Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I’m so excited about this whole wheat sandwich bread. It is really soft, perfect for toasts and sandwiches. This is the recipe I like to use for whole wheat bread and I love that my kids will eat it with no problem. Yesterday I got a loaf out of the oven and at snack time half was gone. This bread is delicious especially with butter on it. Don’t let whole wheat scare you and try this recipe.

Recipe:

1. All-purpose flour – 250gr

2. Whole Wheat Flour – 150gr

3. Yeast – 2tsp

4. Water – 240ml

5. Salt – 2tsp

6. Oil – 30ml

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead to make a dough, you can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the dough hook. Knead for about 5 minutes, add a little oil to coat the dough and bowl, let it rise for an hour or hour and a half. After rising, shape the dough into a loaf and put it in an oiled loaf pan, let it rise again for about 45 minutes to an hour. Bake at 375°F for about 35-40 minutes.

* Whole wheat bread takes a little longer to rise than white bread.

* Rising time depends on how warm is in your kitchen.

Cinnamon Rolls/Cinnamon Twist

Cinnamon rolls or cinnamon twists? Both are really good. Make the dough and the filling the evening before and in the morning get them ready and bake. 👨‍🍳🥧👩‍🍳

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour- 4 cups

2. Sugar – 100gr.

3. Yeast – 2 tsp

4. Egg – 1 large

5. Butter – 5 tbsp, unsulated and melted

6. Milk -1 cup,warm

Cinnamon rolls filling:

1. Butter – 3 tbsp, soft and unsulted

2. Light Brown Sugar – 1 cup

3. Cinnamon – 2 tsp

Cinnamon twists filling:

1.Butter – 3 tbsp,soft and unsulted

2. Light Brown Sugar – 1/2 cup

3. Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Mix all ingredients and make a soft dough. Oil a bowl(I used the same bowl I made the dough in) and let it rise. If you want you can make it the night before and let it rise overnight. When the dough is ready on a flat surface roll it into a rectangle. Spread butter all over the dough. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread all over the dough except an inch on one side. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces. Put them in a pan and cover to rise again, for about 45 min to an hour. When they are ready preheat oven to 350°F and bake for about 30-35 min.

• For the cinnamon twists simply devide the dough and roll like you would make pizza, then cover both pieces with butter, spread the cinnamon and brown sugar mix on one piece and put the other on top buttered side down. Cut lines and twist them. Put them in a pan right next to each other and cover to rise for an hour again.

• Just before you put them in the oven you can spread on top of the cinnamon rolls/twists one egg and milk whisked well. This is optional, but I do like them better that way.

Cheesy Twists

These Cheesy twists are great for snack, breakfast or dinner, and especially good to dip in soup. These I made with pesto and sesame, but you can make them without it or with other filling. If you wish to add seeds on top you can do that also. Any seeds will work, sesame, poppy or mixed bagel seeds.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 4 cups
Salt – 2 tsp
Yeast – 2 tsp
Egg – 1 large + egg white, save the yolk for spreading on top with 1 tbsp oil
Butter – 2 tbsp, melted
Milk -1 cup,warm
Cheddar cheese – enough to cover the dough
Sesame seeds – for sprinkling on top, optional
Pesto:
Olive oil- 2 tbsp, add more if you need
Parsley – a bunch

To make the dough, mix all ingredients except the cheese, and knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rise for about an hour. In the meantime whisk the egg yolk with olive oil and set aside. Cut the parsley and whisk it with the olive oil, set aside. When the dough is ready, divide it in two equal parts and roll each part into a pizza crust. Spread pesto on both parts, sprinkle a good amount of cheese on one part and cover with the other part. Cut into strips, twist each strip into a spiral. Put each twist on a pan next to each other, cover and let them rise for about an hour. In about an hour preheat oven to 350°F, when oven is ready spread the egg yolk and olive oil mixture on top of the twists, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for about 27 min.
Next time make these with feta, or both feta and cheese.

Parmesan Breadsticks

These snacks are sooo yummy, they will disappear in minutes. This recipe doesn’t have milk or water in it, just melted butter and egg. We all love them so much, I always have to make a double batch. You should really try making them.

Recipe:

1. All purpose flour – about 3 1/2 cups

2. Salt – 1 tsp

3. Yeast – 2 tsp

4. Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

5. Eggs – 1 egg

6. Plain yogurt – 150 gr

7. Butter – 1 stick( 113 gr), melted

8. Feta – 150 gr

9. Parmesan cheese – to your liking

Egg wash -1 egg + tbsp milk for spreading on top

Mix all ingredients and make a soft dough, oil the bowl and the dough lightly and cover, let it rise for about an hour. Then on a floured surface roll the dough to 1/4″. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut strips with a pizza cutter. Whisk the egg with the milk and set aside. Twist the strips as much as you can, when done spread the egg wash and sprinkle Parmesan cheese. When the oven is ready bake for 20-25min.

