Struan Bread - #BreadBakers

This multigrain loaf comes from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I love the slightly sweet loaf and while it is indeed the perfect sandwich bread, I also enjoyed it plain and also slathered with butter. You can switch up the grains used and that will determine the colour of your loaf. For this I used cornmeal (refined instead of the coarse that's preferred), oats, and brown rice so my loaf is on the lighter side. This loaf definitely requires a bit of planning. If you don't have extra cooked rice on hand, you will have to make some. I typically only have rice and peas on hand. It would have been easier to pick out the red peas (red peas in Jamaica = kidney beans) but I decided to just buy and cook some brown rice. Use leftover rice. Don't waste time cooking it - especially if you're like me and have not eaten brown rice in at least ten years.  Also, pay attention to the kneading steps. There are few stretch and folds to do so timing is important.

This month the Bread Bakers made some sandwich loaves for you. Scroll down to see what the others made. Thanks for hosting this month, Karen! 

Straun

Yield: 1 loaf 

Ingredients 

510 grams bread flour 

34 grams cornmeal 

40 grams rolled oats 

45 grams cooked brown rice 

45 grams brown sugar 

1 tablespoon honey 

2 teaspoons salt 

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

1 cup + 1 tablespoon water 

6  1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions

Mix all the ingredients on low speed for 2 minutes then let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Mix again for another 2 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, if it is dry, add a little water by the teaspoon. If it is wet, sprinkle in some flour. 

Take the dough out the bowl and lightly knead for 2 to 3 minutes. If it is sticking a lot to your hands, oil your hands. Stretch and fold the dough from the bottom and then from both sides. Cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes. Do the stretch and fold 3 more times. You will notice that the dough has become easier to handle. 

Refrigerate overnight. 

Roll the dough out into a 9" x 12" rectangle. Roll up along the short side and place in a greased 9" x 5" pan. 

Allow to proof until the dough is about 1 1/2 times the original size. When the dough is almost ready, preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Bake 45 - 60 minutes until the crust is golden. 

Notes

• Peter Reinhart uses more water than I do (up to 2 more tablespoons) but it is extremely hot and humid here so I didn't need to use that much water. 
• I adjusted the recipe to yield enough for 1 9" x 5" loaf. 

Welcome to Bread Bakers! This month, our them is Sandwich Bread and our host is Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.

• Eggless White Sandwich Bread by Sneha's Recipe
• Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread by Making Miracles
• Just Bread Sandwich Loaf by A Messy Kitchen
• Pain de Mie aka Pullman Loaf by Food Lust People Love
• Seeded Sandwich Bread by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Burger Buns by Cook with Renu
• Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread by Ambrosia
• Sourdough Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Struan Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Subway Sandwich Bread by Anybody Can Bake

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins - #MuffinMonday

One of two things happens to me each month. I either bake really early for Muffin Monday, think I have all the time in the world and then suddenly it's hours before the post is due and I have not written it yet. Or I think I have all the time in the world and suddenly it's Sunday and my muffin needs to be tested ASAP. Either way, the end of the month comes too quickly. 

This month I baked early and now I'm up late writing. I have work this week. 4 days of teaching face to face and I don't know if my anxiety is ready for this. Jamaica's numbers are relatively low and all our recent cases have been from tourists and returning residents. But that does not make me feel safe. Most of our cases are asymptomatic so one can never tell if the person next to you is ill. Oh, and there's the tiny matter of a huge backlog in testing. Tiny matter. 

Anyhoo, muffins.  This is another batch made for family that I did not taste. I tried psyching myself up - "Just a tiny taste! Cornmeal will not kill you!" But I couldn't get over the mental hurdle. 

My reviewers said this is best eaten with something. You might end up with extra spicy bite and having something else on your plate can soothe that a bit. I'll have to make myself some scotch bonnet muffins without the cornmeal soon because I felt left out. 

As always, scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made for you today..

Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins

Yield 12

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 scotch bonnet, minced

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk White Cornmeal Mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a muffin tin with muffin wrappers.

Whisk egg, oil and milk. Stir in the scotch bonnet and the cornbread mix until smooth. 

Divide among muffin wells. Bake 10- 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. 

Notes

I used the entire pepper - seeds and all. You could leave the seeds out or use half the pepper but I think this is a go spicy or go home kinda muffin. Plus, the pepper does mellow a bit during baking.

• Banana Mocha Chip Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cranberry Orange Pistachio (Vegan) Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Creamed Corn Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Lemonade Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Scotch Bonnet Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Simple Summery Squash Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Soft Blueberry Muffins from Making Miracles
• Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Potato Mango Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Chocolate Scones - #BreadBakers

I am back in the land of the living! No I wasn't sick. I mentioned in my last post that I didn't have internet. It took a few weeks and signing up for new service but I have internet again. But the struggle is not over because they have sent a bill that makes no sense. How is it higher, dear Internet Service Provider? How?! I am also in a fight with my electricity company. Good times.

Anyway, I have chocolate scones to soothe me for now. This month the Bread Bakers are making scones or biscuits. I originally tried an angel biscuits recipe but it had too much liquid for my humid environment. I decided to switch to a sweet recipe but I will try the angel biscuits again soon. I've successfully made a sourdough version but have not found the perfect commercial yeast recipe yet. This chocolate scones recipe is a bit wet too but King Arthur's process of freezing the scones beforehand really helped with that.

Scroll down to see what the other bakers did. Thanks for hosting Sue!

Chocolate Scones

adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients 

 2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons of cold butter, cubed
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions 

Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cubed butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
Whisk eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture until moistened. If it seems really wet, fret not.
Sprinkle a parchment sheet lined baking sheet with flour. Scoop out half the dough onto the floured parchment and shape into a 5" circle. Do the same with the other half. They should be about 3/4" thick.
Cut each circle into 4 or 6 wedges. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. If the mixture seems too wet, freezer first and then cut into wedges.

Heat oven to 425 F.

Pull the wedges at least 1/2 inch apart.

Bake 18 minutes. They shouldn't look wet.

Serve warm.
1 tablespoon

• Angel Biscuits from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Buttery Jeera Biscuits from Sneha's Recipe
• Cheddar Herb Scones from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar and Chive Blossom Scones from Palatable Pastime
• Cheese and Herbs Scones from Ambrosia
• Chocolate Scones from Passion Kneaded
• Freeze and Bake Yeasted Mini Ginger Scones from A Messy Kitchen
• Laminated Biscuits from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herbed Angel Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Sourdough Orange Biscuits from Zesty South Indian
• Sourdough Sandwich Biscuits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits from Making Miracles

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.