Naan

Ingredients

• Servings: 14
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Recipe

Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 7 mins Ready Time: 3 hrs


• in a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
• punch down dough, and knead in garlic. pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. roll into balls, and place on a tray. cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• during the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
• at grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. lightly oil grill. place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

chef john's lemon bars

Ingredients

• Servings: 1
• for the shortbread crust:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• for the lemon layer:
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar, or to taste

Recipe

Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 50 mins Ready Time: 1 hr 40 mins


• place an oven rack into middle position in oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c). lightly oil an 8x8-inch baking dish.
• place 1 cup flour and butter in a mixing bowl and mash with the back of a spatula or wooden spoon until thoroughly combined. mix in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and salt; mash mixture together until mixture looks like a slightly crumbly cookie dough.
• moisten your fingers with a little water and press dough into bottom of prepared baking dish. use a fork to prick holes all over the crust.
• bake crust on center rack in the preheated oven until crust edges are barely golden brown, 22 minutes.
• beat eggs and egg yolks together in a bowl; whisk in white sugar and 2 tablespoons flour until smooth. add lemon juice and lemon zest; whisk for 2 minutes. pour lemon custard over crust.
• bake on center rack until custard is set and top has a thin white sugary crust, 25 minutes. let cool completely before cutting into bars. dip knife into very hot water, run around the edge, and cut into 16 squares. dust cookies with 1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar.

braided easter egg bread

Ingredients

• Servings: 1
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 5 whole eggs, dyed if desired
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Recipe

Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 55 mins Ready Time: 3 hrs 25 mins


• in a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast; stir well. combine milk and butter in a small saucepan; heat until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.
• gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. add two eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat well. add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. when the dough has pulled together, turn it out a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• deflate the dough and turn it out a lightly floured surface. divide the dough into two equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. roll each round into a long roll about 36 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided ring, leaving spaces for the five colored eggs. seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough.
• preheat oven to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c). place loaf on a buttered baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. brush risen loaf with melted butter.
• bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden.

peppy's pita bread

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees f/45 degrees c)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Recipe

Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Ready Time: 3 hrs 20 mins


• place all ingredients in bread pan of your bread machine, select dough setting and start. when dough has risen long enough, machine will beep.
• turn dough a lightly floured surface. gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. with a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. roll each into a smooth ball. with a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
• preheat oven to 500 degrees f (260 degrees c). place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. place cake rack directly on oven rack. bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. they can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

double tomato bruschetta

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 french baguette
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 7 mins Ready Time: 35 mins


• preheat the oven on broiler setting.
• in a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
• cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. on a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
• divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
• broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

Ingredients

• Servings: 9
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Recipe

Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 40 mins Ready Time: 55 mins


• preheat oven to 375 degrees f (175 degrees c). grease an 8 inch square pan.
• melt butter in large skillet. remove from heat and stir in sugar. quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. pour batter into the prepared pan.
• bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

pull-apart easter blossom bread

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed (divided)
• 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Recipe

Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Ready Time: 3 hrs 50 mins


• in a large bowl, whisk together 4 cups of flour, the yeast, white sugar, and salt. in a saucepan over low heat, melt the unsalted butter with the milk until the mixture is warm, about 110 degrees f (43 degrees c). gradually whisk about 1/3 of the butter-milk mixture into the beaten eggs, then return the egg mixture back into the remaining milk mixture. stir the lemon zest into the liquid ingredients (set aside lemon juice for later). pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture, and stir until thoroughly combined.
• add enough flour to make a soft dough; turn the dough out a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. place dough into an oiled bowl, and turn the dough around to cover surface lightly with oil. cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. punch down the dough, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• divide the dough in half, and roll each half into a round ball. on a floured surface, roll out a ball into a 12-inch circle. place a drinking glass, face down, into the center of the circle to prevent cutting the dough too far into the center. cut the dough with a knife, from the edge of the dough circle to the rim of the glass, into quarters. cut each quarter into 5 narrow wedge-shaped strips. (center of the dough is uncut.) remove the drinking glass. there are 20 narrow wedge-shaped strips surrounding the uncut center of the dough.
• pick up two adjacent strips, and twist them together about 4 times; pinch the ends of the two pieces together at the top. gently coil to form a rough flower shape. arrange the round into the middle of the circle, where the drinking glass was.
• pick up two more adjacent strips, and twist and pinch them as before; coil them into a rough round, and arrange the new petal next to the center rosette. repeat with remaining 16 strips, twisting and pinching them in twos, coiling and arranging them into 8 more petals around the center rosette. finished bread has 9 petals surrounding the center round. repeat steps with the second ball of dough to make two breads.
• grease a baking sheet, or line with parchment paper. place the shaped breads the prepared baking sheet, reshaping them into rounds if needed; cover with a clean kitchen towel, and place into a warm spot to rise until almost doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
• preheat oven to 375 degrees f (190 degrees c). beat the egg yolk with water in a small bowl, and brush the mixture over both the breads.
• bake in the preheated oven until the breads have turned golden brown, about 25 minutes. allow to cool.
• use your fingers to gently deepen the indentations in the center of each petal, and fill each with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam. mix the reserved lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a bowl to form a glaze; drizzle the glaze in thin lines all over both the breads. allow glaze to set. to serve, pull the petals apart.