If I was a professional bread baker - I think I would weigh 300 pounds. I have absolutely zero will power against the sweet aroma of bread baking in the oven. I can't tell you how many times I have burned my mouth because I tried to eat a piece of bread - straight out of a 450 degree oven. It seems like it takes an eternity for it to cool so I guess I figure it's worth the risk the third degree burns on my tongue and bite right into it. It really doesn't even matter what kind of bread it is. I like all almost all kinds. Whole wheat, multigrain, white, french, baguettes, you name it. The only thing that really doesn't excite me is sourdough bread. I've been so focused on cakes lately that I haven't had much time for bread making. That all changed when I found this recipe Chewy Italian Rolls in the King Arthur catalog. I doubled the recipe because really, what's the point in making just a dozen rolls? Ciabatta Rolls Biga 3 cups flour 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour 2 cups water 1/4 teaspoon yeast Dough 5 cups flour 1 cup water 4 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon yeast For the biga: Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover and let reset at room temperature 12-20 hours. For the dough: Mix the biga with remaining ingredients in stand mixer. Knead for 4 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rest 1-2 hours.
Bake 13 minutes at 450. WAIT for them to cool (that was for my benefit) and enjoy. I'm hungry from more bread just from typing this blog post. Lucky for me, it's already cool.
Ciao!
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There is just something about food on a stick that is strangely appealing to me. Seriously, if it can be put on a stick, I've tried it. Maybe it's because I have germ issues but I prefer not to hold my food in my hand. That could explain why I don't like to eat hot dogs or hamburgers. I haven't figured out how to get a hamburger on a stick yet but I do know how to eat a hot dog without touching it - hello, corn dog! (I know - I'm a genius.) Pretty sure most people don't like to eat corn dogs because it keeps their hands off of their food - they eat them because they're good. Let's face it, a hot dog covered in a deep fried batter - what's not to like? Courtney loves corn dogs and I don't normally buy them and keep them in the house so it's a treat for her to have them when we go out. I've made homemade corn dogs in the past and they were pretty good but I found a new recipe for Corn Dogs in my taste of home magazine and for some reason, they just sounded really good. They were called Indiana Style Corn Dogs and I have absolutely no idea why Indiana has their own style of corn dogs but I can tell you that they were good. Corn Dogs 1 cup flour 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 Tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard 1/4 teaspoon paprika dash of pepper 1 egg 1 cup evaporated milk 12 hot dogs
Fry in hot oil for 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Enjoy. Ciao!
I'm normally the neighbor who's asking everyone if they have extra tomatoes but this year, I've got so many that I'm the girl who's handing them out as gifts to anyone who happens to walk past our house. (Would it be wrong to hand out tomatoes as party favors? I'm not above that.) I have been making salsa with a lot of my extra tomatoes but I thought I would try roasting a few also. I dug out an old Cooking Light recipe from 2012 and decided to give it a whirl. Much to my surprise, the recipe called for roasting the tomatoes in the oven for 7 hours! SEVEN HOURS! My tomatoes didn't quite make it that long in the oven and I had to pull them out a couple of times to bake cakes so they roasted about 5 1/2 hours. Roasted Tomatoes 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/4 teaspoon pepper 4 pounds tomatoes
Serve with fresh basil. These tomatoes were really tasty. The sweetness of the fruit really came out during the long, slow roasting. I think I will try slicing them thin next time and see if I can roast them a little quicker. Seven hours is a long time to have the oven on the in kitchen in the middle of August.
Ciao! What happens when I combine three of my favorite cake flavors into one cake? Neapolitan cake happens! A layer of fruity, strawberry cake... A layer of rich, dark chocolate mocha cake ... And a layer of light, fluffy white cake ... Cover the entire cake in ribbons of cream cheese frosting and you've achieved a whole new level of cake perfection. You can click on the links to get all three cake recipes. Yes, it's a HUGE pain to bake three separate cake layers and it would be a lot easier to make one batter and flavor it three different ways - thanks for asking. BUT - I love all three of these cake flavors so much that it felt like a cop out to cheat and make a single cake batter. Just in case you were curious, this is how this cake masterpiece came together: Start with a layer of strawberry cake on a cake circle. Spread a layer of strawberry cream cheese frosting on top. Place a layer of chocolate cake on top and spread chocolate cream cheese frosting on top of that. Finish with a layer of white cake. At this point I SHOULD have frosted the entire cake in a thin layer of white cream cheese frosting. I didn't and I paid the price. I had some serious issues later. Trust me on this one - dirty ice your cake people. Start with the strawberry cream cheese frosting, piping ribbons of frosting along the bottom edge of the cake - up to the chocolate layer. Repeat the process with the chocolate cream cheese icing, piping ribbons on top of strawberry ribbons. Pipe dots along the top of the cake in concentric circles. So there you go - a triple threat cake - strawberry, chocolate and vanilla in one slice!!! No more standing at the bakery counter trying to decide which flavor to choose - chocolate, strawberry or vanilla. I'll take them all - thank you.
Ciao! I'm hanging onto every last bit of summer that I can possibly get a hold of this week. Courtney has already been in school now for a couple of weeks and Ryan leaves for school next week - uuuggg where did the summer go? Maybe if I make a batch of sunny, lemon crinkle cookies, I can make summer last just a little bit longer? Lemon Crinkle Cookies 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened 1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar 1 Tbsp lemon zest (from about 2 medium lemons) 1 large egg 1 large egg yolk 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 3/4 tsp lemon extract 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 5 drops yellow food coloring (optional) 1/2 cup powdered sugar Mix in egg then blend in egg yolk. Add lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract and optional yellow food coloring and mix until combined. Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl. Scoop dough out about 1 1/2 Tbsp at a time (25g each) and shape into a ball, then drop in powdered sugar and roll to evenly coat. Transfer to a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet, repeat with remaining dough and space cookies 2-inches apart on baking sheet. (Looks like an egg yolk, don't you think?) Bake in preheated oven 10 - 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container. Ciao!
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