Scratch baking includes making recipes from scratch ingredients. This means no pre-processed ingredients or frozen ingredients. Most commonly, this is probably what type of baking you saw your grandma using while you were growing up. Not only is scratch baking fun, it is healthier for you. If you have an interest in scratch baking, here are the top recipes you should try. 

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

Mayo may not be the first ingredient you think of when making a cake. But adding it to this recipe makes for a decadent cake. Mayonnaise is basically just oil and eggs, which is used in just about every cake recipe so don’t be scared to try it out in your next dessert. 

A scratch recipe that doesn’t require active yeast might be a good place to start in your scratch baking journey. This cake can be made with just a few simple ingredients including cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, vanilla, flour, mayo and water. 

Yeast Rolls

One of the most popular scratch baking recipes is using yeast to make homemade bread. Yeast rolls are a great addition to a winter soup or for a summer BBQ. If you are feeling adventurous, adding applesauce to your recipe can add a unique tangy flavor to your rolls. 

Homemade bread of any kind will require kneading and will need time to let the yeast rise. Plan accordingly to let your bread rise for about an hour. 

Skillet Herb Bread

Once you have started making your bread from scratch, you can try adding other ingredients and testing your skills with that. This herb bread recipe can include celery, peppers, sage, thyme, onion or whatever else excites your taste buds. 

This particular recipe could be made with active yeast or without. Cooking it in a skillet in the oven helps it to have a crust and will ensure that the middle, which can feature some extra wet ingredients, gets cooked thoroughly.

Banana-Zucchini Bread

This recipe is a great one to make this summer because zucchini is in season. Banana bread and zucchini bread are great recipes on their own, but put them together and you have an amazing combination of flavor. The loaf can be great to serve with a meal or as a homemade snack for your kids. 

Zucchini can be used in other scratch recipes as well, if you find yourself with an abundance of it. Cupcakes can be an interesting one to try your hand at. 

Breadsticks

Breadsticks can be simple, or dressed up to impress your taste testers. Homemade breadsticks are similar to homemade bread in the fact that you will need to let the dough rise, then just shape them into thinner shapes. Breadsticks can be made with herbs added to the dough, cheesy garlic on top or served with a homemade dipping sauce.

The trick to this recipe is to make sure your breadsticks come out fluffy and not too dense. Another tip is to not follow the measurement of flour as the end all be all. Some temperatures can affect how much flour the bread will need. The best way to tell is to just look at your dough, if it is lifting from the sides of your bowl when mixing, then you have used enough flour. Correctly floured bread will be soft, smooth and slightly tacky. 

Spinach and Artichoke Quiche

A properly made quiche is sure to impress at a summer brunch. Making a quiche is another basic from scratch recipe that doesn’t require yeast. Making the bottom crust just requires flour and the filling is made with creamy parmesan, artichoke hearts, 6 large eggs and tons of seasoning. 

Butter Biscuits

A popular comfort food and simple baking recipe. Biscuits are more known for being dense, but they can still be tender and fluffy and have those biscuit characteristics. Getting golden tops on your biscuits comes from brushing the tops with either an egg wash or butter. 

When mixing your dough, the key to fluffy biscuits is to use chilled butter. This will help it not to melt as quickly into the dough and keep the biscuits from being greasy. Higher temperatures for your oven will also help the dough to rise evenly. 

Pita Bread

If you have some extra time to prepare, this bread recipe can be great for you. Pita bread dough can be made ahead of time and even left in the freezer. Made from scratch pita bread is way better than store bought and can be made fairly easily. You can cook pita bread in the oven or in a skillet on your stove top. 

Pita can be made with other flavorings and oils that can make it more interesting. The flat bread is usually dipped in something, but adding garlic or Italian seasoning can be delicious. 

Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is a great summer treat and uses cake flour instead of regular flour. Before you try to flip your cake, you will need to let it cool for at least 20 minutes before you invert it. If your cake comes out dense, don’t worry! These cakes will be more dense because of the fruit and weight of the topping. 

Keep in mind that you need to remove the cake before the fruit totally hardens and sticks to the pan. 

Scratch Baking With Kitchen Kneads

We want all people to experience the joy of baking. Scratch baking may seem intimidating but we are here to give you all the tools you need to make it work for you. With any new hobby comes some stumbling blocks and a learning curve. Kitchen Kneads offers cooking classes to help bakers of all skill levels to learn a new recipe. 

Kitchen Kneads works hard to listen to our customers and continue to offer quality ingredients nationwide. Our goal is to help people across the nation enjoy cooking and bring quality dishes to their families. We continually improve our standards and share our love for our products and store with you. Contact us today or check out what cooking classes we are offering here.

An All-American summer holiday, the 4th of July is a popular time to host a backyard BBQ and family get together. July 4th cookouts usually include patriotic desserts, summer food favorites and grilled foods to cover the table. If you are looking for some inspiration on what to bring to the party or how to impress your guests, Kitchen Kneads has all the ingredients, spices and foods you need to make it happen. 

For the best BBQ you may have to come up with some creative food options. If you are at a loss for what to make, here are some recipes and inspiration to help. 

1- Chips And Salsa

This popular appetizer is a crowd favorite all year round, but summer time is a great time to try other veggie or fruit flavored salsa’s. Kitchen Kneads has a Black Bean Corn Salsa and a Peach Salsa to add to your party platter. Another great way to add some extra spice to the food line up is to bake your own tortilla chips with different seasonings. 

2- Homemade Pie

The American classic of homemade apple pie is an important part of a 4th of July party. Even if you choose to go with a different filling, pies are a popular dessert for all occasions. Fruit pies are best for the summer because there is easy access to in season produce and fruit.

You can get extra festive with a decorative pie crust. Cut out stars or create an American flag with the filling or crust!

3- Loaded Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are a common outdoor cookout food but there is a way for you to upgrade just a basic hot dog or brat. Topping a grilled or smoked hot dog with chili, sautéed onions, bacon, jalapenos and cheddar cheese, pickled vegetables, tomato salsa, and common condiments can dress up a classic. 

4- Squash Fricassee

Summer squash is a popular vegetable that grows during the summer time. Zucchini, spaghetti squash, or even eggplant can be used to make a summer fricassee. This dish is a cross between a saute and a stew. It is a light dish that can be made with more spice or without and uses lots of squash, tomatoes, corn and you can add a protein. 

5- Potato Salad

Macaroni or potato salad is an easy side dish for potlucks and cook outs. This may not be the fanciest dish, but there are multiple different recipes that include red or yellow potatoes, topped with paprika, add eggs and bacon or include vegetables. 

6- Cornbread

Flavored cornbread can be another side dish to include in your 4th of July cookout. Making cornbread from scratch, or just from a box mixed can be made with additives such as jalapenos, crumbled sausage, basil, or cheddar cheese. 

7- Pulled Pork Sandwiches

BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are a staple for summer time. 4th of July cookouts can feature multiple entree options, but this one is sure to be a favorite. Using a homemade BBQ sauce is a sure way that guests will be asking for the recipe. 

Making BBQ sauce can be easy with Kitchen Kneads with ingredients such as apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, corn syrup and more. We have quality ingredients to make a hearty sauce for the whole family. 

8- Red, White And Blue Desserts

Patriotic desserts are traditional and an easy way to add some flare to your outdoor feast. Some popular desserts are red, white and blue M&M’s which can be baked into cookies or brownies. Adding some color to these popular desserts are easy but are sure to be a hit with children and adults alike. 

Chocolate coated pretzels, red, white and blue popsicles, or fruit pizza are other popular options. 

July 4th Cookout With Kitchen Kneads

Kitchen Kneads started in 1973, and with over 40 years of experience, Utah trusts us to provide them with gadgets, trusted and local ingredients and the skills they need to be successful in the kitchen. We share our love for products, recipes and our store with our customers. Our community can improve with the joy of baking and cooking.

