Sourdough English Muffins

Bet you thought I'd fallen off the face of the earth, huh? Well, not exactly, but things have been a little busy and unfortunately I've been neglecting my blog. There is some rather fun news though. One is that my baby had his first birthday last month, and two is that my husband graduates from university in 3 weeks. Yay! We've got the housing bug bigtime--we can hardly wait to get into our own place. :)

I've been working with several recipes in the meantime, and I've had a lot of success with the originals. The one that I had the most fun with was the sourdough English muffin recipe, so I'll share that one with you first. I tried an English muffin recipe a few months ago, but it tasted so bland without the sourdough zing. So, I bought a start from my local grocery store (if yours doesn't carry packaged start, I'm including instructions for a basic start at the end of this post), found a better recipe, and voi la, perfect English muffins! And yes, you can make these sourdough English muffins entirely from food storage. Unlike most homemade breads, these muffins will keep for at least a week and still taste great.

Sourdough English Muffins
Makes at least 2 dozen (closer to 2-1/2 dozen)

Before you go to bed:
1 c. starter (if yours isn't bubbly enough, and you don't think it will raise bread, use 1 tsp. yeast in addition)
2 tbsp. honey
2 c. reconstituted powdered milk
4 c. all-purpose flour (or 2 c. a-p flour and 2 c. whole wheat flour)

Combine starter, honey, and milk in a large glass or plastic bowl. Stir in flour, 2 c. at a time, until well combined. There's no need to knead--you'll do that later. Spray a little cooking oil over the top of the dough so that it doesn't dry out overnight, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and let rise overnight.

When you get up:
1 scant tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1-2 c. all-purpose flour
Cornmeal

Stir down your dough. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the top, and combine. If the dough is too sticky for kneading, add 1/2 c. flour at this time and work in with a wooden spoon. Once your dough is cohesive enough, turn it out onto a floured board and work in as much flour as you need. When the dough no longer sticks to your hands, knead for five minutes. Pinching the dough should feel like pinching your earlobe.

Lightly flour board again and roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter or an upside down drinking glass to cut as many rounds as you can. Place cut dough onto a corn-meal-dusted baking sheet. Knead together remaining dough, roll out, cut, and repeat.

When all your muffins are cut, sprinkle the tops with cornmeal, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for about an hour.

Preheat a cast-iron skillet (a non-stick griddle works well too) with a tiny bit of butter over medium-low heat. When the butter sizzles, place as many muffins as will fit on your skillet. Pan-bake for about 4 minutes per side, TURNING ONLY ONCE. When you flip your muffins over, squash them a bit with the spatula so that they cook flatly on the second side.

To serve, insert two forks into the side edge of the muffin and pull the top and bottom apart. This creates the "nooks and crannies" that taste so good when filled with butter. Toast to desired blackness, and smother with butter. Mmmmm!

Original recipe can be found at http://www.sourdoughhome.com.

If you can't find a start, you can make one.
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. yeast
2 c. lukewarm water

Combine ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl and stir with a wooden or plastic spoon. Do not use metal anything when working with the starter. Once combined, the start should have the same consistency as pancake batter. If it's too runny, add more flour--if too thick, add water. Place a paper towel or piece of cheesecloth over your start and allow it to sit in a warm (about 85 degrees) place overnight. The next day, remove one cup of the liquid and replace with 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. flour. This is called "feeding your start," and while it's out of the fridge, you'll need to do it every day. Once your start becomes bubbly and has a fermeted, sour odor, you can store it in the fridge and reduce feedings to once a week. The longer you leave it out of the fridge, though, the more flavor your start will develop. Every once in a while, you'll need to pour your start into a fresh container. I use a glass quart jar with a paper towel over the top.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Friday was another experiment day, but my dad's been in town, so this is the first chance I've had to blog about it. A while ago, I found a recipe for homemade soft pretzels. I wanted to try it, but at the time I didn't have enough time, and I kind of forgot about it after that. Anyway, I found it again last week, and I tried it, and it worked wonderfully. I do have a couple of hints that I should share, though.

#1--When you boil the pretzels, do so in a tall pot with a narrow opening. I boiled mine in a frying pan, and I think there was just too much room. I would recommend using a 2 quart sauce pan.

#2--Bake them until they turn kind of orangy-brown. I baked them as long as the recipe said to, and maybe my oven's not as hot as it says it is, because they were tan, but they didn't have the right texture for soft pretzels. I put them back in for a few minutes, and they came out looking over-done but tasting perfect.

So without further ado, here's the recipe!

Soft Pretzels
Makes 12-24 pretzels, depending on size

1-1/2 tbsp. yeast
2 c. warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
4-5 c. bread flour
4 t. baking soda
2 egg whites
coarse salt (for topping)
cinnamon-sugar (for topping)

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt, and flour and knead well, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let rise for about 45 minutes, or until double.

Divide into 12-24 pieces, depending on how big you want your pretzels. Roll into a long, narrow rope (about 18 inches) and twist into pretzel shape. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine 4 c. water and the baking soda in a 2 qt. saucepan and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl, combine egg whites and 2 tbsp. water.

Drop pretzels in baking soda water one at a time and boil for about one minute. Place on a rack to drain.

Brush tops of pretzels with egg white and top with either coarse salt or cinnamon sugar. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees F. for 12 minutes, or until shiny and brown.

Original recipe came from Basic Food Preparation: A User's Guide, by Janet C. Stocks.

Another Wonderful Dinner Idea: Duca d'Alba (fillets of beef in mushroom sauce)

Just because Valentine's Day has come and gone doesn't mean it's too late to cook something special for the ones you love. I found a recipe for "Duca d'Alba" (fillets of beef in a mushroom sauce) in an old Great Recipes from Great Restaurants cookbook that my grandma gave me ages ago. It's from Frank Zani's French restaurant (though why the name of the recipe is Italian I'll never know), the "Villa Victor." I don't know if the place exists anymore, but this Duca d'Alba is fantastic.

The dinner was surprisingly simple to make. If I hadn't been trying to satisfy a hungry baby, folding fancy dinner napkins, and digging our China out of storage all at the same time, it would have been a very low-key dinner. I served our Duca d'Alba with mashed potatoes, because the sauce is an excellent gravy. The original recipe calls for 1/2 c. Madeira wine, but my husband and I are LDS, so I substituted diluted red wine vinegar and it tasted delicious. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Duca d'Alba
Serves 6

6-1/2 tbsp. butter
1-1/2 tbsp. flour
2 c. beef broth
6 fillets (steaks) of beef, cut 1-1/2 inches thick
1 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 c. red wine vinegar diluted with 1/4 c. water
1 shallot, chopped, or 2 tsp. chopped onions

Melt 1-1/2 tbsp. butter in a small saucepan; blend in 1-1/2 tbsp. flour until brown. Gradually add the broth, stirring steadily to the boiling point. Reduce heat to low; cook on low for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a large skillet. Quickly brown the fillets in the butter and remove. Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter for 5 minutes. Return the fillets and add the salt, pepper, vinegar, onion, and brown sauce. Cook over low heat until your beef is as rare or well-done as you like it.

And don't feel compelled to tell your family that you didn't slave over a hot stove all day long. :)

Easy Dinner Recipe and a Request

Hey out there!

First, I'd like to start off by making a request:

I'm looking for an English Muffin recipe.

I tried one over the weekend, but it wound up tasting like ordinary dinner rolls. So if you have one you like, or you have one you've never tried but would like tested, leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

Now, I'll get to the good stuff. I know we're all after ideas for dinners that are easy and quick, so I'll share one of my old standbys. This recipe came from my mother-in-law, and my husband and I love it. I had a really hard time at first getting the meatballs to keep their shape, but I discovered that if you add about 1/2 cup of water to the skillet as you fry them, it helps keep them from sticking and the water boils off so in the end, you just have nice, meatball-shaped meatballs.

Grandma Ebert's Swiss Meatballs
Serves 5-6

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 onion, diced
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs (or 1 heel of bread, soaked, drained, and mashed)
1 can of mushrooms, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can of water
Dash Kitchen Bouquet (it's a brown meat-seasoning, used to add color and flavor. It's optional, if you can't find it or don't want to buy it.
Cooked egg noodles or rice

Mix hamburger, onion, egg, and bread crumbs. Form into meatballs and fry until well browned. Drain off fat.

Add soup, 1/2 can of water, mushrooms, and a dash of Kitchen Bouquet. Stir gently to mix and cook on low until sauce is the desired consistency. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Homemade Bagel-y Goodness!

I'm so excited about this recipe! I found a recipe for plain bagels last week, and I've been dying to try making bagels since I failed miserably in high school. I made a batch of the plain ones, and they were delicious!! Being the sometimes health-nut that I am, I decided that I'd try and adjust the recipe from corn syrup and white flour to something a little more healthy, and here's what I came up with. I hope you enjoy making (and eating!) these bagels as much as I am!

Honey & Wheat Bagels ala Lindsay
Makes 10 bagels

1 tbsp. yeast
2 c. warm water
3 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
3 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/2 to 3 c. white flour (bread flour works well)
3 tbsp. sugar (for boiling bagels)
corn meal for baking

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey and molasses, and let sit for a while until you can see that the yeast is alive and bubbling. In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, salt, and oil. Add flours alternately a cup at a time (so one cup wheat, one cup white) until you have a dough that adheres to itself. Turn dough out onto a well-floured countertop and knead for 7-9 minutes, adding flour as necessary, until dough is elastic and not tacky. The longer you knead, the better the texture of your bagels.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Let rise for about 40 minutes, until dough is double the size. Divide dough into 10 pieces and shape into round discs. Poke a hole in the middle of each one, and pull gently until you have a 1-1/2 (or so) inch hole in the center. Place bagels on a greased baking sheet and let rise again until nearly double (about 20-30 minutes).

When bagels have about 10 minutes left, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and get a sauce pan and fill it about 2/3 full of hot water. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Add bagels, one or two at a time, cover, and boil for 20 seconds. Flip bagels and boil for another 20 seconds. Remove bagels with a slotted spatula and let drain for about 10 seconds before placing them on a VERY WELL CORN-MEALED baking sheet. When you've boiled all the bagels, place them in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until nice and golden brown.

If you have trouble getting them off the baking sheet, wait until they cool down. The bottoms of the bagels pull away from the baking sheet as they cool.

Enjoy!!

I Actually Won! (Plus a Recipe for Corn Bread)

This is just going to be a short little brag-blog. Our church had a chili cook-off this Thursday, so I whipped up a pot of my trusty chili, and I took 2nd place! They had a bluegrass band and everything, it was so much fun. I love living in a smaller town! We never did things like that in the bigger cities I've lived in.

Anyway, if you want to try some of my Award-Winning Chili, you can find the recipe here.

And just for the fun of it, and because you can't have chili without corn bread, here's my family's favorite best-ever corn bread recipe.

Corn Bread
Makes 9 big pieces

1 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1 large egg
1-1/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x9" square baking pan. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients all at once to milk and egg mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour into pan, and bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

For a fun variation, you can add canned green chilies and cheddar cheese.

Also, you can bake the corn bread in muffin tins to make individual servings.

Enjoy!

Homemade Clam Chowder

We're at that time of year where winter starts to get old, but spring is still way off. What do you do to keep things interesting when you're cooped up inside wrestling babies all day? I choose to cook. It keeps my mind and my hands occupied, and it helps to heat the house! It's actually pretty amazing that my husband and I haven't put on a single pound all winter, the way we've been eating around here. Personally, I think that's because of the kinds of things I've been making lately. I still make a batch of homemade fat-free, low-sugar yogurt every week, and I've started making a batch of crackers every week too. They're really great for snacking, and I think that snacking on that kind of stuff instead of my usual cookies and chips has helped a lot.

It can be hard to think of every-day meal ideas that keep winter from being so boring. One thing I like about this clam chowder recipe is that it's very filling, and it doesn't taste so fishy that "sea-food-phobes" (like my husband!!) won't eat it. It cooks up very quickly too, so if you're running a little late on dinner, this recipe is great.

Aunt Janet's Clam Chowder
Serves 4-6

2-3 medium potatoes, peeled
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cans clams (they look like tuna cans)
1/4 c. + 1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pint half-and-half

Put vegetables and bay leaves in a pot. Add juice from clams and water to just barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil and cook on medium until vegetables are soft.

In another pot, melt butter and add salt and sugar. Add flour and cook and stir until mixture is light tan (about 2 minutes). Add half-and half slowly and cook and stir until thickened. Pour sauce into pot with vegetables (there's no need to drain the vegetable pot!) and add clams. Stir until warm.



This chowder goes great with French and sourdough breads! For a little variety, try adding different spices to the sauce--I tried oregano, thyme, and rosemary, and it was very tasty.

Enjoy!

More Wheat Recipes: Crackers and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who knew that wheat would be so fun for snacking? I found great recipes for homemade crackers and chocolate chip cookie bars. I've made both of these recipes this week, and both were fabulous. The recipe for wheat crackers is easy, and the crackers taste like homemade Wheat Thins, and actually taste better when they're slightly burnt (it makes them crisper and brings out the sesame seed flavor). You can also experiment with flavors--I've tried the onion-garlic ones, and they're great.

The chocolate chip cookie bars were so good we had a hard time believing they were made using only wheat flour and oats. I made them last night and I've been snacking on them all day today. :)

Homemade Wheat Crackers
Yields: most of a gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Regular flavor:
1-1/2 c. wheat flour
1-1/2 c. white flour
1/4 c. wheat germ
2 c. quick-cooking oats (can use regular)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. honey or sugar
1/2 c. oil
1-1/2 c. milk or water
1/4 c. sesame seeds

Combine dry ingredients. Add liquid ingredients and knead until smooth. Use a floured pastry mat or counter top to roll the dough very thin (1/16" or thinner). Place dough on a greased baking sheet and use a pizza cutter to slice dough into squares. Bake at 350 until golden brown, between 15-20 minutes. Break up the crackers and allow them to cool completely before storing.

Flavors:
Onion and Cheese
Add with sesame seeds:
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

When crackers have been rolled, sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and roll into dough with the rolling pin.

Onion and Dill
Add with sesame seeds:
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp. dried dill weed


Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
This makes a biiiig batch of cookies!

1 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2-1/4 c. wheat flour
2-1/2 c. rolled oats
1-12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Press dough into greased 11"x13" baking pan. Make sure to press dough to an even thickness. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Wheat Recipes: Pie Crust, Tortillas, and Pasta

Anyone else out there have hundreds of pounds of wheat stored? My mother-in-law and I have been scouring the globe for good recipes using wheat, and here are three that I found and then re-worked. They work well now, and they taste great. I would recommend using the pie crust with pies that have strong flavors and chunky textures, for instance, apple pie or chicken pot pie. Also, it's probably best to use white wheat, because the white wheat doesn't change the color or taste as much as red wheat does.

Whole Wheat Pie Crust for Savory Pies
Makes 2 single-crust pies or 1 double-crust pie

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour (can also use half all-purpose, half wheat)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening, butter flavored
Ice water to make the dough soft

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Incorporate shortening using a pastry cutter, pair of knives, or your hands, until shortening clumps are penny-sized.
3. Add ice water by the tablespoon until you have a soft dough that holds together.
4. Divide dough in two equal portions, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
5. Roll dough out on a floured pastry mat.
6. Carefully transfer rolled dough to pie plate.
7. For single-crust pies, trim and flute edges.
8. For double-crust pies, trim edges to size of pie plate. Roll out top crust, fill pie, and cover with top crust. Trim edges to 1/4" beyond plate, fold under bottom crust, and flute to seal.


Whole-wheat Tortillas
Makes 12-15 tortillas

1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. olive oil
1 c. warm water

1. Combine flours and salt.
2. Pour in oil and blend with your fingers or a fork until well-incorporated.
3. Add water; knead until dough is soft and stretchy.
4. Divide into 12-15 balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for at least 30 minutes.
5. Roll out tortillas on a floured pastry mat or coutner top.
6. Bake on a hot, ungreased griddle until air pockets start to expand. Carefully flip the tortilla, and bake the other side.

Best when warm; will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week or more.


Wheat Pasta
Serves about 6

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
5 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil

1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the olive oil and eggs.
3. Mix together with a fork or your fingers.
4. Knead until stiff and elastic (hard dough!)
5. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 min.
6. Roll out the dough to 1/16" (really thin) on a pastry mat and cut noodles to your desired width and length. You can also use a pasta machine.
7. Hang or lay flat to dry for at least 15 minutes before boiling.
8. Boil like normal pasta. Homemade pastas cook quickly.



Enjoy!

Recipe for French Dip au Jus

Ok, this recipe doesn't have much to do with Christmas, New Year's, or anything else, but I found this French Dip recipe in a cookbook I got for Christmas, and it was wonderful. I played with the recipe, and I came up with my own version that tastes even better. It's pretty simple to make, but the people you serve it to will love it anyway. My husband was amazed that I could make it at home and have it taste better than the restaurants.

French Dip au Jus
1 lb. roast serves 4; Choose your roast size accordingly.

1-3 lb. roast (rump works well)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. beef base (bouillon)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dry thyme
3-4 pepper corns
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 sm. med. onion, quartered and split

Use a fork to poke holes all over the roast. Place roast in a slow cooker. Combine soy sauce, beef base, and thyme; rub into roast. Pour remaining soy sauce mixture into slow cooker and add remaining ingredients. Add water to barely cover roast. Cook on the high setting for 2 hours; reduce heat to low and cook for 4 more hours. Before serving, skim the fat off the au jus and remove the bay leaf, garlic cloves, and pepper corns.

For French Dip sandwiches, serve roast in crusty buns or French bread with Dijon mustard, mozzarella cheese, and mushrooms. Dip sandwiches in jus.

The jus can also be eaten alone or frozen for later use in gravies or soup bases.