G, I'm A 'Dough' Nut
Every Day Artisan Bread![]() Five different varieties from same recipe
Talk about 'dough' nuts. While others might delighted in the cakes, pies, tortes, gourmet chocolates or croissant lessons, I chose Baking and Pastry Arts was my major at JWU because I wanted to learn to bake bread from scratch. As a 30 year old returning college student, I was blessed to have a 20 something surfer dude as my Breads chef.
Chef A lived and breathed bread-making. From baguettes, bagels, soft rolls, pretzels, sourdough, Stollen, Challah Challah (think Ja-Rule y'all) to Portuguese Sweet Bread and every imaginable lean and rich dough in between, those 21 days spent in his class were the best. The baking madness continued at my house each weekend, where I nursed a homemade apple sourdough starter for 3 years. After graduating, and a full-time work schedule meant that starter sat neglected in the back of our frig. The master bread recipe published in the January 2009 Mother Earth News e-newsletter renewed my love for the dough. The brain child of a scientist and a pastry chef, this recipes rocks for so many reasons:
White Bread Double Recipe (Makes 16, 1 pound loaves) 13 c. all purpose white flour 3 Tbsp salt (optional) 3 Tbsp or about 3 packets granulated yeast 6 cups water Nutrition Addition I also added a cup of ground flax seed to the mix. 100% Whole Wheat Recipe (Makes 8, 1 pound loaves) 1 1/2 Tbsp yeast 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp salt (optional) 1/2 c honey 5 Tbsp vegetable, canola or olive oil, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 c lukewarm water 6 2/3 c whole wheat flour I'm not known for following recipes to the letter, but here's a few variations of the master recipes that are easy to make and taste great! Using some of that baking science know how, we easily substituted nonfat dry milk and molasses for the liquid milk and honey. Changing the texture To achieve chewy ciabatta bread texture, I added a little more water than recommended to make the dough sticky. Cinnamon-Raisin Bread: On floured surface, flatten dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and press raisins into dough, leave 1"-2" border uncovered for ease in sealing loaves. Roll and pinch seam and ends closed. Bake with seam on bottom. Cheese stick/Pizza Dough: Add about 1 cup grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup each garlic powder and Italian seasonings to the dough. Renegade Sticky buns: Coat round cake pan with cooking spray. Heat 3/4 cup pancake syrup and 3 tbsp of butter in the pan til boiling. Arrange cut bread in pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns, Raisin Bread and Sticky Buns:
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Semi-Homemade Bread with Pillsbury Dough
![]() Pillsbury dough makes onion garlic bread easy
Sometimes even experienced bakers don't have the time to mess around with making bread from scratch. In an attempt to make restaurant night at home a little more interesting, I kneaded dried onion and garlic powder into a loaf of Pillsbury French bread. The end product, a chickpea and beef panini burger was so flavorful (and secretly healthy) that no one realized it wasn't baked from scratch. A mini Priazzo Verona I made for my daughter to share with a few friends also starred Pillsbury (pizza) dough. This time I just pressed in corn meal, Italian seasonings and garlic powder on the top and bottom of each crust. There was a good amount of leftover dough, so I kneaded in shredded mozzarella cheese and rolled them in corn meal for cheese sticks that we paired with flavored tomato sauce. Another hit. With the holidays fast approaching, here are a few Pillsbury dough mix in ideas that you can use to impress friends and family. Another bonus is that you can shape them as traditional or braided loaves or mini rolls.
Knead more ideas? Look no further than the good quality bread you buy from your local bakery. Those flavors offer limitless Pillsbury dough mix in ideas you and your family with treasure. Easy Carolina Rice Bread
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Now for Something Sweet...
Easy Wedding Cake Icing Recipe
In my early days in Charleston, I had a job in a grocery store bakery. I'll never forget a panicked wedding cake baker running into the store one steamy Saturday afternoon. She'd driven from Mt. Pleasant headed to a wedding on the peninsula. In the 10 minutes it took her to get across the Cooper River Bridge, the delicate buttercream icing she'd made completely out of butter disintegrated in the back seat of her car. Unfortunately, company policy wasn't very sympathetic to her dilemma. On that day I decided I never wanted to bake wedding cakes - period.
An aversion to wedding drama and nutrition bias are my personal turnoffs when it comes to making wedding cakes. But with plenty of Wilton Cake Decorating classes and Baking and Pastry Arts schooling, I've learned several key strategies to ensure a stable wedding cake (and a stable baker) in Santarem Brazil, the US or anywhere else in the world where summer heat slaps you - and your icing across the face. FIRST RULE, unless you're making the wedding cake onsite in an air conditioned facility (or Superman II's Fortress of Solitude with a backup backup cooling system in the form of Superman himself), let your client know up front that icings made of pure butter are unrealistic in the summer. Remember my food science information on fats? Butter melts between 90 and 95 degrees. For an icing to withstand the temperature test, vegetable shortening is your best option. Also choose 10x confectioner's sugar for a smooth texture. This first Wedding Cake Icing recipe is very popular and contributed by CHAYES100 on Allrecipes.com. 1 cup shortening 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp clear imitation vanilla extract 1/4 tsp almond extract 1/2 cup water 8 cups sifted confectioners' sugar Makes 4 cups of icing.
Wilton Wedding Cake Icing Recipes
Wilton.com offers two high humidity icing recipes that use 50-50 ratio of shortening and butter recipe that's not as sweet as the Allrecipe.com version, but will produce similar results. Each recipe will produce about 3 cups of icing.
Wilton's High humidity Recipe #1
Keep icing covered with damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Re-whip before using. High Humidity Recipe #2
instructions In large bowl, beat shortening and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla; mix well. Combine sugar and flour. Gradually add sugar mixture, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar mixture has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. In small bowl, combine milk and whipped topping mix powder; stir well. Add to icing mixture; beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Re-whip before using. |
More Tips to Keep Your Cool During
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