Honey Wheat Seeded Bread

This is my Dad's favorite bread recipe. Because of that, it has a special place in my heart. While my father-in-law is recovering from his car accident amazingly, my Dad is not getting better. He is still in experimental treatments and wondering what will happen next. I'm so impressed with the way Mom and he are handling all of this...one day at a time. I'm grateful for whatever time we have left, but it's hard to think about what's happening inside his body. Cancer is so unpredictable...it pretty much sucks. Some of the things he loved to eat before, don't even taste good to him anymore. That's where the bread comes in.

If there is anything I can do to make Dad's life a little happier right now, I'm all for it. And this bread seems to make him happy. Sometimes it's as simple as a loaf of fresh bread. It's really all I can do.

I love you Dad.

Honey Wheat Seeded Bread

Ingredients

2 packets yeast (or two tbsp)
1 c warm water
1 1/2 c warm milk
2 eggs
1/2 c honey
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil
3 c wheat flour
2 c white flour (or go all wheat)
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1 egg white
water

Combine water and yeast in a glass measuring cup to allow yeast to proof {For specifics on bread making and yeast, see this post.} The water should feel warm to your fingers, but not hot.

Once your yeast is proofed (or should that be "proved itself") pour it into a large stand mixer bowl. Add the milk, honey, sugar, salt and oil. Blend together. Add the wheat flour and blend together using a dough hook on the mixer. Add 1 cup of the white flour and reserve the rest of the flour. Add the wheat germ and seeds.

You want to knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes until the it's smooth, adding small amounts of the remaining 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forming a ball. You may not use all of the flour if it's a dry day or you may need a little more if it's a humid day outside, but you shouldn't vary more than 1/2 c more or less in what you need.

Put your dough into a greased bowl and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place until it doubles in bulk. This should take around 1 hour unless your kitchen is pretty cold. You can figure out if yeast bread is ready with the poke test. 

When the dough passes the poke test, you need to gently deflate it by folding it or "punching" it down. Then let the dough rest for 5 minutes or so (which means just leave it alone for a few minutes).

Cut dough into two portions and shape into loaves. Put in greased loaf pans and cover loosely again. Let rise for 30 minutes.

To make the top look pretty, brush it with a little egg white and water wash (which means use fork to mix some egg white and water). Then sprinkle on oatmeal, seeds, wheat germ. The egg wash works like glue and holds it all on the top - looking like it came from a fancy bakery.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool on racks.

Try giving this loaf of fresh bread to someone you love. Wait til it cools, then wrap in in plastic wrap. Then put it in a old citrus/ apple mesh bag. Tie the ends with pretty ribbon and you have a wonderful gift and you didn't spend a lot of money. Those mesh bags are also great for smoothie gifts and assorted other ideas - like homemade pot scrubbers. How do you repurpose them?

Soft Pretzel Bites

Be sure to enter my current giveaway for two silicone baking mats.

Two months ago I started participating in what's known as the "Secret Recipe Club". You may remember the homemade Butterfingers. The fun of this adventure is discovering new recipes and bloggers, never knowing what to expect. It's all a big secret until Reveal Day when we all find out who made what from who's blog.

I opted for something salty this time - Soft Pretzel Bites. I've made Soft Pretzels before but we made them in the traditional twisted shape. This recipe forms them into much easier to shape "nuggets". The other difference that I was curious about is the use of butter in making them instead of shortening. I wondered if it would change the texture or make the dough more difficult to work with. I'm happy to said it did neither and this dough worked perfectly for us. Just keep in mind, using butter means these pretzels won't keep fresh as long as the shortening ones, so plan on eating them or freezing them. I did both and the frozen ones were just as delicious when thawed on the counter at room temperature.

The recipe comes from the blog Making Memories created and nurtered by my twin-in-another-life, Erin. Just like me, Erin is a little obsessed with Family Fun magazine. All you have to do is search either of our our blogs for Family Fun and you'll see tons of things we've done - many of them the exact same projects (we just made the gumdrop arrows for Valentine's Day)! I actually cracked up when I saw the header photo on her blog because she has a photo of the milk jug Halloween ghosts just like the ones hanging in our basement right now!! Now if we could just get Family Fun to hire us as testers - right Erin?

