Bread Pudding Muffins

Bread pudding muffin recipe from Joyofbaking.com. My boyfriend took me out on a date this past Friday & part of our doggie bag included some leftover bread! The waitress was even so kind to get me a fresh loaf from the oven! What a perfect excuse to make some bread pudding once the bread got a bit stale! I only made a half batch, which yielded about 8 muffins, instead of apples (cause I was too lazy to chop it), I used raisins, semi-sweet chocolate chips & toffee chips. I was also afraid the apples would add some unnecessary moisture, but if your bread is truly stale, the added moisture seems a worthy addition. I reduced the sugar just a bit & I decided the muffins definitely needed a generous dusting of powdered sugar. The original amount of sugar in the recipe, or even an addition of a little extra may have been a good idea - although maybe bread pudding isn't supposed to be sweet? I have no idea - this was my first time. I bet this would be tasteful using brioche and/or croissants - although I've never had brioche before.

Streusel Loaves

Mini Cherry Pecan Streusel Loaves.

Dried Fruit Foccacia

At Central Market, they have this wonderfully delicious white chocolate apricot bread. It's fluffy, ever so slightly sweet & simply divine to the taste buds - sweet breads have always been appealing to me. Other than sampling a slice here & there at the store, the challenge was not eating it, but recreating this bread at home. I spent most of Friday looking for a recipe, but it's difficult to search for a recipe which will replicate the texture & taste from the store...especially since I can't sample the online recipes, plus I lack bread making experience. The bread is soft, light, moist & yeast is listed on the ingredients. I did find a bread recipe that contained dried fruit - I figured that was as close as I was going to get. Dried fruit focaccia on Martha Stewart & Baking Bites. I baked mine in a 9-inch cake pan & the bread came out moist, but I'm not sure if that's what it's supposed to taste like. Mine didn't look like the pictures on the other websites. I used extra-virgin coconut oil, added lemon zest & nutmeg.

**Concord Grape Focaccia

Chili Cook-Off

We're having a chili cook-off at work tomorrow, so may initial plan was to pull together a delicious award-winning vegetarian chili...after one chili cooking trial, I decided on contributing cornbread instead. Chili is way too much work, plus I'd have to borrow my mother's large pot & large crock-pot. Since it's necessary to provide enough for a crowd of 30, mini muffins seemed quite appropriate & convenient - Mini Cornbread Pudding & Mini Cornbread Muffins. I wanted to try both recipes since one uses mostly sour cream & the other incorporates, butter, buttermilk & sour cream. The pudding was definitely moist & rich, while the muffins tasted more like regular cornbread with a stronger corn-y taste. Both were delicious & definitely winners! Of course I couldn't serve cornbread with just corn, so I spiced it up by adding garlic powder, finely chopped onion & jalapeno (seeded of course). Although I didn't win first place for the best chili, I definitely deserved honorable mention. :)

Sticky Buns/Cinnamon Buns

After watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay twice - Episode Sticky Buns, I had to have some! I didn't try Joanne Chang's or Bobby Flay's recipe, although I would like to give it a try in the near future. Somehow I was led to Anita's Sticky Buns - her beautiful pictures enticed me!
In my humble opinion, the sticky buns were good (if caramel not overcooked), but the cinnamon buns were a little bland & lacking in complexity (even though I increased the zest, extract, etc). Complexity meaning flavor, richness & wow factor. To me, the amount of spices, zest and/or extracts & butter need to be bumped up a level. If I'm going to spend many many hours putting together a yeast dough, it better be darn good & worth it, in this particular case - meaning more butter & spices! For next time, following Joanne's recipe, I'll probably try a brioche dough & following Flay, I'll probably slather on some butter, a lot of spices & up the zest. I'm sure the addition of nuts would be wonderful, but I'm trying to avoid roasted nuts - maybe raw nuts sprinkled on the gooey goo after the buns come out of the oven. Although the end result may not have been the best ever, nonetheless, there's always something special about homemade goodies that make them taste very heart warming & comforting.

Ripe Bananas

We had three very very ripe bananas that needed to be eaten ASAP! I used one in a smoothie & the other two went into Eden Organic Food's Banana Nut Muffins - minus the nuts. These were not sweet at all & tasted very much like a simple & plain bread to me. Carob/chocolate chips may have a been a nice addition for some extra texture & flavor.

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Banana Bread Muffins
2 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

2 tblspns coconut oil
2 tblspns apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup malt barley syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas, smashed

1 cup raisins

• Preheat oven to 350F. Oil/grease muffin pan.
• Smash ripe bananas & set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, powder, cinnamon & salt.
• In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, syrup, vanilla & bananas.
• Add the dry ingredient into the wet & stir to combine.
• Fold in raisins . Do not overwork the batter.
• Divide evenly among muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full.
• Makes 12 muffins (**I had extra batter - poured it into a loaf pan).
  

