Fabulous French Bread

I've been baking a lot of different types of bread lately. I love how each bread has a totally different method, so it never tastes the same. This time I made a french bread! the recipe is for two loaves, but I decided to make one big one. I certainly accomplished that!

The bread turned out HUGE! which was fine, because that just means more delicious french bread. Even though there is some sugar in the bread it is not sweet. The bread is very light and has great texture. Thanks to cookingbread.com for the recipe!

Fabulous French Bread Recipe:

2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt

5 tablespoons oil
6 cups flour
1 egg white
sesame seeds

In a small bowl pour in a 1/2 cup of warm water and a little sugar. Sprinkle yeast and allow to dissolve. In a large bowl combine 2 cups hot water, sugar, salt, oil and about half the flour; beat well. Add dissolved yeast. Stir in remaining flour. Mix very well. Allow the batter to sit for 15 minutes. Stir vigorously. Now allow to rest for 15 minutes again. Repeat another 3 more times. Pour out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times till the dough is lightly coated with flour. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9x12 rectangle. Roll loosely like a jellyroll. Seal edges. Place dough seam side down, on a large cookie sheet. Slash the top of the loaves three times. Brush with egg white and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

Oatmeal Muffins

wow from the moment I reviewed this recipe, I knew these muffins were giong to be excellent. I love that the recipe has spice in it, which makes the muffins have such a great taste. The texture is dense and moist. I added some raisins to a few muffins. You can play around with the recipe, add whatever you like or just have them plain. Overall a great snack! The recipe is from foodnetwork.ca.



Oatmeal Muffins Recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Mix eggs, oil, yogurt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Stir dry ingredients. Spoon into 6 large or 12 regular sized muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes.

Bran Enriched White Bread

I must be in a bread baking phase, because I can't stop looking for more recipes. This time I made a wonderful healthy bread. I mean how can something with bran not be healthy? ;)

It really is a great bread to have around the house. I did add one cup of whole wheat flour to the dough, and I didn't use any cornmeal. Thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for the recipe!

Bran Enriched White Bread Recipe:
3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (or 2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
3/4 cup wheat bran
5 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Cornmeal for coating surface 

Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast and salt with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you're not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
Allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.
On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on a ll four side, rotating the ball in a quarter-turn as you go. Then form a oval-shaped loaf. Allow to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered pizza peel for 40 minutes.
Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450ºF, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread. Sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and slash parallel cuts across the loaf, using a serrated bread knife. Leave the flour in place for baking; tap some of it off before eating.
Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 30minutes, until deeply browned and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking time. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

Rustic Italian Bread

happened to stumble across this recipe, and it looked interesting. I have never made italian bread so I was up for the challenge! The bread needs to be prepared the night before, because you need to make the biga. I had no idea what that was so I googled it:

"Biga is a type of pre-ferment used in Italian baking. Many popular Italian breads, including ciabatta, are made using a biga. Using a biga adds complexity to the bread's flavor and is often used in breads which need a light, open texture with holes. Apart from adding to flavor and texture, a biga also helps to preserve bread by making it less perishable. Biga techniques were developed after the advent of baker's yeast as bakers in Italy moved away from the use of sourdough and needed to recover some of the flavor which was given up in this move."



The time thats put into the bread is worth it. The bread is delicious! The crust is crispy and inside is very soft. The recipe is from cookography.com and it has illustrations on how to fold the bread. So for the recipe click here.

Fudgy Passover Brownies

WOW. I love these brownies, they taste really good. I'm going to make them again today, because they were finished so quickly. I must say that this passover i've tried many new recipes and many were a success! anyway, the brownies are a must for next year.