The cooking martyr

I started out making this bread for Brad and Cassie's school lunches, but then I switched to Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread most weeks (with Honey-Wheat Bread thrown in once in a while for some variety) because Cassie liked it best. Lately I've gone back to this one because it's a little easier to make and doesn't require a special trip to buy powdered buttermilk. And Cassie has switched her allegiance to this bread anyway, because it's not as crumbly as the Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread, which is true. It doesn't rise as high as the Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread, but it does have a denser crumb, which makes for a better lunch-eating experience.

I threw this one together yesterday afternoon, which was a Monday, because Brad and Cassie didn't have school (teacher workday; every day is a lawyer "workday"), and I didn't want to make the bread as usual on Sunday and have it get stale by the time they could eat it all. I had forgotten I still had to do the weekend baking on Monday, so I was grumpy about having to make bread and muffins after getting home from work. Mom offered to make the muffins, but that didn't last long when she used a measuring cup (😝), and a dry measuring cup at that (😝😝), to measure out the oil for Spicy Pumpkin Muffins, rather than my kitchen scale (read my blog much?). So I ordered her out of the kitchen, at which point she told me not to be a "cooking martyr." The things I do for you guys. (And by the way, I weighed the bowl and found that the oil Mom had measured out with the dry measuring cup (😡) only weighed 75 grams, which is about 30% less than what's called for in the recipe. So "use a kitchen scale" y'all, and your baked goods will come out better.)

Brad & Cassie's Sandwich Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

236 grams (1 cup) warm water
80 grams (⅓ cup) milk
42 grams (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
240 grams (2 cups) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
170 grams (1½ cups) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
30 grams (¼ cup) ground flaxseed meal
35 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
20 grams (2 tablespoons) flax, sunflower, or sesame seeds, or a combination, more to taste (optional)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1½ teaspoons instant yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the pan, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean.
    3.  Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. Check the bread when the timer sounds. If it's done, turn the machine off and unplug the cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Makes one 1½-pound loaf.

Family dinner conversation

Here are some snippets (the ones that don't involve bodily functions) from this week's family dinner conversations:

Cassie asked Brad what the subject of his high school PhD project would be. Brad said he was going to do it on Usain Bolt. Mom asked, "What's that?" Really. 

We were having some issues (okay, I was having some issues) with Mom using the same knife to cut sweet potatoes and the butter to put on the sweet potatoes. (Who wants little orange bits in the butter the next time you use it?) So we wondered where we all fall on the "particularity scale." Surprisingly, Brad ended up being the most particular, though I wasn't far behind. Mom is definitely the least particular, with Cass and Dylan pretty close to Mom.

After Brad beat me by about a minute-and-a-half in the Kelly Watt Memorial Race a few weeks ago, I age-graded my time, which came out 18 seconds faster than Brad's time, thereby allowing me to claim a (hollow) victory . . . right up until I realized that a 16-year-old might benefit from age-grading, too. Sure enough, his time was well under mine when I plugged it into the calculator. Which makes me wonder about age-grading, if it helps a young whippersnapper beat a poor, old guy on the downswing of his running career. I lamented this development to my one-syllable friend Jim, who wisely responded that "We only like age-grading when it works in our favor."

And we also discussed "hijacking the conversation," which reached a new level this week, even for us. Cassie has started breaking in loudly with "Anyway . . ." when she's trying to get the conversation back to the topic she was discussing before it was rudely hijacked by someone else. I may have to institute a hand-raising rule at the dinner table.

*********

We tried to keep the spirit of Thanksgiving going when Mom made her yam and apple casserole a week later, then I chipped in with this cranberry sauce, which is the easiest Thanksgiving side dish ever.

Cranberry Sauce

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (177 grams) to 1 cup (236 grams) water (use the greater amount of water for a softer sauce)
1 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries (thawed if frozen), picked over

    1a. Stovetop: Combine the sugar, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Stir in the cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have popped, about 10 to 12 minutes.
    1b. Bread machine: Select the Jam cycle on your bread machine. Leave the paddles in the bread pan. Pour the cranberries into the pan. Combine the sugar, salt, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium to medium-high heat. Pour over the cranberries. Press Start, and go about your business until the cycle ends.
    2. Remove from the heat and transfer to a storage container. Cool completely at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until serving time. Cranberries are high in pectin so the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Makes 2¼ cups.

Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Substitute ¼ cup of freshly squeezed orange juice for ¼ cup of the water. Add the zest of 1 orange along with the other ingredients.

Microwave miracle, episode II

The turkey-and-vegetable-heavy array of food at Thanksgiving doesn't do a whole lot for Brad, so we decided to try some homemade dinner rolls at this year's meal. I had two recipes to try, but we made this one from Bob's Red Mill first and it was so good we didn't bother with the second recipe. And it's really easy, too, especially if you let a bread machine take care of mixing the dough and the first rise (though you can make the rolls by hand, too).

We actually had a fair number of rolls left over from the Thanksgiving meal, so I decided we needed some really good jam to eat with them. I returned to the aptly-named "Microwave Miracles" chapter in The New Basics Cookbook, in which appears the awesome Dried Cherry Chutney that is a staple on our Thanksgiving table every year. And, incredibly, the apricot marmalade is almost as miraculous as the chutney. Though it's not made from a citrus fruit, like a classic marmalade, it has the same tangy flavor, which I love, and was a perfect match for the leftover dinner rolls.

Dinner Rolls

Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill

This recipe was a first place winner at the 2014 Oregon State Fair.

7½ fluid ounces (221 grams; 1 cup less 1 tablespoon) water 
2 tablespoons (30 grams) milk
3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, softened
3½ tablespoons (44 grams) brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups (205 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1½ cups (228 grams) stone ground whole-wheat flour
1½ teaspoons instant yeast; or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

    1a. Bread machine: Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed. Set the machine for the “Dough” cycle, and press "Start." Meanwhile, line a baking sheet (13-by-18-inch sheet pan) with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
    1b. By hand: Use a silicone spatula to combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Mix and knead until you have a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased container. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and allow the dough to rise until it's just about doubled in bulk, 60 to 90 minutes. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet (13-by-18-inch sheet pan) with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
    2. When the dough cycle is finished, or the dough has risen enough, divide and form the dough into 12 equal balls (~65 grams each; use your kitchen scale if you want each of them to come out the same size and bake evenly). Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise for 45 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
    3. Bake the rolls until golden, about 14 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Apricot Marmalade

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook (1989) by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins

170 grams (6 ounces) dried apricots (I use Trader Joe's California Slab Apricots Blenheim Variety or Trader Joe's Blenheim Variety Extra Choice)
¼ cup (50 grams), plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (236 grams) water
1 tablespoon (15 grams) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon

    1. Place the apricots and ¼ cup sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until the apricots are coarsely pureed, about 30 seconds.
    2. Scrape the pureed apricots into a microwave-safe 1- to 1½-quart bowl. Stir in the water, lemon juice and zest, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
    3. Cook, uncovered, at full power for 8 minutes in a 700-watt microwave. If your microwave is more than 700 watts, adjust the cooking time or power setting. If your microwave does not have a carousel, rotate the container after 4 minutes.
    4. Stir the marmalade, then transfer to a 2-cup jar. Cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate. The marmalade will keep for a week or two in the fridge. Makes about 1½ cups.

The ultimate ham on rye

After finding a great recipe for Russian Black Bread on the Bob's Red Mill website, I've continued to explore the bread machine recipes on the site. I've never been a big fan of rye bread, but this recipe for Swedish Rye Bread looked interesting so I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. I think this is the best bread yet to have emerged from my bread machine, and there was a lot of agreement at the family dinner last night for Dylan's last evening at home before the end of spring break.

