As Requested

I've gotten multiple requests for these two recipes lately, so I thought I'd share with all of you. Dessert first:

Eclairs

They look impressive and aren't hard to make (just a little time-consuming).
*There are three parts to this-the puff, cream, and chocolate. All are below. Bake puffs, fill with cream, and drizzle chocolate on top.

The “Puff”
½ cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1. Heat butter and water to boiling point on stove. Add flour/salt all at once and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until mixture leaves sides of pan.
2. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
3. Add unbeaten eggs, one at a time (important), and beat until absorbed into mixture.
4. Drop by large teaspoons onto un-greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 400 degrees at 20-25 minutes. After removing from oven, immediately pierce the puffs to allow steam to escape (this will help them maintain their shape and not get soggy).
Pastry Cream
2 cups Milk
½ cup white sugar
1 vanilla bean (or just use vanilla)
6 egg yolks
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pinch salt
1. Place the milk, half the sugar and the vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Combine the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a bowl and whisk until light in color. Add in the flour and the salt, mix to combine.
3. When the milk just begins to boil, remove from heat and remove vanilla bean. Very slowly dribble the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring all the time to avoid cooking the egg. When about half of the milk has been added, place all of the yolk mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Using a spatula or a whisk, mix the pastry cream as it heats, making sure to reach all of the corners of the pan when you stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture will be thick.
4. Remove from heat and add the butter. Strain if you wish for a smoother cream. Place into a bowl and cover directly with plastic wrap to stop a skin from forming on the cream. Chill and use within a few days.

Chocolate Ganache
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Milk
Heat pan with chocolate and turn off as soon as chips melt. Add milk until appropriate consistency is reached.

Yummy yummy. Now for the healthy recipe:


Whole Wheat Bread (this recipe has really made the rounds in the Pinnacle Mtn Ward)

Bread Starter

3 Tablespoons instant potato flakes
1 scant cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar

Stir together and let set over night (I often cheat, and let it sit for only about 4 hours).

Bread

2 Tablespoons yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/3 cup malted barley syrup (or honey-- I find the malted barley has a better flavor. If you want to make an entirely sugar-free bread, use the malt barley syrup instead of sugar in the starter, and the honey here)

stir gently and let it sit until foamy
add:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup gluten
1 Tablespoon salt
1 cup of the starter (I usually just dump the whole thing in)
6 cups wheat flour (may need a little more)

Mix (or knead) for 10 minutes
Cut into 3 equal parts, place in greased loaf pans, and let rise until double (about an hour).
Bake at 350 for 25- 30 minutes, or until top of loaf is golden brown.