Honey-Oat wheat Bread

Got this one off of the Tasty Kitchen website...(tweaked it slightly) LOVE IT! Very light and soft!

* 4-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
* 1 heaping T. vital wheat gluten
* ½ cups Honey
* 4 Tablespoons Butter
* 2-¼ cups Water
* 1 Tablespoon Salt
* 2-¾ cups Bread Flour
* 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
* 1 cup Quick Cooking Oats (I used a rounded 1/2 c. finely ground oat flour)
* 1 whole Egg

Preparation Instructions

In the microwave, heat the butter and honey until the butter is melted. Add the water; the mixture should be warm (120-130 degrees). Stir in the yeast and let sit until bubbly, about 10 minutes (this is called making a sponge).

In your mixer, combine salt, yeast mixture, 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup bread flour. With mixer on low, gradually blend liquid into dry ingredients until just blended. Increase the speed to medium, beat for two minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Gradually beat in the egg and one cup of whole wheat flour to make a thick batter. Continue beating for two minutes. Stir in oats, 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour. Knead till smooth and elastic. (dought should be following the hook around the bowl ) Use more flour if dough is too sticky
Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise again until doubled. (will raise faster than last time)

Shape into loaves and let rise for 1 hour in greased loaf pans. This makes two REALLY big loaves...or 4 medium ones.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Make sure to eat some while it is hot. ITS FANTASTIC!

Dinner Rolls

1 T. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 c. milk, scalded then cooled to lukewarm
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 tsp. shortening or butter
1 tsp. salt
1 T. vital wheat gluten
1 T. potato flakes (if using wheat flour)
1 T. vinegar ( if using wheat flour)
1 egg
3 1/2 c. flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in remaining ingredients. Knead in mixer for about 10 min. The dough should be very soft and elastic. If it isn't... add a Tablespoon at a time more water and knead until dough follows mixer blade around the bowl. Grease bowl and raise until doubled. Punch dough down and repeat. Shape rolls (Makes about 2 dozen rolls) Raise until doubled and Bake at 375 for about 20 min.

San Fransisco Style Pizza Crust

I've been looking long and hard...and I finally found it...the PERFECT pizza crust. All it takes is a little planning ahead. It is as good or better than the pizza we've had at some gourmet pizzerias, and a whole lot cheaper.


2 1/4 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
2 T. olive oil
1 C. ICE COLD water
2 tsp. sugar
Cornmeal for dusting
Combine these ingredients in mixer and knead until dough follows mixer blade around the bowl. (Usually about 10 min.) Watch the dough, and if it seems too dry add 1 T. more water at a time until a soft, elastic dough forms. Cover, and put in refrigerator OVERNIGHT!!! The next day, take the dough out of fridge 2-4 hours before dinnertime. Punch it down and let it raise again. Roll out onto pizza stone that has been dusted with cornmeal. Let rest for 30 min. Bake at 425 for 10 min. Remove from oven and top with toppings. Return to oven for 10-15 min.
Doubling the recipe would give you enough for a pan of yummy breadsticks too!
Also - try using alfredo sauce instead of marinara for a nice change.

Chocolate Zuchini Bread

Yes I realize this recipe is a little out of season...but I am cleaning out my freezer currently, and it was DARN good! I made it as mini muffins, and as bread. The bread was WAY moister!

* 2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
(can substitute 6 T. cocoa + 2 T shortening)
* 3 eggs
* 2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 2 cups grated zucchini
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips



DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla and chocolate; beat well. Stir in the flour baking soda, salt. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Marci has repeatedly asked me to post this recipe, and finally I have gotten around to it. Sorry Marci. Here it is:

1 cup flour (white or wheat)
1 1/2 cup oatmeal (I use oatmeal flour)
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
3 eggs beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Mix dry ingredients together and then add to wet ingredients. Cook on griddle until lightly browned.

Cream Cheese Muffins

3 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. milk

Sift first four ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. In blender mix cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and milk. Slowly add melted butter and continue blending until mixture is smooth.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add wet mixture and stir with a fork just until moistened. Don't overmix. Batter will be thick. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

These are great with blueberries, or chocolate chips, or just plain with jam! Also works great as mini-muffins (I cook the minis for about 12 minutes ....my kids prefer them.)

French Bread or Chewy Pizza Crust

(From a friend of Marci...slightly tweaked to work for me)

2 cups water
2 cups flour
2 T. instant yeast
2 T. sugar
2 T. oil
1 T. salt
6 cups flour
1 1/2 cup warm water

Sponge: Mix 2 cups flour and 2 cups water together in your mixer , to make a sponge in the evening. Cover and let sit covered at room temperature over night. (or make the sponge in the morning for dinner bread. You can let the sponge sit out for up to a day and a half. 6 Hour minimum is best.) If I set out the sponge and then find I don't use it the next day I just put it in the fridge until I want to use it.

French Bread: In the morning add yeast, sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, oil and 1 1/2 cup warm water. Mix together (don't knead yet) and let rise until double in size. Add remaining 3 c. flour, and knead in your mixer for 10 minutes until dough is very soft and elastic. Shape into two large loaves or four smaller loaves. Spray with water and cut a slit down the dough lengthwise. Let all the loaves rise until double on a single jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) lightly coated with shortening and then corn meal. Bake in oven on the lowest rack at 400 degrees until brown and hard when tapped. About 20 minutes. Spray bread and oven with water several time throughout baking (about every five minutes) to get a hard crust.

Pizza Crust: Follow directions above, letting the dough rise once. (If you don’t have time to let it rise at all just roll it out “as is” and it will still make a good crust.) Roll a portion of it into a pizza crust and top with your favorite toppings. Bake on a pizza stone dusted with corn meal (or a greased and dusted cookie sheet) at 425 on the bottom rack of your oven. Makes about 2-3 Large crusts.

*If you don't use all the dough you can leave it covered in the fridge and roll it out for pizza again the next night. You can also store it in the freezer in a bag sprayed with cooking spray.

*This recipe makes great dinner rolls, hamburger buns, bread sticks or anything else you can think of.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (you can substitute sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Best Ever White Bread

This is by far the best bread recipe I have ever used. Light fluffy, and moist! My family went crazy for it.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups warm water
3 Tablespoons active dry yeast
3 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten
2 Tablespoons Potato Flakes – if using wheat flour
2 – 3 Tablespoons White Vinegar - if using wheat flour
8 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, oil, sugar, Gluten, Potato Flakes, Vinegar and 4 cups flour. Mix thoroughly, (DON’T TRY AND KNEAD IT YET!) and let sponge rise until doubled in size. Usually about an hour. (This is what helps the bread to be crusty)
Gradually add about 4 cups flour, kneading until smooth and elastic. Add more water if needed. ( Knead Approximately 10-12 minutes in a mixer.) Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn several times to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled. Punch down the dough. Divide dough into three equal parts. Shape into loaves, and place in three greased bread pans. Let rise until almost doubled.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with melted butter. YUMMY!!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. ground pumpkin (canned)
1/2 c. cooking oil
1/3 c. chocolate chips

Mix together. Fill muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Banana Bread

From Aunt Phyllis Williams, Grandma DaBell's sister

Cream Well: 1 cup sugar and 1/3 cup butter
Add: 2 eggs, beating after each
Add: ½ cup milk plus 1 Tabl. vinegar to equal 2/3 cup
Mash and Add: 2-3 large bananas and 1 tsp vanilla
Mix in gently: 1 teaspoon soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 to 2 1/3 cups flour (depending on amount of bananas)
DON’T over mix.

Add nuts if desired.

Bake at 375 degrees for around 45 minutes. (Grease and flour pans.)

Excellent Zucchini Recipes

From our mom, Karen VanOrden
(Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Bunt Cake, Cookies, Brownies)

Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes if making a bunt cake. For small loaves, bake for about 40 minutes. For a sheet cake, bake about 25 minutes.

Cream Well: 2 cups sugar and 1 cup shortening
Add: 3 eggs, beat in one at a time
Mix together and add:
½ cup boiling water, ½ cup cocoa
Mix in gently—don’t stir too much
½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons vanilla, and 1½ cups flour
Add: 2 cups grated zucchini and 1 ½ cups more flour

Mix well but don’t over mix.

Topping—Good topped with glaze, German chocolate freshening, or chocolate frosting.

You can sprinkle the unbaked cake with a mixture of ¼ c. brown sugar, ½ cup nuts, and 1 cup chocolate chips. Then bake.

For cookies, add chocolate chips and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Karen’s Fast Rising Bread

From our mom, Karen VanOrden

6 cups warm water—110 degrees is just right. Add 1 cup sugar. Sprinkle in ¼ to 1/3 cup dry yeast. Stir gently and let it get really bubbly.

Melt 1 cup shortening or 2 cubes margarine. Cool to about 110 degrees and add to the yeast mixture.

Add: 1 ½ Tablespoons salt.

Mix in the following ingredients very well:
4-6 to eggs alternately with 6 cups of flour, beating after each egg is added. Beat well.

Add about 4-5 more cups of flour and mix very well.

