Make - Copycat Avanti's Bread

Today's recipe is brought to you by an Italian restaurant from my childhood - Avanti's.
Every time my family would drive through Peoria, we would always stop by Avanti's and get their delicious bread (if not the entire dinner).

Here's the deliciousness!

~*Makes 3 Loaves*~

What kind of bread is it?

It's basically a French-inspired soft white. It's soft and dense, slightly sweet - and is made a similar fashion as a french loaf.

Copycat Avanti's Bread
1 pack	Dry Active Yeast
1½ c.	Water, warm
1½ T.	Vegetable Oil
1½	Eggs (for half an egg: crack, whisk and divide by 2)
½ tsp.	Salt
¾ c.	Sugar
5-5½ c.	All-Purpose Flour

 

1) Sprinkle yeast onto warm water in the mixing bowl.
2) Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough until it is all combined and stretchy.
3) Grease a bowl with butter.
4) Form the dough into a ball and place it into the bowl. Roll the dough ball over so the bottom (now greasy) is on the top.
5) Cover the dough with a thin towel and place in a warm area. (I turned my oven on low and put the dough on the range so there was a low-heat source below it.) Let the dough rise like this for 1 hour 30 minutes or until about double in size.
6) Punch the dough down, fold it together and roll it over again. Let the dough rise (again) for about a half hour or 45 minutes.
7) Cut the tough into 3 parts. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes after this process before rolling it out (this helps the dough basically re-cooperate since you "knocked the wind out of it").
8) On a floured surface, flatten the pieces and roll them out until they are about 16" long (side to side) and about 6" to 8" wide (front to back).
9) Slightly moisten the dough so it will stick to itself better. Roll the dough up, starting from the center and working to each end (from the center). Make sure to roll tightly so as not to incorporate a giant bubble into the loaf. Pinch the seams of the roll and tuck the end. Pinch the ends. Slightly moisten the seams then pick up the loaf and drop it seam-side-down into a bit of flour on the surface (you will be using flour versus the normal cornmeal used when making french bread). Lay the loaf on the pan in the middle and straighten it out.
10) Repeat steps 8 and 9 with the other 2 parts of dough. Place them next to the middle loaf on the pan. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.

*While the loaves proof/rise in the warm area, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.*

11) Gently rub some flour on the tops of the loaves and place into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are a beautiful golden-brown and are hollow-sounding when tapped.
12) After letting the bread cool, brush off the extra flour with a pastry brush. Turn the loaves over and take a sharp knife and scrape the extra flour off the bottom of the loaf. Brush off any excess flour as needed. Some will hang around in the creases - this is perfectly normal and makes it look even tastier.
13) Slice and serve with butter(optional; I prefer it on its own) or make something with it! One popular thing to do with it: make a torpedo (that's a type of sammich made with Salami, Ham, Lettuce, Mayo, Mustard and American Cheese).

Nom nom nom...


-Moni

Make - Mini Burgers!

Recipe time!~
Today's recipe is inspired by my father's famous burgers!
In the picture, I used ground bison meat (and for the first time, too)! They are also quite delicious with regular ground beef. (And who knows - maybe even turkey or ostrich!)

Slider Meat		Toppings
1/2 lbs.	Ground Meat	4	Slider Buns
¼ tsp.	Garlic Powder	1 Tbsp.	Butter, melted
1 tsp.	Worcestershire Sauce	½	Tomato, sliced into 4 pieces
½ tsp.	Soy Sauce	¼ c.	Lettuce, shredded
1 tsp.	A1 Steak Sauce	¼ c.	Mild Cheddar, shredded (optional)
½ tsp.	Salt	¼	Onion, chopped
½ tsp.	Ground Black Pepper
1/8 c.	Mild Cheddar, shredded (optional)	2 tsp.	2:1:1 Mix - Mayo:Ketchup:Mustard

Meat:

1.      Combine ground meat, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, A1, Salt and Pepper together in a bowl.

