Hey there, friends. I'm glad Christmas dinner is out of the way. We had baked ham. I make this bread for ham sandwiches. It's really good with honey mustard.

The recipe was a Pillsbury Bake-Off winner in 1960, and it has made the rounds of suburbia ever since. You'll find it in most of those church lady cookbooks. The method here is right from the Bake Off Cookbook. I

Dilly Casserole Bread

2 to 2 2/3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons instant minced onion or 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 package dry yeast
1 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup water
1 egg
Melted butter
Coarse salt


Combine 1 cup of the flour, sugar, onion, dill, salt, baking soda and yeast. Blend well. In a saucepan, heat cottage cheese, water and 1 tablespoon butter until very warm. Add warm liquid and egg to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.

By hand, stir in remaining 1 to 1 2/3 cups flour to form a stiff batter. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a cloth towel. Let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour. Stir down. Place in a well-greased 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole (or loaf pan). Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven about 35 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Immediately remove from the casserole. Place on a wire rack. Brush warm loaf with melted butter. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Speaking of coarse salt, here is my pretzel bread recipe for soft pretzels or rolls. It makes great hamburger buns. The crust is shiny and brown from the pre-cooking in soda water (like a bagel). Yes, that's a lot of baking soda, but put some vinegar in the water when you're ready to pour it out, and it will clean your drain.

Soft Pretzels

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 cup water
2 tablespoons milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 - 3 cups flour (part whole wheat)
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4 quarts water
1/2 cup baking soda

Add yeast, water, milk, brown sugar and butter into a large bowl, whisking until all ingredients are combined. Let mixture rest for 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Mix in kosher salt. Start by adding two cups of the flour to the bowl, combining it with other ingredients. Add more flour as it’s needed, reserving just a bit for coating the dough mat later.
The dough should form a slightly tacky, but firm ball. Oil the bowl, place the dough ball in the bowl, and cover with a damp towel for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, knead the dough by hand or machine for at least 5-10 minutes until the dough is elastic and satiny. Place dough back in the bowl and re-cover to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.
Remove the dough from the bowl and gently degas it. Form two separate balls of dough, forming them into the shape you want. Drop one of the smaller balls into the baking soda bath for no longer than 30 seconds, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with second ball of dough.
Sprinkle the kosher salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and make sure to use a knife to cut a small incision on the top of the bread so the dough has somewhere to expand.
Cook the bread for 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once.
Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the tops to guarantee a soft crust.

Bread machine: Throw it all in the machine in the order listed and run the dough cycle. At the end of the cycle form and bake the dough.

Don't put too much coarse salt on them, a little goes a long way.