Bake-a-Thon

Yesterday I got to bake in bulk.

Ya' see, my mom is catering for a leadership summit at a local church, but she was in need of some baked goods that did not come from a plastic box at Sam's Club. So who did she bestow the privelege of baking for the masses on? Moi of course! And I was super stoked to do it.

The menu was simple and delicious. Today the summit-ers had pulled pork sandwiches on sweet potato rolls for lunch, a mid morning snack of honey orange muffins and brownie bites, and blondies for an afternoon snack. Tommorrow they're having a peach slab pie courtesy of my momma.

Wanna bake in bulk? I dare you! It's a blast.

Blondies ( Smitten Kitchen)

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (I added semisweet chocolate chips and pecan halves/bits).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting them.

Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls (Pinch My Salt)

1 cup mashed sweet potato or yam, slightly warm or at room temperature*
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup sugar
2 packets active dry yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 – 7 cups bread flour

1. In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together mashed sweet potato, buttermilk, egg, butter, sugar and yeast. (I learned the hard way that it is best to whisk these ingredients by hand rather than using the mixer. I ended up with buttermilk splattered all over the kitchen when I tried using the paddle attachment!) Now let the mixture sit for a few minutes while you measure out about 7 cups of flour.

2. Using the paddle attachment for your stand mixer, stir in one cup of flour along with the salt. Gradually add more flour, about a cup at a time, until a soft dough begins to form. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook (use a wet hand to pull the dough off the paddle attachment and it won’t stick to you) and knead on medium speed (speed 4 on the kitchen aid) for 6-7 minutes, adding a little more flour as needed to make a moderately soft dough that mostly clears the sides of the bowl (the dough should eventually clear the sides of the bowl, but continue to stick to the bottom as it’s being kneaded). My dough took about 6 1/2 cups of flour, but yours made need less or more. If mixing and kneading by hand, dump the dough out onto a floured surface when it gets too hard to mix with a spoon. Using well-floured hands, knead the dough for 8 – 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to work surface and hands.

3. When you finish kneading, the dough should be moderately soft and tacky, but not sticky. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to form a smooth ball of dough. If you kneaded by hand, form the dough into a smooth ball. Cover dough with a towel, and clean out your mixing bowl. Spray the inside of bowl with nonstick cooking spray or grease it with butter or oil. Place ball of dough, smooth side down, into the greased bowl. Turn the dough over to grease the other side, then cover with the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Put bowl in a warmish place and let dough rise for a little over an hour or until it has doubled in bulk.

4. When dough has doubled (you can check by pushing your finger into the dough. If an indentation remains without filling in, the dough is ready to go), push it down with your fists to deflate it and dump it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half with a knife or bench scraper then cut each half into 8 equal pieces (or more if you want smaller rolls). Cover pieces with a towel and let rest for a few minutes before shaping. While dough is resting, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and move two oven racks towards the center of the oven. Also, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Shape rolls by rolling against the work surface or between your hands to form balls. I like to pull the skin taut over the top of the roll and pinch at the bottom to form a smooth roll, but use whatever method works for you. Divide the rolls between the two baking sheets, and cover with a towel. Let rolls rise for about 20 minutes then remove towel and sprinkle the tops very lightly with flour. Place baking sheets in preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until they are puffed and lightly brown. Rotate sheets halfway through baking time (move bottom to top and vice versa).

5. Let rolls cool slightly and serve immediately. Or, if making ahead, let rolls cool completely on wire racks then place in Ziploc bags. To reheat, wrap rolls in foil and place in 375 degree oven for a few minutes until heated through.

Honey Orange Muffins (My girl Betty Crockerrrrrr!)

Sift together in mixing bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:

1/4 cup soft shortening ( I used butter)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

Place in bottom of each well greased muffin cup 1 tsp. honey, then a thin slice of unpeeled orange, cut in quarters. Spoon batter on top. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20-25 mins. Serve orange side up. Makes 12 sized muffins.

Make that a triple dog dare.