Domestifluff : Food, Craft, Etc. » Whole Grain

Whole Grain Sticky Buns

Kristen — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:10:48 +0000

Baking with whole grains has opened up a new world of possibilities for me. Although I’m currently dealing with a wheat sensitivity and can’t partake of half the pan as I’d like, I seem to do somewhat better when I use whole wheat flour instead of white flour in recipes. Although these sticky buns are made with whole grains, they’re still an ooey gooey indulgence.

When B requested these for breakfast, I was excited because it provided me with a recipe where I could use my newly made apple syrup. I used the apple syrup and pineapple juice in the caramel-like topping, and the combination made for a “brighter” sweetness. You could use orange juice instead of pineapple in both the topping and the dough to give it a subtle citrus element. The original recipe for the dough did actually call for orange juice, as a way to offset the bitterness that whole grains can sometimes have, but I used pineapple juice instead to the same effect.

I recommend using white whole wheat flour in this recipe, which I only recently discovered is made from an entirely different strain of wheat than regular whole wheat flour, as opposed to being a more processed version of whole wheat flour. I’ve used stone ground whole wheat flour for yeast dough recipes in the past and wasn’t fond of the less smooth texture and lack of moisture in the finished product. A finer ground whole wheat flour may yield a smoother dough than what I’ve experienced.

The final dough will be denser than a dough made with white flour, and the buns won’t rise as much while proofing, but the sticky buns are so tasty that you probably won’t give a second thought to the fact that you’re eating something made with whole grains. Yay for baking with whole grains!

One correction that I might make if I were doing this again is to add a smear of unsalted butter to the dough before adding the filling mixture to help the filling stick better to the dough. As it is, a lot of the filling does fall out before you can get it to the pan, which isn’t really a problem because you can just take what’s fallen out and sprinkle it over the top of the buns when they’re all in the pan. However, if you want you can spread a few tablespoons of softened butter over the dough to make the cinnamon/sugar/nut mixture stick better.

Whole Grain Sticky Buns

Notes: If you use oat flour instead of rolled oats, you may need up to 1/2 cup additional water for the dough.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH
adapted from Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
3/4 cup pineapple juice
5 Tbsp. agave nectar or honey
1 egg yolk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into large pieces
3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour (see note above) or old fashioned oats
1/2 cup dried potato flakes or 3 Tbsp. potato flour
1/4 nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast or 2 2/3 tsp. active dry yeast

FOR THE FILLING

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
pinch of salt

FOR THE TOPPING

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into large pieces
3/4 cup apple syrup or honey
1/3 cup pineapple juice
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
pinch of salt

Directions

1. Prepare the dough: Combine all dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix and knead by hand for about 10 minutes, or in the mixer on low for about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s just about doubled in bulk.

2. Make the filling: Mix all filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl until combined. Set aside.

3. Make the topping: Add brown sugar, apple syrup, and pineapple juice to a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to boil. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens to a caramel-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the butter, one piece at a time, and cook until the butter has completely melted. Turn off the heat and stir in heavy cream and salt. Pour the topping into a greased 9×13 inch or similar sized pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans over the topping.

4. Make the buns: Deflate the dough and transfer to a lightly greased or floured surface. A piece of parchment could also be used to cover the surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough (it should roll very easily) until it’s roughly a 12×16 inch rectangle. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a one inch margin on one of the long edges. Starting with the long edge that has filling spread to the edge, roll the dough into a log. Once rolled, turn the log of dough so the seam edge is flat against the work surface. Using a dough cutter or serrated knife, gently cut the log into 16 pieces.

5. Lay the buns over the topping in the pan, spacing them evenly. Sprinkle any filling mixture that has fallen on the work surface over the buns. Cover the pan with a piece of greased plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 1 to 1 1/4 hours. They won’t quite double in size. Near the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Uncover the buns and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown. While the buns are baking, set a cooling rack over parchment or waxed paper. Remove the buns from the oven and immediately turn them onto the rack, allowing the parchment or waxed paper to catch the dripping topping. Scrape any topping that remains in the pan onto the buns. Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Individual Black and Blue Mixed Berry Crisps

Kristen — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:05:48 +0000

Crisp, crumble, buckle, grunt, cobbler…I’m getting better at knowing what’s what, but this is a confusing food genre. No matter, I’ve come to love them all, which is something that I would never have thought I’d be saying if you asked me a few years ago.

