Tuesdays with Dorie Rewind: Whole Wheat Loaves

I wasn't going to make anything for the rewind, but waking up post-storm in a chilly house I was itching to crank up the oven (and the power was back on!).  I decided to make the whole wheat bread since I have tons of soup left over that I think it'll pair great with.

I was really happy with this bread.  I didn't have the malt extract, and didn't sub in anything but it didn't seem to matter.  The BF, who is not a bread person, liked it as well, but asked that next time the crust be a little softer :) 

You can find the recipe on the blog The Family That Bakes Together...

Our next recipe is Buttermilk Crumb Muffins...stay tuned!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Bagels

I've been gone from TWD for too long.  Every time a new month came I'd tell myself this was the month I'd get back into it.  First it was going to be for the Biscotti, but then I read they were just okay.  Then I saw the Berry Galette and time got away from me.  Then Fall came and I was in pumpkin-mode so I though I'd quick whip the Pumpkin Cranberry Bread. Think again. That's like a 3-day recipe!

So I finally had a free weekend and decided to make the Bagels.

I took some advice I read on P&Qs and shaped the bagels after the first rise.  

The process of boiling and baking was fairly easy - I just wish I could have fit more than 4 bagels in the water at one time.  

I topped half with sesame seeds.  I really had no expectations for these.  I just needed to say I was back in with TWD.  And I thought, wow, this is a lot of work for bagels and I probably wouldn't make them again.  Then I tasted one.  Woah.  They had a thin chewy layer outside and chewy air-filled bread inside.  I only ate one and took the rest in for the guys at work.  I served them up with Nutella and Apple Pie Jam I recently got at the Philly Food Swap.

I would make these again.  But only if there were people around to eat them fresh out of the oven.  I wasn't sure how they held up the following morning.

If you'd like the recipe check out our host at Heather's Bytes!

So for the make-up post, what did I miss in the last 4 months that I should get to baking??

Tuesdays with Dorie: Oasis Naan

Yay, another winner!

I really like Naan, but that's probably because it's a form of bread.  I left out all the spices and green onion, and just added the salt.

Ready to knead 

Watered and Poked

Fresh from the oven

And My Critic says: HMMMMMM.  Finally.  He's a simple man.

Since I'm away on work travel, I gifted half of the dough to my friends Arpita and Mike.  I ended up with 4 pieces, ate 1, and will make pizzas with the remaining three.

For this week's recipe head over to Maggie of Always Add More Butter and Phyl of Of Cabbages & King Cakes.


Check back in 2 weeks for French Strawberry Cake.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Loaf Cake

I almost didn't make this recipe.  It's been a long week, but I didn't want to get out of the swing of things and this recipe was one I was looking forward to.  So late Monday, the night before posting I whipped it up.  One thing I liked about this one, was that it was quick.

I followed the recipe, but added a drizzle of lemon extract since I thought it needed a boost.

When it was done baking I poked holes in the top since I was going to add a lemon glaze and I thought the glaze would soak down.  I thought.

So how was it??  Eh.

It is a nice-looking loaf.  But I'm a little disappointed, because I really like lemon.  It's a little too dense for me.  I don't think I was the only one either...

But I will try another slice tomorrow and this one will be going to the office :)

If you'd like the recipe, please visit Truc of Treats or Michelle of The Beauty of Life.  And don't forget the hundreds of other TWD'ers here.  Stop back in two weeks for Hungarian Shortbread!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Irish Soda Bread

I'm not gonna lie.  I was not looking forward to this recipe.  I had Irish Soda Bread once, from a grocery store and it was just okay.  I didn't get what the hype was all about.  I just chalked it up to being an Irish thing I wouldn't understand.  For this recipe I was imagining a tasteless (there's only 4 ingredients, how good can it be!?), hard, dry loaf of bread that I would try and pawn off to the guys at work.

Well.  They won't be getting any.

What I loved about this recipe was that it was 4 ingredients.  Except for the buttermilk, everything was on-hand.  It took 5 minutes to mix up and throw in the pie pan.  I wasn't too concerned that it was a little straggly-looking since the recipe said not to knead for long, just shape.  And again, I wasn't expecting much.

I added the "X".

Oh, I just remembered.  I added dried cranberries (since I thought the bread was going to be dry and tasteless).

That's the better side.  I think part of my X went a little too deep and widened out a bit much.  As soon as it cooled enough for me to hold it, I sliced into and try a piece.  It was so good!  I am very pleasantly surprised it had that much flavor.  The cranberries added a little sweetness and tartness to the bread too.  As I began to slice more, I noticed it wasn't fully cooked in the middle so I threw it back in the oven.  It came out fine.

And My Critic says: "This is actually pretty good!" (after picking out the cranberries)  I will definitely be making this again.  It was so simple and delicious!

For this recipe please check out Carla of Chocolate Moosey and Cathleen of My Culinary Mission.  Come back on April 3rd for Pizza Rustica!

Tuesdays with Dorie: White Loaves

I think this was my first crack at making a basic white sandwich-type bread.  Most of my other bread making had been reserved for crusty loaves of pot bread.  So I was eager to make this recipe.

I decided to use King Arthur Flour AP flour since it was more readily available on short notice.  I enjoyed reading and learning about the difference types of flours, and I'll most likely use KAF exclusively from now on.  Everything was going well - except that my KitchenAid mixer decided to struggle so I had to knead the dough by hand for awhile (probably not as long as I should have).  Then came time for the butter.  I threw it back in the mixer just in the hopes that it would have perked up a little.  The butter made it easier to mix, but it just didn't look right!  I thought for sure I messed up somewhere.

Here's the dough after the first rise

I made one plain loaf and one cinnamon swirl loaf.  They didn't rise/cook up evenly, but I didn't care one bit.  The house smelled wonderful and we waited patiently to cut into one.  The loaves were very tender while still warm, but once they cooled completely they hardened up a little.  Maybe I left them out to sit too long?  No worries though - I'm about to toast up a slice right now with a thin smear of Biscoff spread and a cup of tea!

My Critic Says:  Good basic bread, but not as fluffy as expected.

Looking forward to a great baking journey with all the TWD'ers!!  For the recipe, please click here!