Crescent Rolls

Grandma always made homemade rolls for all our family celebrations.  I don't recall that we ever had anything other than homemade! When the time came that she was no longer able to do that activity, Mom took over the duty. It's amazing we had any rolls by dinner because she would be swarmed the minute she walked through the door, everyone wanting a freshly-made warm roll! But, there always seemed to be enough!

Mom now has health issues and is unable to bake anymore.  The baton has been passed to me. For Thanksgiving I was tasked with making pies and rolls for our family gathering.  I went looking for an easy recipe as I would be making them Thanksgiving morning, with not a lot of time to spare. Most of the kneading for these rolls is done in a stand mixer. Then it's a matter of letting the dough rise, shaping the rolls, and rising again.  I accomplished other chores while the rolls were rising.  The rolls were light, fluffy, and, oh, so, buttery. We had a large crowd for Thanksgiving so I made two batches of the rolls.  There were only 6 or so left after dinner.  This is a keeper recipe!  Mom loved them and Grandma would be proud!

Buttery Crescent Rolls

1 1/4 cup warm water
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons softened butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine water, yeast, 3 tablespoons softened butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour in bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix, using dough hook, until combined, on low speed.  Continue mixing about 5 minutes, gradually adding in the last 1 1/2 cups of flour. (Dough should pull away from side of bowl). Turn  dough out onto floured surface and knead 4-5 times and patting into a ball shape. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise 60-90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Divide dough into two pieces.  On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece into a 12-inch circle.  Spread 1/4 cup softened butter on the circle.  Slice each circle into 12 triangles (I used a pizza cutter).  Roll each triangle up from the outside edge, forming a crescent shape, slightly curving the ends toward the middle. Place on a parchment-lined or greased 12x17-inch cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). Cover with kitchen towel and let rise again for about 45 minutes, until puffed and light.  Repeat with remaining dough ball.

While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden brown. Brush melted butter on tops of rolls.

Recipe adapted from Its Always Autumn.

Hummingbird Bread

I don't know why, but ripened bananas always brings out the frugality in me.  I have this urge to save them, to bake with them.  I hate to throw away bananas!  My Hubbers and son love banana bread so I make it quite often.  It freezes well, too, so I usually have a loaf in the freezer.  But I get tired of baking the same ole thing. Every now and then I have to mix things up! This hummingbird bread is just a little variation from regular banana bread.  The addition of crushed pineapple and coconut gives it more of a tropical vibe. In fact, many breads called Hawaiian bread or tropical bread are basically this same recipe.

Hummingbird Cake is a classic southern cake.  I have no idea why it's called what it is but as a lover of hummingbirds, I approve of the name!  The cake recipe is Southern Living magazine's most requested recipe of all time; it's that popular.  I've made the cake a time or two; it's a 2-layer cake filled and topped with cream cheese frosting.  It takes an army to eat all of it!  The same ingredients, made into a loaf bread, is a little more manageable!  Of course, you can't omit the cream cheese frosting.  I swear that stuff makes anything taste good! I took this bread to the office and we all enjoyed it with our morning coffee and tea.

Hummingbird Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 3-4 medium bananas)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 oz. can crushed pineapple (with juice)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chopped pecans for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour (I use baking spray) a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Add to the butter mixture, stir until just combined.

Add in the pineapple, coconut and pecans; mix until combined.  Add mashed bananas and mix until combined.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake tester or skewer comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.  Add in vanilla extract and mix again.  Add in powdered sugar and mix until well combined. 

Spread frosting over cooled bread and sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

I use an old-fashioned potato masher to mash my bananas!

English Muffin Bread

July has been a whirlwind! As a result, my little blog got neglected.  I've been cooking and baking, doing some of my crafting; just not taking photos or chronicling my adventures. July started with a bang when my Hubbers had a series of small strokes.  A trip to the ER and a week in the hospital with many follow-up visits to physicians made the first few weeks of the month fly by.  Thankfully, he is recovering nicely and should have no lasting effects from the stroke. The last two weeks of the month found us at the drag strip, pursuing my family's passion.  We lived out of our motorhome at the track.  I managed to make three meals a day, for 5-6 people, out of the teeny-tiny kitchen.  I must admit to being relieved that we are home again where I have much more room to play!

