Grain free almond bread

Here is the recipe for the almond bread which is a healthy alternative to gluten-free bread. Unfortunately it is only 2 inches high.  It keeps well wrapped up in the refrigerator. Hope you like it. 

Almond Bread

4 1/2 cups almond meal
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2.) In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.
3.) In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and add the remaining wet ingredients. 
4.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly.
5.) Transfer the mixture to a 5x9-inch standard loaf pan, lightly oiled (a spray oil makes it easy).
6.) Bake for 60+ minutes or until a skewer/knife inserted in the bread comes out clean.  I cook my for only 50 minutes. 
7.) Cool and slice.

Grandma K's Poticia

Potica (paw teet zah) is a Slovenian Nut Bread made with walnuts.

Last week while over at his mother's house, Tim acquired the potica recipe that his grandmother use to make when he was younger.

Through our 30 years of marriage I've tried almost every potica recipe. According to Tim, none of them tasted like the potica that his grandmother made.

Last weekend Tim tried the recipe. Since this was his first attempt at a yeast bread, he said next time he would make some changed in rolling up the dough with the filling in.

This is a two day bread. Once you make the dough it needs to go into the refrigerator over night and can be finished the following morning.

Ingredients:

4 C flour
3 T sugar
1 1/2 t salt
1 stick plus 1 T butter
1 cake compressed yeast or 1 dry package
1/4 C lukewarm water
3 egg yolks beater
1 C half and half or 1/2 C of half and half and 1/2 C sour cream (scalded and cooled)

Filling:

1 C milk scalded
1 pound of ground walnuts
1 stick of butter
1 C sugar
rind of 1/2 lemon, grated
1/2 t cinnamon
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Directions:

Mix flour, with sugar and salt. Cut in 1 stick of butter until all butter is absorbed. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and let stand until it foams. Mix egg yolks and cream; add foaming yeast. Gradually add this mixture to flour mixture; beat until it gets too heavy to beat. Stir with wooden spoon until dough doesn't stick to bowl and all flour is absorbed. Place dough on floured board and knead until smooth. Place in bowl, grease top, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning remove from refrigerator 1/2 hour before rolling out. Place dough on well floured cloth and roll as thin as possible into a rectangle about 18 by 24 inches. Spread with filling starting with 24 inch end, roll up jellyroll fashion pulling dough slightly. Cut roll in 3. Seal ends and place in greased 9 x 5 loaf pans and cover with cloth. Let rise 1 1/2 - 2 hours in warm place.

Bake in 325 oven for around one hours. Remove from oven, brush with 1 tsp. butter. After 15 minutes remove from pans.

Cranberry Orange Bread

Great bread to make during the fall when the cranberries come to market. Found this on the back of Quick Quaker Oats box. I modified it a little for our family's taste.








Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup Quaker Oats
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3/4 cup orange juice
2 eggs
1/3 vegetable oil
2 T grated orange peel
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bottom only of 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine first six ingredients, mixing well; set aside. Beat orange juice, eggs, oil, and orange peel until mixed thoroughly. Add to dry ingredients, mixing just until moistened. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 60 - 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Cool completely.

90 minute dinner rolls

This recipe was found in a magazine many years ago. This was a great recipe to impress my new husband when I was first married. Easy recipe and takes only 90 minutes from start to finish. Makes 1 dozen rolls. I usually doubled the recipe and then put the extra in the freezer to use at a later time.









2 to 2 1/2 cups flour
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 T. margarine or butter

Mix 3/4 cup flour, sugar, salt, and undissolved yeast in a bowl. Heat milk, water and margarine to 120 - 130 degrees. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat 2 minutes at medium speed of mixer. Add 1/4 cup flour. Beat at high speed 2 minutes. Stir enough additional flour to make soft dough. On floured board knead 2 - 3 minutes. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into balls. Place in greased 8 inch round pan.

Pour a 1 inch depth of boiling water into large pan on bottom rack of cold oven. Set rolls on rack above water. Cover, close oven door and let rise 30 minutes. Uncover rolls; remove pan of water. Turn oven to 375 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes or until done. Remove from pan to cool. Serve warm.

Easy pizza crust

I found this easy pizza crust recipe years ago in the Milwaukee Journal food section. This one is not made with yeast which makes it a great last minute meal to prepare.

