GourmAndrea

Cinnamon-Swirl Raisin Bread-Fine Cooking

This recipe is from the recent Fine Cooking the Feb/Mar 2012 magazine. I was SO looking forward to making this recipe and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it was a real let down. The cinnamon is too overpowering to the point I wonder if they made a mistake??(3 tbsp of cinnamon per loaf!) It is so strong it takes on a spicy tone without enough sugar to balance it. I did a simple glaze on it hoping to fix it but it still lacks what I was hoping for. The raisins that are on the outside of the loaf have a burnt taste to them, anyways I will keep lookin........ anyone who has one they love let me know:)

Banana Bread With Flaxseed-The Stop Cookbook

This is a really good healthy banana bread if you are looking for that sweet kind this is not the one for you. I got this recipe from The Stop Cookbook. It is a community garden in Toronto and they have developed a (very good) cookbook. I have emailed for permission to most recipe but with no reply back I am left to leave it out, sorry. If someone out there is making this bread I would recommend baking it in a 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 pan instead of the suggested 9 x 5 because the loaf is too squat for my liking.

Povitica-Daring Bakers October

"The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!"

This months challenge is Povitica. It is served around the holiday season and usually has a sweet nut type filling. The dough is a buttery silky type dough; so easy to shape & work with. I did two types of loaves for one I used some leftover nut mixture from my Thanksgiving cake pumpkin seed/pecan/candied ginger. The other I tried to hit the "Stollen" tooth I now have from the challenge we did last year it is a mixed fruit/cinnamon/almond loaf and I used a bundt pan for that one.

You roll it out on a sheet or tea towel and use that to roll it up. Note: I did my other loaf on my counter and rolled it up cinnamon bun style it was easy to do it that way too, whatever works.

I used a sanding sugar after the coffee on the top of the loaf and it gave a nice crunchy texture. 

Here is a link to the recipe.

Light Wheat Rolls

 
I make these rolls all the time for Thanksgiving or anytime we have turkey dinner they are a sweet roll and pair perfectly with all the fixins. The tops are a tiny bit more browned than usual due to my new oven and I getting aquainted :)

 
Before first rise.......and after,

 
You punch it down and then it rises again,

 
This recipe directs you to shape the buns into cinnamon type rolls I like to do half that way and half as crescent rolls.

 

 
 

 
Then the rolls after they rise.....

 

 
If you even wonder if they have fully risen lighly press your finger in the middle and if the indent stays they are ready to bake. I also like to take the temperature of the buns and I like to pull them out at 190F for soft buns.

 

 
Light Wheat Rolls- All Recipes

2 (.25 ounce) packages of active dry yeast (14g of yeast)

1 3/4 cups warm water (110F)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 egg, beaten

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted (for brushing on buns before and after baking)

1.) In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water let stand until creamy about 10 min.

2.) Mix sugar ,salt,1/4 cup melted butter,egg and whole wheat flour into yeast mixture. Stir in all purpose flour , 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. Turn dough onto a well floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 min. Lightly oil a large bowl and turn dough to coat. Let rise until doubled about an hour.

3.) Punch dough down and let it rise until doubled again, about 30 min.

 4.) Grease two dozen muffin cups punch down dough and divide into two equal portions roll each into a 6" x 14" rectangle and cut rectangle into 12 7" x 1" strips. Roll strips into spirals and place into muffin cups. Brush tops with melted butter and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 40 min.

5.) Preheat oven to 400F and bake for 12 to 15 min or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush again with melted butter.

Filled Meringue Coffee Twist

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

 
This dough is a great recipe it makes most beautifully moist tender cake. It is not overly sweet so I decided to do a glaze on it.

My original idea was to do a braid with chocolate,nuts and raspberry unfortunately it didn't work for the raspberry part. I went with a jam which was a bad idea that and the meringue together made the dough too wet and eventually fall apart.

If I did it again I would go with fresh raspberries or go really safe with dried cranberries or apricots. I ended up abandoning the braid ship and going with a twist instead.

 

 

 

 
The twist was interesting each slice was different some more nutty and some slices had way more chocolate. It is a great recipe and a fun challenge. Here is a link to the recipe.