Yankee-Belle Cafe: Bread

Showing posts with label Bread. Show all posts

Friday, November 20, 2020

Cranberry Time!

Missy Tippens

Thanksgiving always makes me think of cranberries. I love them (well-sweetened, of course)! And I just discovered a new product last week that I wanted to share.

I found these wonderful breads from a company called Ozery Bakery. It's in the U.S. and Canada. The ones I bought and have enjoyed are the Cranberry Orange Morning Rounds and the Cranberry Orange Snacking Rounds.

The morning rounds are the size of a small (but puffy) pita bread. The snack rounds are mini-sized. I usually eat two or three for a meal.

Both toast beautifully. They puff up and fill with steam, so you have to be careful when you cut into them. But they're toasted on the outside and so soft on the inside.

I split them in half (like a bagel) and then spread cream cheese on them. They taste like a cross between a soft bagel and a tender English muffin.

You can see the beautiful cranberries inside! I just love these. They are now going to be added regularly to our grocery list.

Have y'all had these before? I found these at Sprouts, but my husband has also found them for me at Publix (I believe in the bakery area).

www.missytippens.com

Monday, August 31, 2020

Winter Vegetable Soup with Garlic Twist Bread Revisited

Jan here, talking about losing things.

NOT losing my marbles...although it feels a little bit like I am some days! But losing things that I thought I had. That I knew where they MUST be.

I'm not alone in this, am I?

We've been in our new house for just over a year, and last week I finally unpacked the last couple boxes. I knew what was in those boxes - one of them had my mom's old cookbooks and a few other things like that. And it was one of those "few other things" that I was looking for.

A bread cookbook that I got several years ago when I bought my Bosch mixer...but it wasn't there! That was, literally, the last place I looked. How can something just disappear?

*sigh*

Then I remembered that I had shared this recipe from that cookbook here at the Cafe many years ago - almost eight! - so I thought I'd share it again so we could all enjoy it!

This post also includes my own Winter Vegetable Soup, adapted from Nourishing Traditions, one of my go-to cookbooks. Here's the link, in case you're interested: Nourishing Traditions

A few days ago, I couldn't imagine making this soup. We were at the end of more than a week of 95°+ temperatures...but then the weather changed. SUDDENLY it's feeling awfully fallish!

Maybe not quite that fallish - it will take a few more weeks for the aspens to don their golden cloaks. But the deer and bison are gathering into their winter herds, the birds are returning from the far north on their way south, and I'm putting on a jacket when I take Sam for his morning walks.

Here’s my updated version of this delicious soup:

Winter Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

2 medium sized turnips, chopped

3 parsnips, chopped

3 carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 ½ quarts stock – chicken or vegetable

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme, or one sprig fresh thyme

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup heavy cream

2 cups kale

1 Tablespoon each, butter and olive oil

In a large soup pot (I use an 8-quart pot), melt the butter. Add your turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, carrots and onions.

Cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the 30 minutes, add your stock, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and cayenne. Bring it all to a boil, and then reduce it to a simmer and cook for an additional 30 minutes or so until the vegetables are soft.

When your veggies are nice and soft, it’s time for the blender. (If you used fresh thyme, remove the sprig now.)

If you have one of those handy immersion blenders, this is the time to put it through its paces. Just stick it in the pot and blend until the soup is smooth.

If you don’t have one of those, put the soup – about a quart at a time – in a big blender and blend away. As each part gets done, put the blended soup in a large bowl and do the next batch until the whole pot of soup is nice and smooth. Then return it to the soup pot and put it back on the stove on medium heat.

While the soup is coming back up to temperature, tear the kale into 1-inch pieces.

Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet until melted. Add the kale and stir to coat. Add salt to taste. Cook at medium heat, stirring, about 3 minutes. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to low, and let the kale steam for about 5-7 minutes, or until soft.

While the kale is cooking, add the cream to your soup and let it heat slowly. You don’t want to heat it too quickly or let the soup boil or the cream will break.

Serve the soup in bowls with a nice dollop of kale for a garnish.

Now, soup for dinner begs to have bread on the side, and the fresher the better.

For this yummy Garlic Twist Bread you need:

one loaf of bread dough

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon dried Basil

Since I make my bread six loaves at a time*, it’s easy to use one lump of dough for this recipe…

*2020 note - I no longer make six loaves at a time. Remember, we're empty nesters now!

OR, you can buy a loaf of frozen bread dough from the grocery store…

The main thing is to have bread dough ready to go.

On a baking pan (greased or lined with baking parchment), spread your dough out into a rectangle, about 9 inches by 12 inches.

On this rectangle, spread 2 Tablespoons softened butter.

