Dessert Bread Recipe

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.
Last night, I went to a tasting event at Whole Foods and tried a delicious Chocolate Chip Challah French Toast. I went home and had to reproduce something similar. I've been really into baking bread recently, so I made a delicious bread this morning, and I don't know what else to call it other than dessert bread. It tastes like all the goodness of bread pudding...but without all the cream/eggs (although that part is delicious, too!) In the recipe below, I added raisins & walnuts. Those were not in my original recipe, but would make an awesome addition.

Dessert Bread

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c bread flour
1 egg
2/3 c warm water
1 stick room temperature butter, cubed
1 T sugar (I used turbinado)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
2 t yeast
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/3 c walnuts, chopped
1/3 c raisins
1/4 cup honey

Directions:
1. In a larger mixer with a bread hook attachment, combine warm water and yeast. Add egg, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Continue to mix until the ingredients are well-combined. The dough will be sticky.

2. On a floured surface, need the dough briefly and place in a bowl for 30 mins to rise. Knead the dough for several minutes, and again place in the bowl for 30 minutes to rise.

3. Kneed the dough once more and add in the raisins, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Place on a greased cookie sheet to rise once more time.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the honey in a small dish in the microwave until it becomes very liquidy. After the dough has risen for a 3rd time, brush it with the honey. Place it in the oven to bake.

5. While cooking, at the 10 and 20-minute intervals, quickly brush the bread with honey. Bake the bread about 35 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden brown.

Eat immediately, while still warm and gooey!

            

Day 5 ~ Bake Bread

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.

While I absolutely love cooking, I have only recently begun to learn to bake. There is such a science to baking that I am starting to understand. My latest interest is in learning how to bake breads. Bread-making always looked so complicated, but I am quickly learning that you can make pretty good bread with just a few ingredients and a few steps. Pinterest guided me to a 5 minute artisan bread. Five minutes? I could do that! Well here goes...

The Dough

The Bread

The Bread After Lydia Got to It

Yes, I can bake bread! And it was delicious! However, the one thing I learned about baking bread is that it must be eaten immediately to truly appreciate how special it is.

Amy's Review ~ Gluten-Free Organic Sandwich Rounds

by Carrie Wells, Ed.D.

Amy's, the nation's top-selling brand of natural and organic convenience foods, is pleased to announce a new product for the gluten-free community: Organic Sandwich Rounds. Made with rice flour, these light and thin sandwich rounds are perfect with Veggie Burgers or your favorite sandwich fillings (SRP $6.95/8 rounds). Soy free, dairy free and gluten free. *Allergen alert: This product contains sunflower seeds.

Here are a few of the things that I love about these sandwich rounds:
1. Each box contains 8 rounds. They can be used to make open-face sandwiches (or pair two together for a regular sandwich).
2. We eat with our eyes first. Visually, these looked moist and had a toasty appearance. They are larger than the other sandwich rounds I have seen on the market.
3. The sandwich rounds had a nice earthy flavor to them. Great for a variety of sandwiches!
4. They are gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free. When I initially saw the box, I thought "Is it relevant that bread is dairy free?" but then I purchased some pre-made pizza crust recently and saw that it was made with cheese, so it is important to check to see what's in your bread before making any assumptions.
5. These can be stored in the freezer, removing one at a time when you are ready to eat it.
6. They're organic!

I decided to experiment with these sandwich rounds by making my own breakfast sandwich. I do not do fast food, so this was a nice alternative to those high-fat, high-calorie sandwiches you can grab at a drive-thru. I made mine an open-face sandwich with a sausage patty, scrambled egg, and sharp cheddar cheese. Delicious!

To learn more about Amy's delicious options for all different diets (e.g. vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan), visit the Amy's website and Facebook page. 

* I received the aforementioned product for free to review. The opinions expressed are honest and provided without monetary compensation.