Buttermilk Banana Bread

Mix Together:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Stir these together and add:
3 eggs
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 large mashed bananas
Mix well.
Butter pans.
Make a "sling" out of parchment paper and put in each pan before filling.  This helps them come out easily.
Bake at 350 dgrees for 30-35 min for small loaf pans. Makes 6-7 small loaves. Add more cooking time for regular size loaves.

Boule Bread

This recipe is from my sister in law Casha and is way yummy. Especially dipped in balsamic vinegar and oil.

3 c. luke warm water
1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp. course salt
6 1/2 c. flour

Add water, yeast, and salt together. You don't need to let them dissolve. Measure flour without packing it down in cup, just use scoop and sweep method. Mix flour into water mixture with wooden spoon and mix just until moist and no dry spots. Don't over mix. Don't knead. Let rise at room temp. for 2 hrs, or for better results refridgerate over night. When ready to bake, cut out piece of dough the size of a grapefruit and "cloak" dough.( Quickly shape it into a round shape without kneading it) Put it onto a cornmeal crusted cutting board. Let rise for 40 min. 20 minutes into the rising, preheat oven and pizza stone at 450 degrees. Dust the top of the loaf with flour and cut 3 slashes on the top. Put in the oven with a cup of hot water ( I put it in a bread loaf pan) under neath the pizza stone. Bake for 30 min.

Banana muffins with streusel topping

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
3 or 4 ripened bananas (about 1 cup mashed bananas)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons melted butter

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, mash the bananas and add the sugars, egg and melted butter. Whisk together until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Don’t over mix. Evenly distribute between 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Streusel topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 T butter

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients for streusel, cut in butter and whisk until you get a lumpy streusel consistency. Sprinkle on top of muffins.
Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

3 c. water
1/2 c. powdered milk
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. yeast
1 1/2 T. salt
5 eggs
1/2 c olive oil
5 c. flour
1 beaten egg and 1 T water for the egg wash

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast, powdered milk and sugar. Allow to sit and become frothy for 10 min. add to that mixture salt, well whipped eggs, 2 c of flour and the olive oil. Stir together until well mixed and allow to sit an additional 10 min. add remaining flour a half cup at a time, slowly beginning to knead the mixture. You may need to add 1-2 c more than what the recipe even calls for, to make the dough pliable. Knead until elastic, then drizzle generously with more olive oil, cover lightly with a clean towel. Allow to rise 1 hour or until double in bulk (mine was ready in 20 min. on a hot day). Once risen, roll dough into balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and brush tops with egg wash, sprinkle poppy or sesame if desired on top. Allow to rise for an addtional 40 min. Bake in an over preheated to 375 dgress for 15 - 20 min. or just until the tops of rolls are lightly browned. cool, slice in half, and serve with grilled hamburgers and all of your favorite fixin's!


Super Moist Grilled Hamburgers

1 lb ground beef
1/2 seasoned croutons, finely crushed
1 egg
1/2 T worchestershire sauce
2 T melted butter
Seasoning salt to taste

In a large bowl combine hamburger meat, crouton crumbs, egg, worchestershire sauce and melted butter. Mix together and make into patties. Sprinkle top and bottom of each patty with seasoning salt. Grill 10 to 15 min. These seem to stay moist when cooked through, better than just plain hamburger and have a great flavor, too!

Beer Bread

3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar (or 3/4 cup)
1 can beer (the cheaper the better)

Mix dry ingredients and add beer. Bake at 400 for 35-40 min in a greased loaf pan.

Banana Muffins

(This recipe is perfect for that one left-over, overripe banana on your counter.)

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. cinnmon

1 medium mashed banana

1/2 c. milk

1/3 c. oil

1 egg, slightly beaten

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, stir in remaining ingredients and stir just until moistened. Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes.

Homemade white bread

Jared and I are poor so we decided one day to make our bread instead of buying it because it is a TON cheaper! I actually just found this recipe online, it's pretty easy.

5-6 c flour
3 T sugar
2 tsp salt
2 packages dry yeast
2 c water
1/4 vegetable oil

Mix together all dry ingredients except half of the flour. Add warm water and oil, blend for 3 min. Add rest of flour, mix well and then knead for about 10 min. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in bowl in a warm place until double in size (about an hour). Punch down, then divide into two balls and let them rise under the bowl for 15 min. Put each ball into a greased loaf pan and shape into bread loaf. Let rise for one more hour, until the dough is about an inch higher than the top of the pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 min. (makes 2 loaves- if you're only making one loaf, I suggest only baking for about 30-35 min) Take bread out of pan and let cool on a cooling rack and brush with butter. YUM! Nothing better than warm bread fresh from the oven topped with butter and apricot jam!

Dinner Rolls

This is a recipe from Steph Bauer. You mix the dough in a breadmaker.

In the breadmaker put:

1 1/4 c. warm water

3Tab. butter

3 c. flour (I like to use 1 c. whole wheat and 2 c. white flour)

3 1/2 Tab. sugar

2 Tab. powdered milk

1 tsp salt

2 tsp or 1 pkg yeast

Mix on dough setting (it takes about 1 to 1 1/2 hours because it raises in there, too)

Take out and roll out for rolls.

Put rolls in pan and spread melted butter on top. Let it raise 2 to 3 more hours.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes.

Brush more butter on tops of hot, out of the oven rolls. Serve. Makes about 20 rolls.