Honey Oat Bread and Honey Butter

Don't be intimidated by this bread. The instructions are really specific and I know you can do it! This is my favorite bread recipe because it always turns out well and since we have a bee hive, I take special pleasure in using our own honey for the recipes. It's not 100% whole wheat so it bakes up fluffy and everyone loves the taste. I just love making bread for Mike and other loved ones. The house is filled with such a wonderful smell and EVERYONE appreciates a homemade loaf of bread. Making this bread does take a few hours but it's not difficult and the results are well worth the effort. Of course you don't need a stan mixer to do this, our Grandmas had no trouble whipping up bread with a wooden spoon but if you are lucky enough to have a stand mixer, this recipe will be almost effortless. The honey butter recipe is to die for. Every time I make it I get asked for the recipe - one friend always tells me he must resist the urge to eat it with a spoon!

A couple tips before we begin - the key to bread success is to make sure your kitchen is free of any drafts and relatively warm. Shut the kitchen window, turn the thermostat up to 72 degrees if you keep your house cooler than that (I don't know who does!). Just to be safe, you can always put bread in an unheated oven with a pan of warm water on the rack below it and shut the oven door.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. yeast (if you buy the packets, it's about 1 and half packets)

2 1/4 cup warm/hot water (105-115 degrees: if you don't have a candy thermometer like me, drop some water on the inside of you wrist, you should feel it as very warm but not scalding)

3 tbsp canola oil

3 tbsp honey

1 egg

5 tbsp oats (quick or old fashioned work)

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp salt

2 1/2-3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Combine yeast and water, cover with a towel and let sit for 10 minutes, until it gets bubbly

In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, honey, egg, oats, wheat flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture.

Mix until a spongey wet dough is form. Cover with a towl and let rise for 20 minutes until bubbly and about double in size.

If you have a stand mixer gradually add in the all-purpose flour until a moderately soft dough forms, about 5 minutes. No mixer? Turn the sponge out on the counter and knead the flour in for about 5 minutes. Trust me, it's not scary. Depending on your flour, you will add between 2 and 3 cups. For me, 2 1/2 cups is usually about right. Return to the mixing bowl, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap coated in cooking spray and let rise 30-45 minutes until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough to remove excess air. Divide the dough in half and grease two loaf pans. Form a loaf (there is no scientific way to do this, just pay it with your hands until it forms a little log) and sprinkle with oats. Cover with a towl and let rise another 45-60 minutes until you can poke the corner with your finger and the dimple stays. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 35 minutes. For a soft crust, remove immediately onto a clean kitchen towel to cool. For a crunchy crust cool on wire racks.

Honey Butter

1 stick of softened butter

1/2 cup honey

1/4 tsp. vanilla

a couple shakes of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Artisan Bread

I got this from one of my friends. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from but this is a easy, healthy, 4 ingredient, bread recipe. It is a freeform bread (baked on a cookie sheet, or baking stone, instead of in a bread pan) with a crisp crust and a moist, almost spongy, inside. It also makes awesome pizza dough. This recipe makes 4 1-lb loaves. Make the dough, and then store what you don't use in the fridge for up to two weeks. So whenever you want fresh baked crusty on the outside deliciously chewy inside artisan bread(or pizza dough) just grab a chunk from the fridge. The recipe says to use an ice cream bucket, but you can use any container of roughly the same size as long as you remember to cover it loosely.

3 Cups warm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1 1/2 T salt

6 1/2 C flour

Mixing:

Wisk dry ingredients together in ice cream bucket. Add water and mix with wooden spoon. Makes a very wet loose dough. (It will be a little dry while mixing and then after it rises it will be very sticky.)

Rising:

Put on lid loosely. Do NOT snap lid on tight, the gases need a way to escape. Allow to rise at room temp for 2 hrs, then store in the fridge.(Don't knead the dough) You can use dough any time after this period. Refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and easier to work. (Can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. After the first week it will start to taste more like sourdough and the taste will get stronger the longer it sits. Discard any unused dough after 2 weeks.)

Baking:

Cut off a grapefruit size piece. Gently fold edges under with floured hands. Let rest on greased cookie sheet on counter for 20 min. Then preheat oven to 450 with empty pan (NOT GLASS) on bottom shelf. Let bread rest on counter until oven in preheated and then slash 1/4 inch deep right before putting in oven.

1. Place cookie sheet with bread on the middle rack (or if using a pizza stone slide bread onto preheated stone)

2. Pour 1 C of hot water in the empty pan and quickly close the door. Be careful to not be burned by the steam that will come up.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Variations:

Apple Cinnamon

reduce salt to 1 1/4 T

reduce yeast to 1 1/4 T

add:

4 apples, peeled and chopped

4 T sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Bake as you normally would but just after you slash the dough and right before you put it in the oven, sprinkle the loaf with the streusel topping.

Streusel Topping:

4 T sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp flour

2 T soft butter

Mix all ingredients with fork in small bowl until crumbly.

Herb and Cheese:

add:

3/4 tsp dried basil

3/4 tsp oregano

2 C grated sharp cheese
(I have made some with chopped fresh basil and oregano and about 1tsp. garlic powder, it was yummy, especially for pizza dough.

Bake as you normally would except mix the cheese with the flour before you add it to the remaining ingredients. This will help to distribute the cheese more evenly.

Spinach Dip in a Bread Bowl

I used to make this for pot lucks at the office all of the time, before I started my daycare business. Everyone loved it and it is so easy to make. It is great for serving at parties, and it is sure to please every spinach lover out there. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix
16 ounces sour cream
3 green onions, chopped
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
2 loaves round peasant bread (you could make your own, if you are so inclined)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine soup mix, sour cream, and green onions. Strain excess water from spinach and add to dip mixture. Stir to combine.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
3. Slice a circle around top of bread, remove inside, and cut into bite sized pieces.
4. Fill bread bowl with spinach dip. Cut other bread loaf into cubes and serve with dip.

That's it! I hope you all love this dip as much as I do. =)

Italian-Style Spinach Dumplings

While cuisine hunting on the internet, I found a recipe for some "arugula dumplings" that sounded absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, I don't keep any of the main ingredients required on standby in my kitchen. I do, however, keep spinach on hand in the freezer, which made me think, "I know the basic components of a dumpling, so let's give this a shot!" And thus, the Italian-Style Spinach Dumpling was born!

I am rather proud of this recipe as I took that arugula inspiration and took it in a whole new direction... all by myself. I find this is one of the most satisfying aspects of cooking and baking: creating a culinary Frankenstein's monster all your own. It's even better when that monster turns out to be quite tasty!

Ingredients:
8 oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained well, and chopped
4 oz (approx. 4-5 slices) bread, chopped finely (I used wheat because it is what we routinely buy and we always have it on hand, but you could use 4 oz white bread or French bread with the crusts cut off for a milder flavor)
2 eggs
1/3 cup light sour cream
3 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup real Parmesan cheese, grated (you won't want to use the bottled "sprinkly cheese" for this recipe)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste (I used about a tsp of salt)
1/2 - 3/4 all-purpose flour (measure will vary; you will add between 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup to get the needed consistency)
Homemade or bottled spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese



Directions:
1. Heavily salt a pot of water and start it boiling on the stove.
2. Whisk eggs, sour cream, and milk together until uniform in consistency.
3. Add garlic powder and salt; stir.
4. Add bread, spinach, and Parmesan cheese, mixing well to combine.
5. Stir in flour a little at a time until mixture reaches a dough-like consistency ( a small ball of the "dough" should hold itself together).
6. Roll dumpling "dough" into tablespoon-sized balls. Drop about 10 balls at a time into boiling water. (Note: if this is your first time making these, you may want to cook just one dumpling to start with and taste test it once it done. After tasting it, you can decide to add more salt, flour, cook them longer, etc. before you cook all of them and it is too late to alter the "dough." Many a culinary catastrophe has been avoided by a simple taste test!)
7. Cook dumplings about 5 minutes (after they float to the top of the water, cook an additional minute to ensure egg-y middle is cooked all the way through). The center of the dumplings should be firm, not slimy.
8. Remove dumplings from water with a slotted spoon, being sure to drain all water.
9. Place all dumplings in an oven-safe baking dish. Repeat process until all dumplings are cooked and in the baking dish.
10. Cover dumplings with spaghetti sauce. Layer mozzarella cheese evenly over sauce.
11. Broil dumplings in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.