Rye Bread

1 cup lukewarm water    1 tbls yeast    1 tbls salt    3 tbls caraway seeds
2 cups white flour    1 cup whole wheat flour    3 cups rye flour

In a large bowl, blend together the yeast, salt, and water. Blend the flour and seeds together in another bowl. Sift in and mix together one cup of dry ingredients into proofed yeast at a time. Cover and let rise in a warm location for two hours. Pre-heat the oven to 425*. Pull out desired amount of dough and form gently on a lightly floured surface. Slice the top and set aside for thirty minutes. Place dough on a well greased pan with a pan with water in it on the bottom shelf of the oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Slice thin for sandwiches or thick and serve with butter and soup.

Blueberry Scones

Freeze one stick of butter.
Shred it like you would cheese.
Cover it and tuck it back into the freezer.

Measure out 2 cups of flour, and blend well
with 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda,
and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add in the butter and quickly blend by hand.

 

Whip 3/4 cup of cream, 1/2 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup sugar. Whisk until foamy.

Add to the dry ingredients. Using a silicon spatula, blend until a shaggy ball of dough forms.
 

Preheat the oven to 400*

Roll out on a floured surface
to about 20 x 10 inches.

Fold up as shown in the photo to the left.

Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet.

Roll of the dough to 14 x 6 inches.

Firmly press about 1 to 1 1/4 frozen fruit, like these fat blueberries.

Roll the long edge until about 4 inches wide and press down to flatten the top.

Score half way through the roll, creating
triangles as shown in the photo to the right.

Drizzle milk or cream over the top.

Sprinkle sugar evenly all over the top.


Bake for 15 minutes. Pull from the oven and cut all the way through, separating the scones out onto the sheet.

Continue to bake until golden brown.

Set out to cool on a wire rack, sprinkle with a bit more sugar. Serve with whipped heavy cream.

Pita Bread

1 package of yeast, 2 1/4 tsps
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for ten minutes until the water is creamy.

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a small depression in the middle of the flour and pour the yeast water into the center. Slowly add 1 cup of warm water and stir with a spatula until well blended and elastic.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for four minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, set the ball aside to rest and clean the flour off the kneading surface.

Wash the bowl you created the dough in and then coat lightly with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl. Turn the dough thoroughly until coated, then cover with a clean dish towel. Set near the oven for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Once doubled, roll out into a rope, then pinch off 10 pieces. Place the pieces on a lightly floured surface. Let them sit covered for ten minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make sure the rack is at the very bottom of the oven. Place your baking sheet in the oven at this time.

Roll out each piece of dough with a rolling pin into rounds, about five inches across and 1/4 inch thick. Bake each round for four minutes until the bread puffs up, flip and bake for two more minutes.


Remove each pita with the spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

Take the spatula and gently push down the center of the puff. Set out to cool, then stack and store in storage bag. They can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to specifically use freezer bags to prevent freezer burn.

Braided Cardamon Bread - Fikabröd

3 cups flour
3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup water
4 tbls sugar, plus one spoonful for glaze
1/8 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
3 tbls cardamon

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Warm water and milk to 80 degrees and then add the sugar and yeast. Set aside to grow until frothy.

Add butter and applesauce and then mix by hand into flour, adding a bit of flour until an elastic ball forms. Slide into an oiled bowl to rise for 30 minutes.

Knead dough and separate into three equal parts. Roll out three ropes. Coat with cardamon. Braid.

Let rise on a greased cookie sheet under a dish towel while oven preheats to 380 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown.

Then cool on a baking rack and moisten the crust with butter and sprinkle with sugar. 

Swedes traditionally leave one slice left. Not wanting to be seen as better than anyone else for any reason, they would rather let it sit till it hardens than thieve the last piece of fikabröd.

Gingersnap Gingerbread Geodesic Domes

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups mix of whole grain wheat and white flour

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Add the molasses, egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and chill the batter for about 30 minutes or until firm. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough and cut the necessary number of shapes to create your gingerbread "house". This dome used trapezoids, pentagons, and hexagons. A regular house might use rectangles and triangles. Design one on paper, mock it up in cardboard and then use those cardboard pieces as patterns for your final product.

Bake for 12 minutes. You'll need to recut the cookies once they're done baking to give them nice sharp clean edges.

Do this while they are still warm so the cookies don't snap or shatter. Make the 1 inch snaps out of the left over dough.

The houses will not be for eating as you will be using Royal Icing to put them together. Royal Icing is made using 1 lb powdered sugar, 1 tsp of water and two egg whites. Beat until smooth and glossy. If you want it colored, drip in food coloring now and mix until the color is fully incorporated.

Use the icing as mortar, sticking tiles to your frame, together, or to add details. Use your imagination!

Leto's dome for school got plugged with orange candies at each corner, creating a blue and orange igloo.
Short i sound...
i...i...igloo!

Mannie's dome had curly peaks of icing in the corners.

The Occupy Buffalo Food Tent got this one in honor of their dome that allows them to gather together in the cold and wind in general comfort to talk about different issues. They are one of the very few Occupy groups in the United States treated with respect and dignity and the City of Buffalo is actually listening to and working with them.

These gingersnaps are easy to make with applesauce as substitute for eggs. You end up with a snap more like the Swedish Anna's Ginger Thins, which are super duper scrumdiddlyumptious!

Beef Pot Pie

1 lb sirloin steak
8 large garlic cloves
2 scallions
1 medium Spanish onion
Organic Beef:
Better Than Bouillon
1/4 of warm water


Cook over medium until garlic is soft and the beef is tender, approximately 1 hour.

Boil potatoes, carrots, and leeks until soft. Add salt and pepper. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Then layer onto the beef.

Fold gently and then pour into a large pie pan.

Layer on the pie crust, making at least four heat vents. Set onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

 Let sit for 20 minutes to cool slightly.

Dish and enjoy!

Vegetarian/ Vegan Glazed Apple Jelly Turnovers

2 cups flour
14 tbls chilled unsalted butter or vegan spread, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup applesauce)
2 tbls sugar
1 tbls chilled heavy cream (or a blend of 3/4 cup Silk vegan soymilk, vanilla 1/4 tsp, 1/8 cup vanilla soy powder, 1 tbls rice syrup, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp coconut extract, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tbls lemon juice)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix together with a beater, the flour, butter, egg (applesauce), sugar, cream, lemon juice, and salt and pulse until the dough starts gathering together in big clumps. Turn the dough out onto a counter and gather it together. Shape the dough as directed in the recipe you’re making.

The Apple Jelly recipe can be found here, though you can use any jelly or fruit preserve that has a very thick consistency. Bake at 380 degrees until lightly golden on the bottom.

Mix until smooth, one cup powdered sugar and five tsp of fresh lemon juice. Dribble on top of each turnover until daintily glazed. Avoid drowning them in the glaze or you will loose the flavor of the fruit inside the pastry.