Category: Bread

Salmon Crostini

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Lately, we have been trying to incorporate fish into our diet at least once a week. We seem to default on baked salmon as it is something that everyone seems to enjoy. Typically this salmon is a pretty big slab of fish, so there is plenty of leftovers for my wife to bag up for lunches throughout the week, or for me to make a quick brunch snack, or light lunch. So as I had both leftover baked salmon, and some leftover day old rustic bread, I decided to make a great salmon crostini.

Salmon Crostini Recipe
Salmon Crostini Recipe

I thought this would be a great use of my leftovers as well as being able to use up some dill from the garden. These salmon crostini were not only super easy to put together, but whoa were they ever delicious.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • Roughly 1/4 cup of baked flaked salmon, per crostini
  • 1/4 inch thick slice of your favorite rustic bread, lighty toasted
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tbsp thinly sliced red onion, per crostini
  • 2 tbsp Chive and Onion cream cheese, per crostini
  • Fresh dill, to your liking

Once your bread is lightly toasted, rub the clove of garlic on the bread to infuse that garlic onto the toast.

Once you are done with that, spread on the cream cheese. Top with the flaked salmon, then add the red onions, and fresh dill.

Salmon Crostini Ingredients
Salmon Crostini Ingredients

Now you are ready to serve. I thought I was just going to eat one of these, but it was so good I decided to make one more. The lightly garlic toast coated with that cream cheese (which I never really buy), and topped with that salmon, along with the red onion and dill?! C’mon, it’s an awesome bite and would be a perfect holiday appetizer or game day snack. I hope you enjoy!

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Salmon Crostini
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: N/A
 
Ingredients
  • Roughly ¼ cup of baked flaked salmon, per crostini
  • ¼ inch thick slice of your favorite rustic bread, lighty toasted
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tbsp thinly sliced red onion, per crostini
  • 2 tbsp Chive and Onion cream cheese, per crostini
  • Fresh dill, to your liking
Instructions
  1. Once your bread is lightly toasted, rub the clove of garlic on the bread to infuse that garlic onto the toast.
  2. Once you are done with that, spread on the cream cheese. Top with the flaked salmon, then add the red onions, and fresh dill.
  3. Serve.

 

Rustic Daily Bread with Cheese

Dax Phillips 1 Comment

Nothing beats a chunk of bread with some lightly salted butter. It’s one of those things that our entire family loves. Since being laid up with cancer, I set out on a mission to master a great loaf of bread, and one that would not be labor intensive. Sure, I’ve nailed Lahey’s stecca recipe and for the most part they turn out really great, but I wanted to make something a bit more substantial, and something that would last a couple of days. Yes, my kids will take down a boule in a sitting if I let them. That’s what I love about this daily bread. Not only is it simple, but there is something about how rustic to it. This bread is great for sandwiches, tearing off chunks, and probably goes great with a glass of wine.

Rustic Daily Bread Recipe
Rustic Daily Bread Recipe

I’ve never been one to measure, but when it comes to baking, it is something that I think is a must. I use a digital scale for measuring things about, but like pizza dough and bread, I think there are factors that can impact the outcome. Temperature, flours, rise, etc. Don’t get frustrated if your first batch doesn’t work out, and keep trying.

Let’s get started.

  • 1000 g bread flour, or all-purpose
  • 720 g water, roughly 92 degree F
  • 21 g of salt (I like to use kosher)
  • 4 g active dry yeast

Four simple ingredients yields to boules and you will want to make another batch in a couple more days!

To a large mixing bowl, and I mean large as this is going to rise and double, if not more, in size. Add in the flour, and the water. Mix with your hands until the water is incorporated. Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes.

Next top the mixture with the salt and the yeast. Wet your hands slightly, and mix well, making sure all of that flour mixture eats up the salt and yeast.

Cover and place in a warm spot (I set my container on my kitchen table where the sun comes in). After 30 minutes, it’s time to fold the dough Take an edge and fold over the top of the dough. Repeat this process roughly four times. Cover, and place back onto the warm spot. About 40 minutes into that rest, fold again. The hard part is over! Cover, and let this rise for about 4-6 hours.

I start this process when I wake up, this way I have warm bread later that day.

Rustic Day Bread Ingredients
Rustic Day Bread Ingredients

Once the dough has risen, lay out flour on a work surface. I use a big old bread board. Plop the dough onto the floured surface, then divide the dough into two portions. Flour the top of each dough ball, then cover to let rest for about 30 minutes.

During this time, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Yep, ripping hot. If you have a dutch oven, preheat that as well.

Shape the dough into a ball, cover with cheese (if using), then fold and reshape into a ball, turning it over seam side down.

Remove the dutch oven from the oven with your kitchen mits, and carefully place the dough, seam side down into the dutch oven. Cover, place back into the oven and cook for about 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the lid, and cook another 15-20 minutes.

Remove onto a wire rack to let cool, then repeat with your second loaf.

Slice into that bad boy and enjoy!

Pizza Muffins

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Recently I was thinking of making another batch of my taco cups.  Gosh we loved those, and what’s not to love about using a muffin tin to batch out something that everyone is going to love, in bite sized form.  That’s when it dawned on me as I was looking at a batch of pizza dough that I could probably get away with molding that dough into the muffin tins and make pizza muffins! Low and behold these things were dynamite, and they were such a huge hit that one of my kids (they all devoured them) said I could make those any time for him. I knew that was a sure sign.

Pizza Muffins Recipe
Pizza Muffins Recipe

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 batch of your favorite pizza dough, room temperature
  • cooking spray
  • your favorite pizza sauce
  • sliced pepperoni, diced
  • mozzarella cheese
  • shredded colby jack cheese, optional
  • Other favorite pizza ingredients, optional

My kids all agree (for the most part) on cheese and pepperoni pizza, hence this style of pizza muffin, however feel free to use your favorite pizza ingredients.

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Next, spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.

Take a generous ball of dough, enough dough to mold into each muffin tin, and then to each ball, form into the muffin tin. Repeat with each ball of dough.

I kind of went deep dish style on this one where I placed the meat on the bottom layer, but you create your own style.

Place diced pepperoni onto the bottom of each formed dough ball. Top with mozzarella, then some shredded colby jack cheese, then cover with pizza sauce.

 

Pizza Muffin Ingredients
Pizza Muffin Ingredients

Place into your preheated oven, and cook for about 15-20 minutes.

Once cooked, remove them from the oven, and using a butter knife, wedge each one out onto a serving plate. Shower with fresh parmesan cheese if desired.

Now dig in. These reminded me of hand sized deep dish pizzas, but in muffin form. And if you want to talk about something delicious, and additive, these are the ones to go for. Hope you enjoy!

Brazilian Cheese Bread – Pao de Queijo

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Back in the day, my colleagues and I would go out for a holiday dinner at one of our local Brazilian Churrasco . You know the ones, where you sit down and the servers come out with delicious swords of beef, chicken, and pork? Lord we loved that place, and we often referred to it as a ‘meat faucet’. With that said, the servers would bring out these awesome cheese rolls, rice, and beans. The bread, the bread is all I have to say. I could have been happy just with the bread! If you never had these tender cheese rolls, well now is your chance. The ingredients are way too simple, and the real trick is to use tapioca flour.

I wish I would have made a double batch of these Pao de Queijo as once my kids got a hold of them, well they were pretty much gone in minutes.

Brazilian Cheese Bread - Pao de Queijo
Brazilian Cheese Bread – Pao de Queijo

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup Tapioca flour
  • 1 whole egg, beaten
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
  • cooking spray
  • muffin tin
  • grated parmesan cheese, optional

Trust me, it does not get any better than these cheese breads. If you want, you could brush a bit of garlic butter, a gentle brush and enhance them even more.

Start by preheating your oven to 360 degrees.

Next, spray the inside of your muffin tin with cooking spray.

Toss the ingredients inside of a mixing bowl, folding, and mixing until you have a nice batter. Keep stirring for about 5 minutes. If you have a mixer, with bread attachment, feel free to use it, on low-medium speed.

Once you have a nice batter, fill each muffin tin up to about half way, maybe 2-3 tablespoons of the batter.

Place the tray in the oven, and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top is a nice light-golden brown. Carefully remove, and get ready to dig in.

Slip the Brazilian Cheese Bread out of the tins, place on a plate, grate with parmesan cheese (optional) and grab one really quickly, and watch them be gone in about 2 minutes.

Soft, warm, cheesey. Sounds like me in a couple of ways; at least the warm and cheesy part. Anyway, hunt for tapioca flour, and get this bread started. Next, figuring out where to find the meat sword!

Have a great weekend everyone, enjoy!