Angel Biscuits

I've probably said this before, but if I could only eat one type of bread for the rest of my life, it would definitely be biscuits.

Most kids have cake for their 1st birthday. Not me. I had a biscuit with a candle in it.

My favorite biscuits are made at a fried chicken restaurant my family always went to growing up (in fact, that's where my 1st birthday biscuit was from).

Brunch this morning

Their biscuits are so light and fluffy, and of course, best served with lots of butter and sorghum!

This recipe is the closest thing I've ever found to those biscuits. They're leavened with baking powder AND yeast, to ensure maximum fluffiness!

Notice that all the fried chicken is gone. . .

Angel Biscuits

Yields: 12 biscuits

Time: 30 minutes

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp warm water

2 3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp milk 

1 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a skillet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray. 

2. Combine warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Combine remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. 

3. Cut shortening into the dry ingredients. Mix yeast mixture with buttermilk and stir into the dry ingredients until just combined. 

4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1" thick. Cut with a 2 1/2" circle cutter and place in the lined skillet. Brush the tops of the biscuits with milk. 

5. Bake 13-20 minutes, until they reach the desired golden color. Brush the tops of the baked biscuits with melted butter. 

How many biscuits is too many to eat in one day? I'll get back to you. 

Challah

Challah. You might've seen it at your local bakery. You might not know how to pronounce it. 

One thing we can all agree on is that it's delicious. 

Challah is a Jewish egg bread that's traditionally braided and eaten on the Sabbath. 

While I was researching how to make braided challah bread, I learned some interesting things about the history and symbolism of Jewish challah. 

The bread dough is traditionally made the day before the Sabbath, then it rises overnight, to be baked on the Sabbath morning. 

Traditionally, the bread dough is divided into 12 strands to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. The strands are then divided up to braid the loaves. 

The bread is also said to symbolize manna from heaven from the Old Testament, and it's often covered in a special cloth to represent the dew that protected the manna. 

I've done 3, 4, and 6 strand braided loaves before, and they've all turned out great. Check out this link to see directions for the 4 strand braid. 

A 6 strand braid is the simplest to me-- just bring the rightmost strand over 2, under 1, over 2 and repeat. 

Challah

Yields: 2 large or 4 medium loaves

Time: 2-3 hours 

2 1/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 tbsp yeast

8 to 10 egg yolks (6 oz. total)

5 tbsp veggie oil

5 tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla 

1 tbsp salt

7 to 8 cups flour

1 egg, beaten + 1 tsp water, for egg wash

1. Combine water and yeast in a bowl and let activate for 5 minutes. Add yolks, oil, honey, vanilla, and salt and combine. 

2. Add flour, about 1 cup at a time, until it holds together enough to knead it on the counter. It should be soft and supple, but not very sticky. Knead until it springs back when you press your finger into the dough. You can do this in a stand mixer, if desired. 

3. Let dough rise, covered, in a greased bowl until doubled in size. 

4. Divide dough into the number of loaves you want, then divide the loaves into strands. Braid dough, place on lined cookie sheets, brush egg wash on the dough, and let rise (uncovered) until very puffy. 

5. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 25-35 minutes. 

Sandwich Bread Loaves

Subs. Hoagies. Po'boys. Grinders. Heroes.

There are so many names for sandwiches made on this bread. I guess it all depends on where you hail from. Whatever you call them, they're delicious. 

 Before rising

At first, I called this recipe "sandwich loaves," but that was before I discovered what a sandwich loaf actually is. 

Yeah. Not so appetizing. Apparently it was a popular meal in the '60s. No thanks!! 

After rising

These sandwich bread loaves are so yummy. We eat them with cold cuts, as toasted sandwiches, as crawfish po'boys, as garlic bread. . . They work for everything! 

The best part is that this bread still tastes good for up to 3-4 days after you bake it, so you can make them ahead of time and eat the leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. 

Scoring with a lame

A lame (pronounced lahm like llama without the a) is a little tool used to score bread. I just bought one for myself, and this was my first time using it. It works way better than a knife for me, so if you make bread frequently, I would recommend getting one! Here's the one I bought. 

The original recipe makes 2 large loaves, but I make 8 sandwich loaves. You can size and shape the loaves however you like. Recipe adapted from Naomi Cakes. 

Sandwich Bread Loaves

Yields: 2-10 loaves, depending on the size 

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp yeast (or 1 packet yeast)

2 cups warm water

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil 

5 + cups flour (more if needed, depending on your humidity and temperature)

1 egg with a splash of cold water for egg wash

1. Combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp sugar, and yeast. Stir until dissolved and let activate for 10 minutes. 

2. While the yeast is activating, mix together the remaining water, sugar, salt, and oil in large bowl (I use my Kitchenaid). Stir to combine. Add the yeast mixture and 2 cups flour and mix. 

3. Slowly add the remaining flour until the dough starts to remove from the sides of the bowl. Knead in the mixer or by hand until the dough slightly springs back when you press your finger into it. Let rise, covered, in a greased bowl until it's doubled in size. 

4. Punch down dough and shape into the desired shape. Let rise for 30-40 minutes, until puffy. Score the dough with a sharp knife and brush the loaves with an egg wash. 

5. Bake at 375 degrees until the loaves sound hollow when tapped. For the smaller sandwich loaves, it takes about 20 minutes. Larger loaves will probably take 30-40 minutes. 

Brioche Buns

The difference between store-bought bread and homemade bread is unbelievable.

Brioche is a type of French bread that contains butter and eggs, making the crumb richer and more tender.

These homemade buns are perfect for hamburgers, sliders, shredded pork or chicken sandwiches, or just to enjoy with butter and jam! 

