Black Friday: baking instead of shopping!

Why go shop (do it all online ... Amazon is having some amazing deals .. and if you click and order, I get a 15% "referral fee"!) on Black Friday, when you can bake instead (recipes are below appetite-inducing pictures):

Sourdough Sandwich Bread for leftover-Turkey sandwiches

Maggie's Cranberry Bread (a new recipe that is BETTER than any other!)

Applesauce for post-Turkey overload Ham dinner!

Sourdough Sandwich Bread (from the Sourdough Cookbook)

Sponge (make the night before):

• 1 cup sourdough starter (make a few days before so that you'll have it ready for making the sponge -- scroll down thru this past post for the starter recipe)
• 2 cups warm water
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (this fools the kids into thinking this is "bunny bread")

Combine ingredients, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place overnight

Bread ingredients --

• overnight sponge (above)
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tbls butter
• 3 tbls sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbls active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 7-8 cups flour
• softened butter for tops of loaves

Warm milk to just below boil (1-2minutes in microwave). Stir in butter, sugar and salt and set aside to cool for 10 minutes or so.  Sprinkle yeast over warm water; set aside to soften for 5 minutes or so.  Stir yeast/water and milk mixture into sponge.  Add 3 cups of flour and stir until batter is smooth.  Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place ofr 30-40 minutes (until doulbed in bulk).  Stir down dough and then stir in enough additional flour to make a medium-stiff dough.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead dough until smooth and elastic.  Add more flour if necessary.  Divide dough into two equal portions.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, grease two 9x5 loaf pans.  Shape dough into loaves and place in pans.  Brush softened butter on loaves.  Cover with a cloth and allow to double in bulk -- about an hour or so. 

Preheat over to 375 and bake bread for 45 minutes or so (covering with foil if tops are browning too fast.  Cool top side up on rack.

Maggie's Cranberry Bread (makes 1 large loaf or 6 mini-loaves)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1 egg
• 2 c flour
• 1/2 c orange juice
• 1/2 tsp baking soda in 2 tbsp hot water
• 1-1/2 c frozen cranberries, chopped
• 1 c pecans, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 325.  Grease 9x5 or 6 mini-loaf pans.  In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water and set aside.  Beat egg and juice together in a bowl.  Add all other ingredients (except the cranberries and nuts) and combine completely. Add cranberries and nuts.  Put in loaf pan and bake 40 minutes for small loaves, 1-hour-and 15minutes for large loaves.

Applesauce (makes about 4 cups)

This is one of those recipes that I just wing with whatever kind of apples we have on hand.

Wash and core 6 medium apples (a combination of sweet and tangy makes a great sauce).  Chop unpeeled apples into 1-inch pieces and place in heavy pot.  Add cinnamon, allspice and cloves to taste.  Add 1 cup white sugar.  Cover apples with water (barely cover them) and place on stove.  Heat to boiling, turn down to low and simmer for 3 hours or until sauce is the consistency you like.  Allow to cool to at least room temp before serving. 

 

 ENJOY!

Recipe: sourdough raisin-pecan drop biscuits

As requested from an earlier post, here's the recipe for Sourdough Raisin-Pecan Drop Biscuits (I LOVE drop biscuits because you don't have to roll them, they can be as big or small as you'd like, and they are so gooooooood!)  This is an edited (by me) recipe from The Sourdough Cookbook (a book well worth hunting down as the recipes are, so far, all really good)

Overnite Sourdough Starter (the original called for all all-purpose, but I make it with half whole wheat):

• 2 cups warm water (105F)
• 1 tbls active dry yeast
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

In a 4- or 6-cup plastic pitcher with a strainer in the lid, combine all ingredients, stirring with a plastic spoon.  Fermentation will take care of any lumps.  Cover pitcher with lid (leaving strainer open) and place in a warm spot for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Starter will ferment, increase in size, than become thin and back to original amount.  Refrigerate till use.
To replenish starter (every 7-10 days or each time used):  add equal parts flour and water and stir, set out overnight, then return to fridge.

Sourdough Raisin-Pecan Drop Biscuits (makes 12-15 hand-sized biscuits):

• 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbls brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oats (I added)
• 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Hot Cereal (I added)
• 1/3 cup butter, chilled
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped coarsely
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (I added)
• cinnamon-sugar mixture for tops

Grease baking sheet, scatter cornmeal over pan; preheat oven to 425.
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.  Cut-in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Beat egg slightly and add to starter; pour over dry ingredients and stir till well-mixed.  Add pecans and raisins.
Drop by heaping tablespoon onto greased sheet.  Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until nicely golden brown.  Remove and serve immediately (although they're awfully nice throughout the day as a snack ... if any are left!). 

We've also made these for dinner, omitting the raisins and the cinnamon-sugar tops.  Excellent!

Please let me know if you make these and what you thought!

Domesticity: it's just getting cozier and cozier around here ...

Maybe it's the weather (rainy and low 50s) or maybe it's my new attempt at being more domestic, but I got up this morning and made:

Sourdough Raisin-Pecan Drop Biscuits!

I had these ready by 7:00 a.m., along with a nice cozy hot pot of blueberry tea, to tempt the kids up.  It's 7:43 and I've only got String Bean up.  Hmmm .... maybe I should blow the aromas into the boys' room?

Have a fabulous day!