• 2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 t sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 t sugar
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 pkg. dry yeast
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg yolk

Mix flour, salt and 1-1/2 tsp sugar. Cut in butter. Dissolve sugar in water and add yeast. Add beaten egg yolk to milk. Add this to flour, blend well. Add yeast and water mix. Cover and chill 2 hours.

Roll sticky dough 1/3″ thick and cut into 6×1/2″ strips. Twist into spirals on greased baking sheet. Cover and let double. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes. While still warm, ice with thin icing sugar/ butter/ vanilla topping and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

A plain old and easy bran muffin recipe, great for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack.

Wheat bran is high in dietary fiber and so helps to keep the body’s elimination system in good working order.

Bran muffin ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 T melted butter
• 1 cup wheat bran

Sift together flour, baking powder and sugar. Beat the egg and add milk, butter and bran. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir just to dampen. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes.

Vegan Bran Muffin Tweak

This recipe is easily made vegan by substituting 1 T flax + 3 T water for the egg (mix together and let sit for 5 minutes or so to thicken before adding to the recipe), 1 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk for the regular milk, and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil for the butter.

• 1 pkg. active dry yeast
• 4-5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 t salt
• 3/4 cup milk combined with 1/4 cup water
• 1 T soft unsalted butter

Soften yeast in a small bowl with 1 tsp each flour and sugar in 1/4 cup lukewarm water for 15 minutes. Sift together 4 cups flour, rest of sugar and salt. Heat the milk and water mixture to lukewarm; stir into flour mixture. Add yeast mixture and butter and combine until it forms a ball.

Knead on floured board, adding enough flour to keep it from sticking, for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a large buttered bowl, turn to coat with butter, and let rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place, for 45 minutes or till doubled. Punch down and knead to expel air bubbles.

Roll out 1/4″ thick on floured board and cut into 3″ rounds. Let rise, covered, for 30-45 minutes. In a lightly buttered heavy pan, cook muffins over moderately high heat, turning them, for 6 minutes. in all, or until browned on both sides. Place on a baking sheet and bake in preheated 300ºF oven for 15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

• 1-1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 T salt
• 2 pkg. active dry yeast
• 2 T sugar
• 2/3 cup unsulfured molasses
• 8-9 cups all-purpose flour

Combine oats, butter salt and 3 cups boiling water. Let mixture cool to lukewarm. In a small bowl let the yeast, 2 T lukewarm water, and sugar sit for 15 minutes or till foamy. Stir this into the oats mixture, add the molasses and 8 cups flour, or enough to make a stiff dough.

Knead for 2 minutes, put in a well-buttered large bowl, and turn it to coat. Let dough rise, covered, for 1 hour or till doubled. Punch down and let rest for 5 minutes. Form the dough into 2 loaves and place in 2 buttered loaf pans. Let rise, covered, for 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 50-60 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Country bread from Chile

These dense bread rolls, slightly toasted on a griddle and smothered with sweet Chilean butter and strawberry jam,  made one of my favorite breakfasts during my stay in Chile. The heavy, almost layered consistency of the bread made it special. To me, the heaviness of Pan de Campo was a product of baking it in the shadow of the towering wall of the Andes that stood above us in Santiago.

Ingredients for Chilean Pan de Campo (Peasant Bread)

• 20 grams (about 3/4 oz) yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 t sugar
• 7 3/4 – 8 3/4 cups flour
• 1 cup melted shortening
• 2 cups warm water mixed with 1 T salt

Mix yeast with 1 cup warm water and sugar. Let stand 20 minutes. Pour into a ring of flour along with cooled melted shortening.

While mixing, gradually add 2 cups warm water with salt. Work until light and shiny (10 minutes).

Form into a roll and divide into 18 pieces. Knead each piece and pat with hands into 2 cm (3/4″) thick rounds. Pierce with fork. Let rise.

Bake at 400F for 15 to 20 minutes.

• 3 cups flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 t soda
• 1 t salt
• 1-1/2 cups raisins
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 T oil

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt together. Stir in raisins. Blend eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add all at once to flour mixture, stirring only till moistened. Turn into oiled loaf pan. Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.