Breakfast Sundays with Lodge Cast Iron: Buttermilk Biscuits with Maple-Sage Sausage Gravy AND Twisted Cinnamon Strawberry Bread

These recipes were made using Lodge Cast Iron:
15" Cast Iron Skillet
3 1/2" Cast Iron Skillet 
Cast Iron Mini Cake Pan 
Cast Iron Loaf Pan 

Buttermilk Biscuits with Maple-Sage Sausage Gravy

Buttermilk Biscuits
INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons butter, diced and chilled
1 cup buttermilk, cold, plus more for brushing

PROCESS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add diced chilled butter into the bowl and mix together, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. After the bowl is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and begin breaking the butter into smaller pieces with your hands until it is distributed throughout the dry mixture creating a dough. Drizzle the buttermilk over the dough and mix until just combined. The dough may seem a little dry and shaggy at this point, this will create a flakier biscuit.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface, dusting the top of the dough with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough until it is about 1” thick. Using a 2-3” biscuit cutter or glass cup, begin punching out your biscuits. Place biscuits 1” apart onto a baking tray. Brush with a little buttermilk and bake until golden about 10-15 minutes.

Maple + Sage Sausage gravy
INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground sausage, maple or mild
½ onion, minced
4 oz. butter
4 oz. flour
32 oz. milk
2 sprigs sage, chopped
salt and pepper

PROCESS
In a deep medium pot over medium heat brown the sausage. Once the sausage is cooked, remove the meat from the pan and discard the rendered fat. In the same pot, add butter and onions and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent. Once the onions are cooked stir in flour and cook for 3-5 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until incorporated. Turn the heat down to medium-low and return sausage to the pot, along with chopped sage, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes until the gravy has thickened.

Serve warm biscuits topped with maple and sage sausage gravy.

Twisted Cinnamon Strawberry Bread
Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole milk, warmed 110f
1/2 cup sugar
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 pinches kosher salt
3 eggs
6 ½ cups all purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup strawberry preserve, or any preserve of choice
4 tablespoons butter, melted

PROCESS
Begin by warming milk, sugar, salt to 110F. Once milk is warmed, add yeast and let bloom for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and the warmed milk mixture together. Add the flour and whisk to combine, set aside and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Pour melted butter over the bowl, and knead into to the dough for a few minutes. Let dough rest for 45 minutes.

While the dough is resting, mix together granulated sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

On a floured surface begin to roll dough trying to maintain a square shape, about 1” thick. Cut into six even strips. In a medium size bowl, add 4 of the strips. Drizzle over a little over half of the melted butter and mix together. Add the cinnamon sugar mix over top and toss together until each strip is coated.

In another medium size bowl, add the remaining 2 strips and drizzle with the rest of the melted butter. Add the strawberry preserves and toss until each strip is coated.

On a work surface, take 2 sugar coated dough strips and 1 strawberry preserve coated dough strips and lay them out. Begin to braid the 3 strips together trying to keep the strawberry coated strip in the center. Place the braided dough into a buttered loaf pan and repeat with remaining dough. Let the loaves rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes until golden and internal temp has reached 190 degrees.

Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before transferring the loaves to a rack to continue cooling. Slice and enjoy.