Raisin Bread

Whoops, we're already on to corn bread! I forgot to link up to my rain bread post, so if you're still interested, check it out!

Good ole fashioned Corn Bread

As most of you assumed, Corn Bread is next and mmmmm mmmm does it look just down home delicious. (Please feel free to correct my pathetic Northern attempt at Southern talk) But, really anything with bacon looks amazing. The formula looks pretty straight forward. I'm wondering what you're all going to serve with this home cooked corn bread. I'm thinking about a chili recipe from Wegman's that I like. What are you cookin up and any comments on the formula or the bread?

A Very Easy Bread to Make

I didn't make the ciabatta bread even though I love ciabatta. After reading the posts about it and carefully reading the directions I realized that I wasn't up for the challenge and that is wasn't worth it to me. I know I am a wimp.

As the "snow-pocalypse" started yesterday, I started making Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread. This recipe was very easy and straight forward. When I added my "rinsed and drained" raisins, I had to blot the dough with a paper towel because of the extra water. I also started fearing that maybe I hadn't added the 3 1/2 cups of bread flour. I was afraid I had missed a cup or something because there were so many raisins and walnuts for what seemed like not much dough. After two hours the dough doubled and it looked like more dough than raisins and nuts. I did the cinnamon swirl in the middle of the loaves and I added the cinnamon sugar to the tops.


I gave a loaf to our next-door-neighbors and I kept a loaf. The kids had a piece for dessert last night and we all had some for breakfast this morning. I don't like it but I knew that I wouldn't like it. I don't like raisin bread; it is one of the few foods that I don't like. My kids loved it and I will be making it again for them just because it is easy.

Swirls!

Mmm, girls. This recipe is a keeper! Yesterday, I made the Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread. It was a pretty straight forward recipe and easily made in a day. A few notes about the formula: I used whole milk, because I had that on hand and I opted not to put in the nuts. When kneading I had to add some more flour because it was a bit sticky. I also rinsed and drained my raisins so when I incorporated them into the dough I had to add more flour because of the dampness of the raisins. Maybe dry them off before you add them? Or I don't really know why you need to rinse them in the first place?

I read the commentary about adding the cinnamon swirl. Um, yes please! I think if you didn't add the swirl you would have to add more cinnamon into the initial formula. It only called for 1 1/4 tsp of cinnamon which doesn't really sound like enough for 2 loaves. But, I like cinnamon. The swirl adds 1/2 cup of sugar plus 2 more Tablespoons of cinnamon which really adds some good cinnamon flavor to the bread. I saved a bit of the cinnamon mix to add to the top of one loaf when it came out of the oven.

Rolling out the rectangle for the cinnamon swirl:

When I was growing up, the cinnamon raisin bread I remember had a nice sweet glaze on the top. So I mixed 1/4 cup of powdered sugar with about a 1/2 Tablespoon of milk and a drip of vanilla to make the glaze (if you want to glaze both loaves, double this). When the loaves came out of the oven, I brushed one with butter and sprinkled on the cinnamon mixture and then for the other one I spread on the glaze. I think I could have baked each one a little bit longer to get them darker, but the temp was right and they sounded hollow so I didn't want to over bake. I am keeping the glazed loaf for myself, I mean, for my family and the other loaf I am going to give to a friend.

My yummy loaves:

This morning I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and piece of cinnamon swirl toast with real butter. A great way to start out any day!

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

Our first bread for February is an oldie but goodie. Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread is our next formula for this chilly and snow filled month of February. I remember growing up with the Pepperidge Farm version of this bread without nuts. My mom would toast it and lather some thick butter on it - yum! The packaging is a little different now....but maybe this looks familiar to some of you?

So let's fire up those ovens and get fermenting ladies. I can't wait to take a stab at this old favorite. And don't forget - you can skip the raisins and the walnuts if you or your family prefers. And the commentary on the side has a good hint about a crunchy cinnamon sugar crust for the top of your warm bread.

Try and get your posts in by the 15th of February, before the next bread. I'm not the greatest at this either - key word - "try".

Happy Baking!

Ciabatta and Challah

Well, I got confused on the order and ended up making the Ciabatta bread first and then made the Challah. Not sure why.

So, first with the Ciabatta. I made this when my mom was out to visit. It was record low temps so perfect weather to fire up the oven. We looked at the picture of the Ciabatta and our mouths watered. It would go perfect with the Baked Ziti the next night. So we were off to make our Ciabatta. Um, well we attempted to make the Ciabatta. Buffy, I had the same problem as you. Not a hole to be found in the bread. The taste was excellent but it tasted and looked like a dense Italian loaf. I think I know why. Humidity, or lack thereof. It is extremely dry in our house because we have the heater and fireplace on. I didn't compensate for this. For the first time in this whole bread baking venture, my dough passed the windowpane test. Unfortunately, it wasn't supposed to pass the windowpane test. The dough was too dry and not wet enough especially when he says "when dealing with wet dough..." I needed to add more of the liquid. My suggestion would be to use all the liquid that it asks for and maybe then some? Especially if we are doing this bread in the winter. The summer when the humidity is 90% may be another story. I am even tempted to make it again and see if it would work out since I did it so far in advance. Teacher's pet? ;)

My "slippers" proofing on my floured dish towels:

My trusty sous chef (my mom) waving a towel at the smoke alarm for every time I had to open the oven to spray the oven walls with water. Not a bread to make at naptime or late at night!

The finished product (doesn't look a bit like the picture in the book):

The Challah experience was pretty uneventful. We liked the bread and it reminded me a bit of Brioche, maybe because of the amount of eggs in it. We had it for dinner one night with soup and then the kids and I had French Toast the other night. For French toast is was excellent. Nice and dense...it held up to the eggs in the French Toast. As for bread alone it was o.k. Dan said it kind of left him hanging. When he bit into the bread it was like great things were going to happen and then nothing. The bread was dense but the flavor was too light. It was just so-so.

Alright, so there you have the Plain Life's attempt at some Ciabatta and Challah, both of which left me wishing for some Brioche. Mmmm, now that was some good bread!

Holla for Challah!

I'll call it my first "botch"

Ciabatta gone bad is what happened. Very disappointing, but I guess this was bound to happen. It mixed, stretched, rested, fermented, proofed and baked just fine, however it was as dense as Italian white bread without any of those beautiful gaping holes in the piece being dipped in oil on pg. 137. My family ate it up, but it clearly wasn't ciabatta.

What went wrong........here are a few theories but I can't really pinpoint it.

• I mixed my poolish together rather quickly and perhaps I miss-measured?
• I went against my own theory for this book and used my mixer (with breaks for my lovely pink Kitchen Aid so I didn't burn her out)
• Perhaps something went wrong with my modified hearth baking. I used a steam pan and sprayed the walls of the oven for 3 intervals, but maybe it was not enough?

And I was so disappointed, I didn't even take a picture. My husband and daughter have been enjoying it for eggs in a basket. It's been good toast, but again - not Ciabatta. Anyone have success? I want to see those gaping air pockets!!!