It’s raining out – welcome to The Pacific Northwest – so a vat of soup and a dozen fresh-baked rolls seemed to be the order of the day. I reworked a bread recipe to use some of the white whole wheat flour we’ve had since Covid-Lockdown. It’s stored airtight and dry – it’s perfectly good – and going down, fast. I think we have less than 10 pounds left. We got it from my sister-in-law, Debbie, who didn’t realize she was ordering a 50 pound bag until the second she hit “send”. (And lord knows I’ve never made a mistake in online ordering…)
I’m quite happy she did, though – it’s definitely quality flour!
The soup came about from a recipe I got from Eating Well Magazine quite a while back. Naturally, because I rarely follow recipes – especially for soup – I made quite a few changes, but their recipe is below so you can see what I started with.
Mine was more of a ‘clean-out-the-refrigerator’ adaption. I didn’t use the kale because I see no reason to ever buy it. Kale and spinach are too close, nutritionally to bother. I vote for the one that tastes better. (Your results may vary.) I did add assorted cauliflowers, a large can of San Marzano tomatoes, and garbanzo beans leftover from a pound Victor cooked to make hummus. And I added a lot more liquid – especially red wine – to make a brothier soup. Oh… and a heaping tablespoon of Calabrian Chili Paste! Gotta have that spice!
Italian Beef and Vegetable Soup
adapted from Eating Well magazine
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 12 ounces boneless beef sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, quartered
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 (14 ounce) cans reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
- ¼ cup dry red wine (Optional)
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 cups kale, chopped
- 1 cup fresh green beans, bias-sliced into bite-size pieces
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
Heat oil in a large pot. Add beef to the pot. Cook over medium-high heat until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove the beef from the pot with a slotted spoon.
Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the pot. Cook and stir 6 minutes or until tender and the mushrooms are browned. Add vinegar and stir to remove the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
Add broth, undrained tomatoes, wine (if desired), Italian seasoning, fennel seed, and ground pepper. Bring to boiling. Add the beef, kale, green beans, and bell pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until the vegetables and beef are tender. To serve, ladle soup into bowls.
The rolls came out great! Really feathery-light and flavorful!
These are definitely not the normal flour/water/salt/yeast breads or rolls I generally make. These have heavy cream, eggs, and butter in the dough – and are worth every one of the 349 kcal per roll! A huge bowl of soup with all my changes is only 304. A total of 653 kcal for dinner?!? I’ll take it! (No butter on the roll… it seriously doesn’t need it!)
I first made this bread back in 2019. I got the recipe from Bon Appetit right after getting 10 pounds of Daisy Heritage Lancaster Red Wheat Flour – local to our home in Pennsylvania at the time. You know me and finding fun ingredients…
Anyway… the bread was definitely a hit. I’ve made the recipe many times – loaves, rolls, and hamburger buns – but this was the first time I’ve used anything other than white flour. It’s definitely going to be the standard, from here on out!
Oh… and the recipe says it makes one loaf. I split it into two. The twelve rolls I made in a standard muffin tin are supposed to be six rolls in a jumbo muffin tin. Again, your results may vary… but if you’re going to make it… be warned.
Kindred Milk Bread
adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine
- 5 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface (Kindred uses King Arthur)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)
- 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (such as Alba)
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, divided
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- Flaky sea salt (optional, but shouldn’t be)
Cook ⅓ cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup.
If making a loaf, lightly coat a 9×5″ loaf pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of pan.
If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 13×9″ baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4″-long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.
Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°. Beat remaining egg with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25–35 minutes for rolls, 50–60 minutes for loaf, or 30–40 minutes for buns.
f making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.
Do Ahead: Bread can be baked 5 days ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.