Tri-Coloured Breadsticks

These breadstkcks are made with 3 variations on the same dough - one with butterfly pea flower water, one using the same water with a touch of lemon juice (which transforms it into a beautiful purple) and one using pumpkin in place of some of the water. My niece was in charge of knocking back, rolling out strands are braiding them!

Jump to Recipe

There's nothing quite like the excitement of getting your hands dirty and creating something delicious from scratch, especially when you're using unique and vibrant ingredients - and you have a couple helpers in the kitchen! These breadsticks were the result of an abundance of pumpkin puree, a lack of fresh bread, and the urge to play with the Selefina Spices butterfly pea flower powder I had. The powder is more than just a way to add a slight floral note to the finished bread - according to my niece it's a magical potion ingredient! Butterfly pea flower powder has amazing color-changing properties when mixed with acid like lemon juice, resulting in a stunning indigo-violet hue. After making "magic" purple lemonade with the 5 and 2 year olds, we decided to make something that was filled with colour.

To set off the blue and violet colours, I grabbed a couple "pucks" of pumpkin that I had frozen from the Cinderella squash I roasted and used it to partially replace some of the water in that third of the dough. Not only did it provide a beautiful colour, but added a little extra nutrition in the form of beta carotene - which sparked a storytime about how I once at so much pumpkin I turned slightly orange because of it (I was an undiagnosed celiac with fat malabsorption and a lot of my "safe foods" contained it).

One of the best parts of having two extra sets of hands on deck - with inquisitive minds controlling them - is that it's an excellent opportunity to help them develop their skills in measurement, fine motor control and counting. Having a background in teaching home economics, I walked them through the process, step-by-step instructions for measuring and combining ingredients, answering their questions (like why we need yeast, how yeast works, and why we need to wait for the dough to rise). My mom took over for the braiding part, but my niece picked up the process quickly and insisted on doing all of them. 

We opted to make 8 long braids, and the leftover dough got the loaf treatment, transforming into this funky, multi-hued bread. It tastes just as good as it looks, and turns everyday sandwiches into something fun! 

 

Garlic Confit Focaccia #Breadbakers

Luscious garlic confit (and its oil) is the star of the show in this Garlic Focaccia. The crisp crust and pillowy soft interior is reminiscent of a perfect pizza, while pockets of sweet garlic will make you wonder why you ever made garlic bread any other way.

Jump to Recipe

There are a few scents that are guaranteed to make you hungry: baking bread, freshly made cookies, and garlic! Well, I don't have any cookies for you today, but this garlicky bread more than makes up for it - between making the garlic confit and baking the bread our house smelled like the best garlic bread for days.

 

My sister had spotted a garlic confit focaccia on social media one night, and immediately sent me the photo with the note "you need to make this". I mean, who am I to say no? Life got in the way however and the bread kept getting pushed to the back burner again...and again. By the time I got to it, she had forgotten about the email altogether! All was not lost though, because once the garlic started cooking she was all in for some new bread. 

 

Now, this loaf is a bit more time intensive than your standard sandwich bread, but the hands-on time is pretty minimal.The confit takes 2 hours in a slow oven to transform the sharp, in-your-face taste of raw garlic into a mellow, slightly sweet one. Luckily, while it cooks the dough can me made and have it's first rise, and while it cools down the dough will be doing a second, slower proof in the fridge. I was honestly worried about the garlic burning in the oven while the bread baked, but it stayed perfectly sweet and intact. The best part about this bread is not only does it get studded with garlic cloves and bathed in the garlic oil, but whatever's left (if anything!) is a perfect accompaniment if you love the allium as much as I do! We spread the confit cloves on chunks of the still-warm loaf and dipped it in the re-warmed oil.

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. http://www.pinterest.com/flpl/bread-bakers/ Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. https://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/p/breadbakers.html 

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. 

 

 

• French Onion Soup Rolls from Food Lust People Love
• Garlic Cloverleaf Rolls from Passion Kneaded
• Garlic Confit Focaccia from What Smells So Good?
• Gluten-Free Millet Chives Flatbread (Bajra chives Paratha) from Cook with Renu
• Moroccan Rghaif from Sneha’s Recipe
• Onion and Bay Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Onion Garlic Loaf from Ambrosia
• Onion Lover Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Scallion and Sesame Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Whole Wheat Onion Kulcha from Magical Ingredients
  
  

Blue Ombre Braided Bread

This braided sandwich bread is swirled with the most beautiful blue ombre thanks to @selefina.spices butterfly pea flower powder. Why not make every piece of toast or sandwich beautiful?

Jump to Recipe

Let's face it - the world outside (at least where I live in Canada) is kind of... monochrome. Between the snow, the slush and the bits of pavement and tree branches poking out, it really does seem like someone put a greyscale filter over the view.

That said, just because the world outside is grey and dreary doesn't mean that we can't create colour in the kitchen! I had been toying with the idea of making multi-hued bread with Selefina's Butterfly Pea Flower powder, and after looking at a few recipes I came up with a version of my own that ensured a tasty, high-rising, and ultimately deceptive looking loaf.

 

 

From the outside, it's really hard to picture the absolutely stunning crumb that awaits you when you slice into the bread. Even my mom and niece, who saw me making this, didn't think the difference would be as drastic as it was. The butterfly pea flower paste added the barest hint of floral aroma to the dough, which I thought played off the vanilla very well. Slices of this loaf made for perfect toast, but my mom also used them for peanut butter and jam sandwiches and said it worked well there too - the integrity and size of the slices held up to spreading while staying soft enough for that "classic" experience.

 

Pumpkin Cranberry Sourdough

'Tis the season! This hearty loaf is filled with pumpkin and cranberries, with a hint of sourdough starter to balance out the sweeter dough and pumpkin spice @nakednutrition Naked Shake. Baked in a pie pan, it's low rising but a showstopper nonetheless.

Jump to Recipe

I'm currently sitting here watching my 2 year old nephew experience pumpkin carving for the first time. While he is less than amused by the sliminess of the innards in the pumpkin, he has fallen in love with separating the pumpkin seeds from the stringy webbing and putting them into a bowl - which 100% works for me, since I'll be roasting them for rodent snacks after everyone finishes theirs! 

Personally, I cannot carve my own pumpkins anymore - arthritis precludes trying to saw my way through a 2 inch wall of pumpkin flesh - but I do get into the spirit of things by using pumpkin in a variety of treats! This bread was born out of inspiration from King Arthur Flour and a bevy of spices which arrived from Selefina Spices - the freshness and aroma of them is unmatched. Combined with a handful of dried cranberries and of course, the pumpkin, the dough smelled heavenly. Of course, with all the pumpkin pie elements, baking it in a pie pan fit well - and helped the relatively soft dough keep it's shape. Sliced into wedges, it was a perfect accompaniment to breakfast or mid afternoon tea!

Maple Walnut Bread

Maple Walnut Bread with sour cream and Canadian maple syrup is perfect on its own, or toasted with butter. I've heard it even makes fantastic French Toast!

Jump to Recipe

 Happy World Bread Day! I almost missed it (joys of life piling up around me) but luckily I remembered that I had made this loaf a while back for the express reason of sharing it for the event! 

One of the best things about the cooler temperatures here is that cranking up the oven or the stove isn't as much of a bother to the rest of the household. As a result, we've been eating a lot more hearty meals: stews, soup, even hot cereal some mornings when there's a threat of frost outside. I'm trying to ignore the fact that in a few short weeks we will have snow on the ground! Lately, the go-to breakfast for my mom has been porridge with flax seeds and a spoonful of amaranth, topped with diced apples or blueberry compote, and that meal combined with the weekend favourite of pancakes with maple syrup and chopped nuts inspired this loaf's creation. 

This bread is so simple to put together that it's easy to dampen your expectations of it's flavour. To be honest, I've had hit and miss results baking maple syrup into bread when it came to the taste coming through, so I wasn't too sure what would happen. As soon as I opened the oven door to pull this out though, I didn't have to wonder: the aroma of toasted nuts and unmistakable maple filled the kitchen. Cutting into it an hour later (sometimes, we just can't wait for these things to cool completely), my mom remarked that it was the perfect addition to teatime - subsequent days saw slices topped with butter, cream cheese, slices of Cheddar and raspberry jam. The heels of the bread became French toast, which - covered in maple syrup  - smelled heavenly.

Since we are headed into the holiday period which practically guarantees extra bits and bobs of nuts and dried fruit around the house, I can't wait to see what variations I can make to this moving forward.

 

Blueberry Pecan Bread

You can never have too many pecans (well, if you're a pecan lover like my mom!), and combined with this multigrain dough made with blueberry jam and a hint of orange blossom water every slice feels luxurious.

Jump to Recipe

With a week to go until she left on vacation, my mom and I decided to do a complete clean out of our fridge and freezers - yes, we have three freezers, which sounds great until the documentation of where things are starts to falter and more and more items get shoved to the back! In my rummaging, I came across a bag full of different nuts and seeds that I had put there for safekeeping and forgot about! 

Since I knew I had the end of a Costco-sized jar of blueberry jam to use up, I decided to try and combine the two into a slightly sweet whole grain loaf - just one, mind you, since otherwise we wind up with storage issues of the bread persuasion, and mom could bring the remainder of the single loaf on her road trip. Buffed by Naked Shake for protein and a hint of sweetness, and packed with whole grains for even more texture and fibre, the resulting loaf is perfect for when you need to keep full for a while and much better tasting than the average gas station fare!

This loaf inspired a few others in it's wake, so stay tuned to see the twists I put on this one and let me know what you would add to your perfect loaf: cherry jam and almonds? Grape jam and peanuts? Or maybe skip the nuts altogether and add your favourite fruit!

Condensed Milk Bread

Have a can of sweetened condensed milk about the house? Why not use it for something new - like two (or three) loaves of super soft whole wheat bread? I added a bit of extra flavour and protein with @nakednutrition Vanilla Naked Shake, and as you can see the resulting loaf (in admittedly a too small pan) had higher aspirations than I did in college 🤣

Jump to Recipe

I take a distinct pleasure in bread-baking day, especially since it gives me something to do between countless assignments and quizzes for school, or watching lectures. Periodically getting up to check on proofing, knock down and shape dough, or checking on it through the oven window is the perfect quick diversions of my attention that break up the monotony of the day. 

Today's loaf was surprisingly simple, yet such a performer! I had a can of condensed milk in the pantry with no plans to use it, so I searched a bit to see if I could incorporate it successfully in a loaf. RasaMalaysia gave me a great base recipe, which I tweaked a bit to double and make mostly whole wheat as well as add a hit of protein from my favourite Naked Shake. After the first rise, it shaped easily and I popped it into two loaf pans, hoping for the best since I only had one 9x5, the other one being an 8x4. Guys - spring for another 9x5, unless you're after the mushroom of a loaf I have here (or use three 8x4 pans)! That said, it may have looked a bit wonky but the crumb was velvety soft and the flavour was the perfect balance of sweet and wholesome. Toast it for a bit of heft before layering on jam or eat it straight with super soft butter - the choice is yours!

Dried Fruit and Pecan Loaf with @selefina.spices

This sweet and spiced Dried Fruit and Pecan Loaf is packed with dried apricots, blueberries and dates, which play off the toasted pecans and oats in the dough beautifully. A generous dash of spices from @selefina.spices ties everything together - try it toasted with cream cheese for a treat!

Jump to Recipe

Even though the spring weather is starting to creep out and more and more freshness is permeating the world, I have a soft spot for the warming, hearty baked goods all year round. In particular, if I'm making a loaf for breakfast (which is what I'm usually baking for Mom), I know there are a set of unofficial criteria to follow - slightly sweet, hearty (packed with whole grains, seeds, or as my mom calls them "bits"), and good toasted with either a Toast Topper, butter or cream cheese. In essence, it gives me free reign to clean out the pantry and freezer every once in a while, and figure out a way to tie everything together. This loaf was inspired by a plethora of dried fruit I had and bolstered by the recent arrival of a set of brand new spices from Selefina - a sister company to the Adagio teas I love and have reviewed here before. With a quiet afternoon on my hands I decided to create a Dutch-oven baked boule with a bunch of whole grains and the aforementioned ingredients to see how it all worked out. 

The first thing that I realized with this loaf is that the combination of ingredients makes for some happy yeast and a great rise, yet because the loaf is so hearty the crumb remains tight. This, to me, is not a bad thing - I want a piece of bread in the morning that can stand up to toasting or topping (or both), and the flavour was well worth the lack of airiness. The Dutch oven gives this bread a glorious crust too, so even while it may not be incredibly visually appealing, it is well worth the effort!

From the Press Release: The creative team behind Adagio Teas had recently launched Selefina Spices, a new online shop for herbs and spices. Selefina will also differentiate itself from other online purveyors by making its quality products available in small amounts. The objective is to deliver herbs and spices of optimum freshness as well as encourage trial of unfamiliar products and broaden culinary exploration. 

My notes: I love the fact that these spices come in small quantities, opaque, zip-sealed bags, and that the company has such a variety of them! I was sent a very generous variety, and looking at the website I can still see some that I'd love (looking at you, butterfly pea flower, lavender and pasilla chile). The fact that these spices come from a sister company to Adagio, who arguably make some of the best teas I've ever had (I'm still enjoying the last of the advent calendar offerings and can't wait til its iced tea season again) I know I'm getting quality ingredients. These spices are super fresh and potent, so a little goes a long way!

Chocolate Cherry Panettone with Almonds

Chocolate Cherry Panettone with Almonds is such a festive way to kick off the holiday season! A dash of vanilla and orange flower water and a hint of saffron make this extra special, while a few scoops of @nakednutrition Pumpkin Spice #nakedshake adds protein and more flavour!

Jump to Recipe

 

My favourite thing about the holidays is the smells associated with the spices and sweet baking that takes place. On the 23rd of December each year, my mom wakes up extra early (about 5AM) to start making our traditional holiday brioche and Challah, so by the time I'm awake to braid the Challah the house is already filled with the scents of cinnamon, dried fruit, yeast and sugar. My contributions are often less labour intensive - say, gingerbread and biscotti - but the timing worked just right this year for me to get in a holiday loaf of my own!

Last year I made these rich, golden panettone loaves as gifts, and it was in this vein that I decided to give it another twist. This time, I added dried cherries, almonds, and a hit of spices and protein with Naked Nutrition's Naked Shake in Pumpkin Spice flavour. Along with the whole wheat flour, I added some extra fibre with Naked Fiber, and tossed in some chopped dark chocolate for good measure (everything is better with chocolate!). 

I chose to bake this batch in two standard loaf pans, but you can also bake them in Texas-style muffin pans using the instructions here. If you don't have saffron, the same amount of turmeric will give the same colour (though not flavour), and for the orange flower water you can sub in some orange juice (again, different flavour but still delicious).

I wish each and every reader a safe and happy end to 2021 and a lucky 2022! I will be back in January with more delicious treats (and ramblings as I keep navigating my grad program).

Spiced Shredded Apple Loaf for #WorldBreadDay

It's fall - and that means warming spices and apples! This loaf is packed with shredded apples and laced with stong-brewed @adagioteas Masala Chai and Vanilla Roobois teas. It is a perfect pairing for strong cheeses or apple butter!

Jump to recipe

 It's the middle of October, and I for one love this time of year. Despite needing a light jacket (or a sweatshirt if, unlike me, you don't feel the cold), the aromas and colours of the season are by far some of the best of the year. 

On Thanksgiving weekend, my sister and I spent an hour or so at the orchard picking local apples, and when I came home and brewed myself a mug of apple-chai tea I was inspired to try and make a loaf of bread encapsulating all the spices and fruit of the season. A few hours (and a lot of flour) later I had some delicious low-rising loaves cooling on the rack waiting to be sampled. Had I thought more ahead I would have broken out my makeshift French bread moulds to keep them a little taller, but the flavour was perfect regardless!

I have to say I am spoiled for choice with teas this Autumn - the lovely folks at Aadagio Teas sent me a decadent selection of Autumn and Chai teas, each filled with warming flavors and spices. A mug (or two) is a perfect addition to the colder, rainy days of October and November here. To achieve the perfect brew for one, the company also has an adorable line of porcelain infuser mugs which are perfect (especially when working from home).
You can find the Autumn Tea Ssampler, Chai Sampler and infuser mugs all on adagio's site, and stay tuned since I've caught wind of an exclusive release tea for Black Friday!

Today is also World Bread Day and I am so glad to be able to submit my entry into the roundup at kochtopf.me this year. Zorra has been compiling World Bread Day roundups since 2006 (longer than this little project of mine has been around!) and I love seeing the entries from around the world.

 

Chocolate Strawberry Swirl Bread

This rich, twisted loaf is filled with fresh strawberries and chocolate chunks, making breakfasts just a touch more decadent these days!

I love when we get fresh Ontario fruit here - the peaches, cherries and berries always taste a million times better when it was picked just outside your door, not to mention the costs come way down! Along with simply eating them by the bowlful, I love being able to take the fresh seasonal strawberries and make beautiful and delicious things with them! As luck would have it, I came across a recipe for a fruit studded babka shortly after coming home from the farmer's market and I was instantly intrigued. Chocolate and strawberries are a natural combo (and, truth be told, the only real "fruit and anything" combination I like), so pairing them in an enriched loaf was a new but decadent twist for me. 

Because the bread was enriched with milk, eggs and butter, I knew it would have a higher "done" temperature than lean dough and I didn't want the sugar to burn by overbaking. When the timer rang, I was able to quickly read the internal temperature with my ThermaPen One, sent very graciously to me by ThermoWorks. The ThermPen ONE is touted as the world’s fastest cooking thermometer, and with one second, super-accurate readings i am inclined to agree! Developing the thermometer was the result of five years of research and development, and comes with a NIST-traceable calibration certification verifying its accuracy to national standards. This thermometer also features a patented auto-rotating 360° Display Technology, a super bright Intelligent Backlight and a motion-sensing Sleep/Wake Mode. Since the kitchen can get messy, it is also fully waterproof to IP67 standards! As you can see I also use it to temp the water for more delicate teas to avoid scorching, and I love the backlight because my kitchen has some really dark pockets!

 

For more information and to buy your own ThermaPen One, check out their website here. You can see more videos on their YouTube channel as well!

Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels

Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels are all the best parts of childhood in a chewy, perfectly toastable whole grain package. Smeared with cream cheese, butter or your favorite jam, you can't go wrong!

 

 

My family used to have a ritual when us kids were in school: at least once a month, the four of us would pile into the car and head to the bagel shop for a baker's dozen of goodies: my sister and I would each choose four of our favourites, and mom and dad would pick the other five. When it came to my sister, she rotated between three favourites: chocolate chip, plain, and cinnamon raisin. I have to admit, the cinnamon raisin bagels were incredible toasted with butter, and if they were out of sourdough (my fave), they were second on my list!

 

 

So it made me smile when my sister came to me asking for a whole grain version of her old favourites to take with her to work. I added in a squeeze of honey to accent the whole wheat and raisin flavour, and (as all bagels should be) I boiled them in honey water for an extra bump of flavour and shine. While I don't have a wood burning oven a la the Montreal style bagels I love, I did bake these on a baking stone which gave them an awesome, blistery texture.

