How to Pit Dates

• Soften the Dates: If you're using Chinese red dates (jujubes) or other dark dates like Medjool or Deglet Noor, soak them in boiling hot water for 10 minutes to soften, making it easier to remove the pit. After soaking, drain and lightly dry them with a towel.

• Remove the Pit: To remove the pit, the simplest method is to use a paring knife. Cut around the date from both ends, then pull the date apart into two halves. The pit will be in one of the halves. Carefully use your paring knife to lift it out, then proceed to chop the dates. You can learn more about how to pit jujubes in our article on how to make date paste.

• Alternative Methods: Some people have success using a chopstick or straw to push through the pit, although this technique may not be as effective. To save time and effort, consider using pre-pitted dates or substituting them with raisins, dried cranberries, or your choice of dried fruit.

How to make Steamed Bread?

The process of making steamed gingerbread date bread remains the same whether you're using the traditional stovetop steaming method or the easy microwave steaming method. Here's a simplified overview of how to prepare gingerbread batter:

• Whip Eggs and Brown Sugar: Beat the eggs and brown sugar until the mixture transforms from a light brown color to a creamy, light, and fluffy yellow texture. Using a mixer, this step takes about 3 to 5 minutes and is crucial for achieving a light and fluffy bread.
• Incorporate Wet Ingredients: Add the remaining wet ingredients - molasses, soy sauce (or aminos for a gluten-free version), oil, and your choice of milk or non-dairy alternative. Blend the mixture well.

• Set Aside: Reserve 2 teaspoons of flour to coat the jujubes, dates, or other dried fruit. This coating prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the bread during the steaming process.
• Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
• Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients: Gradually put small portions of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing them thoroughly.
• Coat the Fruit: Combine the 2 teaspoons of flour with the jujubes, dates, or dried fruit.
• Mix the Fruit in the Batter: Then, set aside and prepare your steaming set up.

Option 1: Traditional Stove Top Steaming Method

• Prepare Your Steaming Setup: Use a wok or deep pan that's larger and deeper than your steaming basket. Add about 1 to 2 inches of hot water to the pan or wok.
• Prepare the Steamer Basket: If you're using a traditional bamboo steamer basket, line the inside with parchment paper, trimming off any excess from the edges. This makes it easy to pick up and remove from the basket. Lightly spray the parchment paper with oil. You'll steam the bread directly in the steaming basket without a baking pan.
• Fill the Steamer Basket: Pour the gingerbread batter directly into the lined steamer basket. Add extra dried dates or dried fruits on top as desired.

• Start Steaming: Place the bamboo steamer basket with its lid over the wok or deep pan. Set the heat to medium-high and steam the gingerbread for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You may need to add more hot water to the pan during the steaming process. You can preheat extra water in a tea kettle for this purpose.

• Alternative Steaming Methods: If you don't have a bamboo steamer, there are alternative methods demonstrated in our steamed Asian fish recipe. These include using a metal steamer plate, crossed chopsticks, aluminum foil balls, or an upside-down ramekin. For these techniques, use a cake or baking pan (8 or 9 inches) that fits inside with a lid.
• Wrap a tea towel around the lid to prevent water condensation from dripping onto the bread like we did for our Chinese New Year Cakes.  Note that a bamboo steamer can help absorb some of the moisture that forms on the lid.

Option 2: Easy Microwave Steaming Method

• Gather Microwave-Safe Dishes: You'll need two microwave-safe dishes. First, select an 8- or 9-inch microwave-safe baking dish for the gingerbread. Second, choose a larger microwave-safe dish that can comfortably accommodate the smaller one. We used an 8 x 8 glass baking dish placed inside a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
• Prepare the Gingerbread Dish: Line the baking dish that will hold the gingerbread with parchment paper and lightly grease it with oil. Pour the gingerbread batter into the lined dish and add extra dates or dried fruits on top if desired.
• Create a Water Bath: Boil some water and add approximately 1 inch of hot water to the larger 9 x 13 microwave-safe dish. Carefully place the dish with the gingerbread into the larger container with the water bath, ensuring the batter doesn't get wet.

• Microwave Steaming: Place the gingerbread dish inside the water bath and microwave on high. Steam bread uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If your microwave lacks a turntable, remember to turn the dish halfway through the cooking process.

A special thank you to our dear friend Akiko-san for sharing this recipe inspiration with us.

More Holiday Treats

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Steamed Gingerbread Date Bread

Savor the warmth of Steamed Gingerbread Date Bread with nourishing red dates - a no-yeast, holiday quick bread with both 5 minute microwave and traditional steaming methods.

Course Breakfast and Brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American, Chinese, Japanese

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 194kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• 1 bamboo steamer or alternative steaming equipment for Traditional Stove Top Steaming Method . OR...
• 1 Microwave plus microwave safe 8 x 8 glass baking dish placed inside a 9 x 13 glass baking dish for Microwave Steaming Method.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Chinese red dates
  (also known as jujubes, hong zao) soaked in hot water, pits removed (can exchange with regular dark dates, raisins or even dried cranberries) ½ cup chopped plus ½ cup sliced in half for garnish on top of gingerbread.
• hot water to soak the red dates to soften

Wet Ingredients

• 3 whole eggs room temperature
• ½ cup brown sugar dark - packed
• 3 tablespoons molasses unsulfured light flavored (We used Grandma's Original Unsulfured Molasses)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free option tamari or liquid aminos)
• 4 tablespoons almond milk or non-dairy or dairy of choice
• 4.5 tablespoons oil light flavored

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup flour either regular all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour blend like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur gluten free all purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder (check to make sure the brand is gluten free)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon dried ground
• 1 teaspoon ginger dried ground
• ½ teaspoon allspice dried ground
• ½ teaspoon cloves dried ground

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare Red Dates (Jujubes)

• If you're using Chinese red dates (jujubes) soak them in boiling hot water for 10 minutes to soften, making it easier to remove the pit. After soaking, drain and lightly dry them with a towel.

  If using tender moist dates like Medjool, you can skip this step because they are easier to pit and chop. Raisin or dried cranberries do not need to be soaked or chopped.

Wet Ingredients for Gingerbread Batter

• Beat the eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until the mixture transforms from a light brown color to a creamy, light, and fluffy yellow texture. Using a mixer, this step takes about 3 to 5 minutes and is crucial for achieving a light and fluffy bread.
• Add the remaining wet ingredients to the whipped egg and brown sugar mixture - molasses, soy sauce (or aminos for a gluten-free version), oil, and your choice of milk or non-dairy alternative. Blend the mixture well. Set aside.

Dry Ingredients for Gingerbread batter

• Reserve 2 teaspoons of flour from the measured 1 cup of flour to coat the jujubes, dates, or other dried fruit. Stir to coat the dried fruit. This coating prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the bread during the steaming process.
• In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients - the rest of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves.

Combine Dry Ingredients into the Wet Ingredients

• Gradually put small portions of the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing them thoroughly. Then pour in the prepared dates or dried fruit and stir until well combined. Set aside. Next, choose either the traditional stovetop steaming method OR the microwave steaming method.

Traditional Stovetop Steaming Method (20 minutes)

• Prepare your steamer device using either option A, option B or maybe your lucky and have an integrated steamer oven. Add about 1 to 2 inches of boiling hot water to the pan or wok.

  Option A) Use a wok or deep pan that's larger and deeper than your steaming basket. Add about 1 to 2 inches of hot water to the pan or wok.

  Option B) If you don't have a bamboo steamer, there are alternative methods including using a metal steamer plate, crossed chopsticks, aluminum foil balls, or an upside-down ramekin. For these techniques, use a cake or baking pan (8 or 9 inches) that fits inside a larger pot with a tight fitting lid. Wrap a tea towel around the lid to prevent water condensation from dripping onto the bread.
• If you're using a traditional bamboo steamer basket, line the inside with parchment paper, trimming off any excess from the edges. This makes it easy to pick up and remove from the basket. Lightly spray the parchment paper with oil. You'll steam the bread directly in the steaming basket without a baking pan. If you are using a cake pan to steam, please line pan with parchment paper and spray with oil.
• Pour the prepared gingerbread batter directly into the lined steamer basket or prepared cake pan and place into steamer device. Garnish with sliced red dates or dried fruits as desired.
• Put the lid on. Set the heat to medium-high and steam the gingerbread for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You may need to add more hot water to the pan during the steaming process. You can preheat extra water in a tea kettle for this purpose. Allow the gingerbread to rest 5 minutes before serving with the lid on.

Microwave Steaming Method (5 to 7 minutes)

• You'll need two microwave-safe dishes. First, select an 8 or 9-inch microwave-safe baking dish for the gingerbread. Second, choose a larger microwave-safe dish that can comfortably accommodate the smaller one. We used an 8 x 8 glass baking dish placed inside a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
• Line the baking dish that will hold the gingerbread with parchment paper and lightly grease it with oil. Pour the gingerbread batter into the lined dish and add extra dates or dried fruits on top if desired.
• Add 1 inch of boiling hot water to the larger microwave safe dish that can hold the 8 or 9 inch dish. We used a glass 9 x 13 microwave-safe dish. Carefully place the dish with the gingerbread dish into the larger container with the water bath, ensuring the batter does not get wet.
• Place the gingerbread dish inside the water bath into the microwave. Steam bread in the microwave on high and uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If your microwave lacks a turntable, remember to turn the dish halfway through the cooking process. Allow the gingerbread to rest 5 minutes before serving.
• Remove the steamed gingerbread date bread from the steaming device, slice and serve warm with delightful cup of your favorite tea/coffee.

Video

Notes

How to Serve?

Serving Temperature: This sweet treat is delightful when served warm (our favorite way), at room temperature, or chilled, depending on your preference.

Enjoy Plain: Enjoy the gingerbread plain, right from the steamer basket. 

Toppings: Elevate your steamed bread by topping it with options like coconut whipped cream, regular whipped topping, ice cream, yogurt, or a dusting of confectioner sugar (powdered sugar).

Serve Gingerbread for breakfast, teatime, or any time you want a lightly sweet treat.

Recipe Tips for Perfect Gingerbread

1. Use Room Temperature Eggs: Using room temperature eggs ensures even mixing with other ingredients.
2. Choose the Right Molasses: Choose an unsulfured light-flavored molasses. Avoid "blackstrap" molasses, which is too strong and bitter for this steamed bread recipe.
3. Whip Eggs and Brown Sugar: Mix eggs and brown sugar until the mixture turns light yellow and creamy. This step is essential for achieving a soft and spongy texture and may take 3 to 5 minutes at high speed.
4. Accurate Measurements: Spoon flour into a cup and level it off with a knife for precise measurements. Pack brown sugar in the measuring cup for accurate amounts.
5. Avoid Over-Mixing: Don't overmix the dry ingredients into the wet ones, as it can make the bread tough. Mix only until they are incorporated.
6. Steaming Time Variations: Steaming time can vary based on factors such as the type of steaming device, pan or basket size, and lid fit. Smaller pans or baskets require longer steaming, while larger ones may take less time.
7. Resting Period: Allow the bread to rest in the steamer for 5 minutes before removing and serving.
8. Microwave Steaming: If using the microwave method, set a timer for 5 minutes and check for doneness with a toothpick. If batter sticks to the toothpick, steam for additional minutes, adding 30 seconds to a minute at a time. Microwave steaming can overcook and dry out the bread more easily.
9. Stovetop Steaming: When steaming on the stovetop, it's challenging to overcook unless you run out of water in the pot. Keep an eye on the water level while the bread cooks and add boiled water carefully to the side if it gets low.

How to store steamed gingerbread?
Once the gingerbread has cooled to room temperature, store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze it for several months. However, serving the date bread hot out of the steamer is so delightful that there might not be any leftovers

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 62mg | Potassium: 293mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Steamed Gingerbread Date Bread appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Cornbread Hacks

Are you ready to learn some quick and easy Jiffy cornbread hacks? We can't wait to share them with you because there is nothing worse than biting into a dry and crumbly piece of corn bread.

By adding applesauce, homemade dairy free buttermilk, and oil to this cornbread recipe, it makes it extra moist and irresistible. However, we did not stop there! We added a little fresh corn for a fun pop of sweetness along with a drizzle of honey. For heat, we added a chopped jalapeno pepper to make this this budget friendly side dish a home run.

Standard Ingredients

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix - 8.5-ounce size. You can use either the regular or the Vegetarian corn muffin mix. Using a boxed corn meal mix is a great cost saving hack. If you decide to make cornbread from scratch, you will have to buy cornmeal. That alone is more expensive than a sixty-cent box of Jiffy corn muffin mix that has all the dry ingredients required.

Milk - we used almond milk to keep it dairy free. If you do not have a dairy sensitivity, you can use regular milk or buttermilk.

Vinegar - to turn the milk or dairy free milk into buttermilk. We used apple cider vinegar, but you can also use white vinegar or even lemon juice. Just add the vinegar to the milk or dairy free alternative and let it sit for 5 minutes and you will have butter milk. Buttermilk makes cornbread more tender and rich in flavor.

Egg - helps bind the cornbread mix.

Apple Sauce - provides 3 functions. First, it adds moisture. Secondly, it also acts like a binder to properly cook the corn bread in the air fryer. Lastly, adding applesauce to cornbread makes it lightly sweet. You will want to use plain applesauce without any cinnamon. You will only need ⅓ cup apple sauce so we used the rest to make a batch of apple pie cookies. Alternatively, you can substitute with a little creamed corn.

Oil - just like apple sauce, adds extra moisture to the air fryer cornbread. A light flavored oil works best. If you do not have a sensitivity to dairy, you could replace it with melted butter.

Optional Ingredients

Honey - or sweetener of choice like maple syrup.

Cooked Corn - if you have fresh corn in the summer, it is extra sweet and delicious. Alternatively, you can add frozen or canned corn to this air fryer cornbread recipe. This addition is optional of course.

Jalapeno - is optional but it adds just a little heat to complement the sweetness of the corn.

Special Equipment

Air fryer - We have a COSORI Air Fryer Toaster Oven, 12-in-1 (32QT/32L) countertop convection oven. Every air fryer brand and model can cook differently. Please don't use a clock to judge when this is done. Instead, when a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cornbread is golden brown - it's done.

Pan - A 9-inch round cake pan was used in this easy cornbread recipe. You'll have to determine what size pan will fit in your model of air fryer. There are some things to consider when choosing a pan to cook in.

• Pick a thin cake pan. If you choose a thick pan, it will take a long time to air fry and the center may come out raw whilst the edges may be dry.
• Choose a wider pan instead of a deep and narrow pan. The reason being is that it will take too long to cook. It may end up being raw in the center. There are 7-inch bucket air fryer pans made just for the air fryer that work well too.
• Try using a disposable aluminum pan. They are thin and work great to transport your delicious cornbread dish to pass at your next function.
• Best not to use the baking sheet pan that fits inside the Cosori air fryer as this will make your cornbread too flat. If you choose to do this, you may want to double the recipe.

How to Make Jiffy Cornbread in the Air Fryer?

• Pre-heat air fryer to 325 degrees F or 162 degrees C.
• Stir in the vinegar into the milk or non-dairy of choice and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This will make buttermilk or dairy free buttermilk.
• In the meantime, crack the egg into a medium- large bowl and beat. Then add the apple sauce, oil, honey, homemade dairy free buttermilk, or regular butter milk and mix.
• Add the box of Jiffy Corn muffin mix and stir. It will be slightly lumpy and that is okay.
• If desired, add corn and chopped jalapeno to the mix and stir.

• Grease pan and pour in the prepared cornbread batter. We like to add sliced jalapenos on top, but this is optional.
• Air fry cornbread for 15 to 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Recipe Tips

• Grease your pan well on the bottom and sides so the corn bread does not stick.
• Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes while you are making the batter. This will ensure consistency in the cooking process.
• Choose the correct size pan for your air fryer model. It needs to be big enough to hold the batter. However, it also needs to have room around the sides for the air to flow as this is how a convection oven works.
• Don't over mix the cornbread batter as this can make your cornbread dense.
• If you have toaster oven style air fryer with 3 racks, place the cornbread on top of the middle rack to cook.
• Cook times are an estimate because each brand and model of air fryer is different. In addition, you may be using a different sized baking pan and that can be thicker or thinner. These factors may affect the cooking time.
• Don't rely on time to determine when the corn bread is cooked. Instead, place a toothpick in the center of the cornbread and access. If the toothpick comes out relatively clean and the top of the cornbread is golden brown, it is done.
• Our air fryer sometimes cooks a little uneven. It is best to turn it at the 15-minute mark to make sure it cooks evenly and browns on all sides.
• After you remove the cornbread from the oven, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

How to Serve?

We think cornbread is best served hot out of the air fryer with a little drizzle of honey. You may want to add a little pat of butter or non-dairy margarine while it is still hot. However, these are optional. Sometimes, we eat cornbread at room temperature too.

How to Reheat Cornbread?

Cornbread can be reheated in many ways.  Choose the option that works best for you.

Air Fryer - 325 degrees F (162 degrees C) for about 5 minutes or until toasty warm.

Oven - 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil until heated through. Make sure your corn bread slices are in a single layer and not touching.

Microwave oven - cover the cornbread slice with a paper towel or microwave safe cover and microwave for about 15 to 30 seconds or until toasty warm. This is our least favorite method as the edges of the cornbread will no longer be crisp.

Toaster Oven - Brush the tops of the cornbread slices with a little oil or butter and toast uncovered for about 1 to 2 minutes.

Pan fry - Add a little oil or butter to the pan and pan fry on medium- low heat for approximately 2 minutes on each side or until toasty warm.

Variations or Additions

Kickup this ultimate air fryer Jiffy cornbread recipe to suit your preference.

• If you do not have an issue with milk or milk products, add in real buttermilk or milk instead of almond milk for a richer cornbread.
• Try adding a tablespoon of sour cream or add a little grated cheese.
• Add in a dash of Tajin seasoning or lime zest to the batter before air frying. This is so good.
• Make everyone happy and add in a little crispy bacon, scallions, or cooked crumbled chorizo sausage.

If you add in a lot of cheese, try adding in a little extra milk to create a cornbread batter that is thick but pourable.

Troubleshooting: How to Fix It?

Why is my cornbread flat?

There are many reasons why your air fryer jiffy cornbread is flatter than you expected. First, check the expiration date on the Jiffy mix. If it is expired or not stored properly, sometimes the baking soda can lose its efficiency. Secondly, adding too many add ins can make your cornbread in the air fryer flat. Lastly, if your pan is larger than a 9-inch cake pan, it will result in a flatter cornbread. Not that there is anything wrong with a flatter cornbread, it is just something to take note of.

Why is it taking so long to cook?

The time is takes for cornbread to cook is highly dependent on the type and brand of air fryer. Some air fryers cook faster or slower than other makes and brands. Maybe the pan you used was too thick. Did you remember to preheat the air fryer first?

How to remove cornbread from the pan?

Guess what? You do not need to even remove the cornbread from the pan unless you want to. The reason is cornbread is tender and it tends to form little crumbs. You may prefer to cut and serve it right from the pan like we did.

If you are keen on removing the cornbread from the pan before slicing, line your pan with parchment paper. Leave enough extra parchment paper at the top so you can easily grab it and pull it out- just as we did with our flourless orange cake. Don't forget you will still need to grease the parchment paper before adding the Jiffy cornmeal batter.

What to Serve with Cornbread?

Although cornbread is mighty tasty with a steaming bowl of hot chili, it is delicious all year around and in every season.

In the summer we love making cornbread in the air fryer because it does not heat up the whole house. Our family loves cornbread with grilled pork chops, tea smoked chicken legs or a side to a summer salad.

Crisp fall weather calls for a big pot of lentil and hap soup with a side of cornbread. Tailgating days are more delicious with BBQ ribs, wing dings and a basket of Jiffy cornbread slices.

What to do with Leftovers?

Did you know that you can cut air fried cornbread into cubes, toss them in oil and seasonings and air fry to make into croutons? Cornbread croutons are delicious on top of our roasted butternut soup or as an exchange for bread in Grandpa's Canadian meat stuffing recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Bread Recipes

More Air Fryer Recipes

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Air Fryer Jiffy Cornbread

Upgrade your cornbread game with our dairy free ultimate Air Fryer Jiffy Cornbread recipe. We've made it extra moist, sweet, and spicy for a sensational twist.

Course Appetizers/ Snacks, Sides

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6 slices

Calories 245kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• air fryer

Ingredients

Dairy Free Buttermilk

• ⅓ cup almond milk
  or dairy or non-dairy of choice
• 1 teaspoon vinegar We used apple cider vinegar but you can also use distilled white vinegar or lemon juice.

Air Fryer Jiffy Cornbread

• 1 whole egg
  
• ⅓ cup apple sauce
  natural plain
• 2.5 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• dairy free buttermilk from above
• 8.5 ounces Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
• 1 jalapeno chopped - optional (also 1 jalapeno sliced for the top garnish)
• ¼ cup corn cooked and taken off the cob (can also used canned or thawed frozen corn) - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Pre-heat air fryer to 325 degrees F or 162 degrees C. Choose a thin pan that will fit inside your air fryer and grease well on bottom and sides.
• Make dairy free buttermilk: Add almond milk and vinegar into a small bowl, stir and set aside for 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, crack the egg into a medium-large bowl and beat. Then add the apple sauce, oil, honey and homemade dairy free buttermilk and mix.
• Slowly add in the box of Jiffy corn muffin mix and stir. It will still be slightly lumpy and that is okay. If desired, add corn and chopped jalapeno to the mix and stir.
• Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared pan. We like to add sliced jalapenos on top, but this is optional. Air fry cornbread for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
• Wait 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy hot with honey and butter or dairy free butter, if desired.

Video

Notes

Storage: 

To store leftover cornbread, let it cool down first. Then, wrap in plastic wrap, place in a sealable plastic bag or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cornbread can be frozen for up to 3 months.  For the best results, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and then place in an airtight container or a freezer safe baggie.

Recipe Tips:

• Grease your pan well on the bottom and sides so the corn bread does not stick.
• Choose the correct size pan for your air fryer model. It needs to be big enough to hold the batter. However, it also needs to have room around the sides for the air to flow as this is how a convection oven works.
• Don't over mix the cornbread batter as this can make your cornbread dense.
• If you have toaster oven style air fryer with 3 racks, place the cornbread on top of the middle rack to cook.
• Cook times are an estimate because each brand and model of air fryer is different. In addition, you may be using a different sized baking pan and that can be thicker or thinner. These factors may affect the cooking time.
• Don't rely on time to determine when the corn bread is cooked. Instead, place a toothpick in the center of the cornbread and access. If the toothpick comes out relatively clean and the top of the cornbread is golden brown, it is done.
• Our air fryer sometimes cooks a little uneven. It is best to turn it at the 15-minute mark to make sure it cooks evenly and browns on all sides.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 347mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Ultimate Air Fryer Jiffy Cornbread appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Make our easy Panettone Air Fryer French Toast Sticks with a buttery maple triple sec syrup for the ultimate Christmas breakfast or brunch. These quick and easy French toast sticks are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Fun to eat - just pick up a slice with your fingers and dip. Serve along with Italian Scrambled Eggs or a Stove Top Parmesan Leek Frittata for an unforgettable vegetarian breakfast.

What's to Love

After all, what are you going to do with that leftover panettone bread loaf from the holidays? This fun recipe will have your guests swooning for seconds and your house is going to smell just like Christmas.  As a matter of fact, the aroma from the air fried French toast sticks is so deliciously festive it can wake up blurred eyed teenagers EARLY on a weekend morning. They are that good!

If you do not have an air fryer, we have included the stove top directions in the recipe card below too. Make extra French toast sticks. They freeze well and are easy to reheat.

Air Fryer Breakfast

Eating Italian Christmas cake for breakfast might seem a little extravagant but hey - it's the holiday, right? We do not often splurge on sweets but when we do - we go BIG!

Making the perfect French toast sticks in the air fryer is not that different than a classic French toast but it is so much better.

• The air fryer (or convection oven) makes an extra crispy French toast.
• No forks needed just dip and bite.
• Delicious addition to a breakfast board or DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch.
• No monitoring needed. Enjoy a quick Iced Bumblebee Coffee with your guests while it cooks.
• Use non-dairy to make almond milk French toast
• You can also make a homemade dairy free and gluten free panettone bread.
• Adding Cointreau (orange flavored triple sec or bourbon) and orange zest to the buttery maple syrup complements the fruits in the panettone bread.

What is Panettone Bread?

Panettone (pronounced as "pa-net-taw-nee) is a sweet Italian Christmas bread sometimes also referred to as an Italian fruit cake made with candied orange, citron, and raisins. If you're not fond of candied fruits, you must try a chocolate panettone bread. Decadent chocolate deliciousness! It's customary to gift either the traditional or chocolate version during the Christmas holidays.

How is the Italian Christmas Bread Made?

This Italian sweet bread is special because it uses a starter culture along with the usual eggs, flour, and butter. The starter dough goes through this intensive process of getting worked on for at least 3 days before adding the candied fruits and raisins. After it is baked, its hung upside down for 10 hours to retain its domed shape. Now, you know why this beloved bread is so special.

Panettone bread it light and chewy. It is delicious served with a slather of apricot freezer jam, mascarpone spread (similar to a cream cheese) and also makes the best darn French toast.

French Toast Ingredients

• Panettone Bread, especially a loaf that is starting to go a little stale, is perfect to make a batch of French toast. As a substitute, feel free to exchange with pandoro (8-pointed Italian sweet bread), brioche bread, Texas toast or even gluten-free bread.
• Eggs - this helps the ingredients bind together and firm up when heated. If you are out of eggs, you can try adding just a little bit of cornstarch to the milk mixture.
• Almond Milk - or any non-dairy or dairy of choice gives French toast that rich custard flavor.
• Cinnamon - gives it that holiday essence. If you want, you can add a little all spice, nutmeg, or ginger to the mix too.
• Vanilla - enhances the flavor.
• Salt - just a pinch to balance the flavors.

Maple Bourbon or Triple Sec Syrup Ingredients

Do you like to go BIG when you splurge on a special treat? Then, you are not going to want to skip this rich and decadent Maple Cointreau syrup. All we can say is "Oh my". Of course, you can serve with plain maple syrup or Better Than Mrs. Butterworth Pancake Syrup for the kids.

• Maple Syrup - is perfect but can also use regular pancake syrup.
• Triple Sec or Bourbon - the orange flavor liquor complements the dried fruits in the panettone bread. We used Cointreau but you could also use Grand Marnier or other triple sec of choice. Your favorite bourbon is also a delicious pairing with the maple flavor.
• Orange zest - we used the zest from a mandarin orange but use what you have on hand.
• Butter - but of course, right? It make this delicious alcohol infused maple syrup rich and delicious.

Step by Step Instructions

For the full and complete recipe and video, please scroll down to the recipe card below.

• Remove the baking paper from the panettone bread.
• Slice the Italian Christmas Bread into thick slices.

• Make the French toast custard. Add beaten eggs, milk or non-dairy of choice, vanilla, cinnamon, and a little dash of salt.
• Spray the air fryer basket or tray with oil or line with parchment paper. This is very important! Preheat the air fryer to 385 degrees F or 196 degrees C. If you have an oven toaster style air fryer, be sure to line the baking tray underneath as it will drip.
• Dip the panettone bread slices into the custard mixture and lay on the prepared air fryer basket or tray. Do not soak in the batter! Spray both sides of battered panettone with a little spray oil.

• Place the French toast sticks in the air fryer. Air fry for 5 minutes. Then, turn over and air fry for another 4 minutes or until crispy. Every air fryer is a little different so you may need less or more time to achieve a crispy exterior to the French toast sticks.

• In the meantime, make the buttery maple triple sec syrup. In a small pot or pan, add the butter to melt and add the maple syrup and bourbon or Cointreau (triple sec) alcohol and cook over medium heat until bubbly for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange zest.
• Enjoy!

French Toast Toppings

• Dust homemade panettone air fryer French toast sticks with powdered sugar and serve with little bowls of maple bourbon syrup on the side to dip.
• Mascarpone cheese and berries.
• Maple Coffee Syrup
• Chocolate hazelnut spread
• Date paste spread or your favorite nut butter.
• Butter and orange marmalade or kumquat jam. The citrus flavor really brings out the dried citrus flavor in the panettone Christmas bread.
• Dollop of Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream or Asian Spiced Pears.

Recipe Tips for Success

• Spray your air fryer tray or basket well with oil or line with parchment paper, if your brand of air fryer allows this.
• Lightly spray both sides of custard dipped panettone bread sticks with a light flavored oil before baking. It prevents sticking and makes your French sticks golden.
• Preheat the air fryer. This is important as it helps French toast get a good crispy crust.

How to Reheat?

1. Preheat the air fryer to 385 degrees F (196 degrees C) and heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
2. Stove top heat a little butter over medium heat and pan fry panettone French toast for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
3. Microwave is our least favorite way to heat up French toast as it makes it soggy.  However, if that is your only option reheat in microwave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute and you are done.

How to Store Leftovers?

Air fried French toast can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.  When storing in the freezer, it is best to store in a single layer with waxed paper, parchment paper or aluminum foil in between.  Then, you can just heat up a couple of sticks at a time for an air fryer breakfast any day of the week.

What to serve with French toast?

If you are serving Panettone for breakfast, you may like to try these sides and mains.

• Breakfast meats like bacon, sausage, country ham or Canadian ham.
• Italian scrambled eggs and Sauteed Asparagus and Mushrooms with a poached eggs are great for any low carb lovers in the crowd.
• Fresh fruit, stewed fruit or quinoa fruit salad.
• Espresso, coffee, and juice.
• Granola, yogurt or a spicy chocolate chai chia seed pudding.
• Serve air fried French toast sticks as part of a breakfast board. Arrange the maple bourbon or triple sec syrup, bacon, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, jams, mascarpone cream and all your favorite items on a serving platter and enjoy.

Serving as a dessert?

• Of course, a little espresso or coffee is always welcome.
• If you want to try something a little stronger, pour glasses of prosecco, Moscato or limoncello.
• Dessert boards are the new trend. Just add French toast sticks, syrup of choice, whipped topping, fresh berries, candied pecans, Nutella, jam and a few chewy mandarin orange cookies for a festive treat.

Difference Between Pandoro vs Panettone

Are you team Panettone or team pandoro? Both cakes are delicious in this air fryer breakfast but there are many differences.

Both are Italian Christmas breads, but panettone originated in Milan and pandoro originated in Verona. Pandoro is an 8-point star shaped golden bread and has the texture like a French Brioche that we use to make savory breakfast bread pudding. Unlike the panettone, it does not contain any dried fruits, but we think it is sweeter in taste. Usually, pandoro is dusted in powdered sugar and it looks like snow on a Christmas tree.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas

Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls

Gluten and Dairy Free Breakfast for Every Occasion

Strawberry Banana Pancakes

DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch

Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Panettone Air Fryer French Toast Sticks

Try our easy Panettone Air Fryer French Toast Sticks with a buttery maple triple sec or bourbon syrup for the ultimate Christmas breakfast or brunch.

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 8 minutes minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes minutes

Total Time 17 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 160kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• air fryer or convection oven

Ingredients

• 8 sticks panettone bread
  thick sliced sticks with the baking paper removed. Slices should be shaped into a long thick stick easy for picking up and dunking into syrup.
• 2 whole eggs beaten or egg beaters
• ⅓ cup almond milk
  (or dairy or non-dairy of choice)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon dried ground
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Spray oil light flavored

Maple Triple Sec or Bourbon Syrup (optional)

• 2 tablespoon butter
  
• 3 tablespoons triple sec or bourbon We used Cointreau
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon orange zest We used a mandarin orange

Garnishes

• powdered sugar, whipped topping, fruit or whatever your little heart desires

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Air Fryer Method

• Preheat the air fryer (or convection oven) to 385 degrees F or 196 degrees C. Spray the air fryer basket with a light flavored oil or line with parchment paper.
• Remove the paper from the panettone bread and cut into 8 thick sliced sticks.
• In a flat bowl mix eggs, almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla, butter and salt. Dip each of the panettone bread slices into the egg mixture on both sides. Do not soak but just a quick dunk and shake off the excess egg and milk mixture.
• Spray the panettone sticks with a light flavored oil on both sides and place on greased or parchment lined air fryer tray. (To make cleanup easy, if you have a toaster oven style air fryer, place the lined baking sheet under the air fryer tray as the French toast will drip.)

  Place the air fryer tray with the French toasts in the air fryer and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the French toast sticks over and cook for another 4 minutes or until toasty and crispy on all sides.

  If more convenient for you, spray one side of the French toast before setting in the air fryer tray. Then, when you turn them half way in the cooking process, you can spray the other side.
• In the meantime, add a knob of butter to a small pot to melt over medium heat. Take the pot off the heat and carefully add the triple sec or bourbon alcohol. Then place back on the medium heat. Allow the alcohol to burn off for about 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup to the butter and alcohol mixture and heat until warm- about 1 minute. Turn off the heat, add the orange zest and stir. The maple triple sec or bourbon syrup is ready for serving.
• Serve your delicious panettone air fryer French toast sticks with a side of buttery Maple Cointreau Syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy!

Stove Top Method

• Add 1 tablespoon of butter into a large frying pan and melt over medium low heat. Add your prepared panettone sticks to the pan that have been lightly dipped into the egg and milk mixture. Pan fry on each side for 5 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. If you need to cook in batches, clean your pan and add a new tablespoon of butter each and every time.

Video

Notes

• Nutrition calculation is based on 2 panettone French toast sticks without syrup. If you add the maple triple sec or bourbon syrup the calories per serving are 308 and Net carbs are 53 - but hey- it's the holiday! 
• The maple triple sec syrup will thicken upon cooling. It can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove top, if you have any leftovers.

Storage

Air fried French toast can be stored in a covered container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer.  When storing in the freezer, it is best to store in a single layer with waxed paper, parchment paper or aluminum foil in between.  Then, you can just heat up a couple of sticks at a time for an air fryer breakfast any day of the week.

Frozen French Toast Sticks in Air Fryer

Preheat air fryer to 385 degrees F. Spray air fryer basket and the individual French toast sticks with a little light flavored oil. Air fry French toast sticks for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until hot and crispy.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 2French toast sticks | Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 375mg | Potassium: 65mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 116IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Panettone Air Fryer French Toast Sticks appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Baked Eggs in Toast

Have you ever had eggs in toast growing up? If you have, you know how comforting this breakfast is. The bread is crunchy and buttery on the outside and chewy on the inside just like our Panettone Air Fryer French Toast Sticks. When you dip the bread into the soft egg it is silky and creamy. Its simplicity is what makes this a dynamic dish to make on the busy work or school mornings. This healthy egg breakfast will give you the energy needed to tackle your day.

Remember our time growing up, Mom would make eggs in toast the traditional way in a frying pan on top of the cooktop. She could only fit two toasts in a pan at the same time.  Either the eggs would get cold, or she could only feed a couple of us at a time. And… There was the clean up! Uggh!

Baking hands down is so much easier than frying and much less clean up.  When you BAKE your eggs in a HOLE, you can feed the WHOLE family at once.  Everyone can eat together and enjoy this healthy sheet pan breakfast. If you are looking for more delicious ways to feed the crew for breakfast or brunch, be sure to try our DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch, Stove Top Parmesan Leek Frittata or our  Blackberry Lemon Drop Biscuits.

What other egg in a hole names are there?

When we were growing up, grandpa used to call these a "birdie in the nest". What do you call this recipe? We had way too much fun asking around to find out what people call this iconic breakfast. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments and we will be sure to add it to the list.

History of Toad in a Hole

Did you know that our American Baked Egg in toast is actually an updated simplified version of the United Kingdom's (UK) toad in a hole? The UK version has sausages baked in a Yorkshire pudding mixture. According to Wikipedia, this dish first appeared in the 1700's as a peasant dish using inexpensive cuts of meats and mostly the batter as a way of stretching out the groceries and feeding a crew on a budget.

American Version

The American version of Toad in a hole is the iconic egg in the basket or any of the other names listed above. With only 3 ingredients, this magical breakfast is also budget-friendly and even easier to make.

Eggs

Bread

Butter

Served Up 4 Different Ways

Egg, bread and butter are the delicious foundation ingredients for baked eggs in toast. However, we wanted to kick it up a few notches and created four different toppings to make all of your family and friends happy. By all means, these are just topping suggestions.

Get creative! Open up your refrigerator and pantry and see what you have on hand. Recruit the family to put on their own toppings. Pssst! This way they can't complain. The only restriction is keeping your toppings dry, so your toast does not get soggy. (ie, tomatoes are not the best option)

1. Ham and cheese - Little diced up leftover Spiced Cranberry Glazed Ham and some grated cheddar cheese is sublime.
2. Feta, Salami and Spinach - is like tasting a bite of the Mediterranean.
3. Parmesan Cheese, Tri-colored peppers and Green Onions or other garden-fresh ingredients.
4. Parmesan Cheese, Roasted Red Peppers and Italian Spice Seasoning. Make sure you dry your roasted red peppers well before placing them on your baked eggs and toast. This measure prevents your toast from getting soggy.

Main Ingredient Substitutions

The main ingredients are eggs, bread and butter. We have listed a few substitutions in case of allergies or food sensitivities.

Eggs

Organic free range large eggs are fantastic in this sheet pan egg-in-the-hole recipe. If you have any leftover eggs, you may want to want to try our Sauteed Greens Breakfast Salad or our Sautéed Asparagus and Mushrooms with Poached Eggs.

Sunnyside up eggs are difficult to substitute. However, if you are looking for a vegan option, you can try one of the several liquid egg substitutes meant for making a vegan scrambled egg. Add in chopped quick cooking veggies of choice in the beaten egg substitute and pour into the hole in the bread. Then, bake your vegan baked scrambled egg in toast until set. If you looking for more vegan breakfasts be sure to try our Spicy Tofu Scramble, Healthy Vegan Matcha Pancakes or our Spicy Chocolate Chai Pu-erh Chia Pudding.

Butter

If you do not tolerate dairy or are vegan, you can substitute butter with extra virgin olive oil.

Bread

Do you have a gluten sensitivity? No worries, just substitute with your gluten-free bread of choice. We made ours with a plain white bread but very delicious with hearty wheat, rye, thick Texas toast, rustic Italian or even a challah bread. Use what you have on hand. We are all about that.

How to Make Egg in a Hole?

While the oven is preheating, butter one side of your bread with butter or brush on a little olive oil. Place buttered side down on a lined baking sheet. We used parchment paper to line our baking sheet. If you are using aluminum foil to line your pan, be sure to also use a little spray oil as well to prevent sticking.

Cut a hole in the breads. We used a heart shaped cookie cutter.  However, you can also use a biscuit cutter or just cut out a square with a knife. Keep those delicious cut out pieces of bread and lay those on the baking sheet with the cutout bread.

Break your eggs one by one in a separate container and pour into the hole of the bread. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add on your fun toppings!

Try our Ham and Cheese, Feta, Salami and Spinach, Parmesan Cheese, Tri-colored peppers and Green Onions, Parmesan Cheese, Roasted Red Peppers and Italian Spice Seasoning or whatever your little heart desires. Spray with a little olive oil spray to facilitate the toasting of the bread.

Bake 6 - 8 minutes depending on how well done you like your eggs. 6 minutes for a nice drippy egg and 8 minutes for a semi-soft egg.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Delicious Breakfast Ideas

Italian Scrambled Eggs

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Healthy Tex Mex Breakfast Bowls

Top Breakfast and Brunch Ideas

Toasted Almond and Date Lara Bars

Blackberry Lemon Drop Biscuits

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Baked Eggs in Toast

Baked Eggs in Toast is made 4 different ways for an easy substantial oven ready breakfast or brunch in under 20 minutes.

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Total Time 16 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 127kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• sheet pan or baking pan

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread
  
• 4 whole eggs
• 2 tablespoon butter
• spray oil as needed

Topping Ideas

Option 1 (Ham & Cheese)

• ham chopped
• cheese grated

Option 2 (Feta, Salami & Spinach)

• feta crumbled
• salami chopped finely
• spinach sliced thin

Option 3 (Parmesan, Roasted Peppers & Italian Seasoning)

• parmesan cheese grated
• roasted red peppers chopped and make sure you dry these well with paper towel.
• Italian seasoning dried or fresh herbs

Option 4 (Parmesan, fresh chopped peppers & Green Onions)

• peppers fresh chopped finely
• parmesan cheese grated
• green onions sliced thinly

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C)
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper. If using aluminum foil, spray with oil to prevent sticking.
• Butter one side of the sliced bread and place on baking sheet butter side down. Repeat with all slices.
• Cut out each bread slice using either a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or just use a knife to cut out a square. Place your cut out bread (circles, hearts, squares, etc.) and put these on the baking sheet too with the butter side down on the sheet pan. These make delicious dipping toasts.
• One at a time, Gently crack the eggs and place the whole egg ( unbroken) into a separate small bowl. Then, gently pour the egg into the hole of each of the breads. (You never know if there are problems with your eggs so we like to first check them in a bowl before placing them into the bread holes.)
• Add your favorite toppings. Here are some suggestions but have fun with your own ideas.

  1) ham and cheese

  2) Feta, Salami & Spinach

  3) Parmesan, Roasted Peppers & Italian Seasoning

  4) Parmesan, fresh chopped peppers & Green Onions
• Light spray or spritz with olive oil spray to facilitate browning. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Bake eggs in toast uncovered. If you like drippy eggs, cook for about 6 minutes or until the egg whites start to get less wiggly. Then, they are ready to come out of the oven. . If you like soft eggs, bake for 8 minutes. Please note that your eggs will continue to cook, EVEN after you remove them from the oven. If you like you eggs well done then cook 10 minutes or more to your desired level. Personally, we love when you cut into the egg and the yolk is ready to be dipped into.
• Serve baked eggs in toast on a plate with the extra bread toast for dipping and enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can use any type of sliced bread you desire. (White, wheat, rye, etc.) If you are feeling crafty, feel free to use a cookie cutter and cut out a cute design instead of a square in the middle, like a heart. 

Substitutions

Eggs: Sunny side up eggs are difficult to substitute. However, if you are looking for a vegan option, you can try one of the several liquid egg substitutes meant for making a vegan scrambled egg. Add in chopped quick cooking veggies of choice in the beaten egg substitute and pour into the hole in the bread. Then, bake your vegan baked scrambled egg in toast until set. If you looking for more vegan breakfasts be sure to try our Spicy Tofu Scramble, Healthy Vegan Matcha Pancakes or our Spicy Chocolate Chai Pu-erh Chia Pudding.

Butter: If you do not tolerate dairy or are vegan, you can substitute butter with extra virgin olive oil.

Bread: Do you have a gluten sensitivity? No worries, just substitute with your gluten-free bread of choice. We made ours with a plain white bread but very delicious with hearty wheat, rye, thick Texas toast, rustic Italian or even a challah bread. Use what you have on hand. We are all about that.

How long to bake eggs in toast?

At 400 degrees F (204 degrees C), bake eggs in bread for 6 minutes for a nice drippy egg and 8 minutes for a semi -soft egg. The whites of the egg should be set, and the bread should be toasted. Remember that the eggs will continue to cook even after they are removed from the oven.

 How to store leftover baked eggs-in-a-hole?

Eggs in a hole are best served hot out of the oven on the day prepared. However, they can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3 days. The eggs will no longer be drippy but can be reheated in the oven at 350 degrees F (176 C) for about 10 minutes or on the stove top for a couple minutes on each side, just enough to reheat.

What to serve with egg in toast?

Coffee, Tranquil Lemon Ginger Tea, Quinoa Fruit Salad or even our Ginger Citrus Dragon Fruit Smoothie are a delicious accompaniment to baked eggs in a basket.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 197mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Baked Eggs in Toast (4 Ways & VIDEO) appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

How would you like a piping hot little Welsh cake straight from the griddle? We bet you can't resist! During the photo shoot for this recipe, we somehow managed to eat 12 little tea cakes. Are you shocked or laughing? After all, we had to get that perfect bite shot! (smiling)

Thank goodness this recipe makes between 40-42 little individual cake servings. There were plenty left for the kid's lunches and even enough to share with the neighbors.

Traditional Welsh Cakes Recipe

When you take your first bite of a traditional Welsh cake, you will notice the soft chewiness and the tender melt-in-your-mouth delicious cake inside. Since these little Welsh treats are cooked on the stove top, they have the appearance of a very thick (but small) pancake. They are smooth on the top and bottom and puffed up around the edges.

Their texture is between a pancake, scone or maybe even a chewy cookie. Bursting with delicious spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and tender raisins. You can eat these tea cakes at room temperature, but they are best served hot off the skillet dusted with a little sugar. All we can say is that they are addictive!

Why Are They Called Welsh Cakes?

This traditional Welsh cake recipe originated in Wales, a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Traditionally, these little teatime treats were baked in a bakestone over an open fire. They are called Welsh cakes because they inspired by the Welsh bakestone. According to Wikipedia, a Welsh bakestone is a type of flat griddle, sometimes called a planc.  It looks very similar to an iron skillet, but its flat.

Welsh cakes are also sometimes referred to as Griddle Cakes, Welsh Tea Cakes or Welsh Miner Cakes. Have we sparked your interest on why these delicious treats are called miner cakes?  Did you know that Wales is well known for its agriculture and mining?

Back in the day, these little Welsh cakes were made by the lady of the house for teatime and the kid's lunches. Because they were so portable, the miners would stuff a few in their pockets to give them some energy to get through their grueling workday. That is why they are sometimes referred to as Welsh Miner Cakes.

Ingredients

Simple staples are all you will need for this recipe. NO LARD is used in this recipe.  You probably have everything in your house to make these little delicious tea cakes right now. We have included both metric and imperial measurements in the recipe directions below for you.

How To Make Griddle Cakes From Scratch?

Making traditional welsh cake recipe dough is easier than you think. It is much like a short crust pastry dough. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg in a bowl. Add sugar and mix. Then, add the cold butter. Either use your fingers or a pastry device to cut in the butter until it looks like little grains of sand.

Add eggs, raisins and mix together. Next, add enough almond milk or dairy of choice just until it sticks together like a pastry dough and form into a ball. Do not overwork the dough as this can make the pastry dough tough.

Next, roll out, cut out and get ready cook the Welsh cakes on the griddle or in a frying pan. The dough may slightly crack when rolling out but that is okay.

You do not need a special pan, griddle or even an iron skillet to make these little teatime treats. All you need is a large frying pan and just a little bit of oil spray to prevent sticking. We set our stove top to 3-4 and it takes about 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and cooked through.

Next, our favorite part…Eating them!

Cooking Hacks

• Sift your flours and additions to keep the biscuit light and delicious.
• Use REAL COLD butter so you can cut it in. We use our fingers or a pastry cutter to perform this task. It will look like grains of sands when you are done.
• You will need to add a little milk or dairy free alternative to get to the consistency of a short crust pastry dough. If you don't, your little cakes might be a little dry.
• Don't overwork the dough as it will make the pastry tough.
• Just gather dough until it sticks together. It may still crack a little bit but that is okay. You just want enough milk or milk alternative just until it sticks together so you can roll it out.
• Make sure to flour your board, rolling pin and cake cutter well so that it does not stick.
• We used a little 6.5 cm or 2 and ¾ inch antique cookie cutter to make our little griddle cakes. You can also use a plastic cup to make your little griddle cakes.
• As these cakes have butter in them, they do not need much oil to prevent sticking in the pan. We used just a little spray oil.
• Our stovetop burner was set on gas 3-4 level and it takes between 3 to 4 minutes on each side to get golden brown and cook fully through. If your cakes are getting too brown quickly, turn down the heat. If they are not completely golden after 3-4 minutes, then turn up the heat slightly.
• Do not overcrowd the pan, griddle or skillet as this makes it difficult to flip the cakes.
• If you have a griddle or iron skillet, these works fantastic. We cooked our Welsh cakes in a large non-stick skillet, and it worked perfectly.

How to Serve Welsh Tea Cakes?

These delightful cakes are such a fun portable treat. Perfect for brunch, breakfast, St. David's Day, afternoon tea, a Mother's Day treat, bridal showers, baby showers or just any day you need something a little special.

We like to eat these delicious cakes plain but also enjoy them with a little slather of our Apricot Freezer Jam Recipe, butter, honey or Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam. Easy enough to just eat in your hands or decadent enough to eat with garnish berries and Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream.

These little teatime treats are best served hot off the griddle.  However, these cakes can also be microwaved for about 20-30 seconds or heated up in the toaster just before serving.

St. David's Day History

Now most everyone has heard of St. Patrick's Day.  We know St. Patrick is from Ireland. ON St. Patrick's Day we wear our green clothes, drink green beer and celebrate Irish traditions that are well known around the world. Less is known about St. David.

St. David was born sometime in the middle of the 6th century in the year 542, in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.  This makes St. David the only one of the British Saints to be patron of his home country. St. David was also known as Dewi Sant. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop who spread the word of Christianity across Wales.

A famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him. He was known as a powerful orator and many legends grew up about miraculous events around him.

St. David died on March 1st in 589 AD and was later canonized in 1120.  His feast has been celebrated on the anniversary of his death ever since. An important part of the observations of St. David's Day is to enjoy traditional welsh cakes and gather with friends.

Ways to Celebrate St. David's Day

There are many St. David's Day customs and traditions to be enjoyed by all. For our Welsh friends, rugby played an important part of their celebrations.  Playing rugby in a small apartment in Japan or Hong Kong is out of the question, so instead, one of our friends shared with us the story behind the Welsh Heart (Love) Spoons and the tribute to their rugby teams.

So far as I can recall, Welsh heart spoons have the tradition of being gifted during weddings or other significant joyous events. Each carving has distinct meanings and sentiment to those it is passed on to and is cherished by the family or team it is given to. The Welsh Heart Spoons are carved from one piece of wood and display the carver's skill.

The carver uses nothing more than a knife, usually a small pocket-knife. The handle received his full attention and skills, eventually being carved with piercings, relief, fretwork, or all three woodcarving techniques. Wooden chains, swivels, balls within chains and rings displayed even greater skills, as the carvers figured out how to make these from one piece of wood.

Frequent Asked Questions

More Delicious Teatime Recipes

Best Orange Flourless Cake

Strawberry Rhubarb Refrigerator Jam (No Refined Sugar)

Icebox Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake

Baked Matcha Lemon Glazed Donuts

Matcha White Chocolate Brownies

Baked Black Sesame Mochi Donuts

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Traditional Welsh Cakes Recipe

Our Traditional Welsh Cakes Recipe is an easy teatime treat that combines the convenience of a pancake, with the chewy deliciousness of a cookie or warm scone. A wonderful way to celebrate St. David's Day - hot off the bakestone skillet or as a sweet feature on your DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch board.

