Savory Pear and Walnut Bread

I am in love! In love with what? The slightly sweet tang of pear and crunchiness of walnut that you taste when you take a bite out of this bread. Love. Love. Love. Try it out my friends. You won't regret it.

This recipe like many of my other bread recipes requires a cast iron pan (containing boiling water) to be used under the tray used for baking the bread. Following this technique is a good idea as you will get a soft and moist bread with a crunchy crust!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons yeast
1 and 1/2 cups water
3 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 peeled and diced pear
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cinnamon for topping
Additional flour for dusting
4 cups of water for boiling (not to be used in bread)

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine water (about 110 degrees - the temperature of bath water) with yeast and let set for 5 minutes to get foamy. If your yeast does not get foamy, this means your water was too hot and/or that your yeast is no longer active.
2. In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, salt, and cinnamon. Mix the dry ingredients well.
3. Add in the foamy yeast water and knead the dough until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add in the diced pear and walnuts. Knead for another five minutes until thoroughly mixed. 
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
6. Once the dough has doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with additional flour and transfer to a generously floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times and add flour or water as needed (such that the dough is slightly tacky, but I would not mess around with the proportions of the current recipe too much).
7. Roll your dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top to help keep the dough moist. Let the dough sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 450°F, fill a metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) with the 4 cups of water, and place on the lowest oven rack.
9. When the oven is ready, slash the bread 2 or 3 times with a knife or blade, making a cut about 1/2 inch deep. *If desired, sprinkle cinnamon in the slashes for the "look" seen in the pictures.
10. Place the bread tray on the middle rack, above the rack with the pan now containing boiling water. Close the oven door quickly.
11. Bake the bread for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and crusty.
12. Remove the bread from the oven and cool. Enjoy! Once fully cooled, store leftovers in a plastic bag at room temperature.

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Halah Bakes Double Crust Apple Pie (Vegan)

This apple pie was awesome. The crust stayed crisp and there was no fear of a "soggy bottom." The apple filling is sweet, yet not too sweet. Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Ingredients:

For the double crust - for a 10 inch pie pan:

1 cup oil

2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

7 to 8 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons coconut oil

8 to 9 cups sliced and pared Golden Delicious apples (about 9 apples)

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Mix well.
2. Pour the oil into the flour mixture and mix until you get small crumbs the size of peas.
3. Add in 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Mixing the dough between tablespoons with a fork. Stop when the dough begins to leave the sides of the bowl. For me, this only required 7 tablespoons of cold water.
4. With hands, gather the dough into a ball and split into two. Roll each half into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap until your filling is ready.
5. Prep your filling by mixing all filling ingredients together in a bowl.
6. Roll out 1 of the balls of dough to be about 2 to 3 inches larger than the base of the pie pan (this will ensure that the sides of the pan are covered with dough). I recommend flouring the surface you will be rolling on and the rolling pin lightly. Place the rolled out dough into your pie pan. Fill in any cracks (pressing excess dough into the cracks gently) using excess dough from the dough overhanging the sides of the pie pan.
7. Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Note: the flour added to the apple mixture will prevent the filling from getting too wet and making the bottom of the pie soggy.
8. Now roll out the 2nd ball of dough so that it completely covers the top of the pie. Cut off and discard any excess dough. Using a fork, press down the edges of the dough.
9. Cut slits on the top of the crust so that the apple mixture can thicken in the oven and to prevent a soggy pie bottom.
10. Bake the pie for 50 minutes at 450 degrees, but cover the edges of the pie with tin foil. After 40 minutes, remove the tin foil from the sides of the pie and allow the pie to bake for the last 10 minutes completely uncovered. This prevents the edges from getting too brown. When the pie is done, the crust will be a golden brown color and the apple filling will be bubbling through the slits.
11. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

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