate it before using, which I did not do, so maybe if it starts off chilled it holds up better. You could also make zillions of other kinds of fillings, or even just form the dough into pretty shapes with no filling.

This dough starts off with a sponge. To make it, just stir your sugar, yeast, and flour into warm water and let it sit 10 to 15 minutes until it’s begun foaming and expanding.

As you’re reading the recipe and realize that the next step is going to require softened butter, it’s the perfect time to cram a stick down your back pocket to warm up while the sponge proofs.

Class Kitchen, boys and girls!

To make the dough, stir the remaining water, salt, butter and sugar into the sponge. I added 3 teaspoons of vanilla, and just put them in the measuring cup before adding water to reach the cup and a half of water you’re supposed to add in this step. Add 4 1/2 cups of the flour, stir until the dough is starting to stick together, and then turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead, adding some of the remaining cup of flour if needed. After 3 or 4 minutes of kneading, let the dough rest while you wash, dry, and grease the mixing bowl. Knead for another several minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, and then shape it into a ball and put it back in the bowl. Rotate your dough ball so that it gets a thin layer of grease on all sides, cover, and let it rise until doubled, at least an hour.  During this rise, you can make any fillings you’re going to use.

Big ol' ball.

After the dough has doubled, punch it down and then divide it in half. At this point, it’s time to shape.

For the orange rolls, I rolled the dough out to roughly 10X14″ and spread it with orange filling,

rolled it up,

and sliced into rolls.

For the pineapple bread, I rolled the dough out to roughly 10X18″ and then marked it off into thirds, lengthwise.

I cut lines in the outer two sections perpendicular to the dividing lines. You want an even number of lines, so that the fringey bits you create are the same on each side. Entirely remove the four corner pieces. Spread the filling down the middle section.

Fold the two end flaps in, and then, starting at one side, draw the fringey bits in to the middle at an angle, alternating sides.

When you get to the far side, just tuck the ends of the diagonal pieces under the end of the bread.

Carefully transfer that to a lightly greased baking sheet. Both the braid and the rolls (and any other shape you try with this dough) then need to rise a second time until doubled, an hour to an hour and a half.

Once risen, bake 35-40 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when tapped.

Hopefully if you chill the filling first, it won't bake down to such wimpy lines.

??

I’ll be submitting these to YeastSpotting. (Check it out if you like baking!)

Simple Sweet Dough

From The Original King Arthur Flour Cookbook.

Sponge:

  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 1/2-5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

To make the sponge, stir the sugar, yeast, and flour into the water and let sit 10-15 minutes, until foaming and expanding.

Stir the remaining water, salt, butter and sugar into the sponge. If you want, use up to 3 teaspoons of flavoring, pouring it into the measuring cup before measuring out the water to maintain 1 1/2 cups of liquid.

Add 4 1/2 cups of flour, and stir until the dough has started mostly sticking together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 3-4 minutes. Let dough rest and clean, dry, and grease your mixing bowl. Resume kneading for several more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, and then shape into a ball. Place the ball in the bowl, and roll so that the top is lightly greased. Cover, and let rise until doubled, at least an hour.

Knock down the dough, divide, fill and shape as desired. Let rise until doubled (1 – 1 1/2 hours), then bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Pineapple Filling

Also from KA. This recipe will fill one loaf, aka half the amount of dough made above.

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple (fruit and juice)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Blend the sugar with the cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add the lemon juice, pineapple, and pineapple juice, and stir until the cornstarch has dissolved completely. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and clears. This takes kind of forever.

Orange Cream Cheese Filling

Ditto!

  • 4 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 an egg (inconvenient, I know, but stir up an egg in a cup and spoon out half. This should be about 2 tablespoons.)
  • 1/2 tablespoon orange extract, or any other flavor you’re into

Mix all ingredients together until very smooth. Refrigerate until chilled.

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Dessert | Tagged | 2 Comments

Wordless Wednesday (Stars and Flights Edition)

Posted on August 10, 2011 by sparecake

 

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Buffalo Chicken Bread

Posted on August 8, 2011 by sparecake

A few people have asked me what the mess in the middle of my header image is. It was a braided bread full of chicken parmesan that I made with Ted a year or two ago.

yummm

I made it again this week, but with a buffalo chicken filling instead of the parm. I used canned chicken, which was just way easier and required way less heating up the kitchen than cooking and shredding chicken otherwise would have.