Erin is one of those people that I'm in awe of. She's a single mom with two precious kids. I really am amazed at single moms. I mean there's no break, no..."wait til your Daddy gets home to deal with you". And she's not just going through life, she's making a FUN life with her obviously happy kids. She makes time to say, "yes" and I love that about her. Much of her blog is creative and clever ideas for crafts, gifts or goodies. When I read the recipe for Soft Pretzel Bites it sounded like she decided to make them almost as a challenge and she was pleasantly surprised at the results. They turned out better than she expected and easier than she expected. I hope you take the yeast challenge and your results are as delightful as Erin's.

Soft Pretzel Bites
(recipe originally adapted from Bobby Flay)

Ingredients
1 1/2 c warm water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast (or 3 tsp of bulk yeast)
1/3 c unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
4 1/2 c flour
vegetable oil
-----
6 c water
3/4 c baking soda
-----
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbls. cold water
Coarse sea salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds

Combine water, yeast, brown sugar in glass measuring cup to allow yeast to proof (which is a fancy way of making sure the yeast is alive and awake). If you don't get foam in about 5 minutes you may have killed the yeast with water that was too hot OR it's not awake because the water was too cold OR the yeast is too old. Yeast is the big scary part of yeast breads (that's why it's so prominent in the name - to scare you off). Really yeast is easy, you just need to make sure it's alive and kickin. Proofing is way to make sure you aren't going to end up with unrisen flatbread. Once you have proofed it, you know it's gonna all work out. If you don't get foam, just throw away what you mixed up and try again. The water should feel warm to your fingers, but not hot.

this is what it looks like when the yeast is first added to the water (with a sprinkle of brown sugar)

this is activated yeast: foamy and smells yummy

Once your yeast is all foamy goodness, pour it into a mixer bowl and add the melted butter. Make sure the butter has cooled so it's not raging hot and kills the poor little yeasties. Mix on low to combine. Add the salt and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the bowl and mix on low speed until combined. This is where a dough hook and a stand mixer come in handy, otherwise you are kneading the dough by hand on the counter. Incidentally, you could easily start this recipe in a bread maker appliance, just take the dough out after the first rise and hand shape it and continue following the recipe from there.

You want to knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes until the it's smooth, adding small amounts of the remaining 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forming a ball. You may not use all of the flour if it's a dry day or you may need a little more if it's a humid day outside, but you shouldn't vary more than 1/2 c more or less in what you need. When the dough is "right", the sides of the bowl should be really clean and the dough should all be gathered around the dough hook. The dough should feel soft and elastic. "Like your tummy", my darling 6 year old innocently stated. @#!! Ah the honesty of kids!

Put your dough into a clean greased (is that an oximoron?) bowl and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place (you may remember I use my turned off oven with the light on in the winter) until it doubles in bulk. This should take around 1 hour unless your kitchen is pretty cold. You can figure out if yeast bread is ready with the poke test. You poke your finger gently into the risen dough and see what happens. If springs back - then it's not ready. If the dent stays put - it's perfect. If the poke makes the whole thing collapse - then it's overrisen and you need to start over from the kneading stage to try to salvage it. All of this SOUNDS complicated, but it's not - I promise. You just have to try it out to see really it's not hard. It takes a little planning since there is waiting around, but it's not hard. When the dough passes the poke test, you need to gently deflate it by folding it or "punching" it down. That means put your fist into the middle of it. It's not a shazam move, but more of a gentle push. Then let the dough rest for 5 minutes or so (which means just leave it alone for a few minutes).

While the dough is resting you can get ready to make pretzel magic. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then you need the secret to turning regular bread into pretzels. The trick is to boil the dough in water before you bake them - that's what gives it the lovely chewy texture. Last time, I wasn't too sure about put raw bread dough in pot of boiling water with baking soda. I mean, that sounds kinda gross, but it works. Whoever discovered this technique must have been a little crazy. *Do I hear a homeschool lesson coming up??*

Put your 6 cups of water in a pot or deep skillet and add the baking soda. Bring that to a boil.

Instead of watching and waiting for the pot to boil, go ahead and shape your bites. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, using a bench knife makes this much easier (my 8 year old was happy to volunteer). Roll each piece into 22" long ropes. If the dough is hard to stretch, it hasn't rested long enough. Then cut the rope into small bites approximately 1" wide. You can roll these into or just leave them cut like tiny squares.

By now your water should be boiling and you are ready to cook. Drop the individual pieces of dough into the boiling water working in batches. Watch as they magically rise to the top of the water within about 30 seconds. When they float fish them carefully out and put them on greased (or my favorite silicone mats) cookie sheets.

This reminds me to tell you to enter my giveaway for two silicone baking mats to celebrate my birthday which is today!!

When you have a tray full of boiled bites, brush some of the egg white mixture over the top and sprinkle with course salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese, whatever floats your boat.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch carefully so they get brown, but not burned.

A few minutes after these started coming out of the oven, everyone of my kids was clamoring for some. I don't think they even waited for them to cool off. Even the baby stuffed one in her mouth. That girl loves her food just like her Mommy! :) Thanks Erin for sharing this bite sized snack!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for two silicone baking mats to celebrate my birthday today!!

"Like Outback Steakhouse Bread" - Pumpernickel Loaf

My husband and I love Outback Steakhouse for DNI aka Date Night In. Tonight will be one of those nights. There is NO WAY I'm going out to a restaurant, waiting for a table, crammed in with others on Valentine's Day. All the while, thinking about how long it's taking and we're paying a babysitter. Love is in the air, but not when you're paying through the nose. No thank you. Tonight we will feed the kids an early dinner of leftovers and put them to bed on time. Then we will join up in the kitchen and either create something for just us, sharing time talking or pick up something from a restaurant without setting foot inside the building. That's why I love Outback (thanks Sandy for turning me on to this one). You can call or order online and when you pull up they will bring it right to your car. Raining outside where you live? Already in your comfy *ugly* pants? No problem, cause you're not getting out of the car! No, I'm not getting paid to advertise for Outback, in fact I'd like to let you in on one of their secrets - they are not really Australian. Shhhh, don't tell, but if you want Australian, you need a meat pie or Vegemite or maybe a Lamington cookie. It's funny what we American's will believe, guess it's like thinking Papa John's is Italian food.

This doesn't mean I don't love Outback, I do. I love the steaks, the salads, and their bread. Delicious. I wanted to recreate it at home for those months when it's just not in the budget to pick up takeout. So here's my best recreation to date. You're gonna love it (I told you I was in a baking mood).

Sweet Pumpernickel Bread - like Outback Steakhouse

1 pkg yeast or 3 tsp yeast
1 1/4 c water
1/3 c molasses
1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c rye flour
1 c whole wheat flour (you can sub with white, but it won't be as chewy)
1 c white bread flour
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (or just use another packet of yeast)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Put the yeast in warm water (not hot) with the molasses to proof it {see here for details about bread baking}. Combine sugar, wheat flour, rye flour, 1/2 c of the the white flour, gluten, salt and cocoa in large stand mixer bowl, whisk together. Add yeast mix when it gets foamy. Knead the dough with dough hook. Add the oil and knead again. Add the remaining 1/2 c of white flour as needed to form a ball around the dough hook. The dough should cleanly pull away from the sides of the bowl. Place dough in greased large bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Let rise in warm place (like your oven with only the light on) until doubled, maybe an hour depending on how warm your kitchen is. Deflate the dough. Form into a greased loaf pan. Cover loosely again and let rise for around 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully remove the plastic wrap and put in hot oven. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack only until it won't burn your fingers because this stuff is delicious warm!

Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

I've been in a baking mood, and this is just the start of it. In one day, my three year old, Sausage Boy and I made this bread, the Banana Girl and I made her famous Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Super Bear and I made...well I can't tell you yet, you'll have to wait until the Secret Recipe Club reveal date later in Feb (around my birthday!!!)

These baking moods of mine, come and go: with life, time, and maybe that time of the month ;) Whatever it is, I'm in the kitchen right now. In fact the preschool teachers already benefited since I sent in extras with a little Valentine's Day note. While I'm a fan of sweet treats for Valentines (can we say Cookie Dough Truffles, Citrus Meringue Pie, Rosemary Chocolate Tart, or My Favorite Molasses Cookies??) there is a time and a place for less sugar. This is the time. I'm feeling large and not in charge. I need to make changes, real ones. If someone could just let me borrow their will power, I promise to give it back when I'm done.

