Category Archives: Yeast Breads

Hot Cross Buns (Bakery Recipe)

Hot Cross Buns (Bakery Recipe)

Leave a reply

There were a few holidays where I would literally stay up all night baking to meet orders due to be picked up the next day. Easter was one of those holidays. I had countless orders for hot cross buns. If you’ve never tried these rolls, you’re missing something! The recipe is below, followed by a video demonstrating how I make them.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns

Enjoy!
Judi

Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12 Buns

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 oz (4 Tbsp) butter

15 oz (3 cups) all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 oz (2-1/4 tsp) RapidRise yeast1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried lemon peel
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 large eggs
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup sweetened dried pineapple, finely chopped

1 egg white, beaten
2 Tbsp water

Vanilla Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 1-1/2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a saucepan, heat milk, water and butter to 120-130°F.

Meanwhile, place flour, sugar, yeast, salt, lemon peel and nutmeg in a mixer bowl; combine dry ingredients. Add warmed liquid mixture and eggs to flour mixture. Stir to combine ingredients. Add currants and chopped dried pineapple. Mix with stand mixer (or hand knead) on low to medium-low speed for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Scrape sides of bowl, coat dough with nonstick spray, cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured board, with a knife, cut dough into 12 equal size pieces. Roll dough pieces into balls and place them in a greased 9×13″ baking pan. Place on the rack in the middle of an oven that was warmed by only the light bulb and a pan of boiling water placed on the bottom rack (or cover the pan and allow the buns to rise in a warm place of choice). Allow buns to rise for about 30 minutes, until doubled in size.

Brush rolls with a mixture of one beaten egg white and 2 tablespoons of water. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Pipe a cross on each bun with vanilla glaze.

To Make Vanilla Glaze
Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl, adding only a small amount of milk at a time. Add enough milk to make it a piping consistency. Adjust consistency if needed by adding more milk (if too thick) or powdered sugar (if too thin). Place in a piping bag with a small round tip and pipe a cross (or other design, if desired) onto buns.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread (Bakery Recipe)

Whole Wheat Flax Bread (Bakery Recipe)

2 Replies

There were select breads that sold consistently well when I ran my bakery. Whole Wheat Flax Bread was one of them. It’s a light wheat bread with flax meal added to it. It’s wholesome and delicious! The recipe is below, followed by a video on how to make it. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Flax Bread
Makes 2 Loaves

1-1/3 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1-1/2 oz (3 Tbsp) butter
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 lb (3-1/4 cups) bread flour
7-1/2 oz (1-1/2 cups) whole wheat flour
1/4 oz (2-1/4 tsp) RapidRise yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground flaxseed

Heat milk, honey and butter in a saucepan to 120-130°F. Meanwhile, place dry ingredients (including yeast) into a mixer bowl; stir to combine ingredients. Add warmed liquid plus eggs to the dry mixture. Stir with a spatula to moisten dry ingredients. Using a dough hook and a stand mixer, mix on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth. Alternatively, the dough may be hand kneaded on a lightly floured board for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth. Be careful not to work in too much extra flour.

Remove dough hook and spray the dough with nonstick spray, and (optionally) cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap to retain moisture. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured board, divide dough into 2 equal parts. Form each part into a loaf and place each into a greased 8″x5″ loaf pan. Allow dough to rise until doubled in a warm place. Preferred method: place a medium size pot of boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven. Turn the oven light on (but do not turn the oven heat on). Place UNCOVERED loaves on upper rack in the middle of the oven. Close oven door and allow loaves to rise. Alternative rising method: Spray loaves with nonstick spray, cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper. Place in a warm place and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size or until an indentation remains in the loaf when lightly pressed with a finger.

Whole Wheat Flax Bread (Sliced)

Whole Wheat Flax Bread (Sliced)

Remove pan of water and unbaked loaves from oven after they have proofed (if using that method). Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake loaves in the middle of the oven in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until golden. Brush with melted butter and allow bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing. Enjoy this fabulous bread any way you eat sliced loaf bread!

Homemade English Muffin Bread

Homemade English Muffin Bread

6 Replies

As most of you know, I used to own and operate my own bakery/bistro. My specialty was making fresh made-from-scratch yeast breads. I made some type of fresh bread every day and sold LOTS of bread along the way!

I put most of the recipes I developed in a cookbook “Secrets of a Professional Baker” and I’ve slowly been demonstrating how those breads were made through YouTube videos. So, here’s yet another bread revealed!

Homemade English Muffin Bread

Homemade English Muffin Bread

This bread is fabulous. It has the flavor and texture of traditional English muffins, but it’s baked in a loaf. (Making individual English muffins will be for another video!) Truly, it’s not hard to make with just a little know-how and equipment. I share that know-how in my videos. I gear them for novice bread bakers, so anyone could make the bread recipes I share.

If you’re interested in adopting a copy of the cookbook, follow this link and you’ll be able to purchase one copy directly from the publisher. (Scroll down the page and click the picture of the cookbook.)

Homemade English Muffin Bread

Homemade English Muffin Bread

There’s a YouTube link to my demonstration video below the following recipe. If you enjoy English muffins and haven’t made this bread, I urge you to take a little time to put it together. You get to enjoy what bread should taste like!

Enjoy, Judi

English Muffin Bread
Makes 2 Loaves (8″ x 5″ pans)

1 lb, 10 oz (5-1/4 cups) bread flour (or use half bread flour and half all-purpose flour)
4 tsp sugar
1/2 oz (or 4 tsp) RapidRise yeast
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
Cornmeal

In a saucepan, heat milk and water to 120-130F. Place all dry ingredients (including yeast) in a stand mixer bowl; combine ingredients. Pour warmed milk mixture into mixer bowl with dry ingredients. With a dough hook, beat at low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Continue beating at low to medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until well combined and kneaded. This bread dough is VERY active, so it’s OK (if desired) to form loaves right away. Letting the dough rest first for 10 minutes is optional. However for best flavor, do allow it to rest 10 minutes before forming loaves.

On a lightly floured board, divide dough into 2 equal portions and form each part into a loaf. Place in a loaf pan that has been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal. Spray top of each loaf with nonstick spray and sprinkle additional cornmeal on the top of each loaf. Cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap then place a towel on top. Allow bread to rise on top of a preheated oven (at 375F) for about 20 minutes.

After dough has risen, remove towel and waxed paper and place loaves in oven with the rack in the middle. Bake for 25 minutes, until loaves are golden. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

For additional tips on making this bread, please do watch the video below. Enjoy! Judi

Homemade Pizza Crust

Homemade Pizza Crust

Leave a reply

I don’t know too many people who don’t enjoy pizza, at LEAST once in a while. There is SO much you can do with a pizza in addition to the usual tomato sauce, cheese and assorted toppings. It’s truly limited only to one’s imagination.

I started making homemade pizza crust for my family years ago when we first bought a bread machine. A fabulous recipe came in the little booklet that accompanied the machine. Well, the machine is now long out the door from being used for so many years. Since then, I started my bakery and made breads “en-mass” in a quantity NO bread machine could ever handle. Hence, I developed my own recipes.

Here’s a delicious basic pizza crust recipe. Once you master this, it would be easy to get creative with it by adding herbs or other flavorings to enhance whatever pizza you’re making. Give it a try if you haven’t made your own crust before. It truly IS well worth the effort because homemade crust has a flavor far better than any store-bought pizza could possibly have.

Homemade Pizza Crust
Makes One Thick 14″ Crust OR Two Thin 12″ Crusts

3 cups (15 oz) bread flour
1 pkg (1/4 oz) Rapid Rise yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup water, warmed to 120-130ºF
2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Butter or other grease for pan
Cornmeal

Note: The following instructions are designed for a stand mixer. The dough may also be mixed and kneaded by hand. Be sure to knead very well until the dough is smooth and elastic.

