Something Healthy for Dessert - Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

An observation: I have noticed that of all the breads I have written about on breadmanTalking, very few are what are called 'quick' breads. These kinds of breads are usually sweeter, softer and well, quicker, than the breads I regularly post about. They fall in that gray area that lies somewhere in between bread and cake that I like to explore, but for some reason have not written much about.

One of the major differences is the leavening agent. For 'regular' breads it is always yeast. Even sourdough uses wild yeast painstakingly captured and coddled over sometimes weeks before baking. 'Quick' breads use baking powder, although not usually baking soda, just like a cake. The texture, however, is still decidedly bready, if that's a word.

So here I was, looking in the refrigerator, at a ton of zucchini, well maybe not a ton but lots. A mistake at the supermarket (mine, not theirs). What to do? There are lots of zucchini loaf recipes, especially popular at summer's end, when zucchini is popular. But they are really just a dessert cake loaf for serving at tea time. This recipe is for a bread, using whole wheat flour, to up the fiber, and baking powder to be sure. But still bread. It is adapted from my go-to cookbook for all things whole grain, King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, a must have for anyone who takes baking with whole grains seriously. These guys really know their baking. Follow their instructions and tips, and so will you.

Here's What You'll Need:
2 cups (about 280 g) whole wheat flour, use 'white' whole wheat for a lighter colored loaf
1 cup (about 140 g) AP flour
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk to make in non-dairy)
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups (about 300 g) shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
 1/2 cup raisins
1 Tbs. lemon zest (optional)

Here's What You'll Need To Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Prepare a 9 X 5 in. loaf pan (23 X 13 cm).

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flours, sugar, salt, baking powder and nutmeg.

3. In another bowl, or a large measuring cup, mix together the wet ingredients: the eggs, oil and milk.

4. Slowly add the wet to the dry mixing all the while. Add the zucchini, continuing to stir.When it is just mixed, add the walnuts and raisins. Add the zest if using (I didn't).

5. When it is all combined, pour (it is quite thick) the dough/batter into the prepared pan and level it out with a spatula dipped into water.

6.Place in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Let the loaf rest in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing it to a rack to cool completely.

8. Serve with butter, or cream, or both or jam, or... you get the idea. Yum!!

Closer to Home - 'White' Cheese Bread

I know, I know. The latest trends in bread are taking us AWAY from white bread. Lately it seems, everywhere you look, there is another article explaining patiently (or sometimes less than) why it's no good for you. Or at least not that good for you. Nowadays it's all about whole grains and bread made without wheat altogether. As if, after maybe 10K years of making bread from wheat, it all of a sudden is not good for you. Now, I'll grant you, the flour we get today, especially the industrialized bleached all-purpose flour, is mostly starch. That, of course, is the reason bread is what it is. The gluten in the white flour traps the air given off by the yeast and makes it light and airy and sweet and, well, just delicious. Which is why I always, but always, when baking with white flour use UN-bleached and fortified flour. And I add things. Like dried fruit. Or nuts and seeds. Or some dairy product and/or and egg.

In Israel we have great dairy products. Cottage cheese to die for. Lots of excellent hard cheeses and a great tasting selection of soft white cheeses. We spread them on toast, or bake them into pies, or pastries, or just spoon them over salads. It is just this kind of cheese that I used in this bread replacing some of the liquid. You can use any soft white spreadable cheese for this although you may have to slightly adjust the water/flour ratio. This bread will keep for several days, and makes great toast. Oh, and it fills your whole house with the most heavenly aroma while it bakes!

Here's What You'll Need: (for 2 loaves)
2 cups (about 500 g) soft white cheese
3 Tbs. sugar
1 egg, beaten*
3/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs. dry yeast
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 cups (about 4 1/4 cups) AP flour
1 1/4 Tbs salt

* I only use large eggs.

Here's What You'll Need to Do:
1. Place the cheese, sugar, egg and water in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. (You can use your mixer on low speed for a minute or so.

2. In another bowl, mix the baking soda with the yeast and 2 cups of the flour. Then add this to the liquid mixture slowly while it continues to mix on slow speed. At this point you can add the salt. Slowly add the rest of the flour while continuing to mix until the dough 'cleans the bowl'.

3. Leave the ball of dough in the bowl. Sprinkle a little flour over the top, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to rise until doubled, about 3-4 hours.

until it looks like this...

4. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface, knead for about 1 minute. You will notice that after a slow rise in the refrigerator the dough is less sticky, and more flexible and easier to knead!

5. Divide the dough into 2 equal-ish pieces. At this point you can shape them as loaves and place the dough in lightly oiled loaf pans. Or, you can shape them as 'batards' (like thick torpedoes) and let them rise free-form on parchment paper or a peel covered with corn meal. (What I did.) Either way, let the dough rest and rise. In loaf pans until it rises above the sides of the pan. On a peel, until almost doubled. Either way, about 45 minutes.

I slashed the dough just before baking. If you do this, slash using a serrated knife (or razor blade) about 1/4 in (3 mm) deep, just before placing in the oven. 

6. About 20 minutes before baking time, pre-heat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Bake (with steam for a hard crust, without steam for a soft crust) for about 30 minutes or until they are a beautiful deep brown and smell incredible.

and toasted with butter...

7. Cool on a rack. Bitayavon (Hebrew for Bon Appetit).

Soft Whole Wheat Healthy Dinner Rolls

Sometimes a loaf won't do. I mean sometimes you need the chewy crust of an artisan loaf but with the soft interior and small shape of a roll. Oh, and it should be healthy too, did I mention that? These rolls are the perfect thing. They are easy to make, using only ingredients found in every supermarket. And they are super-healthy as well. Don't be put off by the longish ingredient list. I'll bet you have most of the things already/

Here's What You'll Need:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 tsp. dry yeast
1/2 Tbs. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
about 1 1/3 cups warm water

Here's What You'll Need To Do:
1. Combine all the dry ingredients (the flours, bran, yeast, salt and sugar) in a large bowl.

2. Add the water and mix to make a shaggy dough. Then remove to a lightly-floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and just barely sticky.

3. Place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and place in a warm location until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Remove the dough to a flat surface and stretch it out into a rectangle. Pour on the seed mixture, close up the dough, letter-fashion, then knead it to evenly distribute the seeds.

5. Form the dough into rolls about 2 oz. (60 g.) each. Cover and let them 'rest' for about 30 minutes.

6. Heat the oven to 350 F (180 C), and bake the rolls for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned and they sound hollow when tapped.

7. Enjoy!!

A Bit of This and That - Sesame Molasses Bread

Lately I've been reading quite a bit about the health aspects of bread, especially the flour. Of course, flour is the most important ingredient, and that which determines the character and the structure of the entire loaf. But there are other considerations as well and they do influence the 'health' index of a good loaf of bread. These include eggs. Also, sweeteners, if any and the fat content. When I say fat I mean any type of fat which for most breads  means butter or margarine. Sometimes it means some kind of vegetable oil (and that is usually a kind of oil that has no taste like canola or soy oil although for Mediterranean bread it almost always means olive oil). So the 'health index' of bread means whether you bake with whole wheat flour (and what percentage), liquid oil (and how much) and to a lesser degree fiber content (by adding bran). This bread that I made for the first time scores quite high on the 'health index'. It uses whole wheat flour (but mixed with white flour to develop gluten) and molasses (rich in B vitamins and iron). It is very versatile and very tasty. It has a slightly sweet taste and therefore is probably more suited to butter, jam and soft cheese type sandwiched rather than smoked meats and cold cuts. It is a great breakfast bread. I know you'll love it. It is based on a recipe found in that wonderful bread cookbook The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes, a book worth adding to your cookbook collection in any event.

Here's What You'll Need for 3 small loaves:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
Pinch of light brown sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 light molasses
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
5 to 5 1/2 cups AP flour

Here's What You'll Need to Do:
1. Dissolve the pinch of sugar and the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand for about 10 minutes until it becomes frothy.
2. Mix in the light brown sugar, molasses and the whole wheat flour. Stir until mixed and hydrated, then cover and let it stand to ferment until bubbly, about 1 1/2 hours.
3. Add the AP flour, 1 cup at a time along with the oil, sesame seeds, cornmeal, salt and eggs. Keep adding flour, one cup at a time making sure to incorporate it fully. Do not let the dough get stiff. This dough should remain a little sticky so avoid the temptation to make it more pliable by adding more flour. In the end this will make the bread heavy and dense.
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled, about an hour.

5. Remove the dough from the bowl, and divide into 3 portions without kneading the dough further. Place each portion, now oval loaf-shaped, onto a prepared baking sheet. Cover and let the portions rest for an additional 45 minutes or so.

6. Meanwhile, about 20 minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 F (170 C). Lightly brush egg white over the loaves, and sprinkle more sesame seeds if you like.
7. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until very deep brown in color and they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

8. Cool completely on a rack before slicing and serving.