Happy New Year!

Mt. Spurr overlooks Anchorage and Elmendorf AFB.

And guess who got Photoshop for Christmas? Thanks, Mom!

BBA #11 - Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

The observant among you will notice that, while my bread has a lot of cranberries, the walnuts are decidedly lacking. That's because I didn't use them. Sorry, walnut fans!

Anyway, I think this is the last "sweet" bread for a while. Huzzah! Quite frankly, I just can't eat sweet breads like I do basic breads. I think it's because they don't go so well with cheese, and cheese is the best.



This bread was very "meh" for me. There was nothing new in the preparation - we've mixed in berries before in the cinnamon raisin bread. The braiding was just like the challah. Oh! The recipe called for something like a tablespoon and a half of lemon or orange extract. I used orange and it's a bit overpowering. Definitely cutting it down if I make this bread again.

I moved the oven rack higher, to avoid the toasty bottom that my challah got. It was a good thing I did, this bread cooked quickly for me, too!

Anyway, the bread is tasty enough, especially with a dollop of apple butter.

Anchorage at Night

Anchorage just after sunset, seen from Earthquake park. The lights are just turning on and the moon is almost full.

BBA #10 - Cornbread

The BBA is, with one exception, a book of yeast breads. This cornbread is the exception. It's a quick bread, using baking powder and baking soda as leaveners. Looking at the recipe, I wasn't sure what to think. First, it only uses 1 cup of cornmeal. Second, it uses whole corn kernels, which I am not generally a fan of. And third, there's bacon. Now, I like bacon, but it just seems weird to me!

As a quick bread, this bread was simple, easy, and fast to make. It did require an overnight soaker of buttermilk and cornmeal, but apart from that it was very much a "mix it, toss it in the pan, and bake" recipe. I ended up soaking my cornmeal for an extended length of time, due to some time confusion on when I'd actually make the bread. It worked alright, though!

This bread is very sweet. Surprisingly, I really didn't mind the corn kernels as much as I do in other recipes. The bacon, however, didn't add anything at all to the bread. If I make it again, I will probably skip the bacon.

While this isn't a bread that I would just eat alone, it is a very good companion bread for a meal - particularly some chili! The sweetness combines perfectly with the spice in the chili, creating the perfect mouthful!

BBA #9 - Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

I started this bread right after getting home from work. I chose not to include the walnuts, since I have an aversion for nuts in my breads. I also forgot to buy raisins, so I substituted cranberries. Taking Stacey's advice I soaked them first. Working them into the dough was a bit of a challenge - cranberries everywhere! Still, I eventually managed to beat the dough into submission and set it in an oiled bowl to rise.

About an hour into the recommended two hour rise, the Husband came home. Cooking dinner has not been my strong suit lately, so he suggested going out to eat. I eyed my dough, shrugged, and said "Sure!" It had already risen some, so I quickly divided it, shaped it, and popped it into loaf pans. I was pretty cautious when adding cinnamon sugar to make a swirl - too cautious as it turns out. You can barely tell it's there!

Anyway, we went out to dinner, which ended up taking somewhat longer than the loaves should have been rising. I ran back into the house, full of concern, to find the loaves nowhere near cresting the pan. I gave them another 30, then popped them into the oven to see what might be seen.

They ended up baking fine, although one in particular had definite rising issues still. Despite that issue, the bread came out pretty tasty. I gave the Husband a bit soon after they'd cooled and he made a bit of a face, but then I took a loaf to a party last night and he fell in love with it. Men are so weird sometimes!

Anyhow, not bad but not a favorite of mine. Onwards!

Palin-tastic.

I was out early this morning for a gig. By the time I got home, I was starving and the Husband was both starving and hungover. We decided that a frozen pizza was in order and headed to the commissary... only to find the parking lot stuffed full and a line ringing both the inside and the outside for the Sarah Palin book signing we'd completely forgotten about.

It took a while, but we did get our pizza.

Alyeska

So, I hadn't realized just how difficult it is to take pictures this time of year. Even on my half days, when I go into work the sun isn't even over the mountains. And again, even on the days I'm done relatively early, all I'm seeing is the last gleams of sunset as I drive home. Today was one of those days I really wished I had my camera with me, as the rising sun on a clear day turned Denali pink-and-blue, but I really have too much stuff to haul back and forth to work as it is. So instead, I shall share with you a shot from this weekend. I apologize for the quality - I was a horrible person this weekend. I didn't have my nice camera on top of the mountain, only my lame hand-held one. And for the next shots, I realized I didn't bring my zoom lens with me either!

Above, skiiers on Alyeska overlook Girdwood and the Turnagain Arm.

Below, as we drove home, we found some Dall Sheep (or sheps, as my brother likes to call them).

Do you see the sheep?

Okay, how about now?I'm really kicking myself for not bringing the zoom lens - these guys were as close as I can count on them getting!

BBA #8 - Cinnamon Rolls

This week the Husband has an exercise to deal with - basically, lots of time at work. So he requested some goodies to bring in for the guys. As cinnamon rolls were next on my list and I didn't much want to have them around my house, this seemed perfect! Of course, less than perfect was trying to cram a whole bread into the 4-5 hours in between the end of work and bed-time. But it all worked out in the end!

The dough-mixing went very smoothly. I was able to use my hand-mixer to cream the butter and sugars together. The actual kneading went super fast - to my surprise, instead of the 12-15 minutes the book suggested, the dough was passing the windowpane test before 10 minutes were up. I set it to rise then, which was silly move #1. The dough, despite passing the test, was still quite chilly. I'm blaming that on the fact that it didn't rise much. However, being on a tight schedule, I went ahead anyway.

The dough was very easy to roll out, but I do recommend flouring the counter first. It did stick a little. I did have trouble rolling the dough. It kept wanting to fold instead of roll! But eventually I ended up with a log (though the middle was much fatter than the end!). Slice, slice, slice, and there was a tray of cinnamon buns ready to rise.

Eventually.

Sometime.

I think...

Well, eventually I gave up and popped them in the oven. Didn't seem to harm them at all, they still came out tasty and fluffy!
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread


Next time, I think I'll try making the sticky bun version, largely so that I can make my own grilled stickies in true Penn State fashion! Maybe even for Christmas day, if I'm really ambitious.

One thing I wasn't a big fan of - the fondant topping recipe the book provided. It was far too sweet for my tastes!

In other news, I'm right on track to reach the cranberry celebration bread for Christmas. But before then, cinnamon walnut bread and corn bread!