This is a simple all-purpose dough that we use for baguettes, and also pizza and calzone. The recipe also makes wonderful rolls that freeze well. The rolls come out of the freezer and go into a 375 degree oven on an ungreased pan for 15 minutes and are almost better than when first baked. Note the simple ingredient list. While the instructions are lengthy, the process is really quite speedy. I can mix this dough up within about five minutes. I specified fifteen minutes for prep time to allow for becoming familiar with a new recipe.
My husband's dad introduced me to this new way of grilling cheese on bread. The ingredients are straightforward. The process takes a little practice. Even if they don't come out looking just right the first time (or second or third ...), they'll be delicious. The cheese toasts are a wonderful accompaniment to soup. They would also work well with a simple tossed salad and a side dish of some kind of fruit.
Delicious as this is, its consistency is quite different from a baguette one would find in a bakery in France. This recipe produces a bread somewhere between a French and Italian consistency. With just a little practice you'll be able to mix this together in five minutes or less. From start to baked loaves can be accomplished in less that one and a half hours.
This gingerbread has a more bready consistency than most. It may have something to do with one of its ingredients, cooked potato. The recipe came about yesterday, trying to find just the right proportion of ingredients that would result in a gingerbread as tasty as my mother once made, and which had included potato. I remember feeling disappointed that she had not kept the recipe. No need for disappointment; the following is just as delicious as I remember.
An aquaintance who is a native of Ireland found the bread baked from this recipe reminiscent of the bread she had grown up with as a child. She doesn't remember caraway seeds as an ingredient in Irish Bread. No doubt there are many varieties to be had. Feel free to add a couple tablespoons of caraway seeds if that is your preference.
This is a simple recipe for some wonderful popovers. I love watching these "pop" through our oven window.
These rolls have a slight sweetness with a hint of spice. Total preparation time of about three hours (perhaps even a little more) takes into account the yeast's needed development, distributing air throughout the dough and contributing to its good texture. However a lot of this time can be used tending to other "callings." For the pumpkin, we most often use what's left from our Halloween jack-o-lantern. We try to find as large a sugar pumpkin as we can, and then, post-Halloween, cook (either roast or steam) the pumpkin flesh for use in a number of other dishes, such as Baked Pasta with Roasted Pumpkin.
These robust rolls make a perfect accompaniment to salads. We particularly enjoy these rolls with Chef's Salad. And, they're scrumptious without any accompaniment at all. It must be mentioned that I am indebted, once again, to my husband's Aunt Sally, of "Aunt Sally's Brownies", for this wondrous recipe.
This recipe, adapted from one found in a local newspaper, is one I've used for at least ten years. It is a Thanksgiving staple. I usually bake them a few days ahead, careful to bake them just until they're slightly golden. Then I freeze them. Thanksgiving Day I just distribute as many as needed on baking sheets and bake at about 350 degrees for ten minutes, tops, and they're just as fresh tasting as can be. They're a somewhat old-fashioned, very tasty addition to a traditional feast.
Christmas preparations in our home begin with cookie tins on our kitchen shelves, and as we get closer to the day, some different preparations that happen just at this time of year. We're always ready to try something new, but there are some that are true standbys that are much anticipated as the season draws near.