Best Drop Biscuits

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. salt

1 c. buttermilk, or sour milk (or regular milk)*

8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients. Combine buttermilk (or regular milk) and butter. Stir until clumps form. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir with a rubber scraper until the liquid is just incorporated and the batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Scoop the batter with a ¼ c. measure onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes. Brush with 2 Tbsp. melted butter (optional).

*To make sour milk mix 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

I love these biscuits because you don’t have to roll them out. They’re fast, easy and good!

Lizzie Christensen

source: America's Test Kitchen

Mom's Bread

Bake at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes.

4 loaves

2 T dry yeast

1 1/2 c warm water

1 T granulated sugar

4 c hot water

2 T salt

2/3 c oil

2/3 c brown sugar

13 c flour

1. sprinkle yeast in 1 1/2 c warm water. add 1 T granulated sugar. set aside to double.

2. in mixer combine 4 c hot water and 7 c flour - mix until blended

3. add salt, oil, sugar - mix until blended

4. add 1 c flour and yeast mixture (yeast mixture should have doubled before adding it) - mix until blended

5. add flour by cup until dough cleans sides of bowl

6. knead for ten minutes

7. with greased hands divide dough into 4ths, put into 4 greased bread pans.

8. cover with towel. let dough rise for 35 minutes until double

9. bake

- Laura, from Bosch Cookbook

All-Purpose Cornbread

Makes One 8-inch Square
Before preparing the baking dish or any of the other ingredients, measure out the frozen kernels and let them stand at room temperature until needed. When corn is in season, fresh cooked kernels can be substituted for the frozen corn. This recipe was developed with Quaker yellow cornmeal; a stone-ground whole-grain cornmeal will work but will yield a drier and less tender cornbread. We prefer a Pyrex glass baking dish because it yields a nice golden-brown crust, but a metal baking dish (nonstick or traditional) will also work. The cornbread is best served warm; leftovers can be wrapped in foil and reheated in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , (7 1/2 ounces)
1 cup yellow cornmeal (5 1/2 ounces), see note
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
3/4 cup frozen corn (3 1/2 ounces), thawed
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled slightly
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch-square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until combined; set aside.
2. In food processor or blender, process brown sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined, about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain), about 5 seconds longer.
3. Using rubber spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well. Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until warm, about 10 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and serve.

- Laura, America's Test Kitchen

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
3 cups sugar
1 cup veg. oil
4 extra large eggs
2/3 cup water
2 cups pumpkin

Sift dry ing. together. Mix pumpkin, water, oil, and eggs together; pour into dry mixture and mix well. Pour into greased and floured pans; fill half way up. Bake at 350 (times follow)
2 lrg. loaf pans- 1hr. 15 min.
3 med. loaf pans- 1 hour
6 mini pans- 45 min.
can also use muffin or mini muffin pans- adjust time accordingly

-Tamara Tuttle, recipe by Tara Hochstetler

Banana Sour Cream Bread

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans.
Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

-Meghan Loveless, allrecipes.com

Thanksgiving Dinner Rich Refrigerator Rolls

(Optional) You may want to just buy rolls. These take a lot of time and baking them can be difficult with the yams and turkey etc. Prepare the night before, but roll out about 2-2 1/2 hours before you serve them.
Bake at 375 degrees Yield: 50 rolls or 25 sandwich buns
2 cups milk
½ cup + 2 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp salt
½ cup butter or margarine
2 Tbs. yeast
3 eggs
5 1/2 cups flour
In a sauce pan or microwave safe bowl, mix milk, sugar, salt, and butter/margarine. Heat on medium low, stirring occasionally, until butter is almost melted. In the microwave it takes about 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Stir after every 30 sec. Let cool for a few minutes if needed (if it’s too hot it will kill the yeast) and then sprinkle with in the yeast.
In a large bowl (KithcenAid mixers will work), beat eggs. Then pour scalded ingredients into the eggs and mix. Add about 2 ½ cups of flour at once, mix, and then ½ cup at a time until it’s all blended. The dough will be quite sticky but will stiffen up in the fridge.
Note: I use a 5 quart ice cream bucket for one batch. It comes out better if you spray the bucket and lid before adding the dough. After about 2 hours and/or before going to bed, check the dough to make sure it hasn’t popped the lid off. If it does, just punch it down and put the lid back on. It can get all over your fridge and dry out if the container is open. I haven’t had too many problems with a single batch however.
Roll out the rolls about 2 ½ hours before you want to serve them. You can do them sooner if you need to.
I roll them out on a floured surface to about ½ inch thick. You can cut them with a glass or round cutter, butter them with a pastry brush and fold them in half. Press the edge together in the center. (You can also put them in muffin tins or cut them and rolled like crescent rolls.) Let rise for about 1 ½-2 hours and bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
If making sandwich rolls just butter a circle and then put another one on top of it.

-Kat Dahl

No Knead Bread

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
1 5/8 cups water
(Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.)

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf. (I make two smaller loaves.)

-Laura Sprague (Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery)

Hot Cross Buns

Directions:

Makes 2 dozen

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl, pan, and knife
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 orange
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/3 cups currants
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• Bun Crossing Paste
  

Directions:

1. Generously butter a large bowl; set aside. Place 1 cup milk in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Heat until milk reaches 110 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With machine on low speed, add granulated sugar, yeast, salt, butter, lemon zest, orange zest, and eggs. Add flour, and mix on low speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms around dough hook. Continue kneading, scraping down hook and sides of bowl as necessary, until smooth, about 4 minutes more.
2. Add currants; knead, with dough hook, to incorporate. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead briefly to evenly distribute currants in dough. Shape into a ball. Place dough in prepared bowl. Turn to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Turn dough out onto work surface. Knead briefly and roll dough into a log. Cut log in half and cut each half into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tightly formed ball. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Cover baking sheets with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until buns are touching and doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Place bun crossing paste in a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip or a paper cornet with a 1/8-inch opening. Pipe crosses over the surface of each bun. Transfer buns to oven and bake until golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.
5. Meanwhile, place apricot jam in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until heated through; strain through a mesh sieve set over a bowl. Brush heated jam over buns.

Hot Cross Bun Paste (for 2 dozen buns)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour (scant)
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil and 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water. Add flour and salt, and whisk until well combined. Let stand 1 hour before using.

- Melanie Fillmore