Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Quick Breads’ Category

Aug 30

108 Comments

An Epic Biscuit…The Sequel, And Garden Update

On Occasion I make a recipe and it turns out great and the second time I make it, it flops. Since I have sought the perfect biscuit recipe like seeking the Holy Grail for years and having found a great one on try #1, I decided to make them again to see if my results are the same.

Epic Biscuit II

Epic Biscuit II

Notice the photo is better, I used a dark background and that makes a huge difference in the photo quality IMHO.

The second go around the biscuits rose but not quite as high, it could be that I patted the dough down a bit thinner than the last time, I did not place them as close together on the sheet pan, or that my buttermilk was not as fresh who knows but they still rose nicely, were tender, fluffy and delicious. I wrapped and froze them for another day.

garden

garden

In July I had my garden re worked to help me with diminishing the weed population and hopefully the mosquitoes too.  Happy to report that although I still have some weeds they are about 90% better than before and almost manageable for me to take care of myself. I have only killed 4 or 5 of the plants that were initially planted (may not have been my fault). Also my herbs including the basil are doing really well. I am also very happy that there are less mosquitoes this year as well so I can enjoy my backyard.

two types of basil regular sweet and smal spicy

two types of basil regular sweet and smal spicy

Jessica planted sunflowers, it is her signature flower and when she initially put them in the ground they were about a foot tall. Now they are over 6 ft tall and look at this beauty.

sunflower

sunflower

In closing I believe this biscuit recipe is a keeper and will be made over and over again.  Since I already gave credit to the author in my last post and there is no way to contact her I am including the recipe in this post.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

From Food.com Author P4

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the board ( if you can get White Lily flour, your biscuits will be even better)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder ( use one without aluminum)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • ( approx)1/2 cup sugar ( for topping) NOTE I did not put sugar on mine
  1. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor.
  3. Cut the butter into chunks and cut into the flour until it resembles course meal.
  4. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.
  5. Add the buttermilk and mix JUST until combined.
  6. If it appears on the dry side, add a bit more buttermilk. It should be very wet.
  7. Turn the dough out onto a floured board.
  8. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.
  9. Use a round cutter to cut into rounds.
  10. You can gently knead the scraps together and make a few more, but they will not be anywhere near as good as the first ones.
  11. Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet- if you like soft sides, put them touching each other.
  12. If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart- these will not rise as high as the biscuits put close together.

Aug 27

105 Comments

An Epic Biscuit

Real Southern Buttermilk Biscuit

Real Southern Buttermilk Biscuit

I have mentioned previously more than a few times that I consider myself biscuit challenged. They are usually dry, heavy, hard and really pretty bad. I follow directions, but they just never seem to turn out light and fluffy you know like the biscuits that you get in the can, the refrigerated ones from the store. I thought that maybe I was holding myself and the recipes up to too high of a standard but felt that there had to be a recipe out there that produced a biscuit that met my expectations. I went out on a limb this morning, I am an Air BNB host and had a lovely couple from Belgium staying with me, I offer breakfast on the first morning in Brooklyn and decided to try making this recipe for them (if they didn’t turn out I had English Muffins as a back up, had to have a safety net).

I am happy to report that the biscuits are fantastic. It is someones Southern Great Grandmothers recipe and is on Food.com by cook P4, I followed the recipe to the letter and the results are amazing. Light, fluffy and delicious. I used full fat buttermilk and good Irish butter. They come together quickly, are easy to make and the results are wonderful. Click on Food.com for the recipe. I think one of my problems with biscuits or scones is that I have a heavy hand, probably from years of kneading bread. I barely handled this dough, I folded it as instructed exactly 5 times no more and gently patted the dough, I was gentle with the biscuit cutter, not turning it but a straight down cutting.

Look at the rise on that biscuit, I was really so pleased. I placed them close together on the baking sheet so that they touched each other giving a higher rise and soft sides. I served them for breakfast this morning with omelette and bacon, good salted butter and homemade strawberry jam.

I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you all, if anyone is searching for a good/great recipe for biscuits, try this and let me know how you like it. I only had one biscuit left which explains the lack of photo’s but I feel it’s really is a thing of beauty and this biscuit deserved it’s close up.

IMG_5910

Aug 21

15 Comments

Custom Cutting Boards

I forgot to add what I wanted to say when I re blogged this. I wanted everyone to see Michaels work, he is a true craftsman and his cutting boards, ice cream scoops, rolling pins etc… are true works of art. I am totally enamored with his work.

Michael's Woodcrafts

August 21, 2014

Nice-large-cutting-board

I wanted to show you a custom board I finished and shipped this week. Sometimes when I pull out my lumber to begin making a new piece I can tell that the wood is beautiful, this time it turned out more beautiful than I initially thought. Walnut has ever rick color.

walnut-board-for-grill

The customer wanted a large board made from walnut to use in his kitchen. This is a custom size board, 20 x 30 inch and made using American Walnut. I am not sure exactly how they plan to use the board other than he mentioned that he does a lot of baking.

walnut-cutting-board

Since he lives in California, it will take 3-4 days before FedEx delivers the board,  I sure hope he likes it!

wood conditioner, spoon butter, board butter or wood butter in tins, made from mineral oil and beeswax, spoon butter

As a gift with every board I send a free tin of Wood Conditioner. My Wood Conditioner is homemade combining a mixture of food-grade mineral oil and pure beeswax. It will help you maintain the finish…

View original post 27 more words

Mar 9

90 Comments

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Really, there are countless recipes out there in cyberspace, print and in our recipe files. I feel like there is always room for one more in my repertoire when it stands out. I like my muffins cakey rather than well, like a quick bread I have run across several in my culinary travels that have fit the bill. I saw these on pinterest (I think) and they sounded really good. Cake flour so they are light, vegetable oil so they are super moist and yogurt, not just for flavor but additional moistness and of course lots of blueberries. The muffins are from Alton Brown of Food Network. I have mad respect for Mr. Brown, his scientific and entertaining approach to cooking is wonderful.

I like these muffins a lot, it was my first time using this recipe and I will definitely use it again. I followed the directions for the most part exactly as written except for 2 things. I didn’t have fresh blueberries, I used frozen and they worked out just fine and I sprinkled a little organic sugar on the top of the muffins before baking. The muffin tops are crisp and a little crunchy and every bite gives you blueberry. One other last tip, if using frozen blueberries, toss them in 1 tbs flour, don’t reserve one tbs of the dry ingredients as indicated in the recipe.

Blueberry Muffins – Alton Brown

Makes 12 muffins

12 1/2 ounces cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Heavy pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup yogurt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Vegetable spray, for the muffin tins
Directions

Preheat oven to 380 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, egg and yogurt. Add the dry ingredients reserving 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss with the blueberries. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Add 1 cup blueberries to mixture and stir 3 more times. Reserve the 1/2 cup of blueberries.

Using a #20 ice cream scoop, add the mixture to greased muffin pans. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of berries on top of muffins and press down lightly. Place into the oven and increase the temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Remove from oven and turn out, upside down on tea towel to cool completely. Serve immediately or store in airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Moist and loaded with blueberries

Moist and loaded with blueberries

Dec 22

18 Comments

Applesauce Mini Loaves

Applesauce Mini Loaves

Applesauce Mini Loaves

I am still working on edible gifts for friends and family and as usual I am behind. Most of these will be hand delivered but some will be getting theirs after Christmas. These loaves are a variation of the banana bread recipe that I love so much, the only substitution is that I used homemade applesauce instead of banana’s. I also added some spice and finished with a cream cheese drizzle and some toasted walnuts.

Makes one regular sized loaf or 3 mini loaves

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 heaping cup applesauce (homemade or commercially prepared-unsweetened)

1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray the bottoms of loaf pans or pan.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy, add eggs and mix using either stand or hand held mixer until the eggs are completely incorporated and its smooth and creamy.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a bowl and add to the butter mixture. Mix just until its combined. Add the applesauce, sour cream and vanilla and mix until completely combined.

Divide evenly into loaf pans if making the mini loaves or scrape into loaf pan. For mini loaves bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick or tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. If making a large loaf bake 60-70 minutes.

Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes then invert onto rack and let cool completely, Drizzle with icing and sprinkle walnuts on top. Refrigerate until drizzle becomes hard (it’s important if you are going to package the loaves) Put approx 1/4 cup walnuts in food processor, pulse a couple of times, place on piece of parchment into the 350 degree oven for 5 minutes or until you can smell the walnuts. Remove and let cool.

Icing

2 tbs softened cream cheese

1 tbs butter at room temperature

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix until smooth, add a few drops of water it its too thick. Drizzle onto loaves and sprinkle with the walnuts.

Newer Entries »