It used to be all about cake, cookies, and other pastries for me. Sure, I enjoyed apple or pumpkin pie at the holidays, but during the rest of the year I wouldn’t look twice at a pie or any other fruit dessert if I had a choice between that and a chewy chocolate chip cookie or a piece of yellow cake with buttercream frosting. I think that the idea of a fruit-based dessert gave my sense of texture the heebie jeebies. I didn’t like the thought of biting into wonky, plump bits of cooked fruits. Weird, I know. But, thankfully, I’ve gotten over this neurosis and am trying my best to catch up on all of the years that I lost by thinking that I disliked fruity desserts.

These individual berry crisps are delicious and allowed me to use some of the wonderful blackberries that were on sale at the supermarket this week. I mixed them 1 to 1 with blueberries and ended up with a dessert that I’m sure I’ll be making again. I love the flexibility of desserts like this. Make the recipe half a dozen times, and you can use half a dozen different combinations of berries and fruits, creating a new dessert every time.

Black and Blue Mixed Berry Crisps

FOR THE TOPPING

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat (or all purpose) flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

FOR THE FILLING
adapted from Individual Berry Crisps by Alton Brown

Note: If you’re using frozen berries, thaw and drain them before you mix them together for the filling.

12 oz. fresh or frozen blackberries
12 oz. fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup white sugar)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (if using agave nectar, add an additional teaspoon of cornstarch)
1/2 cup crisp topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare six individual 8 oz. ramekins (a 9×9 inch pan should work, if you don’t have ramekins) by spacing them evenly on a sheet pan that has been covered with parchment paper.

2. Make the topping: Combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar, white sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Once thoroughly mixed, add cubed butter and work the mixture with your fingers until it becomes a crumbly mixture that holds together if you squeeze it together in your hand. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Make the filling: In a second mixing bowl, stir berries, agave nectar (or sugar), cornstarch, and 1/2 cup of the crisp topping together until thoroughly combined.

4. Divide the berry mixture evenly between six ramekins and top each with roughly half a cup of the crisp topping. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the topping is browned and the fruit is bubbling. Cool for at least 15 minutes and serve.

Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce

Kristen — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:10:03 +0000

I bought the new Ellie Krieger (of Food Network fame) cookbook, The Food You Crave, a few weeks ago and have earmarked at least every other recipe in the book. I’m always looking for lighter dishes for my lunches, and her recipe for Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce was calling my name. The sugar snap peas that I had in the fridge were, unfortunately, no good by the time that I was ready to make this. I went with broccoli only, because that’s what I had, but you could probably add carrots or red peppers for a more colorful dish.

I have to say that I found this dish somewhat bland for my taste. Maybe it was because I used agave nectar in place of the brown sugar? Or maybe it was because I used buckwheat noodles instead of whole wheat? If I make these noodles again, I’ll probably use full sodium soy sauce, add more red pepper flakes and ginger, add some chili sauce or oil, and throw in a clove of garlic or two to bump up the flavor. My search for the perfect peanut noodles continues…

Aromatic Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce
adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

12 oz. spinach linguine or whole wheat spaghetti (I used buckwheat noodles)
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups snow peas, ends trimmed
2 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed
1/2 cup unsalted or lightly salted peanuts
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy natural)
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 scallion, sliced into pieces
3/4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated finely
2 Tbsp. agave nectar (or brown sugar)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2. While the noodles cook, put the broccoli in a steamer basket in a pot of boiling water and steam for 3 minutes. Add both kinds of peas and steam for 2 more minutes. If you’re not a fan of tender crisp vegetables, steam everything for a few minutes longer.

3. Toast the peanuts in a small skillet, stirring frequently, over medium hight heat for 3-5 minutes, or until you can smell the scent of peanuts in the air. Set aside to cool.

4. Prepare the sauce by pureeing the soy sauce, peanut butter, water, vinegar, agave nectar or brown sugar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, and red pepper. You can do this with an immersion blender in a deep, narrow container or in a food processor or blender.

5. Immediately before serving, toss 3/4 cup of the peanut sauce with the noodles. Divide the noodles into 6 portions. Top with the broccoli/pea mix and drizzle with remaining sauce. Coarsely chop the peanuts and sprinkle over the top. If you want added heat, sprinkle some red pepper flakes on top. Serve.

Whole Wheat Outrageous Brownies

Kristen — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:15:06 +0000

Ina Garten’s Outrageous Brownies recipe has been my favorite for a couple of years. I’ve made these brownies at least half a dozen times, though I always halve the recipe because the full recipe is way too much for B and me. Oh, who am I kidding? I’d totally eat all of the brownies if I made the full recipe, which is why I don’t. Willpower isn’t my strong suit. I’ll list the full recipe below, just in case you have an event to cater.

