Sourdough Focaccia with Garlic and Onions

 

Today, I bring you Sourdough Focaccia! Have you ever tried to made focaccia? My only other attempt was a long while ago and it wasn't great.  I'm sure it was baker's error.  I've been seeing some very tempting sourdough focaccia photos on Instagram lately, and since I still have a lively sourdough starter from the start of the pandemic, I decided to give focaccia another try. Oh my, this was delicious!  Even my husband commented on how good it tasted. 

I served the focaccia as an accompaniment to soup that night but it would be a delicious accompaniment to any pasta dish or hearty salad.  You can also slice it in half horizontally and use it to make sandwiches.   

The recipe I used for this focaccia is adapted from @Breadtopia on Instagram and you can find the recipe on the Breadtopia blog. Included on their website is a yeast version if you don't have a sourdough starter. 

In ancient Rome, panis focacius was a flatbread baked in the ashes of the hearth.  The Latin word for hearth was 'focus' = 'focaccia'.  Focaccia spread across many countries....focaccia in Italian cuisine, hogaza in Spain, pogácsa in Hungary, and fougasse in Provence, among others.  

If you have an active starter, you will be as impressed as I was with the formation of bubbles in this recipe.  Sourdough baking can be a long process, as there is no yeast involved, but with this recipe, I had the focaccia in the oven within six hours after mixing the dough in the morning. 

It helped to use my oven as a proofing box, preheated only with the oven light turned on.  My oven light warms the oven to about 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have an oven thermometer, you can test how warm your oven gets with just the light on.  You don't want it to get warmer than 95F or you could kill the starter or yeast, if using.  If the oven light method doesn't work I've also read about using a pan of warm water on the bottom oven shelf. Or, you may want to try the 'overnight' version included in the recipe.  

I wanted to make a simple but flavorful topping for my first attempt at sourdough focaccia so I sprinkled freshly chopped green onions and chopped fresh garlic over the top before baking.  There are many other ways to top focaccia with some of the most popular choices being rosemary, olives, basil, sage, tomatoes and cheese.  

There is quite a bit of olive oil used in making and baking focaccia so you'll want to use a good tasting extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is also used to coat the bottom of the baking pan which gives the bottom a nicely browned crust as well.  

Sourdough Focaccia

Adapted from Breadtopia

Note: A digital kitchen scale comes in very handy.  I use mine all the time for baking to get more precise measurements.    

400 grams bread flour (about 3-1/2 cups)
75 grams whole wheat flour (slightly more than 1/2 cup)
345 grams water (1-1/2 cups)
143 grams sourdough starter (1/2 cup)
15 grams honey (2 tsp)
13 grams olive oil (1 Tbsp)
11 grams salt (2 tsp)

Additional coarse salt for sprinkling on top before baking,
Toppings of your choice (I used 4 chopped green onions and 2 large cloves of chopped garlic)

Make the Dough and First Proof:

Add all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 2 minutes with the paddle attachment, and medium speed for another 8 minutes with the dough hook, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times. If necessary, you may mix by hand the same for the same amount of time. 

Move the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Note the time as the beginning of the first rise. (bulk fermentation). This is when I first put my dough into the oven with only the oven light turned on. 

After the dough has rested for 30 minute rest, either stretch and fold, or coil fold the dough four times (every 20-40 minutes) over the next 2-3 hours. Wet your hands before handling the dough, and cover the dough afterward. Here is a YouTube video showing both folding methods.  I put the dough back in the oven after every fold, which lasted 2 hours. 

Next, allow the the covered dough to continue rise undisturbed (using oven light warmth, if possible) for 2 more hours until it has almost doubled and is bubbly. 

Final Proof:

I used a non-stick 9 x 13 inch baking pan but you can also use a 13 x 18 inch pan which will yield a thinner focaccia.  If your pan is not non-stick, line it with parchment paper  Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of the pan and cover the entire bottom and sides of the pan, or parchment, with the oil.   

Scrape the dough gently into the pan. With oiled fingers, push and press the dough out to the edges of the pan.  Dimple it with oily fingertips.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or put it inside a large, plastic grocery bag, trying not to let the plastic touch the dough.  

Let rest 1-2 hours at room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator, plus another 2-4 hours to warm up in the morning). The dough should look thicker and have some bubbles when the final proof is over.

Topping and Baking 

Place a flat baking sheet or pizza stone one rack up from the lowest oven rack. Preheat the oven to 450F for 20 minutes with a baking sheet and 30 minutes with a pizza stone.  

Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on the top of the dough and dimple it again. Add toppings and finally sprinkle it with coarse salt.

Place the focaccia pan in the oven on top of the hot baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pan and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. The internal temperature of the focaccia should be at least 200F. 

Remove the focaccia from the pan and parchment, and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be wrapped in parchment. 

Sourdough Banana Bread and Country Rustic Sourdough Sandwich Bread

I can't believe it's the end of October and I'm still on the sourdough bandwagon! Even if many have grown tired of the sourdough trend, I'm having a great time with several special sourdough recipes and I've been baking a lot of bread lately! I gave a loaf to my daughter recently, and our oldest grandson loved it so I hope to keep them supplied with bread for as long as they continue to enjoy it.  

You may be wondering what I've been doing with my time for the past 3 months!  Other than baking and gardening, social distancing but still spending some time with our small family, we've had a few large renovation projects that have taken much of my time.  We bought a small home as an investment and I'm the one who picks out the paint, carpet, cabinets, countertops, etc.   It's been mostly a fun project! 

Back to the sourdough baking, I know I'm speaking to a small audience so I thought I'd share two recipes at once.  :)

The sourdough starter that I received from Kitty early last spring is still going strong and I enjoy tending to it. It's nice having little hobbies when our social lives have been so disrupted. 

I bake these banana bread loaves in my 4-cavity Wilton mini loaf pan so that I can freeze them individually for freshness.  I tried putting a streusel topping on one of the loaves of bread but frankly, I enjoy it better without the topping.  

You can see the slight open-hole texture of this banana bread due to the sourdough starter.  It's so moist and delicious and not at all 'sour'! 

This is the sourdough loaf I've been making almost every week since I first discovered this recipe.  I was looking for a sandwich loaf that rivaled the Country French artisan loaf from a local bakery that I used to buy for $4.99.  It's so good with a high dome, crispy crust and moist interior.  This recipe rivals that loaf!  

Based on King Arthur's Rustic Sourdough bread, it took several attempts to get the high dome I wanted by playing with the amount of dough I used. My high-domed loaf is baked in an oven-safe glass loaf dish that measures 9 x 5.  

I also learned that I can use my bread machine for the mixing and kneading and it makes making this bread so easy! Since it uses a very small amount of regular yeast it rises much more quickly than more traditional sourdough loaves which also shortens the process.  

Using about 2/3rds of the dough to get the high dome, I have enough left over to make a small baguette which is the perfect size for the two of us. I forgot to slash this one! 

It also makes the most amazing French toast, grilled cheese sandwiches and BLTs! 

I still have some of Kitty's dried starter if anyone is interested in rehydrating it and trying sourdough baking!  

The new Blogger platform is giving me some grief and I'm having some issues with editing as you may be able to tell with the different sized fonts in this post :( And now I can't figure out how to post a recipe on the new Google sites where I merged all my recipes when I was advised the Classic sites wouldn't be available much longer. That's another reason I haven't posted for a while.  I hope things get easier, as I continue to figure it out. 

Please copy and paste from this post if you want to save either recipe. I hope I've reached at least a few sourdough bakers out there :)  Happy baking!

Sourdough Banana Bread Recipe

Servings: Makes 4 mini loaves or 2 8x4 loaves

1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups (3 to 4) very ripe bananas, mashed (preferably overripe)
1 cup Sourdough Starter (227 grams)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (either fresh or dried orange zest I buy from my local spice store)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecans or your favorite nuts, coarsely chopped

Spray loaf pan(s) with nonstick baking spray
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with oven rack in the center position.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a mixer. Add egg and mix until blended. Stir in the mashed bananas and the sourdough starter. Stir in the vanilla extract and orange zest and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the flour mixture and the chopped nuts to the prepared sourdough mixture, stirring just until blended.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and allow to rest for just 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking at 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.

I like to wrap the individual loaves in plastic wrap and freeze so we can enjoy a fresh loaf any time. They also make great gifts!

Adapted from: https://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughBananaBread.htm


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Rustic Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Makes 1 - 9 x 5 loaf (1 lb 12, ounces of dough, weighed with digital scale)
plus 1 small baguette or several French style rolls using the remainder of the dough.

Note:  Original recipe was intended for 2 smaller free-form loaves.

1 cup (227g) ripe (fed) sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups (340g) lukewarm water
1 to 2 teaspoons instant yeast*
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups (602g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I used King Arthur)

(Please visit the King Arthur site at the end of the recipe if you want to manual knead the bread.)
Combine all of the ingredients in your bread machine adding them in the order suggested by your machine. Set machine to the 'Dough' cycle which takes about 90 minutes. After the first few minutes, check to see if you need to add another teaspoon or so of water if the weather is dry. Your machine should not work too hard to mix the dough.

After the dough cycle is completed turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop. Deflate the dough and cut the dough into 2 pieces, approximately 2/3rd and 1/3rd. Weight the larger portion on your digital scale. It should weigh 1 pound 12 ounces or slightly more. Add more dough to the scale from the other piece, if needed.

Shape the larger piece into a loaf. Here is a very good tutorial on how to form a sandwich loaf with bread dough: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/videos/baking-skills/how-to-shape-a-sandwich-loaf.
Spray a 9 x 5 inch glass loaf pan with cooking spray and place the shaped loaf into the pan. Using a large, somewhat clear grocery bag, cover the loaf loosely and allow to rise for about 1 hour or so, until the dome has risen above the pan by about 1 inch.

With the smaller portion of dough, but using the same shaping technique make a long thinner loaf for a baguette, or shape the remainder into rolls. I place the baguette dough on a piece of parchment which I fold several times lengthwise to form a baguette sized form to hold the dough and place the parchment on top of a flat baking sheet. Envision two lengthwise triangles with a center narrow cavity of about 3 inches. Place a long length of plastic wrap over but not touching the dough (two glasses place on either side keep the parchment in place and keeps the dough from spreading).

At the end of the hour, start preheating the oven to 425 F degrees. Allow the oven to preheat for at least 15 minutes.

I like to bake the baguette first as the rising time is quicker. Slide the parchment holding the baguette right onto the center oven rack. Lightly spray the sides of the oven with water and bake for about 15 minutes. Turn the baguette over and bake for another 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and place on a cooling rack.

Right after removing the loaf, place the loaf pan with the larger loaf into the oven. Again spray the sides of the oven with water and bake the loaf for about 25 minutes or until nicely brown on the top. Carefully remove the glass loaf from the oven and tip out the loaf. Place the loaf back into the oven, directly on the rack and bake for another 5 minutes until the bottom and sides are golden. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe

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A Sourdough Story Of Sweet Friendship During Covid

I'm back!  Sorry for my prolonged absence but I've been suffering from lack of motivation lately.  Is anyone else having the same problem?  I'm also trying to spend as much time outdoors as I can as it  keeps me from thinking about the problems facing us now.  My priorities are being with our small, immediate family, working in my garden, golfing with my husband and baking when it's raining.

Speaking of baking, I wanted to tell you about a wonderful and very kind baking story that happening during the time we were in lock-down this past spring.  I've met so many wonderful bloggers over the years and one of them is Kitty from Kitty's Kozy Kitchen. We share a loving of baking and being with our grandchildren. Kitty loves tea cups and having tea parties with her granddaughters! About 20 years ago, Kitty was given a live sourdough starter from someone she knew who had brought it back from Arkansas in a cooler.  It was called a Civil War Starter. Kitty has kept it alive all these years and continues to use it to this day. 

At some point, Kitty mentioned her starter in one of her blog posts.  I asked her if she would consider sharing her starter with me.  She said she would be happy to share it but she didn't think a live starter would survive being sent from Texas to Wisconsin. I remembered reading about a way to save sourdough starters for future use by drying it out and found a great tutorial on how to do it at King Arthur Baking Company's website.  I asked Kitty if she would be interested in trying it.  Of course, she did and, within a very short time, I received Kitty's dried starter!  When I opened the zipper bag of dried starter, it smelled so fresh and good!

The same King Arthur tutorial on how to dry the starter also gave instructions on how to revive the dried starter and soon I was on my way into the world of COVID sourdough bread baking (along with countless other bakers in the world who weren't able to find dried yeast on the grocery shelves for so long).

Kitty's starter and recipe from Arkansas were different from the usual starters you might find online in that none of the starter is ever discarded.  After feeding, it is divided in half.  One half to use for baking bread and the other half returns to the refrigerator for next time.  It's also different in that sugar is added to maintain the starter and in the bread recipe.

Here is Kitty's sourdough starter after a feeding.  As you can see, it makes a lot of starter! At it's peak, it contains five to six full cups of starter. I have to tell that you Kitty was so patient with me because I had so many questions about the starter and recipe. ♥  She is such a kind person!

These were the first loaves I made with Kitty's starter!  The starter makes three full-size loaves of bread. If you look closely, you can see that I added walnuts and cranberries to the loaf in the center.  All were delicious and smelled and tasted wonderful!

I was able to bake 2 or 3 times more times with this beautiful starter and, then, I decided to try to decrease the amount of starter.  I started by trying to decrease the recipe by one-third. I didn't want to make so many loaves at one time as it's just my husband and I at home and I was going through a lot of flour.

That was when things started to go wrong.  The starter seemed okay at first.  The first rise would be fine but after the loaves were formed they did not rise very well.  I tried twice to revive the starter but it still didn't do well and I had two baking failures.  When I performed the starter 'float' test, it wasn't floating.  Perhaps this starter likes it better in the south :)

Back to square one!  I did have more of Kitty's dried starter so I started over from scratch.  This time, I decided feed the starter in the conventional way and in the proportions of the King Arthur starter instructions.  I decided to keep some with a much smaller amount of added sugar, and created another starter without any sugar at all as an experiment.

The first bread I made with my newly revived starter from Kitty was this whole wheat loaf from, who else, King Arthur.  I had asked a friend's daughter who bakes a lot of sourdough bread for her family what recipe she was using and she pointed me to this one. It is delicious too! And now, my new "Kitty" starter makes one loaf, which is perfect for us.  

"Kitty" on the left has no sugar.  "Kitty" on the right has just 1 tablespoon of added sugar when it's fed. The one with the sugar in it seems to perform slightly better than the one without the sugar.  Perhaps that's because it was used to having sugar in it for 20 years!

Now that I have a more conventional starter made from Kitty's original starter,  I now also have the flexibility to use the discard when I feed it.  There are some great recipes that use discarded sourdough starter!

The first thing I tried were popovers.  Oh my, these are so good!  A little butter and preserves on a Sunday morning make having discard so appreciated. I've made Sourdough Parmesan Popovers...

 and plain Sourdough Popovers. 

The plain popovers are so delicious with a little butter and preserves and make a special weekend breakfast treat. 

The other recipe I've made with the discard is this Sourdough Coffee Cake. Both my husband and I loved it!

Rather than bake it in a square pan as the recipe indicates, I decided to make 4 mini loaves so that I keep one out and put the rest in the freezer.  The crumble topping is delicious.  The coffee cake would be wonderful with homemade blueberry sauce.  Another great weekend treat!  There are many more sourdough discard recipes that I look forward to trying.  

So, my adventure in sourdough baking continues, thanks, in whole, to the kindness of Kitty going out of her way to dry her starter and send it to me.  My starters are doing very well in their new format and I feel confident I can keep Kitty's Civil War Starter alive and well for a very long time to come!  

The timing with the Pandemic stay-at-home order could not have been better as we couldn't see our family and friends and, even now, we are still are not able to resume our former social activities.  It really does help the mind and soul to be able to have fun in the kitchen creating with Kitty's sourdough starter.   

The recipe for the Whole Wheat Bread and links to the sourdough discard popovers and coffee cake below.  

If you have any questions, or would enjoy receiving a packet of Kitty's starter, please let me know, as I still have 5 vacuum-sealed packets to share.  I prefer to ship within the United States due to shipping costs.  I would also be happy to try drying some of my current starter for anyone who would like to try sourdough baking.  Happy Baking!

Click on links to find recipes for Sourdough Popovers and  Sourdough Coffee Cake 

Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Printable Recipe with my Tips and Edits

Makes 1 loaf

1 cup (227g) fed and risen sourdough starter

1 cup + 2 tablespoons (255g) lukewarm water

2 cups (226g) Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup (113g) AP Flour

2 tablespoons (14g) honey

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons (25g) neutral vegetable oil (I like using Avocado oil)

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients, and mix until a loose dough forms.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Turn out of a lightly floured surface and knead until fairly smooth.  It should be slightly sticky. Depending on how wet your starter is, or the humidity in your kitchen, you may need to add 1/3-1/2 cup more flour.  Only add enough flour to be able to form a cohesive, somewhat sticky ball of dough.   

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rise until almost doubled, about 60 minutes or so. I like to turn my oven on to preheat for one minute, and then turn the oven off. This will make a warm but not too hot environment perfect for the dough to rise. Place the bowl inside the oven. It usually only takes 60 minutes for my dough to double in size with this method.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough onto itself pulling from the outside and folding toward the center.  Do this several times. Turn it over and shape it into an 8" log, and place it in a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.  I use an oven safe glass loaf pan. 

Cover the loaf with a tea towel and let it rise until it has risen about 1" over the rim of the pan, (using the 1 minute preheated oven tip above, for about 60 minutes). Towards the end of the rising time, carefully take the loaf out of the oven without jarring it,  and preheat the oven to 350°F

Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the center registers 205°F to 210°F.

Remove the bread from the oven.  Let it rest in the for about 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool. I have taken the bread out of the baking pan and placed it back in the oven for about 5 minutes to get more browning on the sides and bottom. 

Adapted from King Arthur Baking Company

Garlic and Herb Bubble Bread

It's the simple pleasures right now.  Soon, I'll be planting flowers outside but we're not there yet, weather-wise.  Frost warning last night. Time for soup and some bread!  Or, just bread :)  

I found this recipe for Garlic and Herb Monkey Bread in my Bread Machine Magic cookbook and wanted something to add to our grilled salmon dinner last week.  My husband loved it so much I made it for him again when we had soup this week.  It is delicious! I prefer the term bubble bread to monkey bread just because it just sounds more appetizing :)  "Bubble" refers to the balls of dough that look like bubbles on top when they rise. 

My first attempt at making this bread, I used a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  The bread rose so high that it made a 'shelf ' across the top because of the pan I used.  Not the prettiest, but it still tasted great. The dough is cut into small pieces and each piece is dipped into garlic and herb-infused butter as it is placed into the baking pan.  After rising and baking, the bread pulls apart into small bite-sized pieces.

The second time I made it, I used a chiffon cake pan which worked much better and created more browning in the center.  Any pan with a flat bottom and higher sides should work.   I would not recommend a bundt pan as bundt pants are rounded on the bottom.   This bread gets tipped out of the pan after baked and then inverted again onto a serving plate so the 'bubble' part is on top.

You don't need to have a bread machine to make this bread and, if you're lucky, you have found yeast and flour after the hoarding began in late March and April. 

I hope you can give this bubble bread a try next time you're in a baking mood as it's worth the effort!
I'm including ingredient amounts below for small, medium and a large recipes.  I hope you enjoy it!

Just wanted to add a special thank you to both of my daughters for arranging a wonderful, social distancing Mother's Day visit on Sunday.  Along with flowers and some special gifts from them, I was also given some artwork made especially for me by my 3 grandsons.  They are placed in order by age, 4, 7 and 10.   The last one, my daughter painted as an extra Mother's Day card.

While I've been Covid baking, they've been Covid painting.  Keeping them busy is essential right now with no school since mid March.  They paint almost every day after they do their online schoolwork.  The 4 year old has no school work so he is just on vacation :) 

Hope you are all well and continue to stay safe.

Garlic and Herb Bubble Bread

Printable Recipe

Dough (Small Recipe for a (8-1/2 x 4-1/4 inch loaf pan)

3/8 cup warm water
3/8 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

Dough (Medium Recipe for a tube pan or large loaf pan 9 x 5)

½ cup warm water
½ cup sour cream
1-1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

Dough (Large Recipe for 2, 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 loaf pans)

5/8 cup warm water
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups all purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

Herb butter (ingredients for small, medium and large recipe)

1, 2, 3 small garlic cloves, minced (small, medium, large recipe)
3 tablespoons, 4 Ts, or 6 Ts melted butter (small, medium or large recipe)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
Note: Increase or decrease herbs 1/2 teaspoon for each size recipe. I like a lot of herbs. Garlic can be optional if you don't care for it. 

Thoroughly butter the pan you chose to use whether it be a loaf pan or tube pan.

If you have a bread machine, combine water and sour cream and warm gently. Melted butter. Pour liquids into pan of bread machine. Add sugar, salt, flour and lastly, yeast. Turn on dough setting, which takes about 1-1/2 hours to mix and rise. Note: If conditions are dry in your home, you may need to add a little more water, so watch the dough carefully as it's mixing. It should be soft and pliable but hold together in a ball.

If you do not have a bread machine, you can use a stand mixer with the dough hook to mix and knead until the dough is pliable, about 2 minutes. Place into a greased bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel and place in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the temperature in your home). Alternately, you can mix the dough by hand, kneading the dough until soft and pliable, about 8-10 minutes. Place into a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (Tip - turn your oven on to preheat for 1 minute and then turn off. This makes a good warm place for the dough to rise.)

When your dough is almost finishing rising, mix the herb butter ingredients together.

After the bread machine has finished the dough setting, or after your dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 1-2 minutes to release the air. Form into a ball.

Cut the ball in half, then each half into half again. Keep cutting the pieces in half the pieces are roughly the size of a walnut. Exact size is not crucial.

Dip each piece of dough into the herb butter mixture and arrange in layers spaced about ½ inch apart in the prepared pan. If you have extra butter mixture, drizzle over the top of the bread. Cover pan with a tea towel and place in a warm place until doubled again. This will take about 30-35 minutes. (Tip – turn on your oven to preheat for 1 minute and then turn off. This makes a good warm place for the dough to rise).

When the dough is almost finished rising, take it out of the oven but keep it covered. Preheat oven to 375F. Remove tea towel and place pan in the 375F oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your pan, or golden brown on top. Watch closely, as ovens differ. Add or subject time accordingly.

When bread is finished, remove from oven and invert onto a large plate or baking sheet. Then invert again onto a serving dish so that the ‘bubbles’ are on top. Brush bread with extra melted butter, if desired. Note: If I think the bread looks too pale on the bottom after removing from the pan, sometimes I carefully put it back in the oven without the pan and leave it in for another 5 minutes.

Buttermilk Sandwich Bread

What do you do on Easter weekend when you can't be with your family because of social distancing?  Bake bread!  At least, that's what I did.  It's was satisfying having something that turned out so delicious, I wanted to make it again and again (which I did in the past two weeks).  Quarantine carb heaven!

Unfortunately, I realize that it's very difficult, if not impossible, to find yeast right now.  Even flour is scarce in some areas. I was lucky enough to find an out-of-the-way store, which specializes in ethnic groceries, that carried 1pound packages of instant yeast.  Knowing that I could freeze yeast for up to a year, I didn't hesitate to buy the large quantity (which was only a little over 5 dollars, so a real bargain.  I also found it at another local grocery store today that offers pick up so keep checking with your stores, especially the smaller independent or co-op stores.

The first time I made this bread I didn't have buttermilk so used the DIY buttermilk hack, which is to add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it sit on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes to thicken.  The last time I made it I was able to use real buttermilk and I did not notice a significant  difference in taste but noticed that the bread was slightly more 'soft' in texture with the real buttermilk.

I have a bread machine, which I used just for the dough setting, but you can easily use a stand mixer with a dough hook or knead it on your counter the old-fashioned way.  Above you can see the dough ready to be punched down after the first rise, second is the shaped loaf (I like to keep tucking the dough underneath with the floured palms of my hands, and lastly, the dough after the second rise and ready to go into the preheated oven. I use a small sheet of parchment paper to use as a 'lift' to remove the baked bread from the hot pan to cool.

The finished loaf!  Did my husband hesitate after hearing the words buttermilk bread?  Yes, he did, but after he tasted it he told me it was really, really good :)

I waited 15 minutes for it to cool and cut a few slices it while it was still warm.  The dark crust and soft, interior is perfect for any kind of sandwich.

How could I resist the first warm slice with butter?  Oh my!

This past weekend, I used the same recipe and formed it into sandwich rolls instead.  I baked a small ham on Easter Sunday for the two of us, and we enjoyed these delicious rolls for our sliced ham sandwiches with Dijon mustard and looking forward to using them for ham salad spread next. 

Buttermilk Sandwich Bread

Printable Recipe

Note: This recipe makes 1 loaf of bread, and uses a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. If you only have an 8-1/2 x 4 inch pan, measurements for that size are in parentheses.

The recipe will make about 1 dozen sandwich-sized rolls to use for sandwiches, hamburgers, etc.

1-1/8 cups buttermilk (1 cup), warmed slightly (if your home is dry you may need a little extra milk)
3 tablespoons honey (2 T)
2 teaspoons salt (1 tsp)
1-1/2 tablespoon butter, melted (1 T)
3 cups all purpose flour (2 cups)
2 teaspoons dry, instant yeast (1-1/2 tsp)
1 tablespoon melted butter for brushing on loaf before baking

Poppy seeds or Sesame seeds, optional, for making rolls.

Place liquid ingredients followed by the dry ingredients into your bread machine pan with yeast added last. Use the 'dough' cycle for the initial kneading and 1st rise.

