This is the dough that convinced me to buy the ABin5 book – I used it to make caramel pecan sticky buns (which I will be sharing in a few days!), and it was so delicious that I had to have the book.

As I mentioned in my previous ABin5 post (which I recommend reading if you are going to make this dough!), Canadian all purpose flour has a higher protein content than the flour that was used to develop the book’s recipes, so I have adjusted the amount of water accordingly (the original amount of water is 1 3/4 cups). Because this dough contains eggs it has a refrigerated storage life of 5 days, after which it can be frozen in appropriately-sized portions for up to 4 weeks (defrost overnight in the fridge before using). When I made this dough, I had three recipes in mind to use it with, so I divided it up into thirds of slightly less than 1 1/2 lbs each.

Challah Dough

Adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Check out their website for wonderful recipes, tips, and bread-baking support. Makes just over 4 lbs of dough.

In a large, 4 – 6 quart bowl or container with a lid, whisk together:

4 large eggs

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast (any kind of granulated yeast will work)

1 tbsp coarse salt

Whisk in:

2 cups + 1 1/2 tbsp warm water

Add:

7 cups all purpose flour, measured with the “scoop and sweep” method:

With a sturdy wooden spoon, mix in the flour until the dough is evenly moistened. You may need to get in there with your hands to incorporate the last of the flour (resist the urge to knead the dough). It should be quite sticky.

Cover the dough with a non-airtight lid – you want to prevent it from drying out but still allow it to breathe (my lidded container was in the fridge with other dough in it, so I used loose plastic wrap).

Let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, during which time it should grow in size quite a bit and develop all kinds of beautiful bubbles.

Place it in the fridge for several hours or overnight, until the top flattens out and sinks a bit. The dough needs to be chilled before handling.

When you are ready to bake, dust the surface of the dough lightly with flour. Grab the floured dough and pull out the desired amount (use scissors to cut off the chunk of dough).

Dust the dough portion lightly with flour and shape it into a ball by gently pulling the top of the dough and tucking it underneath, handling it as little as possible while doing so (this should take about 5 seconds). I divided the dough into thirds (just under 1 1/2 lbs each) – one to bake with immediately and the other two to freeze for later.

At this point, I’m going to leave you hanging… watch this space for three ways to use this amazing challah dough!

I found an awesome-sounding chicken adobo recipe and sort of had it in mind to make one of these days, when the other day I was browsing through the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated and lo-and-behold, there was a chicken adobo recipe! Cook’s Illustrated does some pretty serious recipe testing so I was quite sure this one would be good – and it is. Tangy and salty but not too much of either, it also has coconut milk in the sauce – which doesn’t make it taste coconutty, but rather cuts the sourness of the sauce and gives it some nice body. One of the drawbacks to most of the recipes I looked at was that they required a long marinating time, whereas this one can be done in an hour, including marinating, and manages to taste dang good. And it only requires basic pantry items. Make this for dinner – you will thank yourself!

Filipino Chicken Adobo

Adapted from the March/April 2012 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Serves 2 and can easily be doubled.

In a ziplock bag or bowl, combine:

4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs and/or drumsticks

3 scant tbsp soy sauce

Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove the chicken from the soy sauce, let the excess drip off, and place the chicken, skin side down, in a cold 8″ skillet (non-stick is recommended!). Reserve the soy sauce in a bowl.

Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook until the chicken skin is browned and the fat under the skin has rendered out, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the reserved soy sauce with:

1/2 a can of coconut milk

6 tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or 1/2 tsp ground and 1/2 tsp whole pepper corns)

2-3 bay leaves

When the chicken has browned, remove it to a plate and pour the fat out of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side down, and pour in the soy-coconut-vinegar mixture.

Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

Turn the chicken over and simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 175˚F on a thermometer.

Put the chicken on a plate and cover it lightly with foil. Skim any fat out of the sauce left in the pan and remove the bay leaves. Return the sauce to medium-high heat and simmer to thicken if needed – or you can add a few tablespoons of water if it is too thick already (in my case!).

