French Toast Casserole

We are a hot breakfast family. And we could eat breakfast any time of the day. Pancakes, oatmeal, muffins, steel cut oats are all part of our regular rotation. This will be a good addition. You can assemble it the night before and just put it in the oven in the morning.

1 loaf of hearty firm bread (I used some multigrain rolls I had in the freezer)
chopped pecans or walnuts (i used 1/4 cup, you can use more or less to your liking)
1/2 cup coconut sugar (you could use brown)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 large eggs (farm fresh!)
1 1/2 cups milk (I used some fresh cream from the dairy down the road)
2 tsp vanilla

In one bowl, chop up the bread in bite size pieces.
In another bowl, mix together the cinnamon, sugar, and nuts.
In a 3rd bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
(cooking is so much fun when there are little people around!)
Grease/butter a 9 x 13 pan put bread pieces in it, sprinkle sugar mixture on top then pour over egg mixture. At this point you can cover it and cook it in the morning, just leave it in the frige over night. Or you can bake it. 350 for 20 minutes covered. Remove cover and cook for additional 25 minutes. Serve with syrup.

ZOPF

Did you see my post for Challah? It was an attempt to create this bread. I finally tracked down the recipe and it was just as I remembered. Thanks to Rosemary and Amber Yamamoto for sharing.
Zopf

11-12 c flour
2T yeast
2 sticks butter softened
3 c milk- lukewarm ~100 degrees
3/4c sugar
3 eggs at room temp
2 t salt
the zest of 1 lemon
egg wash

Place 3 c flour in bowl and sprinkle the yeast in and mix. Mix in sugar and salt. To the heated milk add butter. add beaten eggs to milk mixture. add milk mixture to dry ingredients and add zest. begin mixing and add one cup of flour at a time, until desired consistency reached.
Continue to mix for 5 min. Do manual kneading for a few minutes. Place dough in greased bowl and let rise until doubled (can punch down and let rise again if desired) Shape dough and let rise. Bake @ 350 for 35-45 min, on a cookie sheet that is greased.

*to shape dough- turn out onto counter. cut into thirds. cut each third into thirds and roll into ropes. Braid and place on baking sheet to rise 20-35 min.
*prior to baking may coat with an egg wash.

Braided Bread (Challa)

Growing up, we had a neighbor who made the most beautiful braided bread. She was friends with my mom and I loved when she'd come by, she rarely came empty handed. She was from Switzerland and used to say the bread was "just something they made". She had a talent and not only was her bread lovely, it tasted great too.

She offered to lend a hand with our wedding reception and guess what she did? She baked 5 gazillion loaves of that beautiful bread. I remember her stopping by my house with samples and asking for feedback when she had tweaked a recipe just a bit.

I have tried to replicate her recipe over the years, but nothing comes close. (I need to track her down!) I made this braided bread on Sunday to serve at family dinner, it needs some obvious fine tuning, but turned out pretty good.

Braided Bread
(also called Challa)
Ingredients:

3 Tb yeast

2 cups warm water

½ c. sugar

1 Tb salt

½ c. oil (I used grapeseed)

6 -7 c. flour

5 large eggs

Directions:

Combine water, yeast and sugar, leave it to proof for about 10 minutes in a bowl(I used my Bosch). Once its all foamy and bubbly, add the salt, oil, and about 3 cups of flour. Mix together well and then add the eggs. Once the eggs are all incorporated, add about 3 more cups of flour. Add enough flour til you get a good dough to work with and it pulls away from the side of the bowl. Cover it and let it sit somewhere warm for about an hour. Separate into 3 large pieces and then divide each of those pieces into three smaller pieces. Roll into snakes and braid together. Let rise for about 1 hour, it will be about double in size. Then brush with egg wash (1 egg white and 1 Tb water).

Bake at 350° for about 18 minutes

These loaves are 100% white flour, something I have not done in a long time. When I make this again, I will definately add some fresh-ground-something-or-other. The dough was very soft and workable, it could use a little more substance.

Favorite Potato Bread

My sister in law made this bread on Sunday for dinner. It was delicious. The recipe is written out for a bread machine, and it stated that it made one loaf. Here is what I ended up with:
A loaf of bread big enough to make sandwiches for Paul Bunyan. Next time I will split it into 2. This recipe is great to make if you have a Kitchen Aid because the dough is not very substantial. A Kitchen Aid could handle it just fine, I think.

I added some whole wheat to the recipe and it did not take away from it at all, the bread is soft soft soft.

1 1/2 cups luke warm water
2 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour (I used 2 cups white and 2 cups wheat)
4 tsp. sugar (I used 2 tsp)
1/2 cup potato flakes
2 1/2 tsp yeast

dissolve yeast in water. Combine all other ingredients in mixer. Slowly add yeast mixture and mix until combined. Knead in mixer about 3 or 4 minutes, until dough is smooth and shiny.(If the dough does not smooth out, add a Tbs. or so of water.) Let raise for about an hour. Punch down and form into 2 loaves. Let it raise for about 30 minutes. Bake 350 for 25 minutes, checking periodically. You want it nice and brown on top, but not burnt.

Bodacious Brown Bread

I am a sucker for homemade bread. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Give me a side of chocolate chip cookies and I would be in heaven!!

Of course, I have to limit my consumption of either of those foods. But hands down, they are my favorites.

This is an easy, quick and hearty bread. I like it because it is substantial enough to eat with soup or on its own. Most breads that I make to go along with dinner take HOURS. With all the rising, kneading, rising again, then baking....not this one.

And I like it because I have had a sourdough start for years. I mostly use it for pancakes and pizza dough. Now I have something else to use it in.
this is my picture of the bread:

And here is the bread pictured by a professional and posted on line. It is much better than mine, but theirs doesnt have a cute little boy in the background.

Heres the recipe. Since its fall, everyone should bust this out next time they make soup.

For the bread:

1. 2 cups (480 ml.) buttermilk
2. 2 large eggs
3. 1½-2 cups (360-480 ml.) dark molasses (Teri is partial to Grandma’s®)
4. ¾ cup (180 ml.) sourdough starter (see recipe below)
5. 1 cup (240 ml.) all-purpose flour
6. 6 cups (1.44 lt.) whole-wheat flour
7. 1 scant tablespoon (<15 ml.) baking soda (use your judgment; Teri says the full amount leaves a baking soda taste.)

* Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
* Mix together the buttermilk, milk, eggs, molasses and sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl.
* Sift together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours and the baking soda.
* Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet and completely mix together between each addition.
* Pour the batter into 2 lightly buttered 9×5-inch (22.8×12.7-cm.) loaf pans.
* Let stand for 20 minutes.
* Bake for 50-55 minutes or until bread is firm when tested with a toothpick and comes out clean.

The original post and recipe can be found here
http://www.thetasteoforegon.com/2010/04/12/the-otis-cafe-and-bodacious-brown-bread/

Incorporating wheat in dinner rolls

People ask me all the time "What do I do? I want my family to eat wheat. Where do I start?" Then they give me a long list of reasons their families wont eat wheat bread. The bread is hard, its too dense, its dry, it doesnt taste good, the loaves are too big so the bread cant be used for sandwiches because it doesnt fit in zip lock bags, it takes too long to make.....there are lots of reasons.

I think learning how to incorporate wheat is a process. Its important to start off small. Try putting a cup of whole wheat flour in a batch of cookies, or substitute a cup or two when making rolls. The trick to good whole wheat products is a good recipe and learning the recipes technique. Sometimes, you might have to try a recipe a few times before it works out. But the most important thing is not to give up. Keep gathering recipes and keep trying. If you are at a pot luck and the homemade rolls are delicious, ask for the recipe. Ask whoever baked them to give you some tips if you need. Somewhere in your baking things will work out. One day you will know just what the dough should look like or just how glossy your rolls should be and that will be the determining factor when adding ingredients. You will realize your dough "looks right" when you add 3 cups of flour instead of the 5 that the recipe calls for.

When I use whole wheat in recipes it is fresh ground. I dont know how that compares to whole wheat flour you can purchase at the store but I imagine they would be interchangeable. (Although, fresh ground grains are always superior in nutrition to the pre ground stuff you buy at the store. But if you dont have a grinder, or dont know someone who does, the store bought stuff will work)

Tonight I made a few dozen of these:

I used 2 cups of fresh ground white wheat and about 3 1/2 cups of regular ole white flour. They were light and fluffy and very flavorful. I dont think anyone would have guessed there was a little bit of actual nutrition in them.

