Crusty Baguettes

For all of you who get carb cravings and don’t want to wait the hour and a half to let your dough rise, this is a great recipe. These baguettes are incredible- very crispy outside and soft, airy inside and they only take about 30 minutes.

• 2 cups warm water (110-115)
• one packet yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3-4 cups flour

** I would definitely go for 4 cups of flour. I actually had to add a bit more than that to get the right consistency.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water and yeast.   Stir in the salt and sugar and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky.  Knead the dough until elastic.

Cut the dough into four even pieces.  Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes.  Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf.  Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf.  Transfer both onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or greased.

You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes.

** I let my dough rise for about 20 minutes

Now for the SECRET: Fill a large bowl with 3-4 cups of ice.  Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then toss the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door.  Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes.  Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

Yeast 101

Hey, so since I love bread so much and do a lot of work with yeast I thought I’d write a little tutorial. Yeast can be a bit persnickety, but if you follow a few simple rules it will work for ya every time.
get a clean bowl and measure out your yeast. boom. simple.

warm up your liquid (usually it’s water, but sometimes it’s milk) to a temperature somewhere between 110-115. if it’s cooler than that, the yeast won’t activate and you’re bread won’t rise. if it’s warmer than that, it will kill the yeast and again, your bread won’t rise. I usually use a candy thermometer, but can guesstimate if need be. But for the green chefs out there, I’d recommend a thermometer. when you get really good at it, you will know the water is the right temperature by touch and whether or not your yeast is activated by the smell of it.

mix it together and let it stand while you mix the other ingredients. if you are mixing it with things such as eggs or milk, make sure they are warm or room temperature so it doesn’t mess with your yeast.

** When you are letting your bread rise, put it in a big mixing bowl that has been greased and roll the dough over so that the whole ball gets greased. Cover it with cellophane and place in a warm draft-free place like an oven or microwave (don’t turn them on though, because that would cook it and that’s not rising…. that’s cooking).

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

So, you say you want a yummy dinner, but don’t want to do a lot? Well, this recipe is really easy and literally only three ingredients (plus water and butter). It does take about 45 minutes to bake, but the whip up takes just about 7 minutes.

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 box Stove Top stuffing mix (chicken flavored)
• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
• butter for stuffing

Prepare stuffing according to box directions. Place chicken in bottom of 9X13″ pan. Pour mushroom soup over chicken to cover. Lightly spoon prepared stuffing over soup and spread evenly. It may not cover soup completely, but that’s okay. Cover with tin foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

** In the picture there are carrots. I steamed them in the microwave for about 13 minutes in 5 minute increments to check on them. Then I drained them and coated them with a tablespoon of butter, some salt to make it tasty and a sprinkle of dill.

Estonian Kringle

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest. At first I thought it would be difficult, because it looks super fancy, but it’s really not. Also, the name scared me, but I just figured it would be somewhere between a churro and a cinnamon roll. Anyway, here’s the recipe:

Pull-Apart Dough:

• 2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 (1package) teaspoons yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

** I used salted butter because that’s what I had and 2% milk because, again, that’s what I had.

Sugar-Cinnamon Filling

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract. Heat water to 110-115 and mix with yeast.
If you have a bread machine, then you are golden. Combine everything in the machine and let it do it’s thing. If you don’t then combine all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and knead until you can’t knead any more. The dough should feel a bit sticky when you’re done.
Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too.
At this point, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.

** If you don’t have a rolling pin, use a glass or can or something like that.

Roll the dough into a log so it stays 20-inches long. Using a large knife, cut the log in half length-wise. Braid the two halves together, keeping the inner dough layers exposed and the thickest outer layer facing the pan.
Place the braid on a cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the braid to loosen the bread. Serve warm.

Better Than Krispy Kremes

If you say that you don’t like donuts, I would say that you have never tried these. This recipe is sweet and simple and looks a lot like this:

Doughnuts:

• 2 packages of yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk ( scaled, then cooled)
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cups shortening
• 5 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4-6 tablespoons hot water

Directions:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in 2 1/2-quart bowl.
• Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
• Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
• Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
• Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.
• (Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.
• Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
• Cut with floured doughnut cutter.
• Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350°.
• Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
• Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface.
• Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
• Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain.
• Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled spread chocolate frosting on top.
• Dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.
• Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
• Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency

You can also add about 4 ounces of milk chocolate chips to the glaze to make it chocolate, but it’s recommended that you put the glaze on first and then coat with the chocolate glaze. I just dipped it in the clear glaze and drizzled it with straight melted milk chocolate chips.

Also, if you have a doughnut cutter, that’s great. If you don’t, just use a cup and a soda bottle cap. Boom. Just like that you have a yummy treat =) Be warned though, they don’t have a very long shelf life.

The Best French Toast Ever

Alright so I’ve been trying out a lot of new recipes from Pinterest and have decided to start a food blog. I have been posting pictures on Facebook, but I can’t very well type the whole recipe out in the description box now can I? Since this is my first blog post, I thought it would only be fitting to let a breakfast food take the lead. Today I’m going to be making French Toast. Now, if you only knew what a big step this was for me. The only French Toast I have ever had has been soggy and gooey and just plain gross so I’ve stayed away from it for a long time, but Rowdy (my fiance) always talks about how much he loves it so I’m going to try it again except this time I’m going to be making it myself.

I didn’t want this to just be French Toast because where is the fun in that? I’d like all the recipes on here to be simple yet have great presentation and be full of surprises. So the recipe I chose is from Allrecipes.com and it goes a little something like this:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 12 thick slices bread

1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Now, I don’t have thick bread, I have thin slices of whole wheat bread which I’m assuming a lot of you have in your kitchen as well. So hopefully you have everything you need for this already in your kitchen.