This is my fool-proof recipe for delicious homemade bread that's ready in about an hour! It is so impressive to make your own bread but with the craziness day to day life, it is tough to find time. Not anymore! The best part is most of these ingredients are usually already on hand, so there's no need to lug yourself to the grocery store to create the perfect loaf. Try this out next time you're craving fresh bread!
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (or 1/2 cup whole wheat + 1.5 cups all purpose)
- 1 packet fast acting yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon basil or Italian seasoning (or spice of your choice really, you can omit this step if you don't want a flavor)
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Additional warm water if needed for the dough
Recipe:
- Use a large measuring cup to combine the warm water, sugar & yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast.
- Place the yeast mixture in the microwave (without turning it on!) so that it is kept in a warm dark place for at least 15 minutes. Yeast will be bubbly when you take it out.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large basin, mix the flour, seasoning, & salt together.
- Add in the olive oil & yeast, mix into the flour. Kneed until everything is combined. It's okay if you over-kneed for this dough, you want the gluten activated as much as possible.
- Sprinkle some extra flour on a cookie sheet to avoid the dough sticking to the pan.
- Add the dough on top of the flour & shape with your hands into a loaf. Hint: sometimes I need the bread to cook fast so I make 2-3 smaller loafs and use 2 cookie sheets to bake them in.
- Use a sharp knife to make 3 small slits on top of the loaf.
- Bake on 350 for about 20 - 30 minutes or until the top is crusty. Timing will depend on how tall / thick you made your loaf & how many loafs you split it into. This recipe can make 3 small/medium sized loafs in 15-20 minutes!
Put this on your holiday dessert list!
Time: about 1.5 hours total
Ingredients:
- 2 Pears
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter or margarine (1 stick = 1/2 cup)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
Recipe:
- Preheat oven to 425° F
- In a food processor, pulse 1 stick of cold butter (cut into cubes) with 1 cup all purpose flour & 1 teaspoon salt until dough forms (you will likely have to finish forming dough with your hands after you take it out of the food processor).
- Roll dough out with a rolling pin so that it's wide enough to cover the bottom of your round pie pan, and have room to press up the sides of the pan (like a crust).
- Press dough into the bottom of the pan and around the sides, ensure all around the pan is coated with the crust.
- This step is optional: I sprinkled some ground cinnamon into the pie crust so that it's a little more flavorful. I fully believe in cinnamon.... on everything.
- Bake crust alone for about 20 mins or until slightly browned.
- Filling: Slice pears very thin (I used a mandoline slicer, but you can just do this with a utility/paring knife). Remove any seeds.
- In a medium bowl, coat sliced pears with brown sugar, remaining ground cinnamon, gloves, and ginger. Add a little salt if you'd like.
- Remove bottom crust from the oven and fill it with the above mixture.
- Top crust: Repeat steps 2-4. Roll dough out over the pie filling with your hands (to cover the pie) and gently tuck in the corners using the excess dough (you may have to pinch a little to ensure that the top crust stays on!)
- Cut two slits on the top so the filling has room to breathe
TIP: wiggle your knife so the slits are a little wide, since the dough will expand a little as it cooks. - Put pie into the oven first, then lower the degrees to 350° F and bake for about an hour or until the top crust is golden brown!
- Enjoy!
Time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (or more, as needed)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of the following:
- salt
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves
- ground ginger
- 1 cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon applesauce
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
White Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk (I used fat-free lactaid)
Spiced Icing:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk (I used fat-free lactaid) (any kind)
- 1/4 teaspoon of the following:
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- ground cloves
Recipe:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Lightly dust the top with flour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients for the scones.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin and apple sauce.
- Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut butter into the dry ingredients. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (You can also use a food processor for this step).
- Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. The dough will be wet, but if it seems super sticky, go ahead and sprinkle a little more flour into the dough until it's easier to handle (you'll be working in 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional flour to get the right consistency).
- Pat out dough onto the lightly floured baking sheet and form it into a 1-inch thick circle. Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough three times through, making 6 equal squares. Gently pull them apart.
- Bake 14 to 16 minutes on prepared baking sheet. Scones should begin to turn light brown.
- While scones are cooling, prepare plain glaze by whisking ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth.
- When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone. Let this glaze cool completely until firm.
- Prepare spiced icing by whisking the ingredients in another medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone.
- Enjoy!
Simply DELISH way to use leftover zucchini!
Time: 1.5 hours
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons apple sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Recipe:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Grease your loaf pan with cooking spray and lightly dust with flour.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy.
- Mix in oil and sugar.
- Stir in zucchini and vanilla.
- Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture.
- Pour batter into pan, top with walnuts lining the middle for a design (optional).
- Bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean!
