HBin5 Catch-up Post

I joined a group called Healthy Bread in Five based on the book:  We are working our way through the book, but I haven't done very well so far.  I've missed several of the recipes.  I am going to try to get caught up on some of them here.

These are the red beet buns from the book.  I have never even touched a beet before so I was a little hesitant but excited about baking the this bread for the HBin5 challenge. They are the most beautiful vegetable when you cut them up. The vibrant red juice goes everywhere and stains everything in its path, but it's okay because it is so pretty! I didn't really care for the smell, though. They kind of smell like dirt. I was just hoping the whole time that they wouldn't actually taste like dirt.

Instead of grating the beets (laziness) I chopped them some and threw them into the food processor to chop. I wish I would have left them in there a little longer and made more of a puree, because there ended up being some larger chunks throughout the dough.

The dough turned this gorgeous purple color after resting in the refrigerator for 48 hours.

I took the rolls I made to work for "Red Food Day" in honor of Valentine's Day.  I didn't tell anyone what they were and just put them in a bowl with a stick of butter set in front of it.  There were only a couple left by the end of the day (out of about 18). 

I thought they were pretty good.  I don't know that I will ever make them again, but I may attempt to cook beets in a different way. 


Southwestern Focaccia with Chicken, Feta and Onions

One of the challenges for March is the Southwestern Focaccia with Roasted Corn and Goat Cheese.  I had to change this a lot so my family would eat it.  I traded feta for goat cheese because I knew my child would not go near goat cheese.  I also didn't use the corn- didn't sound good to me.  So in other words, I made this recipe my own.  I used the Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil recipe from the book and made it into a free form pizza crust.

It turned out really good, but it was very spicy.  I shouldn't have put the entire 1-1/2 tsp of ground ancho chile powder in the sauce.  It was way too spicy for us (we're kind of wimpy when it comes to heat). 

The last post I will make for now is the loaf of Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil I made.  I am still getting used to the homemade whole wheat bread taste.  I wish it tasted a little more like some of the store bought bread I buy sometimes.  I just haven't found the recipe that I absolutely love.  BUT I will keep trying.  One loaf at a time.