Breads | Stephanie's Slice Of Life

Category: Breads
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
  
  Posted at 4:00 pm by StephMo
  
  Jan 27th
  
  I love Zucchini Bread, but my son doesn’t seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Since this recipe makes two loaves and I really didn’t want to eat them both myself, I gave my recipe a little tweak with some cocoa powder and chocolate chips to see if it changed his mind. Voila, he liked it! Hey Mikey, he likes it! I might be dating myself with that commercial reference.
  
  As I still prefer non-chocolate bread, I split the recipe in half and made one of each. You might notice that it doesn’t look like there is much batter in the photos, and that is the reason.
  
  I wasn’t too sure how much additional liquid would be needed to offset the addition of the cocoa, so I tried adding 1/4 cup more oil. It seemed to have done the trick. I considered removing or decreasing the cinnamon, but I left it as it was and I’m glad that I did. Yum!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 tsp. baking soda
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  3 tsp. cinnamon
  
  1/2 cup cocoa powder (such as Hershey’s)
  
  3 eggs
  
  1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  
  2 1/4 cups sugar
  
  3 tsp. vanilla
  
  2 cups grated zucchini
  
  1/2 cup chocolate chips
  
  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
  
  Grate the zucchini with the skin on and set aside. I didn’t measure but you want about 2 cups. Do not drain the zucchini as the moisture is needed for the bread.
  
  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
  
  Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Mix in the dry ingredients.
  
  The batter is going to be very thick. It will change once the zucchini is added.
  
  Add the zucchini and mix well. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  
  Divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  
  Cool in the pans for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Posted in Breads, Chocolate Zucchini Bread | Tagged chocolate zucchini bread, food blog, food blogger, stephanie's slice of life, zucchini bread, zucchini bread recipe
- Mocha Chip Scones
  
  Posted at 8:08 pm by StephMo
  
  May 25th
  
  My son’s favorite kind of scone is mocha chip, and the best he has ever had comes from a local farm stand. Today I thought, let me give it a try and see how mine will compare. I took my plain scone recipe and gave it a little tweak, and they came out better than expected! I was skeptical using instant coffee, but it combined perfectly in the recipe.
  
  My son was the taste test I needed, and when he got home he gobbled down 2 1/2 scones and said they were as good as the farm stand. Yes!
  
  The key to making scones and biscuits is to use cold butter and to grate the butter with a cheese grater. Butter is quite slippery and will get warm from the heat of your hands, so keep it in the wrapper as best you can.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  5 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3 tbsp. instant coffee or 2 tbsp. espresso powder
  
  3/4 cup cold butter
  
  1 egg, beaten
  
  1 cup milk or half and half
  
  1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
  
  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Grate the cold butter and cut it into the dry mixture with a pasty cutter or a fork and knife. As I states before, make sure the butter is cold.
  
  Put the beaten egg in a measuring cup and then fill to the 1 cup mark with the milk or half and half. I used a combination of half and half and milk. Mix the two together and add a little at a time to the dry mixture.
  
  The dough shouldn’t be too moist, just add enough so that the dough will stick together once kneaded. It won’t look like it will in the bowl, but you can tell by using your hands and squeezing some together.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and divide the dough in two, setting one half aside. Knead until it comes together. If it seems too sticky add more flour to the board. Roll the dough into a circle about a 1/2″ thick.
  
  Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 6-8 pieces.
  
  Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until just brown.
  
  Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  
  And enjoy!
  
  Posted in Breads, Mocha Chip Scones | Tagged blogger, foodblogger, Mocha chip scones, mocha scones recipe, scones recipe, stephaniessliceoflife
- Strawberry Shortcake
  
  Posted at 1:50 pm by StephMo
  
  Jun 22nd
  
  I am pretty much always a “from scratch” person when it comes to baking, but every now and then I make an exception. Shortcake is one of them. While I have made shortcake biscuits from scratch, I really love the taste of making them from Bisquick. If it’s easier and tastes great, why not?
  
  My daughter and I took a trip to a strawberry farm in Maine and picked these beauties. They made an absolutely delicious strawberry shortcake, that my daughter made for me this time!
  
  Ingredients for the shortcake:
  
  2 1/3 cups original Bisquick mix
  
  1/2 cup milk
  
  3 tbsp. sugar
  
  3 tbsp. butter, melted
  
  Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until it becomes dough.
  
  Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. This recipe makes six biscuits.
  
  Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes until brown.
  
  To macerate the strawberries, combine 4 cups of sliced strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and set aside. This will allow the juices of the strawberries to make a delicious syrup.
  
  Top your shortcake with the strawberries and a little (or a lot) of whipped cream and that’s it!
  
  I used canned whipped cream for these, but if you would like to make your own here is the recipe I use.
  
  Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with an electric mixer until it is just about stiff. Add 1 tsp. of vanilla and 2 tbsp. of confectioners sugar and continue beating until peaks form. Don’t over-beat or it will start to get lumpy.
  
  Posted in Recipes, Strawberry Shortcake | Tagged bisquick shortcake, bisquick strawberry shortcake, easy strawberry shortcake, food blog, food blogger, shortcake, shortcake recipe, strawberry shortcake
- Blueberry Scones With Lemon Icing
  
  Posted at 3:59 pm by StephMo
  
  Jun 7th
  
  Of course if I was going to make scones while I am in Maine they were going to be blueberry scones. And what better flavor to combine with blueberry than lemon. Yum. You may have already tried using my scones recipe, and this recipe is the same except for the addition of blueberries and the icing. Easy and delicious!
  
  As I mentioned in my other scone Blog, this is a great base recipe to add other ingredients to. In the past I have added chocolate chips, yesterday I added blueberries and who knows what I might add next!
  
  ** Please note some of the photos are from my original scone Blog.
  
  Scone Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  5 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3/4 cup cold butter
  
  1 egg, beaten
  
  1 cup milk or half and half
  
  1 cup blueberries
  
  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Using a cheese grater, grate the butter and cut it into the dry mixture with a pasty cutter or a fork and knife. Make sure the butter is cold.
  
  Put the beaten egg in a measuring cup and then fill to the 1 cup mark with the milk or half and half. I used a combination of half and half and milk. Mix the two together and add a little at a time to the dry mixture. You shouldn’t have to use all of it.
  
  The dough shouldn’t be too moist, just add enough so that the dough will stick together once kneaded. It won’t look like it will in the bowl, but you can tell by using your hands and squeezing some together.
  
  Now add the blueberries.
  
  When I got to this step I thought, how the heck do I get the blueberries in the dough without making an absolute mess? I went and changed my shirt, make sure you either do that or are wearing an apron, and carefully started to stir them in as best I could.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it comes together. It is not easy to do without the blueberries exploding, but just take your time and it will work.
  
  Roll the dough into a circle about a 1/2″ thick.
  
  Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 8 pieces, this will make very large scones. If you would like them smaller divide the dough in half, then roll it out and cut into 8 pieces which is what I did.
  
  Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 12-13 minutes or until just brown.
  
  Let the scones cool completely and then drizzle the lemon icing on them. For the icing, I used the icing I use on my Italian Lemon Cookies except I cut the recipe in half.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
  1/8 cup water
  
  1/2 tsp. lemon extract
  
  Combine all of the ingredients until smooth. If the icing is too thin you can add more sugar until you get it to the right consistency.
  
  You are going to love these scones!
  
  Posted in Blueberry Scones with Lemon Icing, Breads, Recipes | Tagged blueberry lemon scones, blueberry scones, food blog, food blogger, Recipes, scones, scones recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Zucchini Bread
  
  Posted at 1:46 pm by StephMo
  
  Jan 19th
  This recipe makes such a moist delicious spice bread perfect with an afternoon tea or coffee. The bread forms its own little crust of sorts which adds to its wonderful flavor. This is one of those foods I tell myself is technically healthy because it contains a vegetable. Or a fruit actually? I am not really sure where zucchini falls to be honest but it my world I consider this health food lol.
  
  An added bonus to this delicious recipe is that it makes 2 loaves. I just love when a recipe makes two loaves, it is so great to have the extra loaf without the extra work isn’t it?
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1 tsp. baking powder
  
  1 tsp. baking soda
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  3 tsp. cinnamon
  
  3 eggs
  
  1 cup vegetable oil
  
  2 1/4 cups sugar
  
  3 tsp. vanilla
  
  2 cups grated zucchini
  
  Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
  
  Grate the zucchini with the skin on and set aside. I didn’t measure but you want about 2 cups. Do not drain the zucchini as the moisture is needed for the bread.
  
  Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
  
  Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Mix in the dry ingredients.
  
  You will get quite the arm workout mixing these ingredients together before adding the zucchini.
  
  Add the zucchini and mix well. Divide the mixture evenly between the two pans and bake for 40-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  
  Cool in the pans for 20 minutes before transferring to wire racks.
  
