Ranch French Bread and Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Brenda had asked for the recipes for my Ranch French Bread and Sweet Potato Oven Fries. They’re here in the kitchen in other places, but I decided to post them again here. This way, I can include my recipe for Ranch Dressing Mix, which I prefer to the store-bought in any recipe which calls for the dry mix. It works just fine and is much cheaper.

I have found the Ranch French Bread makes a huge hit with everyone who tastes it. I’ve taken it to our monthly church potlucks several times now and it always disappears! I cut the loaves in half and keep the half loaves in the freezer -- always ready when we need bread to accompany a soup or salad. Here’s the recipe:

RANCH FRENCH BREAD

1 1/4 cups warm water
4 Tblsp. buttermilk powder
2 Tblsp. canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tblsp. ranch dressing mix
1 tsp. salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine. Choose the dough setting and press the start button.

When dough is finished, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Roll each portion into a 14-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck the ends under. Place seam side down on a parchment-lined (or greased) baking sheet. With a sharp knife, make 5 shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush lightly with butter. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Yield: 2 loaves

I adapted this recipe (which originally made 4 loaves) so I could make the dough in the bread machine. I love the way the machine produces perfectly kneaded, perfectly risen dough to work with.

We were pleased with how wonderfully this bread turned out. It’s delicious, with a lovely texture.

And here’s the recipe for the dressing mix:

RANCH DRESSING MIX

2 Tblsp. plus 2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 Tblsp. dried parsley flakes
2 1/2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in airtight container -- a jar, tin, or small plastic container would work well. For each packet of ranch dressing mix called for in a recipe, use 1 Tblsp. of this mix.


The oven fries are more of a technique than a recipe. There is a recipe for them in, if I remember right, the newest Simple & Delicious magazine. But I just adapted a recipe for regular oven fries to make these. We loved them.

SWEET POTATO OVEN FRIES

This is what I did to serve the 2 of us. You could surely double, triple or quadruple the ingredients to serve your group.

1 large sweet potato
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup flavored dry bread crumbs
1 Tblsp. Parmesan cheese
Dash or two of salt
Dash of cayenne pepper

Peel the sweet potato and cut into wedges. The sweet potato I had was quite large, so I cut it into thirds horizontally and then cut each third into 8 wedges. Place the wedges in a ziplock bag -- I recommend the gallon size -- with the olive oil; seal the bag and shake well to coat the wedges with oil. Then add the remaining ingredients to the bag; seal and shake again so the wedges are coated lightly with the crumb mixture. Arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350º for 50 to 60 minutes.

And there are your recipes, Brenda (and anyone else who would like them). Enjoy!