My Favorite Bread Sticks

First, I have to say that I'm not eating carbs for a few weeks so you have no idea how hard it is for me to blog about my most favorite carb-filled dish. But I've been meaning to share this recipe for so long, I can't put it off any longer.

These are sooooo goood. I make them all the time. And some nights when Mike is working this is all I have for dinner (I'd do it when he's home but he doesn't think it's a meal if there isn't a big piece of meat involved). I dip them in pizza sauce and alfredo sauce or melt cheese on them but they're good plain too. I always set a couple aside and sprinkle them with cinnamon-sugar. So yummy! The only down side is that you have to plan in advance cause the whole process takes a while, but they're so worth it. Enjoy!

Bread Sticks

1 1/2 c. warm water
1 Tbls sugar
1 Tbls yeast
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups flour (I usually use less, just eye ball it)
1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp cornmeal
1/2 c. butter
garlic salt
parmesean cheese

Combine water, sugar and yeast. Let stand 10 minutes. Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups flour and mix well. Slowly add more flour until dough pulls away from side of bowl. Place in greased bowl, cover and rise for 45 minutes or until doubled. Roll onto floured surface into rectangle. Cut into 12 strips. Coat baking sheet with 1/4 c. butter and sprinkle with corn meal. Twist strips and place on baking sheet. Cover and rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes. Brush with butter and sprinkle with parmesean cheese and garlic salt (or cinnamon sugar).

Banana Bread {the best ever!}

Banana Cream Bread

(from my neighbor Arin)

1 1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

3 C. Sugar

4 Eggs
6 Mashed Bananas

1 TBSP Vanilla

1 1/2 Tsp Salt
4 C. Flour
1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

1 C. Sour Cream

2 C. Nuts (opt)

Heat Oven to 325
Grease and flour 3 bread pans (I usually halve the recipe and it still makes 2 loaves)
Combine oil, sugar, eggs, sour cream, bananas, vanilla, and salt.
Sift together flour and baking soda.

Mix into wet ingredients

DO NOT OVER MIX!

Divide into loaf pans and sprinkle about 2 Tbsp sugar over batter.

Bake for 60 minutes.

This is the best banana bread ever!  When ever I make it, it doesn't last long at all.  My neighbor Arin (the one who gave me the recipe) brought this over to our family shortly after we moved in to our house.  We ate the whole loaf of bread that night...so of course I had to bug her for the recipe, and I am so glad I did!

Sinful Bread

I got this one from The Sisters Cafe . It's another food blog written by sisters and they always have awesome recipes. I modified the recipe a bit, it says to put the mixture on French bread but all I had was garlic bread. I left out the minced onion cause it seemed like all the garlic on the bread AND minced onion would just be too much. It turned out good, but I still would like to try it as the original recipe reads. I made this a few weeks ago while Janae was visiting and she must have liked it cause she called me later to get the recipe. This is one I think we'll definately be having again sometime soon.

Sinful Bread

2 loaves french bread
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated fresh
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced onion

Combine ingredients. Split french bread horizontally, spread mixture and sprinkle with paprika (if desired). Broil to crisp up. Enough for 2 loaves of french bread.

Chewy Soft Preztels

Recipes is from My Kitchen Cafe

You can tell they were good...Macie couldn't wait two more seconds to have another one. 

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:

2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:

1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water

2 tablespoons baking soda

Coarse salt (optional)

3 tablespoons butter, melted



Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (to see pictures click on the "My Kitchen Cafe" link at the top of the post).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.