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with steamed rice.

(10 points if you can figure out what colour shirt I was wearing when I took the first photo in this post!)

Rebar is a local restaurant that specializes in highly delicious, mostly vegetarian cuisine, and in addition to food like this amazingly decadent chocolate layer cake, they are also known for their wheatgrass shots and other crunchy-granola-hippie specialties. Several years ago they came out with a cookbook and it is a favorite of mine. I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while and have heard rave reviews from anyone who’s made it, but I never got around to it – until now. And I am kicking myself for not having made it sooner, because I have three words for you: BEST. CAKE. EVER.

Like all of the good chocolate cake recipes I’ve ever made, this one contains cocoa powder, buttermilk, and coffee (which doesn’t flavour the cake, but instead makes it more chocolately). The only change I made to the recipe was to add some actual chocolate to the batter, because in my opinion, you should always add more chocolate. The chocolate cream cheese filling contains both dark and milk chocolate (I used the last of a giant milk chocolate Toblerone from Christmas so it has tiny bits of nougat and almond in it), and the whole thing is topped off with a dark chocolate ganache. Given all the chocolate, butter, and cream cheese, this is not an inexpensive dessert, but it’s so worth it, and it was actually quite easy to make. Next time I might jazz it up with some raspberry purée or something added between the layers, but it is pretty perfect as is.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Make this cake for someone you love – I guarantee they will love you back!

Rebar Chocolate Cake

This recipe is supposed to make one 3-layer, 8-inch cake, but because only Nate and I are around to eat it, I baked half the batter into two 6-inch layers (which still ended up making a cake that could easily feed 8 people!) and the rest into tiny cupcakes to take to work (I ended up with 20). I baked it at a lower temperature (325˚F instead of 350˚F) and wrapped the pans in wet strips of towel to get perfectly baked, even layers. From Rebar Modern Food Cookbook.

The Cake

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans by lining the bottoms with parchment paper, greasing them, and dusting them with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine:

2 oz dark chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup hot, strong coffee

Stir to melt the chocolate and set aside to cool.

In a mixer bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar (or 1 cup dark brown sugar + 1/2 cup white sugar)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

With the whisk attachment, mix the dry ingredients on low speed to combine so there are no lumps. Add:

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 tbsp white vinegar + enough milk to make 3/4 cup)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

the cooled coffee/chocolate mixture

Mix on medium low for a few minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary. The batter should be thick but pourable. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and wrap the outside of each pan with a strip of wet towel. Bake at 325˚F for 35-45 minutes (this was the time range for a 6-inch cake, but should be similar for an 8-inch cake), until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and invert onto a cooling rack. Peel off the parchment paper and let the cake layers cool completely. Chill them in the fridge to make them easier to handle when assembling the cake.

The Filling

Over a double boiler, melt:

5 oz dark chocolate, chopped

5 oz milk chocolate, chopped

Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

In a mixer bowl with the whisk attachment, cream together:

1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened

1/4 lb cream cheese, softened

Add the cooled chocolate and 1 tsp vanilla. Beat until fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

To assemble, place one layer of the cake on a cooling rack, which will help keep things neat when you pour the ganache over top. Fill the cake layers with 2/3 of the chocolate cream cheese filling, and spread the remaining 1/3 over the top and sides of the cake (it doesn’t have to be perfect as it will be covered in chocolate ganache!). Chill the cake in the fridge while you make the ganache.

The Ganache

In a saucepan, heat until just below scalding:

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp unsalted butter

When it is hot, pour it over:

5 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir until smooth. Let it cool slightly, then pour it over the chilled, frosted cake. With a long spatula, spread it smoothly over the top and sides. Chill again until the ganache is firm, then carefully lift the cake off the cooling rack onto a serving platter. For decoration, I piped hearts out of melted chocolate onto waxed paper, chilled them until they set, then transferred them to the cake using a thin spatula so my fingers didn’t melt them. Chill the cake again before serving.

