Italian Rosemary and Raisin Buns

This is one recipe from Whole Grain Breads by Machine or Hand that I've wanted to make for quite some time. However, I felt like I had to make the buns for Holy Thursday, which gave me a one-day window of opportunity each year. I finally managed to squeeze into that window this year, making Pan de Ramerino for Maundy Thursday.

Aside from the great feeling of accomplishment, the buns were delicious. It's not a traditional combination of flavors, but it works wonderfully together.

Italian Rosemary and Raisin Buns
2 tsp. yeast
2 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks plus water to equal 1 1/3 cups
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
3/4 cup wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
3/4 cup golden raisins
Glaze
Olive oil
Rosemary leaves

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl with eggs and egg yolks, and add yeast. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add olive oil, sugar, salt, rosemary, wheat flour and half the bread flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Knead in raisins. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a bun, and place on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.  Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Flatten each roll with your hand, and brush with olive oil. Top with rosemary. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Scallops with Bay-Scented Butter

These looked much better than they tasted, but then again, I suppose I shouldn't expect perfection the first time I attempt to make scallops. My guess is the fault was in my technique, not the recipe itself. I also used larger scallops than bay scallops, which means the cooking time needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Bay Scallops with Bay-Scented Butter2 Tbsp. butter
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs. bay scallops
Cooking spray
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tsp. grated lemon rind

Melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat, add bay leaves and set aside for 30 minutes. Skim the solids off the top, and discard the solids and bay leaves.

Lightly coat scallops with cooking spray. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Saute scallops, flipping once, until cooked. (Good luck figuring out when that is.) Remove scallops from heat, sprinkle with salt and toss with lemon juice and half the butter.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and remaining butter over medium heat. Cook 2 minutes, until breadcrumbs are toasted.

Serve scallops topped with breadcrumbs and lemon rind. Makes 8 small servings.

Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes

Strawberries cooked with agave nectar and a dab of Mascarpone over buttermilk pancakes.

Spiced Scandinavian Limpa

I'm getting closer to the end of my Whole Grain Breads by Machine or Hand book, with mostly holiday and sourdough breads left to bake. There's a handful of other ones that involve figs, currants or other items not commonly kept in our household. Today's bread was Spiced Scandinavian Limpa, where again I omitted the 2 tsp. caraway seeds given my distaste for them.

Spiced Scandinavian Limpa
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. fennel seeds
2 tsp. orange zest
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cups rye flour
3 Tbsp. gluten
2 cups bread flour
Glaze
1 tsp. molasses
1 tsp. water

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add soy sauce, sugar, salt, fennel seeds, orange zest, butter and rye flour. Beat well. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease an 8- or 9-inch round pan. Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Shape dough into a round loaf, and place in pan. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Combine molasses and water for glaze, and brush on loaf. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden.Cool on a wire rack.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

I really had a taste for coffee cake, and my attempt the other weekend didn't work out. I'll blame that on baby stealing my brain cells temporarily. Fortunately, this attempt turned out much better. This is a sweet and moist coffee cake that makes a full 9 x 13 pan rather than the traditional smaller coffee cake.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/3 sour milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of a 13 x 9 baking pan. In medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture. Then stir in baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into the remaining flour mixture.


In separate bowl, combine eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and stir until combined. Pour into greased pan. Combine reserved crumb mixture and nuts. Sprinkle evenly with this mixture.


Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy warm.

Orange Rye and Wheat Bread

I managed to get another batch of bread made this weekend. This was an odd combination of flavors, with the orange and molasses. The original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp. of ground caraway seeds, but I omitted that since it's not a favorite flavor for my husband or me.

Orange Rye and Wheat Bread
 2 tsp. yeast
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3 Tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. orange zest
3/4 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup rye flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Heat the water until warm, between 105ºF and 115ºF. Pour into warmed mixing bowl, and add yeast and molasses. Let stand 5 minutes.

Add salt, orange zest, wheat flour and rye flour. Beat well. Add half of the bread flour, and beat well again. Cover, and let stand 15 minutes.

Add remaining bread flour. Knead the dough until soft and springy but soft to the touch. Remove the dough hook, cover the bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Lightly grease a baking sheet. Turn dough onto lightly greased or floured surface, and punch dough down. Shape dough into a round loaf, and place on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until golden. Brush with molasses if desired, and cool on wire rack.