Fresh Baked Dilly Bread

Well foo. A small bout of food poisoning (not from my own cooking; stop laughing!) put my good intentions to get back on schedule to waste. Bleargh. Oh well. Here's a recipe post a day or two later than planned. I hope you all enjoy it!

This particular recipe has been in the family for a while. My grandparents used to make this and my mom's been raving about it for years. I had never had it before, but I do have access to all my grandparents' old recipes. That, combined with some texting to my mom/consultant, enabled me to recreate their process.  She seems to think it turned out pretty well. It was certainly tasty and delicious. Fair warning, this is not a difficult recipe but it does require a significant time investment for rising of dough.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                       Measuring cups

Small bowl                                                                   Wooden mixing spoon

Measuring spoons                                                        Plastic wrap

Mortar and pestle                                                         Round casserole dish

Spoon

Ingredients

1 packet dry active yeast                                            1 tsp onion powder

1/4 cup warm water                                                   1/4 tsp baking soda

8 oz small curd cottage cheese                                    1 1/2 Tbsp dill seed, divided

2 Tbsp sugar                                                               1 egg

1 Tbsp butter, soft + some for greasing                     2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Now Let's Make Dilly Bread!
Start by making sure you have a warm, dry place around 85-90 F to place the dough while it rises.  If you don't (I live in an apartment that's generally cold and drafty), you can set your oven on warm and put it in there. I also find (if its not summer) that a car parked in the sun does the trick. Warm on my oven is about 100 F so I let it heat, then turn it off, then repeat until the dough has had enough time to rise.

Measure out 1/4 cup warm water and pour it into the large mixing bowl. Make sure the water is very warm but not very hot. You want to activate the yeast, not kill it (like a visit to the spa instead of the Sun). Add the yeast to the water, sprinkling it evenly along the surface and allow it to soften. Softening yeast is a fancy term for letting it foam (I like to picture a little yeast disco). Leave your yeasty water alone for about 10 minutes, and when you come back it should be nice and frothy. If it's not, throw it away, get new yeast, and start over.

Beginning to foam

While you're waiting for your yeast to froth, measure out 8 oz of small curd cottage cheese (at least 1%; none of this nonfat junk, please) into your small bowl. Heat it to lukewarm in the microwave; about 20 seconds out to do the trick.

Then, measure out and add to the small bowl 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp soft butter, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda. Don't bother mixing it yet, this is just a prep bowl. If you're using a stand mixer, don't worry about having soft butter, but if you're doing it by hand it's a must.

Pile'o'ingredients

Add 1 Tbsp of dill seed to the small bowl. Put the other 1/2 Tbsp of dill seed in your mortar and pestle and grind until partially crushed. You don't need to go for a powder, but you want all the seed to be broken up. This releases more of the dill flavor into the bread. Add the crushed dill seed to the small bowl.

Crush, crush, crush

By now, your yeast should be foaming. Add the small bowl of ingredients to the yeast. Crack your large egg into the bowl as well. Mix the ingredients together until everything is well blended. You'll especially have to watch that egg, as the whites will resist mixing with the other liquids (snobs).

Dental floss, anyone?

Begin adding your flour to the liquid mixture 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition. I find that by the last addition I have to get in there with my hands because the dough begins to get stiff and hard to mix with the spoon. Make sure as much of your flour gets squished into the dough as possible. By the end, you should have a rounded floury ball of dough. If, for some reason, you find that your dough is too wet, you may add and addition 1/4 cup flour; just be careful.

 After addition 1                                                  After addition 2

 After addition 3                                                  After final addition

Place the dough ball in the center of the large bowl and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap (ie attach the wrap firmly but don't vacuum seal the thing). Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise for 50-60 minutes. The dough should double in size and be nice and light.

Bundled up and ready to rise

While you wait, grease the bottom and sides of your round casserole dish with butter. I use a 9", 2 qt. round dish.  Once the dough has risen, stir it down and turn into the casserole dish. Let it rise for an additional 30-40 minutes in a warm place until the dough is light.

First rise

Stirred down

Second Rise

Bake at 350F for about 30-40 minutes until bread is golden brown.

Extract carefully with butter knife and fingers

Cut, serve, and nom!

   

Raspberry Upside-Down (Pan)Cake

I mean, really, what other title do you need?  This recipe came about one night after a batch of pancakes went very wrong. I've no idea what happened, since directions were followed to the T, but the pancake batter turned out runny. So runny it couldn't go onto the griddle (at least not without also making its way to the floor).  But, I didn't want to waist a bowlful of potential pancakey goodness, so I poured it into a casserole and baked it. Nom.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Medium mixing bowl                                                  9 x 9" casserole

Measuring cups                                                          Knife

Whisk

Ingredients

Stick of butter                                                            Water

Pancake mix                                                               8 oz package raspberries

Now Let's Make Raspberry Pancake Cake!
The great thing about this recipe is its simplicity. Start by preheating your oven to 350F. Grease your baking dish by peeling the wrapper away from the stick of butter and rubbing the stick against the bottom and sides of the dish (Kinda like coloring, but with butter). Rewrap your butter and put it away; set the dish aside.

Prepare your pancake mix in the medium bowl according to the directions on the box. I use the one for 12-18 pancakes (and when does it ever make that many?), which called for 2 cups mix to 1 1/3 cup water. Find the comparable amounts on your box, measure, and mix! Use your whisk and make sure all the lumps are gone, but do not overmix or you'll have a really tough cake.

Rinse off the raspberries and pat them dry with a paper towel very gently.  Layer the bottom of your casserole dish with raspberries, making sure to space them as evenly as possible.

Next, pour the pancake batter on top of the raspberries, making sure to pour evenly across the dish. If any of your raspberries are uncovered, push a little batter over the top of them.

Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.  Start checking at about 18 minutes, but do not check too frequently or the warmth will escape the oven. Remove from oven when top is just starting to turn golden and an inserted knife comes out clean.

Cut the cake into squares. Dust with confectioner's sugar or the topping of your choice and serve. There's a lot of toppings that go well with this: whipped cream, cream cheese, maple syrup, raspberry preserves, honey, caramel etc. This cake relies on toppings to sweeten it, so don't skimp. Pick one and enjoy!

   

Super Easy Sunday: Poor Boy Cake

As usual on a Sunday I've worked, the last thing I wanted to do tonight was get in the kitchen.  Time to pull a easy recipe out of my hat.  This one is so easy, it hardly qualifies as a recipe really (but hey, I'm shameless).  Tonight, I made a Poor Boy Cake.  I've been making this cake with only small alterations since I started cooking; it was one of the first things I learned to make (aaaahhhh, nostalgia *tear*).  A little online research reveals a lot of variation for this cake, so let's just call this my version and leave it at that.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                        13 x 9" casserole dish

Mixing spoon                                                                Fork

Cooking spray

Ingredients

Box chocolate cake mix                                                 Water

Eggs                                                                               14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Vegetable Oil

Now Let's Make Poor Boy Cake

Preheat your oven according to the directions on the box. Yep, that's right: boxed cake mix.  Choose your favorite chocolate variety, or if you have a basic chocolate cake recipe, use that.  

Prepare the cake batter according to the directions on the box. Most basic box mixes call for a combo of eggs, water, and vegetable oil, so that's what I listed above. Use the amounts indicated on the box.

Pour the batter into the 13 x 9" casserole dish, scraping the bowl. Tilt the casserole from side to side and corner to corner to force the batter to spread out thoroughly. Bake according to the time listed on the back of the box. Do not overcook. Cake is done when a knife inserted comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Take your fork and stab the cake until it is covered in holes (make like a senator in Julius Caesar). Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and pour over the top of the cake. 

 Et tu, Brute?

Allow the milk to settle into the cake and the cake to cool. Serve and enjoy! It goes great with vanilla ice cream.

It's not a pretty cake, but it's a tasty one!

   

These Blondies Are No Joke

My sweet tooth is calling (I should probably have that thing pulled...); naturallly, it's time to raid the pantry and see what I can throw together.  So, I've decided to adapt my Brownie recipe for Blondies with dates and walnuts. Nom? Yes. Also, I've added a new feature to the right sidebar that allows readers to follow The Book Pantry by email. Don't be shy!

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                      Measuring cups
Butter knife                                                                 Measuring spoons
Small mixing bowl                                                      13 x 9" casserole dish
Whisk                                                                          Cooking spray

Ingredients

2 sticks butter                                                             1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs                                                                          1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup light brown sugar                                              1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups flour                                                          1/2 cup chopped dates
2 tsp vanilla

Now Let's Make Blondies!

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C).

Cut the 2 sticks of butter into chunks into the large mixing bowl.  Microwave, until butter is melted, but not so long that it begins to sizzle and pop.  If a few chunks are barely melted that's okay.

While your butter is melting, crack 4 eggs into the small mixing bowl, removing shell if necessary. I used a mix of medium and large eggs and saw no difference in size or amount of egg (was is the difference, anyway?). Using your whisk, beat the eggs until as much of the white as possible is blended.  Pour the beaten eggs into the butter and mix.

Measure 1 cup light brown sugar (dark brown will result in brunettes), packing it tightly into the measuring cup.  Add to the large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Make sure that the sugar is completely blended into the eggs/butter mixture. Brown sugar likes to stay clumped and you don't want any dry lumps in your Blondies (I mean, seriously, how gross does that sound).

Next, measure and add to the bowl 1 1/4 cups flour, 2 tsp vanilla (which I realized I didn't add to my brownies last time. Oops!), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder.  Mix the dry ingredients in, making certain to blend completely.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl routinely as you mix to avoid any dry pockets from forming. Do not overmix as this will result in a tougher texture.

Now that you've created your batter, it's time to add the goodies.  I've chosen a combination of walnuts and dates, but I'm sure you can get creative with it. Just make sure you add a total of 1 cup and you'll be fine with whatever combo you select. Measure and add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup chopped dates. Mix them into the batter until you've got a fairly even distribution.

Use your cooking spray and spray the bottoms and sides of the 13 x 9" casserole dish.  Pour the batter into the dish; don't forget to scrape the bowl as much as you can.  Spread the batter evenly throughout the dish. Bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes, until the top of the Blondies are golden and the edges are golden brown. An inserted knife or toothpick should come out clean.

Allow to cool completely (or as completely as the delicious smell allows you to). Cut the Blondies into squares and serve.

   

Oh, Martha, Lemon Bars

I've been wanting to try my hand at lemon bars for a while now, and since the weather has been a tad cooler of late, I no longer actively dread my kitchen. I've never attempted anything even close to lemon bars before, so I figured I'd better be safe and go with an established recipe.  And so, I turned to my handy-dandy Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook, page 266.  I used the amounts listed in the recipe, but added an ingredient and followed my whim on the instructions (in other words, I blatantly ignored the instructions offered). Result? Tasty.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Large mixing bowl                                                       Liquid and dry measuring cups

Whisk                                                                           Measuring spoons

13 x 9 inch baking dish

Ingredients

Crust:                                                                            Filling

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter                                         4 large eggs

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour                                          1 1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup confectioner's sugar                                        3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt                                                                   1/4 tsp salt

                                                                                      1/2 tsp vanilla

                                                                                      3/4 cup lemon juice

                                                                                      1/4 cup milk

Now Let's Make Lemon Bars!

Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Grease your casserole dish with butter or cooking spray. (I accidentally forgot this step, but it didn't seem to matter much).

You're going to start with the crust, which is essentially a shortbread.  Soften your butter slightly if it's not already.  While the butter softens (do not melt! I forgot my butter and did this today, too), measure out 1 3/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar, and 3/4 tsp salt and add it to your large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together until they are thoroughly blended and have no large lumps left (alliteration! Sorry, couldn't help myself).  

Add the slightly softened butter to the flour mixture. Using your whisk, cut the butter into the flour. Do this until all the butter clumps are broken up and no larger than pea sized (as pictured).  This can take a while. The butter tends to clump in the whisk, so you'll need to stop periodically to shake it back out. I find that rolling the whisk over stubborn butter clumps helps break them up quickly. 

Pour the dry ingredients into the casserole dish. Don't freak out! I know it doesn't really look like dough.  Spread the flour/butter mixture out until it is evenly distributed across the bottom of the casserole. Now, using your hands press the mixture so that it packs down tightly on the bottom of the dish.  Continue until the entire surface is a hard packed dough, with no loose floury bits.  Put the casserole in the oven and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the dough is a light golden color.

Remove the crust from the oven and set aside. Turn your oven down to 325 F.  

Rinse and wipe out your large mixing bowl (no sense dirtying another dish).  Crack 4 large eggs into the bowl and lightly whisk them together. Then, measure out and add to the bowl 1 1/3 cup sugar, 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, and 1/4 tsp salt (Martha calls for course salt in her version, but I sensed no difference when I used regular). Mix the ingredients together completely; it's kinda gloppy so make certain all the dry ingredients get blended in.  

Next add 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup milk, and 3/4 cup lemon juice.  Carefully stir everything together, until it's well mixed and you have a smooth liquid filling.  Be careful; this is really easy to slosh out of the bowl as your mixing. I found that the egg mixture really resisted being mixed with the liquids. To combat this I started out by using a folding motion, then switched to a regular stirring motion when it started mixing.

Pour the filling over the crust evenly. Bake at 325 F for between 18 - 25 minutes.  Martha's original recipe called for 18 minutes, but I found that mine was still liquid at that point.  I wound up cooking mine for a little longer than 25 minutes. Start with the recommended 18 minutes, then add time as needed, watching the lemon bars closely.  You'll know they're down, when the very edges are golden brown and the top appears solid and springy.  Let cool.

Once cool, cut into bars and dust with confectioner's sugar. Serve and enjoy the lemony bite!