Wheat Grinding

One of my favorite childhood memories is wheat harvest! I remember going to my grandparents farm in Kansas and helping make sandwiches and pies during the week for all the guys who were out working in the fields... good memories.  My aunt is a wonderful bread baker and grinds wheat from harvest every year for flour.  She would always share some flour with me but lately I've been needing a lot more flour and the wheat flour in the stores just does not compare.  So this year, my family brought me some wheat from harvest and I finally got around to grinding it yesterday! I now have wheat flour to last me probably a year and I am really excited.  So here is the process of how we ground the wheat into flour.

Beautiful wheat!

The wheat grinder we used.  A sweet friend used to grind all her flour and bake all her bread for her family, she's pretty awesome. 

We poured the wheat into the top of the grinder.

And the flour comes out the bottom.

I'm excited for all the breads and new recipes to try with my flour.  More recipes to come soon!

Lemon Rosemary Bread

photo by Stephen Carlile :)

This is one of the simplest bread recipes I have ever made :) I found this recipe a while back from Williams Sonoma and it's been on my list of things to bake.  The only thing stopping me was time.  This bread does take a couple days to make but I only spent actually 20-30 minutes with it.  And you don't have to knead it at all, so easy!  So today was the day, I'm home studying for finals and a special friend's birthday is tomorrow... perfect.

Note: You need a dutch oven to bake the bread but you could probably use a regular bread pan too. 

Lemon Rosemary Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon zest
2 teaspoons rosemary (fresh or dried)
1 1/2 cups water

 Combine flour, salt, yeast, rosemary, and lemon zest in a large bowl.  Add water and stir until the ingredients are blended.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit overnight (12-16 hours)

 The next morning, the dough will have risen and there will be bubbles on top.

 Place the dough on a floured surface and fold dough over on itself two times. 

 Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

After dough has rested, add enough flour to form the dough into a ball.  Generously cover a towel with cornmeal and place the dough on the towel, seam side down.  Sprinkle the top of the dough with more cornmeal and cover with another towel. 

 Let dough rise for about 2 hours until it has doubled in size.

 When dough is about 30 minutes from finishing rising, preheat a dutch oven at 450 degrees in the oven.  Gently place the dough into the dutch oven, seam side up.  It may look messy but no worries. 

 Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes until crust is golden. (Enjoy the wonderful smell while the bread is baking!)

Remove from dutch oven to cooling rack.  Enjoy!

Lemon Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini is another food that I love.  We love to grill it, saute it with other vegetables, or bread it with Panko crumbs.  I really love zucchini bread too because it is so moist and has such a great flavor and isn't to sweet.  The lemon adds a wonderful flavor too.  Hope you enjoy, I'm taking these to church tonight for a special meal we're having.  I'm counting down the days until the semester is over... only 2 weeks left! Have a happy Friday!

Lemon Zucchini Muffins

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (small to medium size)
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cups canola oil
1 whole egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 lemon zested
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients until just combined.
• Pour batter into 12 muffin tins or a 9x5 loaf pan (either grease the pan or use muffin cups).
• Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until muffins become golden and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Enjoy!

Brown Sugar-Raisin Bread

This is a wonderful bread recipe.  I made it last week during the snow storm and loved it!  It makes 2 loaves so you can give one to a friend or neighbor too!

Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Bread cookbook :)

Dough:
1 T. active dry yeast
3 T. sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 cup warm milk
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. salt
1 large egg, slightly beaten
6 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed (I used one cup of wheat flour)
1 cup raisins

Filling:
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
4 1/2 t. ground cinnamon. 

• In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the granulated sugar over 1/2 cup of the water and stir to dissolve.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

• In a heavy-duty mixer or bowl, combine remaining water, milk, melted butter, remaining sugar, salt, egg, and 2 cups of flour.  Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the yeast mixture and 1/2 cup of flour, beat for 1 minute.  
• Add the raisins, then mix in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough forms a ball.

• Knead bread then transfer to a greased bowl and turn once.  

• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1- 1 1/2 hours. 

• Lightly grease two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans.  
• Turn dough onto a floured surface, divide in two, and roll each into a rectangle (8-by-12 inch)

• Sprinkle each rectabcle with half of the filling, leave a 1-inch boarder on all sides.

• Roll the dough into a tight log, starting at the narrow end.  Pinch the ends to keep the filling inside.

• Place each log, seam side down, into the prepared loaf pans.  Cover and let rise until about 1 inch above the rim of each pan, 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

• Preheat oven to 350.  Bake until loaves are golden brown, about 35-50 minutes.  
• Turn onto racks and let cool completely.

ENJOY!!!

Bagels

Stephen and I decided to venture out today... Not into the snow, but to make bagels!  We've always talked about making them and this was a perfect day to do it.  I had all the ingredients on hand, so if you do too I would reccommend making these, it is really fun!  This process took us about 3 hours total (that includes rising time too), and was a pretty easy process which I was quite surprised about since I always heard bagels were difficult to make.  It's a great dough recipe though and that helps a lot.  So here it is...

