Irish Whiskey Soda Bread

From the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook.

4 Cups flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tablespoons butter
11/2 cups raisins (plumped in milk at least 3 hours)
2-3 Tablespoons Irish Whiskey
2 eggs
1 Cup buttermilk

Preheat to 400 degrees.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cut or rub the butter in using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Drain the raisins. In a second bowl, mix the drained raisins with 2 Tablespoons whiskey. Blend these with the flour until thoroughly coated.

Beat the eggs and remove one Tablespoon and set aside. Add buttermilk to beaten eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry stirring just enough to combine.

Mix well, if the ingredients seem too dry (won't hold together) add the additional tablespoon of whiskey. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8-10 times until mixture comes together as a whole.

Form into a roundish ball and place on a well greased cake pan or casserole dish.

Brush top with reserved egg. Cut a four inch cross across the top with a floured knife.

Bake 45-50 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Slice thin and serve.

Cinnamon Apple Bread

(This photograph was not taken by a professional. A professional would have taken the little sticker off the apple.)

This is an adapted recipe from The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. It can be made with apples or raisins. It's really wonderful either way. Makes three loaves.

Fruit: 1 cup finely diced apples or raisins plumped in milk.

Proofing the Yeast in a Sponge:
2 Tablespoons or packets active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup flour

The Sponge

To make the sponge, dissolve sugar in warm water and add yeast. When yeast begins to froth, add the 1/2 cup of flour and mix well. Cover and set aside.

The Dough:

1 1/2 cups milk, scalded
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups whole wheat flour
5-6 cups white flour

In a medium saucepan scald the milk. Turn off heat just as it begins to boil and add the stick of butter. Stir until it melts. Add honey and brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Stir and let cool to lukewarm. Add the beaten eggs, the sponge, and the whole wheat flour. Stir in remaining flour one cup at a time stopping when the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. Knead until springy--about ten minutes. Let the dough rest as you wash out the bowl and grease the bottom. Place dough back in bowl, turning once so that the top is greased. Let it rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size (about an hour).

Roll-Up:
8 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Plenty of melted butter
Apples or raisins (well drained)

Mix cinnamon and brown sugar. Cut the dough into thirds. Roll each into an eight by fourteen inch rectangle. Brush liberally with melted butter and spread the sugar evenly over top. Add one third of the apples to each. Roll tightly and pinch the ends to close. Place each, seam-side down, in a well greased loaf pan. Brush the tops with more melted butter. Let rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in size (45 minutes).

15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Take loaves out if you let them rise in the oven) Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon. Bake 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Favorite Corn Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
11/2 cups fine ground cornmeal
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup corn oil
1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 inch pan, round or square.

Sift flour cornmeal brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Combine milk, corn oil, and beaten egg in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients into dry just to combine. Fold in sour cream. Pour into buttered pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean. About 35-40 minutes.

Serving suggestions: Serve warm for dinner with plenty of butter, salad and soup. Use for snacks with applesauce. Let it dry out overnight and use for cornbread stuffing. Add more brown sugar to the recipe, sprinkle with nutmeg and serve with whipped cream.

Lenten Pretzels

(from A Continual Feast by Evelyn Birge Vitz) H.T: Danielle Bean

1 Tablespoon honey or sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 envelope or 1 Tbs. active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
Coarse salt or herbs or poppy seeds
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbs. water

Dissolve the honey in the water; sprinkle in the yeast. When the yeast is active, add 1 tsp salt and the first cup of flour. Stir well and blend in the remaining flour. Knead the dough till smooth.

Cut the dough into pieces. Roll them into ropes and twist into pretzels shapes. Place the pretzels on lightly greased cookie sheets and brush them with the beaten egg and sprinkle with salt or herbs. Makes about eight pretzels. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

We loved these with the honey sweetener and sprinkled with sage.

Focaccia

The bread that is almost a pizza.
(In fact, I made half the dough into a pizza for the boys)

When accompanied by this substantial side dish, even lighter soups or salads can be served as a meal.

For the dough:

1 3/4 cups warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
1 packet or tablespoon dry yeast
5 cups flour
1/4 olive oil
1 Tbs. salt

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Add yeast. When the yeast is active, add your first cup of flour. Stir well. Add oil and salt and mix. Add remaining flour one cup at a time until the dough holds together. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until springy adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter or you. Let dough rest while you wash out the bowl. Grease the bottom of the washed bowl and put dough in, turning once so that the top is greased. Let rise in a warm, draft free place for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, set out the toppings...

