Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
¼ cup oil
½ cup milk
1 egg, beaten
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Approx. 1 cup blueberries

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400. Beat egg. Stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be a little lumpy. Add the blueberries gently after the ingredients are mixed.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar after baking

Buttermilk Cornbread

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

Mix together dry ingredients in bowl. Stir in wet ingredients until lumps are gone. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes in greased 8 or 9 inch square pan.

Best Ever Banana Bread

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

5 overripe bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp wheat germ

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 2 loaf pans. Cream together the shortening and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer or food processor. Add the eggs and bananas; blend until the bananas are thoroughly mashed. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a separate bowl; stir in the wheat germ. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and blend until just mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, dividing it evenly. Bake for 50 minutes. The bread is done when the top springs back after being pressed in the center with fingertips.

*Note: I only cooked my bread for about 45 minutes, and it was still slightly overdone.

Herbes de Provence Bread

From Belle of the Kitchen

1 cup Warm Water
1-½ teaspoon Sugar
1-½ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
2-½ cups Flour
1-½ teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3-½ teaspoons Herbes De Provence (or Italian Herb Mix, Or Your Own Favorite Herb Mix)
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper

Using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes, or until bubbly. Add 1/2 cup flour, the salt, olive oil, herbs and pepper and mix, on medium speed, for a minute or two. Gradually add the rest of the flour, mixing on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated, and the dough starts to pull away from the bowl, about 6 minutes. Grease a clean bowl, and transfer the dough to the greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour.
Press the dough down, and transfer to a baking sheet. Form the dough into a loaf shape, cover with saran wrap sprayed with cooking spray, and let the dough rise for another hour. Carefully remove the saran wrap and bake the dough at 375° for about 30 minutes.

English Muffin Toasting Bread

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups warm milk (120 to 130 degrees)
1/2 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
*Cornmeal

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease two 8-1/2 in. x 4-1/2 in. x 2-1/2 in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans immediately to cool on wire racks.

Overnight Dinner Rolls

INGREDIENTS
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together yeast, milk and sugar. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Mix eggs, butter and salt into yeast mixture. Mix in flour, 2 cups at a time. Cover with wax paper. Let dough stand at room temperature overnight.
In the morning, divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 9 inch round circle. Cut each round into 12 pie shaped wedges. Roll up each wedge starting from wide end to the tip. Place on greased cookie sheets. Let stand until ready to bake.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Beer Bread

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups White Flour *
1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter (Melted)
12 Oz. Beer (you can use whatever kind you like)

*(Next time I would probably add a tsp of salt in or something since I thought it definitely needed it. Maybe it depends on the type of beer you use though?)

Directions
Preheat oven 375 degrees F.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Add beer and mix thoroughly until dough is still.
Place dough in a lightly greased loaf pan.
Drizzle the melted butter over the top
Bake until golden brown (approx. 60 minutes).
Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.

*Tip from ZestyCook.com: Sifting flour for bread recipes is a must. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a “hard biscuit”. If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to place the flour into the 1 cup measure.

Hearth Bread

From King Arthur Flour

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)
5 1/2 to 6 cups All-Purpose Flour (*I used half whole wheat flour)
cornmeal
boiling water

To mix: Mix together the first four ingredients. Let this stand until the yeast, sugar and salt are dissolved. Gradually add the flour to the liquid and mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead. (This may be a little messy, but don't give up!)

Knead It: Fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. Press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. After each push, rotate the dough 90°. Repeat this process in a rhythmic, rocking motion for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking. Let the dough rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl. Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes.

Let It Rise: Return the dough to the bowl and turn it over once to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.Shape it: Punch down the dough with your fist and briefly knead out any air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape into two Italian- or French-style loaves. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the loaves rest for 5 minutes. (**From this point on I followed the instructions for a lighter, crustier bread...I figured that since I used half whole wheat flour, the bread would need the extra rising time.)

Bake it: Lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally and brush them with cold water. Place on rack in a cold oven with a roasting pan full of boiling water on the oven bottom. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch.

