Homemade Artisian Bread

from Makes and Takes


3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher or other course salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
cornmeal for pizza peel (optional)

1. In a very large bowl, add your flour, yeast, and salt.

2. Pour in your water and stir until combined, just a few minutes.

3. Cover your bowl with foil or greased plastic wrap for 2-5 hours. We left it for 5 hours and it turned out just fine, yay!

4. Divide your dough into 3 loaves with a knife. Cover each loaf with flour and form it into a ball.

5. Lay onto a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or onto a pizza stone sprinkled with cornmeal. Let this dough rest for about 30 or so minutes.

6. With a sharp knife, slash the top of each loaf into 3 lines or a criss-cross pattern. This helps let out some steam in the dough. If you don’t slash your bread, the bread will most likely make it’s own tear somewhere during cooking.

7. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and add a small pan filled with 1 cup of water on a lower rack for a water bath. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

8. Place your baked bread on a baking rack to cool

chocolate scones

           Here is a recipe  I tried from winning a batch of these  from the scout auction

Chocolate Chip Scones

2 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

½ t. salt

¼ c. sugar plus 3 T.

1 scant c. choc. Chips

1 ¼ c. cream

3 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients leaving the 3 T. of sugar for later.  Add cream and mix with fork till just blended. 

Knead dough ten times.  Shape dough into pie-sized circle.(or rectangle)  With sharp knife cut into 12-16 pieces ( make pie cuts)(or not).  Brush with butter and sprinkle 3 T. sugar.

Bake 14 minutes.(13)
my changes are in parentheses!

Indian Fry Bread

1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.

Flour your hands. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. NOTE: You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter.

Heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. NOTE: You can check by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large fryer.

Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take about 3 to 4 minutes.
Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Source

Au Gratin Ham and Potatoes (Dutch Oven Recipe)

From Dutch Oven Dude:

4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 onion
3 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Seasoned salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups cooked ham
3 cups potatoes
1/2 cup cheese
2 Tbsp fine bread crumbs


(If using an oven, preheat the oven to 400 degrees)
First, mince the onion and dice the ham.  You can either dice the potatoes, or slice them thinly.
In a heated dutch oven, make a roux by sauteing the onions until they are translucent, and then blend in the flour.  Once the flour is blended in, gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until thickened.  Then add the pepper and season salt.
Then mix in the ham and potatoes, tossing them to coat them well.  Sprinkle the cheese and then bread crumbs on top and then cover and bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Catherine's Jello Ribbon Salad

2 (3 oz.) pkgs. strawberry jello
1 (3 oz.) pkg. lime jello
1 (3 oz.) pkg. orange jello
1 (3 oz.) pkg. lemon jello
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 envelopes plain gelatin
1 pint sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract

In separate bowls, dissolve packages of jello in 1 cup boiling water each. Add 1/2 cup cold water to each. In saucepan bring to boil 2 cups milk and 1 cup sugar. Soften plain gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water; add to milk mixture. COOL TO LUKEWARM, then add sour cream and vanilla. Set aside. Pour prepared mixture of one package of strawberry jello into a lightly oiled 9 x 13-inch clear glass pan. Refrigerate until set (about 20-30 minutes). Put layer of milk mixture (about 1 cup) on top of red jello - pour some on top and tip dish to spread. Should be a thin layer. Refrigerate another 20-30 minutes. Continue with other colors as layers set, using milk mixture between each, and ending with the second red layer. Cut in squares to serve.

Notes: Flavors and colors can be mixed as desired, as long as you have 5 total jello packages being used. Examples: red, white, and blue for 4th of July; red, white, and green for Christmas; or red, orange, yellow, and white for Thanksgiving.

Also, I seem to remember that sometimes, towards the final layers, the (unused) milk mixture starts to thicken and set. If this happens, you can microwave it for a few seconds and stir until smooth again.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

based on a recipe at allrecipes.com 

1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Stir in the walnuts if desired. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Almost No Fat Banana Bread

Original Source  


Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1 cup banana, mashed
1/4 cup applesauce

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.
   2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add egg whites, bananas and applesauce; stir just until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
   3. Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool before slicing.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 127 | Total Fat: 0.2g | Carbs 29.5


We like to quadruple the recipe so here is what we usually make:


Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 egg whites
4 cups banana, mashed
1 cup applesauce

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease muffin tins
   2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add egg whites, bananas and applesauce; stir just until combined. Pour batter into muffin tins.
   3. Bake in preheated oven for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool.

Nutritional Information open nutritional information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 127 | Total Fat: 0.2g | Carbs 29.5