TWD: BWJ Cheddar Cheese Bagels

So, I was excited about this recipe.  Homemade bagels is something I might not attempt if it weren't for the baking group that I am a part of.  Maybe because there are bunch of steps, or maybe because I am just lazy.  Regardless, of the gazillion of reasons I could come up with for why I would not make them, I had to make them.  And my family and I are so glad that I did.

I read the recipe carefully this time, so I wouldn't do a major screw up.  And of course, I could not make  just a plain old bagels.  First, I subbed half whole grain flour because I don't do white if I can help it. To make up for the loss of gluten, I added 4 tsp. of vital wheat gluten the mix.  I didn't get the rise I wanted in an hour, but it seems like that is the trend with me right now.  Wondering if my house is too cool, or my yeast is on its way out???

I split my dough in half and mixed cheddar cheese in half, sprinkling some on top for baking.  The other half, I kneaded 1tsp. of cinnamon and 1/3-1/2 cup of raisins in at the end, then made a yummy streusel topping for baking.  My kids loved the topping.   I also made the holes a little smaller so it would hold a bit more of the topping while baking.  I was going for a Panera like bagels, and uhile it fell short, it was still certainly delish.

One last thing, I did not bake for the initial 25 minutes it called for, but reduced it to 20, because it was getting a bit too brown for my liking.

For this recipe, buy the book.... or you check our host Heather's website.

TWD:BWJ Pumpkin Pecan Loaves

TWD:BWJ PUMPKIN PECAN LOAVES

P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.  yup.  That is what I did.  I meant to make this last week.  Then this weekend... then yesterday I finally delved in.

 Now I knew this was a yeast bread, because I had looked at the pictures.  And I even read the recipe.  But when I read cranberries, I thought craisins.  A blond moment perhaps.   Or maybe a Polish moment.  No matter what kind of moment it was... I obviously was not all there.  So, the obvious thing...  I used craisins.  A whole lotta them.  So my loaf is about 50% dough, 50% raisins, craisins and nuts.

Now to the bread.   First off, I hate walnuts.  Really don't like them.   Serisously...  makes me do the "eww!" shiver thinking about eating them.  But I love pecans.   Easy substitute.  Walnuts out, pecans in. 

Next, 3 small loaves? Crud!  I don't have small bread pans.  A medium and normal one will have to do.

Made the dough.  Shoot!  It needs to chill overnight.  How did I miss that?  I can still post it on Tuesday.  So here, I am.  Posting.  See?

One last hiccup.  My bread was not rising.  The dough feels glorious, and looks good.  How can it breath with no air?!? (short musical intermission- Jordan Sparks... how can it {the bread} breath with no air?)  Sorry, back on track here.  Rising.  None.  Got it?  Good.


So this is my story.  This is a lovely, though lengthy, recipe.  And I am sure if I could follow directions it would have been incredible.  Alas, I can't.

Glad it was forgiving, and still tasted delightful.  It did rise enough so it was light, and not a brick, so bonus there.  Glad I have more than one loaf too, because if I had only one, I might not share.  ;-)  I would love to make this one again with the real cranberries.  Really yummy!

Anyway...  Thanks to Rebecca, from This Bountiful Backyard, who was our lovely host, who can follow directions a whole lot better than this Rebecca.  If you want to see how good you are at following directions, head on over to her website for the recipe.

TWD: BWJ Whole Wheat Loaves

TWD:BWJ WHOLE WHEAT LOAVES


So, after my last complete failure with a recipe from Baking with Julia, I was looking forward to something I couldn't screw up.  Well, I spoke, or thought, too soon.  I added 1/2 cup too much flour, so I had to go back and add a few TBSP of water to make it a bit more pliable.

 I had to hand knead this bread because my kitchen aid was seizing up (may have had something to do with the excess flour),  and after 20 minutes of kneading, I am happy to report that my arms are now bigger than my husbands.  Just kidding, but I did get a great arm workout.   If I had known, I might have skipped the gym.

Anyway, I opted to make one of my loaves cinnamon raisin swirl, rolling it into a large rectangle, slathering with butter and sprinkling with cinnamon, sugar and raisins.  My kids ate it for dessert tonight.  We really loved both the plain and cinnamon swirl loaves (my kids preferred the cinnamon swirl treat), and even with my little hiccup, they both rose up and baked up beautifully.  A very tender bread, that had a very good flavor.  I did not have the malt extract that the recipe called for, but used a TBSP of molasses instead.

This is a pretty easy recipe that I could see myself making again and again.  Because of copyright, we are encouraging people to buy the book.  But if you want the recipe, go on over to our hosts blog reels.  Thanks to Michele and Teresa for hosting.

TWD: BWJ Semonlina Bread

The day I made this bread is a day I wished had not happened.  The day before we were to leave on a family vacation, I had started my bread early and it was on it's last 2 hour rise.  My husband was going to drop our recyclables at the dump, and my 7 year old son was helping.  I am vacuuming and my husband called the house phone telling me to come out "now".  I immediately think the worst, that he hit one of the kids while backing out.  So morbid... while walking out, praying and bracing for something bad, I walk into the garage to my 7 year old screaming and a pool of blood.  Thank the Lord it was a gash in the leg and not something worse, but still, pretty bad.  A bit panicky, my husband is holding the gash closed, while I go inside to find some medical tape.  I grab some rags, get a seat for my son to sit in and my husband does a masterful butterfly job.

We all load the car (the bread is the last thing on my mind!) and go to the ER, which was a 30 minute drive.  And a orthopedic surgeon, a procedure, 12 stitches, lots of screaming, and a 5 hour ER visit later, we head home.  I get home, preheat the oven, bake the bread, which was pancaked at this point. And I didn't score it in my haste to bake it... bread baking 101 failed.

I know this is a food blog and that's gross, but some might want to see the carnage.

We tasted the bread.  Honestly, not sure if I would've liked it anyway.  Found it too salty, especially with salted butter on top.  It was better with some honey.  So, be impressed.  Be very impressed.  Not that the bread is pretty or well done, but that it was baked at all.  A day I would like to forget.

If you want to try, you can get the recipe at our hosts websites. Thanks to Anna and Renee for hosting.

TWD:BWJ Oasis Naan

I love naan!  Mostly because it is bread.  But I love to go out to eat at Indian restaurants and get garlic naan in particular.  My whole family fights over it, and there is never enough to go around.  This week we were supposed to make oasis naan.  It is similar to regular but sprinkled with coarse salt, scallions and cumin or coriander.  I am not a huge fan of coriander or cumin, so opted for fresh garlic and cilantro instead.

I was excited because I have some flavored coarse salts I wanted to try.   This seemed like a great opportunity.  I wet them down, smeared the crushed garlic over them, sprinkled them with salt, scallions and cilantro and baked them.

Now, while this bread was very good (because it is bread mind you, and I have never met a bread I didn't like), I do not think this compared with real naan.  With real naan, they use a screaming hot oven, like a brick oven and it gets almost burnt in spots.  I also found this bread tougher than traditional naan I have had.  Now don't mistake my critiques for not liking it.  It got eaten.   We liked the crunch of the coarse salt and loved the garlic!   I also got about 12 pieces instead of the 8 the recipes spoke of.  I also formed mine more like traditional naan.  I also brushed them with butter when they came out.  We enjoyed them with some homemade tzaziki!

Will I make it again?  Probably not.  I was disappointed that I didn't really get much browning, even after cooking for 8 minutes (the longer cooking time).  Plus, I buy a fabulous frozen garlic naan from Trader Joe's that is hard to beat for at home use.  And when I want the real stuff, we will just go out to eat.
Thank you to Maggie and Phyl for hosting!  You can find the recipe at their blogs or in our fabulous cookbook!

Cherry Delight Breakfast Cake

Growing old sucks.  Seriously...  now I have to go to gym and work out for an hour just to burn off the calories from looking at food.  If it goes in the mouth, make it 2 hours.  So depressing.   At least if I am still going to eat it, it should taste amazing.  Like this cake.
I saw this cake forever ago on my friends Cristine's blog,  cristinecooks, and have been pining to make it since I first saw it.  It just looked so delicious and I just loved the name of it.  I have been making goodies for my church each Sunday morning, just to relieve my baking addiction without suffering from having to consume it all by myself.

Before the glorious drizzle.

I got up early to whip this up and it was very easy.  The result was so good!  Loved it!  It reminded me of entenmann's danish a little bit.  I would love to add streusel to the top next time. I could've easily eaten half the pan.  It was kind of fun to watch or rather listen to people eat this delightful little cake.  It was start with a little "oh", then move on to some "Wow!  that is really good" and some more "oh's".  Don't wait over a year to make this cake, and don't be intimidated by the yeast.  It is easy, and would be great any time of day!


Cherry Delight Breakfast Cake
Recipe from Tami's Kitchen Table TalkINGREDIENTS:


For the cake:

• 3 C. flour (I used 1/2 whole grain)
• 1/4 C Sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 C. milk
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C butter
• 2 eggs
• 1- 21 oz can Cherry Pie Filling

For Cake Glaze:

• 1/2-3/4 C confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2-4 tsp milk

DIRECTIONS:
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, sugar & yeast and mix well. Heat 1/2 cup milk, water and butter until very warm and then add to flour mixture, along with eggs. Beat at low speed with hand mixer until all ingredients are wet; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in an additional 1 to 1 1/2 cup flour until a stiff batter forms. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise about 45 to 60 (I did 60 minutes)  minutes or until doubled in size.
Grease a 13 x 9 pan. Stir batter; Pour 3/4 batter into pan and top with cherry filling. Spoon remaining batter by tablespoons over batter. Cover again and let rise until light, approximately 20 - 30 minutes (I did 30 min).
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover dough mixture. Bake 30-35 (I baked 35) minutes or until golden brown.  You want to make sure it is not doughy.  You can carefully lift the cake around the pockets of cherries and make sure it is not doughy there.

Meanwhile make glaze:

Mix sugar and 2 tsp milk, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Continue adding a little milk until a thick glaze consistency is created. Drizzle over cake while still warm.  Serve warm or room temperature.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Again, been cooking, just not blogging.  We are in our last week of official school, and then we go to testing.  I can't wait to be done.  This year has been a bit painful.  But at the same time, I am excited for next year's school to begin.  I am so fickle.  

Not about pita's though.  I love pitas and homemade is just that much better.  We really enjoyed these pitas.  I think I would experiment with some other recipes before I commit to this one, but this is a solid and pretty easy recipe.  Making these with all the other things we made this night was a chore.  We did grilled lemon garlic chicken, tzatziki, roasted veggies and kale chips.  It was a meal where I wished I was a cow, and had four stomachs, or compartments, or whatever.  Oh, to eat like a cow!  

One other note.  I found these rise times to be true to form.  A lot of recipes I find I need to add time to get the rise I need, but this one rose beautifully.  Enjoy!

WHOLE WHEAT PITA BREAD

recipe from: thegalleygourmet

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2-2 1/2 cups lukewarm warm water, divided
• 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, (two 1/4-ounce packages)
• 3 cups (13 1/2-ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 cups (13 1/2-ounces) whole wheat flour
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 Tablespoons for coating
• cornmeal for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, stir together the honey and 1 cup of the warm water.  Stir in the yeast and set aside until the yeast has bloomed, about 5-10 minutes.  Add both flours, salt, 1/4 cup oil, and 1 cup of the warm water.  Mix on low speed until the mixture is smooth and elastic, adding up to 1/2 cup more water a tablespoon at a time as needed.  Increase the speed to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil in the same mixing bowl. Return the dough to the oiled bowl, drizzle the top of the dough with the remaining oil, turning to coat the dough with oil.  Cover the bowl with a cloth or piece of plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


Gently deflate the dough and let rest for 20 minutes.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough (I like to use my kitchen scale) into 12-14 even pieces, about 3 3/4-ounce each.  I found my first ones I weighed were too big.  Better to go with your gut sometimes.  Shape each piece into a ball on an unfloured area of the counter, cup your hand over it, and quickly rotate your hand over the dough, forming a tight, evenly round ball.   On the lightly floured surface of your counter, roll each piece of dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle, about 7-inches in diameter; keeping the remaining dough balls covered with a sheet of plastic wrap.  Set each round on a large baking sheet without overlapping.  Lightly dust the rounds with cornmeal to prevent them from sticking.  Cover the dough with a lightly damp towel and let them rise for 1 hour until puffy, but not necessarily doubled in size.  


