Homemade Bread--Perfection, even at High Altitude!

My mom made bread at home for years. I used to beg for store-bought bread, I just didn't appreciate the goodness of homemade bread. I think Mom did start buying bread when she started working. Then she discovered sourdough bread starter and started the whole bread-making process over again. I loved it then! Especially hot from the oven. She used to make it in the evenings and would call me and my best friend and roommate, Kim, and we would race across town to devour a loaf of freshly baked bread. Yes, I'm embarrassed to say a loaf. That "Freshman 15" was very apropos in my case.

My sister-in-law gave me this recipe for bread. It doesn't require a starter, can be thrown all together in a bread machine, made into a loaf in the machine, or taken out and put in a different pan. It took me a few tries here at this altitude to get it right again, but I think I have it now! The amounts given below make one loaf, but I usually double it (and the pictures will show it doubled). High altitude changes can be seen in orange, the varying amounts are because it needs to be increased as you rise in altitude. I live at 8,000+, just to give you an idea of how much I need to increase.

What you need
2 cups flour (I use 1 1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup wheat) add about 2-3 Tbs flour
1 egg + enough water to equal 3/4 cup add about 1-2 Tbs. extra water
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. butter (doesn't need to be softened)
1 tsp. yeast.

Throw all the ingredients in your bread machine (or you could probably use a heavy duty stand mixer, I just never have, and you would need to let it rise and stuff. I'm really not sure.) and turn on the dough cycle. At the end of the cycle (mine takes 1 1/2 hours), it will look like this:
Flour a board and start kneading out the dough. Flatten with the palm of your hand till bubbles are gone and it looks roughly rectangle/square.
Like this.
Start by folding one side in, then the other.
Start at the small end and roll tightly, squeezing out bubbles as you go along.
Fold in the ends and plop in a greased pan.
Cover with towel and gently put in a warm place. The only warm place I have in my house is my oven, and that's if I preheat it to warm and then turn it off. Don't let your kids do the dinosaur dance in your kitchen. It will cause your dough to fall flat, and that's just sad. Let it rise till doubled, roughly. This usually takes about an hour to 1 1/2 hours at my house. In a really warm environment, though, it doesn't take as long, just watch it.
Here are my risen loaves. I brushed these with an egg yolk wash then sprinkled with poppy seeds.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (400 degrees). Bake for 15-20 minutes (30-40 minutes). The bottom of your bread will sound like a drum if you tap it. That's very unscientific, I know, but that's how I test mine. You can pop them out immediately after you taken them out of the oven and test them. If they're not quite done, just put them back in the oven for a few more minutes.
For these loaves, I brushed melted butter on top and sprinkled with kosher salt before I put them in the oven.

Slice and enjoy! It's especially yummy with honey butter. The bread freezes well, also.

Red Lentil Soup with Flat Bread

This is not a pretty meal, unless you have a pretty bowl to put it in. Which I don't. So, I put up the sort of out-of-focus picture to show some color so it would look pretty. But, what it IS, is good. And easy. Two of my favorite things. Oh, and cheap. Bonus!



What you need

2 c. lentil (I used red)
8 c. broth (beef or chicken) (broth from a box or use bouillon cubes)
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp lemon juice

Bring the lentils and broth to a boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes on low. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic in the olive oil till golden. Add onion mixture to lentils when done.

After lentils have been going about 15 minutes, add the cumin, paprika salt and pepper.

When it's all done, add the lemon juice.

For the flat bread: you can use any pizza dough recipe you have, or just get the stuff in the freezer.
What you need

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp honey
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. warm water
1 package yeast (= 2 1/4 tsp)

Throw it all in your bread maker or stand mixer. When done, form it into an oblong shape, brush with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper, garam masala or Herbs de Provence, or anything, really, that sounds good. Heat your grill pan, grill or broiler to high. If using the grill or pan, lay dough directly on grill and grill for a few minutes each side (make sure you oil and season both sides). If using your broiler, place on a pizza pan with vents or holes in it and watch it like a hawk because it can burn really quickly. Not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.

Cut up the bread, serve it up warm with the soup and add a green salad. Warm and comforting on a fall evening, especially now that it's getting dark around 4:30pm!

Apple-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

People, get out and make these guys! I made them for Adam's teachers today and they were fighting over who could lick the pan. Ok, that's an exaggeration. A gross exaggeration. Ha ha ha. But seriously? Get out and make these guys. I'm not sure what you're supposed to "get out" of, but it sounded right when I wrote it.

Ok.

So, thank you Rachel Ray. You are my hero. That said......

High altitude adjustments are in orange.

