Breads, Biscuits, Rolls, Etc., Give me all your dough!

"Pimp my rye" . . .

You make it sound so easy! And of course, it's delicious. I never really knew what bread was until I spent a year in Germany.

Yes, we have many different types of bread and especially hearty bread over here. At the weekends I use to make my own bread and I have to make a lot because my family loves to polish it off as soon as it has cooled a bit but is still a bit warm.

And it IS easy once you have given it a try, stoirmeil. It's such a good and satisfying feeling to create food with your own hands. The more if it turns out well and tasty! I will try to post more of my favorite recipes when I get a bit more time.

Maggie, I will try the Parker House Rolls soon. They sound yummy!

I love the smell of bread baking in the oven, especially yeast breads. Does anyone here use a breadmaker? I don't have one, always make my bread mixing, kneading and either cutting out or shaping with my hands.



Here's my 5 year old grandson Sean's recipe for donuts...I do the deep frying and he cuts the holes out and sprinkles the confectionary sugar on the donuts.

1 pkg refrigerated biscuits
oil for deep fying
confectionary sugar

Open biscuits and flatten slightly, make hole in the middle, place in hot oil and cook til golden brown, which doesn't take long. Take out and place on plate with paper towel to soak up some of the oil. Sprinkle with confectionary sugar and whaa..laa..you have an instant donut!

I got an Amish Bread starter from my sister in Tn. 2 weeks ago. I have no idea what's in the starter, but I have the recipe for the bread as you add ingredients every 5 days. It makes a wonderful bread with your morning coffee. It's more like cake. I'm going to post the recipe and directions. If anyone else has made this and would happen to know what's in the starter, please let me know.

Do not use any type of metal spoon for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air bubbles get in bag, you can let them out. It is normal for batter to bubble and ferment.
Day:
1. this is the day you receive the batter. Make sure bag is dated
2. mush the bag
3. mush the bag
4. mush the bag
5. mush the bag
6. add to the bag, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of milk. mush the bag.
7. mush the bag
8. mush the bag
9. mush the bag
10. mix and divide the bag as directed below.
Pour the contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl with 1 1/2 cups of flour, sugar and milk. Label 4 one gallon Ziploc bags with today's date. Measure 1 cup starter into each bag and squeeze out air. Give to 4 friends with a copy of this recipe.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To remaining starter in bowl, add the following:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2/3 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 large box of instant pudding (any flavor- vanilla is good)
Grease 2 loaf pans. Mix an additional 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Dust the greased loaf pans with half the cinnamon mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and sprinkle the rest of cinnamon mixture over the batter. Bake for 1 hour. Cool until the bread loosens from pan, about 10 minutes and then turn onto a rack to cool.

Out of this recipe I have made cinnamon, peach, chocolate almond coconut and pistachio. I'm going to make lemon poppyseed later on. I make this every 10 days. Maybe I'll do a search and try to find out what's in the starter. Whatever it is, it bubbles and ferments like beer. I was told no yeast was used and only the Amish know!

My daughter gave me one for Christmas 5 years ago and I still use it.Love it. Sometimes I use a premixed box,I do have recipes that you can use but they make a lot and my kids get some.

I've made the donuts with my grandkids too and my grand daughter makes a mess. It's fun too do things like that with them.I love being a grandmother.

A lot of your starters use naturally occurring yeast. The bowl of flower, sugar, water or whatever is being used for the starter base is basically set by a window and the pollen and yeast flying on the wind are the fermentation starters. That is why those types of starters may have different tastes in different parts of the country/world.

I would LOVE to get ahold of one of your starters or find someone around here with a batch. I have a sourdough starter brewing as we type.


Bon Appétit

Jay

I did a google search and this is what I came up with...starters are 1 cup of each, flour, sugar and milk...I'm going to start one to see if I come up with the same texture and flavor. This morning I did a semi-homemade bread. Instead of using 2 cups of flour I used a package of lemon poppyseed muffin mix., which was 1 1/2 cups. I did add 1/2 cup of flour to make up the difference. Only 1 tsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of baking soda. For the instant pudding I used a sugar free lemon pudding mix. The texture of the bread was the same as with the regular recipe. This bread is very moist and taste yummy. I may be the queen of Amish bread before it's over with!!! My next batch will be made 9/15...the flavor will be blueberry lemon. I love these two flavors together.

