Baking Powder Cheese Biscuits

Baking Powder Cheese Biscuits - yields 2 dozen

4 cups flour
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup cold butter
2 cups milk, or less
2 cups cheddar cheese

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in grated cheese. Cut butter into mixture with pastry blender until pea-sized. Add about half the milk, and mix by cutting with a metal spoon. Keep adding milk until a soft dough is formed. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead by folding, about 8 times. Roll out to about 3/4 inches thick. Cut into desired shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 F for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Flour Tortillas

This is my favourite recipe for flour tortillas. They take a little bit of work but are so much better than the store-bought ones, in my opinion. I've tried a few recipes for flour tortillas but always come back to this one from my mom. These ones are very soft and pliable.

Flour Tortillas

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup water (or milk)

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add 2/3 cup water (or milk). Stir until dough forms a ball. Put on floured surface and knead 6-8 times. Cover with an inverted bowl and let rest for 20 minutes. Form small balls and roll out very thin. Place one on medium hot ungreased frying pan. When dark spots begin to appear, turn and brown other side. Keep warm in a tea towel. Yields 6-10 large medium - large shells.

Easy Focaccia Bread

This is an easy and delicious recipe for homemade focaccia bread that goes very well with pasta.

Easy Focaccia Bread - recipe adapted from here

2 3/4 c. flour

1 c. warm water

2 Tbsp. instant (quick-rising) yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Mix yeast with flour, sugar, salt, garlic powder, and oregano. Add oil and water and mix until all flour is mixed in. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise for about 30 minutes (a little less if pressed for time). Lightly punch down and press into a greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan. Let rest for about 10 minutes. Poke holes in it with your fingers. Brush with oil and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and additional herbs if desired. Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Tutorial: Making Homemade Bread

Making homemade bread is really easy once you get used to it. If you have a mixer or bosch, there is very little work involved; much of the time is for rising and baking. Here's a step by step tutorial on how to make homemade Honey Whole Wheat Bread. The entire recipe is at the bottom.

1) In a small bowl, dissolve 1 tsp sugar and 2 Tbsp of yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water (the water should be fairly warm but not so hot that you couldn't keep your hand in it. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast.)




2) To your mixer (my bosch can handle this large batch) or very large bowl, add 3 1/2 cups of warm water, 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice.



3) Mix well
4) Stir in the yeast mixture and mix.

5) Slowly add 5 cups of whole wheat flour, mixing well after each addition.





6) Add 1/4 cup of flax, and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds. Mix well.


7) After combined, let this mixture stand for 20 minutes, until very light.


8) Add in 4 tsp of salt. (The reason the salt is added now instead of sooner is because salt can kill the yeast.)


9) With the mixer running, add in another 4 cups of whole wheat flour (one at a time, allowing the flour to incorporate) and enough white flour (about 2 cups) until the sides of the bowl start to get clean. Make sure to add the flour a little at a time, and beat well after each addition. Once the sides of the bowl are clean and the dough is only slightly sticky, then you've added enough flour. The total amount of flour for this recipe (including the 5 cups of whole wheat added earlier) is approximately 11 cups (9 C. whole wheat and 2 C. white).


10) See how the sides of the bowl are clean? That means I've added enough flour. Let the machine knead this (or knead by hand) for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.



11) Place dough in a large oiled bowl. Use a HUGE bowl that will allow for the dough to at least double in size, or you might need to use 2 bowls if you don't have a giant bowl. Lightly oil the top of the dough, cover loosely with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Place in the oven with the light on and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, until the dough is doubled in size. If you gently poke the dough and it leaves an indentation, it is usually ready.



Here is the dough after the first rise.


12) Punch the dough down to remove all air bubbles. Ellie likes to "poke it." It's her favourite part of making bread. :-). Here haven't finished punching it down. You want to really punch it down. It should totally deflate (not like it looks in the picture.)


13) After punching the dough down, divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Let rest for 10 minutes on the counter before shaping into loaves.

14) Shape into 6 loaves, pinching in the bottom and side seams, and place in a well greased (sides and bottom) bread pans. Make sure you grease the pans well. Ensure the short ends of the loaves are touching the short sides as this will help them rise.


15) Oil the top of the loaves, and cover the loaves with plastic wrap and a tea towel and place in oven with the light on for another 40-60 minutes or until doubled in size. You can do the indentation test again to check if they are ready.



16) Once the loaves have doubled in size, they are ready to put into the oven. Place in a preheated 375 F oven for 25 - 35 minutes until golden brown. You can check "doneness" by removing the loaf and tapping the bottom. It should sound hollow if it is done. Remove loaves immediately from pans and allow to cool. I have to bake my bread in 2 batches. I just bake the loaves that are the most "ready" first and leave the other ones on the counter to finish rising and bake after the first batch is done.


