Do you have a vegetable dish that you make for those special occasions, when all the family gets together? Well, this is the one, that our family is always looking forward to every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even the kids love these mashed carrots and turnips, sweetened with a little brown sugar and enriched with butter. The kids hate eating them separately, but they will dig into them mashed together.

I first tried them when my wife made me a Cornish game hen dinner, when we first started dating. She had told me that her family always had mashed carrots and turnips for every family dinner. After one bite, they became a favorite of mine too. I decided to use them in a bread/bun recipe and they turned out beautifully. I made them square because I thought they would look unique. Vegetables are wonderful to use in breads. They add so much flavor and work really well with dough. The flavor of the vegetables are there, but never over power the bread.

These square buns also made the most stunning sandwiches. I made them like a club house and sliced the buns in three. They look like they would be difficult to eat, but the buns are soft and squish down. This would be a wonderful sandwich for a special day like a baby shower, bridal shower or a birthday. These square buns have become a favorite of mine.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe Carrot and Turnip Buns click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

I think the number one homemade bread in North America has to be the infamous banana bread. Anyone who has ever made a loaf of bread at home has made a banana bread at some point, I’m sure.

Well, have you ever eaten a banana bread made with yeast? The texture and flavor is amazing and I wanted to share this recipe with you.

Now, you could make this bread into loaves, but I made it more like a focaccia style bread and topped it with an almond mixture and sliced bananas. The almond topping really adds, to the over all flavor of the bread. This bread is moist and soft with a banana flavor, but when you bite into this bread you almost have a cinnamon bun style texture that is truly wonderful to eat. I really don’t think you can go back to the regular quick bread style banana bread after eating this …. in my opinion of course. A truly unique and delicious bread that I hope you will all give a try.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe Almond Banana Bread click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

OK, I wanted to make a braided bread called a Turban braid. As you can see it didn’t work out lol. My daughter Brittany and I must of spent an hour trying to figure out all the turns and twists to make the braid. Place A and B over C and D. Bring D over A and under C. Take C place over D under B and over A. Well, you get the idea lol. It was driving both of us insane.

We finally figured it out, only to forget how we managed to do it. So, we spent another half hour trying to repeat what we did the first time. The poor dough was getting hard and crusty from taking it apart and redoing it over and over.

Finally we figured it out and had it all written down. The bread looked amazing after baking it with this unusual braid. The next day Angie came over to take the photos for the cooking class. So, I had to make the recipe all over again. Well, I don’t know what happened with the directions we made, but it wasn’t working out and I just couldn’t figure out how to repeat the braid …. I gave up and just made round loaves lol. I had too or I would have ended up bald.

I’ll have to do the Turban braid another time when I have more time to practice the braid, so stay tuned.

This bread has a wonderful soft texture and I really feel the tanginess of the orange and the sweetness of the dried currants make a perfect combination. I love the subtle flavor of the orange and the currant in this bread. I used scissors on the bread to give them an interested look. The bread is wonderful with or with out butter slathered all over it and would be perfect as a breakfast bread.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe Orange and Currant Bread click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

Sausage Gravy

Making pizza on the barbecue is fun and delicious. They are very easy and quick to make, which is great when you have company with kids. I have also found that grilling pizza adds a wonderful smoked flavor to the crust.

I’ve made pizza for the oven before, so I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to make these pizza’s in the Roman style. The kind of pizza you would find throughout Italy. They are thin, long and an oblong shape. When it comes to grilling pizza, less is better. What I mean by this is you can’t fill a pizza with the same amount as you would with a oven baked pizza.
You also want to grate your cheese finely, because the pizza will only be baked for a few minutes, or it will burn. You also need to grill the dough first and then place the topping. This way you can grill both sides of the pizza first.

I made two pizzas for the blog. The first one is a grilled leek with Italian sausage pizza. The cheese used in this is gruyere, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The second pizza is a prosciutto, red spinach and cherry tomatoes. The cheese I used for this one is feta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. After I grilled both pizzas I drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on top. It was amazing and I loved the sweet, sour flavor of the aged balsamic vinegar. You could also use a pesto or a pizza sauce, but use sparingly. Just brush the sauce on the pizza then place the ingredients. For both of mine I used a herbed olive oil with rosemary and garlic. After they were grilled I brush the herbed oil and then placed the grilled vegetables and cheese.

