Fresh Strawberry-Peach Bread

I found this recipe on another blog & thought this would be a great use of fruit we buy at the market in little italy each week! This bread came out delicious...definitely the perfect dessert for a summer evening. Of course, since I'm 9 1/2 months pregnant, I also needed a few chocolate chip cookies along with this bread to complete my dessert...



Fresh Strawberry-Peach Bread

1/4 cup butter (half a stick), softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup strawberries, chopped
3/4 cup fresh peaches, chopped

Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.

In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add buttermilk and only stir until just combined; do not over mix.
Carefully fold in strawberries. Dough mixture will be thick.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes.

Source: Sing For Your Supper

Dinner Rolls

This recipe is amazing, but it can definitely be scaled down a bit. We had more rolls than we knew what to do with! But they were delicious. Better than anything you can buy at the store!



DINNER ROLLS

Ingredients
4 cups Milk
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Vegetable Oil
9 cups Flour
2 packages (4 1/2 Tsp.) Active Dry Yeast
1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda
2 Tablespoons Salt

Preparation Instructions
Pour 4 cups of milk into a stock pot or Dutch oven. Add one cup of sugar and 1 cup of vegetable oil. Stir to combine. Now, turn the burner on medium to medium-low and “scald” the mixture/lukewarm (between 90 and 110 degrees).

When the mixture is the right temperature add in 4 cups of flour and 2 packages of (4-1/2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast. After the yeast and flour are nicely incorporated, add another 4 cups of flour. Stir together and allow to sit, covered with a tea towel or lid, for an hour.

After about an hour it should have almost doubled in size. If it hasn’t changed much, put it in a warm (but turned off ) oven for 45 minutes or so. When it had risen sufficiently add 1 more cup of flour, 1 heaping teaspoon of baking powder, 1 scant teaspoon of baking soda and about 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir (or knead just a bit) until combined.

Butter 1 or 2 muffin pans. Form the rolls by pinching off a walnut sized piece of dough and rolling it into a little ball. Repeat and tuck three balls of dough into each buttered muffin cup. Continue until pan is full. Cover and allow to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.

Bake in a 400-degree oven until golden brown, about 17 to 20 minutes.

Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Cheesy Beer Bread

Cheesy Beer Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
12 oz. beer
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9×5” loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder. Whisk to combine well. Add cheese and whisk to combine. Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until just combined, and all ingredients are completely moistened. Place into a prepared loaf pan and pour melted butter over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Source: Annie's Eats.

Light Brioche Burger Buns

Dan & I decided to make homemade burger buns & burgers tonight! Everything came out awesome. The buns were delicious, and Dan did an awesome job making the burgers too.





Light Brioche Burger Buns
Adapted from Comme Ça restaurant in Los Angeles, via the New York Times


Makes 8 4 to 5-inch burger buns

3 tablespoons warm milk (all I had was fat free half & half)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Sesame seeds (optional)

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be on the sticky side so it can be a bit messy, but keep in mind that the more flour you knead in, the tougher the buns will get. Try to leave them tackier than you would a round loaf.

3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours.

5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Notes: I did not have parchment paper, but everything worked fine on a greased pan. Also, I did not realize how much these would rise. I only got 7 buns, but I probably could have gotten 10-12. They were ginormous! Next time I will make them smaller.


Sourece: Smitten Kitchen.

Zucchini Bread

After dinner we made Zucchini Bread, came out delicious!!

Zucchini Bread

3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup oil (no olive oil)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (2 medium, peeled)
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. baking power
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs until foamy. Add in the rest of the ingredients, flour & nuts last. Grease 2 medium loaf pans, or 4 small ones.

Bake 1 hour for 2 medium loaves, 45 minutes for small loaves. Use toothpick in center to test for doneness. Remove from pans & cool on rack.



Source: Mom's recipe