  Enjoy!
  Zucchini Bread
  
  Print Recipe Pin Recipe
  
  Ingredients
  
  3 cups flour
  1 tsp. baking powder
  1 tsp. baking soda
  1 tsp. salt
  3 tsp. cinnamon
  3 eggs
  1 cup vegetable oil
  2 1/4 cups sugar
  3 tsp. vanilla extract
  2 cups grated zucchini
  
  Instructions
  
  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  Grease and flour two loaf pans.
  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and set aside.
  Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
  Add the grated zucchini and mix well.
  Divide evenly between the two loaf pans and bake for 40-60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  Cool for 20 minutes in the pans before transferring to a wire rack.
  Posted in Breads, Zucchini Bread | Tagged food blog, food blogger, Recipes, stephanie's slice of life, zucchini bread, zucchini bread recipe, zucchini loaf bread
- Brioche Bread Pudding
  
  Posted at 6:20 pm by StephMo
  
  Jan 14th
  
  I absolutely love bread pudding. If you have never had bread pudding, it reminds me of a thick sweet French toast in a way. Since my daughter and I are the only ones in my family that do like it, it is not something I make very often. I got the idea to use Brioche bread after having it at a local restaurant. The restaurant also served it with a bourbon sauce which I had intended to make, but it is so good as is that I never bothered.
  
  This recipe does not have to include raisins if you are not fond of them. However, if you do like raisins you may want to add more than I have. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, my daughter does not like raisins and I was only able to add a few under great protest.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  14 oz. loaf of Brioche bread
  
  2 1/2 cups of milk
  
  1 cup half and half
  
  3 eggs, beaten
  
  1 3/4 cups sugar
  
  1/4 cup raisins
  
  3 tbsp. butter, melted
  
  1 3/4 tbsp. vanilla
  
  Cut the bread into cubes and combine in a large mixing bowl with the milk and half and half.
  
  This is a very soft bread and the mixture starts to get soggy and lose shape very quickly so don’t let it sit too long.
  
  Fold in the eggs, butter, vanilla, sugar, and raisins and combine well while trying to keep the bread intact.
  
  Scoop the mixture into a greased 3 quart casserole dish and bake for about an hour or until set at 325 degrees. I recommend using a rectangular casserole dish if you have one because mine took forever to cook in the square casserole. I am going to add that to my list of things I need to buy.
  
  Once it is out of the oven let it sit for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
  
  Serve plain or with a little vanilla ice cream on top. Delicious!
  
  Posted in Breads, Brioche Bread Pudding, Recipes | Tagged bread pudding, bread pudding recipe, brioche bread pudding, brioche bread recipe, brioche breading pudding recipe, dessert recipes, food blog, food blogger, stephanie's slice of life
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
  
  Posted at 10:25 am by StephMo
  
  Jan 14th
  
  Garlic bread is not something I make often because let’s be honest, it probably isn’t the best thing to be eating all that often. So when I do make garlic bread I kick it up a notch and make Cheesy Garlic Bread! Go big or go home! Garlic bread without the cheese is absolutely delicious, but once you add the cheese you really bring it to a whole new level.
  
  If you have ever purchased the garlic bread from a grocery store you have probably noticed they put about six pounds of butter on the loaf. For me personally I think it’s just too much butter, but if you like a lot of butter on your garlic bread then just put more than I have suggested in the recipe. That goes for the cheese as well, I haven’t put any measurements because it is all about personal preference.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  Loaf of Italian bread
  
  4 -5 tbsp. butter, softened
  
  1 tbsp. (or more) minced garlic
  
  1 tbsp. olive oil
  
  Pepper to taste
  
  Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  
  Parmesan cheese, shredded
  
  Parsley
  
  Combine the softened butter, olive oil, garlic, and pepper in a small bowl. After slicing the loaf of Italian bread in half the long way, spread the butter mixture over both sides of the bread.
  
  Put the two sides back together and wrap in aluminum foil. Cook for about 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until the butter is melted.
  
  Remove the bread from the oven and top with the cheeses, use as much as you want. I like the majority of the cheese to be mozzarella and just a little parmesan. Sprinkle with parsley.
  
  Keep the bread open this time when returning to the oven. You can either just put them on the aluminum foil or on a baking sheet.
  
  Bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.
  
  Enjoy! Nom nom nom.
  
  Posted in Breads, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Recipes | Tagged cheesy garlic bread, cheesy garlic bread recipe, food blog, food blogger, garlic bread, garlic bread recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Scones
  
  Posted at 3:59 pm by StephMo
  
  Dec 14th
  
  I just made some homemade blueberry jam the other day, and what better to have with jam than homemade scones. This recipe is nice because it is easy to make, delicious, and a good base recipe if you want to add other ingredients. I plan on making another batch this week and adding chocolate chips. You could add fruit, nuts, chocolate, or whatever your heart desires. These scones are moist and have a nice slightly sweet taste.
  
  The key to making scones and biscuits is to use cold butter and to grate the butter with a cheese grater. Butter is quite slippery and will get warm from the heat of your hands, so keep it in the wrapper as best you can.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 cups flour
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  5 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  3/4 cup cold butter
  
  1 egg, beaten
  
  1 cup milk or half and half
  
  Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Grate the butter and cut it into the dry mixture with a pasty cutter or a fork and knife. I finally got a new pastry cutter! Woohoo! For those of you that read my blogs know that I have been without one for quite some time.
  
  Put the beaten egg in a measuring cup and then fill to the 1 cup mark with the milk or half and half. I used a combination of half and half and milk. Mix the two together and add a little at a time to the dry mixture. You shouldn’t have to use all of it.
  
  The dough shouldn’t be too moist, just add enough so that the dough will stick together once kneaded. It won’t look like it will in the bowl, but you can tell by using your hands and squeezing some together.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it comes together. Roll the dough into a circle about a 1/2″ thick.
  
  Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into 8 pieces, this made very large scones. If you would like them smaller divide the dough in half, then roll it out and cut into 8 pieces.
  
  Place the scones on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until brown.
  
  Then enjoy plain or with some jam! Yum!
  
  Posted in Breads, Recipes, Scones, Uncategorized | Tagged food blog, food blogger, Recipes, scone recipe, scones and jam, scones recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- Coffee Cake
  
  Posted at 4:42 pm by StephMo
  
  Nov 3rd
  
  I had to do something today to help with the Election stress, and baking always helps. My son has been requesting a Coffee Cake for a little while so that is what I decided to bake. Coffee Cake is such a nice afternoon comfort food with a cup of coffee, and hit the spot today for sure.
  
  However, the election stress did contribute to me making it upside down! Ugh. I use a bundt pan and was not thinking straight I guess and neglected to put the topping on the bottom since you flip the cake. It tasted the same but thankfully I wasn’t bringing it somewhere because it did look a little strange. Don’t look too hard at the photo because you can tell.
  
  If you have ever noticed how wonderfully moist a Coffee Cake is, it is because one of the ingredients is sour cream. It adds such a wonderful touch doesn’t it? On a side note, sour cream also makes mashed potatoes better. Ok, now back to the cake.
  
  Ingredients:
  
  1 cup of sugar
  
  2 eggs
  
  1/2 cup butter, softened
  
  2 cups of flour
  
  1 tsp. baking powder
  
  1/4 tsp. baking soda
  
  1/2 tsp. salt
  
  1 cup sour cream
  
  1/2 cup sugar
  
  2 tsp. cinnamon
  
  2 tsp. vanilla
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a bundt pan.
  
  Beat together the softened butter, sugar, and eggs until smooth and set aside.
  
  In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I recommend sifting the ingredients together. Sift, sift, sift, it makes a difference!
  
  Alternate adding the flour mixture with the sour cream to the wet mixture. Mix well after each addition.
  
  For the topping mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small bowl.
  
  Sprinkle half of the topping inside the bundt pan. Top with half of the batter, then the other half of the topping, and the other half of the batter.
  
  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before flipping the cake out of the pan and on to a plate.
  
  Get yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy!
  
  Posted in Cakes, Coffee Cake, Recipes | Tagged coffee cake, coffee cake recipe, food blog, food blogger, sour cream coffee cake, sour cream coffee cake recipe, stephanie's slice of life
- French Bread
  
  Posted at 7:00 pm by StephMo
  
  Oct 23rd
  
  I am making homemade soup for dinner tonight and what better than a crusty loaf of bread to go with it. Even though I had to run to the store for some ingredients for the soup, I decided to bake my own bread instead of buying some. There is just something so comforting about warm bread right out of the oven.
  
  It is not very difficult to make this bread , and there isn’t much kneading involved. This recipe is once again from my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and it doesn’t appear to be on-line. This cookbook is like gold to me, I may need to get it insured along with my wedding rings!
  
  Ingredients:
  
  3 – 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  
  1 tbsp. sugar
  
  1 tsp. salt
  
  1 package active dry yeast
  
  1 cup very warm water
  
  2 tbsp. vegetable oil
  
  1 egg white
  
  1 tbsp. cold water
  
  Combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
  
  Add warm water and oil and beat on low speed of an electric mixer for 1 minute scraping the bowl frequently. Increase speed to medium and beat for another minute.
  
  Stir in 1/2 cup of flour at a time until the dough is easy to handle.
  
  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  
  Grease a bowl with olive oil and roll the dough over in the bowl to coat with the oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
  
  Punch down the dough and cut in half. Roll out each half into a rectangle on a lightly floured board.
  
  Starting with the long side, roll the dough up tightly to form a loaf.
  
  Pinch the edge and the sides of the dough, then roll the loaf back and forth a few times.
  
  Place loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Make small slices across the loaves, then brush with cold water. Let rise uncovered for an hour until it doubles in size.
  
  Once it has risen, brush the loaves with the egg white and cold water mixture.
  
  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees until brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
  
  Now try not to eat all of the bread before you make the soup!
  
  Posted in Breads, French Bread, Recipes | Tagged baking, bread, bread recipe, food blog, food blogger, french bread, french bread recipe
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