So if you are just starting out with grains and want to incorporate some in a recipe, this is an easy starter. Follow the recipe using 2 cups wheat flour and the remaining 3 or 4 cups will be all purpose flour. Hope you get rave reviews!

recipe here

Naan

This naan is delicious! I think I ate 5 pieces of it throughout the day. At dinner, Andy scarfed his down and said "you should make more of this, I could eat it as a snack. Its good" And it is. So soft and tasty. Perfect for scooping up a good hot curry (if I could only find that)

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. Combine yeast mixture, sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise about 1 hour, until doubled

Punch down dough and knead a few times. Pinch off handfuls of dough and roll into balls a little bigger than golf balls and place on a tray to rise. Cover again with a towel.

Pre heat griddle. Roll balls of dough out flat and cook a few minutes on each side. Mine rolled out to be about 8 inches in diameter and I left them a little thick cuz thats how I like them. You could do them thinner if you wanted.

Strawberry Buttermilk Shortcake

I recently purchased a case of strawberries. We have been getting creative with them, trying to eat them all up.
The other day, Kaleb said "WE LIVE IN A STRAWBERRY FACTORY MOM!"

And he is right. We have been consuming them in extra large amounts for the last few days. But here is the best thing we have made with them:Buttermilk Shortcakes with strawberries and fresh cream. The shortcake was so yummy! We had some left over and I couldnt wait til breakfast so I could inhale one!
My kids got involved and we turned out a pretty yummy dessert

Here is the recipe (I got it here):

Buttermilk Shortcakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Rub in butter with your finger tips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or pulse a few times in a food processor). Stir in buttermilk and vanilla extract until the dough comes together. Add an additional tablespoon of buttermilk if the dough is slightly dry.
Drop by 1/4 cups (use a measuring cup) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Top these with strawberries that have been sliced and tossed with a little sugar. Some fresh whipped cream rounds it out perfectly.

Banana Split Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large)
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour (some wheat is great too!)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg.  In a small bowl, combine bananas and milk.  Combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; add alternately with banana mixture.  Fold in chips and pecans.

Pour into greased bread pan.  Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

*I had some cream that I needed to use up so I used that instead of milk and it was perfect.  I also didn't have any pecans so I just left them out.  It's still delicious without but it would have been a yummy addition!

Cinnamon rolls

My friend had me over today to show me the ropes of cinnamon roll making. Our kids played great and got out every toy in her house while she and I mixed and measured and talked.

It was therapeutic.

And the end result was PHENOMENAL!!

I have made a lot of cinnamon rolls in my time, this recipe takes the cake. The roll part melts in your mouth and is unbelievably soft.

Usually, I frost cinnamon rolls to alleviate the dryness or denseness of the roll. These needed nothing!

I cant wait for next weekend, I have convinced my sister in law that WE NEED to make these while she is here.

2 cups scalded milk
1/3 cup butter
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup potato flakes
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 T quick rise yeast
Pour in mixer and turn on med/high til smooth
Add:
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
Let mix about 5 min. The dough will be very runny and sticky. It will look almost like cake batter.
Cover and let rise 1 hour
Roll out and cover with brown sugar and cinnamon
Cut into 12 pieces place on buttered pan and let rise 30 min.
Bake 400 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown.

Pretzels

These were so fun to make with my kids. And we had a blast eating them up too! Instead of making pretzel shapes, Kaleb made the letters in his name. Holden made globs of dough and it all tasted great!! The whole process is quick and fun, totally kid friendly!

1 1/2 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast (or 1 Tb)

1 Tb sugar

1 tsp salt

4 cups flour (we used 2 cups white flour and 2 cups fresh ground wheat, which my 2 year old helped grind)

Dissolve yeast in warm water

Combine all ingredients in a mixer, add a little more flour if dough feels sticky.
Divide dough in to 12 pieces and roll each into a long snake.
Twist into shape and place on baking sheet.
Make an egg wash with one egg and a Tb of water, lightly beaten together. Brush pretzels with egg wash (one egg and a Tbs water whisked together)
Sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

*You can also brush the pretzels with butter and sprinkle on a cinnamon/sugar mix. Or sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese.

Fresh Mango Bread

I made this for my mom's 60th birthday party, it was a Hawaiian themed party. It is really good, similiar to banana bread or zucchini bread,a nice change, my kids had never eaten mangos before and this was a great way to introduce a new fruit! I found this recipe at www.recipezaar.com

Makes 2 loaves

2 c flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 c vegetable oil (I use olive)
2 1/2 c mangoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c raisins (optional, I left them out)

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Combine all of the dry ingredients. Beat eggs with oil and add to flour mixture. Add mangos, lemon juice and raisins. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased 8x4 loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Monti's Bread

Raygon, this one is for you! I saw your posting about Macaroni Grill Bread and thought you might want to give this one a shot. My Grandma loves their bread and while eating there once, asked if she could have the recipe. Surprisingly, they gladly shared!

1 Tbs. Yeast
1 1/2 Cup Water
4 Cups Flour
1 Tbs. Sugar
1/2 Cup Very Finely Chopped Onion

Kosher Salt
Dried Rosemary

Mix like regular bread dough, adding the onions at the end. Let it rise for one hour and then knead. Press onto a large greased cookie sheet. Let rise until doubled, or when it reaches the top of the cookie sheet. Using a pastry brush, brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary.

Bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes.

Coffee Cake

I am not a food photographer. I wish this picture turned out better.

We have church at 1:30, so it was nice to have this hanging around yesterday.


Coffee Cake

Mix together:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 Tsp cinnamon
remove 1/2 cup mixture and set aside (you will use this for the topping)
Then add
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
cream everything together well. Pour into a prepared 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle on reserved topping. Bake 350 for 25 - 30 minutes or until cake tests done.

Macaroni Grill Bread

When I came across this recipe, I really wanted to try it. Although it has been forever since I have been to Macaroni Grill, I remember their bread being really good.

The first time I saw this recipe was on Sisters Cafe. I made 5 different batches of this bread...equaling out to 10 LOAVES!!! I could not get the consistency right for the bread and they always turned out flat.
I followed her recipe in exactness, then I tried adding whole wheat flour, then I tried cooking at a lower temperature, then I tried making one loaf instead of two...It was a bread baking nightmare.

FINALLY, when I was half asleep that night, it came to me. The reason why my bread was turning out so flat was due to the rising process.

In the morning, I started over again. I made 4 more loaves and FINALLY they turned out.
After all the trial and error, turns out this bread is really easy to make. And it whips up pretty quick.

I ditched the Sisters Cafe recipe and went with this one from Recipe Zaar:

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rosemary (fresh is best, but I used dried)
2 tablespoons butter


Place yeast, sugar and water in large bowl (or mixer) and allow to become bubbly

Add in 1 T butter, salt, 2 cups of flour, and 1 TBS rosemary.

Knead for about 5 minutes in machine (Bosch, Kitchen Aid) until smooth and elastic. Add more flour if necessary.

Oil a bowl, put dough in it and cover with a towel.

Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled. (this only took about 30 minutes for me)

Punch down dough and divide in half and let it rest about 5 minutes.

Shape the dough into 2 small rounded oval loaves and place on greased pan.

Melt a few TBS butter and brush on the bread. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tablespoon of rosemary over the loaves and press lightly into the surface.

Let loaves rise again until doubled (this took about 20 minutes for me)

Bake in a preheated oven to 375°F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Knock off Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from Rachels blog.

They are the best I have ever made, and she is totally right...the saigon cinnamon makes a difference! I could eat these til I am sick, they are so good.
This makes 16 large rolls- two 9" x 13" pans full.

"Cinnabon" Cinnamon Rolls
2 c. warm milk
1 c. sugar
2 T. yeast
3/4 c. butter (room temp)
2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
6 c. white flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
Combine everything in an electric mixer (kitchenaid, bocsh, etc) and knead for 10 minutes. Let sit with the lid on and rise until it reaches the lid (this might take 45 minutes to an hour), then knead the dough for a minute or 2 and roll out on floured surface.

Filling:
2/3 c. butter (room temp)
Spread the butter onto the rolled out dough.
2 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
--mix together then add:--

1/3 c. saigon cinnamon*

1/4 c. flour

Mix the sugar, cinnamon and flour together and sprinkle/spread over the butter.
Roll up Jelly-roll style and mark 16 even marks for the cuts on the roll. Cut out 16 pieces and put 8 in each 9" x 13" greased baking dish. (Two 9" x 13".)
Let rise until doubled and bake in 375 degree oven for 22-25 minutes. The tops will be brown. Frost while warm.

Frosting:
1 c. butter (room temp)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 c. (4 oz) cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
blend thoroughly and then spread over warm cinnamon rolls.


*Or another high quality- don't use the generic that is just labled "ground cinnamon", this makes a big difference. I buy mine at Costco: $3. for a large container.