2.      Cook in a cast-iron skillet until cooked through (145°F or otherwise specified by customer). If requested, add a large pinch (about 1 Tbsp.) of shredded cheddar to the tops of the burgers after flipping and half-done cooking.

Finishing the Burger:

1.      Toast the buns and brush melted butter to the tops of the buns. Put ¼ of the lettuce on the top of each bottom bun.

2.      Add the meat patties.

3.      Top with a slice of tomato.

4.      Spread 1 tsp. of the 2:1:1 mix on the inside of the top bun.

5.      Sprinkle 1 ½ tsp. of chopped onion to the top of the bun and put the bun on top of the tomato.

Serve:

Place 4 Sliders on the plate; 4 “Bread & Butter” pickle slices as garnish along the side (also act as optional toppings).

You can probably use just about any red meat you want for this, too.

Personally, I have only tried two meats: ground beef and ground bison.

Happy eating!

Make - Mini Cinnabuns

Heyo! I have a new recipe to add to my cookbook!

Introducing... Mini CinnaMonis!

How do you pronounce that? (mihn-ee  sin-uh  maw-nees)
Why is it called that? Mini = Small. Cinna = Short for "cinnamon". Moni = My name. Capisce? ;)
Sweet! Yes, they can be. :P
One of my newer "nicknames" at work is "CinnaMoni" because I am constantly "playing" (get covered-in) in the cinnamon when I make the cinnamon-raisin walnut bread at work.


Ready?

Go!

Cinnamon Roll Dough		Cinnamon Filling
1/2 c.	Milk, warm	1 ¼ T.	Makara Cinnamon (Can get @ Cinnabun)
1	Egg, large, room-temp.	½ c.	Light Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 c.	Butter, melted	Cream Cheese Frosting
2 ¼ c.	Bread Flour	4 oz.	Cream Cheese, softened
½ tsp.	Salt	¼ c.	Butter, softened
2 ¼ c.	Sugar, granulated	¾ c.	Powdered Sugar, measured then sifted
1 tsp.	Yeast, dry active	½ tsp.	Vanilla

 

1) Sprinkle yeast onto the warm milk in the mixing bowl.
2) Add butter, salt and sugar.
3) Add egg.
4) Sift-in bread flour and mix well with dough hook.
5) Knead dough into a large ball. Cover bowl with loose plastic wrap and let rise (I put mine on the back of the stove by the wall between the back burners with the oven turned on). Allow to proof/rise for about an hour - or until double in size.

*While bread proofs, combine cinnamon and brown sugar to create filling.*
*Also while bread proofs, blend cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth to make the frosting. Scoop into a piping bag.*

6) I used kitchen shears, but any way you do it, separate the ball into two pieces. Re-wrap the bowl with one half in it (to keep it moist), and roll out the other half into a horizontal rectangle until very thin (1 or 2 millimeters?).
7) Spread some softened butter (not melted) all over the top of the dough, covering ever little bit - keep it a thin layer, just enough to moisten it/make it shine.
8) Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar filling all over the top except for the about half an inch (horizontally) across the top. (This will allow the dough to be pinched shut.)

(Optional: Mist cinnamon-sugar with water lightly to add a little extra moisture.)

9) Roll the rectangle up tightly, then pinch along the edge to connect the end of the dough to the roll - making a seam.
10) Using a sharp knife (I used a tomato knife), SLOWLY cut quarter-inch pieces of roll.

(Optional: Stick a lollipop/cake-pop stick into the side on the pinched bottom seam.

11) Place mini buns onto a greased cookie sheet and wrap lightly with plastic. Let proof until nearly double in size again.
12) Bake at 400 degrees F for 6 minutes.
13) Transfer buns to a cooling rack immediately and let cool. Pipe cream cheese icing on buns as desired.

*If you want the mini buns to be softer, instead of transferring the buns to a cooling rack, pick them up when manageable and place into an airtight container.
You can also cook them for a little less in the oven for a slight under-baked/chewier texture.*


That's it! Hope you like them!

I know my Steven did. :)

-Moni