Easy Every Day Rolls

I'm in love with these rolls for so many reasons. They are so simple yet so good. Chewy and light and everything a roll should be. I made them for Thanksgiving and will probably make them again for Christmas, but I could easily make them for dinner any night of the week.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
2- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (1 package)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup warm water
3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

Directions:
Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast, salt, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Mix well with the paddle attachment until mixture is smooth. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough is tacky and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Change to the hook attachment and kneed until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes. (You could also knead by hand).

Grease a bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch down dough and divide into 12 balls. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and place the dough balls into the dish. Cover once more with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes or until dough has doubled in size again. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the roll for 15 minutes or until the tops turn golden. Remove from oven and brush with remaining tablespoon of butter.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls  

Basic Homemade Bagels

Good bagels are soft and yeasty and basically heavenly. Bad bagels are small and tough and bland. There really is no in between. After finally giving up on the bad bagels from the frozen section of the grocery store and spending too much on the good bagels from the bakery, I finally decided to make my own. I'm not going to lie, these took a little practice. You have to get the dough really stiff, and I'm still working on making them look pretty, but the taste is spot on. I go to bed every night looking forward to having one of these bagels for breakfast the next morning.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-ounce package, active dry yeast 
1 1/2 cups warm water
Cooking spray

Toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or cheeses, optional

Directions:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, add 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Slowly add water and mix with your paddle attachment for 2 minutes at medium speed, scrapping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Switch to your hook attachment. Add 1/2 cup flour, mixing on high for two minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups flour. Dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be stiff. Add remaining 1/2 cup of flour if needed.

On medium speed, let the hook attachment knead the dough for about 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in an ungreased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Punch down the dough and divide into 12 small balls. Poke a hole through the center of each ball with your finger. Hole should be about 1/2 inch in diameter.

Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray, arrange bagel on it, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place for another 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large, shallow pan, boil at least 2-inches of water. Turn heat to low and add a couple of bagels to the water at a time. Simmer bagels for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once.

Remove bagels from water and place back on greased baking sheet. Spray the tops of the bagels with cooking spray. If desired, sprinkle with toppings.

Bake for 30 minutes

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Grandma Betty's Banana Bread
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Pull Apart Pizza Bread  

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe

Whenever we've done homemade pizzas, I've always used Jiffy boxed pizza crust. Tonight I hadn't planned on making pizza, but when I opened the fridge, I discovered that we had all the makings for a pizza--except the pizza crust. In truth, it's about time I made my own pizza dough. I have fallen in love with bread making over the last year--I've made tortillas, different types of rolls, breadsticks, and French bread--I should have my own pizza dough recipe, especially considering how much Eric loves pizza.

This is a pretty basic recipe that can easily be personalized to suit anyone's taste. I sprinkled my crust with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Next time I might add some Italian herbs. But regardless how you season it; the crust is soft and delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 packet active yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water

Directions:
Place water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, oil, and salt; combine. Add more flour until dough forms a bowl. Knead 5 to 7 times. Roll into a bowl, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease pizza stone with cooking spray.

Punch dough and place it on the pizza stone. Work it into a crust with a 12-inch diameter. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and add sauce, cheese, and toppings.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

Raw dough

After first bake

Toppings

Baked

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Pizza Recipes:
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Ricotta, Basil, and Sun-dried Tomato Pizza 
Pizza Inspired Chicken
The Pizza Quiche
Pizza Zucchini Boats

Sweet Buns Three Ways: Cherry, Blueberry, and Cream Cheese

Every since I got my standing mixer, I've been making all kinds of yeast breads. The mixer does the kneading for me so making breads from scratch got so much easier. When I saw these delicious yeast buns on Pinterest, I couldn't wait to try them. Eric was madly in love with them. I think I only got to try one of each kind, he devoured the rest.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Buns
1 cup warm milk, (about 100 degrees F)
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 1/4 cup flour
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt

Fillings (each filling would make enough for a 16 buns--a full batch)
Cherry
64 black cherries, pitted (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Blueberry
1 pound blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 teaspoon per bun)

Cream Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese (1 tablespoon per bun) 

Crumb Topping
2 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
Buns
In the bowl of a standing mixer, add milk and sprinkle with yeast.  Let sit for 7 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using whisk attachment, whisk until combined. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest for 45 minutes.

Whisk in egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, melted butter, and salt. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Add in 2 3/4 cups flour, one cup at a time. Make sure each cupful is fully incorporated before adding the next cup. Your dough should have pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix with the dough hook on Low for 15 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let sit for 2 hours. Dough will triple in size.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Cut dough into 16 pieces and shape each piece into a ball.

Grease a baking dish (either 2 round cake pans or one 9x13 baking dish). Place the balls in your dish. Make a well in the center of each ball. Place 4 cherries (or a healthy tablespoon of blueberries, or a tablespoon of cream cheese) in the well. Sprinkle the cherries or blueberries with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 45 minutes.  

Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

Crumb Topping
In a small bowl, combine all the crumble topping ingredients until you have a texture of coarse crumbs.

Generously sprinkle the buns with the crumb topping. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the buns are golden.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Yeast Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls 
Soft and Chewy French Bread
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 

Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

All it took was one bite and the husband was already asking me to make them again (despite the full pan we still had). Forget about those cans of cinnamon rolls you can buy at the grocery store. The dough is always dry and tasteless. If you're going to indulge in a cinnamon roll, really indulge with something sweet and buttery and gooey. It requires a bit more work than popping open a can, but it is so worth it.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe adapted from here.
Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients: 
Dough

1/4 -ounce package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Filling

1/2 cup butter,melted (plus more for pan)
3/4 cup brown sugar (plus more for pan)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon milk, optional

Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; set aside. In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, butter, salt, and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and combine until well incorporated. Pour in yeast mixture. Gradually add in remaining flour until the dough becomes easy to handle. Knead dough on a floured work surface for 5 to 10 minutes (this can also be done with the hook attachment on a standing mixer). Roll dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow dough to rise until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

When it doubles in size, punch down the dough and roll it out into a 15x9-inch rectangle on a floured work surface. Spread softened butter (from the list of filling ingredients) over the dough. Mix cinnamon and sugar together then sprinkle over buttered dough.

Start at the 15-inch side and roll the dough into a log, pinching the edge together to seal. Cut the log into 12 sections.

Grease the bottom of a baking pan with butter then sprinkle with sugar (if desired). Transfer the cinnamon rolls to the pan, placing them close together. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly browned.

While the rolls bake, make the frosting. In a large bowl, whip cream cheese, butter, and extract until creamy and well combined. Gradually add powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, add milk and stir.

You can either wait until cinnamon rolls are completely cooled to frost or you can let them cool slightly then frost. This will cause your icing to melt a bit, but there is nothing better than a warm cinnamon bun in my book.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes
French Toast in a Mug

Homemade Hash Browns
Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins 
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug

Soft and Chewy French Bread

Ever since I got my standing mixer (thanks Betty!), I've discovered a love for making bread. The mixer does the kneading for you and makes the whole process so much easier. But with that said, this bread requires a bit of work, but the taste and texture make it worth the extra effort.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
6 cups flour

Directions:
In the bowl of your standing mixer (dough hook attached), combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar; let side for 10 minutes. Add the remaining water, oil, salt, and 3 cups of flour. On low, mix until flour is incorporated. Gradually add the remaining flour until fully incorporated. Knead for 5 minutes.

Grease a large bowl with cooking spray. Tranfer dough to bowl and cover bowl with a damp towel. For the next hour, knead the dough 2 or 3 times, every 10 minutes.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and form into 4 loaves. Slash 3 lines into the tops of each loaf. Either wrap loaves in plastic wrap or cover with a damp towel (but you don't want the towel to touch the dough. I placed the loaves under my wire rack and draped the towel over the rack). Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

If you want to give the bread a nice brown crust, brush an egg white wash over the tops. (I didn't do this).

French Bread with Roasted Garlic Butter

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Homemade Pita Bread
Parmesan Onion Rolls 
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls

Homemade Pita Bread

Whenever we have hummus or any other kind of dip, I can happily replace the chips and crackers with pita bread. I've made pita bread from scratch with a different recipe. The bread would puff up and made that pocket in the oven, but as soon as they cooled the bread would fall and fuse together. I finally tested out a new pita bread recipe and this one works so much better. And since I had pita bread, and went ahead and made a roasted garlic white bean hummus.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of an electric mixer and let sit for 5 minutes. Add salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. With the dough hook attached to your mixer, combine until you have a batter. Add another 1 1/2 cups flour. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. If the dough is still very sticky, add more flour.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 8 sections (you can separate it into smaller sections for smaller pitas or larger sections for larger pitas). Roll the dough into balls then use a rolling pin to flatten them into rounds with a thickness between 1/4 and 1/8-inch. Make sure to keep the thickness even because this is what makes them puff up.

Allow the dough to rest on the floured surface for 40 minutes. You'll notice the dough rise slightly.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Using a spatula, flip the rounds upside down onto the baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the dough is puffed and a light golden brown.


Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Homemade pita bread with white bean hummus

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug 
Homemade Bread Sticks 
Parmesan Onion Rolls
Pull-Apart Spinach and Cheese Bread
Pumpkin Bread!
Sour Cream Dinner Rolls 

Sour Cream Dinner Rolls

My mom couldn't face another holiday dinner with crescent rolls (we have them every single Thanksgiving and Christmas) so along with cranberry brownies and chocolate covered cranberries, I also brought these homemade dinner rolls made with sour cream. My brother, who is an insanely picking eater, missed the crescent rolls, but no one else did. Eric has also discovered the rolls work great for making sandwiches with leftover turkey.

Recipe adopted from here.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoon butter, melted (optional)

Directions:
In the mixing bowl of a standing mixer, add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water, and dry yeast and mix. Let sit at room temperature until it's bubbly and has a sponge-like texture. In a different bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water.

Attatch the dough hook to your mixer and with the mixer on low, add the sour cream mixture to the yeast mixture. Slowly add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time. When all the flour is incorporated, pour in the 4 tablespoons of cooled melted butter. Increase the mixer's speed from low to high.

Mix for 2 to 3 minutes then turn off the mixer. With a wood spoon, scrap the dough down from the sides of the bowl. Mix for another 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high speed or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Grease a large bowl with butter or cooking spray and transfer dough to greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in voulme.

Punch down the dough with a floured fist then place it on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place them on a cookie sheet (or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for future use). Cover once more with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter if so desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks
Pumpkin Ale Bread
Pumpkin Bread!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug

Homemade Bread Sticks

So this recipe was billed as copycat Olive Garden bread sticks. Eric and I didn't really taste the similarities. But that doesn't mean they weren't good. In fact, they were fabulous. Over dinner, Eric was coming up with new variations to try. Smeared with garlic butter or sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. We will be making these again, I can tell you that.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients:
1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 to 3 1/4 cup flour
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Topping
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together warm water, yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar unilt yeast has dissolved. Allow mixture to rest for 10 minutes.

Add in remaining sugar (1 tablespoon plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and vegetable oil to the yeast. With the paddle attachment on your mixer, combine. Change out the paddle for the dough hook attachment. Add the remaining flour and set mixer to low. If needed add up to 1/4 cup of additional flour (I didn't need to). When dough has been sufficiently kneaded, it will pull away from the sides of the bowl, but still be slightly sticky. It should also be smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the risen dough down then divide it evenly into 12 pieces, keeping them covered as you work. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece into a 9-inch rope then place them on greased cookie sheets (I used 2). Once more, cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees then bake the bread sticks for 11 to 13 mintues until the tops are golden. As the bread sticks bake, make topping. In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Stir in salt and garlic powder. Brush the mixture over the tops of the breadsticks.

Serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes
 Pumpkin Ale Bread
 Pumpkin Bread!
 Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug