A Touch Of Flour

Welcome to my wonderful blog about one of my favorite past times BAKING! These are healthy, homemade recipes that one can do at home and have fresh delicious bread for example ;-) Embrace the doughy goodness. It's lots of fun and way better than store...

[touchofflour]

Hello Readers!

I have created a new logo for the blog Yays! It can be viewed on both our facebook page & twitter page as well. Also I am sorry that this post isn't about a new recipe but very soon I will get back to posting up wonderful new delicious recipes for now, check out our older articles.

Ciao,

~Touch Of Flour

"Remember embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Awesome Yogurt Cake (With Peanut Butter, Honey, And Dill)

Hello! I am so excited to finally return after a brief absence, and with me I have brought an original creation that dawned upon me in the kitchen one day when I was out of both eggs and milk  so I decided to make a cake out of yogurt but not just that since I was out of toppings and my choices were limited I decided to use peanut butter as a icing and then add a dash of honey and dill. I also left part of the cake without icing so that it could be dunked in coffee as that is what I like to pair with food in the mornings it really is a wonderful cake for breakfast! Let’s learn the ingredients I used and measured on a whim!

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 Cups Of Flour

1 Cup Of Yogurt

⅔ Cups Of Butter

1 Cup Of Sugar

½ Teaspoon Of Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Of Salt

½ Cup Of Water

Icing:

Little Bit Of Peanut Butter

Lightly Drizzled Honey

Dash Of Dill

Well now that you have taken note of all the ingredients you need it’s time to well put it all together in the lovely steps I shall instruct you on how to put together this random ordeal I created. ^_~

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 F. While the oven is preheating take out a large mixing bowl or you can use a electric mixer yeah I got one as a present over the holidays. I love my electric mixer anyway so add to your large bowl first the dry ingredients which is the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar mix these with a spoon even if you have a electric mixer as you don’t want it flying all over the kitchen! Next before once again starting the electric mixer add yogurt, butter (softened/whipped), and the water make sure if you are using a mixer please start the speed slow and then progress as the dry ingredients are absorbed. Also please make sure if you are using a mixer to use the whisk attachment, if you aren’t using a mixer you may use a whisk by hand at this point. Make sure the batter is thick but yet still flowing in nature you know like cake batter basically.

Step 2: Take out a small square cake pan or a small round cake pan, place it in the oven and wait about 35 minutes but checking periodically as baking time may vary with altitude as well as how your oven heats. The top will look very solid in nature, you should be able to do the toothpick or fork test to see if it is done by poking it through the center of the cake if it is done it will come out clean. Once it is done cooking you have waited set it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes.

Step 3: If you want you can add the toppings I did or you can eat it plain with coffee, but at this point you would add the peanut butter, honey, and dill after it has cooled. Also important note is the center of the cake will almost be like cheese cake in fact the texture will be similar. Then you would serve and enjoy!

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

"Remember embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

French Onion Muffins

Onions are a autumn harvest vegetable and today I am excited to share with you a very own creation of mine. I thought to myself I love onions especially French Dip so I created guess what putting creative genius of 2+2 together French Onion Muffins! That's right and the flavor was sooooooooooooooo perfect I am extremely proud to teach you how to make this recipe in this article. So let's get started with listing the ingredients!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Of Flour

2/3 Cups Of Sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Of Salt

2 Eggs

6 Tablespoons Of Butter (Melted)

2 Teaspoons Of Vanilla Extract

6 Ounces Of Cream Cheese (You can buy this amount in any grocery store it's the smaller containers of it!)

½ Of A White Onion (Chopped, diced)

3 Small Green Onion Bundles (Finely chopped)

Now that we got the items you are going to need listed it's time for the fun part putting this recipe together and baking it!

Step 1: First off please preheat your oven to 400 F. While the oven is preheating take out a large mixing bowl and set that aside, get out your ingredients and after prepping the onions on a clean cutting board chop up your onions dicing them into small pieces the best you can. Save the unused half of your white onion in a container and put it in the fridge for later use with another dish. Now set aside your diced onions and green onions in a small bowl we will get back to them don't add them to the mixing bowl just yet!

Step 2: In the large mixing bowl add your liquid ingredients first such as your egg yolks, melted butter, and vanilla extract mix these well together. At this time please now add the onions and cream cheese into the liquid mixture stir them around in it, until the cream cheese is blended the best you can (it maybe a little lumpy still). Now put that to the side take out a medium sized mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients together such as the flour, baking powder, and sugar mix them very well together making sure it is all well blended.

Step 3: Time to put the two mixtures together! Add your dry ingredients from the medium bowl to your large bowl with the liquid ingredients and onions, mix very well until blended into a creamy batter. Next get out the muffin pan as it's time to distribute the batter, if you have paper baking cups to line your muffin pan with place them in the pan now if not use a little bit of oil or butter to grease the pan lightly (Don't over do it no one likes grease muffins!) After you have prepped the pan begin spooning your batter into the cups making sure it is neatly distributed, clean up any mess on the outer rim as it will be hard to wash off later when you go to wash dishes, basically it will dreadfully burn onto the pan and you don't want to scrub off now do you?! (Keeping the kitchen and dishes you are using helps clean up be a lot quicker after you are done baking.)

Step 4: Lastly let's place them in the oven for baking, wait time to eat the deliciousness will be about 35 minutes this breaks down into 15 minutes around about for baking and 20 minutes to cooling which is essential as you don't want to eat something that is too hot and burn yourself. Anyways, enjoy!

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

"Remember embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Matzah Ball Soup

Matzah ball soup is what we are going to learn about cooking today. I am not Jewish but I thought this dish would be interesting to make putting my slight own twist to it, that's the fun of cooking though right, embracing other cultures through food! Let's get started shall we as usual by listing the ingredients I used.

Ingredients:

For The Matzah Ball Dough

2 Cups Of Flour (This is a estimate I didn't have Matzah meal/unleavened flour used in this recipe just all purpose)

2 Eggs

2 Tablespoons Of Oil

Fresh Cilantro

Oregano

Pepper

For The Soup Broth

2 Quarts Of Chicken Broth (I used water and a vegetarian organic chicken flavored bouillon cube non-msg)

2 Large Carrots (Sliced into large pieces)

Small Sprig Of Cilantro For Garnish

Now that we have that listed it's time for the steps of making this delicious dish!

Step 1: Take out a medium sized pot to cook the broth add the 2 quarts of water and bouillon cube set heat to 5/medium. Let that start boiling now chop up your 2 large carrots add them to the broth and allow to heat to boiling temperature until carrots are cooked an no longer crunchy.

Step 2: While the broth is boiling time to make the dough for the Matzah balls first off get out a large mixing bowl and add your liquid ingredients such as the egg yolks, oil, also be sure to add in at this time your flavorings such as the chopped fresh cilantro, oregano, and pepper. Mix these ingredients well together until blended, now add in the flour until it is a no longer liquid like dough but can be rolled into a ball easily upon a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into balls setting each one to the side when finished.

Step 3: Check on your broth to see if it is lightly boiling (not rapidly boiling) slowly with a ladle add in the Matzah balls. After you have added all of them be sure that the soup stays at a light boil if it has increased in temperature to a rapid boil please turn down the temperature slightly. Now wait about 15 minutes or until the Matzah balls are floating at the surface this means they are finished cooking. Plate, add the garnish, serve and enjoy!

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

"Remember embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Autumn Muffins (With Yellow And Red Bell Peppers)

A delicious edition to our fall ensemble today we are going to do a little something different with baking! I made up this interesting combination off the top of my head and it was very tasty! I added both yellow and red bell peppers to my muffins chopped it gave it a wonderful light sweet flavor. Anyways on to the listing of ingredients. I will of course as always let you know which ingredients I have added if I am using a basic recipe you are always welcome to add or alter the recipe as you see fit that is the awesome power of baking being able to exercise your creative side of your brain.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Of Flour

2/3 Cups Of Sugar

1 Tablespoon Of Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Of Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Of Milk

6 Tablespoons Of Butter (Melted)

1 Teaspoon Of Vanilla Extract

1 Medium Sized Yellow Bell Pepper (Chopped diced preferably, I added this in)

1 Medium Sized Red Bell Pepper (Chopped diced preferably, I added this in)

Now that we got the items you are going to need to mix up listed let's move on to the steps of putting this dish together!

Step 1: First off please preheat your oven to 400 F. While the oven is preheating take out a large mixing bowl and set that aside, get out your ingredients and after prepping the bell peppers on a clean cutting board chop up your bell peppers diced the best you can removing the core and all the seeds. We want a slight taste not overwhelming and peppers hold most of their flavor in the seeds that's why jalapeños for example are more spicy when the seeds are in place. (We aren't using those peppers by the way I was just listing a example.) Now set aside your diced bell peppers in a small container we will get back to them don't add them to the mixing bowl just yet!

Step 2: In the large mixing bowl add your liquid ingredients first such as your egg yolks, melted butter, vanilla extract, and milk mix these well together. At this time please now add the peppers into the liquid mixture stir them around in it. Now put that to the side take out a medium sized mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients together such as the flour, baking powder, and sugar mix them very well together making sure it is all well blended.

Step 3: Time to put the two mixtures together! Add your dry ingredients from the medium bowl to your large bowl with the liquid ingredients and peppers, mix very well until blended into a creamy batter. Next get out the muffin pan as it's time to distribute the batter, if you have paper baking cups to line your muffin pan with place them in the pan now if not use a little bit of oil or butter to grease the pan lightly (Don't over do it no one likes grease muffins!) After you have prepped the pan begin spooning your batter into the cups making sure it is neatly distributed, clean up any mess on the outer rim as it will be hard to wash off later when you go to wash dishes, basically it will dreadfully burn onto the pan and you don't want to scrub off now do you?! (Keeping the kitchen and dishes you are using helps clean up be a lot quicker after you are done baking.)

Step 4: Lastly let's place them in the oven for baking, wait time to eat the deliciousness will be about 35 minutes this breaks down into 15 minutes around about for baking and 20 minutes to cooling which is essential as you don't want to eat something that is too hot and burn yourself. Anyways, enjoy!

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

"Remember embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Pumpkin Spice Bread With Carrots & Brown Sugar Glaze

We are baking bread again today, bread has to be my favorite thing to bake! I always get so happy/jolly once I hear that oven timer go off and it’s done, no matter what mood I am in fresh bread I made cheers me up! Today we are going to take a page from the season which is Autumn and introduce you to a creation I came up with ingredients I had around being as I need to go to the grocery store soon. Anyways, so I made pumpkin spiced bread with carrots and a butter glaze with a little brown sugar sprinkled on top. It came out very delicious and just felt like it was part of the season, you can of course make this year round as always but it makes it that much more special if you reserve it for the fall season. ^_^ Let’s get those ingredients listed!

  Ingredients:

  ¾ Cup Water (Warm, this is a must it wakes up the yeast!)

  1 Package Of Active Dry Yeast Or 2 ¼ Teaspoons Of Yeast (if using the jar kind)

  1 Teaspoon Of Salt

  1 ½ Tablespoon Of Sugar (This is to wake up the yeast)

  ½ Cup Milk (If you are out of milk you can add a little extra butter instead)

  3 Cups Flour (You may need less than this amount depends on how moist the dough is)

  4 Tablespoons Of Melted Butter (This is an estimate as I just get a regular spoon and add a glob of a spoon to a small microwave container and melt it for about 30 seconds)

  Pumpkin Spice (I added this in)(Which is made up of cinnamon, freshly ground jamaican allspice, & nutmeg.)

  1 Carrot (Diced)(I added this)

  Little Bit Of Brown Sugar (this is for topping that I added along with a little bit of butter lightly for glaze)

  This recipe makes about one loaf of bread it takes about 3 hours to make with prep and baking time total but it is well worth the wait as you will have fresh bread for the whole week or bit longer if you store it properly in a container. Do not store in plastic wrap as this in some humid areas will cause it to mold quicker!  Well that was a fun little tip that I try to keep in my recipes for bread to make sure you guys are aware of it also another fun tip that I am going to add to this awesome addition to the bread recipe category is that if you set bread out in dry clean area it will start to dry out and you can break it down and make bread crumbs from it, store the bread crumbs in a container and there you go, you just made your own bread crumbs and once again saved as much food as you cool reducing your waste. Awesome! Now on to the steps of how to bake this masterpiece!

  Step 1: In a large mixing bowl add the warm water and slowly stir in the yeast making sure it is all dissolved. Then mix in the sugar until it’s disappeared mostly. (I can’t stress that step enough please don’t forget your sugar it’s important to add it now!) Now wait about 10 minutes so set a timer as this is another very crucial step as it allows your yeast to wake up. (Yes yeast is a micro living organism that is dried so it’s sleeping and needs to make slight foam bubbles so don’t be alarmed if you come back and your water looks foamy. ^_^)

  Step 2: Now you can start adding your other ingredients mixing in each one such as the salt, butter (which you should melt), and the milk stir all these ingredients in, also at this time add in your pumpkin spice, and dice up then add your carrot.

  Step 3: After you have mixed in really well all of the other ingredients it’s time to add the flour, I recommend stirring a cup at a time of flour to make sure you don’t add too much. Stir until the dough is no longer moist and it basically follows your spoon around.

  Step 4: The fun part time to knead your dough, first put flour on a cutting board if you have one if you don’t just use a clean counter top, make sure the surface is well floured then grab your dough from the board and start kneading until it is nice and smooth.

  Step 5: You can skip greasing your dough as you have already mixed the butter inside it! So just place your dough back in the bowl, cover it with a dishcloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.

  Step 6: Wootz! You have made it this far now it’s time to preheat the oven to 375 F I usually do it about 350 F depending on your oven as to avoid having the temperature too high while baking the bread.

  Step 7: While the oven is preheading take your dough out of the bowl start kneading it one last time of course on a floured board.

  Step 8: Finally, after all that form the lovely dough into the shape you prefer, or if you have a loaf pan like I do place the dough into a loaf pan and kinda of shape it inside the pan. Cut 3 slashes into the dough with a kitchen knife, cover the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes.

  Step 9: After waiting 30 minutes to let the dough rise one final time uncover the dough, glaze with a little bit of melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar on top and place in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes depending on your altitude this maybe more or less bake until the bread is firm and no longer doughy in texture.

  Step 10: Before enjoying a slice of your tasty fresh loaf of bread let it cool on a baking rack. Then slice and enjoy!

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Pumpkin Spice Recipe

In this lovely article I am going to tell you all how you can make your own pumpkin spice with spices you already have in your pantry! That’s right you don’t have to rush to the store when the fall season comes knocking on your door! Oh no you can make this simply and easily and save money in the long run because come on who the heck uses a whole entire thing of pumpkin spice it just sits on the shelf, and you foolishly bought something that well you really don’t need cause it’s all marketing. It’s pretty simple to make ^_~

  Ingredients:

  Freshly Ground Jamaican AllSpice

  Ground Cinnamon

  Ground Nutmeg

  Ground Ginger (This is optional because well I didn’t have any and was out when I made this and it still tasted great this just gives it a little warmth in taste)

I didn’t list any specific amount well because I didn’t measure any of it I just mixed it together as I needed for a dish and tasted the mixture adding a bit more of a spice if needed I am going to list the steps it’s pretty simple though. ^_^

  Step 1:  Get out a small bowl, add in your cinnamon, next your nutmeg, and ginger (if you choose to use it)

  Step 2: On a clean hard surface place your jamaican allspice upon it (especially if you don’t have grounding tools), take a chef’s kitchen knife (the very large ones) and using the flat side of it the knife basically laying on it’s side (don’t get your hand close to the sharp edge please be careful not to cut yourself!), now press down on once again on the flat surface of the knife until the all spice starts to break apart, after you get the spice into small pieces as possible add it to the bowl mixture.

  Step 3: Stir all the spices together, taste, add as need and ta-da pumpkin spice! Now enjoy in your favorite fall recipe!

 Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Pumpkin Spice Flavored Pumpkin Seeds

Today we have a very special blog post in which I have decided to feature my lovely carved pumpkins XD as you can see below at the very bottom of this post, but also the beginning of the fall baking season at least I feel we are going to do something a bit Halloween themed hence the pumpkins. ^_~ What’s that awesomeness we are going to make pumpkin spiced flavored pumpkin seeds, how you are wondering well I don’t have any pumpkin spice well I will show you how pumpkin spice is made up of three other spices you would never expect you think they are made out of pumpkin when they aren’t. You may have these spices already in your cabinet I will also be dedicating a separate post just to this as well so you can have the recipe handy on it’s own so you don’t have to go OH MY! I don’t have any pumpkin spice!, Next time you are baking you don’t have to worry freak, rush to the store, unless of course you are out of one of three of these spices. LOL Here we go first let’s list the ingredients, this is a pretty simple recipe but simple is good.

  Ingredients:

  Several pumpkin seeds (Cleaned as I assume like I did when you got done carving you saved the seeds)

  Freshly grounded Jamaican allspice (the secret to pumpkin spice)

  Ground Cinnamon (again another secret to it)

  Ground Nutmeg (the third element to it)

  Ground Ginger (optional to me at least for the pumpkin spice because I was out without this it tasted just as good)

  Now on to the steps of this awesome first fall themed article! There are a few methods to cooking your pumpkin seeds some people boil theirs and then bake them, me I went straight to the baking they are bit more crunchy this way if you choose to eat them with the shell that is.

Step 1: Get out your pumpkin you are going to carve and well carve it make a face or whatever kinda of festive art you want on it, but first make sure you empty out the gooey insides place the seeds in a strainer, this is important so you can wash them off.

  Step 2: After you finish carving your pumpkin sit it out in the sun to dry if it’s sunny out that is. Preheat the oven to 250 F. Now while that is happening prepare you seeds for baking wash the orange gooey stuff off you may leave a little on for flavor if you wish. Get out a cookie sheet, you don’t have to grease it, place your washed seeds on the sheet, then sprinkle some salt on top of the seeds. If you have any seeds left over after you do a quality check and find some that have sprouted or are really puff save and dry those for planting for next year if you wish.

Step 3: Let the seeds bake for about 12 to 20 minutes depending on your oven, until they are no longer translucent basically in look and are crunchy in taste. Now in a small bowl combine the spice stir them together and taste until you get that pumpkin spice flavor, now add some of your pumpkin seeds to the bowl or you can add all of them and kinda of just mix them around in it and it will sorta of coat them in the flavor.  Now you can store them with the spices in a plastic bag or small container for later because I doubt you want to eat all of those at once. LOL ^_^

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Butter Glazed Carrot Pancakes

Oh look another article in the same day, today we are talking about pancakes but not just any pancakes my awesome pancakes that for some reason I make really thick and fluffy, that they look like giant pancake biscuits, I get dough/batter happy and pour a bit more than is called for in the pan but this is my style okay and fills one up for hours! XD Let’s get to the ingredients these pancakes are basically ones you can have for breakfast, brunchfast, or literally lunch even! I will always indicated my modifiers as usual to the basic recipe so you can alter as you see fit. Also, I had no syrup and you don’t have to have syrup I made my own sauce which I will explain below. ^_~

  Ingredients:

  For The Pancakes

  1 ½ Cup of flour

  3 ½ Teaspoons of baking powder

  1 Teaspoon of salt

  1 Tablespoon of sugar

  1 ¼ Cup of milk

  1 Egg

  3 Tablespoons of butter (melted)

  1 Large carrot (diced) (I added this)

  2 Small green onions (chopped) (My addition)

  Masala (I added this)

  Curry Powder (My addition)

  Cumin (I added this)

  Nutmeg (My addition)

  Ground Cinnamon (I added this)

  For The Butter Sauce Topping

  Sunflower seeds (Non-shell, Unsalted)

  2 Tablespoons of butter (Melted, this is an estimate)

  Now that we got that ingredient listing out of the way and you can see what you need or want to not add or replace to make the recipe your own creation if you wish or you can follow mine let’s get started on learning the steps of cooking the pancakes because you just gotta be even more hungry after reading this I know writing this is slightly making me hungry. LOL ^_~

  Step 1: Get out a large mixing bowl combine the dry powder ingredients first flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and the spices. Mix them together and set the bowl to the side.

  Step 2: Wash your veggies and begin to chop on a clean surface the carrots and the green onions. Add the veggies to your mixing bowl where the powdered ingredients are and stir them together again kinda of toss them like a salad until they are nice and mixed in.

  Step 3: Time to add your liquids to the mixture, first add your milk, then melt your butter in a microwavable dish for 30 seconds add it to the mixture as well, lastly crack open your egg into a small bowl, beat your egg, then add it to your mixture. Now stir all of the ingredients in blending all of them really well until you have basically a batter like dough with of course veggies in it LOL.

  Step 4: Grease your frying pan slightly with a very small amount of butter and turn up the stove top to medium heat. After the pan warms up enough about a minute take your batter and spoon or slowly pour onto your frying pan allow each side to cook until it becomes firm like and bubbles on each of the sphere like sides, flip over and allow the other side to cook. Keep doing this until you have used up all of your pancake batter. Once you are done you will need to plate them and make the sauce for the ones that are going to be served to eat.

Step 5: Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave using a microwavable dish. Now take some non-shell, unsalted, sunflower seeds add them to the butter and mix together. Now drizzle the sauce onto the pancakes, serve, and enjoy! ^_^

Written & Baked By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Patty Cake Make A Potato

Here is one of my completely made up dishes being as I don’t recall at this point in my life seeing a cake of this nature made mostly of potato that is. I am calling this “Patty Cake Make A Potato”, I thought this name was cute and sort of creative. ^_^ It was originally suppose to be potato sticks but I totally screwed up the recipe because well I added the egg yolk and milk to the dough mixture instead of glazing it. I also decided to go further into making this dish more of a dessert/cake by topping it with both sesame seeds and brown sugar these two ingredients really make the  dish come alive as a dinner dessert. It’s also great to have a slice for breakfast if you want a little sugar in the morning as a wonderful alternative to the sugary pastries such as donuts for example. Anyways let’s get to showing you how to make this wonderful discovery that was a accident and just blossomed from there. ^_~

  Ingredients:

  5oz or 2 to 3 Small potatoes (Sliced I also left the skin on them but you can peel them if you prefer)

  10 Tablespoons of butter

  1 ¼ Cups of flour

  Pinch of salt

  1 Egg yolk (The yellow middle part make sure you separate the clear liquid without bursting the yolk I will explain how below)

  2 Tablespoons of milk

  Sesame seeds (For the topping)

  Brown sugar (Again for the topping)

  Now that you got all that down and making sure you have the following ingredients though you may choose not to add or change the portions as you see fit to make it slightly different if you wish, its your dish and that’s the fun of baking. Anyways let’s get to those steps LOL

  Step 1: This is one of the most important steps cook your potatoes for about 20 minutes on the stove top with water in a pot after prepping. After waiting the amount of time needed and the potatoes are nice and tender strain them and without touching them as they are still hot transfer them to a large mixing bowl wait until they are cooled about 15 minutes.

  Step 2: Now that your potatoes are cooled preheat the oven to 400F, get out your masher, and start squishing them until they are nice and fluffy mash! Then melt your butter 5 tbsp at a time in a small microwave container for about 30 seconds and pour in with your potatoes. Also add in the milk, salt, as well as the egg yolk which I will now take the time to explain the process which you must do before adding it in. Okay the egg yolk you are going to need a small bowl, crack your egg gently down the middle so that it splits in half slightly but not too much that you break too much of the shell or inside starts falling out before you get it over the bowl. Make sure your egg is over the bowl now gently pry apart the two halves, shift the yolk without busting it and in a slow motion from left to right making sure it lands in the egg shell and that the egg whites are dripping down into the bowl, make sure that your egg shells are also at a tilted angle. Once you have done this repeatedly until the yolk is separated add the yolk to your large baking bowl along with the potato, milk, & melted butter. You may so you don’t waste food save the egg white to be in another dish or fry it up on its own but it must be used that same day! (This prevents it from going bad if you forget about it and it’s just best to do so.)

  Step 3: Now add the flour mix together in the potato egg, milk, butter mixture into it forms a nice stiff like dough you may need more flour but I was fine with just the 1 ¼ Cups. Once the dough is ready and the ingredients are all mixed together grab all the dough from the bowl and roll it into a huge ball, make sure the ball is smooth. Next, set aside and take out a cookie sheet (a cookie sheet is best because you don’t have to grease it) place your giant dough ball on the sheet and using your hands squish it into kinda of a huge round disk but not too flat it needs to have a couple inches of depth so it’s like a small cake form. ^_^ After you have done this step sprinkle on the sesame seeds & brown sugar, put in the oven, and wait 10 to 12 minutes until it is golden brown or the dough is firm, a little crunchy like in texture but still fluffy we don’t want it way too crunchy no fun eating a cake that's like brittle. You should be able to test using a fork or toothpick if it comes out clean it is done! Now wait for the dish to cool then slice and enjoy! ^_^

Baked & Written By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Creamed Potatoes With Dill & Split Peas

Okay last night I got potato happy and have again another article on this awesome potatotastic day, I really love this word that I made up. LOL Anyways todays recipe had Swedish inspiration from it and we will be making some creamy potatoes! This recipe I would kinda of put in the soup/sides category it’s just something a bit different I wanted to bring to the blog. Let’s get down to outlining the ingredients shall we, and as always I will not what special things I have decided to add or not add to make this dish my very own. I encourage as always for you to get creative and do the same.

  Ingredients:

  2 ¼ lbs Small potatoes (You can choose to peel these but I love leaving the skin on, I also sliced them so they would cook quicker)

  Salt and pepper

  ¾ Cup of milk (I used milk because I didn’t have heavy cream but you can switch this out)

  Dill (I used dried because I didn’t have fresh just sprinkle alot in the mixture)

  Split Peas (I added dehydrated version of plain split peas make sure they have nothing else added to them or you will alter the flavor of the dish)

Now that we have the ingredients listed its time to use them to make this dish let’s outline the steps. ^_^

  Step 1: This step is always important when working with potatoes boil them first for 20 minutes after slicing and prepping them! While waiting if you are making this dish as a side to another dish get started on that dish or just relax.

  Step 2: Now that 20 minutes has passed and the potatoes are done boiling strain them but don’t rinse them because you are going to add them right back to the pot you boiled them in, without touching them as they are hot just use your strainer to pour them back in the pot. Add your potatoes back in now mix in your milk, dill, and split peas bring to a gentle boil and stir occasionally until the split peas are no longer crunchy. Please be careful not to burn the milk/cream!  After the mixture is done cooking serve and enjoy. ^_^

Baked & Written By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Herb & Cheese Potato Scones

It’s a potatotastic day! Here we are and it’s mid-week wednesday and today’s post is going to be a mixture of baking I guess you can kinda of classify it as such once again we are going across the Atlantic and grab a dish that is very Scottish in nature and blend it a bit with my American charm ^_~ We are making Potato Scones today! So let’s get started as always I will tell you my modifications so that you can learn the basics and change up the recipe as you see fit.

  Ingredients

  For The Potato Scones

  3 Medium sized sliced potatoes (non-peeled but you can peel them)

  1 Teaspoon of salt

  2 Tablespoons of butter (You may need extra to grease the pan but add this while potatoes are hot)

  1 ½  Cup of plain flour (This is a estimate you may need a little more or less also don’t forget to dust your board)

  Fresh rosemary leaves chopped (This is my added ingredient)

  Fresh basil leaves chopped (Another added ingredient of mine)

  Fresh peppermint leaves chopped (Again an ingredient I added)

  Sharp cheddar cheese grated (I added this in when the potatoes were still hot so it melted)

  Pinch of mozzarella shredded (I did the same as the cheddar cheese added while potatoes were hot)

  For The Garlic Butter

  1 Clove of garlic diced

  A bit of whipped butter in a tiny bowl or dish (Amount varies on how many servings you need)

  Little bit of horseradish

Now that you have a lovely view of what ingredients you will need listed out before you and the categories on which ingredients apply to the scones themselves and what applies to the topping/spread you may use an alternative to the garlic butter if you so choose for whatever reason you have this is not a requirement just my choice on what I ate with my potato scones, also if you are serving these to guest it maybe best to offer an alternative for them so they have choices on what to add to their scones. I like offering options to people if I am serving more than just myself and others in my household who may not like garlic butter. Just means more  for me to save for later on some bread XD Anyways it’s time to move on to the steps on how to cook these yummy potato scones I know just reading this is making you hungry because as I am writing this it sure is making my stomach growl a bit. LOL

  For Steps For Making The Potato Scones

  Step 1: This is a very important step cook your potatoes (If you slice them they will cook faster) for about 20 minutes in boiling water, some people salt the water but I skip the salt as I don’t know I am going to add a pinch of salt to the dough mixture.  While that is boiling just relax or you can do the prep work for the rest of the recipe which is the next step LOL your choice on what you do while you are waiting.

  Step 2: Here’s something you can do during those 20 minutes you are waiting get your herb leaves picked, washed, and chopped if you aren’t using store bought ones if you are using store bought ones then you will just need to wash and chop! Set aside your chopped herbs.

  Step 3: Drain the potatoes, do not rinse them with cold water! You are going to need them hot please be careful and don’t touch them either or you will burn yourself use your strainer or the drained pot you boiled them in or tongs if you don’t have a strainer, now pour or place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl without using your hands basically. Here comes the fun part bring out your masher and squish some potatoes! Mash the sliced potatoes until they are nice and smooth.

  Step 4: Add the butter and salt please stir in with a spoon as the potatoes should still be hot. Mix in your already prepped rosemary, basil, and peppermint, now grate your cheddar over the mixture to as much cheesey goodness as you like and add a little bit of mozzarella stir in until properly melted the cheese that is leaves don’t melt. LOL Then start adding the flour in until it makes a very firm dough. Wait about 5 to 10 minutes as to make sure the dough is cool enough to handle.

  Step 5: Time to prepare the dough for cooking and turning it into something you can eat I bet your stomach is starting to growl more and more if you aren’t already snacking on some cheese or some other random food during the wait times of this recipe. Anyways, your dough should be cool enough to touch and mold into a ball but first before placing it on a cutting board or nice clean surface you need to flour it or your little fun project with the dough will become annoyingly messy more messy than it needs to be causing possibly dreadful sighs and wondering why didn’t I just flour my surface and rolling pin. Okay, you have done the crucial step of flouring now shape your dough into a round ball rolling it in the flour a little bit, then make sure flour is underneath before doing this but take your hand and squish it into a small pancake like shape the best you can just make sure it looks like a small round then take your rolling pin and try not to flatten it as much as I did mine, yeah I get rolling pin happy and squish my dough a little flatter than it needs to be that it starts looking like potato pancakes don’t do that it needs to look kinda of like the thickness of half a biscuit, or you can always use a cookie cutter to cut out the rounds after rolling the dough into a giant ball and then rolling it out so they look perfect and don’t look like mine which are a unique shape all on their own but they sure were delicious. ^_^

  Step 6: Take our your grill or frying pan and lightly grease it placing your shaped dough on or in it if you are using a frying pan the temperature should be set at medium heat depending on your altitude especially if you are using a stove top. Please be sure to let each side cook for about 4 to 5 minutes flipping over make sure it is golden brown it can be slightly darker than that like mine and still taste delicious but this is the soonest it will be done don’t take it off till it’s at least a golden brown. Now after they are all done you can make up the garlic butter while they are cooling to be just the right temperature to eat.

For The Garlic Butter

  Step 1: Place some butter in a small bowl preferably whipped the kind you buy in the store that comes in a tub/container stick butter will make this process take longer but can be done the butter just has to be softened slightly I don’t recommend this unless you have mastered the art of butter softening as too soft of butter can be melty more than needed.

  Step 2: This shouldn’t take too long but if you aren’t that quick at chopping put your butter in the fridge after placing it in the bowl if you are using the whipped kind otherwise if you are using the stick butter and it hasn’t finished softening while you are waiting dice the garlic. Make sure the pieces are small as too big of a piece will be a very garlic tasting experience and one will not taste much else! So after chopping that up it’s onto the next step.

  Step 3: Now that you are done dicing up your garlic into tiny pieces take out your butter and the jar of horseradish from the fridge. Add the horseradish and garlic into your small bowl with the butter mix the ingredients together, taste a very tiny amount as eating butter by itself is not a good habit to do especially if its a large amount you are just tasting to see if the flavors have been blended to wear you like them to be. After you are done tasting a tiny amount of the butter mixture serve along side your potato scones and enjoy!

  Baked & Written By:

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness!"

[touchofflour]

Scones Topped With Honey

Hello, everyone today we are going to travel a bit across the Atlantic to introduce you to the art of baking scones which I love they are wonderful addition to any meal, or even a side snack with coffee or tea. Let’s get started shall we. As usual I will list any modifications to the recipe that I did personally you are welcome to as always cook this anyway you want because it’s your dish. ^_^

  Ingredients

  5 teaspoon Butter stick or whipped butter (I used the whipped butter for this about 1 ½ cups because was out of milk -_-)

  1 ½ Cups Of Flour (I used all purpose flour this is a estimate you may need to add a little more till the dough is at a consistency to roll out)

  Pinch Of Salt

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  1 Egg For Glazing (you can also use butter, jam, honey or ect.)

  ½ Cup Of Milk (I didn’t use this because I was out of milk as it went sour before the due date I used extra butter)

  Honey (This is my ingredient I used to top the scones after they were done baking)

  Now that we got the ingredients established it’s time to learn the steps so we can make something tasty here we go.

  Preheat the oven to 425 F. If you are using a cookie sheet like I used you don’t have to grease your sheet especially if you used the butter like I did. Then in a large bowl add your butter and salt mix together then set that to the side and in a medium bowl mix the flour and baking soda.

Now take your flour baking soda mixture and add it to your butter. Mix the ingredients with your hands make sure you wash them so they are nice and clean before doing this, shift the ingredients around until almost firm dough is formed and butter is no longer getting stuck to your hands.

Here is the fun part take your dough roll it in a ball and place it on a clean flat surface such as a large cutting board is what I used then take a rolling pin and roll out your dough but don’t flatten it too much. Next take a round ordinary cookie cutter and cut out the round shapes.

Finally, place the round dough on the cookie sheet and glaze with the egg or whatever you choose, this dough depending on how thick you cut it can make anywhere from 1 to 2 cookie sheets. I used a medium and small one to fit all of mine on. After getting the dough placed put in the oven for about 10 minutes may vary on altitude as well as the way your oven is. After the deliciousness is done baking allow a bit to cool then add the honey or whatever topping you wish when you plate them. I added honey because well I love that stuff it’s good for allergies if you get the local kind. ^_~

Written & Baked By,

~Touch Of Flour

Remember: "Embrace the doughy goodness."

[touchofflour]

Vegan "Meat" Pie

  So last night I tackled baking my first pie and it just so happens I chose to make a Vegetarian version of a Meat Pie. Why? Out of curiosity you may wonder well a little personal about tidbit about me I guess I will share I eat a mostly Vegetarian diet (Lacto-Ovo, as well as fish), so I decided to make a pie out of ingredients I had around in my kitchen. I was going to add tofu to this recipe but I kind of forgot about it in my early dawn hours of baking, in which I decided to bake before having coffee. -_- So I will add it next time I bake it as it was amazingly a hit in my household to the point that well, there are only 2 pieces of pie left and I only at 2 so far and I made about 10 servings of pie let’s say the other person has eaten 4 slices LOL! The pie has been stored away in the fridge and I hope there will still be 2 slices in there for dinner. I have my eye on that pie like a hawk trying to make sure of it but so glad it is loved but very hard to keep around apparently that is how delicious it has turned out after the slight mishaps while baking it. ^_^ Anyways as always I didn’t really use a basic recipe for this it was kinda of on a whim so with that said the only notation about ingredients will be the tofu and the fact I forgot it. Now with that out of the way on to telling you how to make it yourself. I have broken up the ingredients in categories to make it a little bit easier to follow the steps such as gravy, veggies, and dough.

Ingredients:

For The Gravy

2 Cubes Of Not-Chick’n Flavored Bouillon

5 Cups Water

1 ½ Cups Flour

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Pinch Salt

Sprinkle A Bit Of Pepper To Taste

For The Veggies

1 Large Carrot Diced

½ Of A Large Eggplant Diced

Small Piece Of Leek Diced

½ Of A Small Yellow Onion Diced

1 Half Of A Pack Of Grape Tomatoes Whole

1 Square Of Tofu Diced (I forgot to add this when I originally baked this)

For The Dough

3 Cups Of Flour (Estimate add as needed)

3 Cups Butter (3 Sticks Of Butter)

Pinch Of Salt

After you have all those ingredients it’s now time to learn the steps to mixing them together to get a awesome tasting pie like mine. Here we go I have also broken it down into the same categories until it gets to where I combine the ingredients:

Steps To Making The Gravy

In a medium sized pot add the 5 cups of water and drop in the bouillon cubes allow to boil or heat until the bouillon cubes have dissolved completely in the water. Stir occasionally.

Slowly whisk the flour into the broth, continue until majority of the lumps are gone and the mixture has started to thicken into a gravy.

Now remove from stove top, add one tablespoon of butter stir in while the gravy is still hot off the stove. Next add the salt and pepper blending into the mixture. Leave in pot to cool.

Steps For Prepping The Veggies

While the water is waiting to boil with the gravy you may already start this step as that is what I did and finished up while it was cooling just a tip to make things go a little quicker. Anyways, in a medium sized bowl as you dice each of the vegetable ingredients upon your cutting board add it to the bowl.

Mix the vegetables together with a spoon so that they all are jumbled together like a colorful tasty looking salad but don’t eat them just yet no matter how hungry you seem as all this deliciousness is for the pie. ^_~ Set the bowl of veggies to the side no matter how tempting they look.

Steps For The Dough & Finishing The Dish

First preheat the oven to 350 F. Then in a large mixing bowl add 3 cups of butter stir together with a pinch of salt, now slowly add each cup of flour stirring in with a spoon until the dough is a solid form and is no longer sticky in nature basically it looks kinda of like squishy rocks.

This is important before rolling out the dough lightly dust it with flour as you roll it into a ball on a lightly floured surface, this is key because when you go to use the rolling pin this prevents a gooey sticky mess from the dough flattening.

Bring out a square casserole dish or a deep pie pan I had a casserole dish so I made a square pie. As you flatten and roll out the dough take and shape each piece to the bottom and sides of the dish, squish the dough together with your fingers if you need be to fuse the pieces together into one huge shape.

Now rinse your hands off if you haven't yet from working with the dough, as we are going to take a brief break to combine the filling ingredients together take the now cooled off gravy and add it to the medium bowl with the chopped vegetables mix the ingredients with a spoon.

After mixing the filling ingredients with a spoon, slowly take the same spoon and add it to the pie pan on top of the crust. Please make sure that after adding it is all uniform in the dish and packed down that it doesn’t overflow the rim of the dish but lines up exactly with it, if your dish is too short for the amount you added spoon out the excess as it is important that the filling is not over a certain amount due to the next step.

It’s time to add the top layer to the pie, wow almost done you can do this (this was the harder part for me) make sure to if you haven't roll out the dough then gently place it over the filling like a blanket making sure it forms perfectly over the top rim of the dish. Break off any excess hanging over the dish rim as it is unneeded. Now take a fork and along the edge press it against the dough forming a kinda of decorative shape but this also seals the dough shut, so it is important you do this before adding it to the oven.

Final step before we hoist it away to bake into something wonderful that will get rid of our hunger, I highly recommend cutting a few slits into the inner section of the top layer of pie dough this allows the pie to breathe basically and helps cook the filling a bit better. Now it’s time to cheer the moment has come to add this masterpiece to the oven! Please allow I know this can be hard when hungry for the pie to bake for about 20 to 30 minutes depending on your altitude and oven itself, bake until the outer crust is crispy, as well as golden. If you have made it this far congratulations enjoy the tasty goodness you have created. ^_^

What my whole finished first pie looked like LOL it didn't look perfect but it tasted fantastic! ^_~

    Baked & Written By,

  ~Touch Of Flour

  Remember: “Embrace the doughy goodness!”

[touchofflour]

Onion Bread

    Here we go again with my favorite thing to bake bread! Today we are baking onion bread! Please be aware as always I will tell you which ingredients I have personally added along with the basics of making each recipe so that you can get creative and modify as you see fit to make it your own personal style which is totally the fun in baking/cooking your own food!

Ingredients:

¾ Cup Water (Warm, this is a must it wakes up the yeast!)

1 Package Of Active Dry Yeast Or 2 ¼ Teaspoons Of Yeast (if using the jar kind)

1 Teaspoon Of Salt

1 ½ Tablespoon Of Sugar (This is to wake up the yeast)

½ Cup Milk (If you are out of milk you can add a little extra butter instead)

3 Cups Flour (You may need less than this amount depends on how moist the dough is)

4 Tablespoons Of Melted Butter (This is a estimate as I just get a regular spoon and add a glob of a spoon to a small microwave container and melt it for about 30 seconds)

1 Large Onion Diced (I used this in my bread mixture which I explain where to add below yes it’s going to be in the dough ^_^)

Rosemary (I used dried rosemary but you can use fresh as well) (You are going to sprinkle this on before baking ingredient I added)

This recipe makes about one loaf of bread it takes about 3 hours to make with prep and baking time total but it is well worth the wait as you will have fresh bread for the whole week or bit longer if you store it properly in a container. Do not store in plastic wrap as this in some humid areas will cause it to mold quicker!

Now on to the wonderful fun steps of making tasty goodness:

1.    In a large mixing bowl add the warm water and slowly stir in the yeast making sure it is all dissolved. Then mix in the sugar until it’s disappeared mostly. (I can’t stress that step enough please don’t forget your sugar it’s important to add it now!) Now wait about 10 minutes so set a timer as this is another very crucial step as it allows your yeast to wake up. (Yes yeast is a micro living organism that is dried so it’s sleeping and needs to make slight foam bubbles so don’t be alarmed if you come back and your water looks foamy. ^_^)

2.    Now you can start adding your other ingredients mixing in each one such as the salt, butter (which you should melt), the milk, and the onion (please make sure to dice it) stir all these ingredients in together.

3.    After you have mixed in really well all of the other ingredients it’s time to add the flour, I recommend stirring a cup at a time of flour to make sure you don’t add too much. Stir until the dough is no longer moist and it basically follows your spoon around.

4.    The fun part time to knead your dough, first put flour on a cutting board if you have one if you don’t just use a clean counter top, make sure the surface is well floured then grab your dough from the board and start kneading until it is nice and smooth. Tip if the onion pieces kinda of pop out while kneading just squish them back in the dough as you go.

5.    You can skip greasing your dough as you have already mixed the butter inside it! So just place your dough back in the bowl, cover it with a dishcloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.

6.    Wootz! You have made it this far now it’s time to preheat the oven to 375 F I usually do it about 350 F depending on your oven as to avoid having the temperature too high while baking the bread.

7.    While the oven is preheating take your dough out of the bowl start kneading it one last time of course on a floured board.

8.    Finally, after all that form the lovely dough into the shape you prefer, or if you have a loaf pan like I do place the dough into a loaf pan and kinda of shape it inside the pan. Cut 3 slashes into the dough with a kitchen knife, cover the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes.

9.    After waiting 30 minutes to let the dough rise one final time uncover the dough, sprinkle the rosemary on top and place in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes depending on your altitude this maybe more or less bake until the bread is firm and no longer doughy in texture.

10.    Before enjoying a slice of your tasty fresh loaf of bread let it cool on a baking rack. Then slice and enjoy!

Baked & Written By,

~TouchOfFlour

Remember: “Embrace the doughy goodness!”

[touchofflour]

Delicious Tea Cookies (With Rum & Coffee Flavors)

  I like to call these Tea (Coffee) Cookies as they are great to serve with either beverage they are better known as Spritz Cookies though. These cookies in general are very simple to make I modified the original  basic recipe and added a few extra ingredients I have noted which ingredients were added in so if you so choose you can  always alter or cook as the basic recipe. On to the yummy deliciousness shall we. ^_^

Ingredients:

3 ½ Cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 ½ Cups / 3 Sticks Butter (Softened, or you can use the Whipped Butter)

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg (large preferably)

2 Tablespoons Milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

½ Teaspoon Almond Extract (I did not use this ingredient)

1 Teaspoon Rum Extract (My added ingredient)

2 Teaspoons Of Any Fresh Brewed Coffee (My added ingredient, I used Chocolate Rasberry Flavor)

3 Teaspoons Of Sugar (My  added ingredient to balance out the flavors)

⅔ Cups Flour ( My added ingredient as the mixture was a little bit more moist than need be)

You may modify the ingredients further if you want to make a smaller batch as this makes about 5 cookie sheets, I alternated between a medium sized sheet and a small sized sheet having one in the oven and the other one prepped with shaped cookie dough ready to go in next. I also used a cookie press to shape the dough but you don’t have to use this tool but it is handy and cuts down on prepping for cooking.

Here’s how you mix all those lovely ingredients in the following easy to do steps.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a small mixing bowl mix up the flour and baking powder.

Next in a separate large mixing bowl whisk the butter and sugar together until fluffy texture may vary slightly if you are using the pre-whipped butter instead of the sticks.

Then in the same large mixing bowl as the butter sugar combo mix in the egg, milk, extracts, and other flavors you wish to add.

Now combine the ingredients from the small mixing bowl (the flour and baking powder) into the large mixing bowl (with the butter sugar and ect.) mix together with a spoon until the dough is no longer liquid like if need be add a bit more flour and sugar to help get it in a more solid form.

Here’s the easiest part if you have a cookie press fill the press with the dough and just with a few clicks it just magically is on the cookie sheet in a pretty shape or design. How effortless was that. XD

Da Da Dum! The final step after prepping the cookies on the cookie sheets insert them in the oven and wait about 8 to 10 minutes. So set your timer as you will have to do this a few times as I recommend only adding one cookie sheet at a time depending on your oven. The oven I have only likes one cookie sheet in the middle anywhere else and they will burn!

After waiting 8 to 10 minutes from now with each cookie sheet place the baked cookies on the cooling rack. If you had made 5 sheets of cookies this will take a total of 45 to 50 minutes with all the cookie sheets but when you get done you will have a supply of cookies that will go with your morning coffee or even tea that will last you for a few days to a few weeks depending on how cookie happy you get in munching on your finished product. Enjoy!

Baked & Writted By,

~TouchOfFlour

Remember: “Embrace the doughy goodness!”

[touchofflour]

Cheesey Bread

Here we go with my favorite thing to bake bread! Today we are baking cheese bread out of the many different kinds of bread. Please be aware as always I will tell you which ingredients I have personally added along with the basics of making each recipe so that you can get creative and modify as you see fit to make it your own personal style which is totally the fun in baking/cooking your own food!

Ingredients:

¾ Cup Water (Warm, this is a must it wakes up the yeast!)

1 Package Of Active Dry Yeast Or 2 ¼ Teaspoons Of Yeast (if using the jar kind)

1 Teaspoon Of Salt

1 ½ Tablespoon Of Sugar (This is to wake up the yeast)

½ Cup Milk (If you are out of milk you can add a little extra butter instead)

3 Cups Flour (You may need less than this amount depends on how moist the dough is)

4 Tablespoons Of Melted Butter (This is a estimate as I just get a regular spoon and add a glob of a spoon to a small microwave container and melt it for about 30 seconds)

Grated Cheese (I Used Cheddar) (You are going to sprinkle this on before baking ingredient I added)

This recipe makes about one loaf of bread it takes about 3 hours to make with prep and baking time total but it is well worth the wait as you will have fresh bread for the whole week or bit longer if you store it properly in a container. Do not store in plastic wrap as this in some humid areas will cause it to mold quicker! It’s also a great tip if you buy bread from the store though I don’t recommend it as it isn’t as delicious as making your own bread it also is made from the same material as yoga mats and has a bunch of additives and preservatives it’s way better to make you own but if you must *sigh* taking it out of the plastic in which it was placed in and putting it in a container will extend the life out of it especially if you live in a moist humid area.

Now on to the wonderful fun steps of making tasty goodness:

In a large mixing bowl add the warm water and slowly stir in the yeast making sure it is all dissolved. Then mix in the sugar until it’s disappeared mostly. (I can’t stress that step enough please don’t forget your sugar it’s important to add it now!) Now wait about 10 minutes so set a timer as this is another very crucial step as it allows your yeast to wake up. (Yes yeast is a micro living organism that is dried so it’s sleeping and needs to make slight foam bubbles so don’t be alarmed if you come back and your water looks foamy. ^_^)

Now you can start adding your other ingredients mixing in each one such as the salt, butter (which you should melt), and the milk stir all these ingredients in

After you have mixed in really well all of the other ingredients it’s time to add the flour, I recommend stirring a cup at a time of flour to make sure you don’t add too much. Stir until the dough is no longer moist and it basically follows your spoon around.

The fun part time to knead your dough, first put flour on a cutting board if you have one if you don’t just use a clean counter top, make sure the surface is well floured then grab your dough from the board and start kneading until it is nice and smooth.

You can skip greasing your dough as you have already mixed the butter inside it! So just place your dough back in the bowl, cover it with a dishcloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour.

Wootz! You have made it this far now it’s time to preheat the oven to 375 F I usually do it about 350 F depending on your oven as to avoid having the temperature too high while baking the bread.

While the oven is preheating take your dough out of the bowl start kneading it one last time of course on a floured board.

Finally, after all that form the lovely dough into the shape you prefer, or if you have a loaf pan like I do place the dough into a loaf pan and kinda of shape it inside the pan. Cut 3 slashes into the dough with a kitchen knife, cover the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes.

After waiting 30 minutes to let the dough rise one final time uncover the dough, sprinkle the cheese on top I once again used cheddar and place in the oven to bake for about 45 minutes depending on your altitude this maybe more or less bake until the bread is firm and no longer doughy in texture.

Before enjoying a slice of your tasty fresh loaf of bread let it cool on a baking rack. Then slice and enjoy!

Baked & Written By,

~TouchOfFlour

Remember: “Embrace the doughy goodness!”