Cuban Bread

This is just about the easiest bread recipe I have ever found ( book- Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn).
It only takes about an hour and 15 minutes from start to finish! And almost an hour of that time is IN THE OVEN!
No butter or oils needed!

I love the way it looks & smells when it comes out of the oven. It is a big hit with my family.
Texture:
It has a firm crust and chewy middle.

Note:
I replaced one cup of the flour with 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 1/2 cup of ground flax. I used ground flaxseed on the top.

Cuban Bread
5-6 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. dry yeast (yes, that's 2 tablespoons.  Really.)
2 T. sugar  (I doubled this for extra flavor)
1 T. salt
2 c. hot water (not boiling, just from the tap)
1 T. sesame or poppy seeds or oats (I used ground flaxseed)

Mix 4 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt.  Pour in hot water
and beat 100 strokes, or 3 minutes with a mixer.  Stir in the remaining
flour until the dough is no longer sticky.  Knead 8 minutes.  Place the
dough in a greased bowl and cover with damp towel.  Let rise 15 minutes.
Punch down.  Divide into 2 pieces, shape into 2 round loaves and place on
baking sheet.  Cut an X 1/2 inch deep on top with sharp knife.  Brush with
water and sprinkle with seeds or oats.  Place on the middle shelf of a cold
oven.  Place a cake pan of hot water on the lowest shelf.  Heat the oven to
400 degrees.  Bake 40-50 minutes until deep golden brown.

Self -Rising Rolls

Do you want a quick roll recipe? 

These are absolutely delicious, and they remind me of a mix between a biscuit and a muffin.  They turn out light and fluffy and they are so easy!  They do not even need to rise even though you use yeast.  I got the recipe from Heather Dickinson who is an excellent cook.

Self-rising Rolls

In a small-medium bowl, dissolve 1 heaping Tablespoon of yeast (or 1 package) in 2 cups of warm water (not too hot, not too cold!)

In a large bowl:
Melt 3/4 cup of margarine or butter (a stick and a half) in microwave.
Add: 1/4 cup of sugar (she always uses 1/2 cup, but it might rise higher with less sugar.)
1 egg
4 cups of self-rising flour (or just add 2 teaspoons of salt and 4 teaspoons of baking powder to 4 cups of regular all purpose flour)
Add the yeast/water mixture, stir well, and spoon into well greased muffin tins.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

THESE DO NOT HAVE TO RISE, even when the dough is cold!  You may refrigerate dough for 1 week, pull out, and spoon into well-greased muffin cups, and bake!

(Since this is the week before Thanksgiving, I am thinking these are great to make ahead!)

Home-made bread?

Have you ever wished you could make home-made bread, but didn't feel like you had enough time? Well, ya know there is a way to make a quick, easy, and healthy "bread" that you can keep on hand.
Guess what it is? Pancakes!

Pancakes do not have to be unhealthy, because you can use healthier flours as you make them. I typically use whole wheat flour. Sometimes I add flax or oats as well.

The boys love pancakes, so I have been making large batches of them on the griddle and keeping them in a bread bag in the refrigerator. When they get hungry, we just toast them and spread peanut butter, jelly,honey, or butter on top. I have also been thinking about how you could spread cream cheese and fruit on top (I'm thinking about strawberries right now).

One really nice thing about pancakes is that they can be made whatever size you like, using whatever flour you like, and you can add whatever healthy thing you want (even ground up nuts!).

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is my favorite bread recipe! I very rarely make loaves because rolls are more convenient for our family. I make a big batch and then freeze whatever is left. Anyone can just pull out the big bag of rolls, take however many they want, and pop them in the microwave. Loaves just seem too messy and they dry out too fast.

2 1/2 cups boiling water
2 cups of quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup of honey
2 cups of whole wheat flour
3/4 cup cooking oil
4 beaten eggs
2 packages of dry yeast (or 2 Tablespoons)
2 Tablespoons salt

Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and set aside until it cools (you can put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes or so...just make sure it is lukewarm! Not hot.)

Dissolve the yeast in 1 cup of warm water.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and beat well. Then add the yeast, being sure everything is just warm before adding.

Work in (which basically means sprinkle flour on it and knead it) until it is a nice, spongy dough that is not sticky. Be careful not to add too much flour or you will get a heavy bread.

Grease top and let it rise for around 1 1/2 hours*. Knead and shape into rolls, and let it rise again for 30-60 minutes.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

*Another option is to put it the refrigerator for later use (cover with a wet towel, plastic wrap, or a lid if you used a large Tupperward bowl.)

When you pull out the cold dough, shape into rolls and let it rise for around 4-5 hours (perfect for Sunday dinner! Just shape into rolls Sunday morning and bake for 10 minutes when you get home.).

Pizza Hut style Bread Sticks

Boy, these are good!

Pizza hut style bread sticks

1 stick of real butter
1 Tablespoon of oil
3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of salt
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
optional : 1 tablespoon of yeast

3/4-1 cup milk (I have used water if I ran out of milk)

Melt butter and oil in a 9x13 cookie sheet.

Stir together dry ingredients first. Add milk. Knead very little. Roll into a flat rectangle (you can do this on wax paper or aluminum foil). Place rectangle into pan and cut into strips (like Pizza hut's bread sticks). Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle again with shredded cheese if you have it and dip in marinara (pizza or spaghetti sauce!)

YUM!

Coffee Cake using potato dough

I made a coffee cake last night from the Potato Dough I had in the refrigerator.

Before you make a coffee cake you need to decide how much you want. My coffee cake was huge :-) But you may want a regular loaf-size.

Pinch pieces from potato dough and pat down into pan. Allow dough to rise (I allowed mine to rise for 2 hours).
Poke holes into dough. Melt 1 stick of butter and pour it over the dough.

Bake in a 375* oven for 25 minutes.
While bread is baking, decide what kind of glaze you want? I made a maple glaze:

1 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
2 tsp of maple flavoring
2 tbsp of milk (or more) for desired consistency.

Pour glaze over warm bread! Yum!

All Purpose Potato Dough

I recently read in The Tightwad Gazette where the author made potato dough. The potato added acts as sort of a preservative so that you can refrigerate the dough and use it for several days. The author said that she was able to make a variety of goods throughout the week. I believe she made bread-sticks one day, cinnamon rolls another day and I think she made some rolls on another day. Since breadmaking takes so much time, it would be a big time-saver to make one huge batch and use it all week. This is very helpful for a busy housewife!


I would much rather have home-made bread around than store-bought. It is healthier and you can add your own flax-seed, oatmeal, wheat flour, soy flour, or whatever you like.

I found the recipe below, halfed it (since my mixer isn't big enough for a full batch).


I made some biscuits one day and a very large coffee-cake for Michael's breakfast for today. It was very helpful for us today because Michael had to get up at 1:30 a.m. for work! I normally get up with him at 5 a.m., but he told me to stay in bed this time.


I made the cake last night and it was waiting for him when he got up to go with his coffee.

My variations were to substitute some rolled oats & ground flax. He told me how good it was when he kissed me goodbye this morning. :-)


I found the recipe at

http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com/frugal-recipes.html#potatodoughrecipe


Below is the halfed potato dough recipe. I halfed everything to make it a smaller batch:


Edna Ruth Byler's Potato Dough Baked Goods

You can bake goods all at once (saving time and energy) and freeze baked goods to warm up for future meals or treats.OR........They can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Immediately after kneading, oil top of dough lightly, cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Refrigerate, punch down occasionally as needed. When you're ready to bake, simply take what you need for desired recipe, shape accordingly, let rise until doubled and bake.Usually about 2-2 1/2 hours for cold dough.

Dissolve: 1 1 /2 tablespoon dry yeast in1 cup lukewarm waterMix in large bowl 4 cups scalded milk

1 cups mashed potatoes (no milk added)

1 stick of real butter

1/2 cup sugarLet Cool to luke warm, then add:Yeast mixture 3 cups FlourLet stand until mixture foams up (about 20 minutes).Add:1 Eggs, beaten

1/2 Tbsp. Salt

5 1/2-6 Cups additional flourA little more flour may be needed, but dough should be soft. Turn out on floured board and knead until satiny (I just kneaded mine for a few minutes in my KitchenAid! around 7 minutes). Let raise in warm place until doubled (2 hours) in bulk or refrigerator for later use as stated above.