My Favorite Recipes Right Now

I have a couple of recipes that I keep using and that are, as we call, "repeats" in our family. They are go-to recipes that are quick and easy. Just wanted to share them with anyone who would like to try them. A note for these recipes: I don't usually have bread flour on hand, so I use all-purpose flour. I also have been using half white flour/half wheat flour in these recipes. (I'd use all wheat except then somebody probably wouldn't eat them. ;)

Quick Rise Bread Sticks

(From a recipe book I got from a cooking class at BYU, written by Janet Stocks)

Yield: 16 bread sticks

1 c. warm water

1 T. yeast

1 T. sugar

2 T. olive oil

1 t. salt

2-3 c. bread flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. (i.e. proof the yeast) Add olive oil, salt and flour and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into bread sticks and place on greased baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and a mixture of 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, 1/2 t. garlic salt, and 1 t. dried parsley. Let rise 10 minutes. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

(my notes: I have found it easier to roll out the dough in the greased baking sheet and then use a pizza cutter to cut breadsticks after they come out of the oven, rather than shaping the dough into bread sticks to begin with. (tip from my friend Kelsey. Thanks Kels! :) ) Also, be careful about how much salt you use for the topping if you have the salted butter from Costco. I usually nix the Parm cheese and use a little more garlic salt to balance it out. Anyone ever found unsalted butter at Costco?)

Flour Tortillas

(From the Joy of Cooking, pp. 608-609)

Yield: Eight 6- to 8-inch tortillas

2 c. bread flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/4 c. vegetable shortening or lard

3/4 c. hot water (115 to 130 F)

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Mix by hand or on low speed until the dough comes together. Knead by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until smooth, 4-6 minutes. Divide the dough equally into 8 pieces and roll them into balls. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll out each ball of dough into a 6-8 inch round about 1/8 inch thick. If a dough round is resistant, move to the next piece and return later to finish rolling.

Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Slide the tortillas into the skillet one by one, cooking until brown spots appear, about 30 seconds on the first side, 15 seconds once flipped. Cover the cooked tortillas to keep warm while you cook the rest. Serve warm.

(my notes: I usually forget to divide the dough into balls before it rests, but they still turn out good. I must make mine smaller because I can get around 10-12 tortillas. I like to roll the dough out really thin because the tortillas shrink a bit when cooked. I'm still getting the hang of rolling out tortillas, so they are far from perfect rounds. But it is a lot of fun and I get great satisfaction knowing I made fresh tortillas from scratch. I think it would be a fun recipe to try with kids too. They would probably have fun rolling out the dough.)

So as I was looking for a recipe for chocolate pudding in my BYU cookbook, I came across this recipe for flour tortillas. I haven't tried it yet, but I like the idea of using oil instead of shortening. For some reason it seems less artery clogging. Haha. Probably just a mental thing.

Flour Tortillas

(BYU cookbook)

Yield: 1 dozen 8- to 10-inch tortillas

2 c. flour

3/4 t. salt

3/4 t. baking powder

2 T. vegetable oil (I personally prefer canola oil)

1/2 - 3/4 c. hot water (120 - 140 F)

Combine dry ingredients. Add oil and work with hands until oil particles are dispersed. Add water, stirring with hands to make a soft dough. Divide into 1-inch balls. Flatten, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for 10 minutes. Roll on floured surface until very thin and 8-10 inch in diameter. Cook on ungreased frying pan or griddle over medium heat until brown spots appear, about 30 seconds. Repeat on other side.

Hope these give you something new to try and yummy to eat! Let me know how they go for you. :)