Herb Batter Bread ~ Quick and Easy

Herb Batter Bread ~ Quick and Easy
As shared from the kitchen of Once Upon a Plate by Mari
www.onceuponaplate1.com
Makes one 8" or 9" round cake pan (or equivalent)

This is a recipe that dates back to at least 1970, I first began making it while in high school. I cannot tell you the number of times I have made it since then! It's an easy, friendly dough to work with that produces a good little bread that smells wonderful as it bakes, and it's delicious warm, or toasted the next day. You can use any herbs that you like; fresh or dried, (or a combination of herbs that pleases you.)  I sometimes make this with half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour.

You can mix this by hand, or use your stand mixer.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons butter or margarine
1 package yeast, (or a scant 1 tablespoon dry yeast)
1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
1 tablespoon dried/instant minced onion
1/2 to 1  teaspoon dried herbs, or more (your choice; dill, rosemary, etc.)
        OR 1 to 3 teaspoons minced fresh herbs
Melted butter
coarse salt

Method:
Heat milk in a small pan over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge of pan
(don't boil), remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer), dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add cooled milk mixture. Stir flour into yeast mixture. Add dried/instant minced onions and dill or
other herbs, stir all together until well blended, about 2 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place until tripled in bulk; about 45 minutes. Stir down and beat vigorously about  30 seconds. Turn into a greased 8-inch cake pan, or 9-inch pie pan. * Bake in a 350ºF oven center rack about 1 hour. Brush top crust with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt (salt is optional).

* Once batter is in the pan, before putting in the oven, I always allow it to rise another 45 minutes. This step is NOT necessary, but I like the texture the extra rise produces.

Just wait until you smell this bread baking in your own kitchen ~ YUM.  Enjoy!

Baked Blueberry French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

Blueberry French Toast

As shared by Mari @ Once Upon a Plate (www.onceuponaplate1.com)

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread, sliced and cut into 1 inch cubes

2  (8 ounce packages) cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes (I use 1 package)

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed

12 large eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 cups milk

Method:

Grease or spray with cooking oil a 13" x 9" baking pan.  

Place half the bread cubes evenly in the pan.  Scatter cream cheese over bread and then scatter blueberries over all.  Arrange remaining bread cubes over the top.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, syrup and milk.  Pour over bread mixture.  Cover and chill overnight.

Next day, bake casserole at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, covered with foil.  Remove foil after 30 minutes and cook for 30 more minutes, until puffy.    While casserole bakes, make Blueberry Syrup.* 

Top blueberry casserole with some of the Blueberry Syrup, and pass the rest at the table.

Blueberry Syrup

1 cup sugar (I use about 3/4 cup sugar)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup water

1 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon butter

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water over medium heat.  Cook 5 minutes until thickened, stirring.  Add 1 cup blueberries and simmer, stirring for 10 minutes.  Add butter and blend.

*You can make the blueberry syrup one to two days ahead if you desire, refrigerate until

serving time.(Best served warm.)

Enjoy!

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French Bread ~ Two ways (Bread Machine Dough)

(You can have softer or crispier crust on these loaves ~see below for method).

As shared by Once Upon a Plate by Mari (www.onceuponaplate1.com)

(Crispy Crust: Brush with egg wash only during last 5 minutes of bake time.)

Makes two 13 to 15" baguettes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons dry milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups bread flour

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 egg white, whisked with 1 Tablespoon water (see below for use)

Add first 8 ingredients to bread machine.

Select the dough cycle. 

(Or use the bread setting of your machine, but remove the dough before the baking cycle begins.)  Form into 2 baguette loaves.

Spray or lightly oil a large cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper; sprinkle with cornmeal.

Form loaves: Transfer dough (it will be soft) to a lightly floured board. 

Sprinkle with a little flour; cut dough into 2 portions. Roll each portion into a rectangle about 12 to 15 inches wide (add more flour as needed). 

-

Starting at long end, roll up; pinch seams well. Repeat with next roll. 

-Place loaves on prepared cookie sheet; cover with clean dish towel and let rise another hour. 

Preheat oven to 400°. Place a pie plate on the lower rack of the oven; add about 1 inch of boiling water to the pie plate.  With a very sharp knife or razor blade make 

3 or 4 diagonal slashes (almost parallel to surface of bread) along the length of 

the loaves just before placing in the oven.

For softer crust: Brush loaves with egg wash/water mixture when you put the bread into the oven. 

For crispy crust: About 5 minutes before loaves are done, brush with egg white and water mixture. 

Bake bread for 15 minutes; lower heat to 350°. Bake for another 25 minutes. 

NOTE:

Tent with foil if bread is browning too quickly for your liking, bake until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

You may need to adjust baking time; mine bake in a little less than 25 minutes during the 350º bake.

Enjoy!

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Jacques Pepin's Easy One-Pot Bread

As shared from the kitchen of Once Upon a Plate by Mari

www.onceuponaplate1.com

Note: It is crucial to use a non-stick pot in order to keep this a one-pot recipe ~ I used a 4-quart saucepan. (Although you could mix up the dough in a bowl, then transfer to a greased baking vessel ~ that would defeat the idea of a simple one-pot bread, yes?)

Here's what you need and how to do it:
Non-stick pot

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups lukewarm water

2 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

4 cups flour

Method:

In a non-stick pot combine all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Place lid or cover on pot and proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes.
Break proofed dough down (deflate), replace lid and place pot in the refrigerator overnight; 10 to 14 hours or so.   As Jacques suggests, I mix up the dough about an hour before retiring for the evening, then it's ready to bake in the morning.
When ready to bake, remove lid and place pot in (preheated) 400º(F) oven ~ bake for about 40 minutes until deep golden brown. If you're not sure, an instant read thermometer inserted in the hot-from-the oven bread should read between 190º to 200ºF. 
It's excellent toasted, and you can also vary the recipe by adding herbs of your choice, minced onion, roasted garlic, etc. to the dough while mixing the flour, yeast and water together.

Jacques give a great tutorial for making the bread during  the first few minutes of this youtube video from his series on PBS "Fast Food My Way", episode 209:

Hope you enjoy!

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Cherry Tomato, Cheese and Herb Pizzettas (5" to 6" mini pizzas)

Cherry Tomato, Cheese and Herb Pizzettas (5" to 6" mini pizzas)
As shared from the kitchen of Once Upon a Plate by Mari
www.onceuponaplate1.com
Makes 6 to 8 pizzettas (depending upon how dough is divided)
Dough Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups (375g) 00 flour* and more as needed
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Mix Dough:
Mix yeast, sugar and water in a bowl; stir to combine and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes until bubbles appear on surface.
In a large bowl place flour, salt and olive oil and make a well in the center ~ add the yeast mixture and combine together with your well floured hands. Mix until a dough forms.  Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead for 4 minutes or so until dough is smooth and elastic.
Divide dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces, place on lightly floured tray and cover with a clean damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until portions have doubled in size.
Form each dough ball into a round and roll/stretch/pat out on a lightly floured surface.
Pizzetta toppings:
Mozzarella, fresh or aged, or a combination
Cherry tomatoes, some whole, some split in half, (and some on trusses/vine if desired.)
Olive oil
Salt Pepper
Herbs, dried or fresh
Optional:  Capers, rinsed, sliced or chopped flavorful olives, sliced hot pepper such as serrano or jalapeno.
To assemble and bake Pizzettas: 
Preheat oven to 425˚ F
Brush baking tray with oil, place shaped pizzetta dough on oiled tray. Top dough with a thin drizzle of olive oil, mozzarella, salt and pepper place in oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove tray from oven - sprinkle cherry tomatoes (& tomatoes on trusses if using) over cheese, (and dried herbs, if using), drizzle with olive oil. Return to oven & continue baking until tomatoes are heated through and shriveling, cheese has melted and pizzetta crust is golden brown.  Remove pizzettas from oven and if using FRESH herbs, sprinkle over top,  and optional garnishes if desired.  Serve right away.

If you use tomatoes still on the vine, just pull the vine stem and the tomatoes usually release very easily. ;)
Makes 6 to 8 small pizzas.

* 00 flour is superfine flour, preferred for pizza dough ~ it's wonderful stuff!
I cannot source it locally so I buy it from amazon.com, Ten 2.2 pound bags.

Pizza dough recipe adapted from Donna Hay.

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Brioche Buns ~ No special pan needed

Brioche Buns ~ No special pan needed
As shared from Once Upon a Plate by Mari
www.onceuponaplate1.com
     Recipe yields 12 buns (approx. 3-inches in diameter)
     These make great breakfast, dinner and sandwich buns !
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use a scant 1/4 cup sugar)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
Egg wash- 1 large egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water
Optional: 1/4 cup poppy seeds for sprinkling tops
Method: (I do all the kneading with stand mixer & dough hook)
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
Dissolve yeast in warm water, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour in order to form a loose paste. Allow to rise in a warm place until the batter has risen and fallen (this usually takes about 1 hour.)
Add eggs, sugar, salt and remaining flour to the fallen yeast mixture. Knead the dough until it is smooth. (I use the stand mixer with dough hook inserted.)  Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. Add the soft butter and knead until it is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic. Allow dough to rise in a bowl in a warm place until doubled; 1 to 2 hours. Cover bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls, place on the prepared sheet pan. Allow to rise until almost doubled. Brush tops of the buns with egg wash (and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired.)
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden on the top and golden on the bottom of the buns.

Recipe adapted from Maria Sinskey




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Fennel-Oregano Breadsticks

Fennel Breadsticks
As shared from the kitchen of Once Upon a Plate by Mari
www.onceuponaplate1.com

Makes about 30 breadsticks

These will probably be the easiest homemade breadstick you'll ever make. The texture is not rock hard, either, it is similar to pizza dough. And no rise time involved!


This time I added about 1 tablespoon of dried Oregano to the dough and served the finished breadsticks with Dungeness Crab-Cheese Fondue, but they are great all by themselves, along with a salad or soup, or as an addition to the bread basket.


1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup good-quality olive oil
3 to 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 scant tablespoon salt (I always use Kosher or Sea Salt for this recipe)
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
Optional: additional 1 tablespoon dried herb of your choice,  I used Oregano


You can mix the dough in a large bowl, or use your food processor as follows:


Place warm water and yeast in bowl of food processor, pulse a couple of times to blend. Add olive oil, flour and salt and process 2 or 3 minutes until a ball forms. The dough should be rather sticky. (If necessary add a little more water if mixture is dry and doesn't form a ball.)


Dump out onto a well floured work surface and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel seeds and oregano, fold them into the dough with your hands. At this point you can wrap the dough air-tight and refrigerate overnight.


Or continue immediately:  When ready to bake preheat oven to 450* (F). Flatten dough on floured surface and roll to a thickness of about 1/2-inch.  With a sharp knife cut dough into thin sticks (about 1/4" wide.) Place strips on an oiled shallow baking pan, with CUT side up.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes or so, then bake in hot oven 7 to 10 minutes  until they puff slightly and become barely golden colored around the edges.  Serve hot or at room temperature.


Hope you enjoy!


Recipe adapted from "Christina's Cookbook" by Christina Orchid


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