In a casserole dish or canape mold, bacon dill bread is a winner! ½ cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees) 2 tsp. brown sugar 2 pkg. active dry yeast 1 c. milk 1 c. cottage cheese 2 Tbs. fresh chopped dill (1 Tbs. dried) 1½ tsp. salt 2/3 cup cooked, crumbled bacon, drained (about 14 to 16 strips) 5 ½  to 6 cups of all-purpose flour   Proof yeast with water and sugar in a small bowl.  Blend milk and cottage cheese in a blender until smooth and warm mixture to 100 to 110 degrees. 

---When I use this as a sauce for pizza, I use large slices of portabella mushrooms and thin slices of red onion, topped with Muenster or baby Swiss Cheese. Spinach Pesto Makes 1½ cups Ingredients   4 cups washed, torn spinach leaves, stems removed, well packed, about 6 ounces 3 garlic cloves ½ cup walnuts or pistachio nuts, toasted 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 oz. grated Romano Pecorino cheese Juice of ½ lemon Salt and pepper to taste   Directions Place 2 cups of spinach

Multigrain Baking Mix and how to use it   Although my mother had pancake mix and instant potatoes in the cupboard when I was growing up, I don’t recall her keeping Bisquick or Jiffy baking mix around. I must confess I have never used a baking mix until I was finishing up Baking Secrets from the Bread Monk and decided to include a recipe for a homemade version of a homemade “Bisquick-like-baking-mix”. Since then I’ve used it for pancakes and shortcake with excellent results.

I'm a great fan of baseball, and since Spring Training games have begun, I thought I'd share a page of bread recipes inspired by ballpark foods. Get Your Beer Here Bread 2 ½  cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp. seasoned salt 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda  2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer, room temperature. 1/2 cup shredded smoked Cheddar cheese ½ cup chopped pepperoni 1/4 cup butter, melted Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., and lightly grease a 9x5 inch

You can use this dough for a number of coffeecakes and breakfast treats, including cinnamon rolls and donuts. Ingredients 2 packages active dry yeast ¼ cup warm (110° F) water 1 cup milk (skim, 2%, or whole milk all OK) ¼ cup of butter ¼ cup sugar 1½ teaspoons salt 1 cup mashed potatoes (yes, actual mashed potatoes, not dry flakes) 1 large egg, beaten 4½ to 4¾ cups all-purpose flour Directions   Proof the yeast by mixing it in a small bowl with the warm water and allowing it

Ingredients 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup cocoa powder 1 Tbs. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted 28 crème de menthe thins, chopped Preheat the oven to 375° F.  Lightly grease 12 muffin cups.  In a medium size bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate bowl, beat the egg with the milk and the melted butter.  Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and

Photo by Craftsy.com from my online class on Challah   Ingredients 3¼ to 3½ cups of all-purpose flour, divided ¼ cup of granulated sugar 1½ teaspoons of salt 1 pkg. instant yeast ¾ cup warm water 2 eggs, room temp 1 egg yolk (save egg white for the glaze) ¼ cup neutrally flavored oil (canola or a very light olive oil)  Directions Place 3 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a medium size bowl and whisk them together. Place water, eggs and egg yolk into the bowl of a sta

Ingredients ¼ cup (1/2 stick) softened butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1 egg (room temperature) 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract ¾ cup of mashed potatoes (fresh, leftover or made from instant) ¼ cup milk 2¼ cups all purpose flour plus more for the work surface 2½  teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon nutmeg (½ teaspoon if grated fresh) Vegetable shortening or oil for frying Cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, icing et cetera as desired.   Directions In a medium si

English Muffin Bread with an open crumb to capture butter and jam! Ingredients 1 pkg. fast-rising yeast  3 cups all-purpose flour   2 Tbs. brown sugar  1 tsp. salt  ¼ tsp. baking soda 1 cup milk   ¾  cup water  cornmeal  In a medium size bowl, combine yeast, flour, sugar, salt, and soda. Combine milk and water and heat to 120 to 130 degrees F.   Pour into dry mixture and beat well for about 5 minutes by hand, 2 or 3 by mixer on medium speed---it will make a slightly stiff bat

Biscotti and ice cream for dessert! Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder  1/8 teaspoon of salt 1 cup of dried cherries ¾ cup white baking chips (regular or mini) 3 large eggs ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract   Preheat oven to 350° F. Place flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly until combined. Stir in cherries and baking chips. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add

Ingredients 1 batch of Danish Pastry Dough Preserves, pie filling, chutney, etc. Prepare a 9” x 13” baking sheet with parchment or vegetable cooking spray. Divide dough in half. Leave half, wrapped, in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll portion of dough into a 9” x 9” rectangle. When you roll out the dough it’s almost impossible to get the edges perfectly straight, so roll it out 10” x 10” and trim it as needed.  Using a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, divi

Ingredients ¾ cup butter 1½ cups of sugar 3 eggs 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1½ cups sour cream Filling ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup chopped nuts 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon Cream butter and sugar in mixer on high until light and fluffy.  Blend in eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Sift dry ingredients together.  With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the sour cream and the dry ingredients until

I explored Danish pastry dough for the first time in Season Three of Breaking Bread with Father Dominic ( 20+ years ago!). My original recipe made a HUGE amount of dough, enough for dozens of almond bear claws, so I decided to re-work the recipe into a half batch. This change has the added benefit of making the technique more manageable, so you don't need to roll the dough out two feet wide. I have a commercial kitchen, but never everyone has that kind of counter space!     I

Par-bake a few crusts for the freezer! Par-Baked Crusts A par-baked crust is made with the same dough as the other pizzas in this book, although the more moist Italian-style dough tends to keep from drying out in the process.  Sometimes I’ll make American-style dough with a little extra water and turn the whole batch into par-baked crusts.  Since the crusts are essentially baked twice, a wet dough helps prevent an overly dry crust. Form the crust according to the directions a

Ingredients 2 c. all-purpose flour 3 tsp. baking powder ¼ c. granulated sugar ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. cinnamon ¼. tsp. nutmeg 1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces 1 cup cinnamon baking chips (Hershey's makes them) ½ cup cream (plus more for brushing tops) 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 2 Tbs. demerara or turbinado sugar   Directions Pre-heat the oven to 375° F. and place the cut-up butter in the freezer while you assemble the other ingredients. Having cold cream and eggs is essential

2 c. all-purpose flour 1 Tbs. baking powder 1 Tbs. granulated sugar, plus more for topping ½ tsp. salt 1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces 1 cup chopped chocolate mint candies ½ cup heavy cream (plus more for brushing tops) 2 eggs  Pre-heat the oven to 400° F. and place the cut-up butter in the freezer while you assemble the other ingredients. Having cold cream and eggs is essential the success of this recipe as well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, suga

2 ¼ cups flour ¾ cup sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp grated nutmeg 2 eggs ¾ cup milk 1 Tbs. vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla extract   Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a medium size bowl and stir until well blended.  In a separate container, whisk together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.  Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and beat until smooth.  Use a donut batter dispenser (see note below) and fry in 2 inches of oil 365° to 375° F., about 2 min

Fastnachts 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/3 sugar ¾ tsp. ground mace or nutmeg 1 cup sour cream (room temperature) 2 eggs (room temperature) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder Vegetable oil for frying Cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for topping  In a medium size bowl, combine oil, sugar, sour cream, and eggs and beat with a whisk for two minutes.  In a separate bowl, sift flour and baking powder and stir until thoroughly combined.  Add egg mixture and

Making pizza dough at home is worth the effort! Basic American Pizza Crust Makes two 12”-14” medium-thick crusts, or three smaller ones.   1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 tsp. brown sugar ¾ cup warm water ½ cup cold milk 1 tsp. salt 2 Tbs. olive oil 3½  to 4 cups bread flour (or all-purpose)   In a medium size bowl, stir to dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water; let stand for about five minutes.  Stir in cold milk, salt and olive oil.  One cup at a time, add 3 cups of flour,

Strawberry Cream Scones--use the good china! If I were going to choose a recipe to teach to a newbie baker an I had less than an hour, I would definitely choose scones as my ideal recipe: easy to make, infinitely versatile, using simple ingredients and prepared with ordinary equipment. AND you get to eat them, warm with butter, within forty-five minutes or less. What's not to love? Vintage pastry blenders Some people might take exception to the "ordinary equipment" part, sin