Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns

I'd been making my Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread a lot when my husband asked if I could make some hamburger buns.  I decided to use the dough from my sandwich bread, and just form it into buns (rather that loaves) at the last step.  It worked great!  I get to use my super-easy dough recipe, and we have delicious buns for burgers and our favorite pulled pork.

What you need:  for 16 buns

• 1 Tbs yeast
• 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)
• 4 Tbs oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 5 1/2 cups bread flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp salt

Let's get cooking:
1.   Combine yeast and water.  (You can sprinkle with 1/8 tsp sugar to help activate the yeast).  Let sit about 5 minutes, until foaming.  Then add oil and honey.

2. Combine flours and salt in a stand mixer.  Use the dough hook attachment.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the yeast mixture. 

Note:  if you don't have a stand mixer, you can still make this simple dough.  Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture as in step 2.  Mix slowly until well combined.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead about 6 minutes by hand until dough is smooth and elastic.  Then continue with step 5.

3.  Increase mixer speed to medium for 3 minutes.  Then turn off mixer and let dough rest 5 minutes.

4.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Knead about 50 times by hand, until the dough is smooth and elastic. 

5.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Punch dough down.

6.  On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 16 equal parts and form into balls.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.

7.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until just turning golden.  I bake mine on a preheated stone, but you can also use a cookie sheet.

8.  Remove from pan and allow to completely cool on wire racks.  Store on the counter for up to 3 days in an airtight container. 

I like to slice them and freeze in large Ziplocs for up to 1 month.  (They probably freeze longer with no problems, but at our house homemade bread rarely hangs around that long).

-Lily

Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread

I have been searching for the perfect sandwich bread recipe since I first started making homemade bread about 5 years ago.  I tried multiple recipes, but they were always lacking something.  They were either too small, too soft, too dense, or too much work!

Even after learning how to make great bread like homemade dinner rolls and homemade pizza crust, I still didn't have a good sandwich bread.  We've been buying cheap Aldi's bread with lots of corn syrup and preservatives, yuck!  So, I tweaked, adapted, and increased a basic bread recipe to come up with this delicious honey wheat bread.  It's simple, and is the perfect size and texture for sandwiches.

This recipe takes about 3 hours from start to finish.  But don't panic, almost all of that is rising and baking time.  All you have to do is the initial mixing and kneading (and if you have a stand mixer, this is done for you), shape the dough into loaves, and pop it in the oven.

What you need:  for 2 loaves

• 1 Tbs yeast
• 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)
• 4 Tbs oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 5 1/2 cups bread flour
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp salt

Let's get cooking:
1.   Combine yeast and water.  (You can sprinkle with 1/8 tsp sugar to help activate the yeast).  Let sit about 5 minutes, until foaming.  Then add oil and honey.

2. Combine flours and salt in a stand mixer.  Use the dough hook attachment.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the yeast mixture. 

Note:  if you don't have a stand mixer, you can still make this simple dough.  Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture as in step 2.  Mix slowly until well combined.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead about 6 minutes by hand until dough is smooth and elastic.  Then continue with step 5.

3.  Increase mixer speed to medium for 3 minutes.  Then turn off mixer and let dough rest 5 minutes.

4.  Turn out dough onto a floured surface.  Knead about 50 times by hand, until the dough is smooth and elastic. 

5.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Punch dough down.  Divide in half and let rest 5 minutes.

6.  Meanwhile, grease the bottom and 1 inch up on the sides of two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.

7.  On a lightly floured surface, push one piece of dough out into a 12 x 8 inch rectangle.  Starting with a short edge, roll the dough into a log shape.  Place seam side down in a greased loaf pan.  Repeat with the 2nd half.  Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.

8.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for about 45 minutes.  Cover top with foil the last 20 minutes so the bread doesn't over-brown. 

9.  Remove from pans and allow to completely cool on wire racks.  Store on the counter-top for several days in an airtight container.  Or, wrap tightly with foil and freeze for up to 1 month. 

Enjoy!
-Lily

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Simple Dinner Rolls Recipe

Mmmmm, I love homemade bread.  And my husband loves it even more. I don't think I can overstate how much he loves bread.  To him, a multi-course gourmet dinner is not a complete meal without dinner rolls.  

I am a victim of my own success in the kitchen, and we are now food snobs:  since I have started making these rolls, we can barely stand eating rolls from a can or plastic bag.  They just don't have the delicious flavor and texture.  I always try to keep a stash of these delicious dinner rolls handy, so we can eat them with our chicken soup, ham and bean soup, or just about every other dinner I make. 

I love this recipe because it's so simple.  Many dinner roll recipes have you heat milk, add eggs, let the dough rise overnight, etc.  Compared to those recipes, this one is very basic (similar to my simple pizza crust).   I like to make a double batch and freeze half.  That way we always have rolls on hand, just as convenient but much more delicious than a can-o-rolls.

What you need:  for 12 rolls 

• 2 1/4 tsp (1 package) yeast
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 tsp plus 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
•  1 cup milk

 Let's get cooking:

1.  Add 1/8 tsp sugar to water.  Mix in yeast.  Let sit about 5 minutes, until beginning to foam.

2.  Meanwhile, mix sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour in a medium bowl.  

3.  Add milk to the yeast mixture.  Stir into the flour mixture.  Stir until well combined.  Dust a flat surface with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.  Knead until dough is smooth.  Form into a ball.

I like to knead my dough on a plate.  Then, when I'm done I can put the plate in the dishwasher--no mess!

4.  Place the dough in a large, greased bowl.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.

5.  Shape dough into 12 smooth rolls.  If you like pillowy soft rolls, place them in a well-greased 9 x 13 glass pan to rise.  If you like golden brown rolls, place them 2" apart on a floured surface. Cover and let rise about 30 minutes.

6.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  If you're baking in a glass pan, bake 15-20 minutes until the tops are turning golden.  I like to bake my rolls on a preheated pizza stone for about 15 minutes.  Then they're golden on the outside, but still soft inside.  

After they're completely cool, store in an airtight container 1-2 days on the counter.  Or, put them in ziplocs in the freezer and they save at least a month.  I don't think I've ever had them sit in the freezer longer than that.  They usually disappear in a few days. 

Enjoy!
-Lily

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Homemade Brown Sugar

Who knew you could make brown sugar at home??

It's always exciting when I learn how to make something homemade.  And last week, I found the book The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila at the library.  There are a ton of great recipes to explore, and I'm sure I'll try several more.  The first one that caught my eye was homemade brown sugar.  It's never even crossed my mind that I could make it at home.  Apparently, it only takes two ingredients and takes about a minute.

Why have I been paying twice as much for brown sugar than for white sugar??  No more!  I have crossed another processed item off my grocery list :)

What you need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp unsulphured molasses

 (yes, that's really all you need)

Pour the molasses over the sugar. 

Fluff with a fork until it is all mixed in.  At first it looks like you've ruined your sugar, and it's all clumpy.

Don't worry.  Keep going, and in a minute you'll have brown sugar.

I've been using this for months in my recipes, and it tastes and acts the same as store-bought brown sugar.

-Lily

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Weekend Dinner--Homemade Pizza

I think I've found the biggest problem with making homemade food--everyone loves it.  "What?  That's not a problem," you say.  The problem is that my husband likes my homemade foods too much-- he never wants to go out.  If I suggest we try out a new restaurant, he replies, "Why?  You're food is better anyway."  It's very flattering, but sometimes making everything homemade is exhausting.  This recipe is great because pizza is simple to make, so it's one of my go-to dinners for Friday nights.  

I usually make two large pizza, and we eat the leftovers on Saturday.  For two 16" pizzas with medium/thick crust, I triple the recipe below.


What you need  For one thick-crust 12" pizza:

• 1 cup lukewarm water 
• 2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbs oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp cornmeal 
• Pizza sauce
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups cheese
• toppings--we like pepperoni, mushrooms, and bell peppers

Let's get cooking:
1.  Stir the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm water.  (The water should be the same temperature as your finger if you dip it in).  Let the yeast mixture sit 5 minutes until foaming.   It should start to look like the pic below.  Then add the oil.

2.  Measure 2 cups of flour in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the yeast mixture and stir until combined.  Work in additional flour, using your fingers if it gets too stiff to use a fork.  The dough should not be too sticky or too crumbly.  You may not need all the flour, so add a little at a time.

3.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 50 times by hand.  The dough should be fairly smooth and elastic.  Form into a ball and place it into a clean mixing bowl.  Cover with a towel and let it rise until doubled.  (This usually takes about 30-60 minutes, depending on how warm my kitchen is.)

3.  While I'm waiting for my crust to rise, I prep the rest of my pizza.  I wash and chop the veggies, grate cheese, etc.  By the time I've finished all that, my crust is done rising.

4.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Sprinkle your pizza pan with cornmeal.  On a floured surface, roll out your pizza dough, then place it on the pizza pan.  Bake without toppings 8-10 minutes.

6.  Add sauce, toppings, and cheese, then bake 9-11 minutes until cheese is turning golden.

  Mmm, time to eat!
     -Lily

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Pumpkin-Apple Muffins

Autumn is here, which means it's pumpkin and apple season.  Mmm, these muffins combine both fall flavors into one yummy treat.  And, they're healthy--they have whole wheat flour, fruit (apple), even a veggie (pumpkin).  Who knew all the food groups could fit into a little muffin?

I like to make a big batch and freeze them in ziploc bags.  Then I just pop two or three in the microwave when we eat breakfast.

What you need: for 24 muffins

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can pumpkin
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/4" pieces

Let's get cooking:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease bottoms of 24 muffin cups.
2. Combine flours, sugar, spices, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  
3. Combine pumpkin, milk, eggs, oil, applesauce, and honey in a 2nd mixing bowl.  Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Fold in chopped apple.
4. Spoon batting into muffin tins (about 2/3 full).  Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center.
5. Cool muffins in pan 5 minutes, then remove from pan.  Cool completely in a wire rack.
6. Freeze in ziploc bags for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!
-Lily