Pumpkin Bread

After making the Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake for Thanksgiving, I found myself with leftover pumpkin. I only had a large can at home, so my leftovers were just over 15 oz. I wanted to make something easy with the pumpkin, so I looked for a bread type recipe in my collection. I have made some in the past, but I don't think this was the one - unfortunately, I hadn't written any of them in my cookbook, so I was left guessing. I decided to add chocolate chips to one of the loaves of bread, I didn't have minis, which I prefer in bread, so I used regular chocolate chips.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (or 15 oz fresh pumpkin)
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray the bottom of two bread pans with cooking spray.

Blend the flour, baking soda, spices and salt, set aside.

Combine the sugar, eggs, oil and pumpkin in a bowl. Stir with a whisk until combined.

Fold in the dry ingredients, stirring until combined. If you are adding chocolate chips, add them and stir to combine.

Pour into two prepared bread pans. Baked for 50 - 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for a few minutes in pans before turning out.

Disclaimer

Homemade French Bread

We really love having bread with our meals. We used to always just buy bread, but a few years back, when my husband picked up bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, rather than returning it, I decided to give a try to homemade breads. I enjoyed making the bread and the end product so much, that now, I almost prefer to make bread. I have gotten to the point, where I think nothing of putting together a loaf of bread for dinner, even during the week.

I stumbled upon this French Bread recipe on Pinterest, when I was looking for bread recipes about a month ago. The first time I made it, I split it into 3 loaves, like the author but the second time I made an adjustment to 2 loaves. I found that it was a better result for me.

This bread is good on its own, but I really enjoy it with butter, especially toasted with a bit of honey cinnamon butter. I think it would make an excellent French Toast bread and delicious sandwiches for a picnic.

My daughter definitely loves the bread, telling me that I could make this type of bread anytime. My co-workers also enjoyed it when I brought in a loaf to share.

French Bread

1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 cup cold water
6 cups bread flour
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Place 1 c of water in the microwave and bring to a boil, about 3 minutes.

Place 1/3 c warm water in a measuring cup and sprinkle 1 tbsp of yeast over the water. Using a fork, stir into the water until dissolved.

Place 2 Tablespoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of salt and 1 Tablespoon of shortening in your mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash the ingredients together.

Pour the boiling water into the mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of cold water (from the tap) and the water with the yeast to the mixing bowl.

Add 3 cups of flour and mix. Add remaining flour, about ½ cup at a time.

When the dough starts to pull together, dump it onto your well-floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, using the remaining flour as needed, to keep it from sticking. The dough should be smooth with a nice elasticity. The dough may still be a little sticky, but not too sticky.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the dough into two (or three) equal parts. Let it rest another 5 minutes.

Flatten each section of dough into a rectangle with your hands. Roll the long sides in, and then bring up the short sides. Flip the loaf over and smooth the edges, tucking any seams underneath.

Cut three slits in each loaf.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and using a pastry brush, brush the egg over the top of the loaves, including in the slits.

Place your bread into your 170 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until doubled in size.

Turn the temperature up to 400 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and crispy.

Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 10 minutes.

Allow to cool before slicing.

It makes either 3, 1# loaves or 2, 1 1/2# loaves.


Disclaimer

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Last weekend, we were driving home from Cedar Point after a visit that was cut short by a crazy storm. Along the way we passed a couple of Buffalo Wild Wing restaurants (or BWs, as I have always known them). It sounded so yummy to me, that I knew that I wanted to fit buffalo chicken into my menu last week. At first, I thought I would make buffalo chicken rolls or wontons, but then I decided to try a different route and make a shredded chicken in buffalo sauce. I have a bag of bread flour that I need to use part of so that I can fit the rest in my container, so I decided that I would make my slider rolls using my everyday bread recipe.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 24 ounces)
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter
1 bottle (5 fl oz) Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce

Place ingredients in crock pot on low for 6 hours.

Shred.


