Steel Cut Oatmeal Bread

Especially in cold weather, I love to start the day with a bowl of great oatmeal. I love Bob's Red Mill's steel cut oats - they cook into a hearty porridge. It does take longer to cook than rolled oats, so I tend to make a large batch and then keep leftovers ready to heat throughout the week.

Sometimes, though, I want a change from my morning oatmeal. I love to use leftover oatmeal as the basis for bread. Three cups of leftover oatmeal will give you two large loaves of some of the best bread available. I'll confess that sometimes I go out of my way to make a batch of oatmeal especially to use for this bread. Toast made from this bread is absolutely the best!

Steel Cut Oatmeal Bread
by Maurita Plouff blogging at Get the Good Stuff!
Makes 2 loaves

3 cups leftover cooked oatmeal (I like to use Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4+ cups all-purpose OR bread flour

If you make oatmeal especially for the bread, let it cool until just a little warm to your hand. If you're using leftover oatmeal, warm it up a bit and stir it around, so it's not stone cold and has no hot spots. Measurements are approximate, and you should feel free to add a bit more of this, or a bit less of that, to your personal taste.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oatmeal, water, honey, and yeast; stir i.e. enough to break up the oatmeal. Let it sit on the counter for 15 minutes or so.

Add the salt and 2 cups of the flour, and mix very well. Don’t be afraid to beat it hard; you’re developing gluten that will help the bread rise. Add additional flour, mixing well after each addition, until the dough just comes together – it may take 2 more cups, or it may take a lot more, it depends on the weather, the humidity, and the moisture content in the leftover oatmeal.

When the dough will just hold together in a shaggy mass, turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Knead, adding more flour as needed, for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes or so.

After the dough rests, knead it another 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed. It takes a bit of experience to know when you’ve kneaded enough. It will no longer be sucking up flour, the surface will be smooth and a bit less sticky, and it will feel alive under your hands.

Put the dough in an oiled clean bowl, turn it so that all surfaces are greased, then cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk - 1 to 2 hours.

Turn out onto a floured surface and gently punch it down. Shape into 2 loaves, put into greased bread pans, and let rise, covered with a tea towel, until doubled in bulk again.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slash the loaves if you prefer, and bake 30 minutes. Check for doneness: each loaf will look done, and will sound hollow when turned out of the pan and thumped on the bottom. The internal temperature is 190-200°F.

Let the bread loaves cool for at least an hour before slicing.

Caribbean Calypso Pumpkin Bread

This pumpkin bread from the Virginia Hospitality Cookbook is one of my all-time favorites. It's my most requested tea bread from my husband's coworkers and from my sons. I have brightened it up and given it a gentle nudge of heat by using the Spice House's Caribbean Calypso seasoning. The seasoning is rich with citrus zest, coriander, ancho chile, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. It also has a bit of salt, which is why I chose to omit salt from the recipe.

This recipe also makes wonderful mini muffins--just be careful if you go that route. My guys treat them as pumpkin poppers and they're gone in no time at all!

Caribbean Calypso Pumpkin Bread
by Diana

Adapted from Pumpkin Bread in the Virginia Hospitality Cookbook
Yields 9 mini bread loaves

3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
4 teaspoons The Spice House Caribbean Calypso Seasoning
1 teaspoon The Spice House Ceylon "True" Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon The Spice House Ground Allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 9 mini bread loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk the eggs, melted butter and oil together and add to the dry ingredients along with the pumpkin. Mix well. Stir in optional raisins and nuts, if desired.

Divide batter between all nine prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, until loaves spring back when gently touched and toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie Beer Bread

Beer bread is something that I was first introduced to through a Pampered Chef party over 15 years ago. It was love at first bite. I love that I have a homemade version that I can make anytime I want. I make a version of beer bread at least twice a month when the weather is chilly. My kids love a sweet version, so I knew that I had to make key lime bread with the fantastic extract from The Spice House.

Key Lime Pie Beer Bread
by Lindsay Blogging at Kitchen MusingsToday
Adapted from Short Stop Blog's Homemade Beer Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (consistency of flour)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
12 ounces beer (I use Blue Moon, Belgian White)
1 1/2 teaspoon The Spice House Key Lime Extract
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Spread:

1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup local honey
Zest of one lime

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray or grease a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl mix together flour, graham flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and white chocolate chips.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour the beer and the key lime extract into the well, stir together until no dry flour remains. Pour into prepared loaf pan and drizzle melted butter over the batter.

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Spread:

In a small bowl stir together the butter, honey and lime zest.

Sunny Paris Olive and Ham Cake

Have you ever had a tried and true recipe that you make over and over for gatherings? The French love to make savory cakes for outdoor gatherings, picnics and hikes. It's a perfectly portable and delicious treat. One that my family is fond of is an olive and ham cake. It's delicious on it's own, however, once I opened and smelled the Sunny Paris spice blend from The Spice House, I knew that it would take my recipe to a new level, and it did! The spices are so fragrant in the Sunny Paris blend, it will brighten up any dish. I can imagine adding it to vinaigrettes, soups, grilled veggies, fish, chicken, an old shoe...you get the point! It's very versatile.

Sunny Paris Olive and Ham Cake
by Tonda
Adapted and Translated From Marmiton's Cake aux olives

4 eggs
250 grams bread flour - approximately 1 1/3 packed cups (I used King Arthur Bread Flour)
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used an Anjou)
2/3 cup canola oil
1 packet (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) of yeast proofed in 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tablespoon The Spice House Sunny Paris Seasoning
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
1 1/2 cups honey ham, diced in 1/4 inch cubes
1 cup of whole manzanilla olives, sliced
Butter for the loaf pan

Heat oven to 355°F.

Mix the eggs and flour until just blended. Add the white wine and oil and mix until well blended.
Add the yeast and Sunny Paris spice blend, and continue to mix until the spice blend is evenly distributed. Add the cheese, ham and olives and mix until incorporated.

Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan, then pour the mix into the pan. Bake at 355°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Test for doneness and bake longer, if needed. Serve at room temperature.

Tomato Rolls with an Herby Cream Cheese Swirl

I don't know what it is about swirl rolls, but I love making them, no matter if they're sweet or savory. They're just fun.

The rolls are pretty much never identical, which I also like. It's not what you want if you're baking for a bakery, but I like the idea that I can have a small roll if that's what I want, or a larger roll. Or one with more or less filling. Because that's how I am. Sort of random and chaotic.

Tomato powder from The Spice House is an awesome ingredient. It adds a punch of tomato flavor without adding extra moisture, which is great for a lot of recipes where you don't want to add liquid. But the powder is also very useful when you want to add some depth of flavor to a tomato sauce or salsa. Or a meatloaf. Or...well, anywhere you might add tomato paste, really.

Besides getting tomato powder and the Sunny Greek seasoning I used for this recipe, I got a whole lot of other great ingredients to work with. Ancho coffee rub and porcini salt were new items for me, but I also stocked up on toasted sesame seeds and refilled my chip dip mix, which is really awesome stuff.

Tomato Rolls with an Herby Cream Cheese Swirl
By Donna Currie, Cookistry

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon Spice House Sunny Greek seasoning

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 Tablespoons Red Star active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
13 1/2 ounces bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons tomato powder
1/2 cup potato flakes (instant mashed potatoes)

To make the filling:
Combine the cream cheese and herbs in a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside at room temperature until needed.

To make the dough:
Combine all of the ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer and knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic. Cover the bowl and set aside until the dough doubles in size, about an hour.

When the dough has risen, flour your work surface and heat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with baking spray.

Turn out the dough and roll it into a rectangle about 11 x 16 inches. With one of the long sides of the dough facing you. spread the filling over the top of the dough, leaving about an inch uncovered on the far side. It can be easier to spread the filling with your fingertips rather than using a spatula.

Roll the dough up, jellyroll-style, not too tight, and seal the seam when you reach the far end.

If the roll is very uneven, roll and nudge is so it's a fairly even thickness, then cut the roll into 12 even pieces. Place the pieces, with one of the cut sides up, in the baking pan.

Cover the pan and set aside until the dough has doubles, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350°F until lightly browned on top - the sides tend to brown more than the top. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the buns out to cool on a rack.

I received products to work with from The Spice House through 37 Cooks.

Touch-of-Grace Biscuits

This recipe is from Food52 Genius Recipes, and was created by Shirley Corriher. You might know her as the cooking expert who sometimes appeared on Good Eats.

I've cooked a number of recipes from this book, including Fried Eggs with Wine Vinegar, Potato Scallion Cakes, Spiced Red Wine, Caesar Salad Dressing, Chickpea Stew with Saffron, Yogurt, and Garlic, Pasta with Yogurt and Caramelized Onions, Broccoli Cooked Forever, and Gratin of Zucchini, Rice & Onions with Cheese, and they've all been winners. This was one of my favorites, though. I've made it three times, each time slightly different. So it behaves well, even if you have to adapt a bit.

I've made some biscuit recipes where the dough was pretty wet. But this dough is much wetter than any of those. The book describes the dough as looking like cottage cheese, and that's exactly what it's like - lumpy bits with a thinner "sauce."

Not only were these biscuits good right after I made them, but they were good the next day, and the day after that. Most biscuits get stale pretty quickly, but these stayed good for a few days - which was all the time it took them to disappear. They were particularly amazing when I heated them for a few seconds in the microwave.

I highly recommend this recipe. And I urge you to NOT be worried about how wet the dough is.

Touch-of-Grace Biscuits
Adapted from Food52 Genius Recipes
Recipe by Shirley Corriher
Adapted by Donna Currie of Cookistry

2 cups (9 ounces) self-rising flour
2 Tablespoons* sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk (or enough for the dough to resemble cottage cheese - you might need more or less, depending on the flour you use.)
1 cup all-purpose flour, for shaping
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for brushing

Heat the oven to 425°F with the right slightly below the center of the oven. Spray an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray. You could also use butter, but I always have that spray on hand because it's always so handy to have.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Work the shortening in with your fingertips until you don't have any large lumps. Don't get carried away.

Gently stir in the cream, then add the buttermilk until the dough resembles cottage cheese - you might need more or less than 1 cup, depending on the flour you use.

Put the all-purpose flour in a plate, shallow bowl, or pie plate. You don't want to use self-rising flour here, or it will be bitter. Use a medium ice cream scoop (about 2 inches in diameter) start portioning the dough and plopping them into the flour. You can make one at a time, or do 2 or 3, as long as you have space to keep them well separated in the flour.

Sprinkle flour on top of the blobs, then flour your hands and grab a blob and gently shape it into a ball, shaking off extra flour as you go. as you finish each biscuit, place it in the prepared pan, scrunched up next to its neighbors. Continue shaping and placing the biscuits until they're all in the pan.

Bake at 425°F until they are lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. Brush with the melted butter.

Turn the biscuits out onto a plate, then flip again so they're right-side up on another plate. Cut along the seams to separate the biscuits before serving - they don't really pull apart.

*The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sugar, but I didn't want them that sweet, so cut back a bit.

Wheat Bread with Cheddar and Truly Good Food Blackened Pumpkin Seeds

This is not a densely crusted peasant loaf, risen for days and full of yeasty air bubbles; but a softer bread with a tight crumb and interesting morsels of cheese and blackened pumpkin seeds. Great for bruschetta topped with sliced tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and chopped cilantro or enjoyed with thinly sliced Serrano ham piled on top – or toasted and buttered with your morning egg (be mindful of the cheese when toasting!) If ground green chile is not available, substitute a combination of your favorite chili blend and cumin. A round springform can be used, but for sandwich slices, the loaf must first be squared off.

Wheat Bread with Cheddar and Truly Good Food Blackened Pumpkin Seeds
by Louise Chiffonade Brescia

2 packages dry yeast
2 Tablespoons honey
2 cups lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups + 2 Tablespoons bread flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered New Mexico green chile
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese cut into 1/4” dice
1 cup Truly Good Food Blackened Pumpkin Seeds

Place a foil or metal pie plate on oven floor. Have ready a squirt bottle filled with water. Prepare a square springform pan or round springform pan with vegetable spray.

To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast, honey and lukewarm water. The yeast should turn bubbly and foamy after 5 minutes. If the yeast does not react, it is likely expired – discard mixture and start over with new yeast.

Add the flour to the yeast mixture and after a few swift beats of the dough hook, stop the mixer and allow the rough mix to rest for 10 minutes. Turn the mixer on again to low speed and work in the salt and green chile powder. Beat this mixture on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. Pour the dough out onto a floured board or counter and knead for five minutes with well-floured hands and a bench scraper to facilitate turning the dough and to prevent the addition of too much flour. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Raise the dough for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. The dough can be made in advance and at this point placed in the refrigerator for a long, slow, cold rise overnight.

Punch the dough down and add the cheese dice and Blackened Pumpkin Seeds by kneading these ingredients in for about 5 minutes on a floured board (using a bench scraper if necessary). Shape the loaf into a smooth round. If there are any cheese cubes at the surface of the loaf, push them back into the dough and seal by pinching. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with remaining 2 tablespoons flour, and place the loaf in the prepared springform pan. Allow to rise 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat oven to 425°F for 15 minutes.

Just before baking, use a very sharp knife or lame to slit the loaf. Place the loaf in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 375°F. Squirt the water into the pie plate and immediately close the oven door. After 3 minutes, squirt some more water into the pie plate, close the oven door and bake the loaf for 45 minutes; or until an instant read thermometer reads 200°F.

Allow the loaf to cool 5-8 minutes in the springform, then remove the loaf from the pan and allow it to cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Sourdough Bread on the Crisper Mat

I like to make bread, and love to make sourdough bread. I usually have a culture going, sometimes two or three different ones. When the Harold Import Co. sent me a Mrs. Anderson's Bread Crisping Mat, I was eager to try it. Would I get a crispy bottom crust?

And the answer is - yes, indeed I did. I let a free-form loaf and half a dozen rolls rise in place on the mat, then slashed and baked them. I ended up with bread whose bottom crusts are just as crackly as the tops. Look at the second photo - a closeup of the bottom crust. See the little pebbly bits? This is wonderful texture. 

You can use your favorite bread recipe, or even use this mat to crisp up a store-bought loaf. If you'd like my blueprint for sourdough bread, I've included it here - though, of course, you can swap water or beer for the milk, sugar for honey, toss in a handful of chopped herbs or maybe olives and walnuts...you get the idea. Once you start baking, you never know quite where you'll end up.


If you like crust, though - this mat's for you.

Sourdough Bread on the Crisping Mat
by Maurita

Maurita's Sourdough Bread Blueprint

1. Prepare your sourdough culture for use - wake it up
Remove culture from fridge. Add 1 cup white bread flour and 3/4 cup (6 ounces) warm water to the jar; mix briefly. It need not be lump-free. Let stand at 70-85°F for 3 to 8 hours (this will vary) until the culture is actively fermenting, as shown by bubbles on the surface.

2. Mix in more flour and water and let rise
Transfer the active culture (should be 2 cups now) to a large (4-quart) mixing bowl, and mix it with 3 cups flour and 2 cups warm water. Again, it need not be lump-free. Cover with a clean towel, and let rise at room temperature for 12 hours or so.

3. Save a bit for next time

Save and refrigerate 1 cup culture from the 1st proof, before proceeding. I keep the sourdough starter in a glass jar in my refrigerator.

4. Now use the rest to make bread

4 cups culture (that's what's left in the bowl after step 3)
2 Tablespoons melted butter or oil
1 cup milk (2% or whole, doesn't matter)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 Tablespoons honey
Up to 6 more cups bread flour

NOTE: You can substitute 1 cup wheat germ for 1 cup of this flour, or up to 2 cups whole wheat flour for 2 cups of the flour.

Assuming the rest of the culture is in a large mixing bowl, now you're ready to go.

Melt butter, add milk to butter and warm briefly (to 75-85°F) then add the salt and honey, and stir until dissolved. Add this mixture to the culture and mix well.

Add the flour (if by hand, 1 cup at a time; if using a KitchenAid mixer, 5 cups at once) and mix well. Let rest 15 minutes before adding in the last 1 cup of flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny.

Divide the dough and shape into loaves or rolls. Put into greased pans, and let rise, covered with a towel, 1.5-3 hours. When the dough crowns over the pan rims, it’s ready to bake. (Poke gently: if the indentation stays, it's risen enough.) At the last minute, slash the loaves or rolls using a lame or straight razor.

Bake in preheated 375°F oven 35-40 minutes. Loaves and rolls should sound hollow when the bottoms are tapped.

NOTE on pans: If you use 1-pound loaf pans, expect to use 3; if you use 1.5-pound pans, expect to use 2. This makes terrific free-form loaves and rolls.

Green Olive & Pimento Bread with a Hint of Cheese

It should be pretty obvious that I like baking bread, so when I got a chance to work with a crisping mat from Harold Import Company, you'd better believe I put it through its paces.

The surface of the mat is nonstick, so there's no need for cornmeal under the dough. The mat is actually a very fine mesh, so there are holes that allow air circulation under the baking bread. It's really a great idea.

Even if the bread is a little sticky - like a sweet bread that might ooze sugary stuff - or a cheesy bread like the one I made for this challenge - the bread doesn't stick and the mat is easy to clean. It's dishwasher safe, but things like this are awkward in my dishwasher, so I've only washed it by hand.

If you bake a lot of bread, pastries, cookies, or other baked goods where a crisp, non-soggy bottom is preferred, I suggest you give one of these mats a try. And although I haven't tried it, it should be pretty awesome for reheating things like pizza, where you really do want a non-soggy bottom.

I made a round, free-form loaf studded with bits of green olives (and the pimento stuffing) with a little bit of cheese for added flavor.

Since I used a white cheese, it's not visible inside the bread, but you can see flecks of browned cheese bits where it was close to the surface of the dough. The finished bread is rich and savory, with little bits of salty green olive and sweet pimento.

