I am always amazed when I bake bread. Amazed that “we” actually produced such an awesome loaf. Me, myself, and I, that is! Of course, with the help of my little yeasty-beasty sourdough starter friends. But then, why shouldn’t they help me out? I’ve been feeding them conscientiously every 7-10 days for months. We’ve become buddies, comrades, and allies in my quest for the perfect sourdough loaf. And they’ve been very patient with me. Sometimes I have used them to less advantage. Other times they have shown their true colors. And this, dear friends, is one of those times. If I do say so myself, this is one darn good loaf of bread. Period! It’s flavorful, but not over the top garlicky. It’s chewy, but not too chewy. And the crust is divine. All and all, I’d give this bread a rating of 9.8 out of 10. (Nothings perfect, after all.) But this bread is about as good as it gets. And extremely easy to build. And let me tell you true, this bread makes the best ever toast. Lightly spread with soft butter, there is just nothing better to accompany bacon and eggs.

Plus, no fancy ingredients, not even bread flour required for this loaf. Just plain old unbleached all-purpose flour. And even if you don’t have a cast iron Dutch oven or a cloche (clay baker), you can simply bake the boule on a piece of parchment paper. It will still taste delicious. The crust might not be as fabulous, but the chewy texture and the light sourdough flavor will still be present. And of course, the lovely roasted garlic.

So, I see nothing stopping you from building a loaf that will knock your friends and family’s socks off. (They don’t need them on anyway. It’s SUMMER!)

As always, be the one who brings the entire family together around the dining table. With heaps of good and healthy food and lively conversation. Because these precious days together will not last forever.

I remember how I felt some days while my kids were young. I’d ask myself will this ever end? Will I ever have any peace and quiet? Will there ever be any milk left in the refrigerator?? But those days did end, and honestly, I’d bring a few of them back if that were possible. Because they were also joyous days. Hectic, frantic, but very gratifying. And always full of love. And the best times we experienced together almost always revolved around the heart of our home – the kitchen. Good food always makes for better companionship. And as cooks, we can make that happen.

Peace and love to all.   

¾ c. sourdough starter discard   

½ c. warm water  

1½ tsp. instant dry yeast 

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1¼ tsp. kosher salt

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour (more or less)

1 head garlic, roasted* then cloves roughly chopped

extra virgin olive oil, for greasing bowl and brushing on boule after baking

super-fine sea salt, for sprinkling over baked boule

Combine the sourdough starter discard, water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then add the salt and flour. Using your dough hook, knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and quite stiff, about 6 minutes.

Pour a bit of olive oil around the dough, and using your fingers and a stiff rubber spatula, form dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour or until doubled. (If you gently poke a finger into the dough, an indentation should remain when you remove your finger.)

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rough rectangle or oval about ½-inch thick. Spread the chunks of roasted garlic evenly over the dough. Roll into a log starting with a short side.

To form into a boule, gently bend one end up towards the middle. Do the same with the other end. Then turn the dough over and tug and tuck towards the bottom of the ball until you’ve formed the dough into a tight ball shape. Place the dough ball, smooth side up on a piece of parchment paper long enough to allow you to lower the dough into a Dutch oven or cloche (clay baker). Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap and let rest for 60 minutes. (It should just about double as it rises.)

Meanwhile, place your Dutch oven or clay baker (cloche), lid and all, in your oven. After the dough has been rising for about 30 minutes, pre-heat your oven to 425-degrees. When the dough has risen sufficiently, carefully remove the Dutch oven or clay baker from the hot oven. Immediately use a sharp knife or lame blade to score an X about ¼-inch deep into the surface of the bread dough. This allows the bread to expand without tearing as it bakes. (Don’t press down too hard. You don’t want to deflate the dough ball.)

Carefully remove the Dutch oven or cloche lid and place the parchment paper and loaf in the bottom of your Dutch oven or on the bottom portion of your cloche. Then cover and place in the pre-heated 425-degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 10-13 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. (Your instant read thermometer should read between 200 to 205-degrees.)

Remove from oven and carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Brush generously with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with super-fine sea salt. Let cool completely before slicing.