Alternately, if you do not having a bread machine, in a large bowl, whisk together the salt, flour and yeast. In another smaller bowl, stir together the melted butter, honey and warmed buttermillk, then pour into flour mixture and stir until smooth it forms a soft dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place into an oiled bowl, turning once to oil the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. I like to turn my oven on to heat for 1 minute, then turn it off. Put the covered dough in the slightly warmed oven with the door closed to rise.

Meanwhile, prepare a loaf pan by cutting a piece of parchment to fit the pan lengthwise and long enough to hang over each edge to use as 'handles' to remove the hot loaf from the pan. Then spray the pan and parchment with non stick cooking spray such as canola oil.

After the dough cycle is finished on your bread machine, or after the dough has risen until almost doubled, remove it to a flour surface, gently deflate it and knead again for about 5 minutes. Form an oblong loaf shape about the size of your pan by tucking the sides under with the palms of your hands to for a tight loaf. Place the dough into the prepared pan, cover loosely with a tea towel and place in a warm place to rise again until doubled in size. The dough should have risen to about top of the loaf pan.

Preheat oven to 375 about 15 minutes before loaf is done rising.

Gently brush loaf with melted butter over the top and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. When the loaf looks golden and sounds hollow when tapped, it is probably done. I like to remove the loaf from the baking pan and return it to the oven rack to bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure a browned crust on the sides and bottom, but this is optional. You may also brush the top of the loaf when out of the oven with additional melted butter, if desired.

To make rolls, rather than bread, after the first rise and knead, divide the dough in half, then each half into thirds. Each third should make 3 rolls. I like to use a digital scale and use about 2 ounces of dough for each roll. Take each 2 ounce piece of dough and form it into a ball tucking the edges under with your palms as you turn it. Place the dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. After the dough has doubled, brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.

Bake rolls in a 375 preheated oven for about 20 minutes until golden.

Recipe adapted from Bread Machine Magic.

Molasses Brown Bread - Similar to Cheesecake Factory's

I recently tried a loaf of Cheesecake Factory's brown bread that I found it at my local grocery store.  It was in love at first bite and serious addicting.  It's slightly sweet, with hints of chocolate, molasses and coffee. Those of you who've eaten at Cheesecake Factory restaurant were likely given a variety basket of breads with their brown bread in it.  It's delicious!

Ever since I bought that loaf of bread, I've been on a quest to try and duplicate it at home.  There are many copycat recipes out there; some with honey, some with brewed coffee, or espresso and various mixtures of flours and liquids.  I tried a couple of them but they just didn't come close enough to the color, flavor and texture I was looking for.  I wanted to find one that included most of the ingredients I found on listed on the CF Brown Bread package I found at the store.

Then, I found one recipe using a water roux, a Japanese method of mixing small amount of flour with hot water before making the bread dough.  That recipe had the texture I was looking for not quite the taste.  So I adapted that recipe, changed a couple of ingredients and added a couple I found on the package, and I think I found exactly the taste and texture I was hoping for!  This is what they looked like just before baking...

I decided to make six small free-style loaves rather than large loaves, baguettes or rolls, but am looking forward to experimenting with other shapes or even bread bowls.  Speaking of which, this bread tastes absolutely wonderful with soup not to mention just plain slathered with butter.

On of my favorite ways to use my Molasses Brown Bread is to make egg salad sandwiches but it also makes wonderful Jarlsberg grilled cheese sandwiches with a bowl of tomato soup for dunking.  And don't forget, avocado toast would be soooo good made with this bread.

Molasses Brown Bread

Printable Recipe

I want to thank Amy at U Try It for the inspiration for this recipe, which I've adapted.

Notes:
The water roux needs to be made the night before and refrigerated. It must come to room temperature before using.  This recipe uses a bread machine but you can use a dough hook on a stand mixer or by knead by hand for about 15 to 20 minutes. Allow dough to proof (covered with a tea towel) for a hour or until the dough doubles in size before proceeding to shape the dough.

Makes 6 small freestyle loaves, 3 baguette loaves, 12 hamburger sized rolls, or 18 smaller, dinner-size rolls.

For the water roux:

3/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bread flour

For the Molasses Brown Bread:

1 cup warm heavy cream (whipping cream) or double cream
Room temperature water Roux
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons avocado oil
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1 cup rye flour
2 tablespoons wheat bran (not wheat germ)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast

For the oat topping:

1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon of water (at room temperature)
2-3 tablespoons old fashioned oats

To make the water roux the night before:

Place bread flour in a small bowl, pour boiling water over the bread flour a little at a time, stirring quickly with a fork to combine until smooth.  Allow to cool and then wrap the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

To make the Molasses Brown Bread:

Take the water roux out of the refrigerator at least an hour before using. It should be at room temperature.

In a bread machine container, first add the warm cream, water roux, molasses, avocado oil, cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour, wheat bran and yeast. Set bread machine to dough cycle according to your machine's menu. On my bread machine it is setting 8 which includes kneading and the first rise, which takes 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When dough cycle is finished, pour out the dough onto a clean surface and punch it down to deflate it. Divide dough into 6 equal portions (I like to use my kitchen scale for this) and shape them into balls and place on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let them rest in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. An unheated oven with a bowl of very warm water on the bottom and door closed is a good place.

Next, knead each dough ball a few times and then roll each into a small, hoagie-style loaf. Place them back onto the lined baking sheet, cover with the tea towel and let the dough rise for 45 minutes to an hour, also in a warm and moist place.

15 minutes before the dough is finished rising, take it and the water bowl out of the oven (if that's where it is rising) and preheat the oven 420°F. Brush the egg wash on top of each loaf and sprinkle the oats on top. Bake for 10 minutes, give the pan one turn, and finish baking for another 6 minutes. 16 minutes total baking time.

Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin, Date and Nut Bread

I know you've likely been inundated with pumpkin recipes at other blogs you visit, Instagram, Pinterest or your local newspaper ever since fall arrived, so I apologize...a little :)  Because, if you make one pumpkin bread this season, I'd really like you to try this one.  Not a fan of dates or can't eat nuts?  Just leave them out.  The bread is delicious on it's own.  

I first became aware of this recipe when Barbara, an Instagram friend of mine, shared it recently.  Since I love dates and nuts, and pumpkin of course, I was excited to make it.

The recipe was published in Maida Heatter's Cakes cookbook.  I adapted it slightly by using less cloves and adding a generous sprinkle of raw sugar on top of the unbaked loaves.  I also used my Wilton 4-cavity mini loaf pan.  The small loaf size is perfect for my husband and I can freeze the other loaves to enjoy later. 

Delicious with a cup of coffee in the morning or tea in the afternoon!  It's a keeper!

I have to share some photos of an exhibit we visited last weekend.  We are so fortunate to have China Lights, also known as the Asian Lantern Festival on display near us right now.  The gorgeous displays are handcrafted by Chinese artisans, some of which are 150 feet high.  This year, the theme is Chinese Treasures and Endangered and Extinct Animals. One of the exhibits was a replica of the Terra Cotta Warriors discovered buried in an emperor's tomb, and another spectacular exhibit is of a huge dragon and baby dragon. We were so happy we chose of the few nights it didn't rain last week! 

If you have the opportunity to visit this exhibit on display near you, do not hesitate.  It's beautiful!  

Then, have some pumpkin bread when you return home :)  

Pumpkin Date and Nut Bread

Printable Recipe

2-1/2 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed  

1/2 cup avocado oil, or other healthy oil

1 can of your favorite brand of canned pumpkin (15 oz)

8 ounces (1 cup) pitted dates, cut up (see note)

4 ounces (1 cup) walnuts, broken or coarsely chopped

1-2 tablespoons of raw sugar for sprinkling on top of the loaves, optional

Notes.  I used a kitchen shears to first cut the dates in half lengthwise and then cut each half into 2-3 crosswise pieces. I used my Wilton 4-cavity mini loaf pan and had just the right amount of batter to fill the 4 cavities.  

Preheat oven to 350 and place rack to the lower third of the oven. Butter or spray a 10x5x3 inch loaf pan  and dust with fine bread crumbs. (I used Baker's Joy baking spray and did not use bread crumbs).  

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves and set aside. 

In a large bowl, with a hand mixer set on low, beat the eggs just until combined.  Add the sugar, beating just to blend. Add the oil, beat just to blend. Mix in the pumpkin, then add the dates. Add the flour mixture and stir or beat only until it is blended, then stir in the nuts.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top.  Sprinkle with a little raw sugar over the top of each loaf.  

If you are using a large pan, bake for 70-80 minutes. If using smaller pans, baking time will be less, about 45-55 minutes. Start checking the loaves with a clean toothpick before the recommended time is over as all ovens are different.  The toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf should come out clean. Cool in the pan(s) for 15 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

Cover and store at room temperature or refrigerator for several days or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2-3 months.  

Recipe adapted from Maida Heatter's Cakes cookbook.

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