When using vegetables on a grilled pizza you will need to grill the vegetable first. Unless you like them raw, like I did with the red spinach and the cherry tomatoes. As we all know grilling vegetables on the BBQ adds a wonderful flavor. Next time you have a barbecue why not try making a pizza … you’ll love it.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe BBQ Pizza Dough click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

Here’s a delicious recipe that would be perfect as a meal on it’s own. A Russian Cheese bread made with fresh leeks and a mixture of cream cheese, ricotta and a soft goat cheese. I have to warn you, this is a very filling bread, so a small piece will go a long way. I wish this was a scratch and sniff blog, because the three cheese’s and the leeks fill the air with the most amazing aroma while baking.

The dough is made with sour cream, which adds lots of flavor and gives the bread a soft moist texture. This bread comes from the quick bread family and can be made in about an hour, from start to finish. I would serve this with a side salad and perhaps a glass of red wine would be wonderful. You could even make these as small individual tart style breads if you wanted. The bread has a beautiful glossy color from the egg wash and the cornmeal of the bottom adds a crunch and great flavor to this unique and delicious bread.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe Russian Leek and Cheese Bread click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

These funky, crazy doughnuts are so much fun. They’re not a light, fluffy doughnut that you would get at you local doughnut shop. These doughnuts use no yeast or baking powder, they are soft yet chewy and with a firm texture to them. The ingredients are very simple and anyone can make this.

They do look a little complicated, but ,after you make the first one ,they go very quickly. These can be made the day before and then you cab deep fry when you want them.It takes only about a minute and a half to fry them you can make them for your guests and serve them warm.

I wanted to make something to go serve with these doughnuts. So, I decided to make a Chai tea to go with the Asian doughnuts. Chai tea is a spicy, delicious, warm tea made with aromatic Indian spices. You will find many versions of this tea on the internet. I think every family has there own version. So, I decided to make my own version also. I used cardamon seeds, star of anise, cinnamon sticks and sliced fresh ginger. This tea was perfect with the Asian doughnuts. Here is the recipe for the Chai tea that I made.

Chai Tea

8 tea bags of black tea
4 cups bottles water
4 cups milk
16 cardamon seeds ( cracked )
3 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
8 slices of fresh ginger

In a pot add all the ingredients together. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it comes to a boil, turn down to a simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain and serve hot. Add what ever amount of sugar you would like. This tea should be sweet to help bring out the flavors of the spices.

For a step by step class for this great bread recipe Asian Doughnuts click here

For more free bread recipes go to our parent website at Cookingbread.com

Whenever I think about old fashioned breads, I always think about an Oatmeal bread. To me Oatmeal breads are the perfect breakfast bread. But, when you add the sweetness of brown sugar and some plump raisins, you get something delicious and sweet, a treat that the whole family will love.

You can shape this Oatmeal bread into a traditional loaf by baking it in loaf pans, or try free forming it and baking it the way I did it. Loose and fancy free lol. Break pieces off the free form loaf rather than slicing to create a more rustic look. Add a bowl of fresh fruit and you have a lovely simple meal.

This is a delicious sweet bread, with a soft crust and a soft flavorful texture inside. Wonderful toasted or just eaten plane with melted butter.

Yahooo!!!! BBQ season has finally come to Vancouver. We planted flowers set up the new BBQ and placed the patio furniture out. Now it’s time to get down to some serious barbecuing. I’m so excited to show you all my favorite Hamburger Bun recipe. These have to be the most flavorful Hamburger buns in the world. Well, OK I haven’t tasted all the Hamburger buns in the world. But, I know these are at least in the top 5.

The buns are light with a very thin crust on top that I just love in a good hamburger bun. I hate the ones that are so hard you have to rip them with your teeth to get a bite, then all the filling falls out the sides. The interior is soft and the cornmeal on the bottom of the buns adds a slight crunch and extra flavor. I used 3 different size cookie cutters to score the tops of each hamburger buns. I think this really gives them a unique look. Don’t you think they look beautiful? Much nicer than leaving them flat. The poppy seeds and sesame seeds add a wonderful eye catching appeal.

I used Havarti cheese on top of the hamburgers and fried red onions mixed with balsamic vinegar and a little brown sugar then added some sour cream to give the onions a creamy texture. Simply delicious. Then we grilled fresh pineapple for that sweet warm delicious pineapple flavor too. I think it was the perfect summer weekend. With amazingly delicious food.

I really hope you will give these tantalizing hamburger bun recipe a try. It’s truly one of the best.