Category Archives: Breads & Rolls

Blueberry Bagels

Many of you will be reading Valentine’s Day inspired posts this week. These bagels are my contribution. Bagels? Yes, bagels. Back in 2006, I worked at a bakery in downtown Denver. I also met Ryan. The bakery and his apartment were only three blocks from each other, so I would leave after my morning shift and come knock on his front door. Those Denver mornings that year were cold, but I remember most clearly the sound of his feet as he ran down the stairs. Still wearing my black apron, I also held a freshly baked bagel. We sat and ate together. We fell in love.

And now, fast forward almost eight years. We have a daughter together. She eats the blueberry bagels we now make in our kitchen. If you haven’t made bagels before, I’m here to offer you a perfect Valentine’s Day activity. For those of you with lovers…for those of you with friends…for those of you with children…it works. Because what smells better than blueberry bagels rising in your oven? And what tastes better than a toasted bagel with melted cream cheese? This is love in gluten-form, friends. Lucy, Ryan, and I will enjoy a batch of fresh bagels this Friday…and you should too!

Blueberry Bagels

1 TBSP honey
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup + 2 TBSP lukewarm water
3 1/2 unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup dried blueberries (rinsed in water)
1 TBSP melted butter (optional)
Cane sugar (optional)

Poaching liquid:
2 quarts water
1 TBSP baking soda
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp kosher salt

In a small bowl, stir the honey, the yeast and the salt into the lukewarm water. Place the flour into the bowl of a standing mixer (or any large bowl) and pour in the yeast mixture. Using a dough hook, or a large wooden spoon, mix on low speed for 3 minutes. The dough should form a stiff, course ball and the flour should be fully hydrated.

Resume mixing on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, or knead dough on a lightly floured surface so that the gluten can develop. The dough should have a smooth, satiny feel. If needed add more flour or water to achieve the desired consistency. Add the rinsed blueberries during the last two minutes of kneading.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise at room temperature, for 60-90 minutes. After initial rise, divide the dough into 6 (4.5 ounce) pieces. Form the pieces into rolls.

Line 1 large sheet pan with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Poke a hole in a ball of dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter for a large bagel, two inches for a regular one or just slightly more than one inch for a miniature. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible.

Place each of the shaped pieces two inches apart on the pans. Mist the bagels lightly with the spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator and allow to rest over night.

In the morning, remove your bagels from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours. After an hour, check to see if your bagels are ready for boiling. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be boiled when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. If they don’t float, let them sit at room temperature for 30 more minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bring a large, wide pot of water to a boil, and add the baking soda and honey. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

Gently drop the bagels into the water, boiling only a few at a time. After one minute, flip them over and boil for another minute. Remove the boiled bagels to a wire rack.

When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately five minutes, then rotate the pans. Continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown.

Remove the pans from the oven and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle the bagels with cane sugar and remove to a wire rack. Allow the bagels to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Overnight Refrigerator Rolls

I start teaching today, which means that twice a week, I’ll be eating dinner on campus. After three years of graduate school, I thought I was finished toting my dinner to class, but alas, I’ve broken out my lunchbox yet again. For the most part, I’m imagining quinoa salads, but occasionally, I’ll make a turkey sandwich and when I do, I’ll make one on these overnight refrigerator rolls (my absolute favorite roll recipe).

As I’ve mentioned before, my affection for rolls began young. My Grammy would make these soft and buttery dinner rolls that I loved more than any sweet treat that came out of her kitchen. To this day, I’d take a good chunk of bread over a piece of cake or a cookie. Add a pat of organic butter, and I’m drifting off towards my food heaven.

With a baby though, it’s been harder and harder to make homemade bread. That is until I remembered my favorite slow-rise bread recipe. Not only can I make these rolls the night before, while Lucy sleeps, but the overnight rest results in a much more flavorful end-product. So this recipe couldn’t be any tastier or any easier. You mix and knead the dough, plop it into a lightly oiled bowl, let it rest in your refrigerator overnight (or up to three days) and then remove it to shape and proof the next morning.

These overnight refrigerator rolls might take you back to your childhood. They’re soft, slightly sweet, and enriched with milk and butter. Imagine serving these with a bowl of chicken noodle soup or with a slow cooked pot roast. Or, like me, you can slice these rolls in half and load them up with turkey and veggies.

Wish me luck as I embark on my adventure. I’ll be sure to share how my classes are going next week!

Overnight Refrigerator Rolls

*From Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Bread Every Day

1 3/4 cup lukewarm milk (15 oz)

1 tablespoon instant yeast

6 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour (28 oz)

1 tablespoon kosher salt (or 2 teaspoons table salt)

5 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 egg

Egg wash (optional)

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

Poppy seeds

Whisk the yeast into the lukewarm milk and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, sugar, butter, and egg in a mixing bowl. Pour in milk mixture. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer (or a large spoon), mix for two minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 4 to 5 minutes (or knead by hand on a lightly floured counter). The dough should be soft and tacky but not sticky.

Form dough into a ball and place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest in refrigerator overnight (or up to 3 days).

Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 1/2 hours before baking. Shape dough into 2-ounce rolls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. This recipe will make about 2 dozen rolls, give or take a few. Mist the dough with spray oil, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 1/2 hours. About 15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Before baking, you can brush the rolls with a basic egg wash (1 beaten egg with 2 tablespoons water). Sprinkle poppy seeds on top of rolls if desired.Bake rolls for 15 minutes, or until just lightly browned.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Very Best Potato Rolls

As a little girl, I spent several weeks in the hospital due to a variety of health problems (severe asthma being the easiest explanation). Like most children, I’ve forgotten any pain or fear associated with my stays. Instead, I remember popsicles, wheel-chair rides, and bags full of warm, fluffy rolls. My grandmother knew what would make me happier than anything else, and when she came to visit, she brought a dozen rolls with her.

These potato rolls are almost as good as the ones I remember. (But I imagine no roll will live up to the ones my grandmother brought me). Thanksgiving is coming, and these would be the perfect addition to your table. They are soft. They are fluffy. They are hard to resist. Ryan and I start with two…and we often end up eating at least four. And have I told you that midnight nursing often leads to midnight snacking? These rolls with peanut butter and honey are PERFECTION.

And why not? Another Lucy picture to start your week.

Very Best Potato Rolls

1 cup mashed potatoes

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup scalded milk (cooled to lukewarm)

5 to 6 cups bread flour

1 packet dry active yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water and set aside for five minutes.

In bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix together mashed potatoes, butter, eggs, sugar, honey and salt for several minutes.

Add yeast mixture and scalded milk to the potato mixture and mix until blended. Gradually add bread flour one cup at a time until a soft dough forms.

Using your machine’s dough hook, knead for 5 minutes at low speed. Alternately, knead dough on a lightly floured counter.

Place kneaded dough in lightly oiled bowl. Allow to rise for one to two hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough and shape into rolls. Place rolls about 1 1/2 inches apart on two parchment paper lined baking sheets. Cover with slightly damp kitchen towels and allow to rise until doubled, about another 30-60 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 12 minutes or until lightly golden.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Pumpkin Cornbread

We came home on Thursday to trees bathed in yellow and to a half-eaten pumpkin (our neighborhood is prowled by bears). After a week of near sweltering heat, we welcomed the coolness of Colorado. I took out my notepad that evening and scribbled down meals for the week: chicken stew, roasted pork, Brussels sprouts and candied pecans. This pumpkin cornbread came to me a while later, as we were driving home from two perfect mugs of cappuccino. The thought of thick squares of cornbread sitting beside bowls of steaming soup was enough to compel me to stop at the store. You see, I’ve been known to lapse into cornbread obsession. I feel it coming almost every fall.

My biggest fear with a new cornbread recipe is that I’ll end up with dry and crumbly instead of dense and moist. The ratio of cornmeal and flour has to be just right…and you have to add enough fat and moisture to guarantee success. As aficionados of pumpkin will attest, this fall squash can do wonders in making baked goods moist. So when I thought about adding a can of pumpkin to my favorite cornbread recipe, I knew I’d gain brilliant color as well as texture and flavor.This cornbread recipe happens to be vegan. As you all know, I’m not vegan (far from it) but this is one of those cases in which the vegan variety happens to be far better than any recipe I’ve tried with butter, milk, or eggs. The ingredients needed to make this bread are pretty standard. The only exception being flaxseed meal (which serves as an egg replacement). So if you’re not vegan, and you don’t have any meal in your pantry, don’t fear! You can easily take out the flaxseed and just add an egg.

Along with this cornbread, Ryan and I have been enjoying each other, our friends, and our precious girl. We often lapse into states of open wonder: we created this child and yet she’s already so much more than anything we could have fathomed. We’re drinking good coffee, we’re making big pots of stew, and we’re taking walks when the Colorado sun shines brightly, warming up even the chilliest of days.

Pumpkin Cornbread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 cup soy milk (or regular milk)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup flaxseed*

1 can pumpkin puree

*Or 1 egg

Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease well. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together soy milk, vegetable oil, maple syrup and apple cider vinegar. Stir in flaxseed. Fold in pumpkin puree. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread mixture into pan and bake in preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Banana, Cherry, and Roasted Cinnamon Bread Pudding

In learning what it means to be “mother,” I’m learning what it means to take pleasure in the most simple, most quiet moments. Like when I put Lucy on our bed and watch her lips form into a perfect circle. She sticks her tongue out, retracts it, and then smiles at me. No one is watching, and to most in our entertainment drenched society, such actions might be easily ignorable. And yet as a mother, a new mother, these small moments fill my body with an unmatched joy.

Everything takes longer now. Cooking dinner. Getting dressed. Reading a book. Writing a blog post. And so I’ve slowed down. And so I’m seeing these small moments much easier now.

Lately, we’ve sat on the porch in late evening. The ground is soaked from a storm still lingering on the horizon. Our dry Colorado air is finally thick with moisture and the three of us breathe it–Ryan and I deeply because we know how quickly it will pass. I am not exactly sure what we are looking for as we sit on our cracked concrete porch, but we find it. I can see it in the way our faces relax. The tension from a long day of crying and nursing and changing diapers dissipates.

I made this banana bread pudding on a rainy Saturday afternoon. As it stormed outside, Ryan held Lucy in his arms, and I cut up day-old French bread in our kitchen. I soaked cherries in rum, and I sliced bananas with my favorite paring knife. One thing every kitchen needs: a good paring knife. And I felt thankful for an hour to myself. I felt thankful that my daughter was in the room next to me. I felt thankful for day-old bread and ripe bananas. And when I pulled this from the oven a little later…we were all thankful for good recipes and Saturday evening desserts.

Banana, Cherry, and Roasted Cinnamon Bread Pudding

1/2 cup dried cherries
1 tablespoon rum
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons McCormick® Gourmet Collection Roasted Saigon Cinnamon
4 eggs
3 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
7 cups challah, French or Italian bread cubes
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cherries and rum in small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Mix sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture.

Mix eggs, remaining sugar mixture, 2 teaspoons of the vanilla and salt in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in milk until well blended. Add bread cubes and bananas; toss to coat well. Pour into greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle cherries evenly over top. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved sugar mixture.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly on wire rack. Meanwhile, beat cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer just until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve warm bread pudding with whipped cream.