Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Just one slice of this kissed-with-spice quick bread gives you 25 percent of the vitamin A you need in a day.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons ground allspice or pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Apple NESTLÉ® JUICY JUICE® All Natural 100% Juice
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Sift flour, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Combine pumpkin, sugar, Juicy Juice, eggs, oil and vanilla extract in large bowl; stir well. Stir in flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon into greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
3. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/16 of recipe): Calories: 200 Calories from Fat: 25 Total Fat: 3 g Saturated Fat: .5 g Cholesterol: 25 mg Sodium: 190 mg Carbohydrates: 41 g Dietary Fiber: 2 g Sugars: 15 g Protein: 4 g.

Rustic Cranberry Loaf

There's just something deliciously comforting about a rustic loaf of bread, especially when it's loaded with sweet-tart dried cranberries and toasted pecans.

Recipe Ingredients:

Sponge:
1 3/4 cups bread flour
1 cup lukewarm water - 65°F (18.3°C) to 70°F (21.1°C)
Small pinch instant yeast

Dough:
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water - 65°F (18.3°C) to 70°F (21.1°C)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup pecans

Cooking Directions:

1. For Sponge: Dissolve yeast in water and stir in flour. Mix until incorporated. Allow to rise at room temperature for 12 hours, or overnight.
2. Toast pecans in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow nuts to cool.
3. For Dough: Incorporate dry ingredients (flours, salt and yeast) in bowl of 5 quart stand mixer. Reserve 1/4 of the liquid and add the rest to the bowl. Also add the risen sponge mixture to the bowl. Mix ingredients with dough hook on slow speed until ingredients are incorporated. Dough should be fairly sticky. Increase speed of mixer to medium and mix until dough begins to smooth out and become less sticky and more resilient, 5 to 8 minutes. Slowly add the rest of the water to the dough, and continue mixing until the dough is resilient again and does not break easily when stretched, an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The dough will be very wet.
4. Pour it onto a floured surface and stretch it into a rectangle. Distribute the cranberries and pecans evenly over the dough. Roll up dough like a jelly roll to incorporate nuts and cranberries, then fold the dough in thirds.
5. Transfer dough to a clean bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Remove the dough to a lightly floured table and gently stretch it into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half 3 to 4 times, until the dough is noticeably stronger and more resilient. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour.
7. Gently remove the dough to a lightly floured table. Divide the dough in half or in quarters, and place on a heavily floured board or cloth. Let rise covered for 45 minutes.
8. Preheat oven with a baking stone, if available, to 450°F (230°C). Steam the oven by spraying in water with a squirt bottle or throwing ice cubes into a pan placed in the bottom of the oven. A lot of steam in the oven is important for the bread to rise properly in the oven. Invert the loaves so that the floured side is on top; this is how the bread gets its decorative flour pattern. Place loaves directly on the baking stone, or on a sheet pan, and steam the oven again. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F (205°C), and bake for 35 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the loaves. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, and register an internal temperature of 200°F (93.3°C). For a thicker, crisper crust, allow the bread to bake an additional few minutes.

Herb Onion Rolls

With just one rising required, you can add these flavorful dinner rolls to your list of quick and easy homemade yeast breads.

Recipe Ingredients:

4 teaspoons rapid rise or instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup warm skim milk
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cooking Directions:

1. thoroughly oil 18 muffin pan cups.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine yeast, salt whole wheat flour, basil, oregano and tarragon. Mix to combine ingredients.
3. In second bowl, whisk together honey, canola oil, milk and water. Add to dry ingredients along with chopped green onion and beat slowly to combine ingredients.
4. While beating, add all-purpose flour to make soft dough. If dough is sticky, add more all-purpose flour to get the right consistency. Continue to beat slowly or knead by hand for 5 to 6 minutes. Cover dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
5. Divide dough into 18 equal size pieces. Form into balls and place into prepared muffin cups. Cover with clean cloth and allow rolls to rise in warm place for 25 minutes or until rolls have doubled in size.
6. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 18 to 20 minutes or until rolls sound hollow when lightly tapped. Remove rolls from pan and cool on wire rack.

Makes 18 rolls.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/18 of recipe; 1 roll): Calories 120; Total Fat 3.5g; Saturated Fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 140mg; Carbohydrates 20g; Fiber 2g; Protein 4g.