Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Inspired by Heidi's Brooklyn Deli.

During the last four years, it seems like some of our favorite things we've found in Vegas are places to eat.  One place we absolutely love is Heidi's Brooklyn Deli, which has become somewhat of a lunchtime tradition among the UNLV dental students.  The food (including the bread) is made fresh daily, and everything we've tried so far has been delicious.  Some of our favorite sandwiches are the chicken salad, the reuben, the Cajun turkey with avocado, and the chicken parmesan.  So good!  I love getting their chocolate chip cookies and macaroni salad, too (which is amazing because I'm not a macaroni salad person).  Whenever we make chicken parmesan, we use the leftovers in our imitation of the sandwich at Heidi's.

Marbled rye bread, sliced
Chicken parmesan, thickly sliced (at least 1/2 breast per sandwich)
Marinara sauce
Fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

Spread a generous amount of marinara sauce on one piece of bread.  Layer chicken slices over marinara.  Cover with mozzarella cheese.  Toast chicken-covered piece of bread and empty piece (or broil in the oven if don't have a toaster oven) until bread is toasty and cheese is melted.  Put sandwich together, slice (if desired), and dig in!

Note:
- We like to use this recipe for chicken parmesan, which we got from a friend of ours.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Okay, so it's been literally months since I posted anything on here.  I swear I've been trying new recipes, but life has just gotten busy!  I'm hoping to dig the recipes we've liked out of the mess of cookbooks, magazines, and papers that have taken over my shelf so I can share them with you.  We'll see how that goes, right?

My kids and I made these again yesterday, though, and I managed to take a picture, so I'm taking the opportunity to squeeze a post in between Nerf guns and a climbing toddler.

From Alton Brown's Good Eats 3: The Later Years, page 52.

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115F)
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 (2 1/4 tsp.) envelope active dry yeast
22 oz. (~4 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbs. water
Pretzel salt

Combine warm water, sugar, kosher salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Set aside for 5 minutes, or until the mixture foams.

Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, 4 to 5 minutes.

Put the dough in a large, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Set aside in a warm place for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Heat the oven to 450F.  Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil.  Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan or a roasting pan (something wide and shallow is best).

Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.  Roll out each piece of dough into a 24" rope.  Make a U-shape with the rope, and, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel.  Place on a half-shet pan.  Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

One by one, place the pretzels in the boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula.  Return them to the sheet pans, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture, and sprinkle with pretzels salt.

Bake until dark golden brown in color, 12 to 14 minutes.  Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:
- Add the flour about 1/2 cup at a time, and slow down once you reach the 3 1/2 or 4 cup mark.  Add enough flour after that point so that the dough isn't sticking to the side of the bowl, up to 4 1/2 cups total.
- I use my 5 quart sauté pan to boil the pretzels.
- I add an extra twist when I'm shaping my pretzels because I think it holds them together better (Alton Brown's just cross over each other in an X shape in the middle).
- If I don't have pretzel salt, I use sea salt or kosher salt.

Pizza Dough & Sauce

From Todd Wilbur's A Treasury of Top Secret Recipes, pages 281-282 and 438-439.

This is a combination of the California Pizza Kitchen crust and the Pizza Hut sauce, and it's delicious!  Make sure you start the night before so the dough has enough time to rise.

Our cheese got a little overcooked, but it was still yummy!

Prep: 20 minutes + rising/resting (4-5 hours and overnight) / Cook: 10-12 minutes
Yield: one 10" pizza


CPK Crust:
1/3 cup + 1 Tbs. warm water (105-115F)
3/4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup bread flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil

Start the day before you plan to serve the pizza.  In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water.  Let it sit for 5 minutes until the surface of the mixture turns foamy.

Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.  Make a depression in the flour and pour in the olive oil and yeast mixture.  Use a fork to stir the liquid, gradually drawing in more flour as you stir, until all the ingredients are combined.  When you can no longer stir with a fork, use your hands to form dough into a ball.  Knead the dough with the heels of your hands on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes, or until the texture of the dough is smooth.

