Amazing Dutch Oven Crusty Bread

There's nothing better than warm crusty bread right out of the oven a cold winter  afternoon.

This bread is amazing. It has a nice crispy crust, and is soft and chewy when you bite into it.  Great served with butter and on the side with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Or any hearty dinner. It's also the perfect bread for dipping in seasoned olive oil.

It's very easy to make, and I love that you bake it right in your Dutch Oven.

 

Amazing Dutch Oven Crusty Bread

This recipe is adapted from Just Another Day in Paradise. I made a few minor changes to her recipe by adding more flour, less salt, and increased rising time.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 - 5 cups all purpose flour (can use bread flour)
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoons salt

Directions:
1. In a standing mixer bowl, combine the yeast and sugar. Then pour 2 cups of warm water over it. Whisk lightly and allow it to proof by letting it rests for 10 minutes or until it is foamy.
2. In a separate bowl mix 3 cups of the flour with the salt.
3. Add the flour mixture one cup at a time to the yeast mixture in the stand mixer attached with the dough hook. The dough will start to come together, but will be sticky. Add in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes completely together. It still may be a bit sticky at this point.
4. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place on a well floured counter.  Knead the dough for approximately five minutes, or until the dough is smooth. You may need to add extra flour while needing. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover the top  Let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes in warm place.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the Dutch oven inside. Remove the dough from the bowl. DO NOT punch down the dough. Lightly coat both the bottom and the top of the loaf with flour. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and gently place the dough in the center of the Dutch oven. Cut 2 or 3 slits in the top of the loaf.
7. Cook for 30 minutes covered. Then take off the lid and cook for another 7-10 minutes, until the top is golden and crunchy looking.

If you don't have a dutch oven, you can purchase one here.

Enjoy!

Pan de Muertos (Mexican Bread of the Dead)

Dead bread (pan de muerto)

a traditional Mexican sweet bread eaten during Dia de los Muertos.

This bread is made for the November 2 celebration known as the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. Celebrants make a sweet bun-shaped bread that is decorated with finger-shaped pieces to represent the bones of the deceased.

My daughter will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos in her Spanish club today. She volunteered to make and bring this bread in for the celebration.

I absolutely love making yeast breads so I couldn't wait to give this bread a try with my daughter. 

The bread is light and airy. a bit sweet with a hint of anise and orange. It is absolutely delicious with a bit of butter. I think it would be a great bread for any holiday or celebration.

 pan de muerto

 We adapted the pan de muerto recipe from  

Bureaucrats and Baking — City government news and recipes

Bread ingredients:

• 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 packets (1/4 oz. each) rapid-rising dry yeast
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1-2 teaspoons of anise seeds

Bread glaze ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• Granulated or coarse ground sugar

  Directions:

1.  Combine 1-1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, anise seeds, salt and yeast in large mixing bowl. Heat evaporated milk, water and butter in the microwave until mixture reaches 115 to 120 degrees and butter is melted. (Temperature is critical as too much heat could kill the yeast and not enough heat will cause it not to activate).
2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; pour in milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. (No need to use a dough hook). Add eggs and 1-1/2 cups flour; mix well. Gradually add remaining 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups flour , a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until dough is smooth but not sticky.
3. Place dough on lightly floured surface; knead 10 to 15 minutes or until dough is moderately stiff, smooth and elastic. Additional flour may be needed to help prevent sticking. Place dough in large greased bowl; turn over. Cover with greased plastic wrap.
4. Let rise at room temperature for 60 to 75 minutes.
5. Punch dough down. Cut dough into 3 equal portions to make 2 loaves and 1 for decorations. On lightly floured surface, kneading as necessary, shape 2 of the portions into round loaves. Place on greased baking sheets. Keep all dough portions covered with greased plastic wrap to prevent drying of dough.
6. Shape remaining dough portion into 2 small balls and braids or bones. To decorate, place 1 small ball on top of round loaf, surrounding each ball with the remaining braid or bone decorations. 
7. To adhere shapes to dough with dabs of water.
8. Loosely cover bread loaves with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for another 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare  the glaze. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and orange juice in small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until syrup is formed, about 5 minutes. (Mixture may bubble up; remove from heat if it does, stir and then return to heat.) Remove from heat.
10. Bake loaves for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush loaves with syrup glaze. Sprinkle with sugar; return to oven. Continue baking for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Bread after applying the glaze. You can leave it like this or sprinkle with sugar

 

Enjoy!!

Red Velvet Banana Bread

I know what you are thinking .. red velvet and bananas, really, it can't be so???? I thought the same thing. I read Ashton's post about her  Red Velvet Banana Bread on her Something Swanky blog a couple times to make sure she really thought this combination tasted good. And yes, after several re-reads I still questioned the combo. So I tired it myself. Oh my goodness!! It's an amazing banana bread with a hint of red velvet. It's hard to explain. Make it and try it yourself. It's only 4 ingredients. And everyone always has leftover bananas that they don't know what to do with, right? Try it .. really, it's awesome!

 You will need:

• Ripened Bananas
• 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
• Eggs
• Oil 

You can find the Red Velvet Banana Bread Recipe over at Something Swanky Dessert & Design.

Enjoy!