One morning in the RV, I was making breakfast for my troops.  Part of the meal was English muffins.  As I was toasting them I remembered that I used to make an English muffin bread. The recipe comes from a Fleischmann's Yeast cookbook that I've probably had for 40 years. It's an easy yeast bread to make, with no kneading required and only one rise.  It makes a wonderful bread, every bit as good as an English muffin, including all the nooks and crannies for the butter to melt into. I don't know why it's been years since I've baked some! It makes two loaves and freezes nicely. A few slices popped in the toaster makes for a great morning snack!

 

 

English Muffin Bread

2 packages active dry yeast
6 cups unsifted flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
Corn meal

Combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and soda in a large bowl.  Heat liquids until very warm (120-130 degrees).  Add to dry mixture; beat well.  Stir in rest of flour to make a stiff batter.  Spoon into two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with corn meal.  Sprinkle tops with corn meal. Cover; let rise in warm place for 45 minutes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  Remove from pans immediately and cool.

Pane Bianco

I love sun-dried tomatoes and use them a lot in recipes.  This bread recipe is filled with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and shredded cheese.  It is a very flavorful addition to an Italian-style meal.  I especially enjoyed it the next day, toasted, for my BLT sandwich. Don't let the shaping instructions intimidate you, the dough is very easy to work with and, when done, you have a uniquely-shaped loaf of bread. For full disclosure, I did cut the dough wrong, I cut the loaf crosswise instead of lengthwise.  It still made for a nice presentation. 

Pane Bianco

3 cups bread flour
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/3 cup lukewarm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup shredded Italian-blend cheese or the cheese of your choice
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Combine the flour, yeast, salt, egg, milk, water, and olive oil in a large bowl (or in the bucket of your bread machine), and mix and knead, either by hand, using a mixer, or in your bread machine set on the dough cycle, to make a smooth, very soft dough.  The dough should stick a bit to the bottom of your bowl if you're using a stand mixer. (I mixed mine in my bread machine).

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until it's doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, thoroughly drain the tomatoes, patting them dry. Use kitchen shears to cut them into smaller bits.

Gently deflate the dough.  Flatten and pat it into a 22 x 8 1/2-inch rectangle.  Evenly spread the cheese, tomatoes, garlic, and basil over the dough.

Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a log the long way. Pinch the edges to seal.

Place the log seam-side down on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Using kitchen shears, start 1/2 inch from one end and cut the log lengthwise down the center about 1-inch deep, to within 1/2 inch of the other end.

Keeping the cut side up, form an "S" shape. Tuck both ends under the center of the "S" to form a "figure 8", pinch the ends together to seal.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, 45 to 60 minutes.

While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Uncover the bread and bake it for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it with foil after 20 to 25 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.  Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Store, well-wrapped, at room temperature for a couple of days.

Recipe source:  Red Star Yeast

Perhaps I should hone my reading comprehension skills.  The recipe clearly says to make a lengthwise cut, I cut crosswise! Oh, well, it still tasted great!

No-Knead Crusty Bread

A few years back a cookbook came out called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I bought it and tried the bread, with great results.  It involved making a quick yeast dough by stirring the ingredients together, leaving it out on the counter for a few days, then refrigerating.  Whenever you wanted to make a loaf of bread, rolls, or pizza, you cut off a chunk of dough and baked (usually on a hot pizza stone). There was no kneading involved. It was great bread.  However, it made a lot of dough, and took up a lot of room in the fridge. If I was super busy and didn't make bread on a frequent basis, it would spoil.

As the bread was very good, I was intrigued when I saw recipes to make one loaf at a time in a Dutch Oven. This past weekend I decided to try it.  We were in our RV at the racetrack so I made sure to pack a 3.5 qt. Dutch Oven. I mixed the dough on Friday night, Saturday night I shaped it into a ball and baked it. It was one of the best breads I've ever eaten! It has a crusty and chewy texture to it, very similar to a loaf of sourdough bread. We devoured half the loaf with our tri tip dinner then I sliced the rest for toast in the morning.  It could not have been easier to make. I will make this bread again and again.

No-Knead Crusty Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water, room temperature

In a big bowl, mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Pour the water into the bowl and, using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix it until well incorporated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter for 12 to 18 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Add your Dutch Oven pot to the oven as it's heating and heat it as well until it's at 450 degrees.

Remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid from it. If you want to make sure your bread doesn't stick to the pot you can sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the pot.

Flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball.  Take the ball of dough and drop it into the pot.  Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, after which remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the bread from the pot, it should fall out easily.  Let cool before slicing it.

Notes:

A small (3.5 qt.) Dutch Oven is better so that the bread rises upwards.  Larger Dutch Ovens will cause the bread to spread out over the surface of the pot.

If the dough mixture is too dry, add a bit more water.  The dough should be sticky.

To add other ingredients to the bread such as dried fruit, seeds, herbs or cheeses, add them when mixing in all the ingredients.

 

After sitting for 12 to 18 hours, the dough is very spongy and sticky, very similar to a sourdough starter.

 

Banana Nut Bread

My Hubbers and I are big banana eaters; there are always some in the house.  Though we eat a lot of them, inevitably we will have some that get too ripe to eat.  Like most bakers, when that happens, I usually make a loaf of banana nut bread.  It's easy, everyone enjoys it, and a loaf is easy to freeze for later use. My go-to recipe comes from an old Betty Crocker cookbook.  It's got both butter and buttermilk so it's very rich and moist. Nuts are optional, but we like them in our banana bread.  We have clients who gift us some of their walnut crop each year so I always have Ziploc bags of walnuts in my freezer. Pecans are good, also.

Buttermilk and I have a love-hate relationship in my kitchen.  I will buy some for a baked good recipe then won't plan properly for other baked goods and it languishes in my refrigerator until I throw it out.  Or I will want to bake something that has buttermilk in it and, alas, there is none in my fridge!  But, there is a cure for that!  It is very easy to make buttermilk at home.  Combine milk and some vinegar, let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and you get a buttermilk substitute.  It is not as thick as regular buttermilk but it's good enough for baking.  Whenever you see buttermilk in a recipe, it's there to act as the acid in the recipe.  When the acid in the buttermilk interacts with the baking soda it leavens the batter, allowing it to rise without yeast, and making the baked goods light and fluffy. So use this buttermilk substitute, no one will know, it's our secret!

Buttermilk Substitute

Combine 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar.  Let sit for 10 minutes, so the milk has the chance to thicken and curdle.

Banana Nut Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Move oven rack to low position so that the top of the pan will be in the center of the oven.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.

Mix sugar and butter in a large bowl.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened.  Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.

Bake about 75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.  Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan and place top side up on a wire rack.  Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing.



Buttermilk

Combine 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar.  Let sit for 10 minutes, so the milk has the chance to thicken and curdle.

Caribbean Corn Bread

About 15 years ago, I read the book, A Trip to the Beach, by Robert & Melinda Blanchard. It's the story of how a couple uprooted themselves from their long-time home in Vermont to the Caribbean island of Anguilla where they opened a restaurant called Blanchard's Restaurant.  It was a great read and I was delighted when they came out with a cookbook a few years later. I've since pared down my once-substantial cookbook collection, but this is one of the books I deemed good enough to keep. The recipes are casual, meant for home cooks, and incorporate recipes from their New England roots, as well as Caribbean influenced ones.

Recently I grabbed the cookbook off my bookshelf and browsed through it (going through old cookbooks is like visiting a long-lost friend!)  I was reminded that there were some recipes I had made and enjoyed, as well as some I would like to try. One recipe I've made numerous times is their Caribbean cornbread. It's not your normal kind of cornbread.  It's moist and rich, with kernels of corn, Monterey Jack cheese and bits of crushed pineapple.  It was a great accompaniment to the smoked pork ribs my son made for dinner.

Caribbean Corn Bread

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can cream-style corn
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9-inch square glass cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  While the mixer is running, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the corn, pineapple, and cheese, and mix to blend.  On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until blended well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a tester (or skewer) inserted in the center comes out clean, about on hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.  Do not undercook the cornbread.  It should be golden brown on top when done.

Caramel Pear Bread

I love baking (and eating!) bread, all kinds.  Bread is one of my major weaknesses.  Making a yeast bread can be very therapeutic and relaxing. Surely, the kneading of it is a great way to relieve stress and anger! But making yeast breads takes time, often many hours, as you wait for the dough to rise. My schedule doesn't allow that on a regular basis.  Non-yeast breads, or quick breads, is a great alternative.  Like their name implies, they are quick to make.  Usually it is just throwing the ingredients in a mixing bowl, mixing it up, putting the batter in a loaf pan and baking. Because they are so easy to make, they are great to share with neighbors, family and friends. I often bake a loaf to take to the office. I especially love to have a quick bread in the morning, with a cup of tea or latte.  Banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread are all so yummy!

I had a few pears languishing in my produce drawer so decided to make a bread with them.  I am getting a little tired of things with cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin spice, etc. so went online looking for something a little more basic.  I ran across this apple praline bread and decided to put a pear twist on it. I knew I would not make the praline topping, I'm not a big praline candy fan anyway, but it just looked too rich for me.  Instead, I drizzled some caramel sauce over it. The bread itself isn't real sweet so the caramel gave it just a little extra "oomph" of sweetness.  I also didn't add as much nuts to the top of the bread, sprinkling it with about 1/3 cup (give or take a little, who measures this stuff?) The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups apples, I had two large pears, so went with that.  I find that pears bake up much moister than apples do. I was happy with the dough to fruit ratio, I think another pear would've made the bread too mushy (don't you love my technical baking terms?) I also toasted all the pecans, I think it brings out more of the nutty flavor.

We really enjoyed this pear bread. Every bite had a little taste of vanilla-spiced batter, pear and pecans. I took half of it to my parents' house and it got good reviews there, too.

Caramel Pear Bread

1 cup chopped pecans
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled pears
Caramel sauce (I used Fran's)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray (or grease and flour it).

Spread pecans in a small skillet, over low heat. Toast, stirring occasionally, until light brown.

In medium bowl, beat sour cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed 2 minutes. Beat in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until blended. Stir in pears and 2/3 cup of the toasted pecans. Spoon batter into pan.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup toasted pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, covering with foil during last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning, if necessary.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack.

Spoon caramel sauce over top of bread. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

Apple Butter Bread

I make apple butter every fall (recipe here).  It's probably my favorite toast topping.  Like most jams and jellies, apple butter can also be used for baking and cooking. Today it goes in this tender and moist bread, with all the spicy flavors we come to expect in the fall.  It's wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee.

I used a simple confectioners' sugar glaze for this, adding some cinnamon for more spice.  Apple cider or juice can also be substituted for the milk to get more apple flavor.

Apple Butter Bread

Makes 1 9x5-inch loaf

For the bread:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon apple pie spice (see note below)
3/4 cup apple butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired

For the glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom and sides of loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and apple pie spice; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the apple butter, brown sugar, milk, oil vanilla and eggs (one at a time). Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk.  The mixture should be somewhat thick but pourable.  Slowly add more milk, if needed. Pour the glaze over the top of the loaf and let it drip down the sides.  Let the glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Recipe notes: To substitute for the apple pie spice use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/8 teaspoon allspice.  Or make homemade version (recipe here).

A Pumpkin Pot and Pumpkin Rolls!

Belonging to a food board community can be both dangerous and good.  Foodies tend to be on top of the newest dishes, cooking utensils and, of course, great recipes.  It takes restraint to not buy everything that is being brought to our attention. Sometimes, however, a girl just can't resist.  Such was the case with this Staub pumpkin pot.  Becky (who passed away a few years ago, much too young) is the one who first found this pot and informed the rest of us.  Little by little, many of us got one. Sadly, I admit I caved right away.  Is it possible to love a pot?  Because I'm very fond of this one!  Every October it comes out of the upper storage cabinet and takes center position on my cooktop.  All through fall I use it for soups, stews and other braised dishes. Though it wasn't inexpensive, it's very heavy and well-made, this pot will outlast me.  It may be the only inheritance my kids get! 

On this evening the pot held Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup. To serve with the soup I made a batch of pumpkin rolls. 

I first spotted this bread recipe on Pinterest last year and pinned it to one of my boards. I thought they were so cute! Like many of my pins on Pinterest I forgot about it.  A food board friend, Martha, made these a few weeks back and I was reminded of the recipe. She gave it rave reviews so I knew I had to make them.  We loved them.  They have a slight pumpkin flavor, not overpowering, kind of sweet.  They were excellent with the soup and would be a wonderful accompaniment to any fall dinner.  They can be served with cinnamon butter, it takes the rolls from ordinary to over-the-top.

To give credit to the original poster of this recipe I direct you to the recipe here.  Her pictures of the various recipe steps are very helpful.

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