Soft Pretzel Bites

Last week I promised to post the appetizer recipes I brought to our going away party.  Well that day has arrived. It was worth the wait trust me.  Big Soft Pretzels.....only bite sized!

Big Soft Pretzels are always a hit.  At the mall or at the ball park you always see them, and want them!  They even sell one in the frozen section at the grocery store.  I have tried that one before....trust me when I say you should just make these instead.  Making pretzels at home is not really that difficult.  It is a little time consuming, but nothing challenging involved.  I have made these before, and they are always a hit.  This time I decided to forgo the twisting and misshapen looking ones that I always end up with, and go for bite sized.  So much easier!  And just as tasty!  Plus, no double dipping involved :)

You can make all sorts of different dipping sauces, and you can even change up the pretzel flavor.  Make them sweet by rolling them in sugar and cinnamon after they come out of the oven!  Then dip them in melted chocolate for a fun dessert that kids will especially like. 

Rather than retype the recipe I am just going to give you the link the the recipe I used this time.  Go here to Two Peas & Their Pod to get a printable recipe. 

Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary

A friend of mine let me borrow her Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book. This book is great!  Who doesn't love fresh baked bread?  I mean really, what isn't to love?  It is pretty much perfect.  The recipes in this book are really easy.  You start with a base recipe.  You spend about 5 minutes preparing that recipe.  Then you let it rise and fall over a couple of hours.  After that, you put it in the fridge until you are ready to make your bread.  It lasts for almost 2 weeks in the fridge!  The base recipe makes 4 pounds of dough (or 4 loaves of bread).  It could easily be halved. 

So far I have made 1 batch and used all 4 pounds.  All of the recipes have been wonderful!  This Focaccia was exactly how I think Focaccia should be.  Light, airy, full of flavor.  And Really, there was so little effort in making it.  I have made Focaccia before, and I remember it being lots of work!  Not this one!

Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary
Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
Printable Recipe 

1 pound dough (recipe to follow)
1/4 medium white onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbls Olive Oil, plus 1 tsp or drizzling
3/4 tsp dried rosemary
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line or grease a cookie sheet with a little olive oil.  You could use a baking stone instead.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off 1 pound of dough.  Dust the piece with more flour.  Shape into ball, but stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides.  Flatten into a 1/2 in to 3/4 in thick round.  Place the round on your baking sheet.

Saute the onion slices in 2 Tbls olive oil, until softened, but not browned.  Place onions over the top of the dough.  Do not over crowd the dough, you will have left over onions.  Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper.  Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil.

Allow the dough to rest and rise for 20 minutes.  Place in oven, and bake for about 25 minutes, depending on thickness.  The crust will be medium brown.  Cut and serve warm!

Olive Oil Dough
2 3/4 cups luke warm water
2 packets yeast
1 1/2 Tbls Kosher Salt
1 Tbls Sugar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
6 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Mix yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with the water in a  large bowl that has a lid (not airtight).  I used my mixing bowl, and just fit with plastic wrap. 

Mix in the flour using the dough hook on your mixer.  Do not knead, stop when all the flour is mixed in.

Cover and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses approx 2 hours. 

The dough can be used right a way, or refrigerate in lidded container for up to 12 days.  It is easier to handle when the dough is cold. 

Potato Bread with Chives Secret Recipe Club

I am so excited to be part of Secret Recipe Club this month.  I have been waiting for my blog to be old enough to be able to join.  I was assigned Paulchen's Food Blog.  Paulchen makes the most amazing looking bread!  I must admit I was a little intimidated when I first started looking around.  I don't have the best track record with yeast and kneading.  But I was excited to take on the challenge!  I picked Potato Bread with Chives.  I have had potato bread before, but never made it.  Never even dawned on me to make it.  My husband was excited this would mean he could get mashed potatoes one night too!

As Paulchen said, the chives kind of disappear in this bread.  We joked that the yeast ate them :)  I was going to try rosemary after reading her review, but my husband wasn't huge on that idea.  The bread was light and airy.  It was great warm out of the oven, and toasted with butter later.  My 6 year old says he thinks it is the best bread I have ever made!


Potato Bread With Chives
Recipe from Paulchen's Food Blog
Printable Recipe

2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar or pure maple syrup
2 Tb corn oil
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold mashed potatos
1 cup soy milk or other dairy free milk (I used regular milk)
5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 Tb minced fresh chives

In a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1/4 cup of the water. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes, then stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of water, the corn oil and the salt. Mix in the potatos, then stir in the soy milk. Add about half the flour, stirring to combine, then work in the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Transfer to a lightly floured board.

