Easy Bread of the Gods

Whenever something tastes amazing I have a tendency to call it "___ of the Gods". Little habit. But this bread really is amazing.



First time I've baked bread, so I decided to cheat a little and go the no-yeast route. So I made Irish soda bread. Which is ridiculously easy to make, so quick, and turns out so good! Plus, it'll go perfect with the pasta my sister is making tonight. I will definitely be making this as often as I can.

Irish Soda Bread
adapted from the Big Book of Baking; makes one loaf

vegetable oil, for brushing
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Brush a cookie sheet with oil

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in most of the buttermilk. Mix well, first with a wooden spoon and then with your hands. The dough should be very soft, but not too wet. If necessary, add the remaining buttermilk.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly and briefly. Shape into an 8-inch/20-cm round. Put the loaf onto the prepared cookie sheet and cut a cross in the top with a sharp knife.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly and serve warm.

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt

Finally got to bake something today! It was unbearably hot today, then a massive storm hit us, along with tornado warnings for the city and surrounding area. So what do I do? Bake a Bundt cake of course!



I was planning on making this for a beach picnic my friends and I were supposed to do, but that doesn't seem to be happening. So it was lemon-blueberry Bundt cake or Turkish delights. I'll definitely be making some Turkish delights soon.





I love blueberries, hence the Blueberry Fiend, but they're going out of season soon, so I figured, let's do this! Not to mention my inherited love of lemons, courtesy of my mother and grandmama.



So let's do this!

Lemon-Blueberry Bundt
Adapted from the Kitchen Sink

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
grated zest & juice of one lemon, divided
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) container reduced-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk (I had to substitute plain yogurt)
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional) (I didn't have any, but wish I did)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust it with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, butter, and rind in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (about 4 minutes total). Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, sour cream and buttermilk. Add all but 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture; beat at medium speed just until combined. Toss blueberries in reserved dry ingredients; gently fold into the batter. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional).

Homemade Potato Chips

Tonight, on a lark, my sister and I made some chips from an incredibly simple recipe I found a couple days ago. And they turned out fabulous.

You only need potatoes (however many you want), olive oil, and whatever seasonings you want.

Wash your potatoes and peel them if you like. Slice them up really thin. We used a ruffle slicer on our cheese grater to make them look like Ruffles chips.

Toss them in olive oil and your seasonings. We went with salt and garlic powder and we loved them. You could also try the popcorn seasonings.

Lay the chips out in a single layer on a greased glass dish or plate and microwave for 5-7 minutes (ours just began to brown in spots).

Et voila! Amazing homemade chips! Ridiculously cheap and easy to make :)

First Post + Muffins!

I love baking, but I don't have a lot of time for it, being a high school student and not having control of the kitchen (still my mum's domain). Plus I have no job, so I basically have to beg my mum to buy me baking ingredients. So the likelihood of this blog being updated frequently is slim.

Nonetheless, the Blueberry Fiend is going to document my adventures into the world of baking!

First recipe: muffins! Specifically bran muffins I stumbled across on David Lebovitz's blog.

They're unbelievable! Super moist and barely sweet, with tons of raisins and a hint of orange. My sister and I adored them, and tomorrow I'm heading to my best friends to share the muffin love ♥

Bran Muffins

makes 12 muffins
recipe from David Lebovitz

2 cup (125g) wheat bran
1 cup, plus 1/2 cup (190g total) dark raisins
1 cup, plus 1/2 (370ml total) cup water
1/2 cup (120g) buttermilk or plain low- or non-fat yogurt
a few swipes of fresh orange zest (unsprayed)
1/2 cup (105g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup (65g) flour
1/4 cup (35g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin (with 1/2-cup indentations) with paper liners.

2. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for six to eight minutes, stirring a few times so it cooks evenly. Let cool.

3. While the bran is toasting, heat 1 cup (135g) of the raisins with 1/2 cup (120ml) of the water. Simmer for ten minutes, or until the water is all absorbed. Puree the raisins in a food processor or blender until smooth.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the toasted bran, buttermilk or yogurt, 1 cup (250ml) water, then mix in the raisin puree, orange zest, and brown sugar.

5. Stir in the oil, egg and egg white.

6. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and sift directly into the wet ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined, then mix in the remaining 1/2 cup (55g) raisins.

7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, making sure the batter is mounded slightly in each one. Because muffin tins can very in size, if your tins are larger, make fewer muffins.

8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel set in the center.