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.

Homemade Graham Crackers

I am continuing on my journey of moving more and more away from processed foods and more into real, wholesome foods.  Graham crackers is next on my journey.  They are so expensive but easy to make.  I just love cooking with whole wheat or graham flour!!  This recipe is from the Brown Eyed Baker blog.

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups graham flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey, and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended and the dough comes together, about 30 seconds.

3. Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press into a 7-inch square, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days.

4. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 3-inch squares. Transfer to the baking sheet, spacing the crackers at least ¾-inch apart, gather any scraps, re-roll, and cut out more cookies.

6. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and then rotate the baking sheet. Bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies are dark golden brown and just firm to the touch. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely (they will crisp up as they cool). Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Note: You could also combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon and sprinkle over the cookies before they go into the oven for a cinnamon-sugar graham cracker.

Honey Wheat Jumbo Dinner Rolls

I always do all dinners for any special occasions at my house for our families.  I always make some sort of bread.  As you know by now, I love wheat anything.  I tried these rolls for Christmas dinner, and I really liked the texture and taste.  So I want to share them with you.  Thank you Bread World for the recipe.  This recipe is easily doubled.

Ingredients:

1 cup King Arthur® Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1-3/4 to 2 cups King Arthur® Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour
1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast2/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter OR margarine, cut into 6 pieces
3 tablespoons honey
1 (8 x 8-inch) pan


Directions
Combine all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, undissolved yeast, potato flakes, nonfat dry milk and salt in a large mixer bowl. Heat water, orange juice, butter and honey until very warm (120° to 130°F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining whole wheat flour to make a soft dough.
Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 7 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place in 8 x 8-inch pan. Cover; let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until rolls are puffy and touching each other.

Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes and then tent with aluminum foil. Continue to bake for 10 to 13 minutes until well browned. Remove from pan and transfer to wire rack. Serve warm.

Honey Whole Wheat Sandwich Loaf

Yet another easy bread recipe to add to my list of growing bread recipes.  These recipes help me to move to making fresher, healthier and better tasting bread for my family.  Once again, thanks to The Well Floured Kitchen for this recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

• 6 cups (1 lb 8 oz)White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Cups (16oz) Water
• 4 tsp Instant Yeast
• 3 Tbsp. (1.5 oz) Coconut Oil or Butter, Softened
• 3 Tbsp. (2.75 oz) Honey
• 1 Tbsp. Salt

Instructions

• All all ingredients to mixer fitted with the dough hook and stir until combined. Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes.
• Continue mixing for approximately 5 minutes, the dough will start to come together and become smooth (in bakers speak, the gluten will develop). Please note you can make this recipe without a mixer. In fact I recommend you make your first few loafs by hand. It is important to learn how the dough should feel , which is only something that can be learned by trial and error. You knead dough by pushing it away with the heel of your hand, then folding over and starting again. (There are some youtube videos on kneading if you are a visual learner) Your ultimate goal is a dough that is smooth , not sticky or dry. If you knead your dough by hand, it will take a little longer, about 10 minutes. If your dough is dry, add some water 1 tbsp. at a time, if it is too sticky, add flour 1 tbsp. at a time.
• At this point place the dough in a greased covered bowl to rise until doubled in volume, approximately 1-2 hours.
• Punch down the dough and split in half. Shape each half into a loaf: Gently flatten, fold in the sides slightly, then bring the top down, bottom up, pinch the seams and give it a gentle roll to smooth. Place shaped loaf into a greased 8x4 bread pan and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until the dough has doubled again and is about an inch above the pan.
• Place your loaves into a preheated 350° oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the bread has reached a 190° internal temperature. Allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then take them out of the pan to finish cooling on cooling rack.

Notes

You can use sugar or sucanat in place of the honey.

If you are new to whole wheat bread, you can use any ratio of white flour in this recipe, slowly adjust the recipe until you are eventually using all whole wheat.

Remember if your kitchen is very cold you may need an ounce or two more water, if it is very warm, you may need an ounce or two less water.

This bread freezes beautifully, I recommend slicing it first.

Don't throw away stale bread! Grind it in the food processor and store it in the freezer for homemade bread crumbs.

Crusty Whole Wheat Artisan Bread

I am always looking for new and easy bread recipes.  I want to move farther away from mass produced bread and move more toward making my own.  This is a recipe I found from The Well Floured Kitchen.  This recipe does make two loaves of bread.

Ingredients

• 6 Cups (1lb, 8oz) White Whole Wheat Flour (I used 4 cups of whole wheat and 2 cups of unbleached all purpose)
• 1 Tbsp. Instant Yeast (or 1 packet active dry yeast)
• 1 Tbsp. Salt
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar or Honey
• 2 Cups (16 oz) Water

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients together by hand or with a heavy duty stand mixer. If you are using active dry yeast you will need to proof it first with 1/4 cup of the water and 1 tsp. of the sugar. Allow dough to rest for 15 minutes. If the dough seems too dry or wet, adjust now with a bit more flour or water. Knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes by mixer.
• Cover and allow to rise approximately 1 hour, dough should double in size.
• Punch down the dough, and shape into a circle or oblong loaf.
• Cover and allow to rise again, approximately 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400°.
• Bake for 30 minutes until nicely golden brown, or an internal temperature of 200°

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients

 

• 1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups frozen blueberries and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour OR 2 cups fresh blueberries
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Place oats in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times or until oats resemble coarse meal. (I used my blender and pulsed it a few times, and it worked great.) Place in a large bowl.
3. Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to oats; stir well. Make a well in center of mixture.
4. Combine buttermilk and next 3 ingredients (through eggs). Add to flour mixture; stir just until moist.
5. Toss frozen berries with 2 tablespoons flour, and gently fold into batter. (If you are using fresh berries, you can skip tossing with flour.)  Spoon batter into 16 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle sugar evenly over muffin. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.