Cheddar Cheesy Twists!

You don't know how tempted I was to do "one more" pumpkin spice" recipe for this month......I made pumpkin spice soft pretzels for my friends at church this week and they were gobbled right up! I didn't even get to taste one, they were gone so fast! I figured they must be wonderfully yummy....But after two weeks in a row of blogging pumpkin recipes, I thought I'd better not.... (If anyone wants the recipe, email me!)

Soooo.....instead you get these quite tasty Cheddar Cheesy Twists! It had been a miserable day, weather-wise, here in Ohio. Literally, chilly rain ALL day. Pouring rain. I really don't mind those kind of days, as long as I don't have to go anywhere. They make me feel very justified in heating up the oven and baking something warm and toasty. That afternoon, I had whipped up the dough in my EZ DOH and was letting it rise when the grand-girls stopped in. One stopped to say hi on her way to dance class. The other decided to hang around for awhile - hurrah! So she got to do the rolling on these rolls. Didn't she do a great job?! I'm so proud that they love to learn about the art of bread making! You won't NEED someone to help you make these rolls, but I must say, it makes the process even MORE fun! Enjoy!

Cheddar Cheesy Twists!

Dough:

2 Tbsp/packet Red Star Platinum yeast

2/3 Cup water, warm to the touch

5 oz. evaporated milk , warmed (not hot!)

1 ½ Cups grated cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 – 3 ½  Cups unbleached flour

For topping:

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

Poppy seeds

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 for about 10-15 minutes (because of the “double yeast”, these will rise quickly)

Remove the dough from the bucket and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece out to a 12-14” rope. Fold the rope in half, then twist. Pinch ends to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until puffy, about 20 minutes. Brush the twists with the egg mixture, then sprinkle with poppy seeds (you can use other seeds if you prefer). Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and cool briefly on a wire rack. Recipe can be halved for a smaller family.

For more beautiful breads go to yeastspotting 

Adapted from a breadworld recipe 

Cheddar Cheesy Twists!

"Lil' Pumpkin" Dinner Rolls with Spiced Honey Butter!

I know...... I posted a "pumpkin-based" recipe last week......You're thinking, "Here we go again...."  However, these might not be what you're expecting. If you're looking for a soft, pumpkin-spiced roll, that's NOT what these are. Yes, they are soft, but they're only spiced if you top them with the honey butter. Otherwise, they're just a WONDERFUL, very cute, very soft, very easy-to-make dinner roll. 

I wasn't going to post this recipe, as I imagine it's everywhere on the internet right now. But, since it's such a standard at this time of year, I thought I'd better have it "on file" here at EZ DOH. I baked them twice this week! Once for card club - My friends just loved how beautiful they were. However, they didn't believe me when I told them how easy it was to make them. Just to prove it to myself, the next day I had the grand-girls over to make dinner, which and THEY baked the pumpkin rolls. They ADORED making them. And they were soooooo proud to show "Momma" and "Daddy" their creations. 

I think you'll be proud, too, to put these on your fall dinner table. And your family and friends will be "wow-ed!" Enjoy! 

“Lil’ Pumpkin” Dinner Rolls with Spiced Honey Butter!

For Dough:

1 pkg/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

1 Cup warmed milk

¼ Cup sugar

3 Tbsp. butter, softened

½ Cup canned pumpkin puree

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

3 ¾ Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

For wash:

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

For “stems”:

Sliced pecan pieces

For spiced honey butter:

½ Cup softened butter

¼ Cup powdered sugar

¼ Cup honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

Beat all ingredients thoroughly together.

Place warm milk 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.

Divide dough into 16 equal-sized pieces. Shape into balls. Flatten each ball slightly with the palm of your hand. With a sharp, serrated knife, make 8 cuts around the perimeter of the ball, being careful not slice all the way into the center. Place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled. When doubled, uncover and brush each roll with the egg wash. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Place on a wire rack to cool. Gently push a pecan slice into the center of each roll for the pumpkin “stem”. If desired, serve with spiced honey butter. Enjoy! (Recipe can be easily halved)

Recipe adapted from “Handle the Heat” 
Visit http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/ for more delicious breads

"Lil' Pumpkin" Dinner Rolls with Spiced Honey Butter!

