Breads

Monkey Bread

One morning last week, I was on the train enduring my daily commute into the city for my job and like usual I was listening to my favorite morning radio show, The Preston & Steve Show. On that particular day, they started talking about Cinnabon’s ooey, gooey, buttery cinnamon buns which morphed into a conversation about yummy, sweet, sticky Monkey Bread. By the time I got off the train and walked the six blocks to work, my mouth was watering and my stomach was growling. Thankfully, there wasn’t a Cinnabon nearby (at least if there is, I don’t want to know about it!) but the seed had already been planted and the damage had already been done – at any given moment after that, my brain would automatically turn to cinnamon buns, brown sugar and cinnamon, or anything cinnamony with a cool, drippy icing. It was all I could think about. I hope that explains why I made this Monkey Bread.

Balls of freshly made dough are rolled in a sugar-brown sugar-cinnamon mixture and baked until gooey and dripping in sweetness. As if that isn’t enough, a warmed cream cheese icing drizzle is spooned over the warm bread. It really doesn’t get more decadent or sinful than this. Since it contains yeast, this does take time to make as you let the dough rise but you can find faster recipes using store-bought dough online but they tend to be higher in calories. This recipe I made cuts the calories (not that you can tell) which is important because it’s hard to stop eating this.

Thanks, Preston & Steve. I may have to call the Love You, Hate You line to tell you how much I both love and hate you for putting this idea in my head!

The ingredients:

Combine flours, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached; mix until combined.

With mixer on, slowly add 1 cup milk, juice, honey, and 2 tablespoons butter; mix dough at medium speed 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

Punch dough down; divide into 8 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll into an 8-inch rope. Cut each dough rope into 8 equal pieces, shaping each piece into a 1-inch ball.

Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Combine 3 tablespoons milk and 2 tablespoons butter in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Dip each ball in milk mixture, turning to coat, and roll in sugar mixture. Layer balls in a 12-cup Bundt pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 7 dough ropes. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool 5 minutes on a wire rack. Place a plate upside down on top of bread; invert onto plate.

Combine powdered sugar, remaining milk, and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Microwave at HIGH 20 seconds or until warm. Drizzle over bread.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Anadama Bread

Sorry it’s been a couple days since I’ve posted but I’ve been out of town for three days and despite having Internet access, I just didn’t feel like pulling out my computer. You know the feeling. Being disconnected. It kind of feels good. Although with my iPhone on my hip, I wasn’t truly disconnected. Oh well. It was an effort. Anyway, I’ve been on a real reading kick lately (I recently devoured The Age of Miracles, Wild, Gone Girl and Where We Belong – all of which I recommend) and since I’ve decided I need dial down my book collection rather than grow it, I decided to take advantage of my library card and checked out two more books to read yesterday, The Bungalow and The Hypnotist’s Love Story. Reading as much as I have been sometimes disrupts my pattern of cooking but it was in one of my reading fits last weekend that I spontaneously decided I wanted to bake some bread. Next thing I knew, I was up to my elbows in flour, twisting and kneading fresh dough until it was perfectly rounded and fragrant. This particular bread, Anadama Bread, is a bread my aunt often makes for holidays or just because. Of course I think hers tastes better. Just because.

Anadama Bread is a yeast bread made special with the addition of molasses and cornmeal. This bread has the slightest hint of sweetness, but not too much, and is good toasted with jam or just butter. It also freezes easily, just simply slice it ahead of time and seal in a freezer bag. Making bread can be both therapeutic and satisfying. Kneading dough is a good way to de-stress and after watching a mixture of ingredients come together and simply grow, you get a feeling of accomplishment when you pull out the warm, baked bread from the oven and your kitchen – your whole house – smells like a bakery. There is nothing better. When I make bread I kind of get that feeling that Tom Hanks has in Cast Away when he pounds on his chest and proudly proclaims to no one “Look what I have created! I have made fire!” When that bread comes out of the oven perfectly rounded and browned, it’s hard not to be proud and want to show it to someone. Next time, I just might pound on my chest too. Just because.

Read a good book lately? Let me know! 🙂

The ingredients:

Dissolve the yeast and molasses in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in melted butter.

Add 3 cups flour, cornmeal, and salt to yeast mixture and stir until blended.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes), adding enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down; let rest 5 minutes.

Roll into a 14 x 7-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting with a short edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Place roll, seam side down, in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Uncover dough and bake at in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes or until loaf is browned on bottom and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I’ve been getting into bad breakfast habits again. I find myself getting a calorie-loaded egg and cheese bagel more often than usual or I’ll end up skipping breakfast altogether and be so starving by 10am that I’ll eat handfuls of miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups out of the candy bowl in the office next door. It’s terrible. I decided it was time to make some muffins that I could keep stored away for a quick grab-and-go each morning. Rather than deprive myself of that morning chocolate I’ve been getting used to, I thought these Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins would be a perfect transition back into normal breakfast eating.

A simple muffin batter is jazzed up with a splash of red wine vinegar and chocolate chips, which are also used to top of these puffy cocoa gems. I used regular chocolate chips in place of mini-chocolate chips because I had them on hand but I can only imagine how rich and chocolatey these muffins would be with little bits of melted chocolate in every bite. These muffins satisfy any chocolate urge you get and are perfectly light enough to eat with your morning coffee. Now I can actually feel a little less guilty about eating chocolate for breakfast.

Also, I want to take a moment to wish my cousin-more-like-a-little-brother Ben a very, very Happy Birthday today! Check out his novel, Harvitz, As To War, here.

The ingredients:

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Combine water, red wine vinegar, canola oil, vanilla and egg in a separate bowl, stirring well. Stir in half of the chocolate chips and add mixture to the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until moist.