Oatmeal Bread

Well, it certainly is crazy out there. Covid-19 has people panic buying, so I am going to go over how to make a couple of staple, in my opinion, products that seem to be flying off the shelves, starting with a loaf of my favorite oatmeal bread.

Ingredients:

Bread

365 gr bread flour
1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned oats)
2 tbsp butter or oil
1.5 tsp salt
4 tbsp honey
3 tsp instant yeast
1.25 cup warm milk*

Topping:

1 egg white**
1 tbsp water
2 tbsp rolled oats (old fashioned)

Directions:

I recommend using a stand mixer for this, it's a pretty loose dough that is hard to manipulate by hand.

Using the bread dough hook of your stand mixer, gently bring all of the bread ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Once everything is incorporated and a sticky, gluten-y mass has formed, knead on medium high speed for 5 minutes or until the dough is smooth.

Place the dough ball in a greased bowl and allow to rise for 1 hour. It should nearly double in size.

After an hour remove the dough and press it out into small (6"x8") sheet before rolling it into a log. The easiest way is to fold the upper corners in and then roll it into a log. Place in a greased loaf tin and allow to rise for 1.5 hrs or until it rises about an inch above the tin.

When the loaf is nearly ready, preheat the oven to 350.

Before placing your loaf in the oven, whip the egg white with the water and brush over the top before sprinkling on the rolled oats.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temp reads 190. If the top browns too quickly, cover with tin foil to prevent burning.

Turn it out on to a rack and cool completely before slicing.

*Putting the milk in warm helps the dough rise faster, a slower rise will yield more flavor, but you might need to adjust the amount of time you let it rest.

**I know that separating eggs is a bit of a pain, but a whole egg will brown quicker than just an egg white. This might fool you into thinking the bread is done too soon, which might ruin the loaf.

Cheddar Bicuits

Well, I gave you a recipe for biscuit mix, I guess I should give you something to make with it too! These cheesy cheddar biscuits are great by themselves or as a side with some good BBQ. This is a really simple recipe that is quick to whip up if you just need to add something to dinner.
Feel free to add other things to the dough like chives or green onion or even cooked bacon bits. This is really just a jumping off point.

Ingredients:

2 cups biscuit mix
½ lb cheddar cheese
½ c milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.
Mix together the biscuit mix and the cheese before pouring in the milk and kneading to form a stiff dough. Feel free to hold back some of the milk to keep the dough from getting too wet and sticky, you want to be able to work it without adding extra mix.
Roll out into ½ inch thick sheet and punch out 2 inch rounds and place "shoulder to shoulder" or gently touching each other on a lightly greased or lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool for 10 minutes before enjoying with butter or with pork belly or your favorite BBQ

DIY Biscuit Mix

So awhile ago I inherited a treasure trove of recipes from my grandmother. It included a lot of things that can be made with Bisquick. A lot of them looked like they could be pretty fun to experiment with, but first I had to come up with my own baking mix. This is a modification of my own buttermilk biscuit recipe and, while it does need to be refrigerated, it can keep for two months if sealed and even longer in the freezer.

Ingredients:

500 gr AP flour
2 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ c buttermilk powder
½ c shortening, butter, or lard chilled and cut into cubes

Directions:

In a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk powder.
Pulse a few times to make sure everything is combined.
Add your choice of fat, one cube at a time, and pulse until incorporated before adding the next one.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two months.

Traditional Shortbread Cookies

I love The Great British Bake-Off, I just really wish they would put more seasons on Netflix. Watching that show inspired me to start doing some more baking, and I thought I would start with a pretty simple and traditional English biscuit, traditional shortbread.

Shortbread is traditionally build off a 1:2:3 ratio, 1 of sugar, 2 of butter, and 3 of flour. I've stuck to that traditional ratio here but added a little almond extract since it is my favorite shortbread flavor.

Ingredients:

2 oz (by weight) sugar
4 oz (by weight) softened butter
6 of (be weight) AP flour
¼ tsp almond extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300

Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth then slowly add the flour in until a batter is formed. Chill the batter for 30 minutes before rolling out to a ¼ inch or 1 cm thick sheet. Cut into small rounds and bake for 30-45 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. Let the cookies cool completely before serving or they won't have the satisfying snap that any good English style biscuit should.

Feel free to fancy them up by dipping in melted chocolate or caramel.

