Category Archives: breads and rolls

Easy to Make Crusty Home Baked Bread


I don’t make homemade, from scratch, with the hands, bread very often because I am a bit intimidated by it.  This recipe is SO forgiving that EVEN I can have success with it!
Crusty Bread
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 1/2 cups water
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 – 18 hours.  Overnight works great.
Heat oven to 450 degrees.  When the oven has reached 450 degrees place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.  Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating.  Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough.
Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Pictures of MY bread:
[after 30 minutes baking]
[after final baking time]
[cooling on wire rack]

Greek Olive Bread


1-1/2 c. Flour, plus additional for dusting
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 package yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 c lukewarm water (slightly less)
1/2 c roughly chopped black olives
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

In a bowl, mix flour, yeast, salt, water and oil until stiff dough is formed.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, approximately 1 hour.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down.  Add remaining ingredients and knead until well mixed.  May require more flour.  Roll into ball and place into a lightly oiled bread baker.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise til size doubles.

Place bread baker into cold oven, set temp to 350 and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

Fun, Chewy, Soft Pretzels


  • 12 Servings
  • Prep: 1 hour + rising Bake: 15 min

Ingredients

  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 to 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • Kosher salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
  • Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • Punch dough down; divide into 12 portions. Roll each into an 18-in. rope; twist into a pretzel shape.
  • In a large saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Place pretzels into boiling water, one at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
  • Place on greased baking sheets. Brush with egg; sprinkle with desired topping.
  • Bake at 425° for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

Hamantaschen


Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 cup fruit preserves, any flavor (we liked peach best)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightly and fluffy. Stir in the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter to form a stiff dough. If dough is not stiff enough to roll out, stir in more flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or the rim or a drinking glass. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of preserves into the center of each one. Pinch the edges to form three corners.  *Brush with beaten egg wash if desired.*
  3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Artichoke Dip


I think this is the ONLY purpose for artichokes!

Ingredients
1 can artichoke hearts
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 C . real mayonnaise
1 C . Parmesan cheese
1 pinch white pepper
fine bread crumbs

Directions

Drain the can of artichoke hearts . Also drain the marinated hearts saving some of the marinade . Cut up the hearts and mix with mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese and white pepper . If mixture appears too dry , add the marinade a little at a time until it becomes moist but not
runny . Put in a casserole dish . Cover with fine bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for  20 minutes.

Sopapillas


 

Sopapillas are South of the Border pastries made with basic ingredients, deep fried,
then coated with cinnamon and sugar. Make a batch of sopapillas today and
discover your favorite way to eat them!
 1 ¾ cup plain flour
 1 Tablespoon sugar
 1 teaspoon soda
 1 teaspoon salt
 2 teaspoons baking powder
 2/3 cup milk
 Hot vegetable oil for frying
 1 cup sugar
 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
 Honey – optional
Mix dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Add the milk
and knead for 1 minute on floured surface. Let dough set for one hour. Roll dough into
large rectangle 1/8” thickness. Use a pizza cutter to cut 2” wide strips of dough, then
cut strips into 2” squares, then cut squares diagonally in half.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow baking dish and set aside.
Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer. When oil reaches 375 degrees, drop dough
triangles into hot oil. They should rise to the surface, and puff, then brown on the
bottom very quickly. Use tongs to quickly turn sopapillas over. When dough is golden
brown on both sides, remove from oil carefully, and place on paper towels. While
sopapillas are still very warm, put them in the cinnamon and sugar mixture and spoon
mixture over sopapillas to thoroughly coat them.

Baked French Toast Casserole


I came across this recipe a while back and it is an excellent crowd pleaser for a brunch or when you’re making breakfast for many people.  Sometimes I make this with fresh blueberries over the top just before baking, sometimes just the nutty-buttery goodness all by itself!

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash salt
  • Praline Topping, recipe follows
  • Maple syrup

Directions

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with arotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with a good quality maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

  • 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole recipe above!

‘Golden Corral’ Dinner Rolls Recipe


2-¼ tsp fast acting yeast (or 1pkg)–I used Fleischmann’s Bread Machine Yeast
¼ c warm water (105°F-110°F)
2 tsp sugar
1 c milk, just to scalding hot (do not simmer or boil)
⅓ c sugar
¼ c butter
1 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
3½ c bread flour (dough will be somewhat sticky, but the less you use, the lighter the rolls)
1 c whole wheat flour
¼ cup vital wheat gluten (optional)
2 T butter, melted, for brushing

1) Dissolve yeast in 1/4c warm water. Stir in the 2tsp of sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes until mixture foams up.
2) Heat milk in microwave or in small saucepan on stovetop.
3) Add sugar, butter, & salt to hot milk and stir until butter is melted. Cool to 105°F-110°F.
4) Pour milk mixture into bowl of stand mixer.
5) Add the yeast mixture & egg and mix together.
6) Mix in all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, & vital wheat gluten, beating to form a soft dough. Knead with mixer for 5 minutes, adding extra flour, if needed.
7) Place dough in warm oiled or buttered bowl, turning greased side up. Cover with parchment paper and let rise in warm place* until doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes.
8) Punch dough down and hand-knead for 5 minutes on lightly floured surface.
9) Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape into round rolls. Place them, not touching, in greased 13×9×2 baking pan.
10) Cover with parchment paper & let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
11) Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
12) Brush tops of rolls with melted butter.

You can use your oven as a dough incubator, turning it on to 400°F for one minute, then turning it off, and placing your bowl of dough in the oven for the two rising times.
—I also like place a pan of water on the bottom of my oven. I’ve read that mimics a convection oven and helps bread to bake moist.

Tomato Baguette Pizza


 

  • 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Dash pepper
  • 1 French bread baguette (10-1/2 ounces), halved lengthwise
  • 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 3/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, divided
  • 3 medium tomatoes, sliced

Directions

  • In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions in oil until tender. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; cook 1 minute longer.
  • Place baguette halves on a baking sheet; sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Top with 1/2 cup basil, mushroom mixture, tomatoes and remaining cheese.
  • Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Cut each portion into three slices. 

Yield: 6 servings.

 

**  I made this as an appetizer and it was a huge hit!

Blueberry Jam


Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup thawed apple juice concentrate
  • 1 envelope plain gelatin
  • 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

  • Pour the apple juice concentrate into a saucepan; sprinkle with gelatin and allow to soften for several minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, finely chop blueberries, 1 cup at a time. Add lemon juice, spices and 2 cups of chopped berries to gelatin; heat over medium-low until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in remaining berries and mix well.
  • Pour into jars or plastic containers; store in the refrigerator up to three weeks. Goes great with my Whole Wheat Bread recipe!Yield: 4 cups.