Oatmeal-Walnut Bread

This is now my basic bread recipe. I know I always say this everytime... but it's sooooo good!! And really easy. It takes a while to make though, 2 hours total rising plus the baking but it's so worth it!! It makes a BIG loaf, it's healthy and you can add stuff to it. Perfect for my "type" of baking.



This recipe comes from here. The "original" had fruit and almonds in it, I used only walnuts because I had a bit too many left over and nothing's worse than having to throw out a bag of walnuts because they went bad. So walnut bread it is. I made the recipe exactly the same as it was on "Food for Poems", but next time I'm gonna try to tweak it with a different kind of oat and maybe I'll add fruits, maple syrup instead of honey would probably work too, who knows...I'm beginning to understand this yeast chemistry thing...

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp salt
2 tsp rapid-rise yeast

1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 TBSP butter
1 1/4-1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120F.(start with 1 1/4 and add if necessary...)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Throw all the flour, oats, yeast and salt in a big bowl and mix it.
In a different bowl mix warm water, honey and butter and add to the flour mix slowly while stirring with a big fork(or with the dough hook of a mixer).
Ditch the fork and knead on a well floured surface until nice and smooth, about 5-8 minutes. Add the nuts towards the end of that process. Make sure they get all the way to the middle of the dough, knead knead knead...
Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a dish rag and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours, until doubled.

Before:


After:


Punch it down!



Take it out of the bowl and form into a loaf, but no hardcore kneading!! Gentle...
Place on an oiled baking sheet and let it rise again until doubled, another hour or so...I covered it loosely with plastic wrap.

This is the "after" result:


Bake at 350F on the middle rack for about 35 minutes.
Internal temperature will be 180-190F and it'll sound hollow when tapped.



Cool on a rack, wait at least 30 minutes before slicing(THIS is the hard part, actually...).



I have a feeling I'll be making french toast for breakfast tomorrow...

The walnuts here add a really nice crunch. Not to mention some healthy protein and fats!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Saturday morning is usually muffin baking morning. I always make the same recipe but this morning I was out of appelsauce and maple syrup, 2 major ingredients in this favorite recipe. But I had 2 ripe bananas and plenty of brown sugar so I looked through another one of my favorite baking books called "Biscuits et Muffins"(in french)by Marg Ruttan, and found a banana oatmeal muffin recipe. Perfect.


(now THAT'S a Muffin top!!)

Start by pre-heating the oven at 375F and grease muffins mold.
This recipe will yield about 9-10 big muffins.

Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour.
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar(or regular white sugar, but I prefer brown sugar with banana recipes...)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg(magical with bananas, seriousy.)

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil
3/4 cup milk
1 cup very ripe bananas, smashed into a puree.(about 2-3 bananas)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

-Mix all the dry ingredients, set aside
-Beat the eggs, then add the rest of the wet ingredients.
-Pour the wet in the dry, with chocolate chips, mix until just combined, without overmixing.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes
-Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, demold and cool on a wire rack.



*To make sure the muffins don't break when you take them out, put a cookie sheet on top, flip it and shake the pan a bit to make them come out. It might take a few minutes but that way you won't end up with separate tops and stumps.
**These muffins are very moist and tender, so be careful when they're hot, handle them gently...
***Also they freeze well, but make sure they are completely cooled before freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and in a anti-freeze ziploc.

This morning I couldn't help myself I had 2 of them(it's ok, I'm swimming later...). They go really good with coffee.



Happy Easter week-end!

The Goodness of Oats.

Oatmeal is probably one of the, if not THE, most healthy breakfast. Whether it's cooked hot or eaten cold in muesli, it'll fill you up and do wonders on the inside.
As much as I love bread, I think we eat WAY too much of it. Think about it; toasts for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta(made from wheat) for diner with...garlic bread. Croutons in the salad are made with bread... That's too much wheat. There are other grains out there besides wheat. Oats is one of the best. So is quinoa, millet, barley, etc. So let's ease up on the wheat. What I try to do everyday is to have at least one wheat-free meal(not always gluten-free, cause oats and barley have a little gluten too...). The best way to do that is to have oatmeal for breakfast. It's one of my favorite. When I say oatmeal I mean REAL oatmeal, not the instant stuff that comes in pouches along with sugar and other "flavors"...It's just as easy, and cheaper, to get a big bag of quick-oats, it cooks in 5 minutes, and they haven't been transformed as much AND when things are plain...you can flavor it anyway you want!! Also, you can use them in baked goods, or even meatloaves and stews, etc. Wonderful little flakes!
Here are some nutrition facts:(I did my research!!)
-Oats are a good source of soluble fibre, which helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
-They're rich in iron, manganese, folic acid, vitamin E and complex B vitamins, such as niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, etc.
-They have some powerfull anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer and other diseases.
-It's a good option for diabetics because oats help reduce blood sugar levels and insuline levels as well.
-Since they're high in protein and fiber, they take longer to digest so they'll make you feel fuller longer.
So...oatmeal rocks, basically.
There are so many ways to cook it, usually for quick oats you need 2 parts water or milk(or half water, half milk...) for one part of oats. Thicker rolled oats will take longer, up to 20 minutes, and you may need 3 parts liquid. Check the bag for instructions.
For me, I like my oatmeal with some kind of nuts or seeds, and fruit. Fresh or dried. And depending on those I'll add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or cardamon, or a mix of whatever, and of course almost always brown sugar. Not a lot, but I love the molassy taste of it. But it could be maple syrup, honey, or like this morning I threw in a couple of tespoons of chocolate chips. Yum.

"Banana Chocolate Walnut":


Now I'm not gonna give any recipes for morning oatmeal. But here are some suggestions, good combos, and ideas:
*Apple-raisin-sunflower seed with cinnamon and cloves,
*Pear-Walnut with nutmeg
*Peach-pecan with cinnamon AND nutmeg
*Cinnamon-raisin
*Blueberry-almond with cardamon
*Banana-Chocolate-Walnut...de-ca-dent.
*etc...
Basically, think of you favorite cookie, or pie or muffin flavor and put it in the oatmeal. Possibilities are endless.
So with that said, here are a couple other snaps of my oatmeal breakfasts;
(and notice how it's the same bowl...I know I need new dishes...)

"Cranberry Pear and Sunflower seeds, with nutmeg":


"Apple Raisin and sunflower seeds, with cinnamon":(ok, i really like those little seeds, can you tell?)