How To Bake Bread on the Grill

I'm not sure this really counts as a "how to" post, since I've only baked bread on the grill once and I just threw it together.  But it worked so I thought I'd share.

My go to bread baking technique is the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day method. I baked and froze a ton of this bread in May, but we just recently ran out. With cooler temps this past week, I decided to re-stock the freezer.  On the same evening that I planned to bake bread, we made pizza on our grill so I decided to try and bake a loaf of bread as long as the grill was hot.

I put a sheet of parchment paper in a disposable pie tin. I tore off a chunk of bread dough from my batch, tucked it under (as directed for the "gluten coat") and tossed it in the pie tin.  I did not let the bread rest (AB5 bread usually rests for 40 minutes before baking) -- I just slashed the top.  I baked the bread on the "warming rack" of our grill.  The grill was on high for a good 30 minutes and the top was open and closed as we baked our pizzas.  I kept an eye on the bread as we cooked.  The crust got a bit toasty, but the crust was nice and hard once it was done. It tasted great!

I kept the bread off heat because I didn't want the bottom to char and it was still a bit darker than normal. This is a pretty unscientific method, but worth a shot if you need bread and don't want to heat up your house.

Basic Scones

We love scones, but I've never made plain, basic scones.  These were delicious -- just slightly sweet with a nice tender crumb.  I served these with soup, but they would be great for breakfast or with a cup of coffee or tea.

Basic Scones
2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons butter, cubed
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk

In  alarge bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda.  Cut in butter.  Whisk together egg and buttermilk in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Knead dough about 10 times. Pat down in to an 8 inch circle. Cut in to 8 wedges. Separate edges and bake on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Rosemary Onion Foccacia

I have been making pretty much all of the bread we eat for somewhere around 3 years. I am always game for a new bread recipe (I'm trying a honey whole wheat one this week), but I always end up back using the  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (AB5) method and recipes.  AB5 is hands down the easiest method of making bread with the absolute best results I've found. The recipe is not fussy at all and there is a lot of room for mistakes interpretation. I really can't say enough good things about this method of baking bread and I think if there is one cookbook I'd recommend, it's this one.

I often use the olive oil dough for pizzas, but I decided to try the Rosemary and Onion Foccacia to have with dinner.  You basically put some lightly sauteed onion, dried rosemary, and sea salt on the dough, let rest and bake. Delicious!

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Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Scones

Scones are quickly becoming one of my all time favorite things to make for breakfast. It also helps that everyone in my family loves scones! When I ran in to a recipe for bacon scones in a recent issue of Taste of Home magazine, I knew I could make my husband's day.

I'm not sure why, but these scones were the lightest, flakiest ones I've ever made. I've always wondered about instructions to make a well with dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients. Well, according to Alton Brown, the well makes it easier to mix the ingredients together resulting in a more tender dough. So I did it this time and perhaps that made the difference.

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Scones

1 3/4 cup flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
14/ teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cheese (or more!)
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or more!)
Optional: chopped onion

Combine 1st five ingredients in large bowl. Whisk to combine and make a well. In a small bowl whisk together egg and buttermilk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix only until moistened. Add in cheese and two-thirds of the bacon. Mix just to combine. Pat dough into a round disk on a parchment lined cookie sheet (I bake mine in my toaster oven). Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut in to 8 wedges and serve warm.

NOTE: This dough is very sticky so plop it on the cookie sheet and just pat down!

Adapted from Taste of Home magazine

Make It Homemade: The Perfect Pita

I have been messing around with homemade pitas since last summer. I love the idea of a simple homemade flat bread that is quick and easy and delicious. They were anything but! Oh, they were delicious, but they were not quick and easy. They also were not proper "pitas" because I could never get them to puff correctly (thus creating the desired pocket). I tried them on the grill. I tried them in the oven. Nothing worked. I went back to buying pitas in shame.

And then I decided to try no knead, artisan bread dough. I should have known. That bread dough is hands down the most versatile "pantry staple" in my kitchen. It makes absolutely perfect pitas.

I took a handful of dough and rolled it as flat and round as I could get it (using plenty of flour!). I popped the flattened dough right on to the rack in my toaster oven and baked at 450 degrees. A few minutes later -- POOF! I took the pita out, put it in a basket and kept it well covered with a towel to keep it soft. I varied the sizes and shapes to find the perfect size and ended up being able to cook 2-3 at a time. There was one pita leftover and it was still soft and delicious the next day.