Double Chocolate Caramel Bread

Are you in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving prep?  If so you may want to take a quick break and make this bread.  I was never a true fan of pumpkin pie. I would have my own slice on Thanksgiving and be good for the year.  If I can sneak in a different dessert I do.  This double chocolate caramel bread can be just that. Or if you just need a chocolate break before all the happenings begin I highly recommend making a loaf. 

This loaf has a double dose of chocolate with both cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips. The caramel on top is an extra bonus.  Just what you need for a extra bump of energy. 

Served with butter or with some extra caramel sauce to be more indulgent.  It is the season after all.   

Double Chocolate Caramel Bread

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Keywords: bake bread dessert caramel chocolate

6080255

Ingredients (1 loaf)

• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp (8 grams) baking powder
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup caramel

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9X5 loaf pan. Set aside.

In a bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa. Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time scraping the sides of the bowl down after each addition. Then add the vanilla extract and combine.

Add the plain yogurt and flour mixture alternately in three additions.

Pour the batter into the baking pan, scoop the caramel on top and with a butter knife mix it into the chocolate bread batter.

Bake until a wooden skewer comes out clean, about 50 minutes.  Leave to cool slightly before removing from pan.

Powered by Recipage

Cheese and Zatar Sticks #secretrecipeclub

We have been super busy the last few weekends with guests.  And work is crazy with each of us being out of the house every few days. We get by but have little energy left over.  It's times like this that extra bills come in and random house things come up to really put us over the edge.  I am looking forward to this upcoming week when we are both home all week and a weekend free of activities. 

As an extra treat for the week I whipped up these cheese and Zatar sticks from Chef in Disguise.  This is the blog I was assigned for the October Secret Recipe Club post.

Sawsan, the author behind Chef in Disguise is Palestinian, but was raised in Jordan. I lived, studied and worked in Amman up until June 2014  when her and her husband moved to United Arab Emirates. Her blog is full of delicious Middle Eastern foods as well as pictures from her travels and where she lives. Having never been to this area of the world I am always amazed at the vibrant colors and different architectural designs. I had so much fun exploring this blog. 

There were so many interesting recipes to pick from I had a list a mile long but had trouble sourcing some of the ingredients.  We don't have many Middle Eastern grocery stores around me.  A shame too because don't these recipes sound delicious, Cheesy Flatbread and Harissa Cake.

Sawsan has so many bread or yeast recipes that I was immediately drawn to too. I really liked this meat galette but then these Cheese and Zatar Sticks showed up in my search.  I just got Zatar to try out and I was itching to open it.  I couldn't not make these sticks. 

The dough came together easily and quickly. My little one helped do the twisting before we popped the trays into the oven. These were a great snack to have on hand but I will definitely be saving this recipe for the holidays. They would make a great appetizer for sharing.  

It was such fun seeing all these new recipes and Middle Eastern spice combinations through Chef in Disguise. 

Cheese and Zatar Sticks

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus rise time

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake bread

6079818

Ingredients (Makes 24 plus sticks)

• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 130 grams Nabulsi cheese grated
• 150 ml warm milk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 3 tablespoons Zatar

Instructions

Proof the yeast by mixing it with the sugar and warm milk, set aside for 10 minutes.

In a bowl place the flour and salt, add the olive oil and rub it into the flour with your finger tips.

Add the Zatar and grated cheese, toss to combine.

Add the yeast/ milk mixture and the vinegar and knead , until the dough comes together into a smooth ball.

Cover and leave in a warm place till it doubles.

Roll out the dough and then cut it into strips using a pizza cutter.

Then you can shape the strips by rolling them into sticks, coiling them or twisting in two opposite directions to give them a twisty look.

Bake in a 400 degree oven on the middle rack till the bottoms are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.

Powered by Recipage

An InLinkz Link-up

Dilly Cheese Bread

There is such comfort in homemade bread. I feel so centered making the dough, the smell soothes me, and eating a slice warm out of the oven is one of the best feelings in the world.

We have a basic white bread recipe and this honey oatmeal on regular rotation but sometimes even a good thing can get old.  I was looking to expand our bread repertoire recently and thought of my bakery days.  There were two breads I enjoyed back then, Dilly Cheese and Cheddar Mustard, and I thought I would try a hand at making them at home.  Dilly cheese was first up.

I did some research online and found a few recipes that seems similar to what I remembered making back at the bakery. 

Full disclosure: I kind of hate Dill.  It is not my favorite herb and I try to avoid it in most foods I eat.  This bread however is super good. And although there is dill and you can taste it, I am not deterred. 

The recipe makes two loaves which can also be divided into rolls. We can finish off half a loaf on day one but the rest tends to take us more time to finish. I froze the second loaf for another day. 

Dilly Cheese Bread

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus rise time

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Keywords: bake bread

6078684

Ingredients (2 loaves)

• 2 tablespoons yeast
• ½ cup warm water plus a pinch of sugar
• 2 cups small curd cottage cheese
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 2 TBSP raw or granulated sugar
• 6 TBSP dried minced onion
• 1 TBSP dried dill seed
• 1 tsp dried dill weed
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

Gently stir the yeast into the warm water with the pinch of sugar in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes, or until the yeast is frothy. While that rests, whisk together the cottage cheese, milk, oil, sugar, minced onion, dill seed and weed, salt and eggs in a saucepan over low heat just until lukewarm.

Add that to the yeast mixture and stir. Add the flour all at once and use a sturdy spoon to mix until there are no dry pockets of flour and everything is evenly moist.

Cover with a­ towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour and a half, or until almost doubled in size.

Grease 2 standard loaf pans (9X5) but the dough can also be divided among ramekins or muffin tins for rolls. Divide dough evenly into 2 pieces and place in greased pans.

Cover the loaf pans with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the risen dough for 30-­40 minutes for loaves or 25-­30 minutes for rolls.

Remove from the oven and let the loaves rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Store loaves wrapped in a clean towel at room temperature for up to three days, or wrap cooled loaves in a double layer of plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months.

Powered by Recipage

Brioche #secretrecipeclub

Oh my why do weekends have to go by so fast?  We had a lovely visit from my parents this weekend.  They did some expert babysitting while we got some things done around the house. We also explored the park and of course ate quite well. 

I cannot believe that it is already May.  I am not really sure where April went.  But I will take May and hopefully the warmer temperatures.  Every warm day we go outside and have such a fun time with Miss Olivia.

Last week I posted for the last time for the Secret Recipe Club under group D.  The member list for group D had dwindled down and we ended having each other as partners over and over again.  Not a bad thing as there were always tasty recipes to be found but it was decided that we would divide up into some of the other groups.  I am now in group A posting at the beginning of the month. Thus this back to back Secret Recipe Club posts.

If my pick for group A shows what is to coming I will be having many more months of good finds.  Rachel of Pizza Rossa is from Australia but currently lives in Geneva.  She has many vegetarian dishes as her and her family eat without meat. However what really drew me in was her bread recipes.  There are a ton.  There were several that caught my eye like the Vanilla Ricotta Bread and the sticky Caramel Swirl Bread.  Can you blame me?  I am actually impressed now that I bypassed these the first time around. 

I ended up making the Brioche.  Brioche has been on my baking bucket list for years. I love sandwiches with brioche buns.  I opted to follow the recipe this first time around and made a loaf but I will be attempting again for rolls.  Like many breads this took some planning as it had a few rise times. However, the wait was well worth it.  

Brioche

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes plus rise time

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: bake bread

6078101

Ingredients (1 loaf)

• 7 tsp tepid milk
• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 2 2/5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 rounded Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk beaten with Tbsp milk, for egg wash

Instructions

Heat the milk in a small bowl, add the yeast and stir to dissolve.

Put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and pour in the milk and beaten eggs. Mix on low speed for five minutes, until completely combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a plastic spatula, then mix at medium speed for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth.

Switch to a dough hook, and, with the mixer running at low speed, add the butter a teaspoon at a time. It will look very buttery at first, and will take about ten minutes for the butter to be completely incorporated.

When the butter is all incorporated, increase the speed and mix for about ten minutes, until the dough is very smooth and comes away from the bowl.

Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl with a damp towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about two hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

Knock the dough back by folding it over two or three times with a bowl scraper. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least six hours (overnight works well).

Remove dough from fridge and bring to room temperature for about 2 hours.

Heavily butter a 9 inch loaf pan.

