Oatmeal Bread - Recipe

About 15 years ago we started using a bread machine, and it gets used in cycles. My husband actually uses it way more than I do and has gotten several loaves tweaked to perfection. We'll go through a period of making bread in it quite often, and then we'll have a period where we tend to consume little to no bread. I'm not sure why, but we're going through one of the upswings in the cycle right now. Sometimes we'll let the bread machine do everything, and sometimes I'll just use it to make the dough and finish the rest of the process myself in pans, crocks or stones. I love the process of knowing what is going into the foods we eat and minimizing the processed foods. I really don't want my daughter used to eating the substance-less "pillow" bread like the white bread loaves in the grocery store. So we experiment a bit with varying flours and flavors, but one we always keep in rotation is this Oatmeal Bread. It has a denser texture and slight chewiness, than typical white or wheat store-bought bread.

Apple Butter Recipe

I have several sets of directions below for making without a machine, partially with a machine, or letting it do all the work.

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

1 cup + 2 Tbsp water
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 cup bread flour or other high protein flour
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp oatmeal
2 Tbsp dry buttermilk
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

Bread Machine Directions

Add wet ingredients to the bread pan
Add dry ingredients and form a well in the top of the dry ingredients
Pour yeast into well of dry ingredients
Use the Sweet Cycle with a Light Crust option, I don't recommend the Rapid Cycle for this bread.

Sprinkle with oatmeal before baking, you can't beat the appearance of a manual 2nd rise.
This is before baking, the molasses gives it a rich brown color.

Manual Rise Directions

Add wet ingredients to the bread pan
Add dry ingredients and form a well in the top of the dry ingredients
Pour yeast into well of dry ingredients
Use the Sweet Cycle Dough option, I don't recommend the Rapid Cycle for this bread.

Turn dough out into an oiled bowl, and flip to coat.
Place into either 2 loaf pans, or a large oven safe bowl or stoneware or pan.
Either slash top in crosshatch pattern or sprinkle with oatmeal.
Let rise approx 45-50 minutes in warm place, or heat the oven for 1 minute and turn it off and let it rise in the oven.
Preheat oven to 400, bake for 35-40 minutes depending on how you like your crust.

Manual Directions

Add wet ingredients to the bowl of a mixer
Add dry ingredients and form a well in the top of the dry ingredients
Pour yeast into well of dry ingredients
Using the dough hook, turn it on medium to incorporate, then turn it down to low and let knead for 8 minutes.
Turn the mixer off and cover the bowl with a warm damp dish towel and let rise until double in size (approximately 45-50 minutes)
Turn mixer on low for 5 seconds to punch down.

Turn dough out into an oiled bowl, and flip to coat.
Place into either 2 oiled loaf pans, or a large oven safe bowl or stoneware or pan.
Either slash top in crosshatch pattern or sprinkle with oatmeal.
Let rise approx 45-50 minutes in warm place, or heat the oven for 1 minute and turn it off and let it rise in the oven.
Preheat oven to 400, bake for 35-40 minutes depending on how you like your crust.

This cooked for 40 minutes and has a slightly darker, harder, crunchy crust with a
lovely soft, chewy interior.  Much of the darker color of this bread is due to the molasses.

Tip

For a perfectly formed "loaf" of bread in a loaf pan, roll out dough after punch down to a rectangle or somewhat even thickness with one width being the length of your loaf pan. Roll up into a log the length of your pan and place it in the oiled loaf pan to rise seam side down. You will end up with a "perfect" loaf of bread.

Pita Pockets - Recipe

Craving a chicken salad sandwich last night, I made up a quick batch of pita pockets. These are delicious and taste amazing freshly made, like most everything else. This makes approximately 8 6-8" pitas depending on how thick you roll them out. A stand mixer makes this recipe a cinch, however it can be made by hand.

