Whole Wheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Most of the bread I make is a combination of whole grain and all-purpose or bread flours. I like the nutty flavor and full feeling whole grain provides, but prefer the addition of other flours to lighten the texture. Without a flour blend, whole grain breads can be dense and tough.

I was intrigued when I came across this King Arthur Flour recipe boasting a 100% whole wheat cinnamon swirl bread. While it only includes whole wheat flour, the dough gets its tenderness from the addition of nonfat dry milk and potato flakes.

I made it with traditional whole wheat flour, but it can be made with white whole wheat - which would make it more palatable for kids. Either way, a slice of this bread toasted and topped with peanut butter makes a fast, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast.

Combine starter ingredients and allow to rest at room
temperature overnight or up to 16 hours. This starter rested for 15 hours.

Combine starter with dough ingredients. Knead. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease
the top. Cover and let rise 90 minutes. This dough was mixed and kneaded using
a stand mixer. If kneading by hand, resist the urge to add additional flour.

The dough will double in size (it may take longer than 90 minutes).

Roll the dough to a 16"x9" rectangle. Brush with beaten egg.
Combine filling ingredients and sprinkle over dough.

Beginning at the short end, roll up dough. Pinch seam to seal.

Place rolled dough in a greased 9"x5" loaf pan. Cover and let rise for 90 minutes.

Dough is ready to bake when it's risen 3/4" over top of pan. Bake at 350
degrees for 50-55 minutes, tenting with foil after the first 10 minutes.

Breakfast is served! This bread is great toasted. It would also
make a tasty base for French toast and bread pudding.

100% WholeWheat Cinnamon Swirl Bread

From King Arthur Flour

Starter
1/2 cup cool water
1 cup white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup orange juice*
5 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup potato flour or 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
2 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
*Use 2 tablespoons less orange juice in summer (or in a humid environment), 2 tablespoons more in winter (or in a dry climate).

Filling
1 large egg, beaten; to brush on dough
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Make the starter: In a mixing bowl, combine the water, flour, and yeast, stirring until the flour is evenly moistened. Cover the bowl, and let the starter rest overnight at cool room temperature, for up to 16 hours or so; it'll become a bit puffy, and flatten out.

Add the remaining dough ingredients to the starter in the bowl, and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you've made a cohesive dough. If you're using a stand mixer, knead at low speed for about 7 minutes. Note that 100% whole wheat dough will never become smooth and supple like dough made with all-purpose flour; it'll feel more like clay under your hands, and may appear a bit rough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise until it's expanded and looks somewhat puffy, about 90 minutes. Note that dough kneaded in a bread machine will rise faster and higher than bread kneaded in a mixer, which in turn will rise faster and higher than one kneaded by hand. So if you're kneading by hand, you may want to let the dough rise longer than 90 minutes.

Make the filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly oiled work surface. Shape the dough into a long, thin rectangle, about 16" x 9". Brush the dough with some of the beaten egg. Sprinkle the filling onto the dough. Beginning with a short edge, gently roll the dough into a log. Pinch the side seam and ends closed. Pat the log gently to shape it into a smooth 9" cylinder, and place it in a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.

Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow the loaf to rise until it's crowned over the rim of the pan by about 3/4", about 90 minutes. Don't let it rise too high; it'll continue to rise as it bakes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lightly tent it with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

Run a stick of butter over the top of the hot loaf, if desired, for a softer crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Yield: one 9" x 5" loaf.

Magical Popovers

Popovers are magical. With high heat and steam, a thin batter is transformed into light, crispy and slightly eggy puffballs of goodness. Slathered with butter or homemade jam, they're the perfect accompaniment to soups, salads, roasted meats or the star of brunch.

Popovers are easy to make with everyday ingredients you probably have on hand right now. I've tried lots of popover recipes and this Baking Illustrated recipe is my favorite. For the lightest popovers with the most lift, use a popover pan. They can be made in a muffin tin, but the result will be denser.

Combine the ingredients in a batter bowl or other container with a spout (a 4 cup measuring
cup also works). The handle and spout make it easier to quickly pour the batter into the hot wells.
Let the mixture rest at room temperature for 30 minutes

While the batter rests, prepare your pans. If I'm making for me and the hub, I use the large
size for six generous popovers. For a dinner party I use the small pan with 12 smaller wells.
Prepare the pan by adding 1/2 tsp oil to the large cups or 1/4 tsp oil to the small cups.

Place the popover pan on a baking sheet on the lowest oven
rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

After the batter has rested quickly remove the pan from the oven and evenly distribute
the batter among the well. Return the pan to the oven and bake at 450 degrees for 20
minutes. Without opening the oven door, lower the heat to 350 degrees and
continue baking an additional 15-18 minutes.

Popovers are ready when they are deep golden brown all over. Invert pan onto a
cooling rack. Cool popovers for two minutes and serve immediately.
These are best eaten just after they've been baked. 

Crispy on the outside and silky on the inside. Perfect with butter, honey or jam.

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

In a bowl, whisk eggs and milk for 20 seconds. Add flour and salt and mix with a wooden spoon just until flour is incorporated. Batter will still be lumpy. Add the melted butter and whisk for 30 seconds until batter is smooth. Let batter rest for 30 minutes. In the mean time, place 1/2 tsp vegetable oil to the well of each popover pan (1/4 tsp if you're making smaller popovers). Adjust oven rack to lowest position and place popover pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. After batter has rested, remove hot pan from oven and quickly distribute batter among wells. Return pan to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Without opening the oven door reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 15-18 additional minutes until deep golden brown. Invert pan onto a wire rack to remove popovers. Cool for 2 minutes and serve immediately.

King Arthur Flour Baker's Harvest Conference

Recently I traveled to the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Norwich, VT to attend the Baker's Harvest Conference. The two-day event included a variety of hands-on bread and pastry classes, panel discussions and bakery crawls. Attendees included a range of novice, experienced and professional bakers.

This was my second year attending the conference and I selected classes focused on bread baking and shaping, including instruction using a wood-fired oven. I make most of the bread we eat at home and wanted to learn new techniques, get better at making artisan loaves, and finally learn how to correctly slash dough using a lame!

While I accomplished two of those goals (still practicing the slash), I learned a tenet of artisan bread baking: time equals flavor. While fine-textured fortified bread relies on eggs, milk, butter or other ingredients for flavor (and have a short rise time), the ingredients in the bread I made included a pre-ferment (starter), yeast, flour, salt and water. Flavor and texture develop over time (up to three days for pizza crust).

Classes

Pretzels & Bagels from the Wood-Fired Oven
I wouldn't have thought of baking either of these items in a wood-fired oven but the result was chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside with tasty charred bits. Both pretzel and bagel doughs were made the day prior and allowed to ferment in the fridge overnight, then shaped. Bagels were boiled for 1-2 minutes then baked. Pretzels were dipped in a lye solution then baked.

Bagels removed from boiling water solution,
topped with seeds then placed on a cornmeal-dusted peel.

A sesame bagel fresh from the wood-fired oven.

Traditional pretzels just out of the oven.

Milling & Baking with Freshly Milled Flour
This class discussed the different types of grain and using fresh vs. aged flour. We also got a tour of the bakery and a primer on making decorative loaves.

Round loves rising in proofing baskets.

Instructor and KAF Baker, Martin Philip,
turns loaves out of the baskets to be
loaded into the oven.

Finished stencil.

Before baking, loaves are decorated
using a stencil and cocoa.

Bread is quickly loaded in the oven. Each door is a separate deck.
Steam is added to develop a crispy crust.

Pizza from the Wood-Fired Oven
Pizza is my favorite food. So I really enjoyed this class. A lot. Dough was made up to three days prior and allowed to ferment in the fridge. It was (tossed) thin, topped with sauce and a few other toppings and baked in minutes. I sampled them all, but my favorites included the pies topped with fresh, uncooked sauce. Fresh and light.

Andrew Janjigian, Assoc Editor for
Cook's Illustrated starts with the crust.

Adding toppings.

Baked in a hot wood-fired oven for just a few minutes.
The charred crust was my favorite.

Bakery Breads
Perfect baguettes are a baker's holy grail. This class taught me how to handle, roll and bake in a home oven. And I learned to curb my desire to add too much flour to aid in shaping. If repeating a task 10,000 times makes you an expert, I only have 9,998 more loaves to make.

See the baker's hands? That's how to roll a baguette. Fingertips and heels of the hand should remain on the bench. It's being done correctly if you can hear a "swooshing" sound as your hands remain in contact with the bench as you roll.

Best part of the experience? Baking for two days with my nephew, Kyle!

My goal is to practice by making artisan loaves (or bagels/pretzels) a couple times each week for a year. And envision my backyard with a wood-fired oven. What food skills are you trying to perfect?

Baguettes
From King Arthur Flour

Poolish:
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 oz) all-purpose flour
5/8 cup (5 1/4 oz) cool water
pinch of yeast

Final Dough:
2 3/4 cups (11 oz) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (6 oz) cool water
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

For Poolish: The night before you're ready to bake, combine poolish ingredients until blended. Cover bowl tightly and let poolish ferment for about 15 hours at 70 degrees. When it's ripe, the poolish should be very bubbly and fragrant.

For Final Dough: When poolish is ripe, add the flour, water, yeast and salt and stir to combine into a cohesive mass. The dough should be somewhat sticky, so you may need to add a bit more water.

Turn the dough onto a smooth, unfloured surface to knead. Resist the temptation to add more flour. After a short time the dough will smooth out and feel less sticky. (You can also knead on the medium speed of a mixer for 3-4 minutes.) When the dough is smooth and elastic, return to the bowl and cover well to rise. Let rise 1 1/2 hours folding once after 45 minutes (or more often of the dough is very slack).

Divide dough in two and pre-form rounds. Lest rest, covered, for 20 minutes. Shape into baguettes. Place shaped bread, seam side down on a couche or a lightly floured tea towel and let proof, covered, until not quite doubled 30-40 minutes. While dough is proofing, preheat oven and baking stone to 500 degrees.

Place the risen loaves on parchment paper, on a peel and slash. Slide baguettes onto the stone. Fill the oven with steam (place cast iron or other pan on lower rack during preheating. Pour boiling water quickly into pan after placing loaves on stone). Bake until the crust is well caramelized and the sides are very firm, about 25 minutes total.

Easy Homemade Focaccia

I love the flavor imparted to bread by a long slow rise. But some days, I need bread to rise and bake fast. Focaccia comes together in about an hour and dresses up pasta, soups, salads and sandwiches. This recipe is fool proof and the leftovers make fantastic paninis. Feel free to use any herb that suits your taste.

This recipe works with fresh or dried herbs.
I snipped this rosemary from the herb bed just outside the kitchen door.

Mix dry ingredients and herb in a large bowl.

Add warm water, olive oil and egg. Combine to form a thick batter.
Cover bowl and let rest 10 minutes.

With oiled hands, spread batter in pan.  Don't worry if it doesn't reach the corners of the pan.
It will spread out as it rises. Top with olive oil, cheese, salt & pepper.
Let rise in a warn place until nearly doubled.

Bake risen dough in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Cool bread and cut into squares. Serve with olive oil or balsamic vinegar for dipping, if desired. 

Adapted from Fleischmann's Yeast Best-Ever Breads 

Makes 6 generous servings

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole grain flour

2 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast (1 package)

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried 

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup very warm water (120 - 130 degrees)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg

Topping

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

In a large bowl, combine flours, yeast, rosemary and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in warm water, 2 Tbsp olive oil and egg to make a stiff batter. Cover and lest rest 10 minutes. With lightly oiled hands, spread batter in an oiled 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Top with 1/4 cup olive oil and cheese. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 15 to 30 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares. 

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