Category Archives: Breads

Mixed Herb Slider Rolls

Posted
Filed under Breads

This week’s post is actually somewhat of a companion to my last one where I came up with what I must say, was a very tasty dish. I made them at the same time, being that it was summer, and that put me in the mood for a really good slider sandwich.

I’m of the belief that you can turn just about any meat dish into a sandwich if you’ve the mind to do so.

(And quite often, I do.)

For me, it really does come down to the bread just as much as it does the meat filling.

Now, could I have just bought a pack of Hawaiian Rolls and made do with those?

I mean, yeah…but.

Hawaiian Rolls can be a bit overrated. They come in the package all smushed and wrinkly, and they’re really not even that big. A slider’s not a full sandwich but it’s not an amuse bouche either.

And anyway, if I’d gone the Hawaiian Rolls route, we wouldn’t be here discussing these today–and these are just so much better

When I find a bread recipe that I like/love, I tend to stay pretty loyal to it, and just experiment with different methods of varying it out and seeing what else I can do with it. Thus, these slider rolls are actually based upon a bread I first made and loved, several years ago, but hadn’t made in a while.

I kept the based bread recipe itself the same, the variation comes in with the shaping and arrangement. Here, I shaped the dough into slider-sized portions, then brushed/dipped the rolls in an herb butter mixture, then placed them close together into 13 x 9 baking dishes.

Be aware should you make these: they make a LOT of slider rolls. Two baking dishes worth. But I did that on purpose as I was thinking in terms of summertime barbecues or even fall tailgating where big batches are ideal for a crowd.

The finished rolls will keep beautifully in the freezer, or you can always cut the recipe in half if you’d prefer to have less.

Texture is everything with these; the combination of cornmeal, white and whole wheat flour gives them BEAUTIFUL, light, and slightly chewy texture that is everything I want in a piece of bread. The flavors added from the herbs and butter really take them over the top.

See recipes below for meat recipes on the blog that I think would make EXCELLENT sliders for these.

Guinness Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Pulled Brown Sugar Chicken

Oven Roasted Tri-Tip Steak

Pulled Jerk Chicken

Roasted Garlic & Herb Smothered Chicken

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

Mixed Herb Slider Rolls

Recipe Adapted from Bake from Scratch and Jess@Cooking is My Sport

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp, divided
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 eggs, well-beaten, plus one egg, divided.
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 to 5 cups all purpose white flour, as needed
  • 2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon flaked sea salt
  • Garnish: chopped fresh rosemary, chopped fresh thyme, chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Combine the milk, cornmeal, butter or margarine, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt in medium saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon and allowing to cook until the mixture if slightly thickened. Add 1/2 cup water and mix well. Set aside to cool.

Soften active dry yeast in warm water (110 degrees F). Sprinkle the 1 tsp of sugar on top and allow to sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is frothy.

Combine cornmeal mixture, yeast, and 2 well-beaten eggs together in the bowl of a standing mixer, using the paddle attachment to combine together.

Then, using the dough hook attachment, add the cup of whole wheat  first, mixing to combine completely.  Add enough of the all purpose white flour to make a soft dough. It should be a smooth,pliable dough that no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, but also not too dry.

Place the dough in another greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, then a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm place for about an hour.

In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and the 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

Line two 13 x 9 baking pans with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.

Divide dough into 24 pieces. With lightly floured hands, working with 1 piece at a time (keep remaining dough covered to prevent it from drying out), roll each piece into a smooth ball. Dip each ball into melted butter mixture, and place into the baking pans. Pour any remaining melted butter mixture over dough in pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprinkle dough with flaked salt.


Bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 190°F (88°C), 35 to 40 minutes, covering with foil halfway through baking to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and garnish with rosemary, thyme, and parsley, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #396.

Browned Butter Cornbread

Posted
Filed under Breads

I’m not (nor will I likely ever be) a vegetarian, but if the time ever did come to where I was making that lifestyle choice, there are a few foods/dishes that would make that transition much easier for me to adjust to.

Greens and cornbread are one of them.

Greens and cornbread are a classic Southern staple in the US; a cornerstone of the cuisine that is aptly titled Soul Food. Although they’ve always been served as a side dish at the dinners I grew up on and the ones that I make, they’re delicious enough to me to where I really would be content to do without the meat altogether and just eat a big bowl of greens (collards, cabbage or turnip, I don’t care) and cornbread all to myself. There’s just something so comforting about a pan of warm, golden-crusted cornbread that I will never get enough of.