 

Cooled and sliced, they were frozen on a tray for a quick grab in the morning - they would thaw by lunch and be ready for margarine or peanut butter!

The Bread Bakers Event for July 2021 is Favorite Breads, be sure to check out all the favorites baked this week!

• Blueberry Pistachio Chocolate Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
  
• Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels from What Smells So Good?
  
• Cranberry Yeast Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Rolls from Passion Kneaded 
• Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Ambrosia
  
• Lemon Zucchini Loaf from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  
• No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Boule from Sneha's Recipe
  

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Multigrain Blueberry Bread #BreadBakers

This Multigrain Blueberry Bread is full of nutty flavour from whole grain cereal while a hearty addition of @croftersorganic Wild Blueberry Spread adds a touch of sweetness and authentic fruit flavour. Baked in loaf pans, a slice or two are perfect for breakfast - I suggest toasted and topped with cream cheese and more blueberry spread, but they apparently also work with bacon and eggs!

Toast and jam used to be the absolute best part of a school day morning for me. Quick, easy and as variable as the available toppings in the fridge and pantry, it was a great way to get something in before the 45 minute car ride to school. When we had homemade bread on hand, breakfast was even better - you could not beat the heartiness of a slice toasted golden and topped. 

Now that I'm the principal bread maker in the house, I love playing around with ideas from my childhood as well as flavour combos that just taste awesome. I still had a large amount of blueberry jam left over after making the Butter Pecan Thumbprints and wondered if I could swap it in place of honey in a standard whole wheat bread recipe. The results were even better than I thought - the perfect blend of sweet, fruity and nutty with the multigrain and flax mix, a beautiful toastable crumb and the most delicate purple hue. Thankfully the recipe makes two large loaves because the first one disappeared in a few days!

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
This month’s event is Breakfast Bread hosted by Zesty South Indian Kitchen

• Breakfast Garbage Bread Making Miracles
• Danish Crisps A Messy Kitchen
• English Muffins Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Flax Meal Breakfast Bread Ambrosia 
• Fresh Cherry Chocolate Sourdough Bread Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Multigrain Blueberry Bread What Smells So Good? Montreal-Style Bagels Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rhubarb Strawberry Spiced Sourdough Bread Cook with Renu
• Sausage Stuffed Sourdough Crescent Rolls Food Lust People Love
• Spicy Masala Veggie Paratha Magical Ingredients
• Sourdough Angel BiscuitsPalatable Pastime
• Sourdough Crepes A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Discard Pancakes Sneha’s Recipe
  
  

Veggie Pesto Pizza

Veggie Pesto Pizza is all homemade and vegan, from the Sweet Potato Pizza Crust to the spinach and lentil pesto and mozzarella cheese. Leftovers (if any!) Freeze well and are perfect for snacks, lunches or next-day dinners.

 

 
Pizza and I used to be best friends when I was growing up. There was a small pizza place around the corner from my house growing up, and the owner Kerry was always there with a smile, asking us kids about our weekends and occasionally throwing us a double slice for the price of a single. School pizza days were okay, but the mass produced stuff couldn't hold a candle to Kerry's hand tossed crust and generous toppings.

As I got older and developed my host of dietary issues, pizza generally fell off the menu for me. I loved making it - I just couldn't eat it! When N (who also eschews pizza due to his sensitivity to tomatoes) was musing about missing his pizza, the two of us put our heads together and came up with an alternative that was healthy, tomato free and still delicious! A quick shop later and we had all the fixings for a new, vegan but equally delicious pizza on hand, using one of his favourite veggies - sweet potato!

I added the sweet potato to the crust in lieu of some of the water and oil traditionally present. I added a decent portion of whole wheat flour to the mix for flavour and nutrition, keeping enough all purpose to keep the dough smooth and elastic. Instead of tomato sauce, I whipped up a spinach and lentil pesto with lots of garlic and (vegan) Parmesan which added a great bright flavour that accented the sweetness of both the crust and the onion / pepper topping. A quick blast in the oven on my pizza stone later and we had two pies ready to go - one disappeared between dinner and breakfast (cold pizza is amazing, am I right?) and the other was packed for his work meals the next day. 

Mocha Cappuccino Bread

This hearty Mocha Cappuccino Bread is full of coffee and chocolate flavour, accented by the nutty notes of whole grain flour and @naturespathorganic Flax Plus Multigrain Flakes and studded with dark chocolate chips. A slice with peanut (or our favourite - cashew) butter makes for a decadent breakfast or anytime snack!

