Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Butter

Today was my first official day off from swimming, a day that I should have been able to sleep in. Of course, instead I jolted out of bed at 6:45am for no reason (ok, so maybe it was my husband snoring in my ear, but does that really matter?). We had our neighborhood "island clean up" day today, but it didn't start until 9am, so in the mean time, I decided that since I was up, my time would be best spent in the kitchen. I had planned on making a breakfast bread of some sort to share with my brother and sister-in-law, who just welcomed my second niece, Lucia, a week ago. I decided to go with this spiced English Muffin bread because I've made plain English Muffin bread in the past, liked it, and thought that giving it a fall-like flavor would make it even better. I was right. The pumpkin flavor of the bread makes it taste like you are eating a sweet treat rather than bread, and the flavored butter is so good I could have eaten it with a spoon! Toasted and slathered with the butter, this might be my new favorite fall breakfast!

For the Bread:
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) Active Dry Yeast 
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Honey
1/2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/3 cup Pureed Pumpkin
2 cups Milk, warmed to 120-130 degrees
1/2 cup Water, warmed to 120-130 degrees
Cornmeal, for sprinkling

Grease or spray 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal, tilting the pan around so that the cornmeal coats all of the sides. Dump any excess. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the whole wheat flour, yeast, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda. Add the milk, pumpkin, honey, olive oil, and water, beating on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high heat and beat for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Decrease the speed to low and add the remaining flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Do not over mix and do not knead; the dough will be sticky. Divide the dough equally into the 2 prepared loaf pans and sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover the pans with a towel and let them rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes. After 30 minutes of rising time has passed, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When the bread is done rising, bake the loaves for 35 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the pans, setting the loaves aside to cool. 

For the Butter:
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and stir until well combined. Spread on warm toast. Store butter at room temperature for a day or two, or store in the fridge for a few weeks. 

SOURCE: How Sweet It Is

Grilled Garlic and Herb Bread

I made this recipe as a side to a pasta dish, and couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. Grilled bread, fresh garden herbs and garlic make for a winning combination. It can also be used as a springboard for your imagination: tomato and olives would taste great, and fit in perfectly. If you make the bread yourself, and use your garden for everything else, this recipe can feed about four people as a side dish for around thirty cents.

8-10 garlic cloves
Olive Oil
Handful of Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Parsley, Basil), chopped
1 Loaf of Bread

Wrap garlic cloves and olive oil in a foil packet and grill until soft and browned, flipping the packet periodically.Cut the bread in half along the long axis so that you have two sections of loaf. Drizzle olive oil on the newly cut surface of both sides. Place the two slices of bread loaf face down on the grill, until slightly browned and charred, but not burnt. Smash the softened garlic cloves with a fork, and spread them along the entire surface of the bread. Sprinkle the chopped herbs on top of the garlic-smothered bread.

English Muffins

I was home on spring break two weeks ago and I got bored! I know, what's wrong with me, right? Home for an entire week with nothing to do, and I was bored? What can I say, I'm a creature of habit who thrives on routine, so when my routine is thrown off for even a few days, I don't know what to do with myself. I did a few things that needed to be done, like go to the DMV to renew my license, get my oil changed, and grocery shop during the day when the store wasn't super crowded. I also had lunch with my mom and grandparents, and met Joel at work for lunch one day, and got to see his office and the people he works with, which was fun. But all of those things only took up so much time, so with the remaining time, I decided to tackle an item on my list of things that I've been wanting to make: English Muffins! I googled a recipe and decided to go with this one from Budget Bytes. Since this dough needs to rise 3 times, each for 45 minutes, I figured why not do it while I was home and bored with nothing but time on my hands. The recipe was very easy, and even though it took quite a while, the majority of time was hands-off. My muffins ended up being slightly smaller than the typical size, and I didn't end up with the nooks and crannies that store bought English muffins have, but the flavor was spot-on! They were delicious in the morning holding an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, and also toasted with butter and jam. I'm glad I finally decided to tackle these, and now that I have tried them, I definitely plan to make them again.

