Quick Savory Onion Bread

This is a deliciously flavorful yeast free bread that my girlfriend ( http://www.heathermeyersphotography.com/ ) made while visiting. It is a family favorite and so quick and easy to make! I whip it up while dinner is in process. It goes very nicely with almost any meal, but especially a nice addition for soup or salad or fish when you want to add some "wieght" to a meal or stretch it because company showed up. Also a fine picnic bread. It has so much flavor it doesn't need to be topped (although butter on it is SUPER tasty). So I wanted to continue to "share the love"!

The original recipe was half this size (made 1-9" square pan), I doubled it.

Quick Savory Onion Bread

3C wheat pastry flour (other wheat flour or spelt works too! just add a little more if using spelt)
2 T baking powder
2 tsp salt
4 tsp butter
1C shredded cheddar

1 med. onion, chopped and sauteed in butter
2 eggs
1C milk
1C shredded cheddar

Mix dry ingrediants in one bowl (first 5). Mix wet ingrediants in another bowl (second 4). Mix together. (it will be a thick batter cookies or drop biscuits) Spead into greased 9x13 (or 2- 9" square) baking pan and bake @ 400 for 25-30 min until golden.

QUICK CORN MIX

This recipe is taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, American Whole Food Cuisine, by Nikki and David Goldbeck. It is a wonderful mix to have on hand for Quick Corn Biscuits, Crackers, Muffins, pancakes, flat bread, fritters, or breading. You know what's in it, and if you have a mill, you can grind your own! This mix fits perfectly in a half gallon container. I like to double it and put it in a gallon jar myself. :-) It is suggested to store this in the fridge.

CORN MIX
2C Whole Wheat Flour
2C Cornmeal
1C Nonfat Dry Milk
2 1/2 T Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C Oil

• In a bowl, blender or food processor (with plastic mixing blade) combine all dry ingredients and mix well.
• Slowly add oil, continually mixing until completely absorbed.
• Store in a closed container in the refrigerate and mix well before each use.

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QUICK CORN BISCUITS

1 3/4C Corn Mix + 1/4C Water

Preheat over to 425 F

• Combine mix and water, kneading gently to form a dough that holds together. If too dry add a few drops of water.
• On sprayed baking sheet; Pat into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick score into a six 2" squares.
• Bake until nicely browned, 15-20 minutes. Break apart and serve.

Makes 6 Biscuits

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QUICK CORN CRISPS

1 3/4C corn mix + 1/4 C water

Preheat 425 F.

• Combine mix and water, knead gently to form a dough that can be rolled.
• Roll out on sprayed cookie sheet into a large rectangle, 1/8 inch thick. It may be easier to roll out half at a time. Score with a knife or fork (or pizza wheel)
• Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack and crack on the lines.

Makes 1/2 pound of crackers

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CORN FLATS (a tortilla like flat bread)

1 1/2 C Corn Mix + 1/4C water

• Stir in water to form a soft ball that can be handled. Put in a bowl and cover with a cloth and let rise for 15-30 minutes.
• Divide into 4 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll into thins circle about 7" round.
• Heat griddle and wipe with lightly oil-moistened paper towel and when quite hot. Cooks rounds on each side until it is flexed with brown.
• Stack on plate and cover to keep warm. Serve warm.

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QUICK CORN MUFFINS

2 3/4C Corn Mix ; 1 egg, beaten; 2T honey; 1C water

Preheat oven 400 F

• Gently mix all ingredients in bowl.
• Spoon into greased muffin tin or paper muffin cups.
• Bake for 15-20 min until lightly golden.

Makes dozen

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QUICK CORN-CHEESE PANCAKES

Serve for breakfast with syrup, or make extra large pancakes and fold around leftover stew, rice and beans, chili, etc. for savory lunch or dinner.

1 1/3C Corn Mix ; 1/2C Shredded Cheddar; 1 egg, beaten; 1C water

• In bowl, combine mix and cheese.
• Add egg and water, mix and let stand for minutes to thicken.
• Heat griddle, and grease.
• Use 1/4C batter for med pancakes or 1/3C batter for large
• When spatula easily slips underneath, flip to cook other side.

Makes 8 med or 6 large.

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QUICK CORN CRUSTED TOMATOES

4-5 green or unripe tomatoes; 1 1/2C Corn Mix ; 1 egg; 1/2C -3/4C water; whole wheat flour

• Cut each tomato into 3-4 thick slices
• Combine mix with egg and 1/2C water, mix gently. It should be a thick pancake consistency - may add more water if needed.
• Heat oil to generously cover a heavy skillet. When hot, dredge tomato slices through the flour coating both sides, then through the batter.
• Put immediately into hot skillet and brown both sides.
• May keep warm in 300 F oven.

Makes 16 slices, serves 4-6 people.

May use this breading for any number of things, mushrooms, tofu sticks, cheese sticks, Chicken, etc..

Home Shalom's Whole Grain Honey Challah

I would love to know how it goes for whoever tries it!

----- Makes two large loaves ------
1/2 C Oil (XV Olive oil)
1/2 C Honey (Local - raw - it's the Best!)
1T Sea Salt (Real Salt)
1C Hot water (purified)

• Mix well until disolved in a large bowl
• Add and mix together:

3/4 Cold water (purified) + 4 1/2 SAF Instant yeast (or sub same amount of regular yeast w/ warm water and proof first)
4 eggs beaten, reserve about 1T to brush loaves at the end (cover and leave on counter)

• Then add 7C+ Spelt flour** (Or Golden Hard Wheat or Red Hard Wheat or a combinatian is very nice!) - 1 C at a time. Put out on floured counter and knead until dough springs back when you poke it with your finger. You may need to add a little more flour of too sticky. (Especially if you fresh grind your flour..it is a little fluffier and takes more than if it has been stored.)
• Put in clean oiled bowl, and cover with a towel. Put it in the oven with the light on to rise until doubled. This creates a warm draft free environment perfect for rising bread.
• Punch down and knead 1-2 minutes.
• Devide into half. Then devide each half into equal thirds.
• On a floured surfacem roll each third into equal ropes; put them on a greased baking sheet and braid them. Brush them with the remaining egg wash.
• You may want to top them with poppy seeds, course sea salt or sesame seeds (or not).
• Put them back in the oven to double again.
• Pull them out and preheat oven to 350 and bake for 23min or until golden.

A fruity Challah variation, can be seen Home Shalom's Challah - Variations post. You roll out each rope, stuff it with goodies, roll it back into a rope and proceed as normal.

**A word on Spelt Flour: Spelt flour is "wetter" than the wheat, so you can cut back the water by 1/2c or add more flour to suit you. But understand that it is a stickier dough. If you try to make spelt dough the consistancy of your wheat dough it will result in a dry loaf. If you allow it to be on the wetter side, but just use a good amount of flour on your board and hands to handle the outsides...the result will be a light, nutty sweat Challah - like non other. (Our favorite!) I highly recommend it! However, it might take a little gettng used to, if you are accustomed to wheat. Spelt is also great grain to use if your family is still getting used to who grains or "white" empty flour.

*If you are transitioning from an all purpose flour to grinding your own wheat, you might consider trying Golden Wheat or a mixture of Golden and spelt. To wean your family into the whole grains.

I find that the honey makes delicious a moist product that keeps well if you make it ahead and works very nicely with the whole grains. I also find that you can make your dough ahead and put it in the fridge the day before. You just bring it out on the counter to rise and shape as usual on Friday. It cuts down on dishes and time for prep day!

Home Shalom's Challah - Variations

Ruined for the ordinary (thanks to my friend Angelique!), we have come to LOVE our Challah stuffed with sweet goodies. It is so easy to do. When I make my ropes, I flatten them out, fill them up in center and then close the edges around it to form a stuffed rope, then braid it. Each rope is stuffed with goodies. MMM MMM, it has become a wonderful addition to our Shabbat celebration each week. Here are some photos of the kids learning how to do it (The baby was in the midst of a long nap). This week for one of them we spread peach preserves and topped with sliced dried apricots; for the other one, we spread maple sugar, cinnamon and chopped up dried apples in the center. We are known to make huge Challah (I had to go to the resturaunt supply store to find a platter they would fit on!), they peek out from under my cover. :-) But this week, you may notice from the photo, (even though they had to go through their second rise) they are unusually long and skinny.

For a savory version, I like to top with large grain celtic sea salt, poppy seeds, or dried onion flakes (or a combination of all three). Like above with the sweet treat meathod I do, I have made "pizza Challah" using a meat mixture in pizza sauce. It was good, but not my favorite. Another combo was brushed with olive oil and lined with whole garlic cloves inside the ropes and topped with celtic sea salt. However, the whole garlic cloves did not have time enough to get soft and sweet to my liking. Next time, I will brush with olive oil and put smashed cloves in the center of the ropes and I expect that will be just right! :-)

I also have a hankering to try Peanutbutter and Jelly Challah, Veggie Challah, Herb Challah, Cheese Challah, and Chocolate Challah. Really, the possabilities are endless. Maybe I should document things for a cookbook??? :-)

No matter what we stuff it with, we have come to prefer fresh ground Spelt flour over any other, it is a "wetter dough" in the making, but we like th light aromatic flavor of it.

So if you haven't played with your Challah, I encourage you too! Once I got the flour and honey right, then I started, experimenting with the flavors on one loaf at a time. That way, if it bombed the taste test at the table, we still had a good one with dinner. :-)

You can find the base recipe for Home Shalom's Whole Grain Honey Challah here.

Shabbat Shalom!