Olive Oil Dough

Olive Oil Dough
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes 4-1lb loaves.

2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

Mix in the flour without kneading. I used my stand mixer with dough hook, but you can use a spoon.

Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and colapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

Ultimate Garlic Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place a bulb of garlic in aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Pull the foil up around the garlic bulb, sealing it in. Roast for about one hour. Remove from oven and let cool.

(Smells so good!)

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat. Add one or two garlic cloves, cut in quarters. Let heat, nice and low, while you're getting everything else ready.

Combine 2-3 tablespoons softened butter with 1/4 cup of mayonnaise. Combine and then add the roasted garlic. (To get the garlic out, just squeeze it from the cloves.) Mix that up real good and stir in 1 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar. If you want to, right along in here you can drizzle in some of that garlic-infused melted butter.

Use cheese-butter mixture to fill the bread loaf. Using a pastry brush, brush the bread with that melted garlic butter. Wrap in the loaf in aluminum foil and freeze, refrigerate, or go ahead and bake.

To cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 12 minutes.

Makes enough filling for one to two one-pound loaves, depending on how generous you are with the filling.

Goes great with soup!

Sweet Potato Biscuits

I served these, stuffed with ham slices, at a bridal shower over the weekend. They would also be tasty served with pepper jelly.

If you have leftover sweet potatoes, this is a good way to use them up. The biscuits can be frozen, pulled out, and baked off quickly. They're great for a fast, hot breakfast or to go alongside a roasted pork tenderloin for dinner.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening until pieces of shortening are pea-sized or smaller. Mix in the sweet potatoes. Add enough milk to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and roll or pat out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into circles and place biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. If desired, brush biscuits with melted butter and a bit of grated nutmeg.

To freezer and serve later:
Bake biscuits for about six minutes. Let cool completely before packing in freezer zip top bags. Biscuits can be baked frozen.

To bake and enjoy now:
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.