FRENCH BREAD

This is THE classic old moss-covered three-handled Banfield family recipe. It was given to my mother in the early '70s by the wife of a professor at Northern Illinois University who was a native of France, and from then on, every day when I would come home from school, there would be two loaves of this bread waiting. Take that, June Cleaver!

Dissolve 1 package of yeast in ¼ cup warm water. Add 1 T sugar and 2 t salt, 1 ¼ cups hot water, 4 cups flour and stir. Cover bowl with wet towel and let dough rise.

Punch down dough and put on floured board and divide in two. Pat flat & roll up and pinch together. Put on greased cookie sheet and let rise again. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes and then at 350 for 30 minutes.

BELLA'S BONNAG

An old Isle of Man recipe that Dave, site consultant and owner of Bella T. Manx, bakes every year for Manxgiving. It's kind of like pound cake with flavoring - it works well with both raisins or chocolate chips. Special thanks to Frances Coakley of the University of Surrey.

2-1/2 cups of plain flour (brown or white)
1 cup sugar
1 cup currants, raisins, or semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 large teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Put dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the butter. Gradually add the buttermilk and the vanilla. Mix to a soft dough. Mix in the currants, raisins or chips. Add a little more buttermilk if necessary. Shape into a round (like a Manx cat). (Or pour ingredients into a greased loaf pan.) Bake for about one hour at 350 to 375 degrees. The Bonnag should be three to four inches thick and loaf-shaped (again, like a Manx cat). Best served sliced and warm.

CUBAN BREAD

This seems an awful lot like French Bread to me, yet they sell both Cuban Bread and French Bread in the stores in Florida. Can anyone clear this up? Is the olive oil what makes the difference?

1 envelope active dry yeast
2 t. sugar
1 1/2 c. lukewarm water
3 c. flour
1 T. salt
2 T. olive oil
Flour for dusting work surface
Olive oil for greasing bowl and loaf pan
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 teaspoon water, for glazing

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Set aside 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the olive oil and yeast. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of water as needed, so the dough holds its shape but does not become sticky.

Transfer the dough from the bowl to a lightly-floured surface and knead for 4 to 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Punch down the dough and roll into loaf shape. Place in a lightly oiled 8X5" loaf pan and brush the top with the egg and water mixture. Make 3 diagonal scores, 1/8 inch deep, across the top of the bread. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and tap the bottom; if it sounds hollow, the bread is done. Place the bread on a wire rack. Allow to cool before serving.

BAKES (FRIED BISCUITS)

Funny, all those years the good folks in Brown County led me to believe this was some Indiana-Hoosier-Heritage recipe and then I find it in a Caribbean cookbook as being from Trinidad! I bet the rednecks would have fits if they knew that.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup cold water
vegetable oil for frying

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together into a large bowl. Rub flour into mixture until mixture is grainy. Stir in water, little by little, until dough can be formed into a ball but is not sticky.Place dough on a clean, flat surface that has been dusted with flour.Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Dip the rim of a glass in flour and cut dough into circles. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough has been used up.

Pour 1/4 inch oil into medium frying pan and heat over medium-high heat for
4 to 5 mins. Fry them a few at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.
Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

ORANGE CRESCENT BREAD

1 package active dry yeast
2 t. grated orange peel
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground mace
1/3 cup each: milk, water, and butter or margarine
1 egg at room temperature
Orange Frosting (recipe follows)

In large bowl, thoroughly mix 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, orange peel, salt, and mace.

Heat milk, water, and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Butter does not need to melt. Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour. Beat at high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Remove a fourth of dough; roll to 18-inch rope. Reserve. Divide remaining dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each to 30-inch rope; join to make one long rope. Wrap long rope loosely around small rope. Pinch ends to seal.

Place loaf on greased baking sheet. Curve ends to make horseshoe shape. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and cool on wired rack. Brush with orange frosting (combine 1 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar with 1 1/2 to 2 T. orange juice; beat with fork until smooth).

SWEET PLANTAIN BREAD
c.1997, M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger, all rights reserved

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, for the plantain
1 large, ripe plantain
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 ripe bananas
1/2 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Use 1/2 tablespoon of the butter to thoroughly grease a 9 inch round glass pie dish.
Peel the plantain and slice it 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal. In a small
skillet, heat the butter over medium heat and saute the plantain for 2 or 3
minutes per side, until softened and golden. Distribute the plantain evenly on
the bottom of the pie dish and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325/. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Peel the bananas and, in a medium bowl, mash them together with a fork, then mix in the milk and the walnuts. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. First add the banana mixture to the creamed butter mixture, then fold in the flour mixture, stirring only until all the flour has disappeared. Scoop the batter into the pie dish on top of the plantains and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will be a nice deep golden brown. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out upside down and slice for serving, warm or at room temperature.