Stollen with Rosa

In the early 80's my husband made the acquaintance of a German woman, Rosa, who lived in his apartment complex.  Rosa was a WWII bride, coming to America in her early 20's. (Oh, the stories she tells of war time, especially of her father who went away to serve and was one of the missing, never to return home). She soon found herself with a husband who was abusive and 5 young children to raise. After 25 years she left the husband and was on her own, with little job-ready skills.  But a hard worker she was, as well as a wonderful seamstress.  She sewed and did alternations for people and house cleaning. In 1990, with a full-time job and two children under the age of 5, keeping my house in the shape I wanted it to be was becoming a problem.  We hired Rosa as our housekeeper.  She worked for us for almost 20 years and, during that time, became family to us. She would show up early on the days she had set aside for us, just so we could visit. She has attended our family birthday parties, weddings, and shared in so many of our family's up and downs.  We all have a soft spot in our hearts for her.

Rosa will be 84 in February, not as spry as she once was, but still a busy and industrious woman.  She lives about 20 miles away so we don't see her as frequently as we once did.  I always make a point to see her sometime during the holidays.  She usually makes us something to nibble on, we drink tea or coffee and catch up.  For years she has made me a loaf of German stollen bread, a slightly sweet bread filled with candied fruits, nuts and lemon zest.  This year she asked when I could come by for lunch and to get my stollen.  I replied that I wanted her to show me how she makes it instead.  We set up a time and we recently got together for our lunch and my baking lesson. It was a fun day.  I came home with a loaf of still-warm stollen (I couldn't resist and ate some in the car as I drove down the freeway!) and the recipe. Most importantly, I came home with memories of a day spent with a sweet woman.

Except for the fruit added, the stollen dough is actually quite low in sugar.  The finished bread is sprinkled with confectioners' sugar or drizzled with a glaze.  Rosa is not a fan of real sweet things so she usually just slathers the bread in butter as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Citron, a dried lemon, is not easy to find here and is pricey so we didn't put that in the stollen this time.  Instead we added more lemon zest to the dough. Orange zest can be substituted for the lemon. It's a versatile dough, you can add or subtract the sweet ingredients that are available. This recipe calls for the dough to be refrigerated overnight. Rosa no longer does that, she completes the stollen in one baking session.  Either way works!  Stollen is most commonly considered a Christmas bread, similar to panettone.  I like it any time of year.  It makes a big loaf; I usually cut mine in sections and place in freezer bags.  During tax season, as now, a slice or two of stollen with my morning coffee is a nice treat!

Stollen

1 package active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk (reserve white)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds
1/4 cup cut-up citron
1/4 cup cut-up candied cherries, if desired
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

In mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water.  Add sugar, salt, eggs, egg yolk, butter and half of the flour.  Beat 10 minutes on medium speed or by hand. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently. With a spoon blend in remaining flour, nuts, fruits and rind. Scrape batter from sides of bowl. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.  Stir down batter by beating 25 strokes. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator overnight.

Turn dough onto well-floured surface; turn to coat with flour.  Press into an oval, about 12/8".  Spread with soft butter.  Fold in two the long way.  Press only folded edge firmly. Place on greased baking sheet.  Brush with mixture of 1 slightly beaten egg white and 1 tablespoon water.  Let rise until double, 45 to 60 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Frost while warm with the white icing or dust top of stollen with confectioners sugar.

White Icing:
Mix 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoon milk with a fork or whisk, until smooth. Decorate, as desired, with pieces of citron and candied cherry halves.

Cranberry-Walnut Rolls

Prior to the advent of  the Internet with blogs, Pinterest, Instagram, even Facebook, I subscribed to many cooking magazines or bought cookbooks for new recipe inspiration.  I would cut out recipes and articles that interested me and save them in folders, by category, such as main dishes, desserts, etc.   Now it seems I "save" most of my recipes to my various Pinterest folders.  A month or so ago, I grabbed out my old-fashioned paper folders and was browsing through them.  I ran across this roll recipe from Bon Appetit magazine from November 2009.  I'm not sure why it has taken me nine years to make them as they are amazing!  They are the perfect roll for fall and Thanksgiving cooking.

These rolls were easy to make.  Like all yeast breads, time is the major factor in making them. My bread baking is usually confined to Sundays, that seems to be the calmest day of the week for me! While the dough is rising I can do chores, craft, and watch football.

The original recipe calls for brushing the unbaked rolls with an egg wash and raw sugar.  I had no raw sugar in the house.  After making them I don't think I will add the sugar the next time. They were wonderful, as is!

Cranberry-Walnut Rolls

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 1/2 cups (or more) bread flour
1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons quick-rising dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus additional for coating the bowl
1 large egg
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 large egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)
Raw sugar (turbinado or demerara)

Stir nuts in dry skillet over medium heat until toasted, about 5 minutes. Cool.

Mix 3 1/2 cups bread flour, brown sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Warm the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until instant-read thermometer inserted in milk registers 95 degrees Farenheit. Add oil; remove from heat. Add the milk mixture and the egg to the flour mixture. Mix on low speed until a wet coarse ball forms, about 1 minute. Add nuts and cranberries. Replace paddle attachment on mixer with the dough hook.  Mix dough on low speed until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if needed, about 4 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead two minutes

Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape dough into ball; place in prepared bowl, turning to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap; let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, 1 3/4 to 2 hours.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer dough to an unfloured surface; divide into 12 equal pieces. Using cupped hand, roll and rotate 1 dough piece into a smooth round ball. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Transfer rolls to prepared baking sheet, spacing apart. Spray rolls with nonstick spray.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until 1 1/2 times original size, about 1 1/2 hours. Brush rolls with egg glaze; sprinkle with raw sugar. Let rise 15 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425 degrees.

Place rolls in oven; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake 7 minutes. Rotate baking sheet; bake rolls until golden and slightly firm to touch, about 8 minutes longer. Cool completely on rack.

DO AHEAD: Wrap baked rolls in foil, then enclose in resealable freezer plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw rolls at room temperature. If desired, rewarm rolls wrapped in foil in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Apricot Sweet Buns

I periodically buy a magazine called Bake From Scratch and subscribe to their Instagram feed. The pictures of their baked goods always has me drooling and I bookmark all the things I want to try.  Then, life gets in the way, and all the things I want to bake don't get baked!  Such is the case with these sweet buns.  They were featured in their magazine earlier in the year and I saved the article. Every now and then I would come across it and think I need to make them. Then I would forget (is that busy or age-related memory issues?) This last week they posted a picture on Instagram and I decided right then and there that I was going to get these made! I'm so glad I did.  As I tell my almost-four year old grandson when we eat something good, these were "yummy, yummy in my tummy!"  They weren't overly sweet but the dough had a wonderful flavor due to the addition of almond extract (love the stuff).  The tanginess of the apricots balances the sweetness of the dough. They were heavenly warm.  I shared the leftovers a few hours later at my granddaughter's soccer game and they were still good.

Don't let the length of the recipe intimidate you.  It is easily broken down into parts, as your time allows.  The apricot filling can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a week. I made the dough and assembled the buns one night while dinner was cooking, then refrigerated them.  The next morning I set them out for their final rise and baked them.  By 9 a.m. we were eating warm buns and enjoying our morning coffee!

The recipe calls for a brown sugar glaze, with the added flavor of vanilla. At first I was going to make a simple confectioners' sugar glaze for them, but decided to stay true to the recipe. The glaze added just enough sweetness, I think the confectioners' sugar glaze would have made them too sweet.

I was raised in California's apricot country. This recipe calls for dried apricots in the filling. Please, please use California dried apricots. They are so much more flavorful than their foreign counterpart and you are helping a California farmer!

Apricot Sweet Buns

1 cup warm whole milk (105 to 110 degrees), divided
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Apricot-Almond Filling (recipe follows)
Brown Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)

In a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup  warm milk and yeast. Let stand until mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together sugar, melted butter, sour cream, egg, almond extract, and remaining ¼ cup  warm milk.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together 3⅔ cups flour and salt. Stir half of flour mixture into sugar mixture. With mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture, beating just until combined. Beat in remaining flour mixture. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Add remaining ⅓ cup  flour, if needed (dough should not be sticky). Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Loosely cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

 

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

 

Lightly punch down dough. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a 21x13-inch rectangle. Spread Apricot-Almond Filling onto dough. Fold dough in thirds, like a letter, creating a 13x7-inch rectangle. Roll dough into a 13x8-inch rectangle. Cut ½ inch off each short end of rectangle. Cut dough into 12 (1-inch) strips. Twist each strip, and tie in a knot, tucking ends under. Place on prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place  until puffed, about 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

 

Bake buns, one batch at a time, until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes, covering with foil halfway through baking to prevent excess browning. Brush buns with Brown Sugar Glaze. Let cool on pans for 10 minutes. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 12 buns.

 

Apricot-Almond Filling

Makes about 1½ cups

 

1 cup  dried apricots

⅓ cup  granulated sugar

1 tablespoon  unsalted butter, cubed

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup  sliced almonds

 

In a small saucepan, bring apricots and enough water to cover by 1 inch to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cook until apricots are softened, about 20 minutes. Drain apricots, reserving 2 tablespoons cooking liquid.

 

In the work bowl of a food processor, place warm apricots, reserved 2 tablespoons cooking liquid, sugar, butter, and cinnamon; pulse until mixture has the texture of jam. Stir in almonds; let cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

 

Brown Sugar Glaze

 

 

¼ cup (60 grams) water

¼ cup (55 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

 

In a small saucepan, bring ¼ cup water, brown sugar, and vanilla bean and reserved seeds to a boil over medium heat. Remove vanilla bean, and let cool completely. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

 

The apricot filling spread over the yeast dough.

Fold over into an envelope shape and roll out.



Ready for their final rise. At this point, I covered them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated them overnight.



 

Raspberry Orange Rolls

My son and daughter-in-love got me a new baking pan for Christmas. (If my son is anything like his father, he probably didn't know what he gifted me until I opened the package!) We all know I love cute baking pans and this pan is just adorable.  It came with a small spatula that says "bake it off". 

Well, of course getting this pan meant I had to  make some rolls! I had just made cinnamon rolls a few days earlier so wanted to do something different. I love, love, love any kind of berry so knew I had to try these raspberry rolls.  The addition of orange zest in the raspberry filling was just the right flavor combination.  I shared a pan of these rolls with my next-door neighbors and they got rave reviews.

I used frozen raspberries for two reasons.  One, it's not berry season and the ones in the produce section just didn't appeal to me.  Secondly, the frozen raspberries seem to hold their shape a little better, they don't get as mushy when baked. Either will work fine!

As with most breakfast yeast dough that I make, I assembled these rolls the night before and baked them the next morning. I prepared the dough and placed the sliced rolls in the pans. I wrapped them tightly with plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator overnight.  In the morning I set out the dough to warm and rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes before baking. This method works so well for me, I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to have fresh homemade rolls!

I make most of my yeast dough in my Kitchenaid mixer, taking advantage of letting the dough hook do all the kneading for me.  If you don't have a big mixer, these rolls are very easy to make by hand.  Just knead them until you have a smooth dough that springs back when touched.

Raspberry Orange Rolls

Dough
1 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup  butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Raspberry Filling
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
10 ounces frozen raspberries

Glaze
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice (or more to get good consistency)

For the dough, place lukewarm milk, melted butter, yeast, egg, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk until combined. Attach the dough hook, add the flour, and knead on low speed about 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. (Alternatively, add flour and stir until the mixture begins to form a dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes).

Form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12 x 15-inch rectangle. Spread 2 tablespoons softened butter over dough.

