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Tag Archives: baked goods

I make! Inside out pumpkin muffins edition

It’s the KAF bakealong #2: Inside out pumpkin muffins. I am posting this very late, considering that I actually made this (twice) in September, when it was announced.

Anyway, I don’t really see why they’re considered inside out. They’re a stuffed muffin, but it’s not like what you would consider the stuffing on the outside and the muffin part is on the inside. I wonder if I’m going to be confused by the naming of every KAF bakealong. Well, two data points isn’t really enough to trend. Guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Anyway, when making the muffins, I subbed out the whole wheat flour for my normal AP flour. I have a new 25lb bag. Yay! Also, I didn’t have any boiled cider so I just used some honey that I’ve been trying to get rid of. I would really like to try the recipe with boiled cider. It sounds like it’d be really good. Finally, I went with the cinnamon, ginger, cloves route. I slightly upped the amount of each of the spices. I like things a bit spicier.

I managed to make 10 whole muffins and 2 half muffins with the amount of batter I had. I had more than enough of the filling and just the right amount of streusel topping. Actually, I might have preferred more of the streusel topping. I only managed 10 muffins because I used very close to 2 tbsp of batter for each well in the beginning. And then I realized that it said a scant 2 tbsp. So, if I did that, I should have had enough batter for 12 whole muffins. I could probably use another tbsp scoop.

It smelled quite good while it was baking. But spicy stuff often does. I feel it could have been more spicy when I tasted it. I’m also uncertain about the cream cheese filling. It’s not bad but I think it might be too dense for my taste. Of course, I’m not a huge fan of filling anyway.

I’m going to try this again with boiled cider. I’ve been looking at the reviews and most of the same that the boiled cider really improves the taste. I’ll just make some boiled cider, I guess. Which I did, and I did end up making the muffins again with boiled cider. I think the muffin part did taste better. I still really like the streusel. I’m still uncertain about that filling. Maybe I’ll just make it as an unfilled muffin from now on.

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I make! Pane bianco

King Arthur Flour (KAF) announced a bakealong recently.  I decided to participate.  I think I might just like xalongs.  I mean, I participated in the paintalong not long ago.

Anyway, KAF’s bakealong is a monthly challenge.  August’s challenge was a pane bianco.  The name of which is kind of confusing to me.  I mean, that’s just “white bread” in Italian.  And yes…it is a white bread.  But it’s stuffed?  I mean, if I saw “white bread” in English, I think of…Wonder Bread or something.  At least, I think of a white, sliced loaf bread.  I definitely don’t think about a stuffed bread.

BUT ANYHOW, it was an interesting recipe to try, it smelled and tasted delicious, and it’s pretty.  That last part isn’t a huge seller.  I mean, I don’t mind eating ugly food if it tastes good.  It’s more of a bonus.

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I made my pane bianco with AP flour.  I think I’m out of bread flour.  Pretty sure.  I didn’t actually check.  But I do have that 25lb bag of AP flour handy.  So that’s what I tend to reach for first.  KAF recommends that you reduce the water to 1/4c if you use AP flour and I followed their recommendation.

I also subbed the instant yeast for active dry, also because I have a jar of that handy.  I generally use a 1:1.8 (active dry:instant) ratio when subbing active dry for instant.  And of course, I highly recommend that you proof your active dry yeast first.  To do that, I made sure that my water and milk were at about 110-115degF before dumping in the yeast.  I generally heat my liquid to the upper range for dry active yeast because I store my active dry yeast either in the fridge or freezer, also I threw in maybe half a teaspoon of sugar to help the yeast along.   All of that tends to lower the temperature of the liquid a bit.

As for the stuffing, I probably ended up doubling the garlic (I really like garlic) and I used a mix of shredded mozz and freshly grated parm along with the sun-dried tomatoes and basil.

I think next time, I might do a mix of tomatoes and choke hearts.  I think that might be really good.  I think I’d also like to try it with bread flour some time as well.  With AP flour, my bread ended up being very light and tender.  It’s good.  But I’d like to see if I get a noticeable texture difference using a flour with higher gluten content.