One of the best parts about these buns is that they stay fresh for several days after you make them! So even though there are just two of us right now, I always make the full recipe (which makes 8 buns) and we munch on them for days. 

Brioche Buns

Makes 8 large buns (you can adjust the size as you desire)

1 cup warm water

2 tsp yeast

2 tbsp sugar

2 eggs, divided use

3 1/3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp butter, softened

1. Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved and let it stand 5 minutes, until foamy. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, and butter. Turn on the mixer with a paddle attachment until the butter makes small crumbs. 

3. Stir in one egg and yeast mixture. Using the dough hook attachment, knead for 6-8 minutes. Add more flour if necessary so the dough isn't too sticky. The dough should remove from the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom. 

4. Let rise, covered,  in a slightly warm oven, until doubled in size (45 minutes or so). Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into round balls. Cover and let rise in a slightly warm oven until they're puffy. 

5. Brush with a beaten egg and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Place a pan with some water in it in the oven with the buns. 

6. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. 

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

I have a confession to make.

Every time I go to a restaurant that has complimentary bread (of any kind), I totally fill up on bread.

So much so, that I usually only eat a couple of bites of my entrée. It's bad. Bad, but so, so good.

We've all been to The Cheesecake Factory, right?

They serve complimentary bread baskets for you to munch on while you wait. The white bread is delicious, but have you tried the brown bread??? 

It's life-changing. Apparently it's called "honey wheat black (or black) bread," but I just call it the brown bread. I've wanted to try a recipe for this bread for a long time, but I could never find a good one that seemed reliable.

So I looked through different recipes to create my own. I gathered ideas from various recipes.

Friends, this bread is a home run. It tastes EXACTLY like the bread from the restaurant. EXACTLY LIKE IT!! Get out your mixers, because you're going to want to make this right now.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Honey Wheat Bread

Yields: 5-6 small loaves

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp instant dry yeast
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup honey
oats for decoration

1. In a medium bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir until combined and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups bread flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and add the butter, molasses, and honey. Stir to roughly combine, then attach the dough hook. Add more flour if needed (the dough should not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl). Knead on medium-low speed for 8-10 minutes, or until it passes the fingerprint test (meaning, when you poke it with your finger, it should bounce back slowly.)

4. Let dough rise in a covered greased bowl in a warm place until doubled. Mine took about 30 minutes because I put it in a 100 degree oven.

5. Divide the dough and form it into the desired shapes. Spray the tops with water and sprinkle oats, if desired. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the loaves with it, then let them rise until doubled.

6. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, depending on the shape. Loaves are done when they sound hollow when you tap on them.

Banana Bread Muffins

I'm taking two classes for the spring term. One is floral design, where I will get to... well, design floral arrangements. The other is a cooking class. I had a full scholarship, and there were no classes I needed to take, so I figured I would take a couple fun classes.

Well, one of my classes was canceled a few days ago, so during my free time I decided to do something with my browning bananas. I hate wasting food.

I found a recipe for banana bread muffins that looked good, so I decided to try it.

I was mistaken. The recipe isn't good. The recipe is AWESOME.

These muffins are the perfect banana bread consistency and texture. I brought some of the extras to work and left them in the break room. Every single person who ate one walked out and said, "These are SO GOOD. Who made these?!?!?"

Mission accomplished, I'd say.

Banana Bread Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

2 cups (10 oz) flour
3/4 cup (5 oz) sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 overly ripe medium bananas
1/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
2 eggs
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Mix together until just combined.

3. Scoop the batter evenly into 12 muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Tips:

• Use a cookie scoop to evenly distribute the muffin batter
• Remove muffins from the muffin tin within 5 minutes of removing it from the oven. If you let them cool in the muffin tin, the papers might peel away from the muffins after they cool. 

Croissants

I've long been afraid to attempt to make croissants. They seem unattainable... the layers, the flakiness, the golden color... Impossible, right? I tried to make croissants once before, and they didn't turn out as I wanted them to. These, however, turned out exactly how I wanted them to.

The best croissants I've ever had were at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. They're unbelievably delicious. These croissants (not to toot my own horn) actually taste almost exactly the same as Tartine's croissants to me.

I've been on a "baking high" all day. It's something I can only get from a successful attempt at a difficult and new recipe. Won't you join me in this baking high? These croissants take under 24 hours to make, which is wonderful, considering most recipes take 3 days. I adapted this recipe from Jellybean Journals.

Croissants

Yields: 16 croissants

Dough
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups milk (room temperature)
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 package)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sugar

Laminating
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)

Egg wash
1 egg
1 tbsp cream or milk

1. Combine all of the dry dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and stir with a whisk. Add the wet ingredients. Mix with the dough hook for 3 minutes. Take the dough out and knead by hand for 30 seconds to smooth out the dough.

2. Let the dough rise in a greased bowl, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. I let mine rise in a room temperature oven.

3. Unwrap the butter and put into a quart ziplock or plastic wrap. Beat the butter until it's an 8x8" square. Put it back into the fridge until the dough is risen.

4. Watch this video 2:11-3:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OAUM0MRgQw This is how you laminate the dough. (This means you put the butter and "turn" the dough several times).

5. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

6. Divide the dough in half. Keep the second half wrapped in the fridge until you're ready to use it. Roll out half of the dough until it's 8" by 20". Cut it into 8 triangles. (You can watch the video to see how he cut his dough). I rolled each of my triangles out a little more before rolling them up.

7. Place on a silpat (or parchment)-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Mix the egg and cream together and brush on the croissants. Let rise for 1-2 hours.

8. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until desired golden color.

***Croissants can be frozen and heated up in a 350 degrees fahrenheit oven for 8 minutes.

Bon appétit!