Form the dough back into a ball, coat it lightly with oil, and place in a clean bowl covered with plastic wrap.  Keep the bowl in a warm place for about 2 hours to allow dough to double in size.  Punch down the dough and put it back into the covered bowl and into your refrigerator overnight.

Take the dough from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you plan to build the pizza so that the dough can warm up to room temperature.

Form the dough into a ball and roll out on a floured surface until very think and 10" in diameter.  Put your pizza crust on a baking sheet or pizza pan, spread with sauce and toppings of your choice, and bake at 500F for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is light brown.

PH Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Dash onion powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30-60 minutes until it reaches the desired thickness.  When sauce has cooled, store it in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

Notes:
- I kneaded my dough on a lightly floured Silpat-type silicone baking mat, and it was awesome!  The dough is somewhat sticky at first and stuck to my hands, but by the end of the 10 minutes, it was a smooth ball, and neither my hands nor the mat had any stray dough on them.
- The second time we made this pizza, we cooked it at 485 or 490 to keep the cheese from scorching, but the crust didn't get quite as crispy.  Just play around with it to find what you like.
- I have used the pizza sauce without allowing it to cool down, so don't worry if that's what you have to do, too!
- The sauce makes enough for a few pizzas, depending on how much sauce you like.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan) via Perry's Plate.

I was craving something pumpkiny after Halloween ended and made my husband pick up a can of pumpkin puree at the store one day, even though he's not so fond of the stuff.  These muffins are so delicious!  Not too sweet, with just the right amount of pumpkin and spices.  Even my husband admitted that they were good, for a pumpkin muffin (he based his opinion on texture).  Our toddler was really excited about them and has eaten the equivalent of maybe one muffin; when it comes down to it, he's a cereal boy like his daddy.  So that leaves me.  I made these probably four days ago . . . and we have one muffin left. *sigh*  Good thing there's more pumpkin in the fridge.

Yield: 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground allspice
1 stick (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional
About 1/3 cup slivered almonds, for topping

Preheat oven to 400F.  Prepare muffin pan by lining with paper cups or greasing 12 molds.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), beat the butter at medium speed until soft.  Add both sugars and continue to beat until light and smooth.  Add eggs, mixing after each addition, then beating for one minute after the eggs are incorporated.  Beat in vanilla.  On low speed, mix in the pumpkin and buttermilk, then add the dry ingredients in a steady stream, mixing only until they disappear.  Stir in nuts.

Divide the batter evenly among a dozen muffin cups and sprinkle a few slivered almonds over the top of each.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a cooling rack.

Notes:
- The recipe originally called for 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup nuts, but I don't do raisins.  It also called for 1/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds for the top, but I didn't have those and used the almonds instead.
- Don't be tempted to under-fill the muffin cups or divide the batter between more than 12 cups.  They will be very (and I mean it) full--to the point that the batter will likely be higher than the sides of your muffin pan.  But since it's pretty thick, you won't end up with a big runny mess.  Just trust me.

Multi-Grain Twisted Cinnamon Ring

From Healthy Cooking (Oct./Nov. 2011), page 40.

I decided to try making this ring after one of my sisters raved about the rolls.  I typically don't have luck with yeast breads, so I was surprised that this actually turned out for me.  And it was yummy!  This recipe can also be used for rolls or a pull-apart loaf (just follow whichever directions you want at the end of the recipe).

Prep: 30 min + rising / Bake: 15 min.
Yield: 1 ring / 1 loaf / 1 dozen rolls

Dough:
1 pkg. (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
3 Tbs. butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
6 1/2 tsp. half-and-half cream
4 1/2 tsp. butter, softened

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add the oats, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, butter, egg, salt, and 1 cup flour.  Beat on medium speed until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down.  Roll into an 18x12-inch rectangle; spread with butter.  Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 inch of edges.

For Icing: In a small bowl, beat the confectioners' sugar, cream, and butter until smooth.

Now choose one of the following three methods of finishing the recipe:

For Twisted Cinnamon Ring:
Roll up jell-roll style, starting with a long side.  Cut roll in half lengthwise.  Place dough side by side on a greased baking sheet.  Twist together, cut side up; shape into a ring.  Pinch ends together.  Cover and let rise until doubled about 45 minutes.  Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from pan to a wire rack.  Drizzle glaze over warm bread.

For Cinnamon Rolls:
Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seams to seal.  Cut into 12 slices.  Place cut sides down in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Drizzle glaze over warm rolls.

For Cinnamon Pull-Apart Loaf:
Cut into thirty-six 3x2-inch rectangles.  Make two stacks of 18 rectangles.  Place, cut sides up, in a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.  Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.  Drizzle glaze over warm bread.

Notes:
- Confession: I don't hand-knead for very long if I can help it.  I just switch from the paddle to the dough hook attachment on my Kitchen-Aid mixer and call it good. :)

Mesa Grill Pretzels

Adapted from Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, page 33.

Yield: 20 pretzels

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 oz. yeast
2 tsp. light brown sugar
1 large egg
3-4 cloves roasted garlic, peeled and pureed
Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
Cayenne pepper

Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat liners or parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and sprinkle with an even layer of the cornmeal over each.

Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl and mix together with your fingertips until the yeast has dissolved.  Whisk in the sugar, egg, and garlic until combined.  Add 2 tsp. salt, the pepper, 3 cups flour (add more if necessary to form a smooth dough), and poblanos; mix until combined.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth.  Place the dough in a lightly greased large bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide in half.  On a floured work surface, roll each half out into a 12x12" square.  Cut each square into 10 even strips.  Hold the dough by the ends; stretch it to the length of one of the baking sheets, keeping the shape as uniform as possible.  Place the pretzels on the baking sheets, spacing 1" apart.  Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Season the tops with a combination of kosher salt and cayenne pepper.  Bake until crisp and golden brown, 20-25 minutes.  Remove to baking racks and let cool.

Roasting Garlic
Preheat the oven to 300F.  Separate the cloves of a head of garlic, but do not peel.  Drizzle the cloves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Wrap the garlic securely in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until very soft.  Squeeze the pulp from the skins, discarding the skins.  Roasted garlic will keep covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  (If you're doing less than 1 head of garlic, you'll want to check it before the 45 minutes.)

Roasting Peppers and Chiles
Preheat the oven to 375F.  Brush the peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place in the oven on a rimmed baking sheet and rotate until charred on all sides, 15-20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and place the roasted peppers in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 15 minutes to allow the skin to loosen.  Then peel, halve, and seed.  Treat chiles exactly the same way as the peppers.  Roasted peppers and chiles can be covered and stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Notes:
- The original recipe calles for 1 head of garlic, but that seemed like a bit much to me.  It also calls for jalapeno chile pepper, which I've never seen, so I used cayenne pepper.
- Bobby says to roll the dough out into a 12x12" square about 1" thick.  I honestly wonder if it was a misprint because I can't figure out how that would have been possible . . . unless my dough didn't rise nearly enough.  My squares were about 1/4" thick.

Garlic-Herb Braid

From Simple and Delicious (Jan./Feb. 2010), page 58.

Prep: 20 min. + rising / Bake: 20 min.
Yield: 1 loaf (16 slices)

I do not have a talent for yeast breads, but this was seriously one of the best endeavors I ever made in that area.  Although it takes a little while (for rising), this bread is actually quite easy to make and well worth the effort.  It is delicious!

