Honey Yeast Rolls

Bad me... these next 3 posts are all from before thanksgiving! I blame the fact that I was trying to graduate, but now that I have no school and no job (yet) I have no excuse anymore! Time to get back to blogging!

I made these rolls when I was at my parents house as a day before Thanksgiving dinner. I had been wanting to make them for awhile and my mom has a Kitchenaid, so I was excited to try them!



Honey Yeast Rolls
Source: Annie's Eats (Adapted from ...A cookie a day)

Honey Yeast Rolls
Ingredients:
2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast
1 cup warm water (105°-115° F)
¼ cup honey
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 ¼ tsp. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups bread flour
vegetable cooking spray
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp honey

Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix until it is incorporated into the dough. Switch to the dough hook, and continue kneading on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball and place into a round, lightly greased baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush lightly over the tops of the rolls. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Overall these tasted great! They are not the prettiest rolls (especially compared to the ladies' I got the recipe from!) but I guess that will come with practice. The only issue I had with them was that the rolls in the middle were still a little doughy in the center. If I had a Kitchenaid I would be making these all the time, but I think I am too lazy to make bread that I have to knead by hand!

Focaccia Bread

For my first real blog post, I think it is fitting that I am posting about my first time making anything with yeast. I found this focaccia recipe over at Amber's Delectable Delights and have been wanting to try it for awhile, but I was afraid of the yeast since I had never used it before. It turned out that I had nothing to be afraid of- the bread was very easy to make and turned out to be delicious!

Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia
Source: King Arthur Flour via Amber's Delectable Delights

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) warm water
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour I used 2 cups regular bleached all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 teaspoons Pizza Dough Flavor, optional
1/4 cup (1 ounce) Vermont cheese powder, optional
Pizza Seasoning, optional
I omitted the above seasonings and used garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a bit of grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.
2) Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy.
4) While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5) Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6) Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.
7) Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
8) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(by the way, if anyone knows why this picture rotated itself and how to get it back the right direction, please let me know...)

I cut the bread into 6 pieces, then since it was so thick I cut each piece in half through the middle to make 2 slices. I made paninis with turkey, Swiss cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves on our little George Foreman grill, which I served with baked sweet potato fries. My bread addict fiance loved the fact that I made homemade bread, even though he thought the fries were not crispy enough. Oh well, I liked them. :)