Sept. Recipe Exchange Favorites: Breads

We have a church recipe exchange once a month. This month's theme was bread. I'm posting my favorites so I can have them easily accessible.

Artisan Bread Loaf (I loved this one. Probably my fav. Great crumb)

By:  Ruth Judd

Recipe:

3 cups (430g) flour 1½ cups (345g or 12oz) water ¼ teaspoon (1g) yeast 1¼ teaspoon (8g) salt olive oil (for coating) extra flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal (for dusting)

Two medium mixing bowls 6 to 8 quart pot with lid (Pyrex glass, Le Creuset cast iron, or ceramic) Wooden Spoon or spatula (optional) Plastic wrap Two or three cotton dish towels (not terrycloth) 

Process: Mix all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add water and incorporate by hand or with a wooden spoon or spatula for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Lightly coat the inside of a second medium bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 12 hours at room temperature (approx. 65-72°F).

Remove the dough from the bowl and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest 15 minutes in the bowl or on the work surface. Next, shape the dough into ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with flour, wheat bran, or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the towel and dust with flour. Cover the dough with a cotton towel and let rise 1-2 hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size. Preheat oven to 450-500°F. Place the pot in the oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking to preheat. Once the dough has more than doubled in volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes Then remove the lid and bake 15-30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned. 

*I used the baking directions from a similar recipe and put the loaf on a baking stone that had been preheated in a 450 degree oven. Right before I placed the loaf on the stone I sprinkled some cornmeal on the stone. I baked the loaf for 20 minutes, and had a pan with a cup of hot water under the stone to steam the loaf while it baked. Try the other method as well though. Each will make a great loaf.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bread (Not overly sweet, which I liked)

By:  Melissa Smith

For the bread:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
1/2 milk (or buttermilk)
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a mixing bowl, fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add vanilla and lemon zest and mix together. Alternately add the dry ingredients with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the blueberries.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the filling and whisk together.

Prepare a loaf pan by coating with cooking spray. Spoon about half of the batter into the pan, then spread the filling over the top. Spoon the remaining batter on top of the filling; you may want to drop by spoonfulls to get an even distribution as it will be hard to spread over the filling.

Bake bread for about 55-65 minutes, checking for doneness after 55 minutes. While bread is cooking, prepare lemon glaze. In a small saucepan, bring to a boil lemon juice and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. Remove from heat. When bread is done, remove to a cooling rack and spoon on warm glaze. Let cool 10-15 minutes in the pan then remove the loaf to a cooling rack to cool completely. Resist the urge to cut into the loaf while it is hot, it needs time to set up.

Overnight Rolls (Crescent Rolls I'll probably use for Thanksgiving this year)

By:  Marci Preece

1 ½ c. warm water, divided                                    ½ c. shortening

1 TBS. yeast, (1 package)                                2 eggs

Pinch of salt                                                     1 tsp. salt

1 cup canned evaporated milk                  1 tsp. baking powder

6 cup flour                                                       ½ tsp. baking soda

½ cup instant mashed potato flakes               ½ TBS. sugar

1/3 cup sugar

In a small bowl add ½ cup of warm water, yeast, and ½ TBS. sugar.  Set aside to dissolve.  In a large bowl (or your electric mixing bowl) mix warm milk, 1 cup warm water, 2 cups flour, instant potato flakes, sugar, shortening, eggs, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add yeast mixture and remaining 4 cups of flour.  Knead well.  Crisco a large bowl and place dough in it.  Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and place in the fridge overnight.  Remove from fridge and flour the counter top very well.  Flour dough, and roll out.  There are many ways you can shape these.  Use a pizza cutter to cut strips and tie into knots.  You can also separate dough into 2 balls and roll out like a pizza.  Cut into slices and roll from wide end to the tip for crescent shapes.  Place on cookie sheets and let rise three hours.  Preheat oven to 400.  Brush with butter and bake for 10-12 minutes (or brush with melted butter after they are cooked).