Homemade Slider Rolls

1 cup warm water (110 F)
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active, dry yeast

Sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water. In a mixing bowl, place 2 cups of the flour, sugar and salt. Pour the wetted yeast and water into the bowl and stir. Add additional flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. When the dough starts to come together, turn out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place back in mixing bowl, rub on a little canola oil and cover with a damp cloth. Let it rise for about 30 minutes, until dough doubles in size.

Separate dough into 16 rolls (approx 1.5 oz each) and place on baking sheet. Let the rolls rise for about 30 minutes. Then, bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

After the rolls have cooled, slice in half and top with the shredded chicken.

This meal got the thumbs up from the family and is sure to be part of future menu plans.

Disclaimer

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I am a big fan of banana flavored dishes. You might have noticed that I have a few posts about banana recipes. One of my favorite treats is banana bread - it is especially yummy when it is warm, with a bit of butter and some cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. Sometimes, I like to change it up and put in chocolate chips. This bread, takes that idea one step further, it is banana bread with chocolate chips and cocoa - to make it a yummy chocolatey treat. It has a nice crumb and it is delicious at room temperature and warmed too!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Servings 18

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter melted and cooled
3 bananas ripe
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, mash the ripe bananas and add eggs, melted butter and vanilla. Stir until mixed. Add the dry ingredients, stirring just to incorporate. Add the chocolate chips and stir.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Each slice of the bread (about 55 g) is just 186 calories. I think it makes for a great treat that I don't have to feel too guilty about.

Disclaimer

New York Deli Rye

Growing up, my grandma was the best cook and baker that there was. Most of her best recipes consisted of a dash of this and a handful of that. Many of them were not written down anywhere. Unfortunately, that means that now, many of those recipes are forever lost. I have been on a quest lately to find a recipe similar to hers for German Rye Bread. I tried a recipe a few months ago, but it wasn't quite it (you can find that version here).

A few weeks ago, I came across this version on Smitten Kitchen. This version is getting closer. This bread has a great flavor that is very similar to what I remember, maybe a little light on the rye. The texture fresh from the oven was a crusty crust and a soft center. This seemed different than Grandma's bread, but after a day of resting it was a bit more chewy in the crust and the center - which is closer to what I remember. The crust was a lighter color than I was used to.

I think next time that I make it I might swap in a little rye flour in place of some of the bread flour in the flour mixture. Not a lot, but maybe 1/4 cup. I might see about swapping molasses for the honey too. I am thinking that might give me a darker crust and a deeper flavor. I also did not include any ground caraway seeds, because I'm not a fan of the seeds themselves. Perhaps I might try adding a bit of ground seeds - I know my grandma's bread was seedless, but I don't know if she added ground seed to it.

New York Deli Rye
Sponge
3/4 cup bread flour
3/4 cup rye flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon honey or malt powder
1 1/2 cups water at room temperature

Flour Mixture
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 tablespoon coarse salt

Dough and Baking
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cornmeal


Make the sponge: Combine sponge ingredients in a large or mixer bowl and whisk until very smooth, to intentionally incorporate air — this will yield a thick batter. Set it aside.

Make the flour mixture and cover the sponge: In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour mixture and gently scoop it over the sponge to cover it completely. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 1 to 4 hours at room temperature. (The sponge will bubble through the flour mixture in places.)

Mix the dough by hand: Add the oil and with a wooden spoon or your hand, stir until the flour is moistened. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it onto a very lightly floured counter. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, after which it might still be a little sticky. Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. Knead the dough for another 5 to 10 minutes or until it is very smooth and elastic.

Let the dough rise: Place the dough in a large container or bowl, lightly oiled. Oil the top of the dough as well. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Flip the dough out on to a lightly floured counter, press it down gently, fold it back into a square-ish ball and allow it to rise a second time, back in the oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap for about 45 minutes.

Shape it and wait out the final rise: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gently press it down again. Round it into a ball and set it on a cornmeal sprinkled baking stone. Cover it with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. You will know it is ready, when after gently pressing with a fingertip, the depression will very slowly fill in.

Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Slash and bake the bread: With a sharp knife or singled-edged razor blade, make 1/4- to 1/2-inch-deep slashes in the top of the dough. Mist the dough with water. Bake for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 400°F and continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool the bread on a wire rack.

Disclaimer

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

There is nothing that can quite compare to the smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. There is something so inviting about that warm smell of cinnamon filling the house. When we have company, or a breakfast gathering, one of my favorite treats to make is cinnamon rolls. They might sound overwhelming on the surface, but it really is quite easy to whip up a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls. This recipe takes about 75 minutes from start to ready to eat and the result is a wonderful, soft fragrant treat.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Servings 12

3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
3 1/4 cups flour divided
2 1/4 tsps instant yeast (1 packet)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar packed
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup butter softened


Heat milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in butter, stir until melted. Let cool.
In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 c flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add water, egg and milk mixture. Beat well. Add remaining flour 1/2 c at a time, stirring after each addition. When the dough starts to pull together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover dough with damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 12x9 rectangle.

Spread the brown sugar mixture over the dough. Roll up dough and pinch seams to seal.

Cut into 12 rolls. Place in a lightly greased pan.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with frosting or plain. For ease, I find that a tub of frosting is quick and easy. It is best to apply warm so that it melts in.

Sometimes, to mix things up a bit, I will add thinly sliced apple pieces with the sugar mixture.

Then, you can roll it up and cook as above. I like the added touch of the apple flavor and a bit of crunch, too.

The cinnamon rolls keep well and stay soft. We always reheat them when we serve them later - another advantage of not frosting them all.

Disclaimer

Light Rye Bread

When I was growing up, I remember spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Many mornings, I would wake to the sound of Grandma humming in the kitchen. She was usually baking or cooking. She was the best cook. She made 'simple' foods, but they were awesome. One of my favorites was her homemade German Rye Bread. It was dark and crusty, with a chewy texture. It was dense and wonderful (and seedless!). It made a great buttered bread and also was a great vehicle for ham salad and liverwurst. It wasn't 'wimpy' and didn't crumble as you put your toppings on.

She stopped making it regularly when getting the bulk rye flour stopped making sense. I can remember buying her bread at a bakery near Cleveland that I would stop at when I visited my boyfriend's family called Michael's. They made Grandma's bread. Unfortunately, I don't have Grandma's recipe, so now I am on a quest. I haven't been able to find anything - most have the caraway seeds -yet, but as I enjoy bread, am willing to experiment.

I even found this little shop run by Mennonites, that in addition to having great prices on deli meat and cheese, also sells small packs of 'bulk' products for a good price. I stopped by on Friday and picked up a bag of Rye flour so that I could make a Light Rye recipe that I found on SimplyRecipes.com.

I probably knew as soon as I saw the recipe name that it wouldn't be quite the same, but I wanted to give it a try. Even if it was light in color, if it fully delivered on flavor and texture, the color was of lesser worry to me. The bread has a great flavor, but the crumb is not quite dense enough or the crust quite chewy enough. Although, it did seem to be denser when it was cooled, versus eating it nearly hot from the oven. My daughter did say, 'no matter how you make this bread, it is always the best over...it is really good' and my son said, 'the secret to good bread is to eat it warm'.

Light Rye Bread

2 packages active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2/3 cup molasses
5 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water with the molasses. Put mixture into large metal bowl.
2. Add salt, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, rye flour and 2 c of the bread flour, mixing after each addition with a wooden spoon.
3. Add more bread flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is not sticky and is hard to stir. Spread your surface with 1/2 c flour and put the dough on the surface.
4. Knead the dough, adding additional bread flour into the dough until it reaches the right consistency. Need for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Pour some vegetable oil into a large bowl and turn the dough to coat. Cover witha damp cloth and let rise at room temperature until it has about doubled in size. Around 1 1/2 hours.
6. Gently press down dough to release some air. Knead the dough a few turns and then divide it into two with a sharp knife.
7. Shape each half into a loaf.
8. Place onto flat baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal and cover with damp cloth.
9. Let rise again, until it has risen by about 1/2 above its original volume, about 40 minutes.
10. Place in a preheated 350 oven. Mist the dough with a little water for the first 10 minutes of baking. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until done. Bread will sound hollow when tapped.

