Cornmeal scones

These scones are from the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook with some adjustments. I have substituted the some of the unbleached flour for whole wheat flour, and I add more cornmeal. Occasionally I use rice milk in place of cow milk; presumably you could use soy milk in its stead, but I don’t use soy. Why not? I discovered some rather unsavory things about soy when I discovered that my oldest son had an allergy to it—an allergy that rather shaped our lives for a few years. He spent his preschool and first two years of elementary school fighting off respiratory infections and battling asthma. Once I figured out that soy was the main trigger for him, I was able to eliminate it altogether and his health dramatically improved. Since then, I’ve also eliminated it in my own diet, when I began to notice certain effects (do I dare talk about perimenopause in a blog about baking? Yeah….maybe not.) AND I found out how much farmland is devoted to the soy monoculture AND that Monsanto Corp. controls most of the soy production in this country and that it is not produced in a terribly responsible fashion. But, as I say to my students, don’t believe anything I tell you--find out for yourself.

So those scones. Fast, delicious and versatile. The original version is sweet, but not sweet enough, so I have added sugar. I make a savory version in which I eliminate the brown sugar and add about 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (packed) and a teaspoon of dried basil (or herb of your choice).

These make a great breakfast and are good for lunch as well. I do advance planning by measuring and combining the dry ingredients at night and setting up the wet ingredients in the fridge. In the a.m. I turn on the oven, microwave the butter, etc., mix it up and pop it all in the oven. Very little time and effort but a lot to show for it.

Cornmeal scones

Note: for a vegan version of this recipe, simply replace the butter with canola, sunflower or safflower oil; the milk with soy or rice milk. They will be slightly less rich, but still delicious and satisfying.

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup milk or cream

2-3 T brown sugar

1/2 cup cornmeal fine grind

1 T coarse or medium grind cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup currants or raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients EXCEPT the brown sugar. I melt the butter with the milk then add the brown sugar to the liquid and combine thoroughly. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until combined, being careful not to overmix. Fold in any dried fruit at this point.

Press the dough into a circle about 9 inches across directly onto a baking sheet. Cut the circle into eights, slightly separating each wedge. Bake until very lightly browned at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

For the savory version, add the herbs and the grated cheese with the dry ingredients. Proceed with the remainder of the steps.

Eat while still warm. These are best the day they are made.

Gingerbread cookies

This recipe, for soft gingerbread boys and girls, originates from The Betty Crocker Cookbook circa 1958 and they have been a staple for the holidays in my family since I was a baby; I started making them as a pre-teen. They served as place cards for Christmas dinner at my parents' house for a long time. After giving them a base of white buttercream frosting, I would write a name on each in green or red frosting. I still make them for my Aunt Mary and Uncle Hall in California, who spent every Christmas with us when I still lived out there; I put those names on, pack them up in plastic and bubble wrap and off they go. My Aunt and Uncle tell me that they arrive in good shape every year.

I now make them with some whole wheat flour. I used butter or margarine in the past but I've found that expeller-pressed safflower or sunflower oil make a cookie that is even more tender. I do not use margarine any more, nor do I use Crisco at all for food, though it can work as a heavy-duty moisturizer. Any icing you like will work well, but my relatives insist on a buttercream, which is more difficult for intricate decorating, but always tastes delicious. These cookies are wonderful plain as well. The dough can stay in the freezer for up to a week, but no longer.

Gingerbread cookies, aka "Gingies"

1/3 cup shortening/butter/veg oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup molasses

2/3 cup cold water

7 cups flour (I use up to 2 cups whole wheat)

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp each ginger, cinnamon, cloves

1 tsp allspice

Sift all dry ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix brown sugar with oil; add the molasses and stir until completely combined. Pour in water and mix until smooth and combined. Stir in the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly, but don't overwork the dough. Chill dough completely. It can just stay in the bowl if you are planning on using it the same day. This makes quite a few cookies so you might consider freezing half the dough if you aren't going to use it all within a day or two. It is best when the dough is very fresh.

Roll dough out thick (1/2'') on lightly floured surface and cut out shapes. These don't have to be gingerbread men; these work well as large cookies of any shape. Bake far apart on lightly greased baking sheet or parchment. 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until set. Don't let these get overly brown; that means they are over done! Cool completely before icing, but don't let that stop you from trying them while still warm.

Rye Bread and Emily Dickinson

This fall I threw my hat into the ring and entered the baking contest at the Dixie Classic Fair of North Carolina. I entered two categories: "Oatmeal cookies, unfilled" and "Loafbread, Other" an intriguingly vague category. Basically this means anything other than white bread or cornbread, both of which have their own categories (naturally). I made a dark rye, more properly termed a black bread or "Russian" rye.

