I’m sure you’ve heard me say that I prefer a somewhat healthy muffin.  I know that I’ve told you before how I feel about overly sweet muffins – that if I wanted dessert, I’d rather just have a cupcake.  But I did it anyway.  I made these sweet, delicious muffins that offer very few nutritional benefits and really can’t be classified as anything but dessert.

You know what?  I don’t regret it one bit.

These are the best muffins I’ve ever made and I wouldn’t change a thing about them.  The banana and white chocolate are perfect together and the tart cherries help to balance the extra sweetness from the white chocolate.  The streusel topping, perfect.

When I noticed three well-aged bananas sitting in the fruit basket (they grow up so fast, don’t they?), I figured I’d actually make some banana bread this time instead of banishing them to the back of the freezer.  Since I’m in the process of eating down the pantry, I also pulled out a half-empty bag of white chocolate chips that had been hanging out for a while.  I learned from Amanda that white chocolate chips are really good in banana-flavored baked goods so I was pretty excited to give it a try myself.

At some point during the ingredient-gathering stage I decided that muffins sounded like more fun than bread.  Then all of a sudden tart dried cherries had made their way onto the ingredients list.  I was obviously in one of those throw-it-all-in-there moods, so it should come as no surprise that I felt a streusel topping was necessary as well.

I’m glad I let go and followed my instincts on this one.  These muffins were outstanding and I take back anything I ever said about muffins needing to be a bit healthy.  I’ll never give up the healthy ones, but there’s certainly room for an occasional muffin indulgence.  Enjoy!

Cherry Banana Muffins with White Chocolate Chips

Streusel Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter

Muffin Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped dried tart cherries

1. Place rack in middle of oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin (I use Baker’s Joy) or line with paper cups (I spray the inside of the paper cups with baking spray, too).

2. Make streusel topping:  In a small bowl, blend together brown sugar and flour.  Blend butter into the sugar mixture with your fingertips until it has a sandy, crumb-like texture.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.  Set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, oil, sugar and vanilla; stir in mashed banana.

5. Pour banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until just combined.  Don’t overmix, but make sure all the flour has been scraped off the bottom of the bowl and mixed in.  Fold in white chocolate chips.

6. Divide batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Sprinkle streusel mixture over the muffin batter, letting it mound slightly in the center of each muffin.

7. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Let muffins cool slightly in pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Related Recipes:

• Cherry Pecan Bran Muffins
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts
• Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins
• Whole Grain Sour Cream Apple Muffins
• Peach and Banana Bran Muffins

Around the Web:

• Nutella Banana Muffins from Delicious Days
• Blueberry Banana Muffins from My Kitchen Snippets
• Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins (gluten-free) from Gluten-Free Goddess
• Banana Muffins with Pecans from Nami-Nami
• Banana Nut Muffins from Simply Recipes

Remember my first madeleines from the beginning of the year?  Well, I decided to give them another try – this time with a completely different recipe.  The result?  Madeleines that are even better than the first batch!   I used this recipe from Bitten, and the only real change I made was to substitute lemon zest for orange zest.

I didn’t bother piping the filling into the molds, a spoon worked just fine.  Just make sure you don’t overfill them like I did!  The recipe says it yields 12 to 15, but I think you could probably get up to 18 full-size madeleines if you scrape the bowl (and don’t overfill the molds like I did).

What I really loved about these madeleines was the texture.  They were light and tender, buttery, and perfectly crisp along the edges.  The only thing I wish I could change about the recipe is the amount of batter it produces.  I wish that it produced either 12 or 24 madeleines – I can’t stand half-filled pans or leftover batter!  So the next time I make madeleines, I’ll try the one from David Lebovitz that yields 24 cakes!

Do you have a favorite madeleine recipe?  Want to share some tips or tricks?  If so, come join the discussion at the Baking 101 group on Facebook!  Created by Master Baker Klecko and food writer Kim Ode, Baking 101 has become a place where beginners and professionals mingle, ask questions, share photos, and discuss all things baking-related.  And if you’re on Facebook anyway, you’d might as well become a fan of Pinch My Salt!

