Macaroni Grill Bread

Did you realize that Father's Day is this Sunday? Are you doing anything special with your Father? Do you take him golfing or fishing? Do you buy him a gift? I am unable to see my Dad this Sunday. It is so sad. It's sad because he has decided to visit England for the next two weeks with my oldest daughter. Instead, I will spend Father's Day with my husband and his Dad. It will be fun.

One of the things my husband likes is homemade bread. He tends to have his favorite but he is willing to try other ones. I made this copy cat recipe and he loved it. The best thing about this recipe would be it yields two loaves. We had half a loaf left the next day so my daughter made BLT sandwiches after toasting a few slices. I will say it was the best BLT sandwich I have ever had. I have eaten at Macaroni Grill but it has been awhile so I can not say if it taste like the restaurants but it is so good.

Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread
1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp dried rosemary, chopped
2 Tbsp butter, melted
coarse salt for sprinkling on top

1. Directions:
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large cup, combine the yeast, sugar, and water. Allow the yeast to proof for five minutes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the salt, 1 Tbsp rosemary, and 3 cups of flour.
5. Add the yeast to the flour mixture and mix. 
6. Slowly, add the remaining flour to the mixture until the dough is slightly tacky and holds it shape. The dough should be soft and smooth.
7. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 to 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
8. Punch down the dough and divide in half.
9. Shape the loaves into two smooth, ovals and place one on each end of the baking sheet.
10. Brush on the melted butter on top of each loaf.
11. Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with the remaining rosemary.
12. cover the loaves with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to double in size again about 1 hour.
13. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
14. Sprinkle each loaf with the coarse salt.
15. Bake the loaves for 18 minutes or until browned. the loaves need to be baked through. 
16. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool.

Recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Did you already know...
-Romano's Macaroni Grill Restaurants were founded by Philip Romano.
-The first restaurant was opened in 1988 in Leon Springs, Texas.
-There are over 200 restaurants world wide.

Baguette Bread

Oh, I love baguette bread. Since I made lasagna this weekend, I figured I would make up some bread to go with it. I actually made the dough the night before and refrigerated it until I was ready for the second rise.

The crust was crisp with a soft inside. This bread accompanied the lasagna nicely. The left over bread we placed in the freezer to make some croutons at another date. Next time, I'm going to knead some herbs into the dough before baking.

The Almost No Knead Baguette
3 cups lukewarm water
5 cups all purpose flour
3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp instant yeast

Directions:

1. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In another large bowl, add the water and yeast. Allow to rest for 5 minutes to make sure the yeast proofs.
3. Add the flour and salt to the yeast water and stir to combine. 
4. Mix the dough until no dry spots remain and the dough is fairly soft.
5. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes. The dough will be sticky.
6. Add the dough to the greased large bowl and flip.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8. Divide the dough in half and shape into a slightly flatten oval. 
9. Fold the dough lengthwise in half. 
10. Seal the edges of the dough with the heel of your hand.
11. Flatten the dough slightly and fold in half lengthwise. Seal the dough with the heel of your hand.
12. With the seam side down, gently roll the dough into desired size.
13. Place the dough seam down on a lightly greased of a baking sheet or a baguette pan.
14. Roll out the other half of the dough.
15. Cover the dough and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
16. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
17. Slash three or four times onto the baguette diagonal.
18. Spritz the dough with warm water and bake for about 25 minutes or deep golden brown. 
19. Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur website.

Did you know...
-The bakers of Vienna invented the steam ovens and were the first to begin to bake hard crusty breads.
-In France around 1920, a law went into affect that did not allow bakers to begin work before 4 am. The bakers needed a bread for their customers. Since the baguette baked faster, the baguette bread became popular with bakeries.

Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Glaze

I buy apples all year long. My oldest daughter loves them so much that her friends give them to her. She eats them all the time. So, I always have them in the house and I really should cook with them more. I tend to only bake with apples in the fall when we have an abundance of them. I guess that trend may just change especially since this recipe.

This week's pick on Project Pastry Queen was by Emily of A Gilt Nutmeg. My family loved them. My husband doesn't like nuts so some loaves were nut free. The original glaze is suppose to have Calvados in it but there were no nips available and I didn't want to have a large bottle when only 1 Tbsp was needed. My family liked the apple juice substitute. I purchased a can of frozen apple juice. I let it defrost in the refrigerator. After opening, I used 1 Tbsp of the concentrate for this recipe and then made a pitcher of apple juice for the kids.

Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Apple Juice Glaze
Bread:
1 cup pecans, chopped (optional)
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced
Glaze (recipe below)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Arrange the nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast for about 7 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Grease 5 (6"x4"x2") mini loaf pans with cooking spray.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
6. Stir the flour mixture into the oil mixture until incorporated.
7. Fold in the apples and pecans.
8. Fill the loaf pans with batter about three quarters of the way to the top.
9. Bake the bread for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean.
10. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack. 
11. Spoon the glaze over each bread.

Glaze:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp agave syrup
1 Tbsp apple juice concentrate

Directions:

1. Melt the butter, brown sugar, syrup, and apple juice over medium heat.
2. Simmer the mixture for 2 minutes or until it thickens slightly.
3. Spoon the warm glaze over the loaves of bread.
4. Allow the glaze to cool for at least 1 hour.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen.

Did you already know...
-Calvados is an apple brandy.
-It is traditionally drank after dinner.
-There are many different Calvados brands available and they are ranked like cognac.

Butterflake Herb Loaf

Are you having corn beef and cabbage this week? We will be having it on Saturday. Since it is on sale this week, I always buy two of the corn beef and freeze one. It freezes very well. I guess that means we will be having Turkey soon since I will need to make room in the freezer.

 My husband never had corn beef and cabbage before he married me. His family didn't have any special Irish meal on Saint Patrick's Day. I will also be making this bread. My husband loved this bread. He said it was awesome and would have it every day.  My son agreed since he ate the remaining bread for breakfast the next day. This recipe makes 2 loafs. It looks complicated but it really isn't hard. The filling can be changed up. Maybe this weekend I'll add some Irish cheddar, doesn't that sound good?

Butterflake Herb Loaf
1 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tsp instant dry yeast
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp whole white all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry basil

Directions:

1. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a small pan, bring the milk to a simmer.
3. In a mixing bowl, pour the milk over the butter.
4. Add the sugar and salt. Allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm.
5. When the temperature is around 110 degrees F, add the eggs, yeast, and 3 1/2 cups of flour. Begin to mix the dough.
6. After mixing for 3 minutes, begin to add the remaining flour until the dough is soft and smooth. The dough should not be sticky. 
7. Cover the dough and allow to rise for 1 hour.
8. While the dough is rising, combine the softened butter with the herbs in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
9. After the dough has risen, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
10. Use a circle biscuit cutter (circular cookie cutter or glass) cut out circles from the dough.
11. With each circle, butter one side with the herb butter. 
12. Fold the circle in half. and place the folded circle dough into the greased loaf pan vertically. Any scraps place on top of the loaf.
13. Cover the pan and allow to rise for another hour. 
14. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
15. Place the loaf pan uncovered in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
16. If the loaf becomes to brown on top, cover with foil or parchment paper.
17. Allow to cool for a few minutes and enjoy.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur. 

Did you already know.......
-In 390, Saint Patrick was born in Britain. He was not Irish.
-When he was 16 years old, Saint Patrick was kidnapped.
-Saint Patrick was a slave in Ireland for seven years before escaping and returning to Britain.
-Saint Patrick became a priest and returned to Ireland to convert the Irish to Christianity.