Delicious Breads Recipe

Many Americans view themselves as healthy eaters and, according to a recent survey on the subject, 45 percent say they adhere to a healthy diet. But there may only be a grain of truth to that self-reported percentage. 

On the first anniversary of the 2005 Food Pyramid recommendations from USDA, statistics show that Americans have been slow to heed this advice. Only 10 percent actually eat the recommended three servings of whole grains per day. The Whole Grains Council calls this the "Whole Grains Gap." 

Fortunately, the rapidly growing awareness of the importance of whole grains is starting to make a positive change.

"The new food pyramid gets some credit, but whole grains have earned new respect in recent years through a parade of studies that show their role in reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain cancers, diabetes and obesity," said Dr. Julie Miller Jones, a nutritionist and Ph.D. in home economics/food science and nutrition.

Whole grain foods include pasta, breakfast cereals and breads made with whole grains and whole grain flours from wheat, barley, rye, corn, oats and brown rice and many other grains such as amaranth, bulgur and quinoa. 

Miller Jones says eating more whole grains should be easier than eating extra servings of fruits and vegetables.

"Because we are already eating breads and other grain products, it's simply a matter of substituting whole grain products over the products made from highly refined flours we are at present consuming," said Miller Jones.

Finding recipes high in dietary fiber is easier than ever. For example, Fleischmann's Yeast has created about 100 delicious kitchen-tested whole grain recipes under its goodfibes seal. These recipes have no less than 0.8 grams and as much as 2.0 grams or more of dietary fiber per ounce of bread. 

Here's a mouthwatering recipe for Whole Wheat Dill Bread, which has a satisfying savory flavor.

Whole Wheat Dill Bread

Whole wheat flour combines with butter, honey, dill seed and minced onion to make two loaves.

1 envelope Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast

1/4 cup warm water (100º to 110ºF)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups cottage cheese

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup dill seed

2 teaspoons dehydrated minced onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, slightly beaten

4 to 41/2 cups whole wheat flour

In large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water (100º to 110º F). Add sugar and let stand 5 minutes. Add cottage cheese, butter, honey, dill, onion, salt, baking soda and eggs; mix well. Add 3 cups flour; stir until combined.

Stir in 1 to 11/2 cups remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 12 to 15 minutes. 

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a clean towel or greased plastic wrap. Place over a bowl of hot water in an unheated (cool) oven. Let rise 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Remove from oven; punch down dough and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place in greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Cover. Return dough to unheated (cool) oven with a fresh bowl of hot water underneath on a separate rack and let rise one hour or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. (Remove dough from oven while preheating.) Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.

Italian Cheese Crescesia Bread Recipe

If you don’t like locatelli cheese then don’t even bother making this bread, this bread has such a great aroma and flavor that you will eat an entire loaf by yourself, it is also perfect for gift giving and the best part is that you can freeze it weeks in advance and everyone will think that you just made it that day.

Remember all ingredients should be at room temperature.

• 12 eggs well beaten
• 9 cups unsifted flour
• 1 lb. grated locatelli cheese
• 2 ounces dry yeast
• 5 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 cup warm water
• ½ lb. butter melted slightly or real soft
• 1 teaspoon salt

Put yeast in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon sugar and the 1 cup warm water and mix well, let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place your eggs in a mixing bowl and whip till well broken, add your yeast that you had already started, now add your melted butter, pepper, salt, flour, locatelli cheese, and if I missed any ingredient then put it in.

Mix on low speed until well blended then on second speed for 3 or 4 minutes, you should have a really nice dough, if it is too dry add some water, if it is too wet then add some more flour, separate dough in 1-1/4 pound pieces, shape it until it looks like a 6 inch hoagie bun and place it in well greased bread pans, let rise until double in size and bake in a 300 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes. The smell should be in the entire neighborhood by the time you are finished.

