Like Mother, Like Daughter
Breakfast Recipes
Better Buttermilk Baking Mix
Make your own mix, store in the refrigerator! Halve the recipe at first to see how you like it. You can reduce the butter even more than I already have, but just know – this makes the lightest, best pancakes you’ll ever taste!
10
cups unbleached flour (may use up to 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or just add another cup of white
flour, making 11 cups)
1 cup oat flour (whiz regular oatmeal in
food processor) or ½ cup oat bran
½ cup bran
¼ cup wheat germ
½
cup flax meal
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar (this
helps with browning, but you can leave it out)
2 tablespoons
baking soda
6 tablespoons baking powder
3 sticks (12 oz)
butter
Process regular oatmeal in food processor, measure 1 cup. Feel free to use all flax meal if you are out of bran, etc.
Measure all ingredients except butter into a large bowl. Stir to mix.
In the food processor or a large bowl, cut together several cups of the flour mixture and a stick of butter until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Set aside and repeat with each butter stick, then mix the batches together before you divide for storage or use. Store in tightly closed covered container or zippered plastic bags with the air pressed out, in the refrigerator.
A large slim rectangular container is the most space-efficient for the refrigerator. I use a plastic container meant for bulk cereals. It holds about 2 quarts or maybe more, and is large enough for all this mix.
To use, spoon into cup. Store remainder in refrigerator or freezer.
Use buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream for the liquid in recipes to make light baked goods. (According to Cook’s Illustrated, a mixture of buttermilk and sweet milk gives the best result. I usually mix them 2:1.
In recipes:
Biscuits and dumplings: No need to measure precisely. About 2 cups mix gives you enough biscuits for 4-6 people. Add buttermilk and milk until the proper consistency, which is somewhat dry. Knead about 8 times, folding the dough gently, for flakiness.
Pancakes: Add 1 egg for every 2 cups mix, buttermilk, and milk. Fry in bacon grease for the ultimate treat.
Waffles: Separate two eggs. Whip whites. For two cups mix, stir in ¼ cup cornstarch and ¼ cup sugar. Add egg yolks, buttermilk, and milk to make a batter. Fold in whipped whites. Spoon onto hot waffle iron, bake.
Scones: Add sugar, mix in nuts or dried fruit, add egg, cream, and buttermilk. Keep mixture somewhat dry, divide into rounds, knead for proper flakiness. Cut into wedges. Bake at 425*
Night before Breakfast Casserole
There are a million recipes like this out there. I prefer mine somewhat on the substantial side, so I like this one.
A large lasagna pan, buttered well.
Enough bread, cut into pieces, to fill the pan to within a inch of the top. I use about a pound and a half of homemade bread. Raisin bread is lovely.
Any amount up to a pound of cooked crumbled bacon or sausage. This is a good way to use leftover breakfast meat (in the unlikely event you would have any). Even a sprinkling of bacon bits is appreciated. A good hearty portion of sausage is heaven.
Whisk together:
12 eggs
2 ½ cups whole milk (add more milk for a lighter texture; I like mine substantial)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pour this mixture over the bread, distributing the cheese evenly.
Cover with foil and keep in fridge all night.
In the morning, put in a 350* oven. No need to preheat. Bake for 30 minutes convection, 40 regular, or until the casserole is puffed and browned.
Serve with maple syrup.
Any leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator and microwaved.
Granola
Don’t be afraid to regard these amounts as approximate.
8 cups oats (fill extra large bowl 2/3 full of oats)
1 small package of sweetened flaked coconut, about 2 cups
2-4 cups chopped nuts – I like the larger amount
Mix together in bowl.
Mix together in saucepan, bring to boil, simmer for 5 minutes:
1 ½ cups brown sugar (this does seem like a lot, but this recipe makes many servings. You can start with a smaller amount at first if you like. You can also substitute honey, molasses, or maple syrup)
1 cup water
¾ cup oil – try coconut oil for a delicious flavor!
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp. salt – don’t omit! Salt is important to wake up the taste buds.
1 tsp. almond extract if using almonds
The object is to dissolve the sugar and slightly thicken the syrup.
Pour sugar mixture over ingredients in bowl, mixing well until all oats are coated.
Pour into shallow pan (a lasagna pan works well) and bake at 325* stirring every 10 minutes, until the mixture is evenly browned, about 30-35 minutes.
Remove from the oven.
Add in any combination to total 2 cups:
dried cranberries
chopped dates
raisins
Chopped apricots
Stir, cool completely, store in airtight containers (can be frozen).
Oatmeal Porridge Like Mother, Like Daughter
You can try Ann Kroeker’s Slow cooker oats if you like. http://annkroeker.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/overnight-crockpot-steel-cut-oatmeal/
I find that the texture is not to my taste. If you pre-soak the oats, in the case of steel-cut oats, you will cut down the cooking time and increase the nutritional value.
Here is the method I use, which is similar to the way I cook all grains (except pasta), namely, with a bit of fat at the beginning to coat each grain and produce a delectable separateness and lack of stickiness in the texture. Try the same method with rice, couscous, or bulgar.
It’s easy to stock up on the different grains and keep them in jars or zip bags in the freezer.
If using steel-cut oats, soak the night before.
1 cup oats (if steel cut, soak in 2 cups water)
½ cup Cream of Wheat (Quick cooking)
¼ cup Wheateena
1 tablespoon butter
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil (use half if using soaked oats). Add butter and salt.
Add oats, sprinkle in other grains, stirring.
Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring. If the consistency is too thick, add water; if too thin, add more Cream of Wheat. However, I like to make the consistency quite thick so that cold milk can be added at serving. This cools the porridge down and adds protein.
Add sugar. I like to sweeten the porridge in the pot to a moderate degree of sweetness so that only a little needs to be added at the table. I have found that if I serve it completely unsweetened, children over-sweeten it.
However, you want it to be eaten! So it needs to be a bit sweet.
Serve with maple syrup and milk. Add a tablespoon of peanut butter or chopped pecans. The nuts will make this breakfast last until lunch!
Copyright 2009 Leila M. Lawler