BBA Challenge #37 Swedish Rye, #38 Tuscan Bread, #39 Vienna Bread, #40 White Bread, #41 Whole-Wheat Bread

The next installment about my journey baking my way through The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart. I started the project in August of 2011 (pre-blogging days) and finished in August of 2012.

BBA Challenge #37, Swedish Rye (Limpa)

Abandon any preconceived ideas you have about rye flavor out of your head. I'm pretty sure it's the caraway seeds or other flavorings that we taste in those grocery store breads. Not that the flavor is bad, it's just not the rye. 

This bread's flavor is even more unusual. The recipe calls for orange zest, aniseeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, molasses, and brown sugar. The bread almost tastes medicinal... in a good sort of way. It is really good toasted with butter and jam. 

The recipe calls for a 30/70 ratio of rye to wheat flour. At that ratio, you have to be very careful about not over mixing the dough as rye flour can become quite gummy. 

The loaves are slashed prior to the second rise. 

For some great step-by-step photos of the process, visit The Bread Experience. 

Verdict: A great bread. An acquired taste. Worth trying. 

BBA Challenge #38 Tuscan Bread

So here's the deal about this bread. It does not contain salt. I once accidentally left salt out of a bread recipe before. Taste? Cardboard.

This bread calls for a cooked flour paste that is made the day before to develop flavor to substitute for the lack of salt. Whatever, in the end I added salt. I just wasn't willing to go through all of the work to make something I'd probably hate. Who needs another bread pudding to recycle mediocre bread. 

Verdict: While I can't speak to the original recipe's flavor, I was happy with my bread. I definitely recommend experimenting with the flour paste concept because it does add another dimension. Oh, and my loaves, aren't they pretty?

You can find the recipe here.

BBA Challenge #39 Vienna Bread

Vienna bread is similar to French or Italian Bread, but enriched with sugar, barley malt, egg, and butter. This softens the crust and and tenderizes the interior. The mottling on the top of the bread is Dutch Crunch, which is a combination of flour, rice flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil, and water paste brushed on the loaves prior to baking. 

Verdict: Pretty good, but not "oh wow" good. 

For step-by-step photos, visit this site. Just don't get intimidated by the idea of making your own malt powder. I got mine from King Arthur Flour. I am sure there are other sources. 

BBA Challenge #40, White Bread

If the only white bread you have tried is store bought, you must try making your own. There is no comparison.

Verdict: Make your own white bread. Make this bread. Don't put up with bad bread. You can find the recipe here. 

BBA Challenge #41, Whole Wheat Bread

This is probably the best 100% whole wheat sandwich loaf recipes I have baked. I did make some changes:

• I added 2 T of vital wheat gluten
• I added a bit more water
• I made one loaf in a 10" x 5" pan instead of two one pound loaves
• My second rise was much faster than the recipe

Verdict: Great 100 per cent whole wheat bread. Get the book. Make these breads.

Sharing with Saturday Recipe Series

Sauteed Carrots

According to Ina Garten in Barefoot Contessa: Family Style, "These sauteed carrots are the essence of 'carrot-ness.'" Truly they are.

I've never been a big fan of cooked carrots. They've either been simmered to an overly soft consistency, or they've had so much sugar added to them that they resemble sweet potatoes. They're fine in stews or soups, but on their own? Not so much.

These carrots are wonderful. They are just barely cooked with a small amount of water so that they don't lose all of their flavor, and then tossed in salt, herbs, and butter. They stand on their own, but don't take over.

If you are serving them to kids, you just might want to set aside some to make them without the "green stuff."

Sauteed Carrots

Barely adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Family Style. (Beautiful book with wonderful recipes)
Six servings.

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/4 inch slices, approximately 6 cups of carrot slices. Carrots can be peeled and sliced a day in advance. 

1/3 C water

2 T unsalted butter

1 1/2 T chopped fresh parsley or dill

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Place the carrots and the water into a 12 inch saute pan and bring to a boil.
2. Cover and cook for 8 minutes over low heat.
3. Uncover, add the butter, bring the heat to medium low, and saute for about a minute, until the water is evaporated.
4. Turn off the heat and add in the herbs, salt, and pepper, and toss. 

