Italian Flour Artisan Multi-Grain Bread

Again a reminder. . .baking artisan bread is pretty time intensive. It would be good to read all the way through this process so you're not surprised by that. Tonight, to save time tomorrow when this will come together, rise and bake, I measured and whisked all the dry ingredients into the big bowl. If you find a recipe you want to make on repeat, you can actually do that regularly. Or just whisk a batch or more of all the dry ingredients together, transfer to a big ziplock bag and you've saved yourself some time with the initial prep on bread baking day.

I met with an allergist recently and in conversing, we discovered we're both huge 'foodies.' He bakes all his family's bread and told me he only uses Italian flour since discovering that even people who are gluten sensitive have no problem digesting bread made from European grown grains. No GMO's or other preservatives that we allow here in America. This was inspiring. I did a little digging then decided on Caputo Chef's 00 Flour. From wheat grown, harvested and ground in Caputo, Italy. I've since discovered they have many different types of flour including bread flour. I'll probably have to order some of that soon.

2-1/2c Caputo Chef's 00 Flour

1/4c organic buckwheat flour

1/4c organic corn flour

3T Bob's Red Mill ground flax seed

3T Everything Bagel Seasoning

1-1/2t Himalayan pink salt

1/2t Bob's Red Mill active dry yeast

1-1/2c warm water

2T raw unfiltered honey

Whisk the first group of ingredients together in a big bowl. In a measuring container, mix the warm (110°) water and honey then stir in the active dry yeast. Let it sit 5-10 minutes to get foamy. Add this to the dry bowl mixing with a silicone spatula until the dough is shaggy but the flour is all incorporated. Transfer this to a sheet of wax paper. 

Wash the bowl then drizzle it with a generous amount of good quality EVOO. Put the dough back in the bowl, flipping it a couple times to get the surface completely oiled. Cover and let it rest on the counter, away from drafts, for 8-10 hours. If your kitchen is cool, like mine, it might be good to put it in your oven with the oven light on for just a tiny bit of warmth.

Put a 4 or 6 quart Dutch oven into the oven, set the temperature at 450° and preheat for 30 minutes. Use a 4 quart for a higher loaf, a 6 quart for a flat wide loaf.

While that's happening. . .turn the dough out onto a floured surface, forming it into a ball with floured hands. Cover with plastic or a large inverted bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. After this time elapses - working quickly - open the oven, and pull out the rack. Flour your hands again and put the dough ball into the hot Dutch oven. Cut a "slash" across the top, about 1/2" deep, with a very sharp serrated knife.

Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue baking another 10 minutes to brown up the top.

Cool completely before slicing.

This recipe creation might have just earned 'artisan bread favorite' status. .😊. .Lin

Gluten-Free Corn Muffins with a little help from A.I.

Please excuse the font change, I wanted the A.I. comment to stand out from my ramblings. . .For the past several years, when I have ingredients rattling around in my 'fridge and my brain, I've found if I type them in the Google search line, it'll send me to similar recipes.

Now. . .A.I. not only does that but it will actually create a recipe for me using exactly what I've typed in! This is possibly the ONLY positive comment you'll ever see from me on this scary, invasive technology. . . 

So. . .I typed in only the main ingredients I wanted to use: "For Corn Muffins: Corn flour, buckwheat flour, eggs, canned corn, EVOO, plain Greek Yogurt" and this is what it suggested:

AI Overview

Healthy, moist corn muffins can be made using corn flour, buckwheat flour, eggs, canned corn, EVOO, and plain Greek yogurt. This combination typically requires a binder like baking powder, and often a sweetener like honey, with a base of 1 cup cornmeal (or flour) and 1 cup alternative flour, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, and 1/4 cup oil. 

Key Considerations for this Recipe:

• Moisture: Greek yogurt is the key ingredient that ensures the muffins are not dry or crumbly, often replacing butter or sour cream.
• Flour Mix: Using buckwheat flour adds a earthy, nutritious profile, while corn flour provides the traditional flavor, usually combined with a 1:1 ratio of flour to cornmeal.
• Method: Combine dry ingredients (corn flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, salt) and wet ingredients (eggs, yogurt, EVOO, canned corn) separately before gently mixing them together.
• Baking: Bake at 375°F-400°F for 15-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Add-ins: Enhance the savory flavor by adding mix-ins like jalapeños, shredded cheese, or savory herbs, or keep them slightly sweet with honey. 

For a healthier or gluten-free version, this combination works well and can be customized with additional ingredients like cheddar cheese or scallions. 

Preheat your oven to 350°
Line metal muffin tins with papers or use silicone muffin pans.
My take on this:

In a large glass bowl, whisk together:

1c corn flour

1c rolled oats

1/2c buckwheat flour

1T baking powder

1/2T Lowry's Garlic Salt

1/2T Little's Chili-Lime Seasoning

Combine the following in a smaller bowl:

1 can corn—drained

2 lg. pasture raised eggs

2oz. *1/4c raw, unfiltered honey

4oz. *1/2c Moroccan EVOO

8oz. *1c plain Greek yogurt

6oz.± low sodium vegetable broth or water - only if batter is too thick.

Other good additions would be grated Parmesan cheese, chopped canned jalapenos, finely diced sun-dried tomatoes, (chopped garlic stuffed large olives-?)

***My daughter-in-law bought me a kitchen scale several years ago. Best thing ever! She's a Pastry Chef and strongly recommends WEIGHING ingredients whenever possible for better accuracy. It also saves on having to clean measuring utensils. Just put whatever it is you need on the scale, zero the setting, and then the amount you need will register as a negative amount as you (for this recipe) squeeze, pour or spoon it into the bowl, all perfectly 'measured' by weight. 

When each bowl is well combined, and the oven is ready, pour the second into the first. Mix again, then fill each muffin—mini-bread cup 1/2—3/4 full. Sprinkle with a little grated cheese or everything bagel seasoning.

Bake until the tops are nicely browned or until a toothpick used to test comes out clean - about 20 minutes. Then drop the oven temperature to 325° for another 15 minutes. . .Lin

Sorry this appears so choppy, it always happens when I copy and paste text from an outside source to this site. I also can't remove the open space below without losing all the text above 😕 odd programming or crabby software I guess!

 

An Expanded Garlic-Cheese Biscuit—Muffin Recipe

😃 — WOW — 😃

I just realized. . .This is recipe #2,000!!!

I think some variety of this will be my go-to 'bread' recipe. In fact, next time I make this, I might try baking it in a loaf pan. There are other variations I'd also like to experiment with. Different spices, seasoning and other flours. I thought I only had 1/2c corn flour, but I was wrong, I found another package, or I would have made up the difference with buckwheat flour. In spite of the name, buckwheat flour is actually also gluten-free. I also bought coconut flour the other day when I shopped. Ohhh, so many fun possibilities! Here's today's recipe though, which is just a bit of an expansion on the original one I posted last week.

Preheat your oven to 375° In a big glass bowl, whisk together:

1c almond flour

1c corn flour

1T baking powder

2T ground flax seed

Put these ingredients in your blender and pulse until they're mixed, then blend a minute or so:

14-16oz. cottage cheese
6 cloves of garlic
3 jumbo eggs

1T± dry oregano

1/2T dry dill

1/2T garlic salt

Pour the blender contents into the flour bowl and stir until well mixed. Then add whatever cheese you like in whatever amount you want. Today I used about 2 cups of Taco Blend cheese.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins or directly into silicone muffin pans. Add more shredded cheese to the top of each, or sprinkle them with Everything Bagel Seasoning.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Cool, then serve with. . .Well. . .Just about anything! . . .Lin

Garlic and Cheese Biscuit-Muffins — Gluten-Free

Preheat your oven to 375°

In a blender jar, combine and blend these ingredients:

1½c cottage cheese

3 lg. cloves of garlic

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium glass bowl:

1c almond flour

½c corn flour

½T baking powder

½T oregano

1t dry dill

¾t garlic salt

Pour the blender ingredients into the bowl, add ½c shredded Dubliner cheese, stir to combine. Using a large serving spoon, spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins or a silicone muffin pan.

Top each with a little more grated cheese for a chewier top, or omit to keep them fluffy.

Bake until golden brown, mine were in the oven for 35 minutes. These would be great with soup, vegetable casseroles or chili.  .  .Lin

Vegetable, Fruit, Seeds and Nuts, Corn, Wheat and Rye Quick Bread - Muffins

In a big glass bowl, whisk together these dry ingredients:

1c rye flour

1+1/2c all purpose flour

1/2c corn flour

1t salt

1t baking soda

1t baking powder

1T pumpkin pie spice

2T chia seeds

2T ground flax seeds

1c chopped pecans or walnuts

In a smaller bowl, stir together:

3 lightly beaten lg. eggs

3/4c single source EVOO

3/4c plain Greek yogurt

3/4c dark brown sugar

1c raisins

1T real (Mexican) vanilla

When ingredients in the smaller bowl are combined, stir in:

2 med. carrots + 1 8oz. zucchini - shredded

Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Pour the ingredients from the smaller bowl into the big bowl. Stir-mix well with a rubber spatula. The batter will be heavy - my spatula was able to stand up in the center of the bowl. Using a serving spoon, fill each paper lined muffin cup 3/4 full with the batter.

The remaining batter will keep several days in your 'fridge, or you can bake it into a loaf of quick bread in a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins and bread with spiced sugar if you want, just before baking.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. The batter in the bread pan will probably take another 5-10 minutes to bake all the way through. . .Lin

Spicy Olive-Jalapeño Cornbread

Preheat your oven to 375° and butter a 12"x9"x2" glass pan.

Whisk together, in a large glass bowl:

~ Whisk together, in a large glass bowl:
1/2 gluten-free flour

1c 'quick' rolled oats

1c corn flour (not cornmeal)

2T ground flax-chia seeds

1t ground cumin

1t-1T sugar

1T garlic salt

1t baking soda

1t baking powder

~ In another bowl, again, whisk together:

2 lg. pasture-raised eggs

1c sour cream

1/4-1/2c water

1/2c single source EVOO

1t white wine vinegar

~ Stir in the corn, chopped olives and jalapeños.

1 can corn - drained

1/4c Kalamata olives

1/4c jarred jalapeños

Combine this bowl with the dry ingredients in the big bowl. As soon as everything's incorporated, pour it into the buttered pan. Sprinkle smoky paprika over the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean. Cool a while before cutting into squares. Serve with soup or chili. . .Lin

Olive, Oat- Muffin-Bites - Gluten-Free

1c quick rolled oats
1c corn flour
2T raw sugar
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1t ground cumin
1t smoky chili powder
2T ground chia-flax seeds
1-2T Everything Bagel Seasoning

⅔c chopped pecans or walnuts
⅔c sour cream
⅔c warm water
1 can of corn-drained
⅓c EVOO
1T white vinegar
8 finely chopped jumbo garlic-jalapeno olives

In a medium glass bowl, whisk to combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the next group, stir then scoop batter by spoonfuls into paper-lined muffin tins.  Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes.  These are good with chili. . .Lin

Orange-Banana-Walnut Coffee Cake

This is my adaptation of a banana bread my daughter made recently. Hers was only bananas, and she felt it was too dry, but I loved it! So, naturally, I made a couple substitutions and some additions. Preheat your oven to 350° Spray an 8"-9" square glass pan with oil. Hers was baked in little loaf pans, but my pans are too big for that, so -baked in a square (or round) pan- It's A Coffee Cake!

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk these together:

1-1/3c all purpose flour

2/3c corn flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1T cinnamon

2T ground chia and flax seeds

In a large mixing bowl, mash and whisk together these ingredients:

2 lg. pasture-raised eggs
4oz. avocado oil
1T Mexican vanilla
1c brown sugar
1/2c golden raisins
3 lg. ripe bananas
1c chopped walnuts
zest of 1 lg. orange

Add the dry ingredients to the big bowl, about half at a time. Combine just until everything is mixed together with no dry patches. Pour this into the prepared pan, top with cinnamon sugar.

Bake until it passes the toothpick test, about 50 minutes. Cool completely before loosening the edges and cutting into squares. This turned out great! Nice for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. . .Lin

Citrus Marmalade Cupcake-Muffins

This is another take on the Mediterranean olive oil cake recipe I've been making in various modifications as new ideas happen.

Start this one by making a marmalade using these ingredients:

5-6oz. flavorful red jam

3oz. finely chopped citrus peel

2oz. water

Bring this to a low simmer, cover and cook at this temperature for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, keep covered to allow the citrus to absorb sweetness and rehydrate, until the rest of your ingredients are assembled in their respective bowls. In a medium size bowl, combine:

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

2/3c sugar, white or brown

1/2c Kalamata olive EVOO

1/2c half and half

2/3c golden raisins

1t-1T Mexican vanilla

When the marmalade mixture is cool, add that to this bowl.

In a larger bowl, stir together these dry ingredients:

1c Namaste gluten-free flour

1/2c almond flour 

1/2c corn flour 

2t baking powder

1t Himalayan pink salt

Combine the egg mixture with the flours in the large bowl. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins. This made enough for 24 cupcake-muffins. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 20-25 minutes until tops spring back when touched, or check using the toothpick test. Cool to room temperature.

To make a glaze for these, combine the sugar and liquid jam, then put it in a squeeze bottle.

3oz. liquified flavorful jelly or strained jam

4oz. powdered sugar

Drizzle a little of this fruity icing on each cupcake-muffin. Cover and keep these on the countertop, or freeze in gallon bags once the icing has dried and hardened. So, what are they? Cupcakes or Muffins? You'll have to try them, then decide...😊...Lin

Orange-Walnut Quick Bread - Gluten-Free

Preheat your oven to 350° Whisk together these dry ingredients in a large glass bowl:

2c Namaste gluten-free flour blend

1c corn flour

1t salt

1/2t baking soda

2t baking powder

1T pumpkin pie spice

2T ground chia and flax seeds

Stir together the wet ingredients in a medium bowl using a heavy silicone spatula.

2c finely chopped unpeeled Cutie oranges

~ ~ I used my mini food processor and 9 oranges ~ ~

1c chopped walnuts (pecans or macadamias)

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1c brown sugar

1c olive oil - light, medium or EVOO

1T real Mexican vanilla

When well combined, pour into the dry bowl, stirring and scraping everything together using that silicone spatula, only until everything's incorporated.

Pour into buttered or oiled loaf pans, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake 50-60 minutes, or until done, using the toothpick test. Cool 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Wrap loosely in foil and chill in the refrigerator overnight before cutting. These can be made ahead and would freeze nicely. . .Lin

Zucchini-Walnut Muffins

In a big bowl, combine the following:

1c plain whole milk Greek yogurt 

3 lg. pasture-raised eggs

1/3c organic cane sugar

1c brown sugar

1/2c olive oil

2T Mexican vanilla

1c chopped walnuts

1/3c craisins

1oz. candied ginger

zest of: 1 orange and 1 grapefruit

2c finely chopped zucchini - 1 med. zucchini

In a smaller bowl, stir together these dry ingredients, then add to the big bowl, half at a time, stirring everything together well:

2c unbleached organic flour

3/4c corn flour

1T ground cinnamon

2T ground chia and flax seeds

1t each: salt, baking soda, baking powder

Spoon into paper lined muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon-spiced turbinado and coconut sugar. (1T ground cinnamon + 1/4c of each type of sugar) Bake in a preheated 350° oven, 20-25 minutes. Makes 24 nice sized muffins. . .Lin

Mediterranean Olive Oil Cake - 2

This could be the first of a couple variations on my original recipe in the most recent post below.

Nothing changes, from this recipe to the original, in the bowl of dry ingredients. In the egg-oil bowl, follow it until you get to the extracts. Omit the almond and vanilla, instead, substitute:

1/2-1t lemon extract

Then add:

1T fresh squeezed lemon juice

zest of one lemon

1 Cutie mandarin, finely chopped

Use the whole mandarin. Cut the stem and center white pithy parts away with a very sharp knife, then, finely chop the entire thing, peel and all.

Mix as directed in the original recipe. Prepare your 8" or 9" round or square pan by oiling it with EVOO and sugaring it. This gives a nicer texture to the crust than flouring. You could use pure cane sugar, coconut sugar or turbinado - which is what I used. The bigger crystals have the best crunch factor. Sprinkle the top with some spiced turbinado sugar also it you'd like.

Yesterday I stopped at a wonderful restaurant supply store here in Duluth, at 218 E. Superior Street. The Minnesota Foodservice Company. What a treasure trove for any foodie!! I bought my first springform pan - ever! At my age!! As you can see, within my learning curve, I wasn't trusting it completely since a springform pan is actually a ring with a removable bottom. I put it on a baking sheet before filling, just-in-case the cake batter tried to leak out, which it actually did, leaving a very browned thin 'cookie' attaching the pan to the baking sheet. I'm not sure about this pan. Next time I'll add parchment paper before I oil and sugar it.

Bake in your preheated, 350° oven. I baked this 45 minutes, then turned off the oven leaving the cake inside with the oven door cracked a couple inches for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for at least half an hour before loosening the edges and transferring it to a serving plate. Cut into 8 big pieces or go smaller for 12 servings, 9 in a square pan.

This turned out so well and ended up at my Bible study this morning. I'm thinking this recipe might show up again as a Cinnamon-Cardamom Walnut version. . .Lin

edit: I forgot the glaze recipe: 2/3c powdered sugar, 1T EVOO and 1-3T lemon juice - however much you need to get it to a thick drizzle.

Cranberry Orange Banana Walnut Cake-Bread

1c corn flour

1c toasted oat flour

1c all purpose flour

1T pumpkin pie spice

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

1t salt

1c walnuts - chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° Butter and sugar a 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan with turbinado or coconut sugar.

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a big glass bowl.

3 lg. eggs

2/3c light olive oil

2/3c plain Greek yogurt

1c turbinado sugar

3 chopped 'CUTIE' oranges

1 lg. banana

1T vinegar

1T Mexican vanilla

1c whole cranberries - chopped

Put the eggs, and everything else in this group, in a large glass container - except the cranberries. Mix this with an immersion blender.

Rough chop the cranberries with a hand food chopper, then stir them in. Combine this with the dry ingredients, mixing well and quickly, by hand. Pour into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. Cool for an hour before serving.

This is great for breakfast, a snack or dessert. . .Lin

Carrot Fruit Cake-Bread

2 big carrots - finely chopped

1c chopped frozen pineapple 

1 mashed banana

1"cube fresh ginger - minced

1 whole mandarin orange - zest and chop

1/2c coconut sugar

1/2c brown sugar

3 lg. eggs

3/4c light olive oil

3/4c sunflower kernels

- - walnuts or pecans would be better

1/2c plain Greek yogurt

1T white balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350° Chop, zest, mash and combine everything above, in a medium glass bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the following dry ingredients:

1T cinnamon

1/2T baking soda

1/2T baking powder

2T ground chia + flax

1t salt

1c corn flour

2-1/2c all purpose flour

Pour the bowl of well combined wet ingredients into the flour bowl. Working quickly with a big silicone spatula, fold and combine these into a heavy batter. Today I transferred this to a buttered and sugared 8"x12"x2" glass baking pan to make a snack-coffee cake. This would have also made wonderful  muffins! Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes. If making muffins, cut the baking time way down, start with 20 minutes then do the toothpick test. Let the cake cool an hour before cutting.

My daughter was here while this was cooling. She suggested a cream cheese drizzle to accentuate the flavors. I didn't have cream cheese, so instead made this butter-cinnamon-vanilla glaze:

3T melted butter

1t Mexican vanilla

1c powdered sugar

1t cinnamon

2T heavy cream

Mix these together until smooth in a small bowl. Pour and spread over the top. 

Have fun with your creative combinations. . .Lin