Lightly flour your hands and work surface. Knead the dough well until it is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, using more flour as necessary so the dough does not stick. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and turn over once to coat with oil. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Punch the dough down and knead lightly. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, sprinkle with the chives, and knead until the dough is elastic and the chives are well distributed, 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into one large or two small round loaves and place on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and cover with a clean damp towel or lightly oiled plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.


Preheat the oven to 400′F. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the loaf or loaves. Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes, depending on size. Tap on the bottom of the loaf or loaves – if they sound hollow, the bread is done. Remove from the sheet and let cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing.

Honey Oat Bread

I love fresh bread, who doesn’t?  There is just something about bread out of the oven that makes it better than anything else.  So when I saw this recipe in Bon Appetit, I was sold.   There is NO KNEADING!!!  Yes you read that right, this bread is amazing and there is no kneading involved.  Yes there is yeast,  but still, the kneading is the worst part for me.  I never do it long enough, or too long, it is always a struggle. 

I made this when we had some friends over the other night.  Everyone loved it.  The kids all had multiple slices too!  It was light, with a little bit of sweet, it was just perfect.  And it has Oatmeal in it, so it has to be healthy, right?  I am always hearing how I should eat more Oats!  This calls for all-purpose flour which is what I used.  Next time I think I will try ½ all purpose, ½ whole wheat.  My husband said it would be a good bread to mix in some nuts into. 

Honey-Oat Bread

Recipe from Bon Appetit

Printable Recipe

1 ¾ cup warm water

1 Tbls Active Dry Yeast

¾ cups quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup honey

3 Tbls Canola Oil

2 ½ tsp salt

5 cups (about) all purpose flour

1 large egg, beaten

2 Tbls additional oats

Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let set for 10 minutes until frothy.  In a large bowl mix together the oats, honey, oil and salt, and the water.  Stir in enough of the flour to form a soft dough (I started with 4 ½ cups and went from there).  Coat a large bowl with non-stick spray.  Transfer dough the bowl and turn it over to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel.  Let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.

 

Punch the dough down, and shape into 2 loaves.  I just free formed 2 loaves on a baking sheet.  But you could use loaf pans if you wanted (this is actually what the recipe calls for).  Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. 

 

Brush the top of the loaves with egg, and sprinkle with the additional oats.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  When you knock on the bottom of the bread and it sounds hollow, it is done. 

Top with butter, or honey for a delicious side to any meal!

Rolls for Dinner

 My husband has a cold.  My son got it on Monday, and then my husband got it.  I have managed to avoid it thus far, fingers crossed it can stay that way!  So when planning dinner last night, husband says he doesn't feel like much.  What is a girl to do?  I was out running errands and remembered I had leftover soup in the freezer.  Perfect!!  Just make some dinner rolls (because who can have soup without bread?), and we are done.  Plus it was a cloudy, windy, 45 degree day....soup seemed appropriate.

 I love these rolls!  I have been making them for years.  I found then in a Weight Watchers cookbook that I have.  They are only 56 calories per roll!  Fresh bread for only 56 calories, heaven!  The original recipe calls for sun-dried tomatoes to be added with the herbs, but I skip that part.  I have always been nervous about making bread.  It has taken me awhile to feel comfortable with it.  I still have not mastered it, but I don't shy away from it like I used to.  But this one is foolproof - your food processor does the kneading! 


Herb Dinner Rolls
Adapted from Weight Watchers
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (105-115 degrees)
1 package active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 egg white, beaten with 2 tsp of water

 In a liquid measuring cup, measure the water, and then sprinkle the yeast over the top.  Let it stand for about 10 minutes, until it becomes foamy.   Put the flour and the salt in the food processor.  


  Turn on the food processor, and then scrape the yeast mixture through the feed tube, just until the dough forms a ball.  Then pulse it until it is smooth and no longer sticky, about 30 times.  Spray a bowl with non-stick spray, and place the dough in the bowl.  Cover with a towel and let stand for about an hour, until it is double in size. 

Punch down the dough.  Turn it out onto a slightly floured surface.  Knead in the herbs.  Add them slowly, or you will get clumps.  I like to flatten it out a little, like a pizza, then sprinkle some over the top.  Knead a little, and repeat.  Works quickly, and you get the herbs throughout.

Next you divide the dough into 12 portions.  Try to get them equal in size.  Form each into an oval shape.  Place them on a lined baking tray, 3 inches apart.  Cover and let rise for another hour.

 After they have almost doubled in size again, you are ready to bake them.  You bake at 400 degrees, for about 20 minutes.  Brush them with the egg white so they get nice and brown on the top.  You can tell when bread it done by knocking on the bottom.  When it sounds hollow, it is done.