I recently embarked on a cinnamon bun baking marathon while coming up with this Chai cinnamon bun recipe for my Globe and Mail column. And by 'marathon' I mean making cinnamon buns every evening for three weeks straight. If only my new year's resolution had been to eat as many cinnamon buns as humanly possible, then I'd be able to cross it off and bask in my accomplishment for the rest of 2013.
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It seems that the more basic a recipe is, the more people there are searching for it's perfect version. Everyone wants that moist, fluffy white cake recipe, the dark and delicious one-bowl chocolate cake recipe, and the no-fail go-to white bread recipe.
For me the hunt is always on for the best enriched white bread recipe. I already have a go-to white bread recipe of my own but I have found that most enriched white breads leave me wishing for something more.. or when they are too rich, something less.
I want a bread that is extremely soft, slightly sweet, and has enough richness to let you know that this is beyond your regular weekly loaf but not so much that it risks turning into a brioche or a cake. I want it to be delicious plain, toasted, topped with savory or sweet spreads, and to keep for at least a couple of days before going stale (why oh why does enriched have to go stale so quickly?).
My expectations were high and my list of requirements was long, so it's lucky that extra bread is so easy to give away because our counter was piling high with rejected loaves (still tasty.. just not exactly what I was looking for).
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My goal is to eat as many pumpkin flavored things as possible before the season is over. Luckily, it's easily achieveable, especially when I have a plate a pumpkin scones waiting for me in the kitchen. They're soft and moist with a crispy crust and when you slather them with spicy brown sugar cinnamon butter they make you forget that there's been an ice fog hanging around outside for three days straight.
Just a week or two ago it was the most beautiful autumn outside and warm enough to walk around and enjoy it. Then BAM, a big wind blew the leaves off the trees, the sky dumped down a foot of snow, and now it's suddenly winter.
It's still autumn in my kitchen though. I'm hanging on for at least a little bit longer...
..and nothing says autumn like pumpkin and spices baked into scones.
I like my scones to be moist but still light and flaky instead of dense. It took a few versions and a number of adjustments before I was happy with the texture and flavor.
The recipe is really straight forward: Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and then cut in the butter or work it in with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. The pumpkin, cream, and vanilla are stirred together in another bowl and then everything is combined to make a dough.
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Last week I had the pleasure of being involved in a fundraiser event for the Start From Scratch cooking program which was created by two fabulous local foodies Dan Clapson and Jacinthe Koddo.
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I'm calling this post "Adventures in Pesto Bread" because the although the recipe for pesto is ready to go, the recipe for the bread aspect of it needs some tweaking. It's mostly because I don't have an enriched white bread recipe that I'm 100% happy with. I have basic white recipes and a whole slew of oatmeal and whole wheat recipes that I bake on a weekly rotation, but the enriched white still eludes me.
Maybe I'm too picky but I want the bread to be soft and almost peel-able but still have structure for add-ins (such as pesto) and I want it to be flavorful but not too sweet. This version is soft and strong but a little bit too sweet and a little bit rich/heavy on the butter/oil.
Overall the bread was delicious..really really delicious. It's pesto swirled inside homemade bread how could it not be tasty? But something was not exactly what I was looking for and I know that it was because I haven't paired it up with the right bread dough yet. Guess I better make a few more batches (not exactly a terrible fate)
The pesto itself was amazing in the way that only homemade pesto can be. In fact, out of the container that I made for bread recipe experiments over 3/4s of it made it's way into my lunches and dinners and even on my eggs in the morning. Looks like I will also have to make more pesto
Good thing it's ridiculously easy to make. Just need fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil and a handy-dandy food processor (is it wrong to be in love with a piece of kitchen equipment??)
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I already have a recipe on this blog for oatmeal buttermilk bread, and it's a pretty tasty recipe at that. It was my go-to loaf for quite some time and no matter what I'm sure that I'll keep making it occasionally.
However, the best part about making bread is how many amazing recipes there are out there for everyday loaves. How can I commit to one oatmeal buttermilk loaf when there are so many others out there begging to be tried? I was so pleased with how all the loaves that I've made with this recipe have turned out. I am a sucker for a tall loaf with a soft crumb that toasts up perfectly.
When you bake bread with oatmeal is it very important to use old fashioned or large flake oats. They absorb more water than the instant or quick oats so make sure that you have the right ones. If you try to bake with quick oats you'll end up with a tasty but sort of sad and lumpy looking loaf that is going to hurt your feelings when you pull it out of the oven.
You want to open your oven and be greeted by a beautiful tall loaf of bread, not a flat-ish lumpy thing that makes you go "oh...hope that thing is edible".
The right oats = beautiful bread.
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