Pumpernickel Bread
Pumpernickel Bread
If you never made your own Pumpernickel bread you might be surprised at some of the ingredients. Besides the rye flour the dark color and unique flavor are from the addition of molasses, cocoa powder and coffee. The sad fact is that much of the Pumpernickel bread you see in stores doesn’t have most of these ingredients, but artificial color and flavor. Real pumpernickel bread is a little dense, chewy and very flavorful. Well worth the effort to make it.
Pumpernickel Bread
2 Packages active dry yeast
½ c. warm water
2 c. lukewarm strong coffee
¼ c. each molasses and unsweetened cocoa
2T. Caraway seeds
2 t. salt
5-6 c. flour
2 c. rye flour
Cornmeal
1 egg white, slightly beaten
In large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in coffee, molasses, cocoa, seeds, salt and 3 cups of flour. Beat with wooden spoon about 2 minutes. Stir in rye flour and enough of the remaining regular flour to make soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside.
Punch down dough, divide in 2, and form into balls. Place on baking sheet and cover. Let rise until double, brush with egg whites, slash tops and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Makes 2 loaves.
Chicken with Coffee Glaze
Coffee Glazed Chicken
I am always trying out new ideas for sauces, glazes and the like. After making a coffee spice rub last week I decided to try my hand at using coffee for the base of a glaze/marinade for meats. I started with a couple of cups of strong brewed coffee and went from there. I brought the coffee to a boil and started adding ingredients I thought would work well together. By the time I was done the mixture had cooked down by half. The flavors worked well together and I was pretty happy. I am calling it a glaze but it can also be used as a marinade. I used it on chicken but I could see it working well on pork, beef, lamb or even mushrooms.
For the chicken I took cubes of boneless chicken breast and put them in a bowl and covered them with about 1/2 cup of the glaze. I put that mixture , covered, in the fridge for a couple of hours. I think overnight would be even better. I also soaked some bamboo skewers in water. I put the chicken on the skewers and baked them in a 425 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. I brushed them with more of the glaze about 10 minutes into cooking. I discarded the rest of the glaze I had soaked the chicken in. Unused glaze will keep in the fridge for a few weeks or could be frozen.
Here is the recipe for the glaze.
Coffee Glaze
2 c. strong brewed coffee
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. dark rum
4 cloves minced garlic
2 T. honey
2 T. hot sauce- or more to taste
2 T. whole grain mustard
1 T. salt, or to taste
2 t. paprika
1 t. smoked paprika
1 t. cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring occasionally until mixture has reduced by half or a little more. You should end up with 1 1/2-2 cups when done. Use as a marinade or as a glaze for meats or mushrooms. Store extra in fridge.
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
If you love coffee I think you are going to love these scones. What better to have with your morning cup of coffee than a scone infused with coffee and cinnamon in the dough and finished with a coffee and cinnamon glaze? They are tender, full of coffee flavor and not too sweet. Simple to make, as with any scone the secret is not to over work the dough. You can eat these plain or with a bit of butter.
Coffee Cinnamon Scones
2/3 c. half and half
2 T. instant coffee powder or espresso powder
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 c. cold butter
1 T. half and half, for brushing the scones
2 T. cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on the scones
Coffee Cinnamon Glaze- recipe follows
In microwave safe container combine half and half with the coffee powder and heat 30 seconds or so. Stir to dissolve coffee and cool down before using. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Add vanilla and egg to cooled coffee mixture and beat until smooth. Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Some small pieces of butter can still be visible. Stir in coffee mixture and mix gently until a soft dough forms. At this point you are supposed to press the dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet. To get a really neat circle use an 8-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the pan with a little flour and put the dough in the pan. Press the dough into the pan. Turn the cake pan over onto an ungreased baking sheet. Do this part fast. Slam it down and then remove the cake pan. You will have a perfect 8-inch circle of dough. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough in half. If the dough is too sticky sprinkle the top with a little more flour. Cut in half again and then 2 more times. You will have eight wedges of dough forming 8 scones. Pull dough apart slightly using a spatula. They grow a lot when baking and this will give them more room to expand. Brush with the extra half and half and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until they spring back when touched lightly. Make glaze and drizzle over the warm scones. Makes 8.
Coffee Cinnamon Glaze
2 T. half and half
2 t. instant coffee powder or espresso powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. powdered sugar
Heat half and half and coffee powder together in microwave safe container for 10 seconds. Stir until smooth. Stir in cinnamon and powdered sugar until smooth and drizzle over the scones.
Press dough into 8-inch cake pan
Pull apart slightly before baking
Drizzle warm scones with glaze
Pork Roast with Coffee Spice Rub
Pork Loin with Coffee and Spice Rub
We were having a pork loin for a recent dinner with friends and I wanted to come up with something fun to season it with. I decided to go with a spice rub that included ground coffee. I played around a little but found a mixture that I think has just the right mix of seasonings. You can make a bigger batch and just keep it on hand. The rub would certainly go well on beef, lamb, duck and maybe even turkey. I plan on trying that out soon. The coffee gives the meat a wonderful, almost charred flavor, like it just came off the grill. It worked great on the pork loin but could also be used on chops being cooked in a skillet or grilled.
The tricky part was being sure not to over cook the pork loin. While it is recommended to go 20 minutes a pound on a boneless loin I went just a little under on the 5 1/4 pound roast we had, cooking it at 350 for 1 hour and 30 minutes. It came out cooked through and very juicy. Here is the recipe for the rub and directions on how to use it.
Coffee and Spice Rub
¼ c. ground coffee
¼ c. brown sugar
2 T. paprika
2 t. each cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt and ginger
1 t. allspice
½ t. cinnamon
Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well. Store in a cool place, preferably in the refrigerator. Rub can be used on roasts or on chops, steaks and smaller cuts of meat. If using on chops that are being pan fried watch carefully as the sugar in the recipe could burn.
To use the rub: several hours before cooking place the roast in a shallow pan and sprinkle heavily with the rub. Use your hands to spread it evenly and cover completely. Place plastic wrap on clean surface and transfer roast to the wrap. Fold plastic wrap to cover roast , using more plastic wrap as needed so meat is sealed well. Return to fridge for at least a couple of hours, or overnight. When ready to cook, bring roast out and allow to stand 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and place roast in a roasting pan on a wire rack.
For the pork roast allow about 20 minutes per pound. Larger roasts need a little less time per pound. When roast is finished- remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes, or a little longer before cutting.
Rest roast 5 minutes, then slice
