Easter Stollen - 04 22 11

Another one off the Bucket List! 

I decided to make a Stollen using rum soaked fruit, almonds, and orange and lemon extract.  I took it to my Grandpa's house for Easter and he especially enjoyed it!  (He even said it was better than the Martin's kind).  I definitely need to work on my shaping (it was supposed to look like a blanket in a manger but after the 2nd rise looked more like a crescent moon).  I think next time I will divide the dough in half and experiment with other shapes.  Check out my pictures below and if you tasted it, let me know your thoughts!

Source: The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart 

Enjoy!
Jessica 

Sandwich Bread

Hello folks!  This Saturday I made some light wheat sandwich bread - perfect for the turkey and cheese I have in my fridge (and for the mango butter I bought on impulse at Trader Joe's).

This is the first time my sandwich loaf has turned out!  I've tried 3 different whole wheat recipes before abandoning ship and starting with a light wheat.  (The other attempts resulted in dense, super "healthy" tasting bread).

I think the keys to a perfect loaf are as follows:
- Make sure you're using the right kind of yeast.  I used active dry for this recipe.
- Make sure you're not over kneading the bread (difficult to do by hand, but isn't unrealistic if using the dough hook on the Kitchen Aid).
- Make sure you're letting the dough rise in a warm place (I think this was my downfall the first time).  I actually put the dough in my closet upstairs (because it is the warmest place and free from drafts - and it worked out perfectly!).
- Make sure your dough is touching all sides of the pan before the 2nd rise. 
- Make sure you're using the correct equipment.  I have 2 - 1lb. loaf pans from Chicago Metallic sized 8.5 x 4.5.  9x5 loaf pans (found in Target) were not working for me.  My mom bought me one pan from Sur La Table and I purchased a matching one from amazon.com
- Make sure after your second rise that the dough is cresting above the lip of the loaf pan.
- Make sure you've baked the bread until the internal temperature reaches 190*F.  When checking the temperature, make sure you're checking the temperature from the bottom of the loaf (i.e. take the loaf out of the pan and turn it upside down).

The recipe I used is from Annie's Eats - adapted from Smitten Kitchen - adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. 

Enjoy!

Jessica

Super Bowl Sunday - Chili and Cheddar Biscuits

Today is Super Bowl Sunday ... Packers vs. Steelers.  I'm not really attached to any one team - more so to the idea of the snacks!  I have been at a conference this weekend so I was limited as to my time.  I decided to make chili (which I can eat through the week and freeze) and cheddar biscuits.  A special note to my friend Annie - who gave me the recipe for the biscuits (THANKS!).  While I didn't actually use my KitchenAid, I'm still featuring it on this blog because I did use a new tool / technique - a Pastry Blender .

Pastry Blenders (sometimes called a dough blender or pastry cutter) are used when mixing a hard fat into flour.  The tool is made up of hard metal strips or wires attached to a soft handle.  You use it by pressing down or "cutting in" on the items to be mixed.  It helps break fats (butter, shortening, lard) into smaller pieces for easy mixing of pastries and pie crusts.  The mixture should resemble small crumbles.  Not to fear- if you don't own this clever tool, the same consistency can be accomplished with 2 knives, 2 forks, or even your fingertips. 

This recipe also calls for self-rising flour - which is basically a baker's shortcut because the flour already contains salt and leavening (baking powder). It is helpful to keep some on hand when making biscuits and short cakes.  Be ware though - it already contains salt, so no extra is needed to the recipe. 

Here are some photos of the biscuit process:

And here is the recipe:

Cheese Biscuits, Courtesy of Annie's Grandma's Cookbook

Mix 1/4 cup of softened butter with 2 cups of self rising flour. Use a
pastry cutter if you have one. Then add 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese and 1 cup of buttermilk. Mix it all together, use your hands.  Then drop by rounded tablespoon on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Jessica's Notes:  I used a small cookie scoop to portion the dough.  I covered a baking sheet with parchment, lightly sprayed it with baking spray, and baked them for 11 minutes.  I got 22 biscuits using this method. 

They taste delicious!  Very fluffy.  Please share your thoughts if you make the recipe.