My Daily Recipes

Sour dough is not something you make in a hurry. Not the first time anyway. The starter takes at least 24 hours to get ready, but some people would say one week or more. But don’t panic. Most of that time it is doing its own thing.

Originally bread was flat. Then long, long ago someone left a bowl of dough exposed and some wild yeast got in. There are still those who believe that this is the only authentic way to make sourdough, but most of us will want to bought yeast.

Alaskan Sour Dough Starter

You will need

1 packet of instant yeast

1 tablespoon vinegar

2 1/4 cups hand warm water

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups strong bread flour

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Add sugar vinegar, salt and flour. Add the rest of the water and stir. Place in a non metallic bowl, cover and let it sit until it starts to ferment. About 3 days for a fairly sour taste, but you can use it after 24 hours. Stir again until and measure out the amount you need for your recipe. Bring this to room temperature before using. You then need to replenish the starter with equal volumes of flour and water.

Sourdough Bread

1 cup of starter

1 1/3 cups of hand warm water.

About 6 cups of flour. This can be any ratio you like of white and wholemeal strong bread flour.

1 dessert spoon of salt and the same of sugar.

A little cornmeal or semolina to sprinkle on pan.

Method

Pour 1 cup of starter into a large bowl. Add to this the warm water and about 3 cups of the flour. Mix well and then cover and leave for at least 2 hours in a warm place. You could also leave it in a cooler place for up to 24 hours. Mix the salt and sugar into 2 cups of the flour and mix this into the yeast mixture. Now turn it out onto a floured board and knead. Add more flour until you have a fairly stiff dough. Grease bowl. Place the dough back in the bowl, turning so that dough is coated with grease. Cover and let it rise. Knock down the dough and shape it into two large loaves or into rolls. Sprinkle tins or baking sheets with cornmeal or semolina, place loaves an d then let rise for further 2 hours. Preheat oven to hot, gas mark 8, 450F, 230C. and boil some hot water. Just before baking slash tops of loaves and brush with cold water. Place in oven. On the bottom of the oven place a dish with 3 cups of boiling water to create a steamy atmosphere. Close oven and bake for 25 minutes or so.

Tips

Check loaves are done by tapping bottoms. They should sound hollow.

Different glazes will produce different effects - try milk, beaten egg or salt water.

You could try sprinkling your dough with chopped herbs, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway, coriander, pumpkin seeds and so on. More elaborate finishes could include onion rings or grated cheese. If the bread is well colored, but still sounds dull, try placing back in oven for 10 minutes with heat turned off.

Yes, it is a complicated process, but most of the time you are free to do something else. One of the busiest surgeons I know bakes bread like this every week as a total relaxation, so if he has time what excuse have the rest of us got.

Feeling under-the-weather? Too exhausted to cook something good? Still wanting tasty food? There’s a quick solution and its two feet away from a possible frying-related accident: the oven. Thanks to oven recipes, steaming, hot food is now often readily available, and can be reused for an amount of times.

Oven recipes have been around for as long as the oven itself. In 3200 B.C., settlers among the Indus Valley Civilization were already reported to have had ovens in their mud and brick houses. However, the Greeks initially utilized the oven for bread-making, so you could say that the first oven recipe was one for bread, As a result, over seventy different kinds of bread had been developed in Ancient Greece alone. After the Greeks progressed onto making various cakes and pastries, the oven became popular around the world. Nowadays, no kitchen is complete without a standard cardboard box-sized oven, and no food results from it without an oven recipe.

Oven recipes have no clear-cut definition, but naturally they require the usage of an oven. It is often assumed that oven recipes do not involve any other technology used for cooking, but most of the time, that is not the case. One may fry, grill, boil or use any other method of cooking for the ingredients, as long as using an oven is the last step before achieving the final, tasty product. Ovens are used for roasting and heating food; therefore, most oven recipes cover either pastries (most of which are baked) or meat products, such as casseroles.

The highlight of oven recipes is the wide range of food one can produce from just one kind of technology. A common misconception for oven recipes is that they are all difficult to make, as well as time-consuming. When thinking of them, people usually think of cakes, pies, roast beef, and casseroles. However, most do not realize that a lot of them are simple. In fact, some oven recipes include recipes for toast, brownies and even covers food made from leftovers, such as fish and chips. A roast beef may be expensive to cook, but simple toast for breakfast, thanks to the toaster oven, costs less than a dollar to make.

Another advantage to oven recipes is the reusability factor. As mentioned earlier, leftovers are common ingredients for the easiest recipes. Extra beef or pork can just be thrown into a casserole, while other foods can simply be reheated in a microwave oven. If a dish can’t be consumed entirely, leaving it in an un-operated oven will keep it safe from ants, and it won’t rot quickly. Oven recipes are easy ways to save money, especially when on a tight budget. One of the few disadvantages is that, with leftovers, the quality of food may not be as good as before. Also, ovens require a lot of grease, vegetable oil or butter to operate, and most results of oven recipes are quite oily. However, oven recipes cover their fair share of healthy food. You just have to find the right recipe!

Making homemade bread is one of the most exciting cooking experiences there is.

If you love cooking, you can upgrade your home cooking by learning how to prepare top quality Middle Eastern breads. Although you can buy commercial Middle Eastern breads, the quality and taste will never come close to your own homemade bread. Imagine the smell of warm pita bread with zaatar filling your house! I can promise you that when your family and friends discover your secret, the breads you bake are guaranteed not to last longer than a few hours.

One of the greatest advantages of Middle Eastern breads is that they are usually soft. This means that you can take pita bread and dip it in olive oil, hummus and tahini - no need for a knife! There are also many regular shaped Middle Eastern breads that you can also learn how to bake.

Anyone who ever made homemade bread knows that bread recipes demand time and energy. However, the quality, taste and pleasure you get when you make your own bread at home are well worth the effort.

Following these simple tips will ensure that you are on right track towards successful Middle Eastern baking:

7 Tips for Successful Middle Eastern Bread Preparation

1. Never add salt or oil while preparing yeast, they will hinder the fermentation process.

2. Heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit one hour prior to putting the bread in it.

3. Add olive oil to the dough in order to keep it moist and to prevent if from drying out.

4. Be especially careful not to press the dough when putting it in the oven.

5. If you want softer bread, put a heatproof dish with some water in the oven.

6. Use a wet cotton or towel for covering the dough.

7. An average room temperature of 74 degrees is ideal for dough rising.

Want more information? Want to start making delicious breads?

Go to Middle Eastern Bread Recipes, where you can get great free recipes and much more

 

Craving for cakes? Ever tried gourmet cakes before? Order now online and see how your taste buds will react.

Gourmet cakes are most wanted by so many people around the world. Several people who enjoy gourmet cakes illustrate the taste as heavenly. Usually, you will have to have gourmet cakes delivered right to your home, find a specialty bake shop, or find a great recipe for your very own gourmet cakes. These gourmet cakes have been around for so many years now and people really love to buy them. You can find and get any kind of flavor, design, and style you’ve always wanted. On the Internet you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about these wonderful tasting and stylish gourmet cakes.

When looking for just an ordinary gourmet cake then you might not know what variety to get. There are so many special ways you can get your gourmet so it fits the taste you love and longing for. Here are some wonderful and unusual yet yummy types of gourmet cakes you might want to look into when online and might order right there. You may order the Torte Cake, Carmel Apple Crumb Cake, Chocolate Mousse, and the Red Velvet Cake. Or if not you can even try the Brownie Cake, and the Black and White Crumb Cake, which are readily available over the internet.

These are just some of the kinds of flavors you can have for your cake. You may try and taste with the usual taste of flavoring of the cake and frosting or even sweeten it up by having a filling added and mixed in the mixture with another of your favorite flavor of choice! Gourmet cakes are easy yet fun to order because of how great they look and how delectable they would taste!

Gourmet cakes can also be as a gift for all occasions. When that great event or special day comes around, one thing you might want to consider giving as a gift is a gourmet cake of course. These cakes can be made in any way to fit that special occasion. Here are some events or special days you can give a gourmet cake for Christmas, birthdays, weddings, baby showers, grand openings, etc.

You can buy a gourmet cake to fit any occasion that might occur around the lifestyle of the one receiving your precious gift. These gourmet cakes are a fun and exciting gift to give to your love ones and will have everyone talking about them. So, to make your love ones feel better and add excitement to their special occasions try giving a gourmet cake to them to celebrate that very unforgettable event.

It can be difficult when you want and need to order a gourmet cake when you do not have any places around you in your city that makes them. Now, you can order them right under your fingertips, through the Internet! Therefore, if you are sitting at home and need to order a cake for someone’s party or celebration then you can go right online, make an order, and decide the one of your choice.

Here are some aids with ordering online gourmet cakes. You must make sure the order is everything you want and need before placing it. Try to be sure to pick out the exact design you want for the gourmet cake. If there are any questions about your order, make sure to ask them right now instead of waiting. Be sure that your order will be made and delivered on time for that special occasion. Always be reminded that you can make a purchase on almost gourmet cake website you can find online, because ordering over the internet is fast, simple, and you can do it right from your very own place in any time of the day.

Salads are nutritional and can be the great source of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and lot more. They are considered as light meal and much more than an appetizer. Their preparation mostly involves vegetables (leafy vegetables) and sometimes fruits. The dressing forms the crux of it, which differentiates the taste of different salads. Occasionally it is prepared with meat, fish cheese or nuts, which makes it a high calorie-content. Basically these delicacies are healthy with low calories, most commonly found on every dining table in US

The most commonly consumed green salad consists of variety of vegetables like lettuce, spinach or arugula. This is not all, as the recipes can also be seen with tomato, cucumber, peppers, mushrooms, onions, spring onions, and red onions, carrot and reddish. We come across people who love to try different things in their daily diet they make different combinations in the same dish to give it different taste and flavor. For this reason we find green salads complimented with pasta, olives, cooked potatoes, croutons, beans, rice meat, cheese and fish. That is why salad is not just any mixture of leafy vegetables but needs proper garnishing and serving with of course the right mix of ingredients.

There are wide array of sumptuous chicken and summer salad recipes with tantalizing taste and mouth-watering aroma.

Lets look at one of the recipe called Chinese chicken salad recipe which easy to prepare and tasty to eat. The almonds and noodles in the salad add a crunchy taste to it and the dressing makes it spicy and sweet. Take a quick look at the ingredients needed.

Chinese chicken salad

Ingredients:

Coleslaw

1 packet of chicken noodles

1/2-cup of chopped green onions

Few sliced almonds to add crunch

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Dressing essentials:

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of olive oil

Wine vinegar or same quantity of rice preferably 1/2 cup rice

2 tsp. of soy sauce

Seasoning from the ramen

Method

To start with the Chinese chicken salad, you need to bake/grill and cube the 4 chicken ******* properly. Once this is done you have to combine all ingredients together. When the ingredients are mixed properly put the dressing on it immediately before serving.

During summer the intake of regular diet is less but the salads with nice dressings and variety of toppings can actually work as appetizers. The summer salad recipe involves fresh vegetables. Just go through the recipe to find out more about it.

Mid- summer Italian bread salad

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic

1 (1 pound) loaf or Italian bread preferably

1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes

1 cup of peeled, seeded and chopped cucumber

1 cup of chopped red onion

1 clove crushed garlic

2 cups of chopped fresh basil

1/8 cup of chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

If the bread is too fresh toast it till it becomes dry and crunchy.

Preparations

First of all rub the peeled clove of garlic from inside of wooden salad bowl. After that chop the bread into small size pieces. Mix bread, tomato, tomato, cucumber red onions, garlic, basil and thyme in the prepared bowl. Finally add oil and vinegar for lightly coating. Toss and serve the Mid- summer Italian bread salad

Let’s face it EVERY cook makes mistakes (yes, even us professional bakers make boo boo’s).

I’m going to list here, the 7 most common whole wheat bread baking mistakes that you’re probably making, or might make if you’re not forewarned, and what you can do about them.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 1

By far the most common bread baking mistake is when the salt is forgotten to be added to the whole wheat bread dough.

This results in very bland bread, and even effects the rising of the dough. Making your whole wheat bread flat on top.

The best solution for this is to use a post it note as a reminder to yourself, to add the salt to the whole wheat bread dough.

You can stick the post it note where ever you’re most likely to see it (fridge, recipe book, etc..)

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 2

The second most common mistake is when the whole wheat bread dough is allowed to over rise, which leads to it falling.

This usually happens when the whole wheat bread dough is forgotten about. And with so much going on our lives, who doesn’t forget things like this now and then?

But don’t fret, there is a solution: If the whole wheat bread is already in the bread pans when it over rises simply use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the excess dough off the sides of the unbaked loaves.

Separate and roll this dough into a few small balls of dough. Allow them to rise 20 minutes to 30 minutes on a small oiled cookie sheet, and then bake them on 350 Fahrenheit, for 15 to 20 minutes as whole wheat rolls.

Also allow the whole wheat bread dough to rise for about 15 to 20 more minutes before baking if it is extremely flat on top.

Another solution to help you keep from forgetting about your bread, is to use a timer which will beep loudly after the selected time period is up.

Using a timer can also help stop other whole wheat bread baking catastrophes from happening.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 3

When you heat up your water to put your yeast in, it is easy to accidentally make the water a bit too hot. This mistake will kill the yeast and your bread will not rise

To correct this mistake I strongly recommend you invest in a cooking thermometer, to measure the temperature of the water with.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 4

If the recipe you use makes too much dough for your family’s needs and you worry that the extra bread will grow stale before you use it, fear not.

It is perfectly safe to refrigerate unused dough for a few days and allow the whole wheat bread dough to finish it’s rising time once you get it out to use it.

You can use a Ziploc bag or plastic wrap over bowls that contain your whole wheat bread dough, to store it in your fridge and still prevent oxidation.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 5

Burned bread. Yup, nothing tastes worse than whole wheat bread which is black as charcoal.

To avoid this, be sure you follow baking times and temperatures strictly. And again use a timer to remind yourself when it’s time to remove your whole wheat bread from the oven.

Also remember that gas ovens and electric ovens vary in their temperatures. If you’re using an electric oven you should bake almost all pastries on 350 Fahrenheit.

Sometimes a recipe will call for you to start baking a loaf of bread on a higher temperature, but will also usually tell you to turn the heat down after a certain amount of time.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 6

Mistakenly or purposefully using the wrong type of flour. If you are baking whole wheat bread, the only way to get good results is by using whole wheat flour to bake your bread.

There are different recipes for all the different types of bread and they all use one specific flour for each recipe.

So don’t try any substitution hoping that by adding rye flour for instance, you will actually turn a whole wheat bread recipe into rye bread. Because you won’t.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 7

Last but not least there is the problem of air bubbles (also called “pockets”) which create large holes inside the whole wheat bread, after it’s done baking.

The best solution for this is to pinch any such bubbles whenever you see them in your whole wheat bread dough, before you bake it. This will immediately deflate the bubble.

Now you are armed with the knowledge of the 7 most common whole wheat bread baking mistakes (most of which also apply to all other rising breads) and how you should deal with them.

So don’t let the bread mistake blues get you down ever again.

Let’s face it EVERY cook makes mistakes (yes, even us professional bakers make boo boo’s).

I’m going to list here, the 7 most common whole wheat bread baking mistakes that you’re probably making, or might make if you’re not forewarned, and what you can do about them.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 1

By far the most common bread baking mistake is when the salt is forgotten to be added to the whole wheat bread dough.

This results in very bland bread, and even affects the rising of the dough. Making your whole wheat bread flat on top.

The best solution for this is to use a post it note as a reminder to yourself, to add the salt to the whole wheat bread dough.

You can stick the post it note where ever you’re most likely to see it (fridge, recipe book, etc..)

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 2

The second most common mistake is when the whole wheat bread dough is allowed to over rise, which leads to it falling.

This usually happens when the whole wheat bread dough is forgotten about. And with so much going on our lives, who doesn’t forget things like this now and then?

But don’t fret, there is a solution: If the whole wheat bread is already in the bread pans when it over rises simply use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the excess dough off the sides of the unbaked loaves.

Separate and roll this dough into a few small balls of dough. Allow them to rise 20 minutes to 30 minutes on a small oiled cookie sheet, and then bake them on 350 Fahrenheit, for 15 to 20 minutes as whole wheat rolls.

Also allow the whole wheat bread dough to rise for about 15 to 20 more minutes before baking if it is extremely flat on top.

Another solution to help you keep from forgetting about your bread, is to use a timer which will beep loudly after the selected time period is up.

Using a timer can also help stop other whole wheat bread baking catastrophes from happening.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 3

When you heat up your water to put your yeast in, it is easy to accidentally make the water a bit too hot. This mistake will kill the yeast and your bread will not rise

To correct this mistake I strongly recommend you invest in a cooking thermometer, to measure the temperature of the water with.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 4

If the recipe you use makes too much dough for your family’s needs and you worry that the extra bread will grow stale before you use it, fear not.

It is perfectly safe to refrigerate unused dough for a few days and allow the whole wheat bread dough to finish it’s rising time once you get it out to use it.

You can use a Ziploc bag or plastic wrap over bowls that contain your whole wheat bread dough, to store it in your fridge and still prevent oxidation.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 5

Burned bread. Yup, nothing tastes worse than whole wheat bread which is black as charcoal.

To avoid this, be sure you follow baking times and temperatures strictly. And again use a timer to remind yourself when it’s time to remove your whole wheat bread from the oven.

Also remember that gas ovens and electric ovens vary in their temperatures. If you’re using an electric oven you should bake almost all pastries on 350 Fahrenheit.

Sometimes a recipe will call for you to start baking a loaf of bread on a higher temperature, but will also usually tell you to turn the heat down after a certain amount of time.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 6

Mistakenly or purposefully using the wrong type of flour. If you are baking whole wheat bread, the only way to get good results is by using whole wheat flour to bake your bread.

There are different recipes for all the different types of bread and they all use one specific flour for each recipe.

So don’t try any substitution hoping that by adding rye flour for instance, you will actually turn a whole wheat bread recipe into rye bread. Because you won’t.

Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistake 7

Last but not least there is the problem of air bubbles (also called “pockets”) which create large holes inside the whole wheat bread, after it’s done baking.

The best solution for this is to pinch any such bubbles whenever you see them in your whole wheat bread dough, before you bake it. This will immediately deflate the bubble.

Now you are armed with the knowledge of the 7 most common whole wheat bread baking mistakes (most of which also apply to all other rising breads) and how you should deal with them.

Twenty-three chefs who cooked for world royalty and heads of state (The Club des Chefs des Chefs) were, during their 1987 visit to the U.S., wined and dined with the best our finest chefs had to offer. What impressed them most? Lunch at an Amish farm in Pennsylvania, where they ate homegrown new potatoes, string beans with cream sauce and corn, charcoal-grilled chicken, and baked ham, washed down with homemade root beer and peppermint tea, served by the family in a barn lined with handmade quilts.

They were stunned. Happily so, it seems. The chef for the president of France said, “Cooking has evolved so much. Nobody presents the true product as it is, and all of a sudden we were presented that.”

But the desserts impressed them most. Especially one they couldn’t name. One they described as a light “pain d’epices” (spice cake) with a layer of chocolate filling. Gilles Brunner, chef to Prince Rainier of Monaco, was so taken with the cake, which he described as a chocolate gingerbread, that he tried to get the recipe. His request was refused.

The Amish family did not want their identity revealed, which refusal greatly hampered efforts to identify the cake as well. Research by Phyllis Richman, then food editor of the Washington Post, seemed to show that the mystery dessert was Amish applesauce cake with chocolate frosting, and the Post printed a version of it contributed by Betty Groff, a cookbook author from the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Which applesauce cake turned out to be pretty much what our family had been enjoying since my father married Edith Kennedy in 1977, and which Edith’s family had been enjoying long before that? Her daughter, Lorenelle Doll, who gave me the recipe, says that it was a favorite of my father and Lorenelle’s husband Arnie. (So far as I know, Edith didn’t actually feed any to a French chef.)

I like to think Edith’s version is better than Betty Groff’s, because that recipe says to “frost with vanilla or chocolate frosting if desired.” Whereas Edith’s gives a recipe for chocolate frosting MADE WITH BUTTER. And in my view the humblest frosting made with butter is better than the fanciest frosting made without. I’m not implying that Edith’s frosting is humble. It isn’t. It’s purely wonderful, as is her cake.

Edith Kennedy Glidewell went to be with her Lord in March 2002, but before that she gladdened many hearts in many ways, this applesauce cake not the least of them.

EDITH’S APPLESAUCE CAKE

Cream together 1/2 cup room temperature butter or shortening and 1 cup sugar. Add 1 egg and beat together. Mix in 1-1/2 cups applesauce.

Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp. cloves. Add to applesauce mixture, along with 1 cup raisins and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Lightly oil a 9″ x 12″ pan and dust with flour. Add the cake mixture and bake at 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes, until the top of the cake’s center springs back when touched. Frost with chocolate frosting when cool.

Chocolate Frosting: Combine in a heavy saucepan or double boiler 1 square baker’s unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1/3 cup milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook 1 minute. Cool and beat until the frosting has a satin finish.