Zwieback day...

If only you could smell the wonderful smell that I smelled today (say that three times fast!). Anyways, today was zwieback baking day! YUMMY! If you don't know zwieback is, then you are seriously missing out. Zwieback are white buns that are seriously good! You're probably thinking, "Oh, how wonderful. It's just a regular bun." (in case you didn't catch on, there was a little bit of sarcasm in that. Oh wait, you're the one thinking it!) But let me tell you, they are NOT! Don't even think it. (Does that paragraph make any sense? :)

If you haven't had zwieback, then you, my poor, zwieback deprived friend, have just got to start a batch this very moment.
We (my brother, my sister, and me) all stopped our school (we're homeschooled) and helped (our mom) shape the buns! They are so good!




This is not my pic. It's from an awesome blog called Mennonite Girls Can Cook. They post a recipe every single day - and they even have a cookbook!


Here's the recipe:

9 cups flour
1 cup butter
4 cups warmed milk
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons yeast (heaping)
1 tablespoon salt (heaping)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup flour (for kneading)

With a pastry blender, cut butter into 9 cups flour. Soften yeast in warm water (when using quick rising yeast, add directly to flour). Add salt to warm milk and mix yeast and milk into flour. Combine and let dough rest 15 to 20 minutes. Knead dough until smooth. Let rise to double. Form into balls and place on cookie sheets covered with parchment. Make the second ball smaller than the first and put them together (so there's a bottom and a top). Let rise to double. Bake in hot oven at 400F/200C for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

This bread is sooooo good! I love how the swirl looks! It's basically a cinnamon bun, in bread form. It tastes good with butter, or icing, or by itself.

To make:
1/2 cup warm water
2 packages dry yeast
(1 tablespoon sugar)

Combine and stir until dissolved. Set aside. (Use 1 tablespoon of the sugar listed below.)

1 cup milk, scalded
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Combine and stir until melted. Cool to lukewarm, then add to yeast mixture.

1 egg, slightly beaten
2/3 cup orange juice
2 cups flour

Add, beating until smooth. Let rest 10 minutes.

5 to 5 1/2 more flour.

Add and knead until smooth and elastic.

Grease top and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down. Divide dough into two balls. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each ball into a 7 by 15 rectangle, 1/2 inch thick.

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Mix.

2 tablespoons melted butter.

Spread over dough. Then sprinkle with brown sugar mixture (mentioned above).

Roll up rectangles jelly-roll fashion and place in 2 greased 9 by 5 loaf pans, sealed side down. Grease tops with oil or melted butter. Let rise until double again. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Grease tops with butter while hot. (May omit orange juice and use additional milk instead.)

Yield: 2 loaves

Dinner Buns

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups hot tap water
4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
2 tablespoons instant yeast

Mix in order given, mixing the yeast with a little flour and adding that while the dough is still soft. Add enough flour to make a dough that holds together in a ball shape and is not sticky if you handle it with floured hands.Cover.
Let rise until double, about 1/2 hour.
Grease hands and, using a small amount of dough at a time,
pinch off buns between index finger and thumb, curling
index finger in. Place buns on greased cookie sheets.
Let them rise until they are double in size.
Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes, or until golden.