Rosemary and Gruyere Cheese Bread

I love this artisan bread recipe!  I use it ALL the time, but this time I just wanted something a little different.  I may never go back!

Rosemary and Gruyere Cheese Bread

(1 loaf)

3 cups flour

2 1/4 t yeast

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 cup shredded Gruyere Cheese

1 T fresh chopped rosemary

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

Mix all ingredient EXCEPT water and oil together in a large bowl.  Add water and oil.  Stir until the dough forms a shaggy ball and all the flour is incorporated.  Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and fold over itself twice.  Form into a ball, cover and let sit for 30 minutes.  While the bread is sitting, heat oven to 450.  Place an oven proof, lidded pan (like a Le Creuset or Dutch oven) in the oven while it is heating up.  Once the oven and the pan are hot, place the dough seam side up into the hot pan.  Cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the lid and bake for 5-10 minutes more or until desired doneness.  

Croissants

I love croissants!  They are definitely my favorite pastry.  I have never made them before but I recently read a fiction book about 3 girls who inherited a bakery from their Grandmother they had never met.  The book went into detail about these women learning to make croissants and I instantly knew I wanted to give it a try.  While they can be labor intensive, they are not difficult! I actually loved the process and the outcome.  I filled about half with good quality chocolate chips and those were the best! Don't let these lovely pastries intimidate you, give them a try, you will not be disappointed! I found this recipe over at King Arthur Flour's website. Make sure to read through the whole recipe as there is quite a bit of fridge time needed! But don't worry, they are totally worth the wait!

Croissants
(2 dozen)

Dough

2 large eggs, plus enough warm water to make 2 cups of liquid
1/4 cup sugar
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 t yeast
1/2 cup dry milk
1 scant tablespoon salt
2 T butter, melted

Butter
1 7/8 cup butter, cool to the touch
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

For the dough:
Male a sponge by cracking 2 eggs into a 2 cup measuring cup and add enough warm water to make 2 cups. Beat well and put into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your electric mixer.  Using the dough hook, add one Tablespoon of the sugar, 3 cups of flour and the yeast.  Mix until smooth, cover and set aside.

For the butter:
While the sponge is doing its thing, set up the butter inlay.  Mix the butter and flour together until it is smooth and there are no hard lumps.  You can do this using a spoon, food processor, mixer or by hand. Be careful not the use a high speed, that will incorporate air and we don't want that! Lightly flour a piece of plastic wrap and shape the butter into an 8 inch square using a dough scraper or a spatula. Wrap up the butter and place it in the fridge on a flat surface for at least 30 minutes.

Finish the dough:
Stir the melted and cooled butter into the sponge. In another bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups of the remaining flour, the sugar, the dry milk and the salt.  Add this to the sponge and mix until you have a soft but kneadable dough.  Check the dough after kneading for 4-5 minutes and add more the remaining flour if it is still sticky.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, pat it into a square, loosely cover it and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. (The goal is to have the butter and the dough the same consistency, that will make it easier to fold them together to create layers).

Rolling in:
Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface.  Roll it into a square about 12 inches across.  Unwrap the butter slab and place it in the center of the square at a 45 degree angle so it looks like a diamond in a square. Fold the flaps of the dough over the butter until they touch in the center.  Pinch them together to seal in the butter. Lightly flour the top and then turn the dough over so the seams are on the bottom.  Gently tap the dough into a rectangle using your rolling pin. Lift the dough to make sure it isn't sticking, dusting with flour as necessary.  Gently roll the dough from the center out until you have a rectangle 20 inches long by 10 inches wide. When you have reached this size, brush off any excess four and fold the bottom 1/3 of the dough into the center and the top 1/3 over that, like folding a letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees to the right so it looks like a book ready to open.  That is your first turn!

You need to do this a totally of 4 times.  Between each turn wrap the dough and return it to the fridge for up to 30 minutes.  This will keep the thin layers of dough and butter you are creating from breaking open.  Also remember to keep your surface and rolling pin lightly dusted with flour. (Don't worry if your layers break open, that is how I knew it was time to put it back in the fridge). Also, I would flip my dough and make sure the underneath was lightly floured, this seemed to help too. When my layer would break, I would just make sure that it was on the inside when I folded the dough into a book. Once you have done this 4 times, wrap the dough and place in your fridge for at least 1 hour but preferably overnight. 

Shaping the dough:
using half the dough at a time, roll it into a 12" x 18"rectangle.  Trim the edges, on every edge with a ruler and a pizza wheel.  (this will allow the croissant to puff up when baking). Cut the dough in thirds length wise and in half through the middle. This will give you six pieces.  Now cut each of those in half diagonally, making twelve total. Roll the dough starting with the point facing away from you.  It is ok to stretch them a little as you roll them.  If you want to put filling in your croissants, this is the time. (I highly recommend chocolate.)  Place a table spoon of filling at the wide edge near you and roll from there.  I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, they were heaven! Make sure the tip of the croissant is tucked underneath. Place the croissants on a lightly greased or parchment papered cookie sheet. Cover and chill for 30 minutes, or you can freeze them at this point. 

Baking the croissants:
take the croissants out of the oven and preheat the oven to 425.  While the oven is heating, brush the tops with 1 well beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water. When the oven is hot, bake the croissants for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 15-20 minutes. The croissants should be a golden brown, even where the folds overlap so you don't have a doughy center.  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Quick Artisan Bread

I am a HUGE fan of homemade bread!  And Artisan No-Knead bread it some of my very favorite!  It is SUPER easy (it only has four ingredients) and it's crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  Can you say perfect!  The only downside it that the recipe I have already posted takes 18-24 hours to proof before you can bake it.  And lets be honest, I usually don't think that far in advance to start it.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I found this recipe here.  I have made it 2 or 3 times in the last couple of weeks and I think it is just as good as that other recipe AND it only takes a fraction of the time.  Total bonus!  

Quick Artisan Bread
(1 large loaf)

3 cups flour
2 1/4 t yeast
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cups water

Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.  Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rest for about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice and then shape into a rough ball.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

At least 30 minutes before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 450.  Put a 6 to 8 quart heavy covered (oven safe - cast iron, enamel, or ceramic) pot in the oven as it heats.  When dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven.  Slide your hand under the dough and place it into the hot pot, seam side up.  Shake the pan once or twice if the dough id unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Coven the pot with the lid and bake the bread for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned.  Cool on a wire rack.

French Rolls

Needless to say we are a LITTLE obsessed with bread in our house.  My husband is definitely the worst of the bunch.  We can't just go to the store and buy bread, we have to make it, ALL of it.  And we LOVE to make it.  So with that premise, we were making French Dip sandwiches (recipe coming soon) yesterday and needed GOOD French Rolls. So, Saturday night we researched, found and made the dough for our Sunday feast.  Aren't they beauties?!  Slightly crunchy on the outside, soft, moist, and chewy on the inside! They are wonderful... for sandwiches or slathered in butter!  We found the recipe here.  It is simple, with very few ingredients.  And we have found that few ingredients usually make the best bread! We made some slight changes.

*You will need to let this dough sit in the fridge overnight, for best results, so plan ahead!*

French Rolls (Petits Pains)
(12 rolls)

1 2/3 cups cold water
2 1/4 t yeast
1/2 T salt
4 cups flour (we like King Arthur flour)

In a large bowl, mix water and yeast until the yeast is dissolved.  Stir in the salt and enough flour to make a soft dough that can be kneaded. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. (We put ours in the Bosch and let it do the work.)  If the dough gets too sticky, dust it with a little flour and continue kneading.  You want the dough to be soft, not hard.

Grease a large bowl (this dough will expand a lot).  Put the dough in the bowl and turn once to lightly grease the dough.  Tightly cover the dough and place it in the fridge overnight.

Take the dough out of the fridge 90 minutes before you shape it.  You should punch it down right after taking it out.  After 90 minutes, punch the dough down again and turn it onto a floured surface.  Knead the dough to remove all of the air bubbles, about 5 minutes.  Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and shape into round rolls.  Cover and let rise again for 1 hour.  Remove the cover and flatten each ball on a lightly floured surface with your hands.  Fold the roll in half and then in half again to make a long roll, taper the ends of each roll to make a point.  Place these rolls on greased baking sheets, cover and let rise a final time about 45 minutes or until doubled.

Bake the rolls at 400 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm or cold.

If you want to retain the texture of these rolls, DO NOT store in a plastic bag.  Store in a paper bag, or eat the same day they were cooked.

Homemade Croutons

These are so easy and such a great way to use stale bread! I used this Artisan Bread recipe. But I think any french bread would work just fine. I don't think I will ever buy croutons again, these are just too good! I looked at quite a few different recipes but in the end took what I liked from each one.

Homemade Croutons

day old or stale french bread (I used Artisan bread)

extra virgin olive oil (about 1/4 cup per half a loaf)

kosher salt

dried oregano

dried basil

garlic powder

(any other spices you like...thyme, rosemary)

Preheat oven to 350. Cut bread into one inch by one inch cubes or any size or shape you want. (It would be fun to use small cookie cutters and make shapes). Put the bread cubes on a cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the bread. Sprinkle with the salt and spices. Toss with your hands until the bread is evenly coated. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the bread is very crusty and golden brown. Make sure to stir the bread once or twice as it cooks to ensure even cooking. Cool completely. Use on salad, soup or anything else you can think of. These will store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Artisan Bread

I got this recipe off of The Sister's Cafe. I think I just found my new bread heaven! I loved how little I had to do to this bread, how beautifully it turned out and how absolutely delicious it was! Try this bread ASAP, you will not be disappointed.
**My sister-in-law made this using parchment paper underneath the dough instead of a towel and it worked great! This way you just lift the the parchment paper and bread and set it into the pan instead of flipping it in.

Artisan Bread
(Description borrowed from the Sister's Cafe)
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 5/8 cup water

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.