Not Just Another Loaf (alternate uses for bread dough)

Sure, you can always make a nice loaf of bread out of bread dough, but I like to use it for more than just bread. Historically, I have made most of these recipes using frozen bread dough, but since I have found my own favorite homemade bread dough, I have been using it to make most of these recipes. You can find my bread recipe here.

Sticky Rolls - These oooey goooey rolls made with butterscotch pudding and more are a delicious treat for the morning. You can find my recipe here.

Pizza Dough - I actually have not tried this yet with my bread dough, but I enjoy using bread dough to make pizza. With frozen dough, I simply set it out in the microwave in the morning and roll it out for pizza when I get home. I use a can of tomato sauce to which I add some Italian herbs for the sauce and then top with our favorite toppings and cheese. The family thinks it is a great treat to have homemade pizza, and I personally just think it tastes better!

Hamburger Buns - I found that if I rolled out my bread dough to about 1/2" - 3/4" thickness and used a small bowl to cut the bread that I could make rolls that easily sliced into hamburger buns. I rolled and cut after the first rise of the dough (or when thawed if using frozen dough). What I like best is that I can use a different size bowl to cut, depending on what I am making. Pork Tenderloins - roll the dough thinner and cut bigger circles. Hamburgers - roll the dough to 1/2" thickness and cut out with a medium size circle. Slider - roll the dough to 3/4" thickness and cut with a cup. Allow the dough to rise on your baking sheet for 30 minutes. Then bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until just golden.

Breadsticks - I found a recipe a while back, in a magazine I think, for Parmesan Breadsticks. We have adapted it to use a number of different cheeses to go with our meal of the day. We have had it with Mozzarella and Parmesan. It only uses 1/2# of dough, so when I make the bread dough, I either make a 1# loaf with the remaining dough or one time I even made hamburger buns! I'd like to figure out if I can freeze before the rise and then thaw and rise when we want them. That would be very convenient. I just haven't had a chance to experiment with freezing yet. We'd also like to try them as larger bread sticks, these are crunchy, but I think that if we made half as many that they could be a little more doughy. Again, I haven't tried this yet, but have been considering it.

Cheesy Breadsticks
1/2# of bread dough
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Combine and separate into 28 balls. Roll each ball into a 6" log. Place on a baking sheet and let rise for 15 minutes. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and bake at 450 for 12 to 15 minutes.

Using bread dough to make other treats works for me!

This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday.