Alfredo Bread

My grandmother used to always make homemade bread.  Since I only eat plain bread when making sandwiches, homemade bread seems hardly worth the effort. Yet my attitude changes when I start considering making a more flavorful loaf such as this one.

This bread does have the added flavor of Alfredo sauce, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.  It is perfect for an Italian dinner and a nice change from garlic bread.  As you can see from the picture above, there is lots of cheesy goodness in this loaf.  I found it hard to hold off until dinner.  As it baked, it did release an ethereal scent throughout the house.  I got very hungry and impatient for it to finish baking. In addition, letting the loaf cool was even harder.

The next time you are in the mood to make bread, you may want to try this one.  There are only 2 sessions of rising time, totaling 1 1/2 hrs.  Forming the bread is basically the same method as a jelly roll, so it comes together pretty easily. This recipe makes two 9x5 loaves.

Alfredo Bread
adapted from Fleishmanns Yeast

Ingredients
1/4 cup Alfredo sauce
2 1/4 cup milk
2 tbs softened butter
3 tbs sugar
2 packets yeast (original, not rapid rise)
5-6 cups bread flour
1 tbs dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Fill a saucepan with the milk and place over medium heat. Let heat up to a temperature of 100-110 degrees. Remove from heat.  Stir in sugar and yeast. Set aside until the surface becomes foamy.  This should take about 5-10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the salt and 2 cups of flour.  Pour in the yeast mixture and add the butter.  Mix with beater blade until evenly distributed.  Continue to add the flour in 1 cup increments, mixing after each addition.  It should reach a soft dough stage once the 5th cup of flour has been blended in.

Take a medium size bowl and oil the interior and set aside.  The next step is kneading the dough.  If using a mixer with a dough hook, run your mixer on medium low speed for 4-5 minutes, adding flour a little at a time if needed. In order to do this step by hand, start by dusting a flat surface with flour. Place the dough on the surface and knead by hand for about 8-10 minutes.

Form dough into a ball and place it in prepared bowl.  Flip over to make sure surface is covered with oil.  Cover bowl lightly and set in a warm place to rise until doubled.  This should take about an hour.  During the rise time, prepare two 9x5 inch loaf pans by greasing the interior and set aside.

After the first rise is completed, remove the dough and punch down.  Place it back on the flat, floured surface and cut in half.  Put one half back in the bowl and keep the other half on the surface.  Roll out the half into a rectangle measuring 9x18.  Spread 2 tablespoons of Alfredo sauce on the surface of the rectangle.  Then sprinkle the dough with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Follow that with a sprinkle of 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley and then 1/2 tsp dried basil.

Starting with the short end, roll dough tightly into a cylinder, tugging the dough slightly after each turn. Pinch the end with the under lapping part of the dough and tuck in the short ends, pinching the same way.  Place the loaf seam sides down in the prepared pan.  Lightly cover this loaf and then prepare the second piece of dough the same way.  Let both loaves rise for another 30-40 minutes.  At the halfway point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the loaves have completed the rise, place in oven and bake until golden brown on top.  Bake time is about 30-40 minutes.  Loaves are done when hollow sound is made when tapping on top.  Place pans on rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes then invert on rack.  Invert again so loaves are in upright position.  Let cool completely before slicing.

Tips and Notes:

1.  Do not worry that there is not a border left when topping the dough.  My loaves did not split at the seams when baked, so the dough border is not required.

2.  Do not pack in more toppings than noted, unless you want to form this into a pull apart bread rather than swirled loaves.  Pull apart bread is an idea, but the layers will present a problem with the alfredo/cheese filling sticking to the pan.  The cheese will form a crust on the pan that will be hard to clean. 
                                     **LAST YEAR: Lemon Tartlets***                                                 

Almond Breakfast Scones

This post is part one of two.  This part is the base for an upcoming dessert I have planned.  However, do not let that make you wait, these scones do make for a great breakfast.

There are many different types of scones but I would say that these fall into a sweet bread category.  They are moist and have a crunch of almonds.  As you can see in the picture, I do like my scones very toasty.  Any type of bread or pastry, I think is much better with a toasty crust.

So, if you are looking for something sweet but are not quite up to the sugar high from a donut, these would surely hit the spot. This recipe makes 30 scones, about 2 1/4 inches.  Or if making the dessert to follow, it makes 8-10 that are 4 inches in diameter.

Almond Breakfast Scones
adapted from Dessert Circus at Home
Ingredients
1 cup blanched chopped almonds
3/4 cup golden raisins (optional I did not include)
3 tbs and 1 tsp baking powder
generous 1/2 cup of sugar
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups of heavy cream
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water (for egg wash)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flours, baking powder and salt.  Mix in sugar and pour in heavy cream.  Using a wooden spoon, mix together until a dough is formed.  Add the almonds and the raisins (optional) and stir.  Once everything is evenly distributed through the batter, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead for one minute until the dough is smooth.  Be careful not to overwork the dough, or it will shrink up during baking.  Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle that is 1/2 an inch thick.    Cut out scones using a 2 1/4 inch cutter for regular scones and a 4 inch cutter for dessert preparation. Continue to cut out the scones, re-rolling and cutting the remaining scraps until all dough is cut out.  Place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart.

Using a pastry brush, brush the surface of the scones with the egg wash. Place pans in oven and bake for about 15 minutes for the smaller and 20 minutes for the larger scones , rotating and changing racks halfway in between baking time.  Remove from oven and transfer scones to rack to completely cool.
                       **LAST YEAR: Pink Squirrel Cheesecake** 

Croissant Dough

This is the first part of a recipe for filled croissants.  Since the dough requires a long chilling time, I have made a separate entry here, just to create the dough.  There is another post on this day which completes the full recipe for the filled pockets. This makes 16 croissants.


Dough For Croissant Pockets
adapted from Great Coffee Cakes

Ingredients/Croissant Dough
For Sponge
1 1/8 tsp yeast or 1/2 package
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk

For dough
2 cups flour
2 tbs plus 2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt 
1 tbs soft butter

For butter blend
2 sticks of butter
2 tbs flour

For the sponge, warm the milk in a saucepan over low heat until it reaches a temperature of 110 to 115 degrees.  Mix in the sugar and remove from heat.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes.  Mix with a fork.  Then cover and let sit for another 5 minutes. By this time, the yeast should be dissolved and foamy.

