Archives for January 2012

Bread is one of the most popular ingredients or food items that is used in breakfast meals worldwide. There are many ways to eat bread for breakfast: toast, sandwiches, egg nests, bread and butter, and there are so many interesting bread recipe that we can try. Here is an interesting way to prepare a quick and easy breakfast dish in the form of a tasty sausage bread recipe.

Ingredients:

– 500 grams Italian sausage
– 1 loaf Italian bread
– 1 beefsteak tomato
– 1 cup bell peppers, cut in strips
– 4 cups mozzarella cheese (sliced or grated)
– 1/4 cup sliced green olives
– 1/4 cup sliced black olives
– 1/2 cup olive oil
– 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
– 1/4 tablespoon dried oregano
– 1/4 tablespoon dried basil
– 1 pinch salt
– 1 pinch ground black pepper
– 2 tablespoons diced onion
– 1 tablespoon fresh garlic (chopped)

Method:

•  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
•  Lightly roast the bell pepper strips in a pan and set aside.
•  Crumble the sausage and put it in a saucepan over low heat. Let it cook until completely browned. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
•  Cut the bread loaf length-wise and place the two halves on a baking sheet crust side down.
•  Divide the cooked sausage in two parts and spread each part on one half of the bread evenly.
•  Arrange mozzarella cheese on top of the spread sausage and top each half of the bread with sliced beefsteak tomato and roasted bell pepper strips.
•  Arrange black and green olives on top.
•  Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes.
•  In the meantime, take a bowl and mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried oregano, dried basil, diced onion, salt, pepper and chopped garlic.
•  Drizzle over the baked bread halves and bake again for 2 minutes.
•  Remove from the oven and cut in slices to serve.

Variation:

If you have some time then you can use Italian bread dough to prepare the bread.

Method:

•  Let the dough thaw out completely before using.
•  Dust a little flour on a plain surface and roll out the dough lightly using your hands or a rolling pin to the desired size. The dough should be of 1/4-inch thickness.
•  Prepare the filling by browning the sausages as mentioned earlier.
•  Add the roasted bell peppers, onion, dried oregano, dried basil, sliced tomatoes, grated cheese, salt, pepper and garlic, and mix well.
•  Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, just enough to bind the ingredients.
•  Spread the ingredients on the rolled out dough in the center and cover from all sides in a long sausage shape.
•  Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 30-35 minutes.
•  Remove from the oven and cut in slices to serve.

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When I was visiting some friends in the Philippine Islands, several years ago, I was amazed at the amount of rice being consumed by the people. Of course, far be it for me to impose on my most gracious hosts to be served outlandish Bread Recipe when they are known for being rice producers; and rice is such a staple food.

Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised that Rice Flour Bread Recipe were not as popular there as one would expect. Albeit, they do have this tasty rice batter that turns into small rice cupcakes, but not bread. So I went ahead and shared this light, high-fiber snack but which is quite heavy on the stomach.

You must read the recipe thoroughly first so you will know what to expect. This is bread, yet it doesn’t use yeast. There’s also no kneading involved. The batter or dough will and should be very thick and sticky. Thus, you will need to scrape the mixing bowl meticulously. Once poured into the pan, tap the pan heavily to evenly distribute the batter. And, lastly, for your own personal touch, you may augment the batter with a sprinkling of raisins, chopped prunes or chopped dried figs.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup of finely milled rice flour
– 3 teaspoons of baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon of table salt
– 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine
– 4 tablespoons of white sugar
– 2 egg whites beaten to a mild froth
– 2 egg yolks also beaten

Method:

•  First, preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a loaf pan with wax paper and brush thinly with palm oil.
•  Then, sieve the flour, baking powder and salt thoroughly in a large mixing bowl.
•  Next, add the butter and beat the mixture with a hand mixer at medium speed.
•  Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until well blended.
•  Add the egg yolks and beat until the batter has a smooth consistency.
•  Fold in the egg whites and pour the mixture into the waxed loaf pan.
•  Bake for roughly 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You may want to reduce the heat after 30 minutes if you want a lighter crust.
•  Turn off the oven and leave the bread inside the oven for a few minutes.
•  Remove and place the loaf on a cooling rack.
•  Serve hot with butter to melt on top and a sprinkling of sugar and some native Filipino white cheese. Mabuhay!

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Here is one of my favorite bread recipes. I remember the days when I was struggling and money was very tight (actually, nothing has changed!) but my insatiable taste for really good food simply overwhelmed all reason; hence this Garlic Cheese Bread Recipe. The following concoction is actually just one awesome way to transform a simple French hard roll or baguette from an ordinary fare to an extraordinary crafted treat. The ingredients are very versatile and flexible. This is a wondrous combination of tangy spices and creamy luxury to forget you’re in your doldrums; the crunchy and soft combination really perks you up. But not only that… If you’re not exactly in the gloom, this bread prescription also gives your day a perfect glow and just about the right amount of comfort to proceed in the right direction. Or if you’re a normal person and you’re simply having friends over, this will definitely prove one great hors d’oeuvre. Yet I digress. As I was saying, this Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe is quite versatile. You can interchange the ingredients with other preferred items such as the type of bread or the type of cheese; you can also increase or reduce the amounts of each item in the recipe always depending on your preference. See for yourself!

Ingredients:

– 1 baguette or French bread loaf, cut horizontally to about half an inch thick
– 1 bar or stick of butter, softened or partially melted (but not in the pan or under heat)
– 4 to 6 cloves or pieces of garlic, minced as in almost pureed (or you may also use Pesto Mix, which is readily available in your local grocery store)
– 1 to 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (or any cheese that melts quickly; you can also try thin cheese slices of the same variant)
– 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped (may already be optional if you choose the Pesto Mix above)

Method:

– Preheat your oven to about 400 degrees.
– Place slices of the baguette on an oven tray.
– In a small bowl, combine the butter and garlic (or Pesto Mix).
– Spread evenly on baguette slices. Be sure to lavish the spread for your utmost crunching pleasure.
– Then, evenly sprinkle the cheese over the slices of bread and place the tray back in the oven.
– Broil for about a minute or until the cheese has completed melted and shows a few golden bubble marks.
– Remove from the oven and serve hot.

I doubt if there’ll be any leftovers; but store any remaining slices of bread in the freezer using a zip lock bag. Bon appetit, mon cher!

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Indian fry bread can be eaten as a snack or a meal. There are many ways to make Indian fry bread and given below is a caramelized onion filled Indian fry bread recipe that can be prepared in advance and then heated in a slow oven just before serving. These delicious fry bread recipe make a perfect and easy snack that you can prepare on rainy days and in the cold winter months.

Ingredients:

•  2 cups refined flour
•  ¼ cup clarified butter (ghee)
•  ½ teaspoon salt
•  2 cups finely chopped onions
•  1 teaspoon nigella seeds
•  2 teaspoons fennel seeds
•  2 bay leaves
•  1 ½ teaspoons finely chopped green chilies
•  2 teaspoons gram flour
•  2 teaspoons coriander powder
•  2 teaspoons red chili powder (adjust according to taste)
•  1 teaspoon garam masala (Indian all spice powder)
•  3 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves
•  2 tablespoons oil
•  Salt to taste
•  Oil for frying

Method:

1.  To prepare the dough, combine flour, ghee (clarified butter) and salt in a deep bowl.
2.  Knead to a soft dough using some water.
3.  Divide the dough in 12 equal parts and cover with a damp cloth, then set aside.
4.  In a frying pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves and green chilies.
5.  Add the chopped onion and fry on medium heat until the onions turn transparent and light brown in color (like they have been caramelized).
6.  Add the gram flour, coriander powder, garam masala and red chili powder, and fry for 2-3 minutes until the spices coat the onions well.
7.  Take off the heat and add the salt and fresh coriander leaves.
8.  Remove the bay leaves from the mix and let it cool completely.
9.  Divide the mix in 12 equal parts.
10.  Roll out one portion of the dough to a 2-inch diameter circle.
11.  Place one portion of the onion filling in the center of the rolled out dough.
12.  Cover the filling by folding the dough around it to make a ball.
13.  Lightly roll out the dough to about a 3-inch diameter bread. – Take care so that the filling does not spill out. Also take care to ensure that the dough has an even thickness, otherwise it will not cook properly.
14.  Do this with the remaining 11 dough portions.
15.  Heat the oil for frying in a frying pan and fry the filled dough on a low heat until golden brown in color.
16.  This will take some time to cook as the dough needs to be cooked from the inside.
17.  Serve hot with tamarind and tomato chutney.

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