It is quite obvious that I love to bake. I find it one of the more relaxing things I do. My mornings just do not feel complete if there is not either something in the oven or bread dough rising on the old wood stove. My problem is not the baking but finding enough folks to eat everything! I take it for granted that if I bake, someone will want it. I am now on a bread baking kick which all started when my daughter gave me a recipe for vegan yeast bread. This stuff is just so good! What started as basic rolls has now grown into a vast variety of baked goods using the same basic dough recipe.
This morning, I whipped together the basic dough and set it on the old stove to do its rising. About noontime, the dough had doubled in size and was ready to be formed into loaves or rolls or whatever struck my fancy. My son, Michael came in from doing chores and started helping in the kitchen. Our brains started working overtime as we played with the dough. First came some cheese filled mini muffins. Then some bacon/cheese filled mini muffins. These bite-sized goodies were to be late night snacks for him (if the lasted that long!). Then a brilliant idea hit! Broccoli! Yep, broccoli! I had picked two nice sized heads of broccoli from the garden and needed to use it, so broccoli made it into the bread. The dough was rolled flat and loaded with diced broccoli bits and some freshly grated mozzarella cheese. Once it was laden, the dough was rolled into a log and sliced into two inch chunks. A bit of spices were sprinkled on top for good measure! These were allowed to rise again before baking. Oh, my goodness! That kitchen never smelled so good than when those things were in the oven! Our baking experience did not end there. The double batch of dough was enough to make a bunch of goodies! Last on the list was what I want to call "Apple Twist". This goody is not only tasty but really sort of pretty! A drizzling of caramel sauce before baking this made it moist, gooey and sweet!
Since finishing all of these delectable goodies, I have been inundated with requests for the recipes. I do not usually follow exact written recipes so I will have to remake everything tomorrow and try to keep a record of what I do. If you are interested, check the "Cooking on the Bayou" tab above sometime tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have some added recipes for you!
With the bit of a cold snap...oh, alright, the downright cold weather that hit us last night, I decided early this morning that today would be baking day. Michael stayed up all night tending the pipes and stoking the fires in the wood stoves so at 4 AM, I chased him upstairs and to bed. "Son, you have to get some sleep. If it is going to be cold tonight, I will need you once again. Go to bed!" I did not have to tell him twice as he readily agreed. Well, at 4 AM, it is still quite dark and the wind made the chill factor a nippy 5 degrees. Baking sounded mighty pleasant!
I knew what I wanted to pull out of the oven first so, I found a recipe that my daughter had given me. This happens to be the best vegan yeast bread that I have ever tasted! The simplicity of the recipe was an added plus. Within just a few moments, I had a double batch of the dough rising on the back of the old wood stove. My goodness, that stuff smelled delightful even before it was baked. As Michael always says, I cannot leave well enough alone. Instead of plain bread, I opted to douse part the dough with spices and make a cinnamon type loaf. After the dough rose to a nice bowlful, I set to work making the loaves. A few hamburger buns for lunch, one nice sesame seed topped loaf and a spiced up cinnamon bread soon had the kitchen smelling divine!
It was not long before Mark made an appearance. Between him and my brother, the breads all soon disappeared! There are just a few slices of the sesame bread left and Mark earmarked that for his breakfast tomorrow morning! I do believe this vegan bread has gone over really well with my non-vegan guys! I, also, do believe that tomorrow will have to be another baking day at the Little Bayou House. This bread does not last nearly long enough! Actually, I have baked for the past four days in a row and the house is still bread free! Maybe I should quadruple the recipe? I did not even get a picture of the loaves as they came out of the oven! Tomorrow, I will demand that these guys wait long enough for me to take pictures so I can post a recipe for the most tasty vegan cinnamon bread!
