Whole-grain Buttermilk Cornbread

Did you know that most cornmeal sold in the US is a whole grain? Stone-ground yellow cornmeal contains some of the hull and germ in addition to the corn endosperm, giving it more flavor and nutritional value than steel-ground cornmeal, as well as a coarser texture. Blue cornmeal, which is ground from whole blue corn kernels, likewise is a nutritious whole grain but it can be difficult to find.

My whole grain buttermilk cornbread recipe uses stone ground yellow cornmeal and whole wheat flour instead of the usual white flour in order to maximize nutrition without sacrificing flavor. This recipe probably works just as well if you use blue cornmeal instead of yellow, but the color may be somewhat odd. If you've ever used blue cornmeal in a cornbread, please leave a comment to let us know how it turned out -- and please also leave a photo if you have one!

My recipe is an adaptation of the traditional buttermilk cornbread recipe from the 1970 cookbook Our Daily Bread by Stella Standard. Although I usually make and prefer to eat savory rather than sweet cornbread, this one has a delightfully mellow sweetness that's complementary, not cloying. It is very moist with a somewhat crumbly texture, at least when baked in a ceramic pan rather than a cast-iron skillet. And although I didn't add hot peppers to this recipe, there's no reason not to add some diced jalapenos or other spicy chilies if you  want a hot and spicy cornbread.

Ingredients
2 eggs, well-beaten

2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt
2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup fresh-cut or frozen & thawed corn kernels

Preheat oven to 375°F, and grease an 8"x11" baking dish (the original recipe recommends dusting it with flour after greasing, but I didn't do that). Place the first four ingredients in a bowl and stir well to combine thoroughly. In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour and baking powder -- the original recipe recommends sifting but I didn't and instead simply stirred well to thoroughly mix together. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry, then add the brown sugar & corn kernels and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake at 375°F until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes or longer depending on your oven. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company

Quick Bread Recipe: Basil Beer Bread

Homemade herb bread doesn't get any simpler than this -- well, maybe if you use self-rising flour it gets a little simpler because you'd only need 3 ingredients.

Regardless, the following Basil Beer Bread requires no kneading or rising, and takes only about an hour from start to finish.

If you love basil and especially if you grow it, this is a great way to use it other than in pesto, tomato sauce and other more common recipes using basil.

Try the bread warm out of the oven with a little butter or softened cream cheese, or slice and spread with mayonnaise for tomato sandwiches. You can also slice and toast to serve as the basis for bruschetta, or to make homemade basil croutons.

Ready to bake

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbs sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil*
1 bottle or can (12 oz) beer**, at room temperature

*Measure the basil after chopping. I started with 1 cup of whole leaves, coarsely chopped them and measured a loosely packed half-cup of the chopped basil. For a more intense basil flavor, you can use more basil, and/or finely chop the leaves and pack tightly in your measuring cup.

**Because the beer is one of only two sources of flavor for this recipe (basil obviously being the other one), use a beer that you enjoy drinking. I used a bottle of Beck's Sapphire, which was ok, but next time I'll probably use a better beer.

Cooling

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5x3 bread pan (I indulged and used bacon grease, but you could certainly use butter, shortening or oil instead). Stir together the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the basil. Pour the beer in and stir until totally incorporated and you have a fairly soft, sticky dough. Transfer dough into greased bread pan and bake at 350°F until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean -- about 50 minutes to an hour. Remove bread from pan and place on cooling rack until cool enough to handle, then slice and enjoy.

To store, allow bread to cool completely then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in a resealable plastic bag. For best flavor, eat within two or three days.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company

PS:  If you enjoy baking breads, whether quick breads or yeast breads, you'll find more recipes on the Carolina Sauce Company's Pinterest page where we have a Bread Recipes board. You can also search this blog for "bread recipes."

Cinco de Mayo Skillet Bread

This easy, no-knead quick bread (no yeast) is perfect for celebrating Cinco de Mayo, enjoying anytime you're serving Mexican food, or when you're craving hearty bread with a peppery kick. Although it's cooked in a skillet like cornbread and somewhat resembles cornbread, my Cinco de Mayo is made with all-purpose flour and oat flour instead of cornmeal.

Don't have oat flour? Neither do I:  All you need are uncooked rolled oats, old-fashioned or quick-cook/instant, and a blender or food processor. To make 1 cup of oat flour, place 1 cup of the oats in a blender or food processor and process until the consistency of fine cornmeal (it will be slightly coarser than all-purpose flour).

You can use any combination of chili peppers, whether hot, sweet or bell peppers, according to your heat preferences. I recommend using a variety of peppers of different colors for a fun and festive appearance. For the bread shown in the photos, I used a mixture of serrano, jalapeno, habanero, red Fresno and poblano, which meant that each bite could range from gently spicy to fiery-hot.

Queso fresco is a fresh, crumbly Mexican cheese available at regular grocery stores in areas where there's a Mexican population.  You can also usually find it in Mexican tiendas if you have any in your area. Like feta cheese, queso fresco tends not to melt much when you cook with it. If you can't find queso fresco, you can substitute cubed cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper-jack cheese even though the texture will be different because those cheeses melt much more readily.

For a healthier, very low fat bread, you can omit the cheese altogether and still have a very flavorful and visually attractive bread, as shown in the photo below:

Finally, if you don't have a 9" or 10" cast iron skillet, you can bake the bread in an 8" x 8" baking pan, or even shape it into a free-form loaf and bake on a cookie sheet.

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Mexican spice blend such as Jim's Own Pincho Rub or Gentlewoods Natural Pincho Rub*
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 Tbs oil
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt**
1 Tbs milk**
1 cup seeded & diced chili peppers
1 cup crumbled queso fresco, OR approx. 6 oz cheddar or jack cheese cut into small cubes

*You can substitute Mexican chili powder but make sure it's a seasoning blend and not merely ground red chili pepper (i.e., a single type of pepper without any other spices or herbs).

**If you don't have Greek yogurt, use ordinary plain nonfat yogurt and omit the milk.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 9" or 10" cast iron skillet (I use bacon fat) and place in oven as it preheats.  Note:  If you are using a baking pan or a baking sheet instead of a cast iron skillet, do NOT place in oven after greasing.

While the skillet is heating, thoroughly combine the first 6 ingredients (all the dry ingredients except the peppers and cheese) in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix together the egg, oil, yogurt and milk.  Pour the wet mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Note:  This makes a very stiff, dry batter so I recommend using a sturdy wooden spoon.  Fold in the peppers and cheese until incorporated throughout the bread, using your hands if necessary.

Carefully remove the hot greased skillet from oven and transfer the dough into the middle of the skillet -- watch out for splattering grease.  Use your hands to spread the dough evenly inside the skillet:

Place in oven and bake at 425°F until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes:

Let rest for a couple of minutes before cutting:

You can also transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool before cutting -- if your skillet is well-seasoned and well-greased, the bread should slip out easily without sticking to the sides or bottom. To store any leftover bread, first allow it to cool completely and then refrigerate in an airtight sealed plastic bag.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you're shopping for some good cast iron skillets that will last a lifetime and longer, I recommend Lodge Logic Cast Iron Skillet - Set of 2 (10 1/4" & 12") - Lodge Logic (Google Affiliate Ad) for their high quality, durability and superb cooking at an affordable price.

No Self-Rising Flour or Cornmeal? Use This!

Have you ever started a bread recipe or cornbread recipe only to discover that it calls for self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, and you don't have any?

This happens to me regularly because I never buy self-rising flour or cornmeal. I always have all-purpose flour and regular cornmeal in my pantry, however, along with other basic baking staples like baking powder.

Instead of spending money on self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, here's how you can make it at home using ordinary flour or cornmeal:

1 cup of self-rising flour = 1 cup of all-purpose flour  + 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of self-rising cornmeal = 1 cup of regular cornmeal + 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Note: If your recipe also lists baking powder and/or salt as ingredients in addition to the self-rising flour or self-rising cornmeal, most cooks* say that you should omit them up to the quantities in the substitution. In other words, if your recipe calls for 1/2 tsp baking powder, omit all of it because you're already adding more than that amount of baking powder in the substitution (do NOT reduce the amount in the substitution, or the recipe won't rise enough). If your recipe calls for 2 tsp baking powder, reduce that to 1/2 tsp because you're already including the rest in the substitution.   

*I said "most cooks" above because it's been my experience specifically when making cornbread that I get better results if I do NOT reduce the additional baking powder or salt by the amounts in the substitution.  That's just my personal experience - if you agree or disagree, please leave a comment because I'm curious to learn what other cooks have experienced.

This is my go-to substitution strategy when making a recipe that lists self-rising cornmeal or flour as an ingredient. It saves room in my pantry because I don't need space for an extra container or two, and it saves money at the grocery store because it's something less to buy.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company

The Great Yeast Revival Experiment (Part 2)

Back in November, I decided to play "mad scientist" (or insane baker) and used 17-year-old yeast (yes, yeast almost old enough to vote) to bake bread. Much to my surprise, delight and relief, the Great Yeast Revival Experiment proved successful and delicious. Because that experiment used only some of the relatively ancient yeast I had found lurking in the back of a kitchen cabinet (specifically the Jan '96 vintage), I dubbed it "Part I" and planned to conduct the experiment again using the last of the old yeast, dated Nov '96. What follows is Part II of the Great Yeast Revival Experiment.

Because the second batch of teenaged yeast was almost a full year younger than the first batch, I was cautiously optimistic that it would be no less active than that used in the original experiment. Another reason for my optimism is that, unlike for the first experiment, this time I had enough time to conduct the entire experiment in one day rather than "holding" the proofed yeast in the refrigerator overnight until I had time to bake the following morning.

As with the first experiment, I began by proofing the yeast per the advice of Jenni Field, aka Pastry Chef Online, who is not only a font of knowledge but also one of the funniest and all-around nicest and most helpful people I've had the pleasure of meeting via Facebook (check out her FB page and tell her Gloria from Carolina Sauce sent you). And no, I don't get paid to say that.

Below is what the yeast looked like immediately after stirring into the warm water (I explain how to proof yeast in the original Yeast Revival Experiment post).

After 10 minutes I was disappointed to see that only a little bit of foam had formed, suggesting that this yeast had not aged nearly as well as the older Jan '96 yeast:

After an additional 10 minutes, the yeast still wasn't frothing as much as I had expected and hoped, causing me to wonder whether I should give up on it as near-dead and abort this experiment now rather than taking a chance and ending up with brick-hard, unrisen loaves of bread:

Against my better judgment, I decided to proceed with the bread recipe despite all indications that this old, tired yeast was barely active and clinging to life by the slenderest of threads. Because I had proofed 2 packets of yeast, I used my full recipe for Easy English Muffin Bread, which produces two loaves.  As usual, I substituted 1 cup of oat flour for 1 cup of bread flour. Having already used 1 Tablespoon of sugar with 1 cup of warm water to proof the yeast and figuring that a little extra food for the poor elderly yeasties wouldn't hurt, I added 1 teaspoon of sugar to the dry ingredients. To account for the cup of water used in proofing, I reduced the amount of warm milk in the bread recipe to 1 1/2 cups and did not add any other liquid. I then proceeded with the recipe, formed my 2 loaves of bread, covered and placed them in my oven with the oven light on for warmth, and prayed that they would rise.

After 1 hour of rising time, the loaves hadn't risen very much at all -- in fact, after 2 hours the change in size was alarmingly slight. I decided to give them a final hour of rising, and here is how they looked after those 3 hours:

As you can see by comparing the two photos above, the bread had NOT doubled in size despite being given 3 hours to rise.  At this point I was fairly certain that my experiment would be an inedible failure, but having come this far I had nothing to lose by baking the loaves. And so I did. Here's how they looked fresh from the oven:

I removed the undersized loaves from their pans and allowed them to cool on racks for a few minutes. To my astonishment, when I cut into the cooled bread it was soft, albeit a bit dense.

The flavor and texture were perfectly acceptable, too. Although the bread was firmer than my usual loaves, it was nowhere near solid or brick-like. In fact, the somewhat denser, firmer texture and finer crumb made it particularly good for sandwiches. I guess I got lucky, because this was by far the least active yeast I have ever used in baking.

What's the oldest ingredient or food that you've found in your pantry or fridge, and dared to eat? Please share your story in a comment below!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Bacon PepperJack Cornbread

If you love bacon and enjoy savory (not sweet) cornbread, this zesty, cheesy, bacony cornbread is for you.  Although I recommend baking it in a cast iron skillet, you can use an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan if that's all you have.

You'll notice that I use nonfat plain Greek yogurt in this recipe, instead of sour cream or milk. I find that the nonfat yogurt results in superior texture and just as rich a flavor without all of the fat in whole milk or sour cream. Given the fat in the bacon, cheese and eggs, it makes sense (at least to those of us trying to eat healthier) to use a nonfat alternative to sour cream if it works just as well and doesn't compromise flavor. In fact, I've made this cornbread using full-fat sour cream, and the texture seemed too moist and almost greasy.  Additionally, because many reduced-fat or nonfat sour creams contain artificial ingredients, gums or stabilizers, a natural non-fat Greek yogurt strikes me as a healthier choice.

