Breads and Bread-Like Bakes

Bagels

Based on a Cook's Illustrated recipe. 

This is a two-day recipe. 

  4 Cups High-Gluten Flour 

2 Teaspoons Salt 

1 Tablespoon Barley Malt Syrup 

(Addl) 1/4 Cup Barley Malt Syrup 

1 1/4 Cups Warm Water (80-degrees) 

1 1/2 Teaspoons Rapid-Rise or Instant Yeast

For 1 batch of 8 bagels, using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix 4 cups of high-gluten flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 tablespoon of barley malt syrup together on a low speed. 

If you want to make not plain but cinnamon raisin bagels, here is where you add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, and a half a cup of raisins. 

Once all of the flour, etc. is mixed together, add in 1 ¼ cups of warm water (80-degrees), and 1 ½ teaspoons of rapid-rise or instant yeast. 

Mix on low for about 4 minutes. The dough will look scrappy – shredded. 

Then, increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing the dough for another 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will come together, becoming smooth. This is a very stiff dough and it will not stick to the sides of the mixing bowl after it has been mixed on medium-low for 8 to 10 minutes. This is the kneading. If you knead by hand, knead for 15 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth. 

Unplug your mixer and carefully pull the dough off of the dough hook and place it on an un-floured counter. 

Use a bench scraper or knife and divide the dough into 8 fairly equal pieces. 

Roll each piece into a smooth ball and then cover them with a slightly damp cloth or invert a large bowl over the top of the doughballs. 

Let them rest for 5 minutes. 

While the doughballs are resting, take a large, rimmed baking sheet and evenly sprinkle the baking sheet with 3 to 5 tablespoons of cornmeal. 

Put the pan with the cornmeal aside and after the doughball five-minute rest, without putting any flour down, start rolling each doughball by hand, under your open palm on your counter, into an 11-inch-long rope. You can also roll the dough between your palms, like it’s a piece of playdough, until it resembles an 11-inches-long piece of rope. 

Shape each rope into a circle, pinching the ends together to close the seam. 

Your dough rings should be about the same thickness all around. 

Arrange all 8 dough rings on your rimmed backing sheet, cornmeal underneath, so that they don’t stick. 

Tightly cover the dough bagels with plastic wrap, or what I do is to put a very slightly damp, clean cloth over the top and invert another rimmed baking sheet over the top. 

Refrigerate the bagels, covered, on the rimmed baking sheet for at least 12 hours and up to 18. Mine are often in the fridge for 20 to 22 hours. 

An hour before you are going to bake, and for me this is usually the morning after I’ve made the dough, go ahead and pull the sheet of unbaked bagels out of the fridge. 

Set your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 

Pour water into a large pot to a depth of 3 inches, dissolve in ¼ a cup of barley malt syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil, skimming off any foam as you go. 

Drop a bagel ring into the boiling water, slightly – gently stirring it around with a metal skimmer or a slotted spoon. You want to gently submerge the bagel until it’s very slightly puffed – about 30 to 45 seconds. 

Transfer the bagel up and out of the water and put it on a wire rack, bottom side down, and lightly sprinkle on top with poppy or sesame seeds – or you could leave them plain. I don’t dip the bagels in a shallow bowl of toppings as the topping bowl gets all soggy and it seems very wasteful. Instead, I sprinkle the toppings over the still warm and slightly wet – tacky – bagels, after the boil.  

Repeat with all 8 bagels, and then transfer the bagels, bottom side down, to the rimmed baking sheet you prepared earlier, with the parchment paper in place. 

Bake in the oven, until a deep golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes, carefully rotating your pan halfway through the bake. 

Take them out of the oven and use tongs to transfer the bagels to a wire rack to cool. 

You can serve them warm or at room temperature. Keep them in a bag or Tupperware for up to two days, wrapped tightly and frozen for up to a month. 

The first time you make bagels, it might seem overwhelming. This is because you’ve never done it before, and you might be anxious that they aren’t going to turn out okay. They are going to be fine. 

Serve with cream cheese, thinly sliced red onion, capers, and lox. You can serve however you like best – peanut butter and jelly is also a winning combo, as is egg salad, or slices of ham and cheese. See what you like best and do that. 

No-Knead Bread

Based on the Cook's Illustrated recipe, which is based on Mark Bittman's 2006 New York Times recipe, which in turn is based on Jim Lahey's no-knead bread recipe as baked at Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan - ha!

This is a two-day recipe. 

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour 

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 

1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt 

1/4 Tsp. Rapid-Rise/Instant Yeast 

1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries (or Raisins) 

1/2 Cup Pecans/Nuts/Pumpkin Seeds 

3/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Water 

1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Budweiser Beer 

1 Tbsp White Vinegar 

2 Tsp Olive Oil 

Day one, in a large bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and a generous ¼ teaspoon of rapid-rise or instant yeast. 

At the holidays, I like to add in ½ a cup of dried cranberries or raisons, and ½ a cup of chopped pecans, another nut, or pumpkin seeds. 

