Nana's Easter Bread

We are looking forward to carrying on our Easter Traditions of making Easter Bread and Cherry Cheese Bread for Easter this weekend. You can see in the picture of my husband and our kids below that we have been creating this yummy bread for our family for a long time. Our daughters will be making bread in their homes in La Jolla and Brooklyn and made me realize that while I have spoken about our traditions here on this blog, I have not recorded the recipe for Nana's Easter Bread. So here it is! Happy Spring to everyone~

NANA'S EASTER BREAD

For the Dough

• 4-5 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 package active dry yeast

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ¾ cup whole milk, warmed

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted for top of bread before baking

• 3 eggs, room temperature

• ¼ teaspoon grated orange peel

• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar

• ¼ cup whole milk

•  Sprinkles

Directions

• Mix 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast in bowl of electric mixer. 

• Combine milk and butter in a saucepan until butter is melted and liquids are warm. Gradually add to dry ingredients and beat together at medium speed for 2 minutes. 

• Add 3 eggs, orange rind, nutmeg plus another 1 cup of flour to make a thick batter. Beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Change to dough hook and stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough that is no longer sticky. 

• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turn in the bowl so the top is greased and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

• Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 24” rope. Twist two ropes together and loosely form into a ring on a greased baking sheet. Brush with melted butter.

Cherry Cheese Bread

Our family has a tradition of enjoying delicious Cherry Cheese and Easter Bread every Easter. My husband, Jeff, grew up relishing these wonderful treats that his mom, Marie, made every year. He has carried on the tradition by carefully making the dough and baking them like his mom did. And this year, our daughter who lives in Brooklyn, will be carrying on the tradition and sharing it with her boyfriend's family on the East coast!

Cherry Cheese Bread without Sprinkles

Bread Ingredients

• 1/2 c warm water
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1/2 cup scalded milk (meaning hot, just before boiling)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup salted butter (or margarine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 4 1/2 – 5 cups flour

Filling Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 21-oz can of cherry pie filling
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel

Frosting Ingredients

• 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons of milk
• Sprinkles or nuts for on top, if desired

Directions

• Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl.  Stir minimally but enough to help dissolve the yeast. 
• Scald the milk in a saucepan or in the microwave (really hot but just before boiling) and then add in the butter until it’s completely melted.
• Pour into bowl and then add sugar and salt.  Mix to combine and let the mixture cool a bit.  
• Then add 2 slightly beaten eggs, yeast mixture, and 2 cups of flour, mixing slowly as you add each one.  If using a heavy duty mixer, mix for 3 minutes with a paddle.  (If you’re mixing by hand or using a hand mixer, mix really well until very well blended.) 
• Switch to a dough hook, add 2 more cups of flour, a little at a time and beat your dough another 5-7 minutes.  (If kneading by hand, knead until really well combined……could take up to 10 minutes.)  If the dough is not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add another 1/2 cup of flour (or if  you’re kneading by hand and it just keeps sticking to your hands). 
• Grease the inside of a large bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with a small towel and let rise in warm spot for 1.5 hours, or until double in size.
• Punch down the dough with your hands and then divide into 2 even balls.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  
• While resting, blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar for filling until smooth. Add orange peel to cherry filling.
• Roll dough into two rectangles 15"x6" and spread 1/2 of the cheese filling into a 3 inch strip down the center of the dough, then top with 1/2 of cherry pie filling.  
• Make 2 inch cuts 1/2 inch apart on long sides. Criss cross strips over filling.  
• Use 2 spatulas to carefully lift the bread onto the back side of greased or parchment covered large cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. 
• Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, covering with foil for the last few minutes if it starts to get too brown.
• Combine frosting ingredients and mix until smooth. Drizzle on top of breads and finish with sprinkles (if using). Let frosting set for at least 30 minutes before covering with plastic wrap or it will stick.

Enjoy!

