Quick Breads

My 23 year old son is home from his job as a cruise ship musician. He plays saxophone on a huge ship traveling all over the world. When he returns for a little time off, I try to treat him to his favorite foods and breads. Today being St Patrick's Day in the US, I'm certain he is singing Irish tunes at one of Milwaukee's many Irish Pubs. I thought some of you might appreciate the humor in the picture he just sent me. Apparently some one gave him a slice of home made beer bread so he asked for the recipe. Here it is written out on a piece of paper and photographed with his cell camera, directly into the heart of dear ole dad's kitchen. What better use for technology!

It looks like a quick bread. Maybe I'll use a bottle of dark beer and swap a cup of WW to give it some tooth. He'll need that tomorrow, no doubt.

Eric

In the middle of the week,  I decided to make some bread after returning from 2 full days of meeting,  I need to de-stress.  Picked up Bernard Clayton's book and saw this attractive name - Feather Bread.  I wondered if this is the same kind of bread that I had at the restaurant of the hotel that I stayed.  So,  I started late in the night.  Click here for the recipe

Well,  it didn't turn out like the bread from the restaurant,  although I shaped it like it,  it turned out tasting really good when it is fresh.

Somehow,  I realised that white breads seems to harden fast?  Rye bread taste even better as the days goes by.  I tried heating up the bread,  but it was not the same as freshly baked.

My son and I discussed that perhaps I should wait till we want to eat these breads,  have it ready in the fridge and bake it near meal times.  suggestions anyone?

My attempt of french dimpled rolls last night , I would say turn out ok.  But I felt that I had to proof longer,  this is one thing I can't seem to get it right. The dough is a little dense, or is the roll suppose to be like that??

I went into a bakery to buy their rolls just to compare,  there's lots more holes,  the rolls felt much lighter.  As for the taste,  it was a little more salty than what I normally like,  I'd probably reduce it.  

For more details,  see attached.  

http://sites.google.com/site/jlohcook/home/breadmaking/french-dimpled-rolls

This morning after my spinning class I stopped by the local farmers market. While I was there I picked up some beautiful dark green zucchinis and immediately thought of the wonderful spicy taste of fresh zucchini bread. This recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember - a family friend shared it with my mother ages ago. Hope you enjoy!

Zucchini Quick Bread
This Recipe will make two good sized loaves. I have often doubled the recipe to make four and find that the bread freezes well.

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingrediants:
3 Eggs
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
2 Cups (loosely packed, coarsely grated) Zucchini *
2 Cups Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon All-spice
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

Optional - 1 Cup Chopped Nuts
* Do not peel! The color of the bread will vary depending on the color of the zucchini. The darker the zucchini, the darker the color of the bread. Personally, I prefer a darker loaf.

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy.
2. Add the sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla. Beat the mixture until think and lemon colored.
3. Stir in the fresh zucchini.

4. Sift together and add the flour, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Generally, I tend to ignore the spice measurements and just dump them straight in. I love a strong spice flavor. When I make this bread, the dry ingredient mixture tends to be a light brown and very fragrant.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients in two portions. Fold in the chopped nuts if desired.
6. Pour mixture into 2 oiled and floured loaf pans and bake for about one hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
7. Invert the pans onto a cooling rack and allow the loaves to gradually fall as they cool completely.

Banana Bread

In addition to all the yeast breads, including sourdoughs, Peter Reinhart has also provided us with recipes for other types of baked goods. In Crust&Crumb, he has a Banana Bread recipe I tried for the first time yesterday.

Reinhart gives two methods of mixing: one if you use butter as the fat("Creaming method"), the other if you use oil ("Batter method"). I had an attack of self-restraint and used oil. I also cut down the sugar by about 1/3, because most recipes call for more sugar than I like, and cut down the walnuts by 1/3, because I didn't have as much walnuts as I thought I did. Reinhart does not call for toasting the nuts, but I did - 5 minutes at 350F.

Next time, I am going to try using less oil (Canola).

The past and future tweaks aside, this made a very nice quick bread. It is very moist and tastes delicious.

David

I decided to make dinner early for a change and needed to make some bread as well.

