3 posts tagged “baking”

This is some of the best cornbread I've ever made.  The sugar is optional, or you can sub honey for it.

Northern-Style Cornbread

1 cup stoneground cornmeal
1 cup flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar or honey

Grease a 9x9" pan and preheat the oven to 425.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large-ish bowl.  If you're using the sugar, add it to the dries.  Whisk together the wet ingredients.  If you're using honey, add it to the wets.  Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until moistened but still lumpy.  If you wanted to add some fresh corn or thawed frozen corn, now would be a good time to fold it in in a couple strokes.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until tester comes out clean.  The cornbread doesn't brown too much but it's still delicious.  Serve hot with butter and jam/honey (or just butter).  I also like to put a piece in a bowl and put chili on top, with your fave delicious toppings.  Mmm-hmm.

Well.  It's clearly fall here in Portland again, which means that it's chilly, grey, damp, and a little raw at times.  This, I know, is just the beginning of the Season.  But it gives me a good excuse to start perfecting recipes to keep me and mine warm, safe, and happy for the next, oh, I don't know... 9 months, until Spring.  I made this bread pudding today and it's delish. 

Bread Pudding for Wintry Days

1 large loaf Challah or Brioche, cut into 1 inch or so cubes.  I used a turban Challah from New Seasons.  Prolly a 1.5-2 pound loaf.  It should be about 12 cups of cubes.
4 large eggs
1 large egg yolks
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
5 cups whole milk or half and half
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 Tablespoon melted butter, unsalted

Preheat oven to 325.

Butter or oil a 9x13" pan.  Put 10 cups of the bread in the pan, reserving 2 cups of the cubes.

Whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, 3/4 cups of the sugar, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, salt together in a large bowl.  Pour over the bread cubes and press down to submerge them.  Cover the pan with a piece of plastic wrap, and allow to sit for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, toss the remaining bread cubes with 2 tablespoons sugar, the cinnamon, and melted butter. Scatter this mixture over the mixture in the pan and press down lightly.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the edges are set, and the center is barely jiggly.  It's gonna look puffy but it will deflate fairly quickly.  Let it sit for 40 minutes or so and then devour a giant piece with Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream.  Or whipped cream, or a bourbon creme anglaise and caramel sauce, or sauteed Granny Smith apples, or or or...  Wash down with a tumbler of red wine, smoke a cigarette, and settle in for the Law and Order: SVU marathon on cable.  Just a suggestion.

This is my favorite muffin recipe ever, from the book The Village Baker's Wife.  It's pretty much foolproof and even as a long-time professional baker/pastry chef that's a real godsend, especially when I bake with M&E.  You can even sub blueberries for the blackberries but I prefer it with marionberries or boysenberries, fresh picked on Sauvie Island.

Orange-Berry Muffins
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup finely grated orange zest
2/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional, but I love 'em!)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tbs melted butter, cooled
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, loganberries, marionberries, boysenberries, ollalieberries, etc.,  coarsely chopped

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.  Add orange zest and nuts and mix.  Combine eggs, sour cream, oj, butter and add to dry ingredients, and mix gently just until incorporated. Batter will be lumpy.  Fold berries into batter.  Fill 18 greased or paper muffin cup-lined muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool a tiny bit, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.  Although I like these pretty warm with a huge chunk of cold butter!  They freeze pretty well, if cooled all the way.  E likes them for lunch snacks.