What you need

2 tart apples, Granny Smith are good, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups flour /plus 1-2 Tbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder /just a bit less than 1 Tbs
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream /plus 1-2 Tbs
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs honey

Preheat oven to 400/450 degrees. Place apples, 1 Tbs brown sugar and 1 Tbs butter on baking sheet (you can put foil or parchment paper down so it doesn't stick, but I don't think this made much difference), mix it around, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes /may take 20-25 minutes, just watch them, or until apples are tender. Remove from oven, and lower oven temp to 350/375 degrees.

In your mixer, blend flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt at low speed. Add 5 Tbs. butter and mix until crumbly. In small bowl, whisk eggs with 1/2 cup cream, then mix into dry ingredients. (May need a bit more flour so it's not too sticky in your hands.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll or pat out your dough to form a 9 x 13 inch rectangle (this is very approximate). In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon. Smear onto your dough about 2 Tbs butter, just sort of dotted all over. Sprinkle the pecan mixture on top and cover evenly with the roasted apples. Roll up dough, jelly roll-style, and cut crosswise into 9 slices. Place slices cut side down into 9 x 9 inch pan that's been well greased. Bake till golden, about 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the remaining 4 Tbs butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp salt and honey to boil, stirring. Whisk until reduced, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly then poor it on the rolls.

So good. So, so good. Get out there and make these guys!.

Oh, and I'm embarrassed to say I don't even have a final shot of them, they got eaten so fast! You'll have to go make your own to see it to believe it.


These are super easy to double. Also, make everything the day or night before (except for that last sauce that you pour over the cooked buns), then bake it in the morning. Perfect, and easy.

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

My friend Colleen used to make this last year in NYC. It will always remind me of our little NYC apartments, days at Dolphin park and Mary. It's just autumn in loaf-form for me. Owen and I made a batch yesterday, and then today I made another batch. It's just that good. If you live above 6,500 ft. you'll want to make the changes that are in orange. Being in high altitude does something funny to baking things.

What you need:

1 can pumpkin (not pie filling, actual pumpkin), 15 oz.
1/2 cup water / 1/2 cup water + 1-2 Tbs. (depending on your altitude. I used 2 Tbs and I'm at 8,000)
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cup flour / 2 1/2 cup flour + 1 Tbs.
2 1/4 cup sugar (don't gasp)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda / just a smidge less than 1 1/2 tsp baking soda. I just let the clumps be scraped off when I measured it out of my cardboard container.
1 1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp each: cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg
about a 1/2 -3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. / Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

First, mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then, beat the pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in your mixer till combined (medium speed for about 2 minutes).
Gradually work in the dry ingredients, mixing just enough so you won't have a huge flour pouf all over you when you add more. Stir in your chocolate chips.

Grease and flour your bread pans. I used 3 smaller pans yesterday and 2 larger pans today. If you use 3 smaller pans, bake for around 50 minutes (1 hour) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (it will have chocolate chips on it). If you choose to do 2 larger pans, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes (same or about 5- 10 minutes more). Let them sit in the pans for 10 minutes before trying to take them out (trust me on this one, I learned the hard way).

I actually forgot to stir in the chocolate chips today when I made my 2 larger loafs, so I had to sprinkle them on top. Then I got a little crazy and just slathered the whole top of one with chocolate. I don't know how this will taste yet, but I'm hoping for the best.


This is what it should look like. Mmmm-mm. Yummy goodness.
I'm so proud of myself for remembering to take pictures! What do you think?

Stuffing, Crock pot style

This is curtesy of my mama-in-law and I just put it in the way she told me. It's great, trust me! And I love that it doesn't take up room on my stove, counter top or in the oven!

Day old bread, You want it to be kind of hard so it breaks up easily and isn't too mushy when you put the other stuff in. Probably for just your family a loaf or loaf and a half would work, any kind of white type bread is okay.

Then I saute onions and celery in butter until they are tender. Again, you kind of have to judge how much depending on the amount you are making, but probably 1-2 onions if small and about 7-8 clery stalks, I also use the leafy part of the celery.

I then combine the bread, onion mixture, eggs (probably 2), just a little milk, just to moisten the bread, in fact, you can do that right after you tear up the bread into pieces. Then add ground sage and I go by taste on that one. I try not to overdo that since it is such a strong flavor. You can then add a little chicken broth if you want, to keep it moist. If I'm cooking it in my crockpot, I start out on high for an hour and then turn it down to low for another 2-3 hours, you can tell when it starts to get a bit of a crust on top that it is done. I sometimes put a little more butter on top as it is cooking, not a lowfat dish for sure. You can also just bake it in the oven on 325-350 for an hour and a half or so, you can tell if it is done when it looks pretty firm and again there should be a bit of a crust on top.

I also put a little pam or spread butter on the crockpot sides and bottom of baking dish so it doesn't stick so much.