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Recipes

Basics Recipes

There are two master recipes that are used in the basics class.

1. Bread recipe
2. Muffin recipe

Bread Recipe

The bread recipe that is used as a base has a range of options.

• The kind of liquid
• Whether or not to add powdered milk
• Whether or not to add oil

The basic formula stays much the same.

• 2 teaspoons of SAF instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 10 oz. of half-and-half OR 2 percent milk OR water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 cup of nonfat powdered milk (optional)
• up to 1/4 cup of canola oil (optional)
• about 3 cups of bread flour

The powdered milk and oil are normally used when water is used as the liquid. Liquids should be preheated to somewhere between 85 and 100 degrees. This is so the yeast gets activiated without being killed by the hot liquid.

Richer doughs (more fat and protein) have a different feel than lean doughs. They also perform differently (they make better toast), and they keep better.

Muffin Recipe

The muffin recipe that is used as a base also has a range of options, but more in terms of what the additional ingredients are.

Basic Muffin Ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 whole egg
• 1/4 cup of canola oil
• 1 cup of 2 % milk

Basic Muffin Procedure

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients.

In another medium bowl beat the egg, mix in the oil, and then mix in the milk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture. Stir until just moistened.

Spoon into muffin cups that have been lined with foil or paper muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Muffin Variations

The basic muffin doesn’t have significant flavor.

You make a muffin interesting by adding extra ingredients or making substitutions.

These changes can be like additional ingredients that change the texture (adding old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats), the taste (spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla), plus other ingredients like raisins, currants, chopped apple, or sunflower seeds.

For example, to make spiced apple muffins, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1 cup of chopped apple.

You can also add an extra egg for a better rise.

One substition that adds flavor is to replace the milk with buttermilk. If you do that, replace 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. There are a lot of recipes that benefit from that substitution, but if you don’t have buttermilk around, there is not much option.

For many muffins that use apples, you can substitute apple juice for the milk. That enhances the apple flavor.

Another substitution that changes the flavor is to use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. The molasses adds another flavor to the mixture.

Multigrain Recipes

I haven’t added these in yet.

Sweet Dough Recipes

Fillings

These have to be made ahead of time, so that they can be ready when needed for the sweet dough.

Almond Filling

This recipe is on page 206 of the King Arthur cookbook.

Ingredients

2	cup	sliced almonds
2/3	cup	sugar
1/4	teaspoon	salt
1	whole	egg
4	tablespoon	softened butter
1	rind	of lemon, grated
1/2	teaspoon	lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2	teaspoon	almond extract

Grind the almonds in blender in two batches and dump them into food processor. Add the sugar and salt and blend. Add the egg and butter and blend. Add the lemon rind, juice and almond extract and blend thoroughly. Remove this to a storage container.

Currant Cashew Filling

This recipe is a modification of the Fig Filling on page 38 of the Fleischmann’s cookbook.

Ingredients

1	cup	currants
1/4	cup	brown sugar
2/3	cup	water
1	tablespoon	lemon juice
1/2	cup	chopped cashews

In a saucepan combine 1 cup currants, 1/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar, 2/3 cup water, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Continue cooking until mixture is thick enough to spread. (Mixture thickens when it cools, so don’t cook it until all liquid is gone.) Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup chopped cashews.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

There are several good recipes for overnight cinnamon rolls on-line.

• Alton Brown, Food Network (with pictures)
• allrecipes.com (makes a dozen very big rolls)
• recipezaar.com (claims to make 10, but I used it to make 24 small rolls)
• pinkofperfection (a refinement of the allrecipes version)
• cooks.com (makes 3 9×13 pans full)

This is the recipe that I have simplified from the one at allrecipes.com. It’s smaller, less rich, but also less variable.

Ingredients

Dough

1	cup	milk
1/4	cup	butter
2	teaspoons	active dry yeast
2	teaspoons	sugar
1/2	teaspoon	salt
1	whole	egg
1/3	cup	sugar
3 1/2	cups	all-purpose flour

Filling

1	cup	brown sugar
1	tablespoon	ground cinnamon
2	tablespoons	softened butter

My cinnamon of choice is Frontier Co-op’s korintje cinnamon grade a ( 1, 2, 3 ). (I buy it by the pound, because I go through it so fast.) Some say this is the best type of cinnamon to use in cinnamon rolls.

Glaze

1	teaspoon	light corn syrup
1/2	teaspoon	vanilla extract
1 1/4	cups	powdered sugar
2	tablespoons	half-and-half cream

Directions

1. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm (about 100 degrees).
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar in the milk mixture. Wait about 7 minutes for the mixture to bubble.
3. Add the 1/3 cup sugar, 2 cups of flour, salt and egg; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Dough will still be sticky.
4. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Deflate the dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12×18 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the top edge (which should be 18 inches long) with water.
6. Spread softened butter over the rectangle, leaving a 1-inch margin at the top edge. Spinkle brown sugar over the butter; sprinkle cinnamon over the brown sugar.
7. Starting from the bottom edge, roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.
8. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.
9. The next morning, take the rolls out of the refrigerator.
10. Let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 60 minutes (depending on your schedule).
11. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
12. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, combine the corn syrup with the vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk in the powdered sugar and enough cream to make a thick glaze; set aside. Drizzle the glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

Here are pictures from one execution of the recipe.

The first rise (before the dough is rolled out) can be skipped if you are in a hurry. The results will still be very good. (It’s what we did in my class.)

My favorite way to make the rolls rise is to bring 3 quarts of water in a saucepan to a boil, and place in the oven on the lowest rack or the bottom of the oven. Place the pan of rolls in the oven and let stand for 30 minutes or until rolls are mostly risen. Then remove saucepan and baking pan from the oven. Don’t preheat the oven with the pan inside!

The glaze is from one of the recipes found on the internet. You can make the glaze without the corn syrup, with more vanilla, and with liquids other than half-and-half. I used a teaspoon of soft butter and about 2 tablespoons of hot tea with powdered sugar; it worked just fine.

Reports from people who took my class indicate numerous “SUPERB,” impressive, “excellent,” and “wonderful” cinnamon rolls using this recipe.