Michigan Biscuits

 

Print Me!

Today I realized that it has been quite some time since I have baked anything. That is shocking especially during this season of treats! I decided to try something new with self rising flour my mom gave me. As luck would have it on the back of the flour bag was a recipe for Extraordinary Biscuits. Since I missed out on cut out cookies I decided to use two different cookie cutter shapes, the state of Michigan shape and a star. I thought the Michigan shape probably wouldn’t turn out after they were baked but I was surprised to find that it did! My husband was thrilled with the Michigan shapes and I got to hear again how much he loves the state of Michigan. The biscuits were really good (probably because they were so darn cute).

 

 

 

2 1/4 cups self rising flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup butter or shortening (I used butter)
1 cup buttermilk (I used plain soymilk)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl add flour and sugar. Use a pastry blender to combine butter and flour until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk until dough leaves the side of the bowl.

 

On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough with your favorite cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart for crispy sides and close together for soft sides. Recipe will make about a dozen biscuits. 

 

 

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                   thank you for visiting acdcbakes.blogspot.com

P.D.Q. Berry Muffins

King Arthur Flour recipes have always turned out perfectly for me. In the King Arthur Commemorative cookbook my mother-in-law got me for my birthday there are a series of P.D.Q muffins (pretty darn quick) that are fantastic. I have made the blueberry version a few times with frozen blueberries and I am always pleased (as is my husband!).  These muffins are not super sweet like grocery store muffins which makes them even better.  I made these for breakfasts this work week so I under baked them just a little and froze them. That way I can microwave them and have a fantastic breakfast.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Makes 12 muffins.

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                   

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups berries

1 cup sour cream, yogurt or milk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 eggs

 

 

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix the berries in with the dry ingredients then add milk, oil and eggs. Mix wet and dry ingredients until combined. Place batter in cupcake tin lined with foils. Place the muffins in the oven and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are a beautiful golden brown. Cool on wire rack and enjoy. 

 

 

PRINT ME

Cheesy Beer Bread

As you all know I LOVE to bake bread.  Sometimes in our busy life I am not able to find time to let bread rise for a couple hours. Yesterday I found a solution to this problem...BEER BREAD!  This delicious bread is a very simple type of batter bread that doesn't need any time to rise.  In fact (as you may have imagined) the beer is used as the yeast. The other benefit is that the ingredients to this bread are already in your home...probably. One think that drives me crazy is having to purchase all sorts of special ingredients for a simple recipe. So, this experiment turned out well and got two thumbs up (one from me and one from Dave, of course).  

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion (don't use purple onion it will look like moldy spots in the bread)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cheddar cheese

12 oz can or bottle of beer (lagers are best)

2 tablespoon melted butter, divided 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Heat oil in a small skillet at medium low heat.  Add onion to pan and cook until browned, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic and pepper cook just until garlic is fragrant about 1 minute.  

Add flour to a large mixing bowl.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk together.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Add onion mixture, cheese and beer to flour mixture.  Stir just until incorporated.  

Spoon batter into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon of butter over the batter.  Bake 35 minutes.  Drizzle remaining tablespoon of butter, bake 25 more minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pan and transfer to a wire rack after about 10 minutes of cooling.  

A few more delicious ideas - use 1/4 cup green onion and 1/4 jalapeno in place of onion.  Cook as you would onion.  Add Mexican cheese and Mexican beer such as Dos Equis  -  can't wait to try this one!!   

Ohio Bread

This is the very first bread recipe I ever made several years ago.  The recipe is an excellent one and came out even though I made some mistakes.  One of those mistakes was adding the egg to the dough which is really supposed to be the for egg wash on top.  If you never have used an egg wash don't be scared, it is simple!  The purpose is to put a glossy coat on the bread.  This is a great starter loaf because you can put the dough in the bread maker.  Be mindful to put egg wash all the way to the bottom of the dough.  It will rise in the oven which can make covering the loaf difficult at times. 

Bake Time: 25-35 mins
 Prep Time: At least 2 hours depending on bread maker

1 cup water heated to 100 degrees
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups Pillsbury best bread flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)

cornmeal
1 egg beaten

Place all ingredients except cornmeal and egg in bread machine pan.  Place on dough setting.  Prepare ungreased cookie sheet with cornmeal and put aside.

When your handy bread maker beeps to let you know the dough is done pull it out and place on a lightly flowered surface.  Punch down dough to remove air bubbles and cover with a clean kitchen towel for 15 minutes.  Next, shape dough into baguette shaped loaf about 1 foot long.  Place loaf on the cornmeal coated cookie sheet being mindful not to crush dough.  Cover with towel again and let rise for 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Make a slash in the top of the bread (see photo).  Brush with egg wash (one beaten egg).  Bake for 25-35 minutes until loaf sounds hallow when tapped.

Like any bread enjoy when warm!