Meanwhile, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 500º F.  Bake the dough rounds one baking sheet at a time until the pitas are puffed and lightly golden, about 5 minutes.  As each batch comes out of the oven, stack the pitas 3 or 4 high and wrap in clean kitchen towels.  Serve immediately or let cool to room temperature.  Best served day of, but will keep for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.  Enjoy!

TWD: BWJ- White Loaves

So, there are a bazillion food bloggers out there.  Seriously, I think anyone who likes to cook and bake has a blog.  But I think that is fantastic!  I absolutely love to look at others creations and learn from others.

Of course, there are the masters. . .  All the chefs on Food Network, and PBS broadcasting too!  And then there is Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan.  Julia Child was known for her unique and entertaining personality, certainly, but more for her incredible gift for making exquisite food and the way she savored eating it! 

My friend Cristine, who really inspired me to start my blog was part of a cooking/baking group called Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD), where each week they made a recipe from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, "Baking: from my home to yours."  An extraordinary cookbook.  They wrapped not too long ago and have started a new one which they opened back up to the public to join.  I jumped at the chance!  Any excuse to bake!  The book is "Baking With Julia": by Dorie Greenspan.  (BWJ)  So, the first recipe:  White Loaves.

Delicious tall loaves, as she says, great for making sandwiches.  These loaves were pretty easy for the most part.  I do not consider myself a bread maker, so if mine comes out okay, most people would be safe to try a recipe.  I found my kitchen aid could not handle the kneading though, and they hand to be hand kneaded.  But I am always up for the workout.  After kneading, I put it back in the mixer to add in butter.   It looked scary, got all gnarly and started coming apart, but after a few minutes, came back together.  It rose beautifully and baked up like a vision.  I rolled one of the loaves into a rectangle and slathered it with softened butter.  Slather, slather, slather.  Love that word.  Then I sprinkled it heavily with sugar and cinnamon and then rolled it up, sealing the bottom.  Plopped it in the pan for another rising session.  Next time, I will add some raisins too!

  I also rubbed a stick of butter over the tops when I took the out of the oven. This bread has a nice hearty crumb, but it is incredibly soft too.  It is fabulous for toast or sandwiches. 
Thank you to Laurie and Jules for hosting.  The recipe can be found on Jules blog:  http://someonekitchen.blogspot.com

Sophie's Sweet Bread (with Raisins)

This is a bread my grandmother used to make and give to her loved ones around Christmas time.  It was a labor of love for her, in which she started early in the morning and finished late at night.  This bread is very light in the center and is fabulous right out of the oven or toasted with some butter is my favorite way to eat it.  It did not take me all day to make.  It actually only took me 6 hours, and would've taken less, but it wasn't rising because my house was too cold.  I put it near the oven and it started to rise wonderfully.  I love this bread with the raisins, but they can be omitted easily.  She made 6-7 loaves, and I made the recipe for 2 loaves and adapted the directions a bit to be more user friendly.
My Aunt Mary got me this recipe and I am grateful to be able to make it!  A great recipe from Grandma... we miss you Bessie!


SOPHIE"S SWEET BREAD (with RAISINS)
from my Grandmother, Thanks Aunt Mary!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup warm water 
• 1 packet of yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
• 1/2 TBSP salt
• 1/4 cup+ 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/4 cup+1 TBSP canola oil
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBSP evaporated milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 5-6 cups flour

DIRECTIONS:

In a glass measuring cup, place water with 1 TBSP sugar and yeast.  Let sit without mixing for 10 minutes.  If it doesn't foam, get new yeast.  Meanwhile, in a stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix remaining sugar, salt, oil, eggs, egg yolks, and evaporated milk.  Add yeast/water mix and 2 cups of flour.  Mix for a minute on med. high until smooth, scraping dough down the sides.  Add a cup of flour at a time until dough begins to pull away from the sides.   Dough will still be a bit tacky/sticky.  Change to kneading attachment and knead for 5 minutes, adding raisins for last minute if using them. 
Turn down onto floured surface and knead lightly a few more times working a bit more flour in if needed to prevent from sticking.  Grease a bowl and place down in it.  Cover with a towel and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (mine took like 3 hours because my house was cool).  Punch down dough and grease 2 bread pans.  Divide dough in half and place dough in each pan and  cover with a towel.  Let rise until rising up over the top in a nice dome shape. 
Bake @ 350 for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown on top.  Remove from oven and rub butter over the tops.  Turn out onto a rack or cutting board to cool and serve warm or toasted with butter.

World's Best Dinner Rolls

I did not name these.  But they are pretty darn good.  I am not the best bread baker, but mine came out beautifully, and HUGE!  They kept rising more and more.  I am always afraid of yeast, and have had what I deem as a few not so great turnouts with recipes.  But these didn't give me an ounce of trouble.

These have about the perfect texture for what I personally like in a dinner roll.  The amount of salt was fabulous and the sweetness was about right on.  So, pretty darn good, and pretty darn easy too.  I liked these better than the Texas Roadhouse knock off rolls.  It was the best roll I have had in a really long time... so might just be the "World's best dinner Roll".  You be the judge.



WORLD'S BEST DINNER ROLLS
Recipe from:  ourbestbites

• 2 c. whole milk (if you’re in a pinch, you can use 2%, but whole is best. Don’t use 1% or skim)
• 1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
• 2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
• 2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
• 8-9 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 beaten eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm. (Put pot in a bowl full of ice cubes to cool faster) Don't skip this cooling or you can kill the yeast.

While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes. If the yeast hasn’t bubbled, you’ll need to repeat this step–moving on so yeast can be activated properly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs.
Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough will still be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Mine took 8 1/2 cups.  It will firm up some during the rising process.  Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour, or more, if you forget or get busy like me.

Punch down dough.  Flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.
Spray 2- 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. I used a huge heavy bottomed pan for most of them, and a round cake pan for the last of the dough.  Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. A pizza cutter works great for this.  Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.

Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or longer is fine too :). When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.

When done, remove from oven. Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls and eat one while it's hot!

Texas Roadhouse Rolls (Copycat)

  Are these really like Texas Roadhouse?  Not quite... but they are good.  Maybe if I had made them not like the pull apart kind?  I just read another post that says to add 4 tsp. of wheat gluten and some honey.  Maybe next time.  

Anyway, although they are not quite like Texas Roadhouse's, they were still very yummy rolls and I would make them again.  And the cinnamon honey butter will not disappoint!

TEXAS ROADHOUSE ROLLS - Copycat Recipe

from: eatcakefordinner

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
• 3 Tbl. of melted butter, slightly cooled
• 1/2 c. sugar 
• 2 quarts all purpose flour (7-8 cups)
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 tsp. salt

CINNAMON BUTTER

• 1 stick softened butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a teaspoon of sugar.  Add yeast, milk, sugar and enough flour to make a medium batter.  Beat thoroughly.  Let stand until light and foamy.  Add melted butter, eggs and salt.  Beat well.  

Add enough flour to form a soft dough.  Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto counter and let dough rest.  Meanwhile, grease a large bowl.  Knead dough until smooth and satiny and put in greased bowl; turn over to grease top. (I used the dough hook on my Kitchen-Aid to knead this for about 4-5 minutes).  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.  Punch down.  Turn out onto a floured board.  Divide into portions for shaping; let rest 10 minutes.  Shape dough into desired forms.  (I pinched off golf size balls and placed them in a pan for pull apart rolls. They rise a lot, so make them small!!)  Place on greased baking sheets.  Let rise until doubled.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Baste immediately with butter.  Yield: 5 to 6 dozen.  Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter. 

For the Cinnamon Honey Butter:  whisk it all together, w/ mixer or by hand,  for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. 