Step 1: Mix your dough

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon salt
5-5 1/5 cups bread flour (I used about 1 cup of whole wheat flour in the mixture)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten

• In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1/2 c. of the warm water and stir to dissolve.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes
• In a stand mixer or bowl, combine remaining water, oil, sugar, salt, 2 cups flour, and the gluten.  Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of flour, beat for another minute.  Beat in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball.  
• Knead for about 6-10 minutes, add flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Put the dough in a bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap, let the dough rise about 1 hour or until it is doubled in size.  

Step 2: Forming the bagels

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with oil.  Take the dough and divide it into 4 portions then divide each portion into 3 pieces (12 bagels total) 
• Shape each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and flatten with the palm of your hand.  Poke a finger through the middle of the ball, stretch the hole to about 1 inch in diameter.
• Continue to work the dough into a nice bagel shape, make the hole a little bigger than you would think because it will shrink slightly when you stop.
• Place the bagels on the baking sheets, spray with oil and cover with plastic.  Let the bagels rise at room temperature until puffy, 15-20 minutes.  

Step 3: Boiling the bagels

• While the bagels are rising, prepare the water bath.  In a wide pot bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil over high heat.  Add 1 Tablespoon of baking soda to the water and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil. 
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Once bagels are puffy, lower 3-4 bagels into the water.  (The recipe says they will sink to the bottom then rise back up... ours did not do this)
• Boil for 2 minutes on each side.
• Take the bagels and transfer to a dry kitchen towel to drain for a moment. 
• Place the bagels back on a greased baking sheet (no parchment paper now)

Step 4: Bake the bagels

• When all the bagels are boiled, brush with egg whites and sprinkle with desired toppings.
• Bake until deep golden brown, 16-20 minutes.  
• Remove from oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.  

Plain Bagels

We used sea salt, poppy seeds, and chives for the toppings.  Sesame seeds or minced garlic would be good too!

Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread 

4 c. bread flour
2 t. yeast
2 t. salt
3 T. sugar
1 c. warm milk
1 1/2 c. starter
2 T. butter, softened

1. Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a bowl.  
2. Add the milk and butter (using a wooden spoon).  Stir in the starter.  
3. Mix in up to 3 more cups of bread flour and start kneading the dough on a floured surface. (May need to add more flour depending on the humidity.)
4. Knead for about 5 - 8 minutes.   
5. Place in a greased bowl, turn once, and let rise for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. 
6. Punch down and knead dough again for 1-2 minutes.  (This allows the yeast to redistribute and improves the texture when baked)  
7. Form dough into loaves.  (Sometimes I use a bread pan if wanting sandwiches, braid the loaf or other times I divide the dough into two loaves and bake it on a cookie sheet - this way you can keep one loaf and give one to a friend)
8. Allow the loaf to rise again until doubled, about an hour.
9. Brush loaf with egg whites for a nice finish. 
10. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (maybe more depending on if you make one loaf or two). 
11. While bread is baking, spray water into the oven a couple times or place some water on the shelf below to create steam in the oven, this will make a better crust. 

Enjoy!

Sourdough Starter

Over the last few months, I have really enjoyed making sourdough bread.  It has always been one of my favorite breads, I just love the flavor of the bread and the crusty loaf.  It is especially a great bread for panini sandwiches which Stephen and I love to make.

I started with a psuedo sourdough bread using vinegar and sour cream to achieve the sour flavor.  I was a little scared about making a sourdough starter and wasn't sure if I had the time to commit to keeping the starter alive.  But, I did a little research and with a little effort, I got my starter going.

I know you are thinking, "I don't have time to have a starter!" especially if you have ever received a starter for friendship bread which requires daily attention, let me assure you this is different!  A sourdough starter is simple to make and only requires attention when you want to make bread.  I keep mine in the refrigerator in a mayonaise jar and make bread once every 1-2 weeks.  I believe it will stay alive as long as it has a good living arrangement, at least mine has so far. 

So, if you are up to the task of making sourdough bread, you will need a starter.  A starter only requires equal parts of water and flour.  Here is a great link that explains the steps of making a starter, but here are the basics and what I did.

Find a home for your starter.  Any glass jar will work as long as it doesn't have any metal (lids, etc.)  Somehow, the metal will ruin the starter.  Punch a hole in the lid or keep the lid loose to allow for a little breathing space.  Also don't use metal utensils when stirring or mixing, use a wooden or plastic spoon.

Sourdough Starter Recipe
                 2 c. water
                 2 c. flour (all purpose or bread flour will work)
                 2 t. yeast (you do not have to use yeast but it will help the process)

Leave the starter in a warm place (70-80 degrees) to ferment.  This may take 4-8 days depending on the temperature and humidity.  Once it smells sour and the mixture is bubbly, it is ready to use.  At this point, you can refrigerate it until you are ready to bake some bread. 

