Portuguese Sweet Bread

Portuguese Sweet Bread

adapted from Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Breads

5 1/2 - 6 cups flour

2 packages yeast

1/2 cup sugar

2 t salt

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, diluted with 1/2 cup warm water

1 t vanilla

1 t lemon juice

3 eggs, at room temperature, plus 1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup raisins

1 stick butter, at room temperature

2 T sugar

Combine three cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well and add diluted milk, vanilla, and lemon. Add eggs and gently stir until combined. Add raisins. Beat in butter. Add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until it can be gathered into a rough ball. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, about ten minutes. Place in bowl with greased fingers, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, about two hours.

Punch down dough, divide in half, and allow to rest for ten minutes. Form each half into a ball and let rise for one hour. Brush the dough with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until they are golden and a skewer comes out clean and dry, about one hour.

WFD-Dinner Menu

Meat Manicotti Shell
Dinner Salad

Salmon
Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf

Sweet/Sour Chicken
Rice
Mixed Veggies

Chicken Ring
Salad

Homemade Pizza

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf
Rachel ~ burns_toast

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375*.
Heat butter in a skillet; add garlic and rice and cook until both are golden brown. Add 1 cup of broth and the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and pour into a covered casserole; bake for 25 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups broth; cook for another 45 minutes.
This can be doubled without increasing the cooking time

Christmas Tree Bread

Christmas Tree Bread
Michelle (MMmom) from The Twelve Teas of Christmas

This recipe makes two trees. It can be halved if needed.

2 packages active dry yeast
½ c warm water
1 ¼ c buttermilk
½ c sugar
2 eggs
2 t baking powder
2 t salt
5 ½ c flour
½ c butter, softened

For icing (two trees)
2 c powdered sugar
2-3 T milk
1 t vanilla
(icing can be tinted with food coloring)

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Add buttermilk, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, salt, and 2 ½ cups of flour. Beat on low speed, scraping the bowl constantly, for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, for 2 minutes.

Stir in remaining flour. Dough will be soft and slightly sticky. (If dough is not coming together, add a small amount of flour and mix.) Turn dough onto a well-floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Divide dough in half to form two trees. Shape each half into 18 balls. Form tree shape with balls in rows of 5, 4, 3, 3, 1 on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Roll remaining two balls together for trunk of tree. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet carefully and cool.

Mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together. More milk can be added if icing is stiff. Decorate the trees with icing. Trim with candied fruit, nuts, sprinkles, etc.

flatbread

Cheesy Garlic Flatbread
~*~Sandy~*~

BREAD
1 1/4 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

TOPPING
2 T butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Layer bread ingredients in bread machine pan, select the dough cycle.

Prepare a baking stone or sheet – spray with non-stick spray, sprinkle with cornmeal.

When dough is finished, remove from pan and stretch into a rectangle, lay on prepared pan. Brush the dough with butter, sprinkle with garlic salt. Top with cheeses. Set in a draft free location to rise for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, place oven rack in lowest rack position; heat oven to 450ºF. Bake 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

Without the Machine:
In a cup or small bowl, sprinkle yeast over the surface of warm water. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to dissolve. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Pour in the yeast mixture. Beat with a sturdy spoon until dough is stiff enough to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover, and set aside until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.







Roasted Garlic Variation-Add 2 TB softened butter to the ingredients before starting the dough cycle. Add flour 1 TB at a time as needed if your dough is too sticky. Add several cloves of roasted garlic to the dough during the last kneading cycle (I use one head). After stretching out dough, brush with olive oil that garlic roasted in before topping with kosher salt and cheese.



Pizza variation-Lower oven temperature to 425. Add 2 TB of olive oil to the ingredients before starting the dough cycle. Increase salt to 2 tsp. Add flour if needed if your dough is too sticky during kneading cycles. Roll out on floured surface with rolling pin to fit large cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkled with cornmeal, or divide dough to make 2 smaller round pizzas. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Homemade Mac and Cheese SUBMITTED BY: Judy PHOTO BY: Linda

"This is a nice rich mac and cheese. Serve with a salad for a great meatless dinner. Hope you enjoy it."
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PREP TIME 20 Min
COOK TIME 30 Min
READY IN 50 Min

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 pinch paprika

DIRECTIONS
Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
2 t. salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Cream together shortening, sugar and brown sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla, cream together. Add soda, salt and flour, stir until mixed. Add chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet. Bake 350 10-12 minutes.