Stuffing (or Dressing)

With the upcoming Thanksgiving feast on it’s way here is how we make our homemade stuffing.

This is a FAVORITE of everyone at our table and something I have to make the most of if we want to have any leftovers!

You can adjust this to the quantity you need (add another loaf of bread and more of the seasonings). I use 2 king size loaves of white bread for a 14 lb turkey.

2 loaves of bread cubed and baked at 350 to toast them (almost like a crouton)
1/2 medium onion diced
1 long stalk celery diced
3/4 to 1 stick of butter
about a cup of chicken stock
celery salt, sage, poultry seasoning (I use about 1 tsp of each to start)

Cube the bread and bake at 350 until toasted (I do this in a few batches)

Melt the butter and add the diced onion and celery cooking about 4 minutes or until softened

Mix into the bread cubes and add the seasonings

Add chicken stock slowly stirring frequently until the desired consistency

Taste test and add more seasoning to your desired taste!

You can stuff your chicken/turkey or you can cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 until heated through. Remove and bake about 5 minutes more to get a bit of a crunch layer on top.

Homemade stuffing is a staple in our house. It’ so simple to make and I know exactly what’s in it!!

Dinner Rolls

These rolls are super easy to make. You can freeze them after baking which is a perfect way to grab a few dinner rolls when you need them as this makes 24 rolls (or you can make 18 larger size but I think 24 works best)

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 1/2 TBSP active dry yeast (or use 2 packets)

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

4 Cups of all purpose unbleached flour (or plain all purpose)

Mix the yeast and 1 tsp. sugar into the warm water and set aside to proof for 10 minutes

In a mixing bowl with your dough hook or in a regular bowl with a wooden spoon, mix together the oil, melted butter, sugar, 2 eggs and salt until combined.

Add in the proofed yeast mixture and mix just to combine

Add in the flour one cup at a time mixing slowly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl

Flour a surface and scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top and knead the dough about a minute or two.

Pull apart into 24 pieces as even pieces as you can get (doesn’t have to be perfect) and roll into balls

Place into a greased cake pan or 2 round pans

Put into a warm spot to rise for an hour to 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for 15-17 minutes until lightly browned on top and remove from oven Let set for 5 minutes and then pour out onto a wire rack to cool.

Break apart and store in an air tight container or place in freezer bags and freeze!

The whole process takes about 15 minutes to get the dough into the cake pan to rise. Super easy and delicious flavor!!

I find if reheating from frozen state it’s best to let them thaw and warm in the oven.  You also can microwave them…either way, they are delicious!  I recently made 9 dozen for a Farm Market Feast dinner event with over 100 people and there was not a roll left over!

Italian Bread

Making Italian bread (or any bread really) is much easier than most people think.  This recipe makes 3 nice size loaves.  The bread has a nice crust and soft center with great flavor.  It also holds up well if you freeze it for later use. (pictures at the bottom)

Ingredients:

3 cups of warm water

1 full Tablespoon dry active yeast (if you have packets use a packet and a half)

1 1/2 tsp. white sugar

2 tsp. salt

8 cups of all purpose flour (I used unbleached flour or you can use half white and half wheat)

Mix the water, sugar and yeast in a large bowl until dissolved and let sit for 10 minutes to proof.

Stir in 4 cups of the flour and mix it until smooth and set it aside for approximately 15 minutes.

Add 2 cups of flour and the salt and mix again.  Add more flour 1/2 cup at a time to form a stiff dough and pour out onto a floured surface.  Knead the dough adding flour lightly as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic (it should spring back when you press two fingers into it).

Put into a greased bowl and in a warm spot to rise approximately 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down, turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead for a minuted then place back in the greased bowl to rise again for 30 minutes.

Spray a cookie sheet lightly and sprinkle cornmeal over the sheet

After 30 minutes, punch the dough down again and separate into 3 pieces, forming them into a loaf (a football type shape) and place on the cookie sheet

Set back into a warm spot and let rise about 25 minutes or until correct loaf size.

I brush them lightly with water and place them in a 450 degree preheated oven and bake approximately 30 minutes (turning the pan after 15 minutes and sprinkle a bit of water again on top) and bake until the tops are lightly browned and they sound hollow when you tap on them.

It’s ok if they touch when baking as you can cut them apart.

Your family will LOVE this super easy bread.  My niece and daughter grabbed the first slices as soon as the loaves were cool enough to handle!

 

Old Fashioned White Bread

In my previous post I shared we will be selling our Old Fashioned
White Bread we make at the farm.

This bread is super easy and pretty much no fail for beginners.  It also has none of the horrible chemicals store bought white bread contains

You can find our easy recipe on my facebook page here:  Old Fashioned White Bread

Homemade Bread

The boy and his classmates were asked to provide a loaf of bread to our local Golden Age Center (seniors center).  The school provided all of the ingredients and instructions which was enough for 2 loaves (one to donate and one for our family).  I let the kids make it together.

It was a simple recipe, a bit different from our regular recipe, but it was very good.  You can see how we made the bread on my facebook page here:  Homemade Bread