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Bagels

I am NOT one of those people who just WAITS for the pumpkin spice treats to start showing up in coffee shops and bakeries in September.....I'm more the apple spice person! I can't wait for the fall crop of apples to come in.....oooooo, the eating and baking I do with them!!! That said, I have nothing against pumpkin spice "everything" - you just will rarely find me ordering/making/eating it.  My youngest daughter, on the other hand, IS a pumpkin spice person. She excitedly called from Columbus the other evening to report that she and her hubby had just treated themselves to a bag of pumpkin spice coffee to enjoy on these crisp fall mornings. I thought of her and all those "pumpkin spice mania folks" when I made these bagels the other morning for a breakfast meeting. Chewy, warm, spicy and delicious, these bagels really were a treat. I sent my daughter a picture so she could enjoy them "virtually", but something tells me that's not quite the same as biting into one! So, NO virtual bagels for you - don't just look at this bagel's pic......Get to your kitchen and make some! (You do have to do a little planning ahead for these - but the key words there are "a little"!) 

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Bagels!

Here’s my “plan of attack” for these wonderful bagels: Two hours before I’m heading to bed I do the sponge, the dough and the shaping. (This all happens while I’m hanging out , watching TV or whatever…most of the 2 hrs. is rising time - easy peasy!) . I place them in the frig and let rise overnight. In the am, all I have to do is boil the bagels, do a little egg wash and pop them in the oven. YUM!!

Sponge:

1 ¾ Cup bread flour

1 ¼ Cup water

½ tsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

Dough:

½ tsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

2 Tbsp. water

7 Tbsp. pumpkin canned pumpkin (puree)

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½-2 ½ Cups bread flour

Optional: ½ Cup raisins, if desired  

For Boiling Water:

1 Tbsp. baking soda

Topping:

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water (for egg wash)

About 1/3 Cup brown sugar to sprinkle atop bagels

Sponge: Mix all sponge ingredients together in the EZ DOH bucket until well-mixed. Cover and let rise for 1+ hours.

Dough: Dissolve yeast in 2 Tbsp. water. Add all “dough ingredients”, including dissolved yeast,  to the EZ DOH bucket containing the sponge. EZ DOH-it ! (The recipe calls for 1 ½-2 ½ cups of flour – start with 1 ½ . Gradually add additional flour as necessary to achieve a moist, but not sticky, dough. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Place on a lightly floured surface, cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.  Shape each ball into a bagel (Roll dough with cupped hand; gently push a hole into the center with thumb and forefinger; tug gently, rotating,  to enlarge hole). Place bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Cover lightly with a sheet of plastic wrap and place in frig for 4-12 hours.

Baking: Remove plastic wrap from pan. Bring a large pot (Dutch oven) of water to a boil. Slowly add 1 Tbsp. baking soda. Boil bagels, 3-4 at a time, for 1 minute on each side. Remove from pot with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Return to parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the bagels with the egg wash. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 425 for 10-20 minutes, until golden.



Adapted from a recipe at: Seasons and Suppers
Visit http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/ for more delicious breads

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Spice Bagels

Buttery Dinner Rolls with Lovely Layers!

Well, we're off on a new adventure as a couple! My hubby just got a new job as full-time pastor of a small church in a nearby town. It's scary and exciting all at once. The challenges are many, but there seems to be a lot of wonderful folks to get to know and to work alongside. The faces are all new to us, which is unusual for Dave and me, as we usually know SOMEONE wherever we go!  We're about two weeks into this undertaking and we decided we'd start "making friends" by having members of the congregation over to dinner. So last night, "Jim" and "Jana" joined us for a meal. I decided I wasn't going to try to impress anyone with fancy cooking .....we were just going to enjoy a humble meal and good fellowship together. And that's just what happened......they entered our home as acquaintances and left our home as friends! We can't wait to do this again next week! 

Our guests did find out that I LOVE to experiment with new recipes......and this roll recipe was my target last night. Boy, did this hit the bullseye! These rolls were easy to make, beautiful to serve and tasty to eat.....like I said "BULLSEYE!"  I already have some ideas for adaptations of this recipe.....perhaps sprinkling some cinnamon sugar on the butter......what do you think?   

Buttery Dinner Rolls with Lovely Layers!