I kept these warm in a warming oven for about 30 minutes while putting the finishing touches on the rest of the dinner and the dish did not suffer. The leftovers were equally as good the next day. If you want to try making them in advance, wait to add the herbs until after you reheat them so that the herbs are fresh and green. 

This is going to be my "go-to" carrot recipe. Loved them. 

This post is submitted to Foodie Friends Friday, Foodie Friday Virtual Cookbook, and Foodie Friday.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

This recipe is very forgiving. I know from experience.

I followed the recipe to the letter (I thought) ... put it all together and placed the cakes into the oven.. then I discovered the egg! Sitting on the counter. Dang.

Thank goodness for mise en place (fancy, huh?).  I was wondering why the batter was weird.

When I discovered the error, I pulled the pan out of the oven, scraped all of the somewhat warm batter back into the mixing bowl, and mixed in the egg. Thank goodness for the second mixing bowl. Kitchen equipment purchase justified. Oh yeah. Always happy for that.

New cupcake liners, new ginger snaps. My cakes are probably smaller than they were supposed to be. Not exactly the way the recipe was designed, but the cheesecakes worked out. Phew.

So if you want a dessert recipe that you can completely mess up and still produce something tasty, give this one a try.

Here is the correct recipe:

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Adapted from this recipe by Donna Zuckerberg. Makes 8 mini cheesecakes and can easily be doubled. Perfect for a holiday dessert buffet.

Ingredients

8 gingersnaps
8 ounces of softened (room temperature) cream cheese
1/4 C maple syrup (real)
1 egg
6 T pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp allspice
Pinch of salt
Small amount of sweetened whipped cream
Small amount of cinnamon or cinnamon or cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Place 8 cupcake papers into a muffin tin.
3. Place an upside down gingersnap into each paper. 
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and maple syrup at two minutes at medium high. 
5. Beat in the egg. Do this now =).
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat for another two minutes. 
7. Evenly divide the batter among the cups.
8. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes. 
9. Allow the mini cheesecakes to cool at room temperature, and then refrigerate for at least four hours. 
10. These are really good frozen and partially thawed.
11. To serve, top with sweetened whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon or cinnamon sugar. 

I am sharing this post with Sugar and Slice Sunday.

This post is participating in Twelve Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. Check out all of the goodies that everyone has baked. 

Whole Wheat and Cheddar Mini Crackers

Aren't these cute? They are also really good.... and they make you look so clever.

I think these would make a wonderful hostess or holiday gift. I love cookies and sweets, but don't you think these would be a welcomed savory treat?  Look at all of the cute shapes!

The crackers are reminiscent of fish crackers, but much more buttery and cheesy.

I used these little jelly cutters to make these shapes. If you'd like to make mini goldfish, you can order this mini fish cookie cutter. I'm kind of tempted to buy it even though the price of one fish is nearly equal to the price of the jelly cutters.  I have a problem.

Whole Wheat and Cheddar Mini Crackers

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen. She made the fish version and they are ridiculously cute. Makes about 100 crackers.

Ingredients

6 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese

4 T unsalted butter

2 1/2 ounces (1/2 C) whole wheat flour

1 1/8 ounces (1/4 C) unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and run it until the dough forms a ball. This should take about two minutes. 
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 F and position a rack in the middle.
4. On a large piece of lightly floured wax paper or other flat surface such as wood, marble, or granite, use your hands to push the dough out into a rectangle, getting it as flat as you can. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin. 
5. Cut the dough into shapes and transfer them to an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet, placing them about 1/2 inch apart. These are pretty tiny, so one sheet may be enough, but if you need two sheets, bake them one sheet at a time.
6. Prick each shape once with a skewer, cake tester, or toothpick all of the way through. 
7. Bake the crackers for 12 to 15 minutes. Watch them closely after 12 minutes and remove them from the oven when they are just browned on the edges. 
8. Cool the crackers on the cookie sheet on a wire rack. 
9. Store in an air tight container.

Pocketbook Rolls | Feathery Buttery Rolls

I decided to attempt a couple of new recipes for Thanksgiving (I like adding a little suspense). One of them was this recipe for yeasted rolls. Yeasted you say? Correct. Yeasted rolls that must be baked and then served hot.

{Attendees were my husband, kids, and grandkids, so I figured I could toss them (the rolls, not my family) if they (the rolls, not my family) didn't work out. They (my family, not the rolls) are a very forgiving group of guests.}

The big trick was to make sure I got the timing right. These rolls worked out beautifully!!!!

The recipe calls for the dough to be mixed at least one day, and up to one week, in advance. The dough is unusual in that it is almost batter like when you mix it, but it emerges from the refrigerator like biscuit dough or cookie dough. It's pretty amazing how this recipe works out.

The rolls are like a cross between light and airy rolls with the flavor of biscuits... plus butter.... it's really hard to explain. You must try these. I've been using the leftovers to make "turkey and stuffing sliders." Soooo good.

Pocketbook Rolls

Yield, approximately 24 rolls. Adapted from Paulchen's Kitchen, adapted from The Glory of Southern Cooking by James Villas.

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/4 C lukewarm whole milk

1/4 C shortening

4 T room temperature butter

1/4 C sugar 1/2 C boiling water

1 large egg, beaten

13 ounces unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 T melted butter

Mix the dough

1. Place the yeast in the lukewarm milk and let it sit for five minutes or so. 
2. Cream the shortening, butter, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Slowly add in the boiling water. 
3. Add the yeast and milk mixture, continuing to mix.
4. Beat in the egg
5. Beat in the flour and salt and mix until all ingredients are well blended
6. Place the dough into a bowl that is at least double the dough's size, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 to 7 days

Assemble the rolls  (about 3 hours before serving)

1. Grease a half sheet pan.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour, and lightly coat a rolling pin with flour. 
3. Roll the dough out to a scan 1/2 inch thick.
4. Using a 2 1/2 inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds and fold each round in half. 
5. Place each roll onto the baking sheet. 
6. Generously brush the rolls with butter. 
7. Cover the baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap and a towel. 
8. Set aside to rise for about 2 1/2 hours. 
9. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Back story: This recipe is part of the Bread Baking Babes monthly bread baking extravaganza. Well, maybe not an extravaganza, but... well, click the link and read more. Once the Babes post the recipe, the buddies (that includes me!) can bake along with the Babes. Here is a round up of the Buddies' posts.

Many of the Babes think that these rolls look like lips. What do you think?

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Dijon Cream Sauce

OMG, this was good.

When I was growing up, two of the houses I lived in had indoor barbecues. Actual charcoal barbecues with fireplace-type chimneys. I'm pretty sure these are illegal now what with concerns about carbon monoxide poisoning. But really, how are they any different than wood burning fireplaces? I really don't know what I'm talking about... I'm just saying, I still can't believe that we had indoor charcoal barbecues. In southern California. Where you can barbecue outdoors pretty much 365.

I digress. 

One of the big treats that came from those barbecues was "chateaubriand." Doesn't that sound so French? Kind of like "filet mignon." This was before cable, the Food Network, and celebrity chefs. 

So... If I were a contestant on Jeopardy, and the clue was "An alternate name for beef tenderloin," I would say "What is chateaubriand, Alex?"

So, there you go. Oh, and filet mignons (or is it filets mignon?) come from a chateaubriand. Again! There you go. 

I digress one more time.  

Let's get to this fabulous beef tenderloin. 

I found this recipe on my friends' Deirdre and Paul's blog, East of the Equator Cafe. (Definitely check out their blog) Both Deirdre and Paul contribute, and they are both unabashed lovers of good food, wine, and recipes. 

Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Dijon Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 3 to 4 pound beef tenderloin

Extra virgin olive oil

1 to 2 T Kosher salt

1/4 C pepper corns coarsely-smashed 

1/2 C red wine

3 T butter
2 T dried or chopped fresh shallots

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 C heavy cream (I used half and half due to a shopping delegation "incident." It worked out fine)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F

Dry the roast with paper towels

Tie the roast with evenly spaced twine to create an evenly rounded roast

Oil the roast with olive oil and coat it with the peppercorns and Kosher salt
Heat an oven proof frying pan on high heat
Sear the meat in the pan - approximately one minute per "side."
Once each side has been browned, move the skillet to the oven, insert a meat thermometer, and bake uncovered until the meat reaches 125 degrees F for medium rare, approximately 30 minutes (watch closely)
Remove the pan from the oven and move the roast to a cutting board and tent it with foil to rest for about 15 minutes
Place the frying/baking pan over the range and turn on the burner

Pour the wine into the pan to deglaze it and scrape up all of the brown bits and pan drippings.

Semolina Sourdough Bread

See how the edges of the slash stick up and are all toasty? Those are bread ears. It's what we bread bakers all strive for. These are my best ever. It's amazing what gets us excited.

To learn more about bread scoring and "ears," check out this tutorial over at The Fresh Loaf.

Pardon me while gaze at my bread for a few minutes.....

This is a lean sourdough bread made with a liquid levain and without commercial yeast.  It was a little under proofed when I put it in the oven, and I baked it in a cast iron Dutch oven. When it came out of the oven, the crust hissed and crackled.

Because I opted for a two hour final fermentation, rather than the long refrigerated fermentation, the sourdough flavor was very faint.

The recipe calls for durum flour, which I cannot find locally. I order mine from King Arthur Flour, and keep in the freezer. Course ground semolina flour is easier to find and can be substituted for some of the durum, but you might have to play around with the formula.

Homemade Oreo Cookies | Fauxreos

Doesn't this make you want a big glass of ice cold milk? 

Me too.

It's week 9 of Twelve Weeks of Christmas Treats, hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. The purpose is to share and collect new recipes for holiday treats. I have definitely pinned a lot of new recipes to try.

So let's get to the recipe!

Homemade Oreos

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Retro Desserts by Wayne Brachman. Makes about 26 cookies.

Ingredients

Cookies:

1 1/4 C all purpose flour

1/2 C unsweetened Dutch process cocoa. While it's not necessary, I used 1/2 regular Dutch process cocoa and 1/2 King Arthur Flour's black cocoa because it makes the cookies extra dark. 

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 C sugar

1 1/4 sticks of softened unsalted butter

1 large egg

Icing:

1/2 stick softened unsalted butter

1/4 C vegetable shortening

2 C sifted confectioners sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Space two oven racks near the middle of your oven and reheat it to 375 degrees F
• In a food processor, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. 
• Pulse while adding first the butter, and then the egg. Pulse until the dough forms a mass. 
• Form rounded teaspoons of batter and place them about 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. I used this small cookie scoop. It really helps to keep the cookies evenly sized. 
• Flatten the dough with a dampened hand or the bottom of a glass. I used the pusher from my food processor to get those cool circles on top of each wafer. 
• Bake, two sheets at a time for 9 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.
• Smack the cookie sheets on the counter once when you remove them from the oven to let some of the air out of the cookies, and set them on a rack to cool. 
• While the cookies are cooling, make the filling. 
• Using a hand or stand mixer, blend the butter and shortening.
• On low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. 
• Beat the filling on high speed for about 3 minutes, until it is very fluffy.
• Place the icing in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip. Alternatively, place it in a plastic storage bag and cut off the corner to pipe the icing. 
• Pipe a scant tablespoon sized dollop of icing onto half of the cookies. 
• Top each with another cookie and press lightly to evenly nudge the filling to the edges of each sandwich. 

Want to participate? Visit Twelve Weeks of Christmas Treats to sign up.

Best-Ever Brownies | Tuesdays with Dorie

This week, the Tuesdays with Dorie group is baking a brownie recipe titled "Best-Ever Brownies" from the book Baking with Julia. 

This recipe involves melting chocolate and lots of butter, adding some sugar to the chocolate butter mixture, slowly adding half of the four eggs and sugar to the chocolate, whipping the other half of the eggs and sugar into a frothy concoction, folding it into the chocolate, and then folding in the flour and salt. Phew! I had to read the recipe several times just to make sure I was doing it right. Not your typical brownie recipe. 

The recipe calls for a 9 inch square pan, preferably ceramic or glass. Really? Another piece of cookware this cookware junkie with a pan habit does not have? 

I do have an enameled cast iron 9 inch square pan, so I went for it even though cast iron stays hot for quite awhile, and the brownies are supposed to cool in the pan.

I really couldn’t tell by the instructions how to determine if the brownies were done, so I pulled the brownies out at 28 minutes (the max amount of time according to the recipe) even though they were kind of liquid in the middle but set on top. I figured that the pan would stay hot and continue to cook. 

So.. are these the Best-Ever Brownies? 

They are really good actually. They are super fudgy, not at all cakey, but not necessarily chewy. A little goes a long way. While the knife inserted into them to test for doneness came out coated in batter, once the brownies cooled, they came together. I'm not sure if it was the pan or the 6 ounces of chocolate bar in the recipe. If you make this recipe, definitely allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting them.

Would I make them again? Yes!

You can find the recipe on Monica's A Beautiful Mess blog. It's a really sweet blog by the way. For more information about Tuesdays with Dorie, click here. 

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

This recipe for mashed potatoes is good for those times when you are feeding a crowd and you don't want to be stuck in the kitchen mashing potatoes while you are supposed to be slicing the turkey and making the gravy. It is also great for potluck gatherings.

The potatoes can be made up to three days in advance and refrigerated. In a pinch, especially if you only have one oven, they can be partially cooked in a microwave, and then finished in the oven once you've removed the Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas roast.

The cream cheese and sour cream add sort of a "twice baked potato" flavor. In my mind that's a good thing.

I know you are busy, so here is the recipe.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Serves approximately 16

Ingredients

5 to 6 pounds of russet potatoes
8 ounces of cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup of sour cream
1 stick of butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
garlic salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
paprika - optional
scallions or chives - optional

Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into approximately 2 inch chunks
Just cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil
Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the pieces can be pierced easily with a fork, but not falling apart
Drain into a colander and return the potatoes to the pan
Mash the potatoes with a masher
Add the cream cheese, sour cream, half of the butter, garlic salt, and pepper
Mash with a masher or mix with a hand mixer until fully incorporated
Mix in optional scallions or chives
Place the potatoes into a buttered 3 quart casserole and dot the top with the rest of the butter
Sprinkle with paprika
At this point, the dish can be refrigerated up to three days, or frozen prior to baking
Bring to room temperature and bake covered in a 375 degree F oven for 50 to 60 minutes
Garnish with extra chives or green onions if you like

Homemade Limoncello & Tangelocello

I started this tangelocello last May and finished it in July. At that point I was so thrilled with the results that I made limoncello. Both liqueurs have been sitting in my freezer waiting to be bottled for Christmas and hostess gifts.

Limoncello (and its cousins) is wonderful by itself as an after dinner digestivo, or mixed into a cocktail such as this one. It is also wonderful on vanilla ice cream.

I found this recipe in the book, Gifts Cooks Love: Recipes for Giving by Diane Morgan for Sur la Table (one of my favorite stores). The book contains recipes for all kinds of food gifts along with gorgeous ideas for packaging them... and there are lots of fabulous photographs. If you'd like to create elegant homemade gifts for the holidays, get this book.

This recipe works for lemons, oranges, or tangelos. It's best to use organic or home grown citrus, but if it is not available, really scrub the fruit to remove any wax and pesticide residue before you remove the rind.

You will need a one gallon jar to brew this liqueur. I got mine through Amazon but you can find them at The Container Store as well. You'll also need a fine mesh strainer and a funnel. Make sure that everything you use is washed in very hot soapy water or the dishwasher.

Finally, for gifts, you will need glass bottles. I've found them at Sur la Table, Crate & Barrel, and The Container Store.

Note: The alcohol used for this recipe is Everclear or another brand of grain alcohol. In my state, I can only find the 151 proof version. If you use the 190 proof Everclear, add an additional 1/3 C of water before bottling. If you cannot obtain grain alcohol where you live, you can use 100 proof vodka and reduce the total amount of water to 5 cups.

Saturday Cocktail | Limoncello, Gin, & Grilled Thyme Cocktail

I hate it when people move away.

This cocktail is in honor of our friends, Jim and Michele, whom I credit with my renewed interest in cooking. I won't bore you with all of the details about how we met (work), but let's just say, we all hit it off.

They had us over for dinner, we had them over for dinner, they had us over for dinner.... next thing you know, it escalated. It was awesome.

They introduced us to Fine Cooking magazine, along with some pretty amazing music. As it turned out, we all were big fans of the same type of music. A challenge for me was to find new music they did not yet know about. I'm pretty sure I introduced them to Beirut and Kasey Chambers. They introduced us to a hell of a lot more.

And then they moved away.  Wah!

Actually, we've gotten together several times since then, so I can't complain. Love you guys. I just wish you were closer.

Pull-Apart Buttery Dinner Rolls

These are my favorite homemade soft dinner rolls. They're really easy to make, and the flavor is reminiscent of a traditional holiday meal. They are baked in 8 inch round cake pans, which help keep them extra soft. I've never managed to have any leftovers of these, but I'm pretty sure they would also make excellent buns for turkey sandwiches.

Pear and Almond Tart - Perfect Autumn Dessert

Recently I've been making an effort to use the ingredients and kitchen equipment I have on hand. In fact, I get a little thrill when I see a new recipe and realize that I have ALL of the ingredients in my pantry or refrigerator. I also have been doing a pretty good job avoiding buying any new specialty and single use pans (Evidence: I actually survived making popovers without buying a popover pan).

Until I saw this recipe and immediately bought a 14 by 4 1/4 inch tart pan. Isn't my new pan pretty? Sigh.

So for the rest of you who have better willpower than I do, I've done the math. An 8 inch square or 9 inch round tart pan with a removable bottom will do just fine.

This tart has a wonderful flavor. The pears and the ground almonds go together perfectly. The finished tart is firm enough to be cut into bars for a dessert table. I think it would be lovely topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with dulce de leche.

adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Tart Shell

1/3 C sugar
5 T butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract
4.25 ounces unbleached all purpose flour
1.75 ounces almond flour. (You can buy Bob's Red Mill at most grocery stores, or grind your own in the food processor, just be careful not to make almond butter)

• Beat the sugar, butter, salt, vanilla, and almond extract.
• Stir in the almond and all purpose flour to get crumbs that stick together when pressed.
• Pat the crumbs into the tart pan's bottom and sides and prick the crust several times with a fork.
• Stick the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes. 
• Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until barely browning around the edges. 
• Allow to cool.

Tart Filling

3 T softened butter

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 C sugar

1/2 ounce unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 large eggs

2.5 ounces almond flour

5 pear halves (canned or poached, I used canned, gasp!)

1 T melted butter

1 T sparkling  or granulated sugar for sprinkling

• Beat the butter, salt, sugar, flour, and almond extract.
• Continue beating while adding in the eggs. 
• Add the almond flour and stir until just combined.
• Spread the filling into the tart crust.
• Push the pear halves into the filling.
• Brush the pears with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. 
• Can be served warm, room temperature, or cold.

This tart would be perfect cut into squares and served at a holiday dessert table.

This post is participating in Twelve Weeks of Christmas Treats hosted by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic. Check out all of the goodies that everyone has baked.

Sourdough Apple Bread | and the Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich Ever | Twelve Loaves

This bread is OMG good.

It's a combination of sourdough, one good-sized granny smith apple, raisins, and cranberries... perfect for autumn.

The recipe also includes oats, potato flour, a bit of olive oil, salt, instant yeast, and a small amount of sugar. It's soft and ridiculously flavorful.

I am always happy to find ways to use my three year old sourdough starter. Sometimes I neglect it for a while, but it always comes through. Here it is bubbling away after a feeding.

To make this bread, I used a scale, an instant read thermometer, a stand mixer, and an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch bread pan. You can probably get away without the scale, the mixer, and the thermometer, but they make things so much easier, and once you get them, you will use them over and over. I promise.

Sourdough Apple Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

156 g fed sourdough starter

3/4 C lukewarm (100 degrees F) water. You may need to use a bit less in hot and humid weather

1 T olive oil

2 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

269 g unbleached all purpose flour

43 g potato flour or potato flakes

35 g rolled oats

2 tsp instant yeast

113 g Granny Smith apple, cut into pieces about the size of raisins

75 g golden raisins

75 g dried cranberries