Jay, you may want to start you a starter for this bread. Heck, if it doesn't work out you haven't lost much...I would like to get a sourdough starter, too bad we can't exchange starters!

This is one of my 1st attempts at food photography many years ago, the recipe is as old...

A recipe from my past:

Don't remember where it came from... it is good al the same! The photo is real old also, my first digital camera!

Here is a recipe from long ago...
This uses some of your basil after drying it.


TOMATO BASIL BREAD
Category: BREADS
Serves: 8

1 Pack yeast
1/3 Cup warm water
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tblsp salt
1/8 Cup olive oil
1 1/2 Cup water
5 Cup flour, may require more
2 Ounce sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 Tblsp dried basil
1 Tblsp tomato paste

1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes

Reserve 1 tblsp of sugar for yeast mixture.
Combine remaining sugar, salt, oil, 1 1/2 c water, sundried tomatoes, basil, red pepper flakes and tomato paste in a large bowl and let soak.
Dissolve yeast, 1 tblsp sugar and 1/3 c water.
When yeast is active combine half of the flour and the water and seasoning mix, then add the yeast mixture, mix well.
Add enough of the remaining flour to create a stiff dough.
Let rise twice.
Preheat oven to 375F and form dough into one loaf...let rise, then bake for 40-50 minutes.

Shadows, do you knead your dough at any time with your Tomato Basil Bread recipe? I can smell it baking!!!! Yum

Here is the starter I have going

http://cookingbread.com/recipes/classics_b...d_2_recipe.html

It doesnt go into the extended care and feeding, and this is my first starter (late bloomer) so I am playing it by ear...... I am sure you care for it just as any other starter.

Peace

Jay

p.s. I guess you cover the amish starter with cheesecloth so it will keep off the bugs but allows the spores to get in and start......

WHITE SAGE BREAD


Ingredients:

1 1/4 C. warm water (105 - 115°F.)

3 T. sugar or honey

1 package ( 1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

5 - 5 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. vegetable oil

2 T. chopped fresh sage leaves, or 1 T. dried

2 t. salt

2 large eggs

1 1/4 C. small-curd cottage cheese

Glaze:

1 egg white

1 T. water

1/8 t. salt

1/2 C. pine nuts, toasted, crushed


Method:

Put the warm water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl of electric mixer; stir to dissolve. Stir in 2 cups of the flour; beat until smooth, about 15 strokes. Cover loosely; let stand at room temperature until bubbly, about 1 hour.

Stir in 1 cup of the flour, oil, sage, salt, eggs and cottage cheese; beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed until dough is soft and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until soft and springy, 1-2 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to coat the top. Cover; let rise to room temperature until doubled, about 1 1/4 hours.

Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Turn dough onto clean work surface; divide into 2 equal portions. Form each into a tight round. Place on baking sheet; dust with flour. Cover loosely. Let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut a large X on the top of each loaf, no more than 1/4 -inch deep.

For the glaze, whisk egg white, water and salt together until foamy. Brush loaves with glaze; sprinkle with pine nuts. Bake until loaves are golden-brown and sound hollow when tapped with your finger, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet; cool on baking racks.

Makes 2 loaves.

Punch it down and reshape into a round loaf each time. I really don't knead it.

Here are a couple of bread sites that I have been reading.

http://cookingbread.com/

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/

lots of good stuff

Jay

Quick clarifying question for those "in the know".

When feeding a sourdough starter, do you use equal WEIGHTS or equal AMOUNTS of flour/water? A ¼ cup of water equals about a full cup of flour by weight.

Any help would be appreciated


Peace

Jay

I don't know about the sourdough starter but with the amish bread it's equal amounts... you may want to do a google search to find out.