Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Baking Bread is Not-So-Scary

I've always had glorious dreams that one day I would bake all of my bread from scratch and never buy the grocery store stuff. I promised Jeff that way in the future, when I'm a stay-at-home mommy and all, I'll bake bread for our family and our kids will take the homemade stuff to school with their PB&J.

But the thought of waiting until then was just unbearable, and I've somehow managed to find some time in the last couple of weeks to bake a few loaves. I started with the easy-quick-bread-no-yeast-required kind (because OMG yeast breads are intimidating!!).

Spiced Applesauce Bread (because we had a TON of applesauce left over from Jeff's wisdom teeth surgery):





Recipe adapted from here.

1 1/2 cups cinnamon applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans




  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk; beat well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt; stir until smooth. Fold in the pecans. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon (this will give it a nice sweet crust).
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.



Honey Oat Quick Bread:




Recipe adapted from here.


1 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats (not the instant kind!)
2 1/3 cups white whole-wheat flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces plain yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup clover honey, or other mild honey
3/4 cup milk 



Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats in the pan. Tip the pan back and forth to coat the sides and bottom with oats.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, beat the remaining 1 cup oats, yogurt, egg, oil and honey in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in milk. Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture just until thoroughly incorporated but not overmixed (don't overmix or the bread will be tough). Scrape the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon oats over the top.

Bake the loaf until well browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. (It’s normal for the top to crack.) Let stand in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a table knife around and under the loaf to loosen it and turn it out onto the rack. Let cool until barely warm, about 45 minutes.

Stay tuned for my first ever attempt at yeast and rising and such!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Two PERFECT Dessert Recipes!

Okay, I apologize in advance for this post. I'm going to give you two recipes that you're going to really want to make, and neither of them are in any way good for you. Except for maybe in the "Mmmm, I'm filling myself with sugar and it feels good!" way.

I made these with my 10-year-old sister while she was spending the night with us a couple weekends ago. I needed some desserts to take to some dinners with my parents and Jeff's parents, and both of these recipes were huge successes!

Best part about baking: Vintage aprons!!!

First, Oatmeal Fudge Bars. I found this recipe over at Natalie's Killer Cuisine. <-- Clickity click to see the recipe! These were so delicious... sweet and chewy and just the tiniest bit of crunch and cinnamon-yumminess on top. If you make this, make sure you use the lowest heat setting on your stove to melt the chocolate (especially if you have Calphalon pans like me). Burnt chocolate will ruin a dessert!








Next up, Cream Cheese Layered Brownies. This recipe was from What Megan's Making. <-- Clickity click for the recipe! These are my new go-to brownies. You know how you always seem to need brownies/cookies/some dessert to take over to someone's house for dinner? These are perfect for that. Tip on this one: Make sure you really let the layers cool in between. We went ahead and used the cooling time to run to Kroger for more cream cheese. I kept these in my fridge and ate teeny tiny bites to make them last longer. :)






I know I have at least a few readers who are amateur/avid/aspiring bakers, so have fun with these recipes! Let me know if you try one of them!