Happy baking!

This soft, light sandwich loaf is the 18th bread I’ve baked for The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge.  Yes, I’m slowly but surely plowing through the book, and although there are still 28 breads ahead of me, I am confident I will finish the book…eventually!

Mr. Reinhart’s Light Wheat Bread was definitely a crowd pleaser – easy to make, easy to eat, and not too bad to look at, either.  The proud loaf that came out of my oven puts store-bought sandwich bread to shame and the simple formula is perfect for beginning bread bakers.

Although I have many fond memories of my mom’s homemade whole wheat bread, the truth is that I grew up, as many Americans did, eating sack lunches filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on store-bought sandwich bread.  And while I do bake a lot of bread, I still find myself grabbing loaves of whole wheat bread off the supermarket shelf for sandwiches.  I hate doing that.  Store-bought breads can’t hold a candle to homemade, and most of them are so filled with additives and preservatives they can hardly be classified as bread.  So I am really trying to get in the habit of baking sandwich loaves on a regular basis again.  With a little planning, and some extra freezer space, it should be manageable.

I know I won’t convince all of you that it’s feasible to bake your own sandwich breads every week.  But I do believe that every one of you should try baking your own bread at least once.  It’s not difficult.  Yes, it does take time, but most of that time is hands-off, allowing you to do other things around the house – watch a movie, do laundry, spend time with your family, or just lounge around in your pajamas (I’m a big fan of baking bread in my pajamas).  Do you ever spend an afternoon at home on the weekend?  I bet you can fit some bread baking in there and even have fun doing it.

So let me tell you a little bit about this light wheat bread.  It’s called “light” because whole wheat flour only accounts for about a third of the total flour in the recipe – the rest is unbleached bread flour.  While it’s not even close to 100% whole wheat bread, it’s heartier and more flavorful than a white sandwich loaf.  The ingredients are simple: bread flour, whole wheat flour, honey, salt, powdered milk, yeast, butter and water… and the dough is easy to mix and knead by hand.  The dough was a pleasure to work with, and as you can see from the photos, it rose like a champ.  The formula produces only one loaf, but next time I’ll probably double it.  Sandwich bread freezes beautifully so it’s always nice to have an extra loaf to pop in the freezer.

Although I don’t reprint the recipes from Mr. Reinhart’s book, Deb at Smitten Kitchen wrote about this bread last year, including the recipe.  If you’re a beginning baker this bread is a great place to start, and I encourage you to give it a try yourself.

If you’re following along in the challenge, the recipe can be found on page 181 of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  The next bread is Marbled Rye, which will be the first rye bread I’ve ever made.  Exciting!

Want to Join The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun!  First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  Read the first section of the book carefully, as this will prepare you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book.  Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book.  You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more details on how to participate in the group.

If you haven’t already, you might want to bookmark the BBA Challenge Page.  From there you can see which breads are coming up soon, find answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit and/or add yourself to our World Map, see the BBA Challenge Blogroll, and check out the continually updated slideshow of BBA Bread photos from our ever-expanding group of bakers!

Light Wheat Bread from other BBA Bakers:

• Two Skinny Jenkins
• Italian Food Forever
• I Can Do That
• Texas Farmer’s Hot Stove
• The Other Side of Fifty
• Of Cabbages and King Cakes
• The Yumarama Bread Blog
• Bewitching Kitchen
• 3Sheik
• Salt and Serenity
• Round the Table
• Susie’s Home and Hobbies
• Goth Panda
• Ährelich Gesagt
• Pete Eatemall
• Gourmet Hotdish and Other Culinary Disasters
• Fake Ginger
• In Good Taste
• A Tiger in the Kitchen
• Eating is the Hard Part
• Bread Experience
• Make My Day

Please enjoy this slideshow of Light Wheat Bread photos from members of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge Flickr Group:

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

On a whim, I decided to try making heart-shaped cinnamon rolls for a fun Valentine’s Day treat.  I had no idea if it would work, but I was thrilled  with the results.  They turned out so cute, I had to share the technique with you even if it’s a bit late to make them for today’s Valentine’s breakfast.

