Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

So I am running a little bit behind on the BBA challenge but I still feel pretty good with my progress.  This week I made the Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread.  Funny thing is I almost skipped this one.  But the girls went back to school this week and I found myself with a couple of free minutes and an empty house.  When I saw that it wasn’t a 2 bread I jumped right in.  I am so glad I did…

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An  intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

I really, like this bread.  I followed the recipe to a tee.  Right down to the huge amount of cranberries and walnuts that went into it. It did take a while to get them all incorporated but with some patient kneading they all fit in. Someone on twitter (so sorry that I forget who!!!) suggested that these would be an incredible addition to the Thanksgiving table made into muffins!!!

Will I be making this again?  I think so.  I liked it and the family liked it and I really think that it would make the best turkey sandwich with leftover roasted turkey from Thanksgiving!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Celebration Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…English Muffins!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Corn Bread for the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

This week (and I am pretty sure I am behind?) I made Corn Bread.  Was I eager to make this…no way.  I even put it off over and over again.  Once I finally got all of the ingredients together I could never remember to do the overnight cornmeal soak.  Then, get this, when I did remember I didn’t have time the next day to make it.  I placed the soaking cornmeal/buttermilk mixture in the fridge and kept hoping for a better day! 

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An  intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Finally  the eve of the day that I would be able to bake this bread came.  I wanted to be fully prepared so I even cooked up the bacon ahead of time and crumbled it and placed it in the fridge. 

The next day I pulled out the cornmeal soak and let it come to room temperature and then prepared the batter.  I decided to cook this in my 10 cast iron skillet.  I like the flavor and the ease that it lends to corn bread.  The only thing I found was that it needed to be heated for a bit longer in the oven before the batter was added.  I had also ran out of honey (have been using it for one of my girls who has a cough) so I decided to completely omit it and not even add any more sugar as I had read previous comments about it being overly sweet.  I added one extra tablespoon of buttermilk to help make up for the missing liquid.

Will I be making these again?  Not so sure about that.  It was okay but my original corn bread recipe is really good.  I found this to be really cake like in texture and flavor.  Loved the amount of corn in it and the crunchy cornmeal but it was too sweet and the bacon was overpowering.

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Corn Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Cranberry Walnut Celebration Bread!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

This week we made Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread and this is definitely a bread that I am going to be making again and again.  Everyone loved it.  We loved it toasted, we loved it fresh from the oven and we LOVED it as French Toast!!!  I was a little apprehensive when I went to make it as T. doesn’t like raisins and the kids don’t like walnuts but I forged ahead and added everything as it should be and they ended up loving everything about it!!!

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An  intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Now my loaves were anything but perfect looking from the outside.  I could have maybe baked them a bit longer to brown them up more and spent a few more minutes shaping them but all in all the rise was perfect and the crumb is wonderful!!! 

I followed the directions on this one exactly (flour, sugar, salt, yeast, cinnamon, egg, shortening, buttermilk, water, raisins and nuts) the only thing I didn’t do was to add a swirl of cinnamon sugar that could be added during the final shaping.  I just thought it would be good the way it was and I was right.  Next time I may do one loaf with the swirl just to test it out!

Will I be making these again?  Oh yes I will!!!  These loaves turned out wonderfully and I will be making this bread again and again!!!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Cinnamon Rolls from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice

This week was a week I was totally looking forward to.  Not only from the BBA perspective – we were baking cinnamon rolls but also from a personal perspective.  My oldest daughter is a 4th of July baby so the 4th is one of those holidays that is near and dear to my heart.  To add the icing to the cake I was going to make Cinnamon Rolls for her birthday breakfast!!!

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

I LOVE cinnamon and these rolls were incredible.  I loved the dough and how it came together and felt. 

Peter Reinhart gives us several different options when making these.  We could also make cinnamon rolls or sticky buns.  I opted for the cinnamon rolls but will be trying the sticky buns in the near future! I decided to use buttermilk and lemon extract instead of whole milk and zest.  Also in the fondant icing I decided to use vanilla extract instead of the lemon that was called for.

This is after they have been pulled from the fridge and rested for about 3 or 4 hrs.  See how nice and puffy they look?

Seeing as I wanted to make them for breakfast and not a late brunch I made them the night before.  Shaped them and placed them on the baking sheet and then popped them into the fridge overnight to rest.  This is not a step called for and these wonderful rolls can be made in one day!!!  I pulled them out of the fridge at about 4:00 AM and then preheated the oven about 7:30.  Baked them and iced them and watched them get eaten up.

 Fresh out of the oven and iced!

Will I be making these again?  Oh yes I will!!!  They turned out wonderfully and I will be making these again and again!!!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Raisin Walnut Cinnamon Bread!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

Ciabatta for the BBA Group

This is the 7th bread from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group.  I have to confess, I skipped number 6.  I was just kind of sick of egg breads and it was Challah.  The family doesn’t seem to be fans either so I waited the week and dove into the ciabatta.

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Ciabatta

I followed Peter Reinhart’s recipe for the ciabatta using a poolish.  I left the poolish in the fridge for about 2 days to help the flavor develop and when I was ready to bake the bread I took the poolish out and left it at room temperature for a couple of hours.  I learned my lesson well from my brioche fail and I wanted that sucker at room temp!!!

I added the poolish to the flour, salt, yeast, and water and mixed it all together.  The recipe called for 6 Tablespoons – 3/4 cup of warmish water.  I swear I added all of that and then some just trying to get my dough really wet!!!  The flour was just sucking it right up.  I finally got to the point where I was afraid to add any more and figured it was just time to let it rest. 

This bread is fairly labor intensive and there is not much time that you can be away from it.  It’s not simply a 1-1/2 hr to 2 hr rise.  There is lots of stretching and folding and shaping involved in this one.  You need to prepare your oven for hearth baking using water in a pan and spraying the inside as well.  With that said I ended up a little disappointed with the crumb.  I know that several others had the same problem and the crumb was tighter than expected.  I just would have loved for this one to have been perfect!!!  The outside was nice and crusty.  The color was beautiful and the smell and the flavor was the best!  But my loaves weren’t perfect…

Would I make this one again?  Maybe, but not using this recipe.  There are so many other recipes and techniques that I would like to try my hand at one that was slightly more successful.  I did love the flavor of this and the kids loved it with an Italian herb and oil dipping sauce and as toast for breakfast!!!  The girl’s loved this with olive oil and herbs for dipping! 

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some other really nice loaves of Ciabatta!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Cinnamon Rolls or Sticky Buns!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

BBA Challenge: Challah Rolls

This week's Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge is Peter Reinhart's recipe for Challah Bread (starting on page 129-132). This bread was great to make on a lazy day. No starter was needed for this particular recipe and rather than making a traditional braided challah, I formed mine in small knots to use for sandwiches (which I made for a picnic a few days ago.) My friends enjoyed these just as much as I did, especially for the soft texture and rich flavor!

To make the challah, the dough involved flour, sugar, salt, yeast, oil, water and lots of eggs - both whole eggs and egg yolks. Once combined together, I kneaded the dough in my stand mixer to create a soft dough.


This dough is placed in an oiled bowl to ferment for an hour at room temperature.


It ends up doubling in size a bit as seen here:


However, the dough isn't ready yet, as it need to be kneaded once again to release the gases that have formed. After this second kneading, it's placed in an oiled bowl again to ferment for yet another hour.


This second ferment allows the dough to double in size again!


At this point, you can take the dough and form it into a traditional Challah braid (by dividing the dough into thirds, creating long strands of dough and braiding) but because I wanted to make sandwiches, I opted to make individual rolls. I really like the braided look of traditional challah so I rolled several pieces of the dough into a boule (to allow the gluten to rest a bit before working it into a final shape)...


And after the dough rested, I made each boule into a long strand that I tied into a knot. I brushed my Challah knots with a bit of egg wash and proofed them at room temperature for about an hour.


One last glaze of egg wash and they were ready for the oven where they baked for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.


The end result were these golden Challah rolls, perfect for sandwiches!

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Casatiello

This is the 5th bread that I have baked along side the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group.  Casatiello is a bread that I had never even heard of let alone tasted so I was eager to get it started.  It is described as an “Italian elaboration of brioche” filled with bits of meat and cheese.

Looks like a huge muffin doesn’t it?

About the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Group: Nicole of Pinch my Salt sent out a twitter message saying “I need a challenge. Am thinking of baking my way through every single recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Anyone want to join me?” Well I jumped right in. Both feet, no thought at all. I think I was one of the first 5 that joined…did I even have the book? Nope but I ordered it that night!!!

The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread

We are now over 200 strong with members everywhere on the globe. It’s an incredibly enthusiastic group that wants to share like no group I have ever belonged to before. Awesome!

Our goal is to bake our way through Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. An intimidating book at anytime but to think that you are going to be baking one of these recipes a week is slightly overwhelming to say the least. But I love a challenge and feel a real need to get out of my comfort zone. Oh yah, I bake all of our bread but I never seem to have the time or the desire to try something new and different. This will change all that!!!

Casatiello

I took a trip to my local Italian Market and was able to come up with some cured Italian Salami and some provolone cheese.  My idea was to grate half of the cheese and then leave some in cubes.  Traditionally this bread is baked in paper bags or panettone molds but  after going back and forth and waiting for Nicole’s results I decided to use a 9 inch springform pan.  My bread turned out wonderfully and looked just like a giant muffin! 

Unfortunately this bread was not how I expected it to be.  I thought it would be a full flavored bread and I really found it pretty bland.  Maybe I should have used a stronger cheese or a cured sausage, not sure but I was not the hit I thought it would be in the house.  Beautiful?  Oh yes, but just not as tasty as I thought it could have been.

Any ideas on left over usage?

The crumb was beautiful and it rose perfectly but it just didn’t have as much flavor as I would have liked!

Check out the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Blogroll to see some really nice Brioches! Ones that did not fail!!!

Want to Bake Along With Us?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun! First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Then just start baking! Even if you are starting late, just begin with the first recipe and start working your way through. There are several ways to communicate with the group as you begin your journey:

Flickr: We have set up a BBA Challenge Flickr Group where you can upload photos, see photos from other members, and even post questions and comments in the group forum. It’s a private group, so you will need to click on the link that says ‘join this group’ if you want to be able to post photos. As long as you are willing to bake bread all of the bread from the book, you are welcome to join the Flickr group!

Twitter: If you use twitter, you can follow what the group is doing by searching for #BBA or #bba using Twitter’s search box. You can join in on the conversation by adding the #bba or #BBA tag to the end of your tweets when you are talking about anything related to the BBA Challenge. For me, following what people are doing on twitter has been the most fun!

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, you can join the BBA Challenge Group there and share photos, ask questions, and talk about your bread baking experiences with other BBA members on Facebook.

Next up…Challah!!!!

I am submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread) hosted by Sandy of At the Baker's Bench. This is a great challenge to get you baking more of your own baked goods. Better for you and cheaper in the process!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Read more »

BBA Challenge: Casatiello Bread

This week's Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge is is Peter Reinhart's recipe for Casatiello Bread (starting on page 129-132). If you've ever wondered what a savory brioche would be like, the Casatiello Bread would be it. The buttery dough mixed with cheeses and salami makes this a flavorful bread all on it's own. I made this bread to take to a picnic later tonight and share with friends... so it came at a perfect time!


The recipe calls for a sponge to start... which is combined with eggs and added to a mixture of more flour, salt, and sugar. The dough rests for a bit before adding softened butter and kneading in cheese and salami (although I used a blend of shredded Italian cheeses and pepperoni instead.)


The dough is then placed in an oiled bowl to rise until it doubles in size...


Instead of baking it as a boule, originally called for in the recipe, I baked mine into smaller boules shaped into muffin pans. Since I plan on bringing this to a picnic to share, I thought it would be easier to make individual boules for everyone to enjoy. So I greased the muffin cups, portioned out the dough and allowed them to proof one last time before baking.



These baked for about 15-20 minutes (which is half the time needed for the original recipe if making the boule.) The casatiello rolls are going to be perfect for the picnic without having the need for a knife. It's also great if you are only cooking for one or two people since you can freeze the rolls and use only what you need.

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