Participating in this subculture of American culinary competition felt anthropologic. Baffled and amused by the entry process, I covered cardboard with foil for each item, and attached my entry tags (which came in the mail after I signed up online) just so. What is the "right-hand front corner" of a rectangle with no distinguishing features? Why does using plastic wrap result in disqualification? As I carried my entries to the fairgrounds, it was fascinating to see the many women and a few men coming from various parts of this corner of NC bringing in their best baking. I am a lightweight, as it turns out. There were returning bakers, some of whom brought more than a dozen items (and in one case, more than twenty) for competition. I was also interested to see just what the all those items listed on the entry forms actually were. There are fourteen cookie categories alone, including one for "Pecan Fingers"; there are even more cake categories, going to the unneccesarily specific, like "Prune cake, glazed" and "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" and the simply unneccesary "Fried Fruit Pies." Tube cakes are their own category, with thirteen subdivisions, including both sour cream and cream cheese, chocolate "un-iced" (why?) the mysterious "Five-Flavor" and "other". Why so many categories? Maybe it is the "everyone is a winner" philosophy. It didn't all get spread around, though. Seasoned competitors took home multiple prizes, with one homemaker taking home sixteen ribbons!

My cookies did not place, to my disappointment, but the rye bread took third place in its category. A little white ribbon was given to me, along with a check for six dollars from the city of Winston-Salem. Not bragging rights, but no disgrace, either. I'm gearing up for next year, much to the amusement of some of my friends. I must note here that Emily Dickinson was a passionate home baker and that she, too, participated in a baking competition, entering her "Indian and rye" at the Amherst Cattle Show of 1856. Her bread took second place. It is noted that her sister was one of the judges.

For the prize-winning bread (ha) I leaned on, once again, Beth Hensperger's Bread, changing up the recipe only slightly. I have found that it needs some extra moisture in the dry weather of fall and winter, when I typically make this. I also substitute vegetable oil for butter. I have slightly switched the order of operations as well, combining the dry ingredients before the rest, as I prefer to do with most recipes.

This bread makes a fabulous base for sandwiches; I like it with tuna salad, or turkey with mustard. It is exceptional when slathered with cream cheese and consumed with ale and is a provocative base for a berry preserve as well. My husband likes it as a bedtime snack, with butter and a glass of bourbon. You call it.

Black Russian Bread

2T yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups water

1/4 cups molasses (I use a dark or blackstrap molasses)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 ounce dark, unsweetened chocolate (good quality-I like Scharffen Berger, which contains no soy lecithin)

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups medium rye flour

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup bran

2 T caraway seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 T salt

1 T espresso or instant coffee powder

Steps

1. Combine whole wheat, rye and unbleached flour in a large bowl and set aside.

2. Combine yeast and the warm water with a pinch of sugar; stir to dissolve. Let sit until foamy (5-10 mins).

3. Heat 2 cups water with chocolate, molasses, vinegar and oil until chocolate is melted. Set aside.

4. In a very large mixing bowl combine the bran, seeds, coffee powder, and 2 cups of flour mixture. Using a mixer at low speed, add the yeast and chocolate mixtures. Mix until smooth and then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

5. At low speed, continue adding the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough begins to clear the sides of the bowl. It will still be sticky, but take it out and begin kneading in the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface. It will be "springy yet dense" according to Hensperger, though I often knead a bit past this point. Don't worry if you still have some leftover flour; you needn't use every bit. Form into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise until dough has doubled. This will be about 2 hours, maybe a bit less.

6. When dough has doubled, remove from bowl and gently deflate. On a lightly floured surface, divide in half and form into 2 rounds. Place seam side down on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal and caraway seeds. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size and puffy. This will take 40-60 minutes. Preheat the oven while you are waiting. Be sure to catch the dough at its most puffy; wait too long and it will begin to deflate! Slash the top a couple of times with a very sharp knife-an X is nice. This is both decorative and functional-it keeps the dough rising evenly in the oven.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until nicely browned. Cool completely before cutting into the loaves. Share with people you love.

Oatmeal cookies

These are a classic, a perennial favorite. My children have come to expect them on Wednesday afternoons, when I don’t teach and can whip up a batch in just a few minutes. I make them for class parties and picnics. I started this recipe by working from one in the Good Housekeeping Cookbook called"Grandmother's Oatmeal Prune Cookies" and have seriously detoured from there. Not only was I slightly dissatisfied with that version, but I never had prunes on hand (who does?). The resemblance to those is only slight, but I must credit the inital inspiration.

Here’s the recipe as I make it:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (absolutely not quick oats)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt (and a pinch more)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil (preferably canola)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff—no imitations)
1 T molasses
2 T of apple juice or applesauce or prune juice (no sugar added) 1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit

Combine all dry ingredients well in a large bowl. Combine all wet ingredients except juice in a large measuring cup or small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry until thoroughly combined, but don’t overmix. Add apple juice if dough seems too dry. Add optional ½ cup raisins (or other dried fruit) or chocolate chips, folding in gently. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes, or until medium brown. Watch carefully! Let set for a minute or two on the baking sheet before removing to a rack to cool completely—if you can wait that long to eat! Very perfect with a cold glass of milk. Makes about 2 dozen.

These cookies can be made gluten free by replacing the whole wheat flour with rice flour, but the brown sugar must be reduced by about ¼ cup.
Alternatively, you can try oat flour. I make this by grinding up oats in coffee or spice grinder. Increase the flour by about a quarter of a cup---the oats are more delicate than wheat flour, and the dough will be much wetter. You will most likely NOT need to add juice to these. Add the extra oat flour a bit at a time until the dough is manageable. These cookies will spread out quite a bit more, but are delicious.

"The" not "A"

I wanted this blog to be called "The Constant Baker" because I like the way it sounds, and because it recalled one of my favorite novels, John LeCarre's The Constant Gardener. The protagonist gardens through everything, and misses a lot because of it. I can relate to that.
The name is taken, however. "The Constant Baker" is a woman named Connie Martin whose bakery in San Jose, California, bears that name. Her blog looks fantastic, her food looks fantastic and I hate her.
She gift wraps, by the way.



My food will never look that good, but I am not a professional. I am just a constant baker.

Why blog about it? Writing is important to me for many reasons, and essential to my work, as I am a writing teacher. What better to write about than what I do all the time? Often, too, I am asked for, and ask for, recipes quite often. I would like a spot to put these recipes and to have others exchange theirs. I also believe that everyone can bake, and can find joy, or utility in it.
This is also an attempt to find the meaning in the quotidian, the purpose in that which is our everyday. I find it enriching to live in the details, to cultivate mindfulness, even when baking--or especially when baking, since I spend so much time at it.
I had not realized until writing this, that I spent so much time baking. Like a good hausfrau, I’ve been shaping loaves, cutting cookies, frosting cakes. I’ve been kneading, mixing, stirring, and whipping for countless hours. I enjoy it, yes,—most of the time. Most of the time I am listening to NPR, which I believe saved my life when I was home with babies, and contributes to my ongoing sanity. I also find baking productive. My family has to eat, and they eat a lot, and they eat a lot of bread.
I am a constant baker, but an improbable one. I think of myself more as a cook, who also makes cookies and bread and scones a few dozen other things, only because I cannot follow a recipe exactly to save my life. I have to diverge. I am committed to being uncommitted. My fear of commitment notwithstanding, I find myself in mid-life with a husband, children, cats and a mortgage—somewhere I didn’t necessarily aim for. Yet I am happily here and one remnant expression of my long-held distaste of anything that smacks of permanence is a refusal to adhere to a written recipe. Okay, I do follow some bread recipes to the letter (mostly!). I have found out the hard way that you can really blow it when changing up a cake or bread recipe. For the most part, though, I find it impossible to stick to the formula.

So, to begin, a really good recipe for a bread I am getting ready to make right now, bread that I have adapted from the fabulous book, titled, simply Bread by Beth Hensperger. It is a wonderful resource; I have made many, many of the recipes in this book and have never, ever been disappointed. The sunflower oatmeal bread makes three medium-sized, extremely satisfying loaves, best toasted with honey or jam, or good for a peanut butter sandwich.
I am giving options for a dairy-free version of this loaf, but I will admit it is not quite as rich as the original version. I have also slightly switched the order of operations to reflect my own process. The first time or two you make it, it seems complicated, but thereafter it is a snap, and you have bread for days. I typically give a loaf to a friend if we aren't going to eat it all, since this makes a lot and is best within 3 days of baking.

Sunflower Oatmeal Bread
baking time: 40 mins
total time: approx 3 1/2 hours
active time: approx 25 mins


1 T yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk--(I use rice milk for a dairy-free version. Soy milk or almond milk will work as well.)
1/4 cup honey
2 T molasses
2 T butter (for a dairy-free version, substitute 2 T of vegetable oil)
1 cup whole wheat
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 T salt
1 egg, beaten
4-5 cups unbleached flour

1. Combine ww flour, oats, seeds, and salt in a very large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir to combine and dissolve dry ingredients. Let stand until foamy (5-10mins)
3. Combine the buttermilk, honey, molasses and butter (melted) in a small bowl.
4. Add both bowls of wet ingredients, plus egg to the large bowl (#1) and whisk until smooth. Start to add the unbleached flour about 1/2 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until a soft, proper dough forms.
5. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it until springy and smooth. This takes 5-8 minutes. Place it in a greased bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap or a lightly moistened towel. Set in a warm place to rise for about 1-2 hours.
6. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and deflate gently. Cut into three equal part and place on parchment or baking peel, sprinkled with oats or a little ww flour, to rise again for 20-40 minutes. Catch it when it has almost doubled in size and place in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes. It will be nice and brown. Cool on a rack before slicing open.