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French-Style Country Bread

Posted by nicki on Mar 26, 2020 in Uncategorized

Ingredients

Starter

  • 1 cup (227g) cool to lukewarm water (90°F to 100°F)
  • 1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 cups (149g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
  • 1/4 cup (28g) King Arthur Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour

Dough

  • all of the starter (above)
  • 1 cup (227g) lukewarm water (100°F to 115°F)
  • 3/4 teaspoon active dry or 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) sugar
  • 3 3/4 to 4 cups (450g to 480g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
  • 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 teaspoons salt, to taste

 

Instructions

  1. To make the starter: Stir all of the starter ingredients together to make a thick, pudding-like mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 2 hours. For best flavor, let the starter rest longer; overnight (up to 16 hours) is best. If you plan on making the dough in a bread machine, place the sponge ingredients in the bucket, and turn the machine on for just a few seconds to mix the ingredients together. Turn the machine off and close the cover, then let the starter rest as directed above.
  2. To make the dough: Stir down the starter with a spoon and add the water, yeast, sugar, 3 1/4 cups (390g) of the flour, and the salt. The dough will be a loose, messy mass. Let it rest for 12 to 15 minutes, then stir it again; it should become more cohesive and a bit smoother. Dough handles better once it’s had time for the flour to absorb the water while resting and relaxing. By using this method, you’ll tend to add less flour, and have much bigger holes in your finished bread.
  3. Knead the dough, adding up to an additional 3/4 cup (90g) flour (as necessary to make a soft dough), 10 to 12 minutes.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or plastic container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise until almost doubled (depending on the weather, this could be 1 to 2 hours). If you’re going out, or if you prefer, let the dough rise slowly in the fridge. If your dough has been refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature before shaping; it’ll warm up and rise at the same time.
  5. Deflate the dough gently, but don’t knock out all the air; this will create those “holes” so important to French bread. For one large loaf, form the dough into a round ball; for two loaves, divide the dough in half and shape into two balls.
  6. Place a semolina- or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Gently place the ball(s) of dough on the baking sheet, seam-side down.
  7. Cover the bread gently with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let it rise until it’s puffy and about 40% to 50% larger, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.
  8. Preheat your oven to 475°F.
  9. Slash or cross-hatch the bread with a sharp knife or lame. Dust it with a little flour. Spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister, and place the bread in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and spritz with water every few minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking.
  10. Bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it’s a rich golden brown, and its interior temperature registers at least 190°F on a digital thermometer. The smaller loaves will bake more quickly, so keep your eye on them.
  11. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store bread, loosely wrapped in paper, for a couple of days at room temperature; wrap it in plastic and freeze for longer storage.

 

 

Tips from our Bakers

  • Want to bake your bread on an outdoor grill? Preheat your grill to High. Place the bread (on doubled-up baking sheets) on the grill, and close the cover. Immediately reduce the heat to Medium (400°F), and allow the bread to bake for 25 minutes, or until it’s well-browned. Reduce the heat to Low, and carefully place the bread directly on the grill. Continue to bake until completely done, about 5 minutes.

 
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Keto Pound Cake

Posted by nicki on Sep 16, 2019 in Uncategorized
Pound cake
    • 2 1/2 cups almond flour
    • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 1/2 cups erythritol
    • 8 eggs, room temperature
    • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
    • 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
    • ½ tsp. salt
    • 8 oz. cream cheese
    • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
Glaze
  • ¼ cup powdered erythritol
  • 3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract

The Execution

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, toss in room temperature butter, softened cream cheese and erythritol.
  2. Cream together the butter and erythritol and until smooth. Then, add in softened chunks of cream cheese and blend together until smooth.
  3. Add in the eggs, lemon extract, and vanilla extract in with the blended ingredients. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
  4. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Slowly add in the ingredients from the medium sized bowl into the batter. Use a hand blender to blend the clumps until very smooth.
  6. Pour batter into a loaf pan. Bake for 60 – 120 minutes at 350F or until smooth in the middle with a toothpick.
  7. If creating a glaze, blend together the powdered erythritol, vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream until smooth. Wait until the pound cake is fully cooled from the oven before spreading the glaze on top.

This makes a total of 16 servings of pound cake. Each slice comes out to be 254.19 Calories, 23.4g Fats, 2.49g Net Carbs, and 7.9g Protein.

 

 
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Keto Instant Pot Cheesecake

Posted by nicki on Sep 16, 2019 in Uncategorized

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons powdered erythritol sweetener
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:

  • 1 pound cream cheese, softened
  • 2/3 cup powdered erythritol sweetener
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 2 large Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream, room temperature

Directions

To make the crust:

Step 1

Line a 7-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper with butter, ghee, or your favorite cooking spray.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, sweetener, and salt. Add melted butter and stir well to combine.

Step 3

Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a flat bottomed glass to even it out, then set pan aside.

To make the filling:

Step 1

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, then beat in sweetener, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure you get all the lumps.

Step 2

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl and beaters after each addition. Beat in heavy whipping cream until well combined. Pour mixture over the crust and spread to the edges of the pan.

Step 3

Wrap the bottom of the springform pan tightly in a large piece of foil. Place a paper towel over the top of the springform pan (not touching the cheesecake), then wrap foil around the top as well. Your whole pan should be mostly covered in foil to keep out excess moisture.

Step 4

Place the rack that came with your Instant Pot or pressure cooker into the bottom of the pot. Pour a cup of water into the bottom. Carefully lower wrapped cheesecake pan onto rack.

Step 5

Close the lid and set Instant Pot to manual mode for 35 minutes on high. Once cooking time is complete, let the pressure to release naturally (do not vent it).

Step 6

Lift out cheesecake and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 3 or 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with lightly sweetened whipped cream and lemon slices if desired.

 
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German Pancake – preferred

Posted by nicki on Jul 17, 2019 in Uncategorized

Ingredients

  • 6 – 12 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rack on the lowest shelf as the pancake will rise quite a bit. Whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
  2. Place butter in a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, and place pan in the oven to melt the butter. Once butter is melted, remove the pan from the oven, and place whisked egg mixture in the hot skillet
  3. Carefully transfer the hot skillet back to the 400°F oven, and bake for 20 minutes or until pancake is golden and puffed.
  4. Sift powered sugar over the top of the pancake and serve immediately. Don’t worry as it deflates – it’s supposed to do that. Pancake is also good at room temperature.

Could use a larger skillet, turns out a bit thick.

 
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Chicken Fajitas

Posted by nicki on May 27, 2019 in Uncategorized

 Marinate chicken: Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a glass or plastic container. Add the chicken, mix well, cover and let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 8 hours in the fridge.

Marinade

  • 2 Tbsp lime juice
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Sear chicken on high heat: Heat a large cast iron frying pan on high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan. Sear chicken on both sides, about 3 minutes, then wrap in foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

 
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Homemade Country Breakfast Sausage

Posted by nicki on Mar 31, 2017 in Uncategorized

Ingredients:

2 tsp kosher salt

1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp each finely chopped sage and thyme

1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary

1 tbls light brown sugar

½ tsp each red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg

2 lbs ground meat

 

Mix, wrap in butcher paper and place in meat drawer for 1 hour up to one week, or freeze

 

To use, make into patties. Place patties in a cold skillet. Cook over MEDIUM heat for 14-16 minutes, turning sausage frequently for even browning, or until center of sausage patty reaches 160°F and is no longer pink.

 

 
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Nonna’s Biscotti

Posted by Bob on Dec 22, 2016 in Uncategorized

Yield:  Makes about 42 cookies

Active Time:  20 min

Total Time:  2 1/2 hr (includes cooling)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons brandy
  • 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whole almonds with skin, lightly toasted , cooled, and coarsely chopped
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Preparation

Stir together sugar, butter, brandy, and extracts in a large bowl, then stir in almonds and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined.

Chill dough, covered, 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Using moistened hands, halve dough and form 2 (16-by 2-inch) loaves on an ungreased large baking sheet.

Bake until pale golden, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer loaves to a rack and cool 15 minutes.

Cut loaves into 3/4-inch slices with a serrated knife.

Arrange biscotti, with a cut side down, on a clean baking sheet and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

 
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Spaghetti Sauce

Posted by nicki on Sep 21, 2016 in Uncategorized

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large saucepan. Cook and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Drain grease.
2. Stir diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste into the pan. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer spaghetti sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

 
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Flour Tortillas

Posted by Bob on Sep 7, 2015 in Breads, Flat Breads

These taste best when they’re fresh, however they freeze well for up to three months (only half as long as the corn tortillas).

http://www.janebutelcooking.blogspot.com/

Read more…

 
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Chicken soup

Posted by jaynem on Aug 8, 2015 in Uncategorized

Basic chicken soup:

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2-3 large carrots, diced
  • 2-3 stalks celery
  • chicken stock (appx 3 quarts)
  • chicken pieces (whatever you have)
  • 1 T. poultry seasoning  – or –  2 tsp. ground sage, 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 T. parsley flakes (optional)
  • 1 tsp Rosemary (crushed)
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute onion, celery & carrot until soft, onions translucent.  Add the stock & chicken, then seasonings.  Simmer for at least 30 minutes to integrate the flavors. Taste and evaluate need for more salt.

Variations:

1)  Chicken &  Dumpling Soup – see dumpling recipe….Dumplings are added AFTER the soup is otherwise done.  Continue to simmer until dumplings are done.

2) Chicken Vegetable Soup – add cubed vegetables until soup is the consistency you enjoy. Simmer until vegetables are fully cooked.

3) Chicken & Barley  or Chicken Rice – usually 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups depending on how much other stuff is in there and how thick you want it.  I have used wild rice blend or brown rice.  Simmer until fully cooked.  Another option is making it a “cream of” chicken barley or rice soup… Once its pretty much done, the rice is fully cooked and has added all the thickness its gonna, either just add cream, or if need additional thickening, make a Roux with melted butter and flour (start with about a tablespoon of each) in a separate pan, cook for a minute or two then add milk or cream to that, mix together to form a pudding or thick gravy consistency, then add to the simmering soup, stir in well and simmer another 5 minutes.

 

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