Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys

Yes… I have a couple more strawberry recipes to share. This is what happens when your family picks over 12 pounds of fresh berries! 😉

Every year, I make strawberry-vanilla bean jam, strawberry shortcake cookies, fresh strawberry gelato, and pancakes with strawberries (both sourdough & simple but perfect)- at the very least. After adding a new strawberry cocktail and spoon cake to the list this year, we still had plenty of berries to enjoy.

This recipe was adapted from Gourmet, via Smitten Kitchen.com. I doubled the recipe to make 12 desserts, used lemon juice instead of zest, and used potato bread instead of white sandwich bread. I measured the berries prior to slicing them.

I loved the combination of browned butter with berries in these simple tarts. We ate them with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. They would also be wonderful served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Yield: 6 muffin-sized desserts

• 3/4 stick salted or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 6 slices potato sandwich bread or white sandwich bread, crusts removed
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest, finely grated OR 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp coarse salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1/2 cup panko
• 2 (generous) cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
• vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, preferably on convection, with rack in middle.
2. Make the Brown Butter: In a small pot, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium-low. The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is less than a minute. Remove from heat.
3. Lightly butter muffin cups with some of brown butter, then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
4. Roll bread slices with a rolling pin to flatten.
5. Brush both sides with additional brown butter, then gently fit into muffin cups.
6. Stir together brown sugar, zest or juice, salt, and panko.
7. Add strawberries to the sugar mixture and toss to coat.
8. Stir in remaining brown butter.
9. Heap strawberry mixture into the prepared bread cups, pressing gently.
10. Cover pan with foil, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake 15 minutes.
11. Uncover and bake until strawberries are very tender, about 10 to 15 minutes more. (I baked mine for 12 minutes more.)
12. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

White Sandwich Bread

After all of the heavy eating during the holidays, I was craving a light soup and salad dinner. My daughter is always asking for Tomato Soup, so I made this bread to serve with it so that it would be a substantial enough meal for my husband. It was a bribe of sorts, as I usually do not support the consumption of white bread. 😉

This wonderful bread recipe was adapted from a favorite book, Kathleen’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, and Breads by Kathleen King. I halved the recipe and adapted the recipe to use a bread machine. My family loved it!

Yield: one standard loaf

• 2 1/2 T warm water
• 1 cup warm milk (I used 1 percent)
• 1 1/2 T unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 T granulated sugar
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 2 1/2 tsp bread machine (dry) yeast

1. Combine warm water, warm milk, and butter in the bread machine loaf pan.
2. Place flour over the top, using a knife to spread it evenly into the corners of the pan.
3. Sprinkle the sugar and salt over the top of the flour.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the yeast.
5. Set the bread machine to 1 1/2 pound standard loaf and start.

One Year Ago:

• Oat Bran Bread

Two Years Ago:

• Whole Wheat & Oat Zucchini Bread
• Skinny Whole Wheat Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Bread
• Skinny Whole Wheat Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Three Years Ago:

• 100% Whole Wheat Banana Bread Muffins

Four Years Ago:

• Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Oatmeal Bread

I had a few friends over for lunch the other day. Fun! One of them had just met with a nutritionist and was on a menu plan that didn’t include bread or fruit- or any sugar, actually. I thought… I need to do that. But then, my husband suggested that I bake a loaf of bread. 🙂

My friend had to eat a deconstructed sandwich- and even had to remove the tomato! As I’m sure her suffering will be completely worth it, I might reconsider a dietary change when this delicious loaf is gone! 😉

This recipe was adapted from The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. I modified the recipe to incorporate bread flour and bake in a bread machine. It was very soft and moist. Amazing sandwich bread.

Yield: One loaf

For the Oat Mixture:

• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup rolled or steel-cut oats
• 4 T  plus 1/2 tsp honey
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 1/2 T coarse salt

For the Dough:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 cups bread or all-purpose flour
• 1/2 T bread machine yeast

1. In the bread machine loaf pan: Combine the boiling water, oats, honey, butter, and salt. Let cool slightly.
2. Add the warm water.
3. Add the flours; spread into the corners of the pan to create a level surface.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour; place the yeast in the well.
5. Set the bread machine to Basic 1 1/2 pound loaf, medium crust color. Wait & Enjoy!

One Year Ago:

• Peach-Pie Crumble Bars

Two Years Ago:

• Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
• Biscoff Blondies

Three Years Ago:

• White Peach-Vanilla Bean Jam with Cinnamon
• Oat Bran Blackberry Muffins

If you like this you may also like:

• Oatmeal Toasting & Sandwich Bread

Pullman Loaf

I am obsessed with my Pullman loaf pan- I just love the shape and the resulting presentation. 🙂 I have been using it for quick breads and had yet to use it with the lid. With the lid in place, the resulting bread has an almost square shape. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and, of course, pretty! This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook; I adapted the cooking times for a convection oven. We ate it with Greek Red Lentil Soup but had plenty of leftovers for sandwiches.

I’m bringing this beauty to share at Angie’s Fiesta Friday #58 over at the Novice Gardener- Enjoy!

Yield: One 12 or 13-inch loaf (depending on pan size)

• 1 1/2 pounds bread flour, plus more for dusting (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 3 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/2 T coarse salt
• 1 1/2 T granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk
• 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
• vegetable oil or cooking spray for the bowl and pan

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, dry milk, and butter.
2. Add the warm water, and beat on low-speed until the dough is smooth, elastic, and uniform in color, about 5 minutes.
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and finish kneading it by hand, about 5 times, making sure that all ingredients are fully incorporated and the dough forms a smooth ball.
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (I used a proofing drawer.)
5. Punch down the dough. Pull the sides into the center. Invert the dough in the bowl, so that it rests smooth side up. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (proofing drawer) until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
6. Generously brush a 12 or 13-inch Pullman loaf pan with vegetable oil or spray with cooking spray, making sure to undercoat the underside of the lid, as well as the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.
7. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or press out the dough into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle, with the long side facing you. Starting at the top, roll the dough toward you, gently pressing as you go to form a tight log. Pat the ends to make even. Gently roll the log back and forth to seal the final seam.
8. Place the loaf, seam side down, in the prepared pan, and slide the lid three-quarters of the way closed. Let rise in a warm place (proofing drawer) until the dough is almost touching the lid, 45 to 60 minutes. (I let mine rise a little bit too long because the dough rose to touch the lid…)
9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees (convection).
10. Close the lid completely and bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the loaf is light golden brown (open the lid to check), about 30 minutes (on convection) to 45 minutes in a standard oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, re-close the lid, and continue baking another 25 to 30 minutes.
11. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. (The bread should have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom. If not, continue baking, covered, checking at 5-minute intervals, until the crust is deep golden brown.)
12. Remove bread from pan, and let cool completely before slicing. The bread can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 4 days.

One Year Ago:

• Bread Machine Brioche
• Tate’s Banana Flaxseed Muffins

Two Years Ago:

• Classic Sandwich Bread
• White House Honey-Oat Muffins