Popovers - Success!

I've always wanted to try making popovers and have had the King Arthur Food blog recipe saved for a while. Now I had just had a conversation with TWO people the day of making these where they mentioned they have never had good luck with popovers and have given up. These worked perfectly on the first try. I don't think I can take credit for my success, I think it is all due to the recipe. It worked really well and I used a regular muffin pan.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs, warmed in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes before cracking
1 1/2 cups milk (skim, low-fat, or full-fat), lukewarm
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

Servings:
17-18 popovers, you will need two muffin pans!

Instructions:
Fully preheat the oven to 450 degrees F! <-- This is important to make sure the oven is fully up to temperature before starting. Position a rack on a lower shelf. Grease muffin pan thoroughly (I used Pam). Thoroughly whisk the eggs, milk, and salt. Add the flour all at once, and beat with a wire whisk. There shouldn't be any large lumps in the batter, but smaller lumps are ok. Whisk in the melted butter, combining quickly.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake the popovers for 20 minutes without opening the oven door! Reduce the heat to 350°F (again without opening the door!), and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until they're a deep, golden brown.

If there is a little bit that isn't browned, you run the risk of collapse. The first pan I cooked till every visible spot was a very deep golden brown and I thought this made them a little overcooked. But the second batch had a few small spots that hadn't turned golden brown yet and there was a smidge of collapse, but nothing resembling full collapse. They were still hollow in the center. They even made their own holes on the bottom so I didn't need to make holes in them to prevent sogginess.



Not having cooked popovers before, I would not have guessed they were finicky based on this recipe. I highly recommend it for your next bread making experience. Next time I will be trying variations with adding powdered Vermont cheddar, herbs, and may favorite I have seen - corn and chive (Smitten Kitchen but with the King Arthur Baker's Banter recipe).

Recipe From:
King Arthur Flour Baker's Banter Blog

Quick Sour Cream Cheese Bread

Flavorful fluffy cheese bread that will taste like you worked on it for hours but comes together in a mater of minutes.

Ingredients:
3 cups (750 mL) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. (15 mL) baking powder
1 tsp. (5 mL) salt
1/4 tsp. (1 mL) cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup (250 mL) grated old cheddar or other intensely flavored cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) milk
3/4 cup (185 mL) sour cream or plain yogurt
3 Tbsp. (45 mL) butter, melted
1 large egg
*few Dashes of powdered garlic
*Sprinkling of herbs

Servings: 9 x 5 inch loaf pan

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 9- x 5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in the grated cheeses, tossing to blend and get rid of clumps.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, sour cream, butter and egg. Add it to the dry ingredients and gently stir with a spatula just until combined. Don’t overmix, or your bread will be tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. If you like, sprinkle the top with additional grated cheddar or Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the loaf is golden and the top is springy to the touch. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Recipe From: Babble.com/family-kitchen

I can't stress enough use good cheese! I also added a bit of garlic powder to mine and thought this was great but this recipe would lend itself to a little more or even some herbs. Really flexible.

It is a soft moist bread that whips together really fast but tastes like you worked on it for hours. The bread will sweat a bit inside the pan, so I recommend making sure you remove it from the pan for a bit before serving or serve warm.

Baked Spiced Pumpkin Mini Doughnuts

Little pumpkin treats for breakfast! Moist, tasty and easy. If you don't have a mini doughnut pan, just use muffin cups and only fill them 1/4-1/3 full.

Ingredients:
For the doughnut holes:
220g all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
½ tsp ground gloves
Pinch of salt
1 egg
75ml vegetable oil
100g brown sugar
185g tinned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
120 ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the coating (optional):
130g granulated sugar
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Servings: 48 mini doughnuts or 18-20 holes

Instructions:
Spray the mini doughnut pan or 18-20 holes in a muffin/cupcake tin (depends on whether the muffin tin is for normal-sized or huge muffins). Pre-heat the oven to 175°C.

Sift the flour, baking powder, spices and salt into a medium-sized bowl and mix together.

Lightly beat the egg in a large bowl (I actually used 2 small organic eggs), then add the oil, brown sugar, pumpkin, milk and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined (like with muffins, don’t over-mix!).

Divide the batter between the muffin holes or moulds (don’t fill them too much – these will puff a little bit as they cook) and bake for 10-12 mins until a toothpick comes out clean.

If you cook these the night before, by morning they will be moist from all the pumpkin, you can just roll them in the sugar and it will stick. The original recipe has you dunk them in melted butter and then roll them. I thought the extra calories wouldn't add all that much and this method worked just fine for me. However you need to do this right before you serve these doughnuts or they will just absorb the sugar and wont look as cute.

Recipe From: Sharkyovengloves


These came out nice and moist and quite good. Honestly I would like to try some glazed and some with spiced pumpkin cream cheese. I think I will be later with some of the left overs. Before you toss these in sugar, I think they would even freeze well so you could make a big batch and then same some for later.

