Category Archives: BREAD, ROLL, AND MUFFIN RECIPES

CHALLAH

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You might be wondering why I am including a recipe for a type of bread that few people besides the Jewish faithful eat routinely. (Challah is a yeast-risen egg bread that is traditionally eaten by Jewish people on Shabbat (Friday – the Jewish day of rest), on ceremonial occasions and during festival holidays.) Well my dear readers, I am including this recipe for two very good reasons. 1) Challah (pronounced correctly sounds like a soft “k” before halla.) is lovely. Like Brioche, Challah is slightly sweet and quite rich from both eggs and fat. Where Brioche uses butter instead of oil, and more of it, Challah uses more eggs. Both are quite decadent and absolutely delicious. 2) The second reason I decided to include this recipe is because I am going to post my Bread Pudding with Spiced Rum Sauce recipe next.  And my bread pudding uses cubed Challah. So I wanted you to know how easy and affordable it is to build before I posted the bread pudding recipe. (Also, Challah can be a little spendy to purchase, not to mention difficult to find.) Remember, I am on your side. If I can help you cut cost while you prepare delicious food at home, I feel I will have justly deserved the very large income I receive for writing this blog!

  • 1 pkg. dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
  • 3 ¾ c. bread flour, divided
  • ¾ c. warm water
  • 3 lg. eggs, room temperature, divided
  • ½ c. vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • poppy or sesame seeds, opt.

Combine the yeast, 3/4 cup of the bread flour, and the warm water in a large mixing bowl. (I use the bowl of my Kitchen aid mixer.) Let the yeast slurry stand uncovered for 10-20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly. Add 2 eggs, oil, salt, and sugar into the puffed yeast slurry and beat until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt and sugar have dissolved. Add the remaining 3 cups flour all at once. Knead the dough until smooth and soft. Cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. (The dough can be refrigerated before it has been allowed to rise, but it will take an additional 30 to 60 minutes to rise after you take it out of the refrigerator.) After the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide into 2 pieces. Shape into 2 elongated loaves and place on a lightly buttered baking sheet or parchment paper. (Alternatively, the dough can be divided into three-six  equal balls, rolled into skinny strands, and braided for a more traditional appearance.) Beat the remaining egg with a few drops of water and brush the loaves/loaf. Allow the loaves/loaf to rise until doubled. Brush again with any remaining egg wash. Unless you are using the Challah for bread pudding or French toast, sprinkle the braided loaf with seeds before baking in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until the loaves/loaf sound hollow when gently tapped. If the Challah is browning too fast, gently tent with aluminum foil. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Note: Challah bread makes incredible French toast. Just dip thick slices of bread in a mixture of eggs, milk, a wee drop of vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon; fry in butter. Serve with warm maple or fruit syrup topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

 

REFRIGERATOR WHOLE WHEAT ROLLS AKA HONEY BUNS

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One weekend a month Mr. C. and I provide food (or help provide food) for in-home jazz concerts.  The first concert of the weekend is at someone else’s home Friday or Saturday night. The second concert of the weekend is at our own home on Sunday. Often the Sunday concerts begin at 2:00pm, preceded by a large lunch at 1:00pm. (By-the-way, for more information on these in-home jazz concerts, please visit www.jazzvox.com.) And most of the time when I do my planning for the Sunday meal, I include some sort of homemade bread. As was the case this past weekend, I was not home at all on Saturday (I absolutely hate it when that happens), so I needed to do as much of the prep work as possible on Thursday and Friday for both the Saturday night concert at our friend’s home, and the Sunday afternoon concert in our home. (Did I not casually mention on an earlier post that I am just ever so slightly out of my flippin mind?) Well keeping that in mind, and knowing that I wanted to serve hearty whole wheat rolls at Sunday’s luncheon, I decided to be brave and mix my dough on Friday, place it in the refrigerator, and bake it off Sunday morning before my guests arrived. (Why I always further stress myself out by not trying my little ideas in advance, I will never know. But luckily for me, the rolls turned out beautifully. One of these days however, that is not going to be the case, and I am going to find myself up that proverbial creek without a KitchenAid paddle!) But like I stated, the rolls worked. I did get a bit of a shock however when I removed the plastic wrap Sunday morning and got a whiff of the dough. It smelled fermented. I think it’s because the dough contained buttermilk. That and the fact that I had used locally grown and milled organic whole wheat flour, with nary a trace of anything in it that I couldn’t pronounce. (I always try to stay away from products that contain words in the ingredient list with more than 16 letters or that require a degree in chemistry to decipher!) So between the buttermilk and the whole wheat flour that contained no preservatives or additives, I think we had a little party happening right there in my very own refrigerator. Whatever happened, the result was fabulous. So next time you know you are going to be short on time but would still like to serve homemade rolls, make room in your refrigerator and try this recipe. Your dough may not start to party in your refrigerator like mine did, but when you bite into one of these rolls, your taste buds will feel like it’s party time for them!

