Rosemary and Garlic Bread

It's Fall now and there is nothing I love more than a fresh loaf of bread fresh out of the oven.  It is my ultimate comfort food.  I usually love just plain old bread, nothing fancy, but I guess the older I get the more adventurous I feel.  You can't live forever right!  So I am starting to experiment more with baking bread. 

One of my favorite sandwiches I LOVE to DEVOUR, as does my family, requires a special bread.  So, I came up with this.  Somehow it makes the sandwich even more heavenly - I will post this recipe sometime in the future!  But for now, here is a savory bread for sandwiches, to go along with your Fall soups or just something comforting to snack on right from the oven. 

Just a note, I use my bread maker for this recipe as with pretty much every bread recipe I make.  It cuts out a lot of work for me.  I just put it on the dough cycle and then take it out and put it in a bread pan and cook it in the oven.  You can easily adapt this recipe without the use of a bread maker, I just don't have a lot of experience so you are on your own.

Rosemary and Garlic Bread
(makes 1 loaf)

Ingredients
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (70-85 degrees)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 Tbsp garlic, minced
3 cups whole wheat white flour
1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 tsp dried rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp yeast

Directions
Add the  ingredients to your bread maker in the order recommended by your manufacturer's instructions.  Set on dough cycle.

When dough is ready, punch down and roll out on a floured surface into a 9x18 inch rectangle.  Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9 inch side, to form a loaf.  (Press with thumbs to seal after each turn.)  Pinch the edge of the dough into roll to seal.  Press the ends of the loaf with the sides of your hands to seal; fold the ends under the loaf.  Place seam side down into a greased loaf pan (around 9x5 inches).  You can brush the loaf with melted butter if you'd like at this point, but I don't.  Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30-50 minutes until doubled in size.  (I like to warm my oven to 200 degrees then turn it off and place my loaf in the oven to rise - it shortens the time in half.)

Once the dough is doubled in size, heat the oven to 375 degrees.  (Make sure you take your loaf out of the oven at this point if you left it in there to rise!)  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it.  Remove from pan to a wire rack and brush with melted butter, then let it cool.

Rye Rolls

I am a bread lover and I am pretty surprised that I haven't posted more bread recipes.  This is a favorite of mine that my Mom passed down to me.  I have changed a couple of things because I wanted a whole wheat roll.  I am trying to stay away from white flour as much as possible.  These are so delicious - even my white bread loving kids like them!  That is saying something!  I love to make them when we are having soup.

 

Rye Rolls
Prep time:  2 hour 15 minutes

Cook time:  15 - 20 minutes
Makes:  12 large or 24 small rolls

Ingredients:
2¼ tsp salt
1½ cups warm water
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cup white wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat bread flour
1 cup rye flour
3 Tbsp gluten
2¼ tsp yeast

Directions:
Place all the ingredients into bread maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Set on dough setting.

Knead a couple of times to get air bubbles out.  Divide into 12 (or 24) pieces.  Roll into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet or 9x13 baking pan.  Cover and rise until doubled in size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  If you are making 24 rolls - it takes a shorter amount of time than if baking just 12.

*You can make a couple of small loaves out of this recipe also.  (I like to make one of the loaves cinnamon sugar bread.)  Instead of dividing into 12 or 24 pieces, divide into 2.  Roll out dough into a rectangle until about ½ inch thick and about 9 inches wide (about the length of your loaf pan).  Starting from the top (the short end of the rectangle) carefully roll tightly toward you.  Press with your thumbs to seal after each turn, pinch the edge of dough into roll to seal.  Then pinch each end with side of hand to seal and fold them under.  Place into a greased loaf pan and brush with melted butter.  Repeat with other piece of dough.  Cover and let them rise until doubled in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until browned and sounds hollow when tapped.  Cool on a wire rack and brush melted butter on it.

To make cinnamon sugar bread - roll out the dough into a rectangle like regular bread.  Brush with water and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then roll.  If you wanted to make a couple of raisin bread loaves you can add raisins with the rest of the ingredients into your bread maker.

 

 

Zucchini Bread

Riddle:  What do you do when you have zucchini coming out of your ears?  (Not literally of course!)

Answer:  You make zucchini bread!

I am a sucker for all breads myself, but zucchini bread is like the dessert version. I am also a big fan of banana bread.  When I have a lot of zucchini coming out of my garden I tend to make a bunch of bread and muffins with it.  It makes a healthier snack or a yummy breakfast.  This zucchini bread recipe has a lot of healthy ingredients, except for the sugar.  Maybe someday I will figure out a good substitute for that.  I do like to use organic cane sugar though, so I like to tell myself that isn't so bad.  Also this recipe will make 2 loaves (or I believe 6 mini loaves), so you can eat one now and freeze the rest for later!  YAY!

FYI my neighbor gave me a big shopping bag full of crook neck sqash the other day and I ended up using it in place of zucchini.  I made her a loaf as a thank you and she asked if I'd make her 5 more for her to freeze and give out as christmas gifts!  So something to think about if you have a lot of squash in your garden!

Zucchini Bread
Cook time:  1 hour
Makes:  2 loaves

Ingredients
 
3 Tbsp ground flax seed
½ cup plus 1 Tbsp water
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)

Directions

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.

Whisk the flax seed and water together in a small bowl and set aside.
Drain the pineapple.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat the sugar, applesauce, vanilla, and flax mixture until blended and thick.

Stir in pineapple and zucchini.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Stir in nuts and raisins if using.

Pour into loaf pans and cook for 1 hour.  Test with a toothpick to check if it is done cooking.

 

Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Biscuits

I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but for some reason it has been sounding kind of good lately.  Maybe I am just really into the season this year.  Anyway I thought I would try some pumpkin flavored biscuits to have with our soup this week and they actually tasted really good.  I found the recipe from An Opera Singer in the Kitchen http://www.singerskitchen.com/.  I didn't have the whole wheat white flour she called for, so I went with whole wheat pastry flour and it turned out well. I am sure all purpose white flour would work as well. So if you are having a hankoring for something with pumpkin or just want to try something new, this recipe is simple and delicious!

Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Biscuits

makes a dozen 

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 Tsp. baking powder3/4 tsp. salt

2 Tsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3 Tsp. Earth Balance margarine

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup So Delicious coconut milk

2 Tsp. agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray with oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, and spices. Blend in the margarine using a pastry blender.

In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, coconut milk, and agave nectar.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture holds together. Knead lightly on a floured surface and roll out to 1″ thickness. Using a 2″ biscuit butter, cut the dough into circles.

 

Re-roll the scraps and cut out biscuits until you have used all of the dough. Place on the prepared baking sheet.

 

Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.