Olive Cheese Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We took off for parts unknown today. Actually, that's a bit of an exaggeration. The weather promised to be gorgeous, so we packed a hamper and headed to Dexter Lake to spend the day with good friends. The plans for the day included an upscale picnic to be eaten as we watched a sculling competition known to locals as the Covered Bridge Regatta. The picnic was a pot luck affair, but the gal who planned the outing wanted food that would be at least as good as the wine she planned to bring. I was asked to bring a soup and hearty appetizer. I immediately thought about Ree Drummond's Olive Cheese Bread. I've made this for picnics in the past and knew that it could be assembled at home and finished on a charcoal grill at the picnic grounds. It is one of those easy dishes that tastes like a lot of effort has gone into its creation. In truth, it takes about 10 minutes to make the topping for the French bread and it transports well. I have one caution to share with you. The first few times I prepared this bread I used European or Mediterranean black olives to make it. I found them to be too strong and salty in this application, so I switched to the old-fashioned California mission variety and have been happy ever since. I also recommend creaming the butter and mayonnaise together until the mixture is combined and smooth before mixing in the other ingredients. This is one of those foolproof dishes that even beginning cook's can prepare and serve. I love the ease with which this appetizer comes together and I serve it several times a year. If you have not yet tried Ree's Olive Cheese bread, I urge you to do so. It is great and you'll want to have the recipe in your files. Here is how the bread is made.

Kesra - Egyptian Sesame Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Bread is the staff of life in Egypt. It is subsidized by the government and consumed at nearly all meals. In working-class Egyptian homes, a meal may consist of nothing more than bread and beans. While bread provides carbohydrates and protein for the diet, in Egypt it is also used as a utensil for scooping up food and sauces. While most of the bread that is eaten is a thick, glutinous form of pita bread, other types, such as Kesra, are also popular. Kesra is a thick and dense flat bread that has more substance than pita and is actually easier to make. It is flavored with salt and sesame seeds, but it contains no oil so it will stale quickly. It's best eaten warm and any leftovers should be tightly wrapped and reheated for serving from the oven. You'll find this recipe uses more yeast and salt than standard bread recipes, but the bread is delicious. Here is how it is made.

A Personal Favorite - My Recipe Rotation - Swedish Limpa Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is one of the first breads I learned to make, and I suspect the pleasant memories associated with those very early days in the kitchen explain why it holds a place in my permanent rotation. It has been my favorite bread for over 6 decades now, and while I try to replace it, I've never found an adequate substitute. When this bread was first featured on One Perfect Bite, I posted 2 recipes for it, one modern and one not so much. Although I appreciate the ease with which the no-knead version comes together, I am a traditionalist and use the original method when I make this bread for the Silver Fox and myself. I love the heady aroma of the orange and anise seeds as the bread bakes and I can't think of a bread in the world that makes a better open-faced sandwich. If you have never had Limpa bread, I urge you to give either version of this bread a try. Here is what I had to say about the bread back in 2008.

An Easy Cararmel and Chocolate-Filled Monkey Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...For the next week, I'll be sharing recipes for breads and sweet rolls that I think would be wonderful addition to your holiday breakfast or brunch table. I've searched for, and was able to find, a series of recipes for breads that are usually associated with the Christmas holidays. Some of the recipes will be new to you, but they are for breads that are part of old-world holiday traditions. Others may be familiar, but as you scan the recipes you'll see they are actually new takes on breads you may already be making. I am going to start the series with a monkey bread that is unlike any that I have seen before. If you, or your family, like to start the day with something sweet, this bread has your name on it and it might find its way to your Christmas table. Because its main ingredient is prepackaged biscuits, I think you'll find it amazingly easy to make. This monkey bread is delicious, beautiful to look at and extremely rich. Each of the pull-aparts is filled with chocolate and drizzled with butter and caramel syrup. This bread is definitely meant for those who love sweets and are not concerned with calories. I do have one caution to share with you. While the bread can be assembled well ahead of time, it should be served warm, fresh from the oven. It stales quickly and does not reheat well, so I assemble mine, save for the final drizzle of syrup, the night before I plan to serve it. I let it come to room temperature the next morning and then pop it in the oven. I do hope those of you who enjoy sweet breads will give this recipe a try. Here is how this rich bread is made.

Apple, Cranberry and Walnut Bread + Mimolette (Cantalope Cheese)

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a wonderful bread, but it may not be to everyone's liking. I make and serve it with fruit and cheese, but only to close friends and family whose tastes I know. Despite the apples, this is not a sweet bread and I use it in place of crackers to serve with sharp Cheddar or the Edam-like, Mimolette, which, because of its shape and color, is also known as cantalope cheese. There is more about Minolette following the recipe below. The bread is simple to make, and, if you have a stand mixer, it will do most of the work for you. The loaves are well-flavored and have a crust that offers only slight resistance to the tooth. The bread is a moderately good keeper, and while it makes excellent toast, I do have a caution to share with you. Use your broiler or a toaster oven if you decide to use the bread for toast. Pieces of fruit tend to slough off the bread slices and they will burn in a standard toaster. The aroma of your morning coffee can't fight with that of burnt fruit.The bread is also wonderful with goat or cream cheese. I do hope the adventurers among you will try this bread. I think you'll really enjoy it. Here is how it's made.

Whole Wheat, Fig and Hazelnut Bread

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...At this time of year you can be sure of at least two things, the sun and any bread you chose to make will rise. While you can't control the sun, the bread is completely in your hands, and the heat of the summer kitchen will produce gorgeous high-rising loaves that you will be proud to serve. I've wanted to make this bread for a while now and the promise of a warm day and a block of time that would allow me to give it a try converged today. This is an interesting bread whose origins are unclear. A local bakery which makes a bread similar to this, insists it is Sicilian, but others attribute it to the tapas culture of Spain. This dry, firm bread has a near perfect crust and the mellowed tones of fennel and orange make it a wonderful base for sharp cheese and thinly sliced ham. It is also terrific with a simple schmear of cream cheese and plum jam. While the bread is not hard to make, it goes through 3 risings and that may impose problems for those of you working on tight kitchen schedules. This is a lovely bread that I hope you'll have time to try. Here is how it's made.

Sour Cream Twists

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...The Silver Fox and I stole away this weekend to spend some time with family before they left for the San Juan Islands. Seattle is a great city, and I hasten to add that we had a wonderful time, but I have come to the conclusion that cats are easier to herd than my progeny. I made the mistake, not just once mind you, of asking, "Where shall we eat?" Six people, six strong wills and six palates, each arguing for their favorite cuisine, led to debates that put filibusters to shame, and, I might add, delayed mealtime by at least an hour whenever the question was asked. I eventually caught on, bit my tongue and had an energy bar while they hashed out the merits of their favorite food. I also came to the conclusion that my crew is not yet ready for democracy, so next time, I'm assuming dictatorial power and will personally be responsible for meal planning and restaurant reservations. Not all was lost, however. One of our more successful forays led us to Pike Place Market for breakfast, and while there, the Silver Fox stumbled on a pastry that his mother used to make for him on Easter Sunday. His family comes from an area in Southern Illinois that was originally settled by German immigrants and this pastry is one they brought with them from the old country. He was thrilled, it was a personal remembrance of things past, and I promised I'd try to recreate them for him once we were home. I made these soft, well-flavored buns for him today, using a recipe I found on the Taste of Home website. I made three changes to the recipe you'll find below. I cut the dough into 2-inch wide strips and I reduced the amount of confectioners' sugar from four to two cups. I also added the zest of one small lemon to the icing. I really like these soft and tender twists and I'll definitely make them again. They are good enough to share, and I thought those of you who enjoy making bread might want to add the twists to your recipe collection. Here is how they are made.

Slider Buns

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is a handy recipe to have on hand during burger season. I made a batch of these to use next weekend for breakfast sandwiches. As I was wrapping them for the freezer, I realized they would be perfect for any miniature sandwich, including sliders. While the buns are simple to make, their dual rise can take up to 3 hours, so it's best to make them several hours or even days before you actually plan to use them. I shaped my rolls into square shapes because the omelet filling I plan to use next weekend is baked in a large pan and then cut into squares. The rolls can also be traditionally shaped if that is more to your liking. These rolls are light and moist and they are very good keepers. While I prefer to freeze them, the rolls keep beautifully if wrapped in an air-tight container. I do hope you'll keep these rolls in mind the next time you plan to make sliders for your crew. Here is how they are made.