St. Anthony's Day bread

Buona Festa di San Antonio a tutti!

Today is the feast of the great Saint Anthony of Padua! Traditionally on this day, Italian Catholics would start the day with Mass, followed by the Priest blessing animals, lilies, and bread in honor of the charitable San Antonio!

Likewise, Italians traditionally exchange loaves or baskets of bread rolls with other families as a token of prosperity and health that they may never go hungry. It is a long standing practice among past generations, and it's something we need more of today. Warm, freshly baked bread makes a great gift for any family, especially when it's blessed! So today, I've got my latest whole wheat bread recipe for all of you.....

Except this one is kind of cheating!! I use my bread machine to do most of the work, and then I take all the credit. The machine mixes, kneads, and rises the dough. Then, when that's all done, I simply roll it out and bake it! Perfect for a pregnant mammarella who won't be caught barefoot in the kitchen for TOO long!

NOTE: Most bread machines can accommodate a 2 lb. loaf (which this recipe's dough capacity is) but if yours does not, simply cut this recipe in half. Also, if you do not have a bread machine, you can always use this recipe with a hand-kneading method (but really, why would you want to?)

Bread Machine Rolls

Pane di San Antonio!

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3 tsp. salt

1 heaping TBSP. Active Dry Yeast

1 heaping tsp. vital wheat gluten

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

1 1/2 cups very hot water

1 egg, beaten

Add the oil, water, honey, and egg into your bread machine container. Mix the dry ingredients (except for the yeast). Add the dry ingredients on top of the liquid, maintaining the separation of the liquid & dry layers. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the yeast. Turn on the bread machine (set on a 2lb dough cycle) and wait patiently!!!!

When the dough is done, remove it from the bread machine. This dough will be wet and sticky. Use enough all purpose unbleached flour to coat it and make it workable.

You can shape it into rolls like this:

OR you can braid it into a

pull-apart loaf like this:

This recipe makes a soft, fluffy dinner roll. If you want a crisper bottom, try baking it on a pizza stone with a water bath in the oven, but it really is not meant to be a crusty loaf, yet it still tastes AWESOME and is versatile enough for almost any meal!

Homemade Crackers (better than wheat thins!)

Now that summer has made it's debut, we have been having a lot more get-togethers with family and friends. One of the easiest hoers derv's to serve is cheese & crackers.

Given my obsession with cheese during this pregnancy, and all the milling of fresh whole wheat flour that I have been up to lately, I decided to make try my own crackers from scratch!

The recipe is a piece of cake, and worth it once you get the hang of it. I can't say I'll make these all the time, but they are WAY healthier than the store bought variety and JUST as tasty!

WHOLE WHEAT CRACKERS

4 tbsp. butter, softened

1 1/4 whole wheat flour (all purpose would work as well)

1/2 tsp. salt + more for topping

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup cold water, as needed

Cut the butter into the flour/salt/sugar/paprika mixture. Add in the cold water until a smooth dough forms. Knead only as much is necessary to form the dough - do not overknead!

Separate dough into four pieces (this makes rolling out a bit easier).

Roll out each dough ball as thin as possible onto lightly floured parchment paper.

Poke with a fork all over, THEN cut with a pizza cutter into squares.

(If you do not poke until after you cut, your crackers will get all messed up, so follow the order of instructions here, people!)

Sprinkle them with salt.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 5 - 7 minutes or until edges of the entire rolled out cracker dough begin to brown. Let them crisp up in a warm oven. (After I'm done baking all my crackers, I just leave them in the cooled oven once it has been off for a bit)

Serve with some YUMMY Boursin Cheese!

For a variation, try adding 3 or 4 tsp. of Italian Seasoning to the flour before mixing! I've done it and it's fabulous!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

These are such an easy idea for a quick breakfast that smells like you've been laboring in the kitchen for hours! (It really takes less than 20 minutes to prep and bake these yummy biscuits)I mix up the batter and drop tablespoons on parchment paper to bake. I have also tried rolling out the dough and using biscuit cutters, but I just think the drop method works best for this recipe...plus it's easier!

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

4 cups whole wheat flour (I use freshly milled soft white wheat)

8 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 TBSP oil

Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately in two bowls. Then mix both combinations together with a spoon until combined. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the un-greased parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes!

Voila! EASY Buttermilk biscuits that make the perfect compliment to any breakfast:)

Whole Wheat Bananna Cupcakes - YUM!

This is a super easy, one bowl recipe that uses my beloved whole wheat flour!! There's a ton of reasons why I am coming to loathe white flour, mostly discovered after reading this book. But in my quest towards healthy flours, I've realized that whole wheat is not as yucky as everyone makes it out to be. It's good and good for you!

SO here's a fool proof, really good recipe for banana muffins/cupcakes (is it a muffin? is it a cupcake? who cares its good). You could also substitute white flour for the whole wheat, and white sugar for the Evaporated Cane Juice (organic unbleached sugar) I suppose...

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice crystals (organic sugar)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add wet ingredients and incorporate well. Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Wouldn't these be twice as yummy topped with some vanilla cream cheese icing?!?!

MANGIA & ENJOY!!!!

Whole Wheat French Bread!

Okay, knowing that you'll need the basics: (flour, water, yeast, salt, olive oil, and honey) this is the easiest way for me to format these instructions for you.

The following steps should make it simple for you to stay organized as you prepare this yummy, healthy, whole wheat recipe...

Dissolve and let activate for 5-10 minutes:

5 tsp. (or two packages) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110-120 degrees)

1/2 tsp honey (this feeds the yeast and is a super great secret to good rising!)

Combine together with:

2 TB honey

2 TB olive oil

2 tsp. salt

2 cups hot water

Stir in:

6 1/2 - 7 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 TB vital wheat gluten flour

(I found that I only needed about 6 1/2 cups to start with, and added the rest in the kneading process. Less is more with flour!)

Directions:

Knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place ball of dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. (Hint: place on top of or inside a warm oven for great rising!)

Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes.

Divide dough in half, roll each into a 12 x 15 inch flat rectangle.

Roll up the rectangular dough, starting from the 15 inch edge.

Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make some slashes on the top and brush with an egg wash. Cover & let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Warning: This could possibly be the easiest & yummiest "healthy" bread you'll ever taste. And trust me, I am NO baker, and I pulled this one off! I milled my flour fresh (more on that later) and the taste was exquisite. If you do not love whole wheat flour, I would suggest using a ratio of 3/4 whole wheat flour to 1/4 white flour - it might make the adjustment a bit easier.