Rustic No Knead Bread

Its so easy and comes out perfect every time!

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour
1/4 tsp instant yeast
3/4 tbsp kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt
1 1/2 cups warm water

The only thing that is need is a five quart or larger coverd pot, cast iron, pyrex, ceramic, enamel, anything that can go into an oven at 450 degrees

The night before you want to eat the bread mix all the ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon. It will be a mess, leave it and cover with plastic wrap and let sit 12 - 20 hours.

The dough will be wet, sticky and bubbly. Dump the dough on a floured surface. Fold ends of dough over a few times with your hands and form into a ball shape. Its important to keep your hands wet so the dough does not stick. Generously dust a cotton towel with flour. Set dough seam side down on top of towel. Fold towel over the dough. Let it sit for 2 hours. With a half an hour left put pot in oven and let it preheat.

Time to bake, remove pot from oven and place dough inside. Doesn't matter how it lands, just shake to even it out. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additionaly 15 -20 minutes.

Grandma's Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. oil
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. nuts, chopped
1/2 c. chopped dates or rasins
2 1/2 c. zucchini, shredded
1/4 t. baking powder
2 1/2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla

Stir together ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Adjust baking time for smaller loaves.

Parsley-Lemon-Garlic Popovers

Popovers typically are baked in popover pans. They look a lot like muffin tins but are more narrow and deeper so the batter literally pops over the top. If you don't have a popover pan regular muffin tins can be used, just bake 5 minutes less than stated time. Do not open oven during the baking process or they will deflat.

1 cup 2% reduced fat milk
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 large garlic clove, minced
cooking spray
2 tbsp butter, melted

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Let stand 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flours and salt, stirring with a whisk. Stir in parsley, rind and garlic. Coat 6 popover cups with cooking spray, brush butter evenly among cups to coat. Place popover cups in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes. Divide batter evenly among prepared popover cups. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until golden.

1 serving equals 1 popover, 124 calories, 3.2g fat, 160mg sodium.

Whole Wheat Pitas

Keep a couple of things in mind when making these. Retain as much air as possible in the dough, don't punch the dough down after it rises, and gently roll into discs to achieve an airy result. Also, get the oven really hot to create airy steam. The recipe suggests using white whole wheat flour.

1 tbsp sugar
1 package dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour divided
2 tablespoons 2% Greek style yogurt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tablespoon salt
Olive oil cooking spray

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add bread flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, yogurt, oil and salt to the yeast mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes; add enough of remaining whole wheat flour 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Place the oven rack on lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide dough into 8 portions. Working with one portion at a time gently rolling each portion into a 5 1/2 inch circle. Place 4 circles on each baking sheet. Bake 1 at a time at 500 for 8 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool on wire rack. Serving size 1 pita, 211 calories, 2.9g fat, 225mg sodium.

Banana Bread Special

1/2 C Butter
1 C Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Ripe Bananas, mashed
1/3 C Sour Cream
2 C Flour
1/4 t Salt
1 t Baking Soda
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C White Sugar
1/4 t Cinnamon

Preheat over to 325 degrees.

Mix butter, 1 C Sugar and eggs. Mix in mashed bananas and sour cream. Mix flour, salt and baking soda together; add to mixture.

Put batter into wax-paper-lined large loaf pan.

Mix 1/4 C Brown Sugar, 1/4 C White Sugar and 1/4 t Cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the banana bread before putting into the oven. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until toothpick clean.

Yields: 1 Large Loaf

*This is a VERY sugary bread - great dessert bread!

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

I LOVED this variation of the typical Zucchini Bread!

3 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 C Vegetable Oil
3 t Vanilla Extract
2 1/4 C White Sugar
2 C Shredded Zucchini
3 C All-Purpose Flour
1 t Salt
1 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Baking Soda
1 T Ground Cinnamon
1 Pint Fresh Blueberries

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease and flour 4 mini loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar.
Fold in the zucchini.
Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, soda & cinnamon.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans.

Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick clean.
Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

*I recommend that you use mini loaf pans or make muffins. I tried 2 mini loaf pans and 1 regular loaf pan; the regular loaf fell apart when I tried to take it out of the pan, and the center did not cook in the regular loaf pan. This recipe did not work as a regular loaf - mini loaf or muffin only.
*I also substitued half the oil for applesauce as a healthier option...

VERY YUMMY!!!

Maple Zucchini Bread

The zucchini GREW and GREW in this year's garden, so I have been looking for variations on the typical Zucchini Bread. Here is one variation I made this summer, and it went over well!

3 Eggs
1 C Vegetable Oil
1 C Brown Sugar, packed
1 C White Sugar
3 t Maple Flavored Extract
2 1/2 C All-Purpose Flour
1/2 C Wheat Germ
2 t Baking Soda
2 t Salt
1/2 t Baking Powder
2 C Grated Zucchini
1 C Chopped Walnuts (optional of course)

In a mixing bowl, beat the 3 eggs; add oil, sugars and flavoring; mixing until foamy.
Blend in the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, soda & salt.
Stir in zucchini & nuts.
Pour batter into 2 greased and floured bread pans.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Cool.

This would be a great bread in late fall - I am definitely going to freeze some zucchini for this one!