Whole Wheat Oatmeal Honey Bread

Just a quick check-in. I wasn't going to blog this but I enjoyed this loaf so much that I thought I'd tell you about it so you can bake a loaf too. The recipe can be found on Joy the Baker. However, if you prefer baking with weights, you can find that on King Arthur's Website. It's a really delicious loaf that smells so amazing while it bakes. It's a little on the sweet side so when I make it again, I am going to use less sugar. I may or may not have eaten half a loaf in one sitting.


 

Quinoa & Lemongrass Bread - Crazy Ingredients Challenge

For this month's Crazy Ingredients Challenge, we are working with quinoa and lemongrass. I have worked with quinoa before but lemongrass was new to me. In Jamaica, it's called fever grass and is used to make a tea to, you guessed it, cure a fever. I have never tasted it before though. I really wanted to make dessert and was pretty much set on making a ginger quinoa quick bread with a lemongrass glaze. That was until I went on a sugar binge and realised that I needed a sugar time out. I tried to think of savoury dishes. A chili? I LOVE a quinoa chili that I made over a year ago but would the lemongrass work there? I didn't feel like messing with a good chili so I decided to stay in the bread family but just ditch the sugar.

The lemongrass is really faint here. I'm really not sure just how much I would have needed to have to have a strong lemongrass presence or if I really wanted a strong lemongrass presence. But to ensure that I really had some lemongrass flavour when I bit into my bread, I added some lemongrass butter. The butter is simply 1 chopped stalk of lemongrass per quarter cup of warm, melted butter. The lemongrass steeps for 30 minutes then is strained and the butter chilled.

Quinoa & Lemongrass Bread
Recipe by: Kelster
Yield: 1 large loaf or 2 small ones
Ingredients Levain 95 grams whole wheat flour 105 grams water 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast Soaker 50 grams quinoa 50 grams old fashioned oats 1/4 teaspoon salt 150 grams boiling water  Lemograss Tea 4 stalks lemongrass, green leaves removed and the white pieces finely chopped 120 grams boiling water Dough all of the levain 120 grams lemongrass tea 300 grams all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon yeast 5 grams salt all the soaker
Directions Mix together the levain ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and leave overnight. Place quinoa, oats and salt in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water. Cover and leave overnight. Pour hot water over the lemongrass pieces and leave overnight also. The next day, strain the lemongrass tea and add to levain. Whisk together in a stand mixer for a minute until aerated. Add the flour and yeast, mix together until just incorporated and let rest for 30 minutes. Add the salt and soaker and knead until soaker incorporated and then knead for an additional 5 minutes. The dough is soft and tacky and clears the sides of the bowl. If it's very sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rest until doubled. This could take up to 1-2 hours depending on the room temperature. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. If making one large dough, shape into a loose ball and let rest for 15 minutes or divide dough into two, preshape and let rest. Shape the dough into the final shape, cover and let rest until doubled. This could take up to an hour. At least 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450F. Place a heavy covered baking vessel such as a dutch oven, crock or cloche in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, score the dough and then carefully transfer the dough to the hot vessel. You can simply place the dough in the vessel on the parchment paper or carefully turn the dough out into vessel. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until the loaf is well-browned and registers 200 F. Cool completely before slicing.
Notes If you do not have a vessel with a cover, foil can be used to cover the vessel. Or you can incorporate steam into the oven for those first 20 minutes. If you're not interested in a lemongrass flavoured loaf, simply use plain water.

An InLinkz Link-up

Gizzada Mini Bundts - #BundtBakers

I need a tape recorder for my brain. You see, I compose these amazing blog posts in my head, but when it's time to sit and type, I can't remember most of it. Case in point: today's post. I guess I'll blab and you'll get the gist or just scroll down to the recipe. I really should just start using the voice recorder on my phone. I'm a little "weirded" out by the sound of my own voice though so someone else would need to transcribe.

Let's get down to business. It's the third Thursday of the month and that means it's Bundt Bakers day. This month, our host, Terri, chose coconut for the theme. Upon hearing the theme, I immediately knew that I wanted to recreate one of Jamaica's coconut desserts in cake form. I opted for the gizzada which is a small tart. The tart shell is filled with a mixture of grated coconut, brown sugar and nutmeg - a lot of nutmeg. The nutmeg shines boldly here. It's not just a hint. If you don't like nutmeg, back away from gizzadas. In fact, there are times when given a choice, I opt for a coconut treat other than gizzada. Some persons use way too much nutmeg. While I was grating the nutmeg for this, I was immediately brought back to smelling it wafting from my mother's kitchen. She adds nutmeg to porridge and hot chocolate. I didn't drink either but nutmeg will always remind me of her making breakfast.You know, I think this weekend I will try to find chocolate balls at a Jamaican supermarket then call my mother and have her talk me through making her hot chocolate. I know it's simple - boiling water, grated ball (or not depending on size and quantity needed), nutmeg and a cinnamon leaf (I think).

Gizzadas

My original idea for Gizzada Bundts was to add the coconut mixture as a filling in my mini Bundts. As I said, the filling in a gizzada is just coconut, brown sugar and nutmeg and can be a bit dry sometimes (bakers vary). I added a bit of milk and an egg yolk so that it could be more moist for the cake. I imagined cutting into the little cakes and seeing a coconut surprise (well, surprise for anyone I served this to). Ha. My mini bundts had other plans. They simply refused to come out of the tins in one piece. I could have kept trying - probably use an egg white instead of yolk for a lighter filling. Maybe even switch to a large Bundt where I knew the filling would be less likely to touch the sides of the pan. But since I was eating each "failed" mini Bundt as soon as I realised it wasn't coming out properly, I had to change to something that would definitely work. I was inhaling way too many cakes. It's a good thing that I made these in small batches. It was a delicious afternoon though. I wish that I had seen Stacy's suggestion to make a trifle before I (happily) ate them all. There's one that I didn't immediately eat. I actually put it back into the tin and the next day, it came out as one piece. But it looked lonely so I quickly ate him. Normally, a glaze would help here but I wanted to stay as true to the gizzada as possible. So the new plan was simply to top the little cakes with the coconut filling.

No more broken cakes! Though these didn't come out as cleanly as I would have liked. The cake base here is now my new favourite. I slightly adapted it form King Arthur's Lemon Bliss and it may be the vanilla base that I use from now on. Moist. Buttery. Delicious. Loved the filling too - more than a traditional gizzada since I could control my nutmeg. I'm thinking about making a large filled one for a friend's birthday next week. We'll see. So are you a coconut lover or LOVER? I've heard rumours about people who don't like coconut but I've filed that along with stories about the existence of Big Foot. Lots of coconut deliciousness for you this month. Scroll down to see what the other Bundt Bakers made.

Gizzada Mini Bundts

Recipe by: Kelster    Cake adapted from King Arthur's Lemon Bliss

Yield: 3 one cup size mini Bundts

Ingredients Cake 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 3/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Topping 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons evaporated milk (or cream) 2 tablespoons butter 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded 1/2 - 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions Preheat oven to 350 F and thoroughly grease and flour 3 one cup size mini Bundt pans Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined.  Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Then add vanilla to milk in a separate container.  Alternate adding dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the butter mixture starting and ending with dry. Pour into mini Bundt pans and bake for 16 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  While the cakes are baking, prepare the topping.  Put sugar, evaporated milk, sugar, butter and yolk in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir constantly. Don't walk away! It's ready when the mixture coats the back of a spoon and is bubbly.  Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg and coconut. Cool. When cakes are finished, cool then top with gizzada topping.

Notes Dark brown sugar is typically used in gizzadas. You can use light brown or even a mixture of brown and white sugar. If using sweetened coconut, use a bit less sugar.  Start with less than the recommended freshly grated nutmeg. If you like more nutmeg, add more. .

Almond Joy Bundtlettes from Sew You Think You Can Cook
Candy Bar Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake from Love and Confections
Chocolate Italian Cake from Magnolia Days
Coconut & Banana Bundt Cake from Just One Bite Baking
Coconut Banana Bundt Cake from Basic N Delicious
Coconut Carrot Bundt Cake from Media Racion Doble, Por Favor
Coconut Cream Bundt Cake from Adventures in All Things Food
Coconut Hummingbird Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
Coconut Milk Bundt Cake from I Love Bundt Cakes
Coconut Milk Bundt Cake from Un Mordisco Un Pecado
Coconut Oil Pound Cake from The Spiced Life
Coconut Sugar Banana Cake from A Kingdom for a Cake
Cranberry and Coconut Bundt Cake from La Cocina de Aisha
Cranberry, Orange and Coconut Bundt Cake from Kids & Chic
German Chocolate Bundt Cake from The Freshman Cook
Glazed Chocolate Macaroon Bundt Cake from Food Lust People Love
Gluten-free Coconut Orange Bundt Cake with Coconut Whipped Cream from Cassie's Kitchen
Gizzada Mini Bundts from Passion Kneaded
Key Lime and Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from Eat, Drink and Be Mighty
Key Lime Coconut Cream Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes from Making Miracles
Orange & Coconut Bundt Cake from Living the Gourmet
Oreo Coconut Bundt Cake from Indian Curries/Stew
Pina Colada Bundt Cake from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
Rhubarb n Rose Coconut Frosted Bundt Cake from Baking in Pyjamas
Rum Bundt Cake with Coconut and Lime from Bourbon and Brown Sugar
Toasted Coconut and Sweet Potato Bundt from Tea and Scones
Toasted Coconut Lime Bundt Cake with Chili Lime Glaze from Brooklyn Homemaker

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.