sourdough bread

There are just some days.

Some good days, like today. Where the sun was shining down, tanning my far too pale legs. Avery and I spent the better part of the day soaking up all the vitamin D we could.

Then there are days that are just no good.

Today turned into that once Avery decided she was going to take 2 hours to fall asleep. And like the time I made sourdough bread.

I began this process a week in advance. I made a starter, fed it and cared for it lovingly until I got that sour, almost gross smell that you need to make sourdough.

The bread dough was no different than any other yeast dough, went pretty smoothly, bread making confidence was at an all-time high.

Until we got to the baking.

Get this picture in your mind. Husband and I in kitchen getting ready to bake some bread, baby just fell asleep, cats in living room doing cat stuff, oven is preheating with Pyrex dish as per recipe states.

Totes chill right?

Insert crazy loud smashing noise coming from oven.

The Pyrex dish exploded into a gazillion pieces in the oven. It was EVERYWHERE. It sounded like a bomb went off in the oven.

Good news, baby did not wake up.

Next is me going to get our shop vac to clean out the oven once it cools down, while trying to keep the cats away from sniffing and inspecting the glass shards.

Good news, baby did not wake up during vacuuming.

After this, all was back to normalcy and baking went fine. Minus the part where the recipe tells you to use a dish in the oven with water to help steam the bread.

Did not steam, dish exploded, bread turned out fine. And the baby sleeps through anything.


Sourdough bread
[ from the Kitchn ]

 Like I said above, before I could even begin to make the bread, I had to make the starter. It took a week and was dead simple. It's still living in my fridge, I feed it once a week and have not killed it yet. For a link to how I made my starter, click here.

2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups sourdough starter
4 - 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 extra cup (if needed)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt


In a very large mixing bowl, combine the water and the yeast. Stir until combined and let rest for 1 - 2 minutes or until yeast is completely dissolved. Add the sourdough starter and stir to combine.

Add 4 - 5 cups of flour to the mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon, adding only a cup at a time. Keep adding until you can non longer stir by hand. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface to knead. Knead the dough for a few minutes to bring it together. If your dough is super sticky, add more flour until you have a smooth dough. Let rest for 5 minutes. This will help the gluten relax and help with kneading later.

After the rest, flatten the dough with the heel of your palm and sprinkle in half of the salt. Fold the dough in half and flatten once again. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and fold in half once again. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. If the dough gets sticky and gummy, just knead in a couple tablespoons of flour. Let dough rest for another 5 minutes, then knead once again for 10 minutes. The dough is ready if you poke it, it springs back very quickly.

Clean out your bowl and lightly spray with oil. Place dough in bowl shake to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft free area for at least 2 hours. This dough will only rise to a quarter of its size, not double.

After the first rise, cut the dough into two equal pieces and shape into balls. Let rest for 20 minutes to let the gluten relax. Meanwhile, grease two standard loaf pans with butter or non-stick spray.

After the rest, shape the loaves by using your hands to flatten each ball into a rectangle. Fold the rectangles in 3, like a letter, and pinch the seam closed. Place loaves into prepared pans, seam down. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

The original recipe says the following ;

"When the loaves have been rising for one hour, preheat the oven to 450-degrees Fahrenheit. Place an oven-safe pan (like a broiler pan) in the very bottom of the oven.

When the loaves are ready, bring two cups of water to a boil. Using a sharp serrated knife, slash the tops of the loaves in three or four places about 1/2 inch deep. Slide the loaves into the oven and pour the boiling water into the pan. Close the door immediately to trap in the steam."

I did not do this because my "oven-safe pan" exploded in the oven. But feel free to do as the recipe states.

I still slashed the tops of the loaves, but I baked them at 450 for 10 minutes, then rotated them, turned the oven down to 400 and then cooked them for 25 minutes. They were golden brown on the top and sounded hollow when I tapped them.

Let the loaves cool for a few minutes before inverting and letting the bread cool completely on a wire rack.

Slice and serve with a lot of butter. Sans glass shards.

buttery streusel coffee cake

I was reading post earlier about motherhood and how sometimes, you want to be a bit selfish.

Sometimes I just want to sit alone in a corner.

I want to be able to go to the bathroom without having to worry about what to do with the baby. 

Be able to bake without having her strapped to me.

Be able to go out for sushi without her screaming her face off for an hour, while I try and jam sashimi in my face and wipe the pouring embarrassment sweat off my face.

This is the real motherhood no one talks about. 

But that's okay. Because even at 4 am when I'm had too much wine, that smile will melt my heart and make me forget that it took you 2 hours to fall asleep and you were a demon child all afternoon.

I'm grateful that I have a beautiful baby girl, who for the most part is an excellent child, who sleeps in ten hour stretches at night, is totally healthy, and makes my day that much more special.

And by special, I mean pooping up to her ears. 

Buttery streusel coffee cake

[ from the Kitchn ]

 This buttery cake is super simple and a great way to start off with yeast if you've never used it before. The rise takes place overnight in the refrigerator, so it's perfect cake to make on a Saturday night. Takes a few minutes to prep, then just pop it in the oven Sunday morning and you have a beautiful treat.

1/3 cup warm water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 whole egg, plus 2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar

pinch salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

In a small bowl sprinkle the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and yeast over the warm water, let rest for 10 minutes or until foamy.

While the yeast foams, in the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle, combine the flour, the remaining sugar, and the butter. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is well combined, almost creamed. Add the eggs and vanilla, followed by the salt and yeast/water mixture. Mix until just combined. 

Place dough into a large, well greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then place the dough in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and let come to room temperature. About 45 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 and prepare streusel topping. 

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredient for the topping and using either a pastry cutter or your hand (like me), blend the ingredients together until the butter is well worked into the mixture.

Coat a tube pan with nonstick spray and press the dough into the pan. The dough is super sticky. Top with streusel topping and bake for 45 - 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Let rest for 5 minutes in the pan before running a thin knife along the edges to remove the cake from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

cheese biscuits

Yesterday, we the husband planted me a herb garden.

I'm not one for plants really. Actually, I kill them. I either over water, under water, too much sun, not enough sun, let them get eaten by cats, amongst other things.

But this year I am determined to keep the plants alive. I'm not going to kill them.

My black thumb will turn green.

Or check back in a month when I've killed them all.

What I am good at, is biscuits.

Fluffy, warm, soft, cheesy, biscuits.

With lots of butter. I can't kill those.

Cheese biscuits
[ from Grazing ]

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour in the olive oil and buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the cheddar cheese and fold gently. Be wary not to over mix, it will make your biscuits tough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 5 times. Pat or roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 1/2-inch thick, then fold it over onto itself. Roll the dough again and fold it onto itself once more, then finally roll the dough out to be 1/2-inch thick. This creates flaky layers for the biscuits. Cut the dough into circles, or cut into squares like I did. Place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Serve warm with lots of butter.

quinoa + blueberry muffins

After carrying, and delivering a small human, I've gained a bit of weight. 

I'm back on the fitness wagon and trying to eat healthy, running 3 times a week, eating kale and oatmeal and such.

But sometimes handfuls of chocolate and popcorn end up in mouth. I don't know how it happens. It's like a mental blackout. One minute I'm noshing on a carrot, then darkness, then I'm eating popcorn slathered in butter.

I'm about 15lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight and I know I'm close, I can feel it.  I think super foods will help. 

Quinoa, blueberries, flaxseeds, maple syrup, walnuts, oats, cinnamon. Mix 'em up, make muffins, gobble them down, scorch those last pounds!

Let's do it! And then eat a whole spoonful of frosting.

Wait.....

Scratch that last part.

Superfood muffins

[ adapted from Bittersweet ]

The original recipe was 100% vegan, but since I don't keep soymilk in the house and ran out of agave, this is not vegan. To make this vegan once again, replace the milk with soy or almond milk.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flaxseeds

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups cooked quinoa

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a standard muffin tin with liners, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, flaxseeds, walnuts, and blueberries, stir to combine thoroughly. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the quinoa, oil, maple syrup, brown sugar, milk, and orange juice. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until no dry clumps remain.

Divide batter equally amongst the muffin tin and bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let muffins rest in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

mini pretzel dogs

Back when I was pregnant, early November-ish, the husband and I attended a charity function with my dad.  At this function there was a silent auction with many different things to choose from.

As a gift, my dad purchased an ENORMOUS magnum of french wine. The idea was that as soon as the baby was born, we'd crack that sucker open and all get snackered off the wine.

Well folks, that happened last weekend. It was an appetizer, wine, birthday, welcome Avery party all-in-one.  As part of the festivities, you were required to bring an appetizer and really what's better to eat with a classy bottle of french wine than pretzel wrapped hot dogs?

Nothing. These were perfect.

Chicken dogs, halved, then wrapped in homemade salty pretzel dough, dipped in mustard.

Amazeballs.

They were a huge hit, and really simple and fun to make.

Get over your yeast fear and make some pretzel dogs!


ps. Giant wine bottles make babies look tiny.

pps. We didn't give her any, don't be ridiculous.

ppps. I love wine.


Mini pretzel dogs
[ from Joy the baker ]

Makes about 16 pretzel dogs.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
8 hot dogs of your choice, cut in half
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
about 14 cups of water
1 cup baking soda
1 large egg, beaten with a little bit of water
salt & pepper for topping


In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm water and sugar, sprinkle yeast on top and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Yeast should be foamy and smell, well yeasty, if it doesn't, throw away and start fresh.

Add the flour, salt, and butter, mix on low speed until well-combined. Turn mixer up to medium and knead until smooth, pulls away from bowl, and forms a ball around the dough hook, around 6 minutes.
Remove dough from bowl, it'll be kind of sticky. Lightly coat a large bowl with oil and place dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and brush paper lightly with oil.

In a very large pot, combine the water and baking soda and bring to a boil.

While the water comes to a boil, divide the dough in 16 equal pieces. Roll a piece of dough into a 12-inch rope. Start wrapping dough around the hot dog piece, making sure there are no gaps and pinching the ends when finished. Repeat until all the dough has been used.

Place 6 - 8 pretzel dogs in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove using a slotted spatula and place on the prepared baking sheets, repeat until all pretzel dogs have been boiled. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, or until dark brown and puffy. Let cool slightly and serve.

They are best enjoyed the day they are made.

banana muffins with steel-cut oats

Yesterday was the husband and I's second wedding anniversary. 

I thought we were going to keep it low-key since we're going to a fancy night out in a few weeks, but he came home early to take me out for a surprise lunch. 

Nice right?

I wasn't home. I was having lunch with the ladies from my baby group. 

I felt bad, but then again, I didn't know he was going to come home. Anyways, he gave me a beautiful orchid and a stash of french macarons. 

To make up for everything I was going to make a lovely dinner and we were going to have some wine, and just enjoy ourselves at home. 

The reality slapped us in the face and we ended up spending the evening at a walk-in clinic (over 2 hours to be exact) because Avery's finger has somehow gotten infected. 

After the clinic, getting the prescription, putting Avery to bed, and making a quick dinner, we weren't in the mood for anything but the couch. We watched No Reservations, Vancouver episode (!!!) and then went to bed. 

Sounds like a pretty fantastic way to spend an anniversary to me.

Banana muffins with steel-cut oats

[ from the Kitchn]

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour ( or any other whole grain flour)

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)

1/3 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup cooked steel-cut oats (cooking instructions here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tin with liners, or grease liberally with butter or non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk to blend completely. 

In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the banana, milk, lemon juice, oil, vanilla, eggs, and the steel cuts oats. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. 

Spoon evenly into prepared muffin tin and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until muffins are lightly golden and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

love this guy.

chocolate chip cinnamon rolls

It's another beautiful day of liquid sunshine here in Vancouver, like I should be surprised at this point. It's April, of course it's going to rain in Vancouver.

We're all more concerned about hockey playoffs. The husband swears the Canucks won't make it out of the first round, there's PSA's being shown telling us not to riot, but on the other hand they are still planning for large, group viewings.

I think the city if under a cloud of anxiety and apprehension after what happened last year. We were so good, we won the Presidents trophy, we dominated every team we played, yet we still lost. 

Maybe we just don't want to get emotionally invested because we don't want the heartbreak of last year ?

Maybe we're just happy to see the Leafs miss the playoffs once again.

Whether we're out in the first round, or playing Boston for the cup again, I think we need some chocolate to calm our nerves. Maybe some wine as well. But not too much wine, remember last year ?

For Sunday morning breakfast, cinnamon rolls are always amazing. Add chocolate and they are taken over the top. The dough has a couple teaspoons of cinnamon tucked in it to really kick up the cinnamon flavour. I liked these roll, they had all the great properties of a cinnamon roll. Warm, gooey, sticky, sweet, plus with the addition of chocolate, it made them extra messy to eat. But I have to say, the dough was not my favourite. It didn't rise as much as I thought and it was tough. Next time I think I'll use the dough recipe from my cream cheese cinnamon rolls , but change the filling to follow this recipe.  They were still delicious and a perfect Sunday morning treat, just not my favourite.

Chocolate chip cinnamon rolls with vanilla glaze

[ from the Naptime chef ]

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 egg

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

filling:

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

glaze:

2 cups icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons milk, or more if needed

To make the dough, combine the milk and butter in a microwave safe dish and heat until butter has melted, pour into bowl of stand mixer and let cool slightly. Add the rest of the dough ingredient to the milk mixture, mix over medium speed with the paddle attachment for 3 minutes. Change to the dough hook attachment, knead over medium until dough is smooth and slaps the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Alternatively, you could knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, let rise in a warm, draft free area for about 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough rises, make the filling. Melt the butter in a small bowl. Mix in the cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.

Once dough has risen, roll out on a floured surface to a 14x12-inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all the way around. Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips. Beginning with the longer edge of the rectangle, tightly start rolling the dough. Make sure to roll quite tightly or the rolls will fall apart, pinch seams when done. Slice dough log into 8 equal sized pieces. Place rolls in a well buttered dish, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for at least another hour. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, take the dish out of the fridge and bring to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat oven  to 375 degrees. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

While rolls are baking, add all the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl, whisk until smooth.

Serve rolls with a heavy-handed swirl of glaze with a fresh cup of coffee. 

blackberry white chocolate scones

After a crazy month, this week has finally started to feel like normal.

Well, if by normal means you have a tiny, pink human attached to you at all times, that requires feeding and changing every hour or so.

I've *kinda* figured out a routine, which *kinda* gives me more time to bake. Still neglecting all the cleaning and laundry I should be doing though...... Also still not sleeping a whole bunch, but who needs sleep anyways?

Totally overrated.

I'll just keep myself going on chocolate and caffeine.

Totally healthy.

Okay, not really.

Kinda figuring out a routine still really hasn't given me much time to eat, so I baked something that's handheld (read: can be eaten while holding her pinkness), somewhat healthy, and involves chocolate.

Stroll on into scone town. Blackberry white chocolate to be exact. Made with whole wheat flour. Three for three on the criteria.

Quickly thrown together in the food processor and dropped onto a baking sheet with a large ice cream scoop, in 25 minutes or so, you'll have freshly baked scones.

Blackberry white chocolate scones
[ from Grazing ]

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup blackberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup roughly chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In a food processor, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse 3 to 4 times, or until mixture looks crumbly and the butter chunks are not bigger than small peas. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and the egg. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and pulse until just combined. Gently fold in the berries and chocolate.

Using a large ice cream scoop (or 2 spoons), drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until the edges are golden and the top are just starting to brown.

Transfer to a wire baking sheet to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

browned butter blueberry muffins

Mommy brain.

I gots it.

I wrote a blog post two days ago about these wonderful muffins. Planned on publishing it on Friday.

Logged on yesterday morning. Forgot to save it. Totally gone.

I walked to the store with her pinkness this afternoon. I thought I needed all-purpose flour because I had run out. I buy a 5kg bag.

I come home to fill up my container of flour, only to find an UNOPENED 10kg bag of all-purpose flour.

I'm now currently eating chocolate chips out of the bag.

The blueberry muffins are the perfect muffin. They aren't a cupcake disguised as a muffin, they are perfectly sweet, perfectly moist, the topping tastes like a shortbread cookie, and they are even better to eat with one hand when you've forgotten to eat lunch.

Browned butter blueberry muffins
[ from The Joy the Baker cookbook via Shutterbean ]

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries, I used frozen

topping:


3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners, or butter and flour, set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until butter bubbles and crackles. Keep an eye on the butter until it begins to turn golden brown and becomes fragrant. Remove from heat immediately and transfer into a small bowl to prevent the butter from burning. Let cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and the browned butter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the wet ingredients until mixture is just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide batter equally amongst muffin tin.

To make the topping, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and using your fingers, mix until crumbles form. Top each muffin with topping.

Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let rest in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.