In a stand mixer bowl, add bread flour, yeast and salt. Stir to combine and set aside. In a small bowl or mug, add warmed water OR place water in a mug and heat it briefly in a microwave oven until it has warmed to the appropriate temperature. Add vegetable oil to the warmed water. Pour liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Stir to moisten the flour.

Place mixer bowl on the stand mixer and attach a dough hook. Turn the mixer on low speed and allow the mixer to knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Remove bowl from stand. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the baking pan(s) by lightly greasing the pan with butter, then sprinkling cornmeal on the pan. Spread the cornmeal around the pan by tilting the pan in different directions to lightly coat the greased area with the cornmeal. Set aside.

After the dough has rested, form the pizza crust either by placing it on a VERY lightly floured board and rolling the dough into the desired size circle, then place the dough on the prepared pan. Alternately, you could place the dough ball on the prepared pan and spread the dough into a circle with your fingers. Dock the dough by poking holes in the dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles from forming as it bakes.

Preheat oven to 400ºF and prebake the dough for 5 to 7 minutes, depending upon the size and thickness of the dough. (Be sure to remove the crust from the oven before it starts to brown.) Remove pan from oven. Spread crust with desired toppings and return it to the oven. Bake pizza until the cheese is bubbly and toppings appear cooked. (Note that the time to finish the baking process will vary depending upon the size, thickness and toppings used.) Serve.

Check out my video below to SEE how the crust is made! Enjoy, Judi

Homemade Oatmeal Bread

Homemade Oatmeal Bread (A Recipe From My Bakery)

9 Replies

I enjoy baking and have ever since I was in early elementary school. In my adult years, I established my own bakery and specialized in making yeast breads, although I did make a lot of other goodies too. Little by little, I’m creating YouTube videos demonstrating how to make a lot of the breads I made in the bakery. To accompany the videos, I’m writing blog posts so you can print out the recipes if you want. They can also be downloaded in .PDF format from my website at http://HandMadeInIowa.com.

Below is my recipe for homemade Oatmeal Bread. The recipe has been scaled down to make two loaves, the usual amount for home recipes. It’s truly delicious and was a BIG seller at my bakery! Give it a try. It’s really not hard! To SEE how it’s made, check out the video below, where I walk viewers through the process step-by-step. Enjoy! Judi

Homemade Oatmeal Bread
Makes Two Loaves

1-1/2 cups rolled oats (either quick or old fashioned)
1-1/2 cups boiling water (or reserved water from cooking potatoes)
3 Tbsp (1-1/2 oz) butter
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
2 room temperature eggs, lightly beaten
1 lb, 4 oz bread flour
1/2 oz Rapid Rise Yeast

Note: This recipe is designed for being prepared in a home stand mixer. If you don’t have one, simply hand mix the ingredients per the instructions and hand knead, being careful to work in as little extra flour as possible.

In a stand mixer bowl, combine the rolled oats, boiling water, butter, honey, brown sugar and salt. Place the bowl on the mixer stand and mix on low speed, using a standard paddle blade. Mix until the ingredients are well blended and oats appear to be “cooked.” Remove bowl from mixer stand.

Test the temperature of the mixture with an instant read thermometer. When it cools to between 120 and 130ºF, it is safe to proceed forward. Stir in the lightly beaten eggs. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, weigh out the bread flour. Stir in the yeast. Stir the flour mixture into the oat mix, just enough so the flour won’t spray out of the bowl when the mixer is turned on. Place mixer bowl onto the mixer stand, insert the dough hook, and mix on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the dough hook and bowl from the stand.

Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile bring a medium size saucepan of water to boil and prepare the oven to use as a proof box. Turn the oven light on. Place the lower rack at the lowest position in the oven and the top rack in the middle of the oven. When the water comes to a boil, place the saucepan on the lower oven rack and close the door. (This method can be used with both an electric and gas range.)

After the dough has rested, remove it to a VERY lightly floured board. Form into two loaves and place each loaf into a sprayed, oiled or greased loaf pan. (I used 8×4 pans, but 9×5 pans would also work, making shallower loaves.)

Place the formed loaves in their pans on the middle oven rack over the pan of hot water. Close the oven door and allow them to rise for 30 to 40 minutes, until about doubled in size. Remove loaves and saucepan from oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

An optional step to adorn the loaves: In a small bowl, mix one whole beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush each loaf with the egg mixture and sprinkle with extra oats. (If you do not do this optional step, simply brush the BAKED loaves with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven.)

When the oven is preheated, bake bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Remove loaves to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before slicing.

Cinnamon Rolls (a recipe from my bakery)

Leave a reply

As many people know, I used to own and operate my own bakery. What made it special was the fact that everything was made “from scratch”. I specialized in yeast breads and made a large variety of bread types, all from individual ingredients. No frozen bread doughs ever entered the scene!

From time to time, I’m sharing the recipes that I developed along the way. This post is for my cinnamon rolls. I probably made thousands over the years that I ran the bakery and people always wanted more. Now you can make your own straight from my recipe!

To SEE how it’s done, look below the recipe and view my YouTube video on the process. Enjoy! Judi

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
(A Recipe From My Bakery)
Makes 18 Rolls

1 lb, 6-1/2 oz all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 oz Rapid Rise yeast1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2-5/8 oz butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Filling
2 oz butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon

Place flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a stand mixer bowl. Stir to combine; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter to 120-130F. Add warmed liquid and eggs to the flour mixture. Stir to moisten the flour. Place bowl on mixer stand and attach a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove dough to a lightly floured board or counter top. Roll dough ball to lightly coat all surfaces with flour. With a rolling pin, roll into a large rectangle, about 22″ x 12″. Spread melted butter over dough, leaving about 1 inch unbuttered along the long edge farthest away from you. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over buttered surface of dough.

Starting with the buttered long edge closest to you, roll dough into a long log. With a sharp knife, cut log into three even sized sections. Cut each section into 6 slices.

Place slices, cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, or a pan of choice (baking sheet or 8″ or 9″ round cake pans…6 to a pan) that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or oiled with the oil of your choice.

Allow formed rolls to proof until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. (Suggestion…proof rolls in a warm, moist environment, such as a make-shift oven proof box. See my video below on this subject.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TFhfxwLNGw

After rolls have doubled in size, place rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls 15 to 20 minutes. (See note below!) Top with powdered sugar glaze immediately when they are removed from the oven. Allow to cool on a cooling rack, or enjoy them while they’re fresh out of the oven!

Powdered Sugar Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp milk of choice*
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract*

Combine glaze ingredients in a bowl, adding a little milk at a time until it is drizzling consistency. If too thin, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more milk.

*Note: Whole milk or even half and half works best when making the glaze. With full fat milk, add up to 1 tsp vanilla extract. If using skim milk, use less extract; usually about 1/2 teaspoon is enough. When using lower fat milk, the more vanilla extract you use, the more brown the glaze will appear (unless using clear vanilla extract), and the stronger taste the vanilla extract will impart.

Note regarding baking time: The baking time will vary depending upon how the rolls are placed on a pan. If they are separated so that when they spread out they do not touch each other, they will take less time to bake. If they are placed close together in a pan, so they touch each other, forming less “crust” areas as they bake, they will take a little longer to bake. The key is to watch them and bake them until the tops are lightly browned.

Watch my video below to SEE how to make these rolls! jk

 

Dinner Rolls (a recipe from my bakery)

Leave a reply

Most people love bread. I REALLY do! Having my own bakery was heavenly in that respect because the only bread we ate at that time was homemade. It was a time our taste buds cherished! Now you too can enjoy the homemade dinner rolls that my customers ordered by the dozens (plural, that is) during any holiday that came around, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. The recipe is straight from my cookbook, Secrets of a Professional Baker, Favorite Recipes from The Spice Rack Bakery/Bistro, Cherokee, Iowa. Here it is…

Homemade Dinner Rolls
Makes 2 Dozen

1 lb, 6-1/2 oz (4-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 oz (2 packets) RapidRise yeast
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2-1/2 oz (5 Tbsp) butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp melted butter

In a saucepan, heat milk, water, and butter to 120-130F. Meanwhile, place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a mixer bowl; combine dry ingredients. When liquid ingredients are warmed, pour into the mixer bowl with the dry ingredients and add the eggs.

With a spoon, combine ingredients until flour is moistened. With a dough hook, knead the dough with the mixer on medium-low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, dough may be kneaded by hand for 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl. Spray dough with nonstick spray, cover and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl onto a lightly floured board. With a knife, cut dough into 24 equal-size pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them in rows (4 across) in one 9×13″ baking pan that has been greased. Let rolls rise in a warm place* about 20 to 30 minutes, until doubled in size.

Bake at 375F for 15 to 20 minutes on the rack in the middle of the oven, until lightly browned. Remove from pan to a cooling rack. Spread melted butter on top of rolls and let them cool before separating.

*Tip: Let rolls rise in a homemade proof box using your oven. Move the bottom rack to the lowest position. Place a medium size pan of boiling water onto the bottom rack. Turn on the oven light and close the door. This can be done while the dough is resting before rolls are shaped. This allows ample time to warm the oven up and provide a warm, moist environment for your bread to proof. Leave the oven light on and the pan of water in the oven while the rolls are proofing on the rack in the middle of the oven. Do not turn the oven on during this process! Remove the rolls and the pan of water from the bottom of the oven after the rolls have risen enough. THEN, turn the oven on to preheat it before placing rolls back inside the oven to bake.

Enjoy these rolls!

Judi

Recipe: Homemade Hamburger Buns

Leave a reply

As most of you know, I used to own and operate my own bakery. I learned a lot during those years. But if nothing else, I became an expert in the fine art of making yeast breads from scratch. It was my mainstay. I made breads of all kinds and even concocted breads for people on request that they couldn’t find elsewhere. It was fun and delicious!

I’ll be creating a series of videos for my YouTube channel coupled with write-ups on my blog instructing how to make the assorted breads I made in my bakery. I elected to start with hamburger buns simply because I needed them for my husband’s lunches! So, here’s one recipe I used in the bakery. The recipe is followed by a link to my YouTube video where I demonstrated how to make the buns. Happy baking! Judi

Homemade Hamburger Buns
Makes 11 each 3-1/2 oz buns

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp) butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 lb, 5.25 oz (about 5 cups) bread flour
1/2 oz (2 packets) RapidRise yeast
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt

In a stand mixer bowl [or large bowl], combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir to combine; set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat the water, milk and butter to 120 degrees F. Pour the warmed liquid and eggs into the dry mixture. Stir to moisten the flour mixture. Place in stand mixer, attach a dough hook, and mix on low to medium-low speed for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. [NOTE: If you don’t have a stand mixer or prefer to knead dough by hand, simply knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, yet still slightly sticky. Be careful not to work in much flour.] Remove dough hook, spray dough with nonstick spray, cover with plastic wrap, waxed paper or a damp towel, and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare your oven for proofing the buns. Turn on the light bulb (DO NOT turn on the oven). Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil and place it in the oven on the bottom rack that was moved to the lowest position. The upper rack should be in the middle of the oven.

After the dough has rested, portion the dough into 3-1/2 oz parts, or section the dough into 11 equal parts. On a lightly (and I mean LIGHTLY) floured board, gently form the dough parts into round patties and place them on a baking sheet that was greased or lined with parchment paper. [NOTE: The bottom of the buns will brown better on a greased baking sheet.] Place sheet on rack in the middle of the oven until buns have doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet and saucepan from the oven.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake buns for 10 to 15 minutes until golden. Remove baking sheet from oven and place it on a rack to cool. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired. (This makes them look, taste, and smell fabulous!) When buns are completely cooled, slice them horizontally and enjoy!

Storage tip: If you don’t plan to eat the buns within a day or two, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in heavy-duty freezer bags. Store them in the freezer until ready to use. To thaw, simply remove them from the freezer, unwrap them and lightly cover them with a clean towel. After they thaw, they may be stored air-tight until needed.