Shiner Bock Beer Bread

My future son-in-law, Chris, loves Shiner Bock beer, and when he visits, the fridge is well-stocked with it. There was one lone bottle left from the last visit, and hubby and I aren't beer drinkers, so what better use to make of it than in bread.

We recently visited Salt Grass Steakhouse (Texas to the bone!) and enjoyed their pre-dinner bread. I found a "copykat" recipe and made a couple of adjustments to accommodate what I had on hand and for the bread machine. My changes were to substitute rye flour for whole wheat flour, to eliminate the water, and to use part honey, part molasses in place of all honey.

My iPhone photos don't do the bread justice, but the results were excellent! Moist and slightly sweet, it tasted like what we had in the restaurant, only better. Rye flour gave it a nutty depth, and the molasses, well it always makes bread better, in my opinion. The bread sliced easily, smelled so good while baking, and was the perfect accompaniment to our grilled chicken and salad.

Shiner Bock Beer Bread
See CopyKat.com for original recipe
adapted for bread machine

1-1/2 -1-3/4 cup Shiner Bock beer, flat and room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups unbleached flour
1 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yeast

Mix beer, honey, molasses, and oil and pour into bread pan. Whisk together flours and salt and scoop onto liquid. Make a well in flour mixture and pour in yeast. Set bread machine to Dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough onto floured surface and punch down. Knead in small amounts of flour if necessary to keep from sticking. Cut dough into 3 equal portions and form each portion into round loaf. Place loaves on lightly oiled or parchment prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with baking spray. Let rise until doubled, or about 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove to wire rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Butternut Squash Braid

A recent butternut squash purchase prompted me to revisit a braid recipe I made in 2008, which I remembered for its deliciousness.

The original recipe called for cooked mashed squash, but this time around I roasted the squash whole before I pureed it. I love the rich, buttery goodness of roasted squash and the flavor it imparts to the bread. The texture is somewhat Hawaiian bread-ish, and this loaf was a wee bit more dense than the last loaf. Offering a warm slice with butter is a good way to get my hubby to eat his veggies. He not only loved it, but he loved the color of it!

Butternut Squash Braid
adapted for bread machine

1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup warm milk
1 cup cooked and pureed butternut squash
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
*3 to 4 cups unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* Level of moisture in cooked squash affects flour addition. My dough was very sticky after rising in the bread machine, so I added more flour so that I could more easily shape the dough. The extra flour and kneading probably contributed to the slight denseness of this batch.

Melt butter in warm milk, add squash and egg; whisk until well blended. Pour into bread machine pan.

Whisk together brown sugar, salt, and 3 cups flour and spoon mixture onto liquid in bread machine pan. Make a well in center of flour and add yeast. Turn bread machine to "Dough" cycle and let it do its magic.

After dough has completed cycle, remove and place on a lightly floured surface or Roulpat. Punch dough down and divide into 3 parts. Shape each portion into an 18 inch rope. Take ropes and attach them by pinching tops together and tucking under. Gently braid and finish by pinching together bottom ends and tucking underneath braid. (An excellent tutorial for bread braiding can be found here). Cover and allow to rise until nearly doubled. Mine rose to elephantine proportions in only 25 minutes. At this point, if you like to glaze your bread, you may whisk together an egg and a tablespoon of water and brush over braid before baking.

Bake in 375 degree oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Homemade Hot Dog Buns and Waffle Batter Bread

After many attempts at trying to make hot dog buns out of some of my favorite hamburger bun recipes, I think I am getting closer to the elusive shape. Today I tried them with a tested-and-loved recipe from the blog of Let Them Eat Cake.

I first blogged about this amazing recipe here. Today I tried the recipe in a bread machine, and I have to say, it tasted every bit as good as the first time, but much easier. I simply put the ingredients into the pan of the bread machine and set it to Dough. When the cycle was finished, I placed the dough onto a floured board, pressed out all the air, and let it rest for a few minutes. I cut it into 9 pieces and roughly followed Baking Bites' instructions on how to shape hot dog buns for rising. They were a little whale-ish looking, but overall I was pleased with bread to wiener ratio. Our Nathan's never tasted so good!

Our breakfast this morning was Whole Grain Waffles, a delicious and crispy waffle containing flax seed, wheat germ, and whole wheat pastry flour. I sometimes make bread out of leftover pancakes, so with 2 cups of batter left over. I tried my hand at a loaf of bread from the batter. I threw it into the bread machine with a 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, about 1-1/2 cups flour, and 2-1/2 teaspoons yeast. After it completed the Dough setting, I put it into a greased bread pan and let it rise. I lost track of time on rising, and it rose too high. There was some deflation when it baked - for about 30 minutes on 350 - but it was still quite tasty, with flecks of flax seed and a little crunch on the crust from the wheat germ.

A high-carb day around here, and that makes me happy.

Cheddar Bacon Pinwheels

These were some of the yummiest rolls I've ever made, and I have to thank blogger extraordinaire Pattie Tierney of Olla-Podrida. Along with a richly varied collection of tempting recipes and beautiful table settings accompanied by well-written narratives, Pattie consistently presents the most beautiful breads on her blog, and many of them are made using her bread machine. This recipe is adapted from her Ham and Cheddar Rolls.

I started making yeast breads when I was a newlywed, and through the years I have made countless cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, kringles, loaves of bread, and pizza dough. I resisted buying a bread machine because I felt that my hands and mixer were more than adequate to the task of mixing and kneading. As I grow older my desire to bake and cook is waning as I long to spend more time quilting and creating in my loft. But we do still love homemade bread!

I was intrigued by the endless supply of delectable looking breads that Pattie attributed to her Sunbeam bread machine, so I asked her a few questions about using it. Last week (with Pattie egging me on) I just decided to do it, and my husband said "go for it", so I ordered it from Amazon, and it arrived Tuesday evening. Yesterday I threw the ingredients for the rolls into the machine, set it to "Dough", and away it went. One and one half hours later I had risen dough. I rolled it out, filled it with goodies, let it rise, and baked it. So easy!

Be sure to visit Pattie's tutorial with photos. Pattie made her rolls in a muffin tin, and I baked mine on a baking sheet to resemble cinnamon rolls. I changed the recipe slightly, adding some self-rising cornmeal and using whole wheat pastry flour instead of wheat flour. I love adding cornmeal because I love the texture and flavor it lends to a bread recipe. I forgot to buy ham, so I crumbled a couple pieces of cooked bacon over the dough, and I had no scallions so I used what I had on hand - dried chives. What resulted was a tender, buttery, savory, melt-in-your-mouth roll that rivaled any I've made in the past 40 years. My goal is to try every bread on Pattie's blog.

Cheddar Bacon Pinwheels
Adapted from the original Ham and Cheddar Rolls
My version produced 16 rolls

Dough:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup 1% milk
6 tablespoons shortening
3 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pkg dry yeast
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 extra-large eggs

Filling:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
crumbled bacon bits
2 tablespoons dried chives

Place dough ingredients into work bowl of bread machine in order suggested by manufacturer. Set machine on "Dough" setting and press "Start". When machine has completed dough-making cycle (90 minutes on mine) remove dough to lightly floured surface and roll into large rectangle. Spread with butter; sprinkle cheese evenly over buttered surface and top with bacon and chives. Beginning at long end, roll up as tightly as possible, pinching seam to seal. Slice into 1" thick pieces. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet in warm spot and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and leave in pan for 5-10 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blaack Cheese Rosemary Rolls

My sister-in-law sends us the most amazing gifts for Christmas - gifts such as Maytag cheese that make a foodie like me gasp with delight.



Last year was no exception. We received a wheel of Beekman 1802 Blaak, an exceptional cheese made from a 60/40 mix of goat and cow milk made on the farm of the Fabulous Beekman Boys in upstate New York. When it arrived in its unique wrap of black ash, wafting its sharply pungent aroma into my nostrils, I bravely cut a piece and was blown away by the smooth, creamy quality and delicious mildly tangy flavor - best cheese ever! The first night we had it with a nice loaf of Italian bread, fruit, and wine. I used it in everything, including grilled cheese sandwiches. Finally I shredded the remainder and froze it in little baggies, using it judiciously from time to time, sadly watching the number of baggies diminish.



Today I used the last bit of it in this fine recipe, which I found on Recipes for Divine Living. Blogger Andrea used Gruyere, which is probably what I will use hereafter, since I am out of the celebrated Blaack. I also used part buttermilk in my version, and my changes are reflected below. This is an outstanding recipe, producing beautifully crusted, light, fluffy interior, and the punch of that wonderful cheese and gentle bite of lemony rosemary.



I made 8 sandwich-sized buns and 8 dinner-sized rolls. The buns were perfect for our parmesan crusted tilapia sandwiches.


Blaack Cheese Rosemary Rolls
adapted from the original recipe at Recipes for Divine Living

1 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
2-1/2 cups shredded Blaack, Gruyere, or other savory cheese, divided
5 cups flour

Scald milks; remove from heat, add butter, and let cool to lukewarm. Combine water, sugar, and yeast; let stand 5 minutes.

Combine milk mixture, rosemary, salt, and eggs; beat at medium speed until blended. Beat in 2 cups cheese and yeast mixture. Gradually beat in 5 cups flour, switching to dough hook when dough is formed, and knead 5 minutes.

Place dough in well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled.

Punch dough down; turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 2 or 3 times. Shape into rolls or buns and place on lightly greased or parchment covered baking sheets. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush melted butter over rolls.

After I took this picture, I promptly ate half and unselfishly offered the other half to my husband. When I asked him what he thought, he was speechless and could only make "ummmmmm" sounds.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays, Happy Holidays,
While the merry bells keep ringing,
May your every wish come true

Here is a montage of my life lately.

Quilting
I began a Christmas quilt for my daughter in November and got distracted from it for a few weeks. She knows she will get it early 2013, as I obviously did not finish in time for Christmas 2012. It is pieced and not yet sandwiched. It is the red and white quilt in the collage, and if you look closely you can spot Katy the kitten sitting on it. I designed the disappearing nine-patch variation using a quilt panel and charm pack in Nature's Gift by Deb Strain for Moda.

I also have a Christmas table runner that has been in the works since 2010, right after my Mom passed away. It was a project from my beginner quilting class featuring four blocks - nine patch, churn dash, Ohio star, and rail fence. It is finally sandwiched, but I still need to quilt and bind it. I used Fruitcake by Basic Grey for Moda for the blocks and for the backing.

After seeing my work, my husband asked me to start a quilt to hang in our entry! Yay!

Christmas baking
Danish Kringles are a baking tradition for me every Christmas, and this year I made them for my husband's office. The recipe is here on my old blog, For Goodness Sake.

It would not be Christmas without a batch of Granny Mitchell's sugar cookies. Sometimes plain with sugar sprinkled on top and sometimes iced, they are a tender, not-to-sweet version made with buttermilk and lots of vanilla and nutmeg.

I made a pecan pie to celebrate my daughter's boyfriend's birthday when they visited at Christmas. I use a different recipe almost every time I make pecan pie and love them all. This is the recipe I used this time:

Pecan Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (if you don't have a recipe, I highly recommend Betty Crocker's classic recipe, which I have used for 40 years!

Filling
1 cup Karo syrup (I used part Lyle's Golden Syrup)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
1 cup toasted pecans

Mix filling ingredients by hand in large bowl and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake 45-55 minutes, covering crust with strips of aluminum foil as necessary to prevent excessive browning. Pie is done when knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Christmas
We enjoyed the Christmas season with an Open House in early December and with our family during Christmas week. We got everything decorated for the Open House, which was "come and go or come and stay"; about 40 guests came and stayed, playing pool and eating. I served appetizers, one of which was applewood smoked ham on these pumpkin biscuits, and desserts. We enjoyed it so much we are already planning for next Christmas.

Our daughter and her boyfriend drove in from Dallas to stay a few days, and we attended Christmas Eve services at our church after a fun day of last minute shopping in some of Houston's finest weather - sunshine, low 70s, low humidity, no wind. Christmas Day was with the rest of the family - our son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren - it could only have been better had we been in Hawaii.

Also in the photo montage are Buddy the dog and Katy the kitten - decked out for Christmas, the old blue Christmas bell from the 1960s that adorns our tree every year, and a beautiful December sunrise from Katy, Texas.

I hope your holidays have been happy, healthy, and full of hope.

Country Crust Bread

I've been making this bread since the late 1980s when I purchased The Star of Texas Cookbook, published by Houston Junior League in 1983. It has never failed to make a fine loaf of bread, and I have also used the dough for dinner and cinnamon rolls. This time I subbed a little rye flour for the regular flour, and I love the extra nuttiness it lends to the flavor. I halved the recipe for a medium sized loaf, perfect for our grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches tonight and for toast in the morning, buttery and dripping with local organic honey.

Country Crust Bread
from The Star of Texas Cookbook

2 packages dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used organic virgin coconut oil)
1 tablespoon salt
6 - 6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour

Combine all ingredients except 3 cups flour and beat on low speed. Add remaining flour gradually until soft dough forms and mix with dough hook or knead by hand 10 minutes.

Place in greased large bowl, cover, and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down; turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half or thirds. Place in lightly greased loaf pans – 2 regular (9X5) or 3 small (8X4). Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake on lower oven rack 25 - 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to a wire rack, and brush loaves with melted butter. Let cool completely - about 1 hour – before slicing.

Roasted Banana Yeast Bread

I have to give the credit for this idea to Sonya, of Home Cooking With Sonya, who has the most wonderful ways with banana breads and banana muffins and recently blogged about a beautiful loaf of Yeasted Banana Sandwich Bread. I had just read Sonya's post about Roasted Banana Ice Cream and was planning to roast my almost-too-ripe bananas for that recipe when I saw her yeasted banana bread post, and an idea was born - to put roasted bananas in the banana yeast bread!

Sonya credits King Arthur Flour with the recipe, and do visit both her blog as well as King Arthur's website to see not only photos of their glorious loaves but also the original recipe. My recipe below reflects my changes, which were to roast the bananas (as Sonya does for her ice cream) and to include ingredients such as flax seed, coconut oil, and whole oats.

I just ate a piece fresh from the oven, and it is is moist, not too sweet, and has an almost savory note from the roasted bananas - so good. I can't wait to have it toasted in the morning!

Roasted Banana Yeast Bread
adapted from the blog of Home Cooking with Sonya, originally from King Arthur Flour

2 medium very ripe bananas
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3-1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1/4 cup whole oats
1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon organic virgin coconut oil
1 cup lukewarm 1 percent milk

Slice bananas into 1/2-inch slices and toss with brown sugar and diced butter in 2-quart baking dish. Bake 30 minutes, stirring once during baking, until bananas are browned and cooked through. Cool to lukewarm.

Whisk together flour, flax seed, oats, yeast, and salt; set aside.

Combine honey, oil and milk and mix on low speed; add cooled banana mixture and mix on medium until bananas are well blended. Slowly add in flour mixture and combine to form a shaggy dough. Knead with a dough hook for 5 minutes. Place dough into lightly greased bowl; cover and let rise one hour.

Light grease an 8 X 4 inch loaf pan; place a narrow piece of parchment paper in bottom of pan for ease of removal. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface, shape into a tightly rolled log, and place into loaf pan. (Please see King Arthur's website for a wonderful tutorial about this.) Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow dough to rise 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until full and rounded.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake 35-40 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack.

Yummy Hamburger Buns

With apologies to Lulu, whose blog Let Them Eat Cake! (and Ice Cream) I faithfully stalk, I have renamed her 40 Minute Hamburger Buns to Yummy Hamburger Buns.

With no rise time in the original recipe, these buns can indeed be 40 minute buns, but I went ahead and included the rise because I added a bit of whole wheat pastry flour, and I wanted to insure a light texture.

These are very yummy buns - light, slightly sweet, and the perfect vehicle for a juicy hamburger patty. I used the egg wash suggested and sprinkled half with kosher flake salt and half with Tastefully Simple Bacon Bacon.

My changes, reflected in my version below, were to add a teaspoon of salt, substitute whole wheat pastry flour for one-half cup of the flour, and use honey instead of sugar. I also used the water I drained from soaking wheat berries for sprouted wheat bread, so that added extra flavor!

Yummy Hamburger Buns
Slightly adapted from the original
Makes 8 hamburger buns

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
approximately 3 cups bread flour

Egg wash: 1 egg, beaten, plus 1 tablespoon water

In bowl of electric mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water; allow to stand 5 minutes, or until bubbly. Add oil, honey, egg, salt, whole wheat pastry flour, and a cup of regular flour and mix on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough, changing to dough hook when dough begins to cling to regular attachment. I added flour until the dough was still just slightly sticky.

Place dough in greased bowl, cover, and let rise about 30 minutes, or until doubled. Turn out onto floured surface and divide into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, place about 3-4 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment, and flatten each ball gently with a floured hand.

Cover flattened balls and let rest for about 20 minutes, or until puffed. Brush tops of buns with egg wash and sprinkle with kosher salt, sea salt, or other preferred topping. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.