Tag Archives: bake

Buttertop Bread

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I waited too long to blog about this one, so I don’t have much to tell about it 😉 Thanks for stopping by!

Buttertop Bread – adapted from King Arthur Flour

  • 3 cups King Arthur AP flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/3 cup dry potato flakes
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons soft or melted butter
  • 3/4 cup to 7/8 cup lukewarm milk

Directions –

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together until you’ve made a smooth, though somewhat sticky dough. If you’re uncertain about the amount of milk to use, start with the lesser amount; you can always add more as you go along.

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover, and allow the dough to rise for about 90 minutes; it should become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into a 9″ log. Place it in a lightly greased- 9×5 inch loaf pan.

4) Using a sharp knife, cut the loaf vertically down the middle from one end of the pan to the other, almost but not quite to the bottom of the pan.

5) Cover the loaf with lightly greased plastic wrap (or a shower cap), and allow it to rise until its top has crowned about 1″ over the rim of the pan, about 45 to 60 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

6) Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Tent it lightly with aluminum foil after about 15 minutes of baking; because of its somewhat higher sugar content, this bread tends to over-brown if not covered.

7) Remove the bread from the oven, and brush it with melted butter. Cool completely before slicing.

8) Store bread, tightly wrapped, for several days at room temperature; freeze for longer storage.

Ham and Cheese Rolls

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Quick Post: After I made the kids these pizza rolls, I knew I needed to make ham and cheese filled for their school lunches. These are quick, easy and the kids loved them! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Ham and Cheese Rolls –

  • 1 lb. pizza dough
  • swiss cheese, sliced or shredded
  • cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded
  • sliced deli ham, chopped or torn

Directions –

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and set aside. Roll pizza dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle and cut into 4 strips width wise (so you’d end up with 4 pieces of dough that are 4 1/2 inches x 12 inches). Place the slices of ham on top of the dough and then with swiss and cheddar cheese.Roll up each piece of dough and place on prepared baking sheet seem side down. Press the open edges down to seal. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden and bottoms are brown.

Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

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In an effort to give my kids something other than sandwiches (I would have gotten burned out on those a long time ago), I decided to make these. The best were so easy to make and the kids loved them. My son said I should have doubled the recipe so he could have eaten more – but these are pretty big and the kids split one. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Rolls – adapted from Lauren’s Latest

**I used this sauce recipe and a new pizza dough recipe**

  • 1 lb. pizza dough
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 1-3.5 oz. package sliced pepperoni
  • 2/3 cup prepared pizza sauce

Directions-

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray and set aside. Roll pizza dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle and cut into 4 strips width wise (so you’d end up with 4 pieces of dough that are 4 1/2 inches x 12 inches). Divide pizza sauce between all 4 slices and spread, leaving a 1/4 inch border approximately. Shingle the slices of pepperoni on top of the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup per pizza roll) and cheddar cheese (2 tablespoons per roll).Roll up each piece of dough and place on prepared baking sheet seem side down. Press the open edges down to seal. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden and bottoms are brown. Serve warm with more pizza sauce for dipping.

Trail Mix Cookies

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Yummy, chewy, sweet, tart, crispy, thin, nutty…there is a lot going on in these cookies. They’re like a cookie version of a granola bar, which makes them a great after school treat for the kids. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Trail Mix Cookies – adapted from Annie’s Eats

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 6 tbsp. granulated sugar (*I used vanilla sugar*)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla (*I used almond extract*)
  • 1¼ cup old-fashioned oats
  • ¼ cup golden raisins
  • ¼ cup dried cherries, chopped
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
  • 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 3 tbsp. sunflower seeds

Directions –

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon; whisk to blend, and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat on medium-high speed until light and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.  Blend in the egg.  Mix in the vanilla.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Stir in the oats until evenly combined.  Use a spatula to fold in the raisins, cherries, walnuts, chocolate and sunflower seeds, mixing just until evenly incorporated.

2. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough at a time onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least a couple of inches apart.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until golden brown and just set, about 10-12 minutes total.  Let cool on the baking sheets about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Rustic Italian Bread

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Lots of waiting with this recipe…hopefully it’s worth it!

It’s kind of my thing to go the extra mile when we have company – and 2012 seems to be the year of overnight guests! Nothing wrong with that, and it’s definitely a nice change from our normal routine. My SIL is coming into town and my plan is to make this bread to go along with spaghetti sauce that will cook while I am away, (slow cookers are a lifesaver in this kind of situation).

