Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

This is a wonderful and easy bread that can be made for any occasion or for any reason.  I found this great recipe on Taste of Home.

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar - divided

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 - 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda and salt. Combine buttermilk, egg and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.
2. Grease the bottom only of a 9x5-in. loaf pan. Pour half of the batter into pan; sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar. Carefully spread with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
3. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency; drizzle over loaf.  (I cut my bread into slices and then drizzle the glaze on the cut slices.)

Amish White Bread

Oh my!!  This is the best bread.  I make some each week.  This bread is good for sandwiches but is so amazing toasted with butter, and it makes the best grilled cheese!  I hope you like this as much as I do!  This recipe is adapted from Bakerette.  I do use the instant yeast which does require the yeast to be activated at 120 - 130 degrees.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, yeast, milk and water. Cover and allow the yeast to activate and foam for about 5 minutes.
2. Mix in salt and oil into the yeast.
3. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook, slowly add flour one cup at a time mixing well after each addition. Tip: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off. Don't scoop or pack it in.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for five minutes until dough is smooth and elastic or continue to use the mixer to knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
5. Place in a well-greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a lightly warmed place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
6. Punch down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Shape into loaves and place in 2 greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 mins or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and with a pastry brush, lightly brush melted butter immediately after so the crust stays nice and soft.

One Hour Roll and Bun Recipe

I truly hate purchasing buns, rolls and bread from the store.  I am on a quest to find a good recipe that is delicious and easy.  I found some but did not like the texture.  I found this recipe from Cooking Classy.  It is great as a dinner roll, as a hamburger bun and as a hotdog bun.  I do plan to play around with this recipe to create a good one for sandwiches and that has some whole wheat in it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does.

Big Soft and Fluffy One-Hour Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

3 3/4 - 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup cool water

2/3 cup milk

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced into 1 Tbsp pieces, plus more for tops

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer whisk together 4 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt.

To a medium bowl add water, milk and butter and heat in microwave on HIGH power until it reaches 115 degrees on a thermometer, about 1 minute 15 seconds. Stir to partially melt butter (you just want to make sure it's softened through).

Pour milk mixture into dry mixture in bowl of electric stand mixer along with lemon juice. Set mixer with a hook attachment then set mixer on low speed and gradually increase to medium-low, knead about 3 - 4 minutes until smooth and elastic while adding additional flour as necessary (dough should be lightly sticky but manageable).

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

Drop dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into an evenly level square, about 9 by 9-inches. Cut into 16 equal portions (don't have to be exact). Shape dough into 15 balls, while using excess dough from the 16th portion to add to smaller rounds as needed, and place shaped dough portions into prepared baking dish. If you are making it into buns, only cut into 8 pieces and shape into hamburger buns or hotdog buns.  Do not press them down too much so they will rise, and not touching. 

Dampen hands with water and brush tops of dough with the water (just so they don't dry while rising in oven). Transfer to oven, close oven and turn oven off, allow rolls to rise 20 minutes (don't open oven door). Remove from oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees (this should take about 5 minutes, so just allow rolls to rest on counter while oven preheats).

 

Bake in preheated oven 14 - 16 minutes until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and run the top of a stick of butter along tops of rolls just to coat. Serve warm. Store in an airtight container (I recommend rewarming cool rolls in microwave for best results.

**I did make this into a bread.  I did everything the same until cutting into portions.  I kept it as a whole, rolled it up and placed in a buttered loaf pan.  The baking time should be increased to 38 minutes, and the internal temperature should be 195 degrees.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

I LOVE to make my own bread, and this one is a family favorite that is easily prepared in a bread machine.  The recipe originally called for al bread flour, however I use a wheat and white flour combination that turns out perfect!




Ingredients:

1 cup milk 1 egg, beaten 2 tablespoons melted butter 1/3 cup white sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup bread flour 2 cups whole wheat flour 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast DIRECTIONS: In the bread machine, place all ingredients in order starting with the milk and ending with the yeast being the last to be added. Set machine to Sweet Bread and enjoy homemade bread in a few hours.

The Worlds Best Cornbread

I use a freshly ground cornmeal, but you can use any plain (nothing added cornmeal - do not use the cornmeal mix) cornmeal.  This recipe is a sweet cornbread so if you do not like sweet, just omit the sugar.  I like the sweet cornbread but many do not.

Ingredients:
1 c cornmeal
1 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar or 1/4 c honey
1 c buttermilk (can substitute milk but it will not be as rich tasting)
1 egg, beaten
3 tbls melted butter

Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients together and beat together the liquids.  Then stir everything together being thorough but do not overmix or the cornbread will be tough.  Spread the batter in a greased and preheated 8 inch cast iron skillet or 8 inch cake pan.  Be careful and do not burn the oil or lard you used for greasing.  Bake 20 minutes in a 425 degree oven.  Turn out onto a plate when done.