Whole grain carrot muffins

Dont let the ingredient list fool you. These muffins are soft and moist and sooooo delicious! Healthy and homemade can be good!


Whole grain carrot muffins

1 cup fresh ground wheat flour (I used a mixture of soft white, buckwheat and spelt. I think any whole grain will work fine here)
1 cup white flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup coconut oil (you could use canola or vegetable oil)
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup 9 grain cereal (or oats)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups shredded carrots

Combine all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined. You could also add raisins or nuts to the batter.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes. Makes about 18 muffins.

If you have extras, they can be frozen and taken in lunches or as a snack on an outing.

THE BEST dinner rolls

Whoa doggie! These rolls are delicious! I found a recipe on line and adjusted and adjust and changed until they were finally perfect (in my opinion). I could eat 5 of these for dinner and forget everything else on my plate.

Dinner Rolls

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
4 Tbs. butter, softened
3 eggs
1/3 cup powdered milk
About 6 cups flour

Combine water and yeast, set aside.

In mixer combine sugar, butter, eggs, powdered milk, and about 4 cups of flour. Slowly pour in yeast mixture. Mix until incorporated. Then add enough flour til dough pulls from the sides and the bowl is clean. The dough will be soft and a little sticky. Knead for about 4 minutes. Cover and let raise in bowl til doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. (this is important, if you dont let them raise long enough they will be dense and crumbly) Punch down and shape into rolls. Let raise another hour or so. Bake 350 for 14 minutes or until brown. Brush with melted butter when they are fresh out of the oven.

Eat 10 of them and enjoy every bite! If you shaped these into traditional rolls, they would be yummy with homemade jam on them or even used for a little turkey sandwich!

*If I make these rolls in the winter, I turn my oven on to 350 and set the dough in a bowl on top the stove while it raises. Its just enough warmth to encourage the raising process. I know this means I have to leave my oven on for more than 3 hours, but I dont mind in the cold months. If the dough does not get a little warm, it will not raise, so just setting the dough on the counter does not work for me. Its important to get it warm, but NOT HOT so dont stick it in the oven even at a low temperature.

Orange rolls

I got this recipe from my talented friend Heather. These are some yummy rolls! I especially liked the dough I am going to use it and make cinnamon rolls this Sunday with it.

1 1/4c milk
1/3c butter (not margarine, BUTTER!)

1t salt
1 package of yeast
1/3c sugar
1 egg
1/2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
3 1/4c. flour

Scald the milk and butter, until butter is melted- do not boil. Let cool on counter about 10 min then add yeast, salt & sugar. Mix well and let sit about 10-15min, until yeast is all bubbly.

Add egg and beat well. Mix in remaining ingredients- you may need to add a few more tablespoons of flour until the consistency is right. Knead dough two or three times and let rest in bowl for about 15min.

Roll dough into a rectangle about 1/4″thick. Spread with 3-4Tablespoons of softened butter, zest from a whole orange, and sprinkle with 1/2c sugar. Roll and cut like cinnamon rolls (you should have about 12 rolls). Place in pans and set into a warm oven (I preheat mine to 170, then turn it off) to rise for about 15-20min.

Bake at 425 for 12 min, or until slightly brown on the edges. For the frosting I blended 3-4Tablespoons of butter with 2 cups or so of powdered sugar and about 2 teaspoons of orange juice.

White rolls

Every week, I make dinner for a group of people attending a parenting class. This week, I made rolls to go with dinner. They are 100% white flour rolls, and they are SO GOOD! They were soft and fluffy and chewy and tasted great! Thanks for the recipe Annett!

Its been forever since I made white rolls, so I had to search my house for white flour, as I usually dont keep it around. I had to bust out the one and only bucket of flour I have in my food storage. If you are just making this recipe for your family (or using a Kitchen Aid), I would suggest halving it. I ended up with a total of 70 rolls. If you do have extra, they freeze well.

WHITE ROLLS

5 c. warm water

3 T. yeast

¾ c. honey

3 T. salt

½ c. powdered milk (this can be omitted without problems)

½ c. potato flakes (this can be omitted without problem if you knead very well)

½ c. oil

4 eggs

Optional: Add any leftover cooked cereal like oatmeal, etc. up to one cup.

Flour till enough (about 14 cups)

Shape into rolls and let rise 1 hour.

Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes.