Chewy Soft Pretzels

Every once in awhile, I get a craving for big, soft pretzels from the mall. However, since I don't have a mall close to me, I don't get them very often. Plus, you know that weird after taste of most soft pretzels? Yeah, that throws me off.

So, here's my solution.  Chewy soft pretzels that do NOT have that weird taste. Just pure pretzel goodness, salt, and lots o' butter.

My husband, who isn't really a pretzel fan, LOVED these. In fact, see the ones in the picture? Those didn't last 5 minutes after the picture was taken!

I would HIGHLY recommend making these today. Now. Sprinkle them with kosher salt, spread with butter and eat them plain or with nacho sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with marina sauce. Spread with butter, and dip in cinnamon and sugar. Instead of twisting them into pretzel form, cut them into squares and have pretzel dippers.  Use them for Calzones. Or sandwich bread. Just go for it.
 

Chewy Soft Pretzels
Recipe from MelskitchenCafe.com

Makes 8 pretzels


Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ozs) all-purpose flour
1/2 teas salt
1 teas sugar
2 1/4 teas instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ozs) warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ozs) warm water
2 TB baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 TB butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ozs, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 20 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Enjoy! 

Easy Italian Dinner Rolls

Do you see these wonderful, soft and warm dinner rolls? Don't they look like they took a long time to make? Guess what? They didn't!

I've been in bed with a cold for the last few days, and needed super easy meals.  We've mostly been eating frozen foods, but these rolls were a life-saver!   Start them about 3-5 hours before dinner, and you've got warm delicious rolls. 

Easy Italian Dinner Rolls
The Double Dipped Life

15 frozen dinner rolls
Italian Seasoning
Parmesan Cheese
Cooking Spray


Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.  Place your frozen rolls in the dish. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning and Parmesan Cheese.  Spray the tops of the rolls, and cover with plastic wrap.  Follow the directions on the roll bag for rising. It took mine about 4 hours. 

Bake as directed on the package.  Brush with butter and sprinkle with more cheese if desired. Enjoy hot!

Easy Italian Dinner Biscuits

Rolls and biscuits take time and effort. Since I'm usually a last minute dinner planner, I don't have the time to make my own breads. This idea though, is perfect. Take refrigerated biscuit dough, and turn it in to something special. These would be great with your homemade Meaty Spaghetti Sauce!


Easy Italian Dinner Biscuits
Adapted from Pillsbury.com

1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
2 Tb margarine or butter, melted
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 Tb Italian spices
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Italian spices, and cheese together.  Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Brush tops and sides of each biscuit with butter, and coat with bread crumb mixture. Place on a ungreased bread sheet, crumb side up. Sprinkle any remaining bread crumbs over biscuits.

Bake for 14-16 minutes until golden brown. remove from oven; allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Enjoy as a roll, or cut in half and use as a tasty sandwich bun!

Enjoy!

The Best Cornbread Ever

This is it. The wonderful, amazing, moist, delicious Cornbread that I served with my Ham and Bean soup last week.

It comes from the wonderful Mel at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I like so many things on her site! Go ahead and browse for awhile... I'll wait! 

Are you back? Okay, so go now and MAKE THIS CORNBREAD! Yum! 

Enjoy!

The Best Orange Rolls Ever!

Thanksgiving in our house means two things. Apple Pie and Orange Rolls. These recipes have been handed down in my mother's family, and have now found themselves lodged in the hearts (and stomachs) of my husband's family.

Since I HAD to have pictures, I HAD to make these rolls early this year. Shucks.

These rolls are easy, but time consuming, as they have to sit and rise many times. Allot a few hours for completion!

Grandma Melita's Orange Rolls

2 packages dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 cup warm water

1 TB sugar

Combine in a large bowl. Let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes.

1 cup scalded milk

1/2 cup butter

 1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs, beaten

5 cup flour

1 tsp salt

Melt the butter in the warm milk. Mix milk/butter mixture, sugar, yeast mixture, eggs and 1 cup of flour. It will be a very loose "dough".

Let rise 1 hour, or until light and bubbly. Mix remaining flour with 1 tsp. salt. Add to dough.

Stir well, then knead lightly until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to evenly grease dough; cover, let rise until dough doubles in size.

While the dough is rising, mix the Orange Filling.

ORANGE FILLING

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3-4 grated orange rinds

Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a rectangle, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. 

Spread Orange Filling evenly over dough. Roll up dough like a jelly roll, and cut horizontally into 1" thick slices. Place in well-greased muffin tins. Let rise until rolls double.

Bake 10 minutes at 400. Makes 3-4 dozen rolls!

Eat one (or two) right away! I recommend re-heating before serving, for maximum gooeyness!

Pumpkin Nutella Bread

It's Pumpkin time! Can you tell that I love pumpkin? This year I decided to branch out and do more than just pumpkin pies. I found so many delicious sounding recipes, and started baking! 

This tempting treat is from Barbara Bakes. Now, I'm sorry about the picture. It rained all weekend, so I couldn't get good light. But, trust me- this bread is moist and full of flavor!  The Nutella taste is not as powerful as I expected, but it's a nice contrast to the pumpkin. This bread is great for breakfast, but would also be great warmed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.



This is also my entry in to the 12 weeks of Christmas "cookies"! It's week 5. Take a look below to see some other great treats!

Pumpkin Nutella Swirl Bread

Yields 2 Medium Loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I doubled this)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, soften
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 16 oz can of pure pumpkin
1/2 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray two medium loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray, or four/five mini loaf pans (5 3/4 x 3 1/4 x 2 1/4. Don’t fill more than 2/3 full.)
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Add the pumpkin and combine well.
4. Add the dry ingredients stirring until just combined.
5. Layer 1/3 of the batter into the bottom of 2 loaf pans, swirl in a couple scoops of Nutella, do another layer of batter and another layer of Nutella and top with the remaining 1/3 of the batter.
6. Bake side-by-side for about one hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (Bake 35-40 minutes for the mini loaves.)

Note: Substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves for 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

Chicken Parmesan

I love Chicken Parmesan. I often order it in Italian restaurants, and finally found a recipe that I like to make at home. This recipe has a lot of steps- a lot of prep-work- but will quickly make you fall in love with homemade Chicken Parmesan!


Chicken Parmesan
The Double Dipped Life


3 cups pasta sauce
4 chicken breasts
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 teas. dried basil
1 teas dried oregano
1/2 teas salt
1/8 teas pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 TB milk
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Pasta of your choice
To bread the chicken, set up your breading station. Gather 3 shallow bowls, or pie pans.

1st bowl: add flour
2nd bowl: beat 1 egg with the milk
3rd bowl: mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

Either cut your chicken into sections, or pound chicken flat.  Coat each piece in the flour, then the egg, and finally in the bread crumb mixture.   Place the chicken on an empty plate.

Like the product placement above? That is the Italian Herb Blend from Kitchen Stories that I use instead of the basil and oregano.

Working one piece at a time, dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour, knocking off the excess.

Dip both sides of the floured chicken in the egg mixture...

and then into the crumb mixture, coating well.





Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom, about 2 Tb. Heat the oil for a few minutes, then add the chicken. Cook in batches if they won’t all fit in the pan.  Fry each side for about 3 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is browned and cooked through.  

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375. Pour 2 cups of pasta sauce into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Add cooked chicken, and pour the remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle the cheeses on top, then cover the pan loosely with foil. Bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.




While the dish is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions. Serve warm chicken and sauce over the pasta.

Enjoy with warm Rosemary Foccacia Bread or French bread with Garlic Seasonings!

Banana Bread

Now, I know that there are tons of Banana Bread recipes out there... and every one says that it is the best... but believe me, THIS ONE is the best!

This is another beloved family recipe from my Mom's family. It is versatile, and can be made into 1 big loaf, 2 smaller ones, or even muffins!

Banana Bread

1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar
1 teas vanilla
2 well beaten eggs
2 c flour
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas baking soda
4 TB sour* milk
1 c banana pulp (roughly 2 bananas)- the riper the banana, the better the bread!
1 c walnuts, chopped (optional)

*Sour milk by adding 1 teas of lemon juice.

Cream shortening and sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat until creamy.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, mix milk and banana pulp.
Add the flour mixture to the shortening bowl, alternately with the milk and banana pulp.
A little flour mixture, stir. Then a little banana mixture, stir. Continue until all is mixed.

Pour into 1 bread pan, 2 small bread pans, or muffin tins. Only fill each pan halfway.
Bake at 350 for 60 min. for 1 loaf,
30 min. for 2 small loaves,
15-20 min. for muffins.

Strawberry Scones

I love scones, but have never attempted to make them before. They always seemed intimidating. Then, I found this recipe. It's not hard at all! Plus, the addition of fresh strawberries makes them moist and full of flavor.

The whole family enjoyed these for breakfast, and for desert, and for a snack! I think these would make a fantastic Easter breakfast!

Strawberry Scones

Adapted from FamilyFun.com

Ingredients
1 cup hulled and finely diced fresh strawberries
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar, plus a little for sprinkling
1 TB baking powder
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas ground nutmeg
A lemon, for zest
6 TB cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup plus 1 TB light cream
1 teas vanilla extract

Instructions
1. Heat your oven to 425ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, using a few spots of butter or cooking oil to stick it in place. Set the baking sheet aside.

2. Place the diced strawberries on several sheets of paper towel to absorb their juice. Meanwhile, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Zest half of the lemon into the ingredients, taking care to remove just the outermost skin and not the white pith.

3. Cut in the butter with two butter knives or a pastry blender until the flour-coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.

4. Make a well in the mixture. Blend the 1/2 cup of light cream and the vanilla extract in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.

5. Clean and flour your hands and dust your work surface with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and knead it gently three or four times. Transfer it to the large baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Using a lightly oiled pizza cutter or a serrated knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges, as you would a pizza. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces, leaving at least an inch between them.

6. Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining TB of light cream, then sprinkle the surfaces with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes before serving.

When serving the leftovers, if there are any, warm for 30-45 seconds in the microwave.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

This is one of my new favorite breads. It's also amazing with a mix of Italian spices. The recipe states it makes 2 loaves, but I've only been able to get it to do 1. And, once again, this wonderful recipe comes from the gals at OurBestBites.com. I show it cut up here, because we ate it with my Spinach Dip!


Rosemary Focaccia Bread

1 c. warm (105-115 degrees Fahrenheit) water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. Kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 Tbsp. crushed dry rosemary
2 1/4-2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar. Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until bubbly. While the yeast is getting bubbly, combine 2 C of the flour, salt, 1 Tbsp. rosemary.

Add flour mixture to yeast mixture along with 1 Tbsp. melted butter. Mix well.
Slowly add remaining flour to make a very soft dough--try and resist the urge to add too much flour. You want a soft, wet dough.

Cover and allow to rise 1 hour.

Lightly flour work surface and transfer dough onto this surface. Divide in half (or just shape it all into one loaf). Shape each half into a round loaf and place on a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Cover and allow to rise another 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and mix with remaining tablespoon of rosemary. Brush on loaves and sprinkle lightly with Kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until very lightly golden-brown.

Eat while hot for maximum Yumminess!

Quick and Easy Appetizers - Garlic Naan Bread

"Naan" is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is very popular in South Asia, India, and the United Kingdom. Naan bread can be eaten plain, or topped with meats, cheeses, dips, or dipped into soups. The recipe can include spices or other add-ins. It is a very versatile bread.

I made this the first time for a family Christmas party. It was gone very quickly! My 7 yr old picky eater exclaimed "Mom, this bread is awesome... ohh... it's sooo good!"

That recommendation in itself has earned this flatbread a place of honor in my cookbook!

Garlic Naan Bread
Allrecipes.com

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teas)
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 TB milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teas salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for kneading
2 teas minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup melted butter

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Knead for 6-8 minutes (or use dough attachment), on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside. Let rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled; about 30 minutes.


During the 2nd rising, preheat grill to high heat. I used my pancake grill!

When dough has risen, roll balls out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until puffy and light brown. Brush uncooked side with melted butter, and turn over. Cook until browned, another 2-4 minutes.

Remove from grill, and continue until all of the Naan has been cooked.

Serve with soup, dip, or sandwich makings.

Mom's Cinnamon Rolls

Every year at Christmas, my family continues a tradition that I grew up with. We gather together with our scriptures and the manger scene. Father reads the story of Christ's birth out loud from the Bible, as Mother sets up the manger scene. This tradition brings not only the Spirit into our home, but the Christmas spirit as well. It helps us remember what is truly important in our lives.