But I guess my hippie mother rubbed off on me, because I still wanted to like lentils. When I was writing my resolution post, I came across this lentil curry recipe (aka dal), and now I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have made – and eaten – in a while! Incredibly flavourful, a little bit spicy, and really simple to make: boil lentils, make a masala (a flavour base of sautéed spices, onion, and tomatoes in ghee), stir in some spinach, and voila. Delicious! This will make you see lentils in a very positive light .

Lentil Curry

From Vij’s Elegant & Inspired Indian Cuisine. Serves 4-6.

Lentils

Orange lentils (masur dal) hold their shape when cooked, while moong dal (yellow lentils) dissolve more during cooking. You can use either or both – the consistency of the final dish will just a be a little different. I couldn’t find yellow lentils, so I used brown, which were a good substitute.

In a bowl, combine:

1/2 cup split orange lentils (aka masur dal)

1/2 cup split yellow lentils (aka moong dal) (or substitute brown lentils)

Rift through the lentils to remove any debris or tiny stones, then rinse several times in cold water. Pour them into a large pot with a tight fitting lid. Add:

5 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups water (7 1/2 cups will give you soup)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

Stir, then bring the lentils to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. The lentils will be foamy-looking. Stir, then reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot with the lid, leaving a 1 inch space (this will stop the lentils from foaming over as they boil). When the foaming has subsided (5 – 8 minutes later), cover the pot fully and let simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, make the ghee and masala.

Ghee

Ghee, aka clarified butter, is butter with all the milk solids removed so that it can be heated to a higher temperature. You can use vegetable oil instead of ghee (and skip this step altogether), but ghee adds delicious flavour.

In a small pot over medium heat, melt:

6 tbsp of unsalted butter

When it has melted, reduce the heat slightly and let it boil gently for a few minutes. A white foam of milk solids will form on top. With a spoon, carefully scoop out the foamy milk solids (be careful to leave the yellow butterfat behind). Continue boiling gently, scooping out the foam every few minutes. After about 10 minutes, the ghee will start to form bubbles on top rather than white foam. Scoop out the bubbles. At this point, the ghee should smell slightly nutty and be turning from yellow to light golden brown. You will know it is ready when there is no more foam or bubbles and it stops boiling – this means that all the milk solids (which were causing the boiling and foaming) are gone and all that remains is pure, delicious butterfat. Pour the ghee into a bowl and set aside. You should have about 1/4 cup of ghee.

Masala

In a shallow frying pan over medium-high, heat 1/4 cup ghee for about 45 seconds. Add:

1 tbsp whole cumin seeds

Sizzle for 15 seconds, then reduce the heat to medium and add:

3/4 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 a medium onion)

Sauté until brown, 8 – 10 minutes. Add:

3/4 cup finely chopped tomato (about 1 1/2 roma tomatoes)

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Sauté, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the ghee glistens on top of the masala.

Add the masala to the cooked lentils and stir well. While the lentils are still very hot, stir in:

3-4 handfuls of chopped spinach leaves (I also threw in a handful of kale leaves)

Just before serving, stir in:

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Serve over steamed basmati rice with a dollop of yogurt.

Grilled Hot Wings

Hot wing sauce adapted from Allrecipes.com

Place 3 lbs of chicken wings (drumettes and wingettes separated) in a large bowl and season very generously with:

black pepper

salt

garlic powder

cayenne or other hot chili powder

Toss the wings around with your hands so they are all evenly seasoned.

Preheat the barbeque, then arrange the seasoned wings on a lightly greased grill over low heat. Put the lid down and let them cook 10-15 minutes, until lightly brown on one side. Turn them over and grill for another 10-15 minutes with the lid down, until they are evenly browned and cooked through, moving them around a bit to avoid hot spots and burning. The wings need a little more babysitting during the second half of cooking, as they can go from golden brown to charred pretty quickly.

Losing the light (the camping headlamp didn't quite cut it for photos!)

