Irish Soda Bread

I know, I know: I'm almost a week behind the whole St. Patrick's Day bandwagon.

But it's never too late for a new bread recipe, right? And a bread recipe that requires no rising? I'm all over it.

Enter Irish Soda Bread. I was put to task to bake this sweet, raisin-studded bread for our local food co-op's Spring Open House. I'm not sure what possessed me to volunteer for a baked good that I'd never made before, but I'm so very glad I did.

Here's the run-down on this luck o' the Irish loaf:

• It's super-easy: Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter, mix-in wet ingredients. Voila!
• It's dense n' moist--easy to cut, perfect texture
• It's just sweet enough. It'll curb your crave for sugar, without doing the damage of a Cookie Dough Blizzard (although, I'm not necessarily opposed to Blizzard-related body damage)
• The raisins are a tasty addition. How do I know? Adam refuses to eat baked goods with raisins baked in (weirdo, right?)...but he loved every last crumb of this lucky loaf :)
  
• It tastes DELICIOUS! This is really the only bullet point you need.

So friends, while green beer may be last week's news, and meaty Irish stew is so out-of-style, the goodness of Irish Soda Bread comes all year long.

Irish Soda Bread

(adapted from this original recipe found at Foodnetwork.com)

My favorite way to eat this bread is spread with a thin layer of butter on each slice. The original recipe also calls for Caraway seeds--I opted out because I'm not a huge Caraway fan. But if you're a Caraway-lovin' gal (or guy), go for it!

Ingredients:

• 2 - 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 - 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg white

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.

2) Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is course and crumbly. Stir in raisins. Beat in milk and egg white until thoroughly combined. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

3) It's really that easy!

Week of Sweets: Day 6, Daring Bakers Challenge

What better bread to make during the month of December than a traditional Christmas Stollen?

I'd never made, or eaten, stollen before this month. This is especially shocking since it fits all the criteria for my "Carbs I Love" List (must contain butter, sugar, vanilla, and lots of lovin'. It should come as no surprise that my list has grown exponentially in the month of December alone).

So what brought the ol' Christmas Stollen into my life? The Daring Bakers, of course!

I was thrilled to join Daring Bakers this month--a group of bake-happy folks who participate in monthly baking challenges and post their culinary results at the end of each month.

The 2010 December Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Penny of Sweet Sadie’s Baking. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make Stollen. She adapted a friend’s family recipe and combined it with information from friends, techniques from Peter Reinhart’s book………and Martha Stewart’s demonstration.

While the results of this bread were quite impressive, I must admit that it's a time-consuming treat to prepare. I recommend prepping the dough at least a day in advance of baking. And a word of caution: This dough expands...big time. Frankly, I was surprised I didn't wake up to find it oozing out of my refrigerator, threatening to take over the entire kitchen.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful recipe for the holidays--dressed up with fresh fruit and flowers, it makes a lovely centerpiece for your holiday table.

Happy Holidays, Everyone! I wish you all a safe, warm, and very merry holiday weekend :)

Christmas Stollen
(recipe from Penny at Sweet Sadie's Baking)

Roll up your sleeves, get out the rolling pan, and get your Stollen-baking hat on. It's the Christmas season--what better time to bake a ring of this tasty German bread? This recipe makes one large wreath of bread which could easily serve 12 - 16 people.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 4 - 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 10 TBSP butter
• 5 - 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 large eggs
• zest of one orange and one lemon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. orange extract
• 3/4 cup candied orange peel
• 1 cup raisins
• 3 TBSP rum
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• confectioner's sugar for dusting

Directions:

1) In a small bowl, soak the raisins in the rum.

2) Place the 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir to dissolve and set aside.

3) In a saucepan, gently heat the milk and butter together until butter is melted (on low-medium heat). Set aside until lukewarm.

4) In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and add extracts to them. Set aside.

5) Now it's time to get mixing! Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, gently beat in the egg mixture, yeast mixture, and milk mixture. This should take about 2 minutes, and will result in a soft, but not sticky, ball. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

6) Using your hands, or the mixer, add in the candied peel, raisins, and almonds.

7) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 minutes, until dough becomes soft and a bit tacky, but not sticky. Coat a large bowl with a little oil, place dough in the bowl and roll in the oil to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight (it will rise slowly!). This dough can keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

8) When you're ready to bake the bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit for at least 2 hours before rolling and shaping. Preheat oven to 350 and roll the dough into a 16 x 24 inches on a lightly floured surface.

9) Starting with a long side, roll up the dough into a tight cylinder. Transfer the cylinder to a sheet pan coated with cooking spray (or lined with parchment paper) and seal the two ends together to form a wreath shape. Using a sharp knife (or kitchen scissors), make cuts around the outside of the ring, to resemble a wreath shape. Mist with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for about 2 hours (it should double in size).

10) Bake the stollen for 20 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 20 - 30 minutes. The bread will turn a beautiful mahogony color. Remove from the oven and brush the top with butter. Sift powdered sugar on top to coat, wait about 1 minutes, and sift more powdered sugar on top.

Rocky Road Takes Over My Cookie Jar

Imagine taking all the goodness of your pint of rocky road ice cream, and baking it into a gooey, chunky, irresistible cookie form.

Now stop imagining. Let's make it reality.

Remember that cookbook I've been lusting after at the book store: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar? Lust no more! Thanks to my dear friend Katie, I received a copy of this awesome cookie-filled text in the mail yesterday (Three cheers for Katie!) . Loaded with over 100 tempting cookie recipes, I can hardly wait to bake my way through this cookbook over the next several months. I'm sure the bookstore staff will miss watching me copy cookie recipes onto my napkins in the coffee shop (Embarrassing, I know).

When questioning which recipe to begin with, I decided to start with the cookbook's cover model--a chocolate cookie loaded chocolate chips, white chocolate, and toasted almonds. Let's face it: you don't put a cookie on the cover just because it looks good. These cookies rock...and will need a large glass of (non-dairy?) milk for dunking.

Quick notes:

• This dough is less firm than one might expect from a cookie dough--it resembles a thick brownie batter. Trust the recipe! Give them a little room to spread on the cookie sheet (about 2 inches), and you'll be just fine.
• No worries if you don't have non-dairy supplies on hand for vegan cookie recipes. Just substitute in milk, regular chocolate chips, etc. where the non-dairy versions are used.

Friends, we still have one tiny problem: I'm going to subject you to more cookie recipes over the next few months, as I bake may through this delectable cookbook. I apologize in advance. Well, not really. Everyone needs more vegan cookies in their life, right?

Thanks again to Katie for her infinite thoughtfulness from across the miles :)

Rocky Road Cookies

(from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar)

These chunky chocolate yum-yums are over-the-top good. I didn't have any vegan chocolate chips on hand though, so I just used the dairy version. Came out fantastic just the same!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• 2 TBSP ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1- 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1- 1/2 cups plus 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (vegan or not)
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds, chopped

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper).

2) In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, flaxseeds, oil, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix until well blended and smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir well to form a thick, wet dough (similar to a thick brownie batter). Mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and almonds. (Optional: you can chill the dough for 30 minutes to firm up more, but the authors indicate this step is not necessary. Since it wasn't necessary, I skipped it!)

3) For each cookie, drop 2 TBSP of dough onto a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart (cookies will spread a little).

4) Bake cookies for 8 - 10 minutes until they crack just slightly on top (check at 8 minutes!). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Apple Pie a la Yum

Remember that little apple conundrum I found myself in this week? Yep, I'm still there. Working on cooking and baking my way through that bushel of apples.

As I attempt to dig myself out of this "problem," I realized that I had no other option than to bake an apple pie. With from-scratch pie crust. And a crumb topping.

Don't you love problems where the only good solution is pie-baking?

Now, let's briefly chat pie crust before we begin. I had never made a from-scratch pie crust before. The delicate art of pie crust terrified me--there's so much hype about keeping things cold, maintaining a tender dough, and reaching a flaky consistency. Talk about intimidating. I just want some pie, okay?!

Sunday night, however, the courage came. I'm not sure if it was the bushel of apples sitting on the counter, begging me to give them from-scratch goodness, or if it was my fearless amateur baking self that was urging me on. Regardless, I pulled out the food processor, iced a bowl of water, and put on my pie-baking hat.

The result? A yummy pie crust filled with a delightfully oozing, cinnamon-infused, Apple Pie a la Yum. This little number was the perfect addition to our Labor Day family picnic spread.

My secret? National Public Radio's "The Splendid Table." Their recent feature on pie crust inspired me, and I'm happy to share their top two secrets for a perfect pie crust:

• Keep everything cold! Use cold butter and iced water, and refrigerate the dough between every step.
• Don't pulse the dough too much in the food processor. It should look a bit crumbly, like little pea-shaped, crumbly mini butter balls :)
• To see Lynne's complete guide to pie crust on NPR (and her amazing, full description on how to make one), check out the show's transcript here

If you've got an abundance of apples on the counter, it's time to get baking. Pull out your pie-crust making courage and join me for some Apple Pie a la Yum. Well, "a la mode" wouldn't be so bad either :)

Apple Pie a la Yum

When it comes to desserts in early fall, nothing beats the classic apple pie. Forget that pre-packaged, store-bought crust--you don't need the yucky extras they add! Bake this simple crust from scratch...and consider topping with a scoop of double-churned vanilla ice cream :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

(from Lynne Rossetto Kasper on NPR's "The Splendid Table")

• 1- 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
• 4 - 5 TBSP ice cold water
• 1 TBSP vinegar (makes the crust tender)

Filling:

(from A Hungry Spoon herself :)

• About 8 cups thinly sliced apples (I leave the peels on. Love my fiber!)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Crumb Topping:

(from All Recipes.com)

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 TBSP butter
• Sprinkling of cinnamon to taste

Optional (but is it really?): A scoop of french vanilla ice cream on top

Directions:

1) Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl until evenly coated. Set aside. (Optional: If you love nuts, you could always add some chopped, toasted walnuts to the filling!)

2) To make crumb topping, combine flour, cinnamon (to taste), and brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or fork until crumbly. Set aside.

3) To make the crust: Combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Place in the food processor. Place butter chunks in the food processor and pulse until you get a rough mixture that looks like little peas in crumbles of flour. Place the crust mixture in a bowl, and add the ice water and vinegar. Lightly mix it in using your hands until you can form the dough into a ball (Don't over-mix!). Refrigerate the dough (if needed) for 20 minutes to keep it cold before rolling.

4) To prepare the pie: Use a flour-coated rolling pin to roll the pie crust out on a flour-coated surface (or a piece of wax paper works!). Place the pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and flute the edges to fit. Pour apple filling into the crust. Sprinkle the crumb mixture to cover the top of the apples.

5) Cover the pie with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove foil, and bake for another 25 - 30 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

6) Allow pie to cool completely before cutting and serving. Don't forget the vanilla ice cream...

Garden Quick Bread

What to do with a bushel of apples?

It's the quite the predicament, isn't it?

Fortunately, these are just the kinds of predicaments I love finding myself in :)

My mom dropped a full bushel of apples off at our house last week--she'd gone overboard during an afternoon apple-picking session and found herself with more fruit than she could handle. I gladly stepped in to "save the day."

While I truly love all things autumn--pumpkins, potted mums, leaves changing color--my absolute favorite component of this season is the baking. Pumpkin muffins, apple pie, and mashed sweet potatoes galore! (okay, I took it too far with the "galore," didn't I?)

With a bushel of apples sitting on the counter, today kicked off the first official day of fall baking (never mind that fall is still 3 weeks away). On the menu? A sweet "garden quick bread," chock full of shredded apple, carrot, and zucchini. (Side note, given that this recipe only called for one apple, it looks like I've got a lot more baking ahead of me...)

I will post the recipe as it was published in Cooking Light, which is amazing as is. However, below I have noted some changes that I often make to quick bread recipes when I'm seeking to make a healthier "snack," as opposed to a dessert. It's important to note though that many of these changes can significantly impact the flavor, density, and texture of your bread! So, consider your audience before experimenting with them (You and a pal? Green light! The annual office bake-off? Not so much.)

Options for making a quick bread healthier:

• Substitute half of the oil with applesauce
• Use egg whites instead of whole eggs (usually 2 egg whites to 1 egg)
• Use a portion whole wheat pastry flour
• Reduce the sugar and/or use natural sweeteners (like agave nectar)

Do you have any suggestions for making your baked goods "healthier?"

Garden Harvest Quick Bread

(from Cooking Light. I know--I've been cooking a lot from them lately! I recently found several old recipes I clipped from their magazines over a year ago. Gold mine!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup grated apple
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup grated zucchini
• 1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup nonfat buttermilk (I just used skim milk)
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 8 x 4 in. loaf pan.

2) Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add grated apple, carrot, zucchini and walnuts. Toss until combined.

3) Combine oil, milk, and eggs in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Note: I always start checking quick breads 5 minutes before the expected finish time, just to make sure they don't over-bake)

4) Now, ask yourself what to do with the remaining bushel of apples, minus one, sitting on the counter.