Cheddar Pumpkin Beer Bread

There is nothing better than having a freshly baked bread to go with dinner. However, bread generally takes a while to make with all the kneading and rising that's put into it. So, it doesn't get made too often in this house since I usually decide to make bread an hour or two before we sit down for dinner. Which was the case the night I made this bread. I needed something quick and delicious to go with the pumpkin chili I was making. Let me just tell you, this recipe works in a pinch.

I usually make rolls for Thanksgiving but after making this bread, I definitely plan on making it again next week for the big feast. I mean, when it comes down to it, canned rolls or fresh baked bread? Not to mention the fact that there is pumpkin beer in the recipe... which is a Thanksgiving staple. It's a win-win really. This tastes exactly like a normal beer bread would except depending on the beer you choose, your bread will have the flavor of. So make sure you grab a beer that you like. If you are not a beer drinker than any pale colored beer will work.You don't really get a huge pumpkin flavor with the bread but the beer I used isn't over powering anyways. You just get the subtle notes of pumpkin, beer, and melt in your mouth cheddar all baked into a sweet bread. There was no rising, kneading or a whole heck of a lot of work involved. I'm not going to lie though, I did the whole "One for you, one for me" when it came to adding a bottle of beer to the bread. Now of course, you don't have to use pumpkin beer, any beer would work. However, where would the fun in that be?

recipe adapted from My Recipes

• 1 Tbsp olive oil 
• 1/2 c. finely chopped yellow onion 
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 3 c. all-purpose flour 
• 3 Tbsp sugar 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle pumpkin beer (or beer of choosing) 
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375°. 
2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. 
4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. 
5. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Rustic Rosemary Garlic Bread

Ever buy one of those fancy breads from your local grocery store? They always look so good. Which is why when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it. I was making spaghetti for dinner the other night and thought to myself, "I should make a loaf of bread to go with it." You know, to be fancy and stuff. I had no idea how good this bread was going to turn out. Spaghetti what? Pass me the bread!

No I'm not lying. This bread was so good that the Mr. and I nearly ate the entire thing. This recipe is amazing. Not only does it make an extremely flavorful bread but it's not that difficult to make. I was a little nervous when 7 minutes into the first knead, the bread was really dense. But I stuck true to the recipe and in the end it turned out AMAZING. I will never second doubt a bread recipe again. The crust was crunchy and the added bonus of the sea salt added a whole new level to the bread. Meanwhile the center was really soft and full of garlic and rosemary. Honestly, this is by far the best bread I've ever eaten.

recipe from Chew Out Loud

• 1½ tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water, 110-115F
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2½ cups bread flour
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 head of roasted garlic
• extra olive oil for brushing on top and serving
• coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top
• clean water in spray bottle

1. In large bowl, Sprinkle yeast into 1 cup warm water. Mix in the sugar and salt. Let sit for about 10 minutes or until it foams. Add in olive oil. Add flour and knead (by hand or stand mixer) for about 10 minutes. Add rosemary, black pepper, and oregano. Knead another 5 minutes. Finally, gently knead in roasted garlic by hand, about 1 minute. Dough should come together well at this point; slightly sticky is fine. Place dough ball in well oiled bowl, turning dough a few times so that dough surfaces are protected by oil. Tightly cover bowl with cling wrap. Place in warm, draft-free area to rise until dough is doubled, approx. 1 hour, depending on room temp (if your room is cooler, it could take 2 hours.)
2. After dough is doubled, punch it down and shape into a rounded loaf. Using sharp knife, make a criss-cross design on top. Place rounded loaf on greased baking sheet. Cover up loaf with large mixing bowl inverted over it. Make sure bowl is large enough that it gives your loaf room to rise. Let rise until doubled again, approx 1 hour.
3. After dough has doubled again, gently brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt and a bit more rosemary. Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes, spraying loaf with water once during the middle of baking. Bump oven up to 425F and spray loaf with water again. Watch carefully – bake just until top is a nice golden brown, taking care not to over bake.

Hambuger & Hot Dog Buns

Usually we go to the grocery store and buy a package of hot dog and hamburger rolls. Actually, most of the time we just use a slice of bread. I know that some of you are horrified by this but hey, sometimes a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. So I sort of surprised the Mr. when I decided that I wanted to try to make my own rolls. I don't know about you but I get a sense of extreme self accomplishment when I do something like this. I am still learning the ropes when it comes to yeast baking, so to be able to pull this recipe out of my bag of tricks made me one happy person. I thought that making your own rolls would be pretty difficult and would deter me from ever eying the yeast in my refrigerator again but actually, it made me want to go on a baking escapade.

Melonpan

Just in case you are wondering, it is called melonpan (melon bread) not because it tastes like melon but because it resembles a melon. I did not score my bread to make the melon design, I was a little rushed at the time making other Japanese delights. However, you can add melon paste or melon extract to the dough if you wanted to but traditionally Japanese melonpan it is not flavored.

Chili in Jalapeno Cheddar Bowls

I love chili and everything that goes with it. I like chili dogs, chili burgers, chili fries, I love it all. So needless to say I am always doing something different every time I make chili. One of the things I tried recently was making a bread bowl for my chili. When we lived in CA the local grocery store used to sell jalapeno cheese bread and I used to buy it all the time for my husband. Then we move to VA and I couldn't find anyone who sold it, so I make the dough every once in a while to go along with certain meals. You don't have to make my chili recipe to go into the bread, any chili recipe will do. The bread makes enough for 3 medium size bowls. I tried stretching it to 4 bowls but wound up only fitting a scoop and a half of chili in a bowl. The chili however makes enough for an army. I usually make a lot because I have other recipes that call for chili and instead of making a batch every time I just use the leftovers.

Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 (14oz) can diced tomato
• 1 c. dried beans
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 6 button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. basil
  
• salt
• pepper

1. Soak beans according to package.
2. In a large pot brown beef over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onion, mushrooms, garlic and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, beans and a can and a half of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and allow to cook for 3 hours or until beans are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bread Bowl

• 3/4 c. warm water
  
• 1 packet of yeast, about 2 1/4 tsp
• 5 tsp. sugar
  
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 tsp. butter/margarine, melted
• 1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
  
• 2 Jalapenos, chopped
  
• 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 c. bread flour

1. Mix yeast, 1/4 c. warm water and sugar in large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, the yeast will bubble up.
   
2. Add butter, 1/2 c. water, cheddar, jalapeno and salt to the yeast mixture and stir.
3. Add flour one cup at a time and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a ball
   
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes.
   
5. Divide dough into thirds, roll dough into tight balls and lightly rub with olive oil so that the dough does not dry out. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet far apart from each other and put into the oven or a warm draft free spot to allow it to rise for one hour.
   
6. Bake dough for 30 minutes at 400° F.
7. Let dough cool down. Cut a hole out of the top of the dough and scoop out the soft bread on the inside making sure not to bread the crust. Pour chili into the bread bowl. Top with your favoring chili toppings.
   

White Bean Soup with Garlic Rosemary Bread

For cold rainy days like today there is nothing better than to curl up on the couch under a warm toasty blanket and eat a bowl of homemade soup. I made this soup last week on a cold and windy day for my husband who was up in D.C escorting a group of veterans on a tour of the monuments. So when he came home I had this duo waiting to be plated. I love making my own bread, I can add all sorts of ingredients and it ends up costing me a fraction of the price to make it than it would be for me to buy a specialty bread at a store. The soup has a lot of bean flavor so if you are not a fan of beans I would not recommend the soup. If you love beans then you will love this soup.

As for the bread, a trick I always use is I run my mixing bowl under hot water to warm it up. The key to yeast is the warm water. So warming up the bowl has proven to be my little trick. Also during the kneading process I turn my oven on to the lowest setting and let it warm up. That way when it is time to let the dough rise it has a nice warm spot to rest.