1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves cut up into small pieces
1 Tbs. minced red onion
1 clove garlic minced
2 plum tomatoes sliced very thin
Generous amounts of fresh grated Parmesan
Cracked pepper to taste

Cut the dough in half and roll, toss and stretch it like a pizza dough. Lay each half on a pizza stone or lightly greased pan. Press dough into desired shape and make indentations one inch apart throughout the dough to create pockets to catch and the flavorings you put on top. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle the rosemary over each. Add the onion and garlic. Top with the tomatoes and cover liberally with Parmesan. Add pepper over all to taste.

Place focaccia in a cold oven and set the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the edges are a golden brown and the cheese has that wonderful baked look.

Hearth Bread

This hearth bread recipe is from the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook. I like to serve it with soup. Fresh baked bread and home made soup is the perfect winter meal.

2 Cups warm water
1TB sugar
1 TB or packet of dry yeast
6 Cups flour
1 TB salt

Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add yeast. When yeast is active add your first cup of flour and the salt. Stir well. Add remaining flour one cup at a time until the dough holds together. Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until it is spingy. Let the dough rest while you wash out the bowl and grease the bottom. Place dough back in bowl and turn once so that the top is greased. Let rise in a warm draft free place until it has doubled in size.


Punch the dough down. Divide in half and divide each half into three equal parts. Roll each part into a rope one inch in diameter an braid each of the three equal parts so that you end with two braided loaves. Place braids on baking stones sprinkled with corn meal or on a greased cookie sheet. Place loaves in a cold oven. Turn your oven to 400 degrees and bake for fifteen minutes. Wash tops of loaves with and egg white whipped with a tablespoon of water. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes more.

Have the butter ready and enjoy!

By Popular Demand

My father has graciously given me permission to pass this recipe on from our family to yours. He did not write the recipe as I have it here. I had to call him several times and ask questions. Since you do not have the ability to do that, I have taken the liberty of re-writing the recipe and including the information he shared with me over the phone.

Grandpapa's Oatmeal Molasses Bread
(makes four loaves)

3 C. milk
2 C. oats
1/4 C. butter
10 C. flour
4 T. wheat germ
1 T. salt
2 eggs and one egg white
1/2 C. molasses
1 1/2 T. yeast
1 C. warm water
1 T. sugar

Warm milk, oats, and butter over medium low heat until butter melts. Let cool. Meanwhile, mix first five cups of flour with wheat germ, and salt. Once milk mixture has cooled, add the eggs, egg white and molasses to it. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water and add the yeast. Once the yeast is active add the milk, oat and egg mixture. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Add the remaining flour one cup at a time, mixing the dough well. Stop adding flour when the dough holds together and is no longer sticky.

Turn dough out on a floured surface and knead until it is springy. Let dough rest while you rinse the bowl and grease the bottom. Place dough back in bowl, turning once so the top is greased. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes.

Punch dough down, roll out on flat surface and divide evenly into four loaves. Knead each loaf being careful not to overwork the dough and place each into a greased loaf pan. Grease tops with melted butter or crisco and let them rise in the pan in a warm draft free place for 30 minutes.

Slice loaves down the center with a sharp knife cutting deeply and bake at 350 for 38 minutes. Cover with foil after 20 minutes or so. (I did not cover with foil, but brushed an additional egg white on the tops at this point. It stopped the excessive browning and gave that nice shine to the tops.)

Suggestions: Serve warm from the oven with butter. Use for toast at breakfast. Top with butter and honey. Enjoy!

And be sure to let me know if you make it!

Worth Your Thyme

Herb Garden Loaf

Years ago, a man who was very kind to me mentioned that herb bread was his favorite food in all the world. I found this recipe somewhere (I can't remember where) and I made it for him. I've held on to the recipe--scratched in my own hurried handwriting onto three separate index cards-- and I make this loaf a few times a year. It isn't difficult, especially for the beautiful and delicious results.

4-41/2 C. flour
3 TBs. sugar
2 pkg. rapid rise yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. each marjoram, thyme, and rosemary
3/4 C. milk
1/2 C. water
1/4 C. butter
1 egg

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 C. flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and herbs. Heat milk, water, and butter on stove top until the butter is just melted. Stir milk mixture into dry ingredients and mix well. Mix in egg. Add just enough or remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth (4-6 minutes). Cover it and let it rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into three equal pieces. Roll each into a 30 inch rope. Braid the ropes and pinch the ends like so...

Tie a knot in the center of the braid and wrap the ends around the knot in opposite directions to form a roundish loaf. Place on a greased baking sheet. (I use my pizza stones)


Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in size...

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a beautiful golden brown. Melt extra butter and brush on top. Sprinkle with extra herbs and enjoy. I served this with our first pan-seared steak of the season. The bread is remarkably soft and absorbs the pan sauce beautifully.

And remember, the only thing better than the smell of fresh bread baking is the smell of fresh herb bread baking.