Tag: Baking

No Yeast Bagels
Recipes

No Yeast Bagels

Sarah

I had been seeing recipes for “no yeast” or “2 ingredient” bagels out there, and had to try them for myself. I’ve made actual water bagels many, many times over the years so I do have experience with it. I wondered would these just taste like biscuits? Rolls? Or would they actually mimic bagels.

The consensus is the family loved them. They are about halfway between a roll and a bagel. Chewy, yet soft, but with a great flavor profile. They take very little prep time, and are ready quickly to enjoy. Without the heaviness of biscuits.

No Yeast Bagels

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups self-rising flour (plus more for kneading)
  • 1 to 2 cups nonfat greek yogurt
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 1 tsp cool water
  • Toppings*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then spray the paper with oil.

Add 2 cups self rising flour to a mixing bowl. Add in 1 cup of the yogurt, mixing in with a spoon or spatula. If the dough is still dry and crumbly, add up to another ½ cup of yogurt, working in and more if needed. You are looking for a dough that comes together but isn’t “wet”. This can depend on the day and humidity in your kitchen.

Flour a work area with more self-rising flour, knock the dough out. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Divide the dough into 8 portions.

Either gently roll into a ball, and using your thumb, put a hole into it and stretch until it looks like a bagel. Or take a section, roll between your palms into a log, make a circle and pinch the ends.

Place each bagel onto the prepared sheet.

Whisk the egg, salt and water together. Use a pastry brush to liberally coat each bagel with the egg wash.

Sprinkle toppings on as desired.

Bake for 22 minutes, then turn up the oven to 450° and bake for 4 minutes more.

Let cool and then enjoy.

Should you have leftovers (not in our house!), they can be stored once cooled in a freezer bag on the counter for 24 hours, or 3 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen, but wrap each bagel first. Let thaw wrapped before toasting.

Notes:

When buying the greek yogurt, make sure it is “strained” and isn’t thickened with pectin or gelatin, because this will change how the dough behaves. The less ingredients, the better. If you open your yogurt and it has yogurt water on top, drain it off.

For topping, I used Everything Bagel.

~Sarah

Bread Machine Country Bread
Recipes

Bread Machine Country Bread

Sarah

It took me a couple tries to perfect this loaf of bread, to get the flour ratio dialed in. That might be the only downside to bread machines, is that since you are not kneading the dough, you might not add enough in. But at the same time, the base ingredients are cheap in bulk, so if I feed the compost pile once in awhile, I can live with that. Because I love  bread machines. They make it so easy to have a fresh loaf of bread that has only clean ingredients, and costs just a fraction of a loaf of even cheap bread.

Do weigh flour. This is one area of baking I never back down from.

This loaf has the darkness molasses brings, and the heartiness of oats. It pairs well with butter and a hot bowl of soup on these cold nights.

Bread Machine Country Bread (2 pound loaf)

Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups water
  • 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 570 grams all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup rolled oats
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp active dry yeast

Directions:

If using a Zojirushi bread machine:

Add the water, oil and molasses to the bread pan. Add the oats, salt and flour. Top with the yeast.

Turn on machine for a basic loaf (this is a 2 pound loaf).

Once baked, remove immediately and knock out of pan, let cool on rack before slicing. Store bagged, use within 24 hours for best taste.

If using a different brand of machine, make sure it can handle a 2 pound loaf. Follow directions for temperature of water to use, if your machine doesn’t preheat the liquids (ours does). Water and liquids first, then dry, ending with yeast on top.

~Sarah

Banana Eggnog Bread
Recipes

Banana Eggnog Bread

Sarah

Warm banana bread, with an extra helping of spices is perfect for eggnog mixed in. You might take this as your go-to banana bread after trying it.

Banana Eggnog Bread

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup mashed bananas, (2-3)
  • ¼ cup eggnog
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 210 grams weighed
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly oil a 9×5″ bread pan, line with parchment paper, lightly oil it as well.

In a stand mixer beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well.

Add in the bananas, eggnog and vanilla.

Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.

Beat till smooth.

Scrape into prepared bread pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, until lightly golden on top.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then lift out carefully with the parchment paper. Remove paper, and let bread cool on a rack.

Once cooled, store covered.

~Sarah

Cranberry Bliss Bars
Recipes

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Sarah

There is nothing redeeming about this recipe. It is a slab of comfort food, for getting through trying times. However, unlike its counterpart at Starbucks, you won’t pay a small fortune for a tiny piece. Nope. You get an entire 9×13″ pan to indulge in. Well, they do freeze well also, so you can make them last all season!

I originally developed this recipe back in 2011, for my previous food blog I wrote in those years. The photos show two versions you will see, one has plenty of orange zest in it, the other (below) I left it out. Both are equally delicious. If you have an orange on hand and orange extract, add it. But otherwise, it’s still equally addictive.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Ingredients:

Bars –

  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp pure orange or vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ¾ cup dried cranberries
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips

Frosting –

  • 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp pure orange or vanilla extract

Topping –

  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
  • 1 orange, zested (save the orange for snacking on)
  • 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
  • ½ tsp avocado oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325° and spray a glass 9×13″ baking pan with cooking spray or lightly oil.

In a stand mixer bowl add the butter and sugars, beat until light, about 5 minutes. Turn to low and add in the eggs and vanilla, the batter will be lumpy. Add the flour, baking soda and ginger, beat in till smooth. Take the bowl off the mixer and add the cranberries and chips by hand.

Spread the very thick batter into the prepared pan and bake till golden brown on the edges and a toothpick comes out clean in the center. My pan took 39 minutes, I would start checking at 25 minutes to make sure it doesn’t over-bake.

Let cool on a wire rack completely, then run a spatula around the edges to loosen.

For the frosting and toppings:

Beat the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer until smooth, add in the flavoring and the powdered sugar, beating till smooth. If needed add milk 1 teaspoon at a time till spreadable. Frost the pan evenly.

Distribute the orange zest evenly over the top, sprinkle the cranberries on top, pressing down gently.

In a small bowl combine the white chocolate and oil, microwave for a minute, stir until fully melted. Using a fork, drizzle the chocolate all over the top.

Let sit for at least an hour for everything to set up.

Cut into squares and then into triangles, if you want. Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator, or cut, wrap, and freeze.

~Sarah

My Go To Pumpkin Pie
Recipes

My Go To Pumpkin Pie

Sarah

If there is one thing I don’t like…it’s watery pumpkin pie. I ate a lot of those growing up. Years ago I came across a recipe I made my own. It produced a perfect pumpkin pie every time, with minimal work. The key? Sweetened condensed milk. No water seeping out, no flour, no thickeners needed. Just smooth, rich pumpkin. 5 ingredients are all you need.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

  • 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 14 ounce can or bottle sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice blend
  • 9″ unbaked frozen pie crust, thawed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°.

Whisk the pumpkin, milk, eggs and spice together in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Place the pie pan on a rimmed baking sheet, pour the filling into the crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350° and bake for 40 minutes.

Take out and let cool on a rack fully, refrigerate till cold, store loosely wrapped.

Makes 1 pie.

~Sarah