Stollen

In my family, stollen is a Christmas tradition. Every year, I would wake up the morning before Christmas to find my Dad pacing around the kitchen and peaking into the oven, yelling at the bread to hurry up and rise already. Every year. Ah, tradition.

Stollen is a century's old German fruit cake. The shape, an oval folded over, is meant to look like a swaddled baby Jesus. The German city of Dresden has laid claim to producing the one true "authentic" stollen, to the point of it's production being regulated. However, seeing as this is Pennsylvania, and not Dresden, I decided to use this stollen recipe I found on the internet instead. I don't know how authentic it is, but it's very tasty. My Dad has used probably a dozen different stollen recipes over the years, and I think this is the best one I've tasted. And in his experience, it's the one that gives him the best results and rises the quickest.

This stollen begins with a sponge which you then use to build the dough. Think of the sponge as a sort of "pre-dough" that you let rise a little before adding all the remaining ingredients. Stollen does seem to take a bit more time to rise than other bread doughs (Dad, I now feel your pain), but it's well worth it in the end. This bread has a cinnamon-sugar filling that I feel is optional. Before serving, be sure to sift on a thick layer of powdered sugar. Justify it as being snow, or something. But, of course, the best part of this bread is enjoying it on Christmas morning and sharing it with family and friends. :)


STOLLEN

for the fruit mixture:
1 c mixed candied fruit
1 c raisins
3 tbsp rum

for the sponge:
1 .25oz package yeast
1/4 c warm water (about 110 degrees)
2/3 c milk
1 tsp honey
1 c flour (the original recipe calls for all-purpose, but I used bread)

for the dough:
1/3 c honey
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into chunks
1 tbsp lemon zest (I zested one lemon and called it a day)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 c slivered or chopped almonds
3-4 c flour

for the filling (optional):
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar

1. In a bowl, mix together the candied fruit and the raisins. Toss with the rum. Cover with plastic wrap and occasionally shake to coat the fruit with the rum.

2. Pour the warm water into the bowl for a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Heat the milk to 110 degrees (I do this by zapping it for a few seconds in the microwave). Pour the milk into the bowl. Add in the honey and 1 cup flour. Stir to combine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Let sponge rise for about 30 minutes. It should puff up and appear full of bubbles.

3. To the sponge, add the fruit mixture, 1/3 cup honey, butter, lemon zest, salt, nutmeg, almonds, and 2 cups of the flour. Using the paddle attachment for the stand mixture, mix on a medium low speed for about 2 minutes. It'll look more like a cookie dough than a bread dough at this point. In 1/4 cup intervals, add the remaining flour until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook. On low speed, use the dough hook to continue mixing together the dough, adding flour by the tablespoon until dough cleans the bowl. Once dough cleans the bowl, it has enough flour. Use the dough hook to knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Spray a large bowl with some non-stick cooking spray, or coat with vegetable oil. Place the dough ball in the bowl, and flip over so oil coats both sides. Cover bowl and place someplace warm. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

5. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a clean counter top. Remove dough ball from bowl and place on the paper. Roll dough into a 9 x 13 inch oval. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter over the oval's surface. Mix together the cinnamon and 3 tablespoons sugar and sprinkle over the melted butter. Fold the dough in half lengthwise (the parchment paper really helps this step). Transfer the stollen, still on the paper, to a baking sheet. Cut any excess paper that doesn't fit the baking sheet. Cover the stollen with a dry, clean towel. Place somewhere warm and allow to rise again for about 45 minutes.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack. To serve, sift powdered sugar over top.

Source: Food Network

This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Craft-O-Maniac, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper, Foodie Friday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Sweets for a Saturday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday

Old Fashioned Dinner Rolls

My husband, despite being north of 35 years old, still eats like a teenager. It wouldn't be uncommon for him to eat 3 or 4 pieces of lasagna at dinner and then wander around the kitchen a few hours later looking for a snack. I'd be concerned, but the man is on the thin side and has a clean bill of heath. So instead I'm just jealous I don't share his metabolism.

I began making dinner rolls as a way to stretch the grocery budget while keeping my husband full. Dinner rolls are inexpensive and filling. The only problem was, I couldn't find them in the stores. I'm not exactly sure when or why the dinner roll became an extinct species. But it encouraged me to make my own.

I've tried at least a dozen different roll recipes. This is my husband's favorite. It's made in the bread machine, but is easily adapted to a stand mixer.


