Cinnamon rolls aren’t the healthiest breakfast treat - but that’s probably why they’re considered to be a breakfast treat in the first place and not a breakfast staple. But homemade cinnamon rolls give you a little more control over what goes into your treats and you can do things like make them with a little bit less butter or, like these rolls, with some whole grain flour instead of all white flour. It’s not a huge change, but it can help cinnamon rolls work their way into the breakfast rotation a little more often.

A great substitution for all purpose flour in yeast breads is white whole wheat flour, as it has lots of whole grains but is close to the look and feel of all purpose flour. Regular whole wheat flour can make breads a little bit dense and, since it has less gluten in it than all purpose, breads can be a little bit crumbly. This isn’t really the case with the white whole wheat, which falls somewhere between the two extremes. The rolls aren’t too heavy, but are tender and soft, with a subtle nutty, whole grain flavor to them.

The dough was great, very easy to work with. It requires a slightly long first rise, then is rolled out and filled with butter, cinnamon and sugar. The dough is rolled up into a log, sliced into individual rolls and place in a baking dish. Once you reach this point, the dough can either be refrigerated overnight (my preference, so I can have the rolls in the morning) or let them rise and bake right away. I top mine with a simple glaze made with confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract. It adds just the right amount of sweetness without making the rolls too gooey or hard to handle.  (more…)

It’s been pretty hot lately, so I haven’t been in much of a bread baking mood. But I recently made up a huge batch of gazpacho and it’s just not the same if you don’t have some good bread to go alongside a good soup - whether it is a hot soup or a cold one. So, I looked into my pantry and started to put together a couple of nice, hearty loaves of Honey and Flaxseed Bread.

This bread is a little bit sweet and a little bit nutty, with a nice whole grain flavor to it. I attribute its whole grain heartiness to the combination of flaxseeds and whole wheat flour in the dough, although the bread is moister and less crumbly than a completely whole grain bread might be because I included some all purpose flour to try and keep prevent it from getting too heavy. Honey really speeds up browning when it comes to baked goods, so this bread will develop a fairly thick, dark crust as it bakes. If your crust starts to get too dark (i.e. if it starts to burn in spots), simply tent a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the loaf and let it continue to bake.

The recipe given below makes one medium-sized loaf. It doubles very well if you’re going to want more than one, and all the instructions are exactly the same as given, though the risen dough should be shaped into two loaves before baking. I prefer to have the option to make just one loaf at a time unless I know I’m going to be baking for a crowd, so I’m leaving the recipe as written for a single loaf of bread.

(more…)

English muffins don’t come in with too many flavor options beyond plain and sourdough, although whole wheat do seem to pop up more and more often these days. The one real flavor that english muffins come in is cinnamon raisin - and it’s a good one. When the spicy muffins toast up, the cinnamon scent and flavor is released from the bread and the raisins become hot and sweet. They’re not as versatile as the go-with-anything plain variety of english muffin, but when they’re spread with butter, cinnamon raisin is a fantastic breakfast treat.

These are very easy to make at home. The english muffin dough is a no-knead batter that is mixed up and allowed to rise for just a short period of time. Once it has risen, the dough is dropped in big spoonfuls and cooked on a skillet or griddle. This allows both the top and the bottom of the muffin to take on a golden color, while the center cooks through and still remains chewy and soft, the perfect texture for toasting.

This recipe calls for nonfat milk because it tends to produce slightly holier muffins. The higher the fat content in the english muffin, the tighter the crumb. Low fat milk works pretty well, but if you compared a whole milk muffin and a nonfat muffin, you’d notice a difference. All that said, both will taste good. If you want to experiment a little, try using other dried fruits in place of the raisins, like currants, cranberries or blueberries.

(more…)

Bread baking is perceived as being a very time-consuming and tricky process, with yeast, flour, proofing and shaping to contend with. This is why the concept of low-maintenance “no-knead” bread is so appealing. I tend to think that bread making only seems time consuming because of the long rises, not the few minutes of kneading dough, but I’m always up for a recipe that is easy and produces a great-tasting result and “no-knead” bread fits that bill perfectly.

To make no-knead bread, you basically only need to mix up the dough, give it a long, slow rise, and bake it without any kneading or shaping necessary. The long slow rise allows both gluten and flavor to develop, so that you end up with a bread that tastes good and also rises up well. The dough can be wetter than a dough that needs to be handled, which means that you’re also able to get a loaf that has a thick, crunchy crust and a moist, chewy interior. No-knead breads are usually baked in some sort of lidded pot or dutch oven (and are sometimes called “Pot Bread” as a result). This enclosed space helps the crust to develop and shapes the bread so you don’t have to.

This loaf is based on a Nancy Baggett recipe and is definitely as easy as promised. It had a great flavor, with a nice butteriness and a very subtle tang from the long first rise. It also had a wonderfully chewy interior and an excellent crust. My bread rose well and had a nice, open texture. You can substitute bread flour for the all purpose in this recipe, but you will still get very good results with the all purpose (all purpose is what I buy in bulk - and what most people keep in their kitchens - so it is definitely a little more convenient).

The shape of your bread will vary slightly depending on the size pot you use to bake it in. I used my Dutch oven, but if you don’t have a suitable pot already, you might want to check out Nancy’s advice on picking a good one for bread baking.

(more…)

Hot cross buns are slightly sweet, spiced rolls that are marked with a cross on top. They’re typically served on Good Friday, before Easter, but the origins of this tradition are somewhat murky, as some stories state that the cross-topped buns were around before they became one of the traditions of this particular holiday, made by Greeks and Saxons long before they became a staple of the Easter holiday. As with so many holiday-related foods, you don’t necessarily need to observe a holiday (at least not in its religious sense) to use it as an excuse to try the dishes associated with it.

Hot cross buns are - at least in my experience - a lot more popular in the UK than in the US. I rarely see them here unless I’ve baked a batch, although I’m sure there are plenty of bakeries that get them out this time of year. The buns are pretty simple and are kind of a variation on a dinner roll, in terms of their overall look and their soft texture. The dough is enriched with butter, eggs and milk (I like to use buttermilk in these to enhance the buttery flavor) and dotted with dried fruits. British recipes will usually call for “mixed spice” and “mixed peel” (candied citrus peel) as additions, but since those two items aren’t readily available to me, I substituted my own spice mix and stuck to raisins and currants as add-ins.

The cross on top of the bun is the most interesting part. I’ve seen some sweetened up hot cross buns that use frosting to form the cross on top. This recipe is a little more traditional and uses a paste of flour and water that is piped across the buns to form the cross. The flour mixture holds its white color in the oven, allowing the cross to really stand out. The finished buns are often brushed with hot apricot jam to glaze and sweeten them, but this can be omitted to simplify the recipe and you won’t miss out on much.

Serve these with butter and jam, or butter and honey, for a breakfast side on Easter - or any other holiday. Play around with the fruit mix ins and the spices, too, if you like. Raisins/sultanas and currants are pretty standard. Mixed spice usually includes cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves and/or allspice, so I would use a blend of these flavors to spice these up. I used 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, cloves, mace and allspice in my batch, although I simplified this to “mixed spice” in the recipe below.

(more…)

Focaccia, like pizza, is a bread that has almost and unlimited number of topping possibilities. In it’s most basic form, the flatbread can be topped with just olive oil, salt and herbs. If you want to move away from the very traditional type, it’s easy to dress it up with any kind of vegetable or cheese, and you can even use fruit if you want to try a sweet (non-traditional) variation. I tend to think that meat and non-olive oil sauces move the bread a little too close to pizza, so I stay away from those.

This version of focaccia has a topping made with several different kinds of peppers - including red and yellow bell peppers, diced green chilies and a few jalapenos - that give it a bold flavor. There is also cheddar cheese inside the dough. The cheese doesn’t affect the open, slightly chewy crumb of the bread, but it does give it a good flavor and is an excellent match for the fresh peppers.

I made this dough with an overnight rise, leaving it in the refrigerator overnight and baking it the next day. The slow rise in the fridge helps the bread to develop a nice, airy crumb and it also means that you don’t have to do too much work in one day to turn out the finished product. That said, you can certainly let it rise on the countertop until doubled in size if you want to bake it the same day. The bread requires no kneading and can be made entirely in a stand mixer, although you will have to press it down into the baking pan with your fingers once it has risen.

This bread makes a great side dish and is an great way to soak up both soups (like chili!) and sauces. It is especially good when warm, with a crispy bottom. If you’re not eating it fresh, or have leftovers, reheat the focaccia by placing it directly on the oven rack for about 5 minutes at 350F. It also makes excellent sandwiches, both untoasted and toasted (panini-style). I used sweet bell peppers and spicier chilies in combination on my bread, but you can use any peppers that you like - all jalepenos if you like it very spicy, or all bell peppers if you prefer to keep things on the sweeter side.

(more…)