You are here: Home / Archives for Bread

Buttermilk Tarragon Lemon Bread

April 25, 2012 By 39 Comments

“GOOD BREAD IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTALLY SATISFYING OF ALL FOODS; AND GOOD BREAD WITH FRESH BUTTER, THE GREATEST OF FEASTS.”  James Beard

Does the arrival of spring (and then summer) signal a departure from the kitchen for you, especially in baking?  My ovens run all year round!  Though I do often like to lighten up in the warm weather.  For me though, the arrival of spring is the opportunity to use a new set of ingredients.  A new season, new fruits, new vegetables and all fresh!  I am excited to be able to walk onto my back deck for fresh herbs.  AND….. it means the opening of my local farm markets again!  And two of my favorite markets offer the best fresh cream and butter you can ever imagine!  This bread won’t have you in the kitchen for very long, I promise!  But your reward is a warm, fresh bread that is moist and tender, a little bit lemony with a tiny bite of pepper.  This is most definitely….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread Tagged With:

Cheddar Quick Bread with Cherries

February 27, 2012 By 42 Comments

Baking from scratch really can be quick and easy!!!  Easy you say?  Absolutely!  Boring?  Not a chance!

The Daring Bakers‘ February 2012 host was – Lis!  Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own.  She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and make new flavor profiles. 

The only rules for this Daring Bakers challenge is that the bread would contain no yeast and take no longer than an hour and a half to prepare.  While Lisa offered a great base recipe and some wonderful suggestions, this time we were allowed to make any quick bread that we wanted.  So I decided to share one of my favorites….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread, Daring Bakers Tagged With: , , ,

Sugared Donut Muffins

February 20, 2012 By 38 Comments

Well after a month long hiatus, it’s once again time for the much anticipated Secret Recipe Club reveal!  I love this group because it allows me to bake the things I drool over when looking at every one else’s blogs!  First, a word of gratitude to Amanda, from Amanda’s Cookin’ for creating and organizing this amazing group.  It really is a wonderful concept!  And another thank you to Angie of Big Bear’s Wife, who is the fabulous leader of my group!  And as my great luck would have it, I also had the pleasure of being assigned to Angie’s blog this month!  And what a treat this was!  She has a variety of scrumptious recipes from appetizers to main dishes and everything in between!  But as you may have guessed….I went for a little something sweet!  I made a couple of changes, based on necessity.  So come take a closer look….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread, Muffins and More, Sweet and Savory Offerings, The Secret Recipe Club Tagged With:

Foccacia ~with thyme,sundried tomatoes and olives~

January 9, 2012 By 48 Comments

“ALL SORROWS ARE LESS WITH BREAD.”  Miguel de Cervantes

I’ve always felt that my kitchen is a great therapeutic place for me.  No matter what I am trying to create, I guess the focus that baking requires, trains you to keep your mind on the task at hand and forget everything else!  And if you can do that, if you can set aside time and tune out everything else, it can be downright peaceful!  Combine that with the warm, earthy scent of bread baking in your oven, and life can feel absolutely blissful!  I don’t know why I don’t bake bread more often!  I think it’s one of those things that intimidate me a bit.  But all it takes really is a bit of flour, yeast, water, olive oil,  salt and patience!  Some things just can’t be rushed!  And for me, the challenge is waiting for the dough to rise!  Again, I chose an incredibly easy recipe for foccacia from Lorraine Pascale (I just love her simple techniques)!  Just check out how simple this recipe is…… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread Tagged With: ,

Orange Nutmeg Popovers

November 5, 2011 By 26 Comments

“MY UNCLE ORDERED POPOVERS FROM THE RESTAURANT’S BILL OF FARE.  AND, WHEN THEY WERE SERVED, HE REGARDED THEM WITH A PENETRATING STARE.  AND THEN HE SPOKE GREAT WORDS OF WISDOM AS HE SAT THERE ON THAT CHAIR:  TO EAT THESE THINGS, SAID MY UNCLE, YOU MUST EXERCISE GREAT CARE.  YOU MAY SWALLOW DOWN WHAT’S SOLID BUT YOU MUST SPIT OUT THE AIR!  AND AS YOU PARTAKE OF THE WORLD’S BILL OF FARE, THAT’S DARNED GOOD ADVICE TO FOLLOW.  DO A LOT OF SPITTING OUT THE HOT AIR.  AND BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SWALLOW.”  Dr. Seuss

The thing which makes popovers so easy to create is that it only requires 5 basic ingredients and they are all combined in a blender!  I haven’t had popovers in some time.  I recall a restaurant chain when I lived in Boston, called The Proud Popover.  While my memory about this is vague, I do remember that the popover was the canvas for a host of fillings from savory to sweet.  And it’s what you add to your 5 basic elements that determines this.  Today, I chose to add orange zest, freshly grated nutmeg and freshly cracked black pepper!  There is such a subtle hint of sweetness and rather a warmth and heat which permeates each sumptuous bite of this oddly formed, egg-like bread!  I served these with….. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread Tagged With: , ,

Banana Split Ice Cream Bread

August 24, 2011 By 44 Comments

Well it’s been a rough week for me as I have found myself off my feet most of the time with a knee injury.  And since it’s been impossible to hobble around the kitchen on my crutches, I decided to make life easy for myself and post another installment of I’ll Have What She’s Having…!  This particular recipe is for Ice Cream Bread.  And it couldn’t be easier.  Because all you do, literally, is mix together your favorite ice cream with some self rising flour.  Into a bread pan and into the oven.  And just under an hour later you have a moist, sweet, delicious bread.  And that’s that!  And with so many ice cream flavors and combinations for mix ins, you could probably make this bread a hundred times and never have the same bread twice!

I chose to use some Ben & Jerry’s Banana Split ice cream (strawberry and banana ice cream with walnuts, fudge chunks, and fudge swirl); and I added some additional walnuts and coconut for some mix ins!  Of all the baking I do, honestly, breads and muffins are not exactly my strengths.  So I am scratching my head on how I have this perfect bread sitting on my kitchen counter!

This recipe comes from Maranda at Jolts & Jollies.  While this is not a new blog, it is new to me.  And I’m not quite sure how I stumbled upon it.  But I’m glad I did!  I don’t know Maranda personally, but she seems like a lovely, warm and compassionate person.  She shares many wonderful recipes from main dishes to desserts.  But as you might have expected….it’s her cakes and sweets that have caught my eye!  And when you pop over to her site for this recipe, you will see why!  Maranda has such a great variety of recipes, with clear cut instructions and wonderful photos!

So for an easy, delicious, fool-proof bread (not to mention that you will probably already have what you need in your pantry and freezer)….please go on over to Jolts & Jollies.  Say hello to Maranda, see how she chose to make this bread,  and check out the rest of her wonderful blog.  You will be as glad as I am that you did!

 

Filed Under: Bread Tagged With: , , ,