cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread (Whole Wheat)

I am a huge, huge fan of cinnamon raisin bread.  Every time my parents would buy the cinnamon raisin swirl bread from the store, I would sit there and eat piece after piece, unable to stop.  I don’t think I’ve ever actually bought any on my own, but when I decided that I’d only be making my own bread from now on, betcha can’t guess what loaf I decided to try first..

 

Duh.  Cinnamon raisin bread!  I found a great recipe as a jumping off point, and made my own adaptations as I went.  Guys, I can’t tell you how much I loved this bread.  This is one of the first times I’ve had a totally soft and fluffy bread that is 100% whole wheat.  And considering the fact I only had half of the loaf left to take photos of the next day, I think that’s a pretty good testament to how good this bread was.  So good.
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Peanut Butter Brownie Fudge Bars

Now two weeks into the semester, I’m slowly becoming used to the new routine.  Posting has been scant, but that’s not for a lack of recipes going through my kitchen.  Hopefully, I’ll get back to normal within the next week!  In the meantime, here’s a recipe for a rich treat (that isn’t that bad for you).

Although I don’t use this combination in baking as often as I would like, peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations (and I’m sure there are many of you out there who agree).  Reese’s are probably just about the only candy I’ll actually buy – nothing else is worth the extra calories, in my book.  One of the guys I work with mentioned making chocolate peanut butter bars, so I decided to do just that – a fudgy brownie base with a lightly sweetened peanut butter topping with an almost cheesecake like texture.

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Whole Wheat English Muffins

I’ve made it a goal of mine for this semester to not buy any bread from a store.  If we have bread, it has to come out of my oven.  This is going to be quite a treat for me, as I love the process of making bread. Kneading the dough, letting it rise, shaping it.. it’s all quite a therapeutic process, really.  So be ready for some bread recipes within the next few weeks!

To start, I decided to make some English muffins.  I only buy English muffins on occasion, but the thought making them myself was just too good to pass up.  They’re so, so easy, and they taste so much better fresh out of your own oven.  I used half sprouted whole wheat flour for this recipe after buying some from Whole Foods while I was at home over break – it’s supposed to help in the digestion of wheat when it’s sprouted.  I’m trying it out, and so far, I’ve liked the results!  If you don’t have sprouted flour, that’s fine, too – it’s not necessary for this recipe.