Homemade Bread!

I absolutely love homemade bread. What's not to love? It makes the house or apartment smell wonderful, tastes great, and is fun to make. Here's to more bread recipes. Enjoy!

MAGIC CATERPILLAR PEANUT BUTTER BREAD

Years ago, I got hooked on Breaking Bread with Father Dominic on (if I remember correctly) the Food Network. Unfortunately, the show has since left the air, at least where I live, although the episodes can still be found here. Check out his website, The Bread Monk, at http://www.breadmonk.com/. This recipe yields 1 loaf.

Ingredients:

1 package FLEISCHMANN'S Active Dry Yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup milk

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

For decoration: tubes of colored frosting, candies, gumdrops, licorice, etc.

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl; stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes, or until foamy.

Combine milk, peanut butter, sugar and salt in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth. Let cool to lukewarm, then add to yeast mixture. Stir in flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until flour is thoroughly incorporated.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead 5 minutes, adding small amounts of the remaining flour as needed to keep dough manageable. Rinse and dry bowl, then lightly oil surface of dough and place dough in bowl. Cover with a dry cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Knead briefly to expel large air bubbles. Roll dough into a rope about 24 inches long. Form rope into a large S shape on a lightly greased 18x12-inch baking sheet. Using a butter knife or dough scraper, chop rope into 3-inch sections, but do not separate completely. Cover with a cloth and let rise about 30 minutes. (The caterpillar will magically grow back together during rising and baking.)

About 15 minutes before end of rising time, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake loaf 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet 15 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Decorate cooled loaf with frosting and gumdrops or other candy. Poke holes in the sides with a wooden pick and insert sections of licorice for legs.

Note: Decorating gel doesn't work as well as frosting as a glue for the candy decorations, so make sure you pick up the right tube at the store. Any candies will work to make spots for the caterpillar's sections. Thin red licorice makes the perfect legs and antennae, unless you know your youngsters prefer the flavor of black licorice.

OLD-FASHIONED BUTTERMILK BISCUITS 
WITH FRESH PRESERVES

This comes from Seattle's Macrina Bakery. The recipe states, “You can't go wrong with these biscuits. They're terrific straight from the oven, and they also freeze incredibly well. For a fast breakfast treat, pop a frozen biscuit in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for ten to fifteen minutes.” It makes 6 biscuits.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons warm water

1 teaspoon dried yeast 3 cups Pastry Flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup vegetable shortening,
cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup buttermilk

Egg wash made with 1 egg
and 1 teaspoon water
Coarse raw sugar

1/2 cup fresh preserves

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Mix with a whisk to dissolve yeast, then let sit for 5 minutes while yeast blooms.

Sift flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Toss with your hands to combine. Drop pieces of shortening into bowl. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in shortening until it’s evenly distributed and the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Add the yeast water and buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon just until dough comes together. Take care not to overmix.

Coat your hands with flour and pull dough from bowl onto a floured work surface. Pat dough into a rectangle, approximately 9 x 5 inches, positioning dough so that a long side is facing you. The dough will be sticky at first, so keep flouring your hands and the work surface as needed. To achieve the flaky, layered texture of these biscuits, it’s important to give the dough a series of tri-folds: Fold the dough into thirds, as you would a letter, folding the left third over the center third first and then folding the right third on top. Sprinkle the work surface with a little more flour and flatten the folded dough into another 9 x 5-inch rectangle. Follow the same folding and flattening procedure 2 more times (for a total of 3 tri-folds), ending with a rectangle 3/4 to 1 inch thick.

Cut dough into 6 equal (2-1/2 x 3-inch) rectangles and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush biscuits with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse raw sugar. Bake on center rack of oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bottom. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then dent the top of each biscuit with a spoon. Top with heaping dollops of your favorite preserves.

SPICY RAISIN WHOLE WHEAT BREAD WITH COCONUT OIL

Elizabeth Yetter, About.com's Bread Baking guide, writes, “Coconut oil is a great alternative to butter, margarine, and shortening. It also gives a gentle coconut flavor to breads.” Yields 1 loaf; Prep Time: 2 hours; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 tsp active dry yeast

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup coconut

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup raisins

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour, about

Preparation:

In medium bowl, mix buttermilk and yeast. Add egg, coconut oil, brown sugar, and salt. Stir. Mix in cinnamon, raisins, and whole wheat flour. Add 1 cup of bread flour and mix well. Slowly add in remaining bread flour, enough flour to make a dough that follows the spoon around the bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is soft and smooth to the touch. Place dough in medium greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead for 4 minutes or until the bubbles are out of the bread. Shape dough into small round loaf. Place on greased baking sheet or small pizza pan. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake loaf at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Remove loaf from sheet and let cool on rack.

HONEY MOLASSES RAISIN WHEAT BREAD

Another offering from About.com's Elizabeth Yetter, who writes, “Molasses has a very potent flavor, but when added to bread dough, it makes the bread absolutely delicious.” Yields 1 loaf; Prep Time: 2 hours; Cook Time: 35 minutes; Total Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water, room temperature

2-1/4 tsp (1 packet or .25 ounces) active dry yeast

1 cup milk, room temperature

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp soft butter or margarine

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup shredded wheat, crumbled

3 cups bread flour, about

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, mix water and yeast. Add milk, honey, molasses, butter, and salt. Stir. Mix in shredded wheat. Add 2 cups of bread flour and mix well. Slowly add in remaining flour, enough flour to make a dough that follows the spoon around the bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is soft and smooth to the touch. Place dough in large greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Punch down dough.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead for 4 minutes or until the bubbles are out of the bread. Shape dough into a loaf of bread. Set into greased 8 x 4-inch bread pan. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.


Bake loaf at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on rack.

LOW FAT PUMPKIN CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Fiona Haynes, About.com's Low Fat Cooking guide, writes, “Not too sweet, these delicious pumpkin and cranberry muffins would make a great snack or brunch offering. They're best served warm, and they also freeze well.”

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Combine pumpkin, beaten egg, oil and milk in a medium bowl. Make a well in dry ingredients; add pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in chopped cranberries. Fill muffin cups and bake for 22-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Per Muffin: Calories 193, Calories from Fat 48, Total Fat 5.2g (sat 0.4g), Cholesterol 18mg, Sodium 171mg, Carbohydrate 32.6, Fiber 1.7g, Protein 3.6g

CRANBERRY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

I have no idea where this recipe came from, other than some long-forgotten emailing list.

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

2 teaspoons sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line cups with paper muffin cups.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt in medium mixing bowl. Combine egg, milk and oil in small bowl. Add liquid to dry ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently stir in blueberries and cranberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle muffins with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.

Bake in 400°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove muffins from pan; cool on wire rack. Serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins. Labels: