Dinner Rolls

These rolls get brushed with some olive oil at the end giving them a wonderful light crispy texture.

2 cups hot water
1/2 cup light olive oil, plus 2 tbsp for brushing
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold water
2 pkgs active dry yeast
6 cups all purpose flour
2 eggs

• In large bowl, stir 1/2 cup olive oil in hot water. Stir in sugar and salt.   Add cold water and yeast.  Stir to dissolve yeast.
• Add 3 cups of flour, and mix.  Beat in eggs one at a time and remaining flour.  Mix, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm location until dough doubles in size, around 1 hour.
• Punch down; with greased hands, make 60 walnut size balls of dough and place 30 in each of 2 greased 9 x 13 inch baking dishes.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size, around 30 minutes
• Bake in a preheated 325 F oven for 30 minutes, or until fluffy, cooked through and pale golden on bottom.  brush tops of rolls with remaining olive oil while hot.

English Muffin Bread

This is wonderful toasted with some butter and Strawberry Jam.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
2 pkgs Quick Rise Yeast
4 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
Cornmeal for sprinkling

1. Combine 1 cup all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, cranberries, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.  Heat milk and water until very warm and add to flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.  Gradually stir in enough all purpose flour to make a stiff batter.  
2. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.  Divide batter between prepared pans.  Cover with a tea towel; let rise in warm, draft free place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.  
3. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake loaves for 25 minutes or until tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Remove from pans immediately; cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Sticky Caramel Apple Buns

These are decadent and indulgent treats.  A bit of whole wheat flour adds to the old fashioned quality of these treats.  From Canadian Living Magazine.

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt

Apple Filling:
1/4 cup butter
3 apples peeled, cored and finely diced
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Caramel Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp whipping cream (35%)

1. In bowl, dissolve 1 tsp of the sugar in 1/3 cup warm water; sprinkle yeast over top.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, butter, vanilla and remaining sugar; stir in yeast mixture.
3. In large bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, whole wheat flour and salt.  Stir in yeast mixture to form ragged dough.  Turn out onto floured surface and knead, adding up to 2 tbsp more all purpose flour if needed, until soft and smooth but not sticky dough forms, about 10 minutes.
4. Transfer to greased bowl and turn to grease all over.  Cover and let stand in warm draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Apple Filling

1. Meanwhile in skillet, melt butter over medium high heat; cook apples and cinnamon, stirring occasionally, until very tender and light golden, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer to bowl; let cool.

Caramel Sauce

1. In skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in sugar and 1 tbsp water; cook, stirring often, just until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in cream until smooth.  Pour into greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

• Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; roll out into 20 x 12 inch rectangle.  Leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered at 1 long side, spread apple filling over dough.  Starting at long side opposite border, tightly roll up; pinch seam to seal.
• With sharp knife, cut into 12 pieces; place, cut sides up, in caramel.  Cover and let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Bake in 375 F oven until golden and buns sound hollow when gently tapped, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Invert onto serving dish.

Sun-Dried Tomato Bread with Shallots and Herbs

This recipe uses some of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes giving the bread a red tone.  There is lots of flavour in this loaf and it is easy to adjust the flavour by switching the herbs to your favourite variety.    Fresh herbs give the best flavour.  From Food & Drink Winter 2012.

1 tsp olive oil
3 large shallots
1/2 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp yeast, instant or traditional
1 3/4 cups water, just warm to the touch
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp oil drained from sun-drained tomatoes
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
4 to 5 cups all purpose flour

1. Heat olive oil in a very small frying pan over medium heat.  Add shallots; cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until softened.  Cool to lukewarm; stir in sun-dried tomato bits.
2. Proof yeast by stirring warm water with sugar and sprinkling yeast overtop, then setting aside for 5 to 10 minutes.  Then stir to dissolve yeast completely.
3. Meanwhile stir tomato oil, thyme, salt and oregano in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. (I don't have this so I just use the old fashioned method of stirring by hand).  Stir in the proofed yeast mixture.  Slowly add 3 cups of flour, mixing well.
4. Stir 1/4 cup flour into shallot mixture; add to dough, mixing in well.  Continue adding flour until dough is becoming hard to stir.  Then turn out onto a well floured work surface or continue to use stand mixer.
5. Begin to knead dough, adding flour slowly as needed to have a soft yet well-formed dough, from 5 to 10 minutes.  All flour may not be needed.  Turn into a large generously oiled bowl; turn dough ball in bowl so all is coated with oil.  Loosely cover with a piece of plastic wrap; let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.  (For delayed baking, turn dough that has not yet risen into a large oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for up to a day.  While refrigerated, dough rises slowly.  When ready to bake, go directly to step 6 to shape loaf.)
6. Preheat oven to 375F.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pressing down to burst large bubbles, press out dough into a 12 inch square.  Tightly roll up into a long loaf.  Place, smooth side up on large parchment lined baking sheet.
7. Lightly oil top of loaf with additional olive or tomato oil; loosely cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise on top of or in vicinity of warm oven (not over oven vent) for 30 to 45 minutes or until dough has doubled. (Refrigerated dough takes about 1 1/4 hours to double.)
8. Remove plastic wrap.  Using a serrated knife gently placed on top of the loaf, draw knife gently across top of dough to form a pattern of 4 or 5 evenly spaced shallow slashes.
9. Bake in centre of preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and the smell of baking bread is very evident.  A tap on loaf bottom sounds hollow.  Take off baking sheet and cool on a rack.  Serve accompanied with a dish of garlicky olive for dipping.  

Potato Sourdough Bread

This is an old fashioned hearty bread.  It uses a sourdough starter so it takes some time to make.  The flavour is wonderful and it goes well as an accompaniment to soup or stew or on its own in the toaster.  From Food & Drink Winter 2012

48 HOUR STARTER
(enough for 2 large loaves)
1 medium baking potato such as Idaho, about 175g
1 1/2 cups cold water, divided
1 1/2 tsp instant or traditional yeast
1 cup all purpose flour

SINGLE LARGE LOAF
1 tbsp yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups water, just warm to the touch
1/2 48 hour starter mixture, about 1 cup
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour.

1. To make starter, peel and dice potato; add to small pot with 1 cup cold water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes or until potatoes are very soft.  Pour in 1/2 cup cold tap water.  Whirl in a blender or food processor until a thick liquid; cool to lukewarm.
2. Turn potato liquid into a large steel or glass bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tsp yeast ( no need to proof this starter yeast) and flour.  Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a tea towel.  Let stand at room temperature for 48 hours.  Stir occasionally; starter is ready when it smells slightly sour and looks curdled.  Starter amount is enough to make 2 large loaves.  When ready, cover starter with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, stirring occasionally, or divide into 2 portions, 1 to use now and another for the freezer.
3. To make loaf, proof 1 tbsp yeast by stirring sugar into water and sprinkling yeast overtop, then setting aside for 5 minutes.  Then stir to dissolve yeast completely.
4. Meanwhile stir about 1 cup starter (half of the original mixture) with salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached.  Stir in 1 cup of flour; then proofed yeast mixture.  Continue adding flour until dough is becoming hard to stir.  Then turn out onto a well floured work surface.  Or continue using stand mixer to knead dough.
5. Begin to knead dough, adding flour slowly as needed to have soft yet well formed dough, from 5 to 10 minutes.  All flour may not be needed.  Turn into a large, generously oiled bowl; turn dough ball in bowl so all is coated with oil.  Loosely cover with a piece of plastic wrap; let rise for 50 to 60 minutes or until doubled.  (If making to bake later, cover well and chill for up to a day.  While in the refrigerator, dough rises slowly; punch down occasionally.)
6. Preheat oven to 375 F
7. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface.  Lift outer edges into middle while pressing down to burst large bubbles.  Shape into a round ball.  Place smooth side up on parchment lined baking sheet.  Evenly press down until about 2 inches thick.  Or for 2 medium loaves divide dough in half and shape to fit 2 greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
8. Generously coat top with flour; loosely cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 30 to 40 minutes or until dough has doubled.  (Refrigerated dough takes approximately 1 1/2 hours to rise.)
9. Remove plastic wrap.  Using a serrated knife gently placed on top of loaf, draw knife at an angle along top to shallowly slice a pattern of 3 or 4 slashes.
10. Bake round or loaf pans in centre of preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until quite golden and smell of baking bread is very evident (love this smell). A tap on loaf bottom sounds hollow.  Cool on a rack without pan.  Bread is best on the day it is made.

Pizza Margherita with Arugula

I am really starting to enjoy Arugula, it has a slightly bitter, peppery taste that accents most meals very well.  I can sometimes have a hard time finding the Halloumi cheese where I live and have never seen Guernsey Girl cheese.  But the nice thing about this is you can experiment with something new that is in your area!  I really liked the crust for this - simple and quick!.  I use a pizza stone I got from Pampered chef years ago - it is invaluable and far superior to an inexpensive one I received.  I would say it is definitely worth investing in a good quality stone for this recipe.  From Food and Drink 2011

4 tsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, crushed with side of knife
1 can tomatoes, preferable San Marzano type
1 3/4 to 2 cups all purpose flour
1 envelope or 2 1/4 tsp instant or bread machine dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups very warm water
6 to 8 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
6 tbsp freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Halloumi or Guernsey Girl cheese
2 cups lightly packed baby arugula
Pinches of coarse salt

1. Combine oil and largely intact garlic in a small dish; set aside.  Place tomatoes in sieve over large bowl to catch juices.  Split open tomatoes to assist in draining; drain 15 to 30 minutes.  Then chop; also set aside.  (Juices can be frozen for use in a different recipe.)
2. To make dough, stir 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour with cake flour, yeast and salt in a mixer fitted with a dough hook; make a well in the centre.  Add water. (water should be very warm to the touch like bath water.) Mix on medium speed until all flour is incorporated into dough; add remaining flour as needed to have soft, slightly sticky dough.  Alternatively mix by hand.  Turn out on well floured surface.  Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Arrange 1 oven rack on the lowest level (or 1 above the lowest level if oven element is exposed).  Preheat to 450 F.  Meanwhile use nonstick oil spray to coat three pizza or baking pans large enough to fit pizza dimensions in step 4.
4. Divide dough into thirds.  Gently shape dough into a round or rectangle about half the size needed; place on pans.  Pat out each third into 11 inch rounds or 9x12 inch rectangles.  Form a small rim around edges.  (this pizza dough does not stretch well).
5. Dividing all toppings among 3 pizzas, scatter tomatoes over dough, avoiding rim.  Scatter basil, Parmesan and mozzarella over tomatoes.  Lightly scatter with Halloumi, including a bit on the rim.  Remove and discard garlic from oil.  Drizzle each pizza with about 1 tsp of garlicky oil.  
6. Immediately place pizza on lowest rack, baking in batches as needed.  Bake 10 minutes; use a spatula to turn up 1 corner of the dough to check for browning.  Continue baking for another few minutes as needed.  When nicely browned, slide pizza off pan and onto a cooling rack.  Scatter each with pinches of salt and about a third of the arugula.  Cut into wedges with scissors; serve immediately.

Braided Sweet Loaf

Well, I am trying to stay away from breads...but I haven't eliminated them completely.  For a treat - and to share with others here is a fantastic loaf.  It originally called for raisins...I prefer nuts, but you could use chocolate chips, dried fruit, or whatever you prefer.

4 cups unbleached bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 pkgs quick rise yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup toasted almonds

Glaze:
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp butter

1. Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. (I don't own one of these so I just mix by hand). Add milk, butter and eggs; beat well for 2 minutes.  Knead in almonds with your hands for about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic.
2. Cut dough into three equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a 14 inch long cylinder.  Squeeze ends of cylinders together and braid tightly.  Squeeze loose ends together and tuck under loaf.  Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cover loaf loosely and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in bulk.  Preheat the oven to 375F.
3. Bake for about 25 minutes in centre of preheated oven or until hollow sounding when tapped.  Let cool for 10 minutes.  Stir butter with corn syrup and brush evenly over warm loaf.  Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

One Dish Apple Streusel

Here is a great dessert for a snowy day

Batter

1 1/2 cups flour

2 envelopes Quick Rise Yeast (2 1/4 tsp each)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter melted

1/2 cup evaporated milk, very warm

1 egg

1/4 tsp almond extract

Apple Filling

1 can apple pie filling (540 ml)

Streusel Topping

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp butter, softened

1. Batter:  Mix batter ingredients together in a greased 8x8 baking dish.
2. Filling:  Top batter with apple pie filling
3. Topping:  In a separate small bowl, mix streusel topping ingredients with a fork until uniform in consistency.  Sprinkle topping over pie filling.
4. Bake by placing in a cold oven. Set temperature to 350F, baking for 30 minutes or until done.

Cranberry Focaccia

A sweet delicious bread - wonderful anytime!

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 envelope instant quick rise yeast

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 1/4 cups bread flour

1 cup dried cranberries

Topping

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup coarse sugar

1. Dough:  Combine warm water and sugar in a large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast over mixture.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in next 7 ingredients.  Add 2 1/2 cups flour, stirring to combine.  Stir in additional flour a bit at a time to make a soft dough.  Knead 10 minutes by hand on a lightly floured surface or 5 minutes in mixer on low speed.
3. Place dough in a lightly buttered or oiled large bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough on a lightly floured surface.  Knead in cranberries.  Shape into a flat round about 8 “ diameter.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. Topping:  Gently brush with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden.  Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Cheesy Breakfast Buns

A Great idea for brunch!

Buns

½ cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

2 envelopes instant quick rise yeast

1 ½ cups warm evaporated milk

¼ cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)

2 tsp kosher salt

5-6 cups bread flour

1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, cubed

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Glaze

1 egg beaten

½ cup cheddar cheese, grated

1. Combine warm water and sugar.  Add yeast and let stand until mixture bubbles up.
2. Combine milk, yeast mixture, oil and salt in large bowl.  Add flour to form a dough that is soft but not too sticky.  Knead 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in mixer on low speed.
3. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume; 1-1 ½ hours.
4. Punch down and knead in cubed and grated cheese.  Divide into 18 pieces.  Shape into rounds.  Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled; about 45 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375F.
6. Glaze:  Carefully brush rolls with egg.  Sprinkle with grated cheese.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes until well browned.  Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.