buttermilk biscuits

when in high school

what we called 

"the roach coach"

rolled up come lunch-time

selling 

all sorts of delicious (read really unhealthy)

food stuffs

once a week

it stopped at kfc

loading up 

on chicken and biscuits

i would queue

for the length of our lunch break

for those biscuits

big, fluffy & buttery

just the nutritious lunch i needed

(ha ha)

those days are long gone

roach coaches

are now gourmet eateries

and i

much more discerning

in my biscuit admiration

 Buttermilk Biscuits

(printable recipe)

2 cups flour-plus more for kneading

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bakewell cream

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

5 Tbs unsalted butter--cold & cut into small squares

1 cup buttermilk--cold + more for brushing tops

mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  using your fingers or a pastry knife to cut in the butter, allowing for both pea size and smaller pieces of butter.  do not overwork, you want the butter to stay relatively firm and cool.  quickly add in the buttermilk and stir to create a moist dough.  turn dough out onto a well floured surface and press into a rectangle.  do not saturate in flour, but also use enough to prevent sticking. bring the short ends of the dough in, folding into thirds.  give the dough a quarter turn and press or roll again into a rectangle.  fold into thirds.  repeat 2 more times, using enough flour to keep dough from sticking.

after the final turn, roll the dough into a 3/4" rectangle.  use a biscuit cutter to make rounds, or for simplicity, cut evenly into squares.

brush top of each biscuit with buttermilk, and place on a lined baking sheet.  i like to place my biscuits fairly close together, so they bake together a bit. it gives it a little softness around the edges. if that is not your thing, make sure you have at least 1 1/2" separation when placing in pan.  bake at 400F for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

zucchini chevre spoon-bread

a few days back

hubs

fresh from visiting

our long neglected garden

presented me

with an enormous zucchini

confession

i sorta only grow zucchini

for flowers

occasionally

a few squash survive

when they do

i use them for bread

sometimes 

sweet

sometimes

savory

this spoon bread is a great side dish

it also rocks

scooped warm and soft

as a bed

for 

caramelized onions

sunny side up eggs

and

crispy bacon

best.breakfast.ever

 

zucchini chevre spoon bread

(printable recipe)

4 large eggs

6 oz olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup chevre

1/2 tsp freshly grated pepper

1 Tbs honey

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp fresh or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups all purpose flour

1 lb (about 3 cups) grated zucchini

1 cup grated cheese (mix of asiago, parmesan and provolone)*

*use your favorite flavorful cheese...if you use a salty cheese, modify your salt to 1/2 tsp

whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl, set aside.  in a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the eggs and olive oil until pale (about 5 minutes).  add the salt, chevre, pepper, honey garlic powder and thyme.  mix for about another minute at as high speed as you can without splashing.  STIR in the flour until fully incorporated, then stir in the zucchini and cheese.  bake at 375F in an 9" buttered cake tin or cast iron skillet.  bake for about 45-50 minutes.  this is a spoon bread, so it will be soft, but should not be jiggly.  it will set as it cools as well.  serve warm.

linking to

baked coffee cake french toast {joy the baker}

i'm a topping kinda gal

muffin tops

frosting

crumble

make me weak 

in the willpower

when i saw this french toast

with 

brown sugar crumble

in

joy the baker's new cookbook

i gathered the ingredients

and

whipped it up

admittedly

i halved the recipe

because of the willpower thing

whoa

this is good

pure comfort food

fully-amped

baked coffee cake french toast

from

 joy the baker cookbook

for the french toast

1 Tbs unsalted butter

10 slices stale white or whole wheat sandwich bread

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbs pure vanilla extract

for the topping

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

powdered sugar for garnish

to make the french toast: melt butter in an8-inch cast-iron (or any oven friendly) skillet.  coat the entire pan, including the sides of the skillet with melted butter.  remove from heat.  Slice the bread diagonally. fan and stack the bread atop the melted butter, cut side down, point side up.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, whole milk,  buttermilk, sugar and vanilla.  once well incorporated, pour the custard over the bread slices into the skillet.  gently press the bread slices into the custard to coat; bread slices will not completely submerged in the egg mixture.

cover the skillet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.  

just before you are read to bake, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F.  to make the topping: whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  use your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is in pea-sized lumps.  remove the soaked bread from the refrigerator and sprinkle with crumb topping.

bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the custard has set and the bread tops are toasted.  allow to cool for 15 minutes.  sift powdered sugar over the top of the toast and scoop into bowls to serve.  serve with fresh berries if you'd like.  this dish is best served the day it is made.

**my notes: obviously i didn't make this in a skillet.  i used about 1 1/2 slices of bread per mug, and tore them into large pieces.  i fully submerged in the custard and then topped with the crumble.  i knew they were done when they began to souffle and the crumble was crisp.  i also used 2% milk and reduced the sugar just a little because i heaped on the topping. lastly, i threw in a bit of nutmeg, because i love it.  

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Levain Bread & The Institute of Domestic Technology

it isn't true

that graduating from

le cordon bleu

in baking and patisserie

makes you a fearless baker

i know

i have a diplome

yet 

the seemingly innocent combination 

of

yeast, flour, salt and water

gives me the shakes

or, should i say

gave

on a bit of a whim

i signed up for a course

at 

the institute for domestic technology

(you should check out the great foodcrafting courses here)

i came for the goats

but i stayed

for the bread

Look

at

This

i made it

if i seem obnoxiously giddy

it is because

i am

Levain Bread

recipe from erik knutzen

(full recipe with detailed instructions here)

100 grams starter

250 grams white flour

250 grams whole wheat flour

375 grams filtered water

10 grams sea salt

stir together the starter and water until dissolved.  mix in the flour until water and flour are incorporated.  do not knead, just get the flour fully combined. cover and allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes.  add the salt and mix together with wet hands. cover.

at the end of the 1st hour

turn dough onto a floured surface. hold one end of the dough and with your other hand, pull the other end to stretch. fold the stretched end on top of it. give the dough a half turn and repeat the stretch and fold. place the dough back in the bowl, cover and let sit.

end of hour 2

repeat the stretch and pull and put back in the bowl. cover.

end of hour 3 or 3 1/2

turn the dough onto a floured surface.  begin to shape the boule. take the dough and pull the sides together as if you are making a beggar's purse, press the edges together and pick up the dough. turn it over in your hands and turn to form a round.

place the dough, round side down in a heavily floured proofing basket or in a bowl lined with heavily floured baking canvas/or cloth.  cover and let sit at room temperature for 3 1/2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator (preferred)

when ready to bake

you will be baking this in an dutch oven

preheat oven and cooking pot to 500 degrees, turn the bread out of its basket or bowl onto a floured surface.  use a razor blade to score a 4" square on the top of the bread.  once the oven/pot is up to temperature,  plop the bread in the pot, round side up.  cover and let bake for 25 minutes. remove the top and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. the bread should be nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped.

allow to cool for 1 hour before eating