Daring Bakers September – Lavash Crackers

Even though I think I’ve baked everything there is to bake, there’s still always something left out there to challenge me.  I had never made crackers before, never made my own salsa, and never made anything gluten-free!

One batch of crackers was topped with coarse kosher salt and the other was topped with sesame seeds.  They turned out a little thick, but still very tasty.

The honeydew peach salsa was a little different due to the mostly fruit content, but it was still delicious.  Wonderful blend of sweet and spice.

Lavash Crackers with Honeydew Peach Salsa

Recipe
Lavash Crackers from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Honeydew Peach Salsa

Modifications
My gluten-free baking mix (yay Whole Foods!) contained white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, guar gum, and salt.  I couldn’t find fresh coriander for the salsa, so I used fresh cilantro instead.

Rating
Quite delicious for being vegan and gluten-free!  And sooooo easy.  3 stars out of 5 for the crackers and 3.5 stars out of 5 for the salsa.

TWiB #39 – Strawberry Pecan Bread

I needed to use up a few things and I was looking for something simple, so this bread fit the bill. Since it’s a quick bread, it seemed like a good opportunity to use Splenda.

Strawberry Pecan Bread

Recipe
Strawberry Bread

Modifications
Divided recipe in half to make 1 loaf.  Used Splenda in place of sugar.

Rating
Flavors are good, but it’s a little dry.  GiR finds the Splenda flavor to be too overwhelming.  2.5 stars out of 5.

TWiB #38 – Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

I’ve had How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson on my wish list for a long time, so I decided to pick it up from the library and make a few things before committing to the purchase. My friend SS loves anything plain chocolate (i.e. not mixed w/ other flavors, no nuts or fruits, etc), so I thought this loaf cake would be perfect.

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

Recipe
Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake from Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess, pg. 166

Modifications
I didn’t have any bittersweet chocolate, so I used about .5 oz unsweetened chocolate (it just happened to be the size of chunk I had kicking around) and 3.5 oz semi-sweet.

Rating
I really liked the recipe, but my husband GiR didn’t care for it.  SS hasn’t tried it yet, but I know he’ll love it.  Average score would be about 4 out of 5 stars.

TWiB #37 – Pear Cheesecake

I’ve moving more and more towards inventing my recipes instead of following them word-for-word from a book.  Here’s a flavor combination that I came up with myself.  The pears are a subtle flavor addition to this creamy cheesecake.

Pear Cheesecake

Recipe
Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, pg. 238

Modifications
Changed all the brown sugar to white sugar.  Used 2 pears instead of apples.  Used ground vanilla wafer cookies instead of graham cracker crumbs.  Omitted cinnamon and apple cider.

Rating
Still not the best cheesecake ever.  3.5 stars out of 5.

TWiB #36 – Pita Bread

I had another free Sunday, so I whipped up some more bread.  Sadly, I shuffled the bread a bit awkwardly onto the baking sheet, so they didn’t poof up like they were supposed to.  Still tasty, though!

Pita Bread

Recipe
Homemade Pita Bread

Modifications
Not really a mod, but I chose to use honey and olive oil, when given the options.

Rating
Very moist and soft, but bland.  3.5 stars out of 5.