  • 1/2 c. warm water
  • 2 T. active dry yeast (or 2 packages)
  • 1/2 c. honey
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 1/2 c. butter, room temperature
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 c. buttermilk or milk, room temperature
  • 4 c. course or stone ground whole wheat flour
  • unbleached white flour
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • kosher salt or course sea salt for sprinkling

Place warm water in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add yeast, honey, salt, butter, eggs, and buttermilk. Mix just until blended. Let rest (proof) for 5 minutes. Add the 4 cups of whole wheat flour and mix thoroughly. Knead dough for 15 minutes by hand or a few minutes by machine, adding white flour as needed to prevent sticking or until dough no longer sticks to the bottom of the mixing bowl. (Don’t add too much flour at this point. You want a fairly soft dough for this recipe.) When fully kneaded, pour the olive oil into the bowl, and using your hands, pull dough away from the sides and bottom of the bowl until dough is in a ball and all sides are greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled or place in refrigerator for up to two days. When ready to bake, punch down the dough and form into 28 balls of equal size. (The easiest way to divide dough into equal parts is to roll it first into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Then cut the dough by either using a bench scraper (my choice) or a buttered knife into the desired number of equal sized pieces.) With your hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball and place in a buttered 10×16-inch baking dish. The pieces should be close to each other, but just not quite touching. If, while placing the dough balls in the pan you find you have extra dough, form it into a loaf and place in an appropriate sized buttered loaf pan.   Sprinkle each roll with a tiny bit of course salt. Cover pan with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place until about doubled (about an hour) or up to 2 hours if the dough has just come out of the refrigerator.  Tip: When the rolls are ready to be baked they will look soft and bloated. When you touch the dough, it will feel soft and your finger will leave an indentation when the dough is lightly pressed. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

FOCACCIA

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Focaccia is a flat Italian yeast bread that is easy to make and absolutely delicious. And even if you’ve been baking bread for as long as I have, I’m sure you will love the ease with which this bread goes together.  First of all, there are only 6 ingredients in the dough! What’s not to love about that? And none of those 6 ingredients is exotic, expensive, or hard to find. (I’ll get to the fleur de sel part a little later. For now, let’s just bask in the relative inexpensive merits of the recipe thus far!) In addition to being very easy to prepare, a rustic appearance is almost mandatory. In other words, no presentation points are awarded for straight lines, in fact demerits are given if the bread looks too perfect!  But the best reason to bake Focaccia is still its’ lovely flavor and the fact that this soft thin bread is exceptionally versatile. Obviously Focaccia is great served as part of an Italian dinner. But straight out of the oven, sliced in fairly small pieces, Focaccia is also a fabulous appetizer. Serve it with a small bowl of dunking oil (extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic and parsley, kosher salt, and pepper) and your guests will be very happy with you. But in my opinion Focaccia is at its best when used to sop up recalcitrant sauces that take little walk-abouts on your plate.  (Some people are fussy about different foods “touching”, and this bread is a life saver in that regard.)  Focaccia is also delicious dunked in thick soups and stews and as a mop for those last little bits left on the sides of your bowl or on your plate.  (It is ever so much more socially acceptable to use a piece of bread as a mop than say licking your bowl or plate or using your finger. I’ve seen both done, believe me. Remember those 4 kids I mentioned earlier in my blog?) And speaking of earlier, I did mention I would talk about fleur de sel.

According to Wikipedia, fleur de sel (flower of salt) is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by scraping only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans. Traditional French fleur de sel is collected off the coast of Brittany, most notably in the town of Guerande. Due to its relative scarcity and its labor-intensive production, fleur de sel is one of the more expensive salts. Although I love to use fleur de sel on this bread, it is definitely not necessary. Kosher salt and a less precocious sea salt are perfectly acceptable substitutes. Just remember not to use too much. There is already ample salt in the bread dough itself.

  • 1 1/3 c. warm water
  • 1 T. or 1 pkg. active dry yeast
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, divided + more for pouring over the dough
  • 3 1/2 c. flour
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
  • fleur de sel, large crystal sea salt, or kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Pour water into a mixing bowl, sprinkle with yeast, and stir in sugar, salt, and ¼ cup of the olive oil. Let rest (proof) for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups flour and knead for 4-5 minutes adding flour as needed to make a smooth and soft dough. Round dough up in the bowl, pour a little olive oil over the top, and turn dough with your hands (the best tool in your kitchen, by the way) until the entire surface is coated. Cover with a tea towel and let rest for an hour. Pour about a tablespoon of the remaining olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on the greased baking sheet. Pat dough out until it is about ½-inch thick. (Remember, it should not be a perfect rectangle.)  Poke holes all over the surface. Slather enough of the remaining olive oil over the dough to completely cover the surface. Sprinkle with chopped garlic, rosemary, salt of choice, and a couple of grinds of black pepper (not too much).  Let rest for about 30 minutes. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let bread stay in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Try adding kalamata olives, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, or Italian seasoning to the dough for a nice flavor surprise. (Add along with the flour.) Serve Focaccia warm or at room temperature.

 

PICNIC BUNS

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There are just some recipes that bring back memories that make you feel good. This recipe and this way of shaping dinner rolls (my grandmother always called them picnic buns) take me back to my childhood. I grew up on 2 ½ acres in Kenmore, Washington. There were two homes on this parcel of land. One home was occupied by my dad, mom, two younger brothers and me; the second residence belonged to my maternal grandfather and grandmother. We had fruit trees, various types of berries, a couple of cows, a lot of chickens (my grandfather sold eggs for a living), a creek, a copse of trees, and the biggest vegetable garden you could ever imagine. My mom, the dear woman, could not find her way out of a recipe if her life depended on it (in other words, she was not a good cook). And my grandmother, who on a regular basis could not make jello, did make two types of food that were sensational. She made the best bread and pies imaginable. Why she could bake a pie that tasted like heaven and cookies that were almost unpalatable will forever remain a mystery? But her Banana Split Pie and Mince Meat Pie were heaven sent. Also, any kind of bread she baked was perfect in every respect. So in memory of my grandmother, who was patient, loving, taught me to appreciate art, kittens, clouds, and how to bake bread, I offer you her signature rolls.  I hope this recipe brings back good memories of special food you too once shared with loved ones.

 

  • ¼ c. warm water
  • 1 T. or 1 pkg. active dry yeast
  • ¾c. warm, scalded milk (not too warm or your yeasty beasties won’t be happy)
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • ¼ c. Crisco (sometimes I use butter – sorry grandma)
  • 3 ½ c. or more flour
  • Vegetable oil

In a large mixing bowl, (I use the bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer), combine the water, yeast, milk, sugar, salt, egg, and Crisco. Let proof for about 10 minutes. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix thoroughly. Add enough remaining flour to form a medium stiff dough. Pour about a teaspoon of oil over the dough and roll into a ball. When dough ball is completely greased, cover the mixer bowl with a tea towel, let rise for about 90 minutes or until doubled. Punch down and let rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes. Butter a 9×13-inch pan. Punch down dough again and divide into 18 pieces. (I just squeeze off small balls of dough as I place them into the prepared pan.) Cover with a tea towel again, and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until a nice golden brown. Serve warm.

 

 

 

BEER BREAD

 

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Every time I make this bread I am transported back to when my children were young and weekend dinners with our extended family were very common. None of us had very sophisticated tastes in those days, mainly because things were quite different in the 70s and early 80s, than they are today. There were no micro breweries, or wine tasting rooms (“good” wine came in boxes), or fresh herbs in every grocery store, or the Food Network……the list goes on and on. We felt lucky if we had a good meat market or seafood store in our vicinity! Times and food were just simpler then. It was very common in those days for one of the couples to call, even as late as a Saturday morning, for an impromptu dinner that evening. The hostess would usually prepare something like spaghetti or chili and the rest of us would bring beer or wine. There were no fancy appetizers or drinks, just lots of good food that we knew everyone would enjoy. There were always at least 2 generations at every meal, and never less than three dogs.  The kids would join in the adult conversations or play games or watch TV, while the parents and often grandparents shared stories about their week, the state of the union, sporting events, etc. I often spearheaded these get-togethers, and when I did I would usually bake bread to go with the meal. And when I made this bread recipe, my son Sven would fill up on bread and ignore most of the rest of the meal. (Oh, he always saved room for dessert however, being the intelligent lad that he was.)  What fun we had at those dinner parties. All the noise, confusion, and mess with never one argument or shedding of tears (among the adults that is). Just evenings spent with the best and dearest of friends eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company.

  • 12-oz. bottle of beer (I like Alaskan Amber)
  • ¼ c. water
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 2 T. butter
  • 2 T. yeast (or 2 pkgs.)
  • 5 c. flour
  • cornmeal

Heat beer, water, salt, sugar, and butter until very warm. Pour into the bowl of your stand mixer. Allow to cool to proper temperature for yeast to be added, about 105 degrees F. Add yeast; allow liquid mixture to sit (proof) for about 5 minutes. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead for about 5 minutes. Cover and allow dough to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes; punch down. Let rest 15 minutes. Shape in 2 long rolls on cornmeal covered pan. Let rest another 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack in your oven. When the oven is hot and the bread is risen and ready to be baked, being very careful not to burn yourself, pour two cups of very hot water in the pan in the oven. Quickly close the oven door to capture the steam. Next, place bread in oven on a rack above the pan containing the steaming water. Bake for about 25 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.