Without further ado, here is my recipe for Bacon Pepper Jack Cornbread.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup cornmeal
2 Tbs flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 to 8 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled (reserve the grease)
6 oz. Pepper Jack cheese, cut into small cubes*

*You can substitute cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese if you prefer

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease the inside of an 8" to 10" cast-iron skillet or an 8" or 9" square baking pan with the reserved bacon grease. If using a skillet, place the greased skillet in the oven to heat as you mix the ingredients.

In a small bowl combine the 3 wet ingredients--I used a whisk to mix well. In a large bowl, combine the 4 dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until thoroughly incorporated--the batter will be stiff and relatively dry. Gently fold in the cheese and half of the crumbled bacon, then transfer into the hot, greased skillet (I use a silicone spatula to fold in the bacon & cheese, scrape all the batter out and then gently smooth the top). Sprinkle with the remaining crumbled bacon, then bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If you have any leftovers, allow to cool completely then wrap in plastic and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (it will keep for a few days, but I bet you'll eat it all before then).

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  If you want to add some spicy heat, add a few splashes of Bacon Hot Sauce when mixing together the wet ingredients.

The Great Yeast Revival Experiment (Part 1)

Yeast from 1996

What's the oldest food or ingredient you've found in your kitchen, and dared to eat?

The other day while cleaning out a spice cupboard I discovered two strips of yeast packets that had been long forgotten behind seldom-used items like a seed sprouter and a broken garlic press that I previously couldn't bring myself to throw out (it's now gone). While finding yeast packets might seem rather unremarkable, these packets were "special" in that they had best-by dates from 1996--which means the packets were at least 16 years old, and probably closer to 17 years.

While the practical side of me wanted to throw them out, the "mad scientist" side was morbidly curious and wanted to find out if this relatively ancient yeast might still be alive and usable. Reluctant to waste a batch of flour, milk and other bread ingredients on what was likely to be a lost cause, I turned to my friend Chef Jenni of Pastry Chef Online to ask what she would do if she were in my shoes.  Sharing my morbid curiosity, she promptly suggested a third option I hadn't considered: Proofing 1 packet of the old yeast.

At this point I must confess that I rarely proof my yeast before baking. Well, ok... I NEVER proof my yeast. And in all the years I've been baking, I've never had bread fail due to "dead" yeast. But I was familiar with the concept of proofing and this was precisely the sort of situation in which one would want to proof yeast before using. I assembled my materials for the Great Yeast Revival Experiment:  1 packet of vintage January 1996 Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, a Pyrex measuring cup, whisk, kitchen thermometer and a timer.  And a notepad, pencil and camera to document the event.

I heated the water to 120°F (below the suggested temperature range of 125-130°F on the packet), dissolved the sugar in the warm water, whisked in the yeast, and set the timer to go off in 10 minutes after which I would pronounce the yeast dead or alive, based on whether it had bubbled up a frothy foam and released that unmistakeable yeast aroma that I enjoy.

Upon hearing the timer, I returned to the kitchen to discover that the yeast was, in fact, alive and bubbling, albeit somewhat less enthusiastically than fresh, young yeast still in its prime.

Thinking that this elderly yeast would benefit from a little more time to feast on the sugar water, I reset the time for another 5 minutes. After a total proofing time of 15 minutes, I was delighted to discover that the yeast had produced a very respectable head of foam:

Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to use the proofed yeast in a bread recipe prior to heading out for an evening commitment. Not wanting to kill my newly-revived old yeast, I turned again to the ever-helpful Chef Jenni to ask for advice. On her recommendation I whisked in a little more sugar and a bit of flour to give the activated yeast something to work on overnight and then stored it in my refrigerator to use the following morning.

In the morning I removed the proofed yeast from the refrigerator and placed it on a counter to come to room temperature over the course of a couple of hours.

When I was ready to bake, I pulled out my simplest, most familiar bread recipe: Easy English Muffin Bread. Having halved it many times before when I wanted to bake only 1 loaf, I knew this would be the right recipe to see what the old yeast could do.

