Crumpets For Me!

I love reading books that have great food descriptions in them. I love food and it is one of the details I love to see in the background of a story. Growing up I read many English literature books and was always interested in what the people had for "tea". I was especially interested in crumpets since I had never seen or had them before. I imagined all kinds of cookies, cakes and such when I heard the word. I was very disappointed when I finally had one and found that they were like English muffins. Not one of my favorites.

Then I was reading one of Anne Perry's William Monk books. In it Hester was snatching a precious moment to herself and got to eat a hot crumpet with her tea. This was a rare treat for her. She described the crumpet with it's crispness and softness and the hot, melted butter that was in danger of running down her elbows if she didn't hold it just right and eat it quickly enough. I was sold on crumpets right there.

Now, after some searching, I have found a recipe that I like and I can enjoy a crumpet to myself (or with my kids). I hold it just right and eat it quickly to prevent the pool of melted butter from dripping on my hand and running down to my elbow.
I did have to do some searching.

The first recipe I found to way too much time, 3 hours from start to first crumpet.

Sorry!

When I want a crumpet I want it now not at next meal time.

Then I found the baking powder versions and was so excited.

However, I found that many of these sacrificed flavor and many of them tasted like flour paste. That is NOT good eats.
I have found some medium ground though.

I found some recipes that use both yeast and baking powder.

The time is cut down to 15 minutes and the flavor is fabulous.

I have found that those that call for eggs taste the very best.
So.....

Here is my recipe for crumpet, whole wheat crumpets no less.

(white flour can be substituted or mixed half and half with the wheat.)

Miss Lucy's

Whole Wheat Crumpets

4 cups flour

(whole wheat, white, or a mix of both)
3 cups hot water
2 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
6 eggs
9 Tbsp Non-instant powdered milk (1 cup instant)
2 Tbsp oil or melted butter

In the hot water (not too hot or you will kill the yeast) add the sugar, eggs, oil and yeast. Mix well and set aside.
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt and powdered milk.
Add to the water mixture and mix well.
Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.

Prepare your griddle or large frying pan by heating it on medium for several minutes.
Oil your crumpet rings. I do this by pouring some oil into a small bowl and dipping or rolling the rings in the oil to coat. Set the rings on the hot griddle for a few seconds before adding the batter.
When the time is up, add a scoop of batter to each oiled ring. The rings should be half filled.
Cook at medium heat until the edges start to look "dry" and they have holes in them.

Remove the rings with tongs or pliers.

Flip the crumpets and bake on the other side.
Serve hot with butter and jam.

Enjoy!

** Hot milk can be substituted for the hot water and powdered milk. (It is winter here now and fresh milk is not as abundant as it is in the summertime. We don't buy milk from sthe store, only the dairy.)

Cherry "Cinnamon" Rolls

My fall sewing has ended and my Christmas sewing is just beginning..... But for right now I am free to blog a few tasty things. This is a recipe I experimented with for my friend Tracy. Every now and then we have to have a bun (cinnamon roll) and a cup of tea (rooibos tea), and de-stress and the regroup. I need it as much as she does. (I hope she needs it as bad as I do).
I wanted to try something different the other day and I had seen a Cherry roll at a local tea shop and had to give it a try. I used my regular cinnamon roll dough recipe (whole wheat) and added my own home canned cherry pie filling (recipe to come). It was fabulous! So here is what I did.

Cherry Rolls

Dough:
2 Tbsp dry yeast
6 Cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp Gluten
2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp (non-instant) dry milk (1 cup instant)
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
2 Tbsp lecithin (optional)
2 cups hot water
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the honey, eggs, milk, salt, lemon juice, butter, potato flakes, and lecithin and 1/2 the flour. (mix the gluten with the flour or it will clump). Beat well and let rise. Add the remaining flour and kneed for 8-10 minutes. Let rise for 1 hour.

Filling:
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1 can cherry pie filling

Mix honey and butter together.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Spread with honey and butter mixture. Top this with cherry pie filling.
Roll into a "classic cinnamon roll". Cut with dental floss or a heavy thread. Makes 12 very large or 24 small cinnamon rolls. Place on a buttered pan or cookie sheet, cover and let rise for 20 minutes.
Bake at 375 deg F for 18-20 minutes.

Frosting
1/4 cup butter
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups (maybe a bit more) Powdered sugar
vanilla extract
Milk if needed

Mix the butter and cheese together. Add the sugar and vanilla. Whip into frosting. Add more sugar or milk if needed.
Frost the rolls when the come out of the oven, this melts the frosting all over the place and it is gooey, sweet and warm.
Heaven!

Tips and Tricks I have learned:
*non-instant powdered milk is tricky to work with. If you don't mix it in just right, it clumps. I have found that you either need to whisk it in carefully (not something I ever remember) OR mix it with your flour. This spreads it out and there is no clumping. The same goes for the gluten. It clumps something terrible, however, mixed with the flour there is no problem.
*Oven proofing - I have found that if I "proof" or raise my cut rolls in the oven, they get much bigger and fluffier. This is quite an accomplishment with 100% whole wheat. What I do is heat the oven to 200 deg. F and then TURN IT OFF. While that is heating, I boil a kettle of water. When the rolls are cut and in the pan, I our the boiling water into a baking dish in the oven and slip my rolls right in there. I let that set for 20 minutes. I remove the rolls and the water, heat the oven to temperature and bake as usually. The buns get really big. Because of this, I space them well on the pan so they are NOT touching when I put them in, they will be when I pull them out to bake.

These rolls are "proofed" and ready to bake.

Cheezy Onion Rolls

Holy Macaroni! These are so tasty. I have to share.

My sister shared this recipe with us and it is now a new favorite. Will be subbing my roll dough recipe so I can make this Whole Wheat ASAP!

Cheezy Onion Rolls

Filling
1/3 cup dried minced onions
1/3 cup hot water
1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese powder (can sub Parmesan cheese if you don't have powdered cheese)
1 tablespoon soft butter

Dough
1 large egg
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons soft butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Dry Milk
2 to 3 tablespoons shredded mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Directions:
To make the filling:
Soak the minced onions in 1/3 cup hot water while making the dough.
Stir in the Pizza Seasoning, cheese powder, and butter just before you're ready to shape the dough.

To make the dough:
Whisk together the egg and warm water.
Add the yeast, butter, salt, flour, and dry milk.
Stir to combine, then knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides; cover it and let the dough rise until it's doubled in bulk.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface.
Roll the dough into an 18" x 10" rectangle.
Spread with the onion mixture, leaving 1" free of filling
Roll the dough into a log, pinching the seam closed.
Cut the log into 12 slices using string or dental floss.
Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet, leaving about 1" between them.
Cover and allow to rise for until puffy.
Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the rolls for 22 to 26 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Yield: 12 rolls.

Baked French Toast

My dear friend Suzanne fixed this for our Quilt Guild Retreat this past month. It was Fabulous! I use that word a lot but it really was.
My children love French toast and so do I. I may post how they make that but here is how we adapted Suzanne's recipe and made it our own.

4-6 sliced of whole wheat bread cubed or torn in chunks
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese (optional)
6 eggs
1 cup milk
sprinkle of cinnamon and/or nutmeg
pinch of salt
brown sugar or Sucanat

Butter a 9"x9" baking dish
Place half the cubed bread in the dish.
Cut the cream cheese over the bread.
Cover with remaining bread cubes.
Mix eggs, milk, salt, and cinnamon or nutmeg together in a blender.
Pour over bread.
Sprinkle the top of the bread mixture with Sucanat or brown sugar.
Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.
In he morning, preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Bake for 45 - 60 minutes.
Serve warm with maple syrup, powdered sugar or just the way it is.

Basic Muffins

I just found this recipe and have to share it. It is so fast and easy and tastes fabulous. I have been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. Something that I can use for breakfast or dinner when we are out of bread but the meal screams for a tasty piece of bread to go with what ever we are eating. The recipe can be dressed up with additions if you want to also.

Whole Wheat Muffins

2/3 cup brown sugar (can use less)
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 cup sour milk (add 1 tbsp vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup and then fill with the milk, OR you can use buttermilk.)
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups whole wheat flour (fresh if you can get it)

Blend the sugar and butter, stir in egg. Add the other ingredients and mix. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375-400 deg. F. for 15 minutes.
Makes about 12 muffins.

You can add 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dates, apples, etc.) to the batter.
You can also add grated cheddar cheese to the batter.
These are great plain with just butter.
They go well with soups on a cold fall or winter night.
Are you drooling yet? Go make some. You will have hot, delicious, and healthful muffins in about 30 minutes.

Great Grandma's Raisin Loaf

This is the only recipe I have the belonged to my Father's Mother. My Bennion cousins talk about her great cooking but my older siblings didn't. They grew up with my grandma Wood and she was a most excellent cook. So the recipes I have are hers.

I found this little treasure when I was digging through a recipe file my mom was getting rid of. It is written in my mother's hand writing and she said she must have copied it when she first was married.

Raisin Loaf

Boil for 15 minutes:

1 1/4 pkg of raisins (I think a package was a pound)

2 cups sugar

3 1/2 Cup water

Add 1 Cup Shortening (I used butter or lard) while mixture is still hot.

When cool add:

3 eggs well beaten.

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 heaping sieve flour (you gotta love measurements like that - it is 5+ cups) (you can use white or wheat flour)

Bake 1 1/2 hours in a moderate oven 325 deg in loaf tins.

ENJOY!

This loaf is very yummy (If you like cooked raisins). Even my husband, who hates quick breads like banana bread and zucchini bread, loved this bread.

100% Whole Wheat Bread Machine Bread

I have been playing with this recipe all summer and think I have it now. This is so easy to make and has saved my bacon over and over again when I was too busy to make my regular big batch of bread.



1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
2 tsp salt
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp gluten (optional)

Put everything in your bread machine in the order given.
Set your machine or the whole wheat setting and push start.

When the batch is almost ready to bake (that is about 1 hour remaining time on my machine), I pull the dough out and form it into a ball and put it back. Then it finishes rising and bakes perfectly. If I don't do that it still forms a good loaf but often gets a little high and sticks to the top of the machine. That isn't my favorite thing. :o)

Jill's Sweet Potato Buns

Sorry Jill but the picture was just too funny. I didn't realize you were standing behind the buns when I snapped the picture. Honest.

OK Jill came over to my house and helped watch my kids while I had to run into Neosho with Bryan for an appointment. THANK YOU!!
I told her to make herself at home and that she could cook up anything she wanted to in the fridge. Well that is never a mistake when miss Jill is in your kitchen. She dug up an old favorite cookbook and made me the yummiest buns! She found a baked sweet potato in the fridge and added it to the recipe. It added so much nutrition to the bread and made them such a wonderful golden color.

Jill's Sweet Potato Buns

2 cups milk scalded
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (could use honey)
3 eggs
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp yeast softened in 1/2 cup warm water
10 or so cups of flour (white, whole wheat or a mix)
1 large baked sweet potato mashed up

1. Mix the milk, butter and sugar to melt the butter. Cool.
2. Add the yeast, eggs, salt, sweet potato and half the flour. Mix well.
3. Add the rest of the flour a bit at a time and kneed in until the dough pulls away from the bowl. Kneed about 1o minutes or so.
4. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a dish towel and let rise for about an hour. Punch down.
5. Form into balls and place on a butter pan. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 20 minutes.
6. Bake at 375 Deg F. for about 20-25 minutes It depends on how big your buns are. They may need a bit more time.

What's in Your Easter Basket?

I went out to share some day old bread with my chickens today and brought in a little bundle of warm, wonderful, colorful eggs.

If you look carefully you can see that the one at the bottom right is green! I am so excited.
Bryan bought several colored egg layers last year and they are finally laying a basket of colored eggs for us. The egg in the center isn't white but next to the others it sure looks white. We do have a couple of white egg layers in the bunch too. The yolks of these eggs are simply gorgeous. They are almost orange they are so dark. I made vanilla ice cream yesterday with fresh eggs and fresh milk from the cow and it was golden yellow in color and OH MY GOODNESS was it tasty.
Here are my Fine Hens.


