One of the most enticing scents that can permeate a home is the scent of freshly baked bread. Baking bread can be a time-consuming task, but there are recipes that make it simple for even a beginning baker. Freshly baked breads are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Imagine starting your day with a freshly baked cinnamon roll or fruit muffin. Try Texas Toast or Cheese Biscuits for dinner. Whatever your favorite, there’s nothing quite as comforting as the aroma of baking bread.
There are several different types of flour used to bake bread, but usually a recipe will specify which type to use. Many flours are interchangeable and can be varied to suit individual taste and dietary needs. All wheat flour contains gluten, which is the protein in the flour. Gluten is what gives your baked goods body. The more gluten in the flour, the stronger the walls of the product.
Listed below are different types of flour that contain different amounts of gluten. They are arranged on a graduated scale from those with the most gluten to those with the least. Common uses are listed next to each type of flour. The higher the gluten content, the more difficult the dough is to work with, which is why all-purpose flour is used more commonly than any other.
High gluten content: bread and pizza dough where a very strong wall is desired
Bread flour – bread and pizza dough
Whole wheat flour – bread making
All-Purpose Flour – Can be used for any type of baked goods.
Cake flour: a softer flour, used for cakes where a light crumb is desired
Pastry flour – similar to cake flour – used for pie crusts and other pastries
The key to good bread baking is the way the flour is handled. Yeast dough recipes generally need to be kneaded for about 10 minutes to develop the gluten. Quick bread recipes are more fragile and need to be mixed just enough to moisten the flour. Quick breads are usually more tender than yeast breads and are not intended for making sandwiches like yeast breads.
The recipes given below are quite simple to make. They are listed in the order of how long each takes. Texas toast is a yeast dough, but it doesn’t have to be, so it’s pretty simple to make. However, it is leavened and therefore needs time for the yeast to rise and the dough to rise. Fruit muffins are pretty simple to make and are great for breakfast. Cookies have the shortest baking time and are a great bread to make for dinner. Leftovers can be reheated and served for breakfast or dinner the following night. We’ll start with the garlic breadsticks as they can be made with store-bought yeast dough and are therefore the easiest to make. The other recipes that follow will be given in order of preparation time.
GARLIC STICKS
1 package frozen bread dough
½ pound butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sesame seeds
- Allow the dough to thaw and come to room temperature.
- Cut into portions the size of a large golf ball.
- Roll each ball of dough into sticks and place them on a greased surface. cookie sheet
- Cover with a clean dish towel Prayed plastic wrap and let rise for about 15 minutes.
- Combine the crushed garlic with the melted butter and brush over the breadsticks; sprinkle with Sesame Seeds.
- Bake hot kiln (425 degrees) 15 minutes or until golden.
- remove from kiln and place in cooling rack. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving. Produce
About 12 bread sticks
CHEDDAR CHEESE BISCUITS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
Adjust oven racks to positions 1 and 4 and turn oven to 450 degrees; lightly grease two bakeware.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl
Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
Gently mix the grated cheese into the flour mixture.
Sprinkle the milk over the flour mixture and stir with a forked until all the flour is moist.
Stir until the dough is smooth and forms a ball.
become a meeting which has been lightly dusted with flour and gently kneaded for 30 seconds.
Divide dough in half and roll out to 1/2″ thickness; cut with round Prayed square cookie cutters.
Pour into prepared pans and bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until golden brown.
YIELD: 12 Cookies
FRUIT CUPCAKES
3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups puree Prayed crushed
1 teaspoon SaltFruits
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon* Prayed 1 cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground nut
1 tablespoon. vanillaPrayed almond
grease or spray 24 non-stick muffin cups. Place the oven racks in their positions
#2 and 4; Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Measure Flour, Salt, Baking Soda and Cinnamon; mix together in a medium bowl and book.
Beat the eggs with paddle whisk in an electric mixer until well blended.
Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until all the sugar is incorporated.
Lower speed to #1 and gradually add oil; Bring the speed back up to high and
continue beating until well blended.
Add prepared Fruit and Vanilla; mix on low speed until well combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture while continuing to beat on low speed.
When all the ingredients are well integrated, pour into the greased pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
Cool on wire rack 5 to 10 minutes; Invert pans onto rack to cool. The muffins should come out immediately. If not, gently tap the pan on the side.
TEXAS TOAST
(Tidbit: Pepperidge Farms produces 105 million slices of Texas Toast each year; the recipe below is simple to make and easy to eat.)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Italian herbs
1 tablespoon scanned. Instant yeast
1/3 cup instant milk powder
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup olive or garlic oil
1 ¼ tsp. Salt
1 2/3 cups warm water
Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine milk and olive oil and add to dry mix.
Beat well to combine all the ingredients well. The mixture should be a stiff dough; too soft to knead by hand but stiff enough to hold its shape.
If the dough seems soft, add a little more flour; if too stiff, a little more water.
Pour the dough into a Loaf pan 8 ½ x 4 ½ inches. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrapand let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes, or until the bread has crowned over the top of the pan.
Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove from pan and cool before cutting.
Slice bread about ¾-inch thick; brush with garlic oil or garlic butter and grill on an outdoor grill or stovetop griddle.
Yield: About 12 slices of Texas Toast
All of the above recipes are good; Texas breadsticks, crackers and toast are exceptional when served with hot homemade soups. Breadsticks are a very simple item to make and are great with spaghetti or other pasta dishes. The biscuits go great with fried chicken or whatever else you want to serve them with. Muffins are exceptional for breakfast and go well with scrambled eggs and are also great as a snack or with chicken salad. Texas Toast is a tasty accompaniment to grilled foods. Try one at a time and enjoy the preparation and enjoy eating even more.
