Sticky Blueberry Cinnamon Buns

This recipe didn’t turn out the way I expected. Although the taste was great, the bottom of the sticky bun was stuck to the pan. After a little bit of force, I got it out of the pan, but the sticky part was not very pretty. Hence, you see the picture of the bottom of the bun, which was the top, during baking. A good experiment, but I might need to try again to master it. I had tried not to let it cool off too much in the pan, as I know that the cooling of the sugar will make it stick, but I really don’t know what went wrong here. If anyone out there know, please feel free to drop me a line.

Ingredients:
Sticky Glaze:
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup melted butter

For the dough:
1 ¼ cups warm milk
3 ½ cups bread flour
1 pkg 5-8 g instant dry yeast or 16 grams Instant Yeast
¼ cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs

For the filling:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, room termperature
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 cups blueberries

Prepare the dough:
Combine flour along with the sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl.

Add the melted butter, warm milk, eggs and vanilla extract.

Knead dough for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth with no lumps. The dough would be a little bit sticky at this point.|

You may need to use a little less or a little more flour, this is not uncommon.

Knead the dough for an additional 10 minutes on a bread board or countertop.

Cover dough and leave to rest and rise for one hour. Punch the dough down and knead it for a few minutes by hand before letting it rest for another 10 minutes.

Roll the rested dough our into a large rectangle about 12×18 inches.

For the Sticky glaze:
Combine the 3/4 cup brown sugar and ½ cup melted butter in the bottom of the pan before adding the rolls.

For the filling:
Combine ½ cup brown sugar, the soft butter and cinnamon to make a paste.

Spread this mixture on the rolled out dough. Evenly sprinkle on the blueberries.

Starting at the short side of the rectangle, roll the dough into a log, pinching the dough together to seal at the end of the roll.

Cut the roll into 12 equal pieces and place in the bottom of the 9×13 baking pan on top of the glaze mixture.

Cover the baking pan with a clean tea towel and allow the rolls to rise until at least doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until the rolls spring back when touched in the middle of the pan.

Cinnamon Rolls

• 

Cinnamon Roll

This is the second cinnamon bun recipe that I have tried and I thought the outcome was a lot better than one of my earlier posts of the overnight cinnamon bun. I tried this one while I’m still in self isolation with the kids, so this recipe is also very fun for the kids as well. Also, I find that the cinnamon bun actually stayed soft a fluffy for a few days this time, which is what I was looking for as well.

Ingredients
Dough:
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 cups bread flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast or 22 grams fresh yeast

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar , packed
2 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine , softened

Icing:
1 cup spreadable cream cheese
1/4 cup butter , softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix all the icing ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside in fridge, allowing time for icing to chill.

In a small bowl add the warm milk and yeast and stir to combine. Add the sugar, margarine, eggs, and salt. Add two cups of the flour and milk/yeast mixture and mix well. Add 2 more cups flour and mix until a soft dough is formed. Knead on clean surface until dough pulls off the surface without sticking. Dough should be easy to handle and smooth.

Place the dough in a well greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or wet cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.

While dough is rising, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Once dough is done rising to double the size. Roll dough into a 15×20-inch rectangle on a floured surface.

Spread the margarine on the dough and top with cinnamon sugar mixture.

Roll the dough up in a log form and cut it into 12 rolls.

Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and place the rolls in the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or wet cloth and allow to rise 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Once the dough done rising, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Uncover the pan and bake in the oven until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes.

Allow the rolls to cool for 10 minutes and spread the icing over the rolls. 

Japanese Milk Bread Rolls

• 

Japanese Milk Bread Rolls

I have tried a few recipes with a Tangzhong starter and this one stood out. One of my earlier posts, I have made a lot of chinese bread variety with the same base. However, this one doesn’t seem to need as much Tanzhong in it and it doesn’t ask for whipping cream either. As a result, I think it is softer and it lasts for a few days.

Ingredients:
Tangzhong (starter)
3 tbsp. water
3 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. bread flour

Dough
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. milk powder
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast or 25 grams fresh yeast
1/2 cup milk, luke warm
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature

To make the tangzhong: Combine all of the ingredients and pour through sieve into a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain. Heat over low heat, and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer the tangzhong to a small mixing bowl or measuring cup and let it cool to room temperature.

To make the dough: Combine the tangzhong with the remaining dough ingredients, then mix and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms. When the dough is no longer sticking to the table when kneading, then you know it’s ready.

Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly greased covered bowl for approximates 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in size.

Divide it into 8 equal pieces, and shape each piece into a ball.

Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9 inch round pan. Cover the pan, and let the rolls rest for approximately 50 minutes, until puffy.  

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the rolls with milk or egg wash (1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water), and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Remove the rolls from the oven. Allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.

Gugelhupf

Homemade Gugelhupf

This is Gugelhupf second attempt. Atleast this one stayed in the pan and baked properly. I quite like the combination of the bread and cake all in one pan. This was all the yeast that I had left before we went into self isolation, so I might as well just use it up as fresh yeast expires so quickly. The taste and texture reminded me a little bit of the Panettone. Could be a quick alternative.

Ingredients
22 grams fresh yeast
1 cup warm milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
5 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lemon rind of grated
3/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup almonds powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 cup bread flour

Grease a gugelhopf mold, bust pan, or tube pan.

Mix yeast with warm milk until dissolved. Set aside.
Mix salt and flour. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla, lemon rind, raisins, and almonds powder.

Add milk and flour mixtures, alternately, ending with the flour mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Bake in preheated 375 °F. Oven for 40 minutes or until browned and done. Serve warm with butter.

Basic White Bread

Homemade Basic White Bread

This was a fairly simple recipe. I couldn’t believe it turned out as good as it did. I had always thoughts that making any kind of bread would be difficult and a lot of kneading. Before my bread courses, I was terrified of any recipe that needed yeast in it. Although right now, I am just brave enough to bake with fresh yeast, it works out quite well for my recipes. I made a tuna salad sandwhich for lunch today and it was absolutely delicious! This recipe makes 2 loaves and it’s good for freezing as well.

Ingredients:
22 grams fresh yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. oil
5 1/2 cups bread flour
butter for topping (optional)

On a clean kneading surface, measure out 4 cups of flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast and the water. The alternative, is to use a mixer with the dough hook. Add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, smooth dough. The dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not be overly sticky. Knead 5-7 minutes, until smooth, then roll into a ball.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise one hour, or until doubled.

When the dough has risen, fold down gently and divide in half. Roll each half of the dough into a long rectangle about 8 inches wide. Roll the dough up, starting at the short edge, to form a cylinder that is approximately 8 inches wide. Repeat with remaining dough.

Place the dough, seam side down, into lightly greased bread pans, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise one hour, or until the dough is ½ – 1 inch higher than the top of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake 30-35 minutes, or the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter, if desired. Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing.

Soft Pretzel

This was quite the recipe for me. I wasn’t too sure what to expect. It actually turned out better than I expected. This recipe was for 8 soft pretzels, so I just made 4 savory (classic) and 4 sweet (cinnamon and sugar) ones. Although it was soft, it did also have a little bit of a elasticy bagel texture as well.

Dough Ingredients:
10 grams fresh yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 105 degrees F)
2 tbsp. sugar
4 cups bread flour
1 tsp. salt

Crust Ingredients:
1 cup water
2 tsp. baking soda
himalayan salt or kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

On a clean kneading surface, measure out the flour, sugar and salt. Add the yeast and warm water. Knead until smooth (you can use your hands, or you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook for this part).

Grease a bowl with nonstick cooking spray and place the dough into the bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 2-baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each part into a rope about 24 to 26 inches long and form into a pretzel shape.

In a shallow bowl, combine water and baking soda. Submerge each pretzel in the water and then place on the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle just 4 pretzels with salt (if you want to make all 8 savory, then spinkle salt on all 8). Let the pretzels rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush each hot baked pretzel with melted butter immediately after taking them out of the oven. Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture to the remaining 4 that you did not put salt on.

Cinnamon and Sugar Donuts

Donuts with Cinnamon and Sugar

I have always wanted to try making donuts and seek the challenge of making a good donut. Although this specific recipe is a baked recipe, I have also tried frying it, just like a regular donut. The baked version was soft and lasted a few days. As the fried one was as hard as a rock the following day. I would want to try with a few other flavours, but making a good donut doesn’t seem like it’s as easy as they pop them out at a donut shop though.

DOUGHNUTS:
1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95°F to 105°F
1 package of instant yeast or 22 grams fresh yeast
2 tbsp. butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
5 cups bread flour
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 tsp. salt

TOPPING: 
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Place the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Add the butter. Mix in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Beat the dough with the dough hook attachment. (If not using a mixer, work all ingredients together, until it pulls away from the surface) Adjust the dough texture by adding flour a few tablespoons at a time or more milk. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky. Knead the dough for a few minutes (again, by mixer or by hand) and then transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured counter. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Carefully transfer the circles to a parchment lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Cover the tray with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the doughnuts rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.

Bake in a 375 °F oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes (I didn’t check until 10 minutes, and they were slightly overcolored). Start checking the doughnuts around minute 8. They should still be pale on top, not golden and browned, and just barely baked through.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Serve immediately. Yuuuuum!

Fococcia Bread

Easy Fococcia Bread

There is really nothing much to this bread. A few ingredients and not a whole lot of kneading. Voila! An awesome bread to dinner. I put all the ingredients together, let it proof overnight, with a few turns of the dough (but even that, is optional), loved the taste and the way it turned out. I used some Italian seasoning and onion powder, but you can actually use anything you want. (flax seed, poppy seed, sesame seeds…….etc.)

Ingredients
4 cups bread flour
2 tsp. salt
1 package rapid rise yeast or 22 grams of fresh yeast
2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
Italian seasoning or finely chopped fresh herbs
Sea salt
Onion Powder

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and yeast. Stir well. Add the warm water. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together, until it is well combined. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. During the course of the evening, and when I remember, I would deflate the dough and give it a quick turn in the bowl, with some olive oil. It’s really up to you, as to how many times you want to do this, or if you don’t want to do it at all.

Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each pan. Divide dough in half and one piece of dough in each pan, turning to coat with oil. Tuck edges of dough underneath to form a rough ball. Cover each pan tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough balls to rest for 2 hours depending. The dough should cover most of the pan.

Preheat oven to 450˚F with a rack positioned in the center of the oven.

Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over each round of dough. With oiled fingers, press straight down and create deep dimples that go all the way through the dough to make dimples and to allow the dough to fill the pan.

Sprinkle tops with Italian seasoning (or fresh herbs) flaky sea salt and some onion powder. Transfer the pans to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 425˚F. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the tops are golden and the undersides are crisp. Remove pans from the oven. With a metal spatula remove bread rounds from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.

Serve warm.

Twisted Bread Sticks

I have always enjoyed going to my local pizza shop and ordered breadsticks.  It was getting more and more expensive since I first discovered this leftover pizza dough covered in spices.  So I did a bit of research and tried this out myself.  I may try a few other ones in the future to see what actually works with me, but I just wanted to share my first try.

Ingredients:
1 package rapid rise yeast or 22 grams of fresh yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups butter
garlic salt
italian seasoning
onion powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Set aside.  (If you are using fresh yeast, you can skip this step )

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, and salt.  Make a small well in the flour mixture and stir in the yeast mixture until combined .

Knead the dough for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.

 

Dough before resting.

Dough after 10 minutes of resting time.

 

Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle about the size of the baking sheet. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1-inch-wide strips.

Melt 1/2 cup butter and pour onto a baking sheet.  With a strip of dough, bring the ends together so it is doubled, then twist. Roll the bread stick in the butter until coated, then place on the pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Season with garlic salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning, or other desired seasonings. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the bread sticks.  I found it a little bland, so be a little generous with the spices.

While waiting for the breadsticks to rise to double volume (10-20 minutes).  Preheat the oven to 375^oF.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until beginning to lightly brown.

I deliberately underbaked mine a little bit, as there was too much to be eaten at once, so I decided to freeze it.  When I needed it, I would just take them out to defrost to room temperature and throw them into the oven for 5- 10 minutes to heat and brown them up as my side dish with my pasta or even with some soup.

Zucchini Loaf

For me, the whole thought of vegetables in any kind of baking feels a sense of healthiness.  Although I have heard people talk about the gluten free diets, the wheat free diets and kito diets, I’m not ready for that kind of baking yet.  I understand that it seems to be the “in” thing, but I am not prepared to gear my baking towards that direction, just yet.  I have thought maybe in the future, I might, but until I get warmed up and make sense of what each diet is really about, I think I’m going to stick with what I know and (in my opinion) do best.  Bad baking!  LOL

This is quite the snack.  I find it, a tad different from my regular baking, as this is kind of chewy.  I’m not too sure if it because I have overmixed it with the flour, but it also doesn’t rise as much as the regular baking that I do either.

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups zucchini, grated/drained
1 cup walnut, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Carefully mix in the grated zucchini, making sure that it doesn’t clump together.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla.  Fold in the flour mixture and walnuts until just combined DO NOT OVERMIX.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour or until cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.