ROSEMARY BREAD

As I was digging in the freezer the other day, to no avail, in order find a package of hamburger buns to go with supper that night, I had a “eureka” moment. Why not make my own hamburger buns using what has quickly become a family favourite bread recipe… Rosemary Bread. I had been using this recipe quite often to make loaves of crusty bread or pans of savoury dinner rolls and each time they have been a hit. As hamburger buns, they were a winner as well, although the next time I make them, and there definitely will be a next time, I will use a small bowl to cut the shape of the rolls. I had used a large beer glass to cut them out which meant the baked buns were a little on the small size. At least there were no complaints “Where’s the beef?”

This is a recipe for a bread machine but there is no reason why you couldn’t make them without a machine using a little elbow grease, just follow the basic bread making techniques. If you’ve never made bread before, you can find bread making methods in just about any cookbook.

I have been using my machine lately to mix the dough and then taking the dough from the pan to rise the traditional way and baking it in the oven. I find it makes better bread that way and I don’t feel so guilty for cheating by using a bread machine.

Rosemary Bread
Add to the bread machine pan in the order listed:
1 ½ c. warm water
4 Tbl. Olive oil
1 ½ tsp. Sea salt
4 c. white flour
3 tsp. Dried rosemary
2 ¼ tsp dried yeast

Set on dough cycle if you want to shape your own bread and bake it in the oven, or set your machine on White Bread, large loaf and Medium or dark crust and let it bake in the machine.

To bake in your oven, remove dough from machine when the dough cycle in finished and place in a large bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Rub it around bowl to coat dough with oil. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in volume, about two hours.


***If you don’t have a machine, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix together the water and olive oil and then add to the dry ingredients. Mix well with your hands then sprinkle a little flour along the edges of your bowl while kneading the dough. Continue to add flour while kneading until dough is no longer sticky. Knead about 10 min., form dough into a ball. Add a little olive oil to the bowl and spread to coat sides. Place dough in bowl and rub it around bowl to coat dough with oil. Cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in volume, about two hours.

After the dough has risen until double in volume you can shape it into one large loaf or divide it in half to make two small loaves…or cut off small pieces of dough to shape into dinner rolls and place into pans.…or roll it out into pizza pans to make a delicious herbed pizza crust.

To make hamburger buns, I rolled the dough out to ½ inch thickness and cut rounds with a large glass, but a small bowl would make larger buns.

***After shaping your bread, cover with a warm damp cloth and let rise again until double in volume Bake in a 400 degree oven for:

Dinner rolls - 30 - 35 min.
Hamburger buns - 30 - 35 min.
2 Small Loaves - 40 - 45 min.
1 Large loaf - 45 - 55 min.

For pizza, add toppings and bake at 500 degrees for approximately 10 min.

Enjoy!

THIN CRUST PIZZA

Last night I was in the mood for some homemade pizza…yummy…so I whipped up a batch of pizza dough using a recipe I’ve been sticking with for the past several years and…bon-appetite! This recipe is easy to prepare and doesn’t require any “rise” time. The original recipe is for a white crust, but as usual, I’m always making adjustments to make things a little healthier so I will post both versions. This recipe makes enough dough to make four 12 inch thin crust pizzas so I always make up four pizzas at a time, one to bake right away, one “low veggie” pizza I put in the fridge to bake the following day for my Daycare kids and two I wrap well and freeze to bake at a later date.

THIN CRUST PIZZA (original version)
1 heaping T. yeast
½ tsp. Sugar
¾ c. warm water (water that is too warm will kill the yeast…use the baby bottle test by pouring a few drops on your wrist)

Dissolve sugar in water then sprinkle yeast on top. Allow standing for 8 min.

In a large bowl combine:
5-¼ c. flour
1 tsp. Salt

Stir the yeast mixture and pour over the flour. Add extra 1-½ c. warm water. Mix well. Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed for 2 min. Divide dough into three balls if you want three thicker crust pizza or into four balls if you want four thin crust pizzas. Press each ball into a greased 12-inch pizza pan and spread to the edges. Spread with sauce and your favorite toppings and cheese. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 500 degrees. Bake for 8-12 min. The dough will be firm and crispy..


HEMP THIN CRUST PIZZA (My healthier version)
1 heaping T. yeast
½ tsp. Sugar
¾ c. warm water (water that is too warm will kill the yeast…use the baby bottle test by pouring a few drops on your wrist)

Dissolve sugar in water then sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to stand for 8 min.

In a large bowl combine:
4 c. whole wheat flour
½ c. white flour
¾ c. ground hemp seed (or you could use ground flax seed)
1 tsp. Salt

Stir the yeast mixture and pour over the flour. Add an extra 1 ½ c. warm water. Mix well. Turn dough onto a floured surface and kneed for 2 min. Divide dough into three balls if you want three thicker crust pizza or into four balls if you want four thin crust pizzas. Press each ball into a greased 12 inch pizza pan and spread to the edges. Spread with sauce and your favorite toppings and cheese. Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 500 degrees. Bake for 8-12 min. The dough will be firm and crispy..