Today's Baking- Artisan Rolls

I used one of the recipes from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking 

So cool to pull out your dough from the fridge, shape....fuggetaboutit  for a while and then bake into these.

This dough can be made in a couple of minutes, refrigerated, and used throughout the week.

Baked per instructions, the crust is very chewy, and you can taste the unique, rustic flavor from the kosher salt. The yeast flavor becomes stronger over several days and I personally prefer it before the third day.

But the convenience! Awesome! -Especially for you working mommas.

Psa 37:25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Shaping Rolls and Buns, Toppings, Today's Baking, and more

In keeping with the quick breads this week, I made some mini Apple-Zucchini-Pumpkin-Walnut Bread. I used the recipe for Pumpkin Bread and just mixed up the fruits and veggies.

The mini loaves I drizzled with melted white bark and the muffins I dusted with powdered sugar.

Is it just me, or is a messy table sometimes pretty?

I mean, doesn't flour everywhere just sort of say "I love you" in a wordless whisper? ...Ok, enough photographic theatrics.

Some of these are just round, button buns and others were shaped as kaiser rolls. All of them were brushed with an egg wash. The one in the center also had a powdered tomato based seasoning sprinkled on it.

In the front and center here, this bun was topped with a mix of dried roasted garlic and peppers.

This is one of my faves. The bun on the left has celery seed and dill. The one beside it, in the very center of the pic, has ground coriander.    ...I also made some with dried onion, some with poppy seeds, and one with a sprinkling of triple-colored, fresh-ground peppercorns- yum! But those were gobbled up before they cooled!

Some of the dough I rolled out into a large rectangle and cut into squares, triangles, rectangles and odd shapes. They all make beautiful sandwich buns. This is simply minced garlic and dried parsley. The one in front is only garlic.

I'm seeing these style buns, stuffed with sandwich fixings, and arranged in large circles on serving platters. They look like pre-sliced pie sandwiches!

I really love this shape too. So much potential! Hot dog buns? Subs? Bread sticks?- And so easy! I used a one-day sourdough and a pizza cutter to have all this fun today.

Homemade bread dough is super frugal and easy to make. It's a great way to stretch your meals, keep things entertaining, and to dress up the same ole same oles!

Use rolls and buns for sliders, hamburgers, sloppy joes, chicken salads, BBQs, pulled pork, leftover roast, sandwiches, bean spreads like hummus etc, eggs, hot dogs, sausages (smoked and patties), egg salad, other meat salads, and more....or split for mini pizza breads :)

Prov 28:21  To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.

Baking in Picture, Today....

Brownie Bites

Sour Cream Poppy Seed Muffins (I usually use yogurt.)

My All-Time-Favorite Banana Nut Muffins

In addition:

Pumpkin Breads

How to Make Your Own Brown and Serve Rolls

The good news is, you can use your already-favored-recipes!

You are just going to bake them a little differently :)

You will make your dough as usual. Shape your rolls and allow them to rise.

I highly recommend that you do small pans if you do side-by-side rolls or that you space-n-shape them where they will not touch. 
Doing them in a large baking sheet, touching on all sides, was difficult to get them to set. They would 'sigh' slightly once they cooled.

Once the rolls have risen, bake them for approx. 22 minutes at 275 (on well greased or buttered pan), just until a slight golden tint starts to form. The kind you have to double check to see if it's really there ;-)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Flash freeze then store in air-tight containers.

When you need rolls, place them on a baking sheet while preheating the oven to 400.
Heat for approx 8 to 10 minutes until crisp and golden.
Butter if desired.

Savory Onion Muffins

Who said muffins have to be sweet?

These are moist and extra soft and perfect to complete any meal or soup!

You can use any herb of your choice to change the flavor to compliment your meal and you could also use green onions from your garden.

Savory Onion Muffins

2 cups plain flour

2 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t garlic powder

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 1/4 cup milk*

 1 medium onion chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley or 1 1/2 T dried

1T butter or margarine

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute onion until soft, toss in parsley and set aside to cool.

 

Mix dry ingredients.

Make a well in the center and add oil, egg, and milk.

Stir until flour is moistened.

Fold in onion-parsley mix.

Divide into 12 muffin cups.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

 

*You could use water instead of milk or half water and half milk to keep this more frugal. 

 

Psa 104:14  He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

Polenta Crackers

In case you haven't heard of polenta, it is a coarse yellow corn grit. 

Yes, the texture is similar to 'grits' but ground more coarsely and I think it also has more flavor, due to the fact it's the 'whole grain.' 

You usually find it with Bob's Red Mill products in the health food aisle or with oats and other dried cereals.

Polenta Crackers 

1 cup polenta corn grits

1 cup plain flour (plus extra for rolling)

1 t salt

1 t baking powder

2 T milk powder

Mix dry ingredients.

Stir separately; 

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 t Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 t Roasted Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (or other hot sauce)

Blend wet ingredients into dry.

Butter 2 cookie sheets and sprinkle each with about 1/4 t polenta grits.

Divide dough in half and place on cookie sheets.

Sprinkle with flour and flour rolling pin.

Roll as thinly as possible onto cookie sheet.

Leave plain or sprinkle with seasoning salt, onions, garlic, paprika, chili or taco seasonings, etc.

If using seasonings, press into the dough with rolling pin.

Cut into desired shapes and prick with a fork, if desired.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 until crisp.

Served here with Fermented Bean Dip.

(Would you believe that dip is over a year and a half old, only been in cold storage, and the taste keeps getting better and better? ;) 

Josh 5:11  And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

Homemade Noodles

One of my dearest friend's mother used to make homemade noodles. I was so fascinated by this because I was sure they could only come from a box. :)

She rattled off the recipe one day and I've never forgotten it, thankfully.

It makes a fantastic (and super frugal) noodle!

(My best guess is that you can make this batch for less than a quarter. Yeah, for real!)

Now- to help you remember- here's the 'rattle' I told you about: 1, 1, 1, 1.

See?!?! Now you can remember it - in case I forget it!

Lelah's Homemade Noodles

1 cup plain flour

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon oil

 Mix together in a bowl and knead for several minutes to incorporate all the flower. 

(If necessary add a drop or two of water at a time.)

This will make a VERY stiff dough but it will be moist once you knead it.

Break the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and roll out very thin, like 1/16 of an inch or so.

(If your dough is super stiff, drip a little oil in your palm before kneading each section.)

Cut into strips (any size) with a pizza cutter and allow them to dry while you make ready your soup/broth.

Drop noodles into boiling water/soup/broth and cook approx. 10 minutes until no longer doughy.

You can drain them and serve with sauce or leave them in the soup pot.

Tips:

You can add salt to the dough if you like but it isn't necessary if you're cooking them in a broth or soup, or even salted water.

Some of you might like to use wheat flour too but you will likely have to up your water.

You can also dry them for a couple of hours and freeze them for later use.

This makes enough for an average pot of soup, those of you with bigger families like mine may want to double them, especially if serving with sauce.
p.s.
You can do this in just 10 minutes!

 This post is linked to The Shabby Nest,HomemakerOnADime,KatheWithAnE, Our Delightful Home,

 1 Tim 6:8  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Quick Dinner Muffins

Do you ever find yourself in a time-pinch and need a quick bread and you don't have time to wait for yeast?

Me too!

This often happens to me at lunch. 

I can get a pot of soup together pretty quickly but bread takes a little more planning and with school and other things, sometimes I forget the bread!

(See? And you all just thought I had everything organized, all day, every day!:)

One alternative is to bake bread a couple of times a week, cool and slice it, store it in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator, and take the needed slices out and pop them in the toaster. (That's my breakfast trick.) 

But I think you'll find these muffins are a quick and easy fix in a pinch.

 

You can mix up your flour according to your preference as well.

They're slightly sweet, making them perfect for a spicy or salty soup.

They have an almost biscuit like texture.

My kids love one with their meal and one stuffed with homemade jelly for dessert ;-)

(Two birds, one stone! Well, two purposes, one bread!)

So fluffy too!

2 cups whole wheat flour*

1 cup plain, all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/4 cup sugar**

1 egg

1/3 cup oil

1 3/4 cup buttermilk***

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center for wet ingredients. Mix the center, then gradually stir in the dry mixture. This should make a thick batter that's thoroughly moist.

Scoop into greased muffin pan. 

Bake at 400 for approx. 20 minutes. 

Makes 12.

*I grind extra flour and store in the freezer for quick foods. You can also mix up your flours or even use all wheat or all white.

 **You can also add more sugar and fruits etc., to make this a sweet muffin for treats or breakfast.

***You can use plain milk but they won't be as fluffy. Also, depending on the flours you use, you may need a little more or less liquid so adjust accordingly. 

 

Quick Pretzels:

We didn't make Santa cookies today, but we did make him some pretzels! :)

If you need a good snack and don't have time for a yeast dough, these may do the trick.

The dough isn't quite as easy to shape as yeast dough but they are quite tasty.

You can also use the flour of your choice. I used spelt.

2 cups flour

2 t baking powder

1 t sugar

1/ 2 t salt

2/3 cup milk

2 T melted butter

2 eggs (one for the wash)

coarse sea salt (or other)

(extra flour for rolling and shaping)

Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and beat one egg into the milk. Stir dough, gradually pouring in the melted butter.

Knead dough (lightly) on floured surface. Divide into 16 pieces.

 Shape and place on lightly greased baking sheet.

Brush pretzels with beaten egg. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 400 for approx 17 minutes.

Serve with mustard!

Italian Bread

This bread is so soft- it's irresistible! 

I've been making it several times a week for the last few weeks and using the dough for everything under the sun...from rolls to cinnamon rolls to loaf bread. (A great sandwich dough!) It's just that soft and yummy :)

And did I mention it's super easy- especially if you have a mixer?

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 t salt

2 T sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 t yeast

3 cups bread flour (or plain or unbleached)

Pour all ingredients into bowl. You can work the flour in by hand or turn your stand mixer on and let it go. 

Knead the dough well, until smooth and elastic. 

Shape, score, and place on flat sheet to rise until doubled.

(Or bread pans, etc)

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes until golden. 

 

Quick Sticks

This is a perfect solution to having bread, when you've forgotten it until dinner time!

1 T yeast

1 1/2 cups water

3 3/4 cups wheat flour (approx)

1/4 cup milk powder

1 T honey

1 t salt

1 T gluten

1 T oil

1 egg

Sprinkle yeast in warm water. Add milk powder, salt, oil, and honey. Pour in flour, gluten and honey and mix until dough forms. Continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. 

Divide dough into 12 balls. Roll out into sticks and place on baking sheet.

Allow to rise until doubled. (30 minutes approx.)

Bake at 350 for 22 to 25 minutes until golden.

Butter if desired and sprinkle with garlic powder and parsley or Parmesan. 

********
This post is linked to:
We Are That Family

Local Wheat, Where to Buy, Grain Mills, and More!

Did you gals see the post I put up right under this one? Yes- the one about my second born turning 17. Well, I measure my "how long I've been grinding wheat and making bread" by him :)  ..I started somewhere right before or right after he was born. ...I remember having wheat buckets in the house when he was a baby.:)

Now- where can you buy wheat locally?

If you live near or visit Muddy Pond in the Monterrey area, you can have the lady who runs the Variety Store order it for you. Orders can take a while, depending on when she's expecting 'the truck' and what she needs to order. (A minimum is required on her part, so sometimes there's a bit of a wait.)

There's also a coop, Morningside Buying Club, that offers wheat, grains, and SO much more. (Especially if you like "natural" and organic products.)

They usually place orders once or twice a month, I think. There are several ways to get your order. You could drive to their farm, however, they have a local family who picks up all the orders, separates them and allows everyone to come by their home and pick up the orders. They live close to the library, the lady at Morningside would give you the details when you ordered.
(You can buy small quantities at Good Shepherd, but it's more economical to buy in bulk. I suggest buying it in a bucket the first time so you can re-use the bucket. Wheat must be stored air-tight so weevils don't get into it.)

I have on hand right now; hard white wheat, soft white wheat, spelt, kamut, rye, oat groats, and who knows what else. I recommend that you start with hard white wheat. (I would NOT start with hard red. It has some better nutritional properties (like a higher protein content) but it is a VERY heavy grain and difficult for newbies to get used to, in most cases, as it makes for very dense loaves. I have used it in the past, but my family balks at it so I've not continued to purchase it.)

Now- how do you turn wheat (wheat berries) into "flour"?

Grain Mills- here's a few:

My first mill was similar to this and lasted years- until it jumped from a high shelf and busted when it hit the floor. ...And it even ran for a while after that...before I saw a little tiny flame inside one day :)            But this kind works well, and it's the most frugal.



The one I use now is like this one. It is actually 2 separate pieces and was formerly known as a Whisper Mill. (Don't be fooled about the noise levels of mills; if you look on youtube, you can find videos testing the decibels and they are all very close.) One part of this is 'the mill' which grinds the grains into flour, the other part is a bucket that catches the flour once it has been ground.


This is another very popular mill. I've known several ladies who had them and loved them too. I might have picked this one when I bought my last mill, except it was considerably more expensive when I was buying and I bought a refurbished mill which cut my price even more. But I think this one would be a nice buy.

There are non-electric mills as well. You can also buy small mill attachments for Kitchen Aides, but I couldn't say for sure how good they work nor how fine your flour would be.

What do you get once you're ground the wheat (or other grains) into flour?

Well- you get a "plain" unleavened, whole-grain flour. Leaven would be something that would cause your flour/bread to rise, like baking soda, baking powder, or yeast.  You didn't add that when your ground your grains, therefore, it will not be there- unless YOU put it there ;-)

What can you do with your flour?

The same thing you can do with a plain flour! Yes- for real! Is there a difference in store-bought plain white flour and fresh ground wheat flour? Yes! It may need a tad more liquid, but don't sweat it, you'll get used to it and it's not that significant.

I suggest you start using it in the recipes that you already make. Do you make pancakes from plain white flour? Just substitute for wheat. Worried your family won't like this change? Start by using half white and half wheat. 

Now- if you are used to using self-rising- you will have to find a recipe that uses baking soda and/or baking powder. Your fresh flour won't rise without something to lift it! :)

Care of your flour and the BIGGEST difference:

MOST importantly- after your flour is ground, you need to use it right away, or freeze it. The oil in your wheat germ is now exposed to oxygen and it will begin to go rancid. 

Ever bought bagged wheat flour from the store? It's a little bitter. 

Fresh wheat flour is sweet. No bitter after taste- at all!

Want to make a yeasted loaf bread?

This is the EASIEST, almost fool-proof recipe that I've ever tried. You can skip the Dough Enhancer that this recipe calls for, it's not necessary. (It does give your bread a more 'store-bought' kind of texture, but I've made bread for years without that.) I make this bread weekly. It's my favorite 'go-to' dough when I'm in a hurry because it doesn't require a long rising period and it mixes up very well and quickly in my Kitchen Aid.

Don't have wheat yet? Start with white and learn to make your own bread. If you like it- then go for it! Wheat is so good- and good for you!
And remember my silly stories of my first few loaves! I was encouraged to keep making "bricks" for our "future house" :)
But now- ah- bread----

And YOU can do this too!
More questions?
Please write them below- or email me: laptopmail (at) twlakes (dot) net

Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Rolls with Hot Fudge Sauce

You know a gal has serious chocolate-sugar addiction issues when she bakes things like this, don't you? Could I offer an excuse? See- I normally make homemade pizza on Friday nights- and I was out of cheese- so this was really an attempt (Scout's honor, and fingers crossed ;-) to appease my family! ...Perhaps you would have believed me if I hadn't used DARK cocoa in this recipe? ...But there is SOME truth to my 'excuse' for this recipe :-) Honest!

Dough:

2 cups lukewarm water

1 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup melted butter, 1 stick

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 T yeast

2 eggs, well beaten

1/4 cup dark cocoa (can use regular)

8 cup soft whole wheat flour (approx)**

1 cup unbleached flour (approx)

Filling:

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (approx)

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

(*opt. chopped nuts)

Mix water, yeast, salt, sugar, and butter. Mix in half of the wheat flour, cocoa, and the eggs. Continue to add wheat flour gradually. 

Use the unbleached flour to knead dough by hand until it is pliable. 

Roll out half of the dough at a time in a large rectangle.

Spread melted butter over the dough, along with the brown sugar and chocolate chips. Roll up, longways. Slice. (I prefer to slice with dental floss for a nice clean cut.)

Place in 9x13 sprayed dish.

(This will make 2 to 2 1/2 pans of rolls.)

Allow to rise until doubled.

Bake at 350 for approx.  24 minutes.

Dh asked for a nut on his :)

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup sugar

2 T plain flour

1/3 cup (dark) cocoa

1 cup milk

3 T butter

2t vanilla

Pour milk, butter, and vanilla into a small pot and heat until the butter is melted.

In a bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together and add to milk mixture. Whisk until smooth.

Heat to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil for 3 minutes until thickened. 

Drizzle over baked rolls.

*Can double and store in the refrigerator to use later for ice cream!

*You can freeze these and thaw for single serve. I think I'll hide myself a few in the freezer :) 

**If you use regular whole wheat, I recommend using 1/2 unbleached or plain white flour to keep them from being too heavy.

Freezer Cooking: Breakfast Pockets

I used my favorite Whole Wheat Bread Dough recipe to make these tonight.

This would also work very well with Crystal's dough for 'pockets'.

This is a 2-loaf recipe so it will make about 2 dozen pockets.
This was also very frugal to make. Eggs are .69 at Aldi. The turkey bacon was bought for .99 and frozen and the cheese I used was about .55. 

While the Kitchen Aid was working for me on the dough, I scrambled about 1 1/2 dozen eggs and cooked 1 pack of turkey bacon. Before I began rolling, I had a bowl set up with my eggs, one with the cooked and chopped bacon, and another with shredded cheddar.

A couple of scoops of eggs, a spoon of bacon, and a sprinkle of cheddar is it! Pinch them up into half-circles or into rectangles if you like, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

Cool them completely before freezing.

You can heat in the microwave for 1 to 1/2 minutes, wrapped in a paper towel or cover and heat in the oven at 325 for 20 minutes.

Great for breakfast or lunch!- Or whenever! ;-)

We like them with a little mustard. 

Happy eating! And baking!

Freezer Cooking: Apple Pie Pockets

Last week was very busy for me so I didn't get anything done- but eating some of what I had stored the week before. It was a blessing to have it in the freezer and ready to go!

Using the recipe that I normally do for Whole Wheat Breakfast Bread, I rolled out a couple of dozen circles and stuffed them with yummy apple pie filling. 

The filling had been given to me but I normally would make my own with:

about 4 cups chopped, peeled fresh apples, 

3/4 c cane sugar, 

1 1/2 t cinnamon, 

and a dab of butter and a splash of lemon juice;

simmered until the apples were soft. 

These are more bread-y-like 'pockets', so you want to roll them out pretty thin. 

Scoop about 2 T of filling inside, fold in half, place on lightly buttered cookie sheet, crimp the edges with a fork, and allow to rise while you preheat the oven to 350.

Bake for 22 to 26 minutes until golden on top and bottom.

Cool on a baker's rack. 

You can frost these now, if you like, then flash freeze and simply lay them out to thaw the night before you need them.

If you prefer them warmed, freeze unglazed. And bake them frozen at 325 for about 22 minutes.

Glaze: 2 cups of powdered sugar whisked well with 1/3 cup milk.

You want this pretty thin.

You could use Crystal's white dough if you like and you could also fry these if you like :)

They're great for breakfast!!!