For the filling, mix together the sugar and orange zest until fragrant ( I squish it together with my fingers). Mix in the cornstarch. Gently stir in the frozen raspberries.  Sprinkle raspberry mixture uniformly on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Starting lengthwise, roll the dough into a log shape. Trim off the ends and slice the roll into 12 evenly sized pieces. Place rolls into a buttered 9 x 13-inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

To make the glaze, whisk together confectioners sugar and orange juice in a small bowl.  Add more orange juice, if necessary, to get a glaze consistency. Spread baked rolls with glaze using an off-set spatula while they are still warm.

---

 

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.

 

Orange Crescent Rolls

These little crescent-shaped rolls are a great morning coffee break treat.  They aren't as sweet and gooey as a cinnamon roll but pack a lot of orange flavor. The glaze is especially good; sour cream isn't a normal glaze ingredient but it adds a lot of richness to the glaze. One of my food board friends makes these every year for her family's Christmas brunch.  She got the recipe years ago from a neighbor.  They call it orange coffee cake, I'm not sure why as the rolls don't resemble any coffee cake I've ever had. Nonetheless, they are fabulous!

Whenever I make a yeast breakfast dough I always try to make the dough the night before.  I like my sleep and getting up 2-3 hours early to get dough rising isn't my idea of a fun time. Instead I make the dough the night before.  I do all the steps until the final rise, at that point I put the yeast dough in the refrigerator.  Even though the fridge is cool, the yeast dough will do a slow rise.  In the morning I take it out and let it come to room temp, usually a half hour to 45 minutes, and the dough continues to rise.  There is no compromise in the dough and it's definitely a time saver.

After the first rise, the dough is rolled out into a circle and spread with melted butter and a sugar-orange rind-coconut mixture.  The dough is cut into triangles and each one rolled into a crescent shape. They are very easy to do!

My two pans of orange rolls went to the office.  I took one in my car and my husband took the other. We both laughed at the fact that we each had two rolls missing by the time we got to the office.  The smell was too intoxicating and we couldn't resist eating a few on our trip! They disappear fast!

 Orange Crescent Rolls

I package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup coconut, toasted **
2 tablespoons grated orange rind


In large mixing bowl, combine yeast and warm water, until starting to soften and bubble, about 5 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the sugar, salt, eggs, sour cream, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.  At medium speed, gradually add flour to form a stiff dough, beating well. Cover and let rise in warm place until light and doubled, about 2 hours.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cup toasted coconut, and orange rind.  

Knead dough on well-floured surface 15-20 times.  Roll out one-half the dough to a 12-inch circle.  Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter and sprinkle with one-half of the sugar mixture. Cut the circle into 12 wedges.  Roll up, starting with the wide end.  Place rolls, point side down, in a buttered 9x13-inch pan, forming 3 rows.  Repeat with remaining dough.

Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). (Or refrigerate overnight and let come to room temperature).

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.  Leave rolls in pan and pour glaze over hot rolls.  Sprinkle with remaining coconut.

Glaze:

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup butter

In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil, over medium heat, for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

** To toast coconut, spread coconut evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees, stirring frequently, until lightly golden.  Be careful, as it burns easily!

Boysenberry Jam Sweet Rolls

I live in the middle of California farm country.  Between the local Farmers' Markets, farm stands, friends, and family, I have access to all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Boysenberries are rather hard to find in this area, however. The only source I know of is a fruit stand that grows their own.  When the announcement comes out that they are picking, I waste no time in getting there.  The harvest season is short and the demand high!  This year I got 2 flats of the yummy berries. I froze some for another day, baked a pie, and made a batch of jam.

Jam isn't just for toast or biscuits.  Jam can be incorporated in cakes and cookies.  I have a few BBQ sauce recipes that have jam in them. My office manager told me she had a craving for a berry dessert so I promised to make something.  It was a work night so I turned to my go-to cinnamon roll recipe, made in a bread machine.  Instead of cinnamon and brown sugar, I spread a layer of boysenberry jam over the dough before rolling. I refrigerated the rolls overnight, baked in the morning, topped with a quick powdered-sugar glaze, and walked into work with a still-warm pan of berry rolls. They were well received!