I had to add this to my cornucopia of farmy goodness.

I just made our first batch of butter for this Spring. It is so tasty on the fresh whole wheat bread I made last night.
Here's the bread recipe.

Farm Fresh Bread

6 cups hot milk (heat on the stove)
4 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
6 eggs (I actually used duck eggs)
6 tsp salt
3/4 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats
16-18 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat but red is good too.)

Mix everything together and kneed until the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. The dough might be a bit sticky.
Cover and let rise for an hour in a warm place. (I always keep checking on it and punch it down and flip it around at this stage, I just can't leave it alone.)
Punch the dough down again and divide into 6 loaves. Place in greased bread pans.

Bake at 400 deg F for about 25 minutes. If you are using glass or stoneware pans you might have to add 5 more minutes or so. I usually use metal pans.

This is a large batch so I usually freeze a lot of it and take out the loaves as we need them. This reduces the number of times I have to bake bread in a week.

Conchas

We have a new Paneria that opened up in Neosho. We are so excited to be able to get Mexican treats not. However, we decided we wanted to try these at home. So I searched Pan Dulce recipes and did some tweaking so I could eat them too. I love Pan Dulce but can't have that many carbs all at once. I have come up with a whole wheat version that I like and my kids like. Even Bryan ate them which was amazing.

Here is my version.

Here is my recipe.
Whole Wheat Conchas
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 Tbsp yeast
2 tsp salt
6 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbsp Gluten
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
4 Tbsp Flax Seeds
Melt the butter and milk together in a pan to 110 deg. F.
Mix the yeast, salt, gluten, and 2 cups of the flour with a whisk. Add the milk and butter mix to this and beat well for 2 minuets.
Add the honey, eggs, lemon juice, ground flax seeds, and 1 more cup of the flour. Beat for 2 minutes.
Add the remaining flour until you have a stiff dough. (no more than the total 6 cups - remember that whole wheat flour takes time to absorb the liquid but when it does it can leave a stiff dough very dry, NOT GOOD).
Kneed the dough for about 5 minutes. Cover with a dish cloth and let rise for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the topping.
Vanilla and Cinnamon topping
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup white flour
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 tsp vanilla
Yellow food coloring (optional)
In a med bowl bead the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour, vanilla, and salt and mix until it has the consistency of thick paste. Divide the paste into 2 containers. Add the cinnamon to one and the food coloring to the other. (in the bakery they have yellow, pink and brown conchas).

When the dough is done rising, divide it into 16 equal balls and place them on a greased baking sheet (or two). Divide each bowl of topping into 8 balls, and pat them flat. Place the circles of topping onto the balls of dough and pat down lightly. Cut grooves into the topping like a clam shell (thus the name conchas or shells). To do this I used a canning jar lid. Cover them and let them rise for about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375*F and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

You can make chocolate topping by adding 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder to one of the bowls of mix.
These are great warm or cold and with the wheat and flax seed in there they don't make a bad breakfast. :o)

Behold the Bread

I made this bread in my oven. I am still amazed! And yes, it did taste as good as it looks. So chewy and good.
My friend Jill came to my house for a diaper making day and brought a loaf of this bread and the recipe with her. I am so glad! I love bread and I love making good bread. I have dreamt of making bread that looks like this and now I have. Here is the link to the original recipe. When I made it, I did 4 times the recipe and added 2 Tbsp. gluten. This make 2 nice big loaves. I have tried this in whole wheat and am still working on the recipe to make that work well.
Here is how you do it.
First you mix the dry ingredients.

Then you mix in the water by hand or with a spoon.

This is what it will look like. Very wet and sticky.

Then you cover it with plastic wrap and let it set for 18 hours. It can go up to 24 hours if you need to. This is what it will look like.

Now dump it out onto a floured board and fold in thirds one way and then turn it and turn in thirds again.

Cover with an inverted bowl and let rise for 2 hours. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 450* and heat a lidded dutch oven for 1 hour.
Plop the dough into the hot dutch oven and put the lid on.
Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes.

Pull the loaf out of the oven and let it cool and a rack completely ... if you can. Hee Hee
Then Slice it and enjoy.