17) Allow the bread to cool completely before storing in plastic bags. I usually freeze the extra loaves. When I need one, I microwave for 45 seconds or just let thaw on the counter. Homemade bread goes moldy much faster than store bought. It will last 3-4 days on the counter, longer in the fridge (maybe a week or two), and much longer (probably 2 months or longer) in the freezer.






Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
3 1/2 additional cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp lemon juice
11 cups (approx)whole wheat flour (often I do 9-10 cups whole wheat and 1-2 cups white)
1/4 cup flax seed (optional)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
4 tsp salt

Directions. In a small bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the 1/2 cup of warm water. In Bosch, mix 3 1/2 cups warm water, honey, molasses, oil, eggs, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add yeast mixture and stir. Gradually add 5 cups whole wheat flour, beating well after each addition. Add the optional flax and sunflower seeds. Stir well. Let this mixture stand 20 minutes until mixture is very light. Stir in salt and the rest of the flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 10-15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Put into a large greased bowl and cover. Let rise in the oven with light on until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and shape into 6 balls. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Form into loaves, placed in greased loaf pans, and let rise covered in oven with light until until doubled. Bake at 375 F for 25-35 minutes - until bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.


http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/homemaking-link-up-29/

How to Make Homemade Pita Pockets

I love this recipe for homemade pita pockets/flatbread. Here's a step-by-step guide to making homemade pita bread. This recipe yields 6-8 pitas.

Pita Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Step 1: Combine 1 cup warm water, 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp of sugar in a large bowl (I use my Bosch).




Step 2: Add 1 cup flour (use white or whole wheat) and 1 1/2 tsp yeast and mix.




Step 3: Slowly add an additional 2 cups (approximately) of flour and knead for a few minutes to make a soft dough. You may need slightly less or more flour to make a soft dough. It should look something like this. I used a little too much flour this time.


Step 4: Place into an oiled bowl, lightly oil the top, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise for about an hour (until almost doubled). I always let my breads rise in the oven with the oven light on.
Step 5: Punch dough down and then divide into 6-8 equal portions.

Step 6: On a lightly floured surface, roll each section out into a fairly thin circle about 6 inches wide. Then, lightly cover the rolled out circles with a tea towel and let rise for another 30 minutes or until slightly puffy.
This is what my pitas look like after I've let them rise the second time. You can see they don't rise very much. They are only slightly puffed up.
Step 7: Place on a wire rack (you can probably use one like you use for cooling things. I use one that is for bacon, I think) and bake 2 at a time in 500 F oven for only about 4-5 minutes just until they start to lightly brown. Watch them very closely. You don't want them to overbake or they won't be pliable. You can turn them half way through, but you don't have to. I usually don't.
Step 8: Immediately wrap the pitas in a damp tea towel. This will help them be soft and pliable. Here's what one of mine looked like after it came out of the oven.


You can keep these on the counter for a few days, or keep them a bit longer in the fridge. Or, you can freeze them, which is what I do if I'm making them ahead of time. Just warm them up a bit before using to make them more pliable. There are many uses for pita bread. Here are just a few ways we use it:

• Cut in half, carefully open up to create a pita pocket and fill with your favourite sandwich fillings. We like Sweet & Tangy BBQ Chicken & Coleslaw pitas.
  
• Use the flatbread to make individual pizzas. Just spread pizza sauce and then add your favourite toppings on top. Bake at 400 F or so for about 8 minutes until cheese is melted. Check out the pita chip link below to see a picture of our flatbread pizzas.
  
• Cut each pita into wedges and make homemade baked pita chips like we did here. Serve them with hummus.
  

Once you get the hang of it, these are pretty simple to make and are so much cheaper than the store bought versions. Plus, they taste WAY better too, in my opinion. Enjoy!

*Linking up to Raising Homemakers*

Buttermilk Pancakes

When Little Bittles was sick and in and out of the hospital, we ate a lot of pancakes because I just didn't have the energy to cook anything else. We tried out a few different recipes, and this is one of our favourite ones that I modified just a bit.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or use 1 Tbsp vinegar + enough milk to make one cup; let sit for 5 minutes)
1/3 cup oil

Mix together and spoon into hot skillet. Flip when bubbles appear on top.

Cinnamon Buns (My Mom's Recipe)

This recipe yields 100 small cinnamon buns or approx 6 dozen medium/large sized cinnamon buns (like in the picture). I cut this recipe in half and accidentally made them bigger than I intended, but they still turned out really well. This recipe would also work well for doughnuts.

Cinnamon Buns

3 Tbsp yeast

1 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

Mix yeast, warm water, and sugar together and let stand 10 minutes.

4 cups scalded milk

2 cups mashed potatoes

1 cup butter (or margarine)

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp salt

16-18 cups flour

Mix milk, potatoes, butter, and sugar. Add yeast mixture and stir. Add 6 cups of flour and mix well. Let stand until foamy, about 20 minutes. Add the eggs and salt. Add 10-12 cups more flour, enough to make a soft dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Place in 2 large bowls. Cover and let rise until double. Divide into 6 sections about half an inch thick. Roll out each into a rectangle. Spread butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on each rectangle. Roll up and cut into 1 inch wide rolls. Put into prepared pans, which have been greased well and covered with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and corn syrup (corn syrup is optional). Let rise until doubled. Bake in 400 F oven for 16 – 20 minutes. Yields 100 cinnamon buns.

No-Rise Thin Crust Pizza

This is my mother-in-law's pizza crust recipe. It is really quick to make and requires no rising. This makes 2 medium thin-crust pizzas.

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

2 Tbsp yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 C. warm water
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour (approx)

Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water in bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes. Add oil, salt, and 2 1/2 cups flour or enough to make a soft dough. Let rest a couple of minutes and then spread onto pizza pans. Dough will be quite thin. Top with pizza sauce and favourite toppings. Bake in preheated 375 F oven for about 20 minutes.

Savoury Flax Biscuits

Savoury Flax Biscuits (This is from a church cookbook - the church I attended when I was growing up)

2 cups flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flax seed
1 cup grated carrots
2 tsp herb and spice seasoning
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in flax, carrots, and seasoning. Combine egg and milk. Add to flour mixture all at once. Stir until dough forms a ball. Knead gently 20 times. Roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut will cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-14 minutes at 450 F oven until golden brown.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

*Update: I used to make 6 loaves but find that 5 loaves works better with my bread pans. I used to put sunflower seeds in it, but we now prefer cracked wheat instead. I also experimented a bit with the whole wheat to white flour ratio and have adapted my recipe to what we now prefer. *

This is the bread recipe that I use most often. It has always turned out for me and tastes delicious. It is modified from a recipe I saw on a website about a year ago. The crust is crispy/chewy and the bread is very soft. I make 5 loaves every 2 weeks or so.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 cup warm water
3 1/2 additional cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp lemon juice
7 cups whole wheat flour
4 cups (approx.) white flour (enough so that dough no longer sticks to sides of bowl)
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup cracked wheat
4 tsp salt

Directions. In a small bowl dissolve the yeast and sugar in the 1/2 cup of warm water. In Bosch, mix 3 1/2 cups warm water, honey, molasses, oil, eggs, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add yeast mixture and stir. Gradually add 5 cups whole wheat flour, beating well after each addition. Add the flax and cracked wheat. Stir well. Let this mixture stand 15 minutes until mixture is very light. Stir in salt and the rest of the flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 10-15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Put into a large greased bowl and cover. Let rise in the oven with light on until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and shape into 5 balls. Form into loaves, placed in greased loaf pans, and let rise covered in oven with light until until doubled. Bake at 375 F for 25-35 minutes - until bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Lemon Chicken Rice Soup & Cheese Biscuits

Last week I made some soup with chicken stock and leftover chicken from a roasted chicken. I made a huge pot and froze the leftovers to have another day when we need a quick but healthy lunch.

Here's a "rough" recipe for the Lemon Chicken Rice Soup I made.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 cups chicken stock (or enough to fill a large soup pot)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1-2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Juice of 2 lemons (approx 6 Tbsp)
• 2 cups or so of chopped cooked chicken
• 3/4 cups raw rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 raw egg (or 2 if you want thicker soup)
  

Directions:
In a large pot, saute onion and celery in butter. Add carrots. Add chicken stock, chicken, rice, bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are soft and rice is cooked. Add lemon juice. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Remove about a cup of broth and set aside to cool slightly. In separate dish, beat egg well with a fork. Continue to beat the egg while slowly adding the cup of broth to the egg. Pour egg mixture back into the pot of soup (make sure soup is not boiling when you do this). Stir and serve.

I really like to serve cheese biscuits with soup. So here is one of my favourite biscuit recipes.



Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter (or margarine, but I prefer butter)
• Approx 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix in grated cheese. Cut butter with a pastry blender until mixture is small pea-sized. Add half the milk. Mix with a metal spoon and keep adding milk just until you form a soft dough. Put onto a lightly floured surface. Gently fold a few times to knead. Roll or pat out in the shape of a rectangle until about 3/4 inches thick. Cut out squares with a butter knife or cookie cutter. Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350 F for about 12 minutes or lightly browned.