But who says you can only eat heart-shaped food on Valentine’s Day?

You can make heart-shaped rolls from any regular cinnamon roll recipe, but I happen to really like a dough made with buttermilk.  I improvised the dough for these rolls from the cinnamon bun recipe in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  Enjoy!

Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), softened
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
2 cups flour (plus extra as needed)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (or use rapid rise or bread machine yeast)
1/2 cup warm buttermilk (90 – 110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1  heaping teaspoon cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar using a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, until light and fluffy;  beat in egg.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast.  Add buttermilk and flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated.

If using a stand  mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 6 minutes, adding a bit of flour if necessary to form a very soft dough (will most likely be very sticky and that’s fine).  If kneading by hand, scrape dough onto a floured counter top or board and knead, adding only as much flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking, for 8 to 10 minutes.  Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn once to coat both sides of dough with oil.  Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about an hour and a half.

Gently push dough down to deflate and turn out onto a floured counter top or board.  Press dough out into a small rectangle then cover and let rest for ten minutes.  Meanwhile, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  After dough rests, roll it out into a 20″ x 7 ” rectangle.  Brush surface of dough with melted butter then sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the dough.  Gently press the sugar down into the dough with the palm of your hand.

Starting on a long side, begin rolling the dough towards the center, stopping before reaching the very center.  Repeat with other side then roll the two sides together until they meet in the middle.  Gently press together.

Slice the rolls into one-inch pieces then transfer to parchment or silpat-lined baking sheets.  Shape the pieces into hearts by pinching the bottom of the roll between two fingers.

You should end up with 20 -24 cinnamon rolls, divided between two baking sheets.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let cinnamon rolls rise for 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees during last 15 minutes of rising time.

Bake cinnamon rolls at 350 degrees for a total of 15 minutes (or until lightly browned), rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through baking time if using two oven racks.

Cream Cheese Glaze

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 ounces butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar (more to taste, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
splash of milk to thin, if necessary.

Beat together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla then gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Spread glaze on warm cinnamon rolls and serve immediately.  You may also thin the glaze with a bit of milk to drizzle over the rolls, or decorate cooled rolls using a piping bag and round tip as shown below.

Flatbread is the star of this week’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge post, and these lavash crackers were fun and easy to make, beautiful to look at, and absolutely delicious. I have tasted the soft version of lavash before, but was completely unfamiliar with crackers like these.  The dough is very similar to pita dough, but it is rolled thinner and baked longer than pita.  The crackers can be left plain or adorned with salt, seeds and/or spices – I chose to use everything.  While not quite as crisp as traditional American crackers, the flavor was outstanding and they would make a perfect accompaniment to your favorite dip or spread.

I decided to give my stand mixer a rest and mixed and kneaded the dough by hand for a change.  I first mixed flour, salt, yeast, honey, oil and water with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough formed.

Then I transferred the shaggy mass of dough to a floured board and kneaded it for about ten minutes.

The dough was rather firm and took a bit of elbow grease to knead.  But as you can see,  it was nice and smooth after ten minutes.

It mostly passed the windowpane test.  If you look closely you can see that it’s tearing in spots in the middle, but it was good enough for me.

Although I sometimes forget (or just decide to skip it), I did remember to check the dough temperature this time.  It was a couple degrees cooler than it should have been, so I knew the dough would take longer to rise and planned accordingly.

I placed the ball of dough in a greased bowl and turned it once to coat both sides with oil.  Then I covered it and let it ferment at room temperature.  The book recommends a 90 minute fermentation, or until doubles in size.  I planned on at least two hours since the dough was cool and the room wasn’t very warm.

After two hours, the dough didn’t quite look doubled, but I poked it with my fingers and it didn’t fill back in and I took that as a sign that I could move on.

Now we get to the fun part!  I love rolling out dough, even when it’s a bit stubborn.  I had to let the dough relax a few times before it finally submitted.

