Mini French Loaves Recipes

MINI FRENCH LOAVES

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, seasonings, cheeses and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each half into a 15x10-in. rectangle. Roll up from long side; seal well. Cut each into three 5-in. loaves; seal ends. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Brush loaves with water. Cover with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray; let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes With a very sharp knife, make three shallow diagonal cuts across top. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack Brush with butter.

MINI FRENCH BREAD LOAVES (SERVES 2)

Steps:

• Place the bread flour, salt, and yeast in a food processor, and process for 3 seconds to blend. With the machine running, pour 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons water through the feed tub; process until the dough holds together, about 20 seconds. The dough should be a sticky mass, and it should appear difficult to knead by hand. If the dough is too dry, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, processing for 5 seconds after each addition.
• Lightly grease a medium-size mixing bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in bulk, 2 to 3 hours.
• Punch the dough down and let it rise again until nearly doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
• Sprinkle a cutting board or work surface with a little flour, place the dough on it, and cut the dough into 2 pieces. Shape the pieces into balls, sprinkling them with a little flour if necessary to make them easier to handle. Place the balls of dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle a little flour over each round (to keep the plastic wrap from sticking), and cover them lightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough balls rise until nearly doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. To make a crisp crust, fill a clean spray bottle with water and spritz the inside of the oven with water just before you slide the bread into the oven.
• Bake the bread rounds until golden and crusty, about 10 minutes. Fremove the baking sheet from the oven or, If you like a crustier loaf, leave the bread in the oven with the door closed for 5 minutes after you have turned off the oven.
• Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE MINI-LOAVES

Steps:

• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously spray the inside of a mini-loaf baking pan with the cooking spray and set aside.
• Put the butter, coffee, cocoa and milk in a small microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high until the butter melts, about 3 minutes. Whisk to combine.
• Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, chile powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Beat the sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk the hot cocoa mixture into the dry ingredients; stir in the sour cream mixture, until just combined. Divide the batter equally among the loaves, filling each about ¾ of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Allow the loaves to cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around each loaf to loosen, remove the loaves and let cool completely on a rack.
• To serve, dust the tops of the loaves with confectioners' sugar. If you like, cut out small hearts or other festive stencils and place them on the loaves before dusting.

MIGHTY MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels and let cool; crumble.
• Place bacon, stuffing, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire, soy sauce, egg, onion soup mix, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix well. Divide meat mixture into 6 individual portions. Mold each portion into oval-like shapes. Press top of each oval in and add Swiss cheese. Mold meat back up over the tops, enclosing cheese.
• Mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together in a separate bowl. Cover each loaf with mixture. Place loaves in the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• While loaves bake, saute onion over medium-high heat in a frying pan, 5 to 7 minutes. Top baked loaves with onions and let stand for 5 minutes to cool before serving.

MICHELLE'S MARVELOUS MINI MEAT LOAVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• Stir ground beef, onion, oats, Cheddar cheese, milk, egg, and salt together in a bowl; mix well. Divide meat mixture into 8 equal portions and form each into a loaf shape. Place loaves in prepared baking dish.
• Stir ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard together in a bowl until smooth. Spread ketchup mixture over meat loaves.
• Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

CRUSTY MINI LOAVES

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place the first six ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed)., When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four portions; shape into 6-in. loaves. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cut slits in the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.