Streusel-topped ChocoChip Almond Pull-Apart Bread!

"Long name, amazing results!"  That's the tag for a business here in northeast Ohio, but it could also be the "tag" for this bread - LOL! I only put all that in the title to cover all my bases......The chocolate lovers, the nut lovers, the pull-apart bread lovers....you get it! I wanted you readers to get the idea that this bread does, indeed, cover a lot of bases. It is a sweet bread, but surprisingly not tooooo sweet. (The older I get, the less I enjoy "super-sweet" things, so you'll find very few extra-sugary recipes here) The streusel on the top can be adjusted, amount-wise, to your tastes...... or perhaps you'd rather not put it on at all! As usual, this bread was created for my friends at an early-morning meeting I was attending (I have to bribe them somehow to come out to  these early meetings!) . It got the thumbs-up from everyone there.....I hope you'll give it the thumbs-up too!

Streusel-Topped Almond Choco-Chip Bread!

Dough:

1 1/8 Cup warm water

1 Tbsp./Pkg. Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

½ tsp. vanilla

3 Cups unbleached bread flour

1/2 Cup mini chocolate chips

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. powdered milk

1 tsp. salt

1/3 Cup toasted slivered almonds (almonds can be toasted by briefly cooking them over med-high high in a skillet, stirring until they are golden and releasing a wonderful aroma)

 Streusel:

¼ Cup sugar

3 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. cold butter

Combine sugar and flour. Cut in sugar and set aside in a cool place until ready to use.

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.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a large rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then make five cuts width-wise. Stack the small rectangles on top of one another and place width-wise in a greased 9x5” loaf pan. Let rise. Before baking, sprinkle with streusel topping (you may not need all of it). Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes, or until golden. You may wish to cover the streusel with aluminum foil halfway thru baking to prevent over-browning.

 

Streusel-topped ChocoChip Almond Pull-Apart Bread!

Coconut Pecan Cuties!

It's been quite a week.....we had an unexpected 6 hours of travelling on Monday to be with our youngest daughter regarding a possibly difficult medical diagnosis. Blessedly, that trip ended well, with good news from the doctor. Yesterday there was more unexpected, possibly difficult, medical news regarding our grandson. Tears and fears were shared, words of faith and encouragement were spoken and family strengthened one another. Today, once again blessedly, the news from this doctor, too,  was reassuring and better than expected. We all are breathing sighs of relief as the week winds down and we head in to a beautiful weekend.

 

It's not only the weather that's going to make this weekend beautiful......It'll be family gathering together for a meal to celebrate the often-overlooked privileges of "everyday life". The recipe I'm sharing today is an easy one to fix..... and so tasty and pretty! Family will be happy to see this on the table!

Coconut Pecan Cuties

Dough:

1 pkg./Tbsp. Red Star Platinum Instant yeast

½ Cup warm water

2 Tbsp. softened butter

1/3 Cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, room temperature

¾ Cup sour cream, room temperature

1 Cup coconut

4-4 ½ Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

 Coating:

1/3 Cup melted butter

¾ Cup packed brown sugar

1 Cup finely chopped pecans

(Combine brown sugar and chopped pecans in a bowl)

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.

Prepare muffin pans (you’ll need 2-12 muffin pans) by lightly spraying the muffin openings with cooking spray. Remove dough from bucket and place on floured surface, as dough may be slightly sticky. Divide dough into 24 pieces. Roll each piece into a 9” strip. Dip each strip in the melted butter, then dip in the brown sugar and nut mixture. Drop or “wind” one strip in each muffin cup (You may also “knot” them and place them in the muffin cup). Sprinkle any remaining pecan/sugar mixture evenly over the tops of the rolls. Cover lightly and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans immediately. Enjoy!!

 

Coconut Pecan Cuties!

Multigrain Good-for-you Bagels!!

As I was working on this recipe, I belatedly realized that two other recent blogs have been about pretzels/bagels.....Ahhh my one-track mind! I really should start a bagel/pretzel shop, as I just adore making them! So, my apologies to those who do NOT adore making them and were hoping for a recipe of a different kind. I'm already thinking about next week's blog.....I'll probably send along a sweet roll recipe, as I haven't posted one for a while. If anyone has a recipe request, I'd be happy for any suggestions that you might send my way!

I'm excited about this recipe.....It turned out beautifully and I love the whole grains in it! Our mildly-handicapped neighbor came to the door to chat with me while I was in the middle of making these this morning. We talked and laughed for a few minutes (he likes to talk for a LONG time- LOL!!) , then I explained that I was in the middle of bagel-making and that I had to go. He left on the premise that I would bring him a few bagels when they came out of the oven. So, my friends, I'm off to deliver bagels! (Along with some currant jelly I made last week!)  Love that this recipe makes PLENTY to share!

Multi-Grain Bagels
Dough Ingredients

1 ½  cups warm water
2 Tbsp honey
1 pkg/Tbsp Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 ¼ cup bread flour
¾ Cup 7- grain rolled/flaked mix (I picked mine up at the local bulk food store; it contained red hard wheat, spelt, white soft wheat, oats, rye, barley, triticale (I could swear I’m seeing some flax seeds in there, too)

Optional- toppings:
1 egg
½ -1 Tbsp. each: chia seeds, poppy seeds, brown flax seeds, millet, cracked wheat….or whatever you like!)
kosher salt

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. Add additional flour, if necessary, if dough is too sticky. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add two tablespoons of brown sugar to the water. Preheat  oven to 400 degrees. Punch down the dough and divide into about 14 equal-sized pieces. Shape into a bagelby rolling into a ball and then using your fingers to poke through a hole. Lay the shaped bagels on a cookie sheet covered with parchment, sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise again for about 20 minutes until the bagels are plump. Gently lift each bagel and drop into the boiling water, three or four at a time. Boil one minute on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel, then place back on parchment-covered cookie sheet. Once all the bagels have been boiled, brush them with an egg wash made of the egg and a few tablespoons of warm water, then sprinkled with your topping mix.  Bake in pre-heated oven for about 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
 

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

Multigrain Good-for-you Bagels!!

Guinness Soft Pretzels!!

I'm struggling with a bit of "writer's block" this afternoon.......we've been babysitting our 1 and 3 year-old grandsons for most of the day. We've been to the nearby Metro Farm, to the local fruit farm, enjoyed lunch together and now the little guy is asleep, but the older brother is happily playing in the computer/playroom as I work. There is a drama unfolding on the floor behind me - a plastic dragon is attacking a group of Fisher-Price people who were enjoying a lovely campfire. The FP folks have decided to launch a counter-attack and are trying to eat the dragon for dinner. It's not going well for them, though, as the dragon just visited my desk, smacked his lips and declared his victory. I express my sympathy for the poor FP people and then turn back to the keyboard. Sol breaks character for a moment and looks up at me with his big brown eyes- "Whatcha doin', Ninny?" (That's my "grandma name") . I explain that being on the computer is part of my job and that I am writing. "Write about dragons." Sol solemnly states and then turns back to complete the dramatic scene. So......thus, this little tale!

 

While I'm telling tales of dragons and "delicious things to eat", I'll share this AMAZING recipe for homemade soft pretzels - no dragons needed! The only thing you might have some difficulty finding is the Guinness.....and that's really not hard at all to find! I've made this recipe several times.....it is sooo tasty!

Guinness Soft Pretzels!

Dough:

¾ Cup warm water

1 pkg/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar

4 – 4 ½ Cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

¾ Cup Guiness

Water bath:

1/3 Cup baking soda

8 Cups water

 Pretzel coating:

1 egg

1 Tbsp. water

Coarse salt

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, adding flour as needed so the dough is not sticky. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Preheat oven to 450. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment paper. Bring the eight cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add baking soda GRADUALLY and dissolve. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the tablespoon  of water.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll each section out into a long rope (approx. 22-24”).  Form a “U” shape, then cross the ends over each other and twist once. Bring the ends down to what was previously the base of the U. Press the ends in to seal and complete the pretzel shape. Place on the baking sheet.

Carefully place the shaped pretzels (depending on the size of the pot, I usually boil them 2-4 at a time)  into the boiling water for 30 seconds on each side. Using a pierced spatula, remove the pretzels from the water – drain on paper towels briefly if necessary. Replace on lined baking sheet. Repeat until all pretzels are completed. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

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

Adapted from a recipe from www.bakedbyrachel.com

 

Guinness Soft Pretzels!!

Cheddar Cheesy Burger Buns!

Wow! It's almost July 4th already! How DID that happen? There are so many things I usually have done by this time of year......hedges clipped, the ever-growing ivy trimmed down so our house looks quaint and not creepy, currant jelly made.....the list goes on! BUT - NONE of these things are done! This makes part of me crazy......but the more reasonable part of me reminds me of what HAS gotten done....."Gramp Camp" with all the grandkids; cleaning scary kitchen cupboards in my youngest daughter's new/old house; raspberry-picking with the grand-boys; bike rides with the hubby on the days it hasn't rained; finishing the clean-up at my father's home; bread-baking lessons with friends....... I'm counting my blessings as I write! I could say, "Counting my freedoms", since it's that time of year.  Indeed, I could complain about what hasn't gotten done and about all the things I've been limited in. But instead, I think I'll use the holiday as a day of "Thanksgiving" for all those little freedoms (and the big ones!) that exist in my life.

 

This is my oldest daughter's favorite time of year.....She and her hubs have a huge party on the 4th, which we always enjoy. I'll be taking these tasty buns for all those burgers that will be sizzling on her grill! Maybe you'd like to try them too! Happy Independence Day to you all!

 

Cheddar Cheesy Burger Buns

Dough:

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp/pkg. Red Star Platinum yeast

3 – 3 ¼ Cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. sugar

½ Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Egg wash:

1 egg

1 Tbsp. water

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, including remaining flour. 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.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball by cupping your hand gently over the dough and moving it in circles. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover with a very slightly damp kitchen towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes. Whisk the egg wash ingredients together and lightly brush the buns with the wash. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

 

Cheddar Cheesy Burger Buns!