Bourbon Maple Chocolate Bread Pudding

When I first received my legendary bottle of bourbon maple syrup, I immediately thought of making a bread pudding. As I thought about it more and more, this amazing creation began to take shape and I ended up with what, in my humble opinion, is one of best bread puddings I've ever had.

Warning: this one takes a while, but I promise that it's worth it. If you are patient you'll be rewarded with creamy bread pudding and a phenomenal depth of flavor.

Prep time: 10 hours
Cook time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients:

½ loaf of challah
3 C milk
2 tbsp butter
½ C bourbon maple syrup
2 tbsp bourbon
2 oz dark chocolate chopped into small chunks
3 eggs
2 strips of bacon cooked and broken into pieces

Directions:

Cut the challah into 1 inch cubes and allow them to sit out for 8 hours or overnight to stale and dry. After the bread has dried, put it in a greased 2 quart baking dish.

Next, add the milk, butter, syrup, and bourbon to a medium saucepan and heat on low until the butter melts, then stir in the chocolate, making sure it is thoroughly melted and mixed before removing the mixture from the heat. Allow the mixture to cool before whisking in the 3 eggs. Pour the mixture over the bread and stash in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Remove the mixture from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp while you preheat your oven to 350. Top the mixture with the bacon pieces* before baking for 30-45 minutes or until the outside is set and the middle still has a little wobble. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

*For even more flavor, top with bourbon maple glazed bacon.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

About a week ago, I woke up with a hankering for some lemon poppy seed bread. So, I decided to make some. I looked around, couldn't find a recipe I liked, so I made my own. This goes really great with a citrusy black tea like Earl Grey.

Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1hr 20 min

Ingredients:

Bread

400 grams AP flour (aprx 14 oz or 3 cups)
1.5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup butter or shortening

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs
¾ cup milk

2 tbsp lemon juice*

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp lemon zest

3 tbsp poppy seeds

Syrup:

⅔ cup sugar

⅓ cup lemon juice*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a nine inch loaf pan.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and pour in the sugar. Beat on medium for 2 to 3 minutes or until the butter has lightened in color. This is called the creaming method, and the holes that the sugar punch in the butter help it to rise once it starts baking.

Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Once the eggs are all in, pour in the milk then the lemon juice and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Now slowly add the dry mix, in 3 batches, making sure each installment is mixed in before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed between batches. Once the dry team is all in, turn your mixer to low and add the lemon zest and poppy seeds. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Pour into your loaf pan and bake for 1hr 15-20 min until a toothpick inserted in comes out clean or the bread reaches an internal temp of 190 degrees. Remove from the oven and let cool, in the pan, on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling on the rack for another 20 minutes.

While the bread is cooling, it's time to make the syrup. Pour the sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan over medium low heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Keep the syrup warm until the bread is finished cooling. Once the bread is cool, use a basting brush to brush the syrup on all sides, except the bottom.

When the bread has absorbed all the syrup it can, let it rest for a couple minutes and then serve. Drizzle the slices with any excess syrup. Enjoy!

*Before I made this bread, I would have sworn that fresh lemon juice vs bottled made no difference. I was wrong. My wife and I did a quick taste test, and I now have an almost-full bottle of lemon juice that I am not using. So, if you have the patience, I would highly recommend squeezing your own lemon juice for this. It only took me 4 small lemons to get all the juice I needed for this.

Skillet Cornbread

Growing up we didn't get much cornbread, because for some unfathomable reason, my mom doesn't like corn. So it was always a treat when we ever we did have it.

I like my cornbread sweet, moist, and with whole kernels of corn. This one also has a little bit of kick to it, which I really enjoy. I accidently made this a low fat cornbread by leaving out the butter. When I realized my mistake, I gave that batch up for lost, but to my surprise it still turned out great! Using honey instead of sugar or brown sugar helps keep it from drying out.

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups coarsely ground cornmeal
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cayenne pepper powder
½ cup whole kernel corn
⅓ cup honey
¼ cup whole milk
¾ cup lowfat buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425 and place a 10-inch skillet inside to heat up while you prep the batter.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Separately, combine the corn, honey, milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Once the wet team is thoroughly combined, add it to the dry team and mix together until smooth (well, not too smooth... there are pieces of corn in there).

Remove your heated skillet and put in the pat of butter, then use a basting brush or paper towel to thoroughly grease the whole inside with melted butter. Pour in the batter and place in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool for a few minutes, and then serve fresh and warm!

