Hamburger Buns

I made buns to go with our burgers for dinner last night using this recipe from King Arthur Flour.  Amazing!  I was seriously impressed.  I made the recipe as written this time, but next time I'm going to use at least half whole wheat (which others have had success with based on the recipe comments).

Here's a link to their blog post about the recipe.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This bread comes out just perfect - easy to slice, even in thin pieces, and holds together really well. It is so delicious!

Recipe from my dear friend, Jennie Christopherson (who has an amazing craft/food/etc. blog HERE that you should totally check out).

Ingredients:

2.5 c hot water (around 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)

1.25 T yeast

2 t sugar

1 T salt

1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 c sugar (or 1/3 c honey)

1.25 T bottled lemon juice

1/3 c flax seed

1/3 c gluten

5.5 - 6 c whole wheat flour

Directions:

- Mix together the yeast, water, and 2 t. sugar and let rise about 10 minutes (should puff up).

- Mix the salt, oil, sugar, and lemon juice together in a mixer with a dough hook.

- Add the yeast mixture and mix.

- Blend the flax seed in a blender or food processor until broken apart and fluffy.

- Add the flax plus enough whole wheat flour to equal 3.5 cups to the mixer.

- Add the gluten and mix.

- Continue adding an additional 2-2.5 cups of flour until the dough comes cleanly off the sides of the bowl as you knead it with the dough hook. Knead in the mixer about 10 minutes. The dough will be very soft, but will be elastic when pulled apart.

- Preheat the oven for a few minutes to lukewarm and turn off.

- Turn dough onto oiled counter top, divide, shape into loaves, and place in oiled pans.

- Let rise in warm oven 30-45 minutes until the dough fills in and reaches the top of the pans.

- Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes.

- Let cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove from pans.

Yields 2 large or 3 small loaves.

Banana Bread

I've been trying to alter my recipes to be a bit healthier (emphasis on "bit"). Today, I worked on making over my banana bread recipe, and I found it to be pretty satisfying....

Mix together thoroughly:
2 eggs, well-beaten
3/4 cup honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

In another bowl, combine:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix wet and dry ingredients together well and add:
3 bananas, mashed.

Divide evenly between 2 greased/floured bread pans and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

(Confession: I added chocolate chips...but don't tell).

Bread Maker Wheat Bread

Basically, I took this recipe and halved it (with some minor changes), but it came out GREAT in my bread machine.  YUM.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups warm-to-hot water
3/4 T. yeast
3 T oil
1/4 cup honey
1 t. salt
1 T. gluten
1.5 cups white flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

Directions: 

- Put in bread machine.

- Set timer.

- Wake up to the best smell ever.

- Eat more than you should.

- Repeat as needed.

Traditional Pizza Dough

Pizza (and breadsticks) Dough
1 1/2 C very warm water
1 packet yeast
1 t sugar
4 C flour
3 T olive oil
1 t salt

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar. Let stand for 5 min or until yeast foams. Gradually add flour. Add oil and salt. Knead for 5 min. Let rise for 30 min. Roll out dough. For breadsticks: After rolling out dough, prick with fork several times. Cook in 450 degree oven for 8 min. For pizza: After rolling out dough, top with sauce, cheese, and desired toppings. Cook in 450 degree oven for 10 - 12 min.

Pizza Crust

In response to Liz's request, here's the pizza crust recipe that I use. I've had really bad luck with pizza crust. The recipes I tried always came out break-your-teeth hard, and I'm not sure if it was me or the recipe that made it bad. Anyway, this is the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook, and it hasn't failed me yet, although I'm sure there are better ones out there. I've had no trouble doubling or dividing this recipe, and it still comes out pretty well even when I don't have time to "let it rest" for 30 minutes. I haven't tried it with whole wheat flour, but I'm sure it would be great. Oh, and you really don't even need an electric mixer. If I don't feel like cleaning my mixer, I just do it by hand and it works out just fine!

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 cup very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Add oil and warm water. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5-8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes. Continue as directed below for thin crusts or thick crusts.

For thin crusts: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 2 cookie sheets or 12-inch pizza pans with oil. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into 12-inch circle on cookie sheets. Partially bake 7 to 8 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Add toppings and bake as directed (8-10 minutes at 425). (I usually do the thin crust, but I just press it out with my hands to cover an entire cookie sheet or two instead of doing circles. I also don't partially bake it before topping it. I just put everything on and bake it for 15-20 minutes.)

For thick crusts: Grease two 8-inch square pans or 9-inch round pans with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Pat each half in bottom of pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes or until almost doubled in size. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Partially bake 20-22 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Add toppings and bake as directed (20 minutes at 375). (I've only done this version once, and it was too thick for my taste. Way more crust than pizza!)

I'd like to try some new crust recipes too, so I hope some of you have recipes to add!

Wheat Bread

Well, I guess when it rains recipes, it pours recipes. =)

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not good at making bread. AT. ALL. But I can make THIS bread turn out really nicely. That's sayin' something, folks.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm-to-hot water
1 1/2 T. yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
2 t. salt
2 T gluten
3 cups white flour
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix yeast with water. Add the oil and honey. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Add 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, gluten, and salt. Stir to combine--work out the lumps.

Add the rest of the flour until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes.

Divide into 2 balls. Form loaves and put into greased pans. Place into warm oven (the lowest temperature on my oven is 170, and this works just fine) for 40-45 minutes until dough doubles in size.

Turn the oven to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Bread is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the top.

(credit for this recipe goes to the wife of my husband's freshman roommate....who's blog I stalk....There. It's all out in the open). =)

Whole Wheat (Quick) Bread

Since I'm bread-stupid, this was the perfect thing to use my wheat. I can't make a loaf of yeast bread to save my life...but THIS worked well.... I served it with honey butter and it was fan-TAS-tic.

Whole Wheat Quick Bread

1 egg, beaten
2 cups buttermilk*
2 T molasses or honey
2 T butter, melted
2 cups whole wheat flour**
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t baking powder

In a bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, molasses (or honey), and butter. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir well; add to first mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45-50 minutes, until lightly brown. Cool slightly, then turn out of the pan onto a wire rack. Slice while warm. Makes one loaf. 

*I used regular milk.

**After I mixed the ingredients together, the mixture seemed a little watery, so I added an extra half cup of flour and it was great. I don't think my wheat grinder made a fine enough grind.

Zucchini Yogurt Multigrain Muffins

I had a lot of zucchini that I needed to use up and I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. These were SO healthy and SO delicious. Super moist. These were eaten up by my family- by super picky eaters as well.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup oat flour (I just ground some oats in a blender)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease 24 muffin cups.
2. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar, honey, and vanilla. Mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Fold in the zucchini, carrots, pecans, and raisins. Scoop into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Grandma's Banana Bread

5 large ripe bananas

4 eggs, well beaten

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix up banana, add shortening and sugar, mix.  Add eggs and flour.  Fold in nuts.

Grease bread pans well with shortening.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes (sometimes more than an hour), until toothpick comes out clean.

Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

I got this recipe from Sandra Lee's show on the Food Network. I made a few changes, which I'll put in parentheses, in red. Seriously...this was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good.

2 packets apple cinnamon instant oatmeal
3 large eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon rum extract (I didn't have any, so I used vanilla)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups raisin bread, cubed (I used 1 whole loaf cinnamon swirl bread sans raisins)
1/2 cup raisins (I left these out...I don't like raisins)
1 cup apple pie filling (pie filling here is too expensive, so I bought a bag of macintosh apples, peeled and sliced them, and just sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar...worked just fine)
1 cup almonds (I rarely have nuts, and this time was no exception...no nuts...just me. HA)

Sauce (I chickened out when it came to the sauce...if someone tries it, let me know):
1/2 cup cream soda
1 package whipped topping mix
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/4 teaspoon saltIn a blender, grind instant oatmeal into a fine powder. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, rum extract, salt, and brown sugar. Fold in raisin bread, raisins, pie filling, almonds and oatmeal powder until bread cubes are moist. Set aside for 1 hour.

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray and add the bread mixture. Cook on high setting for 2 hours (I put mine in the crock pot too soon...it was on high for about 3 1/2 hours....I'll do it the same way next time, because the texture was perfect) or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together until thickened. Top bread pudding with a dollop of sauce.

P-Dub's Cinnamon Rolls

You can see her version (with pics) here, although I typed it up for my family and thought I'd put it here too. They are amazing and while labor-intensive, really easy.

Ingredients:
4.5 c. milk, separated into 4 cups and 1/2 cup
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
2 pkg. active dry yeast
9 c. flour
1 heaping tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp baking soda
1 heaping tablespoon salt
2 c. melted butter
lots of cinnamon
1 bag powdered sugar
2 tsp maple flavoring
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Mix 4 cups of whole milk, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of the sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point.) Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in 2 packages Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute so the yeast gets all warm and moist and happy.

Then add 8 (not nine) cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least an hour.

Now add 1 more cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir mixture together. At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it—overnight or even a day or two, if necessary.

Then roll the cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Rectangle should increase in both width and length as you roll it out.

