I've gotten no sewing done at all but it's been a great weekend for cooking. In addition to the gumbo I made yesterday, I made my first experimental loaf of cherry-chocolate chip bread, and I made three loaves of honey-wheat bread that are actually rising. Yeast bread hates me and never turns out well, but these look like they might work. I confess, though, that I cheated and substituted two cups of bread flour for some of the whole-wheat. Bad, yes, but I'm sick of my all-whole-wheat loaves turning out like crumbly bricks.
I chickened out on the Sally Lunn idea this time around (maybe I'll be able to face it next time since my wheat bread worked), but the results I got with the quick bread are not too shabby. It's not quite what I want but I'm going to post anyway.
I based it on a buttermilk-cheese quick bread recipe I got from the February 2004 volume of Betty Crocker, which has served me very well. Buttermilk is fabulous stuff in baking.
All of these make awesome muffins. Reduce the cooking time (I don't recall by how much. Sorry).
The Original Recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup shredded cheese (I use sharp Cheddar for maximum flavor)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (powdered is fine. I love powdered buttermilk for baking)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
Optional: Minced jalapeños to taste.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss all the dry ingredients, including the cheese, together. Add liquids, stir briefly--you never want to overwork buttermilk. Turn into an oiled and floured loaf pan and bake 35-45 minutes, or until golden on top.
"Meatloaf" Bread
(contains no meat but is brown and lumpy and looks like meatloaf)
Instead of two cups of flour and one of cheese, use 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole-wheat flour, and 1 cup rolled oats. Soak oats in buttermilk (or water, if you're using powdered buttermilk) while you get the other ingredients together, and combine everything once the oats are soft.
You can also add some cinnamon or allspice and a chopped apple.
Cherry-Chocolate Chip Bread, First Attempt, with Caveats
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cherries (I used dried cherries, which were tart. I like tart. If you like sweeter, you might try candied cherries instead)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (this was too many and they overpowered everything else. Don't go over 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar (not quite enough, actually. Will try 3/4 cup next time)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
Glaze:
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
(It occurred to me about 30 seconds after I put this in the oven that I should have added some vanilla or almond extract. Oops. Next time.)
Toss all the dry ingredients together. Toss the cherries and chips with them. This serves two purposes: 1) You won't have to overwork the buttermilk in the process of stirring them into the batter later, and 2) The flour will coat the cherries, which you'll have to do anyway to help keep them from settling out. Add liquid ingredients and combine briefly.
I baked this for 40 minutes and then had to add another 15. Actually, I turned the loaf around and baked it for 10, then around again and baked for 5, because it wasn't browning evenly. If your oven is less cranky than mine this might not be an issue.
I glazed this as soon as it came out of the oven and the glaze melted and turned into a thin, crisp, shine on top of the loaf, which was just what I wanted. A sugar streusel topping, like on coffee cake, would also be good.
I chickened out on the Sally Lunn idea this time around (maybe I'll be able to face it next time since my wheat bread worked), but the results I got with the quick bread are not too shabby. It's not quite what I want but I'm going to post anyway.
I based it on a buttermilk-cheese quick bread recipe I got from the February 2004 volume of Betty Crocker, which has served me very well. Buttermilk is fabulous stuff in baking.
All of these make awesome muffins. Reduce the cooking time (I don't recall by how much. Sorry).
The Original Recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup shredded cheese (I use sharp Cheddar for maximum flavor)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (powdered is fine. I love powdered buttermilk for baking)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
Optional: Minced jalapeños to taste.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss all the dry ingredients, including the cheese, together. Add liquids, stir briefly--you never want to overwork buttermilk. Turn into an oiled and floured loaf pan and bake 35-45 minutes, or until golden on top.
"Meatloaf" Bread
(contains no meat but is brown and lumpy and looks like meatloaf)
Instead of two cups of flour and one of cheese, use 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole-wheat flour, and 1 cup rolled oats. Soak oats in buttermilk (or water, if you're using powdered buttermilk) while you get the other ingredients together, and combine everything once the oats are soft.
You can also add some cinnamon or allspice and a chopped apple.
Cherry-Chocolate Chip Bread, First Attempt, with Caveats
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cherries (I used dried cherries, which were tart. I like tart. If you like sweeter, you might try candied cherries instead)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (this was too many and they overpowered everything else. Don't go over 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar (not quite enough, actually. Will try 3/4 cup next time)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
Glaze:
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
(It occurred to me about 30 seconds after I put this in the oven that I should have added some vanilla or almond extract. Oops. Next time.)
Toss all the dry ingredients together. Toss the cherries and chips with them. This serves two purposes: 1) You won't have to overwork the buttermilk in the process of stirring them into the batter later, and 2) The flour will coat the cherries, which you'll have to do anyway to help keep them from settling out. Add liquid ingredients and combine briefly.
I baked this for 40 minutes and then had to add another 15. Actually, I turned the loaf around and baked it for 10, then around again and baked for 5, because it wasn't browning evenly. If your oven is less cranky than mine this might not be an issue.
I glazed this as soon as it came out of the oven and the glaze melted and turned into a thin, crisp, shine on top of the loaf, which was just what I wanted. A sugar streusel topping, like on coffee cake, would also be good.
The batter weighed a ton and I thought I'd end up with a fat, heavy, loaf. Nope. It rose and browned beautifully. It's not oily. I need to try making a plain version sometime to enjoy by itself.
Comments