herbed biscuits

now that i'm in oregon, i have my sister's herb garden at my disposal, which means there will be several herbalicious recipes in the very near future, starting with these:

ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you could also do a 50/50 white and wheat combo)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

preheat oven to 375 F.  in a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. work the butter into the flour (i used my hands) until the mix has pea-sized crumbles, then place the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes while mixing wet ingredients. in a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and herbs. create a well at the center of the flour mix and stir in the buttermilk mixture until just blended. drop batter in cupcake or muffin tins and sprinkle with salt. bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the biscuits comes out clean.
serve warm and toasty.

note: you can switch up the herbs to anything you prefer. i've also made other version of these with lavender and lemon zest, for which i used 2 tablespoons of zest and 2 tablespoons of lavender buds in place of the herbs. those were less savory, but awesome with a bit of honey.

yeasted zucchini bread

after zucchini pancakes, zucchini fries, and now zucchini bread, i'm down to 5 giant zucchini. that doesn't seem so bad, except that there's also 2 cauliflower heads and 15 tomatoes begging to be used... ah well there's always tomorrow.

bread (adapted from cooking rookie):

1 medium zucchini, grated (i used a large grater because i wanted to be able to recognize pieces of zucchini in the bread, however, you can use a smaller grater for less noticeable shreds)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup rye flour
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 package dry active yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 cup veggie broth (if possible, heated between 90-100 F. if you plan on estimating the heat, it's better to underestimate because liquids that are too hot can harm your yeast)

combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. cover the bowl (not airtight) and allow to rise for 2 hours.
use the dough after the 2 hour resting period, or alternatively refrigerate the dough for up to 10 days.
on the day you plan on baking the bread, sprinkle the dough with flour (it will be quite sticky) and form two same-sized round loaves. place the loaves on a cornmeal coated baking sheet to prevent sticking, and allow to rise for 40 minutes if using room temp dough, or 90 minutes if using refrigerated dough.
place a pan or tray at the bottom of the oven and preheat to 450 F. if you plan on making decorative incisions in the bread, do so right before baking. i also gave my loaves a sprinkle of pink salt, i'm a bit obsessed with the stuff...
once the oven is preheated, place the baking sheet in the oven and carefully add 1 cup of hot, but not boiling, tap water to the heated tray at the bottom of your oven. there will be a lot of steam and you want to make sure not to splash water on the oven door, as it could crack. close the door as soon as possible to trap the steam inside (this helps to form a really crisp crust while maintaining a moist interior). bake for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and allow to bake for 15 more minutes. turn off the oven and let the bread sit inside for an additional 10 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

anais bread

anais bread is named after its creator anais. she is both my favorite roommate and also the one who made me the most insane. we have a dynamic food history that includes eating mac and cheese out of an electric water heater on our dorm room floor in the wee hours of the morning, nibbling on boozy chocolate sent to us in gargantuan packages from her parents in the mail, hummus fests!, and of course baking as a means of avoiding sufi homework (sorry vhoff, nothing personal). this recipe falls into the last of the categories. it's a garlicy herb bread that's super easy and very flavorful. its also vegan, imagine that...

anais bread:

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon unsweetened soy milk

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tsp salt

1 package dry active yeast

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal (whole flax seeds would also be fine, and if you don't have any flax, just skip it)

1 tablespoon each herb: dry dill, dry oregano, and fresh rosemary (roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic, well minced

 

combine the flours, flax, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. in a separate bowl combine everything else. add the wet ingredients to the dry and knead well, then coat the ball of dough in a thin layer of olive oil to prevent drying. cover and allow to rise in a relatively warm, dark place (like an oven that's been on for a 3 minutes) for 40 minutes. add the herbs and knead a little more to incorporate. cover again and allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes. coat dough once more with a thin layer of oil, score, and sprinkle with sea salt (or any salt that you have handy). bake in an oiled pan for 15 minutes at 375 F, 20-25 minutes at 350 F, and an additional 10 minutes at 300 F.

delicious both warm and cold, but best with salty, herby, olive oil for dipping.

and to anais: i'm so glad you don't suffer oil-a-phobia.