Zucchini Oat Bread

This recipe is healthy and hearty, and has great spices. Adapted from this blog: http://dlynz.com.



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grate enough zucchini to measure 2 cups
Mix in 1 teaspoon kosher salt
And 1 cup regular oats, and let sit for about 30 minutes. This will draw some of the moisture from the squash and allow the oats to absorb it, which will soften them up a bit.

In another bowl, whisk together:
3 1/2 cups flour (I suggest half white and half wheat)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional)

Add to dry mixture: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Add to zucchini mixture:
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (light brown is ok)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, until combined. Divide evenly between 2 greased 5 x 8 bread pans. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out clean. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

No Knead Four-Grain Honey Bread

Four Grain-Honey Bread

From Nancy Baggett, author of Kneadlessly Simple.

Four Grain-Honey Bread

- yields 1 large loaf -

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached white bread flour, plus more as needed
1 cup (5 ounces) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white or yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup rolled oats, plus more for garnish
1/3 cup cooked and cooled brown rice (I used cooked barley!)
Generous 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon instant, fast-rising, or bread machine yeast
1/2 cup clover honey or other mild honey
1 1/4 cups ice water, plus more if needed
Corn oil or other flavorless vegetable oil for coating dough top and baking pan

Procedure

First rise: In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, oats, brown rice, salt, and yeast. In another bowl or measuring cup, thoroughly whisk the honey into the ice water. Vigorously stir the mixture into the bowl with the flours, scraping down the bowl sides and mixing just until the dough is thoroughly blended. If the ingredients are too dry to mix together, gradually add in just enough more ice water to facilitate mixing; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If necessary, mix in more bread flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with oil. Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, refrigerate for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours; if convenient, stir once during the rise.

Second rise: Vigorously stir the dough. Using a well-oiled rubber spatula, fold the dough in towards the center, all the way around the bowl. Dust an oiled 9x5-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon each cornmeal and rolled oats, tipping it back and forth to coat the pan sides. Turn out the dough into the pan. Brush or spray the top with oil. Smooth out the top and press the dough into the pan with oiled fingertips or a rubber spatula. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon each cornmeal and rolled oats over the top. Press down to imbed. Cut four or five 3-inch-long, 1/4-inch-deep evenly spaced slashes diagonally across loaf top. Cover the pan with nonstick spray-coated plastic wrap.

Let rise using any of these methods: For a 2- to 4-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave oven along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water. Or, for an extended rise, refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours, then let stand at room temperature. Remove the plastic when the dough nears it, then continue the rise until the dough extends 1/2 inch above the pan rim.

Baking preliminaries: 15 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.

Baking: Bake on the lower rack for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf is well browned and firm on top; cover with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning. Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes longer, testing until a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few particles on the end (or until the center registers 207 to 209°F on an instant-read thermometer). Bake for 5 to 10 minutes more to ensure the center it done. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the loaf onto the rack; cool thoroughly.

Serving and storing: Cool thoroughly before slicing or storing in a plastic bag or foil. The bread will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.

Printed from http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/03/kneadlessly-simple-nancy-baggett-four-grain-honey-bread-recipe.html

© Serious Eats

Sweet Potato Pone

From WPA (writers project) book
yield: 12 - 2"x2" squares

Ingredients:
2 c sweet potato, grated (1 large potato)
1/4 c molassas
1/6 c sugar
1/2 c milk
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1 t lemon rind, grated
1 t cinnimon
butter size of walnut, melted

Preparation:
Soon after grating, mix sweet potatoes and milk to prevent discoloring
Mix in molassas and eggs
Mix rest of ingredients together, then mix in with potatoes
Pour into a greased shallow baking pan
Bake in a 350° oven for 30 min then stir with a fork
Bake 15 min longer or until browned and crusty on top

Bread Machine Challah

Everyone in my family has his or her own version of bread machine challah. Mom's might have some leftover oatmeal, mashed potatoes, or bran flakes in it; Tova's might be rosemary-lemon (thank you WSM) or 7-grain vegan. This recipe is for a straight-forward half-white/half-wheat challah, with a touch of honey. Adapted from http://koshercamembert.wordpress.com.

Makes one big or two small challahs.

1 1/8 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 T honey
1/8 cup sugar
1 t salt
4 cups flour (2 cups white and 2 cups wheat)
2-3 t vital wheat gluten (optional - helps the bread rise)
1 packet dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
additional egg for egg wash

1. Measure wet ingredients into bread machine bowl - water, oil, eggs, and honey. Make sure the water is warm but not hot, to activate the yeast without cooking the eggs.

2. Add the sugar, salt, and flour(s). Make sure that the salt is under the flour because you don't want it to touch the yeast. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the yeast into the well.

3. Put the bowl into the bread machine and set to "dough" setting.

4. When the dough cycle is done, punch it down (this is my favorite part) and invert onto a lightly-floured counter. Knead the dough a little bit and add more flour if needed. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.

5. Divide and braid the dough into 1 or 2 challahs! See the bottom of the poast for how to make a 4-stranded braid.

6. After loaves are formed, place on a lightly greased and floured cookie sheet (you can use a Silpat). Allow to rise again on top of pre-heating oven, covered with a clean cotton towel.

7. Make an egg wash by beating 1 egg with 1 t cold water. Brush this mixture over the challah with a pastry brush - do this once before the challah goes in the oven and once about 10 minutes after the challah has been in the oven.

8. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the challah is golden brown (if you're like me and like your challah a little bit doughey, don't cook it for more than 25 minutes).

9. Cook on a baking rack and serve warm!


TO MAKE A 4-STRANDED BRAID:
Always braid from one direction (either right or left, doesn't matter, just be consistent). Place "outside" strand (A) over second strand (B), under third strand (C), and then over fourth strand (D). The new "outside" strand (B) goes over (C), under (D), and over (A). Then the new "outside" strand (C) goes over (D), under (A), and over (B), etc.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

No one will be able to guess what the secret ingredient is! This is a mish-mash of a bunch of recipes, but the final recipe is all mine! It has a bit of a Mexican-chocolate flavor - you can omit the cinnamon and use other flavorings (amaretto, orange, etc.).

1/2 cup whole or lowfat milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6-7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
12 oz (1 package) silken tofu
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons brewed dark coffee or espresso (pref. at room temperature)

Pour the milk into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove the milk from heat stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, and cinnamon. Let cool.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler - if you don't own a double-boiler, you can cobble one together using a tiny saucepan set under a larger mixing bowl. Fill the tiny saucepan with an inch or two of water and bring barely to a simmer - place the big mixing bowl with the chocolate on top of the tiny saucepan and let the heat come up and gently warm the chocolate while you stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Add the milk mixture and silken tofu to the melted chocolate. Process with a hand or regular blender until completely smooth - or process everything in the Cuisinart. Stir in the coffee and vanilla. Taste and adjust for flavor, adding a bit more sugar if needed.

Chill in the big bowl (or in individual bowls) for at least 1 1/2 hours, the longer the better. The pudding will set up nicely as it cools.

Makes 6 decadent servings.

The BEST Rosh haShana HONEY CAKE

(Adapted from Marcy Goldman’s Treasure of Jewish Holiday Baking)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup warm coffee or strong tea
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup rye or whiskey
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (optional)
Chocolate chips or ground chocolate (optional)

Fits in three regular-sizeloaf pans, about 5 small pans, two 9-inch square or round cake pans, one 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. I dust the bottom with cake mix.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using. (If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.)

Using a strong wire whisk or in an electric mixer on slow speed, stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.

Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using. Put a layer of chocolate in the middle (between layers of batter), if using.

Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure the cakes bake properly with the bottom NOT baking faster than the cake interior and top).

Bake until cake tests done, that is, it springs back when you gently touch the cake center. Small loaves take about 30 minutes, large pans can take up to 45 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK, OR THE CAKE WILL BE DRY.

Let cake stand fifteen minutes before removing from pan.

Have a sweet new year!

Perfect Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies

These are really easy, yummy, and fool proof! Adapted from this post from the blog Food Loves Writing.

1/2 cup of margarine/butter/oil (or some combination - I used half butter and half oil, Food Loves Writing recommends margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats (I used quick oats and it turned out fine!)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the oatmeal and chocolate chips. After well-mixed, add the oatmeal and stir together. Then add the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased or Silpat cookie sheets. Bake for ~12 minutes. Cool and eat!