Most Favorite Bread Makers Recipes

When bread makers first came out years back people felt that all you could use them for was plain white bread. Well that is not even close to being true any more. There are now dozens of fantastic recipes available for all kinds of bread. What you will find is that the ingredients you use in a bread machine will be a little different than if you were baking bread normally. The results are just as good however.

Below is a selection of recipes that are very simple to make, very affordable, and most of all, deliciously healthy. They only take a few minutes to prepare and the results will make everyone happy. So go ahead and try them out. Crack open your breadmaker and give one of these yummy recipes a try. 

Basic White Bread

• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk
• 2 TBSP oil (l usually use canola)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp yeast

Just use the standard wet on the bottom dry on top mixing process. This is delicious with butter and honey while it is still hot.

Grain & Honey Bread 

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 TBSP honey (liquid or melted)
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (mixed grain flower is OK too)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsps granulated yeast

Put the salt in the breadmaker first, then add all other ingredients except the yeast, oats and flour. Add the oats and flour. Make a small hole at the top of the dry ingredients for the yeast. Bake as usual.

Cheesy Buttermilk Bread

This yields a moist and tasty loaf. It also stores very well, but you'll probably finish it before that even matters! 

• 1 and 1/8 cups buttermilk 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 2 TBSP sugar 
• .75 cup extra sharp chedder (grated) 
• 3 cups bread flour 
• 1.5 tsps bread machine yeast 

Prepare as usual. All wet ingredients first, then the cheese, then dry ingredients, and the yeast on top.

Oat Bread 

Use natural rolled oats. Just put them in a pot with boiling water, and then let them soak until they cool off. Then add the other ingredients and proceed as usual.

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 11 fl.oz. water 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil 
• 3 cups flour 
• 1 tsp yeast 

Baking bread is a wonderfully delicious way to add great nutrition to you family's diet. Give the recipes a try and add some flavour to your meals.

Bread Brings Meaning And Tradition To Easter

When immigrants from the four corners of Europe came to America, they brought a variety of traditional Easter bread recipes. Now chocolate Easter bunnies, yellow marshmallow chicks and jelly beans signify the holiday but at one time families served Easter breads, which are rich in symbolism and history.

Father Dominic Garramone, a Catholic priest, cookbook author and host of the TV show "Breaking Bread with Father Dominic," would like to ensure that Easter bread traditions are not forgotten. "Bread for Easter is one way of bringing some tradition and meaning back to the holiday," he says. Here are two of his tried-and-true brunch recipes:

French Toast 

Custard Casseroles

For each casserole, you will need:

1 egg

2 Tbs. whole or reduced-fat milk

2 thick or 3 medium slices of day-old bread (store- bought bread works well)

2 Tbs. chopped pecans

1/3 cup maple-flavored syrup

1 Tbs. butter

1 small ovenproof bowl, about 5" across and 2" deep (a small soup bowl with a handle works well.)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly coat the interior of the ovenproof bowl with cooking spray or butter. Trim bread slices to a shape and size that will fit the bowl. In another larger bowl, whisk egg and milk, then place bread slices in egg mixture until liquid is absorbed. Combine nuts and syrup in the bottom of the ovenproof bowl, and dot the surface with the butter. 

Place the soaked bread slices on top-they should not reach past the lip of the bowl. Place bowl on a baking sheet to prevent drips, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is lightly browned and center is firm. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 10 minutes. Invert bowl onto a plate, remove bowl and serve.

Ham and Cheese Braid

1 pkg. active dry yeast

11/4 cups warm milk (100° to 110° F)

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

11/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

3 to 31/2 cups all-purpose flour

11/2 cups ham, coarsely chopped 

11/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 egg white, beaten with 1 Tbs. water

Put warm milk into a medium-size bowl. Add yeast, stir to dissolve. Add sugar, egg, salt and oil. Add 3 cups of flour and beat well. Work in enough of remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes. Rinse and dry the bowl, then oil the surface of the dough and place in the bowl. Cover with a clean, dry dish towel, and let rise in a warm place free from drafts for about one hour, or until doubled in volume. 