Scrape dough out onto work surface and knead gently into a ball, then stretch and roll into a log. Place dough in loaf tin and brush lightly with egg wash.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 2 hours, until doubled in sized.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Brush the brioche lightly again with egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Let the brioche cool in the tin for five minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Keeps for 2 – 3 days wrapped well in aluminium foil in the pantry.

Powered by Recipage

An InLinkz Link-up

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn Round Up ‪#‎thebookclubcookbookCC

The day has come for me to post about all of the lovely creations myself and the other members of  ‪#‎thebookclubcookbookCC made in March for A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.  It seems like many of the others fell in love with the book too.

No one made the recipe for Chocolate Russe from the invite post. I am still hoping someone tries it out soon but for now I am pretty satisfied with all of the inspired recipes.  We had quite a feast. 

You might remember that I made Italian Sweet Rolls, a special treat for Francie and her brother as they ran errands for their mother.

Erin from A Spiffy Cookie made a Boozy Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding.  She was inspired by taking stale bread and creating something amazing. 

Camilla, our fearless leader, from Culinary Adventures with Camilla, made a gluten free Cherry Chocolate Blossom Cupcake.  She took note of the passage when Francie was daydreaming of fancy treats she might someday be able to eat.  

Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm, made something more practical with an Italian Vegetable Stew. This stew was packed full of veggies and bread. Although I am pretty sure Wendy didn't go to the store and ask for all of the old, wilted vegetables and stale bread for her recipe as the children did in the book. 

Sarah from Things I Make (for Dinner), whipped up some Crock Pot Baked Beans, hoping to feed us all something filling on the cheap and long lasting.  These beans certainly fit the bill for the food trend in the novel.

And finally Sarah, The Pajama Chef, made us some delicious coffee chocolate chip streusel mufffins.  She pointed out the significant indulgence of coffee the Nolans had on a daily basis. Even though the children didn't enjoy it they cherished their cup knowing it was a treat.

Thanks for joining me this month and be sure to check out next month's book choice with Sarah at Things I Make (for Dinner). 

Easter Bread

Happy Easter! I remember a year ago Mr. J and I were still trying to figure out life with Miss O.  We didn't do a thing for Easter except cuddly up and stay close to one another.  Not a bad thing.

This year though I full of ideas on how we can develop our own Easter traditions with our little one.  I have a basket ready. We will have a mini egg hunt in the back year.  Brunch.  

Most of our plans stem from my own memories growing up with Easter.  However I want to add a few new ones as well.  I am sure they will develop over time as we learn and Miss O grows.  This year our "new" Easter tradition is Easter bread.  A sweetened dough, braided and topped sprinkles, sugar, and a dyed egg. The egg was a bit much for me this year but we did have fun with sprinkles. 

Easter Bread

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus rise time

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake bread Easter

6077771

Ingredients (6 loaves)

• 1 package Instant yeast, about 2-1/4 teaspoons
• 1.25 cups milk
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
• 6 dyed Easter eggs
• sprinkles

Instructions

*I chose not to use dyed eggs for my bread. If using, have dyed egg ready before you start the bread process. The Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled. They cook when the bread bakes, just dye the eggs uncooked, without hard boiling them. Be careful they don't crack!

In microwave safe measuring cup, warm the milk until just warm. Combine with the melted butter.

In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, salt, eggs and sugar. Add the warm (not hot - it will kill the yeast) milk and butter.

Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook. Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Don't worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading until smooth.

Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid", pinching the ends, and loop into a circle.

Place on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpats. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with the remaining beaten egg wash.

Put on the sprinkles or sugar. If using eggs place one in the middle of each bread ring, making an indentation with the egg.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden - about 20 minutes. Cool on rack.

Although the eggs are edible, they are really just for decoration. Only eat eggs shortly after baking, otherwise they need to be refrigerated if you plan on eating them later. Do not eat eggs if they sit out for a long period of time.

Powered by Recipage

Italian Sweet Rolls ‪#‎thebookclubcookbookCC

Are you ready for Easter?  I think I will be but right now I am no where close.  My post today doesn't have anything to do with Easter but it did help me with my Easter planning.

I am super excited for today's post. March was my hosting month for  #‎thebookclubcookbookCC.  You can read my invite post here. I choose A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith for the March book.

As you know, I and several other bloggers are cooking and  baking our way through The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.  Each month the host picks a novel and recipe from the book.  You can read the novel or not and to join you make a recipe, either from the cookbook, or your own inspired recipe. 

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is all about Francis Nolan, her life growing up in Brooklyn at the turn of the century.  I picked this book somewhat ignorantly.  It's classic, at times controversial, but read widely in schools.  I had no idea and had never read it on my own or in school.  Luckily though I fell in love with the story and Francie.  The book was somewhat long and I was a afraid with my busy baby life I wouldn't have enough time finish within the month.  The book drew me in though as Francis grows up and explains the world around her.  There are so many details.  Too many to share. All I can say is I would highly recommend this novel. 

As for the food there are so many special and not so special moments that incorporate food. The Nolans were not rich and struggled to have enough food.  They were creative with the meals they did have, and dreamed out foods they didn't.  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a Food rich book.  A special treat for Francis and her brother were sweet rolls. Although just a few pennies at the time it was still a stretch to buy, normally they waited for day old rolls to save a bit more. Sweet rolls were the destination of after work courting trip.

These rolls came about as I was looking for some roll recipes for our Easter meal.  The dough is rich from sugar and egg but comes together very easily. The smell will fill your house as you bake them off.  I quickly ate three before they cooled and completely understood how Francie adored the rolls as an escape from her tough world.

Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating this month.

A Day in the Life on the Farm
Adventures in All Things Food
Cheese Curd In Paradise
Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Life on Food
Mostly Food and Crafts
The Pajama Chef
The Spiffy Cookie
Things I Make (for Dinner)
Tortillas and Honey
ZooeySuff

Italian Sweet Rolls

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 25 minutes, plus rise time

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: bake bread Easter

6077720

Ingredients (24 Rolls)

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• Pinch of salt (about 1/16 teaspoon)
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water

Instructions

Combine the milk and butter in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Warm just until the butter is completely melted and remove from the heat. Let cool until just warm.

Combine the yeast, salt, eggs and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the warm milk and half of the flour. Knead with the dough hook until combined. Add more flour gradually until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the mixer. Knead the dough about 3-5 minutes longer, or until completely smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn it over once to coat the top. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place, about 1 hour.

Gently deflate the dough with your hand. Turn it out onto a floured work surface and pat it down slightly so that the dough has an even thickness. Cut the dough into 24 even pieces. Roll each piece to form a ball. Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and let rise again for 1 hour, or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Combine the egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small condiment cup. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the loaves with the mixture.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden and fragrant. Let cool until warm.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with a glaze if desired.

Powered by Recipage

Giveaway

As this month's host, I, am giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from March 1st till March 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

Hello Friday! I thought I would be spending the day in Boston but my meeting got canceled yesterday.  Its annoy to have to reschedule meetings but I am so, so happy not to be stuck in Boston traffic right now. 

I am really ready for the weekend. This week was long and I am tired. Plus temperatures are going to be in the 50s in Connecticut. I am pretty happy with just the no snow factor this winter but having the warm temperatures sure has been a bonus. 

Do you have any plans? My parents are coming to visit. I really want to spend as much time outside as possible.

I have mentioned before that I am trying to make our own bread.  I have been pretty good about making a loaf a week.  Mr. J can make his lunch sandwiches from it and we both enjoy a good slice of toast. So far we have stuck to plain Jane white or Anadama. The other day we ventured off course and added some cornmeal to the white.  It was pretty good and a recipe will be coming shortly. 

This loaf is Honey Oatmeal.  I made some quickly before the snow storm and it was a hit.  We actually ate about half the loaf before the day was done. It was snowing and the warm bread smelled and then tasted so good.  We couldn't help ourselves although Miss O was not a fan.  

Today we were breadless. I need to make more soon!

Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

by Dish and Dine

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus rise time

Cook Time: 45 minutes

6077053

Ingredients (1 loaf)

• 1½ cups lukewarm water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1½ cups quick cook oats
• 2½ teaspoons (or 1 packet) Active Dry Yeast

Instructions

Place all ingredients into your bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. I do liquids first, dry ingredients next, ending with the yeast placed in a small well on top of the flour.)

Set your bread machine to dough cycle and allow it to run its cycle.

After the cycle is complete, preheat oven to 350°F.

Turn dough into a lightly buttered loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes, watching closely to make sure it doesn't get too brown. Bread is done when top is a golden brown and loaf sounds "hollow" when tapped.

Allow to cool before slicing.

Powered by Recipage