Kitchen Kneads works with and sells brands such as, Kamut, Nesco, Salt City Nut Company, Torani, Wilton, Wonder Mill and more. This gives you a broad range of ingredients and flavors to choose from and experiment with. 

We are open Monday through Saturday and offer shopping for ingredients online as well. We look forward to serving you and helping you learn more about cooking and baking. If you want to practice or learn more, we offer cooking classes for those of all skill levels. You can sign up here and learn more about scratch baking!

At Kitchen Kneads we want all of our customers to feel that they have the skills to create amazing dishes. Cooking and baking take lots of trial and error and could be frustrating to learn. That’s why we offer cooking classes all year long for all different foods, skill levels and seasons. 

Two of our upcoming classes feature the basics of bread baking and a sourdough bread class. Both of which can use scratch baking techniques, that here at Kitchen Kneads is important to us. We have provided some more information about scratch baking and our classes to help people learn more about this hobby.  

What Is Scratch Baking?

Scratch baking refers to when you don’t use a mix to make your baked foods, but rather, make them “from scratch”. Now, we don’t mean you need to go and grow your own yeast, but rather, just the raw ingredients that you can pick up at any store, including here at Kitchen Kneads, and then combine in order to make your pastries or breads.

There are simple and complex recipes that involve scratch baking, so you can start where you feel comfortable. Scratch baking does require finesse though and if not done correctly, can result in dry cakes or breads. 

For scratch baking you will need to have the right ingredients before beginning, use the right baking temperature, and measure ingredients correctly. You can learn more in depth techniques from our blog. 

More About Bread

Bread comes in thousands of different shapes, sizes, flavors and textures. Breads are classified by flour and leaveners that react together to give them their porous and tender quality. Leaveners come in the form of baking powder, baking soda and yeast. Baking powder and soda work quicker than yeast. 

Yeast is a live, single-celled fungus. The organism lives dormant until it is activated by warm water and once reactivated, yeast begins to feed on the sugars in flour. This is what makes bread rise. 

One important step for making bread with yeast is the proof. Letting your dough proof helps the yeast to create bubbles and rise. Let the dough double in size and then use your knuckles to punch the dough down. Then you will start the second proof inside the pan that you will be baking the bread in. 

Basics Class

If you ever crave the experience and taste of homemade bread but can’t seem to get the results you want, come take our basic bread class. Alan will show you tips and tricks and overall knacks in the kitchen for making the best loaf of bread. The basic bread making class will help you “rise to the occasion” and is being held at our Ogden location on August 6th at 10 a.m. 

Sourdough Baking Class

Our sourdough class will focus on the process of just sourdough bread from start to finish. This bread has been around through the ages and is a very popular bread type so “get started on sourdough” with Kitchen Kneads. The class will also be held at our Ogden location on October 24th at 2 p.m. 

You can purchase seats on our website for all of our cooking classes. 

Host An Event

If you are wanting to participate in a cooking class but are wanting to have a more personal experience with family and friends, you can host your own! Kitchen Kneads can take away the stress and mess of planning a party. Let us know how many people are in your group and we will design a special event that meets your budget and expectations. 

Our menus for private events have options of Thai, French, Indian and Italian. Private events can fit parties up to 25 people and we take care of the set-up and clean up. This is a great opportunity for corporate functions, team building activities or having a family get together. 

To customize your event you can email us at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. 

More About Kitchen Kneads

Kitchen Kneads is your one stop shop for quality grains, flour, kitchen appliances and other ingredients. We have a wide selection of chocolate, baking flour, nuts and other baking ingredients. Helping you to have a beautiful cooking experience is a priority to us here at Kitchen Kneads. Join us to learn more about cooking and baking and expand your knowledge of ingredients. 

If you want to learn more about the brands we carry or see our other cooking classes, head to our website.