Monthly Archives: July 2024

Yes Need No-Knead Oat Bread

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King Arthur Baking occasionally sends me catalogs containing lots of cool stuff. I am not a fan of the mixes, but understand why they’re treading towards them. I have LOTS of their equipment and some supplies, but my favorite part are the recipes.

I know I could go online and search for ideas, but the catalog provides inspiration for new bakes.

This no-knead oat bread is delicious. It has a nice soft, chewy crumb, (which is not a given with 25% of the dough being whole wheat flour,) plus the crust was crunchy.

The dough is ready in 15-20 minutes which is perfect for a quick after dinner “chore”. It ferments and doubles in size overnight at room temperature, proofs in the morning, and is ready for breakfast, (depending on when you rise and eat.) It also made a killer roast beast, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Definitely a keeper

No-Knead Oat Bread


https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/no-knead-oat-bread-recipe
(Edited to suit my technique)

INGREDIENTS
• 1/3 c (71g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
• 4 c (480g) unbleached bread flour
• 4 Tbl (57g) butter, softened
• 1 c (113g) whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 c (134g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tsp (12g) table salt
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 1/4 c (510g) water, cool

METHOD

  1. Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl. Stir, then use a stand mixer to mix up a sticky dough. Continue to beat for several minutes in a stand mixer to incorporate all the flour.
  2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for at least 8 hours; it will become bubbly and rise quite a bit, so be sure your bowl is large enough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. To make a single loaf, choose a 14″ to 15″ long lidded stoneware baker.
  4. Shape the dough to fit and place it in the lightly greased pan of your choice, smooth side up. Cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, until dough has become puffy and fills the pan about 3/4 full. (I used an oblong Dutch oven.)
  5. Garnish by sprinkling a handful of oats on top. (If baking a round loaf, slash a hash mark pattern (#) on top.)
  6. Place the pan into a cold oven. To keep the bread’s bottom crust from burning, set the rack in the middle, not at or near the bottom. Set the oven temperature to 450°F. Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5 to 15 minutes, until the bread is deep brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers about 205°F.
  7. Remove the bread from the oven, turn out onto a rack, and cool before slicing.

S’mores Brownies

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Our home association wine club had a beach themed wine tasting event and I provided the s’mores brownies for 164 guests and staff. With all humility, they were exceptional. I used my basic raspberry chocolate brownie recipe, but with the excellent suggestion by QC, added a layer of crushed graham cracker on the ganache and below the Italian meringue. I also blowtorched the meringue to give it the toasted s’more look.

Cutting the brownies with a pizza cutter
Actually 175 individual brownies
S’mores raspberry brownies

I received many compliments and several inquiries as to where to buy them. (They cannot.)

Blueberry Crumble Dream Cookies

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I had high hopes for this cookies, but there are barely a step above “meh.”

They are basically a chocolate chip cookies substituting blueberries for chocolate chip and really, who would want to do that?

They taste fine and have a good texture. Next time, I am making chocolate chip cookies.

Oh yeah. As long as the oven was going to be on I made a loaf of sandwich bread too. It’s a much tighter crumb than my favorite bread (High Hydration No-knead Honey Bread) but this loaf is great for PB&J sandwiches.

Blueberry Crumble Dream Cookies


Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup coarse sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
  6. Gently fold in the blueberries.
  7. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
  8. Sprinkle each cookie with coarse sugar.
  9. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
  10. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry Mango Margarita Cupcakes

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I saw this recipe on Facebook and decided to make it for QC’s Mah Jongg group. I made a number of changes from the published recipe and they are incorporated below.

Next time I’ll punch the flavors up as mango is not a strong flavor and can be overpowered by the strawberry. The tequila didn’t add much either, so maybe a little lime in the cupcake batter would add some punch. (No coconut, so it cannot be “Put the lime in the coconut.”

The were pretty and were well received by the group. I always make a gluten free selection so added some crème patisserie/chocolate ganache topped with chopped pistachio nuts, and had some eclair shells in the freezer that I needed to use up and had the crème patisserie and chocolate ganache anyway and finally, plums from our tree as the season is now over.

Strawberry Mango Margarita Cupcakes

Makes 48 mini-cupcakes

INGREDIENTS :
Cupcakes:
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups caster sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups full cream milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pink and red food gel (for strawberry color)
• 2-3 tsp strawberry freeze-dried powder
• Yellow food gel (for mango color)
• 2-3 tsp mango freeze-dried powder
• 8-10 tsp tequila (optional)
Frosting:
• 1 batch American or Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• Food gels: Pink and red for strawberry; yellow for mango
• Flavorings: Strawberry and mango freeze-dried powder
Decorations:
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 10 limes, cut into 40 wedges
• 10 strawberries, halved

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 275°F (140°C) for fan-forced or 320°F (160°C) for conventional.
  2. Line two mini cupcake tins with liners and spray with bakers spray.
  3. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Add butter and mix until crumbly.
  5. In another bowl, combine eggs, milk, oil, yogurt, tequila, and vanilla; mix well.
  6. Fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until well combined.
  7. Divide the batter into two portions.
  8. Separately, by hand, mix each freeze-dried powder with 3-4 teaspoons of tequila
  9. Add pink and red food gels and strawberry flavoring to one portion. Mix by hand.
  10. Add yellow food gel and mango flavoring to the other portion. Mix by hand.
  11. Pipe alternating layers of strawberry and mango batter into the liners.
  12. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
  13. Prepare the buttercream frosting, dividing it into two portions.
  14. Add pink and red food gels and strawberry flavoring to one portion.
  15. Add yellow food gel and mango flavoring to the other portion.
  16. Dip the rims of the cooled cupcakes in water, then roll in granulated sugar to mimic a margarita glass.
  17. Pipe frosting in swirls on each cupcake, alternating between strawberry and mango flavors.
  18. Decorate each cupcake with a lime wedge and a strawberry half.

Berry Jam Bars – t.y. KAB

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While on our anniversary/baseball stadium journey we stopped by King Arthur Baking in Norwich Vermont. This is my second time at this wonderful store and THIS time, I controlled myself and left after spending less than $100. Whew!

KAB sends me weekly recipes and I received this one while back east. I knew I had blackberries on the vine back home and couldn’t wait to give them a try. The wait was worth it!

Dough and filling ingredients
Crust pressed into baking pan
Berry mixture added to pan.

KAB calls these “easy” jam bars and they are not incorrect. (Deliberate use of the double negative.)

Full 8”x8” sheet
Individual 2”x2” bars

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/berry-easy-jam-bars-recipe

Berry Easy Jam Bars

INGREDIENTS
Dough
• 2 1/4 cups (270g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (89g) old-fashioned rolled oats*
• 1/2 cup (106g) light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• heaping 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 15 tablespoons (212g) unsalted butter, melted
• *Or substitute 1 cup (113g) King Arthur Rolled Oats.

Filling

  1. 1 pound (454g) blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries (try 2 cups blueberries, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup raspberries)
  2. 1/2 cup (106g) light brown sugar, packed
  3. 3 tablespoons (23g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  4. zest and juice from 1 lemon*
  5. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  6. pinch of table salt
    *Aim to use about 2 tablespoons (28g) of fresh juice from the lemon.

Topping

  1. 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  2. 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the center. Line an 8″ pan with parchment on all sides, then lightly grease.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dough ingredients except the butter. Use your fingers or a spoon to break up any brown sugar lumps. Add the melted butter and stir until fully combined and smooth.
  3. Transfer about 2/3 of the dough (roughly 2 2/3 cups or 485g) to the prepared pan and press into an even layer.
  4. In another large bowl, gently mix together all of the filling ingredients until the berries are evenly coated. Transfer the fruit to the pan and distribute it into an even layer.
  5. Crumble the remaining dough (about 1 1/3 cups or 240g) over the berries; squeeze the dough together to make bigger clumps or tease it apart for finer crumbles. (Even coverage is not important at this step.)
  6. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the bars.
  7. Bake the jam bars for 50 to 55 minutes, covering the pan with foil if the top is browning too quickly, until the berries are bubbling and the topping is baked through.
  8. Let the bars cool completely in the pan (or for at least 1 1/2 hours; if you’re really in a rush, you can stick them briefly in the refrigerator or freezer to expedite the process). As they cool, use a small offset spatula or knife to dislodge any jam from the sides to make removing them from the pan easier.
  9. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment as a sling, then slice and serve.
  10. Store the sliced jam bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They’re delightful cold.

Perhaps the G.O.A.T.est of all time

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Probably not the G.O.A.T,, but a very, very good amuse-bouche. I am harvesting from our plum tree and wanted something beyond plum jam, pie or cake. These goat cheese-honey-basil-stuffed plums really hit the spot as the temperatures climb beyond 100F. Served chilled the are an amazing blend of sweet and mildly bitter.

I pick plums at dawn when the temperatures are still below 80F.

Our plum tree
After the 1st harvest
After making today’s treat!

I used about 10 plums for this recipe. (Several were sacrificed learning the best way to pit the plums.) While we were away on our anniversary/baseball stadium tour I asked neighbors and friends to help themselves to the garden and luckily, there are still loads of plums, blackberries and figs remaining.

Goat Cheese and Honey Stuffed Plums

https://www.runningtothekitchen.com/goat-cheese-honey-stuffed-plums/

INGREDIENTS
• 8 regular plums, sliced in half and pits removed
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 2 teaspoon honey, plus more for garnish
• 6 leaves basil, chopped and divided
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted

METHOD

  1. Combine goat cheese, 2 teaspoons of honey and 2 leaf of chopped basil in a small bowl and mix together with a spoon.
  2. Spoon cheese mixture into the well of each plum half. I used a melon baller to keep the amount of mixture roughly equal.
  3. Top with toasted pine nuts and remaining basil.
  4. Drizzle more honey on top before serving.