Table Bread - Eat like the Amish!

We live very close to the Ohio Amish community. Homemade bread there is no big deal - it's an assumed fact of life - everyone there makes it. And visitors to their area gobble it up!!  This recipe produces a loaf that is very reminiscent of the bread the Amish make in their kitchens. Now you can make it in your kitchen - easily! 

Table Bread

 INGREDIENTS:

 1 Cup warm water

1/3 Cup sugar

1 Tbsp or 1 packet Red Star Platinum yeast  

3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 3/4 +Cups unbleached flour        

                                                                                                   

Follow the basic instructions on the EZ DOH bucket  - Mix water and yeast in bucket. Let sit 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. EZ DOH-it until the dough is soft and smooth, adding additional flour if necessary. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket, replace dough and let rise until doubled, 30-45 minutes. Divide into 2 pieces and shape into loaves and place in  loaf greased medium loaf pans. Let rise until dough is slightly above the top of the pan. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 30– 35 minutes, until golden. Cool on racks. Enjoy!

Table Bread - Eat like the Amish!

Apple Dessert Bundles

I was invited by our local Chamber of Commerce to cater a business showcase meeting, so I figured I do "all things bread". The menu consisted of 3 different tasty types of buns for sandwiches, a bread bowl filled with a delicious dip......but my biggest hurdle was how to incorporate bread into dessert! This recipe for Apple Bundles was my answer - they were easy to make and heartily enjoyed. They're great, too, because you can make 'em large (a one-serving dessert) or small (to be served as a mini-dessert or pick-up appetizer). 

Tasty Apple Bundles 

BREAD INGREDIENTS:

Basic EZ DOH recipe on the back of the bucket, or use any basic bread recipe

or see our recipe on the blog for "Stand-By Bread" 

REMAINING INGREDIENTS:

3 Apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced and cut in half

1 orange, juiced for 1/3 Cup juice and zested for 1 tsp. orange zest (peel)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

1/2 Cup Cinnamon sugar

Prepare dough according to the instructions on the EZ DOH bucket. Let rise. Roll dough into a 5 x 16-18” rectangle. Cut dough into 1/2” strips. Place 3-4 apple slice halves at the end of each dough strip and roll up. Arrange in a 9x9” greased baking dish.  Pour orange juice into dish,  not over bundles. Brush bundles w/ melted butter. Mix cinn/sugar and orange zest.  Sprinkle mixture over bundles.  Bake in preheated 375 oven for 25-30 minutes until golden.

Apple Dessert Bundles

Soft Pretzels - A Penchant for Pretzels!

Five days a week, I post pictures of the bread that I'm baking. We had a meeting with our friends at the Small Business Development Center, so I decided to take them a treat of homemade pretzels. I snapped a pic before we left and posted it on Facebook. It turned out to be one of the most popular posts ever!! Folks must have a penchant for homemade pretzels! Here's a recipe so you can make some of your own! 

Soft Pretzels                                                                                      

1 Tbsp/ pkg. Red Star Platinum yeast 

1 ¼ C. warm water

4 Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/3 C. white sugar

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. canola/vegetable oil

For Pretzel Bath:

½ Cup baking soda

6 Cups boiling water

For topping:

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tbsp. water (sometimes I skip this )

¼ Cup pretzel or kosher salt or topping of your choice: cinnamon sugar, etc.

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let sit briefly to activate. Add flour, sugar, salt and oil. EZ DOH-it till the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bucket, approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove the dough from the bucket and spray the bucket with cooking spray. Replace the dough, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. 

Boil 6 cups of water. Remove from heat and SLOWLY add the baking soda.

Preheat oven to 450. When dough is risen, remove from bucket and place on lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 equal-sized balls. Rolls each into a rope and form into a pretzel shape. Dip each pretzel into the bath, being sure both sides are bathed. Remove from water (I place mine BRIEFLY on a paper towel to drain– don’t let it sit there too long or the paper will stick to the pretzel L) Place pretzels on a greased baking sheet.  Brush with egg and sprinkle with desired topping.  Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven. ENJOY!!!

Soft Pretzels - A Penchant for Pretzels!