Oh My God, We’re Back Again (Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread)

 

Which brings me to two points.

First. Um the Backstreet Boys are actually back? That’s like…wrong. I loved them-when I was thirteen!! As in, they are OLD. I’m not sure how I feel about this

Second, I definitely started this recipe a few days ago, yelling at Kai for never being present EVER on this blog. BUT he surprised me by posting!

Kai-Can we vow to post more? I vow to post more.

Readers-You should vow to comment more!

Now that we’re all vowed up. Let’s bake.

Cinnamon sugar pull-apart bread

Magic bread.

It’s a sweet  yeast doughy bread that is slathered with  browned butter and cinnamon and sugar.

The dough is then cut into long strips and stacked up, and cut again into squares. Then the stacks are stuffed into a loaf pan where it chills out and grows (ugh waiting sucks).

Then after 30 minutes of baking, this warm, soft, cinnamon sugar wonderland is released from the oven. Your house will smell good, your dog will smell good, even your dirty laundry may smell good.

 

Swimsuit season? Er…sorry, that one may need to wait a bit longer (especially with Kai over there posting Guinness cupcakes)

But this bread is warm, sugary-buttery-reminds me of cinnamon toast mornings good! It’s pull it apart (duh) and shove happiness into your mouth good. It’s roommate clean your damn dishes before I chuck them at you, but first have some bread  good. It’s boyfriend- I’m so sorry for doing whatever that stupid thing was that I did, here have some delicious bread and forget everything good

Swimsuit? psh.

Does your swimsuit hold you at night and solve all of your problems? …Neither does this bread, but it will make you forget about your troubles for a few minutes.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Makes: one 9x5x3-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from Joy the baker (go check it out…she takes much better pictures than I do)

Dough:

· 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

· 1/4 cup granulated sugar

· 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 2 ounces unsalted butter

· 1/3 cup whole milk

· 1/4 cup water

· 2 large eggs, at room temperature

· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 Filling:

· 1 cup granulated sugar

· 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

· 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

· 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl mix  2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted.  Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir.  Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter.  Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes.  The mixture will be sticky.  

Place the dough is a large,  greased bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning.  If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling.  Set aside.  Melt 2 ounces of butter, STIRRING FREQUENTLY until browned.  Set aside.  Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch  loaf pan.  

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out.  The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long.  If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay.  Just roll it as large as the dough will go.  Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again.  You’ll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book.  Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.  The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw.  A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.   Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto  a clean board. EAT

 

So good. Maybe I’ll start writing about all the light summery things I make too…

Eh.

Happy baking!

Leah

Spring Awakening

*yawn * Is it spring already? Wait, what? It’s almost summer?!!!!

Well, it seems I’ve fallen out of deep hibernation into the oppressive heat of late spring. I apologize for the delayed postings - though I do have some great news! Leah and I have officially finished our masters programs and are now sporting two fine degrees each from Clark University! Well… perhaps that wasn’t particularly exciting news to you, but for us it means moving to Somerville with our close friend and trying to make it in this terrifying challenging job market. While this means goodbye to the ease of college living, it also means hello to a disposable income! Err… after living costs and student loans, perhaps not quite so disposable.

To celebrate my first post in a while (read months), I decided I had to put forth something a little more flashy that would inspire a few ooohhs and aaahhhs. Thus, I present to you Guinness drunkcakes, I mean cupcakes.

The recipe came to me by strong recommendation of one of our loyal readers (you know who you are). It is a chocolate cupcake with Guinness, topped with a Bailey’s butter cream frosting. True bliss. The beauty of it is that not only do you get to impress friends and loved ones with the subtle tastes of Guinness and Bailey’s in a decadent chocolate pillow of goodness, but you also get to drink while you do it. There’s nothing to lose but your waist line, so what are you waiting for?

The recipe requires some unconventional ingredients so be prepared (idiotically, half way through step 1 I realized I was completely out of cocoa powder and had to run to the store). All in all it should also make approximately 24 cupcakes, though I apparently listened carefully in Sunday school and was able to perform a fish and loaves stunt and had enough to make at least 27. Be prepared to eat your way through the rest of the batter (I guess you could always just bake a few more, but who has ever resisted delicious chocolate batter from fear of salmonella? Not me!)

2 Cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ Teaspoons baking soda

¾ Teaspoon salt

½ Cup neutral oil (sunflower, safflower, canola, etc.)

1 Cup butter

1 Cup Guinness

¾ Cup cocoa powder

2 Cups sugar

2/3 Cup sour cream

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract (or if you are improvising like me, Amaretto)

2 Tablespoons Bailey’s

3 Cups confectioner’s sugar

Heat ½ cup of butter (1 stick) in a skillet w/ the Guinness. Make sure the butter is well melted and the Guinness ends up non-carbonated. Remove from heat and add in the oil and cocoa powder once cooled a little.

Heat oven to 350F and put cupcake liners in your tin (or if you are like me and think having

those are too easy, grease and cocoa powder your tin).

Sift together (or just toss) the flour, salt and baking powder. Then, in a separate bowl, beat together the sour cream and eggs. Add in the vanilla extract/amaretto and

beat in the sugar.

Once the Guinness mixture has cooled till just warm, beat in. Mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Fill each spot ¾ full and bake for about 17 min, rotating once in the middle.

Cool completely when a toothpick comes out clean.

Beat together the last ½ cup (stick) of butter, which should be at room temperature, with the sugar and Bailey’s. Slather copious amounts onto each cupcake, then enjoy.

Follow up with more Guinness.

With any luck more posts will come over the next few days, though I make no promises. Perhaps in the next post I might share some of my rather unique attempts at creative/innovative baking!

Bottoms up!

~Kai

Whole Wheat Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes

 

I like pancakes.

I REALLY like pancakes.

I get pancake cravings while others are getting chocolate cravings

But I am no pancake expert. Actually, last semester I had the luxury of a boyfriend who makes really awesome pancakes, but he left me ( not like that! He’s in Guatemala), so now I need to fend in the pancake world for myself.

But it’s ok. I’m having fun, and I’m totally getting better at making delicious whole grain pancakes.

Ok, you may be thinking what’s so hard about making pancakes?? But I want fluffy and light and packed full of random grain pancakes! And that is not always easy…or I suck at making pancakes (Sam come home and make me pancakes!)

Anyways, I’ve been making a decent number of pancakes, and this one came out blog post worthy!

So  here we go: Whole Wheat Lemon Buttermilk Pancakes

My roommates description of the lemon flavor in these was “it takes like a glass of water with lemon in it”

…basically I think he means there was a slight refreshing lemon taste to these, which was true. The lemon was a delicious side note. Plus, I think adding lemon helps to increase the reaction between the acid and the baking soda (therefore more fluffyness!!)

 

mmm I want them!

Ingredients (This is half a recipe-it made about 12 small pancakes)

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour (or some other fun flour, or just all purpose flour)
• 1/4 cup wheat bran or wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a small bowl, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until fragrant. Sift together the flour, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda and the lemon infused sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and lemon juice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together just until there are no more lumps.

 

Melt  some butter in the pan. Pour out enough batter to make a small or medium sized pancake and watch until bubbles form in the batter. Then gently flip the pancake and allow to brown on the other side for about 2 more minutes.

 

These were good, and I think you should make them on Saturday (duhhhh that’s why I posted about them). They were fluffy and delicious and excellent stacked with banana and yogurt (you should also try that because not only does it taste good, you get a crazy high stack of pancakes).

 

Please Don’t Hate Me!

 

I left you.

I’m sorry. I have an excuse I swear!

Can we still be friends?

I can bribe you with bread!

It’s delicious, easy to make, and seriously, you can’t screw this up bread!

 

Irish Soda Bread (or Brown bread?)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

People celebrate by wearing green, eating cabbage, drinking absurd amounts of alcohol. I celebrate it by making bread!

It honestly is the easiest bread you can make. It took me a whole 15 minutes from start to finish to get this bread in the oven. FIFTEEN! If you don’t know anything about bread, that is unheard of!

Soda bread is what I make when I’m lazy.

Instead of using yeast, soda bread uses the magical reaction between the acidity in buttermilk and baking soda to create delicious lift. The result is a slightly more dense bread, which is fantastic with soup or just with some butter and/or jam. It’s more of a slice and enjoy bread than a sandwich bread, but I’m sure you could prove me wrong.

There are so many debates, statements and lost friendships over what “traditional” Irish soda bread is. Apparently raisins and caraway seeds are not traditional? Frankly I don’t care. I’m not Irish, I’m not really traditional, and I think raisins are a tasty addition to this bread…

Unfortunately I seemed to have misplaced my currents at the moment (who loses food…?), so my bread had none. I assure you, I have made it both ways and they both are fantastic.

No buttermilk? No problem! I don’t know who keeps buttermilk lying around in their fridge. And being cheap and lazy, basically any time a recipe asks for buttermilk I just substitute warmed milk with about a Tbs of either lemon juice or vinegar. MAKE SURE YOU HEAT THE MILK!! Then just let it sit for about 10-15 min, and bam! Instant buttermilk. Problem solved. I saved the day.

 

OK anyways. 

Go make this bread. 15 minutes + about 40 minutes of baking until deliciousness. Hell put raisins in it! I wont tell!

Brown Soda Bread

Friends forever?

-Leah

PS. I made a fancy pants soda bread last year that had ground black pepper and chopped fresh rosemary. AMAZING! (few TBS of each) Give it a try if you’re feeling adventurous.

Curried Lentil Soup

 

Jar of lentils, meet blog readers.

Blog readers, Meet my jar of lentils

 

Yes, it really is that mighty looking in person, and yes it really does tower over the highest sky scrapers.

There are a number of reasons why I have a jar of lentils that could feed 100 men. Let me list a few in single world explanations.

• protein
• budget
• excuse to use jar (damn that’s 4)
• protein
• awesome?

Ok that was kind of lame…

The point is, when I stopped eating meat, about every time I talked to my mom she made sure to tell me that I need to make sure I’m eating protein, and that plant based forms of protein often require mixing sources to form “complete proteins” such as rice and beans (by the way this is vegetarian 101 right now). Well mom, I listen to you (crazy right?).

Lentils are an excellent solution to the protein problem. Not to mention they’re cheap, they last forever, they’re healthy, and when you cook with them you end up making about 4x as much food as you thought you would because lentils go a lonnnnnnnggg way.

Moral of the story? Lentils are a vegetarian student’s best friend.

Still paying attention? The recipe is coming, I promise.

The problem with lentils? Most people have NO idea what to do with them!

BUT with a few simple ingredients you can make this delicious Curried Lentil Soup!

It’s warm, it’s happy, it’s easy, it’s cheap, it “warms your heart” as one of my friends puts it. It’s also really ugly, so I’m going to distract you with more pictures of my jar of lentils.

Curried Lentil Soup

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium-large onion
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1.5-2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, optional celery, and carrot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or so.

2. Add finely chopped garlic and stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.

3. Add curry powder. I started with 1.5 tablespoons. Now, add the rinsed uncooked lentils and 4 cups water. Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, add in lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

4. When lentils are tender, I poured about half of the soup into my blender and I blended the soup for a minute. I did this to create a very thick texture. After blending, stir the soup back into the skillet/pot and you will have a very thick soup with some chunky pieces left from the soup you did not process.

5. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired. Sprinkle with thinly sliced green onions and serve with lemon wedges.

Makes about 4-5 cups.

Seriously good stuff. I made this last night. LAST NIGHT! That’s how excited I am to share this with you! I never post that fast! Give it a shot. Winter is cold. This soup is not.

 

Happy lentil cooking!

-Leah