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© This is a BetterBaking.Com Original Recipe feature, created by Marcy Goldman, www.betterbaking.com
The BetterBaking.com Bread
Basket Bonaza for Summer Picnics
When less is more - Baby Breads to start picnic season with Sometimes,
a large loaf is too much. All you really want is a few bites of
something fresh and warm, such as French Crusty Rolls, a classic
buttery Parker House Roll or maybe a punchy Lunch Box Onion Roll? This
is the place! Make sure you have plenty of butter, kept nice and
spreadable in your French Butter Dish. (Marcy Goldman has three of our
dishes - and keeps a different
flavored butter in each)
When less is more - Baby Breads to start picnic season with....
Sometimes, a large loaf is too much. All you really want is a
few bites of something fresh and warm, a new little roll or rustic bun
- great for snacking or the perfect cradle for a sandwich. This
selection of 'baby breads': little loaves, rolls, and buns are just
the ticket. They offer shorter rising times and are pleasingly unique
to the eye and wonderful to
the palate. They also happen to round out many an informal meal,
transforming a casual supper or spring luncheon into a dining oasis.
"Oh, are those hot, fresh rolls?" your guests or lucky
family will ask. You bet! Whatever doesn't get devoured at the table
will wind up in your brown bag lunch of picnic hamper.
BetterBaking.com Recipe
Selection For French Butter Dish/James Sloss Pottery
Versatile, rustic, little bread that takes well to countless
variations. Crusty outside, tender and airy inside, you could
make a meal of this and a tossed salad and be quite happy or use them
as brown bag sandwich rolls - depending on how you shape them. The
malt powder helps to color these rolls and adds a lovely extra bit of
flavor but it is entirely optional if you don't have it.
Quick Sponge
1 cup water
pinch sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 1/2 cups bread flour
Dough
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon malt powder (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups bread flour
2 3/4 teaspoons salt
Spray 12 miniature loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set
aside. Alternatively, line a doubled up baking sheet with parchment paper (if
baking rolls in a freeform style).
For the Quick Sponge, in a medium sized bowl, stir together water and
sugar. Sprinkle on yeast and allow to stand a minute before whisking to
blend dissolved yeast. Fold in the flour and mix to make a pudding-like,
gloppy paste. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let sit an hour.
For the dough, place the sponge in the bowl of an electric mixer
fitted with a dough hook. To the sponge, add in the water, honey, malt powder,
oil, most of bread flour and salt. Stir with a wood spoon to make a mass. Let
dough sit, uncovered ten minutes. Resume kneading, now with dough hook of
mixer, on slowest speed of mixer, to make a soft, elastic dough, about 8-10
minutes. Shape the dough, in the mixing bowl, into a rounded mass.
Place the whole bowl inside a large plastic bag and seal lightly. Let
rise, about 45-90 minutes (can also be refrigerated at this point up until
overnight. To use, allow dough to warm up about an hour, shape as
notated below, and let rise).
Deflate dough and divide into twelve portions. Make two balls from
each portion and place side by side in the prepared miniature loaf pans.
Alternatively, form into ovals or rounds and place in loaf pans or on
a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let
rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 F.
Mist the rolls with water and dust with flour. Bake until
beginning to turn medium brown, about 30 minutes.
About 12 rolls
Buttery little bundles of dough are tucked into a mini-loaf pan or
regular muffin pans. They bake up into a tender roll, reminiscent of a
French croissant in taste but with the velvety crumb of a traditional
rich, white bread roll. These are supposed to be 'side' rolls but frankly, some folks consider them the main event. After eating one of
these warm treasures, the rest of the meal is incidental.
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups warm buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted, softened butter, cut in small chunks
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
5-6 cups all purpose or bread flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
In a large bowl, sprinkle sugar and yeast over warm water and stir
briefly. Let stand, allowing yeast to swell a couple of minutes. Stir in
buttermilk, butter, sugar, salt and most of flour. Knead to make a soft dough,
adding more flour as required. Knead about 8 minutes until smooth and
elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover. Allow to rise until
almost doubled in bulk.
(You can also refrigerate dough, covered, at this point. To use, up to
a day later, allow dough to warm up for an hour before proceeding with
recipe).
Divide dough in 12 portions. Cut each into three chunks and dip in
melted butter. For more traditional looking rolls, form the chunks into small
balls. Place the three balls or chunks each into each well of a 12 cup
muffin tin. Drizzle any leftover melted butter over rolls. Cover
lightly with plastic (slipping the entire baking sheet into a large, clear
garbage
bag works well) and allow to rise until almost doubled in bulk.
Preheat oven to 375 F and bake ten minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and
bake until lightly browned, another 15-20 minutes.
Makes about a dozen
Making a sponge beforehand greatly enhances the flavor and texture of
these fragrant rye buns.
Quick Sponge
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons malt flour or syrup (or can use brown sugar)
1 cup coarse or dark rye flour
1/4 cup white bread flour
Dough
1/2 cup warm water
2-4 Baker's Caramel*
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2-3 cups white bread flour
1 cup dark currants, plumped and dried
Beaten egg white
Caraway Seeds
* Real baker's caramel is available through King Arthur's Baker's
Catalogue 800-827-6836 or you can try Kitchen Bouquet, sold in bouillon/soup
section of supermarket.
For the sponge, about an hour before making dough, mix together the
water, yeast, caraway seeds, malt flour or syrup, rye and white bread flours.
Stir to make a thick gloppy mixture and let stand one hour (or up to 3
hours).
Stir down spongy mixture and add remaining water, baker's caramel,
salt, sugar, cinnamon, and most of white bread flour. Stir until dough
can be kneaded (by hand or dough hook) adding additional flour as required to
make a soft, springy dough, 6-8 minutes. Let rest a couple of minutes then
press in raisins into the dough. Place dough in a well-greased bowl, cover
with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 or 16 portions, depending on size of rolls
required. Form each into a ball. Place a parchment paper lined baking sheet,
spaced three inches apart. Brush each roll with egg white and sprinkle on
some caraway seeds. Let rise, until quite puffy, 30-45 minutes.
Bake in a preheated 400 F degree oven, 15-18 minutes, until rolls are slightly firmed when pressed with fingertips.
Makes 12-16 Rolls, depending on size
Golden, moist, crunchy: heaven. No yeast and who cares when you are
serving up such a terrific little quick bread. These are, as they say,
rather fine. Stone ground cornmeal is key but if you do not have
it, I promise rather wonderful results nonetheless.
3/4 cup oil or unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup water
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup stone ground cornmeal
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. Very generously spray or grease
10 mini loaf forms (1 1/2 by 3-4 inches) or 12 muffin cups. Alternatively, use a
ten-inch springform pan or cast iron skillet). Line mold bottoms with a muffin
liner cup, widen to line bottom of loaf mold (for muffin mold, leave liners
in original shape.
Blend oil or butter, and sugar together. Mix in eggs, then water and vanilla. Fold in salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and corn
meal.
Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake at 400 for ten minutes, then
reduce heat to 350 F until edges are lightly browned and tops are just firm
(may have a crack down centre) and spring back when touched.
Eggy, moist, and light as air, these usually disappear before dinner
is served so count on making an extra batch.
1 generous cup diced onions, lightly sautéed
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, room temperature
5 cups, approximately, all-purpose or bread flour
Egg Wash
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Sesame Seeds or Poppy Seeds, Dried Minced Garlic or Onion bits -
Optional
Prepare onions and set aside.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk in dry yeast with water and let stand a
minute to allow yeast to swell and dissolve. Briskly stir in honey, sugar,
salt, oil, eggs, and most of flour. Knead 8-10 minutes to make soft, springy
dough - let rest 15 minutes then press in onions to distribute.
Place in a greased bowl and place whole bowl in a large plastic bag.
Let rise, about 30-35 minutes.
For egg wash, whisk ingredients together in a medium bowl and set
aside until needed.
Divide dough into 12-16 portions (depending if you want smaller or
larger rolls). Roll out each portion into an 8 inch length. Gently tie in a
knot. Place on baking sheet. Brush each roll with two coats of egg wash.
Seed if desired. Place whole baking sheet in a large plastic bag (a drawstring
garbage bag is fine) and let rise until puffy, about 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake, until golden brown, 18-20 minutes,
reducing temperature to 350 F if rolls brown too fast.
Makes 12-16 rolls
Quite a recipe title; quite a recipe. All the flavors we love best
tucked into one neat yeasty package. Serve this up with stew or chili
or a humongous Caesar salad.
8-10 large cloves of garlic, roasted and minced
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup milk or half-and-half
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons dry yeast
3 tablespoons melted shortening
5 drops hot sauce
5 cups (approximately) bread or all-purpose flour
2 cups shredded unpeeled, washed, red-skinned (not sweet) potatoes
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp orange cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons melted margarine (for greasing pan)
1/4 cup cornmeal, approximately
Prepare garlic by roasting in oil until tender, about 45 minutes in a
350 F oven. Cool, and then peel from skins and coarsely chop. Set aside.
Lightly oil mixing bowl and dough hook to prevent dough from sticking.
In mixing bowl, whisk together water, milk or half-and-half, sugar,
salt, yeast, shortening and hot sauce. Stir to dissolve salt and
sugar. Stir in grated potatoes and 2 cups of the cheese, roasted garlic and enough of
the flour to make a soft dough. When you can no longer mix by hand,
begin kneading or remove dough to a mixer attached with a dough hook and
knead 8 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead
by hand about 2 minutes to smooth. Cover with a tea towel and let rest
15 minutes. Divide dough into roll-sized mounds, about 12-16, depending on size
desired. Form into ovals and place on a baking sheet. Brush with melted
margarine and sprinkle tops lightly with cornmeal. Place baking sheet in a large,
drawstring plastic bag and let rolls rise 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Make a lengthwise shallow slash on top
of each roll. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375
Degrees and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top of bread. Bake another 10
minutes or until rolls are nicely browned and cheese is melted.
Makes 12-16 rolls
Sweet, wholesome, flavorful. Invite Pooh Bear for tea or your own best
friend.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
2 cups white whole-wheat or regular whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 cups - 4 cups (approximately) bread or al-purpose flour
Cinnamon, flour for sprinkling
In a large mixing bowl, or mixing bowl of an electric mixer, whisk
together the water, yeast, melted butter, honey, cinnamon and salt.
Briskly fold in whole-wheat flour and one cup of the white flour. Begin to knead
by hand or with a dough hook, adding white flour as needed until dough leaves
sides of bowl. Dough should become soft, but no longer sticky. You
might need slightly more flour, add a bit at a time). Knead about five minutes
then
press in walnuts. Knead another three minutes. Cover dough with a damp
tea towel and let rest on a lightly floured board, cover lightly with a
tea towel about 45 minutes. Deflate dough to release any air. Divide dough
into 12 portions. Form into ovals and place into a well-greased miniature
loaf pan (12 cup pan or use 12 separate small loaf pans) sections. Allow
dough to rise about 40 minutes or until it is flush with the top of the loaf
pan. Dust with flour and cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place in oven, reducing heat to 350
Degrees F. Bake until tops are lightly browned, about 25-35 minutes.
Cool in pan ten minutes before removing.
Serve these with some churned honey butter.
Makes one dozen
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