Coppell Farmers Market

Thanks to all of our new customers who came out to the Coppell Farmers Market this morning. It was great meeting you and we hope you enjoyed our fresh baked goods. It feels so good to be back in front of people sharing our love and passion for artisan bread. We will keep you posted on what upcoming Farmers Markets we will be at in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Our best sellers today were the Pain Au Chocolate and the Kalamata Olive & Thyme bread. We couldn't even complete our set up before we had a line of people waiting to buy our product that was still hot from the oven. Come and see us at the next market!

A Valentine Indulgence

Village Baking Co. Truffle Cake
by Kim Cooper
Valentine's Day is in two days and if you are snowed in and can't get out to shop for your valentine this weekend, here is the most perfectly delicious piece of chocolate that you could ever give your valentine. Our decadent Chocolate truffle cake recipe is one that you will definitely want to try. This melt in your mouth slice of heaven will turn any frown upside down...especially if you don't have a gift for your sweetheart on Sunday. Throw your apron on and show your love in the kitchen this weekend! If you are out and about, don't forget to swing by Sprouts for their nicely priced wines and our crusty artisan bread. Wine, bread and chocolate....what else does one need in life?

Lots of loaves,

The Village Baking Co.

Truffle Cake

740 g semi sweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups water

340 g sugar

510 g butter (room temp)

12 eggs

Boil water and sugar, pour over chocolate and stir until melted. Add butter in chunks and let set at room temp. Whip eggs with 170g of sugar about three minutes until light and fluffy. Fold in chocolate.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Village Baking Co. Baguette

The Lyon

By Kim Cooper

Hungry yet? Just looking at this picture that our dear friend Pam took makes my mouth water! This weekend if you are out and about, swing by the nearest Sprouts store and grab a Village Baking Co. baguette, Plugra butter, deli ham and your favorite cheese and make The Lyon. Our Lyon sandwich was inspired by a little bakery that Clint and I stopped at on our way to a French Chateau right outside of Lyon, France in 2001. This is the most simple yet tasty sandwich....a great fast and easy lunch. We love to eat salt and vinegar chips with this sandwich or it is great with your favorite glass of red wine. You can't get anymore french than this.

Thanks, Pam, for taking these amazing pictures of our breads. http://www.amwzphotography.com/.

Village Baking Co. Caesar Salad

Not just your everyday Caesar Salad
By Kim Cooper


Today will be a very happy day to all of our caesar salad fans. For at last, you won't stop me in the grocery store or yell out your window in the Starbucks line and ask for the recipe! I will never forget how we landed this particular dressing recipe. It was 9:00 at night before we opened our little french bakery cafe in 2004 and Clint decided last minute that we needed to add a caesar salad to the menu. Clint's dad and his friend Alan Sanderson were working on a piece of equipment and Alan yelled across the kitchen in excitment that he had the best caesar salad dressing recipe in the world! He ran to the store, gathered all of the ingredients and made it right there on the spot. He wasn't lying....it was the best caesar salad we had ever tasted! So, thanks to Alan, we had devoted customers who were obsessed and still obsessed after five years of the infamous village baking co. caesar salad. Funny how things just always work out. This salad was one of our best selling lunch items. Enjoy this fresh and healthy alternative to lunch or dinner and add grilled chicken if you prefer.

Dressing:
4 cloves of garlic
1 cups of extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
3 anchovy fillets
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper
1 shallot
*add large egg yolk after blending above ingredients
Blend until creamy.
Pour over chopped romain lettuce, add village baking co. croutons and toss. Grilled chicken optional.

Homemade Croutons

Here is our recipe for homemade croutons for your healthy eating this new year. We will post some of our favorite sandwiches and salads later on this month to go along with your delicious croutons. Instead of buying unhealthy snacks for the kids loaded with unnatural ingredients, I give them croutons instead and they eat them up! We also serve them with a "spur-of-the-moment" wine-o'clock with friends! They are handy to have around in a glass container on the counter....looks cool and tastes great! Enjoy.

Ingredients
Day old Village Baking Co. bread of any kind
Olive oil
kosher salt
cayenne & garlic powder to taste

dried parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut bread into cubes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle cubes with olive oil and seasonings. Mix well.
Spread seasoned bread onto a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes.

Homemade Christmas Granola

A Simple & Old Fashion Way to Say Merry Christmas
by Kim Cooper

At the Village Baking Co., we are all about fresh and simple. There is no better recipe, I believe, that is more simple and delicious than our homemade granola. During the days of our bakery cafe, every morning Tom & Larry would come in at the exact same time for their bowl of granola. I know they will be so excited to finally have the recipe. Thank you guys for your dedication and encouragement during those early "hours" of our business!

Since we started our business in 2006, Clint and I have left jars of homemade granola on the doorsteps of our neighbors and friends with well wishes for a Merry Christmas. It is now a tradition in our home as our kids gather around our kitchen table to help toss the granola in the jars and out the door for delivery. We are so happy to share the recipe with you. We like to serve the granola in milk or yogurt topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries (it is yummy just plain too). Enjoy!

Village Baking Co. Granola
8 cups old fashion rolled oats
4 cups sliced almonds
4 cups shredded coconut
1 cup honey
1 cup canola oil

toss well. bake at 350 for 45 minutes, turning mixture every 15 minutes until golden brown.

Biscochito- An Ancient Christmas Tradition

Biscochito is a crispy, buttery cookie flavored with anise & cinnamon. This cookie was originally developed by the first Spanish colonist of New Mexico. The state adopted the Biscochito in 1989 as the official State Cookie chosen to maintain traditional homebake cookery. Biscochito is known as a traditional cookie for the Christmas season and is eaten with morning coffee or milk (I love dunking mine in milk!), after lunch in early afternoon or dinner late at night. If you ever visit Sante Fe, you can find a fresh Biscochito paired with a glass of sherry or hot tea at the Inn of the Governors every day between 4:00-5:00 in the afternoon. Biscochito has become a Christmas tradition around our house as we keep our Santa cookie jar filled with star & angel Biscochito this time of year. It is also a favorite of Santa Claus on Christmas eve....he doesn't leave a crumb! Biscochito is a great substitute for the ordinary sugar cookie recipe. Enjoy!

Biscochito
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Crisco
1 tsp baking powder
4 cups of flour
1 tbs anise seeds (crush to bring out flavor)

Combine eggs with cup of sugar. Add 1 tsp of vanilla & 1 cup Crisco. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Then add 1 tsp of baking powder & 4 cups of flour. Mix 1 tbs anise seeds (crushed) into dough. The dough should have consistency of pie crust dough. Roll out dough 1/4" thick. Cut cookies and dip in mix of cinnamon & sugar before baking. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.