Light Wheat Rolls

The other day, I was in charge of bringing rolls to dinner. I wanted to make wheat rolls and ended up finding this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It got near perfect reviews from over 300 people so it was pretty much a guaranteed hit. The rolls did taste good and their spiral shape made them very fun to eat.

Makes 2 dozen rolls

Preparation time: 3 hours

1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 egg
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1/4 cup gluten flour

Combine water, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Allow the yeast to activate, then stir in wheat flour. Add margarine and egg and stir until combined. Add white flour 1/2 cup at a time until you have a dough that is soft and elastic. Knead dough for about 8 minutes, then allow it to rise until double in size in a lightly greased bowl (about an hour).

Punch down dough, cover, and then allow to rise again for about 30 minutes.

Divide dough into two equal portions and roll out dough into two 6 x 14" rectangles. Cut into 12 strips and roll each strip. Place each roll into a greased muffin cup, brush with butter and allow to rise, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until double in size. Bake at 400­° for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Banana Nut Bread

Banana bread is never one of those things that I plan to make in advance. I usually just find myself obligated to make it in order to avoid letting over-ripe bananas go to waste. That was the case this morning, when I finally concluded that there was no way I would eat the last bananas when they had all of those brown spots. Rather than using the banana bread recipe that I usually do, I chose a new one. I was excited that it called for sour cream because I have had some sitting in my refrigerator ever since I made tacos a few weeks ago.

This is pretty much my new favorite banana bread recipe. It is wonderfully soft and stays moist for days - I stored one loaf in plastic wrap and the other in a ziplock bag and they both retained their moisture.

Makes 1 9x13" pan or 2 bread pans.

1 cup mashed bananas (approximately 2-3 bananas)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare pans with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine bananas and sour cream and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar then beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla and banana mixture, then add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bubble Muffins

I saw these posted on Carlita's Eats a few weeks ago and thought I might try them out. I had actually tried some other pumpkin muffins that were supposed to be amazing, but I hated them. They had so much pumpkin puree that I felt like I was eating it straight out of the can. I could only force one of them down before I gave up and threw the entire batch away. So I was a little nervous to try another pumpkin muffin. These had a much smaller amount of pumpkin puree. Actually, I felt like they tasted more like cinnamon rolls than like pumpkin muffins, especially with the cream cheese frosting that I added. I loved them and will definitely make them again.

Dough:

1 Tbsp yeast

1/4 cup warm water

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 Tbsp melted butter or margarine

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

3 1/2- 4 cups flour

Coating:

6 Tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

Combine yeast, water, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl and let rest for about five minutes to allow yeast to activate. Then mix in other ingredients, adding flour by half cups and mixing between each one. The dough should be sticky and wet. Knead for 3-5 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl and allow to rise until double, approximately one hour. 

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Then divide each portion into 5 small balls. For each muffin, roll five balls of dough in melted butter and then in brown sugar/cinnamon mixture and place in prepared muffin cup. Allow muffins to rise until double in size, about another 40 minutes. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool before adding cream cheese frosting.

Blueberry Struesel Muffins

Even though I really love cooking from scratch, there are certain things that I just like better when they come from a box. Brownies and muffins are among these things. Still, I saw this recipe for blueberry muffins on Barbara Bakes and it looked like it was worth trying so I decided to make it for my sister-in-law's birthday breakfast. I was actually very impressed with the recipe; it made me think that homemade muffins might not be a complete waste of time. In fact, I will probably make them again.

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare a muffin tin with muffin liners or cooking spray. Prepare streusel topping and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, beginning with the wet ingredients and then adding the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Gently stir in blueberries. Fill muffin tins approximately 3/4 of the way up and sprinkle with struesel topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Struesel:

4 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp flour

2 tsp canola oil

Whisk together flour and sugar, then add flour and mix until it has a crumbly texture.

Blueberry White Chocolate Swirl Bread

On our way home from church yesterday, my husband said he had a great idea to use the blueberries we had in the freezer. Sweet bread with white chocolate and blueberry swirls. So it became my responsibility to put his idea into action. I looked up lots of recipes for sweet breads (including the Great Harvest Cinnamon Burst copycat bread recipe) online and in books. I finally came up with my recipe using that copycat recipe and the one for egg bread that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

About 5 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp yeast
1 1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Filling:
1 lb blueberries, prepared with about 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Heat butter and milk until butter almost melts. Stir in sugar and salt. Add eggs, yeast, and 2 cups flour. Mix well. Continue to stir in flour. Once the dough starts to become thick and somewhat sticky, begin to knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and not too sticky. Place in a lightly greased bowl to rise until about double in size (about 1 hour).

