Cranberry Scones

In my quest to reproduce scone I had in Ottawa at The Scone Witch, I tried the Irish soda bread recipe I used last year, Raisin Currant Scones

I substituted frozen cranberries for the currants, whipping cream for the milk. They were just about right!

Cook's Illustrated French Apple Cake

I've been dying to try this since I bought the magazine last week, so today, with it's Autumn-like weather, was the prefect day to bake it. 

Clinton St Bakery Scones

 Since a trip to Ottawa this past July, where we were lucky enough to stumble on a bakery called "The Scone Witch". While reviews on their service have been rough (we didn't have any problems), their scones are out of this world.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to duplicate the Currant Ginger scone I had, but it's set me off on a scone baking frenzy. This is the latest batch.

Tassajara Rye Egg Molasses Bread

This is the very last blog post in the month of "Molasses Madness", my family is getting tired of it. It's been fun, we've had a good run and everything has tasted delicious!

This loaf is made the same was as the Tassajara Egg Bread, switching out 1 cup of white flour for 1 cup of rye and substituting molasses for the honey. DELICIOUS!!

This recipe can be found amongst friends at yeastpotting, this week hosted by Tartine Bread Experiment.

Anadama Bread

Another loaf for "Molasses Madness!", this time Anadama Bread.

Tassajara Oat Bread With Molasses

It's still "Molasses Madness" here at KitchenGeisha!

I have no idea why I'm craving the taste of molasses, the season just seems to demand it. So I thought I would try the Tassajara Oatmeal Bread recipe, swapping out the whole Wheat flour for all white flour, and the honey for molasses.

I found that it kept the bread moister than the honey, and gave it a depth it didn't have before. There is none left. :)

Submitting it to yeastspotting. 

Genuine Canadian Butter Tarts - Without Corn Syrup

 

I had never had a butter tart before moving here to Canada. They may have existed in New York, but I had never had one.

Tassajara Heidelberg Rye

It's Molasses Madness this week!

I made this loaf a few months ago, my family really enjoyed it. I don't know what makes it "Heidelburg Rye", but it's a beautiful loaf, another recipe from The Complete Tassajara Cookbook.

Tassajara Basic Bread With Molasses

All this autumn weather this past week has made me think of molasses. I grew up with this lovely thick black liquid, we had it in Molasses cookies (my father's favourite) and drank it in milk. So I thought "Why not use it to make bread?"

I decided to use the Tassajara Basic White Bread recipe, substituting molasses for the honey. It comes out nice and brown, like rich cafe au lait.

 This, and other yummie yeasty things can be found at Yeastspotting!

Virginia Light Rolls

Thanksgiving was Monday, and fresh homemade rolls are always on the menu!

Sour Cream White Bread

Normally I have a picture of a whole loaf to share with you, but within 2 hours of making this bread it is as you see it, 2/3rds eaten.

Hamelman's Pullman Bread (Pain De Mie)

I don't actually own a Pullman Loaf pan (way too expensive for something I'll rarely create), so they were made into two smaller loaves using the King Arthur low gluten bread pans I received as a gift. 

Hungarian White Bread

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." ~ John Lennon

Fresh Yeast Chocolate Chocolate Chip Espresso Egg Bread

I'm trying to work my way through all the fresh yeast I bought, so I'm converting recipes with dry yeast into fresh yeast loaves.

BBC Radio Food Programme Podcast: Yeast

I'm a big fan of BBC Podcasts. This came down my podcast subscription last week, it's very interesting!

From the BBC website:

Yeasts, mysterious members of the fungi kingdom, are an essential part of our food production. They play a critical role in baking, brewing, wine-making and much more.
Dr Bill Simpson is the Managing Director of a company in Leatherhead that has hundreds of samples of yeasts, old and new, frozen in liquid nitrogen. By preserving different yeasts from around the world his team are able to recreate ales and lagers from the past.
Vincent Talleu stumbled upon baking by chance but is now consumed by a passion for good, tasty, healthy bread. Working with a twenty-year-old Swedish yeast 'starter' in an artisan bakery in London, he believes that 'real bread' must be made as it used to be; slowly. This allows the yeast to work its magic.
Andrew Whitley is a food educator who started the Village Bakery with a yeast sample he brought back to the UK from Russia. For Andrew, there is absolutely no reason why natural yeasts cannot be used much more widely in bread-making, so that loaves with no synthetic additives and longer production times can be available to all.
John Downes pioneered the Australian sourdough revolution in the seventies, and is now working daily with yeasts, recreating the indigenous loaf of the British Isles: ale-barm bread.
Producer: Rich Ward.

Related Links

• BBC Food Blog - John Downes and ale yeast
• John Downes - Personal Blog (sourdough.com)
• Real Bread Campaign (www.sustainweb.org)

Link to download podcast, http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/foodprog/foodprog_20110801-1630a.mp3

Jamie Oliver's Fresh Yeast Semolina White Bread

The best looking loaf of the two

I have been looking for fresh yeast for a few months now, never being able to find it in any of the stores I frequent. Then, in the space of one week I find two locations that have it! I'm rolling in fresh yeast!

Jeffery Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough

Playing with sourdough starters, I knew at some point I wanted to try making Vermont Sourdough. Well, actually, I was planning on making Susan's adaption, Norwich Sourdough, over at Wild Yeast. However, I wound up making a 125% hydration sourdough starter instead of her 100% hydration starter, so I just went with the original. Next time it'll be Norwich Sourdough.

"Spent" Sourdough Crumpets - 100% Dark Rye

One of the things that bugs me about growing sourdough starters is the need to discard starter to refresh it. If you bake everyday and use it, then you have no problems. I can't keep up with that much sourdough bread, or bake everyday. So I'm left with throwing out cups and cups of perfectly good starter. Not anymore!

Basic White Sourdough I

Who can resist a bread with a name like that?

Bernard Clayton's Hearty White Bread, Less Hearty

 

I thought I had wheat germ in my freezer, but it must have been tossed in my biannual freezer clean up.  So I guess it's just a little less hearty than it should be. Oh, well.