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
2 pkg. (1/4 oz. each) quick-rise yeast
2 tsp. dried basil
1 3/4 tsp. dill weed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
2/3 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 egg
1 Tbs. butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and seasonings.  In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, and cubed butter to 120-130F.  Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened.  Add egg; beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; kneed until sooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into thirds.  Shape each into a 15" rope.  Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 25 minutes.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Brush with melted butter.  Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Nutrition Facts:

1 slice = 169 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 257 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Notes:
- I used rapid-rise yeast, which I think is the same as quick-rise.
- Because I love basil, it is possible that I was a little heavy handed on the 2 tsp. that the recipe calls for.
- Did I crush my dried rosemary?  No, but perhaps doing so would release more flavor . . . ?
- I never buy 2% milk, but for the sake of posting the published nutrition facts, I've been specific.
- I did all the mixing in my Kitchen-Aid using the paddle attachment.  Typically I'd switch to the dough hook after a while, but I decided to actually knead the bread by hand this time where the recipe calls for it.
- The temperature of the liquids is actually important--not warm enough and your yeast won't do the job; too warm and you'll kill it.  I clipped a meat thermometer inside my pot to watch the temperature, making sure that it didn't touch the bottom of the pan.  Be careful once things reach the right temperature, though; I had to let mine cool down a little before adding it to the dry ingredients because things got hot quickly.
- I'm pretty sure I ended up using all 4 1/2 cups of flour, but don't assume that you will.  I've learned that sometimes you need it all and sometimes you don't.  Perhaps it depends on the weather.
- My ropes weren't quite long enough, I think, because I was only able to get three braids out of them.  The picture in the magazine has five, which looks so much cooler.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Adapted from AllRecipes.com, submitted by Tablespoon.

Makes 1 loaf.

I made a couple of slight modifications to the original recipe, and that's what I'm posting here.  A lot of other reviewers had variations that sounded good, as well, so I'll include them below the Notes section of this post.  If you want the original recipe, follow the link above.

2 lemons
5 Tbs. powdered sugar
3/4 cup + 1Tbs. white sugar
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs. melted butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
1 2/3 cup + 1 Tbs. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw)
1 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. brown sugar

Grate the zest from both lemons.  Put 1 tsp. lemon zest in a small bowl, along with the juice from 1/2 a lemon and the powdered sugar; stir until smooth to make the glaze.  Set aside.

Add the rest of the zest and lemon juice into a medium bowl, along with 3/4 cup white sugar, melted butter, eggs, and sour cream.  Mix until blended.  Stir in the milk.

Whisk together 1 2/3 cup flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Remove 3 Tbs and set aside.  Pour milk mixture into flour mixture (large bowl) and stir until just combined.

Toss blueberries with reserved flour mixture.  Fold gently into batter.  Pour into a greased 9x5" loaf pan.

Cut butter, brown sugar, 1 Tbs. white sugar, and 1 Tbs. flour together with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of batter.

Bake for 60 minutes at 350F, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Dust with powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze over top of bread before serving.

Nutrition Facts:

1 slice (1/12 of loaf) + a little drizzle of glaze = 167 calories, 6.5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 48.5 mg cholesterol, 115 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1.5 g protein.

Notes:
- I'm guessing I used about 6 Tbs. powdered sugar, but I didn't exactly measure.  Just keep adding more until the glaze reaches the consistency you'd like.  However, the nutrition facts posted below are for the amounts I've listed.
- I wanted streusel topping, but it ended up being more of a sweet, crunchy crust.  Still good, but not my intention.  I'll work on that.
- The original recipe calls for poking holes in the bread and pouring the glaze over it straight out of the oven.  I opted not to do that because several reviewers said it made the bread soggy if not eaten right away.

Other Suggestions:

- Use buttermilk or soured milk instead of milk.

- Double the glaze.

- Add vanilla extract (probably 1 or 1 1/2 tsp.).

- Add 1/2 box lemon pudding mix to batter.  (I wanted to try this but didn't have any lemon pudding!)

- Add a streusel topping.  (Again, my plan for this one went awry.)

Crispy and Creamy Donuts

From AllRecipes.com, submitted by Kelly.

