Read The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook Online
Authors: Georgia Varozza
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 cups warm water
1 T. oil, plus more for brushing top of loaf (olive oil tastes great in this recipe)
4½ cups flour
Mix together the yeast, sugar, and salt; add the warm water and mix together; add oil. Begin adding the flour, incorporating well after each addition; knead the dough until smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 30 minutes.
Form into a round loaf and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise again, about 45 minutes.
Brush top of loaf with oil and bake in a preheated 425° oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 375°, brush again with oil, and continue baking for 20 more minutes.
Pluck-Its
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup butter, melted
½ tsp. salt
1 cup milk, scalded
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
3 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour
Coating
1 cup sugar
3 T. cinnamon
½ cup nuts, chopped fine
½ cup butter, melted
Add sugar, butter, and salt to scalded milk. Dissolve yeast in warm water. When milk is lukewarm, add the yeast and water mixture, eggs, and flour. Beat thoroughly. Cover and let rise until double.
In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Put the melted butter in a separate bowl. Take a teaspoon of the dough, roll into a ball, and dip it into the melted butter and then into the sugar-and-cinnamon mixture, being careful to coat the entire ball.
Pile the coated balls of dough loosely into an ungreased angel food cake pan. Let rise 30 minutes and then bake in a preheated 350° oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until done. Immediately turn the pan upside down onto a serving platter.
Bread is better when worked down at least two times; three is even better if time permits. For a finer textured bread, try letting the dough rise in a place where it is a little cooler so it takes longer to rise. The little bubbles of trapped air in the dough will be smaller and the bread will not be as crumbly. Also, if the bread is baked before the last rising is completely doubled, the texture of the finished product will be softer and less crumbly.
3 cups brown sugar
5 cups wheat flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 T. baking soda (be generous)
1 cup oil
2½ cups canned pumpkin
2 eggs
Mix together all ingredients, starting with the dry ones. When thoroughly blended, divide between two greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350° for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until done.
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting
⅓ cup milk
2 T. butter
½ cup canned pumpkin or mashed cooked pumpkin
2 T. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
1 cup flour
1 cup bread flour
⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. melted butter
Caramel Frosting (recipe follows)
In small saucepan, heat milk and 2 T. butter just until warm and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.
In large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine flours. Add half of flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly. Dough will be very soft. Turn into lightly greased bowl; lightly butter or grease surface of dough. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and then turn it onto a floured surface and knead a few turns until it is smooth, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make the dough easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12 × 10-inch rectangle.
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter and then sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side, roll up dough jelly roll style. Pinch seam to seal. With a sharp knife, cut into 12 1-inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
Bake rolls at 350° about 20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan to a wax paper-lined wire rack and cool for 10 to 15 minutes before frosting.
Caramel Frosting
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 T. milk
¼ tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
½ to ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted to break up any lumps
In a small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to small mixing bowl and cool mixture. Stir in vanilla, salt, and ½ cup powdered sugar. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency.
1 cup warm water
4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. basil
¼ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
2½ cups flour, approximately
Combine water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and mix into dough. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5-7 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes.
Grease a pizza pan or cookie sheet and press out dough to fit the pan.
Bake for 7 minutes at 400°. Take out and top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings and return to the oven to bake an additional 8-12 minutes or until done.
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
2 T. warm water
1 cup very hot water
1 tsp. salt
6 T. shortening
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
3½ cups flour
In a small bowl, combine yeast with warm water and set aside until light and bubbly, about 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the hot water, salt, shortening, and sugar and mix well. Cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast mixture, stir, and then add the beaten egg and half of the flour; beat well.
With a wooden spoon (and then with your hands, if necessary) stir in more of the flour, enough to make the dough easy to handle. Grease the top of the dough, cover, and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
When you want to bake the dinner rolls, take out the amount of dough needed. Shape into balls and put on a greased baking pan or in muffin tins. Cover and let rise in a warm place until dough warms up and doubles in bulk, about 1½ hours.
Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes.
¼ cup lukewarm water
4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 tsp. baking soda
2 T. warm water
8 cups flour, approximately
1 T. salt
1¾ cups water
⅔ cup oil or melted shortening
In a small bowl (preferably not metal) mix together the ¼ cup lukewarm water and yeast. Set aside until bubbly, about 10 minutes.
In another small bowl, mix together the baking soda and 2 tablespoons warm water. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together 4 cups flour, salt, 1¾ cups water, oil or melted shortening, baking soda mixture, and yeast mixture. Mix until well blended. Add about 4 cups more flour and turn out dough and knead for approximately 10 minutes, adding flour as needed.
Divide dough into several small portions. Roll dough
⅛
-inch thick and cut into squares. Prick with a fork.
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
¼ tsp. salt
4 T. brown sugar
1 cup flour
1½ cups bread flour
1 cup water
4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp. water
coarse salt
Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the salt, brown sugar, and flours and mix well. Knead, adding small amount of additional flour as needed so the dough doesn’t stick, for about 4-5 minutes. Return to bowl, cover, and let rise for 15-20 minutes. Do not punch down. Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape into large pretzels.
Dip pretzels into a soda water mixture of 1 cup water and 4 tsp. baking soda and place on paper towels for a minute before putting them on a greased cookie sheet. Brush pretzels with egg-and-water mixture and then sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake at 450° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
½ cup Sourdough Starter, room temperature (recipe follows)
1 cup lukewarm water
4 cups flour, divided
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2-3 T. cornmeal
Boiling water
1 egg white, beaten
Early in the morning, make the sponge by mixing together in a large bowl the Sourdough Starter, lukewarm water, and 2 cups
flour. Mix thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm area for at least 8 hours. (You can also begin this the night before, let stand overnight, and bake the bread in the morning.)
Add sugar and salt to sponge and mix well. Gradually mix in remaining flour. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer dough to a greased bowl, turning to coat all surfaces. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm area until double in size, about 1-1½ hours.
Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal. Punch dough down and shape into a 12-inch long loaf. Transfer to baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until double, about 1 hour.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°. Fill a pie plate or cake pan with boiling water and set on bottom shelf of oven. Make 3 slashes diagonally across top of loaf using the tip of a sharp knife.