Breads

Soda Pop Bicutis
4 Cups Bisquick mix
1 cup Sourcream
1 cup lemon/lime soda such as sprite, 7-up or any off-brands
1/2 cup butter

Melt butter in 9x13 casserole pan.
Cut sour cream into Bisquick mix at you would shortening into flour.
Add lemon/lime soda and stir together.  Dump onto floured surface.  Pat to be about 3/4" thick and cut into biscuits.  Place biscuits into the melted butter in the pan.

I generally shape the pile of dough into a 9x13" rectangle.  Then I just make 4 parallell cuts through the dough, and then 2 long cuts, creating 15 squares.  Then I place them into the melted butter in the 9x13" pan.  This keeps the dough light and fluffy and saves on rolling out time.  You end up with square biscuits, but that doesn't really matter to me.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

*If you don't have Bisquick (which I generally don't) you can make it from scratch.
Homemade Bisquick mix:
4 cups flour
2 TBLS baking powder
2 tsp salt
Mix together.
Cut in 2/3 cup shortening

You can double the recipe and have enough for 2 batches.

Store in fridge for up to 4 months.

Refrigerator Rolls
This is adapted from the "Lion House Recipes" cookbook.  I grew up using a family recipe which is almost identical to this one, except a few measurements and one different ingredient.  I like this one better because I think it rises a little better and has a little better flavor, so I have now moved to using this recipe.  One thing I love about these is you can roll them out many hours in advance and they will rise so nicely.  They don't seem to fall as quickly as some others if you let them rise for too long.  I also love working with this dough because it is so easy to make rolls with cold dough and they are really light and fluffy because the dough is quite soft and a little gooey before you chill it.

The"double" batch, which makes around 4-6 dozen rolls depending on size, is what I make for family gatherings.  I often 1 1/2 times it for my own family and use it two different nights.  I honestly never make the single batch, because, hey, if you are going to the trouble to make homemade rolls, make enough to really enjoy!   I use this recipe for a TON of different things as well which I will eventually add to this blog (garlic herbed pull-aparts, chicken roll-ups, bread-sticks, etc.)

Single Batch (2 dozenish)                1 1/2 batch (3-4 dozen)                   Double batch (4-6 dozen)
1/4 cup butter                              6 TBLS butter*                        1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar                               6 TBLS sugar*                          1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk, scalded                     1 1/2 cups milk, scalded         2 cups milk, scalded
1 TBLS dry yeast                         1 1/2 TBLS dry yeast               2 TBLS dry yeast
1 TBLS sugar                               1 1/2 TBLS sugar                       2 TBLS sugar
1/4 cup warm water                  6 TBLS warm water*               1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp salt                                       1 TBLS salt                                1 TBLS + 1 tsp salt
4 cups flour                                 6 cups flour                               8 cups flour
3 eggs                                           4-5 eggs                                        6 eggs
                                                   *(1/3 cup + 2 tsp = 6 TBLS)
Add butter and 1/2 cup sugar to hot milk.  Set aside to cool.  
Combine yeast, 2 TBLS sugar, and warm water (not too hot, but pretty darn warm).  Let stand 5 minutes to soften yeast.

Add salt to flour.  Combine milk, yeast mixture, and 1 cup flour.  Add eggs and beat well.  Continue adding flour gradually, beating until smooth after each addition (I add about 2-3 cups at a time).  This is a soft dough and it will be sticky.  You can use an electric mixer to mix most of the flour (probably not the last cup or two-then just use a wooden spoon, unless you have a good electric mixer, but I just use my hand mixer for this).

Cover bowl and place out of draft until dough rises about triple in amount (I cheat and put hot water in my sink, just enough to set the bowl into to rise quickly--be sure others know there is food in the sink and that you have bread rising in a bowl in there-also be sure not to put too much water so that water doesn't get into your bowl of dough).  

Punch down.  Cover again and place in refrigerator overnight.  

When ready to use (good for about 5 days), remove from refrigerator and roll and shape while cold (it will be easy to handle this soft dough when it is cold).  I roll about 1/4-1/3 of the dough at a time into a large circle about 1/4" thick.  Then I butter the dough (looks like a thin pizza crust).  Then I cut it with a pizza cutter, like a pizza, usually in either 9, 12, or 16 pieces, depending how big I want the.  Then I roll them starting with the large end and ending with the point to make crescent rolls.

Place on greased pans.  Brush with melted butter if desired.  Let rise at least 1-1 1/2 hours, but can rise to even 5 or 6 hours.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes (until golden brown).

Then you get to ENJOY THESE SUPER YUMMY ROLLS!!

Whole Wheat Pancakes (using whole wheat flour)

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk (can use regular milk, but add 2 TBLS vinegar OR lemon Juice to the milk, stir and let sit for a few minutes)

¼ cup oil

1 ½ - 1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour (depending on the consistency desired)

2 TBLS sugar (brown or granulated)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Beat egg; add the milk and oil and whisk.  Add rest of the ingredients and mix together just until mixed. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes (using the whole grain)

1 cup milk

1 cup whole wheat

Mix in blender for 5 minutes.

Add the following:

1 TBLS baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ cup sugar

½ cup oil

2 eggs

Blend in blender for 4 more minutes.  If needed, can add more milk to desired consistency.  The resulting pancakes are light and slightly nutty in taste (they are delicious)!!

Loaded with Whole Grains Bread 

(makes 2 large or 3 medium loaves)

Note:  In this recipe, you can adjust the amount of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. 

I like to do half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour.

In a large mixer (one with dough-hooks, not regular beaters (like a Bosch or Kitchen-Aid):

Add 1 ½ cups whole grain cereal (like 7 grain, 9 grain, 10 grain—whatever grains you want to add-the 10 grain often has a lot of cornmeal, so I prefer the 7 grain).

Pour 2 1/2 cups of boiling water over the grain and let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Add 2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup all-purpose)

½ -2/3 cup sugar (depending on desired sweetness)

1 ½ TBLS active dry yeast

1 ½ TBLS salt

Mix together.

Add ½ cup warm water

1 cube softened butter (or ½ cup shortening)

Mix together for 2 minutes.

Add 2 eggs

1 cup flour (1/2 cup whole wheat, ½ cup all-purpose)

Beat for 3 minutes.

Add 4-6 more cups of flour (sorry to have such a wide range—start with 4, mix and if it is still really gooey, add more flour, mix a little, and keep doing so until the dough is sticking all together (should look a little like oatmeal cookie dough, and it should be soft, but staying together and not smearing all against the edges of the bowl).  Mix for 8-10 minutes.  Let rise in bowl (with lid on or cover) until doubled in size (about an hour). 

Mix and split into 2-3 loaves and place in greased bread pans.  Let rise until doubled again.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.