Stir in the flour.  It may be lumpy, but thats ok.  Cover the mixture and let stand for 25-30 minutes.

To prepare the butter, take out a piece of wax paper and place it on a flat surface.  Dust the wax paper with 1 tbs flour.  Then place the sticks of butter on top and press together.  Sprinkle more flour on top and then pat it into the butter.  Using a rolling pin, roll the butter into one big 4 inch square, using additional flour as needed.  Cover with plastic wrap, place on plate and put in refrigerator.

For the dough,  sift together the flour sugar and salt.  Then pour the dry mix into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Then add the tablespoon of the soft butter and blend on low for 30 seconds.  Turn off the mixer.  Pour in the sponge and mix on low until no dry streaks remain.  Be careful not to over mix.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for six turns.  Pat it into a 4 inch rectangle and let rest for a few minutes.  Then, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 6X8 inch square.  The six inch side should be horizontal with the counter.  Take out and place the butter in the center of the square of dough.  Fold the bottom portion of the dough over the butter, then fold down the top portion of the dough and pinch the seam together.  Also, seal the side edges of the dough together.

This dough will require 4 quarter turns and a roll out as follows:

Going in the clockwise direction, give the dough a quarter of a turn. Roll it out to a 10x6 rectangle with the 6 inch side horizontal to the counter top.  Any butter that seeps through should be coated with flour to seal.  Flip the dough over and fold the dough into thirds, letter style. Make sure all your edges are even.  Cover in plastic and place on cookie sheet in refrigerator.  Let chill for 20 minutes.

Take the dough out and start with having the open seam to your right.  Repeat the above process 3 times.   Chill for at least 6 hours or up to 3 days before moving on to the filling and baking stage.

Pine Nut and Mozzarella Bread Rolls

Again I have brought out the pine nuts for another recipe.  It has been awhile since I have eaten homemade dinner rolls, but I was in the mood for something with some flavor, instead of just plain bread.  While there are are lot of herbed breads and rolls out there, I still wanted something different but I did not want to go so far as to have an extreme ingredient in them.  By extreme, I mean something that you have to special order or go to a gourmet shop to get.

I was flipping through some cookbooks and came across this recipe.  While this recipe did not have any picture to entice me, it still had some interesting ingredients.  I have made bread with cheddar, but never mozzarella.  And yes, that is mozzarella in the photo-not butter!

While these rolls were not eye catching on the surface, I do believe that the inside makes up for that!  The fluffy bread, stringy mozzarella and crunchy pine nuts did come together to make a tasty bread roll.  In fact, I ate one and then tucked them away for dinner.  I did crave several more, but I left the house to so some things outside to take my mind off of these.  It was not easy, especially since I was the only one the actually knew how many I made.  The original recipe below makes about 16 rolls. It is best not to reveal this number when you make them.  That way you can enjoy a few by yourself without inquiring minds!

Before you get into this recipe, I just wanted to give a shout out of thanks to Lacy at NY City Eats for passing along an award called: Irresistible Sweet Blog.  I was so happy to receive this particular one!  Lacy is a culinary graduate and I would like to see her succeed and find her special place in the culinary world. She does have creative talent for flavor fusion and is very comfortable making savory as well as sweet dishes. A few that come to mind are Lobster Eggs Benny and the Boozy Apple Pear Tart. So stop on in and say hi to Lacy at NY City Eats, I am sure her creations will make you appreciate the Big Apple a little bit more!

 Pine Nut and Mozzarella Bread Rolls
adapted from Baking Bread: Old and New Traditions

Ingredients/ Sponge

1/3 cup wheat bran (I ground up bran cereal)
3 cups all purpose or bread flour
1 tbs or 1 package yeast
2 1/2 cups of warm water

Ingredients/Bread Dough
1 recipe of prepared sponge (above)
8 oz mozzarella, cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 1/2 to 2 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts
2 tsp salt
Egg wash-1 egg, 1 tbs water, pinch of salt

To make sponge, fill the bowl of a stand mixer with the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top, then stir until it dissolves.  Add the rest of the sponge ingredients and beat, using the paddle attachment for about 1 minute.  The mixture should be smooth with no dry streaks of flour.  Cover and let set at room temperature for a minimum of 4 hours.  You can make it up to 3 days ahead and then refrigerate after the 4 hours.  Let come to room temp before using to make dough.

To create the dough, add the olive oil, 1 cup of flour and salt to the sponge mixture.  Beat at medium speed for about 1 minute.  Continue to add flour in 1/4 cup intervals, beating for 1 minute after each addition.  The dough should come to a point where it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Change out the batter blade to a kneading hook and knead, using the mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Then form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl and turn to coat the top.  Cover and let rise at room temp until tripled in volume about 2-2 1/2 hours.

During the rise time, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Place pine nuts in oven and let toast for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove and set aside to cool.  Turn off oven. Also, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

After dough has tripled, punch down.  Lightly dust a flat surface and roll out dough to a large rectangle.  Sprinkle pine nuts evenly over the surface, then press lightly to adhere.  Then place the cheese cubes evenly on the surface, pressing them down also.

Fold the dough over and knead so that the cheese and pine nuts are evenly distributed.  Then separate the dough into 16 pieces and shape into a tight round.  Make sure that the cheese chunks are sufficiently covered by the dough.  Place each piece one inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Cover rolls lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

 After the rising time, remove plastic wrap. Then take a pair of kitchen shears and snip the top of the roll in a row of three snips.  Place pans in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans from front to back and top to bottom after the 10 minutes and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove bread from oven.

Stir the egg wash with a fork so it has a little froth.  Then brush egg wash across the top of all of the bread rolls.  Place them back in the oven to bake until done, about 5-10 minutes more.

These are best eaten the same day they are baked.

Observances:
My dough was sticky to work with the whole time
For a high rise roll, it is important that the dough is made small and tight when put on baking sheet
It is inevitable that some mozzarella will seep out in baking, but due to parchment it will not burn and does not harm the taste.
These rolls do not turn very brown when baking.
                 **LAST YEAR: Date Bar Pie**                   
  

Smoking Gun Scones

The so called "smoking gun" predicament is definitely one that you cannot talk your way out of.  You have been caught red handed.  The child's answer when they are caught is usually "I do not know how it happened" or the other method is just to start crying because there is no way out.  I think the funniest response from an adult being caught was them simply stating  "it is what it is"!

