The blog is titled Bready or Not. Today, it is decidedly bready, as the recipe is one for Sweet Crescent Rolls made using a bread machine.
The recipe requires little hands-on effort. The dough mixes in the bread machine. You divide it and form the crescent rolls, which is actually rather fun. They rise. You then bake. The recipe makes 24 rolls, meaning you can feed a crowd or you can freeze a bunch.
These keep well in the freezer for months. This is the kind of thing you can make at Thanksgiving and then pull out as needed through the rest of the holiday season.
Modified from Allrecipes.com Magazine Oct/Nov 2014.
Bready or Not: Sweet Crescent Rolls in the Bread Machine
Mix the dough in the bread machine, shape it for the second rise, then bake in the oven. This dinner side is easy to make, and fantastic to prepare in a big batch to freeze for later! Modified from Allrecipes.com Magazine Oct/Nov 2014.
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Keyword: yeast bread
Servings: 24rolls
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
food thermometer
bread machine
parchment paper
food scale
cookie sheet
knife or pizza cutter
Ingredients
1/2cupwarm water(110 degrees)
1/2warm milk or half & half (110 degrees)
1large egg room temperature
1/3cupunsalted butter softened
3 3/4cupall-purpose flour
1/2cupwhite sugar
1teaspoonsalt
2 1/4teaspoonactive dry yeastor 1 packet active dry yeast
1/4cupunsalted butter softened, for filling
Instructions
Place ingredients in recommended order for bread machine, usually liquid first: water, milk, egg, butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Start dough cycle, and let it mix and complete the first rise.
Prepare a baking sheet or sheets with parchment paper.
Once that is done, remove dough and divide in half using food scale. Roll each half into a 12-inch round. Divide the 1/4 cup butter in half and spread over each round. Use a knife or pizza cutter to slice each round into 12 wedges. Starting at the wide end, roll up each triangle gently but tightly to form a crescent roll. Place each roll, narrow side down, on the baking sheet.
Cover pan with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let rise in a warm spot for an hour. Meanwhile, start preheating oven at 400 degrees.
Once rolls are risen after the hour, bake for 10 to 15 minutes, switching pan position in oven, if necessary, to prevent overbrowning. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Cool rolls can also be frozen for later enjoyment; thaw them at room temperature then heat wrapped in aluminum foil at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.
Need a smaller portion apple cake? Use your loaf pan! This Dutch Apple Loaf Cake has a crumble topping that is a bit messy, sure, but it’s also delicious.
I used three small apples in this cake, which came to about 2 cups diced up. That would probably equal two mediums or one really huge apple. You have more wiggle room in this recipe’s fruit content than you would in, say, an apple pie where the volume is more obvious.
This is an especially nice recipe to cut into slices and freeze for later. They thaw fast, too, making them great to pack for the road to enjoy on a trip or for a snack or lunch–though remember, they might be a little crumbly, so maybe eat where the birds can enjoy those crumbs.
This loaf cake is a lovely smaller portion cake that is perfect for a breakfast, brunch, or to freeze in slices to eat later.
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple, walnuts
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
9×5 loaf pan
parchment paper
nonstick spray
Ingredients
Topping:
1/4cupwhite sugar
1/4cupall-purpose flour
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1/4cupunsalted buttercold, cut up
Cake:
1/2cupunsalted butter softened
1cupwhite sugar
2large eggs room temperature
1/4cupbuttermilk or soured milk (see note)
1teaspoonvanilla extract
2cupsall-purpose flour
1 1/2teaspoonsbaking powder
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
2cupsapple piecespeeled and diced (about 3 small apples)
1/2cupwalnuts chopped
Instructions
Mix topping
Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. Tuck into fridge while the loaf is made.
Create loaf cake
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit into loaf pan like a sling, the paper extending up both long sides. apply nonstick spray into middle.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add the buttermilk and vanilla.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Fold in the apple pieces and the walnuts. Pour batter into the pan and even out. Sprinkle topping mix to cover.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in pan before using the parchment to lift the cake onto a rack. Keep stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap or otherwise covered. Pieces can also be individually wrapped and frozen.
OM NOM NOM!
Notes
To make soured milk as a buttermilk substitute, add 3 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid 1/4 cup, then add milk to half & half to the 1/4 line. Let sit for about 10 minutes at room temperature. It should curdle. Use full amount in recipe.
Posted by Beth on Jun 26, 2024 in Blog, Bready or Not, bundt, cake | Comments Off on Bready or Not: Easy Pear Bundt Cake
Some bundt cakes are super complicated with long lists of ingredients. This Pear Bundt Cake is not. It takes about 10 minutes to throw together, and only has four ingredients plus optional confectioners’ sugar to sprinkle on top.
This is a cheap cake to make, too. I bought Aldi’s classic white cake mix and found pears for under a buck (originating in South Africa, which was a first for me) with the discount foods at Menards. Then the eggs–well, those prices seem to fluctuate all over these days. But hey, maybe save the egg yolks from this recipe to make a Big Batch of Chocolate Chip Shortbread?
I must note something important about this recipe, too–the cake is lovely and soft. So soft that you should use a sharp knife to cut it, and also, the cake should be eaten within the day. The pear juice, I think, just keeps breaking down the interior crumb as the cake sits around. So, serve this for a crowd. I didn’t test freezing this cake, as I do many cakes, but because it is so moist, I don’t think it would be a good candidate for that.
Modified from Centennial Kitchen Fall Baking 2021.
This recipe uses cake mix and canned pears to bake up an easy bundt cake that is reminiscent of angel food cake–but be warned, it’s so soft and lush, it is best eaten within a day or it gets extra soft and lush. Modified from Centennial Kitchen Fall Baking 2021.
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword: bundt cake, cake, cake mix, pear
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
bundt pan
nonstick spray with flour
Ingredients
15ouncescanned pear halves in light syrup
15.25ouncewhite cake mix box
1whole egg
2egg whites
confectioners' sugar to sprinkle on top, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Use nonstick spray with flour on the interior of a bundt pan.
Drain the pears, reserving the syrup. Mash the pears with a fork to break into small chunks.
In a large bowl, reunite the mashed pears with the syrup. Add the cake mix, egg, and two egg whites. Beat for several minutes to fully incorporate and create a light batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes; the middle of the cake should pass the toothpick test. Cool for 20 minutes, then invert cake onto cooling rack to completely cool.
If desired, sprinkle on confectioners’ sugar just before serving. Cut into slices with a sharp knife (seriously, the cake is very soft) and enjoy! Cake is best if eaten within a day.
This Apple Butter-Pecan Roll is something special, a gorgeous and small round of braided bread jeweled with pecans. It’s perfect for a few people to share as a treat.
Honestly, I’d rather have this than most cakes. It is as delicious as it looks, but it does take time to make and dirties a lot of dishes in the process. Definitely a special occasion kind of thing.
I modified this immensely from a recipe called Sweet Potato-Pecan Sweet Roll in Bake from Scratch’s September/October 2023 issue. Obviously, I replaced the sweet potato, but I also extensively rewrote the recipe to try to clarify what should be used and when. I find it very confusing when, in an already complicated recipe, I need to divide things within the ingredient list.
I hope that some of you take on the challenge of this recipe and find my new version doable even if it is still daunting!
This recipe results in a gorgeous small coronet of braided bread, shining with glaze and jeweled by pecans. It is perfect for a few people to share.
Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword: pecans, yeast bread
Author: Beth Cato
Equipment
instant read thermometer
nonstick spray
cake pan
Rolling Pin
kitchen shears or knife
Ingredients
Dry dough ingredients
1 1/2cupsall-purpose flour
2Tablespoonsbrown sugar packed
1teaspoonkosher salt
1teaspooninstant yeast
1/8teaspoonground nutmeg
Wet ingredients for dough
1/2cupbuttermilk or soured milk [see note]
1/3cupapple butter
3Tablespoonsunsalted butter softened
Filling
1 1/2teaspoonsground cinnamon
1teaspoonground ginger
3Tablespoonsbrown sugar packed
2Tablespoonsunsalted butter softened
1/4cuptoasted pecan pieces
Topping
2/3cupconfectioners’ sugar
1 1/2Tablespoonsmilk or half & half
1teaspoonunsalted butter melted (5 grams)
1/4teaspoonkosher salt
2Tablespoonspecan pieces
Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry dough ingredients: flour, brown sugar, salt, yeast and nutmeg. Dig a well in the center.
In a small saucepan, gently bring to medium heat the wet dough ingredients: buttermilk/soured milk, apple butter, and butter. Stir until the butter is melted and an instant-read thermometer is over 100-degrees. (Don’t go over 120 or the heat may kill the yeast.)
Pour the saucepan contents into the well in the flour. Use a big spoon to stir until combined.
Heavily flour a clean surface. Turn out the dough onto it and knead until the mixture is elastic and only mildly tacky, about 8 to 10 minutes. Flour hands and surface more if necessary.
Apply nonstick spray inside a medium bowl. Place dough inside, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, put nonstick spray in a round cake pan.
In a small bowl, stir together the first three filling ingredients: cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar.
Punch down the dough and let it rest about 5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface again and roll into a 14×8-inch rectangle. Spread the 2 Tablespoon softened butter over the dough, leaving a bare 1/2-inch frame around the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the butter, forming a thick layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of pecan pieces on top.
Roll up the dough, long-ways, and pinch the seam to seal it. Rock and roll the dough tube, stretching it out, evenly extending the length to 15 inches. Arrange it so the seam is on the side facing you.
Use kitchen shears or a knife to cut the log in half lengthwise, but leave it connected by an inch at one end. Turn the cut sides to face upward. Carefully twine them together in a simple braid, bringing the uncut end around to tuck underneath, forming a braided circlet. Place inside cake pan with the cut sides facing up. Cover again to rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Place bread in hot oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes; an instant-read thermometer plunged into the middle should be over 190 degrees. If it’s looking very brown near the end, cover it with foil for the rest of the bake.
Cool for about 20 minutes as the glaze is made.
Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, butter and salt. Dribble over warm bread so that the glaze cascades along the ridges. Sprinkle pecan pieces over the top.
Serve immediately. Any leftovers are best if warmed briefly in the microwave or oven.
OM NOM NOM!
Notes
To make soured milk, place 2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Pour in milk or half & half to equal the 1/3 cup called for by this recipe. After about 10 minutes, the mixture should be thick and curdled.