2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
3/4 cup milk
vegetable oil to coat dough
toppings of your choice

Mix flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening until particles are fine. Add milk and stir until dough clings together. Turn out onto floured surface and knead 12 times. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough into two parts. Roll each portion of dough into a circle that is very thin and ranges from 12 to 16 inches in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheets and crimp edges if desired. Brush tops of each crust with oil. Top as desired. Bake in preheated oven 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden bowrn and toppings are heated through. Makes 2 crusts.

Rosemary Bread

Another great bread for your bread machine. This is a recipe by Jo Lager. The taste of this bread has been compared to the great bread that they serve at Macaroni Grill restaurant. Just dip into a little olive oil and enjoy.

For a more tender crust substitute the water with milk.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle; press Start or have the machine do all the work (dough cycle) . When the cycle is done transfer dough into a bread pan, cover with plastic wrap and a towel to rise. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When the bread is done rising, remove plastic wrap and towel and put into the oven for around 30 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and put in wire rack to cool.

Honey Oatmeal Bread or buns

Tried this new bread today. Great tasting bread that I will make again. When I make bread I always use my bread machine, put it on the dough setting and have it do all the work. After the cycle is complete I remove the dough and put it into a bread pan and let rise for around 20 minutes. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for around 25 minutes or until done. If I want sandwich buns I will divide the dough into 6 equal portions; roll into a ball and flatten. Then spray with Pam and cover with plastic wrap and a towel until doubled in size. Bake in a oven at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes or until done. I will freeze the extra buns and use for delicious sandwiches for lunch.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 1/3 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.
2. Select Light Crust or Basic setting, and press Start.

Poticia

This is a Slovenian recipe that my sister-in-law, Cathy, makes.

1 pkg. Active dry yeast

¼ c. warm water mixed with ¼ tsp.sugar

¾ c. milk

¼ c. sugar

¾ c. (1 ½½ sticks) butter, at room temperature

1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

4 ¼ to 4 ½ c. flour

Walnut Filling

3 c. walnuts

1 c. heavy (whipping) cream

2 tbs. Butter, softened

1 c. dark brown sugar

Grated rind of 1 lemon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

Confectioners’’ sugar

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm sugared water. In a small pan, scald the milk and add the granulated sugar and ¼ c. of the butter. When cool, add the beaten egg, egg yolks, and salt to the milk. Meanwhile, place 4 ¼ c. flour and the remaining ½ c. of the butter into a large food processor bowl or lg. mixing bowl. Process for 15 seconds or until well combined, then add the milk and egg mixture plus yeast mixture. Process until the mixture forms a ball. If the dough is too sticky to form a ball, keep the processor on and add flour 1 tbs. At a time until it comes together. Continue processing until the ball rotates around the bowl 25 times. If doing hand mixing or using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, mix or knead until a smooth dough is formed. If flour needs to be added, ““less is more.”” Dough that is sticky is better than dry dough. Let the dough rest 5 minutes, then turn it onto a floured surface and knead a few times. Place the dough in a lightly greased lg. bowl, turn once, and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot (80 F.) until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down thoroughly, oil the top, and let rise again until doubled, about l more hour.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Process the walnuts in a food processor until fine; transfer to a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream to almost boil. Add the hot cream to the nuts, along with the butter, brown sugar, lemon rind, egg, and cinnamon. Process or blend well.

After the dough has risen the second time punch down and divide in half. Transfer to a floured surface and roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle about 14 x 24 inches and 1/8 in thick (roll as thin as possible for a really fine poticia). Spread one rectangle with half the walnut filling, spread it to within 1 inch of the edges. Starting from the short side of the rectangle, roll up the poticia firmly, jelly roll fashion. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Transfer the rolls to a lg. greased baking sheet. Shape each into a coil or U shape, seam sides down. Let the poticia rise again until doubled, about 45min.Preheat the oven to 350 F. Brush the tops of the poticia with the beaten egg and bake for 30 to40 min., or until lightly browned. Remove to a rack to cool. Just before serving, sprinkle with confectioners’’ sugar.

Rhubarb bread

Rhubarb Bread

The cherry-red tart stalks, combined here with brown sugar and nuts, make a beautiful bread that is fruity, tangy and terrific

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes.

2.In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Fold in rhubarb and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

3.In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

Lite oat bread

Tim likes having fresh bread for his sandwiches. I found a oat bread that he loves. Once again I will use the bread machine to do all the work and then take it out and bake it in the oven. I have a bread slicer to slice the bread and then put it into the freeze where we will pull out slices when needed.

Light Oat Bread

"A mild oat flavor distinguishes this bread machine loaf."

1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Add ingredients to bread machine pan in order recommended by your manufacturer. If you want your bread machine to do all the work and bake in the machine, then use regular light setting. If you want the machine to just make the dough, remove after dough setting complete, put into a bread pan, let rise and then put into a oven at 350 degrees for around 35-45 minutes. Should be a nice color when done and a hollow sound when tapped.

Foccacio

This is one of our favorite breads. This is a bread that you dip in olive oil. Not only is olive oil good for the heart it also turns the bread into a slow carbohydrate.









1 cup warm water

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 cups bread flour

2 tsp yeast

2 or 3 minced garlic cloves

dried rosemary

course salt

olive oil

grated Parmesan cheese

Put first five ingredients in bread pan in order suggested by your bread machine. Set for dough stage. Press start

Remove dough and punch down. Let dough rest about 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a round about 1/2 thick. Place dough on baking sheet. Sprinkle the garlic, rosemary and coarse salt over the top then lightly press into the dough. With your fingertips poke shallow indentations all over the top of the round. Pour a little olive oil over the top letting it pool into the indentations. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top.

Bake bread until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Variation - I like adding 1 tablespoon of minced garlic to the bread at the beginning of the bread cycle. When the dough is done I will take it out and divide it into 5 pieces and make little rounds. This way when I cook the 5 breads I will use one for dinner and freeze the others for future meals. Put some olive oil on a plate and dip your hot fresh bread into the oil. Taste great!

Homemade Tortillas

I found this recipe this morning in the Las Vegas Review Jounral.. It looked so easy I wonder why I haven't cooked tortillas from scratch before. Flour tortillas are simple — flour, water, salt and a bit of fat, often lard. For health reasons a nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening would be better. Canola could work but will affect the moisture content and the amount of water will be needed to be decreased. Other important things to know before you make the tortillas. Do not overwork the dough, because this strengthens the gluten and can result in tough tortillas. Once the water is added, just 10 seconds or so of processing is plenty. Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper helps ensure tender tortillas. Rolling on a floured surface can incorporate too much flour into the dough and result in dry tortillas. When cooking avoid cooking sprays. Tortillas are cooked dry and won't stick to the pan.

FLOUR TORTILLAS 1 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 ­teaspoon salt, 2tablespoons vegetable shortening 1/3 cup warm water

In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Pulse several times to combine. If desired, add dry seasonings, such as paprika or chili powder and pulse again to blend. Add the shortening, then process for about 10 seconds to thoroughly combine. With the processor running, drizzle in the water and process another 10 seconds. The dough should look powdery and dry and will not have come together. It should hold together when pinched. Use your hands to ball the dough together and transfer it to a clean work surface. Form the dough into a log and divide into five equal pieces. One at a time, place each piece between sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until about the size of a salad plate. Heat a dry flat griddle or large skillet over medium high heat. One at a time, place each tortilla on the griddle. Cook until the tortilla just begins to puff up and the bottom has a few small scorch marks, about 30 seconds. Flip and cook another 20 to 30 seconds. Wrap the tortilla in a thick towel to keep warm. Repeat the process with remaining dough. Serve immediately.

Makes 5 large tortillas Start to finish: 20 minutes to prepare

Hot pepper variation: After mixing in the shortening, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of jalapeno pepper slices or diced roasted red peppers. Process until thoroughly combined. Drizzle in the water as directed above, but reduce it to about cup. Proceed with the rest of the recipe. Other good options include sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs such as cilantro, and dried spices such as paprika.

Red Lobster biscuits

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Prep. Instructions

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix Bisquick, milk and
cheese until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cooking
sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Mix butter and garlic powder. Brush
mixture over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet

Oat Bran Health bread

A tasty bread machine health bread enriched by the fiber and nutrition of oat bran and flax meal.

1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups oat bran 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1 Add water, yeast, canola oil and honey to the pan of the bread machine; stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2 In a large bowl, stir together oat bran, whole wheat flour, bread flour, flax seed meal and salt. Pour this mixture into the pan of the bread machine. Select Whole Wheat cycle; press Start.
3 After the dough has risen, remove it from the bread machine and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Form into a loaf shape and place in a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
4. Bake about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.