DELICOUS Dinner Rolls

I've really missed keeping up on my little food blog. Life has been taking one exciting turn after another and I am ready to have some time for the things I love.

I really love food. I love creating food. I love the process of fantasizing about a recipe, shopping for just the right ingredients, and then putting it all together in the kitchen. I think my FAVORITE thing about making food is sharing it with people I love.

My husband is my favorite person to cook for, probably because I love him the most-est in the all the world. One of his favorite foods is rolls. A long time ago, (ok, like 3 months ago) I told him I'd try a new roll recipe just for him.

He went nuts. They came and went so fast that I kind of forgot to post about them. After looking through all my pictures of food that I've taken with the intention of putting the recipe on my blog, I realized I never put these up! How could I miss the rolls that disappeared so quickly??

I grabbed this recipe off that place where people look at food porn all day and it led me to This Recipe. I followed the instructions exactly and so I put the exact instructions here so you could have the exact same delicious roll, so kudos to the original source! (That's why they are in italics, because my conscience tells me to make sure everyone knows I COPIED this word for word! It's the bibliography student in me)

Rolls with a lovely Date Stamp. Score!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
at least 1 cup of butter

Instructions:

1. Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.
2.  We are going to add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.
3. Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.
4. At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it raise.
5. When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.
6. Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.
7. Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect. Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.
8. Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter. Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough. 
9. Roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle. Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls            
10. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.   

Printable Version

WOWZER Wheat Pitas

Normal people probably just go to he store and buy pita bread but oh no, not me. I've had this recipe from Cooking Light in my "I'm gonna make this one day" section of recipes for a few years and I'm so glad I finally made it! To my surprise the dough was incredibly easy to work with and very forgiving. These pitas were easily turned into pita chips to go along with this basil parmesan dip and our dinner guests loved them.

These are not too time consuming and the final product is a tender, chewy pita that you could easily fill with some chicken souvlaki and Tzatziki sauce for a yummy lunch.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water
10 ounces bread flour (about 2 1/4 C)
4.75 white whole-wheat flour (about 1 C, divided)
2 Tbsp 2% Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes until frothy. Add bread flour, and about 3/4 C whole-wheat flour, yogurt, oil, and salt to the yeast mixture and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Add enough of the remaining whole-wheat flour, 1 Tbsp at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands. *do not add too much flour or your dough will get tough.
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Divide dough into 8 portions. Working with one portion at a time, gently GENTLY GENTLY!!! roll each portion into a 5 1/2 inch circle. (Consider using a Tupperware or Cool Whip lid as a guide) Place 4 dough circles on each of 2 baking sheets coated with cooking spray.






5. Bake 1 sheet at a time at 500 degrees for 8 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool on a wire rack. Brush each pita with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and a touch of cracked pepper.






Makes 8 pitas.




Printable Version

Homemade Pizza with New York Style Sauce

Cooking Light has published several pizza recipes and they are all awesome. I have tried every single one and this one is our favorite. The crust is perfectly chewy and the perfect thickness to hold all the sauce and toppings. Sorry there's no picture yet for this one...I'm kind of on a pizza strike for awhile until I get a little more weight off. Don't worry, I'll get there soon and then I'll make this and take a picture. I've made this a zillion times and can confidently tell you it's the bomb for pizza. The sauce is divine. You won't ever want to use a bottled pizza sauce ever again. If you want a real picture, visit the Cooking Light Site. 

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust
1 package active dry yeast ( 2 1/4 tsp. If your yeast is too old, it won't work as well. I keep mine in the freezer for this purpose)
1 C warm water
1 1/4 C cold water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
26.1 ounces (5 1/2 C) unbleached bread flour, divided. (I've used all-purpose and it still works)
Cooking Spray
*I have made this with whole wheat flour and if you choose to do so, use about 4 C white flour and 1 1/2 C white flour for some volume to the crust

New York-Style Pizza Sauce

7 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (fresh makes all the difference in the world, but use what you have)
1 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano (be sure to crush the dried spices in your hands to release the flavor)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14.5 ounce) can petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Just combine all these ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, makes 2 2/3 C.

1. Preheat Oven to 500. Dissolve yeast in 1 C warm water in a small bowl by sprinkling the yeast on top of the water and then leaving it alone; let stand 5 minutes. Combine 1 1/4 C cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and stir with a whisk.

2. Weight or lightly spoon 5 1/4 C (24.9 ounce) flour and combine with yeast mixture, and cold water mixture in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low for 8 minutes or until dough begins to form. Let rest 2 minutes. mix on low 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes); add enough of the remaining 1.19 ounces (about 1/4 C) flour, 1 Tbsp at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands.

3. Divide the dough in half. If using both balls of dough, roll out on a flat surface to a 12 inch circle. Place on a pizza dough on prepared pizza stone and brush with olive oil. Top with sauce, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Repeat with remaining dough or place remaining dough in a heavy duty zip top bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

4. Top pizza with toppings and then bake for 12 minutes. Let the pizza rest for 5-6 minutes before serving.

Whole Wheat Bread

This bread is fail-proof. It is soft, sweet, and keeps for a very long time without getting crusty. Follow the directions exactly, and you can't go wrong. Plus, it makes your house smell awesome.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp dry yeast
1/3 c warm water
2 2/3 Hot tap water
1 1/3 tsp salt
1/3 c oil
1/3 c honey or sugar
1/6 molasses
8 cups flour (whole wheat)

Directions:

Add 1 tbsp of sugar to 1/3 cup warm water. Sprinkle yeast into the water and sugar mixture. Allow the yeast to do its thing- don't stir it up too much. Combine hot tap water and about 5 cups flour in mixer, using the beater bar. Mix until well blended. Add salt,  oil, sugar or honey, molasses and 1 cup flour. Add prepared yeast. Blend thoroughly. Switch to dough hook, Add 2-4 cups flour, knead for about 10 minutes or until dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Let rest for a few minutes before putting into greased bowl. Oil top of bread. Cover with a soft towel. Let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 30 minutes) Punch down, let rest for a few minutes- shape into loaves and put in well greased bread pans (2 small loaves) let rise again until it looks like it's just peeking over the top of the bread pan. Bake 30 minutes at 350 or until done.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Who doesn't love a soft pretzel? These can be made at home in a snap. There is a fabulous restaurant in Jackson Hole called Sidewinders and they fill a homemade pretzel with cheese, pepperoni, and give you sauces for dipping. It is shaped in a giant "S" and so Dan and I decided to try to make some at home because they are the best carbohydrate invention. Ever.  You can leave these pretzels plain, or fill them honeymustard and chicken, ham and cheese, chocolate chips, cinnamon and sugar, and anything else you can imagine. These are from Alton Brown.


Ingredients: 


1 1/2 c warm water
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast (make sure it isn't too old or it won't work as well!)
4 1/2 c flour
2 ounces melted butter
10 c water
2/3 c baking soda


Directions: 

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving