Whoever said, “man can’t live on bread” alone apparently didn’t know me.  And, he (or she) clearly has never had English Muffin Bread.  I mean, c’mon.  All of those nooks and crannies just waiting for a thick slathering of golden butter.  Or  homemade strawberry jam.  Or sweet, golden honey. Oh, I have to stop…I’m drooling on my keyboard.

When I came across this recipe on Pinterest, it was a no-brainer.  I HAD to make it.  Even though it called for yeast (have I ever told you that I’m terrified of yeast?).

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I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.  This bread is absolutely, positively PERFECT!  And, when it’s toasted, it’s even better!  All warm with crispy outside and a soft, chewy center.  And those nooks and crannies.  Oh my.

I mean, look at that photo…it looks perfect.

The original recipe made four loaves of bread.  I didn’t have have four bread pans so I halved the recipe and made two loaves.  I wish I made four.  It’s that good!  I ended up putting one loaf in the freezer and it’s just as good as the one we ate immediately (no, we didn’t eat the whole loaf at one sitting…although we probably could have).

This recipe is really very easy to make.  It’s not fussy at all.  Just put the ingredients in the mixer, turn it on. Put the dough in pans, let it rise.  Bake it.  No fancy techniques. No kneading.  Seriously, there’s only about 5 minutes of hand-on time.

Oh, and the yeast…not so scary!  It worked perfectly for me.  I can’t say that’s always been the case.  I’m a work in progress. I used the “rapid rise” yeast so it only needed to rise that one time.  If you use regular yeast, you’ll need to let it rise twice.

I’m going to make another two loaves this week!  But right now I’m going to make me some English Muffin toast!

Christina

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I’ve always wanted to learn how to make bread, the old-fashioned way — without a bread maker.  I have to [...]]]> I am on the quest to find a good copy cat recipe for Wegman’s Pane Bread (I think that’s a bit redundant since ‘pane’ is ‘bread’ in Italian!).

I’ve always wanted to learn how to make bread, the old-fashioned way — without a bread maker.  I have to admit I’m a bit afraid of any recipe that calls for yeast, but I have had some success with a Norweigen cinnamon bread (thanks, Aunt Kirsten!) that I make at Christmas.  So, I think I’m ready to jump right in and tackle this!

And, that’s where I need your help!  If you have a great recipe for Italian bread, would you mind sharing?  I’ll be sure to post my results here for you all to see!

Thanks!

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This weekend, we were having Chicken Parmigiana and I wanted garlic bread.  I sifted through “the pile” and came up with [...]]]> I love garlic bread.  Actually, I love most anything that’s made with garlic!  What I don’t love, though, is garlic bread that is dripping in butter.  Ick.

This weekend, we were having Chicken Parmigiana and I wanted garlic bread.  I sifted through “the pile” and came up with this recipe — it only called for 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Not too shabby!  So I gave it a try. 

The Recipe

1-13 oz Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced

Unwrap pizza crust and roll it out on a baking sheet according to package directions.  Drizzle olive oil on top of crust.  Spread garlic on top.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese over pizza crust.  Top with parsley.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

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This is an unbelievably easy and delicious recipe!  Seriously, it doesn’t get much easier than this!  I loved the fresh taste of the minced garlic and fresh parsley!  I also liked how it looked rustic and homemade.  And, it wasn’t covered in melted butter!  That little bit of olive oil was all that was needed.

I used a pizza cutter to cut mine into squares, which seemed to work best for my little guy!  I also baked mine on a baking stone.

This recipe will become one of my go-to recipes!  Especially, when I make my homemade braciole (Italian stuffed steak).

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Also, be sure to check out some of the other great websites and blogs that I’ve found.  Their links are to the right —>

I love Zucchini Bread! As a young girl, I remember my grandmother making loaves upon loaves of [...]]]> I don’t know about you, but just about this time, every single year, there seems to be an over abundance of zucchinis!  What’s a girl to do?  Well, when life gives you zucchinis…you should make Zucchini Bread!

I love Zucchini Bread! As a young girl, I remember my grandmother making loaves upon loaves of this yummy treat.  I used to think that she did this because she loved to bake.  But know I know (from first hand experience) that it was probably because she had so many zucchinis to use up! 

The Recipe

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, grated
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Grease and flour tow 8×4 inch loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda and cinnamon together into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together.  Add sifted dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well.  Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until tested inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes.  Remove bread from pans and completely cool.

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This recipe makes the moistest (is that a word?) bread! And, it goes perfectly with a nice cup of tea! I love the crunch of the walnuts and the warmth that the cinnamon adds!  Even if you don’t like zucchini (like my husband!), you can’t help but love this bread!  And, Zucchini Bread is a great way to incorporate your vegetables into your dessert! It’s a 2 for 1 deal!

Here are some other things you can try with this recipe:

• Replace the chopped walnuts with chocolate chips! But, make sure you add 1 tablespoon of flour to the chocolate chips before you add them to the batter — it will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the bread pan!
• You can bake them in muffin tins instead of loaf pans.  Remember to decrease your baking time.  I baked my muffins for 20-24 minutes.
• If you have a large zucchini, make a double batch and freeze a few loaves for the cold winter months!  It will be a nice treat!  But, don’t just double up on the recipe above.  For some reason the chemistry just doesn’t work right.  Make 2 separate batches.

What different variations have you tried when making Zucchini Bread?

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