52 | 52 Knäckebröd (Swedish Crisp Bread)

I can't believe that 2015 is almost over already.

It's been kind of a strange year but the baking was like the years before - from ridiculously yummy to not so good at all.

Wishing you just the best for 2016 and all your baking (and other) projects.

I will take a break from blogging (not baking) but I might be back in 2017.

So stay tuned ;)

And like last time, I will end the year with something savory.

You'll love it, I'm sure.

 

Knäckebröd (Swedish Crisp Bread)

From Chefkoch

300 g (2 1/3 cups) spelt or whole wheat flour

30 g (2 generous tablespoons) butter

250 ml (1 cup) milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 knife point baking powder

2 tablespoons seeds of your choice (sesame, poppy, pumpkin, sunflower, chia...)

and/or 1 tablespoon dried herbs (dill works very well, rosemary, oregano...

• Knead all ingredients together (yes, it's sticky but don't worry). Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Roll dough very thinly (about 5 mm/0.2 in) between 2 sheets of parchment paper (but be prepared for a lot of it to stick to the top paper) or just use your fingers to spread the dough thinly on a piece of parchment paper (this worked better for me). Cut into stripes or squares and poke some holes with a fork.
• Bake at 220°C (425°F). for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and adjust the time (don't let it burn but leave it in a bit longer if it's not crispy enough after 20 minutes).
• Do not store in an airtight container or plastic bag or it will go soft. I just wrapped it in parchment paper.

 

My modifications:

I used half spelt and half whole wheat flour and I would do it like this again. And I made one half with pumpkin seeds, the other half with dill.

The taste:

Delicious! I don't think I will buy it again. It's so quick and easy.

What's your favorite bread recipe?

44 | 52 Nutella Banana Bread

Thanks, cousin! 

Without you or Facebook I might not have stumbled upon this recipe. 

Don't bake this if you are afraid of sugar. Or if you don't like it sweet. 

Or worse - if you don't like Nutella.

But of course you wouldn't be here if that was the case. Right?

Nutella Banana Bread

From The 36th Avenue

4 bananas, ripe & mashed
227 g (1 cup) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
400 g (2 cups) sugar
510 g (4 cups) flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
120 ml (1/2 cup) water
2 teaspoons baking soda
280 g (1 cup) nutella
180 g (1 cup) chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• Cream together butter, sugar, and eggs.
• Add flour and salt. Mix until crumbly.
• Dissolve baking soda in warm water and add to the crumbly mix.
• Fold in mashed bananas and chocolate chips.
• Pour half of the dough into two bread pans. Spread 1/4 cup of Nutella length down the middle of the dough in each pan. Fill up with the remaining dough and repeat the Nutella step, swirling it together with the dough using a knife.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes. 

My modifications:

I only made half of the recipe because I only had 2 bananas... And I reduced the sugar to 150 g (3/4 cup) for half the recipe (=  300 g (1 1/2 cups) for the full recipe).

The taste:

It's yummy but very sweet (and I already reduced the sugar...). I was only able to eat it in very small portions (which is actually not such a bad thing, right?). I'm not sure yet if I would make it again though. But that shouldn't keep you - it's good!

Have you baked anything with Nutella? What was it and how did you like it? 

37 | 52 Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I might have told you before: I LOVE peanut butter.

I don't think I even have to mention chocolate....

And yes, overripe banana time it was again!

And I had a feeling I needed some kind of banana bread that was a bit different to the usual one. And then I stumbled upon this.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Adapted from Broma Bakery

80 g (1/3 cup) peanut butter

150 g (3/4 cup) sugar

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

120 ml (1/2 cup) olive oil

2 eggs

65 g (1/2 cup) cocoa, unsweetened

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

130 g (1 cup) flour

• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• Mix together peanut butter, sugar, mashed bananas, olive oil, and eggs. 
• Stir in cocoa, baking powder & soda, salt, and vanilla. Add flour last and mix until just combined.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.

 

My modifications:

Since I only had crunchy peanut butter at home, that's what I used and it was very good.

I didn't put banana slices on top before baking. And I omitted the 'frosting'.

Otherwise - no changes to the original recipe.

The taste:

Good. But a bit on the dry side and a bit too dark chocolatey, for my taste.
So definitely a diffferent banana bread but not my favorite one.

What's your favorite banana bread? Would be cool if you shared the recipe!

23 | 52 Banana Nut Bread

Every couple of months, the same thing happens in my kitchen.

And I'm almost sure that it happens in yours, too.

Let's call it the #brownüberripebananaproblem.

I think you know what I'm talking about...

And the general solution to this problem is: Banana Nut Bread.

Or other banana breads or cakes. Or smoothies. Or freezing banana slices for future projects. Or whatever.

So this is my latest try at finding the perfect Banana Nut Bread recipe.

While I've tried a lot of them, I haven't found the perfect one just yet.

So that #brownüberripebananaproblem is actually an opportunity.

For finding the perfect BNB recipe.

Banana Nut Bread

From Cincy Shopper

255 g (2 cups) flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-4 (1 1/2 cup) ripe bananas, mashed

100 g (1 cup) sugar

120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil

2 tablespoons milk

1 egg

60 g (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped

40 g (1/3 cup) pecans, chopped

• Preheat oven to 160ºC (325ºF).
• Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• In a second bowl, mix egg, sugar, and vegetable oil until combined.
• Add dry mix to the egg mix and stir until blended.
• Add milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas and mix well.
• Fold in chopped walnuts and pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
• Sprinkle pecans on top.
• Bake for 60-80 minutes.

My modifications:

None. You don't mess with copycat recipes. At least not if you really want to compare the degree of copycatness...

The taste:

Well, well.

I cannot say anything about the taste in comparison to your favorite coffee place. Because I've never had it there.

In comparison to all the other BNBs I've teasted so far, this definitely belongs to the upper half of the ranking. But that's mainly due to the pecan pieces that are sprinkled on top and really make it different to your plain ole BNB.

Other than that, it's a good, solid BNB and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
It's just not new or exciting or special (except for those pecans).
And I guess I hoped for more. Being that copycat recipe and all.

What's your favorite baked good that you would like to copycat?

14 | 52 Italian Easter Bread (aka Sweet Yeast Wreaths, aka Easter Nests)

I know. Easter is over.

(I hope y'all had a good one!)

But these little wreaths are just called 'Easter'. They can, in fact, be made any time.

They're also called 'Italian' while I am not so sure that they are only that.

And they're called 'Bread'. When clearly they are wreaths.

So again - don't let the name fool you. Make them any time. And call them whatever you want. 
I would go with 'Sweet Yeast Wreath'. Or, if you want to keep the Easter theme: 'Easter Nests'. 

Italian Easter Bread (aka Sweet Yeast Wreaths, aka Easter Nests)

From The Italian Dish via Seeded at the Table

Makes 4-6 wreaths

1 package dry yeast

300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk

76 g (1/3 cup) butter, softened

2 eggs, beaten

100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

500 g (4 cups) flour

1 egg combined with 1 tablespoon of water

6 raw (dyed) eggs (optional if it is not Easter)

sprinkles/pearl sugar (optional)

• Combine yeast, warm milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and about half of the flour in large bowl. Using your dough hook, knead until smooth. Add more flour until you get a firm dough (it might be a bit more or a bit less than 4 cups) and knead until it is nice and smooth. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. 
• Divide into 8 or 12 pieces, roll each piece into a thick rope, 'braid' two ropes together and form a circle/wreath/nest, pinching the ends together.
• Place wreaths on baking sheet with lined parchment paper. Cover and let rise for about another hour. 
• Brush each wreath with beaten egg combined with 1 tablespoon of water. Put on sprinkles or pearl sugar, if you are using them. Place 1 raw egg into the middle of each wreath, carefully pressing it down.
• Bake at 175ºC (350ºF) for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on rack.

My modifications:

I used whole wheat flour for 1/3 of those 4 cups of flour. I didn't intend to but then ran out of the regular flour.... And a bit of whole wheat never hurts, right? It just made the dough a bit darker.

I also didn't dye the eggs. And I omitted the sprinkles.

Because I had enough things to do on Easter Sunday morning as it was, I made the dough the night before and let it rise in the fridge overnight.

The taste:

Good. But for my taste, they are too sweet to eat with anything savory (like cheese or lunch meats) but not sweet enough to really be a sweet bread. They are somewhere in-between and that bothered me a tiny bit. I wouldn't make them again like this. Either sweeter or not sweet at all.

What's your favorite Easter brunch (baking) recipe?

42*52 Sweet Potato Banana Bread

I know. Bananas again. Sorry.

But sweet potatoes! Not much with sweet potatoes on this blog up to now.

So let's get straight to the recipe, shall we?

Sweet Potato Banana Bread

From Just A Pinch 

2 over-ripe bananas, mashed

2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

150 g (3/4 cup) light brown sugar

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

125 g (1 cup) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Combine bananas, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir into the banana mixture until just combined.
• Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

My modifications:

None.

The taste:

Good. But something went wrong when I made it. I think the egg wasn't distributed well enough so that the bottom part of each piece tasted like (and had the texture of) an omelet. Which wasn't so nice, as you might be able to imagine. But otherwise it tasted like fall. And I like fall.

What cake reminds you of fall the most?

28*52 Potato Bread & Potato Flat Bread Pizza

When flipping through the pages of the magazine of a supermarket, I noticed this recipe for potato bread. I thought it might be nice not only as bread but as smaller potato "flat bread pizzas".
With a salad. For dinner.

So that's what I made.

Potato Bread & Potato Flat Bread Pizza

Adapted from Tegut

For 2 breads or 1 bread and 2 bigger flat bread pizzas or 4 bigger flat bread pizzas or - you get the idea...

800 g potatoes

salt

1/2 cube (21 g) fresh yeast

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

700 g flour

Toppings

(I used for the flat bread pizzas, but possibilities are endless, of course)

parmesan, shredded

cooked potatoes, sliced

onions, in rings

raw ham/bacon, diced

• Peel potatoes, cut them into small pieces and cook in salt water. Drain, let cool a bit, and mash.
• Crumble yeast into 125 ml warm water, dissolve. Add honey and let sit for 5 minutes until starting to bubble. Mix potato mash, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and yeast water. Add flour and knead until you have a smooth dough. It might seem a bit dry in the beginning but the longer you knead it, the smoother it gets, so don't add any more water. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• For the bread: use half of the dough to form a bread. For the flat bread pizzas: use 1/4 of the total amount of dough to shape a pizza/flat bread. Cover and let rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 200 °C (390°F). 
• Put toppings on flat bread pizzas. Bake for 30 minutes (pizzas) or 45 minutes (bread).

My modifications:

Except for turning the bread into the flat bread pizzas - none. And I know they're not really pizzas (if only for the lack of tomato sauce) but I couldn't think of a better name. Suggestions are welcome though - just leave a comment below.

The taste:

Yummy! The dough is very fluffy on the inside but nice and crisp on the outside. Perfect!

And the flat bread pizzas with a nice salat make a great summer lunch or dinner.

Definitely a keeper!

Have you baked your own bread? Which kind?

23*52 Banana-Peanut Butter-Bacon Bread (or: A tribute to Elvis)

Brace yourselves. This post will reveal how my mind works sometimes.

From overripe bananas to Elvis.

I hope you can handle it.

"Could turn those overripe bananas into a banana bread. Haven't made one in a while.

Ooh, and add some of those yummy peanut butter chips.

Wait - bananas and peanut butter. Elvis. Let's add bacon.

Let's google banana peanut butter bacon bread."

And this is what I found:

Banana-Peanut Butter-Bacon Bread

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

10 slices bacon, chopped

360 g (2 1/2 cups) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

120 g (2/3 cup) loosely packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

113 g (1/2 cup) butter, melted

85 g (1/3 cup) peanut butter

4 tablespoons bacon 'oil' from cooking the bacon

4 ripe bananas, mashed

80 ml (1/3 cup) milk

45 g (1/4 cup) peanut butter chips

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Cook bacon in a skillet. When crispy, remove from skillet and let drain on paper towel. Leave the bacon 'oil' in the skillet for later.
• In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
• Whisk together egg and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla extract, butter, peanut butter, and bacon 'oil'. Then add banana mash and milk and mix until combined. Add dry ingredients. Fold in bacon and peanut butter chips.
• Pour batter into a prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

My modifications:

I added the peanut butter chips. And I had to use regular bacon (not thick cut) because you just don't get thick cut in Switzerland or Germany. And I used peanut puree which is just peanuts with no sugar or anything else added.