This recipe is from a blog called "Eat Yourself Skinny" if that gives you any idea as to where I'm going. According to the blog, one slice is 196 calories. If that's true, I'd be scared to know what my Zucchini Bread ranks up at. I found this recipe at Pinterest, my new love. Apparently there are a ton of people who are just pinning things and never getting around to doing them. I am determined NOT to be one of those. I want to use this fantastic tool and not just dream about using it. Bring on the pins!!

I pinned this recipe in December and knew I wanted to make it because I love cranberries. I have a go to Cranberry Coffee Cake that I keep cranberries in the freezer all year round to make. It would be perfect for Valentine's Day since it has the red cranberries, but it contains...sugar. This Oatmeal bread only contains a little bit of honey...a very little. I found out how little after I ate a piece. It was pretty sour. I mean, I like cranberries, but I had to change the recipe to make it more suited to me. The original recipe can be found here at Allrecipes. Here is my adapted recipe - and yes, this means it will come in at more than the 196 calories (or 5 WW pts, which Kelly, the author so kindly shares). My helper said our version turned out "really good Mommy", so there it is straight from the expert.

Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 c oats

1 c honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 c heavy cream or whole milk

1 c fresh cranberries, chopped (or dried)

1/2 c nuts, chopped (I like pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats (reserve a sprinkle of the oats for later).

In a medium bowl, mix together honey, vegetable oil, eggs and milk. Pour liquid into the flour mixture bowl, stirring just until moistened.  Stir in chopped cranberries and pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle whole oats on the top for decoration and fancyness (yes, I'm sure that's a word). Bake for 1 hour if using fresh cranberries and 45 minutes if using dried. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Slice and serve with cream cheese or butter. Or if you are being healthy like I'm trying, enjoy it plain.

Old Fashioned Date Nut Loaf

You know those gifts that somebody gives you and you thank them and you all go on your merry way, only to realize later how incredibly AWESOME that gift really was? This was one of those. We were given a loaf of Date Nut Bread and I thought - "well thanks, very nice". It wasn't until I actually opened this 5 lb brick of a loaf, cut a careful slice and bit into it that I realized what a gift it was. The taste is delicious: sweet, salty, nutty, crunchy and yum! I'm sure the cake was a labor of love to make and an expensive one at that with all of those nuts. I had to have the recipe and the precious givers, Linda and Mario, were happy to share...well Linda was happy to share. Mario might have had other ideas. When he delivered the cake, he told my husband, "if you don't like it - that's okay, just give it back to me". That kinda intrigued me. I mean, these are generous and giving neighbors we are talking about, what's this about giving it back?? Turns out, this is his FAVORITE cake of all time and he just wanted to make sure it was appreciated and not haphazardly scarfed or tossed out. This cake is THAT good. I'm very grateful she twisted his arm because it was delicious - every last bite. I was a little hesitant to share it with my nut and date loving Dad, but it was his birthday, so I relented.

The recipe comes from an old cookbook, which are some of the ones that I most enjoy and least use. I think what throws me off is the lack of pictures. There aren't usually photographs of the recipes and that's what gets my attention. I know the recipes are delicious and I usually enjoy what I make from my older cookbooks, but I just don't do it enough. I figure I might reignite interest in these older cookbooks if I make a few recipes and take some (hopefully yummy looking) photos. I'm really working on my photographs. Everytime I see the one of the hot chocolate cones on pinterest I have to cringe - it's terrible! I did just get a new lens on a girls trip to NYC, I went to B&H photo. That place is amazing! There are at least 47 check out registers - it's busy and big like the rest of Manhattan. Anyway, the lens I got promises to make my food tastier looking, fresher, healthier and all around yummier - that's what the sales clerk told me - really!

Can't you see the delicious difference in this Date Nut Cake? I guess that's cheating since I didn't actually make this cake, but it does look amazing. So if you can spring for the pecans - or you have a pecan tree in the backyard, this is a cake you want to make. It will last a very long time in the fridge and you only need a little slice to go with a cup of fresh brewed coffee. It's perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. I figure it has the nuts so you've got a little protein - that makes it as healthy as a power bar in my mind! It kinda reminds me of another loaf I just made with nuts and dried fruits in it, only that one I turned into crackers. I promise to share that recipe very soon, but for now enjoy Old Fashioned Date Nut Loaf.

Date Nut Loaf
from Farm Journal Christmas Book
4 eggs
1 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 lb pitted chopped dates
4 c pecans

Combine eggs, sugar and oil in large bowl. Beat well. Combine flour and salt in a bowl and whisk to mix and sift flour. Add flour to egg bowl and mix well. Fold in dates and nuts. Dump in a greased and floured loaf pan. Put loaf in cold oven and then turn it on to 300 degrees. Bake for 2 hours and then cover loosely with foil. Bake for 15 more minutes.

Cardamom Bread Wreath

Fabulous bread for Easter morning (or any other special morning). It's subtlety flavored with cardamom and covered in glaze. The braid looks beautiful and oh so complicated, but it's just as easy as braiding hair. You will look like Martha while being as serene as Mary (Luke 10:38-42), able to sit at the feet of Jesus and worship with joy this Easter.

Cardamom Wreath

2 packages yeast
1/3 c warm water
1/2 c soft butter
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
12 oz (1 can) evaporated milk
1/4 c sour cream
1 tbsp grated orange peel
2 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
7 - 7 1/2 flour
1 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring

Proof your yeast by sprinkling it over the warm water in the measuring cup and let sit until foamy. In large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, milk, yeast and water, sour cream, orange peel, cardamom and salt. Mix well. Beat in 7 cups of flour to form a soft dough. At this point you can knead by hand or switch to a dough hook. Knead about 6 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding only small amounts of flour to keep it from sticking. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Punch down dough, let it sit (rest) for about 30 minutes. Then divide into 6 portions. Shape each portion into a 24" long rope. Please three of the ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid into one long rope. Then shape the straight rope into a circle, pinching the ends together to form one continuous ring. Cover again and let rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Combine milk, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Whisk until smooth and pour over wreath after it's cooled completely.

This recipe makes two loaves, one to keep and one to share with a neighbor along with the Good News of Easter morning: Jesus died and rose again so that our sins would be forgiven, allowing us to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Other Easter items you might also be interested in: a Spring Table Setting, a Sedar Plate meal, or this lamb "tracing" cake.

Crock Pot Apple Butter with Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Appley, cinnamony goodness on homemade bread, this is fall food. Have you noticed how all carbs are my weakness?? There are those people who think bread is only to hold a sandwich together (my husband) and then there are people like myself. I can barely wait for the bread to cool from the oven before I slice off a hunk - no accoutrements needed - just plain bread. I love the smell of it baking and the way it fills the whole house with its homemade scent. Ahhhh!

The next day when the bread is cooled and "day old" I love slathering on homemade toppings like butter, jelly (made only with juice), jam (made with juice and a bit of fruit chunks), preserves (chunky fruity goodness), or apple butter. I've made all kinds of jams and jellies, but there is something about apple butter that can't be beat.

Apple butter is very easy to make when you put it in the crockpot, which is about the only thing I ever use mine for. {This is completely off-topic plea, but will someone send me some good crockpot recipes or cookbook? I would really like to use my crock more often, but I've never been tempted by the recipes I've seen as they all look brown and mushy - not fresh and appealing.} This recipe will fill your house with such a delicious aroma, you'll have trouble waiting to eat it - I promise! It's also a great gift to give. Your friends and family will love you for taking the time. You can make it with apples or pears and they both turn out abou the same taste, so choose what's on sale or what you've been given. My wonderful Aunt Sharon just shared a huge box of cooking pears (they stay hard and don't get soft, so they are only good for cooking with) so I decided on pear butter. Aunt Sharon, there is a jar with your name on it!

Crock Pot Apple (or Pear) Butter

Makes 9-10 pints

9 qts of applesauce or pearsauce, homemade or store bought

2 tbsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp of allspice

1/2 tsp anise seeds (optional)

4 c sugar or sugar substitute

If you have just been to the orchard and returned with mountains of fresh apples or pears, you need to make applesauce first. Peel, core and quarter your fruit, unless you have one of these handy food mills for the counter or your Kitchenaid. If you have one of these, you don't need to peel the fruit, since you will be running it through the mill. In any case, you are starting with as many fruit as you can fit into your crock pot and add a little bit of water, just a splash on the bottom. I use a massive 8 1/2 quart crock pot (if your our crockpot is smaller, just reduce the ingredients proportionately). Cook the fruit on high until you have soft mushy apples or pears. You can use a hand masher to aid them in breaking down. After about 12-24 hours (depending on the types of fruit and how hard it was to start) you'll have unsweetened applesauce. This is delicious on it's own and perfect for canning or freezing.