**For a lighter, crustier bread, let your shaped loaves rise for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven and roasting pan with water to 500°F for 15 minutes. Brush the loaves with cold water, place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 400°F and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and devour!

Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water*
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/2 cup orange juice
5 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3 3/4 Whole Wheat Flour

*Use 2 tablespoons less water in summer (or in a humid environment), 2 tablespoons more in winter (or in a dry climate).

Directions
1) Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes, till it becomes puffy. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step.

2) Combine the yeast/water with the remaining ingredients, and mix and knead—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—until you've made a cohesive dough. If you're using a stand mixer, knead at low speed for about 7 minutes. Note that 100% whole wheat dough will never become smooth and supple like dough made with all-purpose flour; it'll feel more like clay under your hands, and may appear a bit rough.

3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow it to rise till it's expanded and looks somewhat puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Note that dough kneaded in a bread machine will rise faster and higher than bread kneaded in a mixer, which in turn will rise faster and higher than one kneaded by hand. So if you're kneading by hand, you may want to let the dough rise longer than 90 minutes.

4) Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan. Gently shape the dough into a smooth log, and settle it into the pan, smooth side up.

5) Tent the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaf to rise till it's crowned over the rim of the pan by about 3/4", about 75 minutes. Don't let it rise too high; it'll continue to rise as it bakes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

6) Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Lightly tent it with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center registers 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove it from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack.

7) Run a stick of butter over the top of the hot loaf, if desired, for a softer crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Healthier Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Orange Pecan Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
4 whole Eggs
1-½ cup Sugar
2 cups Shredded Zucchini, Unpeeled
⅔ cups Orange Juice
¾ cups Canola Oil
3-¼ cups All-purpose Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
1-½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2-½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoons Ground Cloves
1 whole Grated Peel Of An Orange
¾ cups Chopped Pecans
1 cup Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease and flour the bottoms of two loaf pans. I use 8″ pans, but 9″ would work as well. In a large bowl or a mixer, beat the eggs until they are a deep lemony yellow. Beat in sugar, and then stir in shredded zucchini, orange juice and the oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Fold in chopped pecans (or nuts of choice).
Bake at 350ºF for 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool slightly.
When bread has been removed from the oven, mix together powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Add additional orange juice in 1 teaspoon amounts if it is too thick. Spread glaze over baked loaves while still warm. Allow to cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in the fridge.

Ciabatta Bread

From King Arthur Flour

Overnight starter
1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup cool water
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough
all of the starter (from above)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Topping for Garlic Bread

Directions
1) To make the starter: Mix the starter ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Cover the starter and let it rest at room temperature overnight, or for up to 15 hours. It will become bubbly.

2) Place all of the dough ingredients, including the starter, into the bowl of your mixer, and beat at medium speed, using the flat beater, for 7 minutes. The dough will be very smooth, soft, shiny, and elastic. Alternatively, knead the dough ingredients in your bread machine using the dough cycle.

3) Transfer the dough to a greased bowl or other rising container, cover it, and let it rise for 2 hours, deflating it midway through. If you're using a bread machine, allow it to rise for an additional hour after the dough cycle has ended.

4) Lightly grease your work surface, and a half-sheet baking pan (18" x 13") or similar large baking sheet. Grease your hands, as well.

5) Very gently turn the dough out of the bowl onto your work surface; you don't want to deflate it. It'll lose a bit of volume, but don't actively punch it down.

6) Using a bowl scraper, bench knife, or your fingers, divide the dough in half. You should have two fat logs, each about 10" long x 4" wide.

7) Handling the dough gently, transfer each piece to the baking sheet, laying them down crosswise on the sheet. Position them about 2 1/2" from the edge of the pan, leaving about 4" between them.

8) Lightly cover the dough with heavily oiled plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. Midway through, gently but firmly dimple the dough with your fingers, making fairly deep pockets. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

9) Spritz the risen loaves with lukewarm water. You'll see that the dimples have filled in somewhat, but haven't entirely disappeared.