Punch down dough and then form into a ball; divide dough in half and cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Lightly grease two loaf pans.

Roll each portion of dough into a 12x7" rectangle. Top with about 1/2 lb blueberries and 3/4 cup white chocolate chips.

 

Roll up dough and pinch seam and ends to seal. Place seam side down in prepared loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double (about 30 minutes). Bake at 375º for 25-30 minutes. Remove loafs from pan and drizzle with a glaze made from powdered sugar and milk.

 

Traditional Cinnamon Rolls

The cinnamon rolls I used pizza dough for were great, but a few days ago I decided to make some "real" cinnamon rolls. I chose a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found that the main differences between my pizza dough/roll recipe and cinnamon roll recipe are that the cinnamon roll dough is a little sweeter and that I let them rise for a lot longer. These turned out very light and fluffy and the dough was also very simple.

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs

Filling:
3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast; set aside. Heat milk and butter in the microwave until butter almost melts, stir in the 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and salt. Add milk mixture to dry mixture along with eggs. Mix well (3-4 minutes). Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough on a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease pan(s).

Roll each portion of the dough into a 12x8" rectangle. Brush the melted 3 Tbsp butter over dough. Combine the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon: sprinkle over dough. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting from a long side. Seal seam. Slice each roll into 12 equal pieces. Place in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double (about 30 minutes).

Bake in a 375º oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool slightly; remove from pans. Drizzle with icing (powdered sugar icing or cream cheese icing).

Cinnamon Rolls

My pizza dough recipe makes about enough for two and a half pizzas. So what do I do with the extra dough? I have a pan that is a little smaller so sometimes I make it into another pizza, sometimes into breadsticks, sometimes into rolls. This time I used the remaining dough to make some cinnamon rolls. And they tasted great!

Ingredients:
leftover pizza dough
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup cinnamon sugar (approx.)
Cream cheese frosting

Roll out leftover pizza dough into a rectangle, about 8"x16". Spread melted butter over entire rectangle. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over butter. Roll dough so that the longer side forms the coils of dough (in other words so that the roll is about 8" long). Cut rolls about 1" thick using unwaxed dental floss or thread. Place on pan about 2" apart and let rise another 30-45 minutes. Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before frosting.

Zucchini Bread

I have always loved zucchini bread (and am fascinated that a vegetable like zucchini would taste so good in a sweet bread). I had never tried to make it myself before and this is the first recipe that I tried. It turned out pretty well and I think I would use it again, although it is a little different from the one that my mom used to make.

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups raw, shredded zucchini

Cream sugar, oil, and eggs. Add dry ingredients. Stir in vanilla and zucchini. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes.

Poppy Seed Bread

I have a great recipe for Poppy seed cake (which I will have to make sometime soon so I can put it on my blog) but this time I decided to make a Poppy Seed Bread from scratch to see what the difference was in taste. The differences are about what you might expect. It is less sweet but still tastes great - especially with the glaze.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix the first seven ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together last three ingredients in a separate bowl and then combine in large bowl. Grease two large loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 50-60 minutes. Start checking with fork or toothpick at about 45 minutes. (Five small loaf pans bake for around 30 minutes)


Glaze:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp melted butter
1/4 cup prepared orange juice
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Mix all ingredients together. Brush on top of bread while still warm. Let bread cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans and brush the rest of the glaze on top and sides.

Crescent Rolls

 

Did you know that croissants and crescent rolls are different? I had no idea. But as I was researching it online I found out that true croissants are larger, sweeter and flakier than than crescent rolls. So I was looking online for a good recipe and finally settled on this one from Allrecipes.com because the very first review I read was from someone who said she had never made bread before but found the directions simple and easy to follow and the rolls turned out great. I found that to be equally true for me. They were even better than the Pillsbury kind. The only drawback is that you have to start them about 3 hours before dinner so they have enough time to rise and bake.

2 Tbsp yeast

3/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup shortening

4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, softened.

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water.
2. Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in remaining flour until smooth. Scrape dough from side of bowl. Knead dough, then cover it and let rise in a warm place until double (about 1-1/2 hours).
3. Punch down dough. Divide in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle. Spread with butter. Cut into 10 to 15 wedge. Roll up the wedges starting with the wide end. Place rolls with point under on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour).
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 12-15 minute or until golden brown. Brush tops with butter when they come out.