If you want fruit butter, you need to continue in the slow cooker. Add the spices and sugar to your applesauce.  Stir well and set the pot to low with the lid somewhat vented (use a spatula or chopsticks under the lid to keep it up.)  Cook for 10-12 hours. Everything will get dark brown and smell incredible! After cooking you can use an immersion blender to puree it all so it's extra smooth or do it in the blender. Then you can freeze the apple butter or can it in glass jars making it just as shelf-life stable as store bought.

To can, put warm butter in jars and wipe the tops clean. Seal with canning lids and screw tops. Put the jars in a large pot filled with a couple of inches of water. Bring the pot to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars with tongs and set on a kitchen towel until cool. You will hear a popping sound when the lid cools enough to seal. This means you have a good seal and the product will be shelf stable. You can remove the screw lids to store.

To make my tasty cinnamon raisin bread you start with a sweet yeast dough....

Basic Sweet Dough (Sourdough Version)
see bottom of post for commercial yeast recipe
6 c flour
1 tbsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1 c starter
1/2 c oil
1 c warm milk
1/2 c warm water

Whisk only 4 cups of the flour, salt and the sugar in a large electric mixer bowl. Add your starter, oil, and water and mix with a bread dough hook. Slowly you add the other two cups of flour. You may not need all 2 cups, so add slowly. The way you know the dough is ready is when it forms into a "ball". In the mixer, the dough pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and forms a literal ball, like it the photo below.

I love my 6qt KitchenAid mixer. It was a splurge from the outlet store, but it's been worth every penny. If you are using a hand mixer, you'll need to take the bread out of the mixer bowl and knead it on a floury surface for about 10 minutes until the dough sticks well to itself and not the counter and does not spread out immediately when you let go, but instead holds it's shape.

After the dough is well formed, it needs to rise to double in size. Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm draft free place (like your oven with only the light on) overnight or around 12 hours.

The next day make the cinnamon goodness for the middle. You could make just about any kind of filling to flavor the bread at this time like: orange, lemon, strawberry, cheese, strawberry and cheese, gingered apple, chocolate, or maybe a candied pecan. Really let your imagination and your family's favorites flavors determine what to make. Your only limitation is don't make anything too wet or it will interfere with the bread's composition.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Filling
2 c raisin
3/4 c sugar
7 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp melted butted

Combine raisin, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.

Once the dough is doubled in size, deflate it gently and divide it in half to form two loaves. Roll out one half of dough on a floured surface into a 10"x12" rectangle with a rolling pin or a glass. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture and drizzle with half the melted butter.

Carefully roll the dough up starting at a short side to make a long rolled log.

This is a messy job, so be warned. If it sticks to the counter, gently lift with a bench scraper or spatula.

When done you'll have this unattached end, be sure to give it a good pinch to seal it back onto itself.

Carefully place the dough seam side down in a greased loaf pan. I usually have to create an "S" shape with the dough to fit it in the pan. Repeat the whole process with the other half of dough to form two loaves. Let loaves rise in a warm place for about 2 hours (or 45 minutes if you are using yeast) until the dough is doubled and doesn't spring back when you touch it gently with a finger.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 mins. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then cool completely on wire racks. Always use a serrated knife to cut bread so you don't tear or compress the loaf.

Sweet Dough Recipe

using Commercial Yeast (from Martha Stewart)

2 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons warm water

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 3/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons nonfat powdered milk
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup warm water and yeast. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 10 minutes (this ensures your yeast is healthy and active). Add flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and 1 3/4 cups warm water. Mix, using the paddle attachment, on low speed for 1 minute. Change to dough hook, and mix on medium-low speed for 7 minutes. Or knead by hand, 15 or 20 minutes. Let rise in a greased bowl for about 1 1/2 hours. Follow directions above, but your second rise time will only be about 45 minutes.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

This no-fail recipe is one of my breakfast items I bring to get togethers all year round. It's always delicious and everyone loves it. The sweet cake part contrasts well with the tart of the cranberries. Although you can't get cranberries all year, when they are in season, just buy a couple of extra bags. Then you can throw them, in their original bags in the freezer for later. When you want to make this coffee cake, you don't even have to defrost them, which makes them easier to mince. I promise this is what I bring home everytime...

