CHRISTMAS BLOSSOMS
Years ago, Fr. Dominic Garramone (AKA the Bread Monk had a show on PBS. I'm sure I'm not the only person who got hooked on his show. Unfortunately, it has since gone off the air, at least where I live. But his cook books are still in circulation, and you can always go to his website (above).
This was one of the recipes on his show.
Makes 18 rolls
Ingredients
Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope FLEISCHMANN’S RapidRise Yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup very warm milk (120 to 130 degrees)
1 large egg
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
Powdered sugar
Pecan Filling
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg white
Directions
In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt. Gradually add milk to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, divide butter into 2 (1/2 cup) portions. Place each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper. With rolling pin, flatten each to 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Refrigerate.
Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to 12 x 8-inch rectangle. Place one portion of butter at the center. Fold first third of dough over butter. Place other portion of butter on top; fold last third of dough over butter. Place in a plastic bag; refrigerate 30 minutes. Repeat rolling, folding and refrigerating processes twice.
Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 18 x 9-inch rectangle. Cut into 18 (3 x 3-inch) squares. Spoon out 2 teaspoons of Pecan Filling over center of each square. Place each square in lightly greased 2-1/2-inch muffin cups. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Let cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from cups; cool on wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Pecan Filling: In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, pecans, vanilla extract, and egg white. Stir to blend well.
CRANBERRY CORNBREAD
This is from Vallery Lomas in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. It begins, "Cranberries meet cornbread in this one-bowl fall mashup. A crunchy golden edge forms around the cornbread thanks to the hot skillet the batter is poured into. The mixture crisps in the oven-melted butter that coats the pan, resulting in browning and caramelization that delivers maximum flavor. While baking, the fresh cranberries soften, ensuring a burst of juicy tartness with each bite. Use either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal, as coarse varieties make for an overly gritty bite."
Time: 45 minutes; Yield: 8 servings
To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022718-cranberry-cornbread.
Ingredients
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for serving
1-1/4 cups fine- or medium-grind yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
Directions
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, and place the skillet in the oven to melt the butter.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the eggs and buttermilk, and whisk until combined.
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. The butter should be completely melted. Pour about three-quarters of the melted butter into the cornmeal batter, and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the hot skillet, and sprinkle the cranberries evenly over the top.
Bake until the cornbread is browned around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot with butter.
EGG CINNAMON BREAD
I've been making this for years – actually, for decades – and almost always gotten rave reviews on this recipe. It got to the point that several people have specifically requested this recipe – and, if I'm visiting, it's pretty much expected that I'll bake up a batch. This recipe makes three loaves.
Ingredients
2 envelopes yeast
1 C warm water
1-2 T honey
1 C milk (Note: 1 cup soy milk can be used in place of the milk)
1/2 C margarine (1 stick)
2 eggs, beaten
6-7 C unbleached white flour
1/4-1/2 C margarine (1 stick)
2-3 C cinnamon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
Stir honey into warm water. Stir in yeast. Set aside.
Heat milk until warm. Pour into large bowl and add 1/2 C margarine, cut into 4 pieces. Stir, allowing margarine to melt. Cool to room temperature. Stir in salt, yeast mixture and eggs. Add flour, 2 cups at a time until stiff. Place dough on floured towel and knead for 4-5 minutes.
Wash and dry bowl. Oil dough, place in bowl, cover with clean towel and place out of draft in a warm place. Allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until double.
Melt 1/4-1/2 C margarine. Grease 3 loaf pans. Punch dough down, then divide into three sections. Roll out with rolling pin, then brush with melted margarine. Spread cinnamon sugar over melted margarine, then roll all three sections into loaves. Place in pans, place clean towel over pans, and allow to rise again for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Remove towel, then place loaf pans into preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
PUMPKIN BREAD
This yumminess, from Betty Crocker, begins, "We 'fall' for this Pumpkin Bread recipe over and over again. Fire up your coziest playlist, grab your baking gear and get ready for the most incredible homemade pumpkin bread of your life. This pumpkin loaf makes for a great gift, from housewarmings to a teacher appreciation moment, go on and give a little! The best part? With only 95 calories per serving, our moist pumpkin bread won't derail your diet. So have another piece. After all, pumpkin season doesn't last forever."
Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes; Makes 24 servings
To view this online, click here.
Ingredients
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1-2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins, if desired
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches, or 1 loaf pan 9x5x3 inches, with shortening.
Stir together pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into pans.
Bake 8-inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9-inch loaf 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days.
Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens
tip 1
There is a significant difference between an 8-inch versus a 9-inch loaf pan. The volume each holds will affect how much batter is needed and how high a bread will bake. A large 9x5-inch loaf pan will hold nearly double the amount of batter that an 8x4-inch pan will.
tip 2
Greasing just the bottom of your loaf pan and not the sides will help your Pumpkin Bread to form a loaf with gently rounded tops, without creating ridges along the edges.
Tip 3
To ensure success in this pumpkin loaf recipe, use canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix). Canned pumpkin is not only convenient but provides a consistent texture, perfect for baking.
Tip 4
Go ahead and leave the raisins out if you don't like them. This pumpkin nut bread still will be delicious!
tip 5
You can swap in pieces of dried fruit (cranberries or cherries) or mini chocolate chips for the raisins and nuts or in tandem with them. Try chopped cashews with mini chocolate chips, or walnuts with dried cherries! Just be sure to use the same amount of ingredients.
tip 6
The best way to measure flour is to first stir the flour a bit before spooning into the measuring cup. Fill until heaping and then sweep the excess off the top with the flat edge of a butter knife.
More About This Recipe
"When your favorite coffee shop starts advertising the first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, you know that autumn is truly here at last. Why not make it official by stirring up a batch of this easy pumpkin bread? You don’t need an electric mixer or any fancy equipment—just a bowl, a spoon and a loaf pan. The best part about this pumpkin bread recipe is that it’s infinitely customizable. You can stir chocolate chips into the batter, sprinkle powdered sugar or spread Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting on top of the baked loaf. If you’d like to add freshly baked homemade pumpkin bread to your autumn cooking, check out Betty’s best pumpkin bread recipe collection where you’ll find time-tested favorites and new flavor twists."
Nutrition: 95 Calories, 4 g Total Fat, 2 g Protein, 14 g Total Carbohydrate
BUTTERMILK SUGAR BISCUITS
This is from Briana Holt and adapted by Eric Kim in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. For this recipe, Eric wrote, "These wonderful hearty biscuits, from the brilliant baker Briana Holt of Tandem Coffee + Bakery in Portland, Maine, are crusty on the outside but tender on the inside, with distinct layers that are fun to peel apart while eating. Different from fluffy, airy Southern biscuits, Ms. Holt’s biscuits are like sturdy, salty-sweet Tempur-Pedic pillows that bounce back when you press into them. At Tandem, these beauties are split and served slathered with butter and fruit jam or, in an especially divine combination, cream cheese and hot pepper jelly."
Time: 1 hour; Yield: 9 biscuits
This was featured in "The Best Biscuits Outside of the South", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024061-buttermilk-sugar-biscuits.
Ingredients
1 cup cold unsalted butter
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1-3/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
1-1/4 cups cold buttermilk
Melted butter and flaky sea salt (both optional), for finishing
Preparation
Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
Coarsely grate the butter onto a plate, then freeze until cold and hard, at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using a spoon, toss together until all of the butter is coated with flour.
Add half the buttermilk and toss with the spoon. When incorporated, add the rest of the buttermilk and gently toss again, without mashing together or overmixing, until the dry ingredients are lightly hydrated throughout. The mixture will be crumbly.
Flour a clean surface and dump the mixture directly onto it. Using your hands, gently press the crumbs together and then use a floured rolling pin or empty wine bottle to roll the mass gently but firmly into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Fold the dough in half: Using a bench scraper, lift the top half off the surface and fold it over the bottom half. This step may be crumbly and messy at first, but just go for it and fold what you can down from the top. Repeat this roll-and-fold motion 5 times, flouring the surface and dough as needed and using the bench scraper to straighten the edges as needed. The dough will come together as you roll it. Rotate the mixture after each fold to create a square.
Build the final layer: Fold the dough in half one last time, then roll to about 1-1/2 inches thick to create a 6-inch square, using the bench scraper to straighten out the edges.
Using the bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut straight down into the square to create a 3-by-3 grid of 9 squares, then place them on your sheet pan, upside down if you’d like taller biscuits. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until risen, golden brown on top, and slightly pale on the sides. Don’t worry if a couple of the biscuits tip over or if melted butter pools underneath. Brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
FLAXSEED BREAD
Here’s another recipe from Fr. Dominic Garramone (aka The Bread Monk). I first ran across his show, Breaking Bread with Fr. Dominic, years ago on PBS. The show has since left television (at least, as far as I can tell), but you can still check out his recipes and books on his website (above).
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
1-3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 envelope FLEISCHMANN'S RapidRise Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water 3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 large egg
1/4 cup flaxseed
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
Directions
In large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, whole wheat flour, undissolved yeast and salt. Heat milk, water, honey and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees). Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg, flaxseed and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
Roll dough to 12x8-inch rectangle. Beginning on short end, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Pinch seam and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in greased 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Brush with melted butter.
