Yeast

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Monkey Bread Muffins

May 8, 2013 30 Comments

Have you ever made monkey bread? I honestly and truly believe it may be the first thing I ever baked- seventh grade- home ec. class and a can of biscuit dough. I’m also pretty sure we “baked” them in the microwave? It’s possible. Not familiar with monkey bread? I’ve decided t’s basically like the inside of a cinnamon roll. Rounds of soft dough are dunked in butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar and then baked together. I mean sound’s pretty similar right? I’ve been thinking that I needed to make a for-scratch version of this for ages and thought a muffin-sized version would be fun. (Normally it’s made in a bundt pan but the muffin tins were cute as can be!)

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes Tagged With: Cinnamon, Yeast

Basic White Bread

April 29, 2013 30 Comments

Did you ever go to summer camp as a kid? I didn’t- but always dreamed of it. I always figured getting to spend all day with new friends doing fun activities would be the most fun ever. Well, last week I got to go to my adult version of “camp” which was really the Blog & Bake ® at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT. It was three days of all day baking glory- learning the ins and outs of their flour as well as how to make all sorts of wonderful recipes with it. I met some wonderful bloggers and learned so very much. Adult baking camp for the win!!

This basic white bread recipe is one of the first we made. It is so soft and is just to die for with a slab of creamy butter. (You should have seen the whole group demolish a loaf with some Vermont butter. Amazing.)

Filed Under: Breads, Classics, Recipes Tagged With: Yeast

{Milk Bar Monday} Cheesy Caramelized Onion Volcanoes

April 15, 2013 15 Comments

It’s Milk Bar Monday! In case you are new to these parts, MBM is a project I started last year with a few other bloggers to bake our way through the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi. So far, it’s proven to be one of the most rewarding and challenging projects I’ve taken on- I really love these Mondays so!

The majority of the recipes in the cookbook are sugary sweet, so I always get a little excited when we make something savory. Last time we made Bagel Bombs which I loved, and today I’m sharing a recipe I loved even more. (if that’s possible.)

Filed Under: Breads, Milk Bar Mondays, Recipes, Savory Tagged With: Cheese, Yeast

Homemade Croissants

March 18, 2013 31 Comments

I love me a good challenge. Thousand piece jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, board games- you name it- I want to figure out (and win when it comes to games!)

When it comes to baking related challenges, my own fear of wasting my time and ingredients often stops me from giving tricky recipes a shot. That’s not to say I haven’t done it- but so often I get so comfy making what I know- that I don’t travel far out of my comfort zone.

When Lindsay posted about a “kitchen challenge” series- and that the theme for March was croissants- I felt like it was just the push I needed to tackle these. I also figured that when I get back from Paris I’ll miss these delicious pastries and will appreciate knowing how to manage a homemade version. (Though I’m writing this before leaving- I’m actually in Paris now!!)

I have to say that croissants aren’t nearly as scary as they seem. I did half of the steps Friday- let the dough chill overnight- and was able to bake them up in time for Saturday brunch. (Hours before leaving for the airport… I’m crazy like that.)

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, How-To, Recipes Tagged With: Yeast

{Milk Bar Mondays} Bagel Bombs

March 11, 2013 31 Comments

You guys there is a reason I primarily post desserts on here. Though I love my sweets, I am such a sucker for something delicious and savory. SO much so, that I find it nearly impossible to show any patience after finishing baking/cooking a savory dish. Where with sweets, I usually don’t have a problem waiting to sample until my photos are done and nice looking, I have zero self control with salty deliciousness. Like these bagel bombs. I just had to try one- right away…and then another. Then I thought, “I can still take pictures of only 6 bombs,” only to turn around to a hungry husband who wanted to try one too. Before we knew it, 4 of these were gone and I just figured the pictures I had snapped would have to do.

Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Milk Bar Mondays, Recipes, Savory Tagged With: Bacon, Cream Cheese, Yeast

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

February 8, 2013 74 Comments

Even though I’ve made it a few times now, homemade bread has always been something I put in the “do-able but time-consuming” category. It’s something I’ve conquered, but for the everyday- I don’t often have the energy to deal with making dinner as well as homemade bread on the side. Well- this recipe has truly changed my views on bread forever! It literally takes 5 minutes to prepare the dough, it sits out overnight, and bakes up in no-time.

It’s possible you’ve seen a version of this recipe before. My Mother-in-law made a couple different batches when we visited recently, and ever since I’ve had it on the brain. Where this concept actually originated? Who knows. I mean making bread from nothing but flour, yeast, salt and water must be an ancient concept right? Around the same time my MIL sent me her recipes, I found a great post on via Pintrest with a tutorial of almost the exact same recipe. I knew it was time to see how easy this bread actually was to make. Because really- how could this perfect golden, crusty bread be so simple? I’ve outlined the process below:

Filed Under: Breads, Recipes Tagged With: Yeast

Buttery Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

November 16, 2012 19 Comments

Today I bring to you a recipe that is going to make your Thanksgiving prep way easier. If you’re someone like me who likes to plan and prepare things ahead to avoid last minute kitchen stress, you will love this. These are the butteriest softest dinner rolls, and you can make them today, freeze them and then bake them fresh on Thanksgiving. Nothing quite beats a freshly-baked dinner roll, so this way you get that without waking up early to prep.

The recipe itself requires little hands-on work and I personally love forming the round rolls and watching them rise. After letting the dough proof and assembling the rolls- you can either let it proof one more time for an hour, or wrap the pan tightly and freeze them until you’re ready to use. Simply place the frozen pan in a warm place for 2-1/2 hours and they will be poofy and ready to bake. (My kitchen is always warm when I’m prepping Thanksgiving so I don’t think I’ll have a hard time finding a warm spot.)

Before baking I brushed these with egg and sprinkled on some flaky sea salt. If you prefer poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or herbs- you can play around with that. The texture of these is soft and airy, and will be perfect for sopping up gravy and cranberry sauce!

PS- Don’t be afraid of making recipes that require yeast! I used to be hesitant but it is really so easy and actually very fun. The science-loving kid in me loves watching the dough double in size. :)

Buttery Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

Yield: 30 rolls

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water (115 degrees)
2 packets (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (115 degrees)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for bowl and pans
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for work surface

Instructions

Place water in a small bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together milk, butter, sugar, salt, and 2 eggs until combined. Mix in yeast mixture.
With mixer on low speed, add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have a soft, shaggy dough (if necessary, add up to 1/2 cup more flour). Replace paddle with the dough hook and process until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. (No mixer? That's OK. You can do this with a whisk and a wooden spoon for the flour. Then knead by hand for 5-10 mis.)
Butter the inside of a large bowl; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours.
Butter two 13-by-9-inch baking pans. (Or 3 8x8 pans if you want smaller batches.) Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 15-inch rope; cut each rope into 15 1-inch pieces. Press each piece into a disk, then shape into a ball. (Don't handle the dough too much or it will become tough.)
Arrange dough balls in prepared pans. (To make ahead: Wrap pans well, and freeze, up to 2 months.)
Cover pans loosely with kitchen towel; let stand in a warm spot until rolls have doubled in size, about 1 1/4 hours (2 hours more if frozen).
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg until blended; brush onto rolls. Sprinkle with sea salt or herbs.
Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Let rolls cool 15 minutes before serving.

http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/11/16/buttery-make-ahead-dinner-rolls/

Recipe adapted from: Martha Stewart

Filed Under: Breads, Recipes Tagged With: Yeast

Braided Broccoli-Pesto Bread

May 18, 2012 16 Comments

Ok you guys- it’s official- I am obsessed with baking with yeast! What started out as an irrational parnoia has turned into my new favorite hobby. Is it the satisfaction of watching the dough rise that I love so much? Maybe thhe soft pillowy breads that come out of the oven? Is it taking all my stresses out as I knead the dough on my table? Who knows- but- I really can’t get enough.

I’d been eying this particular recipe on Pintrest for awhile, and had been waiting for the perfect chance to make it. Well the chance came a few weeks ago when my dear friend Laura and I made plans to bake together. She’d given up sweets for a few weeks (how?) so I thought it would be nice to make something she could actually enjoy. (Plus- the morning of our baking date she found out some truly amazing news- and it seemed like celebrating with a piece of broccoli pesto bread was better than nothing!)

The original recipe used store-bought french bread dough, but I wanted to try something from scratch. I thought pizza dough would be perfect for this, almost like a calzone, so I went with that. I found this recipe so easy to work with and man oh man did it rise! So much so I had to keep punching it down while I waited for Laura to arrive!

Numerous types of filling would be excellent here, but I thought broccoli pesto sounded so interesting I just had to try it. The options are endless and I can’t wait to try it again with something new. (Brie and pears maybe?) I also am excited to try to make my first homemade pizza and actually use this as crust!

Are you intimidated by the pretty braid on top? Don’t worry- it’s easy as can be and I included step by step pictures below!!

Print

Braided Broccoli-Pesto Bread

Ingredients
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar

Broccoli Pesto
1 head of Broccoli chopped into florets (about 2 cups)
2 garlic cloves- peeled
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup blanched toasted almond
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine.
Knead well until a stiff dough has formed. If dough is too sticky- gradually add the extra half
cup of flour. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
When the dough as proofed, turn it out onto a well floured surface, form dough into an oval shape and roll out.
Spread the pesto into the middle of the dough and cut inch-thick strips onto either side.

To "braid" the bread- overlap one over the other- stretching each piece to seal the the beneath it.
Once the loaf is braided- brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sea salt.
Slide a the loaf onto a cookie sheet or pizza stone, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and crisp. Cut into slices and serve warm dipped into your favorite sauce.
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http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/05/18/braided-broccoli-pesto-bread/

Crust adapted from: All Recipes
Filling and concept adapted from: Bev Cooks

Filed Under: Breads, Recipes, Savory Tagged With: Yeast

Homemade Soft Pretzels

May 9, 2012

A few months ago, I never in a million years would have believed that I’d be comfortable making recipes that involve yeast. I rarely tried it, thought it was scary, and spent my time mastering any and every shortcut around it instead. I figured that when I get married and finallyhopefullymaybe get a stand mixer, I could use the dough hook and give it a try. Well, like always I get impatient waiting to try this the easy way, give them a try and end up surprising myself.

It really started when I made these Cinnamon Rolls. I was with my Mother-in-law (to be) and she makes yeasted bread all the time. She helped me knead the dough and make me feel like it was something I could actually conquer. Then those rolls ended up being amazing, and I made them 3 more times in two weeks, (giving me a chance to practice on my own.) Since then, I’ve been a little bit obsessed with seeing if it’s something I can actually do! I made this pie, this bread and now these pretzels. All delicious, all pretty incredibly easy. (Who knew?)

The impulse to make these delicious pretzels came when Maria posted about them a few weeks ago. I loved her variation and the Alton Brown recipe she had adapted looked so easy. The method was similar to the bagels I had made earlier, but with yeasted dough and of course the signature twist. The recipe called for pretzel salt which I didn’t have, so I adapted the toppings a bit to my liking. I chose to sprinkle flaky sea salt on a few of them, a cinnamon sugar mixture on some, and garlic and parmesan on the rest. I loved each flavor a lot, but I’m such a salt-a-holic, the salty one was probably my fave.

I am already getting excited for football season to start in the fall, (Go Packers!) and these would make an amazing game day treat. I love having friends over to watch the games and a batch of these with a variety of dipping sauces sounds pretty incredible! I also think I’ll try another variation of this recipe and maybe make these into pretzel bites. *I’m anxious to make these again so I can master my pretzel twist- I know these could be cuter:)

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, (about 4 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
2/3 cup baking soda
10 cups of water (for boiling)
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Sea Salt, Cinnamon Sugar, Parmesan Cheese or other toppings of choice

Instructions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.
Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter, and either using the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer or just a wooden spoon, mix until all ingredients are well combined.
If using a stand mixer- change to medium speed and knead, or turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth- approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. (I love warming my oven to about 200 degrees F and then turning it off- perfect warm place.)
Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring about 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope (the only way I could stretch this dough out was to hold it between two hands and literally pull it. See what method works best for you!)
Make a U-shape with the dough, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for about 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the toppings of choice.
Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool slightly before digging in. Enjoy!

http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/05/09/homemade-soft-pretzels/

Recipe barely adapted from: Alton Brown

Filed Under: Breads, Recipes Tagged With: Pretzels, Yeast

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Monkey Bread Muffins

Basic White Bread

{Milk Bar Monday} Cheesy Caramelized Onion Volcanoes

Homemade Croissants

{Milk Bar Mondays} Bagel Bombs

No-Knead Crusty Artisan Bread

Buttery Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls

Braided Broccoli-Pesto Bread

Homemade Soft Pretzels

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