I like to make yeast dough but it is time consuming.  When I don't have the time to devote to the process I turn to my bread machine. While it's working away on my countertop, I can do other chores.  On this night, I made dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and tended to laundry all while the bread machine hummed.  I love multi-tasking!

My trusty "Zo"!

Look at all that berry yumminess!

Bread Machine Sweet Dough

1 cup water
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups bread flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 cup butter (cut in small cubes)
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the bread machine, per the instructions to your machine. Run on dough cycle.

Once dough cycle is done, remove dough from pan and place on lightly floured surface.

To make berry rolls:

Roll dough to a 9x12" rectangle.  Spread with 1/4 cup softened butter. Spread about 3/4 cup jam over the dough.

Starting with the 12-inch side, roll dough jelly-roll style, pinch seam to seal.  With seam side down, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Place in a buttered 9x13-inch baking pan.  Cover lightly with a damp towel.  Allow to rise in warm place until size doubles, about 40 minutes to 1 hour.  (Or cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight, it will have a slow rise.  One half hour before baking remove from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and let come to room temperature).

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

Beignets!

The end of the Mardi Gras season is this Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday or, by its French definition, Fat Tuesday. It's a day to indulge before the Lenten season. Eating is one of those indulgences! Mardi Gras is more commonly associated with the Louisiana area but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy some of the traditions while living in other areas of the country.

If you've been to New Orleans, you know that Cafe du Monde and their famous beignets are a must-have treat. Small little pillows of deep-fried dough smothered in powdered sugar. Yum! Though it's a fun city to visit, you don't have to go there to have beignets, you don't have to wait for Mardi Gras; they are easily made at home.

My Mom has been using this recipe for a while now.  She uses a powdered sugar glaze, I go the traditional route and douse them in plain powdered sugar.  Either way, they are good! The dough is made the night before, rests overnight in the fridge and requires no kneading. And I bet you can't eat just one! The recipe makes a lot, so invite some friends over.  We had a few neighbors over for beignets and mimosas! Laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll)!

Beignets

1 package ( 2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup evaporated milk, undiluted
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
Oil for frying
Powdered sugar

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Add sugar, egg, and evaporated milk.  Gradually stir in 2 cups of the flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add remaining flour, 1/3 cup at a time, beating after each addition, to form a smooth, firm dough.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In a large pan, heat oil to 370 degrees.

On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to 3/8-inch thickness, adding more flour, if necessary.  Cut into 2"x 3" diamond or square shapes (a pizza cutter is ideal for this!)

In batches, drop dough into pan, being careful not to overcrowd them. Cook until golden brown, turning to brown both sides.

When done place on a rack over a sheet pan or on paper towels to drain. With a small strainer, shake powdered sugar over the beignets. Serve warm.

The dough doesn't look very impressive after mixing.

The next morning it's risen into a nice, billowy dough!

Little pillows of dough ready for deep frying!

Cranberry Rolls with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I still had leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving (I think it multiplies in the fridge!) I am trying to be better at utilizing leftovers so have been brainstorming for uses. I used some in these cookies and we really enjoyed them. I make rolls with orange marmalade as the filling so thought that cranberry sauce would work, too. Instead of a regular confectioners' sugar glaze I opted to do a cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting would make a car bumper taste good! I've always loved cranberry-orange nut bread so thought a little orange juice in the frosting would be a great combination on the rolls. I took my experiment to the office and the rolls were declared a success.  They were quite yummy!

Again, I went to my Zo bread maker as I began these rolls after work. Between doing chores, making dinner and generally unwinding, there usually isn't enough time to also make yeast dough. The bread machine saves a little time. While I made dinner the bread machine mixed and kneaded away. Instead of soft music playing while we ate, we had the "thunking" of the dough in the bread machine! Yes, my kitchen is full of ambiance! After the bread machine ran through it's cycle all I had to do was roll out the dough into a rectangle, add the filling and roll up into a cinnamon roll shape. I refrigerated the pan of rolls overnight.  They rise up quite nicely.  I take them out while the oven is warming up, then bake as usual. I think doing overnight yeast breads is a great time saver! Plus it's a great way to get just-from-the-oven-warm yeast bread with hardly any effort in the morning.

After their overnight refrigerator rise.

Any sweet dough or cinnamon roll recipe will work for these.  You can also use frozen bread dough found in the grocery store.

 

To assemble, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into an approximate 9x14-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter over it, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Spread a thin layer of cranberry sauce over this (I used homemade sauce so did a few pulses in the food processor so it was not so chunky).  Do not spread all the way to the end of the dough as it will ooze out during the rolling process.  If it does, just remove the excess! Starting with the long end, roll the dough into a cylinder shape.  Cut into 12 pieces (I used dental floss to cut with). Place in buttered 9x13-inch pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.  Alternatively, refrigerate overnight.

 

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until browned and no longer doughy (test with a toothpick or skewer). Let cool for 10 minutes; frost with orange cream cheese frosting.

 

Frosting: 

3 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups of powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons of orange juice

2 teaspoons of orange zest

In a mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese until it's smooth and creamy.  Add the powdered sugar and continue to mix. Add orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice and continue to mix.  If the frosting seems thick, and more orange juice.

A warm roll and a cup of tea made some tax research much more pleasurable!

 

 

 

 

Egg Nog Pull-Apart Bread

Oftentimes I will make cinnamon rolls for a morning treat.  I like to make the rolls the night before, then let them do a slow rise in the fridge overnight.  In the morning all I have to do is take them out of the fridge, let rise while the oven is warming up, and bake. It's an effective way to get a fresh yeast dough treat without getting up three hours before everyone else does!

My son loves egg nog.  At the holidays I always buy a container for his use.  I've made breakfast dishes before using eggnog, things like French toast and waffles.  I've made cookies and cake.  I started thinking about making a cinnamon roll using egg nog in the dough. I ran across a recipe for "Monkey Bread"; the pastry with balls of cinnamon goodness that you literally pull apart to eat. A lightbulb in my head went off and I thought I could do that with egg nog! It worked quite well!

I used my bread machine to make the yeast dough, substituting 1 cup of egg nog for the liquid. Your favorite sweet yeast dough can also be used, doing the same substitution.  The balls of dough are rolled in a sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg mixture.  Once baked, an egg nog glaze is poured over the still-warm bread. It was very good with our morning coffee!

This was a fun baking project to do with my granddaughter.  She enjoyed putting the dough into the melted butter, then the sugar mixture.  Her touch isn't very light yet, we had some squished pieces but that's quite ok! She was quite proud of her efforts!

On the last rise, before baking.

Egg Nog Pull-Apart Bread

Dough: (or use bread machine recipe, substituting egg nog)

1 cup warm egg nog
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons egg nog

In a large bowl, stir egg nog, yeast and sugar together.  Let sit 10-15 minutes or until it starts to foam. Stir in egg, oil, half the flour and salt. Slowly incorporate remaining flour until dough starts to get smooth but still a little sticky. Place into a well greased bowl and let rise 1-2 hours or until doubled. Punch dough down, remove from bowl and cut into bite-sized pieces.

(After dough has doubled you can put in refrigerator overnight).

Spray a 9-inch baking pan with baking spray or coat with butter.

Melt butter in small bowl or shallow dish.  In a separate dish, combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Dip each dough piece into butter, then the sugar mixture.  Place into the cake pan.  Let dough rise another 30-45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 25-30 minutes, testing with toothpick to make sure bread is fully cooked.  Cover with foil if top and edges are browning too quickly. Remove from oven.

Combine glaze ingredients; spoon over warm bread. Pull apart the dough pieces and enjoy!