KAF #bakealong: Everyday Whole-Grain Bread

I've been quite negligent in blogging. :( Life happened. Our summer was busy with softball, work, vacation, 4-H, fair and the start of school. I spent almost all of September on the road for work. It's been good to be home more in October, though I did spend a whole week at a conference followed by a class.

Here in the Nebraska corn belt, we are deep into harvest. A few neighbors are finishing up, but we are only about half done. Luckily, the weather has been nearly perfect. Just last week we were reminded about the 1997 snow storm that dropped more than a foot of snow in this part of the state closing schools and roads for up to a week in some places.

This fall, the King Arthur Flour crew started a monthly #bakealong challenge. I missed the August launch, Pane Bianco, and have yet to find an excuse to make that great looking bread. We joined in September with some Inside Out Pumpkin Muffins. We weren't huge fans of the muffins. They looked better than they tasted, but it was fun to join in the Instagram fun.

October's recipe, Everyday Whole-Grain Bread, appeared to be a straight-forward, tasty bread. It is exactly as it appears. With a short sponge, great instructions, and almost sure-fire results, this is a great beginner bread recipe with enough flavor and texture to make a good daily loaf. I opted for the loaf pan option to be able to use it as a sandwich bread. I shared a loaf with my sister, and we ate the second loaf so fast, I have yet to try it in a sandwich. Hopefully today's second batch will make it to Monday's lunch. :)

The recipe calls for equal parts white whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I made the first batch with equal parts KAF's artisan bread flour and unbleached all-purpose flour. Today's batch is equal parts artisan bread, white whole wheat and all-purpose flours. I think this recipe has the flexibility to adjust to infinite flour combinations, and I've seen reviews indicating others have used sourdough starter or gluten-free flours.

Find the full recipe on the KAF blog at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/everyday-whole-grain-bread-recipe. Join the #bakealong at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/bakealong/.

A new favorite breakfast at our house

Awhile back, I went on a canning spree.  I do this every so often.  This time, I happened to be home with a three day weekend when one of the local supermarkets had their 10# flats of strawberries on sale for $10.  I thought to myself, jam sounds fun, I'm home this weekend, and we only have two weddings and a quilt show. :)

What in my head was a little project, evolved into cleaning out the washroom/pantry, three trips to said supermarket and over fifty jars of product.  Yes, fifty!  In the process, I cleaned out my stash of previously canned stuff and found about a dozen pint jars of apples.

When it came time to make breakfast this morning, Anne wanted pancakes.  Anne wants pancakes every morning, but since we had them yesterday, I didn't feel obligated to make them again.  I negotiated an apple coffee cake.  To cut down on fat, I searched for buttermilk apple coffee cake and found a recipe from Cooking Light. I made a few modifications which comprise the recipe below.  The original is linked below.

Buttermilk Apple Coffee Cake

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare the cake, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 5 minutes or until syrupy, stirring frequently; cool.
3. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended; add egg and extracts, beating well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
4. Fold the batter and apples together.
5. Spoon the batter into an 8-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle topping.  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Original recipe from Cooking Light, April 2001

Friday Faves 04.06.12

So, Easter is just two days away. Anne's basket will be overflowing. She had a great egg hunt last week and we will be hitting another tomorrow!

Dinner on Sunday will be at my Sister-on-Law's so I don't have to clean my house or anything. It is our turn to provide breakfast at church, however, so I need to make 100 or so breakfast burritos tomorrow.

Some great finds this week:

• Skirt Week at Seven Thirty-Three
• Bucket-Style Purse with Zipper Trim from Sew 4 Home
• Parson Gray Color Palette
• Great layouts, especially this one by Christina at Club CK
• Everything in the new Party Frosting but especially these Pie Spoons
• Serious Eats' Bunny Bread