Tinfoil Chef

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It’s starting to get into the season for fall holiday things and one of the big traditional standbys for this time of year is pumpkin. It starts with pumpkin pie and goes on from there. It’s interesting how many things people make with Pumpkin. Recently my wife discovered a pumpkin cookie recipe that we liked at lot (good thing we liked ‘em too!)

Anyway, this pumpkin nut loaf strikes me as the natural next step from pumpkin cookies.

Mix 2 cups of all-pupose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon and a half of pumpkin pie spice.

Beat two eggs, 1 1/4 cups pumpkin, a cup of sugar, half a can of evaporated milk (NOT to be confused with sweetened condensed milk! They’re different animals entirely.) and 2 tablespoons of oil in a larger mixer bowl until blended.

Add the flour mixture and a half cup of chopped nuts and mix just until it’s evenly moistened. Pour it into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 350 for about an hour or until it passes the toothpick test then remove it from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before taking it out and putting it on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Technorati Tags: seasonal food, seasonal favorite, pumpkin nut loaf, pumpkin bread, pumpkin recipe, recipe

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French bread is something that goes with a lot of meals and is also good for making some really great sandwiches. It also brings to mind the classic French restaurant with the soft lighting and violin music playing in the background. Mostly, I have to agree with my wife and say that what I like best about it is the smell of bread baking.

Start out by getting the yeast activated. Dissolve 4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water (about 115 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Accurate temperature is actually important for yeast to work right so take the extra time and use a thermometer to be sure. Let the yeast stand for five minutes or so. It should be bubbling and turning foamy almost. If it’s not, the yeast is dead and you’ll have to start over.

Once the yeast is bubbling, mix in 2 cups of flour and a cup of lukewarm water. Let this sit for a half hour to proof. It will reach a spongy consistency.

Then add a teaspoon of salt, another 4 1/2 cups of flour and another cup of water and knead. Add more flour or water as needed until the dough is soft.

Put a tablespoon of oil into separate bowl and coat the dough with it. Then cover it with a cloth and put it in a warm place for about two hours and let it rise until it’s doubled in size.

Poke the dough with your finger and if the dough does not bounce back then it’s ready for the next step. Punch it down and knead it lightly in the bowl. Cover and let it rise a second time.

Put a couple of brick roof shingles in the oven then heat it to 450 degrees. Shape the dough
into two loaves and let them rise covered with a cloth on a cookie sheet that’s been sprinkled with a liberal layer of cornmeal until they’ve doubled in bulk.

Carefully move the loaves onto the hot roof shingles and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the loaves are deep golden color and sound hollow when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

Technorati Tags: recipe, bread, french+bread, baking, baking+bread

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