Butterscotch Dainties

More yeast bread baking , so satisfying.
Also an excuse to use one of the new baking pans I received at Christmas.
This recipe is from my favourite bread book, 1963 BH&G Bread Cook Book.
This recipe makes dinner rolls and a sweet treat without kneading.
Batter Rolls:
1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk , scalded
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 slightly beaten egg
1 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
Soften yeast in warm water. Combine shortening, sugar and salt add to scalded milk. Sir till shortening melted , cool to lukewarm. Once cooled beat in 2 cups flour , beat 1 minute using mixer til gluten strands appear. Add yeast and egg. Beat batter for about 1/2 minute. Add remaining 1 1/4 cup flour. Beat for about 2 minutes. Cover dough and let rise about 1 hour.Stir down beat thoroughly.
Half of this dough can be used to make dinner rolls.
Drop by TB. into greased muffin tins filling half full, let rise til double about 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.
Dinner rolls are great but for my sweet tooth I made with the other half of the dough ,Butterscotch Dainties.
Into each muffin cup put 1 tsp butter, 2 tsp. brown sugar and 1 tbsp. corn syrup. Arrange pecans over mixture.
Drop by Tbsp's the other half of the dough onto the brown sugar mixture in the muffin cups.. Let rise till double about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 15 - 20 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes then turn out onto cooling rack.
I found my rise times longer due to the cool house plus I used this flour.

Robin Hood Nutri , tried this flour for the added wheat bran thinking health conscience . Robin Hood flours have been my choice of brand for the last many years...I found even tho this flour is supposed to be fine in place of all purpose , the rise was not good, very slow . Grain of bread not fine. At first thought it was perhaps the yeast I used, but checked the date, that was fine.
So I made a loaf of bread ; previous post, and it rose perfectly using exact same yeast but regular all purpose flour.The grain of the bread was fine as well.
I had previously made with the Nutri flour some cookies and brownies but was not happy with the results ; thought it was something I did wrong. After this test feel it is unfortunately this flour blend.
The rolls and sweets tasted good but the lightness wasn't there.

Oops...

I ahve been terrible with blogging the last few months. I will try to be better - maybe. I have actually had a chance to craft lately, much to my excitement... I did 10 2 page spreads last weekend and am really excited to do some more.

I have recently found a blog I love called Project Tuesday - I would insert a link if I knew how, but I don't, sorry... I am really keen to try some of those ideas. Maybe later in the week.

A la prochaine...

Baby it's cold outside!

It is so cold out! I hibernate when the winter sets in to this extreme.
My thoughts turn to soup and baking. Not bundling up for the trek to the grocery store for any exotic ingredients . Searched the cupboards and found onions. Some leftover white wine......French Onion Soup.
My favourite recipe for onion soup comes from Great Good Food cookbook by Julie Rosso. So easy.
2 cups sliced onions ( spanish I used regular white
2 cups white wine
1 TB butter
In a preheated 425 oven ,combine first 3 ingredients in pyrex dish ake until most of the liquid is evaporated, stir once or twice.
In medium saucepan pour 4 cups beef broth add cooked onion mixture simmer for 1/2 hour. In oven proof bowls ladle soup top with dry bread round top with mixture of parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese and swiss cheese... Broil.

To go with this yummo soup, fresh baked bread.
There is no better fragrance in the house than bread baking in the oven . This recipe is from Martha Stewart called Shaker bread.Makes one 9-by-5-inch loaf
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
3 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for bowl and pan
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Directions
Sprinkle yeast over warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add milk, butter, and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix in flour, about 1 cup at a time, and mix on medium speed until combined. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Place dough in a large, buttered bowl, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth. Shape dough into a 9-inch-long log. Place in prepared loaf pan, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until dough has doubled in bulk, 30 to 45 minutes.
Bake until top is golden brown and bread is cooked through, about 50 minutes.
Slathered in butter goes so well with steaming hot soup. Perfect winter fare.