(still warm)

(cooled)

Disclaimer

Italian Breadsticks

Ever since my husband accidentally bought bread flour last year, and I couldn't return it, knowing that the store would just throw it away, I have been on a bread kick. I have made cinnamon rolls, Ciabatta bread, white bread, Parmesan breadsticks and so much more. Most recently, we tried some Italian breadsticks.

Italian Breadsticks
1 c warm water
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 c bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) yeast
Topping:
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp grated Parmesean cheese

Place the bread ingredients in your bread maker in the order suggested by your machine. Use the dough cycle to make the dough.

Remove dough from bread machine and divide into balls. Roll each one into a 4-6" length. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

When the breadsticks are finished, mix the butter and Parmesean and brush over the warm breadsticks.

Some thoughts...
This recipe confirmed my theory that I could improve on the Ciabatta bread recipe by adding spices. The Italian seasoning and garlic smelled almost over-powering when the dough was mixing and rising, but in the end, the flavor was just right.

Eat these breadsticks all at once. We had a few left, but they don't deliver as well when they are cold and warming them just made them chewy.

This recipe was found on Money Saving Mom.

Disclaimer

Ciabatta Bread

Lately, we have been striking out when it comes to buying bread. Last time my husband went to Panera to get bread, they were out. Not sure how a business seemingly based on bread runs out of bread hours before they close, but they did.

I have been talking about trying to make Ciabatta at home for some time. I did a quick search of the internet looking for recipes to try. Many of them involved a sponge, which, since I thought I was eating it for dinner on Sunday would not work, since it was already after noon.

I found a recipe here and read through all of the feedback, which resulted in a few tweaks to the recipe. There are a few more that I might try next time, like adding a little rosemary to the batch.

Ciabatta Bread
1 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
3 1/4 c bread flour
1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

Layer ingredients in pan of bread machine. Select dough cycle and start.

Remove dough from bread machine pan, it will be a little sticky, onto lightly floured surface. Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Divide dough into two pieces and shape into two ovals on a floured baking sheet. Dimple the surface and sprinkle with flour. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes. Dimple again.

Bake at 425 for 25 - 30 minutes. After 10 minutes, spritz dough with water for a crispier crust.

I was very pleased with the result of the bread. It wasn't as sour as a standard ciabatta, but still had the right amount of air pockets and a good crispy crust and chewy center. It was so yummy, enjoyed warm - we ate about half a loaf this way. The rest was enjoyed at dinner the next night, where we served it with olive oil and seasoning dip.

Banana Cherry Loaf

Banana bread has been a long time favorite of mine. I don't eat nuts, so my banana bread is typically simply banana bread. On occasion, I have been known to add chocolate chips to my banana bread, but not much else. Yesterday, I decided to add some cherries to the banana bread. I think the result was absolutely delicious. I think that next time, I might try this recipe with Blueberries.

Banana Cherry Loaf
1/2 c shortening
1 c sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 c flour, divided
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c cherries, pitted and halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

Cream shortening and sugar.

Add the eggs one at a time. Add the bananas and mix well. Add 1 1/4 c flour, baking soda and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Add the 1/4 c flour to the cherries and gently toss to coat. Add to the batter and fold in.

Pour into pan and bake about 55 minutes, until the center is set.

Some notes:
I used a whisk, but you could use a mixer.
I sprinkled the top of the loaf with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar.
The cherries fell towards the bottom, I'm thinking that quartering them might leave them more dispersed in the loaf.