I’ve been working on a loaf of sourdough raisin walnut bread for a few days, now… The original recipe I used called for it being baked in a bread tin. The first time I made it, I made it free-form and really liked it. I thought I’d give the bread tin a shot this time.
It wasn’t a good idea.
There are several areas where I could have screwed this one up, but I think the main one was having it spend the night in the refrigerator. In the grand scheme of things that shouldn’t have made a huge difference since it was out for 24 hours after, but… after forming – cold – I should have let it warm up – it just didn’t rise as I thought it should. I baked it off, anyway, and while it was baking decided I needed to make a real loaf of bread.
Our friend, Lori, in Cairo, had posted a recipe for milk bread I had made a while back. Feeling dejected by what I knew was going to be a bum loaf of bread, I started making it while the other was still in the oven. I wanted a loaf of bread!
I ended up with two of them! The raisin walnut – that was actually fig walnut because I had figs but no raisins – actually came out pretty good. Not the stellar loaf I was looking for, but it had a great crust and a great flavor. It’s a bit dense, but not in a bad way. It’s gonna make some awesome toast in the morning! I think this one will always be free-form. Or… It may never be made, again. I just realized I tossed the printed recipe and have no idea where the original is… Oh, well… There’s lots of bread recipes out there!
The Milk Bread, on the other hand, came out perfect. At least it looks perfect. I didn’t cut into it, yet, but I have that feeling…
I’ve made this recipe as rolls a few times but never as a loaf. The recipe calls for cutting the dough into six portions and running them three in a row on either side of the pan. Being the rebel that I am – and not learning from not following the last recipe – I lined them up across.
It’s a really pretty loaf.
Since the first loaf came out so well, we had it with dinner – a throw-together ground beef stroganoffy sorta concoction served over mashed potatoes.
It came out pretty good. Nonna had a fried egg.
And then… It’s Oscar Night, so I needed a new dessert.
This time it was cookies. Something we haven’t had in a while. I chopped up semi-sweet and milk chocolates for the chips – I had some left from Christmas. They came out excellent!
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk-chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Form the dough into approximately 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
Bake until the centers are just set, about 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.
We’re rooting for Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri for Best Picture, and Frances McDormand for Best Actress. I really, really like Woody Harrelson, and if he won Best Supporting Actor I would be fine with it, but Sam Rockwell was super excellent. I think he has it. That’s also okay!