I think I have already mentioned that I am not really a muffin person. Maybe it’s because muffins are often too sweet. Well then, I can’t begin to explain why this recipe from Southern Living magazine caught my eye. But for some unknown reason, I thought these muffins would be wonderful for the Christmas day brunch I was planning for Mr. Cs family. And when I am right, I am right!

These muffins are absolutely delicious. They are however, a pain in the derrière to get out of the pan! You have to have the patience of a saint, the determination of a 2 year old, and enough will power not to throw the muffins, including the pan, off your back porch! (That thought actually crossed my mind at one point!)

But once they are out of the pan – perfection. The cake part of the muffin itself is tender and moist. But it’s the topping that really sends your whole mouth into “OMG” mode. And yes, I did consider using muffin papers. But I felt then, and I still feel that too much of the muffin would remain on the paper. And I really hate seeing my family and friends chewing on paper!

So if you too love apples, pecans, and streusel – this is the muffin for you. Just don’t wait until next Christmas. This is a muffin for all occasions.

Muffins:

• 1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ c. granulated sugar
• ¾ c. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 lg. eggs, room temperature
• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. fine grained salt
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. chopped toasted pecans
• 1 c. peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• vegetable cooking spray

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed after each addition, just until blended.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in pecans, apples, and vanilla.

Spoon batter into well-greased (with cooking spray) muffin pans, filling only three-fourths full. (I actually use a fairly large ice cream scoop.) Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon Pecan Streusel (recipe below) over each muffin. Makes roughly 22 muffins.

Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes before removing (good luck) to wire racks. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Note: As stated above, the muffins are not easy to remove from the tins. If you don’t already have non-stick muffin pans, now is a good time to buy a couple. In fact, after making these muffins I decided I too need new muffin pans. Meet you at Bed, Bath and Beyond!

Pecan Streusel:

• ½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. chopped toasted pecans
• 2 T. butter, melted

Stir the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Stir in pecans and melted butter until crumbly.

This is just a terrific and easy recipe for a multigrain brown bread I was given by my good friend Vicki. Vicki is one of the most talented women I have ever known. She paints beautifully, creates gorgeous jewelry, fantastic pottery, lovely and whimsical mosaic objects, fabric art; you name it! She is also an avid gardener and cook. Oh, and did I mention, she’s off the charts smart! (Mother Nature was in truly good form the day she created this woman, I’m tellin’ you straight!) Anyway, when she offered me this recipe I jumped at the chance. (Of course, me being me, I changed a couple of things, but nothing terribly dramatic.)

So the following is a bread recipe that tastes like it came straight from a really good bakery. It is dense, delicious, and perfect. We love it toasted in the morning for breakfast, or with dinner slathered with room temperature butter. Anyway you cut it; this bread is a slice of heaven. Thanks again Vicki for this wonderful recipe, and also for being my friend. You are one amazing lady and I cherish our friendship.

• ½ c. sourdough starter (see recipe below)
• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 c. lukewarm milk
• ¼ c. molasses
• 1 tsp. instant espresso coffee (I use Medaglia D’oro)
• ¾ tsp. kosher salt
• 3 T. cocoa powder
• 2 T. dehydrated onion
• ½ c. rye flour
• ½ c. finely ground corn meal
• ½ c. gluten flour
• ½ c. whole wheat flour
• ½ to 1 c. all-purpose unbleached bread flour
• olive oil

Combine the sourdough starter, yeast, and milk in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for about 4 hours. (If you don’t have a sour dough starter, combine 2 teaspoons active dry yeast and 1 cup slightly warm milk in the bowl of your stand mixer and let stand for about 5 minutes until foamy.) In both cases, after the yeast has proven that it is worthy of the trust you have placed in it, (in other words, it’s alive, bubbly, and hungry) add the molasses, instant coffee, salt, cocoa, onion, rye flour, corn meal, gluten flour, whole wheat flour, and about ¼ cup of the bread flour. Using your dough hook, mix until dough comes together. Knead about 4 minutes until dough is smooth. (Add more bread flour, a tablespoon or two at a time during the kneading process as necessary to reduce excess stickiness. But don’t add too much flour. You want fairly soft dough.)

Pour a tiny bit of olive oil over the loaf and using your hands, turn the dough until all sides are lightly greased and shaped into a ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. (Or give it the old “poke it with your finger” test. After the dough has been allowed to rise the amount of time given in the recipe, gently poke it with your finger. After you have withdrawn your finger, the dough should push back very slowly. In fact, it should barely push or spring back at all.)

