Recipe from the back of the whole-wheat King Arthur Flour – I’d heard good reviews of it even though it does things I normally feel like are cheating, such as add oil and honey – with my comments in bold:

• 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast OR the equivalent in active dry yeast dissolved in 2 Tbs warm water
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup * I used honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil * I used olive oil – olives are not unlike vegetables?
• 1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup nonfat dried milk * Having no dry milk, I used 1/4 cup (cold) nonfat milk, then filled it up to 1 1/3 cups with warm water.
• ~1/2 cup dried cranberries
  
• (~1/2 cup walnuts)
  

Combine all ingredients; stir till it starts to come together, then knead 6-8 minutes. Cover & let rise ~60 min or till nearly doubled.

Shape – I made two boules instead because I have no bread pan – into an 8-inch log and transfer to lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan. Cover again and let rise 30-60 min; preheat the oven during this time to 350F (or 400F, if you want to go for the oven spring, in which case turn oven down to 350 after ~10min.)

Bake about 40min, tenting lightly with aluminum foil (if you’re using the loaf pan) after 20min. Test for doneness by thumping the bottom of the loaf – it should sound hollow (<- pretty ingenious, no?) Remove from pan and cool before cutting.

I brushed some butter on top while it was still warm to add richness, since we were already cheating some (HONEY). Either I should’ve baked it a little longer, or should’ve tossed in some vinegar to make crust crunchier, I think. Otherwise I really wish it had walnuts in like those rolls, but it’s tasty nonetheless. The honey balances out the cranberries and, as proclaimed on the bag, the whole wheat does indeed have a “delightfully nutty flavour.” Thanks, flour!

Bacon and Cheddar Scones

Ingredients (makes about 8 large scones)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 4-6 slices of bacon, depending on the thickness
• 1/2 cup scallions, sliced very thinly
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, black pepper, cheddar and scallions together.  I decided to try a “stout cheddar”, which is basically aged cheddar with some stout beer in it. Cook the bacon in a pan  and then crumble into little bits.  Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers. The mixture should get a cornmeal-like texture once the butter is mostly cut in.  Add the bacon, mix, and then mix in the heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork.  Mix until it starts to be dough-like and a bit sticky, then put it on a lightly floured surface and pat it out into a circular shape about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut it like a pizza, and you’ll get 8 triangular scones! Stick in the oven for about 15 minutes.

The results: quite tasty! I love plain savory scones for breakfast. The cranberry ones definitely go well with clotted cream and some jam.  I think the savory scones ended up a bit salty, which I suspect is due to the cheese I picked. So if you’re trying a batch yourself, try adjusting the amt of cheese to account for how intense the cheese is.

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