Breads/Muffins

I never dreamed I could make my own rye bread as good as the one at the deli but I did. And it’s not only as good, it’s easy too…  because there’s no kneading! I grew up on rustic breads and rye is my favorite, especially with caraway seeds and now I’m making my own!

I have made this bread using the faster method using hot water, and also the overnight method that uses cool water. They both turn out the same. It’s not a big loaf, usually measuring 7 inches across and 3 inches tall.

Caraway seeds give it that “rye bread” taste but you can leave the seeds out and you still get a nice rustic farm bread. I think this is my 6th variation of no knead bread. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Can you use my Simple Whole Wheat Bread recipe to make rolls? YES! I finally tried it today and that quick & easy bread recipe that everybody loves makes fabulous rolls. I used the exact same recipe but after the 10-minute rest, instead of shaping the dough into a loaf, I cut it into 18 pieces, shaped them into balls, and placed them in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan and covered the pan with plastic wrap, like this…
Then I put it in a warm spot to double in size. After 45 minutes, it looked like this…

Then I baked my rolls in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for about 16 minutes (I would suggest 15 to 17 minutes). And they were delicious. I sampled one (I was beautifully soft) and then I brushed some melted butter on some of them, and they looked like this…

They are delicious either way and super easy to make. The whole thing took less than two hours. Click here for the recipe, and Happy Easter! – Jenny Jones

I absolutely love my no knead fruit & nut bread. I made it again today and added just a touch more sugar (4 Tbsp total) and that little extra sweetness is perfect for me. With sugar in this recipe, the bread can burn due to the high oven temperature. That’s why I say to reduce to temperature to 400° F when it bakes. But I found another solution to keep the bread from burning.

I raised up my oven rack one slot and it keeps the bottom of the Dutch oven a little farther away from the heat. I used my 3-quart Dutch oven and it easily fit on the raised up oven rack. I still reduced the temperature to 400 per the recipe and I was thrilled with the result – no blackened crust and a perfect loaf of sweet breakfast bread. If your try this whole wheat fruit & nut bread with lots of sweet raisins and walnuts, and if your Dutch oven still fits, try it with the oven rack raised up a notch. This could be a good Easter recipe.

Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

You can turn my easy one-rise dinner rolls into bunny buns for Easter. Kids will love them and grown ups will enjoy the tasty bread rolls. This recipe is super easy but it will take a little time to put the faces together. This is almost the exact same recipe as my easy dinner rolls but you’ll need a couple of extra tools.

I use two cookie/biscuit cutters that are 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches across. The small circle is for the faces and the bigger one for the ears. To cut out the little noses I use the top of a lipstick tube. You’ll also need raisins and it helps to put together matching pairs or raisins in advance that are the same size and color. You might not notice but a box of raisins has many different sizes and shades.

Now for my photo tutorial. First, you roll the half of the dough into a 6 x 12-inch oval and this is how you cut the circles. The smaller ones are the faces and the bigger ones will be for the ears:

Put the small circles on your baking sheet (I make 4 faces per sheet) and then this is how you cut the ears from the two large circles:

You cut the nose using the top of a lipstick – it’s about 1/2-inch wide:

You tuck the ears slightly under the top of the head, place the nose, and push in the raisins for eyes. This is how they look before baking (four per sheet):

Once you make four bunny faces you cover the baking sheet with a towel and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled. That takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. While they rise you put together the other four bunny buns. They bake at 375° F for about 10 minutes. For the leftover dough, I roll it into a few 2-inch balls, rise and bake the same way.  I hope someone sends a photo!  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

No knead bread is the easiest method there is for bread making. I’ve made it plain, multi-grain, fruit & nut, whole wheat, and now I’m sharing my whole wheat Greek olive bread recipe. I use the overnight method where you take 5 minutes the night before to mix together the batter with cool water, let it stand on the counter top overnight, and the next day, you bake the bread.

Here’s how easy it is. You just combine the flour(s), salt, yeast, and olives in a big bowl. Greek kalamata olives come in a jar, already pitted, so I just coarsely chopped and patted them dry with paper towels to add to the mixture. Then you add the water, mix it together, cover and let it stand overnight. Five minutes of work! By the way, olives are a good source of heart-healthy fats. The next day, you bake it in a Dutch oven. My Dutch oven is enameled cast iron. Actually, I have two, a 3-quart and a 5-quart, and I have made no knead breads in both of them.

I made this hearty bread yesterday and had it with a big bowl of soup and today for lunch I used it to make a grilled cheese sandwich with my reduced fat cheddar. Here’s lunch:

I’ll be working on even more variations of easy no knead breads because I am such as bread person so the more variety the better. If you try the olive bread, keep in mind it needs less salt than other breads because the olives are salty. Click here for the recipe. And if you’re Greek…. “Opa!” – Jenny Jones

Here is my easy one bowl recipe for a healthier banana nut bread made without butter and using whole wheat flour. You’ll need two medium size very ripe bananas (the riper, the sweeter) and some dark chocolate chips. I also add lots of toasted nuts and since I can never decide, I use both walnuts and pecans. I love baking without butter so I use oil in this quick bread. I prefer extra light olive oil but you can use any vegetable oil or canola oil.

I use a standard size loaf pan and it’s the best size for this quick bread to rise up in the oven. Mine is 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches and even though it’s non stick, I still grease it. You’ll get the best result with this size pan.

The prep is super easy and it bakes in less than an hour. What you get is a moist and yummy banana bread with nuts and chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are optional but… com’on… everything’s better with chocolate chips! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Here’s another super easy, healthy bread recipe and it’s by popular demand. My first “simple whole wheat bread” has been hugely popular but a lot of people have asked if they can eliminate the egg or add honey. YES and YES. This easy honey wheat bread has no egg and it’s made with… you guessed it:  honey. The interior is nice and soft and it tastes really good.

It takes a little longer to make than my other whole wheat bread (the one with the egg) and it doesn’t rise quite as tall so if you want it taller or faster, try my Simple Whole Wheat Bread. But if honey-wheat bread is your preference, this recipe only takes a few minutes longer. And it works with either honey or sugar, and any kind of vegetable oil you like. I mostly use extra light olive oil.

Having a warm spot to rise your dough helps it grow faster and I’m lucky to have a warming drawer in my kitchen but I have some other ideas on where you can rise dough in my blog. I hope the bread industry isn’t mad at me because so many people have said, “I don’t buy bread any more,” and that includes me. Between my no knead breads and whole wheat loaves, I always bake my own bread and I’m saving money… and spending it on spatulas! I hope you’ll try my honey wheat bread and somebody send me a picture! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Happy New Year to all my fellow cooks. I’m so pleased to see so many people using my recipes and I’m often surprised at which ones are the most popular. My simple whole wheat bread has been wildly popular with almost 1/2 million views on youtube and hundreds of comments here. One question I’m often asked is, “Can I make this with only white or all-purpose flour?” I decided to try it and the answer is… yes.

I used the exact same recipe but substituted white flour for the whole wheat flour and I loved the result. The loaf rose just as tall as the whole wheat version and it was ready to eat in 90 minutes.  My other “easy white bread” recipe is similar (and also quick) but does not use egg while this version uses an egg.

It seems that almost everyone is having success and loving my simple whole wheat bread recipe but when you want a similar, easy white bread that uses an egg, you can try my new Simple White Bread (with egg) recipe, which is exactly the same except it uses 100% all-purpose flour or bread flour. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Most doughs rise faster in a warm  and humid environment. Here are some ideas on warm places to let your dough rise:

1. Oven –  a) Turn on the oven for about one minute and turn it off. Place dough in the warm oven. b) Place a pot of boiling hot water in a cold oven. Place the dough inside with the hot water. These will only work until you need to preheat the oven to bake. If you have a second oven, you can keep the dough in there longer.

2. Heating Pad – Set the dough on top of a heating pad and set the pad to low or medium temperature.

3. Lamp – Turn on a reading lamp and set the dough under the bulb.

4. On Top of Fridge – Your refrigerator generates heat so it’s usually warm on top of the fridge so you can place the dough there.

5. Microwave – Bring a cup of water to boil in the microwave. After it boils, put the dough in the microwave with the cup of hot water and close the door right away. This creates heat and humidity.

6. Neck Wrap – If you have a neck wrap that you heat in the microwave, you can heat it up and wrap it around the container that holds the dough.

7. Bowl of hot water – Fill a bowl with very hot water and put a flat top on it like a plate or pizza pan. Place the dough on the plate and drape a towel over the dough and bowl to keep the heat in.

8. Window – If the sun is coming through a window in winter, place the dough next to the window in the sun.

9. Hot Car – If your car is parked in the hot sun, put the dough in the car.

Did I miss any? If anyone has other suggestions, please post them below.

Christmas is the best time to make sweet breads like my Christmas wreath bread but it doesn’t have to be a wreath. It can also be braided and shaped into a regular loaf. And it doesn’t even have to be for Christmas. With a simple white glaze you can enjoy it any time of year. If you want to toast it, just omit the glaze and you can make fabulous cinnamon-raisin toast.

I have actually made a dual loaf. I cut it in half and only glaze half so the other half can be toasted. So you see this lightly sweet raisin bread is really versatile and it’s made entirely without butter.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones