Bread

My Hero Bread

Bread, Unfussy

I keep making this bread – it’s essentially Jimmy John’s bread and I often hollow out the inside like they do before I build the sandwich for a better bread-to-filling ratio. Anytime I find a bread recipe that calls for making a starter hours before, I just use sourdough starter since it’s already percolating in the refrigerator.

  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 TBSP kosher salt
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp. yeast
  • 4 TBSP canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (115g) unfed sourdough starter

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low until a rough dough has formed, about 3 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Mix on low for another 7-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into quarters. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

Gently roll the dough into 4 uniform loaves, about 14″ long (or the length of the baking sheet). Place 2 loaves on each baking sheet about 6″ apart. Spray or brush the loaves with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake for 30 minutes until light golden brown. Enjoy within 24 hours, or freeze until ready to use for best results.

Coconut Banana Bread

Bread, Unfussy
Here’s a springy little quick bread – lots of coconut, a bit of banana, and a smidge of pineapple.
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup AP, 1 cup whole wheat)
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 medium bananas (200g), ripe
  • 1 cup crushed pineapple
  • 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″x 5″ loaf pan, or line with a parchment sling.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Combine sugar and eggs in a medium bowl and whisk until light in color. Whisk in melted coconut oil.

Combine sour cream, bananas, pineapple and coconut in a medium bowl.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture and fold until combined with some dry patches remaining. Add sour cream mixture, folding until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until it springs back when touched lightly in the center.

Let cool for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Slathering with cream cheese is not a bad idea.

Cornmeal Rolls

Bread
These are mandatory at our Thanksgiving table – and even more crucial the next day when they make a stellar turkey sandwich.
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
  • 2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)
  • 1 TBSP yeast
  • 1 egg
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 additional egg for egg wash

Combine cornmeal, water and milk in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until thick and smooth. Pour into mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add honey, salt, butter and rosemary and stir with the dough hook until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is 80°F or less.

Add egg, flour and yeast and mix on low for 7-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Prove the dough for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size, in a greased bowl covered with plastic wrap.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Shape the rolls into equal-size balls (12 for hamburger buns or 18 for dinner rolls), flatten well, and place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Beat egg for egg wash – add 1 teaspoon water to thin slightly. Brush rolls with egg wash.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Bread, Breakfast
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 TBSP poppy seeds
  • 1 TBSP baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup oil

Glaze:

  • 2 TBSP lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 357°F. Grease or line 16 regular-sized muffin cups or 8 jumbo muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

In a medium bowl whisk together sour cream, milk, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, butter and oil.

Pour wet ingredients into the dry and fold with a rubber spatula until no flour streaks remain.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter.

Bake 15 minutes for regular muffins and 20-25 for jumbo, until just firm when touched lightly.

Glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth in a small bowl.

When muffins have cooled, dip tops in glaze. Let excess drip off and set upright to firm up.

Look-No-Further Zucchini Bread

Bread, Muffins, Unfussy

This time of year I usually blindly pick a zucchini bread recipe to make from an online source or a cookbook so I can scratch the itch. I make it once, decide it’s not my favorite, and wait until next year to try again. This time I tested a few, tweaked the one I liked, and finally settled on this recipe. Moist, simple, not ridiculously sweet, with plenty of zucchini (in this case, the yellow variety).

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 TBSP vanilla
  • 2 cups (250g) shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 8.5×4.5″ loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla. Pour over flour mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until just moistened.

Fold in shredded zucchini until uniform and all the flour has been incorporated. The batter will be stiff.

Scrape into prepared pan – it should fill the loaf pan 3/4 of the way up.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Tent loosely with foil and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes, until no longer doughy in the middle.

Let cool 10 minutes in the pan before turning out.

Makes one loaf. Makes fine muffins too.