Please note: If you prefer a crisp, chewy crust, don’t slather with olive oil. Leave as is.

Store leftovers at room temperature wrapped in a tea towel.

*To roast a head of garlic, cut off the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil. Cover and roast at 400-degrees for 60 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool until you can easily remove the golden, soft cloves from their paper-thin wrappers.

It isn’t often that I get to make a bread that’s as much fun to fix as it is to eat. But for me, breadsticks fit that statement perfectly. But breadsticks do have their limitations. They are not a utilitarian bread product. For example, you can’t put breadsticks in a toaster and serve them for breakfast. You can’t use them to make French toast or French dip sandwiches or any kind of sandwich for that matter. So, as a bread for all occasions, they are a bit lacking.

But when a piece of bread is needed to dip, dunk, or mop – soft breadsticks are unparalleled! First of all, they are the perfect shape. And if they are soft like these breadsticks, anything you dunk them in or slather on them is going to stick. And isn’t that a beautiful thing?!

And in the case of these breadsticks, you make the dough one day and bake it off the next day or the day after. (My favorite type of dough to make.) And just so you know, this is a very self-confident dough. It enjoys being alone in a cold and dark place. In fact, it absolutely insists on some time alone to contemplate whatever it is that bread dough considers worth its time to ponder. And if you forget about it for a day or two, it could care less. It knows full well that sooner or later it will be baked into perfect soft and tasty breadsticks. (We should all be blessed with this amount of confidence!)

So, the only thing left to say, is that these breadsticks are supremely easy to build, truly delicious, and go with all kinds of different dishes. And like every other type of bread we build in our own kitchens, an inexpensive alternative to the exorbitant or should I say extortionary price we are forced to pay for artisanal bread in a bakery or market. Just sayin’!

As always, play with your food and be creative. When you decide it’s time to spend some quality time in your home with your family, make it quality time spent in the kitchen. Believe me, your grown children will not remember that their childhood home was a bit dusty, or the garage was often cluttered. But they will remember the meals your family shared around the dinner table and the times you made cookies together. Let the dusting wait.

Peace and love to all.

1 c. warm water 

½ c. whole milk

½ c. sourdough starter discard

2 tsp. instant yeast

1½ tsp. granulated sugar

2 tsp. kosher salt

3 T. olive oil, plus more for greasing the mixing bowl

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, more or less

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ rounded tsp. granulated garlic  

¼ rounded tsp. Italian seasoning

Combine the warm water, milk, sourdough starter discard, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the bread hook, add as much flour as necessary to make a soft dough. When the dough has been kneaded for several minutes, and there is still a bit of dough clinging to the bottom of the bowl, the dough is ready for the next step.

Pour a bit of olive oil around the edge of the mixing bowl. Using your fingers and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a nicely greased ball. Cover with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator overnight or up to three days. When ready to use, remove the dough from fridge and let sit on your counter for an hour.

On a nicely floured surface, shape the dough into a rectangle about 16×7-inches. (I use a rolling pin but patting out the dough with your fingers works too.) Cut the dough into 16 1-inch strips with a pizza cutter. Twist each piece gently and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. (They can be fairly close together.)

Cover with a tea towel or piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non- stick spray. Allow to rise until doubled (approximately an hour).

Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 22-25 minutes or until a very light golden brown. The internal temperature should measure at least 200-degrees.

While the breadsticks are baking, combine the melted butter, kosher salt, granulated garlic, and Italian seasoning. Remove breadsticks from oven and immediately brush with butter mixture.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Great dunked in olive oil, soup, marinara sauce, or used to clean one’s plate or bowl. Or, if you are feeling really unorthodox, you can serve the breadsticks in place of dinner rolls. But, people will talk!  

Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

I found this incredible recipe for rhubarb quick bread on the cutco.com site. The topping I used for this bread, well that’s another story.

