Bread | Wholesome Mommy :: by the Centsible Sawyer

Category Archives: Bread

Vanilla Bean Brioche with Vanilla-Honey Butter

Written on December 14, 2011 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Wholesome Recipes

Brioche is a dense, rich, buttery bread that is delicious in it’s own right but it is absolutely divine with a good schmear of fresh made vanilla-honey butter. I made my first loaf a few days ago and now my plan is to use the rest of it to make a delicious vanilla bean bread pudding. Brioche is the perfect vehicle for bread pudding or french toast because it can soak up so much custard. This recipe for Brioche is from Cooking with Paula Deen (May/June 2011)

:: Vanilla Bean Brioche

2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
1/2 cup milk
1 package of active dry yeast
3 eggs, divided
3 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour, divided
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and divided
1 Tbsp milk

Scrape seeds from 2 vanilla beans into milk and heat to 110 degrees F. Add yeast; let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Lightly beat 2 eggs and stir into the milk mixture.

In the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, stir together 3 1/2 cups of flour, salt, and sugar. Using the dough hook attachment, gradually add yeast mixture, beating at medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic.

Cut 1 cup of butter into small pieces; gradually add to dough, 1 Tbsp at a time, beating until combined after each addition (dough will be quite sticky). If needed, gradually add just enough remaining flour to make a smooth, sticky dough.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

Divide dough into 6 equal pieces and form each into a 4 1/2 inch cylinder. Arrange dough pieces crosswise in a 9×5 inch load pan; cover and let rise 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk together remaining egg and 1 Tbsp milk. Lightly brush over dough.

Bake bread for 25 minutes. Tent bread loosely with aluminum foil, and rotate in oven. Bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

::Vanilla-Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste

Whip the ingredients until well combined and fluffy. Serve with brioche.

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Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Written on May 25, 2011 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes

Image Credit: Feathered Friendsy

I found the most fantastic Garlic Cheddar Biscuit recipe! If you’ve had {and loved} Red Lobster’s cheddar biscuits your are going to love this recipe! I swear they taste just like them! And, the best thing is they are really easy to make! I can’t wait to make them over and over again all for myself *ahem* I mean, for my family.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

1/2 cup butter
1/8 cup of dried chives
1 tsp minced garlic
1 3/4 cup of whole milk
3 cups of baking mix, like Bisquick (or the equivalent of homemade)
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 16 muffin cups. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the chives and garlic and cook for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Let it cool 2 minutes. Whisk in milk.

In a medium bowl, combine the baking mix and cheese. Add in the liquid mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into muffin cups and and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

*Note: I have made 1/2 this recipe for my small family and it works out beautifully. So, make it work for you/who you’re feeding and cut the recipe in half, cook the whole recipe, or even double it!

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Written on December 21, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Wholesome Recipes

I made this version of cinnamon raisin bread for the first time this week and it was a hit! My husband said this is no comparison to the loaves I made before and decided that no matter how much more effort it took…it was worth the effort (so says the man who isn’t making the bread!).

But really, this bread is delicious, and not any more trouble than making cinnamon rolls. Plus, you get not one, but THREE loaves out of this recipe. So, it is great of freezing, giving, and of course, scarfing.

:: Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 1/2 cup milk (warmed in microwave)
1 cup water (110 degrees F)
2 (.25 ounce) packages of active dry yeast*
3 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup raisins (I like a lot so I put 2 cups)
8 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted

*I used yeast from a jar (the jar tells you how much is in a package).

Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Then, mix in eggs, sugar, butter, and salt. Cream the ingredients together. Next add the raisins. The recipe actually calls for 1 cup but I used 2 cups (1 cup each of golden and regular purple raisins). Add milk. Add flour gradually to make a stiff dough. (I mixed all ingredients in my KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook attachment).

Knead dough (I let the mixer do the hard work here too) on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large greased, mixing bowl and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a cloth and allow to rise until doubled (about an hour or longer). (I boil a pot of water and pop the bowl with the dough in a cool oven along with the pot of boiling water on the bottom rack. The steam from the boiling water makes the space warm and helps the bread to rise – I do this with all my breads).

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. (My dough was about 26 inches long). Moistened dough with 2 Tbsp milk. Use your hand to spread the milk around. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp cinnamon and then sprinkle over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly like a jelly roll. The dough should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place the three loaves into well greased 9×5 inch pans. Lightly grease the tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when you tap them. Remove loaves from pans and let cool before slicing.

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Mayonnaise Rolls

Written on November 19, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Wholesome Recipes

Image Credit: Adventures in Shaw

This recipe is a fabulous one passed down from my Grandma to my mom and finally, to me! Although they might sounds strange, these rolls are FABULOUS! The title gives away the secret ingredient, but these rolls in no way taste like mayonnaise. The mayo just works as a binder.

What I love most about these rolls, other than that they are delicious, is that they are so simple to make and unlike other dinner rolls, they can be whipped up in about 20 minutes. That makes them a fabulous addition to any meal, even when you’re pressed for time! These rolls will not disappoint.

Even my husband, who will not touch anything with mayonnaise with a ten foot pole, loves these rolls. I made them for him without telling him what was in them because I knew if I told him he wouldn’t even try them… he hates mayonnaise that much. He was shocked when we finally told him that they had mayonnaise in them. Now he requests them, but he asks that we don’t remind him that they have mayonnaise in them! LOL.

Mayonnaise Rolls

1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup milk

Spray cups of muffin pan with nonstick spray, or grease the pans.

Mix all the ingredients and spoon into muffin pan cups. Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes.

This makes just a few rolls (about 5 or 6), but you can easily double or triple this recipe without any trouble, and I have!

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Pumpkin Bread

Written on November 17, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Dessert, Wholesome Recipes

Its the time for giving and who says you have to wait until Thanksgiving or Christmas to bake a little love and brighten someone’s day? This recipe for pumpkin bread is so easy and it is SO delicious! I love to heat it up in the morning with a little pat of butter. It is one of the things I look forward to in the Fall! It really is that good!

The great thing about this recipe is that it will make several small loaves or two larger loaves. I like to make one large one for my family for breakfast, and then a few smaller ones for gift giving. I found some cute Wilton party favor bags at Walmart with little pumpkins on them. they are perfect for wrapping my pumpkin breads in for giving! I added a little raffia bow and they are just as cute as a button!

The other thing I love about this recipe is that it is so simple to make. It is basically a dump and stir recipe so you can’t really screw it up! That makes is perfect for getting the kids involved! Judah, at only 20 months old, helped me make this batch. He loved dumping in the ingredients as I measured them out. And, the best part to him is turning on the mixer and watching it mix the batter up! Whatever your childrens’ ages, there is something they can do to help. Baking is a great lesson in science and math. And, it is a great opportunity to spend some quality time with them, laughing and talking and having fun! You can see Judah and I making pumpkin bread here on Walmart’s YouTube page.

Pumpkin Bread:

5 eggs
1 1/4 cups Crisco vegetable oil
1 can solid pack pumpkin
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 packages (3 ounces each) cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp McCormick ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add oil and pumpkin; beat until smooth. Combine remaining ingredients; gradually beat into pumpkin mixture. Pour batter into greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes for mini loaves and 45 to 55 minutes for larger loaves (or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean).

I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Walmart has provided me with compensation to blog about Holiday Baking and to make a video to become part of their YouTube channel. Participation in this program is voluntary. All opinions are my own.

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Cranberry, Orange, & Pecan Muffins

Written on November 9, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Snacks, Wholesome Recipes

Every year after Thanksgiving I stock up on fresh cranberries. Often stores are trying to get rid of them and they mark them down tremendously (last year I scored several bags for 99 cents!). I toss them in my freezer and I can make all sorts of yummy goodies year round – even when cranberries aren’t available. Here is one of my favorite ways to use them:

Cranberry, Orange, Pecan Muffins

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbsp grated orange peel

Toss cranberries with 1/4 cup of sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with baking spray or paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 cup sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Combine eggs with milk and stir into flour mixture until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries, pecans, and orange peel.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes about 18 muffins.

*Note: These can be frozen and are delicious! I pop the extras in a gallon sized freezer bag and when I need a quick breakfast I take a couple out and microwave them for 30 seconds. Then, I put them in the toaster oven until warmed through. They taste just like they were fresh baked!

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Pumpkin Donut Muffins

Written on November 7, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Dessert, Snacks, Wholesome Recipes

Oh my word. These are delicious! They are a cross between a muffin and a donut, and this hybrid is delicious hot, cold, with sugar, without, for breakfast, or dessert! They aren’t that hard to whip up and it makes a ton! You’ll want to share them, make them for a crowd, or don’t put the cinnamon sugar on them and you can freeze them and have them anytime you want!

Pumpkin Donut Muffins

10 Tbsp butter, room temp
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/3 cup butter milk (or 1/3 cup milk + tsp lemon juice)
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs

For the sugar coating:
1 c. granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray OR butter and flour pans.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and allspice in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin and butter milk with electric mixer. In a third bowl whip brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low begin to add in flour and pumpkin mixtures alternating. Add the flour in three additions and the pumpkin in two additions. Beat to combine.

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans and bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean (about 15 minutes). Allow muffins to cool slightly. Combine sugar and cinnamon for coating. Brush each muffin with melted butter and then toss in cinnamon sugar mixture. ( I combined my cinnamon and sugar in a gallon sized resealable bag so that I could toss in a few muffins and shake the coating onto them). Place muffins on wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 1 day. If you can’t eat all of these at once (and it makes about 48 mini muffins!) then I suggest placing the muffins in a ziploc bag before putting the coating on and then add the coating before you serve them in subsequent days. If you aren’t going to finish them in a few days, you could freeze them before coating them with cinnamon sugar for up to 3 months. Reheat at 350 and then coat in butter and cinnamon sugar.

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Homemade Pizza Dough

Written on October 20, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Wholesome Recipes

There is nothing quite as delicious as homemade pizza. And, making pizza dough is really very simple! Making your own pizza (dough and all) is MUCH cheaper than ordering out for delivery which is a MAJOR plus in our household too!

You can make a double batch and freeze the rest. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and pop it in a freezer bag. The next time you want to make homemade pizza you can just pull it out of the freezer in morning and place it in a greased bowl (roll a little olive oil around in it). Then, it will rise just in time for dinner!

I use my pizza dough for more than just homemade baked pizza! I also use it to make calzones, mini personal sized pizzas, and grilled pizza! Any way you make it … it is delicious!

Homemade Pizza Dough

3/4 c. warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 envelop (or the equivalent) of active dry yeast
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus more for brushing bowl)

Stir yeast into measuring cup with 3/4 cup warm water. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, brush a large bowl lightly with olive oil.

Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of your mixer (or other bowl if you are hand mixing/kneading – I use my Kitchen Aid mixer to make quick work of it!). Add yeast mixture and 3 Tbsp olive oil. Process with mixer’s dough hook until dough forms a sticky ball. It dough is too sticky to remove, add a little more flour and process a little more. Mix on low speed, using dough hook until the dough is smooth, and dough springs back when pressed (7 to 10 minutes). Transfer to oiled bowl.

Here’s my trick for helping my dough rise in a draft free area:
Place the bowl of dough in cold oven and cover with a clean cloth. Boil a pot of water on the stove and place the pot in the oven with the dough. The warmth from the boiling water/steam will help the dough to rise.

Allow dough to rise for 1 hour. When you are ready to use it, punch it down and roll it out for your pizza! This will make two medium pizzas or one very large one.

You can also make this dough a day ahead and place it in the refrigerator. It will rise in the fridge some. Take it out a few hours before you are ready to use it to allow it to come back to room temperature.

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Beyond Beans & Cornbread

Written on September 2, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Wholesome Food, Wholesome Recipes

I have been preaching at you a lot about using everything you’ve got. Well, that is what this post is all about. I’ve had a couple people ask me how I cook beans. But, that would be a boring post, so I want to also share with you what I do with all those beans and cornbread once they are cooked. I think you’ll be surprised that one humble meal can make a couple really awesome meals when it is all said and done!

First, how I cook beans:

I cook my beans in the crockpot. I make all sorts of varieties; northern, pinto, black, black-eyed peas, and garbanzo. My favorite go to beans are the white great northern beans. I rinse them and throw them into the crockpot in the morning. Then, I add twice as much water and a good amount of salt. So, if I cook 2 cups of beans I add 4 cups of water. I turn my Crockpot on high and then leave it until dinner time.

Before dinner I cook a big iron skillet of cornbread using the following recipe:

Southern Cornbread

2 eggs
2 c. self rising cornmeal
1 c. milk
1/3 c. oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients except oil. Heat the oil in your iron skillet. Pour the hot oil into the cornbread batter and stir. Pour the batter back into the iron skillet that you heated the oil in. Bake for about 30 minutes.

When dinner is all finished I wrap the remaining cornbread up and throw it in the freezer. The leftover cornbread is an important ingredient in my family’s favorite chicken dressing. This is a little bit of Thanksgiving that can be enjoyed anytime! My husband would be happy to have it once a week!

Chicken Dressing

2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 large onion (grated)
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 cups corn bread (crumbled)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 T salt
2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped
4 cups of chicken stock
A few grinds of fresh black pepper

Mix together all ingredients and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.
This is a great way to use up old, stale bread too! Just thrown it into your food processor before it goes bad (mold) and grind! Then, use it in this dish or store them in a container in the freezer for later use.

As for the leftover beans, if we don’t eat them all as is, I use them in Pasta & Fagioli soup – one of our favorites and just like the kind they serve at Olive Garden. If I have leftover pintos, I mash them and then freeze them for refried beans on a Mexican dinner night. Or, we use them right away in homemade burritos or topping for nachos.

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Blue Ribbon Blueberry Muffins

Written on August 31, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Snacks, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes

You will NEVER eat a better blue berry muffin than this! These muffins are so big and delicious and nearly fool proof! I made them with the help of my 18 month old son! He stood on the step ladder and poured in all the ingredients and of course had a taste of the flour while I was busy measuring! LOL. You’ll be suprised that making muffins from scratch could be this easy! Also, these muffins freeze well! Just bag them up into a freezer bag and pop them in the microwave to defrost. To make them really fresh, just like coming out of the over, pop them into the toaster oven for a few minutes. (That is, if you don’t eat them all up on the very first morning!)

Blue Ribbon Blueberry Muffins

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
10 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
*1 1/2 cups fresh (washed, picked over) blueberries

Position rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil (or spray) muffin pan.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk, and zest until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened; the batter will be lumpy. Sprinkle the blueberries into the batter and fold them in gently.

Fill the muffin cups just to the top- the batter will rise and make big bakery style muffins! Bake until muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly when you press in the middle (about 30 to 35 minutes).

This recipe yields about 15 muffins.

*I used fresh blueberries because I had them. But, you can use frozen blueberries in this recipe, no need to thaw them before baking.

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