Breads, Rolls, and part 2

This week I’ll let you in on another secret… Variations.  Variations are the best kept secret of the cook book selling world.  Variations on a recipe are easy; basically, you sub out or add an ingredient in order to create a different flavor or style.  Sometimes you manipulate the amount of one ingredient or another in order to increase fluffiness or texture.  This is easy stuff, once we understand the basics.  But chefs and publishers make an awful lot of monies off of selling cookbooks to all us poor innocents.  And many of these cookbooks, ought to be titled: 101 Variations of Recipe A.  For example, every bread recipe starts out with the basic ingredients and ratios, these are then altered for slightly different results… Instead of buying a $25 book of bread recipes, I’ll just give ‘em to ya’ll for free, because, really, themed recipe books are like reading the same mad lib over and over again, but with different nouns subbed in.  Exciting at first, but <insert adjective here> after <insert number here> times! 

All these variations use the basic recipe from last week’s post and simply change a few measurements, and or add in another ingredient or two. 

Basic Recipe:

1 tablespoon of yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of warm* water

2-3 cups of flour.

1 Tablespoon of oil-for greasing to bowl

Variation 1: The Best-est home baked bread and dinner rolls in the world:

1 c. luke warm milk (instead of water)

1/2 c. butter chopped up into small cubes

1 tablespoon of yeast

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

2 eggs

2-3 cups of flour

1 Tablespoon of oil-for greasing the bowl

Boom, that’s it, follow the basic recipe instructions, add the butter and eggs when you add the salt.  The milk, butter and eggs simply add moisture and richness.  I also upped the salt and sugar ratios, this is simply a personal preference to increase flavor.

For crescent rolls, split the dough in half after it has risen twice, and then roll out each section in a circle at least 1/3 inch thick, then BUTTER it! and cut in half 4 ways (cut into 8 triangles) and  roll them up into crescents, place on a greased cookie sheet, butter the tops of the rolls, let them rise for about 15 minutes, and bake at 350 until the tops of the rolls are a LIGHT golden brown, about 20 minutes.  When you take them out butter them again (because butter makes everything better!) and enjoy!

Variation 2: Pizza dough

 basic recipe + ½ teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, for a bit of an Italian flavor. Add the extra ingredients in with the salt. NOTE: Pizza dough only needs to rise once (unlike all other breads) and then you can knead it, roll it out, and decorate it with sauce, cheese and toppings.  Also, you should always cook pizza at a temperature of at least 425 degrees Fahrenheit (I prefer 450) until the cheese gets super bubbly and starts to brown just a bit.  Tip: for extra crispy crust, invest in a pizza stone (a round stone you cook the pizza on instead of a tray) and pre-heat the stone with the oven.

Variation 3: Challah Bread (Jewish Sabbath Bread) and Cinnamon Rolls: Basic Recipe +1/3 cup sugar. 

For Challah Bread: let knead and rise like basic recipe but when it comes time to bake, split into 3 sections, roll them into long, fat noodle shapes, pinch the ends together and braid on a greased cookie sheet, butter it, then bake as normal, for about 30 minutes, or until the top of the loaf is golden brown. 

For cinnamon rolls: make as normal, until it comes time to bake, then roll into a long rectangle shape, butter, sprinkle generously with brown sugar and cinnamon and then roll up (lengthwise, so that you have one long roll.)  Then cut into 2-3 inch slices, and place slices on a greased cookie sheet, squish slightly, cover with plastic wrap and let them rise (yes, again!) for ½ an hour before baking at 350 for about 25-35 minutes, until  they are golden brown, and the brown sugar starts to bubble.

Variation 4: Soft Pretzels
Basic Recipe, only let the dough rise once, then split into 6 pieces and roll each piece into a long dough rope (between 12 and 15 inches) then fold them into pretzel shapes on a cookie sheet, beat 1 egg and brush it onto your pretzels and then sprinkle generously with salt.  Cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes and let rise while you preheat the oven to 375.  Bake until the tops of the pretzels are light brown.  Remove and enjoy!

AAAANNNNDDDD…..  That’s it, comment with any questions, suggestions or variations of your own!