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 If your yeast does not get foamy, this means your water was too hot and/or that your yeast is no longer active.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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Onion and Pepper Bread (Vegan)

Of all the breads to bake, this is the one! This savory and crunchy crusted bread has the perfect texture and levels of moisture. It is hard to go wrong (in fact, I have successfully pulled off the same great taste when I accidentally baked the bread 1o minutes longer than I had planned!).

This recipe does require an extra deep dish pan to boil water. This  pan will go below the baking tray to create steam. Thus, you get the amazing crispy crust on your bread, but a totally soft inside! After this, you can call yourself an artisan bread baker! ;)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons yeast
1 and 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 and 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 bell pepper diced into small pieces (any color)
1/2 onion diced into small pieces
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if desired)
1 chopped chili pepper or ghost pepper (if desired)
1 tablespoon flax seed powder (if desired)
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 warm water (about 110 degrees) with yeast in a large mixing bowl 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 whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, old fashioned oats,  black pepper, cayenne pepper (if desired), and flax seed powder (if desired). Mix the dry ingredients well.
3. Add in the foamy yeast water and knead the dough until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add in the diced bell pepper, onions, and chili peppers (if desired). Knead the dough for another five minutes.
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 as needed (such that the dough no longer sticks to your fingers, but not too much as this can dry out your bread).
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.
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 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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Fluffy Pretzel Buns

My husband introduced me to Costco's Pretzel Slider Buns / Rolls a year ago and I could not have enough! But, why buy from Costco when you can make it yourself?! By taking tips from Sally's Baking Addiction and Like Mother Like Daughter, I can successfully say that I won't be going to Costco for these buns anymore!

These are so fluffy, soft, and easy to make. I highly recommend making these even if you are a first-timer. The steps are not difficult, but they do require a very crucial step of boiling the buns for 20 to 30 seconds in baking soda water prior to baking.

If you end up trying out this recipe, please do let me know how it goes! 


Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, and about the temperature of warm bath water)
 2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon white table sugar
2 tablespoons melted margarine plus additional for brushing the tops of the buns
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
Salt for topping
Oil for greasing pan

For boiling bath:
1/2 cup baking soda
9 cups water

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. In a bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and white table sugar together. Let the solution stand for about 5 minutes. The solution should become foamy and expand. If this does not happen, your water may have been too hot or your yeast is no longer active. Do not take shortcuts on this step!

2. Mix in the melted margarine (warm, but not hot) and tablespoon of brown sugar.

3. Add in one cup of all purpose flour and mix until dough is the consistency of a pancake batter with no clumps. Then, add in the second cup of all purpose flour. At this point, begin mixing with your hands. Once thoroughly mixed, add in the third cup of all purpose flour. The dough should now be somewhat sticky. Add in the remaining 3/4 cups of flour and knead until all flour is combined. The dough will be somewhat stiff. Continue kneading dough for about 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Shape the dough into a ball and place back into bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

5. The dough will be double its size. Take off the plastic wrap and punch down the dough. Knead dough a few times in the bowl and break the dough into 12 equal parts. Roll each part into a ball.
6. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Foil and grease a 9x11 pan. Set aside.
7. In a large saucepan, combine the baking soda with 9 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
8. Once ready, drop one to two dough balls into the boiling baking soda bath. Boil for 20 to 30 seconds (but, not longer as flavor could be compromised). Remove bun(s) with a slotted spatula or spoon. Allow any excess liquid to drain. Place bun(s) on the foiled and greased pan. Repeat until all 12 buns have been dropped into the baking soda bath and placed on pan (it is okay if the buns touch). Sorry, no shortcuts on this step!!!
9. With a knife, make a few slashes in each bun. Do not worry if your buns look ugly, they will look great after baking!
10. Melt 1 to 2 tablespoons of margarine and brush on top of each bun. Sprinkle salt (any type --- I used plain table salt, but other recipes have used course salt).
11. Bake buns at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. The buns should be a darker golden brown.
12. Remove from oven and enjoy!

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Fluffy and Healthy Pizza Dough

This recipe is my go-to pizza dough as the cooked dough is soft and fluffy. I have used this recipe many times with a variety of different sauces and toppings. Enjoy!

PS: Photos were updated on June 8, 2018. 

Cooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, about warm bathtub temperature)
 1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Uncooked Vegetarian Pizza

Instructions:

Following these instructions exactly will provide the best results.

1. Add yeast to warm water and stir. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes until water becomes foamy. If the water does not foam up, your yeast may no longer be active or your water was too warm.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Add in the foamy yeast water into the dry ingredients and knead until all the flour has been incorporated. Keep kneading for about 10 additional minutes.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour in a warm place (I usually place it into a cooled oven).

5. When the dough has doubled (or, sometimes even tripled), knead dough again for a few minutes with flour on your hands as the dough will be extra sticky. Form a large ball of dough. Place plastic wrap on the bowl again and let rise for another 30 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Press out dough onto a foiled pizza pan (or two, if you want thinner crusts). You may consider lightly greasing the pan to make sure the dough comes off nicely (but, I have done it without oil and it has turned out just fine with a bit of strategic fork use). Place your desired toppings on the pizza (fun vegan fact: nutritional yeast is a good substitute for cheese).

7. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden brown. Bake longer if you chose to make a thick crust.

Uncooked Vegan, No Oil Pizza

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