Because the yeast had been proofed in 1/2 cup water with over a tablespoon of sugar, I had to modify my recipe accordingly. I heated 3/4 cup milk to 120°F and then whisked in the proofed yeast liquid. I poured this into the combined dry ingredients (I added only 1 tsp sugar to the dry because the yeast had already received over 1 Tbs) and then continued with the recipe. This is what the dough looked like before I covered it with a towel and placed it in my oven with light on to rise in a warm environment:

My recipe calls for 45 minutes for rising and normally the dough doubles in size in that time. But in this case it had only risen a little, which was consistent with Chef Jenni's advice that refrigerated proofed yeast, especially very OLD yeast, would take much longer to rise:

After another 45 minutes the bread still hadn't doubled, although it was continuing to make progress:

I was running out of time and patience, so this time I set the timer for only 30 additional minutes, for a total rising time of 2 hours. The dough *almost* doubled by then, but not quite:

I removed the bread from the warm oven, preheated the oven to 400°F and baked the loaf for 25 minutes as usual.  When it was done, it looked quite similar to bread made with fresh yeast:

I transferred the bread to a cooling rack for a few minutes:

When I cut into the bread, I noticed that it was a little denser than usual. Had I let it keep rising longer than two hours, I suspect it would have produced a lighter crumb. Nevertheless, it was delicious.

Thus concludes Part 1 of the Great Yeast Revival Experiment, proving that "teenaged" yeast can still be used to bake bread. Because the overnight refrigeration added a second variable to this experiment, a second test is warranted and will be conducted on a day when I can bake with the proofed yeast immediately instead of refrigerating it overnight. So stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon!

Please leave a comment below to share your story of the oldest ingredient or food you've found and dared to eat.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company, Inc.

Bacon-Jalapeno Quick Bread

This rustic quick bread (doesn't require yeast or rising time) combines two of my favorite savory foods: Bacon and hot peppers. I like to bake it in a cast-iron skillet as if it were a cornbread, but you can use a 9 x 9 x 2 baking pan if you prefer.

The oat flour adds fiber as well as heartiness, but you can substitute all-purpose or bread flour for it if you prefer. Although I haven't tried using whole wheat flour in this recipe, you could probably use it in place of the oat flour.

Using one jalapeno pepper and mild smoked paprika will result in a mildly peppery, not hot, bread. If you prefer a hotter, spicier flavor, use two jalapenos or even a habanero pepper, and use hot smoked paprika instead of mild. The earthy, complex flavor of smoked paprika complements the bacon quite well and adds depth of flavor, but you could use ordinary paprika if that is what you have.

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour*
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 Tbs butter or bacon fat, chilled, plus more for greasing
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced (including tops)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 Tbs)
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 large egg, beaten

*You can make oat flour by processing 1 cup of rolled oats (old-fashioned, not instant) in your food processor until finely ground.

Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a 10" cast iron skillet or a 9x9x2 baking dish. If using a skillet, place the greased skillet in the oven to warm up while you make the bread. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, then cut in the butter or bacon fat until the mixture resembles cracker crumbs (see below).

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir just enough to combine, making a soft dough. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8 times (resist the urge to knead more). Transfer the dough into the greased pan or warmed skillet (see below).

 
Bake at 425F until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean--about 20 minutes, depending on your oven (see below).

Allow to cool to the touch before cutting.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Hot & Spicy Pumpkin-Chili Pepper Bread

My hot and spicy pumpkin & chili pepper bread is a different take on traditional pumpkin bread recipes, which are usually very sweet and only "spicy" in the sense that they call for cinnamon, nutmeg and other "warm" autumnal spices. In contrast, this bread is more savory, has a definite fiery kick from two kinds of hot peppers, and a deep, earthy flavor that hints at smokiness.

I used the pulp from a smoked pumpkin (instructions on how to smoke a pumpkin are included in this prior post on Smoked Pumpkin Pie). If you don't want to smoke a pumpkin, you can use regular cooked pumpkin puree, including canned. Just make sure it's pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, and drain any excess liquid.

This is a quick bread, which means it doesn't use yeast and there's no rising time. My recipe below makes a pretty hot bread, probably too hot for people who don't eat much spicy food. You can control the spicy heat by the type of dried pepper and the amount of smoked habanero powder you use. If you're concerned about the heat level, substitute a milder chili pepper powder (pure ground peppers, not a chili powder blend containing other spices such as cumin) or a mild smoked paprika, and use a mild dried chile like ancho or Anaheim pepper. Or, use two different peppers for a more complex flavor.