Add about 4-5 more cups of flour and mix very well until smooth and elastic. Depending on the moisture of the flour, it may take up to 15-17 cups of flour to be the right consistency. Mix in the bread mixer for at least 10 minutes. If the dough is to light, add a little more flour. If it is too stiff mix a little more water in.

If you spray the side of the mixing bowl and the top of dough with a little Pam, it helps keep the dough while it rises. Cover and let it rise until it is double at lease once. I like to let it raise 2 times.

Grease pans well. Put Crisco on hands to work the bread dough and make smooth loaves. Put the dough in the pans and let it raise a little above the top of the pan. I remove the dough, reshape it, and let it raise again if I didn’t let it raise 2 times first. It makes a prettier loaf. Let the dough raise again in pans and bake.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until brown on top and bottom. Remove immediately.

Variations: For whole wheat bread, substitute 7 cups of wheat flour for 7 cups of white flour. For cinnamon rolls, let dough relax before you roll it out. Melt margarine and spread it over dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll and cut.

Bread sticks: Roll out into long rectangles. Cut strips and dip in butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired.

Danish Aebleskiever

From our mom, Karen VanOrden


Sift or mix well together:
2 cups flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, l teaspoons sugar, pinch of salt.

Make a hole in the dry ingredients and put in 4 slightly beaten egg yolks. Add milk to make a dough the consistency of waffles (around a scant 2 cups).

Beat 4 egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Fry in Aebleskiever pan in 1 tsp oil in each cup. Roll in powder sugar.

German Pancakes

From our mom, Karen VanOrden

Melt 6 Tablespoons butter in oblong pan. (I spray the pan with Pam and only use about 2-3 Tablespoons)

In blender mix: 6 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, ½ tsp salt (optional). Pour in pan and bake at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. It will bubble up and make funny shapes. Serve with sugar or syrup.

Cloud Baking Powder Biscuits

From our mom, Karen VanOrden

Mix together well:
2 cups flour 1 Tablespoon sugar 4 teaspoons Baking Powder ½ teaspoon salt

Cut ½ cup of shortening into dry ingredients until mixture resembles course crumbs.

Combine 1 beaten egg and 2/3 cups of milk. Add this to flour mixture all at once. Stir until dough follows a fork around the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and kneed slightly. (Don’t overwork) Roll out dough to about 1 inch thick and cut with a round biscuit cutter.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake in a very hot oven at 450 degrees for 10-14 minutes, depending on the size of biscuits. They are lightly browned when done.

Karen’s Rolls (large batch)

From our mom, Karen VanOrden
*** THESE ARE THE BEST EVER!****

Add ½ cup sugar to 2 ½ cups very warm water. Sprinkle in ¼ cup dry yeast. Stir until dissolved and frothy.

To above mixture, add ingredients in following order:
½ cup sugar
2 cubes melted butter—still warm, but not hot.
6 beaten eggs
Mix well and add to yeast mixture.

Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and about 4-4 ½ flour

Mix well in bread mixer until very elastic and smooth.

Add: About 4 more cups of flour. If it is too thick, add a little water. If it is too thin add a little flour. Mix well again in bread mixer.

Cover and raise until at least double and bubbly.
Punch down and raise again and bake, or punch down and refrigerate overnight.

Divide into about 4-5 balls and roll into large circles. Brush with butter and cut into pie shape pieces with a pizza cutter. (about 12-16 per circle) Roll up crescent roll style. Place on greased cookie sheet, making sure tail end is down. Brush with butter if desired. Bake at about 380- 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

They handle better if you do the overnight preparation, but both are good.

Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread

I got this one from Michelle. YUMMY.

4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
Cinnamon Mixture:
1 c. sugar + 1 T. cinnamon
Fill 8 small bread pans 1/3 full. Sprinkle 1/2 of cinnamon mixture on top of them. Top with remaining batter and cinnamon mix. Swirl cinnamon mixture through with a knife.
Bake at 350 for 45 min.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I got this recipe from a Paula Deen cooking class I took at ISU.

3/4 c. mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
4 TBS baking powder
2 heaping tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, milk, and butter. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and combine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth. Roll the dough out to one-half inch thick and cut with a round cutter. Place the biscuits on a greased pan and bake for about 15 minutes. (Watch your oven: If the biscuits are browning too fast, lower the temperature.)

Flaky Pull Aparts

From Melissa, our grand cook!

In a well greased bundt pan add:
2 pkg Grands flaky biscuits, separated and laying up on their side

Melt:
1 cube of butter
¾ c. sugar
zest from 1 orange

Pour over biscuits and bake at 350* for 30 minutes , or until brown on top. Remove from pan immediately so they won’t stick to bottom.