1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Warm Water 
1/2 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Butter
3 cups Flour, divided
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Cornmeal
Non-stick Spray

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Let sit about 5 minutes, or until foamy on top. While the yeast mixture is resting, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Stir well to evenly distribute the salt. In a second small bowl, combine the milk and butter and microwave it for 30 seconds, stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Continue stirring until the butter melts into the warm milk. Pour the yeast mixture and the butter mixture into the flour. Stir until it has combined into a pasty mix. Adding 1/4 cup at a time, stir in more flour until the dough forms a soft, slightly sticky ball that pulls away from the bowl. Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto a clean countertop and coat your hands in flour. Dump the ball of dough out of the bowl and knead it for about 5 minutes. Add as little flour as possible to the countertop while kneading--adding too much flour will yield tough muffins. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl that has been coated in non-stick spray. Lightly spray the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Punch down the dough and shape it into another ball. Cover the dough ball and let it rise a second time, another 45 minutes to 1 hour. Punch the dough down again and turn it out onto a well floured countertop. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or a large round glass, cut the dough into circles. When you can't cut out any more circles, gently ball up the remaining dough, roll it again, and cut some more. Place the cut dough circles onto a sheet pan that has been liberally covered in cornmeal; sprinkle more cornmeal on top of the muffins. Cover loosely with a damp bowl and let rise, once more, until double in size, about 45 minutes. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray the pan with non-stick spray. Carefully transfer the fluffy, risen muffins into the hot skillet with a spatula. Cook the muffins, in batches, in the skillet until they are golden brown and crispy on each side, about 5-7 minutes per side. Make sure to keep the heat on low so that the outside browns slowly, allowing the inside to "band". Let the muffins cool on a wire rack before attempting to slice them open. 

Pretzel Rolls

My family loves pretzels. No matter which family member's house we are at, there is always a big container of pretzels on top of the fridge or counter (except my house, oddly enough)! Hot pretzels are even better, in my eyes. When I started seeing recipes for pretzel rolls, I thought it was an awesome idea and added it to my list of recipes to try. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I had planned on making a kielbasa and sauerkraut dinner. Rather than buying rolls from the store to serve the sausage on, I thought it would be a great pairing to make pretzel rolls. I chose this recipe from Pennies on a Platter.  These rolls didn't last long in my house.  They were great with dinner, but they were equally as good as a snack, just as pretzels would be!

3/4 cup Water
1 teaspoon Yeast
2 1/4 cup Flour
2 tablespoons Butter, melted then cooled to room temperature
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 Egg, beatend
Kosher/Pretzel Salt for tops

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, flour, butter, sugar, and salt.  Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients, then knead at medium-high speed for 1 minute.  Shape the dough into a ball and place it back in the mixing bowl.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Separate into 4 equal portions (for hamburger buns) or 8 equal portions (for dinner rolls).  Form into balls by pulling the sides to the center and pinching to seal.  Place the formed rolls, seam side down, onto a parchment/silicone mat lined baking sheet.  Cover with the towel and allow to rise again, for about 30 minutes.  Heat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large sauce pan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, then add the baking soda.  Boil each roll for about 1 minute, flipping over after 30 seconds.  Place the boiled rolls back onto the lined baking sheet, seam side down.  Brush the tops with beaten egg, then lightly sprinkle with salt.  Cut a shallow "X" into the center of each roll, then bake for 15-20 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

*The rolls can be frozen for later use.  Once they cool to room temperature, place them in a freezer bag.  To thaw, microwave for 30 seconds.

Maple Cinnamon Quick Bread

Aside from the occasional large breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast on the weekends, I love baked goods.  I really enjoy baking on the weekends so that I have something to eat each morning during the week with my tea.  As much as I try, cereal or granola just do not cut it for me in the morning!  I have numerous quick bread or coffee cake recipes saved in my RSS feeds.  A few weekends ago, I woke up early on a Sunday morning so I chose this one from Buns In My Oven to make for breakfast.  The smell that it filled my whole house with was amazing.  I only wish I was able to get the correct consistency for the icing on top!

For the Bread:
2 1/4 cup Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Maple Syrup
1 cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Browned Butter (I just used melted)
1/4 cup Cold Butter, cubed
1 tablespoon Cinnamon

For the Icing:
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 cup Heavy Cream (I used milk...could be the reason mine was runny)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Salt

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Slowly whisk in the browned butter.  Combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients and mix until all combined.  In a small bowl, cut the cold butter cubes and cinnamon together until you have small pea sized chunks.  Fold the butter into the batter.  Pour the batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes before drizzling with the icing.

To make the icing, whisk together all ingredients in a bowl.  Add more sugar or cream to reach the desired consistency.  Drizzle over the top of the bread or spread over each individual slice.