Afterward, since refreshments are so vital to any gathering, we usually have Cinnamon rolls and Egg nog. This year, I forgot to go buy the pre-made cinnamon rolls, so I pulled out my cookbook to find my mom's recipe.

This was a new recipe for me, and it was amazing. The process was easy, and the results were phenomenal! The rolls are soft and moist; the filling and glaze is not too sweet.

The recipe makes up to 50 cinnamon rolls, so I was able to take 3 dozen to 3 different families in our neighborhood. Sharing the delights really brought the Christmas spirit alive. I've had all of my gifts ready, but now my heart is ready as well.

Mom's Cinnamon Rolls

3 rounded TB yeast

1 cup warm water

1 TB sugar

Mix together and let sit until mix is foamy.

Next:

2 cups scalded milk; cooled

3/4 TB salt

6 beaten eggs

2 cubes (1 cup) margarine or butter

1 cup sugar

Raisins (optional)

12+ cups flour

Mix all ingredients together except raisins and flour.

Begin adding flour until knead consistency. Dough should be soft. Knead for 10 minutes.

Allow dough to rise until double.

While dough is rising, mix together the cinnamon filling:

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 TB cinnamon

Divide dough into 4 even pieces. Roll out each piece of dough to form rectangles about 1/2 inch thick.

Spread with 1/4 of the cinnamon filling. Add raisins if desired. Roll dough up on long end and slice in 1 inch slices. Repeat with the other 3 sections.

Place rolls in greased baking pans (or on a greased cookie sheet). Sprinkle with Streusel topping:

1 cube (1/2 cup) melted butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Cut butter into flour until pea sized pieces.

Sprinkle sliced almonds on cinnamon rolls if desired.

Sprinkle tops with more cinnamon.

Let rolls rise until doubled.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375.

While rolls are baking, prepare Glaze:

4 cups powdered sugar

1 TB vanilla

Enough evaporated milk to make glaze the consistency of glue. It doesn't take much!

Pour glaze over warm rolls and enjoy... with Milk!

12 days of Christmas... in Food!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....

Cookies and

Pancakes,

Sweet Bread and

Party mix,

Cakes and

Popcorn...

and a secret treasured recipe!!

(hint... I used to sell it!)

Get your spatula ready! Yummy treats coming to count down to Christmas!

Scroll down to see all of the goodies!

Garlic Seasoning

Garlic Bread Seasoning

Recipe found on OurBestBites

So, you have your French bread, butter, and... what to sprinkle on top?

Look no further! The wonderful ladies at Our Best Bites have come up with this amazing combination of seasonings that will leave you wanting more!

I seriously use this on everything Italian! I sprinkle it on pizza, I use it to make spaghetti and pizza sauce... whatever I can!

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. marjoram

2 tsp. parsley

Combine ingredients in a jar (preferably one with a sprinkle top) and shake. Sprinkle on top of breadsticks or combine 1 1/2 Tbsp. seasoning with 1/2 c. of softened real butter and spread on a loaf of French bread (cut in 1/2 lengthwise). Wrap in foil and bake at 375 until butter's melted. If you want, you could also pop it open-faced under the broiler for a few minutes so it gets brownish and crispy.

I had an empty seasoning container, mixed it all up, and keep this mix on hand in the cupboard. It is a wonderful time saver!

Use on Bread and also in Sauces!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Recipe adapted from OurBestBites.com

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. very hot water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 c. shortening

In a heavy-duty mixer, (or by hand!) combine flour and salt. Add in shortening and mix well.
Add HOT water. The hot water helps the shortening melt. Mix until mixture forms a dough.

Divide into portions. Smaller portions = smaller tortillas. Shape portions into round balls.

Preheat a non-stick or cast iron skillet to medium-low heat. Flour your work surface, and roll out the dough into a round shape.

Place dough in preheated skillet. You want the dough to form big bubbles, not small ones. If they are small, reduce the heat.
When bubbles appear, flip the tortilla and cook on the other side. Cook them only until just done, so they stay soft and pliable.

If you are eating them right away, you can just stack them together. Serve with toppings, or eat plain or w/ cinnamon sugar! Yum!

In my Kitchen

I cleaned my kitchen today. Completely.

I did the dishes. Scrubbed the counters. I even handwashed all the big bowls and cookie sheets that had been sitting on top of my microwave for a week... uh... I mean day... ;)

Then I looked around. It was too clean. I can't have that, can I?

So, I started to bake.

It was the kids turn to pick the cookie flavor. They chose Snickerdoodles, so we got out our mix from MegsCreations and went to town.

MegsCreations.etsy.com

Then, as part of dinner, I made Parmesan Popovers. I found the recipe on a blog the other day, and unfortunately, forgot where I found them! They are made with eggs, milk, herbs, parsley, and Parmesan cheese in mini-muffin pans! So tiny! My 3 yr old helped and was so proud of her little "muffins"! I'll post the recipe soon!


We then started on our Honey Whole Wheat Bread which the whole family enjoys. This brought another moment of elation. I don't have a kitchen aid, so have to knead by hand for 10 minutes. BUT... I remembered that the new hand mixer my In-laws gave me came with dough hooks! I was so excited! The job was so much easier with them. The loaves are in the oven right now. Mmmm...

We then proceeded to dinner. I remembered that I had some whipping cream in the fridge that needed to be used. So, I whipped (ha ha) out my cookbook and found a recipe for Alfredo Sauce. I'm not going to post it. It was passable, but my own sauce, made with cream cheese, is SO much better!

For desert, we had a snickerdoodle in chocolate ice cream.

So, for now, I think I'm done! Well, at least until the bread is done...then I'll have a warm slice with strawberry jam... mmm...

Bread Machine Challah Bread

Italian Spiced Challah Bread!

I wanted to make bread in my bread machine, so I searched for a good recipe. This one is A-mazing! Very easy to make, and you can turn it into so many different flavors! Here we go!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Milk
3 Eggs
3 TB margarine/butter
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
1 1/2 teas. active dry yeast

1. Add ingredients to the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. (Usually wet ingredients first, and then dry)

Then do EITHER of these options:
A. Select Basic Bread and Light Crust settings. Start. Bread will be cooked completely!
B.(I did it this way) Select DOUGH settings and press Start.

1. After the machine is done, take the dough out, and place it on a very lightly floured board, punch the dough down, and let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in half. Then divide into 3 equal pieces, roll into ropes about 12 to 14 inches, and braid into a loaf. Do the same with the remaining other half. Gently put the loaves on a greased cookie sheet, mist with water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm, draft free place, until double in size.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water.
4. Brush risen loaves with egg mixture. Sprinkle with sugar. (optional)
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then, cover loosely with foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. This prevents the crust from browning too soon.

Then, check out all the variations I have thought of... and let me know if you come up with more!
* Add 1-2TB Italian herbs to dough. Sprinkle garlic powder on top of loaf after spreading egg/water mixture. This tastes BETTER than Italian Bakery Bread! (The top picture is of the Italian bread!)

* Add Cinnamon, Sugar, Nutmeg to dough. After cooking, drizzle cinnamon roll frosting on top!

*At your machine's add-in cycle, add shredded cheese and spices.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Stouts' recipe

I discovered the recipe for this bread at "Two Peas and Their Pod".

It was pretty simple to make- even without a Kitchen Aid- and is delicious!

The bread has a great texture, and great flavor. I am going to try to make this more often, instead of buying store bread.

This recipe makes 2 loaves. (Sorry for the bad picture!)

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 T vital wheat gluten (find it at Whole Foods, Bob's Red Mill, King Arthur, etc.)

2 packets of yeast (I used rapid rise)

2 1/2 cups warm water

In a large mixing bowl (preferably a KitchenAid), add the 3 cups flour, wheat gluten, and yeast. Stir. Add in warm water and stir until combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup honey

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 T salt

3 1/2-4 cups whole wheat flour

Mix the oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture after the 10 minutes. Mix until combined. Add in the additional flour and mix. Now knead the dough for ten minutes with the dough hook- or by hand! When it is done divide the dough into two loaves. Make sure they are even. Shape them into loaf form. Place the dough into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After the loaves have risen, bake them for 30 minutes. They should be golden brown. Let cool before slicing, if you can wait:) You can freeze one of the loaves if you wish.