Pictures!

So I finally got my butt in gear and bought myself one of these fancy USB card readers, so I've gone back and added photos to all the posts I said I'd post pictures for. There are some continuity problems, be warned: I forgot to take pictures of a few of the recipes, and also took a picture and never posted the recipe (oops), so here it is:

Jalapeno-Cheddar Bread

I found this recipe on another blog: http://pinkparsleycatering.blogspot.com. Awesome recipe!!

3 3/4 cups (18 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp honey
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 tsp) instant yeast
2-3 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (the sharper, the better)

1. Adjust one oven rack to the lowest position, and another to the middle position. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. When it is preheated, maintain the tempeature for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.
2. Toss the jalapeno and cheddar with 1 tbsp of flour in a small bowl. *
3. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the cold buttermilk and stir to combine.
4. Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour andthe salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the buttermilk/water mixture, butter, honey, and yeast to a liquid measuring cup. Turn the mixer on low, and add the liquid in a slow stream, increasing the speed of the mixer as you go to medium. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping to scrape the dough from the hook as needed.
5. After about 2-3 minutes add the jalapeno-cheese mixture, and continue to knead about 10 minutes total, adding flour 1 tbsp at a time, as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl.
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth ball, about 15 seconds.
7. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat with the oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place the bowl in the oven until the dough doubles in size, 50-60 minutes.
8. Turn out onto the floured surface and gently press the dough into a rectangle that is 1 inch thick and 9 inches long. With the long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers as you roll to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed.
9. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan, and press it gently to make sure it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20-30 minutes.**
10. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake about 40-50 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
11. Remove the bread from the pan and cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

* As an option, save a handful of this cheese-pepper mixture and coat the loaf at the ** step, before topping with the towel.



This recipe was an experiment as a result of some I-need-a-break-from-data stroll onto my favourite food porn, www.tastespotting.com. I can't eat the whole loaf but like to make it fairly often, so I've brought leftovers to work, to my grandparents' house and home in DR. My family goes BONKERS for this bread and my brother requests it now whenever I'm going to see him.

Speaking of my family, I definitely need to relay how my parents took my "vegetarianism." But for now, catching up with friends at Fanatics, and we'll see if other people eating burgers in my face will make me go crazy or not!