The taste:

You can't taste the bacon as much as I hoped you would. Maybe I would use a bit more next time (but not too much more). And I think I would try using just 2 cups of flour to make it bit more moist. It's not really dry but could still use a little less flour, I think. But it sure is very yummy!

Have you ever baked or cooked anything that is associated with a celebrity?

46/52 Green Onion Jalapeño Cornbread

Thanksgiving and cornbread are inseparable.

But cornbread without Thanksgiving is possible and highly recommended.

Since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving like in the States (at least not on the same date and not in the same way), we don't have a choice but to eat it whenever.

But to all my American readers: Happy Thanksgiving! I hope y'all will have a wonderful celebration on Thursday (with lots of cornbread)!

Green Onion Jalapeño Cornbread

Adapted from Epicurious

100 g (3/4 cup) flour

100 g (3/4 cup) cornmeal

50 g (1/4 cup) sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

4-6 green onions, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons jalapeños, minced with seeds

310 ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk

2 eggs

57 g (1/2 stick) butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
• Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Stir in onions and jalapeños.
• Whisk together buttermilk and eggs, then whisk in melted butter.
• Add buttermilk mix to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Let cool.

My modifications:

None. Except for using other kinds of chilis since jalapeños are, unfortunately, not widely available here.

The taste:

It does taste good. But ... (and it's a big but) ... way too moist and spongy. I know, usually it is a good thing if a cake or something like that is moist. But in my opinion, cornbread has to be more dry and crumbly. If you think so as well, this cornbread is not for you. It really does taste good, just not how I like my cornbread. 

What do you bake for Thanksgiving?

33/52 Aubergine Bread

Aubergines. Eggplants. They look so nice with their firm, shiny, purple skin, don't they?

Like a lot of people I know, I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with aubergines.
Sometimes I love the taste, especially when they are completely overcooked and soft. Other times just the thought of them (and their hard skin when not cooked long enough) makes me want to gag.

The idea to look for a bread recipe using aubergines came suddenly last week. I don't know where it came from but it was a good one, I think. And even better that I found a good recipe right away...

Aubergine Bread

Adapted from Blogkoch

Makes 1 big or 2 smaller breads

2 medium aubergines/eggplants

3 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds

thyme

2 teaspoons honey

25 g (0.9 oz) fresh compressed yeast

1 tablespoon (apple) vinegar

600 g (4.8 cups) flour (400 g (3.2 cups) mix for dark bread, 200 g (1.6 cups) wheat flour)

• Grate aubergines (with skin) into bowl and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
• Combine flour, sesame seeds, thyme and remaining salt. Dissolve yeast in about 250 ml lukewarm water together with the honey. Add yeast-water, aubergines (with liquid), and vinegar to the flour-mix and knead for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add more water. If it is too "wet", add more flour.

• Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for about one hour.
• Shape as you wish and bake at 200°C (390°F) for 40 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes if you have the feeling that it is getting too dark. In general, when you knock on the bottom of a freshly baked bread and it sounds hollow, it is done.

My modifications:

The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon flax seeds. I just felt like only using sesame seeds.

I have to admit that I totally forgot to add the thyme... So don't worry if you don't have any at hand.

The taste:

Delicious! Very moist! And the aubergines are not in the foreground so even people who are not the biggest aubergine fans should like the bread. Try it with a bit of butter - pure deliciousness! Should go great with anything from the BBQ as well.

What's your favorite bread? Any special or uncommon ingredients?

14/52 Hefezopf

Hefezopf is just one of those things that somehow loses its identity when trying to translate it into English. But options could be Plaited Yeast Bun, Braided Yeast Bread, Twist,...
Or simply Yeast Braid, if you translated it literally.

Anyway, a Hefezopf should not be missing on any (Easter) brunch table.
It is so versatile because it is neither sweet nor salty, so you can top it with anything you like.
Like a slice of toast, if you will. Just so much better!

You can also fill it with a nut or poppy seed mixture but that transforms it to more of a cake, so I personally like the plain (bread-like) one better for breakfast or brunch.

Hefezopf

Adapted from recipe on package of Streich-Mühle's Zopfmehl (braid flour)

500 g (4 cups) Zopfflour (which is extra fine flour, in this case half wheat, half spelt)

20 g (1.8 oz) yeast

300 ml (1 1/3 cup) milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

50 g (3.5 tablespoons) butter

1 egg yolk

• Dissolve yeast in lukewarm milk.
• Mix with flour, salt, sugar, and butter.
• Knead well until dough is smooth and elastic.
• Let rise in covered bowl for 1 hour (or overnight in the fridge - see below).

• Form 3 strings and braid. Note that the strings do not have to be equally thick but should be the same length.

• Brush with egg yolk.

• Bake in preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for 40-55 minutes.

My modifications:

None.
But for the first time, I let the dough rise over night in the fridge. I was a bit sceptical but it worked really well. This is perfect for all yeast baking you want to do for breakfast because that 1 hour of dough-rising is just too much in the morning...

The taste:

Delicious.

Plain with just butter.

Or topped with jam, honey, chocolate spread, peanut butter.

But also with cheese, meat, veggies.

What do you bake for Easter? Or for any other brunch occasion?

13/52 Tortano with Mozzarella, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives

This week, it's time for some savory baking again. Italian. And cheesy.

With the weather being so nice (= sunny and warm), BBQ and picnic season seems to have started. Freshly baked bread is always a great addition to barbecued meat or veggies.

Even better, especially for picnics or just light outdoor meals in general, is freshly baked filled bread. And that's exactly what a Tortano is. An Italian bread, shaped as a wreath, filled with everything you can think of:

Ham. Mozzarella. Sun-dried tomatoes. Hard-boiled eggs. Feta. Olives.
Salami. Grilled veggies. Goat's cheese. Nuts. You name it.

Oh, and with Easter coming up, you've got yourself the perfect Easter brunch bread that will make everybody happy. 

Up until now, I have always used one of Jamie Oliver's recipes for the Tortano (from this book), filled with Parma ham (or without for vegetarians), hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. It was always a huge hit with everybody who tried it.

Since I said that I would only try new recipes for this blog, I used a recipe from Leila Lindholm today. She presents various different fillings in her book, but I chose the very classical mozzarella and sun-dried tomato filling, just adding green olives.
You just can't go wrong with a filling like this, can you?

Tortano with Mozzarella, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Olives

Adapted from Leila Lindholm's book One More Slice

For the bread:

15 g (0.5 oz) fresh yeast

300 ml (1 1/3 cup) water, lukewarm

2 tablespoons tomato oil (in which the sun-dried tomatoes are preserved)

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 tablespoon sea salt

500 g (4 cups) flour

For the filling:

6 sun-dried tomatoes (those preserved in oil), cut into stripes

8 green olives, pitted and cut into slices

2 balls (250 g / 8.8 oz) mozzarella, cut into slices

1 teaspoon dried oregano

• Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Add water, oil, honey and salt and dissolve yeast.
• Add flour and using your hands, work into an elastic dough.
• Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 40 minutes).

• On a surface covered with flour, carefully push and pull dough to a rectangle that's about 1 cm (0.4 in) thick.
• Put filling on the dough. Brush edges with a bit of water and fold up lengthwise, then form a wreath and close.

• Preheat oven to 250°C (480°F).
• Transfer wreath to baking sheet covered with parchment paper. If not already covered in flour, put a bit of flour on top. Cover again with towel and let raise for another 30 minutes while oven heats up.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200°C (390°F) and bake on middle rack for 35 minutes. 
• Let cool on a wire rack.

Modifications for different fillings:

Just use olive oil instead of the tomato oil and replace the filling by any other filling or combination you desire.

The taste:

It tastes like a summer vacation in Italy. Right there in your mouth.

No, but seriously, the bread is really fluffy and the tomatoes and olives give a great amount of salty but fresh flavor. Just perfect!

What do you bake for picnics? Do you bake your own bread?