Cherry Cheese Bread with Sprinkles

Super Easy Homemade Bread

Although I have slowed down on my bread making days, I felt I had to include this recipe on Keeping It Real With Joy because it just represents what my blog is all about - easy to make, uncomplicated food that tastes good. My son loves this bread- he enjoys a chunk of it out of the oven slathered with butter and honey and then makes sandwiches with thinner slices after it has cooled. Clearly I may need bigger loaf pans, but they were still delicious!

Easy Homemade Bread

2 ½ cups milk
¼ cup butter
⅓ cup honey
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
5-7 cups all-purpose flour (add 5 cups to start and as you blend, add 1/2 cup more at a time until the dough gets stiff)

Heat the milk, butter and honey in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir and heat for another 45 seconds. Make sure liquid has cooled to luke warm before you mix with flour.

Pour the milk mixture into a large bowl or in a heavy duty mixer. Add the yeast, egg, salt and enough flour to stir together to make a moderately stiff dough. Knead for about 6 minutes by hand or in a bread mixer.

Generously grease two bread pans.  Form dough into 2 loaves and place in pans. Cover with a dishtowel. Let dough rise until doubled. 

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes on the middle rack, until browned on top. Enjoy!

source

Toasted slices of this bread make a tasty sandwich!

Focaccia Art

It's amazing how creative people have been getting with baking during these longs days of staying safe at home due to quarantine requirements. I made plain focaccia in the early days but after I saw focaccia art popping up on Instagram, I knew I eventually wanted to try it out! It was very fun to make a little scene atop the focaccia with fresh veggies and herbs and they actually add additional yummy flavors to the finished bread.

Before Baking

Baked Focaccia Art

Focaccia Art

• 1 recipe focaccia bread- I used the Bon Appetite Recipe for Easy No-Knead Focaccia Bread
• veggies and herbs of choice- I used baby bell peppers, small zucchini, yellow squash, kalamata olives, chives, thyme, oregano leaves, shallots

Before baking the focaccia, place vegetables on top of the bread. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with flaked sea salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with sliced cheese and meats for an easy appetizer.

Original plain focaccia I made before I learned about making art out of it!

Homemade Rosemary Garlic Bread

Have you ever made homemade bread? This was my second attempt and it was so worth the effort! Given the amount of time some of us spend in the house these days, we can try a few more laborious cooking projects. This recipe is actually very easy, has only two "rising" periods and no kneading! Your house smells delicious as they come out of the oven and the recipe makes two big loaves- one for your family and one to give away!

Rosemary Garlic Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm tap water, about 110 degrees (I used an instant read meat thermometer)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
• 2 3/4 – 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used spelt flour)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup fresh rosemary, chopped (I used less as my backyard plant was not very full!)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup flour for dusting the loaves
• Cornmeal for the pans
• 2 small cookie sheets or a large (at least 11×17-inch) jelly roll pan

Instructions

1. To make the dough, in a small bowl or glass measuring cup place water and sprinkle yeast on surface, allowing it to stand for three minutes before whisking. After dissolved, whisk in the olive oil. To mix dough in a full-sized food processor, place 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour and 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, garlic, rosemary, and salt in bowl of the food processor fitted with a dough blade.
2. Add water, oil, and yeast mixture and process to form a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough, about 45 seconds. Incorporate the remaining 1/4 cup all-purpose flour a tablespoon at time if the dough is too soft.
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl and turn dough over so top is oiled. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise at room temperature until doubled.
4. To shape loaves, scrape risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and press it to deflate it. Divide dough in half and shape one piece at a time. Press dough into a square, then roll it up tightly. Rotate cylinder of dough 90 degrees and roll up again from short end. Arrange dough seam side down, cover with plastic or a towel and let it rest of 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining piece of dough.
5. Dust pan with cornmeal. Roll each piece of dough under palms of your hands to elongate it. Work from middle of loaf outward, pointing the ends slightly. Place loaves seam side down on cookie sheets and dust each loaf heavily with flour, using about 1/4 cup in all. Cover with plastic or a towel and allow to rise until doubled.
6. About 30 minutes before you intend to bake the loaves, preheat oven to 500 degrees F and set racks at the middle and lowest levels. Set a pan on the lowest rack to absorb some of the excess bottom heat and keep the bottom of the loaves from burning.
7. Holding a razor blade or the point of a very sharp knife at a 30-degree angle to the top of each loaf, make 3 to 4 diagonal slashes in each loaf. Immediately place loaves in oven and lower temperature 450 degrees F. After loaves have baked for 20 minutes and are completely risen, lower temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking about 20 to 30 minutes longer, until bread reaches an internal temperature of about 210-220 degrees F. Remove loaves from oven and cool on a rack. Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven ready to cool

Perfect to serve with soup!

Quick and Easy Banana Bread

While Kona Inn Banana Bread (find recipe here) is still one of my favorites, this recipe is great if you have fewer ripe bananas and just want to make one loaf. Delicious!

Quick and Easy Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
3/4 - 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed (or 4 for a really moist loaf, but you may have to cook a few more minutes)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
chocolate chips or walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350º. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla.
Combine well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to cream  mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes. Enjoy!

Mini Cornbread Bites

These mini cornbread bites are the perfect accompaniment to chili, as an appetizer alone or as the "bread" for a mini sandwich. The plain cornbread bites are delicious, moist and just a touch sweet.  You can also add some tasty additions to make them a bit more complex. You can toss a few into your kid's lunches or eat them at breakfast with eggs- very versatile!

        Plain                               Jalapeno Cheddar                         Bacon Onion Cheese 

Mini Cornbread Bites
recipe from Martha Stewart

For the batter:
1 cup flour
1 cup medium grind yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Additions:
Jalapeno Cheddar
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno chile
1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese

Bacon Onion Cheese
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1/4 cup grated yellow cheddar


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a  24 mini muffin tin with cooking spray.  
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
Combine buttermilk, egg and oil. Stir into flour mixture until combined. Divide batter into 3 batches (1 cup each) and stir a flavor combination into two of the batches.
Fill muffin tim three-quarters full with 1 batch of batter. Bake until tops are gold and toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Put pan in wire rack for 5 minutes and then turn out muffins from tin. Enjoy!

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Tasty Banana Blueberry Bread

I saw Giada making this bread on her show and since I had ripe bananas and fresh blueberries, I thought I would try it. It is sweet and moist because of all the fruit and tasty if you love blueberries. Unfortunately, my kids prefer their banana bread with chocolate chips, but my husband and I sure enjoyed it.

Banana Blueberry Bread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Spray three mini loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray or one large 9x5x3inch loaf pan.

In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice.  In large bowl, beat whisk sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until blended. Stir in the mashed bananas and blueberries. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan(s). Bake large loaf for about 1 hour or mini loaves for 40-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and remove from loaf pan and cool on wire rack. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Giada

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Monkey Bread

I know Christmas was a long time ago, but I just wanted to include a post about one of our beloved Christmas morning traditions--- Monkey Bread! We have this ooey gooey bread once a year (or maybe for an occasional special request on birthdays) and boy do we look forward to it! Some years it turns out better than others, but this year it was delicious. Just the right amount of carmel topping and nice poofy bread. 

Monkey Bread

   

 1/2

cup granulated sugar

 2

teaspoons ground cinnamon

 4

cans (7.5 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated biscuits

1 cup butter

 3/4

cup packed brown sugar

Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in 1 gallon bag. Open packages of biscuits and cut each biscuit into four pieces. Shake the pieces in the the bag to coat and put them into the bundt pan.

Melt butter and brown sugar in small pan over medium heat until bubbling, stirring constantly after the butter melts. Pour over biscuit pieces.

Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes and turn upside down. Dig in and enjoy!

Cheesy Pull Apart Bread

What's not to like about a loaf of sourdough bread covered with cheese, onions and butter and baked to perfection? The kids loved this with their spaghetti dinner but it would also be a great accompaniment to a veggie stir fry.

The loaf about to be wrapped to put in the oven

Melted cheese and crunchy poppy seeds make this bread so tasty!

Cheesy Pull Apart  Bread

1 sourdough loaf bread (good, artisan bread is best)

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar or Monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup melted butter

1 clove garlic, minced

3 greens onions, sliced

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Pre-heat oven to 350° Slice the bread length wise and width wise in a cross pattern, in one inch slices but not all the way through to the bottom. 

Sprinkle grated cheese all over and in crevices of bread. Put butter and garlic in microwaves safe dish and cook until melted. Add green onions and poppy seeds to melted butter mixture and pour all over bread.  

Wrap well in foil and place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then open foil and bake for 10 more minutes until all of cheese is melted. Place on cutting board or plate to serve. Enjoy!

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Bread

Are you ready for another delicious fall treat that is a cinch to make? This is one of the BEST quick bread mixes around and you can do so many things with it! Trader Joe's only sells their Pumpkin Bread Mix for a few months out of the year, which makes it even more special because you can't buy it year round.

We had my dad over for dinner tonight because my mom is away for a girls weekend and I made two mini loaves for dessert- one of them had cranberries and chopped almonds topped with maple icing (1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon whole milk, 3/4 cup powdered sugar) and the other with mini chocolate chips. Both were yummy! Muffins from this mix are awesome, too...go out and buy yourself a few boxes if you have a Trader Joe's near by~ you and your family will be happy!

Cheese Straws

Our family clearly loves cheese and bread and these cheese straws combine the best of both.  If you cut them in half before cooking, they would be a great appetizer (the full ones are very long).  My kids loved them and ate them all before I could even try one.  I made a few with the thyme and most without, since my kids are not huge herb fans, but it made no difference- they liked them all!

Cheese Straws ready for any occasion

My kids love these cheese straws!

Cheese Straws

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm), defrosted for a few hours in refrigerator
flour for dusting
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup finely grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375°
Roll out sheet of puff pastry on lightly floured counter until it is 10 by 12 inches. Beat egg with 1 teaspoon water and brush surface of pastry. Sprinkle with Parmesan, Gruyere, thyme, salt and pepper. With rolling pin, lightly press the cheese into the puff pastry. Cut each crosswise with knife or pizza cutter into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Cool and serve at room temp. Enjoy!

From Ina's cheese straw recipe

Mini Garlic Monkey Bread

We have a tradition of making sweet monkey bread at Christmas time, so I was excited to try this savory version. The kids loved them!

Mini Garlic Monkey Bread

2 (7.5 oz) cans buttermilk biscuits

6 tablespoons. butter, melted

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

   

Cut biscuits into 4 pieces and place in a bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients and put 6-7 pieces of biscuits in mixture at a time, toss to coat and put into greased muffin cups.   Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.  Serve warm.  Makes 12.  

Simple and Delicious Breadsticks

My kids and their friends adore these breadsticks- great for an after school snack or with dinner!

Simple Breadsticks

1 package Trader Joe's pizza dough (or any pizza dough)

garlic salt

Grated Parmesan cheese

Take the dough out of the package and let rest on the counter at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle flour on surface and roll out dough to 12 x 15 inch rectangle.  Spray rectangle with olive oil spray and cover dough with a light dusting of garlic salt and parmesan cheese and press the cheese into dough with rolling pin.

Slice into 1 inch sticks and place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Easter Traditions

Our family's Easter tradition begins with hunting for Easter eggs at home, where the Easter bunny hides eggs inside and out, and making Easter Bread and Cherry Cheese Bread. Both breads start with yeast dough, so take some time to make. My husband makes the bread with our girls like his Italian mom did when he was a kid.  Then we carry on the tradition of sharing a delicious lunch with my family and having another egg hunt in my parents' beautiful garden. I love having holiday traditions we carry out every year that our kids look forward to with fond and familiar anticipation.

Cherry Cheese Bread

Easter Bread