March 16: Homemade Pita Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

Add all ingredients in order in a bread machine and process on dough cycle. By hand: Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and wait two minutes until bubbly. Melt butter and add to yeast. Pour yeast mixture into flour and salt. Knead 8 minutes until elastic. Let rise in warm place until doubled, one hour.

Divide dough into ten balls. Let rest fifteen minutes. Roll each ball into an 8 inch circle. Place two on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Flip. Bake for 3 more minutes until browned on both sides. (It is fun to watch them puff up in the oven!!) Repeat with remaining circles. Makes 10 pitas. To slice, let pita cool and cut diagonally. A pocket should be formed within.

Conversation starter: Describe the perfect day. What would you do? What would you see?

Friend Fridays: Lena Nelson Dooley's Cornbread

Lena's Cornbread

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine:

2/3 Cup white cornmeal

1 1/3 Cup unbleached flour

1/3 Cup sugar (I use Florida Crystals Organic Sugar)

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

Whisk together:

2 eggs

1 Cup milk

1/3 Cup oil

Whisk in dry ingredients until well mixed. Spray muffin tins with Pam. Fill muffin tins about 1/3 full, using all the batter. Bake about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 1 dozen cornbread muffins.

I had a recipe from my mother, but I changed quantities until I had a sweeter cornbread that didn't crumble so much. We love it on a cold winter day when I make beef stew.


Conversation starter: If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?

Lena Nelson Dooley, multi-published author of Minnesota Brothers and Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

Lena Nelson Dooley -  Author - Speaker - President DFW Ready Writers

www.lenanelsondooley.com 

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www.bustlesandspurs.com - Regular Blogger

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February 20: Cheddar Biscuits

Another great addition is 1/4 cup chopped chives and/or crumbled bacon. 

2 cups all purpose flour, or bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried dill
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 cup loosely packed grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk with 1 Tbs. white wine vinegar added ( makes mock buttermilk)

In a medium bowl, stir together first seven ingredients. Cut the butter into the flour mixture
until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add cheddar cheese and distribute evenly into the mixture. Add "buttermilk" to mixture and stir until a ball forms. Knead dough on a floured surface, only kneading ten times (or it will get tough.) With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough to a one inch thickness. Cut circles into the dough with a circular cookie cutter, until all dough is used. Place biscuits nearly touching on a buttered baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until brown. Makes 12-15 biscuits.


Conversation starter: What's the best gift you've ever received?

January 24: Don't be intimidated. You CAN make bread.

French Bread

1 ¼ cup very warm water
1 Tbs. Malt flour (You can find this in the organic aisle, near the flour.)
1 Tbs. High gluten flour (same as above).
2 Tbs. Dry active yeast

Let stand ten minutes until bubbly. Pour into mixing bowl.

To mixing bowl add
1 tsp. Lemon juice
1 Tbs. sugar

¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp. Sea salt
4—4-1/2 cups white bread flour

Mix with a dough hook on a kitchenaide until elastic, not sticky, like you can spank it—ten minutes. Remove bread from bowl, spray bowl with cooking spray and return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise one hour. Punch down and shape into loaves. Let rise one hour. Preheat oven to 450. Spray interior with water just before you put bread in. Place bread in oven. Spray again. Turn heat down to 400. Spray bread three times, every two minutes or so. This simulates a steam injected French oven. Total baking time 20-25 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 2.

Conversation starter: What's the best loaf of bread you've ever had? Where was it?

January 16: Corn bread that's got some whole grain.

What a dream! We saw Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. Love that lady!

Whole wheat corn bread

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup corn meal
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 Tbs. baking powder

Mix eggs, milk, sugar, oil, and salt in medium bowl. Combine flour, corn meal and baking powder in large mixing cup. Pour into wet mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour in 9x11 greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean.

Serve with honey butter:

1/4 cup butter, softened
7 Tbs. honey

Whisk together.

Conversation starter: If you could travel anywhere in space, where would you go? Who would you take with you? What would you pack in one suitcase?

January 12: Yum! Orange-glazed cinnamon rolls from scratch. YOU CAN DO IT!

This picture is taken in France. Can you tell? My family loved these tasty rolls. On Sundays, we always have a brunch. Seeing this picture reminds me to make these again soon. Don't be intimidated by yeast. It's really not hard if you proof it as the recipe says.

Mary's Orange-Glazed Cinnamon Rolls

1 1/4 cup very warm water

1 packet yeast

1 Tbs. sugar

3 1/2 cups white flour

1 cup wheat flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup powdered milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

In clear container, combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir. Let sit five minutes until the top foams and is bubbly.

In large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Add yeast mixture. If you don't have a Kitchenaide, combine with a spoon and then knead five minutes. If you do, hooray!, just attach the dough hook and let it combine and knead the dough for five minutes. Spray bowl with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand one hour until double. Roll out dough into a long rectangle (probably 12 inches by 20 inches).

Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over the surface and spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar (you determine the amount) over that. Beginning from the long end, roll up the dough. To cut, use sewing thread. Move the thread under the dough, about an inch in, and then pull each end of the thread together. Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and keep cool (in the fridge) over night.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Glaze:

1 package cream cheese

1/4 cup orange juice

zest from one orange

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Combine ingredients until smooth. Pour glaze over cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

Conversation starter:  Make up new words to Row, Row, Row your boat.