Honey-Citrus Gingerbread

I know, I know, I should be posting about Thanksgiving and turkey and all that, but everyone else is doing it. How about a change from the pumpkin and potatoes?
This quick bread is based off a french Pains d'Épices, also known as gingerbread, but with more citrus zest and honey flavor. The batter is thick and takes a while to put together and cook, but I think it's worth the effort. Eat it for breakfast with a glass of milk, or slice it thin and dress it with not-too-sweet whipped cream for an elegant dessert. I recommend making it a day early because it gets denser and easier to slice with time. Store it wrapped in foil at room temperature.


If you don't have a scale, get one. Without a scale you can't make most European recipes, and most breads are by weight as well. Get one precise to at least .25 oz or 5 grams for flexibility.

Ingredients:

Main ingredients:

• 130g all-purpose flour (4.6 oz)
• 70g Rye flour (2.5 oz) (The rye can be replaced with regular flour, but I think it improve the loaf. And it's traditional!)
  
• 40g brown sugar (1.4 oz)
  
• 100g butter, melted (about 7 tbsp)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins

Flavorings (This is where you can be creative, use your imagination and cupboard to find your favorite combination):

• 250g honey (8.8 oz)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• anise seed, cloves (to your taste, can be ommitted)

Putting it together:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Combine Flavorings in a saucepan and heat until the honey starts to bubble. Lower heat and cook for aout 5 minutes.
  
• Combine both flours, sugar, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• Add the honey mixture and melted butter to the flour and blend completely.
  
• Let cool 5 minutes and add the egg and milk.
• Stir in raisins.
• Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan, bake 55-60 miutes. If the top starts to darken too much, cover with a piece of foil.
  
• The loaf is done when an inserted kife comes out clean.
  

Poll Results (Finally): Favorite frozen dessert

Ice Cream (any kind)	8 (53%)
Sorbet (no dairy, made with fruit)	4 (26%)
Frozen Yogurt	3 (20%)

Votes so far: 15

Unsurprisingly, ice cream won! Yeah, ice cream is just so good... Sorbet is tasty too, but it is often too sweet for my taste buds.
Most Frozen yogurts try to pass themselves offf as ice cream with a healthy twist, but they often just end up tasting bland. However, there is a shop called Red Mango in downtown PA (and other places, see link) that sells real frozen yogurt. It actually tastes like yogurt! It's sweet and tangy with the unmistakable flavor of yogurt. Red Mango frozen yogurt comes with toppings like fruit or granola or chocolate. When I went, I got raspberry and (of course) mango.

Wild Yeast Pain de Mie

Pain de mie is the french name for sandwich or Pullman bread. In other words, it is soft, tender bread baked in a loaf pan. I made this one with some of my wild yeast starter, adding a little instant commercial yeast to guarantee a faster rise. I am not sure is the wild yeast made a difference. The bread was not sour, and I blame this on my local bacteria.
The recipe uses 2 builds, meaning that I first combined the starter with some flour and left it overnight to build flavor, and then added it to the main dough.

Ingredients:

The night before:

• 4 oz milk (11o g)
• 12 oz starter (340 g)
• 4 oz whole wheat flour (110 g) [You can use bread flour here, but I prefer the rustic appearance gained by using some whole wheat]

Mix everything together and leave out for about 2 hours (until it doubles in volume. Then, refrigerate it overnight.

The next day:

Take the re-ferment out of the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough.

Add:

• 3.5-4 oz Bread Flour (110 g) [The amount you will need depends on the moistness of the starter]
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp instant /Fast acting yeast
• 2 tbsp oil or melted butter
• 1 tbsp honey [use the same spoon as the oil to create a slick surface. It will be easier to scrape the honey out of the spoon]
• 1/2-1 cup water [the dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but easy to knead]

Mix well and let rest 10 minutes. Knead for 10 minutes by hand, or in a mixer for 5 minutes. Form into a ball and spray the dough with oil and let proof (rise) for about 2 hours. The dough should almost double.
Degas the dough and form into a loaf either by rolling the dough into a cylinder or another method of your choice.
Place loaf into an oiled loaf pan (small) and ferment (let rise) for another 2.5 hours.
Make a slit at the top of the loaf to prevent cracks and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350F. The loaf is done when its center reaches 195F.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing because the center is still cooking.

This bread is delicious fresh and goes especially well with cheese.

Buckwheat Pancakes: With Wild Yeast!

Last week I decided to test out my sourdough starter to see it it was sour yet. I wanted to make something easy ans tasty, so I flipped through my secondhand copy of Beard on Bread by James Beard and found a recipe for Yeasted Buckwheat Cakes. My family loves buckwheat (it's what is used for real crèpes,) and the method looked simple.
The recipe called for mixing commercial yeast with flour, salt, and water the night before and adding butter, molasses, and baking soda the next morning. All I did was replace the yeast and part of the flour and water with the barm I made about a months ago.

Ingredients (Feeds 4-6):

The Night Before:

1. 1 cup liquid sourdough starter*
2. 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
3. 1 cup buckwheat flour
4. 1 1/2 cup water
5. 1 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a medium-large bowl. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and leave out in a warmish place overnight.

The Morning of:

1. 1 tbsp melted butter
2. 2 tbsp molasses
3. 1/4 tsp baking soda

The flour mixture should have bubbled. Stir it well and add the remaining ingredients. Heat up a griddle to medium-low heat. Cook like you would a pancake, but longer. Check for doneness by Opening one a peeking inside. The interior should be soft but not gooey.
Eat warm with honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, or a combination!

*You can replace the sourdough with 1 package instant yeast, 1/2c flour and a 1/2c water. If your starter is dryer or more solid, diminish the amount used and add more water to make a liquid batter.