Rosemary Bread

Unfortunately for my waistline, my girl Sugar Baby loves to bake & try new recipes. This one was her latest and it was soooo good. I can turn down sweet breads and cinnamon rolls if I want to, but I cannot say no to good, crusty, savory breads. This one was so fragrant & flavorful that I was really hoping no one else would like it, so I could have it all! Unfortunately, it was popular with them all. The pepper gives it a nice, slight punch.

Sugar Baby found the recipe at our favorite place - allrecipes.com, of course. Here it is:

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary [she used about 2 Tbs fresh]
  
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle; press Start.

(Sugar Baby used her bread machine to make the dough, but shaped it into a circle and baked it in the oven at 350F until it was golden brown.)

Roasted Garlic Swirl Bread

I came up with this bread recently and now it is one of my favorites! It is french bread with a swirl of roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and olive oil.

First, make a batch of french bread dough.

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Meanwhile, slice tips off of 3 heads of garlic. drizzle with olive oil and wrap with aluminum foil. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Let cool enough to handle and then squeeze the cloves into a bowl. They will easily pop right out of their skins.

In the bowl with the garlic, stir until pasty:

1/2 tsp salt
2-3 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning
2/3 cup of parmesan cheese

Punch down the dough and divide it into thirds. One third at a time, roll the dough into a large rectangle - until it is about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the garlic mixture. There won't be enough to spread and coat the dough, just try to get little blobs of it distributed as evenly as possible. Roll up the dough tightly and pinch to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Allow to rise until doubled. To make the loaves prettier, brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and done. Cool for a few minutes, if you can wait, and cut into slices for serving.

Very Light Biscuits

Growing up with my great-grandma meant I ate a lot of biscuits. I never did figure out how she made hers -she wasn't the most patient teacher - but I do remember spending time with her in the kitchen, patting the biscuits into shape and begging for bits of dough to eat (maybe that's why she wasn't so patient?). Mmmm... Now my kids do the same thing to me! They hang out next to me under the guise of "helping" because they want a nibble or two, or better yet, a chance to scrape the bowl of all the leftover dough.

This recipe is really good. It is fairly simple and makes deliciously light biscuits. The key to light, flaky biscuits is to work the dough as little as possible.

Ingredients:
4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter, cut into cubes
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until the dough is crumbly. It's okay if some of the crumbs are lima bean size and some are petite pea size. The butter pieces melt & create flaky, airy biscuits. Stir in the milk, just until combined. Turn onto a floured surface and pat just enough to hold it together. Pat it to about 1" thickness. Cut with a floured biscuit cutter, and place 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 425F for about 10-13 minutes or until golden on the bottoms. Serve hot & with jam or gravy. Makes about 3 dozen 2" biscuits.

Streusel Topped White Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. It is easy to whip up & makes a great dessert, snack or breakfast! It is really moist & sweet.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (may substitute milk w/1 tsp lemon juice)
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Streusel Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs brown sugar

Combine all except streusel ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the streusel ingredients together until crumbly. After baking the bread for about 30 minutes, sprinkle the streusel on and bake until the bread is no longer gooey in the middle (about 5-10 more minutes).

Note: the white chocolate chips usually sink to the bottom while baking, but we don't mind. :)

Easy 100% Whole Wheat Bread

This is my go-to bread. When I'm in a hurry or need homemade bread with very little effort, this is what I make. It is soft and not heavy or dense, like you would expect 100% whole wheat bread to be. The best part about it is that you don't have to knead it! That means no sticky or doughy hands.



Ingredients:
8 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbs yeast (see note below!!)
2 tsp salt
3 Tbs molasses
3 cups warm water


Stir all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. It will look like a thick, sticky batter. Let it rise until doubled. (Watch out! It rises relatively fast.)

Punch down and spoon into 3 greased loaf pans. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.


Note:
With all my breads, I use the bulk yeast from Sam's club. It is wayyy cheaper than the packets. It may be the same thing as the jar labeled "Bread Yeast" from a grocery store, but I am not certain. You add the bulk yeast to the flour before you add any wet ingredients. If you choose to use packets for this recipe, you will need 3 of them, and you will need to add them to 1 cup of warm water before you combine it with the rest of the ingredients. If you do, then decrease the amount of water you add to the rest of the bread by 1 cup.