California Walnut Bread

This is by far the most unique bread I have ever eaten. It was somewhat of an "acquired taste" for me. I didn't really like the first bite, but by the third bite I was really impressed with the depth of flavors it had. And by the time I finished the slice I really liked it! I would definitely call this a gourmet bread. It also made a delicious bread pudding!

To make the sponge.
In a large bowl add the following ingredients:
2 tablespoons (or two packets) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
3 tablespoons honey or sugar (agave nectar also works well)
and 2 cups of whole milk at room temperature.
Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature about an hour.

If you have children this is a great time to get them excited about baking! My two year old loves to stir.

Chop 1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F about 3 minutes.

To the sponge add:
1/2 cup walnut oil (or canola works fine)
1 tablespoon of salt (I prefer kosher)
1 cup of flour .
Stir to combine.
Then add the nuts, and the remaining two cups of flour about half a cup at a time.
Knead on a lightly floured surface, about 4 minutes. Then place in a greased container, turning to coat. Let raise about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Gently deflate the dough. Shape and place in two greased 8 by 4 inch pans. (You can also do 2-3 round free form loaves).
Cover loosely and let rise about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F. 20 minutes in advance. Bake 35-40 minutes. Until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Indian Fry Bread

Have a hankering for some Navaho tacos? These were perfect for ours!

In a mixing bowl:
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

To the flour mixture add 4 tablespoons shortening or lard.
I prefer to mix this in with my hands. You can also use two knives, or a pastry cutter would also work well. The shortening should be about the size of peas when you are done.
Add 1 1/2 cups hot water and mix well. Knead briefly, no more then 10 times. The dough should be smooth and soft. But not sticky.

Cover with plastic wrap (or a kitchen towel!) and let rest about 30 minutes.

Pull off knobs of dough, about 2-3 inches in diameter, enough to make 15-20 pieces. Roll out with a rolling pin (or shape by hand) and place on a pan (or counter top) cover with plastic and let rest about 20 minutes.

In the pan of your choice (I prefer the cast iron, but you can also use a wok, heavy kettle or deep fryer), heat 2 inches of oil. (I would also add salt, about 1/4 a teaspoon).
Cook two minutes each side.

Place on a stack of paper towels. You can serve these with honey-butter, plain honey, or some delicious tacos!

Sesame Whole-Wheat Long Rolls

We decided to try these for Father's day with our grilled bratwurst. I really like the author's description. She said: "Whether used for blanketing hot meats at barbecue time or as a cold sandwich roll, there is nothing ordinary about them. " Yes I definitely agree! Another thing I love about this recipe is the sesame seeds. They are amazing healthy and when you add them to bread you really can't even tell they are there. So if you have children that complain about "those little seeds" it's a good way to be sneaky!!
Go HERE for interesting facts on sesame seeds!

Into a small bowl: 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast and a pinch of brown sugar sprinkled over 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Let sit for a few minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl:
3/4 cup warm milk
4 tablespoons (half a stick) of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2  tablespoons raw sesame seeds
Beat hard until smooth

Add the yeast mixture and 4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour  (half a cup at a time). Mix well. (Switch to a wooden/plastic spoon when the whisk no longer works)
When the dough stays in a nice ball and isn't to sticky move to a floured work surface and knead about 5 minutes.
Then place in a greased container and turn to coat. Cover with plastic and  let raise until doubled. 45 minutes to an hour.

Gently deflate, then divide into 16 equal portions. (I use a food scale, you can also press the dough into a long rectangle and cut with a pizza cutter)

On a greased (or parchment lined) baking sheet: Place each portion that has been shaped into an oblong oval. They should be about 2 inches apart.
 (or you can shape them like mini french bread loaves, by rolling them and pinching along the bottom, if you want a nicer look) I personally like my bread to look kinda rustic!
If desired you can brush the buns with egg wash. (1 egg, a couple tablespoons of water)
Let raise about 30 minutes.

20 minutes before baking preheat oven to 375 F.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Place on cooling racks.

Yeasted Sopaipillas

I was going through all my recipes that I have made and documented  and I stumbled over this one. I made it back when I was just getting started on this blog so I was still trying to figure out the whole process of picture taking (this the lack of pictures, I'm sorry). Anyway they were really good so I thought I would share.
A delightful little snack! These are very similar to Navaho Fry Bread (or where I come from in Utah "scones") except  they are baked rather then fried.

We had ours with butter/ham/honey/honeybutter. They would also be delicious with a mixture of cream cheese and guava jelly. (I've had the Goya brand, which is usually found in the hispanic section at the grocery store)

1. In a small bowl (or mug) pour 1/4 cup warm water, over which you will sprinkle 1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let stand about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl: 2 3/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the yeast mixture, 3/4 cup of milk, 1 large egg (room temp),  and 2 tablespoons melted shortening. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

3. Knead on a floured work surface, about 10 kneads. Dust with flour 1 tablespoon at time if needed. The dough should be really soft.

4. Place in a greased container, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature about 45 minutes, or in the fridge for 2 hours. (The dough may be refrigerated up to 48 hours, but should be deflated daily).

5. Twenty minutes before baking preheat oven to 500 F. Parchment line two baking sheets. gently deflate dough and divide into four portions. Roll each portion until 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Fold the dough in half and reroll. Do this twice. If it starts to be to hard to handle let it rest for a few minutes.

With a knife (or pizza cutter)  cut each section into 6 squares, oblongs, triangles, or diamonds.  Each shape should be 2-3 inches. Place on lightly floured baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. The dough can stay at room temperature for up to 5 minutes. It it takes you longer then that to cut them then you should keep them in the fridge until ready to bake. You can also refridgerate them overnight if you would like.

Place on the parchment lined baking sheets at least one inch apart. Bake one pan at a time 8-10 minutes on the center rack. They should be puffed and brown. Serve warm.

Jewish Egg Braid (Challah)

A delicious, slightly sweet bread! (And a great excuse to make yet another bread braid!)

To begin....

In a large bowl place 6 cups of unbleached all purpose flour. Make a well in the center and pour 1/2 a cup of warm water and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of active dry yeast and a tablespoon of sugar.. Stir well (a little bit of flour will also be incorporated...). Let stand for 15 minutes.

Then add 1/3 a cup sugar, 2 cups of warm water, 3 large eggs (at room temp), 1/2 a cup vegetable oil (I used canola), and 2 teaspoons of salt.

Mix together, then knead 5-8 minutes. It should be soft and springy. (Springs back when pressed). Dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent sticking. (If kneading by machine switch from paddle to dough hook and knead 4-5 minutes).
Place in a greased container, turn once to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until doubled. 2- 2 1/4 hours. Don't let it rise over double, or it may tear and the baked loaf won't have the full volume.
Gently deflate, then rise another hour.

Gently deflate, then divide in half. We like the four strand braid (third strand up, first strand over). Or you can do it with just three.
You can also do some other fun shapes such as:

A turban (A good tutorial HERE)





A wreath

Or Pretzel shaped. I think this one looks so fun!
You can also just do a regular loaves (four 9by5's to be exact)

Let rise until dough is almost doubled in bulk. About 40 minutes. If using loaf pans dough should be about an inch above the rims.
Bake at 350 F. 40-45 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Enjoy!!

Flour Tortillas

Mmm, homemade tortillas are super tasty. It takes a little practice to get the shape right but it's totally worth it. I really like this recipe, it's easy to work with. 5 stars.

Directions: (Makes 15 5-8 inch tortillas)
In a bowl by hand or heavy duty mixer combine 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 cup shortening and enough water to make a dough (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
Mix until you have a nice dough that's not sticky. Let rest for 30 minutes to 2 hours. (I recommend covering the bowl with a warm wet towel)
 THEN roll into balls and let rest again for 20-30 minutes. (But there's no hurry, it they end up sitting for another hour that's okay)

With a light sprinkling of flour over a work surface and your favorite rolling pin: Take the ball of dough, flatten, sprinkle some flour over the top (as well as some flour rubbed onto the rolling pin).
This is how I do it: Imagine a clock, roll up or down (whichever you choose) at 12, rotate to 3, roll, rotate to 6, roll, rotate to 9, then roll again. Keep in mind if the dough is being stubborn and doesn't want to roll out easily then let it rest for a few minutes.

  Cook on medium heat in an ungreased frying pan or well seasoned cast iron skillet. My husband calls it "Cast iron Nirvana!" you want to be able to cook these without them sticking! If you do want to use the cast iron and are worried about sticking you can always fry up a piece of bacon on it first, then wipe clean!

You can tell it's done on the first side when it bubbles up. Only cook the second side for 10-30 seconds, or until browned.

 The possibilities are endless! We do love our tortillas!

Anadama Bread with Tillamook Cheddar Cheese

This is definitely one of the most unique breads I've made thus far. It's so good! I was really impressed that the finished product doesn't even give a clue that it's got cheese and cornmeal in it.

In a medium saucepan:  1/2 cup cornmeal and 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook and stir constantly until thick and bubbly. About 3 minutes.

Take it off the heat and add 1/2 a cup mild honey, 2 cups (8 oz)  shredded Tillamook mild cheddar cheese, and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir until the butter is melted then set aside.

In a small bowl/mug sprinkle over 2/3 a cup of warm water: 1 tablespoon of yeast and a pinch of sugar. Stir well, then let sit about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl combine: yeast mixture, cornmeal mixture, 2 cups of flour and 2 teaspoons of salt. Beat well. Add remaining 4-4 1/2 cups of flour 1/2 a cup at a time.

Knead about 3 minutes. Place in a greased bowl turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and raise about 1 1/2 hours.

Deflatethe dough carefully and divide in half. Pat each half into a rectangle shape. If you have trouble getting it to stretch let it rest for a few minutes. Then cover each with 2 tablespoons of butter and a teaspoon or two of paprika. I think I used closer to a tablespoon...but then I do love paprika!

Roll up the rectangle jelly roll style and tuck the sides underneath and pinch to seal.

Place in two greased loaf pans and let raise until about 1 inch above the rims (or 45 minutes)

Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes.