July Report

Summer distractions? There have been many (as the dearth of posts on this blog does indeed attest)…

June brought a visit to the blueberry farms of New Jersey. We spent a good time out in the muddy paths of the field pulling the best blueberries off the branch, taking home a good number for cereal and a bit of baking (I’ve been adding them to the strawberry Obsttorte that is one of my standard summer treats). We also froze a good number to have in the coming weeks – and months, if they last that long…

My main distraction this summer, though, has been baking. While the rainy spring has switched to a very dry and sunny summer, it seems to have left me in the habit of working indoors this season. I’ve also been following the crowd that’s working through the recipes in the Bread Baker’s Challenge (all participants trying out, in order,  each of the recipes in Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, with many then blogging their results… Eggs on Sunday offers a good look at the recipes’ process, see also this Flickr site for images.) Bagels have been the hit of the summer at home, especially as there isn’t a good, New York style bagel to be found anywhere nearby. It takes more than a two hour drive to get to a shop that does them properly, to be precise. Reinhart’s recipe is quite good and highly recommended. While the two-day preparation may seem like overwhelming logistics, the second day’s routine is actually quite simple and the recipe is well worth the effort. Not only are the bagels great for toasting, but they make a wonderful sandwich too…

And then there’s the garden. Certain plants are flourishing (basil, nasturtium, sage and other herbs… with eggplant and tomatoes coming along, the latter a bit better than the former, though I’ve also got my eye out for the blight that is plaguing so many this summer). Others, particularly the scallions, seem to be under-achievers this season…

 

A rainy weekend’s diversions…

This past Saturday brought a definite hint of the season that’s coming. Cold, wet, and cloudy. That kept me away from work on the back garden, though I did get some constructive time invested last week in pulling weeds and turning over an empty bed and starting on settling things for winter.

The inspiration of winter’s coming arrival also brought me back, amidst the weekend’s rain, to baking. Last week was a return to my mother’s own recipe for a childhood favorite: cinnamon-raisin bread. This week, I decided to experiment in a reinvention of the recipe. The aim: turning a white loaf into one that would belong to, or lean more closely towards, the whole-wheat category. I mixed my flours, experimented with adding a bit of granola, waiting patiently amidst a slow rise, and was rewarded (by luck, I’m sure) with a great loaf. It’s rich with a soft crumb and a complex flavor that echoes a nutty tone of oats and seeds.  I’ll still be tinkering with this one a bit (suggestions welcome), but here’s the experiment:

Whole Wheat Cinnamon-Raisin Bread
[note: I put my old Zojirushi bread machine to work for the mixing and kneading job here...]

The dough:
1 cup water
1 extra-large egg, beaten
2 T non-instant dry milk
1 T sugar
3 T shortening (I used Jungle brand’s non-hydrogenated shortening…)
3/4 cup granola (used a simple mix of sunflower seeds, oats, and the like, no salt)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 T yeast

1 cup raisins

The cinnamon mix:
1/4 sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Add all dough ingredients, except for the raisins, into the bread machine (on a dough / manual setting), and start. Set a timer for 30 minutes as a reminder to add the raisins, roughly during the second knead cycle. When the raisins are mixed in, a process that can take a few minutes of kneading, turn off the machine and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Punch the dough down, kneading it a few times to remove the air, and then roll out into a rectangle roughly 8 x 16 inches. Spread the cinnamon mix atop it, and then, starting with the smaller end, roll the dough tightly into a log, tucking the ends and seam underneath. Place the dough in a lightly greased bread pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch), cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm spot until roughly doubled in size.

When ready, preheat oven to 350 and then bake for 40 minutes. I usually cover the top loosely with aluminum foil, shiny side up, at the 25 minute mark.

[addendum: Just realized I left yeast off the ingredient list - I've since updated the recipe to correct that (major!) error...]

Image credit: lee.mccain