The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook (9 page)

BOOK: The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook
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¼ cup baking cocoa powder
1 T. caraway seeds
2 cups water
⅓ cup molasses
2 T. butter
1 T. sugar
1 T. salt
3–3½ cups rye flour

In large mixing bowl combine regular flour, yeast, cocoa powder, and caraway seeds until well blended.

In a saucepan combine the water, molasses, butter, sugar, and salt; heat until just warm, stirring occasionally to melt butter. Add to dry mixture. Beat at low speed for 30 seconds and then turn to higher speed and beat for 3 minutes more.

By hand, stir in enough rye flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more rye flour as needed, about 5 minutes. Cover; let stand for 20 minutes.

Punch down and divide dough in half. Shape each half into a round loaf; place on greased baking sheets or 2 greased pie plates. Brush surface of loaves with a little cooking oil. Slash tops of loaves with a sharp knife. Let rise until double, about 45-60 minutes.

Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes or until bread looks done. Remove from baking pans and cool on wire racks.

 

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

12 T. butter (1½ sticks), melted
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
3 eggs
2½ cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
Sugar Glaze (recipe follows)

Whisk together the butter, pumpkin, and eggs.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, ginger, salt, sugar, and brown sugar and add to the pumpkin mixture until just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide batter between two greased loaf pans and bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out on a rack to cool completely. Glaze with Sugar Glaze, if desired.

Sugar Glaze

1½ cups powdered sugar
2-3 T. water

Mix together until well blended and to desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled bread.

 

Graham Crackers

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 T. brown sugar
½ cup butter
2 T. honey
2 T. milk
dash of vanilla
cinnamon sugar

Mix together all ingredients to make dough. Turn out onto a cookie sheet and roll out. Sprinkle surface with cinnamon sugar and lightly press sugar mixture into surface of dough. Deeply score dough in squares. Bake at 375° for 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before cutting through crackers.

 

Herb Biscuits

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. sage
½ tsp. celery seed
¼ cup shortening
¾ cup buttermilk

Mix together the dry ingredients and herbs. Cut in the shortening; add liquid and stir to make a soft dough. Knead lightly about 20 times. Roll or pat out ½-inch thick. Cut into biscuits and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes or until golden brown and done.

 

Honey Oatmeal Bread

1 cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats, uncooked
⅓ cup shortening, softened
⅓ cup honey
1 T. salt
4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 egg
4-5 cups wheat flour

Stir the boiling water, oats, shortening, honey, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

Add dissolved yeast mixture, egg, and 2 cups flour to the first mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, or by hand, until batter is smooth. By hand, gradually stir in remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spread batter evenly in two greased loaf pans. Smooth tops of loaves by patting into shape. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1½ hours. Bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes. Remove bread from pans and brush tops with melted butter.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL GARDEN
Root vegetables, such as potatoes and onions, should be planted when the moon is waning. This assures the gardener that the vegetables won’t spend their energy on the plant tops. Vegetables that grow above ground, such as squash, peas, beans, and tomatoes, should be planted when the moon is waxing, which will ensure a bountiful harvest.
The best time to plant corn is when the new leaves on oak trees are the size of squirrels’ ears.
To avoid dirty fingernails, before you go outside to plant or weed, run your fingernails through a bar of soap. It will keep the dirt out and make washing up after easier.
Protect your smaller garden tools from rusting by keeping a pail of sand near the garage or cellar door and plunging them into the sand when through with them.
To make flowers grow better, soak eggshells in warm water overnight. Remove the shells and use the water to water your flowers.
Plant marigolds in your vegetable patch to help keep away bugs and rabbits.
Put some wood ashes on the ground where you plant radishes to keep the worms away.

 

Long Johns

4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
4 cups flour (may need ½ cup or so more)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup water
½ cup half-and-half
¼ cup shortening
1 egg
oil for deep frying
Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, 1½ cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and nutmeg; mix well.

In a saucepan, heat together the water, half-and-half, and shortening until warm but not hot; shortening will not be entirely melted. Add to the flour mixture. Add egg and blend at low speed until moistened, and then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn to grease all surfaces. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and divide into 2 parts. Roll or pat out each piece to a 12 × 6-inch rectangle. Cut into 1-inch strips (each piece will be 6 inches long by 1 inch wide). Cover and let rise until double, about 30 minutes.

Heat oil to 425° and fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and when cool, frost with Maple Frosting (recipe follows).

Maple Frosting

½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup butter
¼ tsp. maple flavoring
2 T. half-and-half
1 cup powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, mix together the brown sugar and butter. Heat, stirring constantly to boiling; boil for 2 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and immediately stir in maple flavoring and half-and-half. Stir in enough powdered sugar until the frosting has a spreadable consistency.

 

Oatmeal Bread

2 cups milk
2 cups rolled oats, uncooked
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
2 T. shortening
1 T. salt
2¼ tsp. (1 package) active dry yeast
½ cup warm water
5 cups flour, approximately
egg white (see directions)
1 T. water
small amount rolled oats

Scald milk; stir in 2 cups oats, brown sugar, shortening, and salt. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.

In large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast on water and stir to dissolve. Add milk mixture and 2 cups flour to yeast. Beat with a spoon until batter is smooth. Add enough remaining flour, a little at a time, until dough becomes soft and leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl. Turn to allow the dough to become greased on all sides. Let stand in a warm place,
covered, until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and let rise again until nearly double, about 30 minutes.

Turn onto board and divide in half. Make 2 balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into loaves and place in 2 greased loaf pans. Let rise again until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Brush the top of the loaves with egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon of water (optional). Sprinkle top with rolled oats.

Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until done. If bread starts getting too brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil after at least 15 minutes of baking time.

You can tell how hard a winter it will be by how many layers onions grow; the more layers, the harder the winter.

 

Oven-Baked Doughnuts

4½ tsp. (2 packages) active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1½ cups milk, scalded and then cooled
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
⅓ cup shortening
4½ cups flour
¼ cup butter, melted
cinnamon sugar or plain sugar

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat these ingredients with an electric blender for ½ minute, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Stir in the remaining flour and mix until the batter is smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, and roll the dough around in the flour so all surfaces are covered. The dough will be soft to handle. With a flour-covered rolling pin, gently roll the dough to ½-inch thickness. With a floured biscuit or doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts and lift them carefully with
a spatula and place on a greased baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush them with melted butter and let them rise until double, about 20 minutes.

Bake the donuts at 425° for 8-10 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush them with melted butter and shake on cinnamon sugar.

 

Peasant Bread

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