Pizza Twist

We love anything pizza related and this recipe did not disappoint. It was quick and easy and very good.

Pizza Twist
recipe courtesy Michele Steel

2 tubes Pillsbury French loaf bread
Favorite pizza toppings
Mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
Italian seasoning
Garlic salt
pizza sauce for dipping

Open both loaves, make a slit long ways down the center of each, and roll each out flat. Fill with toppings, except for the sauce. Pinch dough closed around toppings and lay seam down on greased pan. Twist the loaves together 1-2 times. Spread egg over the top, make sure to cover all of the dough. Sprinkle with seasoning and garlic salt. Bake at 350 for 25-32 minutes. Pull or cut apart and serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

Lion House Banana Nut Bread

There are probably a million recipes out there for banana bread. I have tried a few, and have found this one to be my favorite. It is easy, moist, and delicious.

Lion House Banana Nut Bread

6 large or 8 medium bananas, very ripe
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Grease well and flour 2 large loaf pans; set aside. Peel bananas and place in large mixing bowl; mash bananas well. Add eggs, sugar, and oil; mix until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add to banana mixture. Mix until blended. Add nuts and mix briefly. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
*You can make 6 small loaves instead of 2 large. Bake 35-40 minutes.

Cheesy Rolls

Lately I cannot get enough of frozen dinner rolls, like Rhodes Rolls, but I just buy the generic brand at our grocery store. They are not just plain frozen rolls though. My friend Stephanie brought some rolls over where she had put melted butter on top of the rolls after they had risen, then sprinkled them with a little kosher salt, baked them, then she brushed them with a little more butter once they were out of the oven. They are divine!!! Seriously you need to try it.
This recipe also uses frozen dinner rolls and it too is fabulous!! My other friend Stefanie gave me the recipe and I decided to try them out for a girls luncheon we had and they were a hit. Super easy, super delicious!!

Cheesy Rolls
recipe courtesy Stefanie Carter

Use equal parts:
Mayonnaise (I used light)
Butter, softened
Parmesan cheese, grated (I probably added twice as much parmesan cheese)

(To give you an idea of how much to do I think I used about 2 Tbsp of mayo and butter to cover my 7 rolls that I made below.)

Lay your frozen rolls out in a greased pan.


Once rolls have defrosted, but haven't rise, top with mixture.


Let rolls rise following package instruction and bake as directed.

Cornbread

My mom used to always make this recipe for us while growing up. It is so delicious. Really it is like eating cake for dinner. I shared this recipe with a few co-workers and they loved it too. This goes really well with my White Chicken Chili.


Cornbread

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix eggs, milk, and butter together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix Bisquick, sugar, cornmeal, and baking powder. Combine dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir with a fork until all ingredients are wet, be careful not to overmix. Pour into greased 8X8 pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Poppy Seed Bread

I apologize for my long hiatus. The holidays were a wonderful and crazy time and I feel like I'm just now getting back in to normal life. This recipe is more of a holiday recipe, but I didn't get a chance to post it before now, so here it is. I grew up with my mom making this wonderful bread around the holidays. It is delicious!

POPPY SEED BREAD

3 cups flour, sifted
2 1\2 cups sugar
1 1\2 t. salt
3 eggs
1 1\2 cups milk
1 1\8 cups vegetable oil
1 1\2 t. poppy seeds
1 1\2 t. vanilla extract
l 1\2 t. almond extract
1 1\2 t. butter flavoring

GLAZE:

3\4 cup sugar
1\4 cup lemon juice (or orange juice)
1\2 t. vanilla extract
1\2 t. almond extract
1\2 t. butter flavoring

Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Line the pans with wax paper, then grease and flour wax paper. Preheat oven to 350. Mix all bread ingredients together, then beat for 2 minutes. Pour into pans and bake for 1 hour. Mix glaze ingredients together. Heat in microwave just to melt sugar (2 to 3 minutes). Remove bread from pans. Pour glaze over hot bread or use pastry brush.

