On the Road Again - To Michigan!

I'm on the road again...
This time, with my sis.

The very loose plan is to head up towards Traverse City and Mackinac Island.
But, really, we'll stop when things look interesting.
Diners, cafes...local wineries...giant trout statues.

In the meantime, if you missed the original Feasting on Americana trip, now's a good time to catch up. There's lots of fun tales of food, fun, and fantastic sized critters.

A side of life...seldom seen.
*wink*

Cinnamon Fruit Bread - with recipe

Apparently lightning can strike twice.
Or, perhaps I'm actually getting a handle on this yeast bread thing.

So, two days ago I did a savory bread. Parmesan herb with mozzarella. And, I thought, why not try a sweet one this time?

I searched through a few online recipes. I finally chose one from BakingBits.com. I used the Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe, provided below, but I made a few alterations.

This would be so good for Christmas brunch!

First, I substituted orange honey for the sugar in a 1:1 ratio. (Can you believe I'm out of sugar?) For the cinnamon sugar filling I used Penzeys Cinnamon Sugar that I happen to have on hand. Besides raisins, I used a combination of dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries and strawberries. Oh, and I tossed about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in the batter.

Next time I'll use much more cinnamon sugar in the roll-up. You can just barely see the cinnamon swirl in the photo above.
The recipe yields 2 loaves. Since I had one dark metal loaf pan and one glass loaf pan, I thought this would make for an interesting experiment. The loaf in the glass pan reached 190 degrees faster than the loaf in the metal pan. I guess that would make sense since glass is an insulator. The loaf in the metal pan had a darker crust. (This was the case early on and continued through baking.)

By a slight margin, I prefer the glass pan. It made for a prettier bread and is the one pictured. But, the metal pan would work in a pinch.

It's a really nice recipe - I'll be making this one again. The crust is chewy, and the bread is tender. And, it absorbs butter very well. *wink* The slice didn't last long on the plate.

Here's the recipe I used - with the changes outlined above.
Enjoy!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 package dry yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons butter
6 to 7 cups flour
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons melted butter

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water and 1 Tbsp. of the sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 3/4 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp. sugar, salt, butter, and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth.

Mix in raisins and enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turn to coat all sides, then cover and let rise in warm place until doubled.

Punch down dough; divide into halves. Roll each half into rectangle, 18 x 9-inches. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle each half with 1 tablespoon water and half the sugar mixture. Roll up and place in greased loaf pans. Brush with melted butter; let rise 1 hour. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

Homemade Parmesan Herb Bread - with recipe

I don't bake bread.
Well, I didn't.

You may recall my somewhat edible sourdough post from April 2007. Weak attempt. I feared yeast. So, leaving a sourdough starter on the counter and feeding it with flour and water seemed like a plan. It went ok.

But, yeast.
Scared me.
I mean...it's...ALIVE!

A little backstory.
In February of this year my volunteer position at my church became a second job.
Which was so cool it's beyond words.

But, guess what the first task was?
Learn how to make the homemade pizza.
Dough.
Sauce.
Whole she-bang.

That would involve... *gulp*
Yeast.

I'll tell ya, the great thing about doing something a BA-ZILLION times is that you either get really good at it, or you get fired. (Or, I suppose moved to another station.) And, when you are talking making dough - 50 to 100 pounds of it a week - it's an opportunity to learn a lot about yeast in a short amount of time.

Thanks to Alton Brown I already had an idea about how gluten is formed. I was ready to see what that mesh of gliadin and glutenin really looked like.

So, I watched.
And, listened. (The dough makes a swishing sound when it finally releases off the bottom of the mixer.) And, sniffed. Poked to see signs of life. Sniffed yeastie goodness. And, got the feel for how much flour it needed on any given day. (Humidity can drastically change the amount of flour a dough will absorb.)

And, I made strange comparisons.
Like a soft proofed ball of pizza dough when first rolled feels like the fuzzy ear of a puppy when you gently rub it. (Okay, my dough does. Your mileage may vary.)

Yes, I said that outloud at work.
Yes, they made fun of it.
I'm okay with that. ;)

It's been months now, and each week I actually look forward to making the pizza dough. There's something...amazing about seeing the dough rise. It's like growing a plant in fast-forward.

That's it!
It's like Chia Dough!

But, making bread at home.
Now that's another story.

All my fears came back.
But, they needn't.
I had the technology - a thermometer.
I could do this.
I could make dough without killing the yeast.

I dug out a recipe, gathered the ingredients, and temp'ed the water to 110.
I was off and running.
And, it worked.

Can you see the gooey cheese?
I made a homemade Parmesan herb loaf with some mozzarella and muenster inside. And, it was delightful. Not just because it tasted good. But, rather that it was a success.

I no longer have to fear yeast breads at home.
I know have the knowledge to make rolls and breads of all kinds.
It's a great feeling!

(Wow, did that sound like the old Perl Drops toothpaste commercial, or what?!)

Here's the recipe.

Parmesan Herb Bread

2 cups of water 110 degrees (use a thermometer)
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packets) of active dried yeast
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons sugar
4 cups AP flour
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a small bowl, add the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the butter, sugar, salt, Parmesan, oregano, basil, and 1 cup of flour. Give a quick stir to these dry ingredients.

Give a stir to the yeast, which should be gently forming bubbles in the smaller bowl. Pour the small bowl into the large bowl and stir with a whisk for 30 seconds. Shake off the whisk and set it aside. Grab a spatula, (I found great results with a plastic pancake turner) and add 2 more cups of flour - one cup at a time. (So far we have used 3 cups.)

Do not over stir.
You do not want to produce a tight gluten which will give you a hard bread.

In this recipe we are looking for a VERY wet loose dough. The last cup of flour might be used, it might not. Today I used just 1/2 cup more - a total of 3 1/2 cups.

Cover the sticky mess in the bowl with a damp towel or a piece of plastic wrap and set in a warm place. It should double in about 45 minutes.

Preheat the over to 375 F.

Toss some flour onto a board and dump the sticky mess onto it. Dust it with just a bit of flour. Be gentle - use your fingertips. Fold the dough like a tri fold wallet 3-4 times, turning it a 1/4 turn each time. Shape into a loaf, folding it toward you, using your fingertips. If you wish, you can insert a layer of mozzarella (and I used muenster) in the middle and fold the dough over it.

Try to be sure the cheese doesn't have a way out.
If you let it, it will ooze.

Lay the less sticky - but not at all dry - loaf on a sprayed sheetpan seam side down. (You can also put it on parchment paper or a Silpat.) Take a serrated knife and slice 1/4 inch deep in a few places on top of the loaf. Cover again, and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Uncover and place in the oven. After 10 minutes lower the temp to 350. Let it bake until the center of the loaf reaches 190 degrees. (Roll it over and temp through the bottom. If you pierce the end you will have a hole in all of your slices.

Let rest on a wire rack so the bottom can cool.
Enjoy.

115 Restaurant - I'm So Glad I Stopped In!

(Have you clicked on the picture for the large version yet? Click it twice.)
Go ahead, I'll wait.)

Nice, huh?!

Some of you might remember my earlier post, Just take a chance - Mom 'n Pop Places.

Part of what inspired that post was that every time I drove I-94 in Michigan I would find myself intrigued. You see, at as certain part of the trip, I would pass one of those standard tollway food signs listing the options at the next exit. And among the Taco Bell, KFC and Arby's listings...there was "115 Restaurant."

Here's the clincher.
The 115 Restaurant was listed as a stop for exit 115.

I couldn't see the restaurant from the highway, it was tucked behind trees.
But, I knew it was there.
It called to me.

Time after time I drove by the sign, wishing it weren't a holiday, since it would undoubtedly be closed.

Then one day...I was on the road when it WASN'T a holiday, I took the exit.
I'm so glad I did.
How's this for irony.
It's a truck stop - not a Mom'n Pop Place, afterall.
It would have been open.

So, ladies and gents, allow me to introduce you to the place.

It was the day after Memorial day.
And judging by the clock on the wall in my photo, I'm guessing it was 11:10am.

I sat down and the place was mostly empty.
However, there was quite a nice stack of receipts on the spindle.

The place shined - which was promising.
And, there was someone sweeping.
The place was spotless.

I looked around at the booths, but I thought the counter looked like it might be a better place to chat up the waitresses.

What is it about counter stools?
Suddenly had the urge to spin around on it like a 10 year old.
I resisted.
It was difficult.

The waitress who was having a bowl of soup put her spoon down and offered me a smile and a cup of coffee.

Good coffee, really good coffee.
And, it was offered in a mug with a well-worn advertisement for the local tire shop in Albion. Albion Tire City, if I recall correctly.

The waitress asked if I needed a menu. I said yes, but barely opened it. I asked what they were proud of and she she said the biscuits and gravy were mighty popular. "Sold - with a side of extra crispy bacon, please."

Now, I tried not to take it as a hint when the biscuits arrived in Styrofoam. She was pretty embarrassed. I said not to bother grabbing a plate. Why mess one up? This would do just fine.

The next half an hour was a joy. Two different waitresses kept me company in between helping the regulars who stopped in and were greeted by name. The staff let me know that the place was usually packed. I believed them. And, it's been there for 40 years, they said.

We talked about jobs, home repair, and traveling. (I explained that I had family in the area but I lived near Chicago.)

I liked the way they made local references, the factory down the road having it's business taken offshore. This was a given, known by everyone who stopped in for a meal. Except me. Course, now I knew, too.

We spoke about nosy neighbors and high school reunions. It's amazing how much stuff is the same no matter where you live.

The biscuits and gravy were piping hot. And, I noticed that it was a woman who put the plate in the window. Matter of fact, there wasn't a guy to be seen.

I asked if any of the nice looking pies and cakes (see the picture above) were homemade. Yep, carrot cake was. The bread pudding, too. I made note to grab some bread pudding and sweet tea to go.

After a while I asked if I could take a picture. I explained that I was always looking to tell friends about places with good food and good people. She promptly handed me a business card that read, "Good Food & Good People." Wouldn't you know it?

Now, I'm not gonna lie.
Why anyone would wanna take a picture of their place made their heads spin.
But, they were nice enough to the slightly strange woman from Chicago.

So, if you are ever in the area of Marshall, Michigan, stop in. You can find the place off of I-94...at exit 115.

Oh, and the bread pudding and sweet tea were darn good.
But, the conversation over those biscuits was even better!