Almond Poppyseed Bread

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup poppy seeds
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup almond paste
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

This recipe calls for almond paste, which is a blend of blanched ground almonds, sugar, and glycerin or another liquid. Sometimes almond extract is added to intensify the flavor. The paste is available in most supermarkets.

Preheat an oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 1-lb. loaf pan.

In a small bowl, stir and toss together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and almond paste on medium speed until smooth and light, 3 to 4 minutes. While the mixer is still running, slowly add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes; stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to very low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour, blending each addition until just incorporated; stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto the rack to cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf

Grandma's Cornbread

1 cup Yellow Corn Meal
1 cup of all-purpose flour
half cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 third cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place two tbsp. shortening in 8 inch square baking pan. Place in hot oven until shortening is melted. Combine dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. Combine milk, oil and eggs in small bowl. Mix well. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Zucchini Breakfast Bread

3 large eggs, beaten
1¾ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup cinnamon applesauce
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, shredded or grated
3 cups self-rising flour
½ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a non-stick 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the beaten eggs, sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Dump in the zucchini. Stir with a large spoon. Sprinkle in flour. Stir well.

Pour batter in the loaf pan. Sprinkle nuts over the batter. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes on a cooling rack.

Loosen bread from the sides and remove the bread to cool completely on the rack. Once cool, slice and serve. (Hint: The bread slices even better when partially frozen.) Store individually wrapped leftovers in the freezer.

Note: If you don’t have 3 cups of self-rising flour, you can use 3 cups of all-purpose flour + 4 teaspoons baking powder + ¼ teaspoon salt.

Banana-Nut Bread

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
⅓ cup buttermilk, low-fat
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup soft (tub) margarine
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup pecans, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly oil two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Stir together mashed bananas and buttermilk; set aside.
3. Cream brown sugar and margarine together until light. Beat in egg. Add banana mixture; beat well.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add all at once to liquid ingredients. Stir until well blended.
5. Stir in nuts and turn into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in pan.
7. Remove from pan and complete cooling on a wire rack before slicing.

Homestyle Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
⅔ cup buttermilk, low-fat
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and oil. Pour over flour mixture; stir until well mixed.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently for 10-12 strokes.
5. Roll or pat dough to ¾-inch thickness.
6. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit or cookie cutter, dipping cutter in flour between cuts.
7. Transfer biscuits to an ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Good-for-You Cornbread

Use 1% buttermilk and a small amount of margarine to make this cornbread lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
¼ cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk, low-fat
1 egg, whole
¼ cup soft (tub) margarine
1 tsp vegetable oil (to grease baking pan)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Beat lightly.
4. Slowly add buttermilk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients.
5. Add margarine and mix by hand or with a mixer for 1 minute.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes in an 8- by 8-inch greased baking dish. Cool.
7. Cut into 10 squares.

Whole Wheat Rolls

(Sufficient for 3 Dozen Rolls)

* 1 pt. lukewarm milk
* 1 cake compressed yeast
* 1 tsp. salt
* 3 Tb. sugar
* 4 Tb. fat
* 2 c. white flour
* 4 c. whole-wheat flour
* 1/2 c. white flour additional for kneading

Set a sponge with the lukewarm milk, in which are put the yeast cake, salt, sugar, fat, and white flour. Allow this to become very light, and then add the whole-wheat flour. Knead this dough and allow it to double in bulk. Then shape it into rolls, allow them to rise, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Dinner Rolls

(Sufficient for 1-1/2 Dozen Rolls)

* 1 cake compressed yeast
* 1 c. lukewarm milk
* 2 Tb. sugar
* 2 Tb. fat
* 1 tsp. salt
* 3 c. white flour
* 1 egg white
* 1/2 c. white flour additional for kneading

Dissolve the yeast in some of the lukewarm milk. Put the sugar, fat, salt, and dissolved yeast in the mixing bowl, and pour the remainder of the milk over these ingredients. Stir half of the flour into this mixture and allow the sponge to rise. When it is light, add the egg white, which should first be beaten, and the remainder of the flour, and then knead the dough. Let the dough rise until it doubles in bulk. Roll out the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick, and then cut out the rolls with a small round cutter. Place these in a shallow pan and let them rise until they are light. Then glaze each one with the white of egg to which is added a little water and bake them in a hot oven for about 15 minutes.

Parker House Rolls

(Sufficient for 3 Dozen Rolls)

* 1 cake compressed yeast
* 1 pt. lukewarm milk
* 4 Tb. fat
* 2 Tb. sugar
* 1 tsp. salt
* 3 pt. white flour
* 1 c. white flour additional for kneading

Dissolve the yeast in some of the lukewarm milk. Pour the remainder of the warm milk over the fat, sugar, salt, and dissolved yeast, all of which should first be put in a mixing bowl. Stir into these ingredients half of the flour, and beat until smooth. Cover this sponge and let it rise until it is light. Add the remainder of the flour, and knead until the dough is smooth and does not stick to the board. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and let it rise again until it doubles in bulk. Roll the dough on a molding board until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Then cut the rolled dough with a round cutter; brush each piece with soft butter; mark it through the center, as at b, Fig. 19, with the dull edge of a kitchen knife; and fold it over, as at c. Place the pieces of dough thus prepared in shallow pans, about 1 inch apart, and let them rise until they are light, when each roll will appear like that shown at d. Then bake them in a hot oven for about 15 minutes.

Rustic Dinner Rolls

2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
1/4 cup wheat gluten
2 tsp. salt
Cornmeal for dusting

In a small bowl, stir the yeast and water together and let stand until bubbly on the top, 2 to 3 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, gluten, salt and yeast mixture. Using the dough hook attachment, knead the mixture on medium-low speed to form a soft, smooth and elastic dough, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball, then return it to the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, set in a warm place and let the dough rise until doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Gently punch the dough down to remove the larger air pockets, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for 5 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and, with floured hands, gently shape each piece into a ball, stretching the sides of the dough down and under. Pinch the seam beneath each ball to seal it.

Dust the shallow dish of a round stoneware baker with cornmeal. Place 7 balls of dough in a circle, seam side down, and place the last ball in the center. Cover with the lid and let rise until doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 375 deg. F.

Transfer the baker to the oven and bake until the rolls are golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack and cool slightly before serving.

Yields: 8 rolls