TWD Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

Happy election day!  Post is going up a little late because I went out and voted first.  And now I just keep telling myself, don't even turn on the news until at least 8 tonight because there won't be anything solid before then.  I have a feeling I won't make it that late though.  I am however most looking forward to getting my phone back tomorrow.  Yesterday I had 9 missed calls.  None of which were anyone I wanted to talk to.

On to more pleasant matters in the realm of food.  This morning I made Marion Cunningham's Buttermilk Crumb Muffins for breakfast.  To give it a little more staying power I subbed about a cup of oats for some of the white flour.  I don't think it had any adverse effects.  My muffins are a little dark because I accidental had my oven up too high, but they still tasted good.  I liked the muffins.  I thought they were just OK at first but I find myself reaching for "just one more".  In the end though, I probably won't be making them again.  Though they tasted good they weren't amazing.  If I am going to have an unhealthy breakfast I want it to taste amazing.  I have other muffin recipes that I like just as much as these (or maybe more), but I don't feel guilty feeding them to my kids for breakfast.  I guess I will have to post those recipes.

If you would like to try the Buttermilk Crumb Muffins you can find the recipe on Easier than Pie, and in Baking with Julia.

TWD rewind Popovers

This recipe was supposed to be done in August but before I knew it, it was the day to post and I hadn't made it.  "Oh well," I thought "I guess I'll have to skip this one."   Oh why didn't I even look at the recipe?  This recipe takes about three minutes to put together.  The directions are just dump everything in the blender and give it a whirl.

I did make a few changes to the recipe.  First of all I only had one extra large egg and the recipe called for three.  I cut the recipe in half and the one egg was perfect (some other bakers complained of it tasting eggy).  I also cut down on the baking time based on the other posts I read.  In total I knocked off about 10 minutes.  I wouldn't have wanted them baked a second longer.

They didn't totally wow me with how good they taste--they were good but not amazing.  But since they were so incredibly easy to make I might make them again and experiment to see how I like them best.

The recipe can be found at Vintage Kitchen Notes, at Bake with Amy and of course in Baking with Julia

TWD Bagels and More

 Tuesday's with Dorie this week is bagels.  I was very excited to make bagels.  I had never done so before but I have been wanting to for a long time.  But before we get to bagels I need to review a few other TWD items.  Last time was Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Bread.  I made the bread but I was unmotivated to post.  Although I have nothing bad to say about the bread.  I don't have anything positive to say either.  Everyone had a slice ans thought it tasted fine but the rest sat uneaten for two weeks until it finally got thrown away.  If you are really curious check out the recipe at This Bountiful Backyard.

 Also, thank you to everyone who gave helpful advice on my wheat loaves.  I tossed my yeast and tried again.  It came out great.

Though, I realize now that I should have kept the yeast and tried again with the old yeast to see if it was a process error or an ingredient error.  Oh well, I guess I will never know for sure.

 Finally, on to the bagels.  I really liked these and am excited to try again.  I made plain, blueberry, cinnamon, and parmesan cheese.  The cinnamon I don't think I put enough in and I couldn't notice a difference in the taste but the other flavors turned out well.

I liked the end result but there are a few changes I will make for next time.  The recipe has you split the dough in half, shape, boil, and bake half and while they are baking shape and boil the other half.    The baking takes quite a bit longer than boiling and shaping (you have to turn the oven off and let it sit in the oven for a while, then you have to reheat it for the next batch).  I was worried because my bagels sat for quite a while waiting to be cooked.  I thought that I should have waited to start shaping these.  I turns out that the second batch was not doomed.  Au contraire.  The second batch was better than the first.

The first batch was a little dense.  Not too bad but the second batch was much lighter.  You can see in the picture that the cheese bagel is much smaller than the others.  In the future I will be sure to give my bagels a chance to rise.

When baked the recipe instructed to toss some ice into the bottom of the oven to create steam, much like when you are baking french bread.  The result was too similar to french bread.  The outside was too crusty and not like a bagel in my opinion.  I will experiment in the future with cooking without steam.  If you would like to try this recipe you can always find it in Baking with Julia or over at Heather's Bytes.

TWD Wheat Loaves--Help Please!

This is not the first time that I've baked bread.  I first started baking bread about 7 years ago.  There was even a time where I baked bread weekly and that all the bread we ate was homemade.  Despite all of that baking I still do not have baking bread figured out.  Most of the time it turns out pretty good but I have a problem that comes up frequently and I don't know why.

The problem is this.

Lumpy bread.  It looks great in the mixer but as soon as I start shaping it by hand it falls apart. I don't think it's the recipe because it's happened with multiple recipes.  Sometimes they work, sometimes the don't.  So I am asking for your help.  How does this happen?

I followed the recipe except that I used molasses instead of malt extract (couldn't find any) and I added a little gluten because I didn't have bread flour.  So no recipe or useful tips from me today.  Instead I am begging for help.  Have you had this happen?  What causes it?  Thanks for any advice!

If you would like to see some GOOD examples of the bread check out Vegie Num Nums or The Family that Bakes Together.

TWD Best Ever Brownies

I'm not sure if I would call these brownies "Best Ever", but they have potential.  I had heard others say that they needed to be cooked for double the time stated and when I had reached the 20 minutes that the recipe stated it was still rather liquidy.  I baked longer and longer and took it out of the oven when the center still looked liquid but the outside was done.

I should have listened to the recipe.  By the time the brownies had cooled the outside edge was dry and cakey (these were advertised as being super fudgy).  The inside had solidified and was now the best part.  It was my fault; I didn't follow the recipe.  However even the fudgy inside wasn't enough to entice me to make it again.