OLD FASHIONED DINNER ROLLS

1 c water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
3 1/4 c bread flour
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp bread machine yeast
2 tbsp melted butter

1. Place ingredients (except melted butter) in your bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Run dough cycle. When complete, remove dough from machine and rest on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces and roll into balls. Place balls in glass baking dish. Cover and place in a warm place to rise for about 40 minutes, or until doubled.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter.

Source: Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook

Bagels

Both of my parents are from northern New Jersey, and from that heritage I inherited a love of a good bagel. I have so many fond memories of waking up on Sunday mornings at my grandparents' to a kitchen full of bagels. I can even remember what everyone used to eat. My mom always chose a salt bagel smeared with butter, my dad preferred rye bagels with his coffee, and my brother loved the cinnamon raisins. I know it seems silly to remember this much about bagels, but it's one of those little family things that sticks in your brain and becomes even more important to you as the years pass.

Bagels have always been a part of my life, and, beyond the nostalgia, I just plain like to eat them. Every morning, if possible. Problem is, where I live, finding a good bagel isn't easy. So I decided to make my own. These bagels are everything a bagel should be: strong and chewy on the outside, soft and bready on the inside (my computer is telling me that bready is not a word; it totally should be, though). They are easy to make, which is a bonus when you make them as often as I do. Even if an authentic Jersey bagel shop opened down the block from me tomorrow, I think I'd still stick to this recipe.

BAGELS

1 c warm water (110 degrees)

2 1/4 tsp (1 .25oz pkg) active dry yeast

2 tbsp sugar

2 1/2 c bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt
3 quarts water (for boiling)
1 tbsp sugar

1 egg white

cornmeal

Note: this recipe can be made in a bread machine using the dough cycle. Add an extra 1/2 c flour to the ingredients and meet me in step 4.

1. In a the bowl for your stand mixer, dissolve yeast and sugar in the water. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, until your yeast becomes foamy.

2. Add in the bread flour and salt. With the dough hook of a stand mixer, mix on the lowest speed until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. If needed, add more flour a tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed a little and let the machine kneed the dough for about 2 minutes.

3. Place dough ball in a large, greased bowl. Let dough rise in a warm environment until it doubles, about an hour.

4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut into six equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and pinch the edges of the rope closed to form a circle. To seal the pinch, slip the bagel over your fingers and roll it around a bit, pinch side down. Let newly formed bagels rise again for about an hour (I just cover them with a towel and leave them on my counter top for this step).

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil. Add sugar. Drop a bagel into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds, turn over, and boil for another 30 seconds. Place on paper towels to drain. Repeat this step with remaining bagels.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle cornmeal over the paper. Place bagels on the baking sheet. Brush with the egg white. If desired, sprinkle on poppy seeds or kosher salt.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until bagels turn a golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and store in an air-tight container.

Source: Allrecipes

This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Craft-O-Maniac, On the Menu Monday, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Foodie Friday

English Muffins

It's embarrassing, but, until fairly recently, I thought english muffins were the creation of Thomas'. Little did I know that these muffins have been around for hundreds of years, and historically made in the home kitchen. Once I discovered this, I became determined to try to make them myself. I was a bit intimidated at first. I am, after all, a professed lover of the bread machine. But I didn't find this recipe difficult to execute in the least. And the results speak for themselves. Sorry, Thomas', but I think I've moved on.


ENGLISH MUFFINS

1 c. milk
2 tbsp sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1/4 c. melted shortening
5-6 c. bread flour
1 tsp salt
cornmeal

1. In a small saucepan, scald the milk. To do this, heat the milk until it reaches 180 degrees. Remove from heat. Add sugar to milk and stir until dissolved. Allow the milk to cool to lukewarm.

2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add a pinch of sugar and/or flour to get the yeast started. Let yeast sit for 10 minutes, until frothy.

3. Add lukewarm milk, melted shortening, and 3 cups of the flour to the yeast. Mix well. Mix in salt and 2 more cups of the flour. My dough didn't need more flour than this, but if yours does, add more in 1/4 cup batches. Your dough has enough flour when it comes together as a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the mixing bowl.

4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead until dough is elastic. If using a KitchenAid mixer, use dough hook on speed 2 for 2 minutes.

5. Place dough ball in a large, greased bowl. Cover with a towel. Allow to double in a warm place (about an hour).

6. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness. The less you work the dough, the more air it will retain to create those desired "nooks and crannies." When rolling, press as lightly as possible with roller.

