St. Joseph’s Day Bread

(Makes 1 loaf – approx. 18-inches in length)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup warm milk, 105 – 115 degrees F.

1 (1/4-ounce) package dry active yeast

3 cups bread flour, divided

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon anise seed or 1 teaspoon anise extract

Egg wash: 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Sesame seeds

Instructions:

Stir the yeast into the warm milk and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add 1 cup of flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Beat the mixture with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, anise seed or extract, and another cup of flour.

Beat for 2 more minutes.

Change from the paddle attachment to a dough hook.

Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together. You may not need to add all of the flour. Then allow the dough hook to knead the dough on medium for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 20 – 22-inch rope. Place the 2 ropes on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Loosely twist the ropes together, tucking the ends under. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 – 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the loaf with the eggwash and sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe Submitted by Jesse

Irish soda bread is a wonderful traditional Irish quick bread with currants, caraway seeds and honey. Here is a simple make ahead mix recipe that is wonderful for gift giving or to whip up an Irish soda bread in just a few moments time.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. whole-wheat flour

1 c. dried currants or raisins

1/2 c. light-brown sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp caraway seeds (optional)

Measure all ingredients into a large ziploc bag, seal & shake well. (This makes 1 package of Irish Soda Bread Mix)

Irish Soda Bread Mix

1 package Irish Soda Bread Mix (as listed above)

1/2 c. butter softened

1 egg

1 c. buttermilk

Instructions:

Cut the butter into the bread mix working it in with your fingers or a mixer until it resembles cornmeal.

In a small bowl beat egg & buttermilk together and pour into the mix. Stir just enough to moisten evenly, but don’t over mix or your bread will be tough.

Shape into a high round ball and place on a buttered cookie sheet. Make a criss-cross slash across the top Bake at 350F for 45-55 minutes.

Cool before slicing.

Recipe Submitted by Erin 

Crack Bread

It’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, it’s worse. If you love bacon please read on for the best “worse for you recipe”. I suggest not eating it every week as your cholesterol would shoot through the roof.

Here’s what you’ll need, you have my permission to drool at any time, just not on the keyboard.

 Ingredients: 

1 loaf round artisan bread – my personal favorite is seedless rye

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Powder

1 pack of bacon – please don’t use turkey bacon, you’ll need the drippings later

1 block of the sharpest cheddar that you like – I’m in NY so I like it über sharp

When you buy your bread, make sure that it’s a little on the firm side, it’s hard to cut the checkerboard pattern into your bread.

 Instructions: 

1. Cut your bread horizontally in one inch strips

2. Cut your bread vertically in one inch strips

3. Cook your bacon nice and crispy

4. Cut your cheese (no fart jokes please) into 1/4 inch chunks

5. Crumble your bacon into nummy nummy crumbles and stuff in the cracks of your bread

6. Cram the cheese chunks into the bread crannies

7. Carefully mix the bacon drippings and ranch dressing together and drizzle all over the bread

8. Cradle the bread in between two sheets of foil to cover, bake at 400 degrees for 15 min

9. Carefully remove the bread from oven and uncover

10. Cart it back to the oven for 10 more minutes uncovered.

11. Count the seconds before you won’t burn your mouth off and grab a piece and then enjoy.

AJ’s Tip for no fuss no mess bacon: Cook bacon in oven on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crispy. No splattering of grease all over your clothing, popping on your skin. OUCH! No mess in your stove, it’s a good thing.

Recipe Submitted By AJ

Low Fat Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup honey

2 eggs, beaten

3 mashed overripe bananas

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Recipe Submitted by Susie

Sim’s Personal Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour (in various combinations)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 cups water

Instructions:

Easiest:

Mix all of that together in a bowl, cover it and let ir rise for 3 hours.

Knead the crap out of it, then shape it into you loaf shape. I like round. I shape it on a board dusted with flour, and then let jot rise in a bowl or basket that has either been dusted with flour, corn meal, sprayed with oil, or lined with a floured cloth. All of these work a little different, and it kind of depends on what works best for you. Let it rise for an hour and an half.

I preheat my over to 500 degrees. I bake on either a pizza stone, or in a large dutch oven, depending on the bread shape, and how I want the crust to come out. So, as you preheat your over, preheat the thing that you are going to bake your bread in/on.

Take your pizza stone or dutch over out of the over. It should been hotter than you want to deal with, and you will hurt yourself badly. Remember later, that your baking scars are a mark of merit and worth. Be proud.

Carefully place your risen and shaped dough into, or on your pizza stone or dutch oven. This is your chance to get all fancy, scoring the top with a sharp serrated knife, or better still, a razor. make it pretty, people will be impressed.

In your are baking on a pizza stone, drop the heat to 450, and bake for 45 minutes. You can also place a small pirex or stoneware ramekin of water in the over to help develop a crustier load, or don’t, for a chewier crust.

In a dutch oven, bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then reduce the temperature to 450, and do 15 with the lid off.

Let the bread cool on a rack for a few minutes. You will burn yourself again, taking it out, but the pain is nothing when in the presence of freshly baked bread.

 Fancy:

The night before you want to bake, take 1/2 cup of flour, and 1/2 of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast, and mix them in a bowl. This will allow all kinds of delightful sciency things to happen, that develop flavor. Then, reduce your recipe by those amounts, and mix your pre-fermented glop back in.

In you are making whole wheat, rye, or some other more interesting kind of bread, consider doing this pre-ferment with that flour. For example, for rye bread, mix 1/2 cup of rye flour with 1/2 cup of water. and a half teaspoon of yeast/ 12-18 hours later, mix that with 3 cups of bread or all purpose flour, 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of yeast, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt (I use kosher). Also, throw in a couple teaspoons of toasted caraway seeds, because it is better that way. Then follow the basic instructions. You will be happy. Whole wheat, and even more interesting white bread use the same method, just without the seeds. Well, maybe sesame seeds, but, only if you are into that.

Also, you can pre-ferment more of your dough, for more interesting textures and flavors. You don’t even have to add the yeast in the pre-ferment. It is less predictable that way, but if you want predictable, you would not be making those awesome baker’s burn scars.

Recipe Submitted by Simeon

Erica’s Muffin Recipe

 Ingredients: 

1c. milk 1/2c. melted butter 1 egg

2c. flour 1/2c. sugar 1 T. baking powder 1/2t. salt

1c. berries (black or blue work great!)

Instructions:

Combine the wet ingredients. Sift together the dry ones and add the wet into them. Stir until just mixed. Add berries and fold into the batter.

Make sure to not overmix because the will get chewy. The less stirring, the better for the best-textured muffins!

Scoop into muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 18-20 mins. Let them cool a bit, smother with butter and enjoy!

Recipe Submitted by Erica