Total time: Anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 hours
Yield: About 3 dozen donuts + holes

These donuts don't quite mimic the brand their name plays on, but they were very, very yummy!  We'll make them again for sure . . . sometime.  Donuts aren't an all-the-time thing, you know.

2 (.25 oz) envelopes active dry yeast (or 2 Tbs.)
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 F)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 quart vegetable oil for frying

Glaze
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbs. (or as needed) hot water

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand for 5 minutes or until foamy.

In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups flour.  Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon.  Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl.  Knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic.  Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover.  Set in a warm place to rise until double.  Dough is ready if you touch it and the indentation remains.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut with a floured donut cutter.  Let donuts sit out to rise again until double.  Cover loosely with a cloth.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in hot water one Tbs. at a time until the glaze is somewhat thin but not watery.  Set aside.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 F (175 C).  Slide donuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula.  Turn donuts over as they rise to the surface.  Fry donuts on each side until golden brown.  Remove from hot oil to drain on wire rack.  Dip donuts into the glaze while still hot and set onto wire racks to drain off excess.

Other Topping/Filling Ideas:
- Powdered sugar
- Cinnamon/sugar mix
- Alton Brown's chocolate glaze (we wanted to try this but forgot to make it)
- Melted chocolate (that's what lazy me did)
- Maple glaze (didn't have time, but I'm thinking of trying the recipe HERE next time--there's also an orange glaze)
- Sprinkles
- Vanilla pudding (I left a few donuts intact so I can fill them)
- Jam or fruit purees (but you could have pudding!)
- Anything else you can think of!

Notes:
- We used canola oil instead of vegetable oil.  Just make sure what you use is safe for deep-frying and doesn't have a low flash point; you don't want to have an oil fire.
- My dough always stuck to the side of the bowl, but it was really easy to scrape out.  I admit I lost count of how much flour I put in (oops!).  I got to what I thought was 5 cups, but the dough was still really sticky looking.  After trying to count back on how much flour I had added, I decided to go ahead and add another cup.  So I'm not sure if I added 5 or 6 cups.
- I love my mixer.  I used the paddle to mix things in and then switched to the dough hook for the kneading.  Yeah right I'm going to knead by hand for 5 minutes!  Ha!
- The indentation in my dough remained even before it doubled in size, so . . . I let it keep rising.
- Donut cutter?  Really?  I used a 3" biscuit cutter and then used the mouth of a small glass bottle to cut out the centers.  I think the mouth of a plastic water or soda bottle would work, too.
- One reviewer said that she let her donuts rise on wax paper sprayed with Pam, so I did, too.  Matt thought it made it harder to pick them up--do what you want.
- We were so involved in the donuts that I forgot about the glaze until the last minute, so I cheated.  I melted the butter in the microwave and slowly added the powdered sugar.  I'm sure it would be easier to do it on the stove, but it worked in a pinch.
- We don't have a thermometer that measures up to 350 F, so I looked up some ways to test the oil without one.  Check HERE and HERE for some methods you can use.
- If you're using a deep fryer, you'll want to check your directions before using it (duh).  Ours says donuts take 2-4 minutes, but I'm not sure they even took that long.  Just make sure you test the insides every now and then to make sure they're cooked through.
- Donut holes are harder to fry since they don't want to flip over once the first side is cooked.  We wasted 8 or 9 before we figured that out.  Matt decided to fry them one at a time and just hold them under the oil with the spider--presto!  He's a genius.

Friendship Bread and Starter

Do not refrigerate!

Starter:

1 1/4-oz. pkg. active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

2 cups white sugar, divided

2 cups milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart glass, plastic, or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly.

Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

Follow rest of directions listed above for days 2-10.

Day 1: Do nothing.
Day 2-5: Mush the closed bag 2 times a day.
Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk.
Day 7-9: Mush the bag & release the air 2 times a day.
Day 10: Make the bread following the directions below.