Green Olive & Pimento Bread with a Hint of Cheese
by Donna

1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces shredded cheese
16 pimento-stuffed well-drained green olives, sliced or roughly chopped

Combine the water, yeast, sugar, bread flour, salt and olive oil in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Add the cheese and olives and mix until well-combined.

Cover the mixer bowl and set aside until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.

When the dough has risen, flour your work surface, place the crisping mat on a baking sheet, and heat the oven to 350°F.

Knead the dough briefly, then form it into a tight ball. Place it on the prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Or, what I did was use the empty mixing bowl as a cover. Set aside until the dough has doubled in size and if you gently poke the dough with a finger, it leaves an indent or slowly fills in rather than bouncing back quickly.

Slash the dough as desired and bake at 350°F until nicely browned, about 45 minutes.

Let the bread cool completely on a rack before slicing.

I received two baking mats at no cost to me from Harold Import Company.

Goat Cheese Stuffed Monkey Bread

Goat Cheese Stuffed Monkey Bread
by Christine

Adapted from Sweet Potato Monkey Bread in Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day by Donna Currie

1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mashed sweet potato
4 Tablespoons soft butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 cup honey
2 small logs goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Non-stick cooking spray

In a bread machine, load load the egg, water, sugar, potato, butter, salt, flour and yeast. Use the dough cycle. When cycle is finished place dough in a oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Spray a baking pan lightly with the non-stick cooking spray. Place honey in a bowl big enough to roll a few balls at a time. Cut each cheese log into 12 pieces. Cut dough into 24 pieces. Poke a hole into a piece of dough and stuff with a piece of cheese. Pinch hole closed and roll in your hands to shape it into a ball. Roll each ball in the honey. Place each stuffed ball randomly in the pan. Sprinkle each layer with walnuts. Drizzle any remaining honey on top and cover pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 325°F and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes.

Sundried Tomato, Bacon & Cheddar Mini Epi Rolls

These little two bite pull-apart rolls make a great party appetizer, and the sophisticated wheat stalk appearance is much easier to create than it looks.

Sundried Tomato, Bacon & Cheddar Mini Epi Rolls
by Sarah

Adapted from Bacon, Tomato and Cheddar Loaf in Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day by Donna Currie

3/4 cups warm water
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1/4 cup semolina flour
3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fine
3 strips bacon, cooked till crisp and crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoons fat reserved from the cooked bacon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4.5 ounces old cheddar, grated

Combine all ingredients except cheddar.

Knead until the dough is and elastic and stretchy, about 5 minutes.

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

Prepare two half-size baking sheets with parchment paper.

Divide the dough into two pieces.

Roll out each piece of dough into an approximate 10" x 14" rectangle.

Spread the cheddar over each piece of dough, then roll up. Place each roll onto a baking sheet.

Cover the baking sheets loosely with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the fridge, or up to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake, take the pan out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Just before placing into the oven, cut the dough at a 45 degree angle in 1 1/4" intervals with kitchen scissors, leaving the bottom 1/4" intact and laying each cut piece to each side as you go, alternating sides.

Bake for 15 minutes, then let cool for 10 minutes before removing the rolls from their trays.

Spent Grain Slider Rolls

Do you have any microbreweries near you? Chances are that you do. They seem to be sprouting up all over the place. Aside from making some amazing beer (which is a beverage that I happen to be a fan of), they are a great source for a delicious by-product: Spent grain. Spent grain is malted barley (sometimes roasted, too) that has had most of its sugars extracted for use in the fermenting process.

Any brewery will likely be more than willing to give you spent grain. You'll want to get it soon after it's done being used in the brewing process. I've read that it may begin to produce off-flavors if it sits too long. Your local brewery should be able to tell you when they are brewing so you can pick some up when it’s nice and fresh.

It's a shame to let this grain go to waste. It has tons of flavor left after it's steeped and can be used in cooking and baking. I finally got to try this for myself using a recipe from Donna's new book, Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day, which you can buy on Amazon! I adapted her Honey-Potato Buns into slider rolls using spent grain from Wild Heaven Craft Beers, a local Atlanta brewery.

To store your spent grain, put a few cups in a freezer bag, squish out the air, flatten the bag and put it in the freezer. This makes it easy to store and easy to break off a chunk when you’re ready to bake. Baking the rolls in an 8 x 8 glass baking dish makes 9 perfect slider rolls, ready to use for serving mini hamburgers or your favorite sandwich, with a beer of course!

