Artisan French Bread

This bread shows up to my dinner table at least once a week because it is so easy and delicious with only 4 ingredients involved! This is a variation of the Artisan Bread with Rosemary and Gruyere Cheese. We just omit the Rosemary and the Gruyere, and form the dough into two french loaves to bake. 

Artisan French Bread

3 c. flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. water


1. Stir together all of the ingredients in a large bowl except 1/4 c. of the water. If the dough is dry and not coming together you can slowly add in the 1/4 c. water, but I almost never need it. The loaves turn out a bit flat if there is too much water in the dough. Cover and let sit in a warm room or slightly pre heated oven for 4 hours. I sometimes pre heat to about 100 degrees and then turn the heat off, leaving the door ajar to let the heat slowly seep out of the oven as the dough is rising. I only do this if my house is colder than 68 degrees in the winter.

2. Lightly oil your counter and turn out the dough, folding it over on itself a couple of times. Split the dough into two equal pieces. Wrap both of your hands around the center of the  dough and gently squeeze the dough while moving your hands farther and farther apart to make a long french loaf the size you want It shouldn't be more than 1 1/2 inches thick. I make the loaves smoother by starting at one end of the dough and pinching the dough from the sides up to the top. Place the two strips of dough onto a french loaf pan or a flat baking sheet if that's all you have.  Cover with a greased sheet of plastic wrap and let rise for 30-40 minutes. 

3. Transfer to a preheated oven at 450 degrees. Bake for about 15 minutes or until browned and the loaves make a hollow sound when you tap on them.

Quick Artisan Bread with Rosemary and Gruyere Cheese

You will not regret trying this ridiculously easy recipe with its complex flavors! It comes out of the oven with this golden and crusty outside that will make your mouth positively water. Start the dough about 5 hours before you are ready to eat for a hot loaf of bread on the table. I found this recipe on Barefoot and Baking Blog and modified it a little.



Quick Artisan Bread with Rosemary and Gruyere Cheese

3 c. flour (substitute 1/2c. of the flour for wheat to add a little healthy to it)
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt (round the 1/2 tsp. if you like the salt to stand out more)
1/2-2/3 c. shredded Gruyere Cheese
1 1/2 T.  fresh chopped rosemary
1 1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (low acidity)

Combine flour, yeast and salt, cheese, and rosemary in a large bowl. Add most of the water and stir until blended. I usually don't need all of the water, but the dough will be pretty wet and sticky. Cover bowl and let the dough rest at warm room temperature of about 70 degrees or in a slightly warmed oven for 4 hours.

Lightly oil the counter and place dough on it. Fold the dough over a couple of times and shape into a rough ball. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rest for 30-40 minutes.

Pre heat the oven 30 minutes before the dough is ready with a 6-8 quart covered oven safe cast iron pot inside. When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven and carefully slide your hands under the dough and turning it over into the pot with the seam side up. Cover the pot with the lid and bake 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake about 10 minutes more until browned to perfection. Cool on a wire rack.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Made with Coconut Oil)

This is my go to cookie recipe right now and for good reason. It is so rare to run into a recipe that is made healthier and also tastes better because of the good for you ingredients! You're Welcome! Special shout out to my friend Brittanie for recomending it, and the website Two Peas & Their Pod for posting it. I quadruple this recipe for good reason and freeze the leftovers. Scale it back if you have more self control than I do!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Made with Coconut Oil)

4 c. whole wheat flour (I grind my wheat at home for best flavor)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
2 c. soft coconut oil (not melted)
2 c. light brown sugar
1 c. sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
4 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. old fashioned oats or quick oats if you use a little less
4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli chips are my fave)
Sea salt for sprinkling on top (optional)

Preheat to 350. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, beat together coconut oil, brown sugar, and sugar for at least 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time with at least 1 minute in between each egg. Add vanilla. Slow the mixer to low and slowly add the flour mixture until just combined. Over mixing ruins the texture of your cookie!
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. For the best results refrigerate your dough for 1-3 hours. I like to scoop the dough out with a mellon baller for consistently sized cookies, about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes on a higher rack in the oven to get them a golden but still soft in the center. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.   

Ready to go Lemon Juice

So this is one of my favorite tricks for always having fresh juices at the ready for any recipe and the best part is that it's so easy!
Use this recipe for freezing lime juice, grapefruit juice, or any other store bought juice that you want to preserve.