Squeeze contents of bag into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Mix well. Measure three 1-cup starters into three large zip-lock bags (one gallon size). Mark with the date and day number and give to three friends with a copy of the instructions.

To make your two loaves of bread:
Preheat the oven to 325°F and spray loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Add the following into leftover starter in the bowl:
1 cup oil
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs

In another bowl, mix:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding

Combine wet and dry ingredients.

In a small bowl, combine ½ cup sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Put 1/8 cup of mixture in the bottom of each loaf pan. Pour batter into pans and top each with half of the remaining sugar mix.

Bake at 325°F for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans on a cooling rack for 30 minutes and then turn out and enjoy!

Bread Bowls or French Bread

From Kim Herring.

Yield: 2 loaves French bread or 6 bread bowls

2 1/4 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 packages or 2 T. active dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons soft shortening or oil
6 cups flour, stirred and measured

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In large mixing bowl combine warm water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over top; allow to soften. Add salt, shortening/oil and 3 cups flour; beat well.

Add remaining flour, stirring well with heavy spoon. Leave spoon in batter and allow dough to rest 10 minutes; stir down with spoon; allow dough to rest 10 minutes; stir down again. Repeat this process until dough has been stirred down five times.

Turn dough out onto floured board; knead two or three times to coat dough with flour so it can be handled.

For French Bread:
Divide into two parts. Roll each part of dough into rectangle 9 x 12 inches. Roll dough up, starting from long side; pinch edge of loaf to seal. Arrange seam side down on large baking sheet that's been sprinkled with cornmeal, allowing room for both loaves. Repeat with second part of dough.

For Bread Bowls:
Divide into six parts. Form into balls, smooth on top with the seam pinched together on the bottom. Arrange on a large baking sheet that's been generously sprinkled with cornmeal.

Cover lightly; allow to rise for 30 minutes. With a very sharp knife, cut three gashes at an angle in top of each loaf (I cut two gashes on each bread bowl); brush entire surface with egg wash (1 egg beaten slightly with 1 tablespoon water). If desired, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

Bake for 30 minutes or until brown. Cool on racks.

Note:

- I used a bowl and wooden spoon the first time I made these, and then I switched to my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook. Works out just the same, except my arms don't feel like they're going to fall off.

Chocolate Banana Bread / Muffins

From Quick Cooking (Jan./Feb. 2001), page 53.

Yield: 1 loaf or 2 dozen muffins

½ cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)—needs more banana flavor
¼ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped nuts, optional
1 cup chocolate chips, optional

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, milk, and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; add to the banana mixture and mix just until combined. Fold in nuts if desired. Transfer to a greased 9x5x3” loaf pan.

Bake at 350°F for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Notes:
- For muffins: Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Check muffins at about 15 minutes for doneness.

Nutrition Facts:
1 slice (1/16 loaf) = 184 calories, 7 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 294 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein

Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread

From Quick Cooking (May/June 1998), page 19.

Yield: two 16-slice loaves

4 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 Tbs. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1-2 Tbs. finely chopped walnuts, optional

Mix together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and 1 1/2 cups sugar; set aside.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir with a spoon until blended. Do not over mix. Mixture should still be very lumpy. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon.

Spoon some of the batter into two greased loaf pans. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter over the cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar over the top of the batter.

Use a knife to swirl the cinnamon sugar through the batter.  Top with nuts, if desired.

Bake for 45-60 minutes @ 350˚F. Cool slightly. Loosen loaves and turn out onto cooling racks. Turn loaves right side up to cool. When cool, wrap in waxed paper and then foil or plastic wrap. May be frozen.

Notes:
- If desired, drizzle glaze over top of loaves when they are cooled. Make glaze by mixing about a tablespoon of softened butter or margarine, a teaspoon of vanilla, a cup of powdered sugar, and enough milk or water to make a glaze that can be drizzled from a spoon.

Nutrition Facts:
1 slice = 160 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 173 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.