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Bread Recipes |
Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup butter -- cold
1/4 cup lard -- cold
4 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon anise seed
1 cup almonds -- ground
Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Cut butter and lard into mixture. Beat eggs slightly and beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Quickly stir egg mixture, anise seed, and almonds into dry ingredients. Turn out on a floured board and knead until dough is no longer sticky. Divide dough into 6-8 pieces. Roll with hands into long rolls. Place rolls on greased baking pans and flatten slightly with hands. Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes. Slice each roll diagonally into 3/4 inch pieces. Return to baking pan, cut side up, and bake at 375°F degrees for 5 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake 5 minutes more.
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Bread Related Articles |
Bread Maker - Don't Sell It On eBay - Use It
Is your bread maker stuck on a back shelf collecting dust? Or, worse still, is it in your garage or basement waiting to be sold on eBay or at a yard sale?
I have talked to several people lately, who are disenchanted with their bread makers because their bread is heavy or has poor texture or has fallen -- just generally inferior. Here are some tips that will help:
First, get to know your bread maker and your favorite type of bread maker recipe. It's amazing how a seemingly bad recipe can become a favorite when modified to fit your bread maker and your home and even the type of wheat flour you are using. The first time I use a new bread maker and/or bread maker recipe, I watch the machine, keeping track of the dough to be sure that the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and that the dough is neither too dry nor too sticky. If the recipe needs liquid or dry ingredients added, I carefully measure whatever I add and make meticulous notation on the recipe for future use. Near the end of the baking cycle, I keep track of the bread to see what is happening with the crust, whether it is too dark, too hard, etc., and turn the bread maker off early if necessary, noting on the recipe the crust setting I need to use. Then the next time I use that particular recipe, I have the knowledge of turning out superior bread even while I'm sleeping! Note: Sometimes it takes two or three tries before I have the recipe fine-tuned, but, believe me, it is worth the effort.
Another important factor to making good bread in your bread maker is: no more by guess and by gosh!
"Measure ingredients exactly" must become your motto when using a bread maker. According to the Toastmaster Bread Maker Use and Care Guide, when measuring liquids, place a see-through measuring cup on the counter and read the measurement at eye level. Be very fussy so that it is exact. When using measuring spoons, be exact.
When measuring dry ingredients, use a knife or other straight edge to scrape off the excess until it is level. For flour measurement, spoon it lightly into a dry ingredient measuring cup and level it with a straight edge such as a knife. By doing this you will get an accurate measurement. If you scoop the flour in with the measuring cup, tap it on the counter, or shake the cup, you are likely to get more flour than the recipe calls for, resulting in inferior baked goods.
The Sunbeam Breadmaker User Manual gives us the secret of adding the ingredients "into the bread pan in the exact order given in the recipe: first, liquid ingredients; second, dry ingredients; last, yeast... Also, make sure the ingredients are at room temperature, unless otherwise noted. Last, it's a good idea to start with fresh ingredients (especially fresh flour and yeast)."
Regarding bread maker recipes and why so many of them seem to be bad recipes, keep in mind that where you live really does affect how your bread turns out. My friend, Sheila, had to modify her bread recipes each time she moved to a different city in order to accommodate altitude changes. Therefore, if the recipe you are trying was created in a different city than where you live, it will most likely need to be altered.
If all else fails and you just can't get your bread to turn out divine, try using a bread maker mix . I've used several different bread maker mixes myself, and I've loved the results!
In summary, before you decide to sell your bread maker on eBay, get to know your bread maker, measure ingredients meticulously and add them in the correct order, experiment with your recipes to make them truly yours, and try some of the great bread mixes out there. Happy bread making!
Bonnie LeBaron, mother of 9 and grandmoter of 18, has been making bread two or three times a week for the past 46 years. She is the Breadlady at BreadmakersUSA.com, a website dedicated exclusively to selling bread makers, bread mixers, bread mixes, grain mills, and bread maker recipe books. |
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