Roll Dough - How to make it, how to shape it

There is nothing more divine than the smell of warm bread or rolls coming out of the oven and autumn is the perfect season of the year to bake rolls or bread.  At the Relief Society activity I shared the roll recipe from The Pioneer Woman blog; it's great because you don't need to have a Bosch or KitchenAid mixer to make it (a large bowl and wooden spoon will do), and the flour measurements are exact.

Sweet Roll Dough

4 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar (I use 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 cup oil
2 T. active dry yeast
8 cups flour

1 cup flour
1 T. salt
1 t. (scant) baking soda
1 t. (heaping) baking powder


For dough:

Heat milk over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, pour into large bowl and stir in sugar and oil with a wooden spoon. Allow to cool to about 110 degrees or just warm.  Add yeast and stir until softened.  Add 8 cups flour and mix until combined.  Mixture will be very sticky.  Leave the spoon in the dough and cover with a tea towel.  Allow to rise for 1 hour.

After dough is risen and puffy, add the 1 cup flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Stir into the dough until combined.  At this point you can cover and put the dough in the refrigerator until you need it or roll it out for baking.

Best tip:  I got this tip from Fran Peterson a few years ago: roll out bread, rolls or pastry on a tea towel sprinkled with flour. The clean up is a snap.  No more scraping dough off your counter.  Shake the flour off the tea towel and wash it.  I love it!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out the dough into desired shapes and add fillings if using any. Put on baking pans that have been generously buttered or sprayed with baking spray.   Let rise another 30 minutes.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until light golden brown.



Blueberry Lemon Sweet Rolls:

Sweet roll dough (above)
1 stick butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zested
2 cups blueberries

Roll half of the dough into a rectangle.  Brush with melted butter.  Mix sugar and lemon zest and sprinkle over butter.  Sprinkle the blueberries of the surface.  Roll up and cut into 3/4-inch slices and place on baking pans. Let rise for 30 minutes.   Bake as directed.  Frost with regular frosting or lemon frosting.  The step by step instructions, pictures and lemon glaze recipe are at the link below:

Blueberry Lemon Sweet Rolls



Cinnamon Rolls, here is the cinnamon filling from Ann Romney's cookbook The Romney Family Table:

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. cinnamon

Roll out half of the dough into a rectangle.  Mix melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  Spread the filling on the dough right to the edges.  Roll up and cut into 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place on baking pans and let rise for 30 minutes.  Bake as directed.  Frost with plain white frosting or use Ann's Maple Glaze recipe below:

Maple Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 t. maple flavoring or mapleine
Hot water

Stir together powdered sugar, butter and flavoring.  Add hot water a little at a time until frosting is smooth and slightly runny.  Drizzle on cinnamon rolls.


Bread Sticks

My favorite bread stick recipe can be found on the blog: Freida Loves Bread.  She is a fabulous bread maker.  I usually put the yeast in the warm water to soften before adding it to the flour mixture.  I like to roll the dough into a large rectangle, brush it with butter and fold it in half the long way.   Then I cut it into 1-inch strips and twist then brush with butter and sprinkle with toppings.

For bread stick recipe, click the link below:

Quick and Easy Bread Stick Twists

For the Love of Food

A few weeks ago Bob took an insight questionnaire to help him better understand his management style.  He shared some of the questions with me.  One question was:

In your daydreams, what do you tend to dream about most?

The first thing that popped into my mind was: food!  Great recipes, tasty ingredients, beautiful food, sharing it with friends.  So, you can see that I love good food and I love cooking, as well as sharing recipes and ideas.  This blog is my way of sharing.

Painting by Mary Cowan Jensen

I am attempting in the coming weeks to write what was shared in the Relief Society cooking class, on October 14th, and to expand on that in this blog.  Instead of handing out copies of recipes, etc., the information will all go here. Posting takes time, and I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with too much information all at once; the posts will come every few days until I run out of things to say or time to say them!

Just wanted to thank Jen Tucker for being a wonderful sous chef Tuesday night and Billie Ann Divine and Thessaly Barnes for helping with the food, Anna Baker for helping me set up the email updates, and Thessaly for being a great editor.

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Here is the recipe for my favorite appetizer.  It takes just a few minutes to put together, and can be made the day before you want to serve it.  Everyone loves it!

Hot Artichoke Dip

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, diced

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies

1 heaping cup Monterey Jack cheese

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Place in a baking dish.  Bake at 325° for 30 minutes, until bubbly and brown on the edges.  Serve with tortilla chips (my favorite) or your favorite crackers.  Serves about 12.  You can make this the day before and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator (if there are leftovers).

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Let me share a wonderful fall apple dip from the blog Event Trender that takes 5 minutes to make, is delectable and makes a great gift.  Click below for the link: 

Yummy apple dip and gift idea

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A very easy recipe for Cinnamon Cream Cheese Danish can be found on the blog Our Best Bites. The recipe is fairly simple and looks beautiful when it is finished.  I might try whipping the egg first and then adding only half of it to the cream cheese mixture.  The cream cheese seems a little runny to me. Great served as a dessert or breakfast pastry, warm or cold.  Click on the link below:

Cinnamon Apple Cream Cheese Danish

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Martha Stewart has a make ahead recipe for Baked Chicken Cutlets.  This is one of her simpler recipes.  You prepare them ahead and then put them in the freezer to bake later.  Take out one or 6 and bake for a snack or a meal.  They are great baked, sliced up and added to a green salad for a main course meal.  To skip a step, add the salt and pepper to the flour and mix.  I was able to bread 10 chicken cutlets (5 chicken breasts) with half of the panko crumb recipe.  Fifteen minutes is probably too long to toast the panko.  Start at eight minutes and see how they look.

Click below for the link:

Baked Chicken Cutlets


To learn how to cut your own cutlets, click on the link below:

Cutting chicken cutlets

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Kitchen shortcut - Cutting a green pepper or red, yellow or orange

Growing up, I learned to cut up a pepper by cutting out the stem at the top, pulling out the seeds and rinsing the inside.  Then slicing it in half, slices or dices.  There is a much easier way!

Rinse the pepper and put it on your cutting board. Slice down the edge of one side. Turn it a quarter turn and slice the next side. Do all four sides.  Throw out the core and you are done. It is so slick and you don't have to deal with the seeds.

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Cathy Gelwix asked Tuesday night about this quick minestrone soup recipe that we have both used for years.  It takes very little time and has a wonderful flavor.  I like a frozen mixed veg that has green beans, carrots and broccoli  or a mixed veg that has broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.  I think I will make it this week!

Quick Minestrone Soup

2 (10 oz.) cans chicken broth

1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cup frozen mixed vegetables

½ cup chopped onions

½ cup small pasta like small shell or macaroni

½ t. thyme

½ t. basil

1 (14 oz.) can Italian style diced tomatoes

          In a large pot put broth, beans, frozen vegetable, onion and herbs. Bring to a boil. When boiling add pasta. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. When pasta is thoroughly cooked, stir in tomatoes.  Heat through.

          Serve with grated or shredded Parmesan cheese.  Serves 4-6.

          One cup cooked, cubed chicken can also be added for a heartier main course meal.

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Next post:  Blueberry Lemon Sweet Rolls and other rolls to make with the same dough.

If you have questions or comments, you can email me at: cowanrl@gmail.com.

Pecan Bars

Drew asked me if I would mind posting the recipe for Pecan Bars.  This recipe came from Leslie Ison, who many of you know as a top notch quilter and amazing cook.  I like this recipe because it isn't overly sweet, which can sometimes be a problem with pecan bars or pecan pie.  These are especially nice to serve for a dessert bar or special occasion.

Crust:

2 cups flour

½ cup sugar

1/8 t. salt

¾ cup butter

Mix flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter.  Press into a 9x13-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 350º for exactly 15 minutes.

Filling:

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

4 eggs

2 ½ cups chopped pecans

1 t. vanilla

In a saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar and corn syrup until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat. Do not overcook.  Whip eggs with a whisk; add pecans and vanilla and stir to coat.  Mix brown sugar/butter and egg/pecan mixtures together.  Pour over the crust.  Bake at 350º for exactly 30 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into 1 ½” x 3” bars.  They are also nice cut into 1-inch bars and put in mini paper baking cups for easy serving and a nice presentation.

Store in an airtight container or covered with foil for up to three days.  They freeze well.  Place in ziploc bags and put in the freezer.  To serve, remove from the freezer and let sit out for an hour or so.

A Nip in the Air

When the weather cools don't you just feel like making a big pot of soup?    Here is a great recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup.  The ingredients are pretty basic and it is easy to make.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3-4 cups water

4 t. chicken bouillon

2 cups sliced or diced carrots, 3 to 4 carrots

2 cups sliced or diced celery, 3 ribs

¾ cup chopped onion

2 cups dry noodles

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 cup milk

2 cups cooked diced chicken - leftover grilled chicken is even more flavorful

Heat water and bouillon to a boil.  Add carrots, celery, onions and simmer 10 minutes.  Add noodles and cook through, about 10 minutes more.  Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt butter and add flour to make a roux.  Add milk and stir until smooth and beginning to thicken.  (This is a basic white sauce)  Add to cooked vegetables and noodles.  Stir until broth is smooth and slightly thickened. Add chicken and heat through.   Add more water if it is too thick.  Season to taste. Makes about 2 ½ quarts. 

The original Lion House recipe uses 2 cans of cream of chicken soup but after reading The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, I make if from scratch and I like it much better.

REMEMBER:  The Relief Society cooking class is Tuesday, October 14th at 6:30 p.m.