Stuffing

I know that Thanksgiving is over - but I didn't get a chance to post my recipes - so I'm posting now. And who says you can only have stuffing at Thanksgiving anyways?

This is my mom's recipe and I love it. My favorite thing about the Thanksgiving meal is the stuffing. So you have to have a good recipe. This recipe is nice because it cooks in the crockpot all day - so you can get it done in the morning and not have to worry about it, plus it doesn't take up oven space.

Stuffing

2 loaves heavy white bread
1 stick butter
2 onions, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp sage
parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
24-28 ounces chicken broth

Cut bread into 1 inch cubes. You can do this the night before so they will dry out or you can spread the cubes onto a cookie sheet and brown them in the oven. I did both. Place cubes in large bowl. Saute butter, onions, and celery until onions are clear. Sprinkle poultry seasoning, sage, parsley, salt and pepper over bread cubes, mix well. Pour onions and celery over bread, mix well. Pour chicken broth over bread, mix well. Pour eggs over bread, mix well.
Pour bread mixture into greased crockpot. Cook 1st 45 minutes on high and then cook on low for 4 hours.

Cake Doughnuts

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmet
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Cooking oil for deep-fat frying

Combine dry ingredients. Combine eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add milk and melted butter and beat with an electric mixer about 3 minutes. Add enough flour mixture to beat in with electric mixer. Stir in remaining flour mixture by hand. Cover dough and chill 2 hours. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch doughnut cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Reroll as necessary. Fry doughnuts, two or three at a time, in deep hot fat (375 degrees)about 1 minute on each side or until golden, turning once with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with doughnut holes.

For chocolate cake doughnuts, replace spices with 1/2 cup cocoa powder.

For sugar doughnuts after cooking, shake warm doughnuts in a bag with granulated sugar.

For powdered sugar doughnuts, wait until doughnuts are completely cooled, then shake in a bag with powdered sugar.

I got the recipe for a chocolate glaze off of the internet, and I really didn't like it, so you are on your own for finding a chocolate glaze.

Artisan Bread Bowls

Brad and I love soup and love it even more in bread bowls. This recipe was really good. The bowls weren't quite as large as I would have liked. I made 5 bowls out of this recipe, and next time I will probably only do 4.

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2 teaspoons yeast

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, enough to make a smooth, soft dough

Let yeast dissolve in warm water until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients—by hand, mixer or bread machine— and knead till you've created a smooth dough.Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes; it should become puffy. Divide the dough into 5-6 pieces, depending on how large you want your bread bowl to be. Roll each piece into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment covered baking sheet.Cover the bread bowls with greased plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to 24 hours); this step will give the bread bowls extra flavor, and a delightfully crisp-chewy texture. Two or more hours before serving, remove the bread bowls from the refrigerator. Uncover, and let them sit for about one hour while you preheat the oven to 425°F. Just before baking, slash the top surface of the bowls several times with a sharp razor/knife to allow them to expand. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the bowls are deep brown, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

I LOVE anything with pumpkin in it. So I was really excited to try these muffins and they were fabulous!!

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice**

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice**3 tablespoons sugar

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple and spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.
**Tip: if you don't have pumpkin pie spice, use the following combination: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Mix together and woila! - you have the equivalent of 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and it is much cheaper than buying it premade).

English Muffins

1 cup milk, scalded
2 Tbsp sugar or honey
1/4 cup oil or margarine
1 Tbsp salt

Place hot milk in a bowl and add oil, sugar, and salt. Let cool to lukewarm.

1 cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast

Dissolve yeast in the water and let set for 5 minutes, then add to the cooled milk.

5-6 cups flour

Add 3 cups flour and beat until smooth. Gradually add more flour, beating well after each addition until a soft dough is formed. Knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in size (about 1 hr).

Punch down and divide in half. On a lightly floured board, roll the first half to about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, and cut as many circles of dough as you can.

