Charlotte's Kitchen » Bread

Quick and Easy Burger Buns

Char — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:23:28 +0000

Sometimes things just don’t work out the way we planned. Friday we bought hamburg buns so we could have sloppy joes Sunday night and I thought I’d make burgers tonight. Sunday night we made up the sloppy joes and when we pulled out the buns, they were moldy. Sunday was the 5th, they were dated sell by the 7th, and we had to trash them. Now what?

I dug around and came up with this great hamburg bun recipe and made them this afternoon. The only way we could describe them was delicious. They were really easy to make and I think we’ll be having homemade buns quite often in the future.

Quick and Easy Burger Buns

Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons butter
1 large egg
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast

Directions

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough.
Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it’s doubled in bulk.
Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1″ thick (more or less); flatten to about 3″ across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.
Brush buns with either melted butter or with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water.
Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

If you like, when you brush the butter/egg wash, you can top them with sesame seeds.

I think next time I make them, I’m going to cut them out with a glass if I have one that makes the right size round bun.

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Char — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:06:52 +0000

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup cooking oil

3 1/3 cup white whole-wheat flour

4 eggs

2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t salt

1 T apple pie spice or

mix of 1 1/2 t Watkins Cinnamon, 3/4 t Watkins Nutmeg and 1/2 t Watkins Ginger

2/3 cup apple cider or water

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

1 medium repe banana, mashed (1/2 cup)

1 6 ounce packaged dried cranberries (optional)

Directions:

Grease bottoms and 1/2 inch up sides of four 7 1/2×3 1/2x 2inch or two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed beat sugars and oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, soda, salt and pie spice. Alternately add dry mixture and cider to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin and banana. Stir in cranberries, if using.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes for small pans or 50 to 60 minutes for larger pans or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. If necessary, cover with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Makes 4 small loaves or 2 large loaes

Tip: Seal cooled bread in an airtight freezer container or plastic freezer bag; freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator or 6 hours at room temperature.

Pumpkin Walnut Biscuits

Char — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:57:18 +0000

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

3 T sugar, plus a little extra for topping

1 T Watkins Baking Powder

3/4 t salt

3/4 t Watkins Cinnamon

3/4 t Watkins Ginger

5 T cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 cup light cream, plus a little extra for glaze

1/3 cup solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin

1 1/2 T honey

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt cinnamon and ginger. Use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work in the butter. Keep mixing until the ingredients resemble a coarse, flaky meal, then stir in the chopped walnuts. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the cream, pumpkin and honey. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid into it. Stir briskly until the dough pulls together, then let it sit for 3 minutes.

Flour your hands and your work surface. Gently knead the dough into a ball, then pat it into a 1-inch thick disk. Using a 2-inch biscuit cutter or drinking glass, cut the dough into rounds and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving a couple of inches between them. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the dough. Brush the biscuit tops sparingly with cream and then sprinkle on a little sugar.

Bake the biscuits on the center oven rack until they are light golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 12 biscuits.

Pumpkin Cloverleaf Rolls

Char — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:12:00 +0000

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups flour, plus more for sprinkling

1 package or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or bread machine yeast

1 t salt

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup canned or frozen and thawed pureed pumpkin or squash

1 large egg

1/2 cup warm water

8 fresh sage leaves, slivered (or 1 1/3 teaspoon dried leaves)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt, and set it aside.

Pour the milk into a microwave-safe bowl or 4-cup glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Whisk in the honey, squash, egg and water. (The liquid mixture shuld be less than 110 degrees; anything hotter might kill the yeast.)

With a fork, blend the squash mixture into the flour mixture until you have a soft dough. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Two hours before baking turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6 sage leaves into the dough. Melt the butter and set it aside in a small bowl. Divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 6 portions. Divide each portion into 3 pieces. With floured hands, roll each piece into a ball and dip it into the melted butter. Place 3 balls in a muffin cup. Continue until 12 muffin cups are filled.

Drizzle or bursh each roll with 1/2 teaspoon of the leftover melted butter and then sprinkle them with the rest of the sage. Let the rolls rise in a warm spot (at least 70 degrees) until they’re double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The 3 balls of dough will rise together to form a cloverleaf shape.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes.

Makes 1 dozen.

Apple Popovers with Maple-Spiced Butter

Char — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:36:16 +0000

Ingredients:

Maple-Spiced Butter:
8       T unsalted butter, softened
2       T maple syrup
1       t Watkins Pumpkin Pie Spice

Apple Popovers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2     t salt
1 1/3 cups milk
4         large eggs
7         T unsalted butter (5 T melted)
1         small tart apple, cored and cut into 1/8 to 1/4 inch dice

Maple-Spiced Butter:

In a small bowl stir together butter, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice until smooth; set aside.

Apple Popovers:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a blender combine milk, eggs and 5 t melted butter. Blend on medium-high speed 20 seconds. Whisk into flour mixture until just combined. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Meanwhile heat oven to 450 degrees and place rack in lower third of oven. Cut remaining 2 T butter into 12 pieces and divide amoung cups of a 12-cup popover pan. Place 1 T apple into each cup. Just before baking, transfer pan to oven and heat until butter is melted and pan is hot, about 1 minute.

Carefully remove pan from oven and evenly pour batter over apples. Immediately return pan to oven. Bake 15 minutes (do not open oven). Reduce oven to 375 degrees and bake until popovers are crisp and browned, 18 to 20 minutes more.

Turn out popovers onto a wire rack and let cool 2 to 3 minutes. Serve hot with Maple-Spiced Butter.

Irish Brown Bread

Char — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:00:16 +0000

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine everything but the buttermilk in a large bowl and stir the ingredients with your hands. Make a well in the mixture and pour in 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk.

Continue mixing with your hands, adding the remaining cup of buttermilk as you combine the ingredients. The resulting dough will be wet and very sticky.

Dust your hands with flour, shape the dough into a ball and place it on a floured cookie sheet (a nonstick baking mat helps). With a knife, score a deep X in the top of the ball, widening it with the sides of the blade as you cut.

Bake the bread until it’s golden brown, about 50 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Makes a crusty, dense loaf about 7 inches in diameter.

Cornmeal Flatbread

Char — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:25 +0000

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

1 packet active dry yeast

4 1/2 to 5 cups unbleached flour, plus more for kneading

1/3 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon table salt

20 or so Kalamata olives, pitted and halved or quartered (optional)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tomato, cored and thinly sliced vertically

1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Watkins Pepper to taste

Leaves from 5 to 6 small springs of rosemary

1/4 cup shaved fresh Parmesan

Directions:

Measure the water into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir it with a wooden spoon. Let the mixture stand until the yeast dissolves and small bubbles form, atout 5 to 7 minutes.

Add 4 cups of the flour, the cornmeal and the table salt and stir the mixture until the ingredients are uniformly combined. Stir in the olives, if you’re using them. Add another 1/2 to 1 cup of flour and knead the dough in the bowl until it holds together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball.

Measure 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a large bowl. Add the dough, then turn it to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm area un/il it has doubled, generally 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Heat the oven to 475 degrees. Coat a rimmed baking sheet (17 by 12 inches) with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Punch down the dough and transfer it to the prepared sheet, using your fingertips to press it out to fit the pan. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the dough. Again, let the dough rise in a warm area, uncovered this time, until it’s puffy, about 30 minutes.

Press your fingretips into the dough to form small indentations across the entire surface. Then top it with the sliced tomatoes and red onion, and season it with the coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Distribute the rosemary leaves across the surface, lightly pressing them into the dough.

Bake the bread until it’s brown and crust, 20 to 2 minutes, then top it with Parmesan. Enjoy it warm or at room temperature. Serves 8 to 10.

Glazed Lemon Scones

Char — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:00:12 +0000

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon Watkins Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 cup heavy or whipping cream, plus a little for brushing

1 egg yolk, beaten slightly

1/2 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla

Lemon Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Watkins Lemon Extract

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoons heavy or whipping cream

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large, heavy baking sheet (preferably not a dark one) and set it aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest and toss the mixture with your hands.

Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the cream, the yolk and the vanilla and use a fork to blend the liquids within the well. Then use a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients, just until the dough holds together.

Scrape the dough onto a flour-dusted surface and then, using floured hands, knead it gently three or four times to form a ball. Flatten the ball into a disk about 3/4-inch thick, then cut it as you would a pie into 8 wedges. Transfer the pieces to the baking sheet, leaving at least 1/4 inch between them. Brush the tops lightly with cream.

Bake the scones in the center of the oven until golden brown, about 16 to 18 minutes. Allow them to cool on the sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack.

While the scones continue to cool, make the glaze. Combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk them until the mixture is smooth. If necessary, you can thin the glaze with water, stirring in no more than 1/2 teaspoon at a time. When the scones have cooled for another 10 minutes, drizzle each one generously with glaze. Makes 8 ascones.

Anadama Bread

Char — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:48 +0000

Ingredients:

1 cup cold water

1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons butter, cut into several pieces

1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

3 cups (or more, plus extra for dusting) unlbleached bread flour

Directions:

Combine the water, cornmeal and salt in a small saucepan. Gradually bring the mixture to a simmer while stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the cornmeal thickens slightly, about 30 seconds, then remove it from the heat.

Scrape the cornmeal mush into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the butter with a wooden spoon until it melts. Then stir in the molasses. Set the mixture aside until it reaches room temperature, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the yeast over 1/2 cup of lukewarm water in a small bowl and let it dissolve, about 5 minutes. Then stir it into the mush.

Beat 1 cup of flour into the mush until it’s well mixed, about 50 strokes. Repeat with a second cup. Beat in the third cup, 1/3 cup at a time.

When the dough pulls together into a ball, turn it out onto a flourdusted surface and knead it by hand for a full 10 minutes, adding more flour if it gets too sticky.

Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and turn it once to coat the entire surface. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free spot until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it for 1 minute. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, butter a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan and set it aside.

Pat the dough into a12- by 9-inch rectangle. Starting at a 9-inch edge, roll up the dough like a rug, pinch the seam together and fold the ends under. Place the dough in the pan and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Set it ina warm spot until it almost doubles in bulk, about 1 hour.

Set the oven rack one level below the center and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan and place the bread in the oven. Turn the heat down to 375 degrees. Bake the bread until it starts to brown, about 30 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool thoroughly on a rack before slicing and serving.

Stuffed Pizza and Pizza Dough

Char — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:00:33 +0000

Ingredients:

1 batch pizza dough (see recipe below)

2 (10 0unce) packages fresh spinach

salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 ounces Italian sweet pork sausages, casings removed

2 medium onion, chopped

Watkins Pepper

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Prepare the dough and set it aside while you make the filling.

Wash the spinach and remove any coarse stems. Cook it in a large covered pot with 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt until the leaves are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the spinach well and let it cool. Then place it in a clean kitchen towel (or cheesecloth) and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Chop the spinach.

In a medium-size skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and onion and stir them frequently, until the onion is tender and the pork is cooked through (abut 10 minutes).

Transfer the pork and onions to a large bowl. Stir in the spinach, ricotta and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 12-inch pizza pan.

Working on a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a 12-inch circle. Drape the dough loosely over the rolling pin and center it atop the prepared pan. Spread the filling on top of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around.

Roll the remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch circle and place it over the filling. Firmly pinch together the edges of the two circles to seal the pie. With a small, sharp knife, make 6 to 8 slits in the top of the dough to allow the steam to escape.

Bake the pizza until it’s browned and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes or so. Then let it cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting it into wedges. Enjoy the pie hot or at room temperature. Serves 8 to 10.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)

2 1/4 teaspoons (a 1/4-ounce envelope) active dry yeast

pinch of sugar

about 3 cups unbleached flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and sugar over it. Let the mixture stand until it becomes slightly foamy, then stir it until the yeast dissolves. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the oil to the flour and stir until a soft dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with flour and knead the dough. Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky to handle, but not so much that it becomes stiff and dry. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and springs back when pinched, about 10 minutes.

Lightly oil the inside of a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it over once so that the top and bottom will be coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Flatten the dough with your fist. Cut it in two and shape each piece into a ball.