Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup warm (110 degrees) water or milk
4 cups whole wheat flour (divided)
1 tsp. instant yeast
3/4 cup milk or water (room temperature)
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 tbs. honey
1 tsp. salt
To make:
In a large bowl, mix warm milk, one cup flour and yeast. Mix in milk, butter, honey, salt and another cup of flour; stir well to combine. Add another cup of flour and mix until dough holds together. Spread some four on a clean counter and turn the dough out of the bowl onto the counter. Knead the dough by folding one end over the other, giving it a quarter turn and repeating. Add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking but do not make the dough too stiff or it will not rise. Knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes or until it is mostly smooth and stretches slightly when pulled. Put the dough back in the bowl, grease the top with a little oil to keep a crust from forming, place in a warm place and let rise for 2-3 hours or until noticeably larger in size. The dough does not have to be doubled to rise properly. When the dough has risen, grease a cookie sheet or bread pan. Place the bread in pan or shape into desired shape on cookie sheet, cover and let rise another 1-2 hours. Place the bread in the oven, turn the oven to 375 degrees and bake until the crust is browned and the sides and bottom of the loaf have a crust. Brush top with butter when bread is done if desired. Cool before slicing.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 cup warm (110°F) water
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. instant yeast
¾ cup milk
2 tbs. butter, softened
2 tbs. honey
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup raisins
2-3 cups whole wheat flour
Cinnamon sugar and butter
In a large bowl, mix warm water, 1 cup flour and yeast. Mix in milk, butter, honey, cinnamon and salt; stir well to combine. Add dried fruit and stir well. Add another cup of flour and mix until dough holds together. Add enough flour to form soft dough. Spread some flour on a clean counter and turn the dough out of the bowl onto the counter. Knead the dough by folding one end over the other, giving it a quarter turn and repeating. Add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking but do not make the dough too stiff or it will not rise. Knead the dough for about 3-5 minutes or until it is mostly smooth and stretches slightly when pulled. Put the dough back in the bowl, grease the top with a little oil to keep a crust from forming, place in a warm place and let rise for 2-3 hours or until noticeably larger in size. The dough does not have to be doubled to rise properly. When the dough has risen, a bread pan. Shape the dough into a loaf, place in greased pan and let rise another 1-2 hours. When the dough has risen again, place the bread in the oven, turn the oven to 375°F and bake for 45-60 minutes. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar; cool on wire
rack. Makes 1 loaf
Homemade Tortillas
Ingredients: (Makes 8 medium sized tortillas)
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup water
To make:
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in enough water to make a stiff dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead it for 3-5 minutes or until smooth. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece out with a rolling pin as thin as possible, 1/8" to 1/16". Cook tortillas on a preheated medium hot griddle for about two or three minutes per side or until bubbled and lightly browned. Place on a plate, cover with a towel and serve warm or else put in an airtight container and store for later.
Homemade Bagels
Ingredients: (Makes 6 small bagels)
¾ cup milk (or water)
1 tbs. honey
1 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. yeast
To make:
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; mix together. Knead once, then let dough rise for 20 minutes. When dough has risen, break into appropriate number of pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and make it into a circle, pressing the ends together. It may be necessary to wet one end to make it stick together. Place the bagels on a well greased baking sheet, cover and let rise for another 15 -20 minutes. While the bagels are rising, bring about two inches of water to a slight boil in a nonaluminum pan. Carefully lower about three or four bagels at a time into the water, cooking for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove bagels and drain on a towel, then put them back on the greased baking sheet and bake in a 500° oven for 12 minutes.
Variations:
Cinnamon Raisin: add about ½ cup of raisins and ½ tsp. cinnamon (or cinnamon maple sprinkles) before mixing all the ingredients together. If desired, increase honey a tiny bit.
Blueberry: add about ½ cup of dried blueberries, ½ tsp. of cinnamon and ¼ tsp. of vanilla. If desired, increase honey a tiny bit.
Cheese Onion: add about 1 Tbs. dried minced onion and ¼ cup of cheese to dough; top with more cheese and onions just after boiling.
Italian: add about ½ tsp. each of basil, oregano, rosemary and garlic and about ¼ cup of dried tomatoes. Sprinkle more herbs or parmesan cheese on top just after boiling if desired.
Honey Oat: add about ½ cup of oats to dough before mixing and increase honey if desired. Sprinkle a few more oats or some sesame seeds on top just after boiling.
Be creative and come up with your own variations by adding various things to the dough and sprinkling different things on top!