Anyhow, I did not get into a predicament when making these, but I did include some very smoky tasting ingredients. I would say that the bacon, smoked gouda and smoked paprika definitely changes the standard thought as to what a scone is.  My first thought is that they are sweet and should be served at tea or breakfast.  However, my second thought was that I needed to come up with a savory scone!

The gouda does give these scones a wonderful texture as well as flavor.   Also, just because this does have bacon in it, do not restrict them to breakfast.  I paired these with soup for dinner last night and they quickly disappeared.  Yes, I know the picture I took does not show much bacon, but it is in there!

Smoking Gun Scones
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1 cup crumbled cooked bacon (about 8-10 cooked slices)
1 1/2 cups shredded smoked gouda
1 tsp paprika
2 eggs (lightly beaten with a fork)
egg wash (2 eggs whites beaten with 2 tsp water)
1 cup of milk
3 cups flour
1/2 cup or 1 stick of cold butter, cubed
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, salt, paprika, baking soda and baking powder in a medium size bowl.  Then, use a pastry cutter and cut in butter until it becomes coarse crumbs. Then sprinkle in 3/4 cup of the gouda and all of the bacon pieces. You do not want clumps of bacon nor clumps of cheese so take care when sprinkling.  Then using a wooden spoon to stir in until all is evenly distributed.

Make a well in the center of the batter and add eggs and milk.  Mix with a wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain.  To dough will be sticky and shaggy at this point.  Lay a piece of waxed paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with flour.  Take dough out and knead, adding flour until dough is no longer sticky.  Knead process should be done quickly, about 10-15 seconds.

Shape the dough into a 2 disks, about one inch in height. Then cut disks into 4-6 pieces, like cutting a pie.  Place the pieces on baking sheet.  Bake for about 6 minutes and remove from oven.

Brush tops of scones with egg wash and then sprinkle on the remaining cheese.  Press slightly to make sure cheese adheres to scone.  Place back in oven and cook for an additional 6-12 minutes.  Scones are done when the edges and bottom are golden brown..

Nokota Sweet Bread

As I was cutting into this sweet bread, I was looking at all the specks of color running through it.  My mind wandered to the lovely speckled horses that the Native Indians used to ride.  Today you may see many paint horses and appaloosas, but nothing like the beautiful speckled Nokota horses.

After searching the net, I found an organization that is devoted to keeping this beautiful and rare breed of horse alive.  It is called the Nokota Horse Conservatory. It is nice to see that there is something out there that supports this magnificent breed that used to roam the Northern Plains.

Now onto this bread recipe!  The bread has a batter that reminds me of a chocolate chip cookie muffin.  However, even though it has chocolate chips and nuts, the inclusion of the shredded apple and cinnamon and nutmeg does make for a very unique taste.  I hardly ever see apples with chocolate in baked goods, but we do see chocolate dipped apples around the Halloween season, so I wanted to try it.  I am glad I did.

The slices turned out moist and tasty.  It makes for a great afternoon snack.  However, if you want to indulge a little bit more, serve with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream on top.

Nokota Sweet Bread
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of chopped toasted pecans
1 large Granny Smith apple**
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

** 1/16/12-due to one reader's issue with the amount of moisture in this recipe, I will now say that the green Granny Smith apple is the required ingredient.  Other types of apples have a higher moisture content.  I only bake with Granny Smith, so I did not know what the result would have been with another apple, but now I do.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease one 9X5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper and grease face up side.

Beat egg and egg yolk together until fluffy.  Then beat in the sugar and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,  nutmeg and cinnamon.  Then peel the apple and grate in a food processor with a fitted blade.  Your grated apple should yield about one cup.

Stir the apple into the sugar/egg batter.  Then add the vegetable oil, pecans, vanilla and chocolate chips.  Once that is all blended fold in the sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain.  Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake until tester comes out clean.  Mine took about 35 minutes and I used a dark pan, a lighter or glass pan will take a little longer.

Remove pan from oven and let bread cool for about 5 minutes.  Then invert onto rack and turn face up to let cool completely.  Due to its moist texture, the bread should be covered and refrigerated about one hour before slicing.

Coconut Apple Walnut Bread

I recently attended a charity event that went awry.  What was intended for the needy did not pan out completely.  Somehow 1/3 of it got twisted to be for friends and neighbors :(

Anyhow with that being said, it was time to go to the kitchen and get out of that negative funk by diverting my attention to making something delicious!  I did get to open my jar of coconut oil and use a little bit of brandy for this loaf, so needless to say I had the light on inside my oven awaiting the final product.  I was not disappointed, so I will not delay anymore.  The recipe is below.

Coconut Apple Walnut Bread
adapted from Free Coconut Recipes Website 

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I used a mix of chips and shreds)
1/2 cup chopped raisins
2 eggs
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup unpeeled minced apples
1 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (I used all purpose)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Grease and flour a 9X5 bread loaf pan.  Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour.  Set aside.  Beat the coconut oil until fluffy and then add the sugar.  Beat for an additional minute.  Add one egg and mix in at medium speed for 30 seconds.  Repeat the process with the next egg.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the brandy until evenly distributed.  Mix in the minced apple.  Add the dry ingredients and fold into the batter, making sure no dry streaks remain.  Then mix in the coconut, raisins and walnuts.

Once all the ingredients are blended, spoon batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top until all is even.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, which is about 50-60 minutes.
                     
Cool loaf in pan for about 10 minutes and then run a knife around the inside edge to loosen the bread.  Invert onto a rack to finish cooling.  To serve, slice evenly with a serrated edge knife.  I ate the bread plain and slightly warmed up for breakfast.  Others may prefer it toasted and spread with cream cheese.
                     **LAST YEAR: Chive Parmesan Scones**                  

3P Theory Biscuits

In medieval times, people had a very high regard for the strawberry. They were a symbol of peace, prosperity and perfection, hence the theory of the 3 P's.  Today, fruit rarely draws such attention.  I imagine if I had a gigantic strawberry statue in the front of my drive today, people would only think it to be strange or that we grew strawberries here!

While strawberries remain as a favorite of mine, I do agree that they have changed with time. The need for us to make bigger foods has somehow overshadowed the need for great taste.  I still stand by the little sweet strawberries as being the best and the bigger ones to be somewhat bland. When I went to the store to get the strawberries, I took some time in trying to get the container that had the smallest strawberries. 

The biscuits are not real sweet because I did want to keep them out of the sweet bread category.  I first experimented with plain yogurt and then various flavors.  The contrast flavors such as almond or banana did not carry into the final product, so I opted for just a subtle base of flavor which was vanilla.

Another thing discovered in creating was that the second pan of biscuits rose more and was fluffier than the first.  It may have been due to the cold yogurt inhibiting the rise.  The solution to that was to have the dough be covered and sit for some rise time and then bake them all at the same time. This recipe makes about 18 biscuits.

3P Theory Biscuits
by flourtrader

Ingredients
1 cup of finely chopped strawberries
1/3 cup and 1 tbs sugar
1 eight oz carton of vanilla yogurt
1 lightly beaten egg
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease 2 baking sheets. Take the bowl of chopped strawberries and stir in 1 tbs of sugar and set aside.

Sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt and both kinds of flour.  Then stir in 1/3 cup of sugar. In another bowl whisk together the egg, yogurt and melted butter.  Fold the yogurt mixture into the flour until no dry streaks remain and then blend in the strawberries.

Cover bowl of dough and let rise for 15 minutes.  Then drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.  Place all pans of biscuits in oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, turning pans at the halfway mark.  Biscuits are done when they are lightly browned on top.
                     **LAST YEAR: Wedding Cookies**

Avocado Bread

This is one of those recipes that has a hidden ingredient with health benefits..  This is a recipe for a sweet bread that contains avocados and pecans.  You would never know by the taste that an avocado is in there.  I enjoy avocados, but I am sure I would benefit more by having them more often.  However, there are a number of people that do not like avocados.   Those that do not, will enjoy this bread and you can be happy that you slipped them some healthy avocado!

For those that do not know the benefits of avocados, below is a list of a few:
-aids in preventing breast cancer
-contains cataract preventing substance
-rich in folic acid which protects the heart
-helps prevent hypertension

This recipe makes one loaf.  The author suggest cutting the bread thin and serving with cream cheese spread.  The cream cheese spread is made with soft cream cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice. You can add as much or as little of the lemon ingredients, according to your own taste preference. This is a great item for afternoon tea or paired with a fruit salad.

Before I get into the recipe, this is a reminder that it is Veterans Day.  Please take a moment and think about all the sacrifices of our troops have made in the past and present. We currently have troops deployed in four countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.  

Avocado Bread
adapted from Judy Gorman's Vegetable Cookbook

Ingredients
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg (room temp)
1 mashed avocado
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar

Grease the inside of a 9X5 inch loaf pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together the flour, salt , baking soda and baking powder.  Then stir in the sugar and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the avocado and the egg until smooth.  Add the buttermilk and blend with a wooden spoon.  Fold this batter into the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain.  Fold in the pecans.

Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top so it is all even.  Place in oven and bake until tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour.   Remove from oven, invert onto a rack and invert again.  Let cool completely before cutting and serving.
                               **LAST YEAR: Miss Grace Lemon Bundt Cake**

Big Brahman Rolls

These rolls are named after the closest neighbor that I have.  He comes over sometimes on the spur of the moment, usually without an invite.  We will get back to him later on in this post.

These bread rolls are one of my favorites.  They come out of the oven soft and light with a toasty outside. The recipe is fairly easy.  Make no mistake about the size though-12 of these fit snugly into a 9X13 pan and the are about three inches in height.  One of these is actually enough for two people, but for bread lovers maybe one.  The recipe is made with honey and has a 3 to 2 ratio of bread flour to whole wheat.

Now back to my neighbor, who has the namesake for these rolls:

 This isn't an actual picture of him, but it is very much a likeness. Brahman cattle are a very hearty breed, they can withstand drought better than most cattle breeds. Good thing, because it has been especially dry this summer. Yes, this neighbor sometimes wants to come for a visit.  I guess when he gets bored, he jumps the fence, or so the rancher tells me.  Hard to imagine that much weight scaling any fence!  It is kind of startling to see him wandering across the yard in the morning. I find the breed name of this cattle very fitting for these large rolls. Now, on to the recipe....

Big Brahman Rolls
by flourtrader

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter-1/2 softened and 1/2 melted for glazing
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbs rapid rise yeast
3 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

Grease a 9X13 inch pan with cooking spray or oil.  Also grease the inside of a large bow. Set both aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast and the warm water.  Set aside for a few minutes for the yeast to react with the water and foam up.  Pour into a large bowl of a stand mixer and add honey, salt, eggs and 1/2 cup of softened butter.  Using the batter blade, beat ingredients together until blended, for about 1 minute. 

Change the speed of the mixer to low and add 1 cup of bread flour.  Let the mixer run for about 2 minutes, then repeat the process by adding one more cup of flour, alternating between the two types of flour. Let the mixer run for 2 minutes after all flour has been added and then change out the blade for a dough hook.

With the mixer on low, the dough hook should knead the batter for about 8-10 minutes.  As the mixer runs, you will be adding more flour to reduce the stickiness of the batter.  The bread is done being kneaded when it is smooth and no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.

Place dough on a floured surface and shape into a ball and place in the greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled.  This should take about 45 minutes.

Then lightly punch down dough and let sit uncovered for another 20 minutes to rest.  After the 20 minutes, punch down again and separate into 12 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball and place side by side into the prepared pan.  Then take the 1/2 cup of melted butter and brush or pour evenly over rolls.  Cover lightly and let rise again for 20-30 minutes or until doubled in size.  

During this rising time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place pan of rolls in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.  When done, rolls will have a hollow sound when tapped and be toasty on top. Let cool slightly prior to serving.
                                              **LAST YEAR:Chicken Scarpariello**

Potato Tarragon Bread

I recently went to a pot luck luncheon and was debating if I should bring dessert or something else.  I decided on making and bringing bread.  I am so glad that I did-the number of desserts were so many that the plates were hanging off of the edge of the table, almost too many to fit.  As far as bread was concerned there was only one store bought loaf there, so needless to say the homemade bread was a hit. I did find it strange however, that only me and one other person actually labeled our dish so people would know what it was.

