Dough Hiatus

With the exception of our everyday bread, I appear to have taken a break from my dough challenge.  It was hard coming up with a new dough every day and when the weekend came, I was just too exhausted and busy to come up with a new idea.  So, today I am trying something new though...challah bread for Easter.  I wanted to make something special and I've been really wanting to try a richer dough like brioche or challah and challah won.  So, it's resting in the fridge and I'll finish it up tonight and bake it.  I can't wait to see how it comes out! 

Marmalade Explosion!

What I am about to describe truly should have had an accompanying picture.  Except that I was sticky, the floor was sticky, the counters sticky and if I had dared to pick up my phone to snap a photo who knows what would have happened...

Picture our morning yesterday...

The sun was shining and it was a little chilly but beautiful.  Our deck is right off of the kitchen and I had to door open so the kids were coming in and out of the kitchen and onto the deck.  Alternating between helping me make pumpkin scone dough and playing.  That's pretty typical.  Short attention span but they're always interested!  So, I get that done, popped it in the oven and then decide it's time to do the final boil of the orange marmalade mixture I started the night before.  So, I do that and then I head out onto the deck.  The kids and I pop back and forth between the two places, stirring and studying the mixture as it boiled up. Then, it reaches 220 degrees and it's time to jar it.  But, what's this, the rinds are just a bit too big?  Well, no problem. Let me pop them in the blender for a quick whirr.  And, that decision is the starting point from where my morning went insane.  Those of you familiar with blending hot liquids know that they expand and steam pops up the lid,  well, I knew this too but thought there was a small enough amount to prevent this.  I was wrong. Orange marmalade was everywhere.  Oh my, what a mess.  I was still cleaning it up during naptime.   But the kids thought it was funny and we all survived.  But that kind of sudden stress just throws you off a bit and I don't know if my morning ever truly recovered. 

So, no new dough.  Just a redone scones recipe, which I tried the spiced glaze on this time and it was wonderful!, and thankfully a completed orange marmalade recipe.  I don't know how soon I will ever try that again!!!  Of course, that being said, any orange marmalade fans out there want to give it a try?  I'll share!

Homemade Pasta....Finally!

Well, it's day 6 and I finally made pasta.  I also made bread and rolls today but since that is my usual fare, I'm not cheating and counting it.  I was worried I wouldn't have time but threw caution to the wind and did it anyway and it was SO worth it.  Wow...what a difference from store pasta.  Sure, it wasn't perfectly cut and it was a little thicker than I would have liked it to have been but overall, it was a darn good first pasta dough attempt.  I was so inspired seeing my little ball of dough resting on the counter that I made a cherry tart for dessert.  It was a good dinner.

So, obviously this is not my plate because it is covered in meat sauce but Troy was nice enough to let me snap a picture after being so patient already waiting for me to make and then cook the pasta.  I used the recipe on the back of the semolina flour bag which you can find if you follow this link.

It was just a nice dinner before heading out to get a massage to try fix all these knots I call muscles.  But that subject might require another blog all it's own... 

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones - AWESOME day 5 dough challenge recipe!

Okay, so I should be on day 6 and I didn't post day 5.  I am just all kinds of messed up after a busy weekend!  So, Saturday night I made baked doughnuts which were okay, but not fabulous.  I was so tired I barely snapped a pic and it's really not worth posting.  Then, on Sunday, Troy and I went on a 3.5 hour hike about an hour away and there was just not enough energy to make me make dough.  So, I gave myself a day off and came back with a bang.  This is one of my all time favorite, favorite treats.  I have never dared to make scones before because they just seemed so darn finicky!  Much like a biscuit which is another nemesis of mine.  So, I waited patiently for fall to arrive and upon every trip to Starbucks, I peered into the sweets case and hoped for one of these waiting for me.  Usually I was too late but on those days when I got one....well, I was in heaven.  It was a good time.  I have to force myself to wait long enough to eat it for my mocha to come.  I have issues.

But, when I came across this recipe...well, I had to try.  And I'm so glad I did.  They are perfect. So, without further adieu, here's the link Starbucks Pumpkin Scone Recipe and here are my changes...I didn't do the extra spice glaze.  I know it adds that extra zing but it also adds a lot of sugar and it's not needed.  I'd eat them with no glaze.  :-)  And I used squash, not pumpkin that I had put up in the freezer last fall because my pumpkin I thought I was thawing turned out to be sweet potato casserole.  Guess what we had with dinner tonight?  Luckily Troy was having pork chops so it kind of meshed well.  I was having an Amy's Vegetable Tofu pot pie and it didn't mesh nearly as well...but it was still yummy and made me think of Thanksgiving.  Put me in the mood for my scones all the more!!  In the glaze I used vanilla almond milk instead of milk.  Just seemed to fit better.  And I didn't use half and half, just regular skim milk.

So, here's how they turned out....all perfect and scone like.  The texture is amazing, probably from the whole wheat flour but it adds a nice chewiness.

Now, hopefully tomorrow I will FINALLY get to make either pasta or stromboli.  Both have been on the to-do list for the past week with no success of adding it to the completed list!!  

Eclairs! Otherwise known as Dough Challenge, day 3

I had designated yesterday as THE day to try and make pasta for my dough challenge but....the hubby suggested Panera and I am a complete and total sucker for their food.  He knows this, which I'm sure is why he suggested it.  He wasn't in the mood for pasta and he had to veer me off course.  Not that I minded a bit!!  Their Mediterranean Veggie sandwich was just the thing to make me happy on a cold, rainy Friday evening.  But, still the question loomed, what kind of dough would be on tap for this evening then...????  As I looked all through Allrecipes,com, this one jumped out at me....Chocolate Eclairs.  As soon as I finished reading it, I looked at the clock, figured I had time before Jeremy got done working and made a little mental checklist of what I had on hand and decided I was good to go!

Now, calling this a dough recipe is a teensy bit of a stretch...no kneading, no rising, no real fussing of any kind but still intimidating.  So I set to work boiling my water and butter, dumping in the flour and salt and thought it looked a lot like play dough at this point...  Then I beat in 4 eggs, one at a time and it was a very sticky dough, but a dough nonetheless. Not having a piping bag handy, I sort of freehanded these and thought it wouldn't matter so much.  I knew they would be eaten so fast I'd have trouble snapping a picture. 

Then I put them in the oven to bake and they were so pretty when I popped them out!  Nice and puffed up.  But then they just, well, fell flat,  Woosh...all the air was gone.  They were still pretty but not nearly as puffed.  I will have to work on this apparently. 

So, I left to go pick up Jeremy while they cooled.  So, here's where I really cheated.  I did not make the rest of the recipe as written. At all.  It was 8:30 at night when I stopped in the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for the filling and had a flash of genius..or was it laziness?  Either way, I (gasp) bought premade vanilla pudding, and one of those new chocolate glaze sort of things from the baking aisle.  I admit it, I'm ashamed.  I don't think any of us were complaining or thinking about it too much while were scarfing them down though.  At least I still made the dough! 

So, I hope you all enjoy the picture of my deflated, half-ingredients-not-homemade chocolate eclair. I will work on being a bit more respectable today.  :-) 










Dough: A Memoir (Awp Award Series in Creative Nonfiction)

I think this is a book I might enjoy reading...I will have to watch for it to be cheaper via kindle...

Dough Challenge - day 2

Although I had a few ideas in mind, I decided to wait until tonight and make an easy loaf.  Not an everyday bread, but something simple and comforting.  I came across this Sweet Honey French Loaf recipe and decided to adapt it to non-bread machine use.  I kept all of the ingredients the same, but first used the honey and water to proof my yeast and then add the other ingredients.  It was a very soft looking dough, nice and stretchy like you'd expect a french bread to be.  Then I let it rise about 45 minutes, and then shaped it into a loaf pan and baked it at 375 for about 25 minutes.  It is a perfect, small sized and I can't wait to taste it!  It smells wonderful!

In looking into recipes, I've stumbled across several blogs that talk about a BBA challenge, or Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge.  It made me really consider whether or not to get this book...hmmm....  But, for now, I'm off until day 3 of my personal challenge!

30 Day "Dough" Challenge

Needing some inspiration I've decided to embark on a 30 day challenge of trying some a different dough based recipe every day. I want to challenge myself to try some new things and maybe even find a few new favorites along the way!

So I started with something I know and that everyone loves...Monkey Bread. I use a Martha Stewart recipe and don't really deviate much from it.  The result was an ooey, gooey lovely cake of bread! 

Here's the recipe I used:

Ingredients

• For the Bread

  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus pinch for yeast
  • 3/4 cup milk, warmed
  • 2 tablespoons shortening, plus more for pan and bowl
  • 1 package yeast

• For the Coating

  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup nuts, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup light-brown sugar

• For the Icing

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Put the warm water and a pinch of sugar in small bowl; sprinkle yeast over top. Stir; let the yeast soften and dissolve, about 5 minutes.
   
2. Place shortening, warm milk, sugar, salt, and egg in mixer bowl. Grease Bundt pan and a medium bowl.
   
3. Once yeast is dissolved and foamy, add it to mixer bowl; mix well with dough hook. Slowly add flour. Knead on medium-low 1 minute or by hand 5 minutes. Place in the greased bowl; cover with plastic. Set dough in warm place and let rest 20 minutes.
   
4. Make coating: Put melted butter in a bowl. In another bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts; sprinkle 2 tablespoons of nut mixture in Bundt pan. Cut dough into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll into balls.
   
5. Dip balls in butter, then roll in nut mixture; place in prepared Bundt pan.
   
6. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
   
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes in pan.
   
8. Turn bread out of pan; cool 20 minutes on rack or plate.
   
9. Make icing: In small bowl, stir milk into confectioners' sugar. Drizzle over bread.