Soft Refrigerator Rolls February 1, 2007

Getting bread to cooperate is not a strong point of mine. That is why this has to be the easiest, most foolproof bread I have ever made. I especially like that you can make this bread ahead of time and let it rise in the refrigerator. It makes it easy to have fresh bread for dinner even when you have been at work all day.

Ingredients:
1 ½ packets of yeast
1 1/3-cup of warm water (110-115-degrees)
¼-cup white sugar
½ Tbsp salt
3-cups all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 ¼-cup flour

Combine the yeast and warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, salt, and flour, once combined beat in the egg and vegetable oil. Then stir in the remaining flour. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and refrigerate overnight. When ready remove the dough and form into 16 rolls. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes and then bake in a 375-degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Makes 16 rolls.

This makes a very soft roll and is conducive to many different shapes, standard round, clover, and knot. It is also easy to brush with butter and sprinkle garlic powder on top of the rolls to make garlic rolls.

Beer Bread January 2, 2007

I discovered beer bread a couple years ago at a party, ever since then I haven’t stopped raving about it. The hostess who made the beer bread told me that her bread came from a mix. Much to my dismay when I scoured my local grocery stores I found no beer bread mix. So I turned to the Internet. I came across several recipes and then concocted my own super easy beer bread recipe.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/3-cup sugar
pinch of salt
12 oz beer

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Mix together the dry ingredients. Mix in the beer. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

It doesn’t get much easier than that and anytime I serve this at a party I get rave reviews. I prefer to serve beer bread with spinach dip but a nice ranch dip is good too. This recipe is highly adaptable. Instead of white sugar you could use brown. And any type of beer will work with this recipe, I tend to use a light lager, but if you prefer a stronger flavor then use a stronger beer. You could also add other ingredients to the bread such as dried or fresh herbs, cheese, jalapenos, whatever your heart desires. Adding half a cup of cheddar cheese and a fourth cup of diced jalapenos and cutting down on the sugar would make an excellent bread to serve with chili. So use your imagination or make the bread plain, either way it is delicious.