Quick and easy to make, tasty and over all healthy.

Ham and Cheese Bread

A flavorful quick bread that works well as a side or a main dish. The meat and cheese can easily be swapped out in this recipe for increased versatility.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons extra- virgin olive oil, plus extra for oiling the pan
1 1/4 cups unbleached, all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)
5 ounces aged Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4- inch cubes
5 ounces best- quality cooked ham, cut into 1/4- inch cubes
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

**1/3 cup best- quality black olives, pitted and halved

Servings: 1 Loaf pan

Instructions:
Center a rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, olive oil, and yogurt. Stir to blend. Add the cheese, ham, and olives, and stir just to combine the ingredients.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the bread is firm and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, unmold and serve the bread at room temperature. (Store at room temperature wrapped in foil for up to 3 days.)

Recipe From: Projectfoodie.com

The original recipe called for the olives, but I left those out, because I hate them. It also called for aged French Comté cheese, which I didn't have. So I just used some of my extra sharp cheddar and thought this came out great. You could easily use turkey and Gouda, roast beef and provolone. Go crazy with it, it should work out perfect.

I baked this in a 9x5 inch pan and wished that I had used a 8x4 as this came out as a very squat little loaf of bread. Still tasted great, but not quite as pretty. It also came out very dense, but not too bad, I might try tinkering with leavening agents next time.

Also make sure you cube the cheese and not shred it, otherwise the cheese will sort of disappear into the bread and you wont get those awesome cheesy chunks inside. This is best served warm, but still good cold in my opinion.

Banana Zucchini Cranberry Almond Bread

Healthy, flavorful and goes together in less than 20 minutes, this zucchini bread will satisfy all of your cravings without all of the guilt.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar**
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
2 cup bananas, mashed (3-5)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 cus all-purpose flour
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup slivered almonds
**I subbed 1/2 cup splenda for baking

Servings: 2 loaf pans

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch bread loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light yellow and frothy. Add oil, apple sauce, brown sugar, white sugar, grated zucchini, bananas, and vanilla; blend together until well combined. Stir in the flour, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the cranberries and nuts. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool in the loaf pans on a wire rack before removing and serving.

Recipe From: AllRecipes.com

I made quite a few modifications from the original recipe in order to make this more flavorful and make a few healthy improvements. I exchanged most of the all purpose flour for whole wheat, cut out most of the oil and replaced it with apple sauce, cut out a lot of the sugar (which you wont miss) finally I added extra zucchini and banana to keep it all moist and pack in some extra flavor.

I made a few tweaks with the spices but that will all be up to personal taste in this recipe and can be modified as you like. Don't have pumpkin pie spice? Add in nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice, cloves etc. Prefer walnuts to almonds, make the switch. Don't like craisins, use raisins. But I would recommend keeping some sort of sweet dried fruit in there or bump up the sugar a little bit (unless your going to slather this in cream cheese and then you wont notice).

Spiced Up Healthy Zucchini Bread

This is a healthy and fantastic zucchini bread. Moist and packed with flavor and not too much guilt in each slice. Not only will you not notice your eating your vegetables but you will enjoy every minute of it.

Ingredients:
2 C grated zucchini, about 3 small to medium zucchinis
1 C all purpose flour, sifted
1 C Whole wheat flour
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 C apple sauce
1/4 C oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Servings: 1 Loaf

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350º. Spray 10 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Whisk eggs, oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine. Add grated zucchini and stir. It may seem a bit difficult or hard to mix it all together at first but the moistness from the zucchini will help it all come together.

Pour mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake on middle rack for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let sit in pan for 10 minutes and then let cool on wire rack.

Recipe From: KitchenRunway.com

The original recipe didn't have enough "spice" for me, I doubled everything and added some ginger for a bit more kick. I also did half and half all purpose flour and whole wheat, but I think you might be able to do all whole wheat, all the zucchini moisture keeps things super moist. I also cut down on the oil by subbing apple sauce (1 single serving cup is 1/2 cup) to cut out some more fat.

A sugar substitute could be used, but I don't have any of that in the house. Instead I cut the sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup, cutting it to 1/2 cup sugar might be too little but if your one to put cream cheese or butter on your bread you might not notice (I eat mine plain).

If your a nut fan this would lend itself to taking nuts well, I added some roasted almonds on top just to make it look pretty. You could also toss oats on top for a nice look too. I think you could toss in raisins, dried cranberries or dried cherries, heck all three and you would still have a nutritious and tasty bread.

This recipe is far from bland and so moist if you slice it while its warm you will worry you under cooked it. Don't panic, the bread is just fine and needs to sit for a short bit and cool for it to finish.

Naan Bread - closest I have gotten without a tandoori oven!

This is the closest I have come to making Indian restaurant Naan Bread without a tandoori oven. You don't even need a baking stone, but do use an old pan you don't mind getting butter scorched on. Consider it seasoning the pan... I will have to add a picture later.

Naan Bread

1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup water (add gradually, your amounts may vary)
2 tablespoons butter

Warm 3/4 cup of water and add the yeast, remember bathtub warm! Mix until the yeast is dissolved. If you need to check the activity of your yeast, add some flour and see if bubbles form quickly. If not, your yeast may be getting old (I buy it in bulk). Add all the wet ingredients to a bread machine then the dry ingredients and set on the dough cycle. You can also do this by hand if you like the upper body workout. Cut the dough into 4-6 pieces. Roll out each piece to 1/4" thick. Brush top side with butter (or ghee, but I have just used really tasty butter). Let it rise on wax paper for 45 minutes. When done rising, heat oven to 500 degrees F and place a baking pan in the oven to get scorching hot. When the pan is 500 degrees F, take one of the rolled pieces of dough and lay it butter-side down on the hot pan. Quickly brush the unbuttered top-side with some melted butter and close the oven door. Bake on one side for 1-2 minutes an flip, baking for another minute. Watch these carefully, they burn quick. There should be brown spots where bubbles formed in the bread.

Like I said, closest I have gotten to the crisp, big bubbles of restaurant naan bread. If anyone knows how to get bigger bubbles in their bread, let me know!

Russian Leek and Cheese Bread

A tasty filling bread that can be easily modified to suit your tastes. Goes together fast and looks pretty on a table.

Ingredients:
Dough:
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups sour cream
Egg wash
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water

Filling:
3 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. Babybell Gouda (Original Recipe: 4 oz. soft goat cheese)
4 oz. ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped leeks
salt and pepper to taste

Servings: 2 6x6 breads

Instructions:
Melt butter in a saucepan and add in the chopped leeks. Cook for a few minutes till leeks become soft. Set aside.

Place the three cheeses into a bowl and add in the cooked leeks. Mix till leeks are well blended and cheese is smooth. Add in a little salt and fresh ground pepper. Set aside.

To make the dough mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a large bowl till well combined. Make a well in the center and add the sour cream. Mix with a wooden spoon till just mixed. Now, switch to your hand and mix the dough, till it comes together. Pour out onto a lightly floured surface and begin to knead for 5 minutes. This will help the dough to become smooth. Once the dough becomes smooth allow to rest for 5 minutes. Alternately you can do all this in your KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook.

Sprinkle a little flour onto a flat surface, and cut the dough ball roughly in half. Working with half the dough at a time, roll out the dough into a 12 inch circle. Now, add half the cheese mixture into the center of the circle. Spread the cheese mixture out to a 10x10 inch square. Fold over one side of the dough over the cheese mixture. Use a pastry brush to remove any flour from the top of the dough. Fold over the next side and brush off the flour. Continue with the other sides till you create a square.

Repeat with the second half of the bread and reserved cheese.

Place the bread onto a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Mix the egg wash together and brush the top and sides of the dough. Place into a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information:

Recipe From: http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_russian_leek_bread.html

I made this for Supper Club's Russian Night and thought it came out fairly well considering I could not get goat cheese. After subbing in the soft gouda, I think you could really use any softish semi-strong cheese in this recipe and it would turn out fairly well. I would also recommend adding in some garlic (I was making a traditional recipe or I would have added it!). I think 2-6 cloves, depending on your love of garlic, would have really perked this up a bit.

As the recipe stands now, I found the bread a bit lack luster, but very easy to make. I think next time I will try a pizza crust bread instead and see how things comes out. All in all still a great and easy recipe but an improvement in the bread department would not be amiss!

Hawaiian Bread

A new twist old fashioned banana bread. This bread combines coconut, pineapple, macadamia nuts and bananas to make a moist loaf of bread with a variety of textures and flavors that all blend together to make an excellent bread.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup coconut, toasted
2 bananas, mashed

Servings: Makes 2 loaves (16 Slices)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour two 9x5" loaf pans.

Combine flour, soda, sugar, salt, and nuts in mixing bowl, and blend. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Bake at 350, for 1 hour

Nutritional Information: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1616824

Recipe From: http://www.food.com/recipe/chris-hawaiian-bread-257940

I was looking for "authentic Hawaiian" desserts for Supper Club and found that other than Hupia, no one has much of anything! So then I broadened my horizons and found this recipe online. I thought it sounded fairly "Hawaiian" with the pineapple, macadamia nuts and coconut and decided to give it a go.

It turned out to be a fantastic experiment. I modified the original recipe and toasted the coconut because I think it gives it a richer flavor. I also replaced half the oil with apple sauce for a healthier option. The bread came out moist and delicious without all the extra fat. If you wanted to cut a few more calories I think you could easily cut out another 1/2 cup of sugar or bake this with Splenda and the recipe still wouldn't lose anything as the sweetened coconut adds a bit of sugar itself.