Beer Bread

This recipe is straight from Food.com. I wish I could claim this concoction as my own because it is DELICIOUS but I can't. I can't even claim that it's based off another -- don't change anything! It is perfect just as it is! and the best part, minus cooking, it takes a total of 3 minutes and 1 bowl! Easy Peasy.

I don't drink alcohol so I never have beer in my fridge. For this, however, I bought a 6-pack and thoroughly enjoyed every last drop in this bread. (For those like me who don't drink, the alcohol cooks out but the flavor and the yeast are important. Yes, you can use a non-alcoholic liquid but make sure you use yeast or you'll get something resembling a large pancake as thick as your pan.)

I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Ireland several years ago. So, this past month, (while feeling slightly homesick for my Ireland with St. Patrick's Day and all) I made lots of food that reminded me of those few years almost a decade ago. SO...choose any beer you want, I chose Guinness. Because how much more Irish can you get?!

AND...just a quick side note that is VERY IMPORTANT...THIS MAKES THE ABSOLUTE BEST FRENCH TOAST EVER!!! Make at least two loaves, one to eat for dinner and one for a french toast breakfast! (I would recommend more than two, just sayin'. It's that good.)

{Ingredients}

• 3 cups flour (sifted)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) cans beer
• 1/4 cup melted butter (the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup but that felt excessive to me, 1/4 was plenty)  

 {Directions}

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients and beer.
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan.
4. Pour melted butter over mixture.
5. Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.
6. ***UPDATED NOTES: This recipe makes a very hearty bread with a crunchy, buttery crust. If you prefer a softer crust (like a traditional bread) mix the butter into the batter instead of pouring it over the top. (leave it crunchy! trust me)
   
7. Sifting flour for bread recipes is a must-do. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a "hard biscuit" as some have described. That's because they aren't sifting their flour! If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to spoon the flour into the 1 cup measure. Try it once the "correct" way and you will see an amazing difference in the end product.
8. I have had many email from you kind folks about using non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer. That is fine to do but I highly recommend adding a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.
9. The final result should be a thick, hearty and very tasteful bread, NOT A BRICK! ;).

 (These directions/notes are taken directly from HERE.)

I'd love to know what you think! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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No Knead Artisan Bread

You know those meals where a delicious warm loaf of bread would just finish it off. Dang those stores for making bread in the morning (or night before) and not RIGHT at dinner time! We don't have time to slave over the stove making bread like our great grandmas! Right?! We've got soccer and dance and homework and dinner and work and facebook and instagram and twitter and kids and dogs and shopping and....seriously though -- not everyday is a "let's make artisan bread" kindof day, right? Well good news! This artisan bread can be made the day before (about 5 minutes to throw it together) and then baked 30 minutes before dinner and you will look like supermom, or dad.

I recently participated in BYU Women's Conference with a sharing station on Recipes. THIS bread graced my table. It was so much fun and I met so many incredible women. For those of you who may not be familiar with Women's Conference it is a two day event at Brigham Young University where women from all over the world gather and listen to speakers, on all subjects, do service, listen to inspiring music (Friday nights concert was a blast!) and just take a few days to let go of reality and allow themselves to be uplifted. It is associated with my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and it is spiritual but anyone and everyone are invited. I participated in the sharing station portion. There are booths on loads of different subjects where those who are in charge of the booth do all the work for you and you get to come, get ideas, and go implement them into your lives. All the handouts will be available to anyone and everyone in a few weeks here. Go check it out. It's amazing! This event is so much fun and if you have never been, schedule it now for next year. It is held at BYU in Provo UT and is just for women. Let me know if you want to learn more.

Here I am with my cute Mom in our booth

And here is the booth in all it's glory! If you look closely you can see the bread on the right. MMM!!!

So, onto the recipe. This is the fastest bread you will ever make BUT IT HAS TO RISE FOR 8-24 HOURS (the longer the better is my guess but mine was a ten-hour loaf and it was delicious!) so plan for the rising. Otherwise, 10 minutes hands on - if that!

{Ingredients}
3 C all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. instant or rapid rise yeast
3 C cool tap water

{Instructions}
Before anything else, remember that this recipe is extremely forgiving! If it rises an hour short, it'll be delicious, an hour too long, it'll be delicious. Don't stress and have fun with this recipe.
Combine all ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon(or anything else that you love, I prefer the wooden spoon) until smooth. Don't over-stir but make sure it's all blended. Let rise in a large mixing bowl for 10-24 hours (easiest if you make the night before, just before bed, and it'll be ready for dinner the next day).
Preheat your oven to 450F. Once the oven is preheated, put an empty dutch-oven (min. 3 quarts, preferably 5-6 quarts) with the lid inside the oven for 30 minutes. The pan you cook the bread in needs to be hot to make the crust. Also, the lid needs to fit tightly to create a steam oven inside the pan.
*note: If you don't have a dutch oven or other heavy pan -- here is a list of pans from "Simply So Good" that will also work:
Old camping dutch oven
A crockpot insert.  If the knob on the lid is plastic, it must be removed or it will melt)

Glass Pyrex dish with a lid

A heat proof bowl with aluminum foil to cover

Stainless steel pot with lid

Clay bakers with lids or foil

Pampered Chef clay bakers

Pizza stone with a stainless steel bowl to cover the dough

While your pan is pre-heating flour a work surface with a TON of flour. This dough is sticky and we want to make it pretty and smooth without sticking to everything within a 5 foot radius. So, flour your counter, a bread board, whatever - and flour your hands. Dump the dough onto the floured surface (scrape the bowl) and form into a ball. Don't knead it, air bubbles are good. Form the dough until it is smooth then transfer, CAREFULLY, into the hot pan - DO NOT OIL THE PAN! The oven is way too hot for that and there will be smoke alarms going off everywhere if you do! Place the lid on tightly and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake an additional 7-15 minutes until perfectly browned.

Cool if you must, I usually must not because i'm obsessed with warm bread but either way, enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Whole Wheat Bread

Today was one of those wonderful yet insane days. When it was over I sat down and almost couldn't get back up. Everything I did was wonderful and fun and I wanted to do it everyday (like the park with a friend and the kids...twice) but physically I kind of collapsed. One of my many activities was teaching one of my oldest and favorite friends how to make bread.

When people find out that I make all of our bread they get this look in their eye that could be admiration but is probably more scepticism about my sanity. I'm here to assure you that I am completely sane. When we were finishing the bread today my friend actually said, "that's it?" see -- Making bread is NOT as intimidating as it sounds and it's actually cheaper. Also, your house will smell A.MA.ZING. I'm just sayin' ;)

So onto the goods -- Plan for a good few hours to let this rise but other than that the hands on time is 20 minutes.

If you can grind your own wheat, that is the best, it's fresher and healthier but I know not everyone has that option. If you are in the market for a wheat grinder here is the one I have and love.


If you aren't sure if your yeast is good then make sure you let it foam, otherwise throw everything in your bosch (or other mixer) with your dough hook on, turn it on high and knead for 10 minutes.

While that is mixing oil 6 loaf pans.

when the dough is done kneading it's ready to be formed into loaves. Your dough should be easy to handle, not sticky. To divide my dough I make one big rectangle and slice it with my bread knife into even pieces and then form each of those pieces into a loaf by kneading a few times with your hands. If there is an obvious crease in the bottom pinch it together to seal it. Place each loaf into a pan, turn once so that both sides are greased and let rise for 2-3 hours.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. You will know they are done when they are brown and sound hollow when you tap the top.

Immediately after taking them out of the oven rub a stick of butter over the top and cool, on a wire rack. If you prefer your bread SUPER moist immediately place in non-seal bags, otherwise leave to cool for awhile and then bag and freeze.

{Recipe} From my amazing sister-in-law, Julene Weaver

Ingredients:
5 cups warm water
1 rounded Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons yeast
9.5 cups whole wheat kernals (13.5 cups flour if you are not grinding your own)
1000-2000 mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid) -- I use 1500mg
2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey

Directions:
Mix water, sugar, and yeast together in your mixing bowl to activate
yeast.  Be sure the water is very warm, but not HOT.  You know the
yeast mixture is ready when the top is totally covered in foam.

Measure wheat before it is ground (it will yield quite a bit more
flour than 9.5 cups, approximately 15 1/2 cups).  Grind whole wheat and
vitamin C pills together.

Once the yeast mixture is ready, add all the other ingredients (flour,
oil, honey, and salt) to it.  Knead 10 minutes with mixer or 20
minutes by hand.

Immediately form dough into 6 loaves and put into loaf pans.  Let
rise until they reach the desired loaf size (this recipe only needs
to rise once) and then bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.  You can tell
the bread is done by its color and also by tapping the bread with a
fingernail--if it sounds hollow it is done.

Remove bread from pans immediately and put in bread sacks while still
warm to retain moisture.  Freeze extra loaves immediately. (Ilet mine cool a while before putting them in sacks, just my preference. Experiment and see what you like better)

Tips:
The drier and older the wheat the more you need Vitamin C you need.
If your bread is turning out dry, try using a bit more Vitamin C.  You
can grind up Vitamin C pills (break them in half before putting them
in your grinder) or you can just add ascorbic acid crystals to your
flour.  You can also try adding dough enhancer or wheat gluten if your
bread is too dry, but you shouldn't need to.

Use the same graduated one-cup measurer to measure your oil and honey.
Measure the oil first and then the honey will slide right out.

You can use whatever type cooking oil you want.

If you don't have enough honey you can use apple juice concentrate or
molasses as substitutes.

Don't put bread into bags with a perfect seal (like a ziplock) or the
bag will shrink up and crush the bread as it cools -unless it's cool when you put it in.

You can use white or red wheat in this recipe.  I prefer the white
wheat because it has a lighter color and lighter wheat taste.  You can
also use spelt wheat in place of half the wheat.  It gives the bread a
richer, slightly nutty, flavor.

Stuffed French Toast

 S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y- NIGHT! (Can anyone quote the movie?) 

Ok, actually it was Saturday morning and I was sleeping in. Those days are my favorite! It's nothing very exciting, i'm always up well before nine but to still be in bed while Dad plays with the girls, somehow -- those days are the best. 

Well, on this particular Saturday morning not only did I sleep in, but I also awakened to Mr. Chef making stuffed french toast! YUM! (He totally knows the way to my heart is through carbs!)

So, he never knows the exact recipe or amounts because he is one of those people that throws things together and they always come out delicious. I get jealous of those people sometimes, i'll get over it. :)

This recipe is super easy and really pretty fast -- not the lowest calorie breakfast in the history of ever but once in awhile on a weekend I love me a big yummy breakfast like this!

Heat fresh or frozen strawberries, sugar, and cream cheese, and then puree them together. This is your stuffing.

 Slice a loaf of French Bread into slices. You want each slice the width of about two normal french toast pieces. Cut the slice in half but only go about 3/4 way through the bread so you have a "pocket" for your filling.

Fill the bread and dip in normal french bread mixture (eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon)

Once they are cooked, serve warm with syrup, fruit, jam or just plain!

Recipe:

1 cup of frozen (or fresh) strawberries 

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 block of cream cheese

1 Loaf of french bread cut into slices (approximately 2 inches wide) 

4 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon (opt.)

Combine strawberries, sugar and cream cheese. Heat until combined and then puree together until smooth. You can use a blender, an immersion blender (my tool of choice) or a food processor to do this. Set aside.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon (opt) in a shallow pie tin or other shallow bowl. set aside. 

 

Cut your slices of bread and slice them in half about 3/4 of the way through the bread so you have a pocket. Fill with strawberry mixture. Dip each filled french toast slice in egg and milk mixture, coating thoroughly on both sides. You may want to let it soak for about 30 seconds so the bread can really absorb it -- that one is up to you. 

Cook on a non-stick skillet for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned, flip and repeat on other side.

Enjoy!

Garlic Parmesan Pull-apart bread

THIS WAS TO-DIE-FOR!!!!!

Any bread is my weakness but this stuff was amazing! The best part was how easy it was. Honestly besides rising it was maybe 10 minutes total. It stayed moist, tender, warm and it can be different every time which is soo much fun! I made my balls bigger than the recipe called for and they were great. (I did it because I was in a hurry and didn't have time to do loads of little balls, either way works). 
My one yr. old ate almost as many of these things as I did and they were just as tasty the next day with left-over soup!

I served this with Pork Chops Agrodolce and a Ceasar Salad and it was one of our favorite meals we have ever had! The pork chops are coming soon and are worth EVERY BITE!!!!!


I originally found this recipe on pinterest (my latest obsession) but through it was led to the cutest blog, The Pastry Affair. It is darling and the author has some GREAT ideas! Here is the link, thanks pastry affair!

Yields 1 loaf

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/3 cups barely warm water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose (or bread) flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, or until elastic. If you are doing this by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic, 7-10 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until dough is doubled in size. (I was in a bit of a hurry as I made this and didn't let it rise for as long as it should have and they turned out great. I would still recommend letting it double but it is not super finicky dough)
In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic. Set aside.
Punch down the dough. Tear off small pieces of dough (roughly the size of the bowl of a medium spoon), coat in the butter mixture, and place in the bottom of a bundt pan. Repeat this process until you have one layer of dough balls. Sprinkle on 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until you have 3 layers. Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Serve hot with a side of marinara or tomato sauce.
 

You can do your balls any size, as you can see mine are on the big side, like golf balls, remember they rise a lot!

My bread fell apart as soon as I tipped it upside down out of the bundt cake pan, but I was totally fine with that because it made for a darling bread basket instead a cake platter.

Try these, love these and let me know your thoughts!

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

I logged on here today to grab this recipe for dinner tonight and was appalled to find that I had never posted it! This is one of my all time favorite recipes (I am a succor for any bread)! Jared and I were planning our dinner menu for the next couple of weeks last night and he kept suggesting things that went really well with breadsticks. He confessed later that he was trying to plan dinners around the breadsticks so I would make them again. These are very similar to Pizza Factory Breadsticks and are surprisingly easy but time consuming. Whatever event you make these for it will be a HUGE HIT! Trust me!

Thank you Jessi, found these treasures on her wonderful blog, nummies.

yields about 25 but the above picture is half the recipe and it made about 30. My balls of dough (see below) were smaller so that my breadsticks were a little more manageable. If your breadsticks are big this recipe makes 25. If you do smaller breadsticks you will get loads more than 25.

Ingredients:

4.5 cups hot water
3 tablespoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant yeast
10.5-12 cups flour

(i've used white flour, wheat flour and half white/half wheat -- they were all delicious)

Glaze:

1 1/2 cube butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

Combine (in a Kitchen Aid, Bosch mixer or something like it -- i love my Bosch for this one) water, sugar, salt, yeast, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 3-4 minutes. On greased countertop, break off pieces of dough (a little bigger than a golf ball when rolled into a ball) and roll into thin ropes. If you're using skewers like at Pizza Factory, roll the ropes about 1 1/2 times the length of your skewers. Twist the rope around the skewer. I didn't use skewers. Instead I twisted two ropes together and pinched the ends so they stayed. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the breadsticks double in size. Repeat till all dough is used. (*note: If you use a dark coated cookie sheet the bottoms burn more easily so watch them closely)

While they are baking, combine
glaze ingredients so the flavors will blend. Bake twists at 375 for
about 12 minutes if you're using skewers, and 14 minutes if you are not,
and are using the twisting method. Remove from oven and brush with the
butter glaze. (Don't glaze before you bake, it's not as good.) I
sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese on top, too, and let that melt before I
served them. Or you can add add canned parmesan cheese to the glaze,
which adds even more flavor. Best if served immediately, but amazing at
any time!!!

*note: I have never actually followed the recipe for the glaze. I always make up my own and it has always turned out yummy. Experiment and see what you like.

Some ideas: butter; fresh garlic, minced; onion powder; basil; oregano; salt

*If you don't use salt in the glaze, the dough may need a bit more, according to your taste.

Serve this along side any pizza, pasta or other favorite meal!

Cheese-garlic Biscuits

Have you ever had the cheese biscuits at Red Lobster? They are amazing. (shocker that i love the bread at another restaurant!) After eating there one night Chef Jay took it upon himself to recreate these fantastic creations. They were not exactly red lobster but they were incredible in and of themselves! Try them. You won't be disappointed.

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{Ingredients}

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1. heat oven to 450. Stir Bisquick, milk and cheese until soft dough forms.

2. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Easy-Peasy!

French Bread

Sometimes when I eat this I feel like I died and went to carb. heaven. (Carbs are included in heaven for those that doubt. I'm almost positive!)
I got this recipe from a friend at work who got it from her friend, Diane, who she used to work with. (I think that was the connection)
Regardless though...IT. IS. AMAZING!

source

This bread is super easy for those that get intimidated by yeast and homemade bread. The hardest part is shaping it and really, it can be any shape you want! The more creative you get, the harder it is to mess up :)
*One note, unless you have the baguette pans, which I don't, this will not look like a baguette of french bread. It will be more of a round artisan bread shape.

{Ingredients}

3 C very warm water

2 pkgs yeast

¼ C Sugar

1 Tbl. Salt

2 Tbl. Shortening

7-8 C Flour

Mix all ingredients and 4 cups of the flour. Add remaining flour ½ C at a time. Let raise 1 hour punching down every 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide into 2 or 3 loaves (depending on how big you want them--if you do 2 loaves one loaf will be plenty for a dinner for 5).

Let raise another hour. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

**To get the slits as shown in the bread above, before letting the bread rise the final time (after you shape it) cut slits, in whatever shape you want, about 1/2 inch deep into the dough and let rise. The slits will become bigger as the bread rises and bakes.

Some popular designs to cut are, the checkerboard as shown above or 3 small lines in the top of the bread.