Freshly baked bread — still warm from the oven —  is one of life’s simple pleasures. If you’ve never made your own bread before, this recipe for breadsticks is a good place to start. Fashioned after Olive Garden-style breadsticks, they’re easy to make and very worth the effort! My kids devoured them.

I used my Kitchenaid mixer to knead the dough for a few minutes, then used a kitchen scale to portion the dough into equal pieces (16 pieces that weighed approximately 2.25 ounces each). I then shaped each portion into a 7″ long breadstick and proceeded with the recipe. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, just follow the recipe as written.

Once baked, the breadsticks are delicious served with marinara sauce or garlic butter for dipping. Mmmmm!

Almost-Famous Breadsticks
-Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

Makes 16 breadsticks.

For the Dough:
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour,plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter,softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fine salt

For the Topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter,melted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of dried oregano

Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water; mix with the paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms, 5 minutes.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until very smooth and soft, 3 minutes. Roll into a 2-foot-long log; cut into 16 1 1/2-inch-long pieces. Knead each piece slightly and shape into a 7-inch-long breadstick; arrange 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth; let rise in a warm spot until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt with the garlic powder and oregano. Brush the warm breadsticks with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the flavored salt.

Tags: bread, bread sticks, breadsticks, Food Network, Olive Garden, Olive Garden breadsticks

These dinner rolls are soft (hence the name), delicious and super easy to make. And the house smelled heavenly as they were baking!!! I’m not exaggerating when I say that my Boys and Husband ate the entire batch in less than 2 days…okay, I had a few myself.

I used active dry yeast which took twice as long for the dough to rise (about 2 hours) but eventually it did what it was supposed to do. If you want to cut down on rising time, definitely use instant yeast. After the first rise, it’s time to divide the dough into 16 pieces. Take the blob of dough, cut in in half, then so on until you have 16 pieces of dough. I like to use my Salter Kitchen Scale to help me weigh out the dough into pieces that are roughly the same weight. Shape them into smooth balls, let the rolls rise for about an hour in a 9″x13″ pan, bake, and let your home be transformed by the delicious fragrance of homemade rolls.  Enjoy!

Soft Dinner Rolls
-recipe from kingarthurflour.com

An old favorite, these timeless rolls are always in fashion. Golden brown outside and cream-colored inside, with just a hint of sweetness, these rolls are the perfect vehicle for a melting pat of butter, and a wonderful accompaniment to everything from soup and salad to meat and potatoes.

2 1/2 teaspoons regular instant yeast or active dry yeast*
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup potato flour OR dried potato flakes
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water (potato water, if you have any saved)
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
3 tablespoons butter, softened or melted

*The recipe directions are written for instant yeast; to use active dry yeast, dissolve it in the water first. Also, be aware that your rising times will be longer.

To make dough by hand or mixer: In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar, salt, flour and potato flour or potato flakes. Add the water, milk and butter, and mix until cohesive. Knead the dough on a lightly oiled surface till it’s smooth and supple. Add flour if you must, but the dough will continue to absorb liquid as you knead, so try to knead for 5 minutes or so before adding any additional flour. Remember, the more flour in the dough, the heavier and dryer the rolls will be.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set the dough aside to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

To make dough in a bread machine: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. Assess the dough about 10 minutes before the end of the second kneading cycle; add additional water or flour as necessary to produce a smooth, supple, somewhat soft dough.

To complete the rolls: Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball. Lightly grease two 9-inch round cake pans, or a 9 x 13-inch pan. Space the rolls in the pan(s), cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow them to rise for about 1 hour, till they’re very puffy and are touching one another.

Bake the rolls in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 22 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, set them on a wire rack to cool, and brush them with melted butter or margarine, if desired. This will give the rolls a soft crust. Serve the rolls warm, or store them in an airtight container. Yield: 16 rolls.

Tags: Baking, bread, dinner rolls, flour, potato flakes, white rolls, yeast

It’s summertime and prime salad-eating weather. Sure, you can buy store-bought croutons to add to your salad but I challenge you to take a few minutes and make your own. I promise you, once you see how easy it is to make them and how good they are, you’ll never buy the store-bought kind again. Well, maybe you will but they won’t compare to this homemade version! I make these croutons all the time. They also make a tasty garnish for soup, and they’re a  creative  hostess gift when packaged in a pretty jar or bag. Who wouldn’t love to receive homemade croutons? 

I find that a dense artisan bread makes the best croutons (not the fluffy loaves of French bread that major grocery stores carry in their bakeries). Sourdough bread also works really well. The recipe calls for 3 cups of cubed bread but I use 4 cups. The croutons usually take longer than 15 minutes to bake. I check them around 15 minutes, taste one, add more salt if needed, and continue baking them until they’re golden and crunchy. The croutons will be good for about a week if kept in an airtight container.

Homemade Croutons
-recipe from epicurious.com

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, halved
3 cups 3/4-inch cubes of Italian or French bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan melt the butter with the oil, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste over moderately low heat. Remove the mixture from the heat, let it stand for 10 minutes, and discard the garlic. In a bowl toss the bread cubes with the butter mixture, spread them on a baking sheet, and bake them in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden. The croutons may be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container.

Tags: bread, croutons, garlic, olive oil, Salad