Showing posts with label BREAD RECIPES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BREAD RECIPES. Show all posts

CHICKEN BROCCOLI MUSHROOM BRAID


CHICKEN BROCCOLI MUSHROOM BRAID - This recipe is great for a buffet table or something like a baby shower because it can be sliced into small sections...it tastes good even after it's cooled to room temperature and the braided effect of the dough looks pretty.

2 cups cooked chicken shredded (deli rotisserie chicken works well too)
½ cup red bell pepper diced finely
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
¼ cup onion diced
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1 glove garlic (crushed)
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp. salt
(2) 8 oz. refrigerator crescent rolls (** see note)
1 egg white beaten
Sauté veggies and garlic just until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the rolls) mix well and set aside. THIS NEXT PART SOUNDS COMPLICATED BUT IT IS NOT!!
Unroll ONE TUBE of crescent roll dough and pinch triangle seams together to make one big triangle (roll dough with roller to flatten and thin it a little). PLACE DOUGH ON BAKING SHEET BEFORE YOU TOP DOUGH WITH FILLING. Spoon HALF of the filling down the center of the dough. Lightly salt and pepper filling. On both sides of the filling, cut the dough in 1” strips (but don’t come too close to the filling. Pull the strips over the filling in a criss-cross fashion, pinching together where necessary. Brush dough top with egg white. Bake in preheated oven for 25-28 minutes or until golden brown, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Slice & serve. REPEAT WITH SECOND TUBE OF CRESCENT DOUGH.

*NOTE: When I make this for a larger group, I double the filling and (instead of the crescent roll dough) I use bead dough. Personally, I like the crescent roll variation better (because I like less bread), however the photo I've used here was done with bread dough.

EASIEST BREAD STICKS EVER !!

If you have a stand mixer, these bread sticks practically make themselves!! Just throw everything in the stand mixer at once, and let it mix for 3 minutes, let it raise for an hour, shape them then let them raise again and bake... that's it!!

In the bowl of a stand mixer, put

2/3 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons of yeast

Stir it up just a little (with a spoon), then add

1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons butter (room temperature)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Put your paddle blade on, and mix for three minutes on medium low speed, it should look like this (the walls of the bowl should be clean)

Take the dough out of the bowl and spray the bowl with some vegetable spray and put the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and then a dish towel, and let it raise for an hour. It won't get huge because there is only 2 cups of flour, but it should be nice and puffy


Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll them out to (about) the diameter of your thumb.  Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet (or just a lightly greased sheet) a few inches apart and lightly spritz them with vegetable spray. Cover them with plastic wrap and gently lay a THIN kitchen towel over the plastic wrap.

Let them raise for about an hour, then remove the plastic wrap and bake them in a pre-heated 375 oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown, then remove them and brush them with butter. Some times I brush them with butter and then roll them in Parmesan....Mmmmmm.

Serve hot!!



NOTE: I'm sure this recipe would work very well in a bread machine as well.

INDIVIDUAL YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

On VERY special occasions, my British mother used to make roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. She baked the pudding in a 9" x 9" pan and I can still picture the huge golden "puff" coming out of the oven. Of course, it always collapsed by the time she brought it to the table, but we all thought it was SUPPOSED to look like that and we eagerly dunked chunks of the tasty treat into mom's deliciously perfect beef gravy; Mmmmmm, I can still taste it.

Recently, I decided to make a couple of changes to my Yorkshire pudding recipe. First, I made them into individual puddings and secondly, I decided to serve them with roast chicken and gravy, so I added a little poultry seasoning and onion powder  into the batter; what a nostalgic treat!!

 This recipe is fool proof as long as you follow it closely.

The cooking times for these individual Yorkshire puddings work well if you bake them in one of those over-sized cupcake pans, I believe they are called Texas size muffin pans; a popover pan will work well also. If you use a standard cupcake pan, you'll have to reduce the cooking time.

Put your UNGREASED pan in a COLD oven and then preheat the oven and pan to 425.

While your oven/pan is preheating, whisk together:

3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder (not onion salt)
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning  (if you use chicken gravy)
1 cup of milk (see note)
1 tablespoon melted butter

NOTE: If I have whipping cream, I put about ¼ cup of whipping cream in a measuring cup and then fill the rest of the way with 2% milk...if I have no cream on hand, I just use 1 cup of 2% milk.

After the above ingredients are whisked together well, add one cup of all purpose flour (spoon flour into measuring measuring cup and level off with straight edge). Whisk everything together until it looks very smooth and creamy. Let batter sit at room temperature while your oven preheats.

Working quickly (so your pan doesn't cool off) take your pan out of the hot oven and spray each cup with vegetable spray. Put a small chunk of COLD butter (roughly ½ teaspoon but the exact size is not crucial) (see note below) into the bottom of each hot cup (don't wait for it to melt). Fill each cup half way full.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 325 (don't open the oven door) and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove puddings from pan and poke a tiny hole (I use a toothpick) in the bottom of each popover to relieve a little steam (not totally necessary if you are going to eat them right away).

The inside of the Yorkshire pudding is full of light batter with holes, which is perfect for holding butter and gravy.

NOTE: Traditionally, you are supposed to pour the batter over hot beef fat  in the bottom of each muffin cup, however, I couldn't bring myself to do that (and besides I was serving them with chicken), so I used butter and it works great.

NOTE: If you are serving these with roast beef, omit the poultry seasoning and add whatever seasoning you like.

NOTE: This recipe makes six generous Yorkshire puddings.

SUNDAY MORNING FLUFFY BISCUITS

I have been biscuit "challenged" for many years, so when I'm in a hurry, I usually resort to a tube of commercial rolls and try to jazz them up, but they are pretty unmistakable (and getting expensive!!). 

The last few years, I've tried out a lot of biscuit recipes, in hopes of finding the perfect one; one that is flavorful, light, fluffy and EASY............here is my latest success...YUM!!!

Made with baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk AND yeast, these biscuits are light and fluffy. Hot out of the oven with butter and honey, they are a winner!!!

In a small bowl, mix 1 packet of dry active yeast, a pinch of sugar and ¼ cup of warm water (set aside). After a few minutes, it should be foamy like this:
2½ cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of white sugar
6 tablespoons Crisco flavored shortening
1 cup buttermilk (see note)

Stir dry ingredients together and then cut in the shortening until it is about the size of small peas. Stir in the dissolved yeast and buttermilk. Mix well, but do not over mix. Turn out onto floured board and roll to ¾” thick. Cut with a 3” biscuit cutter. Place on parchment paper and bake in preheated 400° oven for 12-14 minutes or until nice and golden. Brush with melted butter when they come out of the oven; they make fantastic breakfast sandwiches!!

NOTE: No kneading needed.

NOTE: This recipe does not work as well if you use butter instead of shortening. I use butter flavored Crisco in all my recipes that call for shortening.

NOTE: Don't be tempted to use your food processor when cutting in the shortening, it will process the shortening to much, it is better to have larger pieces of butter than super fine. I use my pastry cutter.
NOTE: Do NOT add all of the buttermilk at once. Add about 2/3 of it and see if that is enough. Personally, I think 1 cup of milk is too much, but everyone’s flour is different. Just flour your board enough so that the biscuits are not sticky.

NOTE: If you don’t have parchment paper, spray your pan with vegetable spray.

NOTE: Don’t use a twisting motion when you are cutting your biscuits. It seals off
the edges and they won’t raise very high.

Spring is here (even here in Alaska) and thoughts turn to outdoor barbeque's and camping. I’m always on the lookout for easy recipes that will “hold up” well in the cooler and Mushroom Stuffed Hamburgers is a good one. You can make the patties ahead of time and freeze them solid (which will help insure food safety while you travel.) Just throw these frozen patties on the grill and pair them with homemade hamburger buns (recipe follows) and you have a delicious cookout!
Can you tell that someone in my house loves mayo? LOL
(makes 4 hamburgers)
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 egg
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
¼ cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces of fresh mushrooms (sautéed)
favorite cheese

Each of these hamburgers is made out of two thin patties with mushrooms and cheese sandwiched in between. So mix everything (except the mushrooms & cheese) and make 8 thin patties. Top four of the patties with sautéed mushrooms and your favorite cheese and then a 2nd thin patty, pressing to seal the edges well. Repeat for the other three hamburgers.

If you are going to freeze these, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. When they are frozen, you can stack them in a freezer Ziploc bag. Whether you are taking these on a camping trip or just leaving them in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal, they taste great.

HAMBURGER BUNS

This recipe will make at least 2 dozen hamburger buns. Once baked, they freeze extremely well. I find myself using them for everything from breakfast sandwiches to peanut butter sandwiches.
5 cups of all purpose flour
2 packets of dry active yeast (I use 2 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
2 ½ cups very warm water


In an electric stand mixer, place 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, oil and salt (stir to combine dry ingredients) Add 2 ½ cups of very warm water (see note). Stir quickly while you add the water. Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour, about ½ cup at a time, scraping the sides of your bowl and dough hook each time. Every time you stop your mixer, turn all of the dough mass over. Let your machine knead this dough until it CLEANLY comes away from the side of your mixer. If you have added all 5 cups of flour and it has not come cleanly away from your bowl, you need to add just a little more flour.

Once the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of your bowl, let the machine knead it for about five more minutes. Remove the dough and grease the bowl. Return the bread to the greased bowl and grease the top of the dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for an hour (it will more than double in volume).

Punch the air out of your dough and let it rest (covered) for 15-20 minutes. This step is important because your dough will “behave” much better while you form it, if you follow this step. Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a tangerine. Make each ball as round as you can. Roll each ball into a 5” circle. Resist the temptation to add more dough to make a thicker bun. At this stage, your buns need to be a lot thinner than you think. (about ½” thick). If you add more dough, you are going to end up with a burger bun the size of your face!

Place the formed buns on a greased baking sheet and spritz the top of the dough with just a little cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. Bake at 400° for 15-16 minutes.

If you are going to freeze these buns, let them cool completely first and freeze as soon as possible. About 4 to 5 minutes in a 350° oven will heat a frozen burger bun and make it taste like it was just baked.


This recipe also makes excellent sandwich bread

CHEESY FOCACCIA

This is the easiest bread I have ever made. It is FULL of flavor and is soft and chewy with a delicious cheesy surface. Whether you use it to sop up a great sauce…or slice it for a sandwich, this recipe is a winner. The smell of it baking will bring your family running to the table.
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
1 cup warm milk
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella shredded
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Mix first 9 ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix in warm milk and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix well and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (it will take just a couple minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let this sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Punch down and place on a greased baking sheet. Pat dough out into a rectangle about ½” thick. Brush top with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let this sit for about 30 minutes. With 2 fingers, make dents every few inches over surface of focaccia. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove to a rack.


This hearty bread also makes an excellent sandwich.

Make sure you pop over to Tried and True Cooking With Heidi
She is giving away a prize to celebrate her 100th post.

BISCUIT FLAT BREAD

Do you ever need a quick side dish or a “go with” for that crockpot dinner? This “instant biscuit" type flat bread is quick, flavorful and something just a little different.

10 ounce tube of refrigerator (flaky) biscuits
½ cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (packed fairly tight)
¼ (level) teaspoon of dry basil leaves
¼ (level) teaspoon of dry oregano leaves
3 tablespoons of thinly slivered green onion tops
1 clove of garlic (minced)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Mix everything together well (except the biscuits) and set aside.
Separate refrigerator biscuits and roll each one out into a circle approximately 4” across. Using your fingers, press on the center of the biscuit’s a little more, leaving the outer edge just a little bit thicker than the center (like a pizza). Divide cheese mixture evenly between the biscuits and spread it around (staying back from the edge).Bake on UNgreased cookie sheet, at 350° for about 15 minutes or until golden.
NOTE: Change the kind of herbs if there is something you like better.
NOTE: I usually cook them for about 14½ minutes then turn the broiler on for about 30 seconds to give them just a little extra color (but watch them carefully).
NOTE: Don’t flour your counter before rolling out these biscuits.