Cornbread

Mix in bowl:

1 ½ c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

½ c. cornmeal

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

Add:

2 eggs beaten

1 ¼ c. milk

1/3 c. oil

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes

Makes 8X8 pan

Cinnamon Bread

2-½ c. warm water

1 T. yeast

1 T. sugar

2 T. oil

1 ½ tsp. salt

5-6 cups flour

Mix yeast, warm water, and sugar in large bowl and let sit 15 minutes.  Add oil, salt, and enough flour for soft dough.

Let rise in covered bowl until double, about 1 hour

Place dough on lightly floured surface and roll in rectangle.  Let rest 15 minutes.  

Spread with cinnamon bread filling and roll together into a tight roll.

Hold rolled dough at either end and twist and pull at the same time to distribute the cinnamon filling evenly.

Fold dough and work into a loaf shape

Place in loaf pan, cover and let raise about 30 minutes or until slightly rounded.

Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes.

Cinnamon bread filling:

1 ½ C. packed light brown sugar

½ c. flour

2 T. cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, cold (cut into pieces)

Combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium-sized bowl.  Stir to combine.  Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.

Ciabatta Bread

Peter Reinhart

This bread is a cold fermentation bread.  It is especially important to handle it with a firm but light touch.  Too much pressure will squeeze out the gas trapped during the overnight rise, resulting in small, even holes rather than the prized large, irregular holes. 

5 1/3 cups flour

2 tsp. salt, or 1 T. course kosher salt

2-¼ tsp. yeast

2 tsp. sugar

2 cups lukewarm water

Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a large mixing bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.  Add salt and flour, 1 cup at a time until dough forms a course shaggy ball.  Let rest uncovered for 5 minutes.

Knead by hand for about 2 minutes adjusting with flour or water as needed.  The dough should be smooth, supple, and tacky but not sticky.

Knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for about 1 minute more, then transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake.  Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible.  Form the dough into whatever shape you want, bowls or loaves. 

I put pieces of parchment paper into a bowl or bowls the size I want my loaves to be.  Cover and proof at room temperature for about 1-½ hours, until 1 ½ times its original size.

About 45 minutes before baking, place a baking stone in oven and heat to 550 degrees. 

Just prior to baking, score the dough 1/2 “ deep with serrated knife or razor.  Lift the parchment from bowls onto a pizza peel and transfer to hot oven.  Spray inside of oven with water and immediately lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees

Bake for 12 minutes then rotate front to back and continue baking until the internal temperature is about 200 on an instant read thermometer.

Cool the bread on a wire rack for 45 minutes before slicing and serving

French Bread

2-½ c. warm water

1 T. yeast

1 T. sugar

2 T. oil

1 ½ tsp. salt

5-6 cups flour

Mix yeast, warm water, and sugar in large bowl and let sit 15 minutes.  Add oil, salt, and enough flour for a soft dough.

Let rise in covered bowl until double, about 1 hour

Place dough on lightly floured surface and form two balls.  Let rest 15 minutes. You can either make into French bread loaves, or round loaves.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Let rise 30 minutes

Bake in 425 pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes

Olive Garden Breadsticks

Soften 2 tsp. yeast in 1 1/3 c. warm water with 2 tsp. sugar

In large bowl sift together:

2 c. flour

2 T. sugar

2 tsp. salt

Add:

4 tsp. soft butter

Yeast mixture.

Stir with wooden spoon

Add enough flour for soft dough.  Turn out on floured surface and knead until smooth.

Put in oiled large bowl in warm place, covered, until doubled in bulk,

 about 1 hour

Turn out on floured surface and gather into a ball.  Let rest 15 minutes.

 Roll it out into a log and divide it into 16 pieces. 

Roll into breadsticks and arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet

Cover and let rise for approximately 45 minutes

Pre-heat oven to 400

At this point you can use a pastry brush to butter tops of breadsticks and sprinkle with kosher salt if desired

Bake for 15 minutes

Focaccia

2 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2-cup lukewarm water

3 1/2 c. flour

2 T. honey

2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. warm water

2 T. olive oil

Sprinkle yeast in 1/2 c. lukewarm water; stir to dissolve yeast;

 set aside 10 minutes

Put 1-cup flour in large bowl; add honey, salt, rest of warm water, and olive oil.  Stir in yeast and enough flour for a soft dough.

Knead dough until it feels only slightly sticky, about 5 minutes

Let raise until double in bulk 1- 1 1/2 hours

Punch down, reform in nice round ball, put in bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

About 2 hours before you are ready to assemble your focaccias, remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Use a sharp knife or metal scraper to divide the dough into 8 equal portions.  Sprinkle a light dusting of flour over a clean surface. One by one place each portion on the floured counter and flatten with either your hands or a rolling pin to a fairly flat oblong shape, about 10 by 3 inches.

Place the focaccias at least 1 inch apart on one or more parchment-lined baking sheets.  At this point you can spray each focaccia with cold water and top with fresh rosemary, thyme, and salt if desired

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 450

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan and bake until golden brown, about 2 minutes more.  Remove the pan from the oven and immediately lift off the focaccias and transfer them to wire racks.