Breads and quick breads

Buttermilk coffee cake

  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Topping
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 Tbsp soft butter
  • 1/2 cup flour

Preheat over to 350°F. Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan. Mix all ingredients for topping together and set aside. Place remaining ingredients in large mixer bowl. Beat on low speed 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and beat 1 1/2 minutes more on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Do not overbeat. Spread half the batter in pan and sprinkle with half the topping. Top with remaining batter, sprinkle with remaining topping. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until tested done.

Per cake: 4668 calories, 164g fat, 65g protein, 744g carbohydrate, 14g fiber, 4.6g sodium.

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Buttermilk pancakes

Serves 4

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp oil

Mix until just barely combined—a few lumps should remain. Cook on hot, lightly greased griddle until bubbles form, flip once and cook until done. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 228 calories, 9g fat, 7g protein, 30g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 490 mg sodium.

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Eggnog Bread

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup eggnog
  • 2 tsp rum extract
  • 2 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • Dash of nutmeg

Grease and flour the bottom of a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, eggnog, margarine, rum extract, and vanilla together. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg and stir until just moistened. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 40–45 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove.

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Granma Howard’s Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves

  • 2 cup grated zucchini
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cup flour
  • 1 tsp soda
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup oil

Grease and flour two loaf pans. Cream eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla. Sift and measure 3 cups flour, soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add to creamed mixture and blend. Add nuts and raisins. Bake at 325°F for ~ 1 hour. Test with toothpick to make sure cooked in the center.

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Irish Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves

  • 4 cups unsifted regular all purpose flour (or use 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups regular flour)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp soda
  • 1/4 cup sugar (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom or coriander (optional)
  • 1/4 cup (1/8 lb.) butter or margarine
  • 2 cups currants or raisins (optional)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 3/4 cup buttermilk (or regular milk plus 5 tsp vinegar)

Combine in a large bowl the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, sugar, and spice, if used. Add butter or margarine, and cut in with a pastry blender or knives until crumbly. Mix in currants, if used. Beat eggs slightly and mix with buttermilk; add to dry ingredients and stir until blended. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Divide dough in half, and shape each into a round loaf; place each loaf in an 8″ cake or pie pan. Press down until dough fill the pans. With a sharp knife, cut crosses on the tops of the loaves, about 1/2″ deep in the middle. Bake in a 375°F oven for 35–40 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

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Jill’s Scones

Makes 12

  • 1/3 cup firm butter or margarine
  • 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup raisins or chocolate chips
  • 1 egg
  • 5 Tbsp milk
  • Sugar for sprinkling on top

Heat oven to 400°F. In a large mixing bowl with a fork, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter or margarine until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in raisins or chocolate chips. In another bowl, beat together egg and milk until blended. Stir into dry ingredients just until mixture leaves the side of the bowl. Pat or roll to 1/2″ thick circle. Cut into 10–12 wedges. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet and serve warm. (You can also use chopped apricots, cherries or other dried fruits.) **This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.

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Portuguese sweet bread

Serves 12

  • 1/4 cup mashed potato flakes
  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 envelopes dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp lemon extract
  • 1 large egg, beaten

In a small pan, beat instant potatoes into the boiling water. Stir in the sugar, dry milk and butter. Let cool to 110°F.

Meanwhile, in the large bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve yeast in the warm water (110°F). Blend in cooled potato mixture. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat to blend. Stir in the eggs, salt, vanilla, and lemon flavoring until smoothly blended. Then beat in another 1 1/2 cups flour.

With a heavy mixer or by hand, mix in more flour to make a stiff dough, 1 to 1 1/2 cups. Turn dough out onto a floured board, and knead 5 to 20 minutes until smooth and satiny, adding more flour as needed. Turn dough over in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and knead briefly on a lightly floured board to release air. Let rest 10 minutes. Shape in one of the following ways:

Coiled loaves: Divide dough in half. Roll each piece into a 30-inch-long rope. For each loaf, coil one rope into a greased 9-inch pie pan, starting at the outside of the edge of pan and ending in the center. Twist rope slightly as you lay it in the pan. Makes 2 loaves.

Coiled buns: Divide dough into 12 equal-size pieces. Roll each into a 12-inch-long rope. On greased baking sheets, coil and twist each rope as described for coiled loaves to make 2 1/2 to 3-inch buns. Space buns at least 2 inches apart. Makes 1 dozen big rolls (can make 18 smaller rolls with less dough each).

Braided loaves. Divide dough into 6 equal portions and roll each into a 14-inch-long rope. For each loaf, arrange 3 ropes side by side on a greased baking sheet and loosely braid. Pinch both ends together and turn under loaf. Makes 2 loaves.

Cover loaves or buns lightly and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, 35–45 minutes for loaves, 20–30 minutes for buns. Brush with beaten egg; sprinkle with granulated sugar if desired. Bake at 350°F until browned, 25–30 minutes for loaves, 20–25 minutes for buns. Cool on racks. Serve warm or cooled.

Per serving: 316 calories, 10g fat, 8g protein, 49g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 290mg sodium.

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Swedish cinnamon rings

Serves 40 (or, in our family, 12)

  • 2 pkgs dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 Tbsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups light cream, scalded
  • 2 eggs
  • 8 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle yeast over 105°F–115°F water in a warm large bowl and stir to dissolve. Mix 1 cup butter, sugar, cardamom, and salt with cream and cool to lukewarm. Stir into yeast, then beat in eggs, one at a time. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. You will probably have to turn dough onto a board and knead in the final cup. Knead dough about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased large bowl, turn so dough is greased all over, cover with cloth, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place 1–1/2 to 1–3/4 hours until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, turn onto a lightly floured board, and knead 1–2 minutes. Divide dough into 3 or 4 equal parts, depending upon whether you want large- or medium-size rings. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle (about 14″ by 18″ for medium-size rings, 18″ by 22″ for large). Spread lightly with remaining 1/2 cup butter; mix brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over butter, then roll up jelly-roll style and shape into a ring. Using sharp scissors, make diagonal snips deep (but not too deep) into each ring every 2″ and turn cut-side up. Place rings on lightly greased baking sheets, cover with cloth, and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F. When rings have risen, bake 20–30 minutes until nicely browned and hollow-sounding when tapped. Transfer to wire racks to cool and, if you like, glaze and decorate. Serve warm or at room temperature. To reheat, wrap in foil and heat 10 minutes at 350°F.

I often make 1/2 a recipe. Also, you can refrigerate after first rising then proceed the next morning. If you do, increase yeast by 1–1/2 to 2 times.

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