Happy Day!

On Tuesday, I had judging for both of my 4H projects. I won first place in both my cake decorating and my yeast bread projects! Now I get to go to our state fair and compete there at the end of July. I will have to make more bread and decorate another cake. Below is the recipe that I used for yeast bread judging(also pictured at the side), they are so very yummy, almost like the restaurant rolls. Today I feel like baking, but what yet, I don’t know. But after I do, I post it up here.

~thechildcooks

Soft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls

Yields 18 Dinner Rolls

4-4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 packets quick-rise yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter plus 1 tablespoon

1 egg

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with the other dry ingredients. Heat the milk, water and 1/4 cup of butter to 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour onto the dry mix and stir until incorporated. Add egg and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Cut into 18 equal parts and shape each piece into roll shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise, covered, for 20-40 minutes more. Heat oven to 375F and bake for 20-30 minutes. Melt the remaining butter and brush overtop the rolls. Cool on a wire rack.

Bread, Bread, Bread!

I have been in a baking frenzy for my 4H project which is due next Tuesday. On Wednesday, I made basic white bread(from a mix that I demonstrated to my club how to make) and today I made a garden herb loaf. Both turned out really well and taste great. They were the last two recipes that I had to make for my bread baking project, but I will have to make one of the recipes again for judging. I also I been working on my cake decorating project, which is also due on Tuesday, by practicing with piping techniques and making gum paste flowers. I’m not sure what I am going to bake next, but I know tomorrow I am going to be helping out at  a food kitchen, so who knows?

~thechildcooks

Basic White Bread Mix

Contains:

3 ½ cups flour(bag contains 2 ¼ cups)

1 package yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Needed:

½ cup warm water

½ cup warm milk

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Additional flour for board and grease for bowl

To make:

In mixing bowl, pour contents of container and add the yeast package. Mix in warm water and warm milk(120-130 degrees Fahrenheit) and add oil. Blend at low speed until moistened, then bead 3 minutes at medium speed. Gradually add the flour from the separate bag until a stiff dough is formed. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning greased side up, to rise, covered, in warm place for 30 minutes.

Punch down the dough. On lightly floured surface, roll or pat the dough into a 14 by 7 inch rectangle. Starting with the shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing the dough into a roll with each turn. Pinch edges and end to seal. Place in a greased 9 by 5 inch baking pan and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until doubled. Bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool before slicing.

Yields 18 ½ inch slices

Garden Herb Loaf

4-4 1/2 cups flour

2 packets quick-rise yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and marjoram(I used 2 1/4 teaspoons of a Italian herb mix)

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter plus 1 tablespoon

1 egg

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with the other dry ingredients. Heat the milk, water and 1/4 cup of butter to 120-130 degrees fahrenheit. Pour onto the dry mix and stir until incorporated. Add egg and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Cut into three equal parts and roll each piece into a 15 inch long rope. Braid and place on a greased cookie sheet. Let rise, covered, for 20-40 minutes more. Heat oven to 375F and bake for 20-30 minutes. Melt remaining butter and brush overtop sprinkling with additional herbs if desired. Cool on a wire rack.

Got Cake?

As part of my cake decorating project for 4H, I had to show someone how to bake a cake. I chose to show my sister, who is also taking a cake decorating project, how to make a marble cake. I didn’t realize how some things just come naturally to a person who has been baking for a while, like how I know exactly where things are and how to measure them out. I really enjoyed teacher her though and had a good time doing it. Another thing that I have to do is donate cupcakes to a 4H garage sale, I think I am going to do more of an exotic flavor than vanilla this time. As for my yeast bread baking project, I am also donating bread to the garage sale, but  haven’t decided which recipe I am going to make. Today or tomorrow, I think I am going to make soft pretzels for the project. I will put some pictures of the finished decorated cake up when it gets there.

~thechildcooks

Marble Cake from the Family Fun website

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Lightly butter a 9- by 13- inch cake pan and dust it with flour, knocking out the excess. Heat your oven to 350º.

Combine the dry ingredients by sifting the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Set the mixture aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or on the stovetop according to the package directions. (Chocolate chips retain some of their shape when melted, so be careful not to overheat or burn them.) Stir the chips until they are smooth, then cool them to lukewarm, about 9 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed, adding the sugar gradually, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, first breaking them into a separate dish to ensure that no eggshells get in the batter. Add the vanilla extract and blend briefly.

Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating on low speed until the batter is evenly blended. Next, beat in half of the buttermilk until it is evenly blended. Continue in this manner, adding another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients, beating well after each addition.

Transfer the chocolate to a medium mixing bowl, then add 2 cups of the batter. Thoroughly fold in the chocolate.

Transfer a little more than half of the remaining plain batter to the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the back of a spoon. Using another large spoon, make 3 wide, lengthwise rows of chocolate batter on top, as shown. Switch back to the plain batter and use what’s left to fill between the chocolate rows.

To create a swirled pattern in the batter, draw the top edge of a table knife across the rows, working from side to side. For best results, be sure not to remove the knife from the batter as you work.

Bake the cake on the center rack until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes

Saying More

Last night I posted a picture of some yummy home made pizza. There is another such picture right over there(points right). The recipe for the dough was from my 4H book(but also is in the bead machine book as the same recipe, coincidence?), the sauce was made by my mother(no recipe there, just throw some tomatoes and spices in there and let it simmer) and a cow somewhere made the cheese. The dough was described in the recipe book as “not to thin or thick” and it was. In the 4H book the recipe says it yields 8 servings, which is a lie, this will serve four normal people, or 8 for appetizer-sized pizzas. I made mine with dough, sauce, eggplant, onion, pepper, mushroom, broccoli and cauliflower. The crust tastes really good and fresh and my mom says I can make it again, which means that this was a success! For my project, I still have to make basic white bread, pretzels, bread machine cheese bread and herb loaf. There are also a few recipes from the second year of the project I would like to try such as some of the sweet breads.

~thechildcooks 

Bread Machine Pizza

Note: This will take some time, so plan ahead.

3/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups all-purpose or bread flour

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 1/2 teaspoons quick rise yeast

Combine ingredients according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Select the dough setting and process. When the dough process is complete, take the dough out and knead it for 1 minute. Let rest for 15 minutes. Roll the dough to fit a 14 inch pizza pan or cooking sheet, you can also make mini pizzas. Place the dough on a greased pan or one lined with parchment paper. Press the dough into the pan. Let dough rise in a warm place for 20 to 25 minutes. Spread sauce over top and add cheese and other desired toppings. Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of your pizza. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.