I read about the topping somewhere, but for the life of me I can’t remember on what site this marvelous suggestion for topping a quick bread was revealed. But I must state for all to read; this way of topping a quick bread is going to become standard procedure from now on at Chez Carr. If of course the batter contains nuts. But to make any sense out of what I just wrote, you should first read this recipe. Then afterwards, if you decide to make this bread, you will undoubtedly understand why I would make such an unequivocal statement about a topping. Because the topping is just that fantastic! Crunchy, nutty, and sweet. But enough about the topping. It’s time to talk about the bread itself.

Amazing. Delicious. Moist and tender. With just enough orange flavor to be interesting, but in no way pervasive. Not to mention, the bread is easy to prepare and beautiful in appearance. So, basically, a perfect quick bread. And I truly do hope you make this bread while fresh rhubarb is still available. It is one of the best fruit breads I have ever tasted.

As always, keep counting your blessings. Keep finding joy in family and friends. And if you are able, share your blessings with others. Last evening, we had our dear friends Jim and Margo over for dinner. It was such a joy to once again have people in our home. And tonight, we are going to a restaurant with our dear friends Mark and Vicki. And afterwards, they are coming over (they live next door) for dessert. After such a difficult year with covid looming in every direction, it is wonderful that we are finally free to invite a bit of normalcy back into our lives. Hopefully the same is true for each of you.

Peace and love to all.

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 c. + 2 T. granulated sugar, divided

2 eggs

2 tsp. grated orange peel

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. cream of tartar

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ c. sour cream

2 generous c. finely diced fresh rhubarb

1¼ c. chopped walnuts, divided

Cream butter and the 2/3 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, orange peel, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together. Add to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Fold in the rhubarb and ¾ cup of the chopped walnuts.

Scoop into 2 8-inch loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup chopped walnuts evenly over the top of both loaves. Lightly press the nuts into the batter. Then sprinkle on the remaining 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar.   

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean. Don’t overbake.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then gently remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing into fairly thick pieces. If desired, gently warm before serving.

Best eaten within a couple of days. Or freeze the second loaf for later. Or even better, give the second loaf to a neighbor or friend.

Whenever I bake bread I feel like an earth mother. Because there is just something primal about taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into something as magnificent as bread. And since baking some form of bread is as old as civilization itself, I feel connected to past generations through this simple action. It fills my soul with joy and humbles me to watch bread rise, then come out of the oven as this incredible product that I had some small part in producing. Kind of like watching my kids grow up. Talk about a humbling experience! But I digress!

If I try really, really hard, I can still recall the smell of bread baking in my grandmother’s kitchen. Pure heaven. But I’ll tell you true, I’m sure my grandmother never dreamed of putting anything like garlic, rosemary, or kalamata olives in her bread! In fact, I’m pretty sure she never even heard of rosemary or kalamata olives. Garlic, maybe, but if so, she sure as heck never used it. (Mores the pity.)

But the good news is – I know about rosemary, garlic, and kalamata olives, and I am not afraid to share my knowledge with you! First of all, if you are not using these amazing ingredients with enthusiasm, in my opinion, it is time to re-think your priorities.

Lets’ start with garlic. There are very few savory dishes that can’t be improved by the judicious use of garlic. I swear, there are weeks when not a day goes by without me finely mincing a garlic clove or 2, 3, 4, etc. This Allium sativum is simply an integral part of my cooking. And because it is so much a part of our everyday life, we have never been bothered by vampires. (Not just everyone can make that claim!)

And rosemary, how can I esteem rosemary any more than I do? This fragrant evergreen herb with its edible needle-like leaves is fabulous in so many dishes. In fact, rosemary is almost essential if you are fixing lamb. And for many other dishes, including soups, rosemary provides just that certain “something” that turns the dish from acceptable to incredible. And the fact that this perennial is ever so easy to grow, makes it even nicer. I have 3 big bushes of rosemary in my yard because I never want to find myself without rosemary. (I’d get the hives without rosemary. I’m absolutely sure I would. So, I take no chances!)  

That leaves kalamata olives. Oh, how I wish kalamata olives had been around when I was younger. I have always loved olives in any form. But kalamata olives, they are just special. Perfect in pasta (think puttanesca or pasta salad), salads (think Greek salad), pizza, and of course bread. Which of course now leads me directly to why you should make this bread at your earliest convenience.   

I first started making bread containing kalamata olives many years ago. And no, I did not dream up the use of kalamata olives in bread. I read about it in a cookbook I’m sure, because this was decades before I could go online and find at least a thousand recipes already posted for what I thought was an original concept. (I have since learned that there is no such thing by the way! At least when it comes to food!)

Anyway, the gist of all this rhetoric is that garlic, rosemary, and kalamata olives are wonderful ingredients, even in bread. And because this particular bread is baked flat, there is a lot of crust. And the part that isn’t crust, is nice and chewy. So, give it a try. Easy to build, and lovely to eat. Perfect with soup or as a side with a hearty main course salad.

As always, begin each day with a smile on your face. For me, that’s easy. Because I know there will be an Americano waiting for me in the living room once I stagger down the hall in my bathrobe. Freshly made coffee, and delicious. And while I sip my coffee and read the daily paper, I always take a moment to thank whichever deity may happen to be listening, for providing me with such a wonderful life. May you be as blessed.

Peace and love to all.

1 c. sourdough starter discard

2/3 c. slightly warm water

1½ tsp. active dry yeast

½ tsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. granulated garlic

1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 c. Kalamata olives cut in thirds

2½ c. bread flour, or more as needed

extra virgin olive oil

flaky or coarse salt

Combine the sourdough starter, water, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes. (Or as long as it takes to chop the rosemary and olives and retrieve the granulated garlic from its hiding place.)

Add the granulated garlic, rosemary, kalamata olives, and 2 cups of the bread flour to the mixing bowl. Using your dough hook, knead dough until relatively smooth, about 6 minutes using enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. (Most of the dough will form an irregular shaped ball around the bread hook. There should still be a bit that clings to the bottom of the bowl. And the dough will be very sticky.)  

Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Prepare a large, flat baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray.  Pour the dough onto the prepared pan, and shape into a rough circle about ¾-inch thick. Spread the surface with olive oil. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Sprinkle lightly with flaky or coarse salt. 

Bake in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for 14-15 minutes, or until a light golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.   

Sorry for not posting for such a long time, but because of vacation, visiting a daughter post-surgery, breaking my nose, planning a trip to southern Oregon to attend my son’s wedding, and planning and booking camping reservations for our fall trailer trip, I haven’t had the opportunity to share recipes in my usual carefree and frequent style. And yes, I have been missing sharing great recipes with you all. But as with everyone, I must prioritize my time wisely. But I think I am finally at the point where I can resume my passionate incidence that you should have access to the best possible recipes an internet search can provide. So, basically – I’m back! (Well at least until our next vacation or until I break some other part of my body.) Good grief! And I thought I was invincible! Huh! Anyway……….     

I’ve had this recipe ready to post since late March. But for all the reasons listed above, I am only getting to it today. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a first-rate recipe. Because it is! So, if you are a sourdough bread lover and have a sourdough starter languishing away in your fridge, you are in for a treat.

This bread is very easy to build, and it tastes like it came from a fancy bakery. When we were hosting jazz concerts in our home, and I would provide a full meal before the concert, I almost always served homemade bread to our guests. At one of the concerts one of the ladies asked me where I bought my bread. I told her I had made it myself. She stopped, looked at me for a few seconds, then said “wait – you mean people can make bread like this at home?” I quickly assured her that if I could make bread, then almost anyone who could read could do the same. That baking bread just took a little practice.

She was totally flabbergasted. She had obviously never contemplated such a thing. Where I on the other hand, I had never considered not making bread. Same planet, different world.

But, since you are reading about this recipe, you are either a friend catching up on what’s going on in my life, or you are a bread baker. If you are a maker of bread, I hope you enjoy this simple recipe. If you are a friend, I send you love from Chez Carr.

As always, have fun in your kitchen, but don’t forget to spend some time each day outdoors. Because it’s SPRING! And if you have the time, inclination, and a bit of ground or a nice large planter, plant some seeds. It is so fun and rewarding to experience the magic mother earth can perform with just a bit of tender care from you. Now please excuse me, I have some rhubarb to harvest. Rhubarb crisp –  coming soon to Chez Carr.

Peace and love to all.

1½ c. warm water

¾ c. sourdough starter discard, room temperature

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ c. dark rye flour

¼ c. whole wheat flour  

1 T. vital wheat gluten flour

3 c. bread flour, plus more as needed

extra virgin olive oil 

Place the warm water, sourdough starter, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt, rye flour, wheat flour, vital wheat gluten flour, and 1 cup of the bread flour. Mix together with your bread hook. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add enough remaining bread flour to make a soft, elastic dough. Dough should ball up around the bread hook, leaving just a bit stuck to the bottom of the bowl. The dough should be a bit sticky, but not tacky. Pour a bit of oil in the bowl and using your hands and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a ball, completely greased with the oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 90 minutes. Punch down once during this rising.

Cover a baking sheet with a rectangle of parchment paper. Gently shape the dough into two balls, using flour as needed, but avoid kneading. Place the dough balls on the parchment paper. Dust with a bit of flour and cover with a clean tea towel. Place in a warm spot for an hour. In the last half hour of rising, preheat your oven to 400-degrees.  

Once the oven comes to temperature, slash an “X” on the top of each boule. (Don’t use too much force or you will deflate the bread.) Just let the weight of the knife do the work.

Bake for 24-27 minutes, or until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 205 degrees. Remove from oven and cool completely before slicing.

OK, I’ve spared you any new bread recipes for several days now. But yesterday morning we had feasted on the remains of my last homemade bread baking adventure, so I had no choice but to take my sourdough starter out of the refrigerator and whip up a loaf. I was really in the mood for a nice boring whole wheat bread that would make great toast. And my favorite way to eat toast is slathered in honey. Now, not just any honey. My favorite is pine tree honey. But it’s really hard to find because the best pine tree honey we’ve ever tasted comes from Turkey. (The country, not the critter.) Which, incidentally, is where we learned to love pine tree honey in the first place.

Every morning we would find a wonderful combination of dishes waiting for us in the dining room of our accommodation. Our breakfasts were generally comprised of black and green olives, sliced cucumbers, cured meats, dips and sauces, eggs, fresh cheeses, sliced fresh tomatoes, fresh-baked bread with butter, jams, and honey. And often, delicious pastries. But what we both lived for, was the fresh bread and the honey. All the offerings were lovely, but the honey was so wonderful, we simply couldn’t get enough. And yes, we loved our holiday in Turkey. The Turkish people are friendly and gracious, and the cultural aspects of the country unparalleled. I felt a true connection with the land and the people from the first day of our visit. I especially loved the call to prayer that happened 5 times each day. Even though I am not Muslim, this simple soundscape had a profound impact on me. It helped me remember to be thankful for all the many blessings I have in my life.    

And even though we can’t feast on pine tree honey any longer, we are lucky enough to live in the land of Cats Paw honey*. This raw, unpasteurized honey from bees that love to nibble on clover, blackberries, dandelions, and thistle is absolutely delicious. And I have to say, slathered on our unbuttered toast this morning, the combination of this lovely local honey and this simple whole wheat bread made for mighty fine eating. And the bread had been very easy to build. Always a plus.

So, if you too would like to make a bread that is quick to assemble, and tastes wonderful, I recommend you give this recipe a try. And if you live in this area, I absolutely recommend you buy some Cats Paw honey at your earliest convenience.

As always, cherish your memories while still making new ones. As we get older, if we let them, physical limitations can have a negative impact on our lives. But if we have great memories to look back on, I think that helps us adjust to our new reality. I can’t ski any longer. But boy do I have great memories of gliding through the snow with family and friends by my side. The laughter, the joy of being outside, and the fellowship at the end of the day. Marvelous. So, no regrets that I can no longer put on uncomfortable ski boots, hustle my butt to sit down on the ski lift without killing myself, or get myself buried in powder snow enough so that Mr. C. has to dig me out. Nope – can’t happen anymore. But it did happen, and I have those wonderful memories to keep me entertained when I start feeling a bit creaky. Life is truly wonderful. Enjoy it to the fullest.

Peace and love to all.

½ c. lukewarm water

1 tsp. active dry yeast

2 tsp. pure maple syrup or honey

1 c. sourdough starter discard  

1½ tsp. kosher salt

2 T. vital wheat gluten** (I use Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten)

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. bread flour, or more as needed

extra virgin olive oil

Place the water, yeast, maple syrup, and sourdough starter in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir gently with your dough hook. Let proof for 15 minutes, or until foam appears on top.

Add the salt, vital wheat gluten, and whole wheat flour. Stir well with dough hook. Add enough of the bread flour until a smooth, only slightly sticky dough forms. (This takes 3-4 minutes of letting your mixer do the hard work of kneading the dough). There should be no dough stuck to the bottom of the bowl. It should all be hanging on for dear life to the dough hook.

Once the dough has been kneaded, lightly grease the dough with a small amount of olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it alone for about 90 minutes or until almost doubled in size. Punch down the dough. (The dough should feel smooth and slightly springy.)

Shape into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. If you prefer smaller loaves, shape the dough into 2 equal sized loaves and use 2 7½ x 4-inch (roughly ½ lb.) loaf pans. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise for 75 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425-degrees.  

Bake for 35-40 minutes for large loaf, or about 20 minutes for smaller loaves, or until golden brown and firm. (If in doubt if the bread is done, take the breads temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It should read at least 195 degrees.)

Remove from oven and turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Will stay fresh for several days.

Absolutely wonderful toasted and slathered with butter and honey!  

*Locally owned Cats Paw Bees is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of an organic environment for the honey bee in the local community of Stanwood and Camano Island in the Puget Sound area of Western Washington. Andy & Bonnie Swanson own and operate Cats Paw Bees using natural and organic methods to raise honey bees, producing a raw natural honey filled with local floral flavors. To find this wonderful honey, visit www.catspawsbees.com for retail locations.

**Vital wheat gluten is nearly all gluten and almost no starch. When used as an additive in baking, its purpose is to add elasticity to flours that would otherwise be low in gluten, such as whole wheat flour or rye. It improves the rise of the raw dough and also improves the texture and chewiness of the final product.

I never used to like muffins. That’s because I wasn’t baking them at home. My only exposure came at office staff meetings or birthday gathering. And you all know how that can be! Coffee slightly better than instant, and either a cake baked at a local grocery store, cookies straight off a grocery store shelf, or muffins that are absolutely flavorless and the texture – simply wrong! And OK, I know I’m picky! I just got to the point of not accepting a cup of coffee (just had some thanks) and mumbling something about having just had lunch or saving myself for a special dinner out or I’d rather eat dogfood (just kidding). Anyway, I was usually able to talk myself out of having to participate culinarily.  

But then, for some unknown reason, I decided to bake some muffins for Mr. C. because he really enjoys a good muffin with breakfast. And over the years I have learned to thoroughly embrace muffins for breakfast too. So, lucky you if you too believe that a great muffin should be part of a balanced breakfast. Because there are several great recipes for muffins on this site that might interest you. But for today, I’m going to concentrate on this lovely muffin recipe complements of the callmepmc.com site. (With a couple alterations from yours truly.)

Orange and cranberry have always been a winning combination. Throw in a few pecans for flavor and crunch, and you have a perfect trifecta. Then mix these three fabulous ingredients in with standard muffin batter ingredients and you have a winner. And a muffin everyone in your family will enjoy. Score!

So, as always, keep having fun in your kitchen, keep trying new and fun recipes, and always keep an open mind. If I hadn’t made muffins for my dear husband, I would have been missing out on an entire genre of caloric delicacies. (That probably would have been just fine.) But I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of preparing something that my husband really likes. (And that would have probably been OK too. But not nearly as much fun or rewarding. Nothing like something from the oven to ramp up the endearment quotient!) And God knows, I need all the help I can get!

Peace and love to all.

3-4 T. orange juice  

1½ c. dried cranberries

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 

½ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. brown sugar, packed  

2 lg. eggs 

½ c. plain Greek yogurt or sour cream 

¼ c. whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 rounded T. orange zest

1 c. chopped pecans, toasted

Spray a 12-count muffin pan with non-stick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside. (My batch made 16 muffins, so be prepared to grease or line another muffin pan.)

Bring the orange juice and dried cranberries to a boil in a small pan. (I used all 4 tablespoons of orange juice because my dried cranberries had been around for over a year. And they were really dry. If the dried cranberries you are planning to use are still kind of squishy, start with only 3 tablespoons of orange juice. And even then, you might have a bit of juice left in the bottom of the pan.) Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the granulated and brown sugars. Beat on high until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined and uniform in texture. (You might have a few small lumps even after mixing for a few minutes. Not to worry.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture; mix slowly just until combined. Drain any juice off the cranberries. Fold the cranberries and toasted pecans into the batter. Using a #16 (¼ cup) ice cream scoop, plop batter into prepared muffin pan. (The batter will come almost to the top of the muffin cup.) 

Bake in a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350-degrees, then bake for about 12 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.  Gently warm the muffins before serving.

In a constant effort to never, ever send even one tablespoon of sourdough starter discard down the drain, I am ever vigilant about finding new and different ways to use the discard without any negative impact to my psyche. (And yes, I still subscribe to the “waste not, want not” theory from being raised by parents who survived the depression. And similarly, I’m still under the influence of being raised Missouri synod Lutheran, where frugality was never openly discussed, but the implication was that being thrifty was a God-like condition.)

So, no matter how ridiculous this tendency of mine to not even discard a bit of discard, I’m stuck with my habits. (And whatever you do, don’t get me started on getting every last bit of toothpaste out of the tube! I’m positively irrational!) Anyway, enough about my quirks!

I found this wonderful recipe on the kingarthurbaking.com site. I changed the directions around a bit and made a modification to the amounts and type of flour called for in the original recipe, but the rest is straight out of the King Arthur kitchens.

Now I know the true definition of a quick bread is any bread leavened with a chemical leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda) rather than a biological one like yeast or sourdough starter. But this bread contains baking powder, baking soda, and sourdough starter. So, it should be a super quick bread. And you know what, it is. You don’t even need a mixer. And delicious? You bet. Perfect toasted for breakfast or as a lovely snack to go along with your late morning or afternoon cup of coffee or tea.

So, if you too are looking for new and different ways to use up your sourdough discard, this bread is just waiting to be enjoyed by everyone in your family.

As always, keep smiling at all the wonderful things life has to offer. Keep laughing with your family and keep counting your blessings. As much as I make fun of my tendency to be frugal, it certainly helped me calmly maneuver through some rough patches when I still had children dependent upon my ability to squeeze a penny. We made it through with our dignity intact, our real needs met, and a true sense of pride.

And to this day I thank God for the parents he chose for me. Without their insight into what really matters, their example of kindness, and their belief that all troubles will resolve themselves eventually, I doubt I would have been able to provide any kind of a decent example for my own children to follow.

Sometimes we don’t realize all the blessings we have received over the years until we get a bit older. And then, only because we have the time to ponder something other than work or how to get the laundry done before everyone runs out of underwear. Don’t wait. Count your blessing now. Or better yet, count them while your folding laundry.

Peace and love to all.

¾ c. whole wheat flour

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour   

½ c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter

½ c. real maple syrup

½ tsp. maple extract

½ c. buttermilk

¾ c. sourdough starter discard

2 lg. eggs

1½ c. chopped walnuts

Grease a 9 x 5-inch (roughly 1 lb.) or 2 7½ x 4-inch (roughly ½ lb.) loaf pans. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

In a separate microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Then whisk in the maple syrup, maple extract, buttermilk, sourdough starter, and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until the mixture is evenly combined. Stir in the walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 70 minutes (large pan), 45-50 minutes (smaller pans). The internal temperature should reach at least 200-degrees. Tent the bread with foil after 45 minutes if it’s browning too quickly.

Remove from oven and cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 15 minutes before turning it out on the rack to cool completely before slicing.  Store the bread, tightly wrapped in plastic, at room temperature. Freeze the loaves for longer storage.