Now drizzle 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Don’t be shy; lay it on thick!

Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter, followed by a very generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Some of the butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture may ooze out toward the end, but that’s no big deal. Pinch the seam to the roll to seal it.

Spread about 1 tablespoon of melted butter in each of seven round, foil cake or pie pans. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

Let the rolls sit for 20 to 30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.

While the rolls are in the oven, make the maple frosting. To a mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, maple flavoring, vanilla, 1/2 cup milk, and the rest of the melted butter (about 1/4 -1/2 cup). Stir it up. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed.

Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven. Drown 'em.

Pesant Bread

So Easy to Make and so Yummy. Ingredients 1 package Dry yeast 2 cups Warm water 1 tablespoons Sugar 2 teaspoons Salt 4 cups Flour Butter melted

Instructions Mix all ingredients but flour and butter. Add all but 1 cup of flour. Then slowly add the last cup of flour. Cover and let rise until double. Pull it out of the bowl and make it into two round loafs. Place on greased cooking sheet. Let rise until double in size. Brush with melted butter. Cook for 10 minutes at 425° and then for 15 minutes at 375°. Can brush with more butter after the bread is done cooking.

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Pizza Crust

This is a very easy crust to make. I have used it for pizza and for calzones. Yields: 1 crust Ingredients 1 cup Water warm 2 1/2-3 cupsFlour 1/2 cup Parmesean cheese optional 1 teaspoon Salt 2 tablespoon Oil 1 tablespoon Sugar 2 teaspoons Yeast 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Instructions Combine ingredients and mix until blended. If using parmesean cheese only use 2 1/2 cups flour. Cook 20-30 minutes at 375°
Breanna Nichols

Puffy Toast

I had this at my in-laws, and it is super amazing. And not at all healthy. And so good.

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
8 slices bread, cut in half diagonally
cooking oil
powdered sugar

Directions:
Mix first 5 ingredients together. Dip bread in batter, then fry in pan with 1 inch cooking oil. When browned on both sides, shake off excess oil and dip in powdered sugar. Serve with warm syrup or strawberry jam.

Servings: 6-8

For Lisa: Biscuits Supreme

This is my favorite biscuit recipe (although I'm sure there are other greats), and Lisa asked me for it ages ago. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and you can also find it on their website. But for your convenience I'm putting it right here, along with a few additional tips not found in the recipe.

Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour
4 t. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1 t. salt
3/4 t. cream of tartar
3/4 c. butter or margarine, or 1/2 c. butter and 1/4 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. buttermilk or 1 c. milk (1 c. milk + 1 T. vinegar = 1 c. buttermilk. Mix them several minutes before you add to the recipe so it has time to do what it's supposed to do. Don't try it with powdered milk. Actually, try it. It's kind of interesting what happens. Just make sure you have some regular milk handy so you can actually make the recipe.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I suppose you could use 2 knives instead of the pastry blender, but they're so much harder to work with. I recommend the pastry blender.) Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add buttermilk all at once. Using a fork, stir just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 4 to 6 strokes or just until dough holds together. Pat or lightly roll dough until 3/4 inch thick. Cut the dough with a floured 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. (Tip: Don't twist the cutter. It breaks the dough and lets out all the nice air bubbles that make your biscuits light and fluffy. Just press down firmly. Also, cut out as many biscuits as you can from a single rolling of dough because the dough gets tougher with each rolling.)

Place biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from baking sheet and serve immediately.

Flour Tortillas

These tortillas are pretty easy and sooooo good. Plus they freeze well, so I encourage making a large batch and then saving for later.

Also, as a quick note... if you're going to make them more than once, I HIGHLY recommend a tortilla press. You can get them dirt cheap at your local Latino market ($5-$10) and are worth every penny. Rolling them out by hand is at least 3 times more work. I have a 8 inch metal one that I looooooooove. The perk of metal is that you don't have to use a piece of wax paper when you roll them out like you do on a wood press. Ok, enough about that.

Ingredients:
5 c. flour (or, if using whole wheat, 4 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup white flour)
1/2 c. olive oil (you can also use lard or shortening... but I like to pretend I'm being healthy, despite my plans to top them with piles of cheese)
2 t. salt
1.5 c. boiling water

Directions:
Mix the flour, olive oil and salt together with a fork, or ideally, a pastry blender. Make a well and pour in the boiling water. Mix together with a fork and then as it begins to become one large ball, knead by hand until it is moist, but does not stick to your hands. Add flour or boiling water as needed to get to this consistency.
Form 1-2 inch balls and set on a plate. Cover with a towel and set aside for 15-20 minutes, up to an hour. I have no idea why this step is important, but it makes a big difference.
Roll (or press) out until very thin. I usually press the tortillas twice, once on each side, to make them as even as possible.
Heat a griddle or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the tortillas on, and flip over when they start to bubble and have light brown spots. Remove and place in a stack on a plate or in a cloth napkin, or allow to cool slightly and then refrigerate or freeze.

Brother Butler's Whole Wheat Bread

I need to say that I cannot make bread. I have the wrong hands my grandmother told me. But regardless of the recipe I have never been successful. My friends tell me it is just because I need a Bosch. True, but who wants to invest in a Bosch if it doesn't work anyhow. BUT . . .my sweet friend Emma who makes insanely good bread passed this recipe on to me and I figure if Bro. Butler (real person) can make this bread so can I. AND wowwy wow wow I did! It is amazing bread. No crumbs and freezes well too. Hope you all give it a try.

1/3 C oil
1/4 C molasses
1/4 C honey
1/2 c potato flakes
1/2 TB salt
2 TB yeast
1/3 c Gluten
5 C flour (white or whole wheat or both)
4 C hot water (as hot as your faucet will go)
1/4 c dough enhancer
4 c flour (put in 3 and see what the consistency is)

Bloom yeast with 2 C hot water then add the rest of the ingredients down through the dough enhancer. (I don't use this because I don't have it and it is spendy). Mix well and then add the remaining flour. Knead 10 minutes. (YEAH RIGHT. if you have a machine, great, if not, FIVE is all I can do and it seems to work well. Put dough in a well oiled bowl and cover. let rise until doubled. I punch down twice. Punch down and divide in 4 loaves. Put in greased pans. Rise 25 minutes. Bake 350 for 25 minutes. Eat with lots of butter.
Just a thought about gluten. If you live anywhere humid I would not reccommend using it. A good friend in Ohio said it just makes a gummy mess out there, but here in the arid west it is a must! I have yet to make this 100% whole wheat, but the last batch I made I only used 3 cups white flour out of the 9 cups. It isn't that heavy wheaty taste either, really light and sweet.

Focaccia and Chicken Salad

Bread Ingredients

1 can refrigerated pizza dough *
4 large cloves garlic, minced

4 TBS olive oil

1 TBS dried rosemary

* I made dough in the bread-maker

Bread Preparation

1. Roll dough into a circle and place on greased cookie sheet.


2. Mix garlic, olive oil and rosemary, and brush 1/2 the mixture onto the bread dough.


3. Cut the dough into quarters (making one horizontal cut and one vertical cut.)Fold each quarter over, making a triangle out of each piece.


4. Brush remaining olive oil mixture over the tops.


5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

1 Avocado, peeled and sliced

3 boiled chicken breasts, shredded (The recipes actually calls for a drained 12 oz. can of dark and white meat chicken.)

2 Celery stalks, chopped into small bits

Red wine vinegar

Mayonnaise

2 Green onion stalks

(I think sliced grapes or chopped almonds would be fun to add sometime.)

Chicken Salad Preparation

1. Mix chicken, celery and green onions with desired amount of mayonnaise. (The recipe calls for 1/3 cup, but I bet I used more than that.)


2. Add a few dashes of Red Wine vinegar to a create a subtle flavor. (Probably just about 2 teaspoons.)


3. Let refrigerate while focaccia is baking. (Even more flavorful and delicious the second day.)

Sandwich Preparation

Peel open baked focaccia and add sliced avocado, sliced tomato and desired amount of chicken salad. (I think a small amount is best, so the focaccia's flavor can come through.)

Popovers

I'm somewhat of an anglophile, and for years, my mom has been making popovers... They're a nice alternative to yeasty rolls or biscuits...and they take WAYYYYY less time.

**CAUTION** Because these are very souflee-like, I've NEVER been able to get them to rise at high altitudes. So, if you live in Utah or Phoenix or Colorado Springs or something, you might end up with hockey pucks. I tried all of the "high altitude tricks," but they never worked. For those of you at sea-level, enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 T sugar
2 T melted butter
1/4 t. salt
1 cup unbleached white flour

Preheat oven to 400, place ungreased muffin cups in the oven for 5-10 minutes

1. Generously grease 12 heated muffin cups
2. In a blender, combine milk, eggs, sugar (or honey), flour and salt
3. Blend until smooth, stopping machine occasionally to scrape sides
4. pour batter into cups until they're half full (or half empty...depending on what kind of day you're having)
5. Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake for another 30-40 minutes....DO NOT OPEN PREMATURELY!!! THEY'LL FALL!!!!