Tag: Baking

Zojirushi Bread Machine Light Sourdough Bread
Recipes

Zojirushi Bread Machine Light Sourdough Bread

Sarah

Having a bread machine is a luxury, I won’t argue that. While I am proficient in making bread by hand, in the colder months I use our bread machine because I know it will turn out every time. Cold houses (we don’t heat above 66°) can lead to yeast failure – this past week I wasted 7 cups of flour on a recipe. I was very upset over that waste, that was almost 2 recipe worth of flour for our everyday bread! So for now, it is understandable I want to cheat a bit.

For the past number of years I have been baking with a Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme machine. Currently, the machines are sold out, but if you see one, it is more than worth the cost (they are not cheap and retail for just under $300). I had considered doing a sourdough starter but backed off due to how cold the house is. In a couple of weeks, it will be the time, and I have yeast on hand, so I decided to try Zojirushi’s recipe and see how it turned out. If you have one of Zojirushi’s other machines, see the original recipe for directions.

It was a fun experiment, and my hands on time was minimal. The bread has a tangy flavor, yet is sandwich bread. Yet, it is chewy in texture. Definitely let this loaf cool before slicing. It’s a lot harder to slice than the traditional sandwich bread, so use a firm hand when cutting.

Light Sourdough Bread

Ingredients – 

Sourdough starter:

  • 1½ cups water
  • 2 cusp (256 grams) bread flour
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast

Bread ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 cups (384 grams) bread flour
  • 1½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:

Put the kneading blades in the bread pan of a Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme bread machine. Place bread pan into machine.

Add in the water, bread flour and yeast.

Set course for “sourdough starter” and press start. This will take a bit over 2 hours.

_ The starter all bubbly –

For the bread:

Once the sourdough starter ends and beeps, hit cancel to clear.

Add in the ingrdients in order listed, with yeast set on top of the flour.

Close the lid and set course for “basic”.

When the bread is done baking (just shy of 4 hours), pop out and knock out onto a cooling rack.

Bread can be sliced and frozen once cooled, for long-term storage.

~Sarah

Homemade Oreos
Recipes

Homemade Oreos

Sarah

These are indulgent cookies. Nothing redeeming about them except for the delicious flavor! Your children will love you for making them.

Homemade Oreos
Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg

Buttercream Frosting –

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Milk, as needed (used 5 tsp)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer beat the sugar and butter till fluffy, add the egg, and beat till smooth.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. With the mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients slowly, until fully mixed, turning up the speed on the mixer as needed. Scrape as needed. The dough will be firm.

Using a 1 Tablespoon disher, scoop out balls. Drop 12 at a time on the prepared baking sheets and gently flatten each cookie with your palm.

Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will still appear a bit wet but will harden up upon cooling. Let sit for 5 minutes, transfer to a cooking rack gently, using a metal spatula.

Frosting –

In a stand mixer bowl, whip the butter and shortening, until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar. When fully incorporated, beat the vanilla in, and enough milk to be spreadable.

To finish –

Spread the frosting on half of the cookies. Gently press a second cookie on top to spread the frosting between the two cookies. Let sit to harden up. Store covered.

Makes approximately 16 to 18 finished cookies.

Note:

If you are having a rushed day, you can cheat and use canned frosting. I won’t judge.

~Sarah

Baking Powder Biscuits
Recipes

Baking Powder Biscuits

Sarah

The simplest recipes can often be the best. Over the past few years this has become my go to recipe for biscuits. Quick to mix up, a snap to bake.

Leftovers can be tucked away in the freezer for later eating.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp baking powder
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 12 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.

Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Dice up butter, work into flour with fingers, until crumbly. Add in milk, sweep into a dough.

Sprinkle a bit of extra flour on a work source, knock out dough. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top, pat out into a rectangle, about an inch thick. Cut into 12 biscuits, transfer to a large non-stick rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until turning golden on top.

Makes 12 biscuits.

Bread Machine Gluten Free Sandwich Bread
Recipes

Bread Machine Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

Sarah

One of the hardest projects I have undertaken was to bake gluten-free bread that Alistaire would enjoy. The compost bin has eaten many loaves over the years, as I would dabble, get frustrated and stomp off. What really got me motivated was the price of the Franz white bread loaves going up in price again – and the perpetual issue of it getting moldy if you leave it out on the counter (you have to chill it once it is open – even though the packaging says you don’t have to!) . At the local store it sells for $7.29 a loaf now! That alone was reason to try again. The base cost of ingredients isn’t much, as Kirk and I talked about it, that I would waste the ingredients till it worked. And when a loaf turned out perfectly, I was so happy. I didn’t believe it was good until I sliced it, and watched Alistaire enjoy the first slice. I tried it, and was shocked: you couldn’t tell it was gluten-free.

Having said all this, I run on a pretty nice bread machine – a Zojirushi – so making fails made it sting even more so. But as I tried more often, I realized that I was making simple mistakes that kept me from having perfect bread. I was treating it like I did wheat bread: dumping it all in and walking off. You cannot do this. I love this bread machine, it makes loaves of bread that look like bread should. We have been using it for over 5 years now. It isn’t cheap, but if you make a lot of bread and don’t have a ton of spare time, it is well worth it.

Two easy rules: weigh all flours/starches and be there for the mixing cycle, to help the machine mix up the dough. All you need is an affordable digital scale that goes up to 5 pounds.

*And if you don’t have a bread machine, I have a gluten-free bread recipe coming up soon that is baked in the oven.

Bread Machine Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a 2 pound bread machine, add the milk, eggs, vinegar, oil, and honey.

Place the rice flour and potato starch on top, sprinkle xanthan gum and salt on top.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add yeast.

Turn machine onto a standard loaf of bread.

When the mixing/kneading starts, carefully scrape the sides to ensure all the starch is mixed in, and helping it mix. Do not miss this step! If the starch is not mixed in the dough will be lumpy. The dough should be smooth, looking like a quick bread versus the stiff dough of wheat bread. But watch your spatula, and use a small one, so the kneading paddles don’t grab at it.

Once baked, immediately remove the bread pan and knock out. Do not let it sit in the pan, as the moisture will make a gummy loaf.

For best results, let cool fully on a rack, then using a serrated bread knife slice the bread firmly and quickly. Store tightly sealed overnight on counter, for long-term storage wrap in freezer bags and freeze. Bread thaws quickly for use, or can be toasted on the “frozen” setting.

Makes 1 loaf.