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.

Homemade Pizza Crust

Yeah, yeah, there are places like Domino's, that deliver 24-7, and there are places like Little Caesars, that sell a large pizza for $5 but homemade pizza is always better :).

I don't remember where I jacked the recipe from but it's good! The crust is thin but firm enough to hold the toppings, and the work put in is no more than 10 minutes, though you do have to wait for it to rise.

Ingredients for one large crust:

2 cups (250 g) flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1 egg
4 tablespoons oil
2/3 teaspoon yeast

Directions:

Stir the yeast and a pinch of sugar into the milk, beat the egg and mix it into the milk and yeast.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to form soft dough.
Cover with a towel and let dough rise in a warm spot for about 30 min.
*Or*
Use the pizza setting on your bread maker. Mine is 45 minutes long.

When dough is done, preheat oven to 500 F (250 C).
Put a dab of oil on your hands, form the dough ball into a flat disk, put it in onto a pizza pan and stretch it so it so it covers the whole pan.
Cover crust with your favorite pasta sauce (or spray it with oil), otherwise it gets too dry.
Layer your favorite ingredients.
Bake for 10 minutes.

Cinnabon (tm) Knock-off Cinnamon Buns

I love Cinnabons but I rarely have them as they are incredibly fattening and somewhat expensive. So when I found this recipe, I *had* to try making them at home. They turned out really good, though not quite as good as the real thing. This is not your everyday dessert, as they are quite filling, but they are great for special treat, and they come up to about 75 cents a pop, which is way cheaper than the real thing.

Ingredients (for 10-12 rolls)

Rolls:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup (240 ml) milk
1/2 cup (100 g) white sugar
1/3 cup (75 g) butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 cups (500 g) all-purpose (plain) flour

Filling:
1 cup (220 g) packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup (75 g) butter, softened

Icing (Frosting):
1/4 cup (60 g) butter, softened
1/4 cup (60g) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cup (190 g) confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon lemon extract
~ 1 tablespoon water or more to achieve desired consistency

Directions:

For the rolls:
Put all the ingredients for the rolls in the bread machine and use the dough setting. The resulting dough was a bit too soft for my bread machine, and it kept getting under the paddle. Other than that, the machine did just fine. If you don't have a bread machine, see the recipe on top for instructions on making it manually.

On a piece of plastic foil flatten the dough into a rectangle approximately 21 inches long, 16 inches wide (53 cm x 40 cm), and about ¼ inch (1/2 cm) thick. Or so says the recipe, but next time I am going to split it into two balls and two smaller rectangles, as the resulting buns were too big for me.

For the filling:
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough rectangle, and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly on top.

With the help of the foil form the dough rectangle into a tight roll along the longer (21 inch) side. Tight is the operative word here, or the cinnamon filing will fall out when the roll is cut.

When working with a roll like this, I like to stick it in the freezer for 15 min so it's easier to cut. Don't overdo it though, as freezer temperatures kill the yeast.

Cut the roll into 2 inch (5 cm) thick slices and place slices on a greased baking sheet.

Proof until they double in size (about 30 minutes).

Bake for 10 minutes at 400 F (205 C) until they are golden on top.

While buns are baking, beat the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then add the flavorings and enough water (or milk) to obtain the desired consistency. Mix on high speed again until the icing is smooth and fluffy.

Let the buns cool for about 10 min and cover with frosting.

As you can see, my frosting skills are pretty much non-existent:

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.

Jelenka's Crocodile

I am not talking about crocodile meat, but about this crocodile:


This is an interesting looking stuffed bread that is perfect for entertaining. Taste-wise it's nothing spectacular, but it makes a good presentation. Especially if yours is not as cross-eyed :o) as mine and its mug is less pig like.

For the crocodile body:

3 1/4 cups (500 g) flour
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
40 g fresh (compressed) yeast or 4 teaspoons dry yeast (that is four times the yeast normally needed for this amount of flour, but it works)

For the filling:

1 hard boiled egg, sliced
1 roasted pepper, cut into strips
200 g ham, chopped
100 g cheese, shredded/grated

* Or, put in whatever you have in the fridge - the filling is up for interpretation. Just make sure that the filling is cooked beforehand if needed.

Directions:

Knead dough using the pizza setting of the bread machine.

The pizza setting has much shorter time for rising than the regular dough setting. With this amount of yeast, the dough rises quickly!

It's important to have all of the filling prepared before the dough is done. Again, it rises quickly even at room temperature, so you need to work fast.

On a piece of aluminum foil and with the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 1.5 cm/ 1/2 inch thick

Arrange the filling in the middle along the long side of the rectangle.

To give credit where credit is due :), and because her pics are better than mine, here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make the croc, courtesy of Jelenka at http://www.eva.ru/

The pictures are pretty much self-explanatory, but ask me for translation if there is anything you don't understand. It looks way more complicated than it actually is.

Bake for 15 min at 325 F/162 C or until a toothpick inserted in the bread part comes out clean.



Edited to add: you cut it in slices across the shorter side and eat it like a regular stuffed bread.

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.