Bread Cones

Bread Cones.... I came across this recipe a few weeks ago and I bookmarked it immediately! As you well know by now, I just love trying out new bread recipes. The idea of bread cones...now that is ingenious! I thought it was the neatest thing ...we actually have a sandwich shop in town called the Staggering Ox. It sells all sorts of sandwiches made out of hollowed out bread. The bread is baked in cans and the inside is scooped out. It is then filled with various fillings. So when I came across the Bread Cone Recipe, I instantly knew I would try it. I thought it was so elegant and pretty...perfect for bridal showers, birthday parties, reunions, potlucks, picnics or any other special occasion. You will notice that I have http://www.cookingbread.com/ in my helpful links. Take a look at some of their recipes....they have some really good ones!

The nicest part is that they have step-by-step photos. They also have another site called http://www.thekneadforbread.com/. The bread cone recipe with step-by-step photos can be found here. I wasn't going to list the ingredients nor the directions to this recipe... since they have step-by-step instructions on their sites. But, I thought it would be good to show you that it can be done!

For this recipe, I stayed true to the original recipe and didn't change a thing! Ok, I admit that I didn't have the cream horn tubes that are essential for this recipe. I once saw an alternative for making cream horns without the tubes in a Cuisine at Home magazine. They used ice cream sugar cones and wrapped them in aluminum foil. Now, I wasn't going to go buy any ice cream cones to make this. So, I came up with using card stock paper... actually they were fliers that I received in the mail :)!I formed cones and then I wrapped them in aluminum foil. They worked like a charm... I was sooo happy! Make sure you grease the aluminum foil well and they will come right out with no problem. I had so much fun making these cute bread cones...they were delicious! I filled them with my own version of tuna salad...but you can fill them with whatever filling you like. You will need to stuff them well so they reach the bottom of the cone. I loved the bread flavor....an awesome recipe that I highly recommend! The recipe makes 8 large bread cones...I think next time I would like to make a smaller version...make 16 instead. Let me know if you try them.

You will need: adapted from www.thekneadforbread.com

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3 1/2 to 4 cups bread flour (I used only 3 1/2)

Egg wash:
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Pour the milk and water into a saucepan and heat to a scald.Pour this into a large bowl (I used my kitchen aid bowl since I was going to knead it using the mixer), allow to cool to lukewarm. Add in the oil, sugar and salt; mix with a wooden spoon till well blended.

Add in the beaten egg and 2 cups of flour; mix till smooth with a wooden spoon.

Add in the instant yeast and mix.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes uncovered. Now, start to slowly add in more flour. I added 1 1/2 cups...a total of 3 1/2 cups of flour. I used my Kitchen Aid to do the mixing...I kneaded the dough for 6-8 minutes. Add a tablespoon of oil to a clean bowl and place the dough into the bowl. Turn over a few times to lightly coat all sides of the dough with the oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest till the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, make the cones. That is if you don't have any. If you do...ah, take a break:)

Make the cones out of card stock paper material or fliers that are a bit more sturdier.

Tape the cones and then cover them well with aluminum foil, so that no paper shows.

Set them aside.

Remove dough and knead a few time to release the gas. Now cut the dough into 8 pieces.

Use a scale to make sure each piece is equal in weight(I didn't do this since I don't have a scale). Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. Take each piece of dough and roll into a 36 inch rope.

Roll the dough ropes around the greased 6 inch cream horn tubes.

Place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg glaze. Sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds(or both).

Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes in a warm environment.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 - 22 minutes or till golden brown(mine took about 18 minutes).

Place onto a wire rack and allow to cool for a couple minutes before removing the tubes.

Fill them with your favorite filling and enjoy!