Fabulous French Bread (Charlie H.)

So if for some reason you didn't know, a few years ago we moved just 2 blocks North from our house. We LOVE our neighborhood and ward so much that we just couldn't bear to leave, but were anxious to find a newer/bigger home. Our current home was purchased from an "older" couple who only had one teenage daughter at home. They are an amazing family and we love them so much. A year and a half after moving in the wife and daughter came back for a visit and to see our touch on their former house. They were nice enough to bring a WARM loaf of this bread! I was instantly hooked. It is probably the best homemade bread I have ever had.

Dissolve and let stand 10 minutes:
2 pkg. dry yeast
1/2 C. warm water
3 T. sugar

In large bowl mix together:
2 C. hot water
1 T. salt
5 T shortening, melted, or vegetable oil
3 C flour, unsifted

Add yeast mixture and mix well.

Add:
2 – 3 C additional flour, as needed to form dough ball

Leave spoon in batter, allow to rest again for 10 minutes.

Stir vigorously.

Allow to rest again for 10 minutes.

Stir vigorously.

Repeat 3 more times.

Turn out dough on lightly floured board.

Knead once or twice until lightly coated with flour. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9” x 12” rectangle. Starting at long edge, roll loosely as for a jelly roll. Seal edge. Place both rolls seam side down, on one large baking sheet.

Slash top of each loaf diagonally 3 times with a sharp knife. Brush with beaten egg white. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise 30 minutes. (Do not cover)

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes (until golden brown)

This recipe is from Winnifred Jardine, she was a food editor for Deseret News for several years and is a great-granddaughter of Brigham Young.

Delicious Pizza Dough (Natalie's)

A few weeks ago our family and a few other friend's families got together to make pizzas! It was such a fun night; the kids had a blast rolling out their own dough and dumping (literally) the toppings on! And we were all pleasantly surprised by how much they ate :-)! I have tried many, many times to make homemade pizza dough and thus pizza and it just hasn't turned out well. Either the pizza remains doughy, or it's just a strange consistency. For our little "party," Natalie was in charge of dough and she made this recipe. It is SO yummy, and cooked up perfectly! It will definitely be a staple in our house.

3/4 c. warm water
3 t. yeast
3 T. oil
1 t. basil
1 t. marjoram
1/2 t. onion salt
1/2 t. garlic salt
1 t. salt
2 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in water (until foamy). Add other ingredients. Mix well with dough hook.
Let rest 10-15 minutes. Roll out, add toppings. Bake @ 400 until cheese in center is melted and
edges begin to turn golden brown (12-15 minutes).

Oatmeal Wheat Bread

I have had this recipe for years and I have wanted to try it. Then recently I saw it on another blog. And finally, as was mentioned today was bread making day. So it was time to try it, plus I wanted to make two different types of whole wheat bread and see how they differed and/or turned out! This one was actually a bit lighter than the first variety of wheat bread, but does take longer as it needs to rise twice. It is YUMMY!

2 cups whole milk (I actually used my powdered milk, because I have it and would like to use it up --- couldn't tell the difference. I used 2 cups of water and about 6 TBS. powdered milk)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking) plus additional for topping
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup honey
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 cups whole-wheat flour
About 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
Vegetable oil for oiling bowl
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 8x4 loaf pans

Heat milk in a small saucepan over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Then remove pan from heat and stir in oats Let stand, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooled to warm.

Stir together water, yeast, and 1 tsp. honey in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, 5 minutes. Stir yeast mixture, melted butter, and remaining honey into cooled oatmeal.

Stir together whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add oat mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead with floured hands, adding just enough of remaining unbleached flour to keep from sticking, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes (dough will be slightly sticky). If using a mixer, or Kitchenaid, use dough hook and mix for about 10 minutes until dough forms a ball and all flour is mixed in. Add up to 1 cup of additional flour if needed. Transfer to an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel; let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 hour.

Lightly grease loaf pans. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times to remove air. Divide dough in half and shape each half into a loaf, then place 1 loaf in each pan, seam side down, tucking ends gently to fit. Cover loaf pans loosely with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Put oven rack in lower half of oven and preheat to 375°F. Lightly brush tops of loaves with some of egg wash and sprinkle with oats, then bake until bread is golden about 30 minutes. Remove bread from pans and transfer to a rack to cool.

Whole Wheat Bread

Today I decided to wake up my domestic skills and make bread. It was time to grind more wheat and that inspired me to try out some wheat bread recipes ---- what is better than homemade bread? I always keep a canister of ground wheat (wheat flour) in my cupboard to add to anything I make. I usually use half wheat flour and half unbleached flour, just make it that much better. Anyway, this recipe came from my good friend who passed it along as the best whole wheat bread recipe. It actually was the Utah State Fair winner. I have never had a problem with this bread and that is saying A LOT from me. I highly recommend it and think you should make some too! Oh, and serve it up with some amazing Honey Butter!

2 ½ cups scalded milk
½ cup honey
¼ cup butter or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
1 egg
2 Tablespoon dough enhancer
¼ cup Vital Wheat Gluten
4 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 ¼ cups white flour

Generously grease two loaf pans. In large bowl, combine scalded milk, honey, salt, and butter or oil. Cool slightly (temperature should be less than 105 F). To cooled mixture add 3 cups whole wheat flour, yeast, egg, gluten, and dough enhancer. Blend on low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Add remaining whole wheat flour and mix well. Add white flour until dough pulls cleanly away from the bowl (Be careful to not add too much flour. Dough should be slightly sticky but pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl).

If you have a heavy duty mixer you can knead the dough with the machine for 5 minutes. If kneading by hand it will take about 10-15 minutes to get the dough smooth and elastic. Form into loaves and place in pans. Let rise until double in size, about 45-60 minutes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350º until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pans immediately. (If you want a soft crust, quickly pass the loaf of bread under running water, place on wire racks and top with melted butter).

Orange or Lemon Pull Aparts

Another recipe I shared with the YW. I actually found this recipe MANY years ago in the Rhodes rolls cookbook. These pull aparts remind me of being in high school. I used to make them almost every Sunday evening. My family and I would go on a walk while these were raising, we'd come home, cook them and enjoy! These really are so yummy and are simple to whip up, it's just hard to wait for them to be ready :-)!

20 Rhodes Dinner Rolls, thawed
Grated peel of 1 orange, or 2 lemons
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted

Citrus Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 TBS. butter, melted
2 TBS. fresh orange, or lemon juice

 Grate orange or lemon rind and mix with sugar. Cut thawed rolls in half and place in greased 9X13 baking dish. Pour 1/4 c. melted butter over rolls. Sprinkle with rind/sugar mixture, reserving 1/2 c. of mixture to sprinkle on just before baking. Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake @ 350 for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan and place on wire rack (I usually just put them on a plate or leave in pan, so no glaze is lost) within 4-5 minutes. To make citrus glaze, combine sugar, melted butter and fresh juice until thin. Cover rolls with glaze while still warm.

Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves

I don't even know where I found this recipe, but it sounded TOO good to pass up. I made it for my monthly dinner group and think it was a success. I made individual rolls, but cutting the roll into 12 slices and I put pesto on half of the dough. I also used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese and it worked great! You need to start these the day before, so plan ahead!

Starter

• 1 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 cup cool water

Dough

• all of the starter
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor (optional)
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• *Use the greater amount of water in winter, when conditions are dry; and the lesser amount in summer, when the weather is humid.

Filling

• 2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, or the grated/shredded cheese of your choice (a mixture of provolone and mozzarella is tasty)
• 1 tablespoon garlic oil (optional)
• 1 tablespoon pizza seasoning (optional)

Starter

• 5 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 4 ounces cool water

Dough

• all of the starter
• 9 ounces to 10 ounces lukewarm water*
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Pizza Dough Flavor (optional)
• 14 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• *Use the greater amount of water in winter, when conditions are dry; and the lesser amount in summer, when the weather is humid.

Filling

• 10 ounces grated Gruyère cheese, or the grated/shredded cheese of your choice (a mixture of provolone and mozzarella is tasty)
• 1 tablespoon garlic oil (optional)
• 1 tablespoon pizza seasoning (optional)

Directions

1) To make the starter: Mix the 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a medium-sized bowl. Mix till well combined; the starter will be very dry. Cover and let rest overnight at room temperature; it'll become bubbly.

2) To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, flour, and yeast. Knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle—to make a smooth dough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till it's nearly doubled in bulk.

4) Gently deflate the dough, and pat and stretch it into a 3/4"-thick rectangle, about 9" x 12". Spritz with water, and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

5) Starting with a long side, roll it into a log, pinching the seam to seal. Place the log, seam-side down, on a lightly floured or lightly oiled surface.

6) Cover it and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it's puffy though not doubled in bulk. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

7) Gently cut the log into four crosswise slices, for mini-breads; or simply cut the dough in half, for two normal-sized loaves. Place them on one (for two loaves) or two (for four mini-loaves) lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, cut side up. Spread them open a bit, if necessary, to more fully expose the cheese. Spritz with warm water, and immediately place them in the preheated oven.

8) Bake for 20 minutes (for the mini-loaves), or 35 minutes (for the full-sized loaves), or until the cheese is melted and the loaves are a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Cheese Biscuits

Saw this recipe on another blog and since I was making chili and my husband happens to LOVE (really that doesn't come close to describing his feelings) biscuits I figured I couldn't go wrong. It was after school and my 5 year old was following me around asking me what he could do - drives me crazy. So I put him to work. I had him mix all the ingredients; even had him use the pastry cutter. Then I rolled out the dough. He picked the cookie cutter shape and cut away. I thought they turned out pretty cute. And they were good. I added some dried rosemary for color and flavor and really liked it. These are definitely an easy last minute side dish.

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 generous cup shortening, I like Butter Flavor Crisco

1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar

3/4 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons pesto, optional

Combine first 4 ingredients. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles crumbs. Stir in cheese, pesto, if using, and buttermilk. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness on floured surface. Using biscuit cutter or glass cut into shapes and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden on top and bottom.

Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce

Who doesn't love cream puffs or eclairs? This is a very fun variation by using ice cream. I like to make these at Christmas time and use peppermint ice cream (which happens to be my favorite kind of ice cream from December - March when it is available)! I know some people think these French pastries are hard to make, but they really are simple - just 4 ingredients. And they make a very big impression!

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for baking sheets
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp. water, for egg wash
2 to 3 pints vanilla ice cream, for serving
Hot Fudge Sauce

Make the Dough: 1. Preheat oven to 425, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Butter two large rimmed baking sheets. 2. Combine butter, 1 cup water, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until butter melts. Reduce heat to medium. 3. Add flour; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute. 4. With an electric hand-held mixer, beat in eggs, a little bit at a time, until completely incorporated (dough should look shiny and be soft enough to slowly fall off a spoon).

Bake the puffs: 1. drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto baking sheets (you should have 24 to 28), about 2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush puffs with egg wash (do not let it drop on sheets). 2. Bake, rotating sheets between racks halfway through, until puffed and brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven; turn oven off. 3. With a toothpick, poke a hole in each puff. Return to oven (still off) for 10 minutes (this helps puffs dry out).

Fill the puffs: 1. When coo, halve each puff horizontally with a serrated knife. 2. Working in batches (to prevent ice cream from melting), place a small scoop of ice cream (2 to 3 tablespoons) in each bottom half. Replace tops; press gently. Arrange on one rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze up to 2 days. 3. Arrange 3 filled puffs in each of eight shallow bowls; drizzle with warm fudge sauce. Serve immediately.

Angie's Breakfast Rolls

*forgot to take a picture before the devouring began *

I always liked making the Rhodes Butterscotch rolls, or Monkey Bread. So, I was kind of nervous about trying a new recipe, but now this is all we make. It is much easier and super good! The sauce gets really sticky and caramely.

I like to the cut the rolls in half, so they are more like pull-aparts and I will put them all together and then set them in the fridge to raise overnight. We have had these on Christmas and made them today while we enjoyed Conference. I like doing fun Sunday breakfasts when we have nowhere to go and have the time to enjoy relaxing.

18 Rhodes dinner rolls
1 cube margarine
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. marshmallows

Put the Rhodes rolls in a bundt pan. Melt the cube of margarine and mix together with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour the mixture and the marshmallows over the rolls and let rise to the top of the pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 350. Remove from oven, turn upside down on a plate and serve.

* These are so YUMMY! And they are best to eat hot, before they get too sticky.

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Every time I buy a Costco bag of bananas I tell myself we'll eat all of them before they get too ripe, and yet we never do! I've been in the harvesting and storing mood, so I decided I would make a bunch of banana bread ('cause really what else can you do with extremely ripe bananas) and freeze it. Because of an injury to my foot, my cute hubby volunteered to make it for me.

I'd always wanted to make this recipe, and am glad we did. It is probably the best banana bread I've ever had, or is that because somebody else made it :-)! I am a huge fan of adding chocolate to anything possible, and especially enjoy it in banana bread.
Give this one a try, it is delish!

2 c. flour (1 c. white, 1 c. wheat)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/3 c. plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt with a whisk. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute. Add banana, eggs, and yogurt; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat just until batter is moist. Microwave chocolate chips until melted, stir until smooth and add 1 c. batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined.


Coat bread pan with cooking spray. Alternately spoon regular and chocolate batter into pan. Swirl batters together with a knife. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.



* We used 4 mini bread pans and baked them for approximately 45 minutes!

Pretzels

1 1/2 T. yeast
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 1/4 c. warm water
4 c. flour

Preheat oven to 400. Mix first 3 ingredients together well, add flour. Knead 15 times or so. Make balls and roll out like a snake. Form into pretzel. Boil water with 2 tablespoons baking soda. Drop pretzels on cookie sheet. Beat 2 eggs brush pretzel tops with egg and salt. Bake 12 minutes or until golden.

Angie's Homemade Rolls

2 T. Rapid rise yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. powdered milk
1 1/2 c. hot water
1/3 c. butter, melted
2 beaten eggs
4 c. flour

Mix together the yeast, sugar, salt powdered milk and 2 cups flour. Add the water, butter, beaten eggs and 2 more cups flour. Refrigerate overnight or let rise once and then roll out. Let the rolls rise for 2 hours. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

* These are so yummy and easy to make. I am terrible at breads and rolls, but I have never messed these up.

Cornbread

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. milk

In food processor, cream shortening and sugar 3 or 4 minutes. Add eggs, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add milk slowly. Put into greased 9 X 13-inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Kae's French Bread

1 T. butter
1 T. salt
1 c. boiling water
1 c. cold water
2 T. yeast
5 c. flour

Knead 10 minutes in Bosch. Raise 30 minutes. Bake 375 for 25 to 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

3 bananas mashed
2 eggs well beaten
1 c. sugar
1/4 lb. butter (1 stick)
Dash of salt
2 c. flour
1 T. milk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. chopped nuts

Cream eggs and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Pour in bread pan and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Quick Bread Sticks

1/2 sq. butter or margarine
2 1/4 c. water
3 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. yeast
4 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in large jelly roll pan (like cookie sheet with 1" high sides) and remove to cool a bit before putting bread dough in. Mix water, sugar, yeast, flour, salt and knead until smooth. Roll out about 1/2" thick and cut into bread sticks. Roll in butter and arrange in pan. Sprinkle with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Vegetable Supreme can also be used as a topping.

Low Fat Bran Muffins

1 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 - 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. bran cereal (100% bran)
1 1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 c. applesauce

Preheat oven to 400; spray muffin pan. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in large bowl. Mix cereal, milk and sugar in another bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Beat in egg and applesauce. Fold in flour mixture and stir until just moistened (batter will be lumpy). Bake 18-20 minutes. Makes about 12 muffins.

Boboli Pizza Crust Clone

1 c. water
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS. olive oil
2 TBS. sugar
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. garlic
2 tsp. Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Add ingredients to breadmaker* in order listed by manufacturer (liquid, dry, yeast). Put the garlic down inside the flour so it doesn't slow the yeast. Set breadmaker to dough setting. When cycle is done, form two crusts on pizza pans, sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover and let rise again for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Cover loosely with foil. Bake at 45o for 5-10 minutes until bottom is lightly browned. Poke and flatten any bubbles on top of the crust.

Top with sauce, cheese and toppings and bake again until warmed through and cheese is melted.

* I don't have a breadmaker, so I will doing this in my KitchenAid by mixing the ingredients and letting the mixer knead it for me, then I will continue as directed.

Cheese and Bacon Waffles

2 Eggs
2 Cups All Purpose Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
1 3/4 Cups Milk
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 Cup Shredded Cheese
8 slices of bacon, crisply cooked, and crumbled

Heat waffle iron.
Beat eggs with hand beater in medium bowl until fluffy.
Add flour, butter, milk, brown sugar and baking powder just until smooth.
Stir in cheese and bacon.
Pour batter onto center of hot waffle iron. Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops.
Makes twelve 4 inch waffles (or three 9 inch).

Grilled Pizzas

For the dough:
1 1/4 cups warm (100 to 110 degrees F) water
2 packages dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey 3 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 3 cups flour, then the salt, and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on low to medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the bowl.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it several times to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each one into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature. Roll and stretch each ball into a rough 8-inch circle and place them all on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. (You will be able to fit 2 pizzas on each 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.)

Light your grill and wait until it's hot. Place the pizzas directly onto the grill and cook on 1 side for 1 minute. Turn the pizzas over and brush with olive oil or garlic oil. Top the pizzas with any toppings you wish, piling them high. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put the lid on your grill and cook for 5 minutes more, until the crust is crisp and the toppings are cooked.