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

We are addicted to this bread.  So much, in fact that I am getting rid of my bread maker.  I don't need it with this recipe.  It is easier than the bread maker, takes less ingredients, and in my opinion is far superior.  I can make this bread in less time than I can run in a store when I am out and about.  I know it sounds too good to be true, but this bread is fabulous.  I don't add the water to the oven like the original recipe calls for because I like a chewier crust.  This also makes a great pizza dough.  I do like my basic dough a tad better, but seeing how I almost always have this dough made, it is easier to just use this. 
This takes less than 10 minutes to mix up the dough and less than 5 minutes to get ready for baking.  NO KNEADING!  We have fresh baked bread probably 4 nights a week with our meal.  LOVE it!!
The link has great step by step directions, but it is so easy and really hard to mess up. 
My mom says it tastes just like what her Italian grandmother used to make.  I love how it is a rustic bread and wonderful with pasta or soups.  This is the least intimidating bread I have ever seen or made.  Go for it!


ARTISAN BREAD IN FIVE MINUTES A DAY
recipe slightly adapted from artisanbreadinfive.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups warm water
• 1 1/2 TBSP yeast
• 1 1/2 TSBP salt (not coarse)
• 1 1/2 TBSP sugar
• 6 1/2 cups flour (I sub 1 c. whole wheat and 1 c. oat flour)

DIRECTIONS:
In a 5 or 6 quart bowl or lidded tupperware dump in the water and add the yeast, sugar and salt.
Dump in the flour all at once and stir with a long handled wooden spoon.

Stir it until all of the flour is incorporated into the dough, as you can see it will be a wet rough dough.

Put the lid on the container, but do not snap it shut. You want the gases from the yeast to escape.

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 2 hours to rise. When you first mix the dough it will not occupy much of the container.  It will rise after the initial 2 hour and will pretty much fill it. DO NOT PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH! It will settle itself.

The dough will be flat on the top and some of the bubbles may even appear to be popping. (If you intend to refrigerate the dough after this stage it can be placed in the refrigerator even if the dough is not perfectly flat. The yeast will continue to work even in the refrigerator.) The dough can be used right after the initial 2 hour rise, but it is easier to handle when it's chilled.  As it sits, it will take on more sourdough characteristics.  The flavor deepens with time.

It will collapsed in the fridge, but this is totally normal for the dough. It will never rise up again in the container.

Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour, just enough to prevent it from sticking to your hands when you reach in to pull a piece out.

You should notice that the dough has a lot of stretch once it has rested. You can add a bit of water if it isn't. 

Cut off a 1-pound piece of dough, about 1/3 or 1/4th of the original  depending on the size loaf you want (I do 1/4th for us, 1/3rd with company) using kitchen shears and form it into a ball tucking under the edges to make a nice round smooth top.  Place the ball on a sheet of parchment paper… (or rest it on a generous layer of corn meal on top of a pizza peel and I put the cornmeal on the parchment too!)


Let the dough rest for at least 40 minutes, (although letting it go 60 or even 90 minutes will give you a more open hole structure in the interior of the loaf. This may also improve the look of your loaf and prevent it from splitting on the bottom. ) You will notice that the loaf does not rise much during this rest, in fact it may just spread sideways, this is normal for our dough.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone on the center rack for 20 minutes or longer, with a metal broiler tray on the bottom (never use a glass vessel for this or it will shatter), which will be used to produce steam. (The tray needs to be at least 4 or 5 inches away from your stone to prevent it from cracking.)
*(or Cast Iron Pizza Pan- which will never crack and conducts heat really well. Be careful to dry it after washing rinsing with water or it will rust)

Sprinkle the loaf with a bit of flour and cut the loaf with 1/4-inch slashes using a serrated knife (I use kitchen shears). (If your slashes are too shallow you will end up with an oddly shaped loaf and also prevent it from splitting on the bottom.)

Slide the loaf into the oven onto the preheated stone and add a cup of hot water to the broiler tray. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes or until a deep brown color. (I skip the water and bake it 30 minutes or less)
If you used parchment paper you will want to remove it after about 20-25 minutes to crisp up the bottom crust. Continue baking the loaf directly on the stone for the last 5-10 minutes.