I eventually got it rolled out into a big, thin sheet.  Now it needed to be transferred to a baking sheet and I was a little nervous about how that would work!

But the task wasn’t as daunting as it seemed, although the dough did shrink up and thicken a bit.  I trimmed off the excess so that it fit in the baking sheet perfectly.

My favorite part was decorating the sheet of cracker dough.  I used plain sesame seeds, toasted sesame seeds, nigella seeds, paprika, hot smoked paprika, cumin seeds, poppy seeds and kosher salt.  I thought the stripes looked really cool!

Finally, I cut the crackers diagonally into long strips before putting the in the oven and baking until crisp.

After the crackers cooled, I broke the long strips by hand into even smaller pieces.  They were beautiful and tasted great!

The dough for lavash crackers can also be used for regular pita bread.  I make pita bread at home fairly often, and I think I will use this dough next time I do.  The crackers had such a wonderful flavor, I can’t wait to see how the pita turns out!

Are you ready to give lavash crackers a try?  The recipe can be found on page 178 of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The next bread in the challenge is Light Wheat Bread, and I’m really looking forward to having some homemade sandwich bread in the house again!

Want to Join The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun!  First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  Read the first section of the book carefully, as this will prepare you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book.  Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book.  You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more details on how to participate in the group.

If you haven’t already, you might want to bookmark the BBA Challenge Page.  From there you can see which breads are coming up soon, find answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit and/or add yourself to our World Map, see the BBA Challenge Blogroll, and check out the continually updated slideshow of BBA Bread photos from our ever-expanding group of bakers!

Lavash Crackers from other BBA Bakers:

• Gourmet Hotdish & Other Culinary Disasters
• Ährelich Gesagt
• Goth Panda
• Phoo-D
• MustangTerri
• Pete Eatemall
• Susie’s Home and Hobbies
• Round the Table
• Salt and Serenity
• Something Shiny
• 3Sheik
• Bewitching Kitchen
• The Yumarama Bread Blog
• Joelen’s Culinary Adventures
• Big Black Dog
• I Can Do That!
• The Other Side of Fifty
• Italian Food Forever
• Of Cabbages & King Cakes
• Texas Farmer’s Hot Stove
• Two Skinny Jenkins
• Fake Ginger

Please enjoy this slideshow of Lavash Cracker photos from the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge Flickr Group.

I was searching through old photos today and found these whole wheat blueberry muffins I made a while back.  Since I remember them tasting just as delicious as they look, I decided that they shouldn’t be kept hidden on my hard drive any longer.

The muffin recipe came from Elise at Simply Recipes and the only change I made was to use King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour instead of all-purpose flour.  If you haven’t started baking with white whole wheat flour yet, now is the time to start!

The name “white whole wheat flour” might seem confusing since we are used to associating the term “white flour” with something that has had most of the nutrition processed and bleached right out of it.  But white whole wheat flour is a whole grain flour that has been milled from hard white spring wheat, rather than traditional red wheat.  It offers all the same nutritional benefits of traditional whole wheat, but has a milder flavor, lighter color, and finer grind, making it perfect for quick breads.

I happen to really enjoy the flavor of traditional whole wheat flour and still use it for yeast breads, but I find myself turning to white whole wheat for things like cookies, quick breads, pancakes, pizza dough, and even pie crusts.  It’s wonderful stuff!  And if you’re new to baking with whole wheat flour, white whole wheat might make for an easier transition – especially if you’re baking for picky eaters!

I haven’t tried any brands other than King Arthur Flour, but I know Trader Joe’s (who unfortunately stopped selling King Arthur) is now stocking their own brand of white whole wheat and Hodgson Mill is also producing a white whole wheat flour.  I’m sure there are even more brands out there now.

If you’d like to try experimenting with white whole wheat flour, I think a batch of muffins is a great place to start.  You can use it in any recipe, just replace the all-purpose or traditional whole wheat flour with an equal part of white whole wheat flour.

One thing to keep in mind:  while white whole wheat flour does bake up a bit lighter than traditional whole wheat, it is still a whole grain flour and will not perform exactly like the processed all-purpose version.  Your quick breads might not rise quite as high, and the crumb might be a bit more dense than in breads baked with all-purpose flour, but I really enjoy the flavor and texture of whole grain baked goods and think you will, too.

And really, who is going to say no to a blueberry muffin that looks like this?

If you’d like to try these blueberry muffins, head over to Simply Recipes and print the recipe.  Just don’t forget to use white whole wheat flour!

Related Recipes:

• Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
• Whole Grain Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes
• Whole Wheat Rosemary Pizza Dough
• Whole Wheat Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Around the Web:

• The Bottom Line on White Whole Wheat Flour at Dani Spies
• White Whole Wheat Pizza Dough at 101 Cookbooks
• White Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls at Baking Bites
• White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil at Kalyn’s Kitchen
• White Whole Wheat Carrot Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting at The Perfect Pantry

Sometimes I think I would be perfectly happy in the kitchen making nothing but muffins all day long.  Quick to prepare and endlessly adaptable, muffins are fun, easy, and delicious – and I believe everyone should learn to bake them.

If you’ve been reading about my kitchen adventures for any length of time, you already know that I tend to make a lot of whole grain muffins.  While I do love sweet, cake-like muffins, I decided long ago that if I’m going to snack on something that tastes like dessert, I’d almost always rather go for an actual cupcake.

So while my muffins might not fall into the category of health food, I do try to find a nice balance between flavor, texture, and nutrition.  These cherry pecan bran muffins are no exception.  The muffins are packed with fiber but aren’t overly dense or heavy; the tart cherries and pecans lend a wonderful flavor, but also pack a nutritional punch.  Tart cherries are filled with antioxidants, are a natural source of melatonin, and might help to ease the pain of arthritis, and when taken out of the pie, pecans are good for you as well.

I’ve been eating these muffins for breakfast with a side of Greek yogurt, but they also make a great mid-afternoon snack.  You may substitute other dried fruits or nuts for the cherries and pecans, but I found this combination to be a delicious one.

Cherry Pecan Bran Muffins

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup dried tart cherries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with butter, nonstick baking spray, or paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together wheat bran and boiling water; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  When wheat bran has cooled, whisk in the egg, milk, oil, and brown sugar.  Pour wet bran mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until just combined.  Fold in the chopped cherries and pecans.

3. Divide batter between the twelve muffin cups (a regular-sized ice cream scoop works well).  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 18-22 minutes, or until the top of the muffin springs back lightly to your touch or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Check early and don’t let them over bake.

Nutrition Info per serving (one muffin):  252 calories; 11 grams fat; 37 grams total carbohydrate; 4 grams fiber; 15 grams sugars; 5 grams protein.  Nutrition information is approximate – analyzed through NutritionData.com

Related Recipes:

• Whole Grain Sour Cream Apple Muffins
• Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts
• Peach and Banana Bran Muffins
• Whole Wheat Applesauce Spice Muffins
• Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins
• Whole Wheat and Oat Bran Banana Muffins
• Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

Around the Web:

• Baby Bran Muffins from 101 Cookbooks
• Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins from Chocolate & Zucchini
• Basic Bran Muffins from Erin Cooks
• Sour Cream Bran Muffins from Smitten Kitchen
• Farmgirl Susan’s Basic Bran Muffins from Farmgirl Fare

We’re back to the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge! Today I’m sharing my experience with the 16th bread in the challenge:  Kaiser Rolls.  I enjoyed these rolls so much I’ve made them twice already!  Like many of the breads in the book, these rolls do take two days to make, but they aren’t difficult and I found that they were both easy and a lot of fun to shape.

Kaiser rolls, also called New York hard rolls or Vienna rolls, are known for the distinctive star pattern on the top of the roll.  The traditional method for achieving the classic kaiser roll shape requires a series of overlapping folds that intimidates me quite a bit. Luckily, the book offers a couple of other options for creating beautiful kaiser rolls.

The first of the easier shaping options is to use a special kaiser cutting tool that stamps a star pattern right into the top of the shaped rolls before they are proofed.  While this method appears to be the easiest, it requires the purchase of the specialized tool and quite frankly seems a bit boring.  The other option is to make a knotted roll.  The knot method appeals to me because it looks easier than the folding method, but is more hands-on than the stamping method.

Most commercial bakeries make these rolls using the faster direct-dough method, but Mr. Reinhart’s version uses a pre-ferment to improve the flavor, texture, and color.  The pâte fermentée, or old dough, is mixed up on day one and allowed to ferment slowly and develop flavor in the refrigerator overnight (or longer).

The following morning, or whenever you are ready to make the rolls, the old dough is taken from the fridge, chopped into pieces, and mixed into the new dough.

The dough ingredients should be quite familiar at this point in the challenge:  bread flour, salt, diastatic malt powder (or barley malt syrup), instant yeast, egg, oil, and water.

The ingredients can be stirred together by hand (I like to use a wooden spoon or dough whisk), or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.  They should be mixed until the ingredients form a ball and there is no loose flour in the bottom of the bowl – a bit of extra water can be added if needed.

As I decided to knead the dough in the stand mixer, I switched to the dough hook once all the ingredients were well mixed.  I might have accidentally added a bit too much water at the beginning because my dough was fairly wet and sticky, but I never mind starting with a sticky dough.  It’s easier to knead extra flour into a dough if it’s too wet than to add extra water if the dough is too stiff.

I kneaded the dough for about 7 minutes, adding small amounts of flour until the dough seemed right – soft and supple, tacky but not sticky.  I checked the gluten development using the windowpane test, and it looked great.

I placed the kneaded ball of dough into an oiled bowl, turning it once to coat both sides with oil in order to prevent the dough from drying out during the bulk fermentation stage.

According to the book, the dough temperature after kneading should be between 77 and 81 degrees F.  It was close, but a little on the cool side.  My house was also fairly cool, so I knew there was a possibility that the two hour fermentation time might need to be extended a bit if the dough hadn’t doubled in that time.

However, the dough appeared to have doubled after two hours, so I continued to the dividing and shaping phase.

The dough can be divided into 6 pieces for larger rolls, or 9 pieces for smaller rolls.  I decided to divide it into 8 pieces – it just seemed easier to divide the pieces into an even number.  I used my scale to make sure they were all close to the same weight so the rolls would be uniform in size.

As the dough was divided and measured, I pre-shaped the pieces into rounds and let them rest for ten minutes.  The resting period is important because it lets the gluten relax, allowing for easier stretching and shaping.

Next it was time to shape the rolls into knots.  Using my hands, I rolled a ball of dough into a rope.

I tied the rope into a simple knot, leaving a bit of length at each end.  As you can see, the rope shrunk as I tied the knot.  Luckily, the dough is elastic and it was easy enough to stretch it and complete the shaping.  To finish the knot, I pulled the right end of the rope up and over, and tucked it into the center.  Next, I took the left end of the rope and pulled it down and under, pushing it through the bottom of the knot and up into the center.

It’s hard to show the process using photos, but this is what a knotted kaiser roll will look like.  The little nub in the center is from the left strand that was wrapped under and pushed up through the center of the knot.  Some of mine ended up with the little nub in the center, some didn’t.  The process was simple to learn using the photos and instructions in the book, and once I completed the first one, I breezed through the rest without any problems.

The shaped rolls were placed on a baking sheet, covered with plastic and allowed to proof at room temperature for about an hour and 15 minutes.

They were supposed to double in size, but I’m not sure if mine quite made it.  I was tired of waiting and my oven was pre-heated and ready to go, so I decided to bake them anyway.

Right before placing the tray in the oven, I sprayed the rolls lightly with water and sprinkled seeds on top.  The first time I made the rolls, I used only poppy seeds, but this time I topped some with poppy seeds, some with sesame seeds, and a few with both.

The rolls were baked for about 25 minutes, until the internal temperature reached 200 degrees.  The crusts were thin and crisp, and the insides were soft – perfect for a sandwich roll!

We used the kaiser rolls for these delicious pulled pork sandwiches made by my friend Amanda.  If you’d like the recipe, head over to What We’re Eating – you won’t be disappointed!

Are you ready to give homemade Kaiser Rolls a try?  The recipe can be found on page 175 of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The next bread in the challenge is Lavash Crackers…something a little different!

Want to Join The Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge?

There are several ways for you to join in the fun!  First of all, you need a copy of Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.  Read the first section of the book carefully, as this will prepare you for the bread recipes in the second section of the book.  Then just jump in and bake some Anadama Bread, which is the first bread formula in the book.  You may also visit The BBA Challenge Page for more details on how to participate in the group.

If you haven’t already, you might want to bookmark the BBA Challenge Page.  From there you can see which breads are coming up soon, find answers to Frequently Asked Questions, visit and/or add yourself to our World Map, see the BBA Challenge Blogroll, and check out the continually updated slideshow of BBA Bread photos from our ever-expanding group of bakers!

Kaiser Rolls from other BBA Members:

• Kaiser Rolls from Two Skinny Jenkins
• Kaiser Rolls from Italian Food Forever
• Kaiser Rolls from The Other Side of Fifty
• Kaiser Rolls from My Hawaiian Home
• Kaiser Rolls from I Can Do That
• Kaiser Rolls from Bewitching Kitchen
• Kaiser Rolls from The Yumarama Artisan Bread Blog
• Kaiser Rolls from Something Shiny
• Kaiser Rolls from Texas Farmer’s Hot Stove
• Kaiser Rolls from 3Sheik
• Kaiser Rolls from Salt and Serenity
• Kaiser Rolls from Butter ‘n Thyme
• Kaiser Rolls from Goth Panda
• Kaiser Rolls from Round The Table
• Kaiser Rolls from Gourmet Hotdish and Other Culinary Disasters

I have a confession to make.  Before making them myself, the only madeleines I had ever tasted were from Starbucks.  No one had ever made them for me, I’d never had a special pan to make them myself, and somehow I managed to spend a weekend in Paris once without tasting either a madeleine or a macaron—sad, but true.

I’ve always been curious about madeleines.  I mean, is there really anything special about them other than their shape?  Obviously Proust thought so.  But what makes them so magical?  And the big question—are they cookies or tiny little cakes?  Well, curiosity got the better of me one day so I bought a little package of madeleines at Starbucks.  And even though I knew that what I tasted out of that little plastic package was probably not a great representation of the classic French cookie (or is it cake?), I fell madly in love with the madeleine.

So now I can tell you why madeleines are such a big deal:  butter.  Oh, and let’s not forget the lemon.  Have I ever mentioned that butter and lemon are pretty much my two favorite flavors?  Madeleines can also be flavored with orange, and I’m sure that orange-scented madeleines are wonderful, but it’s definitely the butter and lemon that sold me.  And if you ask me, they are miniature cakes, not cookies—little lemon butter cakes from heaven.

I knew I had to get my hands on some special equipment so that I could try making the little scalloped cakes myself, so I ordered a couple of madeleine pans from Amazon.  After they arrived, I let the gorgeous shiny things sit on the counter for a few weeks—promising myself daily that I would make madeleines soon—but eventually I tucked the pans away in a kitchen cabinet where I promptly forgot about them.  That was a few months ago.  Well, a new year is upon us and I’ve decided to start crossing some things off my baking to-do list.

There are tons of recipes floating around for madeleines, but I settled on one I remembered seeing at 101 Cookbooks a couple of years back.  Heidi’s photos always draw me in, and somehow I knew I could trust the recipe.  I followed the recipe to the letter, taking special care to thoroughly coat my madeleine pan with butter to ensure an easy release.

However, Heidi mentions in the recipe that although she uses butter and flour on her pans, the friend who taught her how to make madeleines uses cooking spray with flour.  Since I had two pans, I decided to experiment.  I thoroughly buttered and floured the first pan, but sprayed the second with Baker’s Joy—a nonstick baking spray that contains flour.  I knew in my heart that the buttered and floured pan would work better, but curiosity won out over gut instinct in this case.