Spent Grain Slider Rolls
by Jennifer
Adapted from Honey-Potato Buns in Donna Currie’s book Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day

2 ounces (1/2 cup loosely packed) spent grain
4 3/4 ounces (1 cup plus 1 1/2 Tablespoons) bread flour
2 Tablespoons potato flakes
2 Tablespoons dry milk
1/4 cup semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup water, room temperature
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg

1 teaspoon water

The day before you want to bake the bread, process the two ounces of thawed spent grain in a food processor until finely ground and set aside. Mix the next 6 ingredients (flour through the salt) in a medium bowl. Add the processed grain to the dry ingredients and toss to combine. Place the flour mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, stir in the water on low speed. Depending on the water content of your spent grain, you may need to add additional water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Switch out the dough hook for the paddle and knead on medium speed for 4 minutes. Add the butter and knead until fully incorporated into dough, about 2 more minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand 45 minutes.

Spray an 8 x 8 glass pan with non-stick cooking spray. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 9 equal portions. Roll each into a ball and lay the balls in three rows of three, evenly spaced. Cover pan with plastic wrap and put pan into refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake, remove pan from the refrigerator and heat the oven to 350°F for one hour. Whisk egg with one teaspoon water and brush mixture over the tops of the dough balls. Bake rolls for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Candied Jalapeno Pineapple Cream Cheese Buns

 Let me begin by saying that I am NOT a "Baker". I Love to get into the kitchen, mess things up, and come out with a fantabulous meal. But baking kind of scares me. It's so precise, almost an art form. And I'm not really good at it. I like to put my own spin on things, not follow a recipe word-for-word... My sweet friend and co-cook, Donna Currie, however, is a Master Baker- dare I say that she's the Bread Queen! Truly, she is! She's so awesome that she even has her own cookbook that was recently released, "Make Ahead Breads". Please check it out and if you like what you see, go ahead and order it! This book Rocks!

Let me begin by saying that we (the most awesome online cooking group ever, 37 Cooks) were given a small preview of Donna's book. We were asked to choose ONE Sneak Peek recipe of hers and to play around and have some fun. I Loved this idea. So I stepped outside of my comfort zone, big time... I somehow converted "Blueberry and Cream Cheese Buns with Lemon Zest" (Donna's recipe) into "Candied Jalapeño and Pineapple- Cream Cheese Buns with a Pineapple Glaze and Bacon". And they were Wonderful. I did all of the prep work on a rainy Saturday night while watching a football game. Woke up on Sunday (we had a couple of friends stay over that night), pulled these out of the fridge, turned on the oven, and voilà! Instant Brunch. Loved that!

But what I loved most about this recipe was the fact that it was very easy and also proved to be so very versatile. As I said, I don't follow directions as I should, and I like to substitute ingredients with "whatever I have on hand". This method worked so well with this bread! And I loved the "make- ahead" factor. I would actually bake a lot more bread if I knew that I could prep it the day before and simply cook it off when I needed it. So, again, please check out the book, "Make Ahead Breads". It would make a great gift for any baker, and is an awesome addition to any cook's collection!

Candied Jalapeno Pineapple Cream Cheese Buns with a Pineapple Glaze and Bacon

By Chris H.

Adapted from Blueberry and Cream Cheese Buns with Lemon Zest, found in the book,  Make Ahead Bread:100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day by Donna Currie

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon candied jalapeños, chopped and drained
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon crushed pineapple, drained
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small packet (approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 Tablespoons butter, warmed
1/4 cup water, room temperature
2 Tablespoons sugar
8 ounces cream cheese (I used Neufchâtel), softened
1 Tablespoon pineapple juice
Splash of lemon juice

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons pineapple juice
1/4- 1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon (to taste)

Place the candied jalapeños and crushed pineapple into a piece of cheesecloth or a strainer of any sort and allow the juices to drain for at least 2-3 hours, up to overnight. These need to be as dry (liquid-free) as possible.

Combine the two egg whites with enough pineapple juice to make 1 1/4 cup, total. Place the egg and juice mixture, bread flour, brown sugar, yeast, potato flakes, dry milk, vanilla, salt, butter, and water into a stand mixer and mix (using a dough hook) until all ingredients are incorporated and the dough holds together well. You may need to add a bit more water, but do so in small amounts, as the dough should not be too wet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 1-2 hours, until it has almost doubled.

While dough is rising, combine the sugar, cream (Neufchâtel) cheese, 1 Tablespoon of pineapple juice, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well (a fork will work), as it will be lumpy at first but will eventually reach a smooth consistency. Oil or grease a 9x13x 2" baking dish and set aside (I used an olive oil spray, but any cooking spray would work).

When dough has risen, flour your work surface and roll out your dough. You want to make a rectangular shape, about 12x16" in size. I trimmed one long side and one short side, so that when the buns are rolled and cut, they are "pretty" on top... Once dough is rolled, spread (as evenly as possible) with the cream cheese mixture. Leave about an inch of dough (on the long, cut side) uncovered by the cheese. Sprinkle the jalapeño and crushed pineapple over the cream cheese layer.

Beginning with the long, uncut side of the dough, gently roll the dough, jelly roll style, toward the cut (uncovered) end. When you are finished rolling, your dough should look like a log and is ready to be sliced. Starting at the rougher end of the log, gently slice into 12 even sized "disks" and place in the oiled baking pan. The buns will not touch one another, but that is okay. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight (or up to 24 hours).

The next day (or when ready to bake the buns), remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and allow to sit out for about 30 minutes (up to an hour is okay). Preheat your oven to 350, remove the plastic wrap from the top, and bake for 40-60 minutes. Begin checking them at the 30-40 minute mark, as ovens do vary. The original recipe called for approximately 40 minutes of cooking time, but mine took about 55 minutes to cook in the center. While the buns are cooking, make your glaze.

Simply combine the 1 cup of powdered sugar with the 2 Tablespoons of pineapple juice and whisk until no lumps remain. Set aside. Also prepare your crumbled bacon if you have not done so yet. When buns are cooked, remove from oven and drizzle half of the glaze evenly over the top of the entire pan. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the glaze, and, if desired, again drizzle the second half of the glaze over the bacon (or use all of the glaze, then finish with the bacon, if you prefer). Allow buns to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and serve warm.

Hatch Chile and Cheddar Bread – Takes Your Sandwich to the Next Level

This challenge was very exciting because I got a sneak look at Donna Currie's cookbook, Make Ahead Bread, which will be released on November 4, 2014. Donna is a member of 37 Cooks, so it was fun to change up one of her recipes in her new book. I pre-ordered my copy months ago and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival. You, too, can order Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day, available on Amazon. This would make a great gift for anyone who loves to bake, so you need at least two! There was substance to the texture of this bread. It was slightly chewy; it made me wish I had sandwich makings. Instead, Mark and I had to make do with two buttered slices each! My dough was so “alive” it came out of the pan in the refrigerator so be sure and use the correct size loaf pan. I could have trimmed the dough on the side, but I opted not to. It’s homemade and it has character!

Cheese Ball Rolls

We were all so pleased to be invited by Donna Currie's publisher to cook from ten of her incredible recipes from her new book, Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day. I was floored by the beauty of the preview we received of her book. The photography is so gorgeous, I wanted to make and eat every recipe!

The best part of this book, other than the fact that all of the recipes turn out perfect every time, other than the fact that Donna is my friend and I love her and her husband Bob as if they were my own family, other than the pretty pictures, other than there are 100 bread recipes in this book is this: She breaks the recipes down so part of what you do is prep one day and then you bake the next day. This is key for me because I see bread recipes and I think wow, this recipe is too overwhelming with the instruction and the time involved, forget it. Yet, here I am having made these amazing rolls. I feel like a super star!

Mini Everything Loaves

To me, making bread from scratch has always seemed a daunting task. A few years ago, I learned a recipe for a rustic, artisan type loaf and I've pretty much stuck to making that bread for friends and family all year long ever since. I heard it said once or twice that baking is a science. It’s true! It IS a science, but I think it’s more like…well…magic (like nerve impulses in the human body or electricity…MAGIC.) I could not begin to explain to you how baking works, but I know a few things are very important. First, you have to accurately measure your flour (this is VERY important.) You ALSO need happy yeast. Okay, so “happy” is a stretch, but I assume they are happy when they are swimming and foaming up in a bowl of warm, sweet water. Among a few other components, a warm place for your dough to hang out for a while is also important. I know it sounds complicated, but if you trust the process you, too, can master bread making. And Make-Ahead-Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day will set you on that glorious path of coaxing yeasted dough into crunchy, chewy vessels of warm yumminess. Make ahead bread? Really? Yes, really!

Mini Everything Loaves
by Maryjo
Adapted from “Mini Sunflower Seed Loaves” from Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fresh Bread Every Day by Donna Currie

1 1/4 cups warm water (105°F to 110°F)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour, plus more as needed
1/2 cup (3 ounces) semolina flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
Nonstick baking spray
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water)

Place the warm water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl (I actually used a two-cup measuring cup for this step…works like a charm.) Use an instant read thermometer to be sure your water is at least 105˚ but not warmer than 110˚. In about 5 minutes time, the yeast will be all foamy and ready to get to work.

While you’re waiting for the yeast to foam up, combine the bread flour, semolina flour, salt, and oil in a large bowl (I used a stand mixer with a dough hook.) Add the foamy, now very alive, yeast to the flour and mix on low until a dough ball forms and all of the flour has been incorporated into the dough. If you live in a humid climate like me, your dough may still be too wet (sticky.) Just sprinkle a little flour into the mixer (1 Tablespoon at a time) until the dough is no longer sticky. Turn up the speed to medium and knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes, until the dough has a more elastic consistency.

Next, combine the sesame seeds and poppy seeds in a separate small bowl and pour half of the seeds onto the dough ball (reserve the other half to sprinkle on top of the bread.) Continue to knead the dough for another minute on medium speed until the seeds are well incorporated into the dough ball. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a warm damp towel and let is rise until it has doubled in size (about an hour.)

This recipe calls for you to use four mini loaf pans (5 3/4 x 3 inches.) Spray each pan really well with non-stick spray and set aside.

Once the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a floured surface and then divide the dough into four equal blobs (or four equal parts.) Working with one piece of dough at a time, pat the piece of dough into a square equal to the length of the pan you’re using (in my case the dough needed to be roughly 5-inches square.) Roll up the dough into a jellyroll or cinnamon roll type log. Pinch the seam closed, as well as the ends of the log to seal it closed and place it, seam side down, in the loaf pan. Repeat with the other three pieces of dough. At this point you can cover the pans with plastic wrap (seal them in a plastic bag) and refrigerate them for 12 to 24 hours before you bake them. But, I couldn't wait that long, so I baked these the same day.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you did refrigerate your dough, you’ll want to remove the pans from the refrigerator, take the pans out of the plastic bag and let them sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes before baking. Since I didn't refrigerate my dough, I gave the dough another 15 minutes to rise a little more while the oven was heating up.

Combine the remaining sesame seeds and poppy seeds with the garlic granules and onion flakes in a small bowl. Brush each loaf with egg wash and sprinkle each loaf generously with the seeds, garlic and onion. If you are using pans that are close to 5 3/4 x 3 inches, bake the bread for about 20 to 30 minutes. The internal temperature of the loaf should read 195°F on an instant read thermometer.

Remove the loaves from their pans and cool them on a rack before you slice into them.

And now for a word from the author

Getting a cookbook published is like riding a roller coaster. It's all ups and downs, with short sections to catch one's breath every once in a while.

And then work-work-work-work to get to the top of the next hill.

At the very beginning, before the ride even starts, there's a bit of euphoria at the glimmer of hope that there's enough of an idea to even begin writing the proposal.

Because you can't just approach publishers and say, "I gonna right gud fud recipez 4 U."

No, you need a reason why people will buy the book. And unless you're already a household name, that means a good theme. A hook. A reason for people to pull out a credit card and click a button.

Reuben Rye Braid

What a pleasure it was to recreate a recipe from a friend's new cookbook, "Make Ahead Bread" by Donna Currie. Donna is an amazing bread wizard and for me to recreate something from her cookbook is overwhelming. Thankfully, we were allowed wiggle room. I loved doing it and I hope you will try this recipe. It turned out terrific and can be done up to two days in advance. I wholeheartedly recommend this cookbook to everyone!!!

Reuben Rye Braid

by Traci
Adapted from Make Ahead Bread by Donna Currie

Rye Dough:
3/4 cup water room temperature
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour or bread flour
1/2 cup dark rye flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
3 teaspoons room temperature butter

In a medium bowl layer each ingredient, ending with the yeast. Combine well. When it is combined, pour out onto a floured surface. Knead until it is very stretchy and elastic. Place back into bowl and let it rest in a warm space for about an hour. Rye bread takes a bit longer to rise. When it has risen, place some plastic wrap over the top and place it in the refrigerator until you need it.

Filling:
2 cups chopped corned beef
1 cup drained and rinsed sauerkraut
1 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese

I just chopped and grated into a bowl and mixed it together. If you want to layer it in there, that would be terrific also.

To prep the dough:
I pulled my dough out onto a floured surface and kneaded for

about 5 minutes. I rolled into a log shape. I sliced down the middle and then sliced about a quarter of an inch into both sides. I then peeled the sides back. I put the filling into the middle of the bread, pressing down lightly. I then cut slits into the side flaps and folded over the top. I did close off each end.

Bake at 325°F for about 30 minutes. Brush with butter about 5 minutes before taking it out.

Serve with a side of 1000 Island dressing.

A great meal for a hungry group! Please go and get this book. You will never need another one!