7. Line a two baking sheets with parchment paper. Sprinkle parchment paper with cornmeal. Cut rolled dough with a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass. Place rounds on baking sheets. Gather any left over dough, and roll out again. Repeat this step until all dough has been shaped into rounds.

8. Cover muffins and leave out on counter top to rise, for about 45 minutes.

9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake muffins for 8 minutes on each side. Cool on a rack and then store in an air-tight container. To eat, toast muffins and top with butter, jam, or cream cheese.

Source: Allrecipes

Bread Machine Baguettes

Whenever we have guests for dinner, I like to make a homemade bread to go along with the meal. People really seem to appreciate the specialness of it, and it's not too much of a chore on my end, because I have a bread machine. I seriously love my bread machine. I hug it a little each night before bed.

The first time I made this recipe, I bit into a piece to taste test it and practically bounced up and down with joy, because it tasted exactly like a baguette from a bakery. I'm still a bit green to this cooking and baking thing. I get a kick when I can make things at home that taste as good, if not better, than what I've been buying from professional bakers.

BREAD MACHINE BAGUETTES

• 1 c water, at room temperature
• 2 3/4 c bread flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp water

1. Add first five ingredients to your bread machine, using the order recommended by your machine's manufacturer. In most machines, that means you'll add the liquids first, then the dry ingredients, and finish with the yeast. I always like to sprinkle the bread flour evenly over the water, creating a floating barrier so that the other dry ingredients don't slip into the liquid. I also like to dig a little well in my dry ingredients to hold the yeast.

2. Run your machines Dough/Manual cycle.

3. Grease a large mixing bowl with a small amount of vegetable oil. When your machine has completed it's Dough/Manual cycle, remove dough ball with floured hands and place in mixing bowl. Turn dough over so that both sides get greased. Cover bowl and allow to rise someplace warm for about 30 minutes.

4. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle (this does not need to be exact). Cut rectangle in half to make two 8 x 12 rectangles. Roll up the 12 inch side of each rectangle to create your baguette shape. Pinch the seam closed and taper the ends.

5. Place your shaped loaves on a greased cookie sheet. With a paring knife, make diagonal cuts on the top of the loaves, one every 3 inches or so. Cover baguettes and allow to rise someplace warm for about 30 minutes, or until doubled.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg yolk and tablespoon water. Brush egg mixture over baguettes. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack at least 12 hours, or overnight. Baguettes are ready when they've developed a nice, hard crust.

Source: Betty Crocker Best Bread Machine Cookbook 

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I get a kick out of this photo, because I thought I was being just such the little photographer staging my breakfast scene. I was packing everything up when I realized I hadn't even bothered to turn on the overhead light in the dining room. And are those crumbs on my cutting board? Oh my. Well, that's what I get for operating a camera before I've had coffee.

Speaking of coffee, what's a better companion for your morning cuppa than a nice slice of fresh-baked cinnamon raisin bread? I love, love my bread machine. However, I rarely use it to bake a loaf from start to finish. Most often, I use to to make dough balls that I then shape into rolls, buns, pizza crusts, ect. The reason I avoid baking loafs in the machine is the size of the bread pan, which produces over-sized slices too large for a sandwich. But larger slices compliment this breakfast bread perfectly. I've made this recipe in the neighborhood of 50 times, and it has never failed me.

CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD

• 1 c. plus two tbsp water
• 2 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 c. bread flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 yeast, quick active dry or bread machine
• 3/4 c raisins

1. Be sure to put the ingredients in your bread machine in the order determined by the manufacturer. For most machines, you'll want to start with water first. Cut softened butter into cubes and add next. Now add dry ingredients, starting with the bread flour and saving yeast for last. When adding the flour to the bread pan, I like to make sure it covers the surface of the water, sort of creating a floating barrier so that the remaining ingredients don't fall into the water.

2. Set your bread machine to run it's basic loaf cycle. Set it to a medium crust. I've done light crusts with this recipe in the past, and have found a darker crust recipe makes for better slicing.

3. Add the raisins at the Raisin/Nut signal. If your machine does not have a Raisin/Nut signal, as mine does not, add them when the machine starts kneading the dough for the second time.

4. After machine has finished, remove bread and allow to cool on a rack overnight. Wake up the next morning to a delicious breakfast!

Source: Betty Crocker Best Bread Machine Cookbook