My go-to cornbread is my grandmother’s recipe, but recently I decided to give it a little bit of a twist with another ingredient that it just seems like I can never get enough of: browned butter. I’ve already got quite the collection of browned butter recipes going on the blog and I’m really pleased to announce that it’s now time for yet another one.

There’s really nothing in this world that browned butter cannot improve, cornbread included. My only concern going into this little experiment was that the nutty, caramel-y flavor of the browned butter would make it too sweet for me, as I tend to prefer saltier cornbread. But it really didn’t. The browned butter does give the cornbread a different buttery richness, but it’s not particularly sweet.

What it IS however, is delicious.

It’s kind of impossible to mess up a straightforward cornbread recipe like this one, so I hope that you’ll give this one a go.

*******************************************

Browned Butter Cornbread

Recipe Adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
  • 2 cups plain yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups whole buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp. liquid bacon grease/drippings
  • 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 inch cake pan (or square pan) with cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a 2 quart saucepan. Let it cook and watch it closely until 3-5 minutes until the butter begins to foam, forms a golden brown color and browned bits form on the bottom. (It will have a sweet, nutty smell). Immediately remove it from the heat. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and the melted browned butter. Make a well in center of cornmeal mixture, and add buttermilk mixture, stirring until just combined.

Pour batter into cake pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean.

Let cool slightly; cut cornbread into slices, and serve warm.

 Sharing this post at Fiesta Friday #381, cohosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

Challah Sandwich Buns

Posted
Filed under Breads

I don’t really buy store-bought sandwich buns anymore.

In the first place, if you’re looking at the popular batch-bake hamburger buns from the popular name brands, you’ll notice that the bread itself is oftentimes soft, without much or any sturdiness to it. This may be fine for others, but I personally hate it when the moisture from my proteins seeps down into the bun and makes it soggy, making the whole thing not only hard to handle, but also less than pleasant to eat.

My preference for sandwiches are enriched bread doughs; the ones made with a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb that have a crusty exterior. They’re perfect for holding up to moisture and holding plenty of fixing. Plus, rather than just being the vessel for the filling, they can often be just as delicious all on their own.

A standard bread dough needs nothing more than flour, yeast, salt and water. Enriched bread doughs add things like eggs, butter and milk to ‘enrich’ the dough, often giving it more body, flavor and texture. Challah has become my go-to enriched bread to make. It has a relatively easy process in comparison to other enriched doughs, and the ingredients are often always on hand in my house. While it’s often shaped into loaves, as an enriched dough with a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb, I also figured that it would work well as a sandwich bun.

I’ve had the same go-to Challah recipe for several years now, so when it came time for me to put these together, I didn’t bother sampling out a new one. The only changes that I made to the recipe was in the actual shaping. I divided the dough up into individual sandwich buns, keeping things simple when it came to both the flavors and the appearance.

I have to say, these are everything I want in a sandwich bun. Challah has a sturdy, somewhat dense crumb structure to it that is perfect for absorbing moisture from sandwich proteins and condiments, but still holding together perfectly; even more so when you toast it, as is my standard practice. The egg wash on the top gives it that much more body. Plus, as a I said, it’s a pretty delicious bread in and of itself, so I find myself appreciating both the inside and the outside of the sandwich rather than just looking at the bread as the vessel for the filling.

Wear a mask. Socially distance. Get the vaccine when it’s your turn. Be kind.

Challah Sandwich Buns

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • Coarse salt, for sprinkling

Directions

In a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over barely warm water. Sprinkle the tablespoon of white sugar over that. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, until frothy.

Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt. Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition, graduating to kneading with hands as dough thickens. (You may not need all of it, this depends on location and time of year) Knead until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed.

Place dough inside a large and greased mixing bowl. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, then a damp clean cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in bulk.


Punch down the risen dough and turn out onto floured board or a pastry mat. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Roll/stretch out dough to a square that is about 1 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter, a glass cup or a small bowl with a sharpish edge that is about 3 inches wide in diameter to cut out circles of buns from the dough and place them on two sheet pans you’ve lined with parchment paper. Repeat until you’ve used it all up. (The scraps can be rerolled and/or shaped into extras)

Cover the buns with plastic wrap and a damp cloth and allow to rise until puffy and grown in size, about 30-45 minutes.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).


Beat the remaining egg and brush a generous amount over each bun. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt, if desired. Using a very sharp knife dipped in water, quickly make diagonal slashes into the tops of the buns, to make an X shape.


Bake for about 20-30 minutes. After the first ten minutes, Keep an eye out on the tops to make sure they aren’t browning too quickly; cover with a sheet of foil if so.

Challah is done at an inner temp of 195 degrees fahrenheit. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when thumped on the bottom. Cool the buns on a wire rack for at least one hour.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #375

Banana Bread Biscuits

Posted
Filed under Breads

Are y’all starting to notice a pattern? I am.

I think it’s safe to say we’ve now reached the point where Cooking is My Sport is a biscuit-making blog; a biscuit making blog with other recipes thrown in to eat alongside biscuits.

I have no explanation for my actions. All I can say is that before I learned how to bake, biscuits were always something I wanted to learn how to do, and do well. I was in awe of people who baked biscuits from scratch. I just had so many questions.

How does the dough come together? What makes biscuits different from yeast bread? What’s the best shape; round, square, or something else? How do they rise? How do you ensure they turn out light and flakey on the inside?

Heck, maybe there are some of you out there who have the same kind of questions. I’ve gotten good at making biscuits only because of lots and lots of practice, and trial and error. I made up my mind to learn how to make them and make them well, and I didn’t stop until I did. And even, clearly, I have no intention of stopping making/experimenting with them. I’ll be a biscuit baker probably until the day I pass on to glory.

Thinking through all those questions and the various results I’ve made/posted over the years makes me think the blog may be due for a post that’s strictly about the technique of making biscuits I’ve learned through all my trial and error. I’ll think some more about it and get back to y’all later.

In the meantime, today’s newest experiment.

I was very curious going into this one. Although I’ve made banana scones once before, I’d never heard of banana flavored biscuits. Plus, I hadn’t really perfected my technique for biscuits/scones when I first made the banana flavored ones, so I was interested to see how different I would find the experience now that I’m on the other side of a lot of new learning.

I really like these, y’all. The flavor really is just like banana bread…except it’s in the texture of a biscuit. I think they’re versatile enough to work for breakfast, or for a dessert, depending on how you want to eat them. However, the sweetness is very subtle here, it’s the banana that really shines through. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Wear a mask. Social distance. Get the vaccine when it’s your turn. Be kind.

*****************************************

Banana Bread Biscuits

Recipe Adapted from Taste of the South

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2½ cups cake flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2½ tablespoons baking powder
  • 4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1½ cups cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 1 cup whole buttermilk, chilled
  • ½ cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup salted butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl combine the flour, spices salt, baking powder, sugar, sage and the seasoning mix. Stir together with a fork.

Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.

In a small bowl, whisk together cold buttermilk, mashed banana, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until a shaggy dough forms. Use a large fork and a large rubber spatula to stir the mixture together. If it seems a little dry you may add the additional buttermilk, just until it forms a shaggy dough.

Sprinkle a pastry mat, wooden cutting board or a clean smooth countertop with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat a few times with your hands until it loosely holds together. (Don’t knead it too much or the warmth in your palms will melt the butter and cause the biscuits to be tough.)

Use a bench scraper or a large sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Roughly shape each half into a square. Stack one of the halves on top of the other and use a rolling pin to roll it together into one mass. Repeat this process 4-5 more times before patting it into one final rectangle. (This is a process of layering so that the biscuits will bake flaky).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and unwrap the biscuit dough out onto it. Use a bench scraper or very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rectangle. Use a biscuit cutter, or a knife to cut the dough into rounds or squares about 2″ each. You can recut the leftover dough into new biscuits, just try not to handle it too much.

Remove the cut biscuits to the baking sheet you’ve lined with parchment paper, placing them rather close to each other (it will help them rise higher). Place the tray into the freezer about 15 minutes.

Spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, covering them with foil if they brown too quickly.

Brush finished biscuits with melted butter; serve warm.

Sharing at Fiesta Friday #371, co-hosted this week by Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons.

 

Banana Streusel Bundt Bread

Posted
Filed under Breads

My tastes for certain foods fluctuates according to the time of year. In the winter, I want to eat hearty, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. At the holidays, I want to eat a lot of gingerbread, sugar-and-spice and cranberry-flavored everything. In the summer, I like eating light, fresh, citrusy things. But then I also think there are some foods that for me are good and wanted year-round.

Banana bread has always been one of them.

Whether it’s winter, spring, summer or fall, I’m always up for some banana bread. Come to think of it, I’m up for banana bread at pretty much any time of day. It’s one of those things that’s sweet enough to have for dessert, but not too sweet to where you can still have it in the morning with coffee for breakfast without feeling guilty.

I had a very strong craving for banana bread, but I wanted to do it up a little more than I usually do with the typical loaf pan. Y’all know me, I’ll throw a streusel on anything and call it holy, so that’s pretty much what I went for here.

Doesn’t it look glorious?

Also, you should know that this recipe makes a lot of banana bread–no, like, a LOT. That’s never a problem for me, but be advised that this is a feeding a family-brunch size batch of banana bread, which is why it calls for so much mashed banana, and why it gets baked into a full size bundt pan.

Like I said, I can eat banana bread whenever, so I ate this both in the morning warmed up and smeared with butter, and I also ate it at night for dessert topped with whipped cream. It’s delicious both ways.

Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay safe. Be kind.

****************************************

Banana Streusel Bundt Bread

Recipe Adapted from Bake From Scratch

Ingredients

3½ cups plus 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups  plus 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, cubed
2 cups mashed ripe banana
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, preferably room temp
⅔ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 15-16 cup bundt pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together 4 tablespoons (32 grams) flour, 2 tablespoons (28 grams) brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and ¾ teaspoon cinnamon. Add butter; using your fingers or 2 forks, work butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs or slightly wet sand. Set streusel aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat banana, oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, remaining 1½ cups  brown sugar, and remaining 1⅓ cups  granulated sugar at medium-low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, nutmeg, remaining 3½ cups flour, and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to banana mixture, beating until combined and stopping to scrape sides of bowl.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter a few times to evenly spread batter and release any air bubbles.

Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with streusel, and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking and loosely covering with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Using a small offset spatula, loosen cake from pan. Slowly invert bread onto a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. (Some streusel will fall off.) Using a large, flat plate or a cake lifter, turn bread streusel side up, and place on wire rack; let cool completely.

Linking to Fiesta Friday #368

Cornmeal Sage Biscuits

Posted
Filed under Breads

Yes. It’s true. One month into 2021, and I’m sharing yet ANOTHER biscuit recipe.

We’ve established a long time ago that they’re somewhat of an obsession of mine, but this time there’s a whole separate ‘excuse’ for why they’re making another appearance.

These biscuits make up one half of another ‘meal’ recipe that I’ll be posting next week. But I thought that rather than dump them both at the same time, I’d break them apart and just like a sit down meal in a restaurant, make the carbs the appetizer before serving the ‘meat’ next week.

If you’ve ever taken a look at the Recipe Index on the blog, you’d probably be able to tell that I have a mild fixation with yellow cornmeal. I like it both for its flavor and the texture it gives to baked goods. I think it was around two years ago when I first experimented with it in biscuit dough.

Cornmeal gives the biscuit a coarser texture, but I’ve learned since then how to counterbalance the potential heaviness in the dough with the addition of sour cream, which does positively SINFUL things to the texture of just about any baked good you add it to.

I knew going into making these that I wanted to boost the typically neutral flavor of biscuits, and give them a savory flavor. For that reason I seasoned the dough with sage and what’s become my favorite spice mix, the Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Saute. I use it in just about everything I cook. But if you don’t have it on hand, that’s fine. Just use another seasoning blend you’re partial to like any of the many ones from McCormick, Mrs. Dash, or Weber’s.

I was extremely pleased with how these turned out. They rose beautifully even with the cornmeal, and the flavor is FANTASTIC. They paired beautifully with the ‘second component’ of the dish I made for our dinner that I’ll be sharing next week. So stay tuned 😉

Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay safe. Be kind.

********************************************

Cornmeal Sage Biscuits

Recipe Loosely Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

  • 5 cups cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground sage
  • 1 tablespoon of your favorite savory spice mix (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, (1 1/2 sticks) frozen
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2-2 cups buttermilk, plus more if necessary

Directions

For Biscuits

In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, sugar, sage and the seasoning mix. Stir together with a fork.

 Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the sour cream. Use a fork to ‘cut’ it into the dry ingredients until it forms thick clumps. Make another hole in the middle of the dry ingredients, and pour the buttermilk. Use a large fork and a large rubber spatula to stir the mixture together. If it seems a little dry you may add the additional buttermilk, just until it forms a shaggy dough.

Sprinkle a pastry mat, wooden cutting board or a clean smooth countertop with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat a few times with your hands until it loosely holds together. (Don’t knead it too much or the warmth in your palms will melt the butter and cause the biscuits to be tough.)

Use a bench scraper or a large sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Roughly shape each half into a square. Stack one of the halves on top of the other and use a rolling pin to roll it together into one mass. Repeat this process 4-5 more times before patting it into one final rectangle. (This is a process of layering so that the biscuits will bake flaky).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and unwrap the biscuit dough out onto it. Use a bench scraper or very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rectangle. Use a biscuit cutter, or a knife to cut the dough into rounds about 2″ each. You can recut the leftover dough into new biscuits, just try not to handle it too much.

Remove the cut biscuits to the baking sheet you’ve lined with parchment paper, placing them rather close to each other (it will help them rise higher). Place the tray into the freezer about 15 minutes.

Spray the tops with cooking spray. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, covering them with foil if they brown too quickly.

Sharing at this week’s Fiesta Friday #365, co-hosted this week by Eff @ Food Daydreaming.

 

Sweet Potato Biscuits & Cranberry Butter

Posted
Filed under Breads, Breakfast

Happy New Year everyone.

If you’re reading this, it means that you’ve made it 2021. Give yourself a pat on the back. Let out the breath that it feels like we’ve all been holding for I don’t know how long.

What a year. What a time to be alive.

2020 was a rough year for most of us. We may have survived it, but I’m sure we all know of others who did not, and those who are still struggling going into 2021. I’m not one for making New Years resolutions, but I am on board for maintaining a positive perspective even in the midst of negativity, and trying to spread positivity where I can.

If your 2020 was particularly difficult, I’m very sorry. You have all of my best wishes and hopes for a better and brighter 2021 where things begin to turn around. Please know that trouble doesn’t last always. This too shall pass. You’ll make it.

After spending a lot of time and effort getting pretty good at baking them, biscuits have become my happy place. I thought a happy place recipe was, a great recipe to kick off the new year with on the blog, so here we are.

I mean: don’t these make you feel at least a little happy just looking at them?

Sweet potato biscuits have been on my radar for a while to try out. I always had hesitation about it because most of the recipes I’ve seen others put out, the biscuits seemed to come out flat and hockey-puck like to me. The potato just seemed to be weighing everything down and one of my biggest biscuits pet peeves are biscuits that don’t rise.

But that was all before I developed my personal technique of biscuit-making that to date has never failed to give me the results that I want. As it turns out, it still doesn’t even when adding mashed sweet potato to the mix.

Sweet potatoes are a heavy ingredient, but what I found they do most for biscuit dough is take the place of the majority of the liquid. You won’t need to add as much buttermilk because the sweet potatoes themselves are moist and give the dough the moisture it needs to hold together, as well as the finished biscuits the moisture they need to not be too tough and dry.

These taste perfectly fine on their own, but I decided to give them an accompaniment using some spare cranberries I still had leftover from the 12 Days of Christmas sitting in my fridge. It comes together in minutes, and the sweet tartness pairs pretty well with the savory flavor of the biscuits.

Here’s to sweet potato biscuits, cranberry butter, and 2021. May one be just as wonderful as the other, and vice versa.

Wear a mask. Social distance. Be kind.

Sweet Potato Biscuits & Cranberry Butter

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com and Let’s Dish 

Ingredients

For Biscuits

  • 2 large, orange fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for potato water
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter)
  • 1/2 cup-3/4 cup buttermilk*
  • 6 1/2 cups self rising flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen

For Cranberry Butter

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh cranberries
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of one medium orange

 

Directions

For Biscuits:

Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Cut each in half again lengthwise, then in half cross-wise. Cut each piece in half to make evenly sized chunks. Transfer into pot; cover with water and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer on high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are tender, about 17 minutes. Drain thoroughly; return to pot and mash potatoes. You will need 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes. Cool thoroughly.

Transfer cooled mashed potatoes to a medium size mixing bowl and add brown sugar, stirring to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Stir together with a fork.

Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter directly into the dry ingredients. Stir together with a fork to coat with flour after each addition of about 1/3 to 1/2 stick. This will prevent butter from clumping. Mixture should look like floury pieces of butter.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add sweet potato mixture. Toss with a fork until evenly distributed, but don’t overmix.

Drizzle in the buttermilk. The amount you add here is going to vary according to the time of year and your location. You may need to use all of it, you may not. Start with 1/2 cup and stir the dough together with the fork, just until it begins to come together in large clumps. Add more flour if you need to, just enough to make it hold together.

Sprinkle a pastry mat, wooden cutting board or a clean smooth countertop with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat a few times with your hands until it loosely holds together. (Don’t knead it too much or the warmth in your palms will melt the butter and cause the biscuits to be tough.)

Use a bench scraper or a large sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Roughly shape each half into a square. Stack one of the halves on top of the other and use a rolling pin to roll it together into one mass. Repeat this process two to three more times before patting it into one final rectangle. (This is a process of layering so that the biscuits will bake flaky).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and unwrap the biscuit dough out onto it. Use a bench scraper or very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rectangle. Use a square cookie cutter, or a knife to cut the remaining dough into squares, about 2″ each.

Remove the cut biscuits to the baking sheet you’ve lined with parchment paper, placing them rather close to each other (it will help them rise higher). Freeze until cold, about 15 minutes.

Bake until golden brown, 18 to 23 minutes. You may need to cover them with foil to keep from browning too fast. When you pull one away from the others, it should look baked all the way through; the edge shouldn’t look wet or unbaked.

For Butter: 

Use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract and orange zest together until fluffy. Add the cranberries.

Store in the refrigerator, but it’s best to bring it to room temperature to serve.

Linking this post to Fiesta Friday #361.

Orange Cranberry Buns

Posted
Filed under Breads

Well, it’s about that time of year again, y’all.

For those of us on the States side, with Thanksgiving officially over, the holiday season officially gets kicked into high gear. And here on the blog, that holiday season gets kicked off in a very special way:

The 12 Days of Christmas.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that every year I set aside twelve days during the month of December (and sometimes one or two days in late November) for a series of holiday themed recipes. I grew up in a household where Christmas baking was a yearly and very dearly loved tradition. It put a sprinkle of extra Christmas spirit on my childhood that I’ve never lost a nostalgia for, and now that I’m an adult I find that I still feel that nostalgia when I bake myself for Christmas.

Late 2019 I took an unexpected blogging hiatus, and it was the first and only time in the nearly seven years I’ve been food blogging where I didn’t do a 12 Days of Christmas. It was a huge mistake. Christmas wasn’t the same for me at all without my holiday baking and I made a promise to myself at New Years that come what may, I was going to resume blogging AND resume the 12 Days of Christmas come holiday season 2020.

I’m a girl who keeps her promises. So here we are.

I’m kicking off this year’s series with bread. I bought a wreath-shaped baking pan that I wanted to try out and the holiday season seemed a pretty perfect occasion to break her in. Bear in mind though, you defintely don’t need a wreath shaped pan to bake these. You can always bake them on a pizza stone, or a large baking sheet and arrange them in a wreath shape. You could also just bake them in rows in a regular baking pan. I promise, it won’t affect the taste.

Orange and cranberry taste like Christmas to me. This dough is flavored with both, along with a warm holiday spice mix. After baking, I brushed them with an orange honey glaze, then after the glaze had set, drizzled on an orange icing.

Don’t they look festive? A pretty good way to start 12 days of Christmas goodies, if I may say so myself.

***************************************

Orange Cranberry Buns

Recipe Adapted from Bake from Scratch

Ingredients

For Buns

  • 2¼ cups dried cranberries
  • 1¼ cups warm no-pulp orange juice (180°F/82°C to 185°F/85°C)
  • 1½ cups warm whole milk (105°F/40°C to 110°F/43°C)
  • 6¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 10 cups all-purpose flour, divided*
  • 1½ teaspoons  kosher salt
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon  ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon  ground allspice
  • ½ cup  unsalted butter, melted
  • 6 tablespoons, freshly squeezed orange juice, strained
  • 4 large eggs, divided
  • 1¾ teaspoons  orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon whole milk
  • ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons water

For Honey-Orange Glaze

  • ½ cup clover honey
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, strained

Icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • A tablespoon or two of orange juice

Directions

In a large bowl, combine dried cranberries and warm orange juice. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for at least 20 minutes, and up to overnight. Strain, discarding excess liquid.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine warm milk and yeast. Sprinkle ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar over yeast and milk. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together 5 cups of the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and remaining ½ cup of white sugar.

With mixer on low speed, add half of flour mixture to yeast mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in melted butter, freshly squeezed orange juice, and 3 eggs. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and gradually add remaining flour mixture, stirring with a spatula or a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. (Because this is such a large amount of dough, you will need to incorporate ingredients in a larger bowl.) Stir in drained dried cranberries and zest.

*Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes, adding more flour as needed. You may not need to use all of the flour; this varies depending upon the time of year and where you live. (But the dough should not be sticky by the time it’s ready.)

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, make the honey glaze: In a small saucepan, bring honey and orange juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Either spray two wreath pans or line a 15-inch round pizza pan or stone with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.

Lightly punch down dough, and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, turn out dough. Divide dough into 18 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Arrange balls on prepared pan in a wreath shape, leaving little space in between them. (You don’t have to make a wreath shape at all; these will bake just fine in straight rows as well) Cover with plastic wrap, then a damp kitchen towel and let stand in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) until puffed and rolls are touching, about 25 minutes. (Rolls will rise to edge of pan/pizza stone, but will not spill over during baking.)

In a small bowl, whisk together milk and remaining 1 egg. Brush tops of rolls with egg mixture.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. (Bread is done at an inner temp of 190 degrees Fahrenheit) Brush warm rolls with Honey-Orange Glaze. If desired, stir icing ingredients together in a small bowl and then drizzle icing over the buns once glaze had set.

Linking this post up to Fiesta Friday #356

Giant Blueberry Bun

Posted
Filed under Breads

Hi y’all. What a week.

On the plus side, America made the right decision in our presidential election. No matter what that toddler says or whines on about, it was a clear, fair and decisive election, and he lost. We’re going to have our first woman, and woman of color Vice President. Those are all reasons to celebrate.

On the other hand… there’s everything else that’s happened in the election’s wake. I’ve fluctuated a lot between immense relief and immense apprehension over the past week. Cooking and baking has helped.

Now seems like a good time to announce that I do intend to resume my annual 12 Days of Christmas baking series for 2020. In my hiatus last year, I skipped it. That was a huge mistake. The holidays just didn’t feel the same to me and I realized that baking is an integral part of my holiday experience. It truly lifts my spirits, and in a year like 2020 I think that we all should be doing everything we can to lift those as high as we can. I’ve already gotten a headstart and I’m really excited about this year’s recipes. So stay tuned for that to kick off towards the latter end of the month.

Today’s recipe I’ve actually had in my drafts folder for a long time. It was one I made before my hiatus and never got around to posting, which is a shame because it’s really VERY good. As you can see, fresh blueberries are baked right into the dough, then they burst creating those lovely pockets of fruity goodness. I usually will ice a bread like this, but it was honestly good enough for us without it. The brown sugar inside gets exposed from the swirls and creates a delicious, textural sugary topping that’s plenty sweet enough on it’s own.

I also think that it would also be great to cube up the leftovers, leave them to dry out overnight, then make this into an AMAZING bread pudding. Just a suggestion.

One last thing. Y’all, know that this has been the year from Hell for so many reasons and that it’s still not over yet. I know that the holidays are coming up and that large family gatherings are the norm. But please. Please.

Don’t do it. Only leave the house if you absolutely need to, and social distance. Wear a mask. Things are as bad with this pandemic as they’ve ever been in the US and if we don’t all act responsibly and like sensible human beings with compassion for someone other than ourselves, they’re only going to get much much worse. This is not false hysteria or fear-mongering; this is science. I’ll say it again and I’m going to keep saying it:

Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay safe.

*************************************************

Giant Blueberry Bun

Recipe Adapted from Bake from Scratch

Ingredients

  • 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon white sugar, divided
  • 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg

For Filling

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark, doesn’t matter which)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries

 

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the butter with the milk over low heat until it reaches 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the heat.

Sprinkle yeast on top of the warm butter-milk mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sugar on top of that. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until yeast is proofed and frothy.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large regular bowl) combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Beat the egg in a small bowl.

Add the butter-milk mixture and the beaten egg to the dry ingredients and use the paddle attachment (or a large fork) to stir just until combined. Switch to the dough hook (or continue using the fork). Continue to add flour to the dough in 1 cup increments.

Continue to add the flour in about 1 cup increments, just until the dough begins to come together around the hook. (You may not need to use all the flour, this is dependent upon the time of year and your location).

Once it has, turn off the mixer and scrape the dough out onto a clean work surface that you’ve sprinkled with flour (like a pastry mat or a smooth countertop). Use your hands to firmly knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10-12 minutes. You can use additional flour (about 1/4 cup at a time) if it’s still too sticky; I also prefer to rub my hands with canola, olive or vegetable oil before kneading and that helps a lot without having to add more flour..

Place the dough in another greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover with a layer of plastic wrap, then a damp kitchen towel. Place in a warm place for about an hour.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan or baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Make sure the remaining 1/2 cup of butter is softened.

Sprinkle flour on your clean work surface and turn out the dough. Lightly punch down and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Roll out the dough to a rectangle, around roughly 10 inches wide and 12 or more inches long.

Use a small spatula to spread the softened butter across the rolled out dough, leaving a one inch border all around the edge. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top of the butter; it will form a thick layer. Sprinkle the blueberries on top of that.

Starting from the shortest end closes to you, carefully roll the dough into a log. If any filling falls out, just tuck it back in. If the dough sticks to the counter, use a bench scraper to gently pry it up. When done rolling, pinch the dough to seal it closed. Dip a very sharp knife in water and gently, but swiftly, slice the log down its entire length, creating two halves with lots of layers (kitchen shears will work for this too.)

Turn the halves so that the layers are facing up. Press the two halves together at the top, then twist the halves around each other, creating a spiral. Press the halves together again at the bottom. Wrap the braid into a round, courounne shaped loaf.

 Carefully lift the loaf into the center of the greased cake pan.

Cover it with plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel and allow it to rest until puffy and risen, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake on center rack of oven for 15 minutes. Loosely cover with foil, and bake until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 190°F (88°C), about 1 hour more. (Check it early though, mine baked fast)

Allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes on a wire rack before slicing.

Linking up to this week’s Fiesta Friday #354, co-hosted this week by Liz@Spades, Spatulas & Spoons

Cranberry Orange Almond Bread

Posted
Filed under Breads

Hey y’all.

I know. It’s been like a month since my last post. I didn’t mean to let this much time go by, but there’s been a lot going on.

Long story short, we made another move. Not as far as the one before, this time only from Norcal to SoCal.

But moving anywhere is tedious, time consuming and stressful. Then after the move comes the ‘settling in’ period to the new place and location.  I meant to set aside some time for blogging during that time, but it didn’t work out that way.

If I’m being perfectly honest, with the way my life and schedule is going to adjust while we we’re here, my blogging and posting might become less frequent. I hope that it doesn’t, but should it come to that I’m still going to aim for doing at least one post a month. Knock on wood.

But anyway, let’s just get to today’s recipe, which is kinda apropos for the subject matter of not having a whole lot of time to get something done, but still wanting/needing for it to be. Quick bread was one of the first things I learned how to bake. It’s a great place to start for someone interested in baking bread who’s still scared of yeast. The reason is written right in the name itself; baking powder and egg takes the place of the leavening agent and cut down on the overall labor and bake time.

Most people’s exposure to quick bread comes through either banana bread or zucchini bread, as those tend to be the most popular. There are endless possibilities to the flavors and ingredients you can use though, some of which I’ve already shared on the blog. Today’s recipe takes one of my favorite flavor combos to bake with in general, and puts it into quick bread.

I was making brinner for us one day and didn’t feel like the added labor of pancakes, waffles or biscuits. I also didn’t have a whole lot of time. My solution was to make a quick bread using some spare ingredients I already had lying around the kitchen.  The cranberry and orange of course go together great, but the almond extract is actually my favorite ingredient in this loaf: it gives that subtle but present ‘bakery flavor’ that just can’t be duplicated any other way. The loaf also isn’t too sweet. I took a piece or two, toasted and smeared them with butter. It’s delicious.

It’s quick, it’s easy, it tastes great. What more do you really need to know?

**************************************

Cranberry Orange Almond Bread

Recipe Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup white sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the dried cranberries and orange zest.

In a small bowl combine the egg with the milk, oil and extracts.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, stirring just until combined.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with white sugar.

Place on a sheet pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.

Linking up to Fiesta Friday #292, co-hosted this week by Ai @ Ai Made It For You.