Mini Loaf Pans

What makes me happy? Something that puts a smile on my face even though it's not smooth-sailing all the time? Baking. Teaching. Small scale gardening.

Atm. 5pm. Waiting for my mini-loaves to cool.
My new mini-loaf pan arrived today! Four of them and it fits well in the oven. I had a basic bread proofed and ready by the time pans got here.

The first kind of bread I proofed was 3 C of AP flour. I halved it, then divided the second one into two to check how much it will rise. I ended up freezing up 1/4 of the whole thing. Why? Because I also decided to try out the a banana bread loaf. The 3 C filled the two mini pans. It was just perfect after its final rise during baking.

Only two made it in the oven. One of the smaller ones went in the freezer. 

The yeast bread, on the other hand, also filled the pan pretty well. So basically, 1.3 C is enough to fill the pan. It crusted well. I had to stop myself from cracking it open while cooling because I was afraid inside will still need the extra heat to finish.

After dinner, I decided to make another batch which I can bake tomorrow or the next day. I decided to double the recipe ending up with 6 C, 2 C ground oats and 4 C AP. It wasn't that easy mixing and kneading it.

I'll let it rise overnight and see how much it would have risen by tomorrow since I also changed the margarine into canola oil and did not double the 3 t of yeast. A lil bit too much in the substitution but we'll see. It's time to sleep and wait for the result.

(Note that they have almost the same baking time and temperature so I had no problem baking them together.)

Here is the original recipe from instructables.
10 mins rise, 350 degrees F for 30 mins

For the Banana Bread (from the freshloaf.com)
Makes 1 full-sized loaf or 2 small loaves
Preheated oven to 350 F or 180 C.

I mashed the bananas inside a ziploc bag. 

Bowl 1: 

2 or 3 very ripe bananas (roughly 1 C mashed bananas in a ziploc bag)

1/2 stick (4-5 tablespoons) butter, softened

2 eggs
2/3 C sugar (this was too sweet so I reduced to 1/2 C on my next try)

Bowl 2:
1 1/3 C all-purpose unbleached flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t cinnamon (optional)

1. Prep the 2 Bowls.
2. Mix Bowl 1 into Bowl 2. Optional to add: chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cherries or apricots, or chocolate chips. A handful (about a half a cup) is about right.
3. Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Small loaves: 30 minutes, a normal-sized loaf: 50 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven. This bread is great warm, but it is excellent cold too.  
5. After they have cooled for 5 or 10 minutes the loaves can be removed from the pan to cool. Once they are cool they can be individually wrapped and frozen.

Left one was 1/4 of the dough, which I added some cinnamon.
Right one is 1/2 of the dough, almost plain. 

A decent loaf at last! After 14K worth of 2 sets of mini-loaf pans, hours of proofing and mixing, I have finally tasted a decent loaf of bread I had made myself. 

The plain bread turned out okay, but the banana bread was a bit too sweet for our taste. I'll have to decrease the sugar content from 3/4 C to 1/2 next time since the banana, specially over ripe ones, can be sweet enough. I decided to freeze the other banana loaf to be used on the following weekday when I'm a bit too busy to do some real baking.  

***Currently watching "the Healer."
1 AM.

Oh Granola!

This I'd say would be my first original recipe. Well, somebody did give me an idea that someone else has tried before. But as for the exact recipe that I have in mind, I didn't find one online so far. As far as I know, as long as they will manage to stick together, I can add any nut or fruit or grain that I like.

Since I almost always have some oats, sesame seeds and raisins at home, I only have to add a few more things to actually start it. Got myself a pack of pinipig from the grocery and I also got a chance to buy a gin bottle of honey a few days ago (a bit cheaper this time). Husband was complaining that we hardly use honey so why bother to buy again. Hmmph! I finally got something to show him what the honey is for.

Here's what I managed to put in my first No-bake *Gran.

1 C rolled oats
1/2 C sesame seeds
1/2 C pinipig
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C sugar (I used muscovado since it was available at the moment)
1/2 C honey
a pinch of salt (just thought it might be good ^.^)

1. Toast the oats, sesame seeds, and pinipig separately. Different sizes will need different duration to toast.
2. In a saucepan,heat up the sugar and honey together under medium fire.
3. Add the raisins, then the rolled oats,sesame seeds and pinipig.
4. Mix thoroughly under low fire until almost sticky consistency.
5. Transfer to a baking dish or whatever flat container lined with waxed paper to shape.
6. Cool it until it's enough to be put in the freezer to chill for an hour or two.

It might be good to keep it in the fridge but mine was almost gone even before it chilled perfectly.

Additional Info

What's the difference between granola and muesli? Granola is usually coated with honey or another sweetener, and baked to create a crunchy cereal. Muesli is less sweet, and soaked to create a chewier cereal. - www.canadianliving.com

Granola and Muesli compared side by side here.

Basic Mix and Drop Muffin

Mix and Drop Muffin
(Prep time: at least 30 mins., baking time: 180 C, 15-20 mins.)

I'm not an expert but this made me confident enough to put it here. I've tried a couple of muffins before which turned out inconsistently good. Meaning, sometimes great, sometimes just barely "eatable." This one, has a bit more good "turn out" than the others. Doesn't use a lot of egg, not very sweet, no kneading, friendly for a newbie like me. It's pretty versatile, you can add a lot of different stuff depending on your mood or what the pantry has to offer. Got the recipe from a book in the library.

You will need:

1 package of yeast, active or dry yeast (about 2 1/4 t)
1 C warm water (lukewarm for compressed yeast)
4 T (1/4 C) sugar
1 t salt
1 egg, beaten
3 C regular all-purpose flour
4 T (1/4 C) salad oil

Make the mix.

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water, then add sugar, salt, and egg. Mix.
2. Set aside while sifting the flour.
3. Gradually add the flour and oil to the yeast mixture; beat until very smooth.
4. Set the dough to rise in a warm place, doubling in bulk, for about 30 minutes. (DO NOT OVERRISE)
5. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
6. At this part, you can opt to mix in any flavor that you want. Choose any from the list below.

The ratio would be 1/4 part of the dough to any of these.
(You can actually have 4 different kinds in one baking. I usually use choco and cinnamon as they are in my cupboard most of the time.)

1 T cocoa powder + 1 T sugar
2 t cinnamon
Nutella & Chocolate Chips

1/4 C shredded Cheddar cheese
4 T finely chopped nuts
4 T chopped raisins
1/4 C drained crushed pineapple

After mixing in the flavor, drop it using a spoon in a greased muffin pan. If generously heaped on each cup, you'd probably have at least a dozen 2-in.-thick muffins.

Good for breakfast with some coffee or a cocoa drink.