Bread Archives - Simply Sells Kitchen

Matzah

Sandra Sells — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 19:27:32 +0000

Homemade matzah tastes fresher and better than anything you’ll ever get out of the box. No, we weren’t raised Jewish, but we have grown up eating matzah from time to time. Mainly it’s when we take communion, whether at church or at home, and use matzah bread as one of the elements. I’ve never really liked the taste of matzah, as it is usually very bland. However, I recently found out how different fresh matzah tastes right out of the oven. Years ago, I started making fresh Challah bread, and I much prefer the flavor and texture of fresh bread (you can find our Simply Sells Challah bread recipe on our website). The first time we tried making hot fresh matzah bread, was another “oh wow” moment! History of Matzah… Historically, matzah has its roots in the ancient Jewish tradition and culture of the Passover celebration. Every year, Passover falls around our modern holiday of Easter. Passover is centered around the Exodus story of the Israelites fleeing bondage in ancient Egypt. Matzah bread is traditionally a flat bread with no leavening—no yeast or rising whatsoever. Some say the matzah was flat because the Israelites were fleeing so quick it didn’t have time to rise. Others say it was made that way to be easily portable and less likely to spoil. Research of regional matzah from over 4000 years ago shows it wasn’t made from the same type of flour or grain we eat today. In fact, the Bible sometimes refers to “cakes” of matzah. We can be sure that the matzah then wasn’t in a perfect square like the industrialized boxed version we eat today. It was probably much rounder, like a disc shape, and not as thinly rolled out. Whatever the case, today’s boxed matzah usually doesn’t taste great as it’s only made with two ingredients: flour and water. This past year with my church, I’ve started fasting for one week every three months. I found that not only is it a benefit spiritually, but also health wise too. During a recent fasting week, I felt to only eat matzah. I bet you can guess how quickly I was done with the flavor of store bought matzah. Haha! So, during that week, I decided to try and make my own. What a difference! I should let you know that our recipe is not kosher, if you’re looking to follow kosher standards. Recipe Preheat the oven and cookie sheet to 475℉. I start out by putting unbleached flour in my KitchenAid stand mixer. (You can also use whole wheat flour or try to mill your own from wheat berries). Second, I add just a touch of salt, and then, with the dough hook attachment, I mix in a tablespoon of water at a time. This way the mixture doesn’t end up in one big flour clump. When the dough comes together, I remove it from the KitchenAid stand mixer and put it on a lightly floured surface where I knead the dough for about 1-2 minutes. This way, the dough is easier to work with. I then separate the dough into 3-4 pieces. Using a rolling pin, I roll the dough into very thin discs, and then pierce it all over with a fork to help ensure the matzah doesn’t rise. Next, I place the pieces of matzah dough on the preheated cookie sheet in the oven and cook them for 3 minutes on each side. I’ve found that if you like a crispier texture, add an extra 1-2 minutes per side. When they reach your preferred crispiness, immediately remove the matzah from the oven and enjoy the taste of your labor! I recommend brushing some olive oil on top. Homemade matzah really is delicious on its own, but we also add it as an accompaniment to meals. We sometimes add spices to the dough as well. Try mixing in an Italian seasoning or everything bagel seasoning for a matzah that’s extra special! If you’re up to the task of making the bread in under 18 minutes and supervised by a rabbi, then you can make it kosher style. Which every way you make it, I hope you enjoy this delicious ancient bread recipe!

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Baked Oatmeal Muffins

Sandra Sells — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:23:42 +0000

Oats are a huge staple in our house! From regular oatmeal to cookies and pancakes, we tend to use oats in a lot of our recipes. These baked oatmeal muffins have been a great addition in our home. My kids started a pass or fail challenge when recipes are finalized, and I got a pass on these. I think I have mentioned they are tough critics, so I am quite pleased. This muffin recipe is versatile and customizable to any palate. They are so easy to make! These baked oatmeal muffins are great to make ahead for quick breakfasts on the go and are a healthy option for your family. Go ahead and bring them to your next brunch gathering; they will definitely be a hit! They stay fresh for 3-4 days in a sealed container on the counter or you can store them in the freezer for a longer period. I like to put one in my kids lunchbox as a nutritious treat option! Recipe You make these baked oatmeal muffins right in the food processor. I am sure a Vitamix would do the job, too. First, preheat the oven to 350℉, and then prep your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. I start by mixing all the dry ingredients in the food processor and pulse them until the mixture looks like a course sand texture. Next, I add everything else right into the food processor and pulse them until combined (about 30 seconds). Finally, I use my cookie scoop to scoop the batter into each muffin space. Using the cookie scoop fills 12 muffin spaces pretty evenly if the scoops are even. The toppings I chose for this batch of muffins were blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate chips. I bet you can guess the kids favorite, yep, the chocolate chip ones! My husband was partial to the blueberries! Like I said, these muffins are very versatile. You can even make them mini muffins for your little toddlers. Some other topping options that would be great on these are cooked apples, chia seeds, nuts, granola, or raisins. I bet this recipe would also be a great base for a coffee cake crumble. The options are endless. I hope you enjoy these baked oatmeal muffins and I encourage you to try to make healthy options like these for your family!

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Happy “Challah” Day

Sandra Sells — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 20:40:56 +0000

Bread… We love bread! I could say that again and again! We especially love fresh homemade bread – sourdough, challah, whole wheat, focaccia, pan de queso, baguettes, brioche – there are so many choices! All I can say is the taste of fresh baked bread must be one of the most delicious things we can experience. No matter what, just the idea of warm fresh bread right out of the oven brings excitement to my heart. For quite a few years now our family has made homemade fresh bread as one of the center pieces at all our holiday meals. Some of our relatives have a family tradition of making what they call all-bran rolls – a tradition we gladly indulge. All they have to say is, “The rolls are ready” and everyone comes running. They’re seriously that good! A couple years ago my brother decided to make a copycat recipe of Texas Roadhouse restaurant rolls and honey butter from scratch. They were a huge hit. They were so warm, yeasty, and delicious with just a touch of sweetness from the honey butter. I think they were pretty accurate to the restaurant experience. As long as I can remember and especially since we’ve been married, Kodi has made the most amazing loaf of fresh challah bread every Thanksgiving holiday. Why challah bread? Honestly, I’m still not too sure how it became our tradition but it has. Challah is a bread traditionally eaten at different Jewish holidays and braided a variety of ways. We’re not Jewish; we just enjoy the comfort of a good loaf of bread! Challah traditionally contains no dairy products, however, recipes were altered as they were passed down generation-to-generation and adopted in several eastern European cuisines. Our Simply Sells challah bread recipe is an egg version that Kodi decided to make one day. We both tried it and thought it would be amazing at Thanksgiving dinner with warm turkey, gravy, and green beans. Honestly, making a turkey sandwich with Thanksgiving leftovers and all the fixings in between the freshly sliced Challah is divine! Challah has a grand look. A double batched, triple braided loaf with poppy seeds adorning the top as it comes out of the oven can make you drool. Not only does the appearance make you want to hang around the kitchen the smell is incredible! It takes a lot of patience to make the bread, and then wait for it to come out of the oven but it’s worth it. The challah is almost an appetizer for us because it’s the first thing we want to try. It always seems to get swarmed over and devoured in no time, even before the Thanksgiving meal. Pats of butter melting on the warm bread is so delicious with hints of both sweet and salty. The bread’s texture is perfectly fluffy and moist. Try it out. You won’t be disappointed. Simply Sells challah recipe will make a great addition to your everyday family table and a wonderful addition to your holiday meal plans. Go ahead and double-batch the dough; the crowd will be more than pleased! Yum, I can smell it cooking now, as we are just days away from our Thanksgiving day celebration.

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Almond Flour Cheddar Biscuits

Sandra Sells — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 18:54:03 +0000

Biscuits traditionally have deep roots in southern kitchens across the USA; however, they first came to America from England before evolving into what we’ve come to know and enjoy today. In American Revolution and Civil War times “beaten biscuits” (a much less fluffy version) had their place. For those in New England there were “sea biscuits”, a variety that were extra whipped and portable to keep for long journeys or lunches. I can speak from deep experience and as Kodi’s wife that there is a special place in his heart for biscuits – the dense, flakey, and buttery kind. A few years ago, Kodi and I took a trip to Nashville, a region that we really love and have been to many times. During this particular instance we went driving and decided to dine at a restaurant called the Loveless Cafe. You could tell the cafe was a special place in Tennessee and was definitely a tourist site. It specializes in delicious southern cooking and the most indulgent comfort food – buttermilk fried chicken, country ham on biscuits, okra, pie, preserves, they have it all! We ended up purchasing their cookbook from the gift shop that day. That was a very naughty idea – haha! We spent lots of time skimming through the book, finding ourselves dreaming of how we could overindulge in an entire red velvet cake. It is highly inspiring as everything looks very delicious. In an effort to have his cake and eat it too, Kodi decided to experiment a little bit with a basic buttermilk biscuit recipe and switch out some of the ingredients to lessen the carb load. He came up with a biscuit recipe that was not lacking in flavor and, thanks to almond flour, is really enjoyable. We choose the Kirkland brand unblanched almond flour from our local Costco, but any other brand should do just fine. The recipe is especially great for those who are looking to reduce carbs and not eat gluten in their diet. However, regardless of what your diet is these biscuits are legit! The inspiration was part Loveless Cafe and part cheddar bay biscuits from good old Red Lobster. Using different flours can cause a different result in the final product so we did add a bit of xanthan gum to help keep the gluten texture and flavor like wheat flour. You do not get the sponginess of all-purpose flour but the full buttery, flakey biscuit experience is definitely present. We then took it to another level and made them with sour cream instead of buttermilk and added shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Hallelujah, we have a winner! We enjoy them right out of the oven with cold butter right on top that slowly melts as you bite right in or cutting them in half and enjoying them with eggs. Substituting savory ingredients with fresh butter and jam is always an excellent choice! These biscuits are very versatile, just like the everyday biscuits you’ve come to know and love. Try these almondy biscuits and let us know what you think.

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