Bread Bowls

This is actually the same recipe that I use for pizza dough with very few variations. I have it listed separately for ease of use.

2 1/4 cups warm water
2 Tbsp quick rise yeast
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
7-8 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add salt, sugar, and 3 cups flour. Mix well. Stir in eggs and oil, slowly adding flour. Mix until it becomes a dough that is soft but not sticky. Knead for about 5 minutes. Let dough rest 10-20 minutes. Divide into about 8 portions and cut slits in the top. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. When you remove bread from oven, brush with butter.

Herb and Cheese Bubble Loaf

I have been trying to expand my bread-making repertoire, so I was looking through my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and found this delightful bread recipe. It is easy to make (just follow the instructions) and turns out light and fluffy. If I didn't know that I made it myself, I would have thought it came from a professional bakery.

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 Tbsp snipped parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/2 tsp dried marjoram, crushed

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a small saucepan heat and stir milk, the 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/2 tsp salt just until warm (120 to 130 degrees) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to dry mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl often. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in cheese and as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6-8 min). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place till nearly double in size (about 1 hour - less in higher altitudes).

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a 1 1/2 quart casserole or a loaf pan. Stir together the 1/4 cup melted butter, parsley, oregano, and marjoram. Set aside.

To shape, on a floured surface roll out dough from center to edges, forming and 8x6-inch rectangle; cut into 48 pieces. Gently pull each portion of dough into a ball, tucking edges beneath. Roll each ball in butter mixture. Arrange balls, smooth sides up, in prepared casserole or pan. Cover; set rise in a warm place till nearly double (30-40 min).

Bake at 375º oven 35-40 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped (cover loosely with foil the last 10-16 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Remove bread from casserole or pan. Serve warm.

Garlic Bread

What better compliments a delicious Italian style dinner than some delicious Garlic Bread. I am toying with the idea of making primarily (if not exclusively) homemade bread so I thought today was the perfect opportunity to make a type of bread that I haven't ever tried before. I decided to use a generic French Bread recipe but add a little twist with some Italian seasoning. It was a little more dense and less dry than the kind of garlic bread that you buy from the store. It tasted good and I would probably make it again, but I have been looking online and I have found some recipes that I think might turn out better.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp quick rise yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups flour
2-3 tsp Italian seasoning

Combine yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup water in a large mixing bowl. Let stand until completely dissolved. Stir in salt, remaining water and 2 cups flour and stir. Add Italian seasoning and stir. Slowly add remaining flour, constantly stirring until forming a soft dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Shape dough into two loaves; place on a cookie sheet and cut diagonally across the top. Brush loaves with water and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.

While bread is baking, make garlic butter by mixing garlic powder with softened butter.  After removing loaves from oven, cool for a few minutes, cut in half lengthwise and spread garlic butter on each half. Return to oven and broil for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Pizza Dough

2 1/4 cups warm water
2 Tbsp quick rise yeast
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
7-8 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add salt, sugar, and 3 cups flour. Mix well. Stir in eggs and oil, slowly adding flour. Mix until it becomes a dough that is soft but not sticky. Let dough rest 10 minutes. Divide into about 3 portions and roll out. Bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Blueberry Muffins

I made these muffins for our Sunday breakfast. The great misfortune was that I was going to use a sugar mixture over the top and I completely forgot to put it on before putting the muffins in the oven! Without the topping these muffins were a little less sweet than I like. Here is the recipe as it should be made.

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup room temperature butter
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400° Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir together vegetable oil, egg milk in a separate bowl. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. 

Make crumb topping by mixing all ingredients together with a fork. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 of the way and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Banana Bread

My husband and I love homemade banana bread. This is a recipe that he used to use during college (one of the only things he baked...everything else was fried).

3-4 very ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Mash bananas; add sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir well. Add dry ingredients and oil. Add nuts if desired. Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350°

Whole Wheat Bread

This delicious wheat bread is a Little Family recipe that has been passed down for generations. I often cut this recipe in half and it turns out just as well.

5 cups warm tap water
3 Tbsp quick rise yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup gluten flour
1 egg
10-12 cups whole wheat flour

Pour water, yeast and salt into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients except for flour and mix. Add 6 cups of flour and mix well. Add remaining flour slowly to make a stiff dough. Knead for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 portions. Shape and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise until bread is about 3/4" above sides of pan. Bake at 350° for 30 min. Take out of oven and brush tops with margarine or butter.