Sweet Bun Dough #BreadWorld
An easy way to make bread in a different flavor but with such careful preparation. You can add chunky fruit as filling, if you like.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
2 eggs, beaten (divided)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish (divided) (optional)
Procedures:
1. Whisk the sugar and milk together in a large mixing bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the yeast, and let stand until a frothy layer forms on the milk, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, most of the beaten eggs (reserve about 1 tablespoon of egg in a small bowl for later), vegetable oil, and salt, mixing well until thoroughly combined.
2. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, place the bowl in a warm spot, and let rise until doubled, 2 to 3 hours.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead it briefly to punch down, about 1 minute. Roll the dough out into a rope, and cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and use your fingers to flatten each ball into a disc about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
5. Place about 2 tablespoons of your favorite bun filling in the center of the dough circle, and bring the edges of the dough up over the filling. Pinch and twist the top together to seal in the filling. Make sure there are no open spots. Place each filled bun seam-side down on the parchment paper while you finish making the rest of the buns. Cover the filled buns with plastic wrap, and let them rise for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
7. Beat the 1 tablespoon of reserved beaten egg with the water to make an egg wash, and brush the top of each bun with the egg mixture. Sprinkle each bun with a few sesame seeds, and bake in the preheated oven until the tops are browned and shiny, turning the baking sheet around halfway through baking, for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve warm.
8. Makes 12 buns
Baking Without an Oven #BreadWorld
Baking without an oven is not only possible, it's really very simple to do once you know a few details about baking. Baking is a process to cook food usually done in an oven with dry heat. This method can easily be duplicated on a stove top with a little bit of ingenuity.
Tools
Well seasoned cast iron skillet, dutch oven or large pan with a tight fitting lid (a clear glass lid is preferable). Foil or jar lids to keep food off of the bottom of the pan while heating. Stove top, barbecue grill or Coleman type stove, and last but not least, a method to time cooking with.
Directions
While preparing recipe (below) place pan or dutch oven on heating element. Place jar lids or balled up foil in bottom of pan and place lid on pan. Turn heating element on to approximately medium and allow pan to heat up while you're preparing your recipe.
Recipes
All recipes can be easily adapted to this cooking method. It just takes a few minutes and the changes are very minor. Let's start with a cookie recipe. Prepare your cookie recipe in the same manner you would prepare it for regular oven baking. If it happens to be a little bit gooey you may wish to add another cup of flour in order to help prevent any sticking.
Corn bread and biscuit recipes also adapt well as long as they aren't a liquid batter. Simply add more flour until you have a more doughy consistency.
Baking
Once your recipe is prepared and your pan is heated through you are ready to bake your recipe. For cookies, biscuits or corn bread you'll be placing your dough onto well greased foil that is up on jar rings or balled up foil (you may wish to put cookies, biscuits or corn bread on foil before removing lid from pan and then place foil into pan with your recipe already on it to save heat). Make sure to shape your cookies, biscuits or corn bread in uniform sizes and smooth out the tops to keep cooking even.
Once you have your cookies, biscuits or corn bread in your pan place the lid back onto your pan. Now comes the fun part. Turn the heat down to a low to medium low temperature. Because you pre heated your pan the pan is already hot. Placing the lid on the pan allowed the heat to remain in the pan as well as on the lid. By quickly putting your recipe into the pan and replacing the lid you kept most of the heat in. Now you just need to maintain the heat.
If you're making a casserole simply place your recipe into a smaller casserole dish or cake pan that fits inside of your skilled. Replace lid, turn heat down to low to medium and proceed as below except you won't need to remove your casserole from the heat like you do the cookies. Just keep an eye on it and when it seems to be heated through you can remove it from the heat and allow it to sit a few minutes.
Tips
Cast iron holds heat very well so you shouldn't have to do too much to keep your heat going to bake your recipe. If you notice that nothing seems to be cooking you may simply need to turn up the heat for a few minutes until you can feel the heat on your pan again.
Once the bottoms of your cookies, biscuits or cornbread are browned remove the pan from heat (keeping the lid on the pan) and place on a burner that is not turned on. Allow your recipe to continue "baking" in the pan with lid on until desired doneness is achieved. This could be anywhere from ten minutes to around twenty minutes.
This process doesn't really take any longer than baking in a regular oven, you just need to keep a closer eye on your recipe as it bakes.
Focaccia Fingers #BreadWorld
This has recently become the favorite focaccia recipe for your party.Sliced it to the size that you like.
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups All-purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Instant Rise Yeast
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water (Approximate)
1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Topping Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Ripe Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Pitted And Chopped Black Olives
3 Cloves Garlic, Peeled And Thinly Sliced
1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
4 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Directions:
(1) Place the flour in a bowl with the salt, yeast and olive oil and stir.
(2)Slowly add enough water to create a dough that sticks together and isn't too wet.
(3)Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and begin to knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth, soft, but no longer sticky.
(4)Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot in your kitchen until it has doubled in size, about an hour and a half.
(5)While the dough is rising, mix together your topping ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
(6)Once the dough has doubled, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a 13 X 9 inch baking sheet and dump the dough into the prepared pan. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the pan, and create dimples all across the top with your fingers.
(7)Spoon the topping mix evenly across the top of the focaccia and let sit for 15 minutes.
(8)Bake the focaccia for about 25 minutes, or until it is crisp and lightly golden brown on top.
(9)Let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into fingers using a serrated bread knife.
(10) Yield: Makes 1 (13 x 9 Inch) Focaccia
Enjoy the Freshest Breads Everyday #BreadWorld
Say you want the finest gourmet breads imaginable, what do you do? If you're like most people, you'll probably visit your favorite bakery which has spread out ubiquitously. However, if you possess some talent in baking and do have some spare time, you can opt to do your personal baking at home. While each approaches may get what you want, neither gives the impression of practicality. Visiting a specialty bakeshop can be somewhat expensive. Similarly, preparing your own bread, though fulfilling, can be very tedious. Think about all the work and mess you'll create, mixing all the ingredients and doing all the kneading.
But picture this: You wake up to freshly baked breads every morning without setting your foot outside, or exerting much effort. This might seem too good to be true, but its not. Lo and behold, the Breville Automatic Breadmaker.
Bread making machines are a new concept for most of us. But if you are a bread lover, this machine might just become your best companion. The Breville Automatic Breadmaker allows anyone (yes, even those who are clueless about baking) to bake his / her favorite loaf in just three easy steps. How easy it is? Simply pour in all the required ingredients, program the machine as to your desired setting, and wait until the machines baking process is done.
As one of the well-known kitchen brands in the world, Breville shaped its automatic breadmaker with features that will delight any bread enthusiast. Choose from a dozen of baking programs that include Basic, Sweet, Continental, French, and more. Pasta and jam settings are also included, making the machine a more versatile unit. You can even customize your bread loaf by loading your much loved toppings using its fruit and nut dispenser.
Among its variety of cool features, nothing beats the preset timer function which allows you to have your freshly baked bread exactly when you want it. Say its eight in the evening and you plan to get up at 6 a.m. the following day (or 10 hours later). Simply set the timer to 10 hours and the machine will start baking at the appropriate time and your bread will be ready at exactly 6 a.m. for sure. For this reason, you dont have to push yourself to wake up early to prepare and bake; youll be awakening by the comforting aroma of fresh breads instantly.
Being lazy is not really a bad thing. If you're not very eager on preparing the ingredients yourself, Breville Premixes are also available. It comes in four recipes for you to get rid of some other guesswork. Moreover, Breville includes a free Starter Pack, which includes measuring cups and sample premixes to fire up your bread baking enthusiasm.
Breville truly makes the freshest breads a simple reality. It makes all the unimaginable task of everyday home baking into a more convenient one. Just imagine the multitude of delightful breads you could make. Of course with the Breville Breadmaker, you dont have to.
How to Make Muffin Tops (includes A Muffin Top Recipe) #BreadWorld
The muffin tops are the best part of the muffin. It's the crunchy, light part of the muffin not the part that has sweated in the pan. No wonder everyone loves the tops.
With a muffin top pan, you can make only the tops. A muffin top pan has indented cavities about 3/8-inch deep and 4-inches in diameter. You load these cavities with batter. With a stiff batter, you can make high domed tops and because these are jumbo-sized tops, six will equal a batch of a dozen regular muffins.
Product Testing in Our Test Kitchen
At our test kitchen in Rigby, Idaho, we tested both recipes and mixes in muffin top pans. We used nonstick muffin top pans manufactured by Norpro. We experimented to learn how to use the pans to make the best muffin tops. Here is what we learned along with a recipe that we think you will enjoy.
- Everyone wants high-domed muffins. You can make high domes in a muffin top pan as well as in a standard pan. The techniques are the same. Many muffin recipes call for high heat at the beginning of the baking period to create the rise necessary for attractive domes. You can do the same with a muffin top pan but because the batter is above the pan, it is not as necessary. With stiff batter mounded high in the pan, you will bake high-domed muffin tops.
- Because the batter is not as deep, it takes less time to bake muffin tops. Reduce the baking time by about a third. For most recipes and mixes, baking at 375 degrees for 15 to 16 minutes was about right.
- With a thin batter, less can be put in a muffin top pan. The domes will not be as high and you'll have more muffin tops.
- If you are making high-domed muffin tops they will be larger than muffins. A 12-muffin mix or recipe yields six large, high-domed tops. A flatter muffin top is equal to a standard muffin.
- One of the joys of a muffin top pan is that the muffin tops don't stick as muffins often do. Just let them cool for a couple minutes and lift them off the pan.
Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops
This recipe is adapted from our Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe and yes, it's a good as it sounds. Again, tops are the way to go.
This is sweet enough; it's almost like a cake. In fact, you can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream and little fudge topping for a special treat.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 brown sugar
2/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about two smaller bananas)
1 teaspoon banana flavor
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. In another bowl, mash the bananas. Whisk two large eggs and add those to the bananas. Add the oil, milk, flavor, brown sugar, and sour cream. Blend well. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
3. With a spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture. Stir until just combined. Spoon the batter into greased muffin top tins.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Let the muffins sit in the tins for a few minutes and then remove them to wire racks to cool. Makes 8 to 10 muffin tops.
Crumb Topped Banana Muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste
1 tablespoon cold butter
1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional) (I used chopped almonds)
Procedures:
1) In large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
2) Mix bananas, sugar, egg and butter.
3) Stir into dry mixture just until moistened. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
4) Combine first 3 topping ingredients.
5) Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.
6) Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes, until muffins test done.
7) Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Classic Easter Buns #BreadWorld
A much-loved recipe, Easter buns were traditionally eaten for breakfast on Easter time. They were first made in the 18th century, when they were extra rich and spicy, and marked with a cross as a reminder of the festival.
MAKES 12
15 g (1/2 oz) fresh yeast or 7.5 ml (1 1/2 tsp) dried
300 ml (1/2 pint) warm milk
450 g (1 lb) strong white flour
5 ml (1 tsp) salt
5 ml (1 tsp) ground mixed spice
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) grated nutmeg
50 g (2 oz) caster sugar
75 g (3 oz) butter
75 g (3 oz) currants
25 g (1 oz) chopped mixed peel
1 egg, beaten
50 g (2 oz) plain flour
For the glaze
60 ml (4 tbsp) fresh milk and water, mixed
45 ml (3 tbsp) caster sugar
Procedures:
1. Dissolve the fresh yeast in the milk. If using dried yeast, sprinkle it into the milk and leave in a warm place for about 15 minutes, until frothy.
2. Put the strong flour, salt, spices and sugar in a bowl. Rub in 50 g (2 oz) of the butter, then stir in the currants and peel. Make a well in the centre and stir in the egg and yeast liquid and beat together to a soft dough.
3. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic and no longer sticky. Put into a clean bowl, cover with a clean tea-towel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
4. Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead for 2 - 3 minutes. Divide the dough into
12 pieces and shape into round buns.
5. Place on greased baking sheets, cover and leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
6. Meanwhile, make the pastry for the crosses. Put the plain flour in a bowl and rub in the remaining butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in enough water to bind the mixture together. Knead lightly.
7. Roll out the pastry thinly on a floured surface and cut into thin strips about 9 cm (3 1/2 inches) long. Dampen the pastry strips and lay two on each bun to make a cross.
8. Bake at 190°C (375°F) mark 5 for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown. For the glaze, heat the milk and water with the sugar. Brush the hot buns twice with glaze, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Special Ham and Cheese Buns #BreadWorld
These buns are stuffed with ham and cheese and are meant to be hot sandwich, and are parbaked until the dough is done but not browned. Then they're cooled and stored so you can heat-and-eat later. I've only tried reheating these in a regular oven, but they'd probably be just fine in a toaster oven, too. Bake until they're brown and the inside should be warm and gooey at the same time. You can choose your own fillings too.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
2 cups (9 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 7/8 ounces) medium rye flour
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
1 cup cold water
Olive oil
For the filling:
1/4 pound ham, sliced
2 ounces cheese, sliced
8 pickle slices (optional)
Procedures:
1) Put all dough ingredients except water and olive oil into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse several times to distribute ingredients, then, leave the processor running. Add the water slowly through the feed tube, as fast as the flour can absorb the water. Leave it running until it forms a ball. Turn off the processor and check the dough for elasticity. It will be sticky. If the dough is not elastic, keep processing in 30-second burst, checking the dough each time. If it begins to feel warm to the touch, let it rest for 5 minutes to cool off before continuing processing.
2) When the dough is sufficiently elastic, remove the dough from the processor, form it into a ball, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and put it into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
3) Sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
4) When the buns have risen, flour your work surface and turn the dough out. Knead it briefly, divide it into 8 pieces. Form each into a ball, flatten each ball into disk. Stretch each disk to about 4 inches in diameter.
5) Place the filling ingredients in the center of the dough with the meat at the top and bottom.
6) Then pull up the sides to meet in the center, and press to seal the seams.
7) Place the buns seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the buns with plastic wrap and set aside to rise, about 35 minutes.
8) When the buns have risen, bake at 300 degrees until the buns are just barely browned, about 40 minutes. Remove the buns from the pan and cool on a rack, then refrigerate or freeze.
9) To finish baking your par-baked buns, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake the buns until they are nicely browned, about 15 minutes. For your frozen buns, thaw first, then bake.
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