events

Sprouted Wheat Sourdough With Fruits and Nuts

This is how I used my sprouted wheat. The bread is easily adapted to any taste by including your favorite dried fruits and nuts. I chose blueberries, plums, walnuts, and orange zest. Try apricots, raisins, cherries, figs, almonds, pecans, or whatever else strikes you, or omit the fruit altogether for a more savory bread.

Date molasses is available in Middle Eastern grocery markets. If you don’t have it, substitute thawed fruit juice concentrate. Wheat gluten can be found in the baking section of many markets, or ordered online.

This submission for BreadBakingDay #11, bread with sprouts. This one-year anniversary edition is hosted this month by BBD’s founder, Zorra (1x umrühren bitte). I have loved seeing all the breads everyone comes up with each month and I’m sure this month will be no exception!

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Yellow on Yellow: Peach Brioche Tart

peach brioche tart before baking

Last Sunday’s baking was some brioche-crusted peach tarts. Just as the first one was ready to go into the oven, the early morning sun came streaming in through my dining room window.

I thought the streaks of light falling across the yellow fruit on yellow dough evoked the hopeful theme of Click! Yellow for Bri. This month, the photo event hosted by Jugalbandi supports a fundraiser for Brianna Brownlow (Figs With Bri). Please go read about it and donate now if you haven’t already. The tart will be here when you get back.

This is what the baked tart looked like:

peach brioche tart

The tart is very simple in construction: a disc of brioche dough spread with a thin layer of crème fraîche and topped with sliced fresh peaches. This is a great way to eat brioche because, as a crust, a little goes a long way. Although the butter content of the dough is quite high, the tart overall is not what I would call very rich, nor is it terribly sweet.

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Click! Yellow for Bri

Do you know Briana Brownlow of Figs With Bri? I don’t know her well, but I have enjoyed reading her blog over the last few months, and now she needs help. Bri is battling breast cancer. I am pleased to turn over today’s post to a group of Bri’s friendsGarrett (Vanilla Garlic)
Shankari (Stream of Consciousness)
Manisha (Indian Food Rocks)
Bee and Jai (Jugalbandi) who have organized a fundraising event to help meet her medical expenses. Please be as generous as you can in support of Bri and her family.

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri.

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site.

Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account.

This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

L’Opéra

The Daring Bakers Light Opera Cake Company

presents

L’Opéra, A Cake in Five Acts

__________

Composed by Louis Clichy

Original Libretto by Dorie Greenspan, Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty

Libretto Adaptation by Ivonne and Lis

Conducted and Directed by Susan

__________

This evening’s performance is dedicated to cancer survivor and honorary Daring Baker Barbara, creator of LiveSTRONG With A Taste of Yellow, in recognition of her inspiring strength and love of life. The performance is also dedicated to Susan’s dad, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2002, and among whose favorite things were opera and cake.

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Edamame “Hummus” and Soy-Whole Wheat Pitas

Remember when you were twelve and you broke your arm skateboarding? You had a cool cast that everyone signed, and you got to have your mom write out your homework, and within a month you were back out there on the skateboard, good as new. No big deal.

Osteoporosis isn’t like that. It’s a huge deal. It doesn’t take a major trauma to break osteoporotic bones, and fractures related to this devastating disease are a leading cause of hospitalization, disability, and even death. Did you know that an adult over age 50 who fractures a hip has a one in four chance of dying within one year?

While those most likely to suffer the effects of osteoporosis are women over age 50, the time to think about preventing it is now, no matter what your age and gender. Bone mass is largely acquired before the age of 20, but good health habits at any age will help. Don’t smoke. Do regular weight-bearing exercise. Get enough Vitamin D. And three words at the top of the list: Calcium, Calcium, Calcium! Many people just don’t get enough of this critical bone-forming mineral.

In recognition of National Osteoporosis Prevention Month and to promote awareness of the disease, Susan of Food Blogga is hosting Beautiful Bones. The task is to make a dish with one or more calcium-rich ingredients. I chose to give hummus and pita bread, a favorite around here, a calcium boost by making a few adaptations to my everyday recipes.

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Fresh Fruit Danish

fresh fruit danish

Like desserts, pastries are not something I bake often. We eat crusty hearth breads around the clock, including for breakfast. But for some reason, the BreadBakingDay #10 theme of Breakfast Breads, hosted this month by talented baker Melissa (Baking a Sweet Life), put me in mind of Danish pastry. The flakier the better.

I intended to make a traditional laminated dough (many discrete layers of dough and butter). I don’t have a lot of experience with this, and definitely need to practice. Keeping the dough cold so the butter does not melt into it during the rolling and folding process is critical, and it takes the better part of a day because the dough has to be thoroughly re-chilled between roll-and-folds. So I set aside a day to work on this.

As it turned out, the weather on the designated day was uncooperative. A heat wave plus an un-air-conditioned kitchen do not create ideal conditions for laminating dough, and I chickened out wisely decided not to set myself up for failure. However, just as I convinced myself that I didn’t really want Danish after all, I serendipitously tuned in to the latest episode of the wonderful 1990’s series “Baking With Julia” [Child], which my PBS station has been airing lately.

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