Ready to go Lemon Juice

Fresh lemons
juicer (shown above and purchased at Wal Mart)
gallon or quart sized freezer bags depending on how much juice you need to store.

Slice your fruit in half and juice. Pour into your freezer bag making sure that it's not too full. When you seal and lay the bag flat, the juice shouldn't be more than 1/4-1/2 inch thick so that it is easy to break off pieces after it's been frozen. Let most of the air out before you seal it and then lay the bag on the flattest surface you can create in your freezer. Now you are ready to enjoy freshly sqeezed juice for months to come without having to get out a juicer every time you need some!

Baked Crepe with Berries

As a Favorite breakfast request at our house, I most often double this recipe so that our family of six has enough to go around! I have four boys to feed so you can imagine how quickly it disappears! It's quick and easy to make, yet so divine! Make it with or without berries. We love topping it off with a little lemon juice drizzle and a dusting of powdered sugar. This recipe was found on the Barefoot and Baking blog before I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe.

Baked Crepe with Berries

2 T. coconut oil
3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt just brimming over the edge of the tsp.
3 eggs (the fresher the better)
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla brimming over the edge
1 c. berries (I prefer a fresh raspberry/blueberry mix. Frozen works too)
1 T. Meyer Lemon juice (optional but worth it!)
A large cast iron pan or creuset dish for baking it in

Preheat oven to 450 with the coconut oil in it. Butter can be used but I use coconut oil because it doesn't burn. It's also healthier!
Combine the flour and salt in a side bowl, and mix the eggs, milk, and vanilla in your main mixing bowl. Once it looks frothy add the flour mixture and beat for a minute. It should be very smooth. Now take your baking dish out of the oven and pour in the batter and sprinkle in the berries. Return to the oven for 12-15 minutes until nicely browned and puffy around the edges. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the lemon juice and your powdered sugar. Now slice and serve! Once you find that this recipe is a favorite I encourage you to double the recipe and save the other half of the batter in the fridge for tomorrow's breakfast. The batter improves overnight for even better results the next day. You could also make it ahead of time for company! For tips on preserving lemon juice to have on hand for this recipe, see my Lemon Juice to go recipe that follows!

Lydia's tortillas

Guys! Dreams just came 
true for me when my friend 
invited me over to her 
kitchen to learn the art 
of tortilla making from her 
mom Lydia. Born and raised 
in Mexico, Lydia has been 
making these delicious 
beauties all her life! Her 
expertise did not 
disappoint. These are 
thin, soft, and delicious 
with no tortilla press 
required!

Lydia's Tortillas

6 c. flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. salt
1 c. Crisco
2 c. very warm water

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the Crisco and with clean hands begin separating the Crisco with your fingers until it is a crumbly mixture with the pieces being no bigger than a pea.
Now add about 1 1/2 c. of the water to the flour mixture and kneed it together with your hands. Continue adding the rest of the water until it is a ball of dough that's not too wet. You may need more or less of the water depending on the humidity in your area.
 Now transfer the dough to the counter and kneed for at least 10 minutes. No shortcuts allowed! This is one of the valuable tricks I learned! The next trick is to allow the dough to rest at least one hour in its mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap. You can cook it right away, but the results only get better the longer you wait. Once the dough has rested, divide dough into balls a little larger than a golf ball for a small tortilla and larger for larger tortillas. Now take the ball of dough on a floured surface and roll back and forth once, then turn the dough a half turn and roll again. Continue to add flour to the surface so that the tortilla is never sticking to the counter. Flip the tortilla over once in a while as you continue to rotate it a half turn every few rolls until the tortilla dough is pretty darn thin. This can be a fun and relaxing process if you take the time to enjoy it. Your tortilla is a work of art with each one a slightly different shape. Now to cook them have your pan heated to medium high so that your tortilla is seared on the outside without overcooking the inside.  Flip it once you see the top start to bubble. After you flip it you know you have achieved the greatest success if your tortilla balloons up on the pan. This was one of Lydia's greatest delights! She says that you should never ever under any circumstance pop the bubble as it cooks. Just a few seconds of cooking on each side. The result is that once it is cooked and cooled your tortilla remains soft for rolling up a delicious burrito!