A beautiful, yet very involved recipe, for airy whole wheat bread compliments of Cooks Illustrated. This is not the dense loaf you have come to expect from this much whole wheat flour!

Airy Whole Wheat Bread

Yield: 2 9x5 inch loaves.

Biga

2 cups (11 ounces) bread flour
1 cup (8 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast

Soaker

3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) whole-wheat flour plus extra kneading
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 cups (16 ounces ) whole milk

Dough

1/4 cup honey
4 tsps. table salt
2 tablespoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

1. Mix together the ingredients for the biga, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 8-24 hours. Mix together the soaker ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

2. 8-24 hours later in a stand mixer, combine soaker (torn into one inch pieces), biga and bread ingredients in stand mixer with dough hook. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes until mixture is combined, then knead on medium for 8-10 minutes until dough is elastic and smooth.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Cover in an oiled bowl for 45 minutes at room temperature.

4. Fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 turns.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 more minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, one oven rack should be at lowest level, and one in the middle of your oven. Cut the dough in half. On a floured work surface, gently press the first piece of dough into an 8-inch square that measures 1 inch thick. Starting with the side farthest away from you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 60-90 minutes.

6. Uncover with plastic wrap and with a serrated knife or razor blade make a 1/4 inch slit running the length of the loaf. This will ensure no tears form during baking. Place 2 cups of boiling water in an oven-safe pot or pan in the bottom rack of your oven. Drop the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes until internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. Loaves should be very dark brown.

I ran across an interesting recipe last week and wanted to give it a try. It was called a Moroccan Coconut cake, and since it didn't have any dairy, my husband could enjoy it.

I've made some tweaks from the original. It was from a British blogger, so pull out your trusty scale!

Almond Joy Cake

Start by mixing 250g of dried coconut with 250ml orange juice together, letting the orange juice soak into the coconut for a good quarter of an hour. The coconut should have started to soften slightly. (I think whirring the coconut in the food processor would help suspend it easier in the egg foam. It would also make it easier to cut in the end).

Separate six eggs and add the yolks to the coconut, along with 300g of golden caster sugar and four tablespoons of sunflower oil. (Since I was using sweetened coconut, I cut this down to 1/4 cup of plain old white sugar. And, I used canola oil).

Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gently fold them into the coconut mixture.

Pour the mixture into a well greased, non-stick cake tin and bake for forty-five minutes at 350F. (Please, for your sanity, add a parchment round to the bottom of the pan).

Let the cake cool a little and then turn it out, upside down, onto a plate.

A base of creamy egg will have formed on the bottom of the tin as the mixture has sunk and separated, and this base will end up on top of the turned-out cake.

My husband tried it and said, if you add almonds and a chocolate drizzle, this will taste just like an almond joy. So, of course that's what I did. Hope you enjoy it!