Dough:

1 Tbsp./packet Red Star Platinum Yeast

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Cup warm milk

2 ¾ Cups all-purpose, unbleached flour

1 tsp. salt

Filling:

3 Tbsp. softened butter

Place warm milk 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 (you may add a small amount of additional flour if dough is extremely sticky)  . Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket with cooking spray, “smooth” dough and replace in bucket. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a 12x10” rectangle. Spread the softened butter on the rectangle. Fold up bottom third of dough, then fold top third of dough over the first fold. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Remove dough from freezer and remove from plastic wrap. Again, on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x10” rectangle. Repeat folds (no additional buttering) and again, cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 10-15 minutes. Remove dough from freezer and remove plastic wrap. Roll dough into a 12x8” rectangle. Beginning with a long side, roll the dough cinnamon-roll fashion , pinching seam to seal. Cut the roll into 12 equal slices. Place slices, cut side up, into greased muffin tins. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden. Best served warm! 

Adapted from a Recipe Girl recipe

Buttery Dinner Rolls with Lovely Layers!

Simply Scrumptious Speedy Baguettes!

Well, no stories today......There's so much I want to say about this bread recipe!!!!

First of all, I have a disclaimer about the name I've given this recipe. In the world of decent baguettes, you usually won't hear the word "speedy" in reference to the creative process. It usually takes a while to develop those large, wonderful air pockets and that amazing flavor. So, when I start things at 1:00 in the afternoon and have baguettes cooled,, sliced  and on the dinner table at 5:30, that's considered "speedy". 

Secondly, remember that most of the time it takes to make these is spent waiting for the bread to rise at different stages. So, if you're like me, you won't just "wait"......you'll find PLENTY of other things to do. 

Thirdly (Is "thirdly" a word?), you can supplement the actual baking process with a few other nifty baking tricks that I didn't include in the recipe below:  You can have your oven preheating for an hour; you can transfer the loaves to a baking stone; you can make steam in your oven for a super-crispy crust by placing a pan in the oven during the preheat cycle, then adding ice cubes to the pan when you put the bread in the oven....there are lots of tricks. However, I DID NOT add any of these tips to this recipe.....Why not? Because for the past 2 months, I've been baking with a very large toaster oven (my oven is on the fritz and we haven't yet replaced it)......So, I couldn't use ANY of those cool tricks -Boohoo! But- Guess what? The bread baked in my humble toaster oven turned out every bit as delicious- Woohoo! So I wanted to assure the more intimidated baker that there's an easy way to turn out something this beautiful and delicious. 

Well, I've already "out-talked" most of my past blogs.....On to the recipe! On to the deliciousness! 

Simply Scrumptious Speedy Baguettes

Dough:

3 ½ Cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. Red Star Platinum yeast

1 ½ Cup warm water

2 tsp. kosher salt

Place flour and yeast in EZ DOH bucket. Turn handle to mix. Add water and “EZ DOH-it” until water is absorbed and the dough is clumpy. Cover with a damp towel and set aside for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, sprinkle the dough with the salt and then again “EZ DOH-it” (knead by turning the crank) for about 3-4 minutes until dough is smooth (SMALL amounts of additional flour or water may be added, if necessary). Remove the dough from the bucket and spray the bucket lightly with cooking spray. Return dough to bucket, cover and let rise until doubled.

Lightly dust a working surface with flour and remove the dough from the bucket to that surface. Pat the dough into a small rectangle, about 6x8”. Fold the dough like a business letter: 1. Short side facing you, lift the top edge of the dough and gently fold it to the center. 2. Lift the bottom edge and fold it to the center, slightly overlapping the first fold. 3. Slide hands under the dough and turn over so the folds are on the bottom. 4. Slip the dough back into the bucket. Cover and let dough rise again until about doubled.

Remove the dough from the bucket, place on a floured surface and gently cut into two pieces. GENTLY pull each dough piece into a rectangle (try not to lose those air pockets!) and fold in half. Seal the fold and gently tug into a longer baguette shape. Lay the baguettes about 2-3” apart on a parchment-covered baking sheet dusted with flour. Dust the tops with flour. Cover and let rise 30-40 minutes.  Score the baguettes with a SHARP knife (slash quickly!) .

Bake in a hot oven – 425 – for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. 

Simply Scrumptious Speedy Baguettes!