Pita Pockets

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp yeast
3 cups flour, divided + flour for dusting
1 tsp salt

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment, dissolve sugar in the warm water and sprinkle yeast over the top.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of flour and let mix into a batter consistency.
Add remaining flour and salt and turn the mixer on medium-low and leave to knead for 8-10 minutes.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface, divide dough into 8-10 pieces depending on how big you want your pitas. (I make a few 4" ones for my toddler, and the rest approx 6")
Roll into 1/4" thick circles, try to maintain an even thickness, that's what causes the pocket action instead of lots of bubbles.
Place on a baking stone, or a parchment paper or silpat covered baking pan. Leave to rise 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425.
Gently flip the pitas over and cook for 12-15 minutes at 425.

For storing, let cool when they come out of the oven completely before putting away.  Wrap tightly and use within 2-3 days, or store in the freezer if you want to make several batches. To thaw quickly wrap lightly in a damp towel (paper towel) and stick in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (depends on your microwave).

Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread - Recipe

Nothing goes better with Chili then a little cornbread. Especially when said cornbread is sweet buttermilk cornbread, hot out of the oven, slathered with butter and drizzled with honey, with a crispy outside from a hot cast iron skillet. Is your mouth watering yet? I'm going to share my cornbread secrets with you, and I've been told many a time that my cornbread is the best!



Secret #1: Buttermilk
Secret #2: Honey
Secret #3: Hot Skillet

Don't have buttermilk? I keep a buttermilk powder on hand for baking when you want the buttermilk flavor, without added liquid. Or quickly make your own: for the 1 1/2 cups this recipe calls for, remove 1 1/2 Tbsps milk from 1 1/2 cups of milk and add in 1 1/2 Tbsps of vinegar or lemon juice, and let it sit for 5 minutes, then add to the recipe.

Now, this week I got to up the secret factor, because I got to use some AMAZING honey, and I don't know if I'd ever be able to live up to it with any old honey again. I got my honey from Haff Apiaries (701.663.1619‎) in Mandan, North Dakota, it's raw unpasteurized honey and the best I've ever tasted. I also used White Lily White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix, this is hard to find up here in North Dakota, so I order it online. While I do think it makes a better cornbread, you can use whatever corn meal you have.

Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread

INGREDIENTS
2 cups White Lily White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix
-OR-
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour

1 1/2 cup buttermilk
-OR-
1 1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp buttermilk powder

1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tsp honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Generously grease 8-10" cast iron skillet (I use butter flavored shortening for this, butter just doesn't do as good a job)
Preheat skillet in oven to 425
Measure cornmeal (and flour, if needed) into a bowl and stir (with a wooden spoon) it up to break up large clumps
Add remaining ingredients and mix until just moist, it will have some clumps
Pour into skillet and put in oven for 20 - 30 minutes (depends on the skillet size, start checking on it at 20 minutes. You want the top to get to a nice deep golden color.

Biscuits - Recipe

Biscuits are so easy, unless I'm camping I doubt I'll ever buy canned biscuits again. Just 3 ingredients on a Sunday morning and you can have homemade fluffy biscuits to slather with butter and homemade jam.

Biscuits

INGREDIENTS

2 cups self-rising flour (I use White Lily)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 500F.

Measure flour into a large bowl.
Add shortening/butter and cut in with a pastry blender (or knives or a quick pulse or two on a food processor.)
Pour in milk/buttermilk and stir with a fork until the dough just pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Gather the dough with your hands, then turn out onto lightly floured surface. Knead 2-3 times, until it just comes together. Pat out to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 2" biscuit cutter dipped in flour (or a glass or cookie cutter or canning jar lid, whatever you have on hand.) You will have 9 plus scraps, I usually lightly twirl the scraps together and use them for sampling when the biscuits are done.

Grease and flour or spray a baking sheet 8"x8" or larger.

Place biscuits in sheet, for softer biscuits place them right next to each other, for crispier edges place them farther apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Brush tops with melted butter fresh out of the oven.