Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins

1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c plus 5 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
2 eggs
1/2 c canola oil or vegetable oil
1 tsp grated orange zest (I substituted 1 tsp orange juice concentrate)
1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed, fresh would work just as well


1. Heat oven to 375. Coat a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large bowl, whisk flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center. **I added 1 tablespoon of milled flax seed to this mixture**

3. In small bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, oil and orange zest (or orange juice concentrate). Pour milk mixture into well in flour mixture, then stir just until combined. Fold in strawberries along with the juice that the strawberries are swimming in from being frozen.

4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, 1/3 cup batter in each cup. Each muffin cup should be about 3/4 full. Fill the two empty muffin cups with water, so muffins bake evenly.

5. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/2 tsp sugar. Bake muffins at 375 for 23-25 minutes, until crowned and lightly brown. Remover from pan and cool on wire rack or plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blissful Blueberry Scones

Blueberry Scones: recipe from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 handful of wheatgerm, whole wheat flour, or cornmeal (optional)*
2 very heaped tablespoons baking powder
2 heaped tablespoons of superfine sugar
1 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 1 lemon or 1 orange
scant 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
2 handfuls blueberries**
2 eggs
about 1 1/4 cups whole, semi-skimmed, or soy milk
1 tablespoon demerara (light brown) sugar
cream fraiche, to serve

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a baking tray with butter.

Sift the all-purpose flour into a bowl and add the wheatgerm or whole wheat flour or cornmeal, if using. Mix in the baking powder, superfine sugar and salt, then add the butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Mix in the lemon or orange zest. Add the blueberries and mix well.

Beat one of the eggs in a measuring cup, then add enough milk to reach the 1 1/4 cup level.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid, and use a fork to work in the dry ingredients. Finish by hand but without overworking the mixture- just lightly bring everything together to form a softish but firm dough If it is too dry add a little more milk, and if it's too sticky add some more flour. It must not be sticky at all.

On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough into a solid shape about 1 1/4 inches thick. Using a 2-inch cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the greased baking tray so that they almost touch. Beat the remaining egg and use to glaze the tops of the scones.

Sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.

The scones will stick together, so take them gently apart when they have cooled a little.

*I used a handful of whole wheat flour.
**I used a handful of blueberries and a handful of raspberries

I also will bake them on a larger baking stone next time and space them out more.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

This is our favorite pancake recipe.

3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c all-pourpose flour
1/2 c nonfat dry milk
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt

1 egg
3tbsp oil (canola or vegetable)*
1 1/4 c water (add more water if you want thinner cakes)

Mix dry ingredients. Add egg, oil, and water. Mix well. Batter will be a little lumpy.

Place 1/2 c of batter per pancake on griddle on med to med-hi heat. Flip pancake when bubbles begin to form and start to deflate. This is the key to a perfect pancake.

This recipe makes about 6 large pancakes, depending on how much water you add to the batter.

* I sub 3 tbsp of Milled Flax seed for 1 tbsp of oil

These pancakes are very filling and absolutely delicious. This batter works well for waffles too.

That's Amore!

We have perfected many a pizza recipe in our house, but the dough is another story. This is a new pizza dough recipe. I would like to try modifying it with whole wheat flour, rosemary, and flax seed. Stay tuned for the trials...

3 c unbleached flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c warm water
2 Tbsp canola oil or olive oil

1. Mix 1 1/4 cups flour with yeast and salt. Add warm water and oil. Beat with a whisk or a fork for 3 minutes. (After you are done beating switch to a large spoon, I used a wooden one) Stir in another 1 1/4 cups flour, or enough so the mixture will hold together. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead in 1/4-1/2 c more flour- stop once it's lump-free. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a circle. I just used the same area I previously kneaded the dough on. I used my hands to spread out the dough into a large circle. I attempted to throw it in the air, this was extremely unsuccessful, but very entertaining for my boyfriend to watch. I own a 15" diameter pizza stone. If you don't have one, just use a regular pizza pan and grease it first. You might want to make 2 pizzas if you have a small pizza pan, or freeze half the dough for another time. This dough bakes up nicely and expands quite a bit in the oven. Build up the edges slightly and poke all over with a fork.

3. Bake about 8-10 minutes, then spread sauce and add toppings and bake for another 8-10 minutes or so. For toppings we used chopped fresh garlic, onion, green pepper, red pepper, freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mozzarella, and romano cheese.


This dough is thick, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.

This is another pizza dough recipe we have used many times. It is completely different than the one listed above.

WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST

2 c whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1 c warm water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1tsp honey
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix yeast, flour, salt, rosemary, basil, and garlic powder. Add water, oil, and honey; mix well. Cover and place in a warm spot for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 425. Punch dough down and roll into a circle with floured hands or floured rolling pin, place on greased pizza pan. For thin crust use 14" pan, for thick crust use a 10" pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove and add sauce and toppings, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted to your satisfaction.