Cinnamon Raisin No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread

Ever since I  first posted about No-Knead Bread I’ve been thinking about what kinds of variations I could try. Cinnamon raisin was first on my list. I love raisin bread, but I hate that you can just about never get it on whole wheat bread. So I gave it a go and it is awesome. Seriously I just want to eat this all day. Gordie loves all the bread I’ve made so more. He asks for Mommy’s bread all the time.

This recipe and directions are almost identical to my Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread Recipe. There is the obvious additions of raisins and cinnamon, a slight increase in the amount of yeast because cinnamon inhibits yeast production and a little extra water.

Note: you will need an oven proof dish with a heavy lid to make this -  Dutch ovens are perfect for this but other oven proof dishes like casserole dishes can work too.

Cinnamon Raisin Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
(Adapted from Calgarian Julie Van Rosendaal’s take on Jim Lahey’s no knead bread method on babble.com)

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup raisins

1/2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups water (this is more than the standard recipe because whole wheat flour is thirstier than refined flour and it’s even more than my regular whole wheat flour recipe because the raisins soak up some of the water)

wheat bran, cornmeal or additional flour for dusting (wheat bran worked really well)

(I use Robin Hood – Best for Bread Flour which works well as it is high in protein as most Canadian flours are which is necessary for making good bread)

Directions

This looks like a lot of steps but is really very little work and not very hard. Check out this youtube video where Jim Lahey demonstrates the process.

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl stir the flour, yeast, salt and cinnamon together with your hands. Then add the raisins.
2. Add 2 cups of the water. Mix the dough and water together with your hands until you can no longer see dry flour. You can run your hands under the tap to wet them if you are worried about the dough sticking to them, but it’s not really necessary.
3. Check your dough, it should look wet but the flour should absorb all the water. You couldn’t knead this dough if you wanted too. If your dough still looks dry add a little at a time and mix until it looks wet. I found 2 1/2 cups of water to be perfect.  Don’t stress out too much about it though, I’ve made it both too dry and too wet and the bread still turned out fine. It was just a little dense when it was too dry and it was harder to move when it was too wet.
4. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave it on the counter for 12-24 hours. Whenever it is convenient for you. The dough should have risen noticeably and you’ll probably see some little bubbles at the top.
5. When you are ready sprinkle wheat bran, flour or corn meal on the top of the dough as well as on a large tea towel.
6. Use a spatula to loosen the dough from the bowl and drop it onto one side of the tea towel. Fold the dough over on itself a few times and then sprinkle the flour (or whatever) on the top.
7. Roll the dough onto the other side of the tea towel and coat the other side with flour (or whatever) again. Fold the tea towel over the top of the dough ball and leave it out for 1-2 hours. (Don’t leave it on the stove it will get all sticky and attach itself to the tea towel when you are preheating the stove – trust me).
8. In the last half hour preheat the stove to 450F with your oven safe heavy lidded pot inside to make sure it’s nice and hot.
9. Take the pot out of the oven and dust the inside with flour, this will help keep the raisins from sticking and burning to the bottom (or whatever). Roll the dough into the hot pot, place the lid on and stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then, take the lid off and bake for 15 more minutes.
10. For best results, let the loaf cool before eating, but if you really want warm bread, you can cut it right away and it’s still really good.

I’m sure this would be lovely with some butter or cinnamon cream cheese,  but I eat it straight up.

Wordless Wednesday–My baby’s 2!

     

Chicken and Banana Fried Rice Recipe.

I’m finding myself attracted to recipes that seem like they just shouldn’t work. (From trusted sources) so when I read about this meal in Every Day With Rachel Ray Magazine I just had to try it. I’ve never thought about adding bananas to a savoury dish before and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. It actually turned out really well.

Although it is not the most photogenic dish because everything is a little beige and I ran out of green onions because the original recipe called for 3/4 of a cup of whites AND 3/4 of a cup of greens so I didn’t have any left to sprinkle on top, it was good.

I’m going to add it to my recipe box as I’ll definitely make it again. The bananas were still fairly firm and added a bit of sweetness. The overall taste was a bit onion-y but in a pleasant way and the peanuts added a perfect amount of crunch. I think this would be a great dish to try out with kids who are reluctant to try new things. None of the ingredients are too weird but the combination is very unusual.

Note: You need to use rice that has been cooked and cooled so keep that in mind when you are making your plans.

Banana and Chicken Fried Rice Recipe
(adapted from Every Day With Rachel Ray Magazine)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 bananas
• 3/4 lb cooked chicken breast (cubed or thinly sliced)
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced shallot
• 2 finely chopped serrano chiles (or a squirt of Sriracha) 
• 3 cups cooked and cooled brown basmati rice
• 1 bunch thinly sliced scallion greens
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• Chopped salted peanuts

Directions
1. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat.
2.  Cut the bananas in half lengthwise and lay them cut side on in the hot pan. Cook until golden 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the pan and cut them into bite sized pieces.
3. Wipe of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tbsp of oil to the pan. Add the shallot and cook for a few minutes until softened and slightly golden. Add the serrano chilies and cook for another minute.
4. Add the rice and chicken and bring the heat back up to high. Cook for about 3 minutes to toast the rice and heat the chicken. Stir occasionally.
5. Remove from heat and add the bananas and soy sauce to the pan. Stir gently. Top with the scallion greens and peanuts.

So, did they eat it?

This ended up being a hit with everyone at our house. It’s really pretty similar to typical fried rice, so if you like that, you’d probably like this too.

Cranberry Turkey Burgers

One of the problems with turkey burgers is that they can just be so dry and tasteless. These burgers compensate with the addition of spices, dried cranberries, parsley and green onions. My husband’s uncle served cranberry turkey burgers one year after Christmas. We liked them so much we tried to replicate them at home and this is what we came up with. Since then it’s become a family favorite and we’ve made it again and again.

Cranberry Turkey Burger Recipe

1 pound Ground turkey
1/4 cup Dried cranberries chopped
1 green onion (scallion) chopped, finely
1 TBSP chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/4 teaspoon Ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon Basil dried
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

Directions

You can cook these like any other burger but it’s generally recommended that they are cooked at a slightly lower heat for a longer time to ensure that they inside reaches the correct temperature.

Topping Ideas

Mayo, mango chutney, cranberry sauce, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, avocado. (but not all at once!)

Almond Zucchini Sauté–Tired Mom Side Dish

I often seem to either make either a good side dish or a good meal but not both when I’m making supper. So I’m always on the lookout for quick, easy and healthy side dishes that I can manage to make in addition to whatever else I’m making for supper. When I saw this zucchini dish at Smitten Kitchen I knew I’d found a winner.

Almond Zucchini Sauté Recipe

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 small handful of sliced almonds
• 1 normal sized zucchini (cut into sticks, you can cut them smaller than I’ve done above, I just don’t have the machinery or the patience)

optional: salt, pepper, parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and sauté for a couple minutes until they are browned.
2. Add the zucchini and cook for about a minute just until the zucchini is heated.
3. Add a little salt and pepper and parmesan if you want. It’s really good with them, but I often forget and it’s still good.

Per 1/2 of the almond and zucchini sauté: Calories – 131, Carbs – 6g, Fat – 12g, Protein 5, Fibre – 3.

No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread

I’ve started baking my own bread. I made my first loaf on March 25. It’s now 11 days later and I have made 6 loaves of bread so far. I feel like some kind of supermom. But it’s so quick, easy and flexible that no superpowers are actually necessary. Seriously, I am at best an amateur cook, I rarely bake and never anything with dough - if I can make this, so can you. The only catch is you need a oven proof dish with a heavy lid. Dutch ovens are perfect for this. I managed to get one at Costco this fall for only $50 so that’s what I’ve been using but there are other things that can work like casserole dishes if you want to give it a try.

I’ve also made a number of mistakes that I’ve learned from that I’ll share as well. Amazingly despite the mistakes every loaf I’ve made has still turned out. This recipe is really resilient.

Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread Recipe
(Adapted from Calgarian Julie Van Rosendaal’s take on Jim Lahey’s no knead bread method on babble.com)

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups water (this is more than the standard recipe because whole wheat flour is thirstier than refined flour)

(I use Robin Hood – Best for Bread Flour which works well as it is high in protein as most Canadian flours are which is necessary for making good bread)

This looks like a lot of steps but is really very little work and not very hard. Check out this youtube video where Jim Lahey demonstrates the process.

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl stir the flour, yeast and salt together with your hands.
2. Add 2 cups of the water. Mix the dough and water together with your hands until you can no longer see dry flour. You can run your hands under the tap to wet them if you are worried about the dough sticking to them, but it’s not really necessary.
3. Check your dough, it should look wet but the flour should absorb all the water.You couldn’t knead this dough if you wanted too. If your dough still looks dry add a little at a time and mix until it looks wet. I found 2 1/4 cups of water to be perfect.  Don’t stress out too much about it though, I’ve made it both too dry and too wet and the bread still turned out fine. It was just a little dense when it was too dry and it was harder to move when it was too wet.
4. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and leave it on the counter for 12-24 hours. Whenever it is convenient for you. The dough should have risen noticeably and you’ll probably see some little bubbles at the top.
5. When you are ready sprinkle wheat bran, flour or corn meal on the top of the dough as well as on a large tea towel.
6. Use a spatula to loosen the dough from the bowl and drop it onto one side of the tea towel. Fold the dough over on itself a few times and then sprinkle the flour (or whatever) on the top.
7. Roll the dough onto the other side of the tea towel and coat the other side with flour (or whatever) again. Fold the tea towel over the top of the dough ball and leave it out for 1-2 hours. (Don’t leave it on the stove it will get all sticky and attach itself to the tea towel when you are preheating the stove – trust me).
8. In the last half hour preheat the stove to 450F with your oven safe pot inside to make sure it’s nice and hot.
9. Take the pot out of the oven and dust the inside with flour (or whatever). Roll the dough into the hot pot, place the lid on and stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. Then, take the lid off and bake for 15 more minutes.
10. For best results, let the loaf cool before eating, but if you really want warm bread, you can cut it right away and it’s still really good.

Wordless Wednesday