Course Appetizers/ Snacks, Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine Welsh

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 23 minutes minutes

Servings 42

Calories 138kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• frying pan, griddle pan or iron skillet

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups flour
  all purpose
• 4 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1.5 cups sugar granulated or sugar alternative of choice
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 16 tablespoon butter
  2 sticks (or 1 cup) salted
• 4 eggs beaten
• 2 cups raisins
  
• 8 tablespoon almond milk or milk or dairy alternative of choice
• oil spray
• granulated sugar for garnishing - optional
• Garnishes (butter, assorted jams, honey, even whipped coconut cream and berries- whatever your little heart desires) - optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg into a large bowl. Add butter and mix with fingers or a pastry blender tool until resembles fine breadcrumbs. Beat the eggs lightly and add to flour mixture. Add the raisins and mix well. Add just enough almond milk or dairy of choice to make a firm dough similar to shortcrust pastry. We added 8 tablespoons of almond milk to get to the desired consistency. However, depending on your climate of your kitchen and humidity this can vary.
• Pull the dough together to make a ball. Do not overwork the dough as this can make the pastry dough tough. Dust your board, the dough and your rolling pin with a little flour.
• Roll the dough to between ¼ inch (6.5 mm) to ½ inch (12.5 mm) on floured surface and cut with 2 and ¾ inch (6.5 cm) rounds. Lightly grease your pan or griddle with a little oil spray. Cook the cakes on a greased griddle over low heat until golden brown. We set our gas mark on 3 to 4 and cooked the cakes approximately 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown on each side and cooked through. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar or sugar alternative if desired.
• Best if serve hot off the griddle. Welsh cakes can be reheated in the toaster or in the microwave for a few seconds. However, they can also be eaten at room temperature but we prefer them hot.
• Enjoy St. David's Day Welsh cakes on this special day or any day you want a lovely snack, yummy breakfast treat or tea time treat. Traditionally it is served with jams or honey. You can also really kick it up with some coconut whipping cream and berries for a real treat. They can be served hot off the griddle my favorite or at room temperature. Happy St. David's Day!
• These little cakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days in a sealed container or can be frozen up to 3 months. Just heat and serve!

Notes

Cooking Hacks

• Sift your flours and additions to keep the biscuit light and delicious.
• Use REAL COLD butter so you can cut it in. We use our fingers or a pastry cutter to perform this task. It will look like grains of sands when you are done.
• You will need to add a little milk or dairy free alternative to get to the consistency of a short crust pastry dough. If you don't, your little cakes might be a little dry.
• Don't overwork the dough as it will make the pastry tough.
• Just gather dough until it sticks together. It may still crack a little bit but that is okay. You just want enough milk or milk alternative just until it sticks together so you can roll it out.
• Make sure to flour your board, rolling pin and cake cutter well so that it does not stick.
• We used a little 6.5 cm or 2 and ¾ inch antique cookie cutter to make our little griddle cakes. You can also use a plastic cup to make your little griddle cakes.
• As these cakes have butter in them, they do not need much oil to prevent sticking in the pan. We used just a little spray oil.
• Our stovetop burner was set on gas 3-4 level and it takes between 3 to 4 minutes on each side to get golden brown and cook fully through. If your cakes are getting too brown quickly, turn down the heat. If they are not completely golden after 3-4 minutes, then turn up the heat slightly.
• Do not overcrowd the pan, griddle or skillet as this makes it difficult to flip the cakes.
• If you have a griddle or iron skillet, these works fantastic. We cooked our Welsh cakes in a large non-stick skillet, and it worked perfectly.

Storage and Heating Instructions

• The easiest way to reheat a Welsh cake is to either heat them up in the toaster or just microwave a couple of them for about 20-30 seconds.
• You can freeze both cooked and uncooked Welsh cakes. If you have cooked your Welsh cakes on the griddle, allow them to cool completely and freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Make sure to heat them up in the toaster or microwave before serving.
• In addition, you can store prepared uncooked Welsh cakes in the freezer for up to 2 months in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers to prevent sticking. When you are ready to cook, thaw a few Welsh cakes and cook on the griddle.
• Store cooked traditional Welsh cakes in a sealed container for up to 1 week. We like to store ours in the refrigerator as we live in a humid climate. Then, these delicious cakes can be frozen up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 156IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Traditional Welsh Cakes Recipe [St. David's Day] appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

This easy homemade Italian bread recipe can solve a lot of problems. Focaccia is a great tool for lapping up gravy from our Tuscan Slow Cooked Beef in Wine Sauce. Delicious side to our Instant Pot Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup and makes one hearty sandwich. However, one of our favorite ways to enjoy this bread is as a snack with a delicious herb oil.

Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread for the win!

Are you ready to get baking? Fall (Autumn) is just around the corner. Can you believe it? There is nothing like homemade fresh baked bread along with soup season, stews, chili and curries.

However, this is not your ever day normal homemade boring bread. It's focaccia bread. The little dimples on the bread make the perfect little crevasse to hold all of the flavors and toppings. When you sink your teeth into this bread, you can feel the little crispness on the outside, chewy interior and taste the flavors of the toppings. Winner!

This no fuss easy focaccia is topped with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), fresh basil, rosemary, garlic, sea salt, parmesan cheese and even olives. In addition, we added some dried Italian herbs directly into the whole wheat bread mix. This homemade bread is flavorful, not just on the top, but through and through.

Back to School Lunch Box Idea

Getting everyone and everything ready for the "back to school madness" can be daunting.

Whether your kids are studying online at home or back to school, there is one very similar issue. Household craziness! After, several months summer fun with no set schedules, it is time to get back to business.

Lunch Box Idea: In the morning before school, we slice the focaccia bread lengthwise in half and add some of their favorite fillings like grilled chicken, or ham and cheese. Then, we place it in the indoor grill plate for about 2 minutes. The sandwich has beautiful grill marks, the cheese is melted, and it is toasty hot. We wrap the sandwiches in aluminum foil and send the lunches off with some fruit, sliced veggies and the boys are good to go.

We don't know if the sandwiches actually make it all the way until lunch time. However, we do know they must love them all that comes back him is an empty lunch sack with a ball of aluminum foil. These little toasted sandwiches are very similar to a panini sandwich. If you a looking for a Dagwood sized sandwich, be sure to try our Triple Decker Sammie.

After School Snack and Appetizer Idea

Don't you just love bread hot out of the oven? Your house or apartment is going to smell amazing.  However, there is one small complication.  Because of all of these delicious aromas wafting from your kitchen, you are going to be hunted.  Family and friends will be waiting like a cat waiting to pounce on its prey as soon as you to open the oven door.

You are going to have to fight off the crowds for your fair share of this delicious herb and cheesy bread. Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread is one of THE most delicious after school snacks or appetizers, especially when served with our homemade herb oil.

How to Make Herb Oil

You only need 4 ingredients. There is no need to measure the ingredients and it can be made in less than 5 minutes.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Chopped fresh rosemary (or dried)

Parmesan cheese

Freshly grated pepper

Get a flat salad sized plate and add a nice layer of EVOO to cover the bottom of the plate. Next add a thin layer of grated parmesan cheese, chopped rosemary and a sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper. Then, take a nice slice of that delicious hot out of the oven herb focaccia bread and dip it in the HERB OIL. Be generous with your slathering of oil and enjoy. You are going to forget all about boring butter.

Dough Ingredients

Italian Cuisine is built on the concept of just a few ingredients but make sure you use quality ingredients. We used really good EVOO and this makes all the difference. A mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour give a nice chewy texture to this bread. Make sure your yeast is not expired.

Focaccia Bread Art

Have you heard of this concept? We think this is plot by Martha Stewart to make working parents feel like underachievers. (smiling) Hey, we are feeling pretty artsy. We put olives and basil on the bread in a rather symmetrical way and did not even burn the bread. Feeling like a rock star over here.

However, if you are ever so inclined, you can decorate your focaccia bread with vegetables like peppers, tomatoes and zucchini.  You can use edible flowers and make pretty designs or art deco into the focaccia dough.  Don't hold back! Maybe, you want to do a little focaccia bread art just like the ceiling in the Doumo of Florence. Knock yourself out!

How to Make Focaccia Bread from Scratch

1. Activate yeast in water with sugar
2. Mix dry ingredients
3. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and extra virgin olive oil.
4. Knead
5. Let rise
6. Shape into a rectangle in a sheet pan
7. Rest for 30 minutes
8. Poke the bread with fingers
9. Add fun toppings
10. Bake
11. Enjoy!

Best Bread Making Secrets

• Don't use expired yeast
• Use Active dry Yeast and not Rapid rise yeast for this recipe.
• Make sure the water you add to the yeast is between 95 degrees F to 110 degrees F. If it is hotter, it can kill the yeast. If it is not warm enough, the yeast will not activate. We can never tell if the water is the right temperature by touching it, so we use a candy thermometer to validate.
• Adding sugar, helps activate the yeast in the water.
• You can use either a dough mixer with a dough hook to make the focaccia bread or use a fork and your hands to combine and knead.
• Kneading the bread is an important step to activate the glutens in the bread.
• Bread loves to rise in a warm location. Sometimes, we turn the oven on to 375 degrees or 190 degrees and crack the oven open in the kitchen and this helps our bread rise. However, do not put your bread in direct sunlight outside to get it warm. Otherwise, it will form an odd crust on top. Been there - tried that. Not recommended.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ's)

This whole wheat herb focaccia bread is a perfect accompaniment to so many different dishes such as salads, Italian dishes, and soups. The youngest boy has already brought home the first cold of the year. I told him to stop kissing all those cute little girls in his class but he must have not listened, so I made a big pot of my Immune Boosting Chicken and Rice Soup to go along with this delicious focaccia.

More Bread Recipes

Sesame Low Carb Cloud Bread - keto friendly bread

Gluten-Free Herbs de Provence - gluten free

Hong Zao Bread - lightly sweet bread

Hungry For More? Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow along on Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest updates.

Print

Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread

Our homemade Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread has loads of nooks, crannies and fun toppings. The perfect culinary solution for back to school lunches and snacks.

Course Breads

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Resting Time - Rise Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 204kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• baking tray

Ingredients

• 2.25 teaspoon yeast dry active (do not use rapid rise yeast) - 2 and ¼ teaspoon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1.5 cups water warm (about 95-110 degrees F)
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 and ¾ cup white flour all purpose unbleached (and a little extra for kneading)
• 1 and ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning or a mixture of basil, oregano, thyme

Toppings

• 2 tbsps olive oil EVOO
• sea salt to taste to sprinkle on top (optional)
• basil leaves handful of fresh leaves ( or rosemary, thyme, roasted garlic or any herbs your little heart desires)-optional
• ½ cup olives kalmata, green with pimentos, or whatever you have on hand-optional
• ½ cup parmesan cheese grated-optional

Herb Oil

• ½ cup olive oil Extra virgin
• 3 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated
• 1 tablespoon rosemary fresh chopped
• ¼ teaspoon pepper fresh cracked (to taste)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water 95 - 110 degrees F or (35 degrees C to 43 degrees C). Wait for about 5 minutes until the yeast has time to start bubbling away. In a large bowl, combine the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt and Italian dried herbs and mix together. Add olive oil to the flour mixture and slowly add the yeast mixture into the flour mixture a little at a time until the dough comes together. I do not have one of those fancy dough mixers so just used a fork and then my hands to get the dough to come together and it worked just fine.  The dough should eventually form a ball and it will be slightly sticky. If too sticky add a little more all purpose white flour. The dough should not be stiff.
  
• Knead the dough on a floured surface for just about a minute and shape it into a ball. Clean, dry and grease  your bowl and put the dough ball into the bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap for about 1.5-2 hours until doubled in size. (Bread loves to rise in a warm place so I usually turn on my oven and get it to temperature (about 190 degrees Celsius and then crack open the oven just a tad and turn off the oven, your bread might rise a little faster this way)
  
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with olive oil. Place the dough ball in the centre of the baking pan and press it out with your fingers until you shape it into a rectangle. Give it some time, because of the gluten in the bread, it wants to constrict. Slowly press down and out and eventually the dough will relax enough and take the shape of the pan. (My boys loved helping out with this part of the bread making process as it is quite fun and they love working dough with their hands) Cover with a damp tea cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.
  
• Now comes the fun part. Lather your hands with extra olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) and rub over the top of the bread. Now using the tip of your fingers press down firmly and dimple the bread so that you get all those lovely nooks and crannies in the bread. Use your favorite toppings such as sea salt, fresh herbs such as basil, olives, parmesan cheese and sprinkle on top of your bread. (Some of the family are not entirely fond of olives. We made little sections with different toppings to suit the likes of each of the kids.)
  
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. Serve warm with your favourite meals. Or you can allow the bread to cool completely and cut into large squares and then slice down through the centre of the bread and fill you with your favourite sandwich fixings and make yourself or your kids a great panini sandwich for their school lunches.
  

How to Make Herb Oil

• Get a flat salad sized plate and add a nice layer of EVOO to cover the bottom of the plate. Next add a thin layer of grated parmesan cheese, chopped rosemary and a sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper. Then, take a nice slice of that delicious hot out of the oven herb focaccia bread and dip it in the HERB OIL. Be generous with your slathering of oil and enjoy. You are going to forget all about boring butter.
  
• Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Best Bread Making Secrets

• Don’t use expired yeast
• Use Active dry Yeast and not Rapid rise yeast for this recipe.
• Make sure the water you add to the yeast is between 95 degrees F to 110 degrees F. If it is hotter, it can kill the yeast. If it is not warm enough, the yeast will not activate. We can never tell if the water is the right temperature by touching it, so we use a candy thermometer to validate.
• Adding sugar, helps activate the yeast in the water.
• You can use either a dough mixer with a dough hook to make the focaccia bread or use a fork and your hands to combine and knead.
• Kneading the bread is an important step to activate the glutens in the bread.
• Bread loves to rise in a warm location. Sometimes, we turn the oven on to 375 degrees or 190 degrees and crack the oven open in the kitchen and this helps our bread rise. However, do not put your bread in direct sunlight outside to get it warm. Otherwise, it will form an odd crust on top. Been there – tried that. Not recommended.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 496mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

We love making homemade bread crumbs because…

Homemade bread crumbs taste so much better than store bought

You can season them anyway you desire

We love some of our bread crumbs to be a little larger and not all ground up

It’s a budget friendly idea. Waste Not – Want Not

You can transform any bread you have into bread crumbs such as Italian, whole wheat, gluten-free, rye, sesame, etc.

Use up those ends of the bread that no one eats. Even breads with seeds and herbs really make a fun crunchy bread crumbs. 

Toasty, crunchy and delicious

They store well

Don't throw out that day old bread!

Day old bread and crusty ends of bread that no one eat make fantastic bread crumbs. We used gluten-free bread from a local baker with flax seeds and that worked wonderful too. You can use the crust of the breads too. That is completely up to you. Not that we ever have leftovers when we make a batch of our homemade Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread, but if you do, make a batch of bread crumbs.

How to make Homemade Bread Crumbs

Of course, there are many different ways to perform this task, but we chose the oven method.

First you dry to bread in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes

Next you bread your dried bread into large pieces and add it into the food processor

Add dried Italian seasonings, garlic powder and salt to taste

Pulse the food processor several times until some of the bread crumbs are fine and some are a little larger in size

If you are going to use these bread crumbs right away, you can also add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the crumbs to make them extra delicious. Otherwise you can skip this step as they store longer without oil.

Lay out your bread crumbs in a flat layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Can you toast homemade bread crumbs on the stove top?

Yes, you can. However, you will need to keep a close eye on them. It is easy to get distracted and burn your bread crumbs. You will have to stir often. It is also better to use a pan where you can spread them out, so they toast evenly in the dry pan. Toast your bread crumbs over low heat.

If you are planning on making Farfalle Aglio e Olio with Bread crumbs, you can also toast your homemade bread crumbs in olive oil and seasonings. This give your bread crumbs an extra richness.

How to store homemade bread crumbs

Baked Homemade bread crumbs, without olive oil, can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for one month or in the freezer for about 3 months. If you added olive oil to the crumbs store in the refrigerator and use within one week. As you can see, our bread crumbs had a little flax seed in it.  It was really nutty and delicious. You can really use any bread you like, even gluten - free. Be sure to take advantage of the last of the zuchinni season with our Baked Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms (GF and Dairy Free) made with toasted homemade panko breadcrumbs.

Plain or Seasoned Bread crumbs

You can use plain homemade bread crumbs for any recipe like our Best Italian Stuffed Artichokes  or our Super Crispy Falafel Bites  it is sometime preferable not to add any seasonings but keep it just as plain bread crumbs.

However, if you know that you will need seasoned bread crumbs like in our … or in our… recipe you can add whatever seasonings your little heart desires, but these are some of our favorite additions…

Garlic powder

Italian Seasonings (mixture of basil, oregano, thyme and savory)

Salt and pepper

Grated parmesan cheese

When we know we are going to use our homemade bread crumbs for Farfalle Aglio e Olio with Bread Crumbs, we add extra virgin olive oil to add richness. In addition, we add Italian seasonings, salt and pepper and garlic powder to the breadcrumbs.

What is the difference between regular bread crumbs and panko breadcrumbs?

Regular homemade bread crumbs can be made with any type of bread and the crusts of the bread. Panko bread crumbs are commonly used in many Japanese recipes and are lighter and crunchier like in our Stuffed Zucchini Flowers.  In addition, they are made only made with light and fluffy “white” bread with the crusts removed.

If you prefer this type of breadcrumb, make sure to us a light and fluffy white bread and remove the crusts. Place in the food processor and make into a larger crumb and then bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Stir them every couple of minutes as the goal is not for them to brown but to get dry and crispy. Once again these can be stored in a dry place for a few weeks or up to 3 months in the freezer. You might like our Baked Chorizo Crusted Fish and Potatoes with Seasoned Panko bread crumbs.

Can I still make homemade bread crumbs without a food processor?

Yes, you can. Using a hand grater to grate the breadcrumbs before baking again is an easy way to perform this task. You can also bake your bread in the oven and then, allow your bread to cool. Then place your toasted bread in a sealed baggie and pound with the back of a spatula or rolling pin.

Homemade Bread Crumbs can be made out of just about anything.

Did you know you can make breadcrumbs out of crackers and even pizza crusts? Have you ever given up on a recipe just because you don’t have breadcrumbs in your house? Don’t let that hold you back from making your recipes now because if you look around your pantry now, you will never be without dried bread crumbs again.

Low Carb Bread crumbs

We have not tested this concept yet but are thinking about crumbling our Sesame Cloud Breads and then toasting them to make keto friendly bread crumbs. If you give this a try, let us know if it worked for you. In the meantime, as you already know you can use pork rinds that you have pulsed in the food processor as a low carb option for recipes that call for bread crumbs. You may like to try our Bacon Wrapped Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin with pork rinds into of bread crumbs as part of the stuffing.

Hungry For More? Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow along on Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest updates.

Print

Homemade Bread Crumbs

Homemade bread crumbs are crunchy, toasty and a delicious budget friendly addition to many recipes.

Course Breads

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 16 Tablespoons

Calories 35kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• 4 slices bread
  (any type)

Optional Add ins

• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
  (basil, oregano, thyme, savory, etc.)- optional
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  optional
• Salt and pepper
  to taste
• 2 tablespoon olive oil (EVOO) added just before the second baking session

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C)
• Place your bread (any type- white, wheat, Italian, ciabatta, 7 grain breads, gluten-free, etc. Heck we have even used pizza crusts!) flat on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes until dry. You can decide if you want to leave the crusts on or remove. We used the crusts. Waste not- want not.
• Allow to cool slightly so that you can break them up into large pieces so that they fit into your food processor. If you want to add seasonings like Italian Seasonings, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper, add it now. Pulse several times until you get to the consistency you are looking for. We love some small dusting and also some little larger crunchy bread crumbs. If you do not have a food processor, you can use a box grater to break into gratings.
• Place your bread crumbs back on the lined baking sheet and lay out flat. If you are making our Farfalle Aglio e Olio with Bread crumbs add a little drizzle of olive oil for extra richness and toss well before baking.
• Bake bread crumbs at 350 degrees for about 7-10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir your breadcrumbs halfway through the cooking process so they get browned on all sides.
• Allow your bread crumbs to cool and use in your favorite recipes. Store bread crumbs in a sealable container in the refrigerator for a month or in the freezer for up to 2 months. However, if you have added olive oil store in the refrigerator and use within 7 days.

Notes

If you want to make panko bread crumbs use white bread and remove the crusts and you do not need to dry your bread in the oven before placing in the food processor. For Panko bread crumbs, after you remove the crusts from the white bread put it in the food processor and pulse into a little light piece of bread crumbs. Then, add your bread crumbs on your baking sheet and bake just until they get dried and crunchy but not golden brown.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 36mg | Potassium: 13mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Homemade Bread Crumbs appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

When you bite into the garlicky crispy crostini and taste the fresh heirloom tomatoes tossed Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, extra virgin olive oil and Sicilian Spice Blend, you will think you died and went to heaven. How can just a handful of ingredients give you so much pleasure? It's the quality of the ingredients. Good quality ingredients like in our antipasto wreath charcuterie skewers are all you need to make your recipes shine.

What is Bruschetta?

Bruschetta is an antipasto appetizer or primo dish. It is usually made out of a rustic Italian bread that is drizzled with olive oil, rubbed with fresh garlic and salted and grilled or try our Whole Wheat Herb Focaccia Bread. Then it can be topped with a tomato relish like we have prepared, fresh mozzarella and sometimes cured parma. Today we kept it very simple and classic.

What's to Love

Easy and simple bruschetta is crowd pleasing appetizer you can get on the table in about 20 minutes flat. When the boys are starving and can't wait for dinner, I put a big plate of bruschetta on the table and they will leave me alone for at least another hour.

The simple taste of the fresh juicy tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and balsamic on top of crunchy chewy garlic bread will have them coming back for more. What is your secret for getting your family to stop eating everything until you can get dinner on the table? With your gardens in full harvest, be sure to try our Caprese Salad on a Stick for a super easy and fun appetizer with tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella cheese.

Don't like Tomatoes?

In addition, this is a simple dish an easy to please all the picky eaters in your family. If you have one kid that won't eat tomatoes, just sprinkle some extra parmesan or mozzarella cheese on the bread for baking and they can eat it plain instead. I don't like being a minute chef to my kids but sometimes little changes can make everyone in the family happy.

Sometimes, if you get your children involved in the cooking process and teach them How to Make Bruschetta Bread they are more excited to try new things. You might be surprised. They might actually eat a tomato if they made it. Really!

Lazy Cooks Bruschetta

If you are super lazy and do not feel like chopping up tomatoes, you can make a do it yourself assemble chartreuse platter. Throw on your board a few thin slices of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh whole basil leaves and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), balsamic vinegar, Italian spice and salt and pepper and call it a day. Grab a few grilled breads and you are in business.

The difference between this version and the classic is that the classic allows the flavors to mingle and that is a very good thing. If you like the idea of a chartreuse platter be sure to try our DIY Ultimate Bagel Bar Brunch.

Bread is the key ingredient

I think one thing that makes this appetizer really lovely is finding some really good bread. A good hearty bread with a crisp crust, chewy center with lots and lots of nooks and crannies or holes in the bread for all of the flavors to get their way inside the bread. Today, we used a hearty Ciabatta bread. It is an Italian bread made with wheat flour, salt, yeast, and water. We sliced it in half lengthwise and then sliced into about 3 inch sections for the perfect bit sized appetizer.

Lower Carb Option/Gluten Free

If you have gluten sensitives, you can try a gluten free bread or our Sesame Low Carb Cloud Bread. You can grill your sesame low carb cloud bread for just a couple of minutes just to get those nice grill marks and to make the exterior crispy. Perfect for those that are watching their carb intake.

Heirloom tomatoes are in season

We have a share a little secret with you. Believe it or not, we have an intense attraction to heirloom tomatoes. Seriously, it is more like an addiction. Going to the Farmer's Market in the summer is one of our favorite activities. We love the fresh produce, the friendly atmosphere and recipe inspiration. However, we just can't hold back when it comes to heirloom tomatoes, that is until we see the price… One heirloom tomato was about 3 pounds and 8 USD…??? Really???? Holy cow!

So, plan B it is. We chose these really deliciously sweet and fragrant vine grown tomatoes. If you grow your own tomatoes, this recipe was meant for you. Be sure to try our recipe for Heirloom Tomato Cucumber Salad and Easy Summer Millet Salad if you are in love with heirloom tomatoes too.

What type of Balsamic vinegar?

Italian recipes are made with only a handful of ingredients. That is why it is really important to use quality ingredients when learning How to Make Bruschetta Bread. There is a huge difference between grocery store quality run of the mill balsamic vinegar and AGED balsamic vinegar.

You do not need to purchase super high-end balsamic vinegar for this recipe. However, a balsamic that has aged enough that it is naturally thick and syrupy is preferred. We love Organic Fondo Montebello Aceto Balsamico

In addition, we like Mie Radici's Nocellara Organic Reserve extra virgin olive oil and their Sicilian Spice Mix which we used in this Bruschetta bread recipe.

More quick and easy summertime appetizers

Firecracker Grilled Shrimp

Lemon Lavender Goat Cheese Spread

Baked Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

How to Cook Shishito Peppers on the Grill

Learn How to Make Bruschetta Bread this year and have the essentials for the easiest appetizer ever.

Italian Appetizers

Best Italian Stuffed Artichokes

Baked Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

Blood Orange Ginger Spritz

Dairy Free Bolognese Polenta Bites

How to Roast Sweet Mini Peppers

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

How to Make Bruschetta Bread

Learn How to Make Bruschetta Bread with just 6 ingredients in less than 20 minutes for a delicious easy classic Italian appetizer.

Course Appetizers/ Snacks

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 221kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups tomatoes or 3 large ripe tomatoes chopped (heirloom or vine ripened tomatoes preferred)
  
• ¼ cup basil fresh chiffonaded (stems removed) - optional
  
• 2 cloves garlic
  (one crushed for bread and one finely minced for tomatoes)
• ¼ cup olive oil
  and extra for drizzling on bread
• 2 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
  (We used Organic Fondo Montebello Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP)
• 1 teaspoon Sicilian Spice Mix (or Italian Seasoning)
  (we used dried Mie Radici Sicilian Spice Mix)
• Salt and pepper
  to taste
• 10 oz bread loaf sliced baguettes or hearty Tuscan style bread or more if your crew is hungry.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a medium bowl add chopped tomatoes, basil, one clove minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, Sicilian Spice Mix or dried Italian herb mix and Salt and pepper to taste. Stir and set aside.
• Drizzle olive oil on bread and rub fresh crushed garlic on each slice. Add a little dash of Sicilian Spice Mix and salt and pepper if desired (optional)
• Grill bread on BBQ or gas outdoor grill, indoor grill plate for about 2 minutes on each side or until your bread has nice grill marks and is golden brown. If Mother Nature is not cooperating, you can bake in oven for about 3-4 minutes at 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees C) for about 5-7 minutes or just until lightly golden brown.
• Serve your grilled toasted Italian bread with the delicious tomato topping. (Let everyone help themselves.) enjoy!

Notes

If you put the tomato basil topping on the bread in advance of bringing it to the table, the garlic bread may get soggy. Instead let everyone help themselves for an interactive appetizer. If your children would like cheesy bread, add parmesan or mozzarella cheese on top before grilling- don't flip these special cheesy toasts on the grill or you will have a cheesy mess.

You can also make a do it yourself assemble chartreuse platter. Throw on your board a few thin slices of tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh whole basil leaves and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), balsamic vinegar, Italian spice and salt and pepper and call it a day. Be sure to use good extra virgin olive oil, an aged balsamic vinegar and a good crusty bread with lots of nooks and crannies for the best bruschetta. If you need to keep this recipe low carb or gluten free be sure to try or Sesame low carb cloud bread grilled as a replacement for Italian bread.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 146mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

The post How to Make Bruschetta Bread appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Recipe Testing

Have you been to the pumpkin patch yet? The closest thing we have been to a pumpkin patch is isle 7 in the local grocery store. Incidentally, we have been hoarding all their canned pumpkin puree so we could test our healthy pumpkin muffin recipe. We have made them a couple of different ways to give you some options depending on what your family likes.

These Healthy Pumpkin Muffins have been delicious for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and everything in between. We are currently on a Healthy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe and Instant Pot Apple Cider diet until these are gone or we find a little space in the freezer. Certainly, we will be a little sad when the pumpkin spice season ends.  However, until then, bring it on!

Muffin Testing

Our clean-up crew (doggie) also loves Healthy Pumpkin Muffins. He has a little spring in his step and tail wags when the oven beeps and the muffins are done baking. It is a very good thing that we made these healthy as he has been eating his fair share.

We have been baking up a storm here at Healthy World Cuisine testing out a million different ways to make healthy pumpkin muffins. There are by ways when you try to push the boarders of healthy, you can go too far. Hence, testing is imperative.

No Refined Sugar

You know that granulated sugar gets a bad rap. Granulated sugar spikes your blood glucose which in turn can cause many health issues. Dates are a natural sweetener. Medjool dates have a lower glycemic index which is about half of that of sugar or brown sugar.

Whether you add in brown sugar, dates, honey, maple syrup to your recipes, they all eventually breakdown to glucose so everything in moderation. However, it is the post glucose spike that differs between these sweetening agents. Dates have lower glucose spike compared to high glycemic granulated sugar.

Everything you wanted to know about DATES

Dates are high in iron, fiber, potassium and magnesium. We love dates because they are delicious. Date paste can be substituted for granulated and brown sugar in baking recipes in a 1:1 ratio. For example, use 1 cup of date paste in exchange for 1 cup oil or butter. However, the amount of oil or butter must also be considered as date paste ALSO is a great substitution for oil. Win-Win situation!

Our  Toasted Almond and Date Lara Bars  are made with only 2 ingredients. If you love dates, you will love this recipe. Our cranberry spiced holiday balls are fun treats around the holidays.  For a lightly sweetened bread recipe, be sure to try our Chinese Red Date bread.  A crowd pleasing holiday gluten free and lower sugar recipe is our Cranfusion Red Ruby Gem Muffins .

Date Paste Rocks!

Have you ever made date paste? Medjool dates are pureed with a little hot water until they are combined into a paste that resembles a date butter. Sometimes, you can also find date paste already prepared at your local grocery store. Just one thing to note, ounce for ounce date paste is heavier than oil or butter. Therefore, your muffins will weigh a little more than their butter made counterparts.

For example, the standard muffins made with butter and brown sugar weigh approximately 65 grams per muffin. However, healthy pumpkin muffins made with dates weigh about 69 grams per muffin.

Alternative Options

If you don't have dates or don't want to use date paste, no worries. We have you covered. In the recipe directions below, we have included steps for those that want a lighter healthy pumpkin muffin but want to use butter and brown sugar. Baby steps to being healthy. If you can't give up sugar all the way, this is at least a little less sweet than your standard muffin recipes.

There is a just a slight difference in color between the Healthy Pumpkin Muffins made with dates and those with brown sugar. The ones made with dates are little more orange and bright in color compared to the dark brown sugar muffins. However, both are really delicious.

Muffins vs Bread

This Healthy Pumpkin muffin recipe can easily be made into a breakfast bread instead of muffins if you like. However, the baking time will be greatly increased from just about 18 - 22 minutes to 60 minutes in the oven. If you make these muffins you can be done in 30 minutes. If you decide to make a muffin loaf bread, then plan on 70 minutes. 10 minutes devoted to prep and the rest is inactive baking time. This recipe makes either makes 15 regular sized healthy pumpkin muffins or 12 huge pumpkin muffins. As we have only 1 muffin pan we opted for the huge muffins and they are perfect.

Fun Additions

We love studding our Healthy Pumpkin Muffins with pecan halves. Love that little crunch but that is totally optional. Fun add ins are raisins, chopped dates, chocolate chips, goji berries and pepitas seeds.

More Delicious Breads and Muffins

Cranfusion Red Ruby Gem Muffins

Sesame Low Carb Cloud Bread

Almost Diet Nutella Banana Bread

Hong Zao Bread (Chinese Red Dates)

Hungry For More? Subscribe to our Newsletter and follow along on Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest updates.

Print

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins (Dairy Free and Sugar Free)

Healthy Pumpkin Muffins are moist, delicately sweetened with date paste and a pumpkin spice aroma that is out of this world. Naturally refined sugar free and dairy free too!

Course Breakfast and Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 164kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Equipment

• muffin tin

Ingredients

Healthy Pumpkins Muffins with DATES

• Spray oil to prevent muffins from sticking to muffin cup liners
• 2 cups All purpose flour
  
• ½ teaspoon Salt
  
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  
• ½ teaspoon Baking powder
  
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  ground
• 1 teaspoon Nutmeg ground
• ¼ teaspoon Clove ground
• ¾ cup Date paste (¾ cup seedless packed medjools dates with ½ cup hot water and pureed)
  
• 2 tablespoon Coconut oil
  melted
• 2 Eggs
  
• 15 oz Pumpkin puree
  plain (without spices and sugar)- 100% pure pumpkin in a can
• ¼ cup dates chopped - optional
• 12 Pecans
  whole unsalted - optional

Substitution OPTIONS if you want to use dark Brown Sugar and Butter (ONLY Use as exchange for NOT using date paste)

• ¾ cup butter
  
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
  packed (if you like your muffins sweet, then increase up to 1.5 cups brown sugar.)
• Do NOT Add coconut oil or dates if using the brown sugar and butter method

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat over to 350 F or 176 degrees C. Prepare your muffin tins with muffin cup liners and spray each muffin liner with a little oil spray.
• Make Date paste- Check our recipe for details https://www.hwcmagazine.com/recipe/how-to-make-date-paste/ . If you plan on using prepared date paste or brown sugar, you can skip this step.
• Mix dry flour mixture: In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and mix well. Set aside.
• In your mixer, add your date paste and melted coconut oil and mix together, will be clumped together but do not worry. Next add your eggs one at a time to the mixer and blend. Blend until the mixture is lighter in color and the dates are streaked through. Add your pumpkin puree and mix until blended.
• Next add about ⅓ of the dry flour mixture at a time and mix on slow. Finish up with adding the rest of the flour mixture and add any adds ins as desired. We added in an additional ¼ cup chopped dates. You may wish to add raisins, goji berries, chocolate chips or whatever your little heart desires. Your batter will be very thick.
• Spoon your healthy pumpkin muffins mixture into each of the prepared muffin cups. Smooth out a little bit with a butter knife. Press a pecan on top each of the muffins. Bake between 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  
• Enjoy! (Store in a sealed container either at room temperature or in the refrigerator up to 3 Days, can freeze up to 3 months)

Notes

Chef Notes: If you do NOT want to use date paste, then simply replace the ¾ cups date paste with ¾ cup softened butter (1.5 sticks) and add 1 cup packed DARK brown sugar. Do not add the coconut oil. If you like your muffins more on the sweet side add 1.5 cups brown sugar instead of 1 cup sugar. 1 cup of sugar is not very sweet but we like to keep the sugar level down. 

GLUTEN FREE OPTIONS: If you want to make these muffins gluten free then swap with gluten-free flour but please note they will be a little denser.

VEGAN OPTIONS: You can also make this recipe vegan by swapping out eggs with 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water and allow to sit for 5 minutes. This ratio is for 1 egg and this recipe requires 2 eggs, so you need to double that. Also, please note that this change of flax and water for the eggs will also make your muffins a little heavier.

BREAKFAST BREAD OPTION: If you want to make a bread loaf instead of individual muffins, this recipe will make 2 small loaves. You need to first spray your loaf pans with spray oil. Next spread your batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

LOWER SUGAR OPTION: If you do not have date paste or do not want to use date paste, you can replace the date paste with 1.5 sticks of butter (¾ cup) and 1 cup packed dark brown sugar. Hold the coconut oil. You will first beat the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, and follow the rest of the recipe as written, except HOLD the coconut oil. These muffins are also just delicately sweet but are no longer dairy free.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 5555IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Healthy Pumpkin Muffins appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine

Dim Sum Delight

You are just going to love these Pan-Fried Beef Bao as they have everything your craving in one delicious bite. They are crispy on the outside, delicately bready and light on the inside with a delicious spicy beef and scallion mixture that is going to make your house smell like the BEST Chinese Restaurant. Drizzle on a little garlic chili oil to make it extra spicy!

Scroll down as we have a step by step video below to show you how to make these delicious little bites of awesomeness.

Gluten-Free Options

We know how difficult it is for those that need to stay gluten-free for celiac issues so we have created a bao (bun) dough alternative that is gluten free and gluten free options for the filling too.

Chinese Street Food

Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao is a street food treat you can have almost anywhere in Taiwan/China. Most generally in Hong Kong, you will find Steamed Pork BBQ buns. In Shanghai, you will find Xiao Long Bao (pork water dumplings- steamed). In Taiwan, you will see these beef or pork buns that are first steamed and then fried.

However, our Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao version is a cross between all these put together. We call it the lazy man's version. You can find something very similar in Hong Kong. However, ours is a little different as we have added a little Sichuan peppercorns for the chili heads in our family and a little 5 spiced powder for a depth of flavor.

Keeping it Simple

Why do we call this the lazy man's Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao version? Perfection is not required while stuffing and closing your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao. You can be the worst at filling and closing these up and they still turn out fantastic.

We know you are probably laughing now but when you try to close them for the first time you will see what we mean. This recipe is a little more complicated. We rated this recipe intermediate for the skill level needed.

How to Make Beef Bao

Have you ever watched closely as a skilled team has filled and artfully closed a xiao long bao? Quick hands and perfect symmetry. How about a street food vendor making and filling a steamed and then pan-fried beef bao? Bao means Chinese filled buns, breads or little delicious filled packages of goodness.

Here is our attempt at filling and closing our Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao. We tried to do it very slow so that you can see how to close them up. However, guess what, no matter what you do to close these little morsels of deliciousness they will turn out lovely.

Even if you just pinch them together and cut off the excess they will be delicious. As in the end, the only purpose of wrapping them this way is just to get them closed and it does kind of leave a cool artistic design.

We guess they were a complete hit as one boy has eaten 15 of the 16 of these Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao in less than 10 minutes! Inhaled! We wonder how many your family members can eat in one sitting. I would highly suggest you make a double batch.

If you are looking for a looking for some other delicious dim sum dishes be sure to try our Sweet Potato Greens Purses , Chinese Vegan Radish Cake or our Baked Chinese Spring Rolls. 

Steps by Steps

Yeast activation
Making the dough
Raising the dough
Marinating the beef with spices and herbs
Cutting the dough
Rolling the dough
Stuffing the dough
Sealing the dough
Pan-frying the Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao
Enjoying ! (Be sure to make a quick and easy dipping sauce with tamari (soy) sauce, ginger, and a little splash of  Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil )

Making the Dough

Recipe Tips

1) Before working with yeast, check the expiration date. Yes, expired or close to being expired yeast will not rise.

2) You need to add just luke warm water, not too hot or too cold, or once again your dough will not rise. Too hot of water and you will kill the yeast. Too cool of water and your yeast will not activate.

3) Yeast needs a sugar source to activate such as sugar or honey. You can't skip this step.

4) We like to turn on the oven and crack the door just a little bit to warm our kitchen and help our dough raise.

5) Keep your dough covered in bowl with a damp tea cloth over the top.

6) Keep your surface and rolling pin well-floured while rolling out dough.

7) Use a small rolling pin as you will need to get into tight quarters on a little 3 in x 3 inch circle. You can find them on Amazon both wooden and marble. In a pinch, you can run up to your home depot or home center store and grab a round 2 cm Dowling cut in about 8 inches in length.

8) Do not over stuff your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao because your skin to your bao may tear.

9) Garlic chives rule however your easily accessible scallions or green onions are just as delicious in the beef filling.

10) Keep your dough balls covered with a damp towel while you are rolling out, stuffing and crimping the other beef bao you are working on. If you do not do this, then the skin will get crackly.

11) Let your stuffed Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao rest for about 10 minutes before pan frying.

12) There is no need to steam and then pan fry. The moisture from the Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao under a covered lid is enough to steam fry.

13) You need to cook about 3-4 minutes over low medium heat on both sides to get a nice sear and to cook the beef internally. We cover for a few minutes with a lid to help with the cook time. However, at the end of the cooking process again we take the cover off so that it gets crispy.

14) Your beef bao will start to hiss at the end of the cooking process as the beef juices are starting to escape. You are done! Keep a close eye on them so you do not over over brown or all the juices escape and cause your beef bao to break open.

15) The secret is this low medium heat. If you cook too high will brown too soon before cooked inside.

16) Serve right away while hot and delicious. We loved serving them with a little tamari, sesame oil, ginger and chili dipping sauce.

How to Make Bao Gluten-Free

1) Gluten-free bao need more water/moisture than the regular bao made with wheat flour.

2) We chose to use rice flour as that is a traditional flour used in Asia. Please note that your bao's will be a little whiter or lighter in color compared to your wheat based bao's.

3) We used 2 different kinds of raising agents to get our dough to rise. We used both yeast and baking powder.

4) It took between 2 and 2.5 hours for our gluten-free to double compared to our wheat bao which only took about 1.5 to 2 hours.

5) We tried many versions of this dough but we ended up needed the xanthum gum as a binder or otherwise dough is to crumbly after cooked.

6) You will need to make sure your surface is well floured for rolling your dough because this dough is stickier than regular dough.

7) Keeping the beef stuffing gluten-free is relatively easy. We use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce. We use the Gluten-Free Lee Kum Lee Panda Brand Green Labeled Oyster Flavored Sauce.

Dim Sum Favorites

Did You Like Our Recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. Your feedback is always appreciated! Follow us for more delicious recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for our email list for more free recipes.

Print

Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao

Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao is one delicious dim sum bite filled with tender ground beef, Sichuan Peppercorns, Five Spice and green onions in a delightful delicately pan fried beef bun. Gluten Free Recipe Options too!

Course Appetizers/ Snacks, Beef, Breads, Egg Free, Gluten Free

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Calories 152kcal

Author HWC Magazine

Ingredients

Traditional wheat dough recipe

• 1 cup Water 240 grams
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (granulated) or can use honey
• 1 teaspoon Yeast
  dried
• 3 cups Flour 360 grams (all purpose flour) (and a little extra for flouring your work surfaces)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
  

Gluten free dough recipe

• 1 cup Water
  240 grams
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (granulated) or can use honey
• 1 teaspoon Yeast
  dried
• 3 cups Rice flour 480 grams (and a little extra for flouring your work surfaces)
• 1 teaspoon Baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Xanthum gum
  

Beef Filling

• 1 pound Beef
  400 grams
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry cooking sherry)
• 4 Green onions
  chopped or use garlic chives about ½ cup
• 1-2 teaspoons Sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon Oyster sauce
  (use gluten free if celiac issues)
• 1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
  (or can use soy sauce if no gluten issues)
• 3 cloves Garlic
  peeled and minced
• 1 inch Ginger
  knob peeled and grated (fresh) or 1 teaspoon dried
• Salt and white pepper
  to taste
• 1 teaspoon 5 spiced powder
  
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns ground (optional) to desired heat level
• 2 tablespoon Oil for pan frying light flavored oil of choice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Dough: Regular wheat dough Directions

• In a bowl add your lukewarm water and sugar or honey and mix well. Add your yeast to the sugared water mixture and allow the yeast to bubble and activate for about 10 minutes.
• Add your all purpose flour and salt to the yeast mixture and mix well. Once your dough starts to stick to itself, you can use your hands in the bowl to start to pull the dough mixture together.
• On a well floured work surface, place your dough and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth.
• Place your dough in a bowl (with a little flour dusted on the bottom to prevent sticking) and covered with a damp tea towel in a warm place for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until double in size. (Sometimes we turn on our oven on low and crack it open a little bit to keep our kitchens warm on those cooler days)

Make the Dough: Gluten-free rice flour directions

• In a bowl add your lukewarm water and sugar or honey and mix well. Add your yeast to the sugared water mixture and allow the yeast to bubble and activate for about 10 minutes. (Note there is more water to rice ratio as gluten-free flour needs to have more moisture so it does not crack)
• Add your rice flour, baking powder, salt and xanthum gum to the yeast mixture and mix well. Once your dough starts to stick to itself, you can use your hands in the bowl to start to pull the dough mixture together. (Note: Gluten free flour mixture is slightly stickier than the traditional wheat flour dough)
• On a "rice floured" work surface, place your dough and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth.
• Place your dough in a bowl (with a little "rice flour" dusted on the bottom to prevent sticking) and covered with a damp tea towel in a warm place for about 2.0 to 2.5 hours or until double in size. (Sometimes we turn on our oven on low and crack it open a little bit to keep our kitchens warm on those cooler days) Note: It takes longer for this gluten free rice dough to rise.
• In the meantime, make your beef filling. In a bowl add your beef, Shaoxing wine, green onions, sesame oil, oyster sauce, tamari (soy) sauce, garlic, ginger, salt and white pepper, 5 spiced powder and ground Sichuan peppercorns. Stir well and allow to marinate covered in the refrigerator while you are letting your dough rise.
• Flour your working surface (either all purpose flour if using the wheat recipe or rice flour if using the gluten-free recipe)
• Cut your dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 12 inches long and 2 cm in diameter. Cut each log in half and then cut each ½ log into 4 even slices. You will make a total of 16 slices.
• Roll each of the 16 slices into a ball. Cover the balls with a damp cloth while you are working on your other pieces to keep them from drying out.
• Flour your work surface and with the palm of your hand, flatten the ball. Then flour your rolling pin and roll out each ball into about a 3 in x 3 inch circle. Keep the center thicker than the sides.
• Hold the dough circle in your less dominant palm of your hand. Take about 1.5 tablespoons of your marinated beef and onion mixture and place into the center of your dough circle.
• With your more dominant hand take the edge of the dough and pinch it between your thumb and fore finger. Then use your middle finger to grab a small section of the edge of the dough and pinch together. Then move your fingers along the top of the edge of the dough to keep grabbing and pinching until all the dough is sealed. (See the video above) If you have extra dough on the top you can trim with scissors and then press down lightly with your fingers. Set your completed Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao on a lightly floured surface.
• This process does not have to be perfect as you are going to be frying on each side. Your goal is to make sure that it is completely sealed and that the center is thicker than the edges and that you do not have any holes or air pockets so that the beef filling stays inside the bao during the cooking process.
• Complete this process with the rest of your dough balls. You should have 16 beef baos. Let rest 10 minutes before pan frying.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, add your cooking oil and bring up the oil temperature to a low medium heat. (VERY IMPORTANT- low medium or otherwise it will be brown but not cooked internally) You want it to be crispy on the sides and tender on the inside and cooked to perfection on the inside.
• Place your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao in the frying pan and cook about 3-4 minutes on each side over this low medium heat. We cook for the first 2 minutes uncovered to get a crispy bottom then the next 2 minutes it needs to be COVERED with a lid! Very important that it is covered as the covering provides a bit of internal steaming WITHOUT the addition of water. Dry Steam. We know it sounds odd but you just need to trust us on this , it works. Then, we flip over and then cook uncovered to brown the bottom half.
• Do not over fill your pan, less beef bao in your pans so they are not crowded.
• When your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao are close to being done, you will hear them start to hiss and this is because a little bit of the beef juices are beginning to be released into the pan. Get ready to remove the beef bao from the pan.
• You will know they are cooked to perfection when they are perfectly golden brown on both sides, the dough is tender on the inside and the beef is golden brown and savory on the inside. If your beef is still pink when you cut in half to test the first one then place in pan for a few more minutes to finish cooking.
• Enjoy hot of the griddle with a little tamari (soy), sesame oil, ginger and chili dipping sauce or just plain. Simply delicious!

Video

Notes

There are a couple of things we learned along the way making traditional wheat dough Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao

1) Before working with yeast, check the expiration date. Yes, expired or close to being expired yeast will not rise.

2) You need to add just luke warm water, not too hot or too cold, or once again your dough will not rise. Too hot of water and you will kill the yeast. Too cool of water and your yeast will not activate.

3) Yeast needs a sugar source to activate such as sugar or honey. You can’t skip this step.

4) We like to turn on the oven and crack the door just a little bit to warm our kitchen and help our dough raise.

5) Keep your dough covered in bowl with a damp tea cloth over the top.

6) Keep your surface and rolling pin well-floured while rolling out dough.

7) Use a small rolling pin as you will need to get into tight quarters on a little 3 in x 3 inch circle. A special thank you to our dear friend Maggie, from Omnivores Cookbook who sent us a marble dim sum roller. You can find them on Amazon both wooden and marble. In a pinch, you can run up to your home depot or home center store and grab a round 2 cm Dowling cut in about 8 inches in length.

8) Do not over stuff your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao because your skin to your bao may tear.

9) Garlic chives rule however your easily accessible scallions or green onions are just as delicious in the beef filling.

10) Keep your dough balls covered with a damp towel while you are rolling out, stuffing and crimping the other beef bao you are working on. If you do not do this, then the skin will get crackly.

11) Let your stuffed Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao rest for about 10 minutes before pan frying.

12) There is no need to steam and then pan fry. The moisture from the Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao under a covered lid is enough to steam fry.

13) You need to cook about 3-4 minutes over low medium heat on both sides to get a nice sear and to cook the beef internally. We cover for a few minutes with a lid to help with the cook time. However, at the end of the cooking process again we take the cover off so that it gets crispy.

14) Your beef bao will start to hiss at the end of the cooking process as the beef juices are starting to escape. You are done! Keep a close eye on them so you do not over over brown or all the juices escape and cause your beef bao to break open.

15) The secret is this low medium heat. If you cook too high will brown too soon before cooked inside.

16) Serve right away while hot and delicious. We loved serving them with a little tamari, sesame oil, ginger and chili dipping sauce.

Now let’s touch on what is needed to make your Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao gluten free and delicious.

1) Gluten-free bao need more water/moisture than the regular bao made with wheat flour.

2) We chose to use rice flour as that is a traditional flour used in Asia. Please note that your bao’s will be a little whiter or lighter in color compared to your wheat based bao’s.

3) We used 2 different kinds of raising agents to get our dough to rise. We used both yeast and baking powder.

4) It took between 2 and 2.5 hours for our gluten-free to double compared to our wheat bao which only took about 1.5 to 2 hours.

5) We tried many versions of this dough but we ended up needed the xanthum gum as a binder or otherwise dough is to crumbly after cooked.

6) You will need to make sure your surface is well floured for rolling your dough because this dough is stickier than regular dough.

7) Keeping the beef stuffing gluten-free is relatively easy. We use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce. We use the Gluten-Free Lee Kum Lee Panda Brand Green Labeled Oyster Flavored Sauce.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1beef bao | Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 288mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Spicy Pan Fried Beef Bao appeared first on Healthy World Cuisine