Cinnamon Raisin Bread from left over French toast batter

Cinnamon Raisin bread swirl

How often when making French toast for breakfast do you have too much left over "soaking" batter and end up throwing it away? Why not use it to make a tasty bread that can be used again for French toast? 

Depending on how much left over batter you have will depend on how much bread you end up making, but for this experiment I had about 3/4 cup of egg, milk, cinnamon, salt, and sugar French toast wash left.

Before I made breakfast I made a nice sponge with 1 cup of warm water, a packet of dry active yeast, and 1 cup of all purpose flour, letting it rise for about 1 hour.

Rolled out to size of bread pan

After an hour, I added the approx. 3/4 cup egg wash liquid to the sponge, added about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour, and additional salt (1 tsp) and kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes until the dough was nice and springy. The dough went back into the warm (90 degree) oven until it doubled in size.

Once doubled in size I added about 1 cup of raisins to the bread and folded them in. After, I rolled the dough into a rectangle the size of my bread pan (13 inches). and added a nice layer of cinnamon sugar.  Once nicely coated, the dough was rolled up like a cinnamon roll and the ends were pressed inwards to make a more "loaf" like shape. I place the load in a greased loaf pan and let rise for another 90 minutes.

To bake the bread, preheat the oven (make sure your bread is not in the oven!) to 350 degrees and bake or about 45 minutes, or until the center is fully cooked.  

Now you have a flavorful loaf of cinnamon raisin bread that can be used the next morning for more French toast!  Rinse and repeat!

The Alaska House of Jade Bed and Breakfast is always looking for ways to make unique hand made meals for our guests.  When staying in Anchorage be sure to check us out!

Anchorage Lodging- What Type of Accommodation is for Me?

Difference Between an Inn and a Bed and Breakfast in Anchorage and a Traditional Hotel

Bed and Breakfasts and Inn's in Alaska can be a great type of accommodation for a family vacation or those looking to get a more local flavor. Understanding how a bed and breakfast, lodge, and inn operate verses a traditional hotel can help in deciding what type of lodging accommodation is right for you and your party. 

Prior to the early 1990's, Anchorage bed and breakfasts provided more lodging rooms within the city than traditional hotels.  Between the uncertainty of oil prices and production, highly seasonal tourism, limited flight and travel schedules, and a
host of other factors, Anchorage bed and breakfasts were highly valuable for guests wanting to explore and visit Anchorage and Alaska. 


So What is the Difference Between a B&B, an Inn? And why choose one over a hotel?

Right off the bat, a bed and breakfast and inn are rarely different in the type of accommodations they provide. A bed and breakfast will typically provide fewer rooms than an inn, and as the size is slightly larger for an inn, there are often more staff to help with the operations.  A bed and breakfast is more often than not owner occupied and owner/family operated, whereas an inn is likely owned by a local resident, but may have an innkeeper to manage the day-to-day operations. Both will typically offer a wonderful breakfast each morning of your stay along with snacks available in the evening to tide your appetite until the following morning! An Inn may have a dinner or additional meals available, often at an added cost.  Rooms offered at a B&B or inn will often have unique character or charm often fitting to the room name, and the common spaces may be filled with personal collections, family photos, and local information. Lodges, though more common in more remote parts of Alaska, will often be all-inclusive (meals, lodging, activities, sometimes transportation within the facility, etc). The remoteness of many lodges in Alaska require these services to be provided to make guests stay comfortable as even basic amenities such as a grocery store may not be within walking
distance.

A traditional hotel on the other hand are often corporate non-locally owned, provide cookie cutter rooms, have many more rooms, and until more recently provide amenities at an added cost (breakfast, Internet, flexible check-in/check-out, snacks and beverages, and parking). Hotels certainly have their place and arguably their most notable amenity they offer is
consistency.  When booking a "2 Queen Bed, 1 Bath room" most guests know exactly what they are getting.  

Is an Inn or Bed and Breakfast the Right Choice for Me?

Anchorage bed and breakfast or inn owners are often more than happy to provide detailed travel information so you and your party get the most out of your time while in Anchorage or Alaska. Alaskans love to explore their state and
often have first hand knowledge of what tour operators provide a unique and special experience as well as what sites to see along your travels. During the reservation process they want their guests to be happy and comfortable
during their stay and will make every effort to provide a detailed
description of what rooms/suites they have to offer and whether they may be a good fit. A host does not want an unhappy guest! Innkeepers and hosts will often make every attempt to cater to special requests, special dietary restrictions, and a more personalized stay. Due to the smaller size, a bed and breakfast or inn has the capacity to provide these services as well as the hosts natural inclination to make every guests stay as comfortable as possible.
  

Conclusion

Anchorage bed and breakfasts and inns provide guests and locals the opportunity to interact directly and provide one-to-one communication. When a guest emails or calls a B&B or inn they are often talking to the person(s) that they will meet during their stay. Also, when reserving a room at a B&B
or inn, the money spent goes directly to a Anchorage resident providing and promoting more local economic activity.  Additional research may be required by the guest to ensure that the accommodations they are looking for can be
provided by the B&B or inn of their choice, but that added time can greatly add to the experience they may have when spending their time in Anchorage.  Recommendations on where to eat, what to see, and in general, how to get the
most of your Alaskan experience can be assisted by your host.   