You can use any kind of nuts you like (or omit them altogether). I've used pecans, almonds, walnuts, and even macadamia nuts. You can change the spices or even use dried apricots instead of cranberries so it's really like a basic coffee cake recipe that everyone should have in their arsenal. You can even make it the night before and store it in the fridge and then bake it in the morning. Love those kind of dishes for breakfast!

Cranberry Coffee Cake (adapted from Southern Living)

Serves 12-15

2/3 c soft butter

1 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c buttermilk

Nut Crunch Topping
1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans)

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 c minced cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter until creamy, add sugars and eggs, beat again. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, soda, powder, and salt. Add dry mixture to butter mix in small batches alternating with buttermilk. Mix well.

Combine the nut crunch toppings: nutmeg, nuts, brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.

Grease 9x13 pan. Pour half of batter into bottom of pan. Sprinkle half of nut mixture over batter and half of cranberries over batter. Pour remaining batter over top and smooth out. Top with remaining nut mixture and cranberries. Bake for 35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean when poked in center. Serve warm. Can also be made the night before and stored covered in fridge until ready to bake.

Zucchini Bread - Stealth Veggies

Here's an oldie but a goodie. This specific recipe has been in my family forever and is in our family cookbook. Right now we have zucchini coming out our ears, so it's the perfect thing to make that ... "isn't another zucchini dish". My kids love this especially with cream cheese on a slice. When I started giving grocery shopping classes to a local charity for women coming out of poverty, I was surprised how many of them were scared to try the zucchini bread. Seriously I thought I should start calling it something like Happiness Bread just because the word zucchini was throwing them off. This bread does NOT taste like zucchini so it's perfect for a picky eater (even if that's you) who doesn't get enough vegetables.

The recipe is easily turned into muffins for quick snacks on the go or tucked away in a lunch box, just reduce the cooking time to 30 minutes and raise the oven temperature to 350 degrees. I often freeze this bread because it's perfect for wintertime breakfasts when you don't have a bounty of veggies. I also freeze muffins for my kids. I just wrap each one in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer. Then we we need a lunch box packed I throw in a frozen muffin, which defrosts by lunchtime. You can also freeze the grated zucchini to bake up another day. Just freeze it in 2 or 4 cup portions so it's recipe ready. Using your shredder blade on your food processor makes this a fast and easy task.

Zucchini Bread

3 lightly beaten eggs

1 1/2 c sugar

1 c oil

2 c grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

(these are your wet ingredients if you remember the post about combining the two bowls)

3 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 c raisins (optional)

(these are the dry ingredients)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Blend all the wet ingredients together in a bowl until well mixed. In a separate bowl whisk all the dry ingredients together. Then add the moist egg mixture to the dry flour mixture. Mix with spoon just until combined. Do not overmix. Bake in 2 greased loaf pans for 1 hour. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean without any "goop" on it. Cool bread in pans for 5 minutes and then cool completely on wire racks. Wrap in plastic wrap, aluminum foil or bread bags for storage.

Raisin Bran Muffins

These are so easy and yummy. My kids and husband love them, maybe because they do have a bunch of sugar in them, but still, they have to be better for you than the store bought muffins. The super cool thing about this batter is it will keep in a non-metal covered bowl in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Just stir the batter to mix it up. Then scoop out the batter and put it into the muffin pan whenever you want hot muffins fresh from the oven. The total recipe will make about 4 dozen muffins.

Raisin Bran Muffins

Ingredients
5 c flour
3 c sugar
5 tsp baking soda
1 1/2  tsp salt
7 1/2 c raisin bran (pretty much a box)
1 qt buttermilk
1 c vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, in a large bowl. Blend raisin bran with dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, oil and eggs, blend until moist. Fill lightly greased muffin pans 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Thanks to my Aunt Machel for this recipe! Here's what it looks like when it's a couple of weeks old.