Artisan Bread

Hey Grad Studies,

My Mom found an artisan bread recipe at http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/. Tried it and loved it--thought you guys could make some at the house and it would smell yummy! It sounds complicated because you have to use stoneware, but it's really pretty basic and easy once you get the hang of it. Apparently, even unsealed/unglazed travertine/marble/granite tiles will work (until they crack from too much use).

1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T kosher salt
3 C lukewarm water
6 1/2 C all-purpose flour

In a 5qt ice cream bucket (or another large, plastic container with a lid that's NOT airtight), dissolve the yeast and kosher salt in the water. Mix in the flour but do NOT knead. Mix ingredients only with a wooden spoon or with hands. The dough will be very sticky. Cover with the lid but do not seal, and let the dough rise completely (usually from two to four hours, depending on location, temperature, and type of yeast). Once dough begins to collapse onto itself, put the container into the fridge for a few hours before baking (so that the dough is easier to handle). Make sure the lid is only loosely sealed.

Twenty minutes before baking, place the stoneware pan or pizza stone into the oven and then preheat. Five minutes before baking, place a steam pan into the oven with the stoneware pan (I use an old cookie sheet with a cup of water on it--the pan warps with consistent use, so make sure it's a pan you don't love). Remove the dough from the fridge and shape into loafs (I've been making hoagie-sized mini-loafs, but you can make it a boule, a baguette, braided loaf, whatever you want). Then bake at 450 for half an hour, or until the loafs are golden brown. Remove the loafs from oven, but leave the stoneware in the oven until it cools down. Cover the loafs with a dish towel, and let cool most of the way before eating (otherwise it tastes fine, but smells a bit yeasty and salty).

I've made it with cranberries and pecans. We're using it as pizza dough this afternoon. You can also add chopped black olives and spices for a nice Greek bread.

Hope all is well!

Chicken Crepes

For Chicken Filling:
1/2 of a white onion
3 heads of broccoli
fresh mushrooms (according to desired quantity)
3 large chicken breasts
garlic salt (to taste)
onion powder (to taste)
mixed herbs (to taste)
ground mustard (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
sour cream
cream
cheese of choice

Finely chop the onion. Break broccoli heads into bite-sized florets. Sautee all vegetables in butter until tender; leave on warm. Cut chicken into larger bite-sized pieces and fry in olive oil or butter. Add chicken to the vegetables. Add cream and sour cream until desired consistency/taste is achieved, then add the cheese. Continue mixing until the cheese has melted into the sauce.

For Crepes:
1 C milk
1 C flour
6 T water
3 T butter
2 eggs
1/2 t salt
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, adding flour last by sifting into the mixture and mixing slowly. Make sure the batter is very smooth (no lumps). If using a crepe pan, cook according to pan directions. If using a pan to fry the crepes, cook on medium-low heat each side until it is golden brown. Make sure all pans are well-greased/buttered.

Put chicken filling in the middle of crepe; roll crepe like taco or fold in half. Serve fresh.

Homemade Oreos

• One chocolate cake mix

• 1/3 cup oil (for softer, puffier cookies) OR 1/3 cup shortening (for flatter, drier cookies)

• 2 eggs

• frosting of choice

• small bowl of sugar

Combine cake mix, oil, and eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Dough will be thick and sticky. Shape dough into golf ball-sized pieces, then coat in sugar. Place cookies one and a half to two inches apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 7-8 minutes for a softer, chewier cookie, or 9-10 minutes for a drier cookie. After removing cookies from the oven, tap cookie sheet on counter- or oven-top so that cookies fall flat. Once cookies have completely cooled, spread frosting between two cookies and serve.

Note: If you are only making the cookies, you may use any flavor of cake mix, like yellow or confetti. Children love to make these cookies!


Submitted by Sarah Boman and Maria Nicole Seely Jones

Baked Beans

2 16-oz. cans of pork and beans
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 T. brown sugar
pinch of dry mustard
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 T. vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
shake of garlic salt
1 T. molasses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef with the onion and green pepper. Drain.

In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Add meat mixture. Pour into 9x13 pan. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes.

Submitted by Sarah Boman

Dessert Crepes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar (a little less if making dinner crepes)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (leave out if making dinner crepes)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Beat with rotary beater until smooth. For each crepe, lightly butter or spray with cooking spray a skillet. Immediately rotate pan until batter covers bottom. Cook until light brown; turn and brown on other side.

submitted by Sarah Boman