I used what was left of the bread from last night to make the ultimate ham-on-rye sandwich for lunch, using house-made prosciutto from the Timbercreek Market, Kerrygold Dubliner cheese, and Trader Joe's Dijon mustard (a little goes a long way—one review puts the mustard in its very own "my-nose-just-exploded category"). It was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, and I'm already looking forward to a repeat for dinner.

Swedish Rye Bread

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

You can find general instructions for making this bread by hand here.

250 grams (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) water
63 grams (3 tablespoons) honey
21 grams (1½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted (or oil)
272 grams (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
160 grams (1⅓ cups) dark rye flour
1 tablespoons whole caraway seeds, or to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt
¾ teaspoon orange zest, or to taste
1½ teaspoons instant yeast; or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the bread pan, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean. Check the dough again during the second kneading cycle (about 45 minutes in, when the alert sounds).
    3. Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. When the timer sounds, turn the machine off and unplug the power cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Store the bread cut side down on a piece of foil. Makes a 1½-pound loaf.

A bread for me, but that everyone likes

I've been breaking out the bread machine more often lately, doing some experimenting trying to come up with a loaf that's more whole grain than the bread I've been making for Brad and Cassie's sandwiches and for grilled cheese sandwiches. I found this recipe for 100% whole wheat bread for the bread machine on the King Arthur website. It was tasty but fairly assertive on the wheat flavor. Also, 100% whole-grain breads tend to collapse in the middle when you make them in the bread machine, and this one was no different. So I actually cut back on the whole wheat flour just a bit, and found that the high-protein King Arthur all-purpose flour gave the bread plenty of structure, with no need for the vital wheat gluten that's used in the original recipe for that purpose. I also swapped in some golden flaxseed meal because it adds good flavor and works really well in bread machine breads. I ended up with a loaf that's about 80% whole grain. It was supposed to be for me, but Brad and Cassie both really like it, so they'll start seeing some of this in their lunches as well.

So why do I keep posting recipes for the bread machine? Well, one or more of you may decide to get a bread machine one day. And why not, mine works great, costs less than $100, and I use it 2 or 3 times a week to make fresh bread. It's worth it just to have the house smell so good on bread-making days.

But even if you don't ever get a bread machine for yourself, you can still make all of the bread machine recipes by hand. It's pretty easy really. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl with a rubber spatula. Scrape them out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead until you have a soft, smooth dough, about 5 to 10 minutes. It's a good hand and forearm workout for you climbers. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let it rise until it's puffy and nearly doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the bread and how warm your kitchen is. Once the dough is risen, spray a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. The size of the pan depends on the recipe. Here's a good article on what size loaf pan to choose. This recipe uses about 3½ cups of flour and flaxseed meal, so you'd probably choose a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Gently deflate the dough, then place it in the prepared pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap or a disposable shower cap (grab one from the hotel the next time you stay at one), and let it rise until it's puffy again, probably another 45 to 75 minutes. In a smaller pan, the risen dough will probably crown a little over the rim of the pan, but I doubt this one would in the larger pan. Near the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake in the center of the oven until the bread is golden brown and baked through, probably about 35 to 45 minutes depending on the recipe and the size of the pan. If you have an instant-read thermometer, the bread will register 190 degrees when it's done. Check the bread after about 20 minutes—if it looks like the top is browning too quickly, tent the bread with foil for the remainder of the baking time. Remove the pan from the oven, wait a minute, then turn the bread out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing (if you can't wait that long, let it cool for at least 30 minutes).

Honey-Wheat Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Time: 3 hours total, but only 7 minutes to get the ingredients into the bread machine and started baking (step 1)

I usually make this with 2 tablespoons each of sesame seeds (18 grams) and golden flax seeds (15 grams).

295 grams (1¼ cups) lukewarm water
27 grams (2 tablespoons) olive or sunflower oil
3 tablespoons honey (63 grams); or maple syrup (58 grams); or sugar (35 grams)
350 grams (2½ cups) regular or white whole wheat flour, preferably King Arthur
90 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour, preferably King Arthur
25 grams (¼ cup) flaxseed meal
¼ cup sesame, flax, or sunflower seeds, or a combination, optional (see note)
1½ teaspoons sea salt
1½ teaspoons instant yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the pan, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean.
    3.  Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. Check the bread when the timer sounds. If it's done, turn the machine off and unplug the cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Makes one 1¾-pound loaf.

Snow day

Everyone had a snow day today, including me. I ran before the snow started, figuring I wouldn't get to run for a few days at least. There was a beautiful sunrise over Carter's Mountain, so I decided to head over there and do a lap around some of my favorite trails. The gate was locked so I hopped over the fence and had the place practically to myself (there were a few other people who had the same idea). Here's the lame haiku I used to describe my run on Strava:

Sunrise over Carter's:

The calm before the storm,

Red snowpocalypse dawn

On my way to and from Carter's Mountain, I ran by Food Lion, which was really crowded even at 8:00 am with people stocking up for the big one. And I knew there'd be no bread there anyway, so I went through all the bread machine recipes at the Bob's Red Mill website, just because that's where I found the Russian Black Bread recipe I really like.

I picked out a simple recipe that's one-third whole wheat. It's a low-rising, dense loaf so it's good for grilled cheese, which is what I made for Cassie and me (Brad wanted a plain cheese sandwich).

I have never liked mayonnaise, but I recently discovered it's the perfect way to make grilled cheese—even coverage, no waiting for the butter to soften, and it browns and crisps perfectly without burning as easily as butter. But you have to use good mayo or the sandwich will just taste like bad mayo. Homemade mayonnaise is best and quick to make, but it doesn't last long, so I keep Duke's Mayonnaise in the fridge just for making grilled cheese sandwiches.

Sandwich Bread

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

You can find general instructions for making this bread by hand here.

295 grams (1¼ cups) warm water
3 tablespoons (40 grams) neutral-tasting oil
1 tablespoon (12 grams) sugar
1 tablespoon potato flakes
1½ teaspoons sea salt
272 grams (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
152 grams (1 cup) stone ground whole wheat flour 
1¼ teaspoons instant yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the bread pan (which is what I found with this loaf), add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean. Because I found this to be a very sticky dough, I checked again during the second kneading cycle (about 45 minutes in, when the alert sounds), and found that I needed to add another tablespoon of flour.
    3. Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. When the timer sounds, turn the machine off and unplug the power cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Store the bread cut side down on a piece of foil. Makes one 1½-pound loaf.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Adapted from Gabrielle Hamilton via Food52

Homemade bread is great, but you won't usually have that around. The original recipe recommends "rustic bread." I've made this with pain de campagne from Albemarle Baking Company. It tastes good and gets really crispy, but the bread is too airy for grilled cheese, which is true of most bakery breads. So the easiest alternative is the best bread you can get at the grocery store, which is probably Arnold, unless you have a Trader Joe's, in which case I like Trader Joe's Sprouted Multi-Grain Bread or Harvest Whole Wheat Bread.

You can use whatever cheese you want, including all Cheddar, as long as most of it melts well. Gouda is another good option for a melting cheese—a red wax Gouda is typical, but Trader Joe's has an especially good goat's milk Gouda. I like to use some Asiago because the sharp flavor adds some oomph to the sandwiches. There are plenty of other ways you can sexy up your grilled cheese, including spreading duxelles or cranberry sauce on the inside of the bread before sprinkling the cheese on. 

40 grams grated Asiago cheese (see note)
40 grams grated Gouda or Cheddar cheese (not extra-sharp)
Good mayonnaise
4 ½-inch-thick slices of good sandwich bread (see note)

    1. Mix the cheeses together in a small bowl.
    2. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise evenly over 2 slices of the bread, then place them mayo side down in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat to start. Sprinkle each slice of the bread evenly with the cheese. Spread the remaining 2 slices of bread with a thin layer of mayo, then place them mayo side up on top of the cheese.
    3. Cook until the bottom slices are golden brown and crispy. If you start with a cold pan (which you should since you're using an ungreased nonstick skillet), this can take about 10 to 12 minutes, so be patient. Adjust the heat down, if needed, so the bread gets to golden brown as the cheese is starting to melt. Flip the sandwiches over carefully. Cook until the other side is golden brown and crispy and the cheese is completely melted, about 5 minutes more.
    4. Remove from the heat to a cutting board. Let the sandwiches cool for a minute or two, then cut each in half and serve. Makes 2 sandwiches.

My other self: what's with the tighty-whities?

I was curious what impact my legion of readers (hello? anyone out there?) was having on this blog's standing on the Internet so I did something I haven't done in a while and Googled Paul Ferrer. Things have certainly changed since the last time I checked! Now the first thing you see is images and YouTube videos of a bunch of studly young guys in tiny, body-hugging underwear. And that underwear has "PAUL FERRER" imprinted on the waistband right above the models' packages. It seems that a Colombian underwear company has started doing business using my name. My first thought was, "I've got to get me some of that underwear." No more confusion about whose wears I'm getting out of the wash and folding. Then I wondered whether the models would still have better-looking six-packs than me when they're all 51. Anyway, you know what to bring home for me the next time you're in Colombia. To paraphrase John McPhee in "North of the C.P. Line," I now invariably find myself wishing that I were Paul Ferrer, underwear mogul.

So no blog on page 1 or 2 of the search results. Moving on to page 3, still no blog but I do make my first appearance as Paul Ferrer | Runner on Strava. If you want to follow the exploits of an aging, oft-injured runner, by all means check it out. But I forbid Brad to join Strava and start logging his runs, or there will be nothing left of my already low self-esteem (what with comparing myself to the young underwear models) as he blows by my local segment PRs one after another.

Right after that, you get to my work bio. There are clearly problems with Google's search engine optimization formula (c'mon Google, where's my blog?), but at least they have that right: Running>>>work.

I gave up after 10 pages and no blog and decided to change tack. Google's Blogger platform has some cool tools that let you track such things as pageviews by browser, operating system, and country. As of today, over 10% of my pageviews have come from Russia. Blogger also shows me that the Russian traffic is coming through Google Play from what looks like a dating app (it's in Russian so I can't say for sure) that's labelled Mature 17+. There isn't a whole lot of maturity in this blog (and certainly none in this post) so they're probably not finding much of what they're looking for here, but just in case ...

Dobro pozhalovat, my Russian friends! I have not yet posted a recipe for borscht, but here's something you might like:

Russian Black Bread

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

I have no idea how Russian this bread really is, but it tastes good. It's a fairly low-rising loaf with a dense crumb. If you want a lighter, fluffier loaf, you can try adding a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten. You can also adjust the caraway seeds to taste if it's too strong (or not strong enough) for you. You can find general instructions for making this bread by hand here.

315 grams (1⅓ cups) water, at room temperature
40 grams (3 tablespoons) neutral-tasting oil
32 grams (1½ tablespoons) molasses or barley malt syrup
22 grams (1½ tablespoons) cider vinegar
340 grams (~2½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
150 grams (~1¼ cups) dark rye flour
11 grams (2 tablespoons) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon whole caraway seeds
½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
½ teaspoon minced dried onion, optional
1½ teaspoons instant yeast; or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the bread pan (which is what I found with this loaf), add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean. Because I found this to be a very sticky dough, I checked again during the second kneading cycle (about 45 minutes in, when the alert sounds).
    3. Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. When the timer sounds, turn the machine off and unplug the power cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Store the bread cut side down on a piece of foil. Makes one 1¾-pound loaf.

The weekend baking

A few years ago I started reading more about food, starting with The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  If you want the shortest possible version of Pollan's answer to the question what we humans should eat to be maximally healthy, it's "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." But at the end of the article, he gives you nine rules of thumb for eating better, which he eventually expanded into the 83 rules in the illustrated edition of Food Rules.