I have always loved the combination of coffee and chocolate. As a kid, my parents would make cafe au lait with a squeeze of chocolate syrup for me while they had their morning brews, and when I was introduced to cafe mochas as a young teen a good portion of my babysitting money found it's way into the coffers of the local coffee shop. Today, I always treat myself to a scaled-down, yet still delicious mocha as I'm winding down for the night - it may seem counterintuitive to have a late night coffee but it helps me sleep! While I love coffee itself too, I will fight tooth and nail for the chocolate and caffeine fix!

 

The only other person I know who shares the fierceness of my die hard love of coffee and chocolate is my mom. When I made chocolate-covered spoons in Home Economics class, all of a sudden they would "disappear" and a pot of coffee would be made. Even today, when I'm given chocolates from my students for Christmas or Easter, I'm guaranteed to find all the coffee-flavoured bon bons gone within a day or two! So, when I came across this coffee-infused loaf on Kneady Girl I was inspired to give it a twist, especially when it came to playing with one of my mom's new favourite cereals - Nature's Path's Flax Plus Flakes. She loves them because they stay crisp in milk and have a really deep, nutty and complex flavour when compared to other bran flake cereals as well as having fibre, protein and iron - all nutrients that she (and many people I know) struggle to get enough of in their daily diets. 

The crushed cereal wove its way throughout the loaves, staying slightly distinct even when saturated with the coffee and chocolate milk. For even more chocolate flavour, I rolled chocolate chips into the dough before coiling everything up and letting it proof in springform pans to help it maintain form. This bread baking smelled like the coffee shop I used to have by my university campus in Ottawa - a combination of pastry, yeast, chocolate and freshly brewed coffee wafting it's way around the kitchen. It was a good thing mom was out while I baked - when she came home she made a beeline for it right away!

Back to Basics Sourdough

What is more comforting than a back to basics, simple loaf of sourdough? If you have time on your hands (at least a few hours worth for active labour and a few days for resting) and a decent starter, this delicately tangy, chewy crust loaf can be yours with really very little effort! My sister hardly waited for it to cool before grabbing a big slice!

Well, happy May! I don't know if it's just me, but time seems to both crawl and fly by when lockdowns are involved - suddenly I have 10 times the work to do and almost none of the time to do it. Luckily, the school year is winding down and Summer is almost here, so while it may be crazy now I'm hoping good weather and more social opportunities will be around the bend.

Because I've been every so slightly busy these days, my breadmaking has transformed into low-effort, long rise affairs where I can simply mix, cover and rest, rest, rest until baking day. Luckily, sourdough is built for just that purpose - and you can mix up a few doughs and bake them throughout the week for always fresh bread with ever-tangier crumbs. This particular loaf arose from my sister's hankering for a sourdough boule while I was writing final exams. After promising her that everything would be baked off after the last test was in the books, I mixed up the levain and let it get to work. After the dough came together, it was pretty much hands off, save for the few stretch-and-folds along the way. A scorching hot Dutch oven was my baking vessel of choice and resulted in a blistered crust with a few open air pockets throughout. 

I say this a lot about bread, but if you have no self-control around carbs, the aroma of this one when it cools will tempt you beyond belief! I think this boule survived an hour on the cooling rack before the knives came out, leading to the round getting ever so slightly squashed. While the appearance may have suffered a bit, once the chunk was smeared with butter it didn't matter - the whole thing was gone within a week and the next batch already resting. The recipe is basic for a reason, and is a keeper in this household - I would love to try it in a real banneton one day too.

Golden Miniature Panettones

These golden, pillowy Mini Panettones are studded with dark chocolate, Craisins and pistachios and full of orange zest for an irresistibly festive flavour. They're rich and sweet with a secret ingredient that makes them even more special! 

Well, it's Easter weekend - and for the second time, both the Easter Bunny's visit and my birthday are being spent in lockdown. I shouldn't complain though, it isn't like I'm one for parties or bar-hopping, but it would be nice to actually grocery shop without the 45 minute lines again! This birthday is also being spent with limited baking potential, since I'm still relatively useless when it comes to hauling buckets of flour and bowls of dough here and there thanks to the car accident. So, rather than showcase a spiffy cake this year (though one may be forthcoming...) I'm going to share a festive bread that I made last Christmas and forgot to post about! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the experience, or the reactions from the family I shared it with. Besides, panettone seems to crop up at our household on the Easter weekend as well, so let's say it's still seasonal!

I will admit, I've always wanted to make this form of bread to see just what is so special about it - having a vast Italian stepfamily and working with a few others who love the stuff, its ubiquitous every holiday. One year we had 4 large ones in our pantry thanks to gifts from family and friends! Because we had far fewer people dropping by last year, I decided to try out a recipe that could be made rather easily in miniature form using jumbo muffin tins and a few ramekins, and just so happened to be vegan, but that would be no less decadent. My inspiration came from a carton of Coconut Nog that I picked up at the discount grocery, which seemed like it would add not only flavour but richness to the dough. To make up for the missing "eggy" colour, a pinch of turmeric sufficed. The dough came together like a dream and was satiny and soft like my mom's Brioche dough is. Then I debated fillings.

Given that my mom was one of my taste testers, I knew there had to be chocolate in there somewhere. I mean, how can you go wrong? After that, I looked to my stash and after finding my bag of shelled pistachios in the freezer it hit me - holiday colours could be had by adding Craisins too! I will admit that I measured these rather loosely, so my amounts below are a guide, but each little loaf had a generous amount of each component.

Now, sometimes little loaves are not what you need, but I have you covered with this nutty, citrusy, sweet bread recipe - it's absolutely translated into a large loaf pan and I give baking times below. Either way, I don't think it's fair to keep this as a holiday only affair - who's to say a Saturday morning isn't cause for celebration?

Multigrain Apple Sourdough

Multigrain Apple Sourdough is a giant loaf cooked in a Dutch oven for extra crusty goodness. Sweetened with apple juice and studded with local apples, it is a wonderful treat with butter or jam in the morning or with tea in the afternoon.

I cannot believe it took me so long to write about this wonderful bread. To be fair, December is always kind of insane around here, but since I've made (and refined) this recipe three times now I feel it is only fair to make it the first bread post of 2021! 

When N and I went apple picking in October, I knew this bread from Green Healthy Cooking had to be on my list of things to make. Normally, the apples we pick are firm and dense, perfect for baking because they don't ooze moisture - but this year they let me down in my first loaf. While the outside was beautifully burnished, the residual moisture in the fruit made the centre soggy and unsuitable for anything without a good toast. After figuring that out, though, I made sure to roast up a bunch of apple cubes and resolved to perfect the dough - I can't resist the combination of apples, maple and whole grains because it truly reminds me of my mom's apple squares. The roasting turned out to be the key! Not only did it remove the excess moisture in the apples, but it concentrated the sugars making them taste like pops of candy in the sourdough that surrounded them. I had to up the baking time as well, but don't worry - the slices are tender without falling apart, stand up to toasting or eating plain and keep extraordinarily well! The first morning she sliced into the most recent loaf, my mom topped it with old Cheddar and just snacked away, then for lunch spread it with peanut butter. If it had lasted, I'm sure I would have had some bread pudding perfection on my hands too in a week or so. 

The strangest thing for me, which I didn't notice until I was typing up the recipe, is that while I have apples and maple syrup going on, I didn't add any spice. No cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger to be found! That said, the loaf doesn't need them at all, but you most definitely could toss in your favourite (just note that cinnamon for some reason seems to antagonize yeast, so knead it in after the first rise).

You also may notice that this loaf does contain two types of yeast - regular active dry and instant. Normally, either will work, but because of the biga that is made for this loaf and the yeast spike after, they need different working times. If you use all active dry, the final dough will take longer to rise and may not be as robust, but if you use all instant I strongly suggest only using 4 g in the biga (you may not have to let it rest as long, maybe 8 hours or so). The combination I used includes a "gold" yeast intended for enriched doughs and really helps move the heavier flours in this loaf too.

Multigrain Apple Sourdough

Adapted from Green Healthy Cooking

Makes 1 large loaf 

 

2 large baking apples (I used Northern Spy), peeled and chopped

 

Biga

200g active sourdough starter

120 ml apple juice or cider

7 g active dry yeast 

120 g bread flour 

 

Final Dough

400 g whole wheat bread flour

400 g multigrain flour blend (or 350 g whole wheat bread flour + 50 g grain cereal like Qia)

10 g instant yeast (I used SAF Gold)
480 ml water
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt 

 

Apples

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. 
2. Spread the apples on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake the apples for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.

Biga

1. In a medium bowl, mix all the biga ingredients together until well combined. Cover with plastic and let rest at cool room temperature for 8-14 hours.

Final Dough

1. After the biga has rested, add the flours, instant yeast, water, maple syrup and salt.
2. Knead on low for at least 20 minutes until the dough is sticky and elastic.
3. Cover and let rise 1 hour.
4. By hand, fold in the roasted apple pieces until well mixed.
5. Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment and place in a bowl (parchment side down). Cover and let rise 45-50 minutes. 
6. About 15 minutes into the second rise, place a cast iron Dutch oven (I used my Staub) in the oven and heat to 475F.
7. When the dough has risen, carefully lower it into the hot Dutch oven using the parchment as a sling. Place the lid back on top of the Dutch oven and return to the oven, immediately lowering the temperature to 450F.
8. Bake (lid on) for 40 minutes, then remove the lid and bake a further 10 minutes. 
9. Remove from the oven and cool in the Dutch oven (lid off) for 10 minutes, then carefully move the bread to a cooling rack and cool completely

Beetroot and Poppyseed Sourdough

This Beetroot and Poppyseed Sourdough is cooked in a Dutch oven for an unbelievably crisp crust, and the long fermentation makes for the most amazing flavour and texture. You will never have a loaf quite like it!

 

The only (and I repeat: the only) good things about the cold weather coming around here are these: my root vegetables are finally ready to harvest, and I can turn on the oven and not get whined at for heating up the house. I proudly grow a variety of beets and carrots in my little plot every year, and take great pleasure incorporating them into things like chutney, soups, cake, pickles and bread. 

 

Now, beet bread is nothing new to me. I have made beet-enhanced bread on this blog before, and it is always a hit given it's natural sweet earthiness. That said, I never made one of the sourdough or Dutch oven baked variety! I came across this gorgeous idea while scrolling through my feed reader shortly before World Bread Day, and I immediately bookmarked it. Not only did it use up one of my large beets, but I didn't have to pre-roast and puree the vegetable - a simple grate is all that was needed. As a result, the bread baking process draws out the sweet liquid in the shreds, infusing every bite of the crumb and making it impossibly tender. A couple spoons of poppy seeds add crunch while the hot Dutch oven made the crust crisp and relatively thick (read: chewy!).

 

One of the reasons this bread was such a win for our family is that it was a sourdough recipe. This means that the bread takes a while to make, but it is almost completely hands off and while you sleep at night, making for fresh bread in the morning! The slight tang from the fermentation balances the nuttiness of the seeds and the sweetness of the beets as well, so every bite is sheer perfection (trust me: my mom ate a portion of this loaf without even butter). If you have a sourdough starter languishing after the bread boom of the summer, break it out and give it a few feeds before using it so it's lovely and energetic - the dough is rather heavy so the yeast needs to do a lot of work!

Sweet Potato and Apple Braid #BreadBakers

 Now this is Fall on a plate! A rich, slightly sweet whole grain yeast dough (fortified with @nakednutrition Naked Rice protein powder) is braided over creamy sweet potato apple butter custard and diced local Honeycrisps tossed with raw sugar. Enjoyed for breakfast or with ice cream as dessert, its a decadent twist on a classic pie.

This year has been weird on many levels, but for me the strangest part so far is that the holidays have been a lot easier for me to deal with. I am a total introvert, and the traveling and packing food (cause aren't allergies fun?) and worrying about getting home in the dark on roads in various states cause the joy to be sucked out of the time a little bit. However, I did always pride myself on coming to every holiday event (Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter) with dessert. My dad loves pumpkin pie, for instance - especially this pumpkin apple butter concoction - and since N and I had gone apple picking I had a batch of apple butter hanging out in the fridge in preparation for our holiday.

 

Obviously, 2020 had other plans for us, but N had mentioned a desire for sweet potato pie a few months ago and I had to indulge him! The first one was pretty plain-Jane and stuck to the script I found on One Dish Kitchen with the exceptions of using a pastry (not graham cracker) crust, slow-roasting the sweet potato to draw out the caramel notes and using evaporated 2% milk for the dairy. Since that was a hit (to say the least - it competed and tied with my mom's apple pie) I decided to make another one with a few of my own tricks. I amped up the sweetness with my choice of sweet potato (a purple-skinned, white flesh one, which is candy-sweet with slow roasting) and added in a touch of tang with my homemade apple butter. Naked Collagen added a boost of protein and kept the filling lusciously smooth even with the low-fat dairy and since it's tasteless the maple and spices were allowed to shine.

I used the same formula the next weekend to make a baked custard (having leftovers of pretty much everything on hand) and was wondering what to do with it. At least, I wondered until I was scrolling through Facebook where my friend had shared a caramel-apple braided loaf. I decided I'd take that idea and use what I had - my baked custard and diced apples left over from making mini apple pies for my sister's rats (yes, I spoil them, but they are ADORABLE). The bread dough (of course) became whole wheat and laced with Naked Rice protein (which helped the overall conditioning of the dough and rise imho) and flaxseed, making it a more flavourful and healthy wrapping than the sweet white bread that is traditional. I had to balance out the rich filling somehow! 

Braiding the loaf over the filling is really easy and looks more difficult and impressive than it is. Once it bakes, the plaits separate just slightly allowing the steam to escape and preventing a soggy crust, while adding just a touch of crisp and chew. I had no difficulty slicing the loaf in half to store (it took up my whole cookie sheet) and the baked loaf froze and thawed well without any weeping of the filling. I may try this again for the winter holidays!

 

Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our theme is Stuffed Baked Breads and our host is Renu of Cook with Renu.

• Coconut Buns by Magical Ingredients
• Callaloo Loaf by Passion Kneaded
• Double Cheese Fatayers by Ambrosia
• Meatball Stromboli by Palatable Pastime
• Pepperoni Rolls by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Ricotta Calzones with Spinach and Sausage by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Rolled Pepperoni Pizza Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Custard buns by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Stuffed Potato Kulcha by Sneha's Recipe
• Sweet Potato and Apple Braid by What Smells So Good?
• Taco Tuesday Calzone by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Whole Wheat Vegetarian Calzones by Cook with Renu

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.