Allow the loaf to cool on a rack until it is room temperature. If you cut into a loaf before it is cooled you will have a tough crust and a gummy interior. It is hard to wait, but you will be happy you did! Make sure you have a nice sharp bread knife that will not crush the bread as you cut. Or you can tear it apart as they do in most of Europe.

Dough lasts for up to 2 weeks!

Spaghetti Bread

This is a great meal if you are a fan of piling up your spaghetti on bread.  I always feel rude or like a pig doing that, but it is my favorite way to eat spaghetti, on a thick slice of Italian bread, and my piggish nature seems to take over when I am eating spaghetti.  My kids all loved this meal and I did too.  My daughter said it may be her favorite meal ever, but then quickly recanted saying she likes so many meals, but this one is really great!  They all want me to make it again.  It can be a bit messy, but isn't spaghetti always messy?  I used 1/3 of a batch of artisan bread in 5 minutes a day, which I will post at some point,  but the Rhodes dough will work just fine!  I didn't have spaghetti in house, but linguine, hence the lack of spaghetti in the pictures. You could add meat to the spaghetti for some protein and added heartiness.






SPAGHETTI BREAD
slightly adapted from Rhodes Rolls

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Loaf Rhodes™ Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed to room temperature or 1/3 artisan dough recipe
• 6 ounces spaghetti, cooked
• 2 cups thick spaghetti sauce
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 egg white, beaten
• Parmesan cheese
• parsley flakes

DIRECTIONS:
 

Preheat oven to 385 degrees and place pizza stone in oven (or use baking sheet lined with parchment).  Sprinkle cornmeal over parchment paper.  Flour surface of counter and roll dough some.  Transfer to parchment and roll dough into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly. Remove wrap from dough. Mix spaghetti with some sauce and place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down center of dough. Top with more sauce and cheese cubes.

Make cuts 1 1/2-inches apart on long sides of dough to within 1/2-inch of filling. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid. Transfer to baking stone by sliding cookie sheet under parchment and sliding it off onto the hot stone.  Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley. Bake at 385°F 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.  This is better when it has a chance to set slightly and won't fall apart so easily. Cut carefully and slowly in at least 1" thick slices.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel and Cream Cheese Icing

These rolls are delicious!  Will be making these every fall for sure!  We all really love the caramel icing and the cream cheese over that.  You could probably half the cream cheese icing.  I had it from pumpkin cinnamon swirl pancakes I had made and thought it would be a nice addition to these.  It was!  This is plenty of sweet for breakfast, so make sure you have some fruit or something savory to offset all this sugar! 
I made these when some friends came into town.  They joked that they were "delectable".  I think so.  Thanks Cristine for the inspiration! 
We actually ate some of the leftovers for dessert too!  Your mouth will be watering far before these reach your mouth.

PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS WITH CARAMEL AND CREAM CHEESE ICING

For the rolls:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• scant 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 3 1/2-4 cups bread flour (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)

Cinnamon filling:

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 TBSP ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup soft butter

Caramel Frosting:

upside down after turning out of pan

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• dash salt
• 1 1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

CREAM CHEESE ICING:

• 3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• milk to thin to drizzly consistency

DIRECTIONS:

Heat milk in microwave briefly to be warm. Sprinkle yeast over and some sugar over and stir.  In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt with paddle attachment. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.

Add the flour to pumpkin mixture. Switch to kneading attachment and knead for 5 minutes.  Turn into lightly greased bowl, then grease surface of dough lightly.

Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle and so it won't stick to the rolling surface. Roll dough into 12x10 inch rectangle.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Smear surface of dough with soft butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, or wax dental floss, cut roll into 12-15 1- inch thick slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11X17 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled for 30 to 45 minutes, or chill overnight and take out 45 minutes before baking.
Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel frosting. Makes 12-15 rolls (mine made 14).

For Caramel Frosting:

In small saucepan, heat butter cook over until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk.
Stir in brown sugar and milk. Whisk over medium low heat 1 minute until smooth.  Whisk in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and confectioners' sugar. Whisk until all the white clumps disappear.    Mix cream cheese icing ingredients.  Drizzle caramel icing over warm rolls, and drizzle over cream cheese icing over caramel icing.  Serve warm.