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Archive for November, 2013

Orange Cranberry Bread

Posted in Autumn, Bread, Christmas, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 25, 2013| 6 Comments »

Orange Cranberry Bread

Orange Cranberry Bread

I have been looking to change-up the holiday table a bit. I am big on traditions but there’s always room for minor improvements. Cranberries definitely belongs on the table, but serving cranberry sauce which no one in our household seems very fond of anyway, just doesn’t make sense.  So I was looking for an alternative when I came across this wonderful recipe. The only minor change I made was to toss the chopped cranberries in a little confectioners sugar to take away some of the bitterness of the berries. The bread turned out sweet and tart with a subtle background flavor of orange and a little crunch from the walnuts, very delicious. A nice addition to my holiday table.

Cranberry Bread (makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients:

165 gram all-purpose flour (5.8 oz)

135 gram whole wheat flour (4.75 oz)

200 gram sugar (7 oz)

1 small teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

35 gram unsalted butter, melted (1.15 oz or 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1 egg, beaten

177 milliliter orange juice (6 oz or 3/4 cup)

1 tablespoon orange zest (zest from 1 medium orange)

50 gram walnuts, chopped (1/2 cup) – optional

160 gram fresh cranberries, roughly chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (22 x 12 cm), line bottom of pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Give cranberries a rough chop, add confectioners sugar, stir to combine and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine both types of flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add melted butter, egg, orange juice and orange zest, stir until blended. Add walnuts and cranberries, stir until evenly distributed. Pour batter into loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Enjoy!

Source: adapted from Wild Yeast via Ocean Spray

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Beef Stew

Posted in Beef, Comfort food, Stew, tagged , , on November 17, 2013| 7 Comments »

Beef Stew

Beef Stew

When the weather turns cold and gloomy there is just nothing better than warm food that’s been simmering in a pot for a couple of hours. Light some candles and create some “hygge” (coziness) and enjoy your stew with mashed potatoes. There, I am ready for winter hibernation.

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs chuck beef, cut into bite size pieces

Salt and Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for frying

1 whole medium onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 oz tomato paste

1 quart chicken stock

several dashes Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large turnip, peeled and cubed

Directions:

Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Heat cooking pot to medium-high heat, add olive oil and brown beef in small batches on all sides, remove beef to a plate and set aside.

Lower heat to medium, add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomato paste, stir to combine and cook for another 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce and sugar to cooking pot. Add beef cubes back into stew, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

After 2 1/2 to 3 hours add carrots and turnips, simmer covered for another 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust taste with salt and pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes and enjoy!

Source: adapted from Pioneer Woman

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Hvedebrød aka Franskbrød – Wheat Bread

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Danish, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 4, 2013| 8 Comments »

Hvedebrød aka Franskbrød

Hvedebrød aka Franskbrød

When my parents learned that I was going to move all the way to America, my mother gave me this wonderful baking book. This book has so many wonderful recipes in it and I have read the book from cover to cover many times. But imaging that in the past 27 years I have been living in this country, I have never actually baked a recipe from it…until today 🙂 The excuses as to why not, are many but the main one has always been conversions. Well by now I am finally comfortable with metric to US conversions and so I picked up this great book once again and decided that the time had finally arrived.

Lademanns Brødbagebog - a gift from my mother

Lademanns Brødbagebog – a gift from my mother

I wanted to pick something very familiar that I grew up with and Hvedebrød, aka Franskbrød as we called it, was always my favorite. I know that this bread is probably very outdated since today’s popular breads tend to be very healthy and loaded with seeds and different types of whole flour but this Franskbrød still holds a special spot in my heart ♥

Hvedebrød aka Franskbrød

Hvedebrød aka Franskbrød

Ingredients:

1/2 liter water (5 deciliter or 17 fluid ounces)

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 25 gram cake/fresh yeast)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoon salt

750 gram all-purpose flour (25.5 ounces)

Directions:

Heat water to 100-110 degrees F (37-43 degrees C). Sprinkle active dry yeast over warm water and give a quick stir, let sit for 10 minutes. Pour water/yeast mixture into mixing bowl, add sugar and salt. With the mixer on medium-low add flour in small increments, you may end up holding back a little of the flour . Mix until dough starts to let go from the sides of the bowl. Place dough into a clean bowl sprinkled with a little flour and cover with a clean, dry tea-towel. Place in a warm location and let rise until double in size, approx 45-55 minutes.

Spray a 9 x 5 x 3 inch baking pan with baking spray and dust pan with flour, set aside. Sprinkle work surface with a little flour and give dough a quick knead to deflate. Shape dough into a log and place into prepared baking pan. Cover with tea-towel, place in a warm location and let rise for another 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 390 degrees F (200 degrees C). Fill an oven-proof bowl with hot water and place in oven on the lowest rack.

If desired, once the dough has risen, cut slits into dough with razor blade or a very sharp knife. Brush top of dough with a little milk or water. Place dough on the middle rack in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes. Bread is always best when eaten fresh but is also very good 1 or 2 days old and toasted. Enjoy!

Source: Lademanns Brødbagebog

This post has been submitted to YeastSpotting

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