Maple Pecan Minis and Sweet Friendships

We've been really blessed with some amazing partners in business.....by God's good grace we've just seemed to find each other. Here's one little story:  Our initial EZ DOH machine's brace had been made of an extruded plastic and glued at a joint. Unfortunately, that joint proved to be a weak point that we had breakage problems with. So it was decision time - invest more money in EZ DOH and go with an injected plastic brace or just call it quits. We ended up deciding to "go for it" - but the question was "Who do we go with?" The daunting task of finding someone who understands your vision, is reasonably priced and who doesn't think you're crazy lay before us. Thanks to a little demo I did at a small farm, we ended up in contact with Dave, John and Paul at Disciple Tool in Lake Milton, OH.  These guys were funny, food-loving and excited about our vision- it couldn't have been a better fit! They have been creative and ingenious - and we are so grateful! Each time we stop in to visit, I always treat the guys to some tasty yeasted creation. This has been

one of their favorites. Here's to you, guys!

Maple Pecan Minis                                                                                                         

Dough Ingredients

2/3 Cup warm Milk                                                                 1/3 Cup maple/maple-flavored syrup

1/3 Cup margarine/butter, softened and cut up                          1 egg

3 Cups unbleached or bread flour                                             ¾ tsp. salt

1 ¼ tsp.Red Star Platinum yeast                    ½ Cup finely chopped pecans

Dissolve yeast in milk in EZ DOH bucket. Let sit 2-4 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and EZ DOH-it till dough is formed. Give dough several “turns” on the counter if it needs smoothed. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray and replace dough in bucket. Let rise till doubled. When doubled, remove from bucket and roll into 14x12” rectangle. Spread with prepared filling. Cut rectangle in half lengthwise, forming two 12x 7” rectangles. Roll each rectangle from the long side into a spiral. Cut each into 16 slices. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise till nearly doubled. Brush rolls lightly with a little additional milk. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and ice.

Filling:

Combine the following ingredients:

¼ Cup packed brown sugar                                                          3 Tbsp. softened margarine/butter

1 Tbsp. unbleached/bread flour                                                     2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Icing:

3 Tbsp. butter

1 ½ Cups sifted powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. maple-flavored/maple syrup

2-3 tsp. milk

Heat butter in a saucepan over med-low heat for 7-10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and maple syrup. Stir in enough milk to make icing of spreading consistency

Maple Pecan Minis and Sweet Friendships

Potato Sandwich Rolls

Finding a sandwich roll recipe that isn't dense and heavy has been an quest of mine....Everyone expects sandwich rolls to be light and fluffy, so I hate to disappoint. However, while I've been searching, I've come across many recipes that, unfortunately, do disappoint - Booo!! This one is a keeper. I've got a couple of others that I've found, too, but this one is certainly worthy of being put on the table!! (Sorry this picture isn't great - I'm working on my photography skills! ) 

Family- Favorite Potato Sandwich Rolls

1 Tablespoon or 1 packet Red Star Platinum yeast 
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dried potato flakes
1/4 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
3 tablespoons butter, softened or melted

Place the yeast and the water and milk in the EZ DOH bucket. Stir and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and EZ DOH-it till the dough is soft, but not sticky (Feel free to add additional flour if necessary, but don’t add too much – you want light, fluffy rolls J). This process should take 3-4 minutes. Remove the dough from the bucket, spray the bucket and return the dough. Cover and let rise until the dough is doubled (30-45 minutes).

Remove the dough from the bucket and divide into 8 pieces. Roll into balls. At this point, you may choose what type of sandwich rolls you want to make: 1. You may place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet, several inches apart. Carefully, flatten them slightly. 2. Another choice would be to place the balls in a greased 10”x6” baking pan/dish. Cover and let your rolls rise 30-60 minutes, till they’re very light & puffy.

Bake in a 375 oven for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown. Brush the rolls lightly with butter (don’t over-do this – you don’t want a greasy roll ). Remove from pan/sheet and cool.

Potato Sandwich Rolls

Famous Ciabatta Rolls

I'm always experimenting with new recipes .....my hubby complains he's never had the same meal twice in 36 years of marriage (not true.....but there is an "element" of truth here - haha! ) I catered an open house for a business gathering and wanted to do several types of sandwich rolls - I found this recipe and couldn't resist trying them out for the event. They turned out beautifully!!! These rolls have a few “steps” to making them, so you’ll have to time your baking.  Don’t let it scare you—they’re delish!

Starter:

(Don’t let this intimidate you! Read on to see how easy it really is….!)

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 Cup water, room temperature

1/16 teaspoon Red Star Platinum yeast 

Mix all  ingredients in EZ DOH bucket. Cover and let rest on your counter overnight (at least 12 hours) . It will get bubbly!

Remaining ingredients:

2 teaspoons Fleischmann's RapidRise yeast

3 Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons nonfat dried milk

2/3 Cup water, room temperature

3 Tablespoons olive oil

 Add “remaining ingredients” to the starter you have made in the EZ DOH bucket. EZ DOH-it for 4-5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and soft.  Remove the dough from the bucket, spray the bucket with cooking spray, then replace the dough, cover and let rise for 2 hours. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape into balls. Place on a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Spray your hands lightly as well and gently flatten the balls into disks. Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours until puffy. Preheat oven to 425. Spritz the rolls with water (or brush water lightly on the rolls with a pastry brush).  Dimple the rolls with your fingertips (See pic above). You may also sprinkle the rolls lightly with sea salt. Place the rolls in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack . Makes 12 rolls.

Famous Ciabatta Rolls