This is another old recipe from Bon Appetit that I saved from years back.  As you can see, the recipe requires 2 cake pans for baking rather than 2 loaf pans.

The bread has a light flavor of tarragon and is moister than most since it does have potatoes in it.  Usually when I make bread my biggest concern is that the loaf will be heavy and dense.  I was well pleased with the texture.

One thing I always do is use rapid-rise yeast, even when they call for regular yeast.  I believe that rapid-rise yeast is a guarantee on making sure that your bread does rise as big if not bigger than it is supposed to.  This dough took a large bowl and by the time it got done rising, the dough had spilled  over the sides of the bowl, but it did not impact the end result. The original recipe just stated dry yeast and I have listed it as such in the ingredients below. You can use your own judgement on which type of yeast you want to use.

The other point I wanted to bring up was that I do not recommend using a stand mixer for kneading this dough.   After adding about 5 cups of flour to the batter, I realized that the amount of dough would be too much for a stand mixer.  I actually kneaded it by hand.  I remembered something in the original mixer instructions making a specific reference to the amount of dough allowed.

When I looked across at all the people at this luncheon it was nice to see that they had grabbed a piece of my bread to try.  I think that having people outside your family eat and enjoy something you have made is one of the biggest compliments.  

Potato Tarragon Bread
courtesy of Bon Appetit (prior to 2005)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, room temp
4 white potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of butter, cut into cubes
2 envelopes of yeast
2 tbs sugar
5 tsp salt
3 tbs chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tbs dried
7 cups (or a little more) of flour

Using a large saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling salted water until fork tender.  Drain and empty into a heat proof dish.  Let cool for about 10 minutes.  The bread recipe needs 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes. For this task, a potato ricer, masher or hand mixer can be used.  However, since there will be some excess, you can choose just to mash the required amount for the recipe or mash them all.

Place 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes back into saucepan. Add buttermilk, 1/2 cup of water and butter cubes. Cook mixture over low heat, stirring constantly.  The butter will melt and the temperature should rise to about 120-130 degrees.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together yeast, sugar, salt and  1 1/2 cups of flour.  Whisk in the tarragon.  Then, with an electric mixer, slowly beat the potato mixture into the dry ingredients.  Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Then stir in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time until a soft dough is formed.

Remove dough from bowl and place on a floured surface,  Knead by hand for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, adding flour when needed.  Grease the inside of another bowl and transfer dough to the bowl, turning to coat.  Cover bowl and place in a warm, draft free area to rise for 1 hour.  It should double in volume.

Punch down and divide dough in half and shape into 2 rounds.  Place rounds on floured surface and cover and let rise for another 15 minutes.  During this time, grease the bottom and insides of 2 eight inch cake pans.

Place each piece of dough into a cake pan.  Cut slashes on the top of the bread in a crosshatch pattern.  There should be 2 horizontal cuts about 2 inches apart and 2 inches long in the center of each loaf.  Also, there should be two vertical cuts((same distance apart and size of horizontal) running through the horizontal cuts. Cover loaves and let rise again for another hour.

When only 15 minutes remain of the rising time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once rising time is complete, brush top of loaves with milk and place pans in oven.  Bake loaves for about 40 minutes or until done.  Bottom of loaf will sound hollow when tapped and top will be brown.  Remove from oven and run a butter knife between the bread and the insides of the pan.  Turn out loaves onto rack and then turn face up and let cool completely.  Once cooled, slice and serve.

Sweet Lemon Nut Bread

Well I have finally cleaned up the floor after the tape and bedding was done in our storage building.  To be honest, I would have rather had my fingernails pulled out.  Cleaning the floor is no big deal, but having to use a putty knife to scrape all that chalky mess off the floor is tedious.  I know that my arms will be sore tommorrow.

Anyhow, now that the worst part of the cleaning is over, I decided to treat myself with this sweet bread.  This recipe uses frozen lemonade to give it the bread that extra lemony flavor. The bread itself is studded with chopped walnuts.  In addition, the top has a glaze with fresh lemon juice.

Sweet Lemon Nut Bread
by flourtrader

Ingredients
2 tbs plus 2 tsp sour cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs corn or vegetable oil
1/4 cup frozen lemonade
1 cup flour
2 eggs
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 plus 2 tbs chopped walnuts
4 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice (for glaze)
2 tbs sugar (for glaze)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 8X4X2 1/2 inch loaf pan by buttering all of the inside and dusting with flour.

In one bowl, add sugar, oil, eggs and lemon zest. Beat with an electric mixer about 2 minutes. Then add nuts and stir with wooden spoon. Set aside.  Take out another bowl and sift together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, 1 tbs and 1 tsp of sour cream and 2 tbs of the frozen lemonade.  Mix with a wooden spoon until blended then add the rest of the dry ingredients,sour cream and frozen lemonade.  Stir batter until all is evenly distributed.

Pour batter into pan and place in oven.  Baking until tester comes out clean, which should be about 50-60 minutes.  My pan is dark, so if yours is light it may take longer.

During the baking time, prepare the glaze by stirring juice and sugar together.  Glaze is ready when the sugar is dissolved.

One done, remove bread from the oven and run a knife along the edges.  Then brush glaze all over bread.  Some of the glaze will drip down between the cake and pan.  Cool bread in pan completely and then turn out on wire rack.  Cut into slices and serve.

Alpine Easter Bread

This is an egg bread recipe and, like most, has a history of myths and metaphors behind it. Egg bread is recognized as a symbol of rebirth, which is usually why the loaves are most popular in the spring.  They are also known to have certain healing powers.

This particular bread gives off  a wonderful aroma while baking. If you have a full house, everyone will want a piece when it comes out of the oven.  The loaf has a light texture and is flavored with lemon and vanilla.  Since the bread has a subtle sweetness like Hawaiian bread, it is good for breakfast as well as dinner. I am tempted to try french toast with it-if there is any to spare for tomorrow am. This makes one 10 inch round loaf, so you will need a spring form pan or cake pan of that size.

Alpine Easter Bread
courtesy of Baking Bread:Old and New Traditions Cookbook

Ingredients
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
3 eggs (room temp)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter
pinch of sugar
4-4 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

Place a small saucepan over medium heat and add milk and butter.  Heat until all the butter is melted and set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.

