Ideas for easy brunch bread--not sweet

[lantana]

I need you all to help me brainstorm.

We have a group of friends over for Sunday brunch once a month. DH likes to cook eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, and canned biscuits from the tube package. We put out a bowl of fruit and some baked goods with coffee first so people won't get too hungry before brunch hits the table. We had about 18 people yesterday.

Here's the problem. The biscuits were just a pain to monitor at the end of the cooking session. For 18, I was switching pans in our dollhouse-sized oven and generally tweaking the pan arrangement for the cooking time. Yes, cooking time is only 10 minutes, but it wasn't what I wanted to be doing.

Is there a bread I can make ahead (either the day before or early in the a.m. the day of) and then reheat gently in the oven before serving. I would like something more plain, so that it could be served with butter and jam. Toast is out of the question for this number of folks. I was initially considering a large skillet of Irish soda bread, made earlier in the morning and then reheated, but I am open to suggestions.

Thanks,

Alice

[Sue1]

How about a brown soda bread? Pretty easy to put together and can be made earlier in in the morning or night before and heated up?


2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
2 cups whole wheat flour (about 9 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450∞.
Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Add buttermilk to flour mixture; stir until blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times. Shape dough into an 8-inch round loaf; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut a 1/4-inch-deep X in the top of the dough.

Bake at 450∞ for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400∞ (do not remove bread from oven); bake 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 12 servings

[wallycat]

I've posted an unsweetened cornbread recipe that is easy and tasty. You could also think about savory muffins....
I've made pumpkin/bacon muffins with cream cheese.
The spinach parm muffins from Eating Well also taste great.
Not sure if that is too much egg/cheese with what you plan to serve.
What about corn tortillas as a side..........chip or otherwise.

[sfarler]

Here is a way to make toast for a crowd that my SIL told me about years ago.

You just butter one side of bread slices and brown them butter side down on a griddle or a large skillet. They toast like a grilled cheese sandwich (without the cheese) and you can flip them once they are browned and brown the other side that doesn't have butter on it as well. I've made this for a crowd and just stack several slices of buttered bread onto the griddle and just keep flipping so none get too brown.

You can hold the bread for some time doing it this way. And when you serve it the bread is already buttered and ready for jam or honey or can be eaten plain.