Bread

I very nearly posted a very whinny post at 4am, but literally didn't want the pup to think I was keeping him company in the living room after waking up multiple times overnight. Probably a good thing, as I hate being whinny. Instead you get bread.

Last night's dinner wasn't exactly tasty, but the homemade bread I made to go with it was quite yum! I've successfully made two breads in the past week or so with good results using my $10 bread machine from Goodwill. Go me! Both actually use the dough setting on the bread machine, the bread cooks in the oven, so if you want to try this and don't have a machine it should be easy to convert. Here's a site with a general explanation of how to do that. And here's another one. Here are the recipes, both from the Taste of Home Baking Book:

Soft Italian Breadsticks

1 C water (70-80 degrees)
3 tbsp butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 C bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (I use bread machine yeast)

Topping
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (or as needed... I used more!)

In the bread machine pan place all the bread ingredients. I do liquids first, the flour for a base, and yeast last so it doesn't come in contact with the water before it's supposed to. Select dough setting on the machine and run. Check it after 5 minutes to see if it needs an additional 1 to 2 tbsp of water or flour to get a good consistency.

When cycle is complete, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Cut each portion into 12 pieces; roll each into a 4-6 inch rope. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. (This is the part where I actually only cooked 6 and put the rest on a separate baking sheet close together and immediately shoved into the freezer to flash freeze before they could do a second rise.) Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. I had to watch closely for the last couple of minutes because my oven burns EVERYTHING. Immediately brush with butter and sprinkle (liberally) with Parmesan cheese. Serve warm and toasty.


Garlic Herb Bubble Loaf

Remember making Monkey Bread out of biscuits, butter and cinnamon? Same concept but with real bread and garlic. Oh yum.

1/2 C water (70-80 degrees)
1/2 C sour cream
2 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (I use bread yeast)

Garlic Herb Butter
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp each dried oregano, thyme, and rosemary, crushed

In bread machine pan put all bread ingredients, starting with the liquid and ending with the yeast. Put on dough cycle. When cycle is complete, turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Cover and lest rest for 15 minutes. Mix Garlic Herb Butter ingredients in a shallow bowl while you wait. Divide dough into 36 (approx) pieces. Dip each ball into the butter mixture and place into an 9X5X3 loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack, serve warm.

Ok, so my bubble loaf burned on top, making the top part not so tasty. But my oven burns things. This is why you don't get a picture of the bubble loaf. The middle, however, was extra yummy tasty and I snacked on it for a few days. YUM.

Notice the basic bread ingredients and dough process are pretty similar. I think I'm going to mix up a few batches of the dry ingredients for each and store them in jars (I do love me some jars) so when I get ready to make them again I can just throw in the liquids, toss the contents of the jar into the machine, and go.