10) Bake the loaves till they're golden brown, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Pear Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup butter, softened (may substitute 3/4 cup vegetable oil)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups peeled and finely grated ripe, firm pears
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9″x 5″loaf pans.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Scoop out about 1/4 cup of this mixture and combine it with nuts to coat. Stir back into the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, eggs, sugar, pears, and vanilla. Add the pear mixture to the flour mixture, stirring just until flour disappears and batter is evenly moistened.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until bread is browned and firm on top. A pick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and place top side up on a plate or wire rack to cool completely.

Irish Brown Bread

INGREDIENTS
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ cups whole-wheat flour
¾ cup quick oats
½ cup wheat germ
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1¾ cups buttermilk
2 Tbsp honey

PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix flours, oats, wheat germ, baking soda and salt.
2. Whisk together buttermilk and honey. Add to flour mixture; stir to combine until soft dough forms.
3. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Divide in half. Shape each half into a round loaf. Place loaves 3 in. apart onto prepared baking sheet; Drizzle with honey; bake 10 minutes.
4. Reduce temperature to 400°F. Continue baking 10 minutes longer or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool 15 minutes.

Pita Bread

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=63

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
*2 teaspoons instant yeast
**2 teaspoons King Arthur Easy-Roll Dough Improver
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

*I used regular yeast, but dissolved it in the water (at 105-115 degrees) for 5 minutes first.

**Optional, but it relaxes the doughs gluten, allowing you to roll it into pita shapes much more easily. Also, the bit of baking powder in the Relaxer helps puff up the pitas.

1) Combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough.
2) Knead the dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by mixer (5 minutes) or by bread machine (set on the dough cycle) till it's smooth.
3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour; it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk. If you've used a bread machine, simply let the machine complete its cycle.
4) Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide it into 8 pieces.
5) Roll two to four of the pieces into 6" circles (the number of pieces depends on how many rolled-out pieces at a time can fit on your baking sheet).
6) Place the circles on a lightly greased baking sheet and allow them to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 500°F. (Keep the unrolled pieces of dough covered. Roll out the next batch while the first batch bakes.)
7) Place the baking sheet on the lowest rack in your oven, and bake the pitas for 5 minutes; they should puff up. (If they haven't puffed up, wait a minute or so longer. If they still haven't puffed, your oven isn't hot enough; raise the heat for the next batch.)
8) Transfer the baking sheet to your oven's middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 2 minutes, or until the pitas have browned.
9) Remove the pitas from the oven, wrap them in a clean dishtowel (this keeps them soft), and repeat with the remaining dough.
10) Store cooled pitas in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Naan (Indian Bread)

2 cups King Arthur 100% White Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

2 tablespoons (1 ounce) butter or ghee, melted

1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk

3/4 cup (6 ounces) plain whole-milk yogurt

1 large egg

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly whisk together the butter or ghee, milk, yogurt, and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring to form a shaggy mass of dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it until it's smooth and shiny. Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and set it aside to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it's doubled in bulk. At this point, the dough may be refrigerated, covered, for up to 24 hours, for extra flavor and ease of rolling. Divide the dough into six pieces, and hand-stretch or roll each piece into a thin oval shape. Pull on the front edge of the oval to elongate and create the tear shape. Let the pieces rest, uncovered, while you heat a griddle on high heat. Transfer the naan to the griddle. Grill for approximately 2 to 3 minutes on one side, until the bread puffs and begins to look set around the edges. Flip over and finish cooking.

Black Raspberry Muffins

(from Joy the Baker)

3/4 stick (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk (*I used skim milk)
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups black raspberries

Put a rack in the upper third of oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Generously butter or spray muffin cups. This recipe makes 12 standard muffins. If using paper cupcake liners, you don’t have to grease the muffin pan.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over moderately low heat; remove from heat. Whisk in milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture and stir until just combined. Gently but thoroughly fold in the berries.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes Cool in pan of a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around edges of muffin tops and carefully remove from cups. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.