Put warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over the water.  Stir and let stand for about 10 minutes to get foamy.

Get out a stand mixer and put in the paddle attachment.  Place salt, lemon zest, sugar and 1 1/2 cups of flour in mixer bowl.  Mix on low for about 30 seconds.  Add the melted butter and milk combination to the batter.  Then pour in extracts.  Lastly, put all eggs and yeast mixture into batter. Beat all ingredients together on medium speed for about 2 minutes.

Switch the speed to low and add the flour in 1/2 cup increments, mixing after each addition.  Once the last 1/2 cup has been added, take out the paddle attachment and put in dough hook.  Knead the dough for about 3 minutes-adding about 1 tablespoon of flour after each minute passes. After this, the dough will still have a sticky texture and will not be dry, so do not be tempted to add any more flour.

Grease another large bowl and place dough inside.  Then cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 2 hours. 

During the rising time, grease the inside of your pan.  After the dough has risen, spoon one large lump into pan, letting the dough spread evenly.  Then cover and let rise for another hour.

After 45 minutes, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Once 2nd rising time is complete, uncover and place pan in the oven to bake for about 45-60 minutes. Bread is done when cake tester comes out clean and top is toasted.

Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then release and place bread upright on rack to cool.

50/50 Biscuits

It has been about 10 months since I started my blog.  I started out privately blogging and have been making use of the Internet as well as cookbooks for my recipes.  Now, it is time I put my own creativity to work and make some recipes that I can call my own.

This one I created some time ago because my husband needed a breakfast to carry to work due to his long commute.  We usually split these in half and fill with egg and sausage to make a breakfast sandwich. 

The texture of the biscuits are a little bit different from the standard.  Perhaps because they have 2 types of leavening ingredients, baking powder as well as yeast.  They hold together quite well and are not as crumbly as regular biscuits.   Another unusual thing is that they do not rise in warmth, they are actually refrigerated overnight prior to baking. This recipe makes about 10-12 biscuits, but the amount will vary depending on the size of the cutter and how thick you roll the dough.

50/50 Biscuits
by Flourtrader

Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup of buttermilk
1 package of rapid rise yeast
2 tbs cold butter
3-4 tbs melted butter (for dipping dough prior to baking)
1/4 cup cold shortening
1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups self rising flour

The night before:
 In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water and set aside.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a large bowl.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening and 2 tbs of cold butter.  Once the mixture becomes crumbly, add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and yeast mixture. Using a wooden spoon or a large fork, toss mixture together forming a soft dough.  If mixture is too dry, add additional buttermilk, blending until the right consistency is achieved.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill overnight.

The next day:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees farenheit.  Prepare a few baking sheets by lining with parchment paper.  Also, have your bowl of melted butter ready.

Dust a smooth surface with flour and roll out the dough to 3/4-1 inch thickness.  Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or squares with a knife.  Once all the dough has been cut, dip each piece into the bowl of butter and flip, coating all sides.  Then place on baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake in oven until lightly browned, about 10-20 minutes.  They usually take about 15 minutes in my oven.  Remove from oven and place each biscuit on a wire rack to cool.  Should you want a toastier looking biscuit, put oven on broil and place pan back in oven.  Watch closely and remove when desired color is met. 

Armenian Dinner Rolls

Dinner rolls can change in texture and size, depending on where they originate from.  The typical dinner roll in the US is usually as high or higher than its width.  This particular recipe stems from Armenia and the recipe turns out rolls that are three times wider than their height.

As you can see by the picture, even though made with white flour, they have a tan exterior.  The rolls have a light crust with a soft,chewy inside. They have a taste similar to Portuguese sweet rolls. Quite a delicious change of pace from the standard dinner rolls.

If you do make these, be aware that the dough is very gloppy and sticky.  The dough is not kneaded, so it will not be close to the standard dough that you may be used to.  This recipe makes 2 dz rolls.

Armenian Dinner Rolls
courtesy of recipelink.com 

Ingredients
1 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup lukewarm water
3 beaten eggs
1 beaten egg with 1 tsp water (for egg wash)
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter
6 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 packets of yeast
2 tbs bread topping or sesame seeds

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over lukewarm water and mix until blended.  Set aside for 15 minutes to form bubbles.

Whisk (do not sift) the flour, salt and baking powder together.  Set this aside also.

Take a large bowl or Pyrex measuring cup (must be able to hold 4 cups), add the stick of butter and microwave for 45 seconds or until completely melted.  Grab another bowl and pour in milk.  Place bowl of milk inside the microwave and heat until lukewarm.  Then pour milk into melted butter and whisk together.  Blend the sugar in with the butter mixture.

 Mix the beaten eggs into the batter, continuing to whisk. Pour the yeast liquid into the batter.  After all has been blended together, add the flour mixture.  Stir with a wooden spoon until no more flour remains at the bottom of the bowl.

Cover bowl of dough and put in a warm place to rise for 2-3 hours or until doubled. During the rising time, oil the surface of 2 baking sheets.

Once rising time is complete, uncover dough.  Then, with greased/oiled hands, carefully scoop out about 1/4 of a cup of batter and place on cookie sheet.  As stated before, dough will be very wet, gloppy and sticky.  Continue to fill up baking sheet, placing each ball 2-4 inches apart from the other.

After all the dough has been placed on the sheets, let rise for another hour to 1 1/2 hours (or until doubled in size).  This is the last rising session. At the halfway point in rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Note that the size of the rolls (after rising) will be about 3 inches across and 1 inch tall.

At the end of the second session of rising, take out the egg wash and bread topping.  Lightly brush on the egg mixture, covering the tops of the rolls.  Then sprinkle with topping.  Place each pan in oven to bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove baking sheets from oven and transfer rolls to rolls to cooling rack.  Serve warm.

Dark Chocolate and Orange Muffins

The flavors of chocolate and orange really got popular with the chocolate orange balls over in the UK.  I know, most of you are not familiar with this candy. It is a big round piece of candy covered in foil that is compiled of segments made up of milk chocolate and flavored with orange oil.  The segments resemble the segments of oranges in appearance. In order to eat, you unwrap and tap the top onto a counter which causes the pieces to separate, just like the segments of an orange.

This flavor combination is not found in many American recipes, however, it was easy to find when looking through some food blogs in the UK. I made the choice to make muffins, since I had not made any in awhile.

To those of you that have the same standard breakfast every day, these muffins are a great way to add some variety. Also, these can be a sweet pick me up for an afternoon snack.   I find that they are the most tasty when warmed and served with butter.

Note that the muffins, since they have chocolate in them, have a tendency to stick.  It is best not to use paper liners.  Make sure you grease your pans well. To make things even easier, line the bottom of each holder with a parchment round.  Grease the side of the parchment that faces up.

Dark Chocolate and Orange Muffins
courtesy of I love milk and cookies blog

Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbs orange juice
2 eggs (room temp)
1/4 cup butter (room temp)
1 tbs orange zest
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup of flour
1 cup chopped dark chocolate or chips

Grease inside and top edge of muffin holders of 12 holder pan. Cut parchment rounds to go in bottom of holders, place inside each muffin cavity and grease top side of parchment. Preheat oven to 355 degrees.

In a large bowl, sift together the baking powder, flour and sugar.  Stir in the orange zest.  If you are using fresh zest, take care that all is evenly distributed and not lumped together.  Zest from a spice jar will mix easier, but may not impart the same flavor as fresh.  Then add the chocolate, stirring until blended. Set aside.

Then place all the wet ingredients (butter, yogurt,eggs, juice) in a small bowl and beat on low for 1 minute. Batter will still be lumpy with some chunks of butter, but that is okay.

Fold the wet batter into the flour mixture by using a wooden spoon. Once no dry areas remain in the batter, spoon it into the muffin holders.  The batter should be evenly divided among the twelve.  Since muffins do not rise like cupcakes, the 12 cavities will be very full of batter.  Transfer to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Remove muffin pan from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Then remove each muffin and place on rack to finish cooling.  Serve warm with butter.

Tapioca Cheese Rolls

The texture of bread varies quite a bit.  Some breads are more dense than others and some more crusty. Also, the texture should be in accordance to how it is served.  Pizza dough does not make very good dinner rolls, nor can biscuit dough be used for pita bread.

As for this particular type of roll, it turned out with a crusty outside and a very chewy inside.  The inside looks hollow, like a popover.  The dough does not brown in the oven, so they are pale, even after baking.  The tapioca flour and cheese ingredients contributed to the texture and lack of color. These rolls are meant to be an appetizer and are best served with a thick dipping sauce such as marinara. The dough is not appropriate for dinner rolls. 

There were several factors that may have contributed to me not liking this recipe. I had some difficulty due to my measurements being in cups and tablespoons (volume) versus the recipe being in ounces (weight).  I may have an aversion to Tapioca flour or the original recipe is actually lacking a vital ingredient.  I will not be making this again.

Tapioca Cheese Rolls
courtesy of  Disney

Ingredients
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/4 cup sunflower oil
pinch of sea salt
1 3/4 cup tapioca flour (or more)
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs of plain yogurt 
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs water
 optional bread topping-you can use whatever you like (salt & garlic powder, bagel topping, etc)


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Take out a small saucepan and fill with water, salt and oil.  Turn heat to medium high and let mixture come to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Sift the flour into a medium size bowl.  Then add the boiled water/oil mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.  It should form a stiff dough.  Let the dough sit for 10 minutes to cool.

Add the beaten egg to the dough and mix until evenly distributed.  Stir in the yogurt until blended.  At this point your dough should be thick enough to roll and keep its shape.  If not, continue to add more flour until right consistency is achieved. Then fold the cheese into the dough.

Using greased hands, divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into balls.  Place each ball (evenly spaced)on the prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle topping on the rolls, if desired.

Put rolls in the oven and immediately turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 25-35 minutes.  When done, rolls will be cracked on top and the inside of the crack expansion will no longer be shiny.  Also, tester will come out clean.  Cool rolls on a wire rack and serve with marinara dipping sauce.

Brioche Bread

This recipe comes from a cookbook for French breads.  The author was lucky enough to trek all around France and persuaded chefs to part with their bread recipes.  Then he came back to the states and converted the recipes for home bakers.

This recipe comes from Le Havre, a port city that is close to Normandy.  There are several bakeries in that town with windows full of braided loaves filled with raisins or cheese.  The loaves, called brioche, are a favorite among the townspeople.

Since I have not made this bread before, I opted to make it without any filling.  The loaves turned out great, crusty on the edges and a buttery soft interior.  The bread looks to be very dense, but is not heavy at all.  I have had my share of dense bread and it usually starts with whole wheat flour.

This bread does take a lot of time due to numerous sessions of rising. The active part of the recipe is not difficult, so if you are around the house all day (for whatever reason) consider making it. You will be glad you did.  Start 1 day before you want to serve the bread.  The second day is just for another rising time and baking.  This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Brioche Loaves
adapted from The Breads of France cookbook 

Ingredients
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
5 eggs (room temp)
3/4 lb butter or 3 sticks (room temp and cut into small chunks)
2 packages or 4 1/2 tsp of regular yeast
1/3 cup non fat dry milk
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp of salt
5 cups flour and more for dusting when kneading
1 tbs milk (for top glaze)
1 egg (for top glaze)

 In a large bowl, sift together only 2 cups of the flour and all the salt.  Then whisk in yeast, sugar and dry milk. With a wooden spoon, form a well in the middle of the flour mixture big enough to hold one cup in the center.  Then pour in the warm water. Fold the flour mixture inside the bowl into the pool of water in the center, making a dough.

Add each egg into the batter one by one, stirring to with each addition to distribute throughout the batter. Drop the chunks of butter into the mixture.  The butter should be blended to the point that only small chunks of butter exist in the dough.

The additional amount of flour (3 cups) can now be added in one cup increments.  You can use a spoon or your hands to make sure all the flour is incorporated into the dough.

Turn dough onto floured surface and set the timer for 7 minutes. The dough will be sticky and soft. Knead for a few minutes with your hands, adding flour when needed.  Then take a small break by forcefully dropping the dough on the work surface.  Continue with this process until the timer goes off.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise undisturbed for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  The rise should be at room temp (70-75 degrees).

After the first rising, the dough should be double in volume.  Take off the plastic wrap and punch down dough. Roll the ball of dough upside down and place back in bowl.  Cover and let rise again for 1 hour. The dough will need to be punched down, rolled and covered once the 2nd rising is complete.

Take the bowl of dough and place in fridge overnight or at least 6 hours.  Once the chilling time is complete, prepare your pans by greasing the inside.  Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.  Roll 8 pieces into balls and the other 8 pieces into cylinders or logs to fit the width of the pan.  Place the 8 balls in one pan, alternating them from left to right in the 4 1/2 inch width, going down the length of the pan.  In the other pan, lay the logs with each small end touching the left and right of the 4 1/2 inch width going down the length of the pan.

Cover each pan with wax paper and set aside to rise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 20 minutes prior to completion of rising time, preheat oven to 380 degrees.

Take a small bowl and beat together the top glaze ingredients.  After the last rise noted above, uncover the loaves and brush the glaze on top. Covering all top areas, including corners. Place each loaf in oven on middle rack and set timer at 18 minutes for loaves to bake.  Once timer goes off, rotate pans and bake for an additional 17 minutes. Bread is done baking when it has a golden color and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Remove pans from the oven and run a knife around the edges.  Then release loaves from pan and turn upright  on rack to cool.  Handle carefully, because the places where the dough joins is fragile.  Should you want a more toasty loaf, place back in oven (without pan) for 5 to 8 minutes.


Then enjoy a taste of France in your own kitchen!

Cheddar Soda Bread

In this day and age it is very difficult to survive in the farming business by yourself.  However, farm cooperatives have helped this situation quite a bit by using farmers in numbers to cut overhead.

This does not resolve everything because organic farmers have some additional problems. They are threatened with extinction everyday with GMO (genetically modified organisms).  GM foods are a part of big business that the organic farmers want no part of.

Monsanto apparently did not realize this when they attempted to sue Percy Schmeiser for "taking advantage of the GMO technology when GMO seeds crossed over into his crops."  Clearly, Percy did not see it as great technology..more like contamination.

Anyhow, this bread recipe uses the famous Vermont Cabot cheese which comes from a creamery that is supported by a farming cooperative.  As you can see in the picture, it resembles cornbread.  Do not let appearances fool you because the bread's cheesy interior is quite soft and moist, quite unlike cornbread.

This recipe is just right for those people who do not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.  It yields a very good result with very little time. Also, any quality sharp white cheddar cheese will do, Cabot brand is not a necessity.

Cheddar Soda Bread
adapted fromKing Arthur Flour

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg
2 cups grated, loosely packed Cabot sharp cheddar (or white sharp cheddar)
4 tbs cold butter cut into cubes
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare 8 inch square or 9 inch round pan by greasing with oil.

In a small bowl, beat egg with buttermilk and set aside.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder into a medium size bowl.  Blend the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or cutter until the mixture is crumbly in texture.  Then loosely sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheddar into the flour butter blend and toss, making sure that there are no big clumps of cheese.  Continue with this process in 1/2 cup increments until all is evenly distributed.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cheese dough.  Fold together ingredients until no dry flour remains. Place dough into prepared pan.  With wet hands, spread dough out in pan so dough is even and covering all corners and sides.

Place pan in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.  Loaf is done when tester comes out clean. Remove pan and slide a knife around the edges to loosen.  Let cool in pan for 5 or 6 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack.  Wait 20 minutes before cutting, otherwise it will be very crumbly.

Boardwalk Cinnamon Rolls

I have been to Disneyland and Disney world.  They are both nice amusement parks and I am sure that a Disney Cruise is fun.  However, what I did not realize is that there is a population of people that are obsessed with the whole Disney culture.  These are people that subscribe to the Disney magazine and the priority of family discussions is their upcoming Disney vacation(s).  In the end, everything is on schedule and organized.  Everyone knows and agrees what they will be doing at any minute on their vacation.

As for me, there are a few food places at Disney that I would like to go.  One of them, if you have not already guessed, is the Boardwalk Bakery.  I know, I am just a predictable foodie and would probably miss out on some good things since I am not obsessive about the Disney culture.

Below is a recipe that comes from Boardwalk.  Once you taste these, I am sure that you will understand why this bakery is not one to be skipped over if you find yourself on a Disney vacation.  The recipe states that it serves 4, but note that the rolls are over inch in height and measure 4 1/2 inches square.

Boardwalk Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from Disney Recipe website

Ingredients/sweet dough
1/2 cup water
2 beaten eggs
6 1/2 tbs butter (room temp)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs dry milk
2 1/4 cup bread flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 pkg dry yeast (I used quick rise)

In a large bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (salt, sugar, bread flour, all purpose flour, yeast and dry milk).  Then add the eggs, water and butter.  Mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are combined to create a dough.  Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a floured surface.  Place dough back in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Ingredients/Topping
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup and 2 tbs butter at room temp
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbs and 1 1/2 tsp of flour
1/4 cup and 2 tbs light brown sugar

Place first 4 ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Then place a sieve over the bowl and push all the brown sugar (takes out clumps) through into the bowl.  Brush the remaining brown sugar on the bottom of the sieve into the bowl.  Beat all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth.

With a spatula, scrape sugar mixture out of bowl and into a 9X9 inch pan.  Smooth out the top, making sure that all is evenly distributed in the bottom of the pan.  Set aside.

Ingredients/filling
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Blend cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside. Place egg in a separate bowl and beat.

Assembly:
Lightly flour a smooth surface and roll out the sweet dough into a 6X12 inch rectangle.  Brush top side of dough with the beaten egg, covering all edges and corners.  Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the dough.

Carefully take one of the short sides of the dough and tightly roll it to the other short side, forming a log with the cinnamon sugar inside. To keep the log intact, pinch together the 12 inch length where the end overlaps the dough. Using a long knife, cut the log into 4 pieces.  Then place each piece, with cut side up, into the prepared pan.  Leave space between each piece and between pan and sides.  These pieces will rise quite a bit and all sides will come together.  Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Once rolls have doubled in pan,  place pan over baking sheet and put in oven. The pan underneath will help catch any topping that spills over while baking.  Bake rolls until they turn a deep golden brown, which should take about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.  Then invert on baking sheet or large plate, holding pan over the rolls for 30 seconds to make sure all topping drips onto rolls.  Serve immediately.