Laura Potter's Bread

Back when I was an intern, I would listen to podcasts from a local radio show. I don't remember what it was even called, but I do know that a lot of the show revolved around cooking. One lady in particular, I'm assuming her name is Laura Potter based on the name of the bread, peaked my interest. She talked about homemade bread, and how a good friend of hers came to her home one day to show her just how easy it was to make homemade bread.

Easy homemade bread? She had me. It probably helped that she was describing the sweet smell of bread cooking in her oven, and biting into that warm, tender bread. I rushed home that very day to make it.


This bread is everything you imagine in homemade bread. I made it with all white flour, and it reminded me of the kind of bread that was considered a treat when topped with some butter and homemade jam. It was light, fluffy, chewy, and delicious.


For some reason, I let this recipe fade away into my binder full of tried and true recipes. I'm not sure what it was that made me turn back to it today, but I'm so glad that I did! Try it out, and enjoy!


Laura Potter's Bread
Makes 2 loaves (adapted from a recipe that made 5 loaves)

2 cups hot water (out of the tap)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp honey
2 tsp salt
1/5 cup Powdered milk
2 1/3 cups flour (any combination of white and wheat - if mixing flours, start with white)
2 1/2 tsp saf-instant yeast
3 cups flour (any combination of white and wheat - if mixing flours, start with white)

Combine ingredients in the order listed above in a stand-mixer bowl fitted with dough hook, saving the last 3 cups of flour to add later. After adding the yeast, turn mixer on and let ingredients combine slowly. Add the remaining 3 cups of flour, until the dough starts pulling off of the sides of the mixer. Turn mixer to high and knead for 8 minutes. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

Once dough has risen, divide the dough into 2 even balls. Place on a floured surface and with your fingers, lightly press each ball into a rectangular shape about the length of a bread pan. Roll into loaves and place them seam side down in pans sprayed with cooking spray.

Place pans in oven and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Then raise the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven. Then remove the bread from the pans and allow to cool slightly before slicing.

Time flies!

Has it really been over a month since I posted? I've been baking and taking pictures, I just haven't done anything else! Here's a quick run down of the things I've made:

Mint Chocolate cookies. I was on a bit of a mint kick, and had some Andes Mints chips in the cupboard. I decided to use an old chocolate chip cookie recipe, and just made a few substitutions. I cut the flour amount by a half cup and added in a half cup of cocoa powder, and instead of vanilla extract, I used pure mint extract. I loved them! But then again, I love anything with mint...


In honor of Pi day (3/14 - yes, my husband is to blame for this one), I made a fresh strawberry pie. I used Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust, and it was perfect for this pie (and now I have 2 more crusts in the freezer, just ready to use). I had a box of Danish Dessert in my cupboard, and decided to try it for the first time. It was great for the purpose I needed it for. This is kind of embarrassing, but my husband and I devoured this pie in 2 days.



And last, but not least, I made some shamrock cookies for everybody's favorite green holiday. I decided to try out Brown Eyed Baker's sugar cookie with royal icing. The cookie had great texture and a nice buttery flavor. I've never worked with royal icing before, and although it takes a bit of time, the result is beautiful. I'm still partial to cream cheese frosting, but I think there is something to be said for a smooth, perfectly iced cookie. Note to self - buy Wilton's icing color in green to get fabulous green color like Brown Eyed Baker.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

It was a Sunday, we were going to dinner at a friend's house, and at the last minute I offered to bring dessert. Luckily I had everything on hand for these cupcakes, and they turned out just as I imagined. I knew there was a reason I bookmarked this 6 months ago and looked at it at least once a week!

The best way to describe these cupcakes is that you get the best of two worlds - cake and pie. And who doesn't like lemon?! It was just the right amount of sweet and tart, and I loved the little "surprise" of lemon curd on top of the cupcake. I didn't have a kitchen torch to brown the meringue, so I just stuck them in the oven with the broiler on until they were sufficiently browned. I think they turned out delicious!


Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart
makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
Lemon Curd (see below)
Seven-Minute Frosting (see below)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

Lemon Curd
makes about 2 cups

8 large egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Combine yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Seven-Minute Frosting
makes about 8 cups

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Oatmeal Cookies

The other night some ladies from my church got together to make some centerpieces for a conference we were having. I wanted to make them a treat for helping out, so I headed to the computer for a recipe. I've had this oatmeal cookie recipe bookmarked for awhile, and decided to give it a go.


These cookies had great flavor, were moist, chock full of oats, and I loved the combination of cranberries and walnuts. Delicious!

Oatmeal Cookies
from Joy of Baking

1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, raisins or chocolate chips (optional)

To toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and toast nuts for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces. Set aside.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried cranberries or chocolate chips.

For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter (I like to use an ice cream scoop) and space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 20 - 24 large cookies

Classic English Shortbread

My friend gave me some lemon curd for Christmas and told me that it's really good with shortbread. I had every intention of buying shortbread at the store (to save me a little work), but every time I would go out, I'd forget to get it.

I had never made shortbread before, so maybe that's why I thought it would be "work." It's not. It's easy. So easy.


When I bit into this shortbread the words that came to mind were buttery, flaky, and tender. I read somewhere that using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar makes the shortbread more flaky.

And the combination of shortbread and lemon curd? Think lemon meringue pie without the meringue. Mmmm.


Classic English Shortbread

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour, unsifted

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

In bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until combined.

Spray a 9" springform pan (or other flat pan) with non-stick spray. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan until a uniform thickness.

Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer the shortbread to a wooden cutting board and cut into serving sized pieces while it is still warm. Allow cut pieces to cool completely before storing away.

This recipe multiplies nicely by 2 or 3 if you need a larger batch.

Cupcake Bake-off

My husband had a cupcake bake-off at his work the other day. He was told by his coworkers that he had to actually make the cupcake himself. What did they think would happen? That I would hijack the project and take over and make the cupcakes myself? That's so not me. I'm not like my husband who takes over anytime I start making something in the wok (I'm only kidding, honey).

The biggest task at hand was to decide what kind of cupcake to make. After thinking about it for a day or two, my husband turned to me and said, "I want to make a peanut butter chocolate cupcake." Well, alright! Let's do it!


I started scouring the internet for "the best chocolate cupcake recipe." Well, as you can only imagine, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes out there claiming to be "the best chocolate cupcake recipe." Oy.

When I landed on a recipe from Cooks' Illustrated, I knew we had a winner. We didn't have enough time to test out the recipe (which is really a no-no when you're entering a recipe in a contest, just so you know), so we had to use a recipe from a source we trusted. And as I've mentioned before, we trust Cooks' Illustrated.

The recipe is for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, and well, they taste dark. The texture was actually very pleasant, as was the taste and moistness. I think the only thing lacking was sweetness. If we had it to do over again, my husband and I agree that a little more sugar would be ideal.

As for the Peanut Butter Icing, all I can say is wow. It was delicious. Creamy. Peanut buttery. Melt in your mouth goodness. I'm starting to notice a pattern here - whenever I make icing, it's always amazing. It makes anything taste that much better. Now I know exactly where the phrase 'icing on the cake' comes from.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, my husband made the cupcakes all by himself.


Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
from Cooks' Illustrated, "American Classics 2009"
makes 12 cupcakes; do not double recipe...make two separate batches if you need more

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 1/2 oz) Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup (3 3/4 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) sour cream

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffing pan (1/2 cup capacity) with baking cup liners.

Combine butter, chocolate and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to touch.

Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined; then sift in remaining flour mixture and whisk batter until it is homogenous and thick.

Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.


Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing
from Ina Garten, as seen on the Food Network

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Beater Blade

My awesome husband gave me a Beater Blade for Christmas. What is a beater blade you ask? It's this awesome attachment for your stand mixer that eliminates the need to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and you won't get any more build up on the blades.

So the real question is, does it work? I have used it a few times since getting it, and I have to say it works beautifully. I have always hated having to scrape down the sides of the bowl because somehow my hand always ends up getting some of the batter on it, and then the handle of the spatula I'm using gets batter on it, and it turns into a sticky mess. Well, I don't have to worry about that any more! It really does work! (And no, Beater Blade is not paying me to say this - I just think that a good product should get a good review).