Banana Bread

I used to use another banana bread recipe until my sister in law Maria shared this one with me.  It is super moist and always delicious!  I just love how it tastes.  My favorite thing about this recipe is that it freezes VERY well.  I like to cut the loaf into fourths and wrap them individually in foil then put them all in a freezer bag.  Then when I am feeling in the mood for some of this delicious bread, I take it out of the freezer and let it defrost...and we have the perfect amount to eat for my husband and I.  I feel it actually tastes better after it freezes because it seems even more moist.  Delicious!  Thanks Maria!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups (about 3ish) ripe Bananas, mashed

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 bread loaf pan.

Beat together your butter and sugar. Then add your eggs one at a time and mix well. Add your sour cream, vanilla, and bananas. Mix well. Add in your baking soda and flour. Mix until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrap your bowl to make sure all the ingredients were fully mixed.

Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf pan. Bake in your heated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool your banana bread on a cooling wrack. Wrap your bread in plastic wrap overnight to bring out the moisture in the bread.

Mini Loaves

Instead of making rolls for dinner, make some mini loaves of bread. How fun would that be for everyone to have their own little loaf of bread? Let me tell you...it's WAY fun. Now you don't want to eat it like a roll...you eat it like bread would be...in slices. So give everyone their own loaf and as they want some, they slice off a piece of bread and put on butter and jam. SO FUN!

(Just like my other bread recipes, you'll need a small and large scale to weigh your ingredients)

Ingredients:
24 ounces Warm Water
1 ounce Yeast
40 ounces Bread Flour
1 ounce Salt
1 1/2 ounces Sugar
2 ounces Non Fat Milk Powder
1 1/2 ounces Shortening

Directions:
Dissolve Yeast in water. Then add your Salt, Sugar, Non Fat Milk Powder, and Shortening. (When I make bread I personally like to use Kosher salt because it adds an extra kick. Try it out) Slowly add in the Bread Flour. Knead until fully incorporated.

Spray a bowl with cooking spray and set your dough inside and then flip it. This gives it a nice coating on top so that it will keep your dough moist and not get a crusty coating while rising. Cover your bowl and let the dough rise for an hour.

After it is finished rising, pull off a section of your dough and roll it out. Roll it up (like you would cinnamon rolls) and put it into your sprayed bread pan. Do this for every loaf. Make sure not to fill the pan to the top with your dough because it needs room to rise and then will rise more in the oven. If you have extra dough let over you can put it in a bag and throw it in the freezer for next time.

Once you filled every spot in your loaf pan, cover it up and let it rise for another 30 minutes or so.

Bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes or until done. While still hot, rub the top of the loaves with butter. This will not only add a nice butter flavor, but also keep the top of the bread nice and soft and not be crusty.

OLIVE GARDEN BREAD STICKS

Who doesn't love the bread sticks and salad from The Olive Garden. I love these because they don't have an overwhelming flavor of garlic, and are nice and salty. I love to dip these in either left over salad dressing or left over sauce from your pasta. Very delicious, and easy to make.

Ingredients:
For the Dough
1 package Yeast
4 1/4 cups AP Flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons Butter, softened
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Fine Salt

For the Topping
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
Pinch of dried oregano

Directions:
1. 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 butter, sugar, fine salt, 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water, and flour. Mix with the dough hook until a slightly sticky dough forms, 5 minutes.

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

3. Preheat the oven to 350. Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoons of the kosher salt. Bake until lightly golden, about 12-15 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.

POPOVERS

Allen and I went to one of our friend house a few weeks ago for dinner and they hooked me on these. They are so wonderful. I get sick of having the same bread over and over again at dinner, so it is nice to change things up a bit. These are so cool because you don't have to knead dough and wait for it to rise. It is a liquid that you pour into these nifty pans (click here to see where you can buy some) and put them in the oven. They pop up and are hallow inside. It's almost like the outside part of a cream puff. You break them in half length wise and spread butter and jam inside. What a yummy side dish and a nice change from regular dinner rolls. Thanks Lauren!

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Butter, melted
3 large Eggs
1 cup Milk
1 cup AP Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Butter
Jam

Directions:
1. Have a standard 6-cup or miniature 12-cup popover pan. Lightly grease the pan or dishes with 2 tbsp of the melted butter.

2. In a blender, mix together the eggs, milk, and the remaining 1 tbsp of melted butter until foamy. Mix in the flour and salt until smooth. Do not over-mix. The batter should be thin. Fill each prepared cup two-thirds full with the batter.

3. Place the pan on the center rack of a cold oven and immediately turn the temperature to 375 degrees. Bake the popovers until they are puffed high and deep golden brown. Bake 35-45 minutes for standard-sized popovers and about 25 for miniature popovers. Do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes of baking, or the popovers may not rise fully.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately pierce the side of each popover with the tip of a sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with butter and jam.

FRENCH BREAD

This recipe is my mother in laws. I love french bread and never knew how to make it. Well one time when I was at her house she made it to go with some lasagne, and immediately I wanted the recipe. It is so yummy. I always figured that it was cheaper just to buy a loaf of french bread at the store for $1.50 then to make it...but that is not the case. It hardly takes any ingredients to make this recipe and you get TWO loaves. What a deal. Try it out and make it for dinner...everyone will be impressed!

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Yeast

2 Cups Warm Water

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Tablespoon Salt

5 Tablespoons Oil

5 Cups Flour

Directions:
1. In a bowl mix together your yeast and 1/2 cup of your warm water. Set your yeast and water aside and let it proof.

2. In another mixing bowl, mix together your sugar, salt, oil, and the remaining warm water. Mix this well.

3. Add in 3 of the cups of flour. Once that is mixed in, add your yeast mixture that has been proofing.

4. Once everything is mixed well, add your remaining 2 cups of flour. Knead this until your dough is smooth and pulling away from the sides of your bowl. Your dough should be somewhat stiff and sticky.

5. Let you dough sit for 10 minutes and then knead for 1 minute.

6. Repeat step 5 five times.

7. Once you have done this, cut your dough in half and roll each half into a long loaf.

8. Put your 2 loaves onto your greased french bread pan and slash each one three times at a diagonal.

*You can find french bread pans at most kitchen stores. I got mine at the Bosch Kitchen store in Orem, Utah. You can also purchase them online. I found some cheap ones HERE

9. This step is optional. If you want, lather the loaf with egg whites and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

10. Let your dough rise for about 45 minutes.

11. Bake your bread at 350 for about 35 minutes. When your dough comes out the top will be really hard. Do not freak out, as it will become very soft as it cools.

12. Let your bread cool for 30 minutes and then serve.