Friendship bread

1 cup starter (which we have been loving for days)
1 cup vegetable oil (be advised I use applesauce)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 cup fruit, chocolate chips or nuts (blueberries, coconut, white chips - all are good subs for the normal)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large box vanilla instant pudding (or chocolate s.f/f.f)

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Grease and sugar loaf pans (I usually leave out this step) divide the batter evenly between the pans bake at 350 degrees for 60 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan.

I have to admit that is not my photo but my bread looks just the same when done the traditional way. This one is really a good recipe.

Friendship Bread Starter

This is a fantastic starter. The bread recipe calls for vanilla pudding but at our house we usually use fat free sugar free (you won't notice a difference). This bread (or muffins if you so choose) is a favorite and even though it makes two loaves it will not stay around long. Try using chocolate pudding instead of vanilla and add white chocolate chips and toasted coconut. This is a crowd pleaser!! I made this bread on a day my husband and a group of his buddies took a long bike ride and the loaves were both gone minutes after pulling them out of the oven. I will attach the bread recipie in the next several days. Until then get started on your starter.

1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup flour

Do not use a metal bowl or spoon at any time for this recipe. Also it is important to use zip top bags rather than a bowl and plastic wrap.

Combine all ingredients in a large zip top bag.

Day 1, 2, 3 - mix ingredients in bag and let air out.

Day 4:

Add: 1 c. milk 1 c. flour

Day 5, 6, 7, 8 - Stir in bag and press all of the air out.

Day 9: Add same as day 4 (1 cup each sugar, milk, and flour).

Day 10: Give 1 cup to each of 3 friends or keep 1 cup to start new batch. (1 cup may be frozen to start later.)

Chocolate Chips Rolls

These delicious rolls are a delight. Not super sweet but certainly a delicious treat. I certainly would recommend you try these! They are out of my new favorite cook book called The Easy way to Artisan Breads and Pastries. If you love bread this is definitely for you. I purchased another popular book at the same time that promised great bread fast - forget them. Avner Laskin (the author) knows how to make some fab bread.


Anyway here is the recipe

1 cup cold milk

3 ounces fresh yeast or 2 tablespoons dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup chocolate chips

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 egg beaten for egg wash

additional flour for assorted tasks

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook mix the milk, yeast, sugar, egg, flour, and chocolate chips at low speed for 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the salt, switch to medium speed, and knead for an additional 7 minutes. Gradually add the butter and knead 3 minutes, until a smooth, uniform dough is formed.
2. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 1 hour.
3. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and flatten it out with the palm of the hand to remove air pockets. Divide dough into 3 equal parts, then each part into 4 pieces, for a total of 12.
4. Roll each piece into a neat ball and place 2 inches apart on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
5. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
6. Preheat oven to 375. Brush the balls with beaten egg and bake for 15 min or until golden brown.

Enjoy warm! Let me know what you think think of this recipe if you ever get the opportunity to make them.

Pepperoni Rolls

These are my new favorite treats. Often my husband and I eat quite healthy but today I figured I would go big and be somebody. These are a must try!

Yield will very but about 15 good sized rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons either veg or olive oil
3 cups flour (use 2 1/2 white, 1/2 w.w.)
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup package coarsely chopped slices of turkey or beef pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (low moisture part skim or reduced fat)

Instructions:

Combine water, salt, sugar, and oil. Add flour and yeast at the same time and mix until thick. Add additional flour if needed, mix with dough hook fitted on a stand mixer for 10 minutes (may kneed if no mixer available)

Place dough in greased bowl, turning dough over once to grease both sides. Cover and sit in a warm place to rise. Allow dough to rise for about 45 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Sprinkle dough with oregano and basil. Top with the chopped pepperoni and then the mozzarella cheese.

Carefully roll dough, jelly roll style, starting at one of the shorter ends not at the wide, 16-inch sides. Pinch dough to seal into a "log".

Using a serrated knife (approximately 18 inches in length), cut log into about 18 slices.

Carefully place the rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover lightly with a towel and set in a warm place for about 25-35 minutes, until almost doubled in size.

Remove towel cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and dough is completely cooked. Cover loosely with foil during baking if dough starts to brown too quickly. Serve with warm sauce if desired. Make certain to switch sheets about halfway through baking.

This is a recipie from another wonderful site that features recipes that I have slightly altered. Check out tammysrecipes.com

Anna Banana Bread

I have to admit I am a big fan of food network. My favorite guy to watch is Tyler Florence. This is a recipe of his that has become a favorite in our house. The loaf is gone before a blink of an eye. I promise this is the best banana bread you will ever eat. Sometimes a recipe is not worth making healthier and you must just enjoy!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans finely chopped (I often leave out)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and great a 9x5 loaf pan.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and set aside

Mash 2 bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they are still chunky. With an electric mixer fitted with a wisk whip the remaining bananas and sugar into a nice banana cream. Add melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get to bubbles out.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 mins until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Watch for a crack down the center of the bread (it's a good thing). Make certain to rotate the bread in the oven for even baking.

Let the bread sit in the pan for 15 mins then turn out on a wire rack to cool

This bread is super with peanut butter!!