So let's say you have your starter in the fridge and decide it's time to make some sourdough bread.  Take the starter out of the refrigerator the night before and just let it come to room temperature.  You may notice liquid has separated out on top and may be a brownish color, that is ok, just stir it back in.  When the starter is cold it is also kinda lumpy, that is ok too.  The next day you will need to "proof" the starter.  Pour the contents into a glass bowl and add 1 c. flour and 1 c. warm water.  Stir and let the mixture sit until it becomes bubbly and smells sour (this may take anywhere from 2-6 hours)

Once you have used part of the starter in a recipe, add equal parts of flour and water back to the starter (1/2 c. of each), stir and put it back into the refrigerator.  And that's all there is to it!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Pizza is one of Stephen and my favorite things to make.  I especially like to make my own dough and I take any chance I can get to add whole wheat to something.  This dough is very good and easy to make.  Make sure you have a couple hours to make the dough before you are wanting to eat.  This recipe is for a medium pizza, about 1 1/2 pounds.

Pizza Dough

1 c. warm water (80-90 degrees)
1 t. honey
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
2 c. bread flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. yeast

Place ingredients into a bread machine in the order listed.  Select Dough cycle.  About 20 minutes later or when you hear the tone to add ingredients, I like to add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and a little grated Parmesan cheese to the dough.    When the dough is done rising, just punch it down and you are ready to roll it out and make your favorite pizza.

Note: I forgot to add this earlier, but I think this part is very important.  Many times homemade pizza dough is gooey in the center when baked (at least this has happened to me many times). We have found that baking the pizza on a upsidedown cookie sheet or pizza pan somehow fixes this or if you have a stone you can use that too. (not the flat cookie sheet, the ones with sides).  The crust is good even in the center, and after all, the crust is my favorite part!

Visit Stephen's blog for the finishing touches.  carliletablefor2.blogspot.com

Cranberry Swirl Bread

This is one of my new favorite recipes!  It really is awesome and I'm not exaggerating.  The bread is so moist and the cranberry swirl is pretty and delicious.  It is the perfect mix of sweet and tart in a bread.  I made this bread at Christmas as gifts for a few friends and they all loved it.  I am making it now for a good friend's birthday!  I know she will love it and so will you when you try it! (Sorry I can't show you a picture of the inside of the bread with the cranberry swirl, but it is a gift and who would want a loaf of bread that is cut in half... just trust me and bake it!)

Cranberry Swirl Bread

For the dough:

1 c. warm water
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
1 t. salt
3 c. bread flour
2 t. yeast (you may use quick rise yeast to save time)

I use my bread machine to make the dough, adding the ingredients to the machine in the order listed above.  If you don't have a bread machine, you can also make the dough by hand.  If you are mixing the dough by hand begin by combining the warm water and yeast, allowing the mixture to sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast, then add the remaining ingredients.  Knead for 5-10 minutes then place the dough in a greased bowl to rise until doubled.  You may need to add a little flour if the dough is too wet, but if the dough is too dry the bread my be dry and dense.  Once the dough is finished rising punch it down (this is Stephen's favorite part) and roll it out into a rectangle. 

For the cranberry filling:

1 c. chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. water
1 T. butter
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 T. lemon juice

To make the filling, in a small saucepan combine cranberries, brown sugar, and water.  Cook over medium heat until berries are softened and the water is almost all absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add butter, nuts, and lemon juice.  Allow the mixture to cool a bit before spreading over the dough.  (I make the filling about 15 minutes before the dough is done rising)

Once the dough is rolled out into a rectangle on a floured surface, spread the filling over the dough to within 1/2 inch of the edges.  Roll the dough up jelly-style (like cinnamon rolls) starting with the long side.  Place in greased 9 in x 5 in loaf pan in a zigzag pattern. Allow the dough to rise until it just reaches the top of the loaf pan (Note: Do not let the dough rise too much prior to baking, it will rise more while baking, I have found 20-30 minutes is enough time.)

For the topping:

1 T. all-purpose flour
1 T. sugar
Oil to brush on top of the dough














Combine flour and sugar together.  After the dough rises the second time, brush with oil using a pastry brush and dust the dough with the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, check to see if the bread is done by tapping and listening for a hollow sound.  (I am still learning what this hollow sound is supposed to be)

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread

A few months ago, I decided to start making homemade bread instead of buying bread at the store.  I like knowing what I eat, it saves money, and it makes the house smell so good!  I have been working for months now to find the perfect whole wheat homemade bread recipe that is light and great for sandwiches.  This is the best I've made so far so hope you enjoy it too!


Whole Wheat Bread

1 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. oil
1 t. salt
3 c. flour (I use half wheat and half white flour)
2 t. yeast

Add the ingredients into a bread machine in the order listed.  Set for "dough" cycle.   When the dough is finished rising, punch down and form into a loaf.  Place in bread pan and allow the bread to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Enjoy!