Chocolate Caramel Chip Cookies

It's Christmas time, time to make cookies! (Unless you are reading this recipe at a later date, in which case, disregard my previous statement.) My mom loves chocolate covered toffee, so I decided to make her some cookies. These turned out crispy yet with a bit of chew, just how I like them. Be sure to leave some out for Santa!

Ingredients:

2 ¼ C of AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt

½ C of butter, softened

½ C of shortening

1 C of dark brown sugar

½ C of sugar

1 t of vanilla

1 C of toffee chips

1 C of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Place the butter, shortening, and sugars in a mixing bowl and cream on medium speed until lightened in texture and color. Turn the speed down  and add each egg, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Once the liquid ingredients are fully incorporated slowly add the dry ingredients in 3 instalments, waiting for each to be fully incorporated before adding the next portion. You might need to scrape down the bowl down between each addition.

Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hr*, then preheat your oven for 375. On a parchment covered baking sheet dish the dough out in heaped tablespoon portions. Make sure that each cookie is approximately the same size to ensure even baking. Make sure to put the dough you don't immediately bake back into the fridge to keep cool. Bake for 11 -15 minutes or until the edges are browning and the middle starts to set. Let the cookies cool entirely on a cooling sheet. This recipe makes about 4 dozen.

*Keeping the dough cool allows the outside to set and bake before the middle so it doesn't spread out as much. If you want a thinner, crispier cookie, feel free to skip this step.

Biscuit Beef Stew

One of my favorite memories from when I was a kid was when my mom would make biscuit beef stew. She steamed her biscuits, but when I found out I could bake my favorite biscuits right on top I jumped at the chance and never looked back. This recipe really shines with leftover beef stew because beef stew is one of those few foods that tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients:

Leftover beef stew

2 cups AP flour

1 T plus 1 t baking powder

¼ t baking soda

½ t salt

2 T butter

2 T shortening

1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Place your leftover beef stew in a bake safe container, you will want to make sure your stew is warm before you place your biscuits in it, otherwise they will not cook up properly. I placed the stew in the oven as I preheated it to 450 and then removed it when the oven was ready so I could place the biscuits in it.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, backing soda, and salt. Cut the butter and shortening into small pieces, make sure the butter is chilled, and work into the flour mixture using the tips of your fingers, so you don't melt the butter. Make a well in the dough and pour in the buttermilk, mix until the dough just comes together. Place the dough on a floured surface, flour the top of the dough, then fold the dough over itself 4 or 5 times. Press the dough into an inch thick square then cut out your biscuits using a 1 inch cutter, arranging them in the stew as you go. Reform the scraps and repeat.

When I made this, I ended up having too much biscuit dough so I just had to make some regular biscuits with the excess, but those are still delicious.

Place your biscuit stew in the top third of your oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. I always lay down a sheet of foil beneath it so I catch anything that bubbles over. Let the stew rest for 5-10 minutes and then serve.

Corn Muffins

When I made the batter for my corndog recipe, I liked it so much, I was inspired to try to make it into a muffin recipe. While I experienced some failure when trying to develop this recipe, I got some advice from the executive chef where I work and achieved success. The first time I made this recipe I simply made the batter recipe and baked it. It was very dry and just tasted like muffin shaped tortillas. After doing some looking around and talking to the executive chef, I added oil to the recipe and that was all it needed. Oil in recipes helps foods taste moist even though it adds no moisture. This recipe makes sweet, moist corn muffins with plenty of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 C of cornmeal

1 C of AP flour

¼ t of salt

¼ t of cayenne pepper

¼ C of sugar

4 t of baking powder

1 egg

1 C of milk
¼ C of canola oil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 and grease your favorite muffin pan or line it with paper cups.

The directions here are pretty much the same as the corndog recipe. Start by mixing the cornmeal, flour, salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. Then mix the egg, milk, and oil together. When these have each been mixed, incorporate the wet team into the dry team. The reason you should mix the various teams up first before mixing together is it reduces how much stirring has to be done to bring the batter together in the end. The less stirring, the better the texture. So, once the teams are together stir as little as necessary to bring the whole thing together.

Distribute the batter evenly between the muffin cups, this recipe makes 12 muffins, and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let them cool on the counter and then enjoy.

This recipe is very versatile and lots of extras can be added. I added bacon and cheese to one batch and it came out great. I took out the jalapeno in this recipe because I was making these for kids and I didn't want their moms to get mad at me, but feel free to put it back in.