Quinoa Bread

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups water, about 90 degrees

2 Tbsp. honey

1 cup buckwheat

1 cup quinoa flour

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 2/4 cups potato starch

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 large eggs, room temperature

3 Tbsp. coconut oil or almond oil

1. Whisk honey into warm water and add yeast. Let stand for 5 - 8 minutes until yeast has bloomed.

2. Whisk together dry ingredients and place in bowl of mixer stand.

3. In a small bowl whisk eggs and coconut oil, and set aside.

4. With mixer at low speed, add yeast mixture to flour mixture and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.

5. Add egg mixture and mix for two minutes. Turn mixer to medium speed and mix for another minute.

6. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or butter the pan well. Pour dough into prepared pan and place in a warm, draft-free space, and let rise for 30 - 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. When dough has risen, place in center of oven and bake for 30 - 45 minutes. Loaf should be brown and sound hollow when you tap it.

8. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

9. This bread keeps well in the freezer -- just wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.

Gluten Free Orange Bread

Sometimes after chatting with my sisters I get fiercely nostalgic for the memories of our childhood, especially tea time - cups of hot tea and whatever was baked fresh that day. I needed to bake today and this recipe did the trick for me. This tender crumbed bread with hints of orange zest and a sugar crusted top was just right.

1 1/2 c. Brown Rice Flour mix
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
Grated rind of 1 large orange
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 c fresh orange juice
1/4 tsp lemon extract
2 tsp granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and orange and lemond rinds in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. And flour mixture, mix until almost combined, and then add orange juice and lemon extract. Mix until just blended.

4. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Sprinkle top with granulated sugar. Place pan in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

5. Cook in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Slice with serrated knife.

6. To store in refrigerator - wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for up to five days. Can be frozen up to 6 weeks.

Note: I did not use freshly squeezed orange juice, I used whatever I had in the carton. I am not fond of lemon extracts so I left that out. I used a teaspoon of lemon powder instead of the rind. And I can honestly say that the bread was scrumptious.

Zucchini Bread

Zucchini is a vegetable that I have only just come to appreciate, particularly in bread form. This is a good mid-morning coffee break or tea-time kind of bread. This recipe makes 2 loaf pan or 5 mini-pan sized loaves. They freeze well.

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup water

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts/pecans

1/2 cup raisins

1. Mix the flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder together in a small bowl.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well mixed and light lemon in color. Add oil and water and beat well.

3. Fold zucchini into the egg mixture. Add flour and fold until just mixed. Fold in nuts and raisins, making sure that they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

4. Pour mixture into two greased and floured loaf pans or five greased and floured mini-loaf pans.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes. Start checking mini-loaf pans at 30 minutes.

6. Rmeove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Note: I am not a big fan of cinnamon so I use Allspice instead. I have also used half granulated sugar and half brown sugar for this recipe and I love the taste. I also sprinkle maple sugar on the batter before baking and it gives it a really lovely top crust. I love maple sugar and I have some real Vermont maple sugar so I use it every opportunity I get.

Dill Casserole Bread

This is another favorite. It's a savory bread that is delicious sliced into wedges and served with soup. It makes an excellent bread for chicken or turkey sandwiches. It also makes an excellent open faced sandwiches for tea -- slice all the way across, spread with herbed butter or herbed cream cheese, place thinly sliced chicken on the spread; cut into finger-sandwiches, top with a slice of tomato; dust with an herb and you will have a delicious and pretty tea sandwich.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. dill seed

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 package dry yeast

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 medium onion, fined chopped

1 cup creamed cottage cheese

1/4 cup water

1 egg, room temperature

1. In a large bowl combine 1 cup flour, sugar, dill seed, salt, baking soda and yeast.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, in hot butter, cook onion until tender. Stir in cottage cheese and water. Heat until mixture is very warm but you can still hold your finger in it (120 to 130 degrees).

3. With mixer at low speed, gradually pour liquid into dry ingredients; beat until just blended. At medium speed, beat two minutes, scraping bowl often.

4. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter; beat 2 minutes. With spoon stir in remaining 1 cup flour to make a stiff batter.

5. Cover with towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled. About an hour.

6. Grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Stir down batter; spread evenly into casserole dish. Cover with towel; let rise in warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 35 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack or serve warm.

Sally Lunn Bread

This is a beautiful tall bread that will impress everybody. There is absolutely no kneading involved. It looks very impressive served on a cake stand with honey butter.

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (110 deg. to 115)

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

3 eggs, at room temperature

5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth.

2. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead! Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

3. Stir dough down, Spoon into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool slightly. Remove from pan, place on a platter, slice and serve with honey butter.

Honey butter:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

1. Combine the butter and honey until smooth. Serve at room temperature.