Cinnamon Biscuits

The farmer's market makes the best biscuits for breakfast. This is our attempt at the recipe. It's not quite the same but they are still absolutely tasty!

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I may use more next time)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter (we used a stick of Smart Balance 50/50 Blend)
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup powered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
3 drops of vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Cut in butter. (This is the obvious secret to making biscuits which I have always neglected.)
4. Stir in milk and sour cream until everything is sticking together.
5. Knead dough on a floured surface approximately 10 times then roll to 1/2 inch thickness.
6. Cut into shapes and place on an ungreased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. While biscuits are cooling, mix powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla to make the icing.
9. Drizzle icing on biscuits.

These can be frozen and taste just as good popped in the microwave for 45 seconds later.

"Roman Meal"-like 100% whole wheat bread

So, we got a bread machine a while back, and I've been toying around with different recipes for a while. I made the best French Bread I have ever had, but, while good, the whole wheat I was making just wasn't quite what I wanted. I guess since we were raised on Roman Meal, I was looking for something a lot softer and less dense, than normal dense wheat bread out of a bread machine, fare.


Giving credit where credit is due, I finally came across the ideal 100% whole wheat bread recipe for the bread machine (www.http://beanland.wordpress.com/2007/08/18/fabulous-whole-wheat-bread-made-easy-and-cheap/). This stuff comes out almost indistinguishable from Roman Meal...it stays nice a soft for a at least a week. The only difference is it tends to be a bit more delicate than Roman Mean. I am working on a dough conditioner to fix that minor issue.

The ingredients are simple and healthy...100% hard whole wheat flour, wheat gluten, honey, canola oil, water and yeast. The wheat gluten is really the biggest key...if you wan't soft bread out of the over or breadmachine, you need to add wheat gluten. The honey and canola oil doing a wonderful job of sweetening the flavoring the bread just right (very little of that stale wheat taste).

See the site listed for the recipe. Most of these ingredients (yeast, gluten, flour) can be bought in bulk at costco or at amazon.com and keep for years in the freezer. Making these loaves about 2 times cheaper than store bought bread...