French Bread (Bread Maker)

I was shocked at this recipe - it doesn't do the normal egg-wash, steam pan steps that I've come to associate with French bread recipes and yet it came out with the same flavor and texture that I get from grocery store bread.  I'll make this again A LOT!

French Bread for Bread Maker (adapted from vegweb.com)

• 1 3/8 cups water (3/8 cup = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 

Add ingredients to bread maker according to manufacturer instructions (for me it goes water, oil, salt, sugar, flour, yeast).

If you want to bake it in the bread maker: set it to the french setting and let it go.

If you want to bake it like me:  Set maker to dough cycle. When the cycle ends, remove dough, punch down and form into 4 loaves, place on a baking sheet that is greased or has a no-stick lining (I use no-stick foil). Cover with greased saran wrap and let rise in a warm place* until double or triple in size (the bread rises like CRAZY).  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Check for doneness, if the outside is browned and it sounds hollow when tapped then you're good!

I made mine the night before, covered it and set it in the fridge. 3 hours before bake time I took it out of the fridge and let it warm to room temp before baking.

Also makes GREAT garlic bread sticks or add 2 tsp italian herbs for an herb-y loaf.

Italian Herb Bread

This is a top of the line, family favorite! We don't make it often because when we do we can't stop eating it.  Dip it in Balsamic vinegar and be ready to be dazzled!

Italian Herb Bread

1c + 2T water
2 T butter or margarine softened (use 1 Tbs of olive oil for a more rustic flavor)
3 c bread flour
.5 tsp dried sage or 2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tsp dried basil or 1 T chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T chopped fresh oregano leaves
.5 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 T dry milk
2 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1.5 tsp yeast

*If you don't have fresh herbs on hand, then substitute 1/2 tsp dried sage and thyme, and 1 tsp dried basil and oregano.

Place ingredients in bread machine pan as recommended by manufacturer (mine has you put in all wet ingredients first, then dry, and yeast last).

For rolls select the dough cycle, remove from pan when cycle finishes. Form into balls of the desired size (I make 12 rolls with this recipe). Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until about double in size. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Watch that they don't get too brown. Butter tops.

Soft Pretzels

Confession time:  When I was pregnant with Cee all I wanted to eat were soft Pretzel Bites from the mall.  I drove by a mall on my commute and had to force myself with all my pregnant-lady rationality (which wasn’t much) not to go there everyday and blow my paycheck.

So, when I saw this recipe over at My Kitchen Cafe (a favorite food blog that I stalk), I got so excited.  Just think of all the money I’ll save if those same cravings come back in my next pregnancy? Woo!

Now, as a connoisseur of soft pretzels, let me say just a couple of things.  First, these pretzels were not like Pretzel Time in the mall – more like soft pretzels at sporting events, which made them a little too pretzely for my liking.  I think that I will lessen the amount of baking soda in the wash next time to see if I can soften them up a touch.

Second – since these pretzels cook very hot (500 degrees!) this recipe has a HIGH SMOKE WARNING! The pretzels were perfect, but the cooking spray that I greased the pan with set my fire alarm off when I opened the oven for the first batch.  I’d suggest making these on parchment paper to save yourself the smokey headache.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Dough:

• 2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or regular yeast
• 7/8 c. warm water (can use up to a cup in needed)

Topping:

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• salt, you can just use plain table salt, or get some coarser salt for a fun look
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and cover it.  Let dough rest for 30 minutes or longer if not using instant yeast (dough should almost double).
Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper (I’d say paper over spray – note my high smoke warning).

Divide dough into eight equal pieces. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn’t, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. I only baked one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them with the melted butter. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread

Very few people love banana bread as much as my hubster – I’d say in the history of Banana Bread Lovers he’s easily in the top 5.

Because of the crumble topping we make the “bread” brownie-style and cut it into squares. It’s moist, delicious, and if you chose to cut out the oil, it’s a healthier alternative to normal baked goods. My Banana Bread Monster gives it the Two-Helpings-in-One-Sitting approval.


Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread**

For the bread:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup natural applesauce, oil, or a combo of both
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup water

For the topping:

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease pan with cooking spray.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the banana, eggs, applesauce, honey, and water. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake bread about an hour, or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

**  I've never understood why sweet banana recipes always call for so much sugar!  Today I healthified this recipe and I wanted to note what I did for future reference or for others that are looking for ways to cut out the excess.

I used VERY ripe bananas, and cut back my sugar to only 1/2 c + 1 Tbs
I used 1 c whole wheat white flour, and 1/2 c bread flour (all purpose would work just as well)
I used 1/4 c natural applesauce and 1/4 c canola oil 
I used 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites
For the topping I used 3 Tbs packed brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp white sugar (and I stopped sprinkling it on once the batter was well covered, I had a lot left over).

Challah Bread

Challah is a traditional Jewish bread that is famous for its braided texture.  Though the shape is truly unique, the texture and flavor is close to a homemade French bread – white and springing with a browned crust.  I felt up for a challenge, so when I found this recipe from Betty Crocker, I thought I’d give it a whirl.

This is a bread machine recipe, but I took Betty’s recipe and messed with the instructions, until I was able to turn my oven into a bread machine.  Hope you enjoy!

Challah Bread (adapted from Betty Crocker)

• 3/4 c. + 1 Tbs warm water
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbs butter or margarine, softened
• 3 1/4 c. flour
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp yeast (I used bread machine yeast, but any would be fine)
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 Tbs cold water
• poppy seeds, optional

Dissolve yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes or until water becomes milky.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees, once it reaches that temp turn the oven off while you finish combining the bread ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, salt, and egg.  Stir until well mixed, then add the yeast water.  Next add the flour, cup by cup, stirring between each addition.  Knead dough until it has a smooth consistency. 

Remove dough from bowl, spray bowl with cooking spray, return dough to the bowl, cover with a towel and put the whole thing into the warmed oven.  Allow to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled.

Spray a large cookie sheet, or line it with parchment paper.  Remove the dough from the oven, separate it into 3 equal pieces and roll them into long ropes (about 13 inches).  Place the ropes side-by-side, then gently and loosely braid them, pinching the ends and tucking them under to seal the loaf.  Place loaf on the prepared cookie sheet.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  While the oven heats, combine the egg yolk and the water in a small bowl.  Beat together until well combined. Brush or spoon the egg mixture onto the loaf, covering it entirely (I didn’t need to use all of my egg wash).  Sprinkle with poppy seeds if using them.  Bake loaf for about 20 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through.

Cinnamon Rolls (from my Naan recipe)

When making my Naan recipe for a side dish or pizza, I often had a chunk left over that I didn't really need.  I'd eaten them with cinnamon topping before, so I thought they might lend themselves well to cinnamon rolls:

And I was right, yum!

To try this: Make Naan as directed (recipe found HERE), but break it only into three pieces. Roll pieces out into as even a rectangle as possible.  Cover dough with melted butter, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Roll the dough until you have formed a long ‘log’ and pinch the edges to seal it up.  It’s okay if some of the cinnamon slime squeezes out, I spooned the extra over the tops when they were all placed.

Slide a thread (or dental floss could work) just under one end of the log until you reach about an inch and a half, then cross the thread over the log and pull ends until you make a slice through the dough.  Remove the now cut roll and place cut side down in a lightly sprayed cake pan.  Repeat this for the entire log.  Allow rolls to rise the second time.  Bake rolls at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until tops are lightly browned like in the picture.  Top with a simple glaze and serve warm.

Naan - Indian Flat Bread

The hubster and I love Indian food.  LOVE IT!  Naan, Indian flat bread, is one dish that we really enjoy, so when I saw what a simple recipe it is I had to give it a go.

I'm so glad that I did. Not only is it wonderful as traditional naan it also makes insanely delicious:

Pizza Crust

Navajo Tacos

Cinnamon Rolls

Naan (Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

• 2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) fast acting active dry yeast (regular would be okay, just watch it while it rises)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 TB milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups bread flour, (plus more for kneading if needed – ha!)

Turn oven on to 200 degrees.  When it clicks, turn the oven off immediately, then proceed with the recipe.
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Meanwhile, add sugar, milk, egg, and salt, to a large mixing bowl.  Add frothy yeast-water to bowl.  Add flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring between each addition.

Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl until smooth. The dough should grip your fingers, but not stick.  Remove dough from bowl, spray bowl well with cooking spray, form dough into a soft ball, then place back in the bowl. Cover bowl with a damp cloth, and place in the warmed oven.  Let dough rise 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Push down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough, roll into balls, and place on a tray (tray should be sprayed or have a non-stick surface added to it (I used wax paper, but it still stuck just a little). Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled; about 30 minutes.

After the 2nd rising, preheat pancake griddle to high heat (400+ degrees).  No griddle?  Just us a non-stick frying pan on your stove top.

Roll balls out into a thin circle – the thinner the better. Place dough on griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until puffy and light brown, then flip the naan and cook until the opposite side is browned, another 2-4 minutes.

Finish these steps for all of the dough.  Serve the naan warm and plain, with butter, with garlic sauce, with curry, with cinnamon sugar and honey, with marinara dipping sauce, whatever you love. : )

Happy Cooking!

Brioche Rolls

Brioche (according to my bread maker company, from whom I'm tweaking this recipe) is a rich, white, egg bread.  Its texture is soft and smooth, especially straight out of the oven, and it's no-salt flavor can be paired with just about anything from gravy to honey.

Do try them with honey. No joke, I could cry it was so good.  Just crack it open like this:

And drizzle the honey on.  No butter necessary, these stand alone.

Brioche Rolls

• 2/3 c. warm milk
• 1 1/2 tsp. yeast
• 1 1/2 Tbs light butter/margarine, melted
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 3 c. flour

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, then turn off once it has preheated.  Combine warm milk and yeast is a small dish, let stand until yeast gets frothy. 

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large mixing bowl, then add the eggs and sugar.  When yeast mixture is ready, add it to the large mixing bowl, then add flour by cups, stirring between each addition.  Knead the dough in the bowl by hand until all flour is incorporated and the dough becomes mostly smooth (mine was a little cracked in places).

Remove dough, lightly spray the mixing bowl, then return the dough and cover with a slightly moist cloth and put dough in the preheated oven for an hour to rise.  After an hour, punch the dough down and divide it into 8 equal pieces.*  Work the pieces into smooth balls and place on a lightly greased baking dish, cover and put back in the warm oven for about 30 minutes.

Once the rolls have doubled in size, remove from warm oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Bake the rolls for 10 minutes and serve warm or store in an airtight container.

* Kim's notes:  I made 8 rolls, but they were HUGE!  I could have easily cut them again and made 16.  If you chose to make smaller rolls, adjust the cooking time so that they don't come out too tough.

Before baking, I spritzed my rolls with a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray. You could do this, smear a little melted butter on, or leave them plain.

Happy Cooking!