Whole Wheat Buns

I have searched high and low for a light, fluffy, whole wheat-ish bun recipe. My previous attempts had always failed, giving me dense or small buns that tasted good but were a bit of a chore to eat.

No longer.

I found a recipe for light wheat rolls and it has worked for me on several occasions. This may be due to the high yeast content, but the reason really doesn't concern me. These are light and fluffy, and I can make large hamburger-sized buns or divide them into 32 small dinner rolls with a single batch.

Mix yeast into water and let stand for about 10 minutes:

• 1 3/4 cup warm (yeast-friendly temperature) water 
• 2 packages active dry yeast (1 package is about 2 1/4 tsp)

Mix separately:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
• 1 beaten egg

Mix yeast and water into flour mixture and then add 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (I love my KitchenAid mixer for this).  Add more flour if necessary.  Then knead either in stand mixer or on well-floured surface until smooth and elastic - about 8 minutes. The dough should be sticky but not so much that it gets all over your hands - it should hold mostly together. 

Oil the bowl, turn the dough to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled.  At that point, punch it down and let it rise again.  If my kitchen is warm the first rise takes about 45 minutes and the second one only half an hour or so.

Turn out onto floured surface again, divide into about 16 large buns or 32 small ones (anything that's a multiple of 8 is easy to divide).  Roll into balls and place on a greased cookie sheet.  I choose to cover them with greased/oiled plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place until buns have doubled in size.  They will look large and puffy and round.  I don't usually butter the tops of the buns but if you like the glossy look feel free to do that. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Bake for 11-15 minutes depending on the size.  Be careful not to have them too close to the top or bottom elements - I find the tops brown very quickly if I don't put them on the centre rack.  They should be golden brown when finished, and when you turn them over they should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let them cool on a rack and enjoy!

Pitas

Taken directly from Annie's Eats.  She has a whole-wheat version too, if I remember right, but so far I can't fathom making anything other than these.

These pitas are so easy if you're bumming around the house and can attend the dough occasionally.  Just like Annie said herself - you won't be able to eat store-bought pitas anymore.  Today my husband asked me to make them as a base for pizzas... and then we just ate them plain with Greek salad instead.

• 3 cups flour, and a little more as needed
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 package instant yeast
• 1 Tbsp sugar or honey in 1 cup warm water (not too hot!)

Mix the salt and flour together, and add the yeast to the cup of sweet water. Let it foam for 10 minutes if you're not sure if your yeast is still kicking, then add it to the flour mixture.  Mix together and knead for about 10 minutes (this is where I thank the Lord for the KitchenAid stand mixer).  Add a little flour if needed to get rid of the major sticky factor.  The dough should pull away from the sides and be tacky but you should be able to handle it decently without it getting all over your hands. 

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled - probably about 1.5 hours.    

Divide risen dough into 8 portions, shape into balls and let them rest for 20 minutes or so - this will allow them to be pliable. 

Use a rolling pin on a floured surface to shape each ball into a disc, about half an inch thick.  They should be about the diameter of your finished pita.  Place them onto parchment paper or something else non-stick and let them rise, no cover needed, about half an hour.  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a pizza stone inside. 

Once heated, place as many as you can fit (I usually get 4) into the oven for about 3 minutes. They will puff up and should be cooked through - but I usually flip them over for another minute or so just to get markings on both sides. They will still be good, I promise. If you want a very defined pocket inside, don't flip it over.

Enjoy fresh out of the oven with tzatziki sauce.  You will not regret it. 

Focaccia Bread

I don't know where this recipe originally came from - if anyone recognizes it feel free to let me know!

Mix together:

• 1 tsp. white sugar
• 1 cup water (warm but not too hot)
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• Let the yeast poof, then add 2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine dry ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup white flour
• 1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 pinch ground black pepper

Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.  Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Place in a large oiled bowl, cover with damp cloth and let it rise for about 20 minutes.

