Sharon, Thanks. I make bread at least once a week and rarely the same way twice in a row. I have a Bosch that can make a huge batch at one time, so what I brought was just one big batch of bread (36 sandwich rolls). One had no topping, another sesame seeds, and the third had a King Arthur topping called 'Everything Bread and Bagel Topping' which is a favorite of ours, and I order it on-line from KA. I take many liberties with bread, but this is the basic recipe for 2 loaves. 2 1/4 cups of warm water 1 Tablespoon SAF yeast 1 Tablespoon salt 2 Tablespoons oil 3 Tablespoons sugar 5 1/2 to 6 cups of flour If I were making it by hand I would mix together, then let it rise in the bowl until double, stir it down, and let it rise a second time in the bowl. Then shape it and let it rise until double in the pan. It will make two loaves of bread or rolls. It requires almost no kneading if you do the second rise in the bowl and all you do is shape it. Some people use a floured cabinet for shaping the dough, I just use a silpat type mat with a little oil. The rolls that I brought to the Fling were made with all white flour, the oil was coconut oil, and the sugar was brown sugar. When I use white flour, I use the 6 cup measure. More often than not, I use whole wheat for at least half of the flour. Since it has the bran included, it will absorb more liquid, so I might use 3 cups whole wheat and 2 1/2 cups white flour. With whole wheat flour, I increase the sugar a little, or I add a Tablespoon of molasses in addition to the sugar. I sometimes use honey, but it isn't my favorite. It never hurts to use a couple of Tablespoons of Vital Wheat Gluten if you are using whole wheat flour. It will help to keep it fresh longer and will help with the rise. Some people think that whole wheat has a bitter taste, and they replace a little of the water with orange juice to compensate for that. When the flour is fresh, there is no bitter taste at all, and since I grind my own a couple of minutes before I make the bread, I never have that problem. The acid in the juice will also help with the rise if you are are using whole wheat flour. For the oil, I may use regular vegetable oil, soft butter, or coconut oil. I never use Canola oil in anything. If I am making rolls I may use butter, and add maybe a 1/4 cup of dry powdered milk, just to make the taste a little richer, or you could use milk for all or part of the water. We have a lot of milk allergies in our family so I limit milk use. Like I said above, I make it different all of the time. I keep a starter in my refrigerator that is a natural yeast, or also have a sourdough starter. I keep lots of different grains and sometimes a few different flours, but mostly I grind my own whole grains. Although I have given the above recipe to many people, it is getting harder for me to explain to people because making bread in a Bosch is so different. I bought mine last Fall and I haven't bought a loaf of bread since. It is a very powerful mixer and I just dump everything in, mix it a little, let it set a few minutes until the dough starts to puff up a little, then I turn on the machine and let it knead for about 8 minutes, shape it, and put it in the pans. Bread dough is very forgiving, and very cheap to make, so just have fun with it. Make it once by the recipe so you know what the dough should feel like, then experiment. In a Bosch, you add flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl so I don't even measure it anymore. Sam's sells two bags of SAF yeast for a good price. When I open one, I just dump the yeast into a canning jar with a good lid and keep it in the refrigerator. If you buy bulk yeast then all of the ingredients are cheap. Well, the topping is a little high, but it last a long time and you don't have to have that. You can leave the tops plain and brush with butter when you remove them from the oven. For years I made the above recipe, baked it in two loaf pans at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Some time ago I switched to 360 for 33 minutes with the oven I have now. You might want to try it at 350 and start checking it at about 35 minutes. If you thump the top and it sounds hollow, then it is done. Making bread is about the easiest thing you can make. It scares people because of the time involved, but most of the time is just waiting, not working. If I lived alone like some of you do, I would make the above, when it was time to put it in the pan, I would tear off what I wanted and refrigerate the rest. The dough will keep 4-5 days without a problem. When you want the next loaf, just take out what you want, let it reach room temperature, then shape into a loaf. When I was making it with just a bowl and spoon, I timed it once and I could mix it up in under 6 minutes, then I could come back to stir it down in an hour or so. If you are home, it isn't at all time consuming. If you work, you might like to start by making 'Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day' which is the name of a book (and a recipe) and the basic bread can be found in several places on the web. I adjust ingredients all of the time making the dough slightly softer for rolls than bread, and usually a little richer. Once you learn the technique, you will want to try lots of things. If it isn't perfect at first, just eat your mistakes, and try again. A friend of mine has a granddaughter living with her that is about 14. I scribbled the recipe down for her and the granddaughter made it for the family. They said it was perfect the first time and they all loved it. I am going to have her over soon to learn how to use the dough for other things, and a lesson in pie crust and coconut pie. LOL Jo - The little hostess gift I gave you also comes from King Arthur, and once you use that cinnamon, you will have to place an order. It is the best. Now I am sure this is more info that you wanted to know, but the basic recipe is the starting point to a world of homemade bread. PS. Paula, don't try to leave out the sweetener. It is just 3 Tablespoons in two loaves of bread. LOL

Yes, there are regional differences. Vive la difference! Otherwise we'd be eating a diet as predictable as McDonald's. If anyone would like to try an authentic Southern (i.e., non-sweet) version of cornbread, this recipe I posted a while back is my favorite version. I will grant a point to those who use 'adulterants' (grin) like sugar and flour: unless the quality of the corn meal is very good, cornbread made with just corn meal can be bitter. Meal can go rancid and stale pretty quickly. But cornbread made with fresh cornmeal, preferably stone-ground locally, is plenty sweet on its own. I generally only buy small quantities of cornmeal--just enough to make whatever recipe I'm making, and I buy it at a store that seems to have a good turnover of product. (That means not buying it at a gourmet store. No telling how long that stuff has been on the shelf.) Fortunately in my area of South Carolina there are a few grist mills not too far away that supply the local stores. Bernard Clayton's 'New Complete Book of Breads' actually has a listing for 2 different breads. One he calls "Yankee Corn Bread" (sugar, flour, yellow corn meal) and the other is Southern Corn Bread (white corn meal, no sugar or flour.) I find, though, that the freshness of the meal is more important than whether it's white or yellow. For those with access to good fresh meal I recommend this recipe from Clayton: Southern Corn Bread 2 eggs, room temp 2 cups buttermilk, room temp 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups white cornmeal (but yellow is okay, too) 1 1/2 tsp salt Preheat oven and baking utensil (skillet or 9 x 9 pan) to 450 while mixing batter. In a small bowl beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk. In a mixer bowl, mix the baking soda, cornmeal and salt. Pour in the egg-buttermilk mixture and mix well until smooth. Pour batter into the preheated pan, return to oven for 20 to 25 minutes. It's done when a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean & dry. I use this recipe when I make cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving; a quadruple recipe just barely fits into a 5 quart KitchenAid mixer bowl, and into an 11 x 14 pan. Absolutely delicious. This is what you use to soak up the pot juices from cooking black-eyed peas or greens. I always called those juices 'pot liquor' but my wife wondered what the heck I was talking about when I used that term. I guess that's southern as well.

Well, I actually like Jiffy cornbread, so I'll be of no help, although I have been known to add blueberries. My girls like Jiffy cornbread better than any homemade I've ever served them, but remember, I have the kid who will eat Campbell's COM out of the can, cold (shudder), so that's probably not an indication of quality. I usually make cornbread from scratch, and I like it sweet or not sweet or made with white cornmeal or yellow, I'm not particularly picky about it. By the time I add butter and honey, it's all sweet, LOL, which is my favorite way to have cornread, although I like it with beans and I've used the Jiffy mix to make topping for enchilada casserole too. However, I also think that if he doesn't like it, I'd donate it. I don't think "doctoring" it up is going to help, it's still Jiffy cornbread underneath all the other ingredients. To each their own. I despise and detest pizza and spaghetti with red sauce and the last time I ate Jello was on a double-dog-dare from my brother. You have to then, you know. But I'll eat Jiffy cornbread, though I seldom agree with America's Test Kitchen. I guess we've got to agree on something at some point! Annie

Best cornbread I've ever eaten. I serve this cornbread with pinto beans or black beans or black eye peas for my DH. Oh, and yes I realize this is high in calories, and it is not a heart-healthy recipe, but it is very easy and very good! I can't stand sweet cornbread! LINDAS CORNBREAD Martha White corn meal mix, white or yellow (Dont use the Jiffy corn meal because it has too much sugar in it.) Follow the directions on the package, 1 egg, substitute buttermilk for milk, add one 11 oz. can of whole Mexican corn, drained, add one cup of shredded cheese, add a couple of drops of hot sauce. and mix well. 2 slices bacon ¼ finely chopped onion 1 finely minced garlic clove (optional) You can add the following variations: pork cracklings jalapeños, bell peppers or other peppers Chop up two slices of bacon into a cast iron skillet and add ¼ cup finely chopped onion and garlic (dont let the garlic burn); heat bacon and onion in the oven at 400°; cook until the fat is rendered out of the bacon and the onion is tender. Dont drain, but pour the mixture directly into the very hot cast iron skillet and cook for the given time on the package. This recipe is from Texas Monthly. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds interesting. Black-Eyed Pea Pie From Chef Kathy Ruiz at Evans, Houston. 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2 cups dried black-eyed peas 2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 tablespoon finely ground white pepper 1 bay leaf 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 1 ham bone (optional) 8 cloves garlic, minced 3 bunches collards or mustard greens, destemmed Cornbread (recipe below) 4 cups mashed potatoes In soup pot, combine stock, peas, 1 cup onion pepper, bay leaf, jalapeño, ham bone, and half the garlic. Boil 5 minutes over high heat. Reduce heat, and simer 2 hours. Drain, reserving liquid. Fill saucepan with water. Add greens and remaining onion and garlic. Boil 6 to 10 minutes, until greens are wilted. Drain, reserving liquid. Tear greens into small pieces. To assemble: Crumble cornbread, and pack 1-inch deep in bottom of 9-inch springorm pan. Tope with layer of peas, then layer of greens. Alternate peas and greens until pan is almost full. Spread mashed potatoes on top, and brush lightly with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees until set. Combine reserved liquids, and use as optional sauce. Note: This recipe is a good way to use leftover cornbread and mashed potatoes. Serves 4 to 6. Cornbread 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion 1 tablespoon butter 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels 1/4 cup chopped pimento 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspooons baking powder 1 1/2 tablesppons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 3 tablespoons melted butter Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sauté onion in butter. Remove from heat, and add jalapeños, corn and pimento. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Combine corn and liquid mixtures, then add to dry ingredients. Dont overmix. Bake in greased 9- by 9-inch pan 25 to 30 minutes. Note: Stale cornbread works well in black-eyed pea pie, so make cornbread a few days ahead of time.