Breadmaker Bliss

This is the real thing, people--tried and true recipes from my breadmaker that get rave reviews in our house. I present for your enjoyment three beautiful breads: Homemade pizza dough, (now there's no excuse not to make pizza at home, this is so easy!), my Cinnamon Roll recipe which I have tweaked to perfection after years of John saying "hmm, not quite like Cinnabon," and Golden Honey Pan Rolls, known as "Honey Rolls" in our family. We often eat them with vegetable beef soup for lunch when I'm tired of stirfry (about once every 10 days or so). My house helper has honed her skills on all of these and they turn out great every time now! Enjoy!

Pizza Perfection
3 cups bread flour
1 1/8 cups water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp yeast

[Feel free to add some dried basil or oregano, or substitute garlic salt for the regular salt to jazz things up!]

Load the bread pan, using the dough cycle. When it finishes, remove the dough. Let rest 5 minutes on a floured surface. Divide dough into two pieces. (I have found this amount makes enough for my one big and one small pizza pan if we want thin crust, or enough for just the big one if we want a thicker crust.) Roll it out on a lightly floured surface, then place in greased pizza pans, forming the crust around the edges. Prick each pizza with a fork and prebake the crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. (I have found the prebaking to be the key to the yummiest pizza! Before I started doing this I always had trouble getting my dough to the crispy/chewy stage, it always turned out too soft. But if you like a much softer crust, skip this step.)

Spread with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings. Bake for another 10 minutes or so until cheese is melted and beginning to brown around the edges. Enjoy!

BONUS: Here's the recipe I use for pizza sauce: in 1 Tbsp olive oil, saute 2 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp oregano, just until fragrant. Add one 6 oz can tomato paste and 1/2 cup water. Heat until simmering and salt to taste.

Our Favorite Cinnamon Rolls (with the bread machine, these are very do-able for breakfast!)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 egg plus water to equal 1/4 cup
4 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling:
4-5 Tbsp brown sugar plus about 2 tsp cinnamon, stirred together
4 Tbsp melted butter

Load the bread pan, using the dough cycle. When finished, remove the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in the frig for 30 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle--roll the dough as thin as you can manage. This will ensure that the filling-to-dough ratio is right. Too much filling makes the dough difficult to roll up, so you want to roll the dough very thin so that the filling spreads out as well.

After you've rolled it very thinly, spread on the melted butter. (You could use a pastry brush, but why? I just use my fingers, not wanting to waste any of that beautiful butter soaking into the pastry brush bristles.) Sprinkle with the brown sugar/cinnamon combo. Roll the dough up into a long, thin log, pinching the seam to seal. Slice the log into 12 pieces carefully with a serrarated knife. Place the rolls in a greased 9x13 pan, not touching. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 360 degrees and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

For a simple icing, combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk, and a dash of vanilla and pour over the top. For a lovely, decadent, creamy frosting, make this delicious cream cheese concoction:

8 Tbsp softened butter
3-4 oz softened cream cheese

Beat these two together. Then add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat until fluffy. This recipe makes enough for several batches of cinnamon rolls and keeps great in the frig!

Finally, last but not least, everyone's favorite Honey Rolls! They're like a dinner roll except so sweet and soft and tender that they melt in your mouth...Yum!

1 cup milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast

For the glaze:
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 Tbsp honey
1 egg white (the other half from that yolk you needed for the bread part)

Load the bread machine, using the dough cycle. When finished, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down; cover and rest for 10 minutes. Divide into 24 pieces, shape each into a ball. Place 12 balls each in two greased 8 inch square baking pans. [I usually just use one 9x13, but I do find that they have to bake just a tad longer that way, otherwise the center ones don't get done.] Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy warm with a bowl of soup, and if you have any left over, they're delicious with a slice of ham stuck in the middle!

Happy breadmaker baking, everyone!