Colorful Pizza Bread!

Well, October is almost over! However, I just learned a very important thing about October......It is "World Hunger Action Month". Though the month is just about over, that doesn't mean we can't still help make a difference in people's lives across the globe, because hunger doesn't know what month it is.....it just IS! For those friends who don't know, EZ DOH donates a portion of every purchase to “Please Pass the Bread”,  a world-wide feeding ministry of the World Challenge organization. Since its inception in 2009, PPtB has established 60 feeding sites in 8 countries, serving meals to more than 6,000 impoverished children. Our friends at Red Star Yeast are also working to end hunger by donating a portion of their proceeds to StopHungerNow.org. So by buying from either one of these businesses, you're also taking part in helping to put food in hungry tummies! 

Here's a DELISH recipe to bake for your family...or share with someone. Remember what a blessing it is to be able to share the abundance of our many gifts!! 

      Colorful Pizza Bread      

1 Tbsp/packet Red Star Platinum Yeast

1 ½ Cups warm water

3 1/3 +  unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

1 ½ Tbsp. sugar

2 Cups total pizza toppings (Dice all ingredients- Ingredient suggestions: pepperoni, black olives, red pepper, garlic, green pepper; mushrooms; green onions; sun-dried tomatoes; the list goes on…..)

½ Cup parmesan cheese

2 Cups shredded mozzarella

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients, except mozzarella cheese . EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Preheat oven to 425. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 10x 16” rectangle. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Roll the dough, starting with a long side, cinnamon-roll style, tightly. Seal the edge and fold the ends under the loaf. The loaf can be baked on a greased baking sheet or a “farmer’s pan” (EZ DOH carries these slightly larger loaf pans – I love the shape!). Let the loaf rise for 30 minutes, then bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden. (Keep an eye on the loaf while baking - You may want to “tent” the loaf about half-way through baking with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning) Brush the top of the loaf with butter or olive oil when it is removed from the oven.  
Visit: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/  for more delicious breads! 

Colorful Pizza Bread!

Yeasted Pumpkin Raisin Spice Bread!

For those who remember- the famous comic book beagle, Snoopy, once set out to write a novel. It began, "It was a dark and stormy night"....I'm not sure he ever got any further than that! As I sat down to write today, I was reminded of those "famous" words as I was thinking back to our family's hayride last weekend. Except, "It was a dark and stormy MORNING"! Our Plan A was to catch the first early wagon out to the pumpkin fields so our sons could get back to work ASAP. However, the weather definitely was not inviting - storm clouds hung overhead and there was a damp chill in the air. The texts flew between households as we debated whether to take the small kids out in the weather. We ended up giving it the go-ahead, as our daughter/son-in-law were in from Columbus and we could truly make it a family affair. The clouds actually broke as we loaded on to the wagon. The tractor pulled out into the fields and began to drive off to the patch.....and the rain began to fall! We laughed as we gathered the kids under the one umbrella we had thought to bring (pitiful, huh?!). When the tractor halted in the muddy patch, we hurried the kids to find their favorite pumpkins and rushed them back under the umbrellas. Once we returned to the farm market, the sun agreed to briefly shine, during which time we tailgated with donuts and fresh cider. When the rain began again, we loaded kids and pumpkins into the car and scurried home. That night we gathered for bowls of warm soup, fresh bread and pumpkin-carving fun.    

                              

This easy-to-make yeasted pumpkin bread tastes of all the fun, sweetness and spice of the fall season. Beware, though......It's hard to stop eating it!!! Soooooooo good! 

Pumpkin Raisin Bread 

          Dough:

           ¼ Cup warm water

1 packet/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum Yeast

   ¾ Cup milk, warmed to the touch

1 Cup canned pumpkin

¼ Cup honey

½ Cup raisins

4 Cups + unbleached bread flour

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. allspice

½ tsp. salt

Topping:  Just make a simple milk/confectioners sugar/butter/vanilla icing and stir a smidge of cinnamon in it! Drizzle over cake

Instructions:

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, adding enough flour to make the  dough smooth and soft and barely sticky and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket and spray the inside of the bucket with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Liberally spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray. You may also sprinkle the inside with coarse sugar, tilting to cover evenly. Tap out any excess sugar. Using spoons or spatulas, distribute the dough into the pan evenly. Once the dough is in the pan, give the pan a couple of firm taps on the countertop to “settle” the dough and to eliminate air pockets. Cover and let rise until doubled. (I put mine in the frig and let it rise there overnight- worked perfectly!)