Gently removed to a cookie sheet that has been greased and heavily sprinkled with corn meal. Sprinkl tops with corn meal too.

Push scraps together, roll out and cut again. Repeat procedure the second half, until all dough is used.

Cover the muffins with a cloth and let rise until doubled. After muffins have doubled grease the bottom of another cookie sheet (it works best if it is a light weight dark colored cookie sheet) and place on top so the muffins are sandwiched between the two.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or longer if necessary.

Single recipe makes about 13-14 muffins.

Parmesan Focaccia

from America's Test Kitchen

1 russet potato (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp table salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for the baking sheet
Parmesan Cheese
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt or 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Cover the potato with water in a small saucepan and simmer until completely cooked and easily pierced with a knife, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and when the potato is cool enough to handle, grate it on the large holes on the grater. Reserve 1 1/3 cups lightly packed potato.

Mix 3 1/4 cups of the flour, yeast, and table salt together in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the grated potato, water, and 2 Tbsp of the oil until the dough comes together, about 1 minute.

Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If, after 5 minutes, more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and wrap tightly in lastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Press the dough into a well-oiled 12 by 18 inch rimmed baking sheet. Wrap loosely in lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until it has nearly doubled in size and springs back slowly when indented with a finger, 45 to 60 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Wet your fingers and press them into the dough at regular intervals to make about 24 dimples. Drizzle with the ramining 2 Tbsp oil and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan and sea salt. Bake util the focaccia bottom is golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Slide the focaccia onto a wire rack and let cool slightly before cutting into squares.

Brown Sugar Banana Nut Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Crumb Topping:

In a bowl combine: 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp butter, and 1/8 tsp baking powder.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Stir in vanilla and bananas. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Blend the banana mixture into the flour mixture; stir just to combine. Fold in walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle crumb topping on top.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. (I think I only cooked it for about 45 minutes - but my oven seems to be hotter).

Hot Buttered Pretzels

This recipe was an old challenge for the Daring Baker's group. The pretzels were pretty easy to make. I only had a couple that actually turned out looking like normal pretzels though- I think it just takes practice. They were really good!

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

For the dough:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) instant yeast
1 cup warm water (you may need a little more)

For the pretzel topping:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
kosher salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl with your hands. Work the ingredients together until you can form a ball. If the dough is very dry, add a bit more warm water until it comes together. The dough will look messy, but don't worry about it.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin kneading by pushing the dough away with the heel of your hand, and then folding it back in onto itself. Push the dough away again and then fold back in. Continue this motion, working the dough until it's smooth. This should take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead the dough in a mixer with your dough hook for 5 to 6 minutes).

Once the dough is done, sprinkle some flour on the dough and put it in a large, oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes to an hour. It will rise considerably.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and set aside.

Divide your dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a long rope that's roughly 24 inches in length. (Don't make it too long or your pretzels will be too thin.)

Taking hold of the ends of the rope, cross the rope over itself to form a circle with about 4 to 5 inches on each end that are sticking out. Twist the ends over themselves and secure each end on either side of the pretzel.

Carefully dip the pretzel in the water and then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.

Sprinkle the pretzels with the kosher salt and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

Put the pretzels in the oven for 6 minutes, then rotate the trays and bake for an additional 6 minutes. Keep an eye on the pretzels so that they don't burn.

Remove the pretzels from the oven and immediately brush them with the butter. Keep brushing them with butter until you've used it all.

Serve the pretzels warm. I made a cheese sauce for Brad and I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top of mine.



**These were best right after you took them out of the oven and they were hot. They weren't so great the next day!

Daring Baker's Challenge - Danish Bread

A couple months ago my friend Heidi introduced me to a baking group called the Daring Baker's Club. I decided to join because it sounded fun and I knew I would probably bake things I never would have tried on my own. So here is my first challenge completed. Heidi and I got together the night before and made the dough. Since it had to refrigerate over night we then split it in half and the next day each made our own Danish. We filled ours with the apple filling and cream cheese filling. I actually put half of mine in the freezer and got it out when my parents were here. I actually liked it better after it was frozen.

DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

APPLE FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

DANISH BRAID
Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups apple filling, jam, or preserves (see below)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.


This is our first turn of the dough. We did get better towards the end, but it didn't go as smoothly at the beginning.





This is Heidi's danish - she's out of town, so I'm posting for her

Red Lobster Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

We went to Red Lobster while on vacation, and I did not quite get my fix of their fabulous biscuits. I knew there were copycat recipes out there - so I decided to try one. These are pretty tasty!!

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic salt
dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine Bisquick, milk, and cheese. Spoon batter on to greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. While biscuits are baking melt the butter. Stir in garlic salt and parsley. When biscuits are done, remove from oven and pour butter mixture over biscuits.

Deep Dish Pizza

I got this recipe off of America's Test Kitchen and it is fabulous!



2 1/3 – 3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp yeast
1 cup warm milk
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil

In your mixer combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Mix well. In a separate bowl combine warm milk, sugar and olive oil. While your mixer is on low, slowly pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Let the machine knead the dough for 5 minutes. Put in a greased bowl and let rise. After dough has doubled in size put dough on lightly floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a 7 inch circle. Place over your knuckles moving the dough around in a circle so that the middle is thinner than the sides. Place the dough into a cake pan that has 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in the bottom. And press out to the sides of the pan, trying to avoid getting the oil on top of the dough. I probably only used about 1-2 Tbsp. You need enough so that it will fry the bottom of the dough. Let the dough rise 10 minutes. The put on your favorite toppings. Bake on bottom rack of oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Hamburger Buns

This recipe is courtesy of my Grandma Richards

8 cups flour
2 Tbsp yeast
2 cups warm water
3/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
3 eggs
sesame seeds, optional

Combine 4 cups flour and yeast in large mixing bowl. Add water, oil, sugar and salt. Mix together. Add eggs. Mix for 3 minutes. Add remaining flour so you have a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once so top of dough is also greased. Cover and let rise until double - about 1 hour.
Divide dough in to 3 sections. Cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide each section into 8 balls. Press flat between hands to create a 3 1/2 inch circle. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush water on top of buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Brush tops of buns with melted butter.

Fast and Easy Pizza Dough

This recipe is courtesy Kim Cortright

3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp yeast
7-9 cups flour

Mix 1st 3 ingredients in bowl. Add half of the flour and mix to make a paste. Sprinkle the yeast over the paste and then mix in. Add the rest of the flour. Knead on low speed for 8 minutes. Roll into pizza. Add whatever toppings you like. Bake at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

**I usually half the recipe and then press the dough into a large cookie sheet.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

These are seriously the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted!! I found them on Allrecipes - and then realized my friend Heidi also had found them. I am craving them right now just thinking about them!!




1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Softened butter
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar
Walnuts, Raisins, optional

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt


Mix first seven ingredients in your mixer. I usually mix the yeast and the liquid first and then let sit for 5 minutes - so I know it's working. Then I add it to the flour mixture. My sister adds it all together at once. It works either way. Let machine knead dough about 10 minutes. Transfer the dough into a greased bowl. Let rise until double - about 1 hour.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar and cinnamon. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. I use a long piece of thread that I slide underneath the dough and then bring up to the top - criss cross the thread and pull tight so it cuts the dough. Hopefully that makes sense! Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Enjoy!!

Breadsticks

Recipe courtesy of Ali Broadbent

6 cups flour
1 Tbsp yeast
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1/3 cup oil
2 1/2 cups hot water

In a large bowl mix 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Then add water and oil and mix again. Add 3 more cups flour a little at a time. Mix for 7-10 minutes. Let dough rise until double in size. Punch dough down and roll the dough out on the counter into a rectangle. Use pizza cutter or knife to cut in to breadsticks. Put breadsticks on pan and brush with butter and parmesan cheese. Let rise again for 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.