Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

I found this recipe in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. It looked perfect for a rainy Sunday. And boy was it perfect! Yum!! I couldn't stop at just one slice!

Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

1½ cup rolled oats

1½ cup boiling water

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp salt

½ cup raisins

2¼ tsp yeast

2 eggs, room temperature

4-5 cup bread flour

3 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1.      In a large bowl mix together the rolled oats and boiling water. Stir to blend, and add the butter or margarine, honey, brown sugar, salt, and raisins. Let the mixture cool to no more than 130°.

2.      Add the yeast. Add the eggs and 2 cups flour. With a wooden spoon, stir vigorously for 2-3 minutes.

3.      Work in additional flour, ½ cup at a time, with the spoon first and then with your hands-or dough hook, if you are using a mixer. The dough will become a soft mass that can be picked up and placed on the work surface, or left under the hook.

4.      Knead with a strong push-turn-fold rhythm, adding flour if the dough is slack or wet and sticky. Knead for 8 minutes, or until the dough is soft and elastic. If under the dough hook in the mixer, add sprinkles of flour if the dough should cling to the sides of the bowl.

5.      Place the dough in a buttered bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put the dough aside to rise at room temperature until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

6.      Turn the dough out of the bowl and divide into 2 pieces. With the hands and a rolling pin, shape each piece into a rectangle about 8" wide and 12" long. Butter the dough and sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon.

7.      Roll up the dough as for a jelly roll, and press the seams securely together. Drop each into a  medium (8"-x-4") greased loaf pans pan, seam down, and push into the corners and ends with your fingers.

8.      Cover the pans with wax paper and put aside to rise until the center of the dough is slightly above the edge, about 45 minutes.

9.      Preheat the oven to 375° 20 minutes before baking.

10.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the crusts are nicely browned, about 40 minutes. The bottom crust may be sticky with the melted sugar (which will harden as the loaf cools), but tap the crust to make certain it sounds hard and hollow.

11.  When the loaves come from the oven, brush with more melted butter and turn out onto a metal rack to cool before serving.

Pumpkin Cheese Bread

For Thanksgiving I thought I would try a new bread. I wanted to a yeast bread, but of course it's the time for pumpkin. A pumpkin bread that's not a quick bread is kind of unusual, so when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it! And it was delish!!!! I forgot to take a picture of it since it was Thanksgiving and I was super busy but here's the recipe!!

Pumpkin Cheese Bread

3¾ cup flour

1 tbsp light brown sugar

1 pkg yeast

1¼ tsp salt

1 dash cayenne pepper

¾ cup pumpkin puree

4 oz shredded sharp Cheddar

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 large egg

1. In a large bowl, stir together 3½ cups flour, brown sugar, yeast, salt, and cayenne.
2. Add 1 cup water, pumpkin, and cheese; stir to combine. (Dough will be slightly sticky.)
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball. (Add up to ¼ cup more flour if needed.)
4. Sprinkle a large bowl with flour and add ball of dough, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
5. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon butter.
6. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and use hands to flatten to a rectangle, about 9 by 10 inches.
7. Roll dough into a log and place seam-side down in loaf pan.
8. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled in volume, 1 to 1¼ hours.
9. Preheat oven to 375°. Using a sharp knife, slash the loaf down the center.
10. Brush loaf with egg wash.
11. Bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped, 40 to 50 minutes.
12. Turn out of pan onto a wire rack to cool.

Gingerbread Snacking Cake

Come winter I wanted some gingerbread. I talked to Eric about this and he wanted me to find a recipe that was from scratch.  From scratch? I wasn’t really sure what that meant… Hmm… Well, then I thought, “Who could be more “from scratch” than Martha Stewart?” So off to the Internet I went looking for a gingerbread recipe from Martha Stewart, and then I found this one. It is incredible! YUM! I love it!! I’ve made it several times because it just disappears! YUM!!! And it's not just me that loves it! Yerlan and Sultan also love it! I can't wait until Yerlan makes it and sends me a picture! :) 

Gingerbread Snacking Cake

Martha Stewart

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 cup unsulfured molasses

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

 

BAKING PAN: 9”-x-13” cake pan, buttered and floured

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in molasses and grated ginger, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in eggs.

Pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Cut into squares; dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Banana Tea Bread

This recipe was handed down to me from my Mom from her mom, so this is a family recipe. I've eaten this banana bread more than any other in my life. It's not my favorite banana bread but it is a food of my childhood and my Mom's.

Banana Tea Bread

1¾ cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

⅓ cup butter

⅔ cup sugar

2 eggs, well-beaten

1 cup mashed ripe banana

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream the butter and sugar. 
Add the eggs. 
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
 Add the flour mixture alternately with the bananas, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth.
Pour into a well-greased and floured loaf pan (9x5x3-inches).
Bake for an hour.

Sweet Roll Dough

This is a recipe that I grew up eating. Whenever my Mom wanted rolls, she made this. When she wanted to make pizza, she used this. She even made regular ole loaves of bread from this. I know my Mom got this recipe from my Grandmother. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I've got my Grandmother's and my Great Grandmother's recipes (actually I even have some from my Great Great Grandmother!), and there's no indication that it goes as far back as them. Either way it is for sure a family recipe! And in that family tradition, I made these for Thanksgiving just like my Mom always did!

Sweet Roll Dough

1 pkg yeast

¼ cup warm water (105-115°)

¼ cup lukewarm milk (scaled & cooled)

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg

¼ cup butter, softened

2¼ - 2½ cup flour

 

Dissolve yeast in warm water.
Stir in milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening, and l cup flour.
Beat until smooth.
Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
Turn dough onto lightly floured board.
Knead until smooth & elastic about 5 min.
Place in greased bowl: turn greased side up.
Cover, let rise in warm place until double, about 1½ hours (dough is ready if impression remains when touched.)
Punch down dough.
Shape as desired.
Cook rolls at 350° for 20-25 minutes.