I loathe working with wet dough, but I have learned to use my rubber scraper to knead instead of both hands. In the end, the loaf was so big that it barely fit on my half sheet pan. Overall, this is obviously time consuming – but not too much work on your part. The finished product was flavorful (thanks to the overnight fermentation), with a crisp crust of an artisan type loaf. It served as a crunchy base for our all time favorite garlic bread and would be perfect for pressed sandwiches (I need to try one of those!) Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Rustic Italian Bread – adapted from  The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book via Bless This Mess

For the sponge:

  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 tsp instant yeast

For the dough:

  • 3-3 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  • 2 tsp salt

Directions –

To make the sponge:
Mix the flour, water, and yeast together in a medium bowl until it resembles dough. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 6 to 24 hours.

To make the dough:
Add 3 cups of the flour and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer. With the dough hook attached, turn the mixer on to low and slowly add the water while the mixer is running. Let this mix for 2 minutes until the dough starts to come together. Lift the head of your stand mixer and place a piece of plastic wrap tightly over the bowl. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minute rest, remove the plastic wrap and add your sponge and salt. Mix on medium low speed for 8 minutes. After 4 minutes, if the dough is sticking to the side of the bowl add the last 1/2 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough stops sticking to the edges of the bowl but is still sticking to the bottom (you do want it to stick to the bottom). Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a smooth round ball.

Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled, about an hour.

After the dough has doubled, remove the plastic wrap. Using a large spatula gently fold the dough into itself by pulling the edge of the dough into the middle. Do this a few times all around the edge of the bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes..

Repeat the previous step after the 30 minutes are up and then let it rise for a second 30 minutes.

After the second 30 minutes of rising, it’s time to form the loaf. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently press it into a 10-inch square without tearing it. Fold each corner into the middle and then gently roll the dough into a tornado shape. Place the dough, seam down, on a rimless baking sheet (or one that is upside-down) that is lined with parchment paper. Gently tuck the dough into place on the parchment. You should end up with a long thin loaf that is 16 inches long. Lightly mist the dough with cooking oil and then loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, prep the oven and your baking stone. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Let the baking stone heat for 30 minutes (but not longer than an hour).

When the dough has doubled, score the top with a razor blade, diagonally and 1/2 inch deep and spray lightly with water. CAREFULLY slide the loaf and the parchment onto the hot baking stone in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 to 35 more minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack until it is room temperature before serving (about 2 hours cooling time).

Pretzel Dogs

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These are seriously good! My sister made these for our 4th of July party this summer and they were a big hit with kids and adults alike. In an effort to redeem these nutritionally (every little bit helps), I used half white whole wheat and half all-purpose flour for these. Also, the hot dogs are uncured, grass-fed beef…yes, I am a food snob! 😉

This dough is so easy to work with and easily rolled, and shaped without that annoying snap-back of some other doughs I have worked with. Be careful when you add the baking soda to your pot of boiling water, as it will boil more aggressively. Use a slotted spoon to carefully add the dogs to the pot and, again watch for the crazy boiling water!  We’re going to experiment with these in the kid’s lunch for school tomorrow – here’s hoping for no soggy pretzel dogs! 😉

UPDATE: The kids took one each in their lunch yesterday, and they didn’t become soggy! It helps that I didn’t refrigerate the leftovers, and I ate some for lunch too and they still tasted great. I’m really happy with these, and no one could tell that they’re nearly half whole wheat! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Pretzel Dogs – adapted from Fake Ginger

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1½ cups warm water
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 package dry active yeast
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (312 grams)
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour (240 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 10 cups water
  • â…” cup baking soda
  • 1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • Pretzel salt (or kosher salt), for topping
  • 8 hot dogs, cut in half (*I used these*)

Directions:
Combine the warm water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is foamy and begins to smell of yeast.
Add the flour and butter to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and, on medium-low speed, combine the mixture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and appears shiny, roughly 4 to 5 minutes.
Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray (or lightly grease with vegetable oil) and place dough in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm area and let dough rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Spray parchment paper with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a large pot, bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a roiling boil.
Place the dough on a greased surface, and divide into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, roughly 12 inches long. Carefully wrap each piece around a half hot dog. Pinch the ends together to seal the dough.
Boil the shaped pretzels and pretzel dogs, one at a time, in the baking soda water for 30 seconds each. Using a slotted spatula, remove each pretzel dog from the water and place it on a drying rack to allow any extra baking soda mixture to drip off.
Place the boiled pretzel dogs back on a parchment lined baking sheets.
Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with pretzel or kosher salt.
Bake until golden brown, roughly 14 to 15 minutes. Transfer pretzel dogs to a cooling rack for a few minutes before serving. Serve with a variety of mustards.

Small Batch Brownies

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Quick Post: Light, cakey brownie. Not chewy, but it hit the spot 🙂  Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Brownies – adapted from Just Eat It!

  • 1/2 cup chopped chocolate (about 3 ounces)
  • 6 TBSP butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Directions –

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three – 6 ounce ramekins or a small baking dish.

Melt the butter and chocolate on low heat, stir and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk together the sugar and the eggs, then stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

Add the flour and cocoa powder. Fold in the nuts. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until set, and the center should be a little underdone.

Orange Raspberry Muffins

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The co-op has inspired me to find new way of enjoying organic produce! And after doing a quick search on FoodGawker, I found this recipe, and it was just in time, because I hate wasting food. These have great flavor, but the oven time and temp was way off for me. I thought as I read “400 degrees for over 20 minutes”, it wouldn’t be right for a muffin. Next time I will bake them at about 375 for 15-20 minutes. When these had about 8 minutes left, I knocked down the temp for a couple more minutes, then tested the muffins with a toothpick. I don’t know why I don’t always go with my gut on this sort of thing! 😉 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Orange Raspberry Muffins –  adapted from Susi’s Kochen via Baking: From My Home to Yours

  • Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • About 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 cups King Arthur Self-Rising flour (250 grams)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups raspberries – fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)
  • Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Directions –

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter or spray the molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance or orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the raspberries. Dived the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Cheddar Biscuits

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Quick Post: I made these to go with this salad. They were cheesy and delicious. The End!

Cheddar Biscuits – adapted from No More To Go

  • 1 ¾ cups King Arthur Self-Rising flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt (*next time I will use less salt – at least 1/4 tsp less*)
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ cup butter, cold
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ¾ cup buttermilk

Butter:

  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¾ teaspoon dried parsley

Directions –

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with canola oil.
3. Combine flour, salt, and garlic powder in a large bowl.
4. Using a pastry cutter, food processor, or just two forks, cut in the cold butter.Combine the butter using this method until you have pieces of butter no bigger than a pea.
6. Add cheese and milk and mix with your hands until just combined.
8. Drop using a ¼ cup measuring cup onto your prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake for 11-13 or until the tops of the biscuits are light brown.
10. While the biscuits are cooking, combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
11. When the biscuits come out of the oven, brush them with the butter glaze and serve

French Bread Pizzas

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Quick Post: These were amazing! I tried out a new bread recipe that worked out really well for these, and this Greek dressing was a great addition to our green salad. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

French Bread – adapted from The Galley Gourmet 

  • 3 cups bread flour (381 grams)
  • 1 Tablespoon dry active yeast
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Directions –
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, olive oil, and water.  Mix on low speed until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Add the salt and increase the speed to medium; knead for 10 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a ball.  Lightly grease the inside of the mixing bowl and return the dough to the bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free space to rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate the dough.  Divide the dough in half and form into balls.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.  Form each ball into a 16 x 2 inch loaf.  Place the loaves onto a large parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside in a draft-free space to rise for 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375º F.  Bake the loaves until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Transfer to racks to cool completely.  Slice and serve at room temperature or rewarm before serving.  Enjoy!
French Bread Pizzas – adapted from Budget Bytes 
  • 2 loaves of French bread
  • 1-2 cups marinara sauce
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
  • pepperoni chopped
  • dried oregano for sprinkling over the top, optional
  • Parmesano Reggiano and other Italian cheeses for grating over top, optional
Directions-
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Cut your baguette into the size you want your pizzas. I had a half length baguette so I cut it in half (lengthwise) then sliced it open to make four pieces, each about 8 inches long and four inches wide.Top each pizza with about 1/4 cup of sauce and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese. I like to sprinkle on a little extra Italian spices at this point to kick up the flavor. Follow this up with pepperoni or whatever other toppings you are using. Bake the pizzas in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the edges of your bread are brown and crispy.
Greek Dressing –  adapted from Center Cut Cook
  • 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 3/4 tsp pepper
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard

Directions –

Mix all ingredients in a glass jar, shake and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.