Kate's Hard Tack

This is a favorite snack in my family. I use fresh-ground soft white wheat. I suppose store-bought whole wheat flour would work, but I've never had it in the house! :-/ I make a double batch of this, and the guys pack it up in their lunch boxes for school or work. We all love hard tack!

7/8 c Warm Water
1/3 c Oil
1/4 c Honey
1 t Salt
3 1/2 - 4 c Flour

Mix into a stiff dough and roll flat on baking sheet. Poke with fork and score. Bake 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.


Cora's note: "Done" can be anywhere from dark brown to barely hardened on top. Play around with it.

Baguettes

I like to make those occasionally - they are more time-consuming than regular bread but oh-so-delicious :). Recipe from here.

Ingredients:

1 cup (240 ml) water
2 1/2 cups (340 g) bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions:

Place ingredients into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer.
Run the Dough cycle.
When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled.
* My machine has a french dough option, which takes care of the second rising too, so I just take out dough and proceed.

Split dough in half.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each half into a rectangle that is about 8x12 inches.
Roll up each rectangle along the longer side, making sure to roll it tightly and to pound out any air bubbles as you go.
Taper ends.
Place the two baguettes on a greased cookie sheet.
Place them at least 3 inches apart or separate them with a wall of aluminum foil so they don't merge into each other while proofing
Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches.
Cover, and proof in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled.
Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
Mix 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Quick bread recipe

This is the ultimate quick bread recipe, in my opinion. It's called "Zucchini Bread", but today I didn't have zucchini, so I decided to use applesauce instead. Figures I wouldn't have applesauce either, so I dug out some frozen mashed pears, peeled and chopped up a granny smith apple into it, and called it good enough. And it was good enough!

Oh, and your mouth will thank you to let the bread sit for a few minutes before devouring. Apple chunks get pretty hot... :-/

3 Eggs
1 c Vegetable Oil
2/3 c Sugar
2 c Grated zucchini (or whatever)
2 t Vanilla extract
1 t Salt
1/4 t Baking powder
3 c All-purpose flour
1 t Baking soda
3 t Ground cinnamon (optional, but strongly suggested)
Fresh-ground nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8X4 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, and sugar together. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into egg mixture. Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few little crumbs left. Let cool as long as possible before you or a family member devour it.

You can ruin it with 1/2 c chopped walnuts if you absolutely must.

Egg Bread

Siri had asked for bread recipes. This is the one I make most often; the recipe is from my bread machine manual.

Ingredients for an M size bread which is, I think, 1 lb/450 g:

3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk* with the egg**
1 teaspoon dry yeast

* Recipe says 1 1/2 tablespoon dry milk + water but I never have dry milk around the house, so I use straight milk.
** Break the egg into the measuring cup and fill the rest with milk until it reaches the 1 1/4 cup mark.

Put in the bread machine in the order which your manual recommends and voila! If you feel like it, the dough is very easy to form into fun shapes.

Cambria's Dilly Bread

Since Cambria hasn't signed up here (gee, you'd think she has 2 kids and a baby on the way ;)), and her bread is awesome, I figured I'd post the recipe. Besides, it keeps the C-theme of all posts so far.

The original recipe is here: http://www.behindthename.com/bb/view.php?id=3094922&board=ot . The following is what I made while trying to ratchet down the dose to something more approriate for my two-person household. All cups are American cups that hold 240 ml of liquid. I will convert to metric later when I have the time.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon dill weed
1 tablespoon fresh minced onion
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup water*
1 teaspoon dry yeast

* Because the amount of liquid needed may vary depending on the quality of flour and size of eggs, take that measurement as a guideline. 3/4 cup was fine for me to form an elastic ball of dough suitable for a bread but if you need a few tablespoons more or less water, by all means adjust the quantity, especially if you are using a more watery type of cheese.

Directions:

For instructions on how to make it by hand, check Cambria's recipe. I used a bread machine for making the dough and just added everything according to the instructions of the machine.

If you use a bread machine, it proofs the dough, so you only need to take it out and bake it. Bake at 375 F (190 C) for about 15 min. Let it cool down in pan for 10 min and remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

This is a very delicious bread, and the texture is very rich. I've gotten similar texture in breads with 3+ eggs and at least a cup of milk, and this version is obviously easier :). You can taste some of the sweetness of the ricotta in mine but it's not strong; that is definitely a savory bread. I think you would be able to eliminate the sweetness by actually following the recipe, which calls for cottage cheese (I had some ricotta that was close to its expiration date).

I've tagged it as 'easy' because I used a bread machine, but it might be medium difficulty if you make it by hand.

Cora's Orange Corncake

I was going to call this a cornbread when I made the recipe, but since it's a little more on the sweet side, I call it a corncake. It has a moist, dense texture like a pound cake. It's really quick and easy to make.

It's also great with milk poured over it for breakfast. :-)

Ingredients:

1 cup Corn meal
2 cups White flour
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 cup Sugar
Zest of an Orange
3/4 cup Melted butter
4 Eggs
1 cup Milk
2 teaspoon Vanilla

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, and orange zest in a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup or a medium sized bowl. Stirring constantly and quickly, pour the butter into the liquid ingredients. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients just until mixed. Pour into a well-greased 9x13x2 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tests done with a toothpick. If desired, two 8” pans may be used.