Kick Starting the New Year

My mom has been talking about Asian sweets, which inspired me to give this recipe a try - Steamed Pumpkin Buns. I got this recipe from Natural Health magazine - the November 2007 issue. Although I recognize there is little nutritional value in AP flour & cake flour, I tried it with whole wheat pastry & the results were less than pleasing - a little too dense. Next time, instead of cake flour (which seems to include weird chemicals during processing - bromates & peroxides), I want to try this again with unbleached organic white pastry flour. White pastry flour has a higher protein content than cake flour, but it should be an educating experiment. The resulting buns will not be as "white", but hopefully the texture will not be sacrificed too much - I need to make sure not to over knead the dough & a little vinegar may help with the color - says my mom.
The buns were a success, which means the filling can be changed up all sorts of ways - savory filling, taro root, mung bean, adzuki/red beans, etc. Wow, the options are plentiful. If & when making a savory bun, I'll probably reduce and/or eliminate the sugar in both the starter liquid & filling mixture.

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Steamed Pumpkin Buns
3 ounces warm H2O (100-110F)
2 tblspns sugar
3/4 tsp dry active yeast

3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup AP flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp butter

2 tsp coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree (can or fresh)
1 - 2 tblspns sugar
cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg to taste
pinch of salt

• Make the starter - combine warm water, sugar & dry active yeast. Stir to dissolve sugar & allow mixture to sit for 5 - 10 minutes, till foam/bubbles form on the surface of the water.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, sift together cake flour, AP flour, & salt.
• Once the starter is ready, create a well in the center of the flour. Slowly moisten the flour with the starter liquid using a fork.
• Remove fork & knead mixture till soft dough is formed.
• Add butter & knead till smooth & elastic; add an additional 1 tsp of water if necessary.
• Form a ball, cover with clean damp cloth & allow to rise till double in size - ~ 60 - 90 minutes. (If necessary, place in oven with oven light on to provide warm environment.)
  
• While dough rises, prepare the filling: heat oil, add puree, sugar + spices + salt, to taste. Set aside & allow to cool.
  
• When the dough is ready, divide evenly into 6 - 7 balls.
• Place dough on flat floured surface & roll out into 6-inch diameter disks, making the edges slightly thinner than the center.
• Place roughly 2 tablespoons of filling in the center & fold edges around the filling & press dough together to create a bun shape. Invert buns so smooth underside is now on top.
• Cut squares of parchment paper to place underneath the buns to prevent sticking during steaming.
• Allow buns to rest for 1 hour uncovered.
• Heat water under steamer. Steam buns over high heat for 10 - 12 minutes.
• Serve warm. Or refrigerate/freeze for longer storage. If frozen or refrigerated, steam for a few minutes to warm through - sprinkle the top with a little bit of water to prevent over-drying if necessary.
  
• Makes 6 - 7 buns.

Other Buns:
Steamy Kitchen's
Baking Bites

Pumpkin Bread

As a special request, my mom wanted some sort of quick bread/cake/muffin that could easily be presented as a Christmas offering. She didn't really specify what she wanted, so I went ahead & decided on Eggnog Pound Cake & Pumpkin Bread. When we were at Central Market, I picked up some decorative paper molds. Now, the difficulty was trying to find a recipe which would be compatible with the volume of these molds. And of course, the second obstacle...I only needed about 4 mini loaves. The instructions that came with the molds specified to fill them about 1/3 - 1/2 full & to reduce baking time as deemed necessary. Boy...that's a lot of different things to consider & definitely took a little extra creativity on my half.
The adventure begins: I split the Eggnog recipe into one-third and halved the Pumpkin bread recipe. Tricky indeed, as messing with a perfectly good recipe can always end in disaster. How it ended (partially): the pumpkin bread turned out beautifully, only in the looks department, as taste testing would be highly inappropriate for a loaf. The receiver may just notice. The eggnog cake didn't turn out as beautifully domed as the cupcakes/muffins, but at least they did not completely sink in the middle. Same applies with taste testing of course. I'm not quite sure what went wrong, it may be the amount of baking powder & other oddly measured/estimated ingredients, or I over filled the molds, which is likely my personal culprit. Both for the pumpkin & eggnog, the molds were about 3/4 full.

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Pumpkin Bread w/ Walnuts & Raisins
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
dash of ginger

1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 4 ounces
1/4 cup vegetable oil (coconut/canola)
1 egg, beaten
1/8 cup H20 (rice milk, 1 ounce)

1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/8 cup chopped raisins

• Preheat oven to 350F, 325F if using dark decorative molds. Prepare mini loaf pans, set aside.
  