I included the coffee granules in the recipe, which I only use about once every other time that I make these. Actually, I just use Sanka. If you don’t like coffee, you can leave this ingredient out altogether and the brownies still taste great. This time around, I also subbed pecans for walnuts, and they provided a nice, slightly maple element.

I thought I’d try swapping out the white flour in the recipe with whole wheat, you know, to make the brownies about 5% healthy. I worry about swapping white flour with whole wheat 1 to 1 in some recipes because it can change the texture significantly. However, they still came out beautifully; I couldn’t tell the difference in texture between the ones I’ve made with white flour and these. B described them as “excruciatingly rich”, and I think that sounds about right.

Whole Wheat Outrageous Brownies
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients

1 lb. unsalted butter
1 lb. plus 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 oz. unsweetened chocolate
6 large eggs
3 Tbsp. instand coffee granules
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, divided
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 cups diced pecan pieces (or walnut pieces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13×18x1 1/2 inch baking sheet (half sheet pan) with parchment. If you’re halving the recipe, use a 13×9x1 1/2 inch baking sheet (quarter sheet pan).

2. Melt the butter, 1 lb. of the semisweet chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a bowl on the top of a double boiler (a pan of simmering water that doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl). After the mixture is completely melted, set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir together the eggs, coffee granules, sugar, and vanilla. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and cool to room temp.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder, and salt. Toss the remaining 1/4 cup of flour together with the pecans and remaining chocolate chips (this helps to keep the nuts and chips from sinking to the bottom). Add the flour and nut/chocolate chip/flour mixture to the batter. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, and rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air out from between the pan and brownie dough. This helps make the brownies nice and fudgy. Bake for about 15 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Cool thoroughly and cut into squares.

Strawberry Galette with Spelt Crust and Orange Whipped Cream

Kristen — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:45:08 +0000

I have turned into a strawberry fiend lately. I’ve always liked strawberries, but since they’ve started appearing en masse at the grocery in the past month or so, I feel like a “strawberry love” switch has been turned on in my brain. It doesn’t hurt that the first couple of pounds that I bought were some of the best strawberries I’ve had in my life. So, naturally, I had to make this strawberry galette pretty much as soon as I saw the picture in the latest issue of Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe also turned out to be the perfect place for me to try out my new spelt flour. High in fiber, b vitamins, and protein, spelt flour has been growing in popularity in the U.S. recently as more people look for nutritious and tasty alternatives to wheat flour. Since I’ve been trying to use more whole grains in my baking, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m very glad that I did, as the crust turned out very nicely. It wasn’t as flaky as pie crusts that I’ve made using all purpose flour, but I may have overmixed given that it was my first time using spelt. The taste was the thing that most surprised me. It was very nutty and yummy, though I think that the taste of the whole spelt flour (as opposed to white spelt flour, which has a milder flavor) may have overpowered the strawberries just a bit. All in all, a very tasty galette, and the orange whipped cream was quite good, too.

Strawberry Galette with Spelt Crust and Orange Whipped Cream
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients

FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM

1 cup heavy whipping cream
zest of 1/2 orange
3 Tbsp. agave nectar (or 1/4 cup sugar)

FOR THE CRUST

2 1/4 cups whole spelt flour (or all purpose flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. agave nectar (or 1 tsp. sugar)
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3 Tbsp. ice water

FOR THE GALETTE
adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 Tbsp. agave nectar (or 1/4 cup sugar)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

1. Make the cream: combine heavy cream, orange zest, and agave nectar or sugar in a medium metal or glass bowl. Whip until semi-stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Make the crust: in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt (and sugar, if you’re not using agave nectar). Gradually add pieces of butter and mix on low using the paddle attachment (or mix using your hands, if not using a stand mixer) until the mixture looks sandy, with pea size and smaller pieces of butter still visible. If using agave nectar, mix with water and gradually add to the flour/butter mix until a dough forms. Shape into a flat disc (or two smaller discs, as I did), wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out one ten inch round or two five inch rounds and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, or sheets if you’re making two smaller galettes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Make the galette: Combine sliced strawberries, agave nectar or sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Immediately arrange on dough in as close to a single layer as you can get. Fold edges of dough over the strawberries. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Dot berries with 1 Tbsp. butter that’s been cut into small pieces. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or 30 to 35 minutes if making two smaller galettes. Serve at room temperature with chilled whipped cream.