Peasant Bread

4 cups (1 lb. 2 oz) all-purpose flour* (do not use bleached all-purpose)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups lukewarm water**
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons active-dry yeast***
room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour and the salt. Set aside. Grease a separate large bowl with butter or olive oil and set this aside. (This is optional actually — I now just let the bread rise in the same bowl that I mix it in. My mother, however, always transfers the dough to a greased bowl.)
2. In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no reason to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit — this step is just to ensure that the yeast is active. (See photo above.) Now, gently stir it up, and add to the flour bowl. Stir this mixture up with a spatula or wooden spoon. Mixture will be wet. Scrape this mixture into prepared greased bowl from step 1. (Or, if you’re feeling lazy, just cover this bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel.)
3. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (If you have the time to let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours, do so — this will help the second rise go more quickly.) This is what my mother always does: Preheats the oven at its highest temperature for just one minute, then shuts off the oven. UPDATE 01/05: Do not allow the oven to get up to its highest setting and then preheat at that setting for 1 minute — this will be way too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute — it likely won’t get above 300ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread. Next, she runs a tea towel under hot water and rings it out so it’s just damp. Finally, she covers the bowl containing the bread with the damp tea towel and places it in the warm, turned-off oven to rise. It usually takes about an hour to double in bulk, but letting it rise for an hour and a half or up to two hours is fine.
4. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two oven-safe bowls (such as the pyrex bowls I mentioned above) with about a tablespoon of butter each. (My mother might use even more — more butter not only adds flavor but also prevents sticking). Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to turn the dough up onto itself if that makes sense. You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and make for 22 to 25 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Honey Beer bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)

Method:

(Makes 1 loaf)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Bread

• 3 c. sugar
• 1 c. cooking oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 2 t cloves
• 2/3 c water
• 2 c pumpkin
• 3 1/2 c flour
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 c nuts (optional)

1. Mix in order and pour into 4 greased loaf pans
2. Fill batter 1/2 full and bake for an hour at 350 degrees.

Banana Nut Bread

• 1 c mashed very ripe banana
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/2 c plain nonfat yogurt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 2 cups flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 c chopped pecans (optional) 

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended.   
2. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; stir in pecans.
3. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring until moistened.
4. Spoon batter into load pan.
5. Bake 350 degrees for an hour and 5 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack.
7. Remove from pan and place on rack. 

Beer and Cheese Bread

• 2 T sugar
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm beer (105 to 115 degrees)
• 2 1/2 cup bread flour, divided
• 1 cup 4 oz shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup instant nonfat milk
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 1/4 t red pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• cooking spray
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 t sesame seed, toasted

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm beer in large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Stir in 2 1/4 cups flour and next 6 ingredients to form a soft dough.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
4. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of the remaining flour, 1 T at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands
5. Divide dough in half and shape into a 6 inch round loaf.
6. Place loaves 4 inches apart on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray.
7. Brush both tops with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 
8. Make 1/8 inch deep cuts in a lattice design across tops of loaves. 
9. Let rise in a warm place(85 degrees), free from drafts for an hour and 15 minute or until doubled in bulk.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
11. Cool on wire racks.

Beer Biscuits

Very tasty from Paula Deen.  Great with BBQ or chili!!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Bisquick
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (12-ounce) can of bee
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients well, adjusting the sugar according to how sweet a biscuit you prefer. Pour into well-greased muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with butter and honey.