I began the bread so that it could rise while I was doing dinner. It began as my usual loaf, but I thought we needed more grains in our diet (seeing as I had been having porridge each morning for breakfast while I was getting used to the cold UK weather and then while the oven was broken and once it was fixed I have been eating bread for breakfast, lunch and snacks......tut tut tut)

So I threw some oats in a bowl and added hot water. Then after they'd soaked for an hour or so, I added more hotwater and some salt. I woke up some yeast in a bit more warm water with a little bit of goldren syrup and added that to the oat/water mix.

Then slowly added flour. Once I reached a consistency I couldnt stir but it wasnt thick enough to pull out and knead, I left it for about an hour and a half. I came back, and kneaded in almost 2 cups of flour.

Here I decided as I was stirring my barley that I was cooking (for vege barley soup) that it just might go nicely in the dough that I had finished kneading. So I kneaded in about 1/2 cup of cooked, still warm soft fluffy barley. Left it to rise till it doubled, punched it down, left it to rise again then gave it a fold for extra strength and left it to rest for 20mins.

It has made two decent sized batards and is now just proofing on a well floured bench covered with wet muslin.

I will take phots now, and once they are proofed, then again when they are cooked and their crumb. I am curious and anxious as to their taste and appearance......If it works, I have an idea for a nice healthy breakfast bread make with precooked Barley, Quinoa, Brown Rice (Basmati) and Rolled Oasts (if I find them I will use soaked/cooked steel cut oats as they offer more fibre and are worth more nutritionally than the rolled kind) With Wholemeal/wholewheat flour and covered in seeds. I want to try to get the most out my toast....and sandwhich (as well as for my family)

I will how ever try to make sence of the higgledy piggledy recipe above and write it out (and add things) in better order and adjust fermentation times. Might even make it with a preferment of the wholewheat to give it a more developed flavour.

I am pretty health aware and know that my daily porridge oats did much more for me than the yummy toast and toffee tasting set honey I have been eating. lol.

Bo be continued!........................................................................

Today I had a little triumph.

My oven has been broken for 5 days and finally the oven repair man came to replace the element....yesterday....

So, after testing the oven with lentil Pie and Steak and red wine pie (for the hubby) last night. I was ready to make some bread today.

I had made a poolish, but after a bit of a busy/mixed up day, it had been left out for too long and I decided not to use it. I had made it way too wet as it was anyhoo.

So, I threw together a half Wholewheat and half white loaf. Indending it to be a sandwhich loaf as I have missed toast ovwer the past week! *pouts* I decided that I might try adding a teaspoon (heaped) of treacle into the mix thinking it would be nice with the whole wheat. So, I did.

The whole recipe went

2 Cups strong whole wheat flour (about 12 %)

2 Cups strong white flour (about 11.6%) both organic.

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons active dry yeast.

1.5 teaspoons salt

about 2 cups luke warm water. (I began with 1.5 cups but then had to add 1/4 cup extra, then a 1/4 cup extra on top....it was then a liiiitle sticky which was alleviated when I kneaded it with more flour)

I mixed the whole wheat and the white flours together in a bowl. added the salt and mixed again.

I then dissolved the treacle and yeast in the water (1.5 cups)...left it for about a minute then poured the oil into the water mixture.

Poured the whole lot into the flour and mixed adding extra water as I went until it came together.

I then kneaded the dough (with extra flour as I'd added a little too much water) for about 10 minutes...perhaps a little more....

and left it to rise for an hour in a warm place.

Then gave it another knead (its a sandwhich loaf) and placed it back in an oiled bowl covered to rise for another hour.

I shaped it and rolled it in seeds then left it to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place (covered)

Placed it in a preheated oven for 50mins at 190 degrees celcius.

What I do for my sandwhich loaves is I own two loaf pans (well 4 but they are 2 pairs in different sizes)

I use the spare loaf pan as a lid while rising and for the first 10-15 mins in the oven.

It works a little like the la cloche and keeps the surface moist so that it has as much chance of springing as I can give it.

Usually it works alright, but tonight.....

It worked a treat.

This is by far the best sandwhich loaf I have made :)

The only thing I'd change is making it 100% whole wheat if I were to keep the treacle in it, or omit the treacle and use honey or nothing.

I didnt score it so it tore, but, I kind of like the tear....it says to me I made a good bread that wanted to rise. It looks rustic aswell :)

And below is the crumb shot. Very nice for a sandwhich loaf :) Lets hope I keep repeating these happy results!