Garlic Rosemary Bread

• 3/4 c. warm water
• 1 packet of yeast, about 2 1/4 tsp
• 5 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 tsp. butter/margarine, melted
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 c. bread flour

1. Mix yeast, 1/4 c. warm water and sugar in large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, the yeast will bubble up.
2. Add butter, 1/2 c. water, rosemary, garlic and salt to the yeast mixture and stir.
3. Add flour one cup at a time and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl and forms a ball
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes.
5. Shape into a ball, lightly rub with olive oil so that the dough does not dry out. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and put into the oven or a warm draft free spot to allow it to rise for one hour.
6. Bake dough for 30 minutes at 400° F.
7. Let dough cool down before slicing.

Soup

• 3/4 c. dried cannellini beans
• 6 c. vegetable stock
• 1/2 c. soup pasta
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• salt
• pepper

1. Soak beans according to package.
2. Drain soaked beans and place them in a large pot. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat and let simmer for 2 hours or until tender.
3. Transfer about half the beans and a little bit of the stock to a blender and process to a smooth puree. Return the puree to the pot and stir to mix well. Return the soup to a boil.
4. Add the pasta to the soup, return to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender.
5. Meanwhile, heat 4 Tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Add the garlic and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes until the garlic is golden brown. Stir the garlic into the soup and add parsley. Season with salt and pepper and ladle into warmed soup bowl. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve immediately.

This post is submitted in
My Meatless Mondays

Sweet Cornbread

I love cornbread but it was a friend who introduced me to it a few years ago. My mother hates cornbread and we never had chili so it was not until a friend of mine made cornbread that I found out what I was missing all those years. I watched as my friend put butter and honey on her cornbread and ate it, I of course having no clue what to expect and not wanting to make a cornbread faux pas, mimicked what she did and instantly fell in love. I think I probably ate half of her batch.

I made these to go along side the black bean soup. I used bread flour but if you have all purpose you can use that as well. I found that using bread flour makes everything a lot fluffier than normal flour.

• 1 c. bread flour
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 c. skim milk
• 1/3 c. oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 9 x 9 baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together. Stir in the wet ingredients until there are no lumps.
3. Pour into baking pan and bake for 20- 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   

"Shamrock" Biscuits

These are too cute, I love how the parsley look like shamrocks! I thought they were tasty and even had one as "dessert" but the Mr. said they were too fancy for him. WHAT?!? Too fancy? Apparently the herb taste threw him off and he was expecting a bland biscuit. He said it was something you would get in a fancy restaurant and that he is too blue collar for it. So, what my darling husband was trying to tell me was "Kristin, your biscuits are so amazing you should charge people top dollar for them."

Irish Soda Bread

Every year I make Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's day. Every year we devour it within a couple of days. I really wish I would think to make it more than just once a year because I love this bread. There is just something about the crusty exterior and the sweetness from the raisins. It is really easy to make as far as breads go because there is no yeast! You don't have to wait for it to rise or worry about it caving in on itself. Usually I used margarine instead of butter but this year I decided to go all out and make it with butter. I found this recipe over at simply recipes and so far it it the best one that I have come across. Just so you know, if your bread is becoming too dark, tent some aluminum foil over it while it finishes baking.

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups skim buttermilk or skim milk

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
2. Using a pastry cutter or two knives (can also use your fingers), work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then stir in raisins.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that it comes together. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.
4. Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.
5. Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.

Printable Recipe

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Tasty Tueday
Bunny Hop Wednesday

Pretzel Rolls

My husband wanted to make these after seeing pretzel rolls on an episode of Diners, Drive in's and Dives on the food network. After searching the internet for a recipe we liked we settled on this one. These are not hard to make however mine always deflate on me when I pick them up to put them in the salt water. The only advise I can give is to be VERY GENTLE. These rolls are great for burgers, sandwiches or dinner rolls.

• 1 1/3 c. warm water
• 2 Tbs warm milk
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/3 c. light brown sugar
• 2 Tbs butter, melted
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 c. wheat flour
  
• kosher salt or pretzel salt
• 8 c. cold water
• 1/2 c. baking soda

1. In a small bowl if using a bread machine, or in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix a 1/3 cup of the warm water (105-115 degrees) with the yeast and let stand until foamy.
2. Add the remaining cup of warm water along with milk, sugar & melted butter and swirl to dissolve the sugar. (If using a bread machine add mixture to bread machine at this point and continue). Add flour and mix on dough cycle or med-low speed. Remove dough from bread machine once it forms a nice a firm, pliable dough ball. Add more flour if necessary.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured table and knead for 2 minutes. Roll into a 2 foot long log and cut into 12 even pieces. Cover dough with plastic and a damp cloth and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. Pat dough into rolls or form knots and arrange on a lightly floured surface about an inch apart and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the pretzels rest for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425°. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets.
6. In a large stockpot, bring the cold water to a rolling boil and add baking soda.
7. Drop two rolls into the boiling water and boil for no more then 30 seconds, turning once. Carefully remove with tongs or slotted spoon and hold above pot and let drain. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
8. Arrange rolls on the oiled baking sheets and bake on the upper and middle racks of the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until browned all over; shift pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, for even baking.
9. Let rolls cool on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Melon Bread / Melonpan

I am a huge fan of anime and Japanese culture. I kept hearing about melonpan and decided to search for a recipe on the internet. I have never heard of it nor have I seen it in any bakery before so I knew that if I wanted to try I would have to make it myself. My first thought was that it was melon flavored bread due to its name but it actually doesn't have any melon in it. However you can add melon extract or essence to the dough and make it melon flavored if you would like. The bread is actually just a normal bread dough in the center with a crunchy sweet cookie dough on the outside. So when they come out of the oven and you bite into one you get a layer of sweet crunchiness followed by a steaming fluffy center. The only down side to melon bread is once it is cooled and has been sitting out it looses its texture both the crunchy exterior and fluffy center and turns into normal bread. Although... to fix this you can just throw it in your oven or toaster over for a little bit to crisp it up again and it is just like the day you made it. Now I won't lie to you, it does take some time to make so just be prepared to spend a day making this. You have to let the dough rise a few times which can take up a good chunk of time but I think that it is worth it!

Ingredients

For the dough center:

• ½ cup milk
• 1 small egg
• 1 3/4 c flour
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1/8 c sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 1/3 Tbs butter

For the outer layer:

• 3 1/3 Tbs butter; room temp (margarine works also)
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp milk
• 1 c flour
• 1/2tsp baking powder

Bread directions:
1. Heat the milk to lukewarm and beat the egg, and then combine the two.
2. Combine everything but the butter, and then add the butter when the dough is smooth. (butter should be lukewarm)
3. Kneed for 10~15 minutes.
4. Stretch out, keeping the surface smooth.
5. Lightly grease the bowl and put the dough in, then spray with water and cover with saran wrap. Place in warm place to rise for 40~60 minutes.

Topping directions:
1. Beat the butter until it turns creamy and add the sugar in 3 different sections. Stir until the mixture is whitish.
2. Combine the egg yolk and milk in a bowl and beat well. Add slowly to the butter mixture, and then cut the dry ingredients in slowly.
3. Shape the topping dough into a rod and wrap in saran wrap. Let chill in the refrigerator.

The other directions:
1. When the dough has risen to twice its size, poke it with your finger. If it does not return, it is done.
2. Punch the dough and kneed lightly.
3. Split the dough into 6 parts and make them round. Cover so they do not dry out and let stand 10 minutes.
4. Reshape the dough and place them on an over paper-covered baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth. Let dough rise to two times its original size
5. Divide the topping into 6 parts and roll between two pieces of saran wrap.
6. Remove from wrap and place over the bread, stretching and tucking the sides to the bottom. Try not to move the dough too much because it might deflate. So be careful!! Sprinkle granulated sugar over the top and cut lines lightly into the top with a knife.
7. Bake at 335* F for 20 minutes. It's done when the edges turn slightly browned.