To the dry, using a rubber spatula, mix in ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of room temperature water, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of room temperature Budweiser beer or another mild lager, and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. 

If the dough looks too dry with flour still at the bottom of your bowl, you can add beer and/or water, a tablespoon at a time, until it forms into a shaggy ball without any dry bits. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and let the dough sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours. 

The high hydration of this wet dough and long fermentation time help to give this rustic boule a very wonderful flavor and structure. 

After 8 to 18 hours, cut out an 18 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper and set it aside for later use. 

Take the dough out of the bowl and on a lightly floured board or counter, knead the bread by hand, not much, about 10 times, and up to 18 times. 

Shape the dough into a ball and use your hands to smooth a very thin layer of olive oil over the surface of the dough ball, underneath, on top, and on the sides, very lightly. 

Put the parchment paper in the bowl you just took the dough out of, place the dough ball back in the bowl, seam side down, on top of the parchment. 

Again, cover the bowl with plastic wrap – reuse your earlier piece, or you can cover the bowl with a clean cloth. 

Let it sit out at room temperature for about two hours, or until it has doubled in size. 

30 minutes before your bake, set your oven rack to its lowest position, put a lidded Dutch oven or lidded caste iron lodge pot inside, and heat the oven to 425 degrees. 

Before your bake, lightly flour the top of your dough ball and use a sharp knife to carefully make 3 to 5 two-inch curved slashes in the top of the dough ball, almost like leaves coming off of a central stem. You can also, instead, make one curved slash, about 5 inches long, curved along the top of the dough ball. 

Carefully remove the hot lid from the pot in the oven and lift the doughball up and out of the bowl by the parchment paper and very carefully place it into the hot pot in the oven, replacing the lid on top. It's okay if an inch or so of parchment paper peeks out from under the lid. 

Bake your bread with the lid on for 30 minutes and then carefully remove the lid and let the bread bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. I will sometimes, very carefully, rotate the pot. 

When done, very carefully remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a rack for at least 2 hours before serving. If you eat a yeasted bread that’s too fresh from the oven you might get a tummy ache, so wait those two hours - it be will just as delicious. 

This bread can be made gluten free using a cup for cup flour replacement. One recommended to me was Namaste GF Perfect Bread Flour. 

Also, you don’t have to use 1 cup of whole wheat to 2 cups of all-purpose flour. You can make this bread with 3 cups of all-purpose flour. 

I like using a cup of whole wheat flour for flavor and nutrition. 

On the farm, when we grew wheat, my father used to save a half of a burlap bag of wheat for me and I would grind it, using a hand grinder in the basement. I always mixed that flour with more commercially traditional flour, but I got a real taste for a bit of whole wheat in my bread.  

If you make this bread, and I hope you do – it’s a fun bread to make - I will caution you about working with such a hot oven and piping hot baker. Things can get really hot. Be careful. 

Let me know how your family and friends respond to how wonderful your kitchen smells. I bet this no-knead bread will be very well received. 

Favorite Banana Bread 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 

3/4 cup brown sugar 

2 eggs 

2 1/3 to 2 1/2 cups mashed, over-ripe bananas 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

 1/2 cup chocolate chips 

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or nuts 

Lightly butter a  bread or loaf pan, and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and set your rack to the middle position in your oven. 

Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg) together in a large bowl.

Carefully melt the butter and let it cool but not harden. 

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, add the vanilla, sugar, and mix in the melted butter. 

Mix in the very ripe, mashed bananas (about 4). 

Mix the wet into the dry, and then add the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds or nuts. 

Smooth into your prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, turning the pan halfway through your bake. 

Cover with foil for last 10 to 15 minutes if it looks like it is over-baking on top. 

Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let it cool on a rack. 

When I don't have enough mashed banana, I'll add pumpkin puree, or mashed up sweet potato to make up to 2 1/2 cups of mashed fruit or alternate. Pumpkin is especially nice.  

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

2 ½ cups granulated sugar

1 cup canola oil 

3 large eggs at room temperature 

3 cups all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

½ teaspoon salt 

1 can (15 ounces) solid pack pumpkin (about 2 cups pumpkin puree, less 1 or 2 tablespoons puree, if being exact, but 2 cups, works, just fine)

Place oven rack in middle position and pre-heat oven to 350°. Good idea to remove any rack placed above middle. 

Lightly butter or coat a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan with Pam baking spray. My favorite Bundt pans are by Nordic Ware. If you don’t have one and it’s not in your budget to buy one, maybe you have a friend or family member who would lend you their Bundt pan. Return clean and timely, possibly with a slice of cake, and you could probably borrow the pan, and others, again and again. I only use my Bundt pan about ten days a year. That leaves 355 days for you to borrow mine if you live near! 

In a large bowl, use a spatula or spoon to combine sugar and oil until blended, and then add eggs, mixing until smooth. This is the wet mixture. 

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt) together.

Using a spatula, mix dry ingredients in several batches into the wet, alternately, with the pumpkin puree. Mix until just smooth. 

The batter will be a bit thick. 

Transfer batter to your prepared Bundt pan, gently tapping bottom of the pan on counter to remove any air bubbles. 

Bake on the center rack for 60 to 75 minutes, rotating your pan, front to back, halfway through the bake.  

The cake is done when a toothpick inserted midway between the center and outside walls comes out clean. 

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then invert on a rack and cool completely. 

You can dust with powdered sugar or make an icing drizzle, but it is a perfectly fine cake, without the extra sugar or fuss. You can also add a tablespoon or two of brandy to an icing or drizzle (again, good without). 

Once cooled, place the cake on a plate and wrap it in foil or invert a large bowl over the top of the cake and refrigerate overnight. 

Moist and delicious, on day two, straight from the fridge. 

Simple Bake Cornbread

Set rack to middle position in your oven and preheat oven to 400°. 

Lightly butter and dust with cornmeal a 9 x 13 inch pan and set aside. You can also bake the batter in two 9" round pans, or halve the recipe and bake in one 9" round or 9" square pan. 

3 cups all-purpose flour 

2 cups cornmeal 

4 teaspoons (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) baking POWDER 

½ teaspoon baking SODA 

1 ½ teaspoons salt 

2 cups buttermilk 

1 ½ cups corn, thawed if frozen 

(When I don’t have corn, I use grated zucchini, grated carrot, or something else that makes sense. Sometimes I’ll mix corn, carrot, and zucchini, for “confetti” cornbread, or use zucchini to make a green “Irish” cornbread.) 

½ cup brown sugar, packed 

4 large eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional) 

16 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 cup or 2 sticks), melted and cooled. 

(If you don’t have unsalted butter, use salted butter, removing two very small pinches of salt from your dry.)  

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (if you are using powdered buttermilk instead of liquid buttermilk, whisk ½ cup powdered buttermilk in with your dry ingredients). Make a well in the middle of the dry. 

In another bowl, whisk your eggs until just smooth, whisk in the buttermilk (if you are using powdered buttermilk, you would mix 2 cups water into your eggs at this point), the vanilla extract, and the brown sugar until blended. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry, and mix until combined. 

Gently hand stir the melted and cooled butter into your mixture. You’ll think there’s too much butter to mix in, but give it a half dozen or so more (gentle) stirs, and you’ll find that you’ll get an even, blended, and smooth batter. 

Gently stir in the corn, zucchini, carrot, or other vegetable substitution. In December, I sometimes add 1 ½ cups shredded zucchini and then a half cup of dried cranberries. It's festive. 1 ½ cups shredded carrot and ½ cup raisins are a nice combination, anytime, but especially at Halloween. 

Smooth batter into your prepared pan, and tap the pan on the counter to settle any air bubbles in the batter. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, rotating your pan halfway through the bake. 

Your cornbread will become a deep golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center will come out clean when it is done. 

Cool in pan for 10 minutes and turn out on rack to cool for 10 more minutes before cutting and serving. 

Wrap in foil or store in Tupperware in refrigerator. Double wrap to freeze. Thaw out, overnight, in fridge.

Tip & Suggestions 

for 

Baking or Cooking

1. Baking soda and baking powder are two different ingredients. Be careful as to which one your recipe requires. Both are leavening agents, which help to make your baked good rise. You'll notice that baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) will usually have lemon juice or buttermilk in the recipe, an acidic, to activate the baking soda. Baking powder is a completed leavening agent - no acid needed to make it make your baked goods rise. 

2. Don’t have a whisk? Use a fork. 

3. If you don’t have a pan, and don’t want to get one or it is not in your budget to purchase one, possibly you would have a friend or family member from whom you could borrow a pan. Garage sales, consignment stores, and The Goodwill are all places you can purchase kitchenware for a modest price. Just be careful to not purchase anything with a finish or material that is unhealthy. If appropriate, let older relatives know that you would be a happy recipient of no longer used kitchen gadgets and goods. Accept recipes, as well. 

4. Try not to measure ingredients over your bowl. Measuring over a different bowl or plate sets you up for success. 

5. If melting butter in a microwave, less is more. Cube the butter and place it in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds, do one thing (i.e. measure out your flour), microwave for another 15 or 20 seconds, and check the bowl. You might need to repeat a few times, anywhere from 10 to 25 seconds at a time, with doing at least one thing in between bursts. When the butter is almost completely melted, you might find that the rest of the solids will melt from the residual heat of the liquid butter. Patience and a light touch. 

6. If you are using powdered milk or powdered buttermilk instead of liquid milk or buttermilk, ¼ cup powder + 1 cup water = 1 cup of milk or buttermilk. Keep your powdered goods in a dry place and in as an airtight of a container (double bag and push all of the air out) as possible. When using powdered milk or buttermilk, let the finished batter set for 10 minutes before cooking with or baking.