NO KNEAD BREAD

this weekend my condo neighbours moved across the country to british columbia! because they were unable to take all their stuff with them, they literally gave me the contents of their pantry. bags of organic whole wheat flour.. organic steel cut oats.. what was i going to do with all this wholesome stuff? make michael smiths no knead bread is what! this is probably the easiest bread you could ever make and you don't need a fancy bread machine or stand mixer to do it! just patience & time:) it produces a rustic style loaf with a chewy interior. you can use any combinations of flour you want.. whether it be whole wheat, whole grain, or 100% all purpose flour. the recipe is as follows, adapted from my favourite chef at home michael smith.

ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups warm water (may need a little more or a little less)

directions

• mix the flour, oats, yeast, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
• add the water and stir until all the flour is incorporated into the dough.
• cover the bowl with plastic rap and let it sit for at least 18 hours. the dough should become bubbley and double in size.
• punch down the dough and place it into your desired baking dish. let the dough rest a couple hours until it doubles in size again.
• bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE MUFFINS

last summer my boyfriend & i had a garage sale in an attempt to make some money/get rid of our old junk. i thought it would be a great opportunity to sell some of my baked goods, so i made banana muffins and these blueberry crumble muffins. the garage sale ended up being a COMPLETE failure, however the muffins saved the day! they were just about the only thing we sold and the one thing that intrigued passer bys to check out our sale. while these muffins use an oil based instead of butter, the buttery crumble topping makes up for it! the smell these bad boys produce coming out of the oven is pure heaven:)

ingredients: (makes 12 muffins)

for the muffin

• 3/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almond milk [milk, buttermilk or greek yogurt could be substituted]
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest [optional]
• 1 cup fresh blueberries [1.5 cups if you like them super berry]

for the crumble

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup cold butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

directions

• preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• for the muffins: in a mixing bowl add the oil, raw sugar, egg, vanilla, and almond milk. mix until ingredients are well combined.
• sift in flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest until JUST combined, do not over mix. stir in blueberries.
• evenly distribute batter amongst a 12 tin greased muffin tray.
• for the crumble: in a separate bowl, add the flour, raw sugar, butter, and cinnamon. mix with your hands until a coarse sandy texture is formed.
• sprinkle crumbled on top of each muffin.
• bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until crumble begins to brown slighty.

OAT FUDGE BARS

it's new blog layout day!!! so lets celebrate over oat fudge bars. these are my favourite starbucks treat, but as a baker i am embarrassed to admit how much i enjoy one. i decided to make my own from scratch and i haven't bought one since:) this is an easy recipe, just be patient enough to wait for them to cool completely before digging into! the fudge isn't a true fudge, its a very simple three ingredient mock fudge that is fail proof. you can use any kind of chocolate chips in this recipe, but i always bake with milk chococlate because, sugar. the oat layer also makes a great oatmeal cookie/bar if you wanted to eliminate the chocolate, but who the hell doesn't want chocolate fudge?

ingredients:

for the oats

• 1 cup raw sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups quick oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the fudge

• 1 can sweetended condensed milk
• two cups milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees and begin with the oats layer.
2. in the bowl of a stand mixer cream raw sugar, brown sugar, and butter together until light and fluffy.
3. add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla until combined.
4. in a separate bowl, sift together flour, oats, baking soda and salt. add into mixing bowl until ingredients are welll combined.
5. for the fudge layer, in a saucepan on low heat melt together the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter, and vanila until smooth.
6. to assemble, using a 9x13 greased baking pan spread 3/4 of the oat mixture to form a flat crust. pour the fudge mixture on top followed by dropping remaining spoonfuls of the oat mixture.
7. bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to lightly brown. let cool to room temperature [even easier to refridgerate] before slicing.