Fresh from the Oven: 5-Minute Bread

Hello All-

This week has been misty and cold here in Edmonton, so what better to make than a loaf of bread?  Normally, I would have busted out my bread machine to make some perfectly shaped, perfectly baked loaf, but this time I wanted to try something new.  Despite all of my baking, I had never jumped into the world of making bread from scratch...and now was the time to do it!

Of course I put aside my numerous cookbooks and turned to my trusty buddy, Pinterest, to help me find the perfect recipe to try.  I wanted something relatively simple with not a lot of ingredients.  Much to my surprise, I found a recipe that fit both criteria!! 

The recipe for this magical bread can be found on the Heart, Hands, Home blog.  One of the best things about this dough is that it only uses four ingredients, flour, salt, yeast and water!!!!  I had everything on hand already, and when I saw how much flour it used, I ran over to Save-On Foods to grab some more (they had their unbleached flour on special this week...score!!!)  Another wonderful thing about the dough is that it keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge!  I was able to make a small loaf the other night as a trial run, and save the rest of the dough for Thanksgiving!! 

Once you get the dough all mixed, there is a separate post on the blog for the actual baking.  (Click here)  I was so excited that despite all of the unpacked boxes in the basement, I was able to find my pizza stone.  After making this bread, I can assure you that it won't end up on a basement shelf like it did at the old house.  It has been promoted to the baking cabinet!!  I need it handy for when I start craving bread!

The final product came out awesome!!  It was great straight out of the oven with some butter, and later in the week, we also used some of it to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  I can see using this same recipe for small dinner rolls, bread bowls, baguettes, you name it!!  I have a feeling that there will be a batch of dough waiting in the fridge from now on!!

Happy Baking!!
Sharon

Fresh from the Oven: Ice Cream Bread 2.0

Hello All-
I hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July!  One benefit of being an American living in Canada is that we get to celebrate two major country holidays back to back.  That also means double the yummy summer goodies!!!  If you find yourself getting invited to a last minute holiday BBQ, I highly suggest making up a loaf of Ice Cream bread!  I know I recently blogged about this awesome recipe, but we made a batch recently that was screaming for it's own blog post!!

As soon as I tasted the first batch of bread, I knew I wanted to try a chocolate version.  So, off to the store we went to get some super chocolate ice cream.  We settled on one called, Forbidden Chocolate Whirl. 

It came out AWESOME!!!  We used the bread as a base for a yummy Strawberry Shortcake with homemade whipped cream.  Let me tell you, on a hot summer night, it doesn't get much better than this!! 

Hannah was a big fan of the bread...much more so than the Maple Walnut version.  She liked that the chocolate bread didn't have nuts. 

So, if you need a dessert in a jiffy, give this one a try.  I know I'll be making a lot more batches in the future. 

Cheers!
Sharon

Fresh from the Oven: Ice Cream Bread

Hello All-

Here's another quicky recipe that will surely become a family favorite.  I had been seeing a recipe for Ice Cream Bread all over the web and I had to give a try. Hmmm…softened ice cream and self-rising flour? That’s it? It was too good to be true. I didn’t have either item in the pantry at the time, so off to the store we went. After much deliberation, we decided on Maple Walnut ice cream. The "Hungry Housewife" who shared the recipe online used Butter Pecan and said it was delicious as well.

This is a great recipe to try when you go grocery shopping and get home to find that your ice cream has started to soften up. If yours needs a bit of help melting, simply let it sit on the counter for a bit…or do what I did, put it in a glass bowl and let it sit on the stove top while the oven preheated…perfectly softened ice cream in no time!


I must say that this bread is delicious and just as easy as it claims to be! In 45 minutes we had slightly sweetened bread with a hint of maple flavor. I wish that more of the maple had come through though. I am anxious to try a stronger flavored ice cream, such as mint chocolate chip, to see if that makes a difference. In the meantime, we are gobbling ours down with some of my homemade apple-cinnamon butter on top. The two work together perfectly! This bread is a great sweet breakfast treat or dessert. The simplicity of it makes it a great go-to recipe for last-minute get-togethers. No one will ever believe what it is made of!

Happy Baking!!
Sharon