After reading Pollan and others, I started looking at what's in the packaged foods you were eating and didn't like what I saw. All of them broke most of the rules, including #7: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce." So I resolved to start making more of your food at home, including the sandwich bread and the muffins Brad and Cass bring for lunch every day.

This does not sit all that well with Dylan, who was out of the house by the time I was enlightened and had to endure years of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on store-bought white bread in his school lunches. But personal growth can occur throughout the life cycle and, in this case, better late than never. Anyway, it's hard to take too much criticism on this point from someone who when he was younger insisted on eating bologna sandwiches that I could only make thin enough for his liking by stepping on them.

Blueberry Muffins 1.5

Adapted from Cook's Country #58, Aug/Sept 2014

Time: 37 minutes until the muffins are out of the tin

Version 1.5 skips the step of mixing the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls and then combining them, so now you only have to clean one bowl. This recipe works with 100% all-purpose flour; pretty much any combination of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour; and even a 50-50 blend of all-purpose and brown rice flours (which is what's pictured above). If you want to try it with 100% gluten-free flour blend, you'll have to whisk in ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum in step 3.

2 large eggs (~57 grams each still in the shell)

150 grams (¾ cup) granulated sugar
57 grams (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
53 grams (¼ cup) neutral oil, such as sunflower or canola
1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract
240 grams (1 cup) buttermilk or plain kefir; or ½ cup (120 grams) plain Greek or regular yogurt + ½ cup (118 grams) water

2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

310 grams (~2½ cups) flour (see note)

140 grams (1 cup) fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
Coarse sugar (like turbinado) for sprinkling, optional

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 400 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
    2. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and break up with a whisk. Add the sugar, butter, oil, and vanilla. Whisk for 30 seconds. Whisk in the buttermilk.

    3. Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the wet ingredients, then whisk until combined.
    4. Add the flour(s). Using a silicone spatula, stir gently until almost combined. Add the blueberries and stir until just combined. Don't overmix.
    5. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin. A rounded #16 disher (¼ cup) works well for this job. There should be about 85 grams of batter in each well, which will be filled about ¾ full. Sprinkle each muffin with some coarse sugar, if desired.
    6. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached, about 18 minutes. Cool for no more than 5 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Makes 12 muffins.

 

 

Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread

Adapted from Whole Grain Breads by Machine or Hand (1998) by Beatrice Ojakangas

I started out making this bread every week but it was aggressively wheat-y and I got tired of making it every weekend. So I asked for a bread machine for Christmas and started experimenting with a few recipes. This one, from a book I found at the Friends of the Library book sale for $2, has been Cassie's favorite because it's soft like store-bought bread (even when I do sneak in some flax seeds). The original recipe calls for bread flour but you can get away with all-purpose flour if you use King Arthur, which has a higher protein content than other all-purpose flours. You can find general instructions for making this bread by hand here.

50 grams (½ cup) rolled oats
42 grams (3 tablespoons) butter, cut into pieces
315 grams (1⅓ cups) boiling water
250 grams (2 cups) bread flour or King Arthur all-purpose flour (see note)
170 grams (1½ cups) white whole wheat flour
35 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar
25 grams (3 tablespoons) buttermilk powder
20 grams (2 tablespoons) golden flax seeds, optional
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons instant yeast

  1. Put a kettle of water on to boil. While the water is heating up, weigh the oats and butter into the bread machine pan. When the water is ready, pour it into the pan. Let the mixture stand until it is just lukewarm, 15 to 20 minutes.
    2. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    3. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the pan, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean.
    4. Once the dough is just right, you should be able to forget about it and let the machine do all the work, except that I usually set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. Otherwise, it gets overdone. When the timer sounds, turn the machine off and unplug the power cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Store the bread cut side down on a piece of foil. Makes one 1¾-pound loaf.