GOLDEN GALUSHKA

   1/2 c. warm milk

   1/4 c. sugar
   1 pkg. dry yeast

Put together and let stand. 1 stick of butter, cut upPut butter into milk so it melts. In a kitchen maid mixing bowl add 1/2 cup sugar and 6 eggs, when mixed well, add milk and butter, then add milk and yeast. MIX WELL TOGETHER. Add 8 or 9 cups flour and knead about 10 minutes (until dough gets shiny and bubbly). Cover and let raise for 1 hour or doubles in size.
Flour board, pour dough out and cut with a very small juice glass into balls. Dip each ball into 1-3/4 pounds melted butter, then into ground nut and sugar mixture.

NUT AND SUGAR MIXTURE:

   4 to 6 c. ground walnuts
   2 to 3 c. sugar

Put into solid angel food cake pan and keep layering with dough balls and nut, sugar mixture (makes 2 pans).Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.

Amazingly Easy Irish Soda Bread

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Yields: 20 servings

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried black currants soaked for 15 minutes in hot water, drained and sat out to drain-off excessive moisture (my addition for an authentic soda bread)

1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in currants, 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Sweet Corn Bread ala Tanya

Sweet Corn Bread
Estimated Times:
Preparation - 10 min | Cooking - 35 min | Yields - 12 servings


Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup Yellow or White Corn Meal
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups milk
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

I add 1/3 cup of frozen corn, approx. 1/2 tsp of fresh ground nutmeg (somewhat visible when stirred in), 1 Tbsp honey and occasionally will throw in a handful of craisans or diced jarred jalepenos to give a different taste.

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

COMBINE flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bow. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in a small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

FOR MUFFINS:
SPOON batter into 18 to 20 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Serve warm.

Ultra-Easy No Knead Bread

• 1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 6 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
• Cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100°F). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).

2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and pinch off a grapefruit-size piece. Carefully turn dough in your hands to form a round; the bottom will be bumpy. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal and let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.

3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.

4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and quickly shut oven to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Makes 3-4 loaves.

From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François.

Each batch makes three or four loaves of crusty bread, but you don’t need to bake it all at once. The unused dough can sit in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, and you pull off a portion and bake it when you want.

Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread

Ingredients

* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 cup of oil
* 3 cups of flour
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. of vanilla
* 12 oz. chocolate chips
* 4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the Mandel Bread Wet Ingredients
First put the sugar, the eggs and the oil into a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed. Using a recipe with 4 eggs will make this a more cookie-like rather than a brittle type of mandel bread.
Mix in the Mandel Bread Dry Ingredients
Next, add the baking powder to the flour and whisk them together. Now, a little bit at a time, mix the flour into the wet mixture. Once you've got the flour worked in, add the vanilla. Mixture will be thick and sticky. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon. You can add walnuts at this time, but I will leave it as is.
Bake the Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread
Spoon about half the mixture onto each of the two parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake them for about a 1/2 hour.
Cut the Chocolate Chip Mandel Bread
Take them out of the oven and cut the loaf into 1-inch slices. If your loaf is wide like mine, I like to also cut the loaf down the middle. Then, put back in oven for another 5 minutes.

Take out of the oven, serve, and enjoy!

New Orleans King Cake Recipe

For the cake:
1 package active dry yeast
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2/3 cup warm milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons softened butter
1 egg, beaten
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 pecan half, bean, or bakeable trinket (typically a baby or coin)

For the frosting:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Colored sprinkles

For the cake: In a small bowl, mix the yeast and sugar with 1/2 cup of warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes. Then in the bowl of a food processor or electric mixer, combine it with the warm milk, salt, cinnamon, butter, egg, and 1 cup of flour. Mix for 4 to 5 minutes or until it looks pale and stretchy. Cover with plastic and set in a warm spot for 1 hour.

Stir the dough and beat in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until it can be handled but is elastic. Knead or mix for 5 minutes. Hide the trinket in it. Cover again and let rise until doubled in bulk. Divide the dough in thirds and make each piece into a 24-inch snake. Braid them together, then form into an oval ring and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk -- about 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the cake for 20 minutes or until it sounds hollow when rapped. Cool it completely.

For the frosting: Mix the lemon juice and vanilla in a bowl. Sift in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time, stirring to make a smooth mixture. When it is a thick pouring consistency, drizzle it over the cake. Decorate with colored sprinkles or sugar. Purple to signify justice, gold for power, and green for faith are the colors of Mardi Gras. Bands of colored sugar or sprinkles in these colors always decorate King cake.

Serves 10 to 12

Mustard Garlic Pretzels

Cook's notes: The average Dijon-style mustard isn't "sturdy" enough for this recipe (it doesn't really shine through), so choose one with a little more bite to it, like Maille French Dijon. The thyme and Dijon can be eliminated for more traditional pretzels and topped with salt instead of garlic-cheese topping. The garlic-cheese topping will adhere to the pretzels better if you first brush the finished pretzels with melted butter or a little oil before dusting them with the seasonings.


1 package active dry yeast

1/4 C. warm water

Pinch granulated sugar

1 1/4 C. lukewarm milk

2 T. vegetable oil

2 T. granulated sugar

1/4 C. spicy Dijon-style mustard

1 t. dried thyme

1 t. salt

4 to 4 1/4 C. Hodgson Mill Naturally White flour, divided use

3 quarts water

1 T. baking soda

1 egg white mixed with 1 T. water, for egg wash


Garlic-Cheese Topping:

1/2 C. grated parmesan cheese

2 t. garlic powder

Heat oven to 450°F. while the shaped pretzels are rising.

Proof the yeast: Combine yeast, warm water and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy.

Prepare the dough:
Combine milk, oil, 2 table spoons sugar, mustard, thyme and salt in medium mixing bowl; stir to mix. Add yeast mixture; mix well. Add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add enough of the remaining 1 to 1 1/4 cups flour to make a moderately stiff dough.

Knead, raise the dough: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 5 minutes. Lightly oil the surface of the dough and put in the rinsed mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft- free place 60 to 75 minutes, or until doubled. Punch down dough, knead lightly to work out the larger air bubbles. Let dough rest 10 minutes.

Shape the pretzels:
Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 18 inches long. Shape ropes into pretzels. Place on heavily greased baking sheets and let rise 15 minutes.

Bake, boil the pretzels:
Place pan(s) of pretzels in preheated oven and bake 5 minutes, then remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a deep skillet, pan or pot. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Lower pretzels one by one into boiling water; let boil one minute, then turn pretzel over and boil one minute. Gently remove pretzel from water with tongs or slotted spoon; place on paper towel to drain. Repeat until all pretzels have been boiled.

Bake pretzels:
Place boiled, drained pretzels on well-greased baking sheet, about 1/2 inch apart. Brush pretzels with egg wash. Bake in preheated 350°F. oven 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Prepare garlic-cheese topping:
Mix parmesan cheese and garlic powder. About five minutes before the pretzels are ready to come out of the oven, sprinkle the tops with garlic-cheese top ping. Remove from the pans and allow to cool slightly on wire racks.

Serve warm.

Makes 12 large pretzels.

Source: "Breaking Bread with Father Dominic 2" by Father Dominic Garramone

Auntie Anne's Pretzel Recipe

Soft Pretzel Recipe
For 3 dozen 6-inch sticks or
For 1 dozen 6-inch Pretzels
1 tbsp Yeast
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp softened butter or softened margarine
1 cup warm (115-+ deg F) water
2 3/4 cups flour
Coarse Salt to sprinkle on Pretzels before baking
5 tsp baking soda mixed in 4 cups water in a non-aluminum saucepan.

1 large slotted spoon to "go fishing"
Greased cookie sheet

Preheat oven to 475 F

Put yeast, sugar, salt, butter/marg, water and ONE CUP of the flour into a medium mixing bowl and pour in the water.
Stir till all smooth, and yeast starts to bubble.
At this point add the rest of the flour, stir till it is mixed in.
When mixture is too stiff to stir with a spoon, begin kneading.
Knead dough till smooth and till it no longer sticks to the bowl and your hands
Allow dough to rise to about double its height.
While dough is rising, grease the cookie sheet. and prepare the baking soda-water mixture and bring to a boil on stove.
When dough is risen enough, punch down, knead for a minute or so, then divide and roll the 6-inch sticks with your hands, to about 1/2 inch in diameter, or 12-15-inch long rolls to make into the pretzel shape.
Allow sticks or pretzels to sit for about 1-2 mins. Place them into boiling water-baking soda mixture one or two at a time.
Let the pretzels boil for 1 minute 10 seconds, then flip them over with the slotted spoon and boil on the other side for 1 minute and 10 seconds.
This boiling step gives them a firm skin and adds some flavour. Not boiling long enough leaves them too soft and allows them to rise too much. Boiling too long makes them tough.
Fish them out of the water, let them drip off and place them on the greased cookie sheet.
When all the pretzels or sticks are done, sprinkle the coarse salt on them.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or till sticks or pretzels are golden brown.
You can double the recipe in proportion.
(I think if you have a bread machine, you can do most of this recipe in one until you of course have to form them!)
ENJOY!!

Hot Buttered Pretzels

Dough

2 1/2 C. unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. sugar

1 package (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

7/8 to 1 C. warm water

Baking Soda Wash

1/2 C. warm water

2 T. baking soda

Coarse or kosher salt

3 T. unsalted butter, melted

Preliminaries:
Heat oven to 500°F. after the dough has been allowed to rest (see next step).

Prepare dough:
Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat by hand or machine until well-combined. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag, al lowing it to rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Prepare baking sheets: Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with nonstick vegetable oil spray.

Divide the dough:
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 2 1/2 ounces each). Allow the pieces to rest uncovered for 5 minutes.

Prepare the dip:
Combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a shallow bowl, making sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved, or it'll make a splotchy glaze.

Shape the pretzels:
Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), form into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking-soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden brown color), drain on paper towel to re move excess water and place them on prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with pretzel salt. Allow pretzels to rest uncovered 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels:
Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through. Remove the pretzels from the oven to a cooling rack. Brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Continue brushing until all the butter is used; that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste.

Pretzels are best fresh from the oven or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Makes 8 pretzels.

185 Calorie Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, egg substitute, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield 1 loaf, 16 slices (serving size: 1 slice)