Enjoy my hot & spicy pumpkin-chili pepper bread with butter, cream cheese--it's divine with pumpkin cream cheese or maple-walnut cream cheese--or with a scoop of ice cream (vanilla, cinnamon, or coffee).

Ingredients
1 large egg, beaten
1 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (smoked pumpkin is best)

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground smoked habanero powder

1 or 2 dried New Mexico chilies or other large dried chilies (or 4 to 6 smaller dried chilies)

Place dried chilies in a small bowl and cover with hot water to rehydrate. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 5" x 9" bread pan with butter. Mix together the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl stir together the remaining ingredients except the dried chilies. When the chilies are soft enough to cut, remove from water (reserve the water) and use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to coarsely chop.

Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet and stir until thoroughly combined into a fairly stiff dough. If the dough is too dry, add a little bit of the soaking water from the dried chilies (I ended up adding 1/4 cup). Fold in the chopped dried chilies, then transfer the dough into the greased bread pan and place on center rack in oven. Bake at 350°F until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 1 hr 15 minutes to 1 1/2 hrs. Remove pan from oven and let sit for a few minutes, then carefully turn out onto a cooling rack until cool enough to handle. Wait until bread comes to room temperature before wrapping or otherwise storing. You can keep it at room temperature for a day, but after that it's best to refrigerate.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

How to Bake Bread in your Crock Pot (and recipe for Zesty Oatmeal Bread)

Zesty Oatmeal Bread

I recently read an article explaining how to bake bread in a crock pot or slow cooker. Like others, I was skeptical, so I decided to try it myself. To my delight, it worked!

Based on the article, it seems that you can use your crock pot or slow cooker to bake pretty much any type of bread, including pre-made dough. Although the original article claims that using a crock pot to bake bread is faster than using your oven, the comments and my experience indicate that the time it takes to bake in a crock pot depends on the type of bread you're making (denser, more moist doughs take longer), the size of the crock pot, and how hot the crock pot gets (the more you lift the lid to check on your bread, the longer it will take to cook). The main time-saver is that the rising time is incorporated into the cooking time because you place the raw dough into the crock pot before turning it on so that the bread rises as the crock pot warms up.

Baked but not browned

One thing to keep in mind is that crock-pot-baked bread won't brown or develop a crust, so if you want a nice brown crust you'll have to place the baked bread under the broiler for a few minutes to form a crust and turn brown (which is what I did). Just remember to keep a close eye on it while broiling because it can go from brown to burnt VERY quickly.

I made the following oat bread recipe, which is more moist and dense than regular white bread, and first checked on it after 45 minutes, as recommended. It wasn't close to being done, so I let it bake an additional 15 minutes before checking again... and still not quite done, but closer. After 20 additional minutes, it felt done when poked it, despite the pale color, so I carefully lifted it out of the crock pot, slid it onto a baking sheet and placed it under the broiler for a few minutes until golden brown.

When I cut into the browned bread, it was just a tad underdone, which means I probably should have left it in the crock pot undisturbed for at least another 45 minutes after my initial check. After all, oatmeal bread is naturally more dense and takes longer to cook than regular white bread in a conventional oven. Nevertheless, my first attempt at crock pot bread was quite delicious--and the next day I used a couple of slices to make one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever had. Without further ado, here is my recipe for Zesty Oatmeal Bread baked in a crock pot.

Ingredients
2 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1 cup oat flour (see note)
1 envelope yeast (I use rapid-rise)
1/2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk (I use skim)
1/4 cup water
Topping: Garlic powder, red pepper flakes, dried oregano

Note: To make oat flour, I used my food processor to grind 1 cup of old-fashioned oatmeal into a coarse flour. Process longer for a finer flour. Or, you can substitute 3 cups of an oatmeal bread flour blend like the Organic Oatmeal Bread Flour Blend from Great River in place of all the flour (oat and bread).

Raw, ready to bake

Combine all the dry ingredients (except the topping) in a large bowl. Combine the milk and water in a small pan or microwave-safe bowl and heat to 120-125°F (no hotter or you'll kill the yeast). Pour the hot liquid into the dry ingredients and use a large wooden spoon to mix well until everything comes together into a rough ball of dough--add a little more flour if necessary. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead (adding an additional small handful of flour if or as necessary) until the dough is elastic/pliable and no longer tacky. Shape into a ball, place on a sheet of parchment paper, and sprinkle with the topping ingredients, then use your fingers to gently press the spices into the top of the dough so that they'll stick.

Just before covering

Place the bread inside your cold crock pot (lower it in with the parchment paper to cook on the paper rather than directly on the bottom of the crock pot). Cover with lid, turn the crock pot to HIGH and let cook, undisturbed, for at least 45 minutes to an hour before checking for doneness. The top will not brown so test for doneness by gently poking with a finger: If the bread feels like a baked loaf of bread, then it's ready for browning. If it's not yet done, then continue to cook for at least another 15 minutes (probably longer, based on my experience) before checking again. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your crock pot and how hot it gets. Some people suggest wrapping the outside of the crock pot in a large towel to better insulate it and speed up the baking.

Browned & ready to eat

When the bread is done, carefully lift it out using the parchment paper. To get a nice, brown crust, place the loaf on a baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven and broil for a few minutes until the top turns your desired shade of brown. Remove from oven and slide onto a cooling rack. Make sure bread is completely cooled to room temperature before storing, or else condensation will develop.

If you make bread in your crock pot, please leave us a comment to share your experience, and your recipe!

And if you want to win some FREE products from the Carolina Sauce Company, visit our Facebook page and leave a comment under the September Crock Pot Game post (look for a photo of our crock pot) for a chance to win! The game ends at 10 am EDT on Wednesday, Sept. 5th, so don't delay!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Easy Cheesy Onion Soda Bread

Cheddar-Onion Soda Bread

Instead of predictable Irish soda bread, make this moist, green-flecked Cheddar-Onion Soda Bread instead, and don't let anyone tell you it's not Irish:  This recipe uses some of Ireland's most common ingredients, including oatmeal, cheese (Ireland makes some great Cheddar-style and other cheeses) and onions (you can substitute leeks which are even more traditionally Irish). A soda bread made with traditional Irish ingredients qualifies as an Irish soda bread in my book.

From start to finish, this bread will take well under two hours to make--and under ONE hour if you use pre-shredded cheese or a food processor to shred the cheese, already have oat flour on hand, and you mix the bread in your stand mixer. That's hard to beat for wholesome, homemade bread!

The original recipe I used as the starting point for mine is this King Arthur Flour recipe for Cabot Cheddar Bread.  To increase the fiber content, I substituted 1 cup of oat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. This also added to the moistness of the bread, which is a good thing when using skim milk and non-fat yogurt. On the other hand, I think the oat flour added to the baking time: The original recipe said that a free-form round loaf should take only 35 to 40 minutes to bake, while my version took at least 50 minutes. But the discrepancy could also be due to my less-than-consistent oven, so I recommend keeping an eye on your loaf as the it approaches the end of the recommended baking time.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into pats (easiest done when butter is VERY cold)
8 oz Cheddar cheese (I used aged, very sharp Cabot cheddar), shredded
3/4 cup chopped spring onion tops or green onion tops (just the green parts - I used "baby" Vidalia onion tops)
3/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk (preferably organic)
1 large egg
Optional: A little milk or beaten egg to brush on top, and a little bit of oats to sprinkle on top


*Note: To make oat flour, I simply process just over 1 cup of old-fashioned (not quick-cook or instant!) oats in my food processor until coarsely or finely ground as desired. You can also buy oat flour at natural food stores, but it has a much shorter shelf life so I prefer to make it as needed using old-fashioned oatmeal, which lasts longer.

Fresh from the oven

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the butter, working it in until the mixture is crumbly (I use a large fork rather than my fingers so as to not warm the butter). Stir in the shredded cheese and green onions. In a small bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the milk and yogurt. Add to the large bowl and mix together just until everything is moist and comes together into a stiff dough.  Form into a round or oblong loaf and place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet (I used parchment paper). If desired, lightly brush the top with a little milk or egg wash and then sprinkle some oats on top (I gently pressed them down a bit with my fingers to help them stick).

Bake at 375°F until golden-brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean: This took me about 50 minutes but could take as little as 35 or 40 minutes, so I recommend keeping an eye on the bread after 35 minutes.  When the bread is done, remove the baking sheet from oven and let the bread sit for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer onto a rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you are interested in Irish cheese or are looking for other fine cheeses to try, take a look at our Cheese and Cheese Gifts page, where you'll find a selection of interesting and flavorful domestic and imported cheeses, including an Irish cheese set with a wonderful sampling of genuine Irish cheeses.