Weekend Baking

I love to get in the kitchen on the weekend and play around. This weekend, I did some things I'd been wanting to try for a while.

I started on Friday night with homemade pizza. Didn't really break any new ground here. Pizza is pretty much a staple on Friday nights these days. Both Ben and Daniel had the same second grade teacher - Mr. J - who prior to becoming a great teacher, worked for General Mills as a miller. As such, he learned a whole lot about baking and flour and gluten and...you get the idea. During both years the boys were in his class, we got to go to special baking classes he hosted for school families. We learned how to make bread, yeast rolls, and of course, pizza. I have to say, it's better than any pizza you get at restaurants, and a whole lot better for you. The crust uses wheat flour, you make your own sauce, and you use as much or as little cheese as you want. It doesn't look like all that in the picture, but trust me, it is tast-ee.

This morning, I did an experiment with one of my favorite Barefoot Contessa recipes: Banana Crunch Muffins. I've been reading a lot about King Arthur Flour's white whole wheat flour, which is touted as having the same effect on baked goods as plain all purpose flour, but with much more nutritional value. I've used it quite a bit in recipes that call for it, but had never taken the plunge and subbed it in a recipe that called for good ole white flour. I have to say, I couldn't tell the difference. These muffins are full of banana chunks, walnuts, and granola, and now they're full of fiber and other good stuff as well. Breakfast just got better at our house!

Finally, I tried a recipe this afternoon that I found in Cooking Light Magazine: Cardamom-Lime Sweet Rolls. I had never had cardamom, but the idea of lime in a sweet roll intrigued me. Sad to say, I think I killed the yeast (they didn't rise at all) but they did taste pretty good. I'll definitely try again and be more careful with the yeast. I used the white whole wheat flour again (I figured if I'd never had them before, how would I know the difference?)