APÉRITIF:
Welcome to another week of On the Back Burner, our weekend edition of Sifted. For our new readers, On the Back Burner will feel more laidback — it’s where we’ll discuss more time-intensive recipes and other things on our mind going into the weekend. And for our readers who aren’t yet subscribers, change that now:
With a week of rain and a looming lockdown 2.0, there’s never been a better time to embrace being inside. Oh, you’re f***ing tired of that? Gotcha. Well, we’ll try our best to brighten up another day spent entirely indoors where the sky turns pitch black by 5pm. How will they do that? Uh, with our favorite recipes for the best meal of the day; the meal you sit down to when the sun's still shining. The meal where it’s okay to have fluffy slices of bread dipped in cinnamony-custard and fried in butter, or sweet pancake batter griddled until golden, or huge streusel-topped, icing-drizzled muffins straight from the hot tin. Yes, we’re talking about BREAKFAST—specifically, sweet treats for breakfast. Are you surprised by this take or these excitement levels from two girls raised on sugary breakfast cereals? (RIP Rice Krispie Treats Cereal.) Take a look at these sweet breakfast recipes, maybe make one, maybe make them all, and don’t overlook the fact that any leftover breakfast can be eaten well into the dark, dark afternoon.
ON THE BACK BURNER THIS WEEKEND:
Milk Bread (Cinnamon Swirl optional): the star of my kitchen this week, and for many weeks prior, is this milk bread. If you’re not familiar, milk bread is an enriched Japanese bread that’s richer than a pullman loaf, but not quite as indulgent as brioche. It utilizes a tangzhong starter (see Dinner Plans #7 for more on this) for a super-soft, ethereally-light loaf, and the higher-protein bread flour for the kind of stringy crumb that you can peel apart layer by layer like a Pillsbury crescent roll. Sold? Okay cool. I have tried a few recipes and concluded that Julia Moskin’s is my personal fave (*do not exclude the water in the starter, it is criminally missing from the ingredients list*) but if you can’t wrap your head around the starter, this recipe is solid too. For an extra special treat, Sifted says swirl a schmear of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon into the loaf. Enjoy pulling the loaves apart, watching steam release and gluten strands pull. Eat them slice by slice, letting the buttery crumb melt in your mouth. Smash your face into it. And if, by some grace of god, you still have some left on Day 3 or later, make french toast. -CK
Banana Bread: In high school, I was infamous. For lots of things, but mostly for baking loaves of cinnamon-heavy, moist (or as my boyfriend says, “the good kind of gummy”) banana bread. I’d get requests from friends, enemies, teachers, my crush’s girlfriend’s best friend—I was getting closer to him!—and pretty much anyone else who asked. I liked watching people carry around the plastic-wrapped loaves, biting straight into them or cutting craggy, uneven slices with a plastic knife. The bread was studded with big chocolate chips, unless it was a batch for my best friend, Jourdan, who always got slightly superior loaves packed with walnuts.
Anyways, thanks for reading this excerpt from my disturbingly desperate and food-filled memoir! As a token of my appreciation, and because I like my Sifted readers a lot more than most of the people I went high school with (except you, J!), I present to you… the infamous banana bread recipe. -GS
Blueberry Muffins: I deeply love muffins. So much so that I ate a muffin every single day my second year of college, but that’s a story for another time. In my eyes, blueberry is the Platonic ideal for muffins, and within the blueberry variety, I want a good amount of (real) blueberries, a moist batter subtly flavored with either lemon zest or vanilla, and an oversized, crunchy, top. Essentially, the blueberry muffin from Dunkin Donuts. The Ritz Carlton vs. Jordan Marsh debate over the “best” blueberry muffin dominates the conversation, but creeping in as the undeniable sleeper hit, let me present to you, the Levain Blueberry Muffin. Gab & I may disagree on the merits of their cookies, but there is no denying these muffins could win over the staunchest Levain hater with their gigantic, crunchy, sugar-crackled tops. Whichever recipe you do choose, just be sure to rain the G.O.A.T. turbinado sugar on top. -CK
TAKEOUT:
ICYMI, my favorite piece of news this week was that Europe botched yet another art restoration, and it is goooooood. Just take a look for yourself, then tell us your best version of this meme.
In other news, the dog from the Bush’s Beans commercials died this week, so pour out some beans for that good boy. And another piece of bean-related news: Queen Samin & East Fork Pottery have collaborated on a limited-run color called Pinto, that benefits the Acta Non Verba, a youth-farming initiative in East Oakland. They’ll drop January 2021, so start saving up your coins now.
And on the subject of power collabs, in a very strange turn of events, Madhappy & Prince St. Pizza have collaborated (thank you to reader and friend Lara Press for the tip off). They seem to be selling sauce (?), t-shirts, and other merch to celebrate Prince St. opening their second location in L.A. (Another New Yorker fleeing to L.A. during the pandemic? How original.) Sadly, their signature ’roni cups are missing from any designs. Wake me up when Scarr’s & Entireworld release their collection of pre-grease-stained sweatsuits.
okay so hundo p agree about Levain's blueberry muffins. I work for Levain and I was a total muffin hater before that but now I'm hooked and it takes major restraint to only eat one every week instead of.... everyday......