Punch down and knead a few times to release air; shape into 1 round loaf (boule, French for “ball”) and place on a piece of parchment paper. Dust lightly with flour and gently lower parchment paper and boule into a bowl or basket. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile place the lid and the bottom of a clay baker* (cloche) in your oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. When the dough is ready, remove the clay baker and lid from the oven and carefully place the parchment paper and dough on the bottom portion of the cloche. Cut a large shallow X on the top of the loaf using a serrated knife. Then carefully cover the bread with the hot lid.

Place in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, remove the lid, reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the crust is hard and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. When the bread comes out of the oven, transfer to a cooling rack for at least 2 hours before cutting.

*A wonderful alternative to a cloche (clay baker) is a heavy covered Dutch oven like a size 28 Le Creuset pan. Follow the same instructions when using cast iron as given in the preceding paragraph when using a cloche, including pre-heating the cast iron pan.

Basic Sourdough Starter:

• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 T. active dry yeast
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 c. warm water

Combine all ingredients in a plastic juice pitcher using a wooden or plastic spoon. (Don’t worry about lumps because the little yeasty beasties will make short work of dissolving the lumps!) Cover with lid, turning strainer in lid to pouring lip. (This allows air to reach the starter.) Let ferment 2 to 3 days at room temperature, stirring several times daily. After the third day, transfer starter to a covered glass container and refrigerate.

To use, remove desired amount for recipe and replenish starter by stirring in equal amounts of flour and water or follow the instructions for the particular bread you are making. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Return to refrigerator.

If a clear liquid forms on top, stir back into starter. Every time you use, replenish with equal amounts of flour and water. Even if you don’t use every week, replenish every 7 – 10 days with equal amounts flour and water. Use in any of your favorite bread, muffin, or pancake recipes.

In reality there is nothing magical about baking a wonderful loaf of bread. (Well the yeast going from dormant in your refrigerator to crazy hungry in your dough is sort of amazing, but that’s as close to “magical” as bread-baking really gets!)

So during my recent quest for a recipe that produced a delicious and chewy bread that I could mix up one day and bake in my cloche* the next, I stumbled upon this recipe from Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City.

The recipe was first featured in the New York Times, and it remains one of the most popular recipes the paper ever published. And for very good reason! And truly, it does feel like some sort of magic is involved because the final product is so delicious, yet the recipe is so incredibly easy to prepare! There is no guessing about how much flour is the right amount of flour to use. There is no kneading involved, so even if you don’t own a stand-up mixer with a dough hook, or your fingers (like mine) are too arthritic to spend any quality time pummeling a ball of dough, you are still going to be able to produce a fantastic loaf of artisan style bread.

And I’m sorry Mr. Lahey, but I did make a couple of insignificant changes to your recipe. I didn’t use instant yeast** (also known as “fast-rising” or “fast-acting” yeast) because I knew that regular old fashioned active dry yeast would catch up with instant yeast during the long initial rising period. (Plus I didn’t have any instant yeast on hand.) I also reduced the amount of water from 1 5/8 cups to 1½ cups. (As I was mixing the dough, I felt it was wet enough with the lesser amount of liquid.) And I used sea salt rather than regular salt. (And no I don’t know why. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time!) I also chose to use bread flour even though the recipe called for either all-purpose or bread flour. (I just felt bread flour was the better choice.)

Anyway, whatever I did, be it right or wrong, the bread turned out simply delicious. And the chewy texture was divine. And I know what a few of you will be thinking after you read this recipe. “I don’t have a cloche or a Dutch oven, so I can’t bake this bread.” Well, yes you can. If you have a baking sheet, you can bake this bread! (If you don’t even own a baking sheet because you never really figured you needed one, then you really are out of luck. You might as well leave this site immediately and go pay a visit to your local bakery!)

But if you are serious about baking wonderful breads, I suggest you invest in either a cloche or a really good, enamel lined Dutch oven. If you are going to spend some money, the Dutch oven is probably the better choice. Along with baking bread, you can use a Dutch oven to prepare everything from soup to braised meat in the oven. If you are leaning in the direction of a Dutch oven, I recommend Le Creuset. They ain’t cheap, but worth every penny.

But personally, if push comes to shove, I would still choose a cloche over a Dutch oven for turning out the perfect loaf. (Old habits are very hard to break.) But when it comes to making soup or braising meat in the oven, a Le Creuset Dutch oven would win every time, hands down!

• 3 c. unbleached all-purpose bread flour (use a good brand like Bob’s Red Mill or Oroweat)
• ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
• 1¼ tsp. sea salt
• 1½ c. water
• vegetable oil
• a cloche (round clay bread baker) or a Dutch oven (like a number 28 Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven)

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine flour, yeast, and salt. If you are using your stand mixer, use the regular paddle rather than the bread hook. This is really a no knead bread, so the regular paddle works best. Add the water and stir until well combined. The dough will be wet and sticky, with a kind of shaggy appearance. (And yes, even though I don’t really need to use my stand-up mixer, I do. The reason being – I’m lazy. No other reason.)

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl or leave in the bowl of your stand mixer and pour a little oil over the dough; form into a lightly greased ball; cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for about 18 hours at room temperature (about 70 degrees). The dough is ready when it has nearly doubled in volume.*** The surface will also be dotted with bubbles.

Next, flour a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough on top. Flour your hands and fold the dough in half and then fold it again. (This action deflates the air bubbles that have formed.)

Add additional flour to the parchment paper as needed and shape the dough into a ball by tucking the sides underneath. Place seam side down onto the paper. Cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rest again until puffy in shape and about doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before your bread is ready to bake, place the lid and the bottom of your cloche**** in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper roughly the diameter of your cloche and set aside. When the dough is ready, remove the clay baker and lid from the oven, place the newly cut piece of parchment paper on the bottom portion of the hot cloche, slide your hand underneath the parchment paper and dough, and invert the dough onto the parchment paper lined cloche. The seam will be facing up. It will look kind of scary, but the top will be beautifully rustic looking when baked. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will even as it bakes. Carefully cover the bread with the hot lid.

Place in the pre-heated 425 degree oven for 40 minutes, remove the lid, reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the crust is a light brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. (You can take the breads temperature by carefully sticking an instant read thermometer into the bottom of the loaf. It should read between 200 and 205 degrees when the bread is fully baked.)

When your bread comes out of the oven, transfer it to a wire rack to cool. Let it cool for at least 1 hour. (Cutting it too soon ruins the texture of the bread. Not what you want!)

*A cloche is a round, bell shaped unglazed stoneware baker that replicates the benefits of baking bread in a brick oven. It turns out individual loaves with tender, moist interiors and crispy, evenly golden crusts. The unglazed clay absorbs heat to ensure even baking on all sides, while the porous surface absorbs moisture to give the crust a crisp texture.

**Instant yeast can shorten the rising time in traditional bread-baking by as much as 50%. But by the end of a long rising period, like the time needed for this recipe, there doesn’t seem to be any difference if you use instant or regular active dry yeast.

***Hint: If your dough isn’t starting to puff or look bubbly after a few hours, place it in the microwave with the light on (keeping the door ajar) or under an upper cabinet fitted with over the counter lighting. (Keep the light on of course!) The warmth from the light will help the yeast start its feeding frenzy.

****A round Dutch oven can also be used with this recipe. Follow the same instructions when using cast iron as given in the preceding paragraphs when using a cloche, including pre-heating the cast iron pan. If you don’t have either a cloche or a cast iron pan, place the dough, after you have shaped it into a round, on a corn meal sprinkled baking stone or baking sheet and follow remaining instructions as written. Except, bake the bread at 425 degrees for 9 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the loaf is light brown and sounds hollow when tapped with your fingers.

I have been building bread for almost 50 years now. So I thought I knew quite a bit about bread baking. That is until we spent a weekend recently with our good friends Jim and Margo at our mutual good friends amazing Quillayute River Resort in Forks, Washington. Mr. C and I had been to visit Chip and Linda’s resort several times before, but we had never experienced one of Chip’s loaves of bread before this recent weekend. Talk about a humbling experience! Now that man knows how to bake bread! Plus he knows all the right words for each step along the path to the perfect loaf. Was I intimidated? You bet your levain I was intimidated. But I got over it when I decided to relax and learn from the master. (BTW – levain is a substance used to produce fermentation in bread dough.) Who knew? (See below for the names of several bread loaf shapes we see routinely in good bakeries and high end grocery stores. Bread lesson number 1.)

Anyway, in my opinion Chip has the knowledge, recipes and the right paraphernalia needed to be considered a true artisan baker. And by golly, I learned some wonderful techniques and terms from him that I am going to share with you, along, of course, with a great recipe for a Sourdough Multigrain Bread. But first, I am going to give you this wonderful recipe for my sourdough rye bread. (I’m still working on putting Chip’s recipe into layman’s terms so that those of us who have yet to achieve artisan status can actually build a loaf!) But back to my recipe.

I have been making this rye bread now for about 10 years and it has never let me down. It’s easy, delicious, and doesn’t have too overpowering a rye flavor; making it a perfect accompaniment to almost any kind of food.

So get out your yeast and bread flour and build your family and friends a treat. Just don’t forget to have plenty of room temperature unsalted butter on hand. Only someone with the discipline of an Olympic athlete can resist butter on their homemade bread. Just saying’!

• 1 c. sourdough starter (recipe given below)
• 1½ c. rye flour
• 1¼ c. warm water, divided
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose bread flour, or more as needed
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 T. sugar

Combine starter, rye flour, and one cup of the water in the bowl of your stand mixer; stir to blend. (If you prefer an extra-sour flavor, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place for 6-24 hours. I usually let mine sit for about 8 hours or until the mixture becomes bubbly, sour, and kind of boozy smelling.)

When ready to continue, combine the yeast and remaining ¼ cup warm water in small bowl; let stand about 5 minutes until foamy. Stir into the sourdough mixture; add the whole-wheat flour, 1½ cups of the bread flour, salt, and sugar. Using your dough hook, mix until dough comes together. Knead 5-6 minutes until dough is smooth and springy. Add more bread flour, a tablespoon or two at a time during the kneading process as necessary to reduce excess stickiness. But don’t add too much flour. You want a fairly soft dough.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1-1½ hours or until doubled. Punch down and knead a few times to release air; shape into 1 round loaf (boule) and place on a piece of parchment paper. Dust with flour and gently lower parchment paper and loaf into a bowl or basket. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise about 30 minutes or until almost doubled.

Meanwhile place the lid and the bottom of a clay baker* (cloche) in your oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees. When the dough is ready, remove the clay baker and lid from the oven and carefully place the parchment paper and loaf on the bottom portion of the cloche. Cut a large shallow X on the top of the loaf using a serrated knife. Then carefully cover the bread with the hot lid.

Place in the pre-heated 425 degree oven for 30 minutes, remove the lid, reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. (You can take the breads temperature by carefully sticking an instant read thermometer into the bottom of the loaf. It should read between 200 and 205 degrees when the bread is fully baked.)

When the bread comes out of the oven, transfer it to a cooling rack for at least 2 hours before cutting. Actually, if you can wait, don’t eat the bread until the next day. (Asking a lot, I know!) It takes time for the texture and flavor to develop. (And no, I don’t know why!)

*A wonderful alternative to a clay baker is a heavy covered casserole like a size 28 Le Creuset Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven. Follow the same instructions when using cast iron as given in the preceding paragraph when using a cloche, including pre-heating the cast iron pan.

If you have neither a cloche or a cast iron pan, place the dough, after you have shaped it into a round, on a corn meal sprinkled baking stone or baking sheet and follow remaining instructions as written. Bake at 425 degrees for 9 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped with your fingers.

Please note: If you want to use this bread for sandwiches, and BTW, it does make a mean Rueben sandwich, divide dough in half and place in two greased loaf pans, follow the rest of the instructions as written, and bake at 425 degrees for 9 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake for another 25-35 minutes or until the loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped with your fingers.

Basic Sourdough Starter Recipe:

• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 T. active dry yeast
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 C. warm water

Combine all ingredients in a plastic juice pitcher using a wooden or plastic spoon. (Don’t worry about lumps because the little yeasty beasties will make short work of dissolving the lumps!) Cover with lid, turning strainer in lid to pouring lip. (This allows air to reach the starter.) Let ferment 2 to 3 days at room temperature, stirring several times daily. After the third day, transfer starter to a covered glass container and refrigerate.

To use, remove desired amount for recipe and replenish starter by stirring in equal amounts of flour and water or follow the instructions for the particular bread you are making. Let stand at room temperature overnight. Return to refrigerator.

If a clear liquid forms on top, stir back into starter. Every time you use, replenish with equal amounts of flour and water. Even if you don’t use every week, replenish every 7 – 10 days with equal amounts flour and water. Use in any of your favorite bread, muffin, or pancake recipes.

Bread Shape Names:

Large round loaf – Boule

Small round loaf – Boulette

Long rounded loaf – Baguette

Baguette shaped loaf, but a little shorter – Baton

Smaller version of a baguette; the length may be the same, but the diameter and weight of the bread is about half that of a baguette – Ficelle

Fat, log-shaped loaf with tapered ends (think torpedo shaped) – Bâtard or Vienna