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, until top is browned and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool 5-10 minutes in the pan. Loosen edges gently and turn the pan upside down to remove the bread. I topped mine with a little confectioner’s sugar icing with a dash of cinnamon in it –PERFECT!! 
Adapted from "The Creekside Cook"
Visit: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/  for more delicious breads! 

Yeasted Pumpkin Raisin Spice Bread!

"Devil Bread" - Buttermilk Bread and Base

"Devil Bread" 

Greek Stuffed Pull-Apart

I "work" one day a week.....outside the home, that is! I do filing, answer phones, keep things organized, etc. at a local insurance agency. I've only been  there since May, but the agents and other office staff there have become good friends (could it be because I feed them every Wednesday? LOL!) Here's what I mean: The boss was flexible with my schedule when Dad was so ill and, when Dad died, I was surprised that many of the agents from the office took the time to attend calling hours. I've laughed a lot with  these folks and prayed and cried with a few, too. Even though I'm extremely part-time, they've taken me in as family. 

This Wednesday's bread was a layered ham and cheese pull-apart bread...I had made another pull-apart bread the day before and had such fun filling it that I wanted to do it again....only I filled it with something different! The bread dough that I used was a newly-devised recipe, too, which I fell in love with - sooooooo soft, slightly sweet and lovely to work with. Everyone in the office was thrilled to see a savory loaf for a change. It was gone by the end of the day, so that spoke to its deliciousness! One agent called it "Devil Bread".....said he just couldn't stop eating it! Here's the basic bread - now go and create your own "Devil Bread"!! 

Buttermilk Bread / Base

½ Cup warm water

1 pkg/ Tbsp. Red Star Platinum Yeast 

2/3 Cup warmed buttermilk, or 2 ½ Tbsp. buttermilk powder dissolved in 2/3 Cup warm water

1 tsp. salt

¼ Cup sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

3 + Cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and soft and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

At this point, the dough may be formed into rolls (should make about 12) or a 9X 5 loaf.  I also have used this several times as a “base” for layered pull-apart bread. To use it as such, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 15”x 9”.  Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter on the dough, then sprinkle with your favorite ingredients….Here are some ideas:

Sweet: Cinn-sugar and raisins…..maybe some toasted nuts, too! Or maybe some chopped apples…..

Greek: I used about ½ of a frozen pkg. of spinach (thawed and well-drained); 10-15 Kalamata olives, sliced; 1/3 Cup feta cheese; ½ cup mozzarella; 1 ½ tsp. prepared minced garlic (or 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced); 1/3 Cup chopped (well-drained) roasted red peppers; Mix everything together and spread on the dough - Add what YOU like!

Ham & Cheese “Devil Bread” : Spread 2 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard on the butter. Follow with  1-2 Cups chopped cooked ham pieces; 1 Cup shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar & mozzarella- whatever I had in the frig J)

Slice the covered dough in half, lengthwise. Then cut three slices the other way, making 8 even-sized pieces. Stack the pieces atop one another- four “piles” of two. Slice each of the piles in half. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan or use a “tea loaf” pan, which measures 13x4” .Place each of the “piles” in the pan on its side, working quickly. Cover and let rise until doubled, or cover and place in the frig overnight. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.  Brush top with softened butter.

"Devil Bread" - Buttermilk Bread and Base

Almond Topped Cream Cheese Ring

We're really looking forward to the weekend ahead.....as I'm sure most everyone is! We're excited because we're welcoming "western" family back home to Ohio. My hubby's family all live "abroad" - Colorado, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arizona- so our visits with them are unfortunately few and far between. We don't get around much and they don't get back much, so our relationships with most of them are confined to emails, Facebook and old-fashioned letters and phone calls. Rare, but wonderful, are the days when we get to actually put our arms around them, laugh and reminisce with them or share a meal. 

This weekend we'll only have a couple of short hours with our Colorado sister-in-law and our Arizona niece, but we're planning on making the most of it. The fam is gathering here for a light lunch, where it's going to be more about the visiting than the "vittles" - lol! Right now, the menu will include my quiche and this easy-to-make and beautiful-to-behold coffee cake ring. The plan is for everything to be easy.....so everyone (including me!) can really just kick back and enjoy each other's company.....'cause it might be a while before we see each other again! 

                    Almond-Topped Cream Cheese Ring                 

Dough:

1 Tbsp/ pkg. Red Star Platinum yeast

1/3 Cup warm water

2 Cups unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. salt

Filling:

3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 ½ Tbsp. all-purpose unbleached flour

1/3 Cup apricot preserves, or preserves of your choice

Topping:

1 Egg, beaten (for brushing loaf)

2-3 Tbsp. sliced almonds

Place yeast in EZ DOH bucket. Add warm water and stir. Let sit for 1-2 minutes to activate. Add 1 cup of flour, then remaining ingredients. EZ DOH-it until dough is smooth and elastic, adding additional unbleached flour if necessary. Remove dough from bucket. Spray bucket lightly with cooking spray, replace dough in bucket and cover. Let rise until doubled.

Mix cream cheese and 1 ½ Tbsp. flour while dough is rising.

 Remove dough from bucket. Spray a 9” round cake pan with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a 15” circle. Gently place dough in pan, fitting it to size and letting some of the dough hang over the sides. Spread the cream cheese mix over the dough in the pan. Spread preserves over cream cheese mix. Make cuts in the dough hanging over the sides, spacing them 1” apart- cut to ½” above the filling. Working 2 strips at a time, twist the overhanging dough strips together and then fold them over the filling. Cover and let rise until doubled. 

Heat oven to 375. Brush the beaten egg over the coffee cake and then sprinkle with the almonds. Bake 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool before cutting.

(I’m thinking this might be delicious with fresh blueberries sprinkled over the cream cheese mix……..got to try it!)
 Adapted from Betty Crocker’s “Best Bread Machine Recipes”  
Visit: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/  for more delicious breads! 

Almond Topped Cream Cheese Ring

Multigrain Buns!

I love a good excuse to bake. I love my friends. So when I host card

club, you can bet there's lots of baking going on. When I was invited to join "Card Club" about twenty-five-plus years ago, I hesitated, as I  felt it sounded somehow "old-lady-ish" - a bunch of women sitting around card tables, whispering about the neighbors from behind their cards. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing like that.....It's turned out to be just plain fun. We laugh. We talk about our families. We eat. And we play a little cards. (I get teased, as I've never been able to properly shuffle cards from day one....and I don't care to take the time to learn!) The faces around the table have changed over the years, but the quality of the friendships made around those tables have not....Wonderful, "solid" women - all with different life experiences, but all with open hearts. We all joke that it's not about our card-playing abilities (thank heaven!)....the whole evening is "a social thing".....just being together. 

I made these tasty buns last time I hosted "club", along with several other types of buns. These were the star. They're beautiful and their nutty taste just helps make the sandwich. 

              Multi-Grain Buns              

Dough:

1 Tbsp/ pkg. Red Star Platinum yeast

1 ½ Cups warm water

2 ¾ Cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ Cup whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat)

½ Cup old-fashioned oats

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 small egg

1 ½ Tbsp. butter, softened

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. caraway seeds

¼ tsp. white vinegar

For topping:

1 egg yolk, beaten  

2 Tbsp. cold water

Extra old-fashioned oats

Place yeast in EZ DOH bucket. Add warm water and stir. Let sit for 1-2 minutes to activate. Add 1 cup of flour, then remaining ingredients . EZ DOH-it until dough is smooth and elastic, adding additional unbleached flour if necessary. Remove dough from bucket. Spray bucket lightly with cooking spray, replace dough in bucket and cover. Let rise until doubled.

 Remove dough from bucket. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 10-12 pieces, depending on the size of bun you would like. Shape each piece into a round ball, then roll each ball into a 4” circle. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Combine the egg yolk and water and stir well. Lightly brush over each bun, then sprinkle with the extra oats. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack. 

Visit: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/  for more delicious breads! 

Multigrain Buns!