In a bowl, mix together 2 teaspoons minced garlic, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese and 1 teaspoon dried basil.

Spread this mixture evenly over your dough.

Now, roll up your rectangle from the side, jelly-roll style.

Next, cut the roll up the middle.

If you don’t have a pair of kitchen shears, buy one. They’re way too handy not to own a pair.

Oh! When you’re cutting, stop just before you get to the end!

Now, carefully twist the two halves of the roll around each other. This isn’t as easy as it looks, but it works.

Warning: you’re going to make a mess. Just put any spilled filling back on top of your bread.

Brush the top of the loaf with an egg beaten with a tablespoon of water, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. (This step isn’t crucial to the recipe, but it sure makes the loaf look professional!)

Let it rise for about 20-30 minutes, and then bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until nicely browned on top.

Now, doesn’t that look like a great cold-weather meal?

Back to my lost cookbook - I've given up trying to find it. Maybe I loaned it to somebody, or maybe it slipped into the trash when I wasn't looking one time...

But I know where to get a new one! My friend Martha Greene wrote the cookbook, and sells it on her website: Built From Scratch Life The original cookbook that I lost has been revised and updated, but my favorite bread recipe (Best Bread) is still included! Here's that link: Make It Special

Have you ever "misplaced" a favorite cookbook?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.

Friday, December 6, 2019

A Kentucky Tradition from the Belle: Spoon Bread

Missy Tippens

I made an old favorite from my childhood for Thanksgiving: Spoon Bread!

I imagine some of you haven't even heard of it. The way I remember first having spoon bread was at Boone Tavern in Berea, Kentucky. Boone Tavern is on the campus of Berea College. I was reminded of it recently when I passed by Berea while attending my uncle's funeral in Frankfort.

Berea College was the South's first interracial and coeducational college. As their sign says: "Charging no tuition, Berea admits promising Appalachian student with limited economic resources. All students work in campus jobs, such as serving at the college's hotel."

Our family would visit there when I was a child, and we would eat in the hotel. I remember students being the waiters. And I remember, especially, the spoon bread!

Click here for the recipe from the Kentucky Living Magazine website.

Basically, it's just white cornmeal, milk, eggs, melted butter, salt and baking powder.

You cook the cornmeal with the milk into a thick oatmeal-like (grits-like!) consistency. Then you let it totally cool. Once cool, you add it to the eggs and melted butter, etc.

The recipe requires 15 minutes of mixing! So I made it in my stand mixer so I could let it go while I did other things.

You can see it starts out as a glue-like blob.

But it gets smoother and smoother.

Once it was finished in the mixer, I baked it in a buttered Corningware dish.

Here it is fresh out of the oven. You want to wait until the last minute to bake it because it's served hot, spooned out of the dish, with creamy butter. And you want that butter to melt!

I love this dish! I hadn't had it in many years and really enjoyed making it for Thanksgiving. I hope you'll give it a try. I think you'll love it like I do!

Missy Tippens was born and raised in Kentucky. These days, she lives outside Atlanta with her husband and daughter (and middle son for another week or so). You can find her books at www.missytippens.com.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

When Bananas Turn Black

Black bananas.

Many people see them as gross, inedible, slimy... No, no, no, no, no. Black bananas are a blessing. A fantastic treat waiting to happen. Because without black bananas, there would be no banana nut bread. Okay, there might be, but it wouldn't be the same with those hard chunks of ripe banana.

I turned in my tenth book on Friday, which means I've been feeling that deadline crunch for the past two weeks (maybe more like a month), so most other things in life have found themselves relegated to the back burner. Until now. And since hubby didn't eat his bananas, we all get to indulge in this delicious banana nut bread. And you can, too.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2-3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
a generous 1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups chopped pecans

Butter standard size loaf pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder) and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until blended.

Peel and place bananas in a small bowl and mash with spoon just until lumpy.

With your mixer on low, if using an electric or stand mixer, blend in your mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla until barely combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated, then do the same with the pecans.

Spoon into buttered baking pan.

Bake in 350 degree oven 50-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing.

Allow to cool before serving.

I love biting into those chunks of banana, paired with the crunch of the pecans. This banana nut bread is a palate pleasing treat.

So the boys are back.

Studying each other.

Circling each other.

Most mornings and late afternoons, this is what things look like behind our house.

But having the bucks in the mix is the exception, not the norm. Usually, we have anywhere from one to twelve does and fawns, but they usually run off when the bucks come around, so this was nice to see. Everyone getting along, simply hanging out for a little bite to eat.

And next week is Thanksgiving. Time has suddenly gotten away from me. Now I need to rein everything in and start planning. It's a busy month ahead. All the food, festivities and fun of the holiday season will soon be in full swing and I can't wait.

What about you? Are you ready for the holidays or are you dreading them? If you're dreading, perhaps it's time to refocus. Christmas is the biggest birthday celebration of the year. However, some of the best parties are quiet and subdued, keeping the focus on the One who's being celebrated. Think of all Jesus has done for you. Where would you be without Him? Now that, my friend, is worth celebrating.

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more a mindyobenhaus.com.

Friday, June 21, 2019

Another Cooking Class! Sourdough Bread

Missy Tippens

I got to take another great cooking class at Cook's Warehouse last week! This time, I learned to make sourdough bread with chef Sarah Dodge. It was not a hands-on class this time. It was more of a demo so she could show us some of the major steps and also to share her recipe. She took time to walk through all the steps with us and explain little details that she has learned through her baking experience.

Then she shared some sourdough starter with each of us! This bread isn't made from yeast that you buy at the store. The ingredients are only flour, water and salt. The fermentation comes from wild yeast and bacteria that are in our environment and on our skin. Pretty amazing!

When I got home from the class, I fed the starter with 150 grams of water and 150 grams of flour. She recommended several local mills for the flour. However for beginners, King Arthur flour is very consistent in its protein content.

I fed my starter once and hoped to start making bread that night. But it failed the "float test," where you put a spoon full into a cup of water. If it floats, it's ready to use. Mine wasn't ready, so I fed it a second time late that night. Because the next day was Sunday and I knew I'd be gone most of the day, I put the starter in the fridge after I fed it.

The next afternoon, I took the starter out and let it warm for a bit. I've discovered that my microwave (which is built-in above the oven) is a perfect, warm place! This time, it passed the float test!

Let the baking begin!

For a recipe, go here: The Kitchn by Emma Christensen. It's almost exactly the same as what our teacher shared in class. (I don't feel free to share her recipe here since it was part of a paid class.) I will say that our teacher uses a mixture of bread flour and all purpose flour in the baking (not the feeding). About 60% AP flour. I hope to try incorporating whole wheat flour next time I make it. I'm a wheat bread lover!

During this stage, you let the gluten build and the flour hydrate. It's called autolysing. I realized later that I didn't let my dough sit long enough before adding the salt (which slows the process). So I'll do that for longer next time.

Several of the steps involve folding the dough and letting it rest. I just did it in a bowl and covered it with plastic wrap so it wouldn't dry out. It does not double in size like when you make regular bread, so don't worry when that doesn't happen! The dough was still very wet at this point and didn't expand much at all. I feared it was dead but kept going! LOL

After all the folding, you dump it out on the counter to rest. You'll actually see the edges start to relax. Then you do a last folding from all directions that makes a seam in the bread. When you put the bread in a proofing basket, that seam stays up (which will make it be on the bottom once you put your loaf into the pan to bake).

This was my dough resting.

Here's my dough in the proofing basket. These also come with linen liners which can help absorb some of the extra moisture. I had hand washed mine (it was new and smelled like chemicals), so I couldn't use it. I ended up doing a little research online and read a recommendation to flour the basket with rice flour. I did that first. Then, like my teacher Sarah, I also coated it with cornmeal.

Here is my loaf proofing. This was like 1 am, so I put it in the refrigerator to start up again the next day.

Then next day, I took the basket out to warm up. I put it in the warm microwave for about an hour. It seemed to poof up just a little. (I still feared it was DEAD!)

Then I pre-heated the oven with my Dutch oven inside. Then I sprinkled the pan with cornmeal. Then I dumped the loaf into the hot pan. It came right out! It didn't stick to the basket, which was a huge relief.

I scored the loaf in a single deep cut lengthwise and two shallower side cuts (for a round loaf, she does a pound-sign). Then I baked with the lid on for 20 minutes. Then took the lid off and baked 20 more minutes. However, from the recipe I shared with you, it sounds like you might want to bake it longer. Mine was rather "blond" compared to photos I saw online and was a bit difficult to cut. So maybe baking longer would help with that.

Here's the finished product!

See those nice air bubbles?! My yeasties and bacteria WEREN'T DEAD!!

Everything I read said to let it cool well before cutting. Who in their right mind can resist warm bread, I ask you??!!

We had it still warm and slathered in butter. Oh, y'all, this was sooo good. It was a lot of work, but I decided it was worth it. I'll keep feeding my starter (once or twice weekly if kept in the fridge). And I hope to maybe bake monthly. If you try it, be sure to let me know how it turns out!

www.missytippens.com