Wheat Buns and Baked Pasta

Our assignment this time for the HBin5 challenge was a gluten-free boule and cheddar sesame cracker. I have to say I wimped out on this one, knowing that getting the herd here to eat a gluten free loaf would be a near impossible feat. So, I made wheat rolls from the King Arthur flour Whole Grain Baking book. Easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. This is very nice dough to work with and they came out so nice. We had them last night with baked ww rotini, and then again today for lunch as pimento cheese sandwiches. Very tasty.

Baked Rotini

1 box (12oz) ww rotini
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tub (15oz) ricotta cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
4 oz goat cheese
1 jar (26oz) pasta sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt a pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 inch pan.

Prepare the rotini just shy of al dente, usually 10 to 11 minutes for me. Brown the ground beef. Mix the ricotta, goat cheese, 3 cups of the mozzarella, pasta sauce, and spices together. Stir in the ground beef and the pasta. If the mixture is too dry add some of the pasta cooking water. Pour into prepared pan. Combine the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan and sprinkle over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 15-20 minutes before cutting.


Of course you can change up this recipe anyway you want. Different shapes of pasta, different cheeses, different spices etc. This time I used roasted tomato sauce that I had made and frozen from the garden. I also added a little garam masala, an Indian spice blend with cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cloves. If you like it spicy add some red pepper flakes or chilies. It’s all good.

Until our next baking adventure..

Dilled Rye with White Whole Wheat and 100% Whole Grain Rosemary Potato Dinner Rolls with a Salt Crust

Our HBin5 challenge this time around was Dilled Rye with White Whole Wheat and Whole Grain Rosemary Potato Dinner Rolls with a Salt Crust. Both of these breads have rye flour and I’ve discovered that people either like rye or they don’t. I’m a fan, but MJOL, not so much. I love rosemary’s strong assertive flavor, but again, MJOL’s not hip on the herbs for the most part, something about them smelling like dirty socks…huh? Anyway I digress.

I was looking forward to the Rosemary Potato Dinner Rolls. I like rosemary, I like potatoes, I like salt..hmmm recipe for perfection right? Didn’t really work for me. I liked the texture of the bread itself, but the texture of the potato chunks after baking was a little weird. Would I make them again? Probably not.

The Dilled Rye was a good bread, with nice texture and crumb, but I thought the dill flavor was muted. I used dried, so maybe that made a difference. But all in all I liked it.

Until our next baking adventure…

WW Flaxseed and Roasted Garlic Breads

Well, the garden is all tucked in, covered in a blanket of snow. The bees are clustered around their most precious resource, the queen, keeping her warm and protected until next sping when she will start in ernest to replenish the hive.

I've come out of retirement and starting working as a medical case manager for a non profit, doing case management for people affected by HIV/AIDS. Sometimes heart rendering, sometimes heart warming, but always interesting. So, my baking efforts have been on the back burner (or maybe back oven?) while I get use to working again.

This time our goal was to make Whole Wheat Flaxseed Bread and Roasted Garlic Bread. I love flax and I love garlic, so how could I resist jumping back in this time around. Both loaves were very good. I made pasta with sauce and both breads were great, toasted up with a parsley butter. Yum!

Until our next baking adventure...