If you’re willing to eat tuna, there’s no real reason to be grossed out by chicken in a can.

To make the dough, first combine one cup of flour, a quarter cup of parmesan cheese, the yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Heat the water and butter until very warm (120-130 degrees), and stir until the butter is melted.

My morning health shake.

Gradually pour the warm water into the flour mixture while stirring, and continue to stir for two minutes. Add the egg and a second cup of flour and stir another two minutes. Add another cup and a half of flour and stir until it sticks mostly together, and then turn out onto your workspace. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding up to another half cup of flour as necessary to keep the dough from being very sticky. It should take you 8-10 minutes to reach the smooth and elastic state. Cover the dough and let it rest ten minutes.

While you wait, drain the water from the canned chicken and stir in the buffalo sauce, then set aside.

Divide the dough into three equal portions, and roll each into a 16X4″ rectangle. Spread the chicken down each rectangle and drizzle with blue cheese dressing.

Pinch each piece together into a rope, pressing to seal the seams into 3 16″ ropes.

Flip the ropes so that the seams are on the bottom, and bring them all parallel. Lightly pinch the ends on one side together, and braid the ropes. If you support each piece as you move it, they actually hold up pretty well.

When you reach the end, press together those ends. Carefully transfer the braid to a greased baking sheet.

Ok this one was not the most elegant braid, but it tends to work well.

Cover the braid, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Whisk together an egg with two tablespoons of water to, then brush the egg wash over the braid. Sprinkle extra cheese on top of the braid.

Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the sheet and eat still warm.

I could see, for a party or something, putting a different, complementary, meat in each rope. Ooh, corned beef, roast beef, and chopped liver? I’d eat the heck out of that, if it weren’t impossible to find chopped liver in DC!

I’ll be submitting this post to yeastspotting!

Buffalo Chicken Bread

Adapted from Bread World.

Dough:

  • 3 1 / 2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 / 4 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 envelopes yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1 / 4 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
  • 1 large egg

Buffalo Chicken Filling:

  • 3/4 cup buffalo sauce
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded/canned chicken
  • blue cheese dressing

Egg Glaze:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • extra grated parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, the parmesan cheese, yeast, sugar, and salt. Heat the water and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Gradually add to flour mixture. Stir for two minutes. Add the egg and another 1 cup flour; stir another two minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough, beginning with 1 1/2 cups, going up to 2 as necessary. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Stir the chicken into the buffalo sauce.

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and roll each into a 16X4″ rectangle. Spread the chicken over each rectangle, drizzle with blue cheese dressing, and pinch closed into ropes. Roll each rope over to put the seam on the bottom. Braid the ropes, pinching the ends together, and carefully transfer to a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the egg and water and brush over the braid. Sprinkle the cheese on top, then bake for half an hour. Remove, slice, and serve.

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Raisin Granola Squares

Posted on August 6, 2011 by sparecake

This recipe is one I copied down from my mom several years ago, but hadn’t made until now. Today’s her birthday, so… Happy Birthday, Mom, I made some food you’re too far away to eat but already know how to make anyway. Wooo?

Looking at this recipe, it’s pretty clear I copied it down before I’d started bothering to keep recipes particularly accurate, since I apparently had to go back later to add in amounts for some of the ingredients. I also didn’t write down to grease the pan, which may or may not have been in the original, but would have been useful.

I went for a package of something along the lines of “mixed large raisins” for variety, which I think is a good move.

Ooh boy, raisin-y variety!

I also got granola without nuts, since I hate nuts. Safeway only had one single kind of granola without nuts, which I should have known was going to be gross when it was called “Not Sweet Vanilla.” Booooring.

Would really never bother with this stuff again. Fine for in recipes, though.

Plump the raisins by leaving 2 cups of raisins in 1 cup of warm water for an hour.

Not how grapes are made.

At the end of the hour, drain the water and pat the raisins dry. Mix them in a medium bowl with the honey, cinnamon, and lemon zest, then set aside.

Combine the flour and brown sugar in a food processor and mix briefly to break up lumps. Add the butter and blend. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the granola and cream and mix until soft and crumbly.

Pat 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and an inch up the sides of a greased 8″ square pan. Add the filling, spreading evenly, and then crumble the remaining dough over the top. Press the crumbles gently into the raisins, and then bake until golden.

Cool to room temp before cutting. This is one time when I’d actually follow that, as it’s pretty fall-apart-y while it’s still warm.

This is nicely fruity, which I suppose is a good change once in a while from the super rich, heavy, chocolate things I have most of the time. It’s also really good with lemon curd ice cream!

Raisin Granola Squares

From my mom.

Filling:

  • 2 cups raisins
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • the zested peel from one lemon

Crust:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup granola
  • 3 tablespoons whipping cream

Plump the raisins by leaving them to soak in the water for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8″ square pan.

Drain the raisins and pat them dry, then put them in a medium bowl. Add the honey, cinnamon, and zest and stir to combine.

Combine the flour and the brown sugar in a food processor and mix to break up lumps. Add the butter pieces and blend. Transfer to a bowl and add the granola and cream. Stir until soft and crumbly.

Pat 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and an inch up the sides of the pan. Spread the filling evenly over the crust, and then crumble the remaining dough over the top of the raisins, pressing it gently into the raisins.

Bake 40 minutes until golden. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

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Wordless Wednesday (Baltimore Edition)

Posted on August 3, 2011 by sparecake

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Cream Scones

Posted on August 2, 2011 by sparecake

Around a year ago I went through a whole bunch of scone recipes. I kept several recipes, but this one…well, this one uses up some extra cream I have around the house, so it’s the one I made today.

Start by putting the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and stirring to combine. Cut the butter into the dry goods with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the chocolate chips or dried fruit.

Pour in the cream, and stir together. You could stir with a spatula and then knead, or just get your hands in there right away and just mix and then knead until the dough right in the bowl until it forms an evenly mixed ball.

Pat the ball into a roughly 8″ circle (it should be about 3/4″ thick, if 8″ is harder to eyeball), and then slice into 8 pieces.

If you don’t want all of these right away, you can bake one/some then, and put the rest, on a pan, in the freezer. A few hours later, once they’ve frozen hard, wrap/bag them, and have them for breakfast another day.

The original recipe says to cool for ten minutes before eating. I have never, ever done that.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy and a bit flaky inside.

Cream Scones

Adapted from smitten kitchen.

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes or grated with a cheese grater
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips or dried fruit bits
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the chocolate chips or dried fruit, followed by the cream.

Knead until well incorporated, and then pat into an 8″ circle and then cut into 8 slices. Bake 12-15 minutes until light brown. Cool ten minutes if you’re opposed to magma-like chocolate.

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Peanut Butter Pie

Posted on July 31, 2011 by sparecake

Last weekend in Philly it was way, way too hot to turn the oven on, but we still wanted to make something good. My friend Matt had a recipe for peanut butter pie that just required freezing, refrigerating, and a little bit of microwaving. Perfect!

Make the crust by crushing chocolate graham crackers to get 1 1/2 cups of crumbs. That took pretty exactly one package (the plastic packages inside the box, not the whole box!) for us.

Crushing things is always pretty satisfying!

Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and sugar and stir to combine, and then press into the bottom of a 10″ pie pan. I think maybe our pie pan was 9″, so we just put the extra in a small tart dish.

Freeze the crust for 20 minutes while thinking about how lovely it is not to be using the oven.

For the filling, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. In a separate bowl beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture in two batches.

Folding ever so delicately.

Making something wonderful!

Spread the mixture in the pie crust.

Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pie, smoothing and covering it, and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.

Oh hay, unfortunately changed white balance setting!

Towards the end of the four hours, you can be in the mood to make a chocolate glaze (I’ll put the directions in the recipe below), OR, you can be dead tired and just really want dessert, a shower, and sleep. As we fell firmly into the second camp, we just sprinkled on chocolate chips. It was still really good!

I taste so good!

Yay for visiting friends and making tasty things!

Peanut Butter Pie

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking.

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/8 cup sugar (just use your 1/4 cup measure and estimate)
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup heavy cream, cold

Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Mix together crust ingredients and press evenly into the bottom of a 10″ pie dish. Freeze 20 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. In a separate bowl beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture by halves.

Spread filling into crust and cover with plastic wrap, pressing onto surface of filling. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 4 hours.

Bring the cream and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Let cool to lukewarm, then pour the glaze over the pie and spread evenly. (Or skip this paragraph and top with sprinkled chocolate chips!)

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Beach Pie

Posted on July 28, 2011 by sparecake

Nothing to do with beaches here, but “Beef Peach Pie” sounds aaaawful! I was looking for a simple meatloaf recipe this weekend, and found this instead. Step up? I think so. It’s delicious, and tasted sort of familiar, like something I maybe had 15 years ago and vaguely remember liking.

To make the…crust, combine the beef, egg, milk, onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix evenly. Press into a 9″ pie pan, and then prick with a fork all over.

Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove from the oven and pour off any excess grease. I used a pretty low fat ground beef, so there wasn’t really enough to pour off.

Pro tip: I know some people who until quite recently didn’t realize that you shouldn’t pour animal grease down the sink. Don’t do that! It can congeal and clog your pipes. Pour it off into an empty can or jar, let it congeal, and chuck it.

While the beef cooks, stir together the ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar. Drain the peaches. Don’t worry about removing every drop of juice, as a bit leftover will help flavor the sauce.

Arrange the peaches over the beef as evenly as possible.

Pro-er tip: Don’t just stick your hand in the can to get the peaches out. I’m pretty sure I have tetanus now.

Spoon the sauce over the peaches and beef.

Return to the oven for another twenty minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for ten minutes before eating.

I recommend serving with your favorite mashed potato recipe, and spooning a bit of the extra sauce left in the pie dish over the potatoes. Yum!

Meat Pie!

Beef Peach Pie

From Allrecipes.

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup soft bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch pepper
  • 1 (15 ounce) can sliced peaches
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, egg, milk, onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Press into a 9 inch pie pan like a crust. Prick meat all over using a fork.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven.

Stir together ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. Drain peaches.

Remove from the oven, and pour off any excess fat. Arrange the sliced peaches over the beef. Spoon the ketchup mixture over the top of the peaches.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.
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Wordless Wednesday (Philly Edition)

Posted on July 27, 2011 by sparecake

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French Toast Muffins

Posted on July 24, 2011 by sparecake

As most of you probably have noticed, it’s wicked freaking hot out currently. Solidly over 100 daily, which is no temp for living. It is, however, a decent temperature to warm up the butter you didn’t take out of the fridge soon enough.

Luckily Hobo Cat wasn't around to steal my butter off the chair.

These muffins use nutmeg, which I sort of hate, but usually don’t notice in the finished product. In these, it still stands out just enough that I would probably swap for cinnamon next time, but if you’re ok with nutmeg, it’s good!. The recipe also calls for maple flavoring, which had I sort of hoped just meant syrup, not a specific extract like vanilla or mint. After trying it, I think they probably did actually mean a maple extract, as the muffins had very little maple flavor. Even so, I don’t actually think it’s worth searching out such a thing – they’re delicious with just syrup. They’re also a really great texture – super fluffy. I was really pleased with the texture.

Start by combining your dry goods in a big bowl and setting that aside. In a medium bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Add the maple flavoring/syrup and butter, and mix well. This doesn’t really become evenly mixed, but that’s ok, it will later. Just blend it for a minute or so and move on.

Proper lighting? What?

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix until just evenly combined.

Spoon the batter into a greased or lined muffin pan. I filled them to 2/3 full and got some slightly pointy muffins. You might get a 9th muffin out of the recipe if you aimed for closer to half-full. Bake for 20 minutes.

Peaky

Let cool in the pan for roughly 5 minutes and then cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.

Once they’ve cooled, prepare the topping: Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in one bowl, and the melted butter and vanilla in the other.

Dip the muffin tops in the butter and then roll the top in the sugar to coat.

Your muffins are ready to eat!

So fluffy! I love the texture of these muffins!

 French Toast Muffins

From Mr. Breakfast.

Muffins:

  • 1 and 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg(/cinnamon)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
  • 1/3 cup butter – softened

Topping:

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a muffin pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Add the maple flavoring and butter and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined and moistened.

Dollop batter into muffin cups, filling half to two-thirds full.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove muffins when lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out dry.

Cool muffins in pan for five minutes and then remove to rack to finish cooling.

Combine sugar and cinnamon on one bowl, butter and vanilla in another. Dip each muffin in the butter mixture and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture to make the topping.

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