• In a medium bowl, sift & combine together dry ingredients.
• In a larger bowl, combine together wet ingredients.
• Add dry ingredients into the wet mixture & mix until barely combined, DO NOT OVERMIX.
• Fold in walnuts & raisins.
• Divide evenly among 2 - 3 mini molds.
• Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until an toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean & the bread is evenly golden brown.
• Remove from oven & transfer to cooling rack.
• Makes 2 - 3 mini loaves.

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Eggnog Pound Cake
1/4 scant cup raisins, roughly chopped
2 tsp dark rum

5 tblspns + 1 tsp (1/3 tblspn) butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1 large egg

1 cup AP flour
6/8 scant tsp baking powder (lil' less than 6/8 tsp, near 6/9)
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 cup eggnog + 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Sugar glaze, optional

• Soak the raisins in dark rum for about 15 minutes.
• Adjust rack to lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 325F. Prepare mini loaf pans. Set aside.
• Using a hand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar, orange zest & beat till light & fluffy, about 4 - 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides & bottom as needed to ensure even mixture.
• Add egg & beat until combined.
• In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
• At a very slow speed, add dry & eggnog + vanilla, alternating a few times times, starting & ending with the dry ingredients (dry + eggnog + dry + eggnog + dry), scraping bowl as necessary. Do not overmix.
• Fold in raisins w/ rum.
• Divide among three mini loaf molds & spread evenly. Bake for 50 - 55 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean & edges are lightly golden.
• Remove from oven & allow to cool.
• If desired, drizzle top with sugar glaze (confectioner's sugar + H20)
• Makes 2 - 3 mini loaves.
  

Bananas & Dried Fruits Galore

On a splurge, we decided to bake up some snacks tonight. We had some ripe bananas to use up & had a craving for some chewy cookies! So I put my recipes to work. Although I ran into some obstacles with the cookies, the end result still yielded the chewy cookie we wanted, albeit a little sweeter than anticipated, they were still a success (in my mind). I had added two tablespoons of oat milk to the wet ingredients since my batter was too dry the last time I made it. For some odd reason it made the cookies completely wet this time, I may have mis-measured this time or previously or it may be related to using only half spelt flour. So I just ended up leaving them in the oven a tad bit longer.

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Dried Fruit Cookies
1/2 cup whole spelt flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tblspn blackstrap molasses
3/4 cup dried fruits (cherries, raisins, blueberries & cranberries)
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium sized bowl, combine & mix the dry ingredients.
  
• In a small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
  
• Add the wet mixture to dry ingredients & stir till combined.
  
• Fold in dried fruit & chocolate chips. If the batter is too dry, add more rice/oat milk, a little at a time.
  
• Lay onto cookie sheet and flatten down slightly with fingers.
• Bake for 11 minutes.
• Makes 9 large cookies (54 grams each).

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Banana Nut Muffins
2-3 ripe bananas, 1 cup smashed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup rice/oat milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp molasses
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup barley flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

• Preheat oven 350F. Line or oil muffin tin.
• In a small bowl, smash bananas. Leave some chunks.
• Add in oil, syrup, milk, vinegar, extract, molasses & sugar - stir to combine.
• In a separate larger bowl, sift flour, soda, powder, ground cinnamon & salt. Whisk to combine.
• Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Do not overmix or overwork batter. Fold in walnuts till well incorporated, batter will be wet.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin tins.
• Bake for 20 - 23 minutes, till toothpick comes out clean.
  
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing & cooling completely on wire rack.
• Makes 12 muffins.
  

Fruit & Nut Bread

The original recipe calls for dried dates, but I did not have any on hand & prefer prunes or "dried plums" for the added health reasons. This recipe is originally from Simple Treats by Ellen Abraham. The end result was a very mild bread with nuts & plump plums. I may add a little extra maple syrup & oil next time for added sweetness & moisture. Be careful not to over bake, as barley flour turns quite dark & may dry out easily.

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Dried Plum-Walnut Bread
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup soymilk/rice milk, etc
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tblspns sugar
1 3/4 cups barley flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups dried pitted plums, chopped
2 tblspns walnuts, chopped for topping

• Preheat oven 350F. Oil/butter 8X4 loaf pan & set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix the oil, syrup, milk, vinegar & vanilla extract.
• In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts & sugar. Sift in the flour, soda, powder, cinnamon & salt. Stir around to combine.
• Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
• Do not overwork the batter. Add some milk if the batter is too stiff.
• Fold in chopped dried plums.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts.
• Bake 35 minutes, rotate pan & bake for another 25 - 35 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean.
  
• Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
• 12 servings.