Garlic Bread Bites

I went with my aunt Eileen and my cousin Case to a yummy place in Salt Lake City recently when I was visiting my family. With our small plates came some "crunchy bread"....I know it's just simple crusty bread but I LOVE crusty bread! It was basically torn pieces of bread that were toasted. So I was longing for some and made these! I am now a little (too) addicted!

Take a loaf of french bread or sourdough and tear into smaller pieces. Drizzle with olive oil or spray with spray butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until outsides are crispy but still soft inside.

Think of all the things you can sprinkle on some crusty bread bites for other variations or dip crusty bread bites into! Yum! :)

Smoky Corn & Black Bean Pizza on homemade Whole Wheat Crust and salad w/ Creamy Lime-Chile Dressing

My friend Cissy "tweeted" the other day about her delicious dinner & I instantly started drooling!! She shared the recipes with me (which are all from Eating Well). I haven't tried them yet but can't wait to! She served the dressing on salad greens w/ some extra corn-black bean mixture and avocado. She also said even though the recipe called to grill the pizza, she baked hers in the oven & it came out good. Recipe's are as follows:

Creamy Lime-Chile Dressing
About 1/2 cup

Ingredients
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeno, or serrano pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Nutrition
Per tablespoon: 20 calories; 1 g fat (1 g sat, 0 g mono); 4 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrates; 0 g protein; 0 g fiber; 81 mg sodium; 29 mg potassium.

Smoky Corn & Black Bean Pizza
6 servings

Ingredients
1 plum tomato, diced
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 cup fresh corn kernels, (about 2 ears)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella, preferably smoked mozzarella

Preparation
Preheat grill to medium.
Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.
Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.
Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Nutrition
Per serving: 316 calories; 6 g fat (3 g sat, 0 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 14 g protein; 4 g fiber; 530 mg sodium; 94 mg potassium.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
Makes 1-12 ounce or 1 pound dough

Ingredients
To make 12 ounces dough:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation
Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack; preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired (we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp and golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition
Per 12-ounce serving: 766 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 142 g carbohydrates; 26 g protein; 16 g fiber; 1882 mg sodium; 542 mg potassium.

7-Grain Bread - Posted by Sheila Donathan

7-grain bread recipe

Notes:
1. I have a Whisper Mill which makes grinding my own flours from whole grains very easy
2. I also have a Bosch mixer, which does all the mixing & kneading for me.
3. I have adapted this from the recipe that came with my Bosch mixer.
4. Freshly-ground flours are always desirable, but the recipe will work with store-bought flour as well.
5. I don't use any white flour in this recipe.
6. This recipe makes about 6 normal sized loaves of bread (8x4-1/2 loaf pans).

Start with:
3/4 cup each rye, barley, buckwheat, brown rice, quinoa, oat flours (4 cups total)
About 10 cups of whole-wheat flour

Put 6 cups warm water in the bowl of the Bosch; then add 1/2 cup honey, 3/4 cup oil, 2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 cup gluten, and 8 cups of flour ( the 4 cups of mixed grains and 4 cups of whole-wheat). Mix on Speed 2 of the Bosch for a couple of minutes until flours are all incorporated. Stop and add 4 more cups of the whole-wheat flour, along with 4 Tbsp yeast. Continue mixing/kneading on Speed 2 and gradually sprinkle in more flour until the sides of the bowl come clean. After the sides come clean, continue kneading for about 7 minutes until gluten develops. Gluten development is checked by pulling off a little dough with oiled hands and stretching. Gluten is properly developed when you can stretch the dough almost transparent without tearing. It if tears easily, continue kneading (checking every 3-4 minutes).

When gluten is developed, pour dough onto an oiled surface; shape into a circle and divide into 6 equal pieces. This will make 6 loaves of bread (8x4-1/2); or each piece will make 2 mini loaves or 2 pizza crusts; two pieces will make a 9x13 pan of dinner (or cinnamon) rolls.

Shape dough as desired and place in pans; let rise for about 30 minutes, until volume doubles. Bake 25-30 minutes until tops are nicely browned (dinner/cinnamon rolls take only 15-17 minutes to bake). Cool on racks. Don't store in plastic bags until completely cooled. Wrap tightly to freeze.

Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up)

Hilary sent me a link to this recipe. Although I'm not much of a baker these muffins sounded yummy and we had the ingredients so I thought I'd try them out. I LOVED that the recipe only made 6 muffins which is perfect for smaller households or single people. Plus it can easily be doubled, etc if you need more muffins. I don't really consider 217 calories low for a small muffin so just keep that in mind when you're eating 2 or 3 :) But the taste was great and I thought it was a good way to use overripe bananas if you're tired of banana bread. The pics above were of the muffins I baked.

Strawberry Banana Muffins (Lightened Up): Recipe here

Homemade Bread - Posted by Valerie Barber

Potato Bread

 

10 cups flour

2 tablespoons dry yeast

¼ cup oil

1 tablespoon salt

½ cup Potato Pearls or flakes

4 cups warm water

¼ cup honey

 

Mix 6 cups flour with potatoes and dry yeast.  Add water and mix for 1 minutes.  Turn off mixer and let sponge (rest) for 5 minutes.  Add oil, honey and salt and mix well.  Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides.  Knead 5-7 minutes.

 

Form into laves and place in tins.  Let rise until doubled in size.  Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes. Makes 4 loaves.

 

Quick rise method:  After loaves are formed and placed in tins, place in pre-heated oven set at 150º until doubled in size.  Then turn up to 350º and bake for 30-35 minutes.

This is delicious and REALLY easy! Homemade bread is sooo much better than store bought bread, and now, I can have it more often!

 

Pictures: AWESOME kitchenaid (I actually used it!!), Place where I shaped the bread into loaves (floured surface), dirty bowl..., the BEST yeast to get, loaves in the oven per the quick rise method, done, and done!  Took me under 2 hours to make. I cut the recipe in half because I didn't need 4 loaves for my family. I then froze the second loaf to use next week when the first one is gone.

 

Wheat Bread    (Haven't made, but heard it's good)

6 cups fresh ground wheat (3 cups each of white and red wheat) - My aunt puts all white wheat because she doesn't like red wheat, so whatever you like

1/2 cup wheat gluten

1 1/2  Tablespoons yeast

6 cups hot tap water

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

2 1/2 Tablespoons salt

4-5 cups flour

 

Mix and blend whole wheat, gluten, yeast, and hot water.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Then add oil, honey and salt.  Blend together and add flour to pull away from the sides. Divide into 4 large loaves.  Cover and let rise to double.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  (It will continue to rise as it bakes in the oven.)