Tag Archives: baking

Saucy

Posted on November 22, 2012 by | Comments Off on Saucy

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I’ve been making this cranberry sauce for many years. It’s so easy and it’s always a big hit.

 

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 3/4 cups water

Bring to a boil and cook 7 minutes. Reduce to a hard simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer to storage container. Cool, uncovered, about 30 minutes and then refrigerate overnight.

Pumpkin Pie
15 ounces puree pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream
1 T brandy
¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp table salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cloves
1 blind-baked crust

Preheat the oven to 325F. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, clream and brandy. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, pepper and cloves then add this to the large bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer the filling to the crust and bake about an hour until pie is slightly jiggly in the center but set.

 

Pecan Pie
3 oz unsalted butter
¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup corn syrup
½ cup golden syrup
3 large eggs, @RT
2 T bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup chopped toasted papershell pecans
2 cups toasted papershell pecan halves
blind-baked crust

Preheat oven to 375F. Melt butter and cook until brown, whisk in brown sugar and syrups until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Whisk in eggs, one at a time then bourbon, vanilla and salt. Stir in chopped pecans. Transfer pecan halves to the crust and pour over syrup mixture. Reduce oven temp to 350F and bake 45-55 minutes until set- slight jiggle is done.

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Spiral Apple Bread

Posted on September 22, 2012 by | Comments Off on Spiral Apple Bread

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When I spotted this recipe on Pinterest I had to give it a go. Of course, I had to change it to suit myself and I used sourdough instead of the dough recipe given and I used cinnamon sugar instead of plain. It was delish!

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Cinnamon Twist

Posted on September 3, 2012 by | Comments Off on Cinnamon Twist

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I was planning to make a  cinnamon wreath but I didn’t cut my roll all the way through so instead I braided the two halves together and got this gianormous braid-ish sort of thing. It was not as pretty but still very tasty!

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Cinnamon Rolls, take two

Posted on July 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on Cinnamon Rolls, take two

Cinnamon Rolls Cinnamon Rolls

Jason and I are spending the night in Boston so, of course, I had to leave some extra provisions for the boy. These cinnamon rolls turned out perfectly now that I’ve tweaked the recipe. I start by splitting my sourdough start and feeding both halves so that I have two cups for this recipe. I do let it get happy for an hour or two before I begin.

2 cups sourdough starter
1 cup milk
2 TBSP honey
2tsp vanilla
2 TBSP melted butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
4-5 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
4 TBSP melted butter, for brushing dough
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
Powdered Sugar Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch tsp salt
2 to 4 tsp milk

Directions

Mix together the starter, milk, honey, vanilla and melted butter. Stir in salt, baking soda, and enough flour to make the dough stiff enough to handle. Knead dough for 4-5 minutes, with dough hook, in the bowl of a mixer, adding more flour if necessary.

Place in an oiled bowl and turn once. Cover tightly and set in a warm place to rise 4 or 5 hours, or until doubled.
Punch down dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll out into a 9×18-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter then sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Dot with pecans. Roll up and cut into 1-inch slices. Arrange in a 9×13 pan. Cover and let rise overnight in the refrigerator. Let warm up 30-60 minutes before baking.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Drizzle warm rolls with glaze

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Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Posted on July 15, 2012 by | Comments Off on Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls

I tried this cinnamon roll recipe earlier in the week but I think it needs some serious adjusting, at least in my hands. My dough rose too much during the night so that it didn’t have much oomph left for the second rise. I think next time I’ll go for a 4-6 hour rise then assemble the rolls and let them do the second rise overnight in the fridge. My starter must be a fair bit more active than hers. That could fix all the problems right there but it didn’t seem like I had enough dough for a 9 x 13 pan so I might try increasing the dough recipe by about 30%. Clearly, more experimentation is necessary!

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Stoneview 2012-04-09 11:55:13

Posted on April 9, 2012 by | Comments Off on Stoneview 2012-04-09 11:55:13

013 sweet potato rolls, sourdough version 022 023 025 Red Velvet Cake

We were excited to have Chris and Sara join us for Easter this weekend. I wasn’t sure if they were coming so it was an awesome surprised to get a “we’re here” text from Sara Saturday night. Jason and Daniel went to PAX East (a gaming convention) on Saturday while Chris and Sara did a power walk on the Freedom trail and finished in a record 90 minutes. They came back and spent the afternoon with me.

I adapted my sweet potato roll recipe to include sourdough and had a lightbulb moment when I realized it’s much easier to roll the dough out all at once and cut it into strips with a pizza wheel before forming the knots. It went much faster that way.

Sweet potato rolls

1 cup “fed” sourdough starter
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup skim milk, 100 to 110 degrees F.
3/4 cup sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
3 tablespoons melted butter, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
5 cups bread flour, divided
cooking spray

Combine the sourdough starter, honey, yeast, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined, breaking up any lumps of potato. Beat in egg yolks. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix with a spoon until smooth. Now add salt and enough remaining flour to make a smooth dough. Kneat 8-10 minutes and transfer to a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat. Cover tightly and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat over to 400F (convection if you have it).

Roll out dough on a floured board to about 3/8-inch thick into a rectangle approximately 12 x 20. Using a pizza wheel, cut dough into about twenty-four 12-inch strips. Spray two baking sheets with cooking oil. Form strips into knots and place on cooking sheets. Cover loosely with towels and allow to rise about 30 minutes or until double.

Brush with melted butter and bake at 400F

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. fifteen minutes or until lightly browned, turning the pan halfway through cooking.

Dessert this year was a red velvet cake, one of Daniel’s favorites and a bit hit with all. It’ll be prettier if you do a crumb coat but since I was doing frosting late in the evening I skipped that.

 

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
1 lb cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk food coloring and cocoa powder together, until smooth, in a prep bowl.
In the bowl of your mixer, beat together butter and sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla and cocoa/food coloring. Add flour and buttermilk, alternating each, beginning and ending with flour. Mix vinegar and baking soda in a little cup and then gently fold this into the cake batter. Split batter into two cake pans that have been greased with the butter papers. Bake 30 minutes at 350F or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:
Whip together butter and cream cheese then add 1 teaspoon vanilla and gradually add the confectioner’s sugar until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Place your first layer on your cake stand and spread the top with a dollop of frosting leaving it thicker at the edges. Invert your second layer onto this. Now transfer a little of the frosting to a small bowl and spread a thin coat over the cake. Don’t worry about crumbs at this point. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or until the crumb coat is firm (chill the rest of the frosting if your kitchen is too warm). Now frost the cake with the rest of your frosting. Chill several hours or overnight before serving.

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Sourdough naan

Posted on February 23, 2012 by | Comments Off on Sourdough naan

Chicken curry Spinach salad with zucchini, chickpeas and avocado

I’ve tried a few times to make naan but this week I found an excellent recipe that turned out so well I think my search is over. As often happens, I’ve modified it to suit my tastes and kitchen.

Sourdough Naan

1 cup active sourdough starter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the starter, yogurt, honey,  salt , 1/2 cup warm water and the flour. Knead to a smooth dough, about 5 minutes. Add water or flour as needed. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and baking stone to 450F.

Divide dough into about 10 equal portions and roll out on a floured board into rough ovals about the size of your hand. Bake ovals directly on the stone 5 or 6 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. There is no need to turn during baking. Serve immediately.

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