Punch the dough down, pat into a flat rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  Top with oil, parmesan/mozzarella, or various veggies, herbs, and other cheeses.  This is your chance to get creative!  You can go "basic" with rosemary and sea salt, then eat it with oil and balsamic vinegar, or jazz it up with banana peppers and asiago cheese.  I like to poke the dough all over with my finger so that the finished bread has dimples in it.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. Thoroughly enjoy it with balsamic vinegar / olive oil or other dips.  Happy eating!

Cornbread

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp each of salt, baking powder, baking soda
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream for best results (but I usually use skim milk)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Combine dry and wet ingredients separately, then stir together until just moistened. Pour into greased 8x8 square dish.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 min (add 5 min for a glass dish).  Test done-ness with a toothpick in the centre of the loaf - it should come out clean.

Basic Biscuits

My mom's recipe for light, easy biscuits has saved me a few times when I need a quick soup accompaniment. I know everyone must have a biscuit recipe but I just don't want to lose my tried-and-true morsels of flaky goodness.

This is also a reason why I love my food processor - "cut in the butter" was my least favourite instruction ever until I discovered these wonderful whirl-y blades.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup shortening (margarine is fine)
• 3/4 cup milk for molded biscuits - 1 cup for "dropped" biscuits

Mix together dry ingredients, cutting in shortening. Add milk and mix lightly - just until moistened throughout. Form biscuits however you like or drop on greased baking sheet for crusty goodness. 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.


Serve hot with butter (obviously)!

Zwieback

This Mennonite classic was prompted by my father-in-law's insistence that I "find them and make them."  It took me forever to figure out what they were, as he pronounced it "Toy-buck" (possibly low German or Russian?). Unfortunately the link I originally took it from has disappeared so I am unable to cite my source.  They were surprisingly easy - not super quick but high-yield.

Start with:

• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp dry active yeast

Mix and let sit 5-10 minutes.  Once the yeast has foamed up, add 1.5 cups of warm milk (not too hot) and 1.5 Tbsp vegetable oil.

• In separate bowl, mix:
• 4.5 cups white flour
• 1.5 tsp salt

Take 2 cups of the above mixture and cut in 1/2 cup of room temperature butter. Add it to the wet ingredients, then add the remaining flour. Knead gently on lightly floured surface.  Let dough rise until doubled (cover bowl with a wet cloth or plastic wrap and set in a warm place).

Shape into two-part buns (larger one underneath, smaller knob on top, poke your finger down the center to stick them together).  Bake on parchment paper for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Eat when warm with butter and jam.  Delicious!

No-Knead Bread

Crispy crust! Large air holes! Perfect for dipping in oil and vinegar!  No kneading! 

This bread rises well and takes minimal effort to bake, other than wait times.  This version seems to be floating all over the internet.

• 3 cups flour (don't overfill or shake down; you don't want flour packed into measuring cup)
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• Any other mix-ins you like (for example - in the bread below, I added a handful of flax seeds, sunflower seeds, some rosemary and a taste of parmesan)

Mix all together and let it sit in a bowl covered by plastic wrap. Leave it on the counter for 18-20 hours. Pour onto a well-floured piece of parchment paper and form into a round loaf.  Cover it with the previously used/moist plastic wrap and let it rise a bit while the oven is preheating to 450 degrees. Put a Dutch Oven (Le Creuset or some other oven-safe ceramic pot with a tight-fitting lid - I use a Calphalon ceramic pot) into the oven while it's preheating.  When the bread is ready to go, pull out the pot, gently place the parchment paper with bread into the pot, and bake for 30 minutes. Take off the lid and bake for another 15 minutes. Your bread should look and smell amazing. 

For the lightest bread, use all-purpose (white) flour. I often replace 1/3 or even 1/2 with whole ground wheat flour.  If I want to be really healthy, I'll do a full whole wheat version with slightly less flour and let the loaf rise well before baking... or else it is really dense. Put it very gently in the pot so the air bubbles don't burst inside. I'll usually put craisins and flax seeds in that one to provide some nice textures in there.