Choosing the hotel route for your Anchorage lodging needs will likely result in a comfortable, but impersonal stay. Special requests and needs may be met, but will require requests to be made on the spot when hotel staff may be occupied with other guests and responsibilities. Non-local "chain" hotels often employ local staff (housekeepers, front desk, concierge, cooks, management) but send profits to their corporate office located outside of Alaska.  Their back-end side of the business (IT, reservation software, website development, finance, etc) are also managed at the corporate level and not provided by local residents.   

When looking for Anchorage lodging and accommodations we highly encourage you to consider a local Anchorage bed and breakfast or inn. 

About the Author: Zack and Krista Walker own and operate the Alaska House of Jade Bed and Breakfast in Anchorage Alaska.  The Alaska House of Jade has been providing Anchorage lodging service since 1987. Reservations can be made by visiting Alaska House of Jade Bed and Breakfast Anchorage or by calling 907-337-3400.

Anchorage Day Trip: Portage/Girdwood

Day Trip from Anchorage: Portage and Girdwood

When visiting South-central Alaska there is never enough time to accomplish everything you want to see and do.  With the long summer days and a little bit of luck from the weather it is possible to get a wide variety of activities done in one day.  In late April we went down to the Girdwood and Portage areas for a fun day trip.  We always recommend these activities (as well as many others) for guests traveling south to the Kenai Peninsula or for guests just looking for a fun day from the Anchorage area.  Girdwood is about 45 minutes outside of Anchorage, and Portage is another 10 miles south from Girdwood.

Heading out of Anchorage
through Potter's Marsh

We started the day leaving at 8:00 am (for our guests, we do offer an early 7:30 breakfast seating for those looking to get a fast start to their day! For earlier departures we do pack a prepared bag breakfast with homemade breads, yogurt, granola, cheeses, and often a few small desserts for later in the day!). Once out of Anchorage the Seward Highway skirts the Cook Inlet the whole way down, offering beautiful views of the Alaska Range and the Chugach Mountains.  Although not able to pull over and stop for pictures we did catch a couple of moose on the way out of town, as well as some Dall’s Sheep on the steep cliffs just outside of Anchorage, as well as a dozen or so Bald eagles.  These are somewhat common to see along the highway. Rare sightings of beluga whales can also be had, however they are most commonly seen in the late summer in these parts of the inlet.

Byron Glacier Trailhead

9:45 am: Our first stop was Byron glacier, located by the Begich Visitor Center before heading into the town of Whittier.  The 1.5 mile round trip trail leads you to the face of Byron Glacier.  

We actually hiked this trail in late 2015 and since then an avalanche has completely filled the valley.  Where once you could cross a small stream to hike to the face of the glacier, now a 50 foot high wall of snow, ice, and rock block the path.  It is highly advisable to not walk on this as the snow and ice can be thin.   This took about 1 hour, including a 15 minute break exploring the new avalanche filled area.  The trail is well maintained, well-traveled, and relatively flat.

Brown bear at the Wildlife
Conservation Center

11:15 am: Our next stop was the Portage Wildlife Conservation Center located right off the Seward Highway and the intersection towards Byron glacier. The Wildlife Conservation Center is a rehabilitation center for Alaskan wildlife and provides the opportunity to get close to brown/black bears, moose, 

Red Fox

Musk ox, Wood bison, caribou, elk, and wolves, as well as some other small mammals and birds. One of the great successes has been the release of a herd of Wood bison in the northwest area of Alaska, and it just so happened that the day we went here, the first wild offspring of the herd had been spotted. We spent about an hour here before heading north towards Girdwood.   

Jack Sprat Yam Fries!

12:45 pm: As we started to get hungry we headed up to Girdwood for a late brunch at Jack Sprat.  On the weekends they offer a great brunch menu.  Their dinner is also wonderful with a wide variety of options. We always go for their yam fries! Unfortunately on weekdays Jack Sprat is closed until dinner service.  But just up the hill is another great spot, the Bake Shop.  They may be most known for their breakfast (and sourdough cinnamon rolls!), they have a wonderful variety sandwich, soups, and salads.

Maintained Winner Creek Trail

2:00 pm: After fueling up, we drove into the Alyeska resort area to get onto the Winner Creek trail.  Girdwood is in a more rainforest environment, and offers landscapes similar to those found in southeastern Alaska.  Large fir and cedar trees cover the landscape.  The first half of the Winner Creek Trail is a fairly flat trail and is also well-traveled.  The second half does have some elevation changes as you approach the streams, but it is not terribly steep.  Although closed for winter maintenance, there is a hand tram at 2.5 miles in that you can use to cross over the gorge. We turned around here to head back towards the resort.  The tram goes over a stream and is a unique feature of the trail.  We stopped at the tram and headed back to the resort area, about 2.5 hours in total and about 5 miles of hiking.   

Hand Tram to cross the gorge
on the Winner Creek Trail

5:00 pm: We made our way back up to Anchorage in the early evening.  With the sun not setting now until 10 PM, we had plenty of sun light.  We didn’t see as much wildlife on the way back, but did catch some locals in the inlet wind surfing.  Guests could easily have a nice dinner back in Anchorage after this itinerary.

This itinerary is great for guests who don’t want to have to book tours months in advance, but still have flexibility throughout their day.  There are many more hikes in the area and Girdwood does have more activities, especially at the resort. We are more than happy to provide our guests some other recommendations for things to do within a day’s drive of Anchorage. We can’t promise you’ll check everything off on your list, but we will do our best to make sure your time is well spent offering the greatest variety and most unique activities for your interests.

Posted by: Alaska House of Jade
Contact us: alaskahouseofjade@ak.net
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