A Maine Lobster Suppah: Honey Yeast Rolls

I love bread. One of my favorite things about going out to dinner at a restaurant is the bread/ rolls that you get when you're seated. There is just something about fersh bread-- the smell, texture and taste just melts in your mouth. I made these rolls for the first time last summer... and since then, I've definitely come to understand yeast and bread making a little more. For some reason, these haven't been my go-to rolls but I absolutely love them! I sprinkled oats on top and I think that adds a nice dimension to them.... and makes them a little heartier. They paired really well with our lobster supper and I could picture them accompanying a chicken dish as well. Definitely try them yourselves if you haven't already!

Honey Yeast Rolls
adapted from Smells Like Home which was adapted from Annie's Eats and A Cookie A Day

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (one package) - (RapidRise is instant yeast)
1 cup warm water (105°-115° F)
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder (added this to the all-purpose flour)
vegetable cooking spray
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1/3 cup rolled oats


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and baking powder and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix until it is incorporated into the dough. Switch to the dough hook, and continue kneading on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12- equal portions (I actually get more than 12 out and they make decently large rolls, so you can probably get 18 out of the dough). Shape each portion into a ball and place into a round, lightly greased baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush lightly over the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle oats on the top of each of the rolls. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Bread

When Cate from Cate's World Kitchen posted her Strawberry Bread recipe, it just looked awesome. Strawberries were just starting to come in season and the markets were flooding with great looking berries. I ate a bunch and then made a few loaves of her bread. I added cinnamon and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar mixture on top to add some extra zing. It's a great recipe and I'm definitely making it anytime I find myself with extra strawberries.

Strawberry Bread
adapted from Cate's World Kitchen

2 eggs
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fresh diced strawberries
cinnamon & sugar mixture


Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 4″ loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until the evenly yellow (but not frothy). Stir in the yogurt, oil, and vanilla and stir until evenly mixed. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no longer traces of flour.

Gently fold in the strawberries, then pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon & sugar mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the bread and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Blooming Herb Bread

I think I keep saying this but as soon as I saw this recipe, I wanted to make it. Seriously though, it looks so pretty (at least when Paster Ryan made it on Pioneer Woman's blog) and it's pretty easy. Next time I will plan a little bit ahead of time so I can let it rise to it's full potential! Danimal could not stop grabbing pieces off of it while the rest of our meal was cooking. I think it's a keeper in our zoo!


Blooming Herb Bread
Pioneer Woman/ Paster Ryan

Ingredients
20 ounces, weight Bread Flour (all Purpose Is Okay, Too) - About 4 Cups
8 ounces, fluid Water
4 ounces, fluid Melted Butter
Chopped Herbs Of Choice (I used fresh Rosemary & chopped garlic)
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Active Or Instant Yeast (if Active, It Would Be Best To Sprinkle Yeast Over The Water To Let It Start To Work Before Mixing It In)


Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients together in the KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can combine ingredients and knead by hand. It's easier in the mixer though!

Mix for about 10 minutes or so until you can successfully achieve a windowpane with the dough (when you can pull off a small chunk of the dough you’re kneading and stretch it gently to see if it is somewhat translucent. If you can do this without it tearing, it’s ready).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

After the dough starts rising, it should be kneaded for a minute or two so that the yeast can redistribute. Form it into a dome and place in a covered cast iron pan after coating it with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Cut a large ‘X’ into the surface of the bread dough so it can bloom!

Bake on the center rack of your over for 30 minutes with the lid on, them remove the lid to finish it off for another 15 to 30 minutes.


After I placed the dough in the bowl, I squirted some fresh lemon juice on top of it... It gave it a little kick. I also didn't let the dough rise as much as I should have.... but we were hungry!

Focaccia-cia-cia

I <3 King Arthur Flour. I've been stalking their website for the last few years. I love their store in Norwich, Vermont. I exclusively use their flour. I'm obsessed with their recipes. I came across their No-Fuss Focaccia bread a while ago and at that time, bread and yeast were a big mystery to me! I made dinner for friends a few weeks ago and decided it was time to test out this puppy. I found their directions to be a bit confusing, but head on over to their site because they blogged about the bread as well. I actually chatted online with their bakers hotline people who confirmed the directions were confusing!

No-Fuss Focaccia
King Arthur Flour

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1/4 cup Vermont cheese powder, optional
Pizza Seasoning, optional
~1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Italian Seasonings
Garlic Powder

Directions
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

2) Combine all of the ingredients (I added in 1 tbsp of olive oil-- the amount left over from drizzling the pan), and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.

4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.

6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes
8) Slice into pieces and serve with dipping oils. I made up a dip with olive oil, chopped garlic, italian seasonings, parmesan & red pepper flakes. Enjoy!!

A Snowy Day + Football Dinner

I'm in heaven right now... I've been wanting to make garlic knots for over a year now. I cannot figure out why I waited so long for these amazing rolls! They are incredible! I am in love! I paired them with chili and that was our nice, snowy- football watching meal. I tend to load as many vegetables into my chili as possible so that it's a nice inclusive meal.

Turkey Chili
My own concotion

1 package ground turkey meat
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup carrots, diced/ sliced
1 summer squash- cut in half lengthwise then sliced
1 cup (or more) spinach
1 cup (or more) mushrooms, sliced (Market Basket was out of mushrooms today)
zucchini, butternut squash, celery and whatever else you want can be added as well
2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
3+ tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth (reduced sodium)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed

In a large pot, saute onions until clear/ golden in color. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add turkey meat and cook until no longer pink. Once meat is cooked, add everything else and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 45 minutes or so. The seasonings are just an estimate of what I used-- I think this time I used more of everything.





Garlic Knots
Amber's Delectable Delights adapted from I Heart Food for Thought adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients


Dough
3 cups + additional 1/4 cup as needed bread flour
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water

Glaze
2-4 cloves peeled, garlic
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon Pizza Seasoning or Italian seasoning, optional

Directions
1. For the dough - In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the dry ingredients together then add the olive oil, milk and water. Using the dough hook, mix and knead to form smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. I added about 1/4 cup additional flour and no extra water. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, turn once and cover it, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s doubled in bulk. I spray the plastic wrap lightly as well.


2. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, and roll each into a rope about 10 inches long; tie each rope into a knot. Place the knots on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes to about an hour, until very puffy looking.
 
3. To make glaze - Unpeel garlic cloves. Chop the garlic in a food processor (or you can use a garlic press), with the melted butter.
 
4. To bake - Bake the knots in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be set, but only very lightly browned. Remove the knots from the oven, and brush or drizzle them with the seasoned butter.

I hate the smell of bananas...

but I love banana bread! I peel the bananas really quickly so that I can get through the nastiness that is the banana smell. I've modified the recipe that my mom always made from The Silver Palate Cookbook. I'm really particular about the condition of bananas when I eat them so I tend to have a bunch in the freezer- once they are ripe (more than the perfect yellow, non-bruised banana), I won't eat them, so I tend to make a lot of bread!

Banana Bread
adapted from The Silver Palate

1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (I use 3-4 whole bananas)
2 cups flour (1 cup all purpose; 1 cup white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use less)
1/2 cup sour cream (or buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla
1/8+ tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flaxseed, optional (I didn't grind it up, just threw it in whole)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray (you could make 1 large one instead)
3. Cream butter & sugar together.
4. Add eggs and beat well.
5. Add mashed bananas, mixing thoroughly.
6. Sift dry ingredients and add to banana mixture. Stir until just combined.
7. Add sour cream (buttermilk), vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon & flaxseed and mix until just combined.
8. Pour into prepared pans and bake 25-30 minutes or until knife comes out clean. This time, I baked the loafs for at least 35 minutes-- it still looked pretty gooey when I the buzzer sounded at 25 minutes.

These also make great muffins, both of which freeze well. With the muffins, I freeze them and pop one into the toaster in the morning. It's a great breakfast on the go!

Wild Rice is hard to find!

My BFF, Kelly, is an awesome cook... she is one of the people I aspire to be like because she creates meals without a recipe in front of her! I'm starting to do that more often but she is just an incredible cook and a truly great friend.

Photo from our rehearsal dinner

Kelly has told me all about her mushroom and wild rice soup that she creates... I'm always hounding her for her recipes-- she told me a bit about what how she makes it and I found a similar recipe on one of the blogs I follow so I mixed the two together. I had heard that Wild Rice was relatively hard to locate so I stopped at Whole Foods thinking that would be my best option... their bags of exotic wild rice were a ridiculous price! I walked out of there with a box of Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice. On the way home, I ran into Market Basket to grab an onion that I forgot on my first trip and decided to breeze down the rice aisle to see what they had. Low & behold, they had Reese Wild Rice which happens to be perfect since Kelly is originally from Minnesota, just like the rice! Kelly has also told me about her sweet potato biscuits that she has made several times and how she loves them. I came across a recipe for sweet potato rolls the other day so I knew I needed to try it.

Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
based on my BFF Kelly's recipe & Sweet Cheeks in the Kitchen

olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup leek, chopped
2-3 tbsp butter
1 cup + 4 tsp dry white wine
4-5 carrots, peeled & sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced
12ish crimini mushrooms, sliced (you can use whatever & how ever many mushrooms you want)
5ish shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 large portabello mushroom, sliced
1 package wild rice, cooked
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
basil, cumin, chili powder, salt & pepper to taste
4 tsp flour

Sprinkle olive oil in a pot on medium heat. Add onions, garlic & leeks- cook for about 10 minutes. Add butter and stir. Add carrots & celery, cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and let sit for a few minutes. Add wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add broth & spices, bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Mix flour & remaining wine together. Add flour-wine mixture and rice, bring mixture to a boil again and let simmer for another 15 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste.

Sweet Potato Rolls
Recipe from http://backtothecuttingboard.com/; adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) RapidRise yeast (you can use normal active dry yeast, but this is much faster)
2 tbsp. white sugar, divided
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
4 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh, cooked and pureed sweet potatoes or canned sweet potato puree (I used fresh)
3 tbsp. margarine, softened
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
5 cups flour, or however much you need (I used 4 1/2ish cups)

Directions

1. Dissolve yeast, warm water, and 1 tbsp. white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add remaining sugar, sweet potato, butter, salt, and eggs. Mix well. I used my stand mixer, because I think I think it’s easier to mix bread in it, but you can still make this without a mixer.
3. Add in 4-5 cups of flour. The goal should be to get it form into a ball, but that never really happened for me. I think I had about 4 1/2 cups of flour and switched to the dough hook of my mixer and mixed for a few minutes to get it smooth. Turn out on a very floured surface and knead lightly for a few minutes. If you mixed with a dough hook you shouldn’t need to do this for too long/at all. The goal is to get smooth dough. Shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the surface. Cover and let rise about 1 hour or longer (shouldn’t need more than an hour with the RapidRise yeast, but if you have time to let it sit longer, that’s better because it will develop more flavor). Alternately, you should be able to make these the night before and let them rise slowly in the fridge. Take them out of the fridge the next day and let stand for an hour before proceeding.
4. Punch down, and allow dough to rest for 2 minutes. Divide into 16 to 20 balls (it was still sticky, so I had to make sure my hands were covered in flour the whole time), and place on a greased cookie sheet or in a 9×13 inch pan. Allow to rise until doubled.
5. Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 12 to 20 minutes (depends on how big you made them). Serve warm, topped with butter.

Makes 16-20 rolls

I only baked 3 of these and froze the rest! I'm excited to have them another time. I really really liked them!!!