Homemade Focaccia Recipe

For me one of the best breads to make sandwiches out of is a nice, light, tender, flat piece of focaccia. Focaccia is extremely easy to make. Here is my recipe.

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
herb butter for brushing over the top(I use Italian seasoning mixed with melted butter and olive oil)

Mix all of the ingredients minus the flour until well combined. Add the flour and mix just until it forms a dough with no dry places. Allow the dough to rise for 4 hrs in a warm place. Punch it down and turn it out onto a greased sheet pan. With you finger tips flatten it out to about an inch thick. Allow it to rise 1 hr. With your finger tips make dimples in the surface of the dough. Brush it generously with herb butter, and bake at 375 until golden brown and delicious (about a 1/2 hr).

Monkey Bread: Use for Leftover Dough #1

Monkey bread is basically a cross between sticky buns and doughnut holes. I have no idea how it came into existence but it was probably result of someone having leftover dough and not knowing what to do with it. So they said "well, sugar and butter makes everything better so..." and monkey bread was born. If you have left over sweet bread dough, like that which you make cinnamon buns out of you can make monkey bread.

Simply roll the dough into 1in balls. Then dip each ball first into melted butter and then into cinnamon sugar (mix brown and white sugar) and place the balls into a greased loaf pan, bundt pan or ramekin piling then on top of one another. Drizzle honey over the top of the dough balls so it oozes between them and let them rise 40 min. Bake at 350 degrees F until done (25 min for a small pan, 40 min for a large). Serve warm and enjoy. I guarantee if you put a pile of these out on movie night you can forget the popcorn- no one will miss it.

Experimental Loaf 2: Flax Seed Bread

We've all heard of the health benefits of flax seeds. They contain omega-3 fatty acids which lower bad cholesterol (LDL). They also help lower blood triglycerides and to maintain a healthy blood pressure. For these reasons I supplement my diet with flax seed oil. I also like crackers with flax seeds in them. I thought it would be good to make a loaf of flax seed bread. The idea is good but my recipe needs work. While edible, I felt the taste was a little off. I used flax seed meal and whole flax seed on the dough. I believe I added too much flax seed meal thus making the flax seed flavor too strong. Next time I will use much less. I liked the texture of the whole flax seeds so I'm keeping that element the same.

Panettone Recipe: French Toast

Panettone is an Italian sweet bread from Milan. It is a staple at Christmas. While good by itself, it makes phenomenal French toast. I had the pleasure of eating some panettone French toast this morning with panettone I made myself. Here's how.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1 package yeast
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup candied citron
1 tbsp orange or lemon zest

Mix water, yeast, salt, sugar, eggs, and oil. Add flour and other ingredients to form a wet sticky dough. In a stand mixer mix the dough for 5 minutes. Let dough rise in a greased bowl for 3 hrs. If you want a tall panettone you will need a special tall pan or clean coffee can lined with parchment. If not use a regular loaf pan or deep round casserole pan well greased and lined with parchment. After dough has risen transfer it to the pans filling them no more than half way. Let the dough rise however long it takes for it to reach the top of the pan. Bake at 375 until well browned about 30-40 min depending on the size of your pan.

After the panettone was cooled I cut it into 1/2 in slices and proceeded to make the French toast. I use a ratio of approximately 1 egg to 1/4 cup milk to 1 1/2 tbsp sugar for my French toast custard as well as some cinnamon and vanilla for flavoring.  

Let's Not do Fruit Cake This Christmas... Let's do Fruit Bread

2 1/2 cup bread flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (mixed with 1 tsp vital wheat gluten)
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp yeast
1/2 cup dough starter
1 tsp salt
1- 1 1/2 cups of dried fruits (I used chopped dates and raisins)
1/2- 3/4 cup walnuts

Mix water, starter, yeast, honey, sugar, and salt. Add flours, fruit, and nuts. Mix until dough comes together. It should be soft and slightly sticky. Do not knead. Instead use the slow rise method. Let the dough rise for 8 hrs folding it over over itself every 2 hrs. After the last rise don't fold it. Gently form it into two round loafs and placed on a greased baking. Let them rise 1 1/2 hrs in a warm place. Score the top of each loaf and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 min. Enjoy!

Experimental Loaf 1: Garlic Herb Bread with Lemon

Recently I have been experimenting with putting different flavors in bread. One such experiment is the pretty little loaf you see above. It contains chopped fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary), lemon zest, and crushed garlic. The base was my italian bread recipe. Here is a link to that recipe- Italian Bread . It was pretty tasty, though I would have loved more garlic. Also next time I'll remove the lemon and use that for a citrus flavored bread instead (the orange cranberry bread at Wegmans is great). Some more experimental loaves are on the way.

Book Review: 52 Loaves

"52 Loaves" by author William Alexander (author of "The $64 Tomato") is a fun read. If you are familiar with "The $64 Tomato" and enjoyed it, then you will most likely enjoy this one. It is written in the same style. Alexander is a great writer and he is able to make you smile and laugh at the simplest of situations. This is not a recipe book, though it does contain valuable baking information. Alexander takes you on his quest to make the best from scratch bread he can. He takes the term "from scratch" a bit seriously and even sets out to grow his own wheat! Through ups and downs he tastes through 52 loaves of bread. Does he make the perfect loaf? Read and find out if for no other reason than you could learn from his mistakes in seeking the perfect loaf and not repeat them.