Filling the pans with batter was a little intimidating.  I had read that the batter spreads in the oven, and not to overfill the molds, but I had a hard time judging whether they were 2/3 – 3/4 full (as the recipe instructed).  My method of transferring some of the batter to a measuring cup and trying to pour it into the mold didn’t work out so well for me.  Next time I’ll probably just spoon it in, or pipe it in using a bag.

But it turns out I had no reason to worry about whether they were filled properly.  The batter spread evenly and a beautiful batch of madeleines emerged from the oven.

The pan pictured above was the one that was buttered and floured, not coated in baking spray.  It turns out that there was a pretty big difference between the two.

The madeleines in the pan coated with Baker’s Joy (on the right) didn’t rise like their butter-coated siblings.  And though they all released from the pan without too much effort, the butter-coated ones were much easier to pop out.  All in all, the butter-coated madeleines had a better shape, better color, and released from the pan better than the other ones.  From now on, I will use nothing but butter to grease my madeleine pans and I suggest you do the same.

The little cakes are best eaten on the first day while the edges are still crisp, so I suggest inviting a few friends over the day you decide to make them.  But if you do have leftovers, they are perfectly fine the next day—especially dunked in your morning coffee.

If you’d like to try this recipe for buttery, lemon-scented madeleines, head over to 101 Cookbooks and let Heidi show you how.  I ended up with exactly 24 regular-sized madeleines using her recipe.

Related Recipes:

• Lemon Shortbread
• Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Quick and Easy Lemon Cake

Around the Web:

• Madeleines from 101 Cookbooks
• Lemon-Glazed Madeleines from David Lebovitz
• Orange-Scented Madeleines from Mark Bittman
• Meyer Lemon Madeleines from Alpineberry
• Classic Madeleines from Smitten Kitchen

Like many of you out there I have made a serious commitment to eat better and get in shape in 2010.  However, there’s always room for a little indulgence, so I have decided to share this amazing bacon and caramelized onion quiche we ate on New Year’s morning.  Healthy?  Perhaps not.  But there will be times this year when a little splurging is both necessary and deserved.  So hop on your treadmills, bikes, and elliptical machines, drink lots of water, eat lots of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains—but please, I’m begging you, don’t forget to eat a slice of quiche every once in a while.

Bacon Quiche

9 or 10-inch pie crust, refrigerated
6 slices thick-cut bacon
2 tablespoons of reserved bacon drippings
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large (or 2 small) shallot(s), chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 ounce Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Line a pie plate or quiche dish with pie pastry, then trim and flute as desired.  Prick pastry all over with a fork, then carefully line it with foil, gently pressing foil to bottom and side of pastry.  Make sure edges are covered to prevent over-browning. Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Carefully remove foil and bake 2 to 4 minutes longer or until pastry just begins to brown and has set.  If crust bubbles, gently push bubbles down with back of spoon.

3. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.

4. Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp.  Pour out all but two tablespoons of drippings, then add chopped onion and shallot to the pan.  Cook over medium-low heat until very soft and starting to caramelize.  Chop or crumble bacon into small pieces, then add bacon and onions to bottom of pie crust.  Top with grated cheeses.  Whisk together eggs, sour cream and heavy cream, salt and a bit of fresh ground black pepper.  Carefully pour the egg mixture into the crust.  Depending on the size of your pie or quiche plate, you may have a bit of leftover liquid.

5. Carefully transfer the quiche to the middle rack of preheated 325 degree oven.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

• Southwest Style Egg Muffins
• Spiked Egg Nog French Toast
• Basic French Toast
• Egg in a Nest
• Cheddar, Chive and Sour Cream Omelette

Around the Web:

• Kale and Smoked Bacon Quiche from Taste Buddies
• Caramelized Onion Quiche from Simply Recipes
• Quiche Lorraine from Smitten Kitchen
• Crustless Quiche with Sun-dried Tomatoes from Modern Beet
• Spinach and Feta Quiche from A Veggie Venture