Tuscan bread

This one was fun. I knew we were going to have Italian for dinner, so I wanted to come up with a bread that would support the rich flavors of the meal. I started off with mostly as a sourdough, but tweeked it a bit. So...let's bake!

4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp onion powder
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup starter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 stick herbed butter. (You can purchase pre-made varieties, or mix in an herb combination on your own. The herbs I used here were...
Rosemary
Thyme
Sage
Basil
Bay
Marjorum *about 1/4-1/2 tsp each)

I just pile the flour in, and add the salt and onion powder, off to the side of the bowl.

I feed my starter this morning and my little one, Logan, stirred it for me.

I put the blended herbed butter off to the side as well. I try to leave the top of the flour "hill" free for yeast and warn liquids.

I was out of buttermilk, so I soured whole milk to use as a substitute. I poured about 1 Tbs of white vinager into the bottom of a measuring cup, then filled it up to the 1 1/2 mark with whole milk. Then I microwaved it for about 45 seconds.

In truth, it works wonderfully, but it is terrible looking stuff!

I poured the small amount of starter around the edge of the bowl also. Then I made a little well in the center of the "hill" where I put the yeast.

I poured the warm "buttermilk" over the top of the yeast well, and let it sit about 3-5 minutes.

Hand mix, and then knead until smooth and elastic. This can take anything from 5-20 minutes. Cover with a towel, and allow it to rise until double in size, about an hour.

Do not Preheat the oven. Punch down the dough, and divide into two. Place each ball in an oiled bread pan. Bake at 415 for 35 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, brush the top of the bread with melted butter, or, what I did, was salt a tiny bit of cream, and brush the loads with this. I was looking for a softer crust so as soon as I pulled it out of the oven, I turned it out of the pan, placed it on a cooling rack, and covered it with a towel, to prevent the crust from crisping.

Here they are! They were wonderful! We had a small serving of veggie spaghetti, and delicious chicken picatta with it. Watch for that post to come soon!

Enjoy, take your time, and let me know what you though, and how it turned out;)

cinnamon pull-apart bread...aka monkey bread

Okay, you are having company. You want something to serve, warm with coffee for dessert, or in the morning, after your guests have caught up on their beauty sleep. This one is a bit time consuming, but super simple. The time is in waiting for each proof, or rise. So plan ahead, unless your in the habit of getting up between 3:30-4:30am, then you can have it ready in plenty of time for breakfast!

There are 7 of us here, and we do not finish it, so it makes plenty. Cinnamon pull-apart is one of our favorites around here. So, let's bake!

Ingredients for dough~
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 eggs


Ingredients for filling~
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 Tbs melted or browned butter

Ingredients for icing (optional)
1 cup cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix water sugar and yeast. Allow to sit, and for yeast to dissolve, and become almost frothy, about 5 min. Add the rest of the dough ingredients, and knead until smooth and elastic. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

While the dough is rising, mix filling sugar and cinnamon, and set aside. After the dough has risen, punch down, and knead again, for about 5 min. Let the dough proof, or rise again until doubled again, about an hour.

Turn dough out onto well floured surface. Sprinkle a bit of flour on the top of the ball of dough. I also like to put a bit of flour on the rolling pin, to keep it from sticking.

Roll the ball into as large of a rectangle as you can, keeping the thickness at about 1/4 inch. Mine tends to be about 9x11".

I prefer to brown my butter for this, but just melting it would work fine. Brush the ENTIRE surface of the dough with the butter. Use it all, its dessert!!!

Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the butter. Cover every inch of the dough, all the way to the edges. It may seem like a lot, but remember, you will only eat a few slices, not the entire loaf, so go for it.

Now slice the dough into 6 even strips. Stack them as evenly as possible, without spilling all the sugar and cinnamon off! It's no easy task!!

Now cut the strips into six smaller piles.

From here, lay the stacks in their sides in a bread pan. I can't ever fit them all length wise, so the few left I squeeze on the sides, into any available space. Set in a warm place, and allow loaf to rise in the bread pan for about 20-30 minutes. I always pour the sugar and cinnamon that fell off the strips off the cutting board, and onto the loaf. Preheat oven to 350, and bake about 30 minutes.

As soon as bread is finished baking, run a knife along sides of pan to loosen the loaf. Turn the pan over and with a clean potholder protecting your hand(or use a second plate), catch the loaf. Have your serving platter handy, and transfer the loaf right side up. Allow to cool just til you can handle it. "Pull apart" the loaf as you all dive in, ripping your serving off, and inhaling it before someone else does!!

Now, I prefer not to use the icing, but most of the kids, and my hubby, demand the icing. Simply toss the sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla into a food processor, and blend until smooth and runny. Serve in little dipping cups. Enjoy!!!

I am dying to know if you've tried any of these. If you have, send me a comment, let me know how it turned out, and how your family liked it! Got a favorite recipe? Share it!!! I'd Loe to get your favorites, too.

Come on back to my kitchen soon, there's always room!! (((Hugs)))