These rolls are an OLD recipe. They are the lightest, most tender dinner rolls you ever put in your mouth, and you know I wouldn’t lie. These are somewhat sweet and very buttery. The flavor is incredible but it is the lightness that will have you addicted.

If you have never worked with yeast dough before this is a sticky dough. Resist the urge to add more flour because the more flour you add the heavier they will be. When you knead the dough it will feel almost like soft sugar cookie dough. Just loosely form balls and put them in silicone muffin cups or greased muffin tins. Serve hot with plenty of butter.

These are also pretty quick. In a warm kitchen the first rise is about an hour, the second about 20 minutes and baking time is about 20 minutes.

Maybe we should call these no excuses rolls?

I have started specifying organic white flour in my recipes and I will tell you why. It is what I use, yes, but also? I recently tried regular white flour and the results were not as good. There is a difference.

Light Dinner Rolls

• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110F)
• 4 to 5 cups organic white flour

1. Scald milk (yes you have to do this! )
2. Add butter and sugar to hot milk and let cool to 110F
3. Add the yeast to the warm water.  Stir until dissolved
4. Add 2 cups of flour to the milk mixture and beat on low speed of a mixer for  one minute
5. Beat in eggs and add yeast
6. Stir in enough flour to make a sticky dough that leaves the sides of the bowl
7. Turn out on to a lightly floured counter and knead about five minutes
8. Place in a buttered bowl, butter the top, and cover with a tea towel.  Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour
9. Punch down and shape into balls
10. Place balls in oiled muffin tins and let rise 20- 30 minutes, or until double
11. Bake at 375F for 12 minutes, or until light golden brown

Makes 24

image:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights

Anyway I have made English muffins before but they are too fussy and time consuming for me to make on a regular basis.  English muffin loaf on the other hand can be made, start to fragrant, steaming finish, in about an hour and a half.

It is a batter bread so there is no kneading and little mess and, best of all, you get that great chewy texture and open crumb that regular English muffins have.  Don’t cave to the temptation to slice it and eat it hot.  Cool it at least part way and then be sure to toast it.  It will be better that way.

This recipe makes two large loaves.  If you think that is too much for you just slice and wrap what you don’t need and freeze it.  Instant breakfast.

You must use cornmeal to dust the pan and the top of the unbaked loaves for the best flavor.  I use dried corn and grind it myself so I can get just the coarseness that I want.  It really does make a difference.  If you can’t grind your own cornmeal then for this recipe use a coarsly ground type or polenta.

English Muffin Bread

• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/4 cups warm milk
• butter and cornmeal for greasing and dusting the pans

1. Mix the yeast, honey, and water.  Set aside.
2. Sift the salt, baking powder, and flour.
3. Add the milk and one cup of the flour to the yeast mixture.  Blend well.
4. Add the remaining flour and beat.  You should have a very soft, goopy dough.  Yes. I said goopy.
5. Spoon the dough into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and dusted with the cornmeal.  Set aside in a warm place until the batter has doubled and is at the top of the pans, or a little above.
6. Preheat the oven to 425F
7. Dust the tops of the loaves with cornmeal and bake for 15 minutes or so.  Loaf will sound hollow when tapped.  Bake for 20-25 minutes if you want a crisper, more golden crust.
8. Cool and slice.

Yield:2 loaves.

images:marye audet (c) 2009

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There is something about coming in on a dim winter afternoon, cheeks frozen from sledding, and smelling the aroma of date nut bread wafting out of the oven.  Not that I have experienced many snowy afternoons here in Texas, but growing up in Bucks County, Pa..well I had my share of Currier and Ives moments!

Making a sweet bread for breakfast means thinking ahead the day before and I don’t often do that much thinking ahead…at least not anymore.  So, whipping up these muffins for breakfast (total time 30 minutes) is simple.  Sweet and filling, these date nut muffins have big date flavor in every bite, with the faint woodsy-nutty walnut flavor coming in right behind.  Mix them up by hand so that you don’t over beat them—muffin murder.  Overbeating will cause muffins not to rise, and to be heavy and lethargic, somewhat like a teenager  at 7 in the morning.

Date Nut Muffins (from one of my vintage cookbooks, with adjustments by me)

• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup flour

Crumble together until it looks pebbly.

Directions:

1. Combine dates, baking soda, butter, and water.  Allow to cool.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together.
3. Beat sugar, vanilla, and egg until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients to the date mixture, alternating with the egg mixture.  Begin and end with dry ingredients.
5. Stir in nut meats.
6. Scoop into 12 muffin cups and top with streusel.  Bake at 400 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Serve warm.

12 muffins.

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I got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for Christmas and decided to buy this book that I had been hearing so much about, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

As busy as I have been I had been reduced to buying (gasp) store bread a couple of times a week and …ewww. I hate that.  I hate giving the family stuff that I know there is no nutrition to, but you have to fill them up somehow, right?

I thought that the idea of making ANY kind of bread in five minutes a day was amazing and worth a try…

I got the book and skimmed through it.  I hardly ever actually read cookbooks, usually I just look at the ingredients and get started.

Well this book sat around for a month because I am just that overwhelmed.

I decided to try the basic bread first.  The instructions warn about compressing the flour and I will give a warning to the warning…I use a canister that holds 50lbs of flour, o.k.? The scoop and scrape method allowed the flour to be too compressed the first time.   I noticed that the dough seemed quite thick and almost dry.   This is how that loaf came out:

It was good flavor-wise but as you can see it was really too dense.  So, yesterday I spooned the flour into the measuring cup lightly, and then scraped the top level.  I added a touch extra water for good measure.  The dough looked like this:

It was a much wetter, looser dough.  I left it at room temperature for the two hours and then refrigerated it over night.  This morning I shaped it into a round as directed.  I don’t have a peel or a baking stone (I KNOW…I KNOW)  so I just made it on a perforated pizza pan.  I was concerned that the dough seemed to want to spread a bit more than I wanted it to but left it to rise for 40 minutes.

I put water in a pan on the bottom rack of the oven as directed but also tossed 2 cups of warm water on the oven floor when I put the bread in.

This is how it looked when it came out.

I had forgotten to slash the top so it sort of exploded in the oven, but looked good.  I let it cool a bit before cutting to see if it had the lovely texture I was looking for…

And here….take a closer look:

I will definitely be making this daily.

The flavor is slightly sour, with a nice chewy texture and crisp crust.  The book has numerous variations including pumpernickel and brioche.  I keep the dough in a large covered stockpot in the fridge.  The books suggests not washing the dough container very often because the dough that sticks to the sides will sour and give a nice sourdough flavor.

Should you get this book?

Uh…YEAH!  Five minutes.  Anyone can do that.  The batch recipe makes 3 one lb loaves but there is no reason you could not make more and bake it fresh every night while you are fixing supper.  In fact if you had another container for the brioche dough you could make it fresh for breakfast every morning as well.  I am putting the book in the Baking Delights Store…it is the link in the sidebar that says “Baking Supplies You Just Gotta Have.”  If you are going to buy this book, and it really is awesome, you can just click on the link to go to the page on amazon.  Then I get a little money to be able to afford to buy MORE cool books.

Image (top) : Amazon

Images (bread): Marye Audet (c)2009

Post from: Baking Delights

Jonika asked me the other day about the process of soaking grains before making bread. I don’t know how many of you are aware that I am a big freak when it comes to organics, whole grains and nutrition… even though you might not think so here.  We spent several years as wholefoods vegans and then vegetarians before choosing to return to a omnivorius diet.

Anyway, exactly what is grain soaking and why in the world would you do it?

Grains contain a substance called phytic acid.  This is found in the outer portion of the bran part of the grain.  For various reasons many people have trouble digesting it and do not get the nutrition from the whole grains that they should and experience digestive upsets and allergy type problems as well.  Phytic acid is also found in soy, and I have a hate relationship with soy  for many reasons.  ANYWAY.

Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grains before baking will often take care of the issue.

Soaked grains are generally soaked for less than 12 hours, fermented for 12-24 hours, and sprouted are allowed to sprout.  Each has a different quality and taste.  For our purposes today we are talking grains soaked for less than 12 hours.

The recipe that I use can be found at The Urban Homemaker.  The flour itself is soaked for 12 hours before making bread and this two step process gives excellent results.

Most of the other recipes that you will find on the Internet will be for sprouted bread (Ezekiel bread) and such, but this is plain, good whole wheat bread with the phytic acids removed.

This method can be used for pancakes, cookies, muffins, and everything else that you might want to make.  Especially i fyou are having allergy problems give this method a try.

If you have any questions leave a comment and I will try my best to answer them.

image: (c) marye audet 2008 all rights reserved

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A few weeks ago Pillsbury contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their product for the blog.  I have never been one to turn down free food, right, so I said sure.

They sent me instant potatoes and eagle brand milk.

Now, y’all know I don’t use the instant potatoes and that type of thing but if you  ever once use it in bread and such you will keep it on hand always. Potato bread is awesome but when it is made with the potato flakes rather than real potatoes it is incredible.  Much lighter and more flavorful that when made with the real thing.

I wanted to see how this translated to biscuits. I was really pleased with the results.

The biscuits are not as flakey as what you think of with biscuits but they are tender and flavorful..and perfect for sopping you up some red eye gravy for breakfast.

• 1/2 cup Pillsbury instant mashed potato flakes
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 6  tablespoons butter
• 1 cup  buttermilk or sour milk
• 2 1/2 cup flour
•  1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbs cracked black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the potato flakes, flour, baking powder,baking soda, sugar, salt, and cracked black pepper.
3. Grate in the cold butter and mix well.
4. Add the milk all at once and stir into a soft dough. Knead lightly a few times until the dough holds together. You may need a little more milk.
5.  Roll out and cut with biscuit cutters.
6.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
7. Brush tops with milk, sprinkle with some French Gray sea salt, and bake 10 minutes or until golden.

Makes 2 dozen biscuits.

What in the heck are ya waiting for?  The grocery store is still open…if you hurry you can have them for breakfast!

If you want another awesome recipe with these potato flakes check out Potato Bread

image:maryeaudet

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I need my life to slow down..even as I am rapidly hammering away at the keys Kyrie is asking me to tie something…Nick is cranky about putting on a new shirt (touch sensitivity) and I need to leave the house in 5 minutes to pick up Matt at Driver’s Ed.

Whew.

I spent the day with Ethan at a mall (eww).  We shopped for some necessary gear, got our hair cut, and bought a new Christmas tree. Yep..I use fake trees.  Our last one was bought in 1984 and just now bit the dust..I think I am o.k. with the environment.  With those kinds of statistics I should have this one until the nursing home.

I just got a deep condition and a trim.  My hair is very curly and since I have gotten older it has gotten even more brittle.  I end up with it long on the sides and short in the back if I don;t keep it trimmed up..So..I splurged (HA! Andrea if you are reading this..there is THE word)  and had it done at Tony and Guys by someone who was a specialist with curly hair..and oddly enough her best friend did Erin (my oldest daughter’s) makeup for her wedding.

O..k…so this has NOTHING to do with food, right? Wrong…It is the lame excuse to let you know that I made potato and black pepper biscuits, they were awesome and I will post the recipe a little later…

LOL!

image:maryeaudet

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Last week I went to a friends house to be her assistant bread chef.  She has amazing recipes but they are all in German so she translates and I do what she says.

She is also one of the most inspiring people I know.  She has MS and has lost the ability to do much of what she likes;hiking, knitting, painting, baking…yet she is always cheerful and fun to be around.

We worked well together, me doing the mixing and initial kneading..and she, throwing the ball of dough against the table to finish the kneading process!

We created this Emmental bread together.  The only problem we had was that she translated the word for caraway seed as cumin seed..

Uh…you might want to go with the caraway.

The aroma in the kitchen as this is baking is intoxicating.  Would be a great accompaniment to a hearty soup and salad meal , with an apple tart for dessert.

• a 1/4-ounce package (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons gluten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cup  emmental cheese, on a 1/4 inch dice
• 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon (optional)
• 1/3 cup thick greek yogurt, quark, or plain yogurt, warmed
• 1 1/4 cup warm water

In a large bowl proof the yeast in 1 1/4 cup warm water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Stir in the yogurt,  2 cups of the flour, and the remaining ingredients.  Stir the mixture until it is combined well. Knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of the remaining  flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking.  Knead for about ten minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.  Transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it with the oil, and let it rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk.

Punch down the dough, halve it, and shape each piece into a round loaf. Transfer the loaves to a lightly oiled baking sheet and let them rise, covered with a kitchen towel, for 45 minutes, or until they are almost double in bulk. Bake the loaves in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are golden, transfer them to a rack, and let them cool.

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O.k..so..yeah.

It’s just bread with cranberries and walnuts. But, I love naming things so humor me.  I do not go as far as one of my favorite characters, Anne Shirley,naming trees and woods but I like to give my recipes cool names.  Especially for bake sales.

One of the things that I found out when I had the tearoom was that the more exotic the name the better the item sold…Unless we had a lot of good old boys come in (and yeah, that did happen…what they thought they were going ot get in a tearoom I don’t know) European sounding things worked well.

So..we were having a bake sale at church for the JBQ, one of the kids programs.  My best friend runs it (an does a great job, the kids love her) and so I wanted to do something that would be a little different.  A little autumn, a little exotic…

This bread is great. The secret is to have a really flavorful maple syrup and to toast the walnuts to bring out the flavors there.  Give it a good, long rising time for the ingredients to blend and you will end up with a delicious breakfast bread or ..if you are especially daring, it makes an excellent bread for smoked turkey sandwiches.

The crust is crisp with that artisian chewiness.  Slightly sweet, but not overly so, with the occasional tang from the cranberry.

Shape the loaves into a freeform oval, and then make slashes as if you were adding veins to a leaf that you had sketched.  Rub the top with flour so it has a good layer.  It gives a nice presentation to the bread.

The sides on this are soft because I made 4 or 5 loaves and then baked them in a row on the baking sheet.  It was a time issue.

Pain d’Automne de Provence

or

Artisian Cranberry Bread with Toasted Walnuts

Step One

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons yeast

2 tablespoons maple syrup

allow to stand until foamy.

Step 2

Stir in:

3 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 cups organic white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour (fresh ground if possible)

1/2 cup maple syrup

Mix well and allow to sponge for 30 minutes.  Stir down.

Step 3

Add:

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted in the oven or microwave until golden

3 cups whole wheat flour

Enough organic white flour to make the dough leave the sides of the bowl, and ” feel right”.

Knead for 15 to 20 minutes by hand, or about 5 minutes in a Bosch.  If you knead in the mixer then knead it for a few minutes by hand just to make sure it feels right.  It needs to be a good stiff, elastic dough without being dry.

Form into a ball and oil.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Step 4

Punch down.  Form into ovals and slash tops.  Rub flour into the tops.  Cover and let rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Pour one cup of water on the oven floor when you put the bread in and close the door quickly.

After 15 minutes pour another cup of water on the oven floor.

4 loaves.  (these freeze well)

Image:Marye Audet

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I have been making bread for so many years that it is natural to me to substitute ingredients and flours  without much thought.  I know what certain things will add as far as texture and flavor and it is a comfortable relationship I have with bread…no suprises anymore..just old friends that know what to expect from eachother.

With Marc being sick I am trying to get as much nutrition in him as possible so I have been making flour mixtures when I make bread… Freshly ground whole wheat berries, oat groats,  brown rice, lentils, sun flower seeds, flax….and the list goes on.  The magic that happens when the yeast starts reacting with the honey or sugar is amazing, miraculous, but always predictable.

These rolls are perfect for autumn’s chilly weather.  They go with soups and stews and made into a loaf  the dough makes a great sandwich.  Because of the combination the bread is high in B vitamins, fiber, protien and omega-3s…best of all, it is filling and it tastes really good.

This may rise a little slower than you are used to.  Give it plenty of time because the flavor develops as it rises.  Feel free to experiment with ingredients…pumpkin seeds have plenty of zinc, add walnuts, dried fruit… grind up brown rice, lentils, or whatever in your blender..Just make sure that you have a ratio of about 2:1 wheat flour to other ingredients for best texture.

Rustic Whole Grain Rolls

•  4 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup melted butter, or light organic oil
• 1/2 cup honey, brown sugar, or sugar…or a combination
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 5 or more cups whole wheat  flour, preferably Montana white freshly ground
• 2 cups organic white flour
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice, ground in the blender
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  3 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel, optional
• Dried fruit as desired up to 1 cup

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sweetener in 1/2 cup warm water. In a large bowl, mix remaining 3 1/2 cups warm water, sweetener, and butter or oil . Mix well. Add yeast mixture and stir.
2. Gradually add 5 cups whole wheat flour beating well after each addition. Add the flax, orange peel, dried fruit,  and sunflower seeds, stir well.
3. Let stand for 30 minutes, until mixture is very light. Stir in salt and the rest of the flours until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Knead 10 to 15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Put into a greased bowl and cover, let rise in the oven with light on until doubled, about 1 hour or more.
5. Punch down and shape into 18 round balls. Brush the tops with melted butter.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
6. . Bake at 400 degrees F  25-35 minutes.When you put the rolls in the preheated oven throw a cup of water on the oven floor and shut the door quickly.  This creates steam that gives the crust a nice, old world texture.  After the first 15 minutes toss in another cup of water.

Images:Marye Audet

Post from: Baking Delights