Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

It seems whenever we decide to maker burgers, I forget to get hamburger buns when at the grocery store. Then burger night comes around and we are deciding between using regular bread slices or a naked burger, until now. 

A few months ago, I made a hamburger bun recipe from Heavenly Homemakers. They turned out okay, I was still learning how to make different bread recipes. I hadn't quite figured out how the dough should feel, how to roll it out, etc.. I decided to try these again since I had more practice making bread. 

I started by preparing the yeast the way I normally do for all the other bread recipes I make, then went upstairs to put my little guy down for a nap. When I pulled up the recipe on my computer realized I had already started the yeast and was not following the directions. Instead of starting over I just used the other recipe as a guide. I used less flour, less water, reduced the amount of salt, and added wheat gluten. These hamburger buns were light and fluffy, not what you usually find using whole wheat.  

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

1 1/4 cups Warm Water, divided
1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp Olive Oil, divided
2 Tbs Honey, divided
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbs Vital Wheat Gluten
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Milk
2 Tbs Butter
All-purpose flour, for your surface.

• In a small bowl mix one cup of warm water with one teaspoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of honey. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.
• Put the flour, vital wheat gluten, and salt into the bread maker and set aside.
• In a small saucepan warm the milk and the butter, until the butter is melted, make sure the temperature does not exceed 120 degrees.
• Turn on the bread mixer, on dough setting, prior to pouring in the liquids. First pour in the milk mixture, next the remaining tablespoon of honey, followed by the yeast mixture.
• Mix dough for a bit, if it is too dry add in the remaining 1/4 cup of water or more depending on how dry the dough is. You don't want it to be too sticky either so add a little water at a time. 
• After mixing dough in the bread mixer for about 5 minutes, remove and knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes, until dough is no longer sticky. Add extra flour if needed.
• Put the remaining tsp of olive oil in a large bowl, roll dough around in the bowl until the whole thing is covered in the oil. 
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size. 
• Punch down the dough until all the air bubbles are gone. Roll out on a floured surface to approx 1/2 in thick. Use a glass or cup or a small bowl to cut out the circles. Just make sure it is between 3-4 inches, depending on how big you want the hamburger buns. Knead and repeat until all the dough is gone
• Place the circles on a baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Loosely cover with the plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350. 
• Uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes. They should feel a bit soft on the sides and not too brown on the bottom. 
• Let them sit on the baking sheet until cool. Cut open and serve with the burger and dressings of your choice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Storing the Hamburger Buns: These will keep for a few days in a storage container or plastic bag at room temperature. You can freeze up to a month. Cut the buns in half prior to freezing so they are easier to serve when you remove them from the freezer. We just take them out and put them in the toaster on defrost and voila.

Memorial Day weekend always reminds me of grilling out. These Hamburger Buns are the perfect compliment to any type of burger you are serving.

Flourless Decadent Chocolate Cake

I seem to have hit a patch of writers block.  I have been working on a banana bread muffin recipe for more than two weeks and can't seem to get it finished. It's too bad because it is a delicious recipe. So I have decided to move on, and go back to it and hopefully the right words will come to me so I can share it with you.

I am always looking for new recipe ideas. Pinterest always seems to have a great collection of fun dishes to try. I came across a recipe for a flourless cake that used black beans. I slightly modified this recipe from Feast on Cheap. This is a great way to sneak healthy ingredients into dessert.

This cake was beyond decadent. I felt that I was enjoying dessert at a fancy restaurant, the type of dessert that I will splurge and pay $6-$8 for on a special occasion. This tastes like a combination between a chocolate souffle and a molten cake. This dessert was my Mother's Day present to myself and it didn't disappoint. That is actually only half true, my husband was disappointed because I ate almost the whole thing.

Flourless Decadent Chocolate Cake

6oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
15 oz can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Unsweetened Peanut Butter
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt

• Preheat oven to 350 and place rack in center of oven. Prepare a loaf pan by buttering it and then coating with a mixture of flour and cocoa, tap out all the excess. 
• In a double boiler (I heat 1 1/2 inches of water in a large pan almost to a simmer and then place a heat proof metal bowl in the water and place the chocolate chips in the bowl) melt the chocolate. You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl check at 20 sec intervals until completely melted. Set aside.
•  In a food processor mix the beans, eggs and peanut butter until smooth and well combined.
• Next add in the vanilla, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse a few times until combined.
• Add the chocolate into the batter mixture, blend until well combined. 
• Pour into prepared pan. 
• Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert on serving tray.
• Serve dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with chocolate syrup, or dolloped with whipped cream. Or all of the above. You can also serve with a heap of berries, they pair really nicely with this decadent cake. 

Here are a couple of observations I had while making this dessert. I was surprised how thin cake batter looked when I poured it in the pan, it rises a bit and actually makes the perfect amount. When it is baking it puffs up a bit and cracks, but when it cools it shrinks back down flat and the cracks disappear. This cake is really inexpensive to make but feels like you are enjoying an extravagant treat.

Any suggestions on how to break through a writers block? Since this is still new to me, I am looking how to work through it and not get frustrated. 

Broccoli and Corn Calzones

Pizza is one of my go to recipes. If I am not in the mood to put together recipes for when I go shopping, it is almost a guarantee that pizza will be on the menu for the week. I always make pizza the pizza dough from scratch. Pizza dough is easy to make, and it doesn't require much active time in the kitchen. It is important though to make sure it is made far enough in advance so dinner is not served at 8 o'clock at night (unless that is your preferred dinner time).

Every once in a while I like to mix it up and use my Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe for calzones instead of pizza. I really like this calzone recipe from Eating Well Magazine. I slightly modified it from one of the recipes I cut out of on of the magazines from 2007. This is a really easy recipe and if you don't have time or desire make your own pizza dough, you can definitely use store bought. Just try to look for whole wheat pizza dough.

Broccoli and Corn Calzones

1 1/2 cups Chopped Broccoli Florets
1 1/2 cups Corn Kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella
2/3 cup Reduced-Fat Ricotta Cheese
4 Scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground Pepper
All Purpose Flour, for dusting
Pizza Dough Recipe or 20 oz Prepared Pizza Dough
2 tsp of Canola Oil
Prepared pizza or marinara sauce 

• Preheat oven to 475. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Spray two baking sheets with oil or cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine broccoli, corn mozzarella, ricotta, scallions, cilantro, garlic powder, salt, pepper.
• On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into six pieces. 
• Roll out each piece into an 8-in circle. 
• Place 3/4 cup of the mixture on half of each circle, leaving a 1-in border of dough. 
• Fold the top half over the filling, and crimp the edges using a fork to seal.
• Make three slits in the top to vent the steam. 
• Brush each calzone with oil and transfer to the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until browned on top, switch baking sheets from top to bottom half way through to make sure the calzones are evenly cooked. 
• Serve with your favorite marinara or pizza sauce. 

The first time I made this recipe, I was a bit skeptical about how the all ingredients would work together. I was pleasantly surprised on how well it all came together. It has definitely become one of our family favorites. One suggestion I would make, which I always forget to do myself, is put the filling on all the calzones before closing them up. I tend to either have too much or too little filling by the time I get to the final two calzones so they end up being either too full or too skimpy.

Look at all those veggies!

Calzones made an ready to be put into the oven.

Serve with your favorite sauce. Careful they come out of the oven really HOT!

Have you made calzones before? What are your favorite fillings? I am always looking for new ideas.