*The dough won’t rise a lot.

* I’ve made these also without leaving the dough to rise and they’ve turned out just as good.

Hot Chocolate Cookies

These Hot Chocolate Cookies are my favorite Holiday cookies. No fuss and so easy to make. There are a lot of ways to make them using the same recipe, but I’m showing 3 ways here. I’m using marshmallows, white chocolate chips and melted white chocolate chips with oil. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. These cookies are so good they will definitely bring joy around. 🍪🎄 ☃️ 🎁

Recipe:
1. All-purpose flour – 1 1/2 cups
2. Baking soda – 1 tsp
3. Cocoa – 30gr
4. Hot cocoa mix – 40gr
5. Salt – pinch
6. Unsalted butter – 1 stick,(113gr), room temperature
7. Dark Brown Sugar – 100gr
8. Egg – 1
9. Vanilla extract – 1tsp
10. Milk – 1 tbsp(15ml)

White Chocolate Chips – 200gr
Big marshmallows cut in half

In a bowl mix dry ingredients except brown sugar and set aside. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat butter and brown sugar for a few minutes. Scrape the sides down and beat a bit more ( in the video I made a mistake and added the sugar to the dry ingredients, but it worked out fine). Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the dry ingredients in three additions mixing well after each addition. And last add the milk and mix well again, if using chocolate chips add them here. You can refrigerate the dough for 30 min in plastic wrap. Here I used it right away. Make balls a little bigger than a tablespoon size. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
*If using the marshmallows bake for 10 min and take them out, gently press the marshmallow in the center and bake for 2-3 min more.
*If using the melted chocolate chips bake for 10 min, take them out and press in the center using a spoon. Bake for 2-3 min more. When done let them cool a little. In the meantime melt chocolate chips in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds until well melted, add a little oil and stir well. Spoon chocolate in the center of the cookie.
* You can also just drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies.

Sourdough buns

I’ve been making these sourdough buns for a while now. And I have to say we all love them. They are soft and easy to prepare. I made them for Thanksgiving and just now for Christmas Eve and in between. Make the dough in the late evening and the next morning shape the buns, let them rise for about 2 hours in a warm spot and bake. The rising time is long especially if it’s cold outside, that’s why I prefer to make the dough between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. and the next morning I just shape the buns and let them rise for a couple of hours.

Recipe:

1. Starter – 120gr, active

2. Sugar -1 tbsp

3. Unsalted butter- 1/4 cup, melted and warm,not hot

4. Salt – 1tsp

5. All-purpose flour – 350gr.(2 1/2 cups)

6. Water – 170ml ( 3/4 cup), warm

7. Oil for coating

Egg wash: whisk 1 egg and 1 tbsp milk well

Start by adding the sugar and water into a bowl, stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the starter and stir again, add salt, flour and butter and knead until you make a dough. Drizzle a little oil, enough to coat the dough cover with plastic wrap and let it rise overnight in a warm spot( about 12 hours). After rising make the buns and put them in a oiled pan with some space between them, cover with plastic wrap and let them rise again for about 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread the egg wash over the buns just before you put them in the oven. Bake for about 25-30min

Feta Stuffed Dough

These savoury feta stuffed buns are so soft and good. You will want to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In our house they disappear pretty quick. And the good thing is that you can add other ingredients too and they will taste just as delicious. Add anything from meat and cheese or herbs, and you will be amazed how different and tasty they are.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 500gr., if you need more add a little at a time
Salt -1tsp
Sugar -1tsp.
Active dry yeast – 2tsp.
Milk – 200ml.
Olive oil- 60ml.
Eggs -2
Feta cheese -200gr.
For the top:
1 egg + tbsp of milk

Add all ingredients and make a soft dough, coat with oil and let it rest until it has doubled. On a surface roll into a thick circle, cut into 8 pizza slices. Roll the slices in a ball,then flat and stretch each ball a little with your fingers. Next, using a rolling pin roll them out thin, cover a good area with feta and roll into a log, then roll the log itself. Put them in a pan and cover with plastic wrap to rise again for 30min. In the meantime beat 1 egg +tbsp of milk , set aside. After 30min preheat the oven to 375° and after the oven has preheated spread the egg and milk mixture over them. Bake for about 28min.
You can spread butter over the buns, let them rest for about 10min.before you do that.