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 6 tbsp butter, then stir in:

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp hot sauce (I used 1/3 cup Cholula hot sauce and 2 tbsp chipotle purée – use whatever kind of hot sauce(s) you prefer)

1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

When the wings are cooked, place them in a bowl, pour the sauce over them, and toss to coat. Serve with Blue Cheese Dip (below), cut-up veggies such as celery and carrots (optional), and lots of napkins (definitely not optional!).

Blue Cheese Dip

In a small bowl, combine:

1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

dash of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, to let the flavours meld a bit. Serve with the hot wings.

To make the chipotle purée that I used in this recipe (and that I use all the time because I friggin’ love chipotle), chuck a can of chipotle peppers in adobo in the blender and purée. Store the purée in a small container in the fridge. I usually freeze half because it takes me a while to go through a whole batch – this stuff is spicy!

And as for the guacamole that tops these sloppy Joes, feel free to make your own favorite version. I don’t have a set guacamole recipe, but it usually involves avocados (of course!), minced garlic, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper, and a dash of hot sauce. If guacamole feels like too much work, sliced or mashed avocado would do the trick.

Please try these. They are really really good!

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

Adapted very slightly from Homesick Texan. Serves 2 with left-overs.

In a heavy skillet over medium/medium-high heat, brown:

3/4 – 1 lb of ground beef

Drain off all but 1 tbsp of fat, then add:

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 yellow onion, diced

1/4 green pepper, diced

Cook until the vegetables are slightly softened, then add:

1 small, 213 ml can of tomato sauce (about 7 oz)

1-2 heaping tsp chipotle purée

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground ancho chili (or smoked paprika – I didn’t have any)

1/8 tsp ground allspice

dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp ketchup

3/4 cup chicken stock (or Mexican beer! This would be so good with beer, but again, I didn’t have any . It still came out fine though.)

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Stir it all together and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until thickened. When it looks thick enough to spoon onto a bun without completely falling off, stir in:

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

lime juice, to taste

salt and pepper

To serve, slice 2 soft buns in half. Smear the top half with guacamole, and spoon the sloppy Joe mixture onto the bottom. Top it with grated cheese (I used white cheddar), chopped onion, and more cilantro (jalapenos are also a tasty-sounding option if you want more heat). Serve with a large side of napkins .

Here are just a few cookbooks from my collection that I’ve been perusing lately. I’m sure I’ll be posting about some of these recipes!

Barefoot Contessa At Home by Ina GartenNate’s mum gave me this one, and the only thing I’ve made so far is the chocolate cake (which was really good!). I like Ina’s recipes because they use simple, everyday ingredients but still somehow feel kind of fancy, in that “brunch in the Hamptons” sort of way.

These Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing have me salivating, and I don’t even like raw tomatoes that much. I know it’s totally out of season for February, but come August…Chicken Piccata. Kind of retro, but I can imagine some great variations.This Summer Fruit Crostata will be an excellent way to use up the rhubarb in my freezer from this past summer.

Vij’s Elegant & Inspired Indian Cuisine by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala

Vij’s is a highly-esteemed Indian restaurant in Vancouver, and the meal I had there with my aunt quite a few years ago is one of the most memorable dining experiences I’ve had. The food and atmosphere were both incredible. Since my mum passed this cookbook on to me, I’ve been wanting to make lots of things out of it…

Sautéed Arugula and Spinach with Paneer and Roasted Cashews, because it includes a recipe for paneer, which I also want to make. My aunt had these Marinated Lamb Popsicles with Fenugreek Cream Curry when we ate at the restaurant, and I still think about how good they were. In addition to the more complicated curry recipes, there are also basic dal, rice pudding, and chai recipes I want to try.

Cook with Jamie by Jamie OliverLike approximately half of the females on the planet, I have the most gigantic crush on Jamie Oliver. Not only does he have a cute British lisp, but he is also incredibly passionate and is quite literally changing the world through food. I love his casual, seemingly haphazard approach to cooking (a bit of this, a handful of that, bash it around, get in there with your hands, etc), and his recipes seem like such great jumping-off points.

Such as these four ways to roast a chicken breast. My favorite section of this cookbook has to be the pasta. I WILL make fresh pasta, pasta machine or not! Because just see how delicious this Papardelle with Wild Rabbit, Olives and Marjoram looks! This Whole Baked Cauliflower with Tomato and Olive Sauce has intrigued me since I first flipped through the book. And that’s not including any of the fantastic custardy, puddingy British desserts. Yum.

Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce

I love baking, but I don’t love relying so much on white wheat flour. I’ve written about this cookbook before (remember these cookies?), and what’s great about it is that Boyce doesn’t just throw some whole wheat into a recipe to make it healthier. Instead, she recognizes that different grains have their own flavours and characteristics, and she has created recipes that compliment them. Also, she introduces each grain with a little history lesson, which is very pleasing to my inner foodie nerd.

Strawberry Barley Scones, with the strawberry jam baked right in. I will always be up for making scones. This is an Apricot Boysenberry Tart with a rye crust – the crust has me intrigued! And there are tons of muffins, pancakes, and cookies to be made with all kinds of different grains.

And finally, Modern Classics I by Donna HayDonna Hay’s cookbooks are some of my favorites. When I first started “collecting”, hers were some of the first that I acquired. The cookbooks I like best always have a ton of photos, and in Hay’s books, there is a photo for every single recipe. And the photos are gorgeous – seriously drool-worthy. The recipes are quite simple, but very flavourful and eclectic – everything from roast chicken to Thai curries to ratatouille.

I’ve had my eye on this Thai Beef Salad for some time. More inspiring, delicious-looking salads. I love a good savoury pie and/or tart!

*       *       *

So now I just have to choose what I’m going to make! This is probably going to be the hardest part .

What cookbooks do you love?

To be called Devonshire cream, it should be produced in the county of Devon in the UK. Obviously what follows is not true Devonshire cream because a) it’s not made in Devon, and b) it’s not real clotted cream – but it’s a good approximation, especially considering how easy it is, and how much harder it would be (for me, anyway) to get hold of unpasteurized milk to make the real stuff. This mock Devonshire cream is simply whipping cream with a little bit of cream cheese to add a slightly tangy, rich flavour. Super delicious, and super easy – especially when you have a brand new blender to make it in! Actually, I just wanted an excuse to use the blender and the special whipping blade that came with it – it ended up requiring far more scraping of the sides than I felt was necessary (although it also came with a very effective custom spatula), so a stand or hand-held mixer would be a better choice!

Mock Devonshire Cream

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment (or blender with whipping blade), combine:

3 oz cream cheese, softened (about 3 heaping tbsp)

1 tbsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Beat until light and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the beater going, slowly pour in:

1 cup whipping cream

Continue beating until soft peaks form. Serve with fresh scones for afternoon tea .

Audax Artifex was our January 2012 Daring Bakers’ host. Aud worked tirelessly to master light and fluffy scones (a/k/a biscuits) to help us create delicious and perfect batches in our own kitchens!

Audax, who can offer a wealth of information, tips, and tricks for every challenge (even when he’s not hosting it), did not disappoint with this one. When I saw that the challenge was scones, I honestly wondered how much I would learn, being that I already considered myself to have “mastered” scones – I learned to make them in grade 7 Home Ec, and have been turning them out very successfully ever since. The spirit of this challenge was to find a way to make scones that works best for you, and Audax did a ton of research on what makes a good scone and the techniques to use to make them more flaky or more tender and cake-like. All things I never knew before! He also went into the difference between a scone and a biscuit, which as far as I understand, mostly comes down to geography: they are essentially the same thing, but in America they are called biscuits, and anywhere with a British influence they are called scones. In general, I personally tend to think of scones as sweet (or served with sweet things) and biscuits as savory (or served with savory things).

Despite the fact that scones (or biscuits, depending on who you’re talking to) are quite simple to make, this challenge actually gave me the most trouble out of any so far – probably because they *are* so simple and I already know how to make them, which somehow lead to me psyching myself out and losing my scone mojo! I made two trial batches of the challenge recipe, one that was supposed to be flakier and the other more tender and cake-like, and invited Lynette over for a scone-tasting tea party. Unfortunately, we were both disappointed with the scones. They were kind of tough and hard, which was surprising to me because I generally make really good scones. I think I got hung up on the instruction in the challenge recipe to handle the dough enough to develop some of the gluten, which helps the scones rise – usually I handle the dough very little and get great results! Turns out that my recipe and the challenge recipe are actually quite similar, so instead of re-inventing the wheel (or the scone, as it were), I decided to go back to *my* recipe – which I already know works best for me – and use some of Audax’s tips and techniques to come up with 1) a more flaky scone, and 2) a more tender, cakey scone. And lo-and-behold, my scone-making mojo returned. Whew! I was worried for a bit. The moral of the story? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And trust your scone-making instincts!

It still took me some trial and error to get these scones just the way I wanted. I was dreaming of a deep, dark, chocolately, flaky scone, and also of a more cakey vanilla bean scone with vanilla glaze (inspired by the Pioneer Woman). I added too much liquid to my first batch of chocolate scones, so they were heavy rather than flaky. However, as soon as I bit into a scone from my second batch, I knew I had gotten it right: deep, dark, and chocolatey in taste but also light and layered in texture. The cocoa powder in the dough kept them from being quite as flaky as scones made with just flour, but they were perfect paired with some Devonshire cream (recipe to come!) and strawberry vanilla jam. The vanilla bean scones weren’t quite vanilla-y enough the first time around, and I made the glaze too thin to actually stay on the scones, so for my second batch, I steeped the vanilla seeds and pods in warm cream, and thickened up the glaze. The result? Subtle vanilla and tender scone perfection.

Thanks Audax for all the work you did in preparation for this challenge! Check out the Daring Kitchen for the original challenge recipe and the scone contributions this month – there are some awesome-looking variations!

Double Dark Chocolate Scones

The techniques used in this recipe – grating the butter, rubbing it into the flour, and folding the dough – can be used with any scone recipe to enhance their flakiness.

In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (sifted to get rid of any lumps)

2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

With a box grater, shred:

3 tbsp cold unsalted butter

Toss the butter into the flour-cocoa mixture with a fork, then dive in there with your hands to “rub in” the butter: squeeze the butter and flour gently between your finger tips to create flat little “leaves” of butter coated in flour (this is easiest with cold, dry hands). It should look like this:

Stir in:

2 oz chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)

Pour in:

1/2 cup cold milk

Add the milk all at once and stir briskly with a fork – think of it as more of a folding action to incorporate the dry stuff from the bottom of the bowl with the milk. Stir just until it starts to come together in a loose dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and squeeze/knead gently once or twice to gather it together. Sprinkle it with a little flour and gently press it flat with your fingertips. Fold it in half and press flat again. Repeat for a total of three folds, then shape it into a circle about 2 cm thick. Cut it into six wedges with a sharp, lightly floured knife. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops lightly with milk (try not to let it drip down the sides – this will interfere with the rise). Bake at 425˚F for 12-14 minutes, until the bottoms sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Cool slightly on a rack, then serve warm with jam and cream.

Vanilla Bean Scones

Using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into tiny bits and a gentle kneading (4-5 times only) results in a more tender, cake-like crumb. Instead of vanilla beans, you can use vanilla extract (about 1 – 1 1/2 tsp) and skip the steeping step – but I love the look of the little black vanilla seeds (aka vanilla caviar, a fittingly decadent nickname!). These are “cream scones” because they are made with cream, but they can also be made with milk. If you don’t want to glaze them, you can brush the tops of the scones with a little extra cream before baking, to give them a nice golden finish.

Vanilla Bean Cream

This is used as the liquid in the scones, and to make the glaze. It needs to be heated and then cooled completely, so make it at least an hour ahead.

Scrape the seeds from 1 vanilla bean and mix them into 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp half and half cream. Throw the scraped pod in there too. Heat the vanilla cream up in the microwave until warm, and it steep with the vanilla for about 15-20 minutes, then refrigerate until completely cold. Remove the empty vanilla pod. Reserve 2 tbsp of the cream for the vanilla bean glaze, and use the remaining 1/2 cup in the scones.

