Honey-Butter Caramels

I have a recipe that I adore for sea-salt caramels. I have a friend who loves them more than anything and I wanted to make her a batch during a particularly trying week in her life.  As I pulled out all of the ingredients, I realized that I did not have the 4 cups of heavy cream it called for... FOUR cups!  I had forgotten it was that much.  So, true to form, I began to shoot from the hip until I had a caramel that I actually liked much better.  Happy Accident :)

Tips and Tricks:
This recipe is a delightful, chewy caramel.  I top it with grey sea salt, but you can use kosher.  I do not recommend table salt in this instance.  Be patient and watch the caramel carefully.  It will take a bit of time to get it to the right temperature, but when the thermometer begins to climb, it can do so quickly.  Stir often and use a larger pot than you think you will need because it climbs the pan as it boils.  If you are using a gas stove, be sure to keep the flame UNDER the pot or you can burn the sides.  If you are using a ceramic stove top, watch that it does not boil over, or you can pit the stove's surface.

Honey-Butter Caramels

1 1/2 cups of butter (note: you will need another 1/2 cup to be added later)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 1/4 cups of brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup of honey
1 cup heavy cream


1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter
 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

melted chocolate 
sea salt

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or one sheet if you are not dipping any in chocolate).  Place one of them in the fridge to cool.  Place the 1 1/2 cups of butter, sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey, and heavy cream in a large, heavy bottom sauce pan fitted with a candy thermometer.  Bring to a boil and stir often until the caramel reaches 248 degrees. 

 I should have used a bigger pot!

Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1/2 cup of butter, salt, and vanilla.  Stir until well blended and then pour the caramel onto the parchment lined cookie sheet (not the cold one).  Allow the caramel to cool completely.  Remove the caramel by lifting the parchment off of the pan and cut the caramel into squares. 

I chose to dip some in melted chocolate and placed them on the cold cookie sheet to harden.

                                                   

 Then sprinkle with sea salt and serve!  

It is time consuming, but SO worth the effort!

American White Bread

Requests for bread recipes are just as frequent as the cookies so we will tackle that next. 

I  LOVE  BREAD!   

I am a gluten crazy person.  Sorry.  Not popular I know, but if you made your own bread you would be too :)   For those of you who cannot have this in your diet, I promise the gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are coming!

This recipe is one that I use for many different delicious treats : doughnuts, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, pretzels, bagels, sandwich bread, hamburger buns, etc. Once you eat a hamburger on one of these buns, you will never go back. I will post some of these variations later. You can substitute 1/2 of the flour here for whole wheat flour and make a great whole wheat loaf which is light and fluffy.  In which case I use honey to sweeten it :)

Side story: One Spring, I put up the camp trailer to get it ready to go camping.   I discovered that we had left a bag of hamburger buns in it for TWO YEARS!  You know, they looked exactly the same as the day I bought them.  Yeah....if bacteria wont eat it, neither will I!


Tips and Tricks:

Yeast:  Yeast is critical!  I use 'Instant' which I buy in large packages because it is so much more cost effective.  I place some in a jar that is kept in the fridge.  The remainder is placed in the freezer where it will keep for several months if not longer.

Water:  Adding water to bread recipes is a funny thing.  In a dry climate you may need more water, and in a humid climate you may need less.  That is because flour is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. I live in Utah, so this recipe is adjusted for dry climates.

Flour:  I know, everyone hates gluten.  But here, gluten is your friend.  Lets give him a better name: PROTEIN.  This protein develops into the stretchy, smooth texture of the dough and creates a balloon effect that seals in the air and creates a light airy loaf of bread.  I buy High Gluten flour with a protein content averaging 13.5%.  By contrast, All Purpose flour has an average protein content of 11%.  You can use it for this recipe, but I suggest you buy high gluten baker's flour if you plan on baking a lot of bread. The cost is comparable and the difference is worth the effort.


American White Bread

Oven set at 350
Makes 2 large loaves or 24 dinner rolls

7 cups of High gluten flour
2 3/4 cups of water
1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon of table salt)
1 1/2 tablespoons of Instant yeast (2 if you are using active dry yeast & it will need to bloom before adding)
1/3 cup sugar (or 1/4 cup of honey or agave)
5 tablespoons of softened butter

Add all ingredients to your mixer and knead the dough for 8 minutes (or knead by hand for a bit longer).  The dough should be wet enough to stick to the paddle as it kneads, but dry enough to release and slap the sides of the bowl and remove cleanly from the sides.

When the dough is ready, it will have a smooth and elastic appearance.


 At the beginning of the kneading process, the dough appears more like cheese curd; rough and broken.

Halfway through the kneading,  it begins to smooth out  but still breaks roughly when pulled.

At the end of the kneading process (8 minutes in this case), the gluten has developed and created a smooth and stretchy surface that appears like fresh mozzarella rather than cheese curd.  It should stretch in long strands, rather than break off in short pieces, when pulled gently.  

Oil a large bowl.  Tuck the ends of the bread dough under itself until you have a smooth ball.  Place this in the oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place.  I set mine in the sunshine.  Let this rise for 1 1/2 hours or until it has at least doubled in size.

                                                                         I prefer to triple it.

Oil two large bread pans.  Gently press the dough down.  It is ready to divide into two equal pieces and be shaped into loaves.   Place the loaves in the pans, seam side down.  Start preheating your oven.  It  HAS to be ready when the loaves are. Allow the loaves to at least double in size. Again, I have about tripled the size. 

Bake at 350 degrees until the internal temperature is 200 degrees or golden brown all over.  Brush the loaves with butter & allow them to cool for a few minutes in the pan. Then transfer them to a baking rack to finish cooling.

WOW!  THE HOUSE SMELLS AMAZING!