Maple Walnut Rolls

This is not your basic basket of browned buns! Yes, I was very excited to use so many 'B's' in one sentence, it brought me a smile, but really it is a true statement. I originally got this recipe from the King Arthur Flour website, however I made several adaptations to the original recipe, including substituting cinnamon chips with butterscotch chips, which I believe worked quite nicely.

I made these as rolls, but I think that the dough would work really nicely as a loaf, specifically, I think it would be great to use for French toast, just as the King Arthur website recommends. The bread is not overly sweet and just has a mild hint of maple flavor, which would be perfect for breakfast alongside some bacon. As rolls, they are a nice side to a salad, or toasted with a bit of cream cheese. In the future, I think I will try making a loaf of bread and going for the French toast option...of course I do have a special fondness for French toast; which leads to my next question/request. If anyone has an especially good or unique French toast recipe, please email it to us, I would love to have it.

Oh and if you are looking for a really great baking cookbook, I would highly recommend either the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook or the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion Cookbook (which is an especially awesome baking book).

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is a soft, supple, mild bread due to the high oat content and the use of potato-flakes in the dough. I will admit that it does take a long time to make because it is a slow rising bread, but it is good. The hands on time is only the amount of time that it takes you to put the dough together, but unlike other yeast breads that only require about 2 hours of total rise time, this one takes double that. From what I understand that is also due to the high oat content. Either way though, it creates a loaf that sticks together well and cuts nicely. The look of it is rustic, with a crust that has some crags and valleys, which I think is nice.

Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia

This is a simple focaccia bread recipe from one of my personal favorites, the King Arthur Flour company. The recipe calls for Pizza Seasoning, which to be honest I have never used; instead I just added a mix of basil, rosemary, and a dash of garlic salt. And sadly, when I was making this bread forgot to poke the risen dough with my fingers (giving it the focaccia bread look), which is quite fun I think - pushing your fingers into soft dough and watching it fill back in.

The end result, was a very soft, flavorful bread that worked really well as a side to the Pasta e Fagioli (soup) I made the same night. As a side note, you could really add any combination of herbs and spices to flavor this No-Fuss Focaccia to pair with whatever soup or pasta dish you make.

Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia
Recipe from kingarthurflour.com
Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1/4 cup Vermont cheese powder, optional
Pizza Seasoning, optional

Directions:
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.*
2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.
4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.
7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*As you can see from the pictures, I decided to make my bread in 2-8x8 pans instead of one 9x13. I cooked it for a bit less time, just watching for the golden brown top. It turned out well and provided a loaf for two seperate meals.

Cinnamon Buns

Truly, one of my very favorite treats in this world is a soft, warm cinnamon bun. The first time I made these buns was for my family on New Year's Eve, and let's just say they didn't last until New Year's Day.

The recipe makes 12 buns, but as a word of warning, you should never make just one batch. In my mind, it is imperative that you always double this recipe. That way you can make one classic batch, with just cinnamon-sugar, and one with additions like rasins and nuts.

I should mention too that my finished product picture is slightly deceiving. No doubt the buns look delicious (at least I think so) but this batch didn't rise in the oven as it should have. So, I would say that unless you are cursed with a tempramental oven like mine, your buns will rise to be even more puffy and beautiful then these.

Enjoy, and if you make a batch, be sure to bring one or two by my place, because these never last long at my house and I am always in the mood for a cinnamon bun!

Cinnamon Buns
Recipe from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Pictures by Caroline
Yields 12 buns

Dough Recipe
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp sugar
1tbsp granular lecithin (optional)
2 tbsp nonfat dry milk
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 large egg plus enough water to make 1 cup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp soft butter

Filling Recipe
¼ cup soft butter
¾ cup sugar mixed with 1 tbsp cinnamon
½ cup nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips

Icing Recipe
3 tbsp heavy cream or 2 tbsp water (I just used milk)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the Dough:
1. Mix and knead together all the dough ingredients- by hand or mixer- to form a soft, smooth dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 to 1 ½ hours; it should almost double in size.
*Note: I don’t use instant yeast, so I warm up the milk, add some of the sugar, the yeast and let it set for 10 minutes of so. Basically, I just get my yeast started the old fashion way.

To Assemble:
1. Turn out the dough onto a lightly greased work surface and roll into a rectangle measuring about 11x20 inches.
2. Spread a thin layer of soft butter over the dough, leaving about 1 inch uncovered on the short side nearest you (the side that will be the outermost roll). Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and nuts, raisins, or chips of your choice.
3. Starting with the short end covered with filling (not the one you left without butter and other goodness), roll the dough into a log. Use a serrated knife to gently was the log in half, and then cut each side of the log into six equal pieces.
4. Place the buns in a lightly greased 9x13-inch pan, pressing down slightly. Cover the buns and let them rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 ¼ hours, until they are quite puffy.
5. Preheat the over to 350°F. bake the buns for 20-25 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Pull them out of the pan and let them cool to just slightly warm before frosting.
*Note: I just frost them while they are in the pan- makes less mess, plus I usually can’t wait to eat one, so I have to hurry.

To Make the Icing
1. Mix the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar to make a creamy glaze; use water for a thinner glaze. Spread the icing on the buns.