Scones

In a bowl, combine:

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

dash salt

Stir together with a whisk, then add:

3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until it is in very small pieces and the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs, like this:

Pour in:

1/2 cup chilled vanilla bean cream

Add the cream all at once, then stir briskly with a fork, using more of a folding motion to incorporate the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl with the cream. Stir until it just starts to come together in a wet dough.

Turn out the dough into a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4-5 times, until the dough comes together in a ball. Press it down with your fingers into a 2 cm thick round, and cut it into 8 wedges with a sharp knife. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 425˚F for 12-14 minutes, until lightly browned on top and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Allow to cool completely on a rack, then glaze with vanilla bean glaze.

Vanilla Bean Glaze

In a small bowl, stir together:

1 cup icing sugar

1 1/2 – 2 tbsp vanilla bean cream (reserved from earlier)

You want the glaze to be fairly thick, but just runny enough so that it drips down the sides of the scones without all falling right off. Add a little more icing sugar or a few more drops of cream or milk if needed to get the desired consistency.

Dip the tops of the scones in the glaze, then return to the rack (sitting over a plate to catch the drips) to set. The glaze will help keep the scones fresh, but they are best eaten on the same day they are baked.

Really, it’s so easy that I’m almost embarrassed – you simply roll out the dough, sprinkle it with dried cranberries, and roll it up again – but it’s so good and would be tweaked to suit any kind of addition to the bread, savory or sweet. I can imagine a beautiful olive or cheese loaf, or rosemary and roasted garlic, or sundried tomato and parmesan, or cinnamon raisin, or chocolate and orange zest, or…

I actually like this version of cranberry sourdough even better than the Cobs bread. It’s chewier and crustier, and you can add as many cranberries as your little heart desires, plus the feeling of accomplishment that comes from baking a loaf of bread makes it a hundred times more delicious. Try it and see!

Crusty Cranberry Bread

Before making this bread, familiarize yourself with the method in this post: Crusty No-Knead Bread… in 5 Minutes a Day! Technique inspired by this post.

First of all, stir yourself up a batch of no-knead crusty artisan bread dough and let it sit overnight or longer in the fridge to develop some sourdough-ish flavour. When you are ready to bake, cut off a 1 – 1 1/3 lb piece of dough (I used 1 1/3-ish lbs), sprinkle it gently with flour, and form it into a ball with your hands by pulling down the top and sides and pinching them underneath. This should only take a few seconds. Place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface and press it into a rectangle with your fingers (don’t knead it!). You want to use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface, but not any more than is necessary, otherwise the dough will be too dry. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll it into a rectangle about 1 cm thick (the dimensions don’t matter). Sprinkle the dough with a few handfuls of chopped dried cranberries, covering the dough evenly right to the edges, then roll it up tightly from one short end. Pick the roll up in your hands and tuck the ends under. Using the same technique you used earlier to form the lump of plain dough into a ball, gently pull the top and sides of the cranberry’d dough and tuck them underneath to form a smooth ball. Sprinkle sparingly with a little bit of flour if it sticks to your hands too much, and don’t worry if a few cranberries burst through. Place the dough on a square of parchment paper and let it rest, uncovered, for 40-90 minutes for a 1 lb loaf, and up to 2 hours for a 1 1/3 lb loaf. You will know it has rested enough if it jiggles slightly when you tug on the parchment paper. With 20 minutes to left in the rest period, prepare the oven by placing a pizza stone on the center rack and a roasting pan on a lower rack. Preheat the oven to 450˚F. When the dough is fully rested and the oven is hot, sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and slash it 1/4″ deep with a serrated knife. Place the dough and parchment paper on the preheated pizza stone, then pour a mug of hot tap water into the roasting pan. The steam will make the crust shiny and crisp. Bake for 30-55 minutes (depending on the size of your loaf), until dark brown and crusty. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.