Mix ham, cheese, and nuts (if desired) in medium-size bowl. Roll out dough 10" x 18". Spread filling lengthwise in the center third of the dough; press filling together slightly. Using a sharp knife, cut each outer third of the dough (the part not covered by filling) into 5 to 7 diagonal strips, cutting from the edge of the dough to about 1" from the edge of the filling. Brush the strips lightly with water. Fold the dough strips over the filling, alternating left and right, being careful not to stretch the dough. Tuck in the ends of the last strips to seal. Carefully transfer loaf to a lightly greased nonstick 9" x 13" cake pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the surface of the dough with the egg white wash. Bake at 400° in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the temperature of the filling is about 160°.

Spiced Ginger Bread Recipe

This is for the large cookie like gingerbread men, decorate at will

Preparation 45 min
Rest 24 hours or overnight
Cooking time 25 to 30 minutes
Oven at 180

Ingredients:

• 500g [1lb] honey
• 500g [1lb] sugar
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 lemon zest
• ½ measured of Kirsch
• ½ tsp of baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1,250 gr of plain flour
• 250 gr of ground almonds
• ¼ litre of milk

Method:

1. Mix the spices and baking powder with ground almonds and the flour
2. Heat the honey with the sugar until just coming to a boil, then add the Kirsch and let cool
3. Add slowly to the flour and almond mixture
4. Beat the eggs with the milk in a separate bowl and add to the mix
5. Mix gently and roll out the pastry on a floured bench until you reach the desired thickness, about 4mm.
6. Cut out the shapes [stars, moons or gingerbread men]
7. Place the cut out shapes on a buttered and floured oven tray, I like to use buttered baking paper.
8. Leave the pastry shapes to rest in a cool place overnight
9. The following day paint them with a slurry of milk and sugar, take care not to wet them too much
10. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 25 or 30 minutes or until golden
11. Once cool, decorate them with icing sugar.

Cranberry Holiday Bread Recipe

(I chop my cranberries and nuts up in a food processor, if you rather have chunky nuts and cranberries you do not have to grind them fine)

2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup chopped cranberries
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup canola oil
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons No Sodium Baking Soda
1 teaspoon No Sodium Baking Powder
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups of all purpose flour

Mix your ingredients in a bowl. Lightly spray a load pan with a non stick cooking spray. Bake on 350 degrees for 1 hour.

The Spread

1 small container of low fat cream cheese
¼ cup of chopped walnuts
¼ cup of chopped cranberries

Mix together until well blended.

This bread goes great with breakfast. It is just a festive treat served with coffee or tea.

Amish Bread Starter

Amish Bread Starter, creating a "Sour-dough" like bread.  This starter makes a cinnamon bread, with optional raisins and nuts.  From the "e-Cookbook" 65 Amish Recipes 

2/3 c. sugar 

2/3 c. milk 

2/3 c. flour 

2/3 c. oil 

3 eggs 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. vanilla 

1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

1 c. sugar 

2 c. flour 

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. baking soda 

Combine ingredients in large airtight container with lid. Store at room temperature, do not refrigerate. Stir every day for 17 days. The recipe makes more than the 1 cup needed. But allows for evaporation.

Now the starter is ready. The following instructions are for either the starter you created above, or received from a loving friend.

For the next 10 days handle starter according to the following instructions.

Day 1, receive the starter 

Day 2, 3 & 4 - stir 

Day 5, Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk. 

Day 6 & 7, stir 

Day 8 & 9, stir 

Day 10, Add 1 cup flour, sugar and milk. 

Divide into 3 containers of 1 cup each for friends.

After removing the 3 cups of batter, mix in the following ingredients: Using a fork, beat by hand until well blended.

Add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (optional).

Grease pans with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour. Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans.