emilyaziegler's blog

The original blog post can be found on my website: http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1765625-homemade-wheat-thins

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Homemade Wheat Thins
Yummm. My family is a Wheat Thin lovin' family. Let me tell you. There was always a box of these crackers in the house growing up. This past weekend, after perusing my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, I decided to make my own! It was a hit!!!! I was so surprised how much they actually tasted like the real thing! Let me tell you, King Arthur Flour's recipe NAILS it!!! I suggest you quadruple, fadruple, or mandruple (hmm.. I may have made up those last two words...) this recipe because these crackers go FAST!!

Homemade Wheat Thins
Courtesy: King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

YIELD: About 13 dozen crackers
BAKING TEMPERATURE: 400 degrees F
BAKING TIME: 5 to 7 minutes

*1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
*1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon paprika
*4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter
*1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
*1/4 teaspoon vanilla
*Additional salt for topping (optional)

1. TO MAKE THE DOUGH: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it in thoroughly, using your fingers, a pastry blender, a mixer or a food processor. Combine the water and vanilla, and add to the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
3. TO ROLL AND CUT THE DOUGH: Divide the dough into 4 pieces; keep the other pieces covered while you work with one at a time. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin and roll the piece of dough into a large rectangle, which should be at least 12 inches square when trimmed. Keep your pin and the surface of your dough evenly floured. Flip the dough frequently to keep it from sticking, but too much flour will make it difficult to roll. Keep rolling until the dough is as thin as you can get it without tearing, at least 1/16 inch thick. Trim the dough to even the edges and use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the piece into squares approximately 1 1/2 inches wide.
4. Transfer the squares to a prepared baking sheet; you can crowd them together, as they don't expand while baking. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Save the scraps under plastic wrap and reroll them all at once just one time.
5. TO BAKE THE CRACKERS: Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, 5 to 7 minutes. If some of the thinner crackers brown too quickly, remove them and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. These crackers bake quickly, so watch them closely - even 30 seconds can turn them from golden brown to toast! Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a plate; they cool quickly. These crackers will stay crisp for several days, but are best stored in airtight containers.

These are truly delicious. I think the Husband-Elect very much enjoyed eating them, check out that smile!:o)

NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING (20 CRACKERS, 29G): l8g whole grains, 101 cal, 5g fat, 2g protein, 11g complex carbohydrates, 2g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 13mg cholesterol, 108mg sodium, 64mg potassium, 48RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 7mg calcium, 53mg phosphorus.

Original blog post can be found on my website:
http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1788878-homemade-whole-wheat-pasta

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

On the train ride after work, I decided I really wanted to take a stab at making homemade pasta. I have seen plenty of videos on how to make your own pasta by way of hand or pasta maker. Unfortunately, I don't have a pasta maker, so I decided to brave it, making it by hand. Don't be terribly discouraged, but it takes a long time to do it by hand. I do believe I named all of my unborn children during the process of rolling out the dough and slicing it down to the size of a linguine. I may now, this weekend, go out and purchase a pasta maker, to cut the time in half!

The pasta tasted delicious, although it was not too pretty (it's a mix between pasta and funnel cake, if you ask me!!). It was good, nevertheless. I decided to make a healthier form of a white sauce to go with the pasta. I have given up cheese (I know, I know, it breaks my heart, too) in preparation for the wedding in 100 days (ummm.. yeah, I said it, 100 days... it's FLYING BY). I am very happy to say that even though I didn't put any cheese into the white sauce, it is still delicious and fools you into thinking there is cheese!

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 eggs, beaten
1 TBS salt
2 TBS water

1. Combine the two flours into a medium sized bowl, along with the salt. "Burrow" a little whole in the middle of the flour so that the bottom of the bowl can be seen, and pour in the egg mixture.

2. Stir in the middle, slowly making your way to the unmixed flour, using a fork. Take your time, this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. Stir the flour in very slowly so that it becomes quite uniform. This may take quite some time.

2. After the flour and egg mixture is mixed and the dough is formed, knead the dough many times, incorporating any left over flour. I kneaded the dough for a little less than 3 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough using a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is 1/8 of an inch. You may have to flip the dough, and re-flour your surface and rolling pin occasionally. Once it is the desired size, roll the dough around the rolling pin and remove it from the rolling pin onto a cutting board (folded like a business letter).

(If you have a pasta machine, which I really, really, really wish I had, then now is the time to do your thang and skip to the sauce- you lucky bum, if you don't it's okay, follow my directions below).

4. Using a knife (I actually found a pizza cutter much easier to use) slice the dough very thinly. Picture the width of your favorite linguine, that should give you an idea of the size to cut. After the dough is cut, allow it to dry (approximately 3 hours).

You can either store it to cook later, or cook immediately. (As it is fresh pasta, it will take less time than store bought pasta to cook).

5. If you're cooking it right away, boil some water with a bit of olive oil. Throw in your newly made pasta, and cook to your liking! Drain and put some of the yummy sauce that is below!

Emily's I Wish I Could Eat Cheese White Sauce
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 cups skim milk
1 TBS fat free sour cream
1/2 cup onions, sauteed
1/2 cup tomatoes, sauteed with the onions
2 TBS minced garlic
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and salt. Then add your milk and sour cream (sour cream helps to thicken it up a bit, without using heavy whipping cream). Allow the sauce to bubble and thicken. Add the onions, tomatoes, and garlic. Allow it to cook for a few more minutes to combine flavors. Serve over the pasta!

Bon appétit !! Oh darn my French degree, I mean Buon Appetito! ....or, while we're at it, for my Polish heritage, Smacznego! :o)

The original post can be found on my blog: http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1765649-homemade-baguettes-and-rolls-

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Homemade Baguettes and Rolls!!!
This was my first attempt at making homemade bread and I was absolutely TICKLED with the results. This dough was so easy to manipulate and tasted so good after it was finished baking. I recommend this to anyone and everyone. It is so simple. I know that working with yeast can be intimidating, but I promise you it's not. I am a complete novice in this realm of baking. Trust me. Use the boule dough recipe I have recently posted to make baguettes, rolls, or any shaped bread your heart desires! I promise you will not be disappointed. I couldn't keep enough of this bread on the table. It was eaten up so quickly! It remains soft for quite some time, unlike what is purchased in a store. DO IT. DO IT NOW. MAKE THIS BREAD. :o)

Homemade Baguettes
Courtesy: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

1. Use a grapefruit sized amount of Boule Dough.

2. Here are the instructions, verbatim, from the cookbook: "The gluten cloak: don't knead, just "cloak" and shape a loaf in 30 to 60 seconds. First, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal (or whatever your recipe calls for) to prevent your loaf from sticking to it when you slide it into the oven. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour.

3. "Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough, using a serrated knife. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands.

4. "Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off; it's not intended to be incorporated into the dough. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out and adhere during resting and baking. The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 to 60 seconds."

[SIDENOTE: Okay, so I didn't have a pizza peel (it is on my list of things to get by the time I'm married), but you can make it work- either transfer the dough VERY CAREFULLY onto your baking stone by hand or slide it on by using a cornmeal covered cookie sheet.]

5. Work the dough so that it is cylinder shaped, approximately two inches in diameter. Make sure your work space is well floured. Once the dough is the correct shape and size, allow it to sit for 25 minutes. At this time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

6. Place a baking stone and empty broiler tray into the oven AS IT IS PREHEATING. Put the baking stone in the middle of the oven, and place the broiler pan below it, on another rack.

7. Once the dough is finished 'sitting,' use a pastry brush and brush water onto the top of it, so that you can cut diagonal slits on the top of the dough using a serrated knife (I found this a touch difficult to do, but try your best).

8. Once the oven is ready to go, CAREFULLY put the dough onto the baking stone. Right after you put the dough onto the baking stone, put a cup of warm water into the broiler tray so that it steams. Quickly shut the door so that the steam stays inside of the oven.

9. Bake the bread for 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown and firm to the touch. Once it is finished baking, place it on a rack to cool. Once it is cool, it is ready to slice and enjoy!

Homemade Rolls!
Also courtesy: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

The next day, I had enough dough left over to make individual rolls for lunch! There are minor differences to the recipe above.

The dough only needs to be shaped in a ball. It must sit on a cornmealed surface again (either a pizza peel or cookie sheet) for 30 minutes. Place whole wheat flour on top of the dough as it sits. Use the serrated knife again to make the slits (the difference with the baguettes in this section of the recipe is that traditional baguettes do not have flour on top of the bread, so water is used instead). Preheat the oven to 450 degrees again with the baking stone and broiler tray in the same places as noted for the baguette recipe above. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Enjoy!! It is truly delicious!!!!