Ask the Readers: How do I make a fresh-baked breakfast without spending an hour each morning to do so?

Stephanie emailed me yesterday with this question:

I just read your Baking Day entries. I have a question that I hope you can answer. I see where you are baking things to last for a couple of weeks and was wondering if you have any suggestions about how to save time when someone like me has a very picky husband and 15-year-old son who only like fresh stuff (pancakes, muffins, etc.)?

Do you have any suggestions on how to make my "fresh baked" things any more time-saving? Would the pancake batter or muffin batter still taste the same if I refrigerated it the night before and just put it in the oven the next morning at 4:30 a.m. (my husband leaves for work at 5:30 a.m.)?

First off, I'd encourage you to perhaps discuss with your husband/son the possibility of making some fresh stuff and some frozen and re-heated stuff each week. Maybe that's not an option, but maybe you could come to a happy medium that works for everyone?

Secondly, there are many batter recipes which can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated, and then used in the morning. I'd experiment with some of your favorite muffin, pancake, waffle, and french toast batter recipes and see how they work. You might even try make a double batch up and using it for two mornings. (See some muffins recipes here to get started with ideas.)

Other recipes which work well being made ahead of time and refrigerated overnight are coffee cakes, french toast, and breakfast casseroles. You might also consider using your crockpot.

To further speed up the preparation of these recipes the night before, if you have a block of 30 minutes sometime, you might consider putting together baking mixes with the dry ingredients from your favorite muffin, pancake, coffee cake, and waffle recipes. If you know you like the recipe and you'll be making it a lot, you might as well mix up a bunch to have on hand!

Personally, if I were in your shoes and my husband left for work at 5:30 a.m., I'd likely come up with a plan where some mornings we'd do cold cereal, some mornings we'd do toast and eggs, some mornings we'd do something like waffles or coffeecake that I'd made up the night before. This way, we'd be having a nice variety of breakfasts--some which were fresh-baked--but I wouldn't have to get up an hour ahead of time or more to get them on the table!

Those are just a few of my ideas, I'd love to hear other readers' helpful input on Stephanie's question. Perhaps some of you are in a similar situation and can give some practical advice as to what has worked for you? Or if you have any delicious recipes which can be made overnight and refrigerated, please do share those as well!

Comments

[Kara]

Personally, I've made overnight cinnamon rolls. I'll get the dough ready the night before and that morning pop them into the oven. They turn out just as well for me.
What about fruit and granola (make up a big batch)? That stuff always tastes fresh.
I also make sausage rolls (when the link sausage is on sale) ever so-often. I'll fry up the sausage the night before and the next morning I take the sausage link, cut it in half, wrap it in biscuit dough, and put it in the snack master. It truly takes no time. Hope this helps!

[Lisa]

Personally, I came up with fast and easy breakfasts during the week, and then made really outstanding breakfasts on the weekends, when we could enjoy them and each other. Weekdays were healthier, grab and go type things like muffins, bananas, yogurt, cereal, peanut butter sandwiches, granola bars, good sandwiches...even leftover pizza! Weekends were eggs made to order, waffles, bacon, the works!

[fidget]

we do breakfast for dinner. All the goodness of breakfast with all the prep time of dinner. It's a win win. For a hot breakfast, assemble a sandwich and pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. Make a pot of 5 minute grits and toss in some cheese and if you are so inclined a soft boiled egg is fantastic mixed into grits. Assemble oatmeal ingrediants in a pot and stick in the fridge. the oats soaking overnight helps them cook quicker. Heat it up in the morning and nosh.

[Sally]

Something that might be helpful is to partially mix up ingredients the night before. For example: mix all the dry ingredients and all the wet ingredients. In the morning just mix the wet plus drys and continue the prep. This way you have most of the work done ahead of time.

I hope this helps!

[Jeana]

I've refrigerated and frozen all sorts of batters and mixes, and I have yet to find one that didn't work. If you freeze the batter you'll need to let it thaw in the fridge for about 24 hours or so. If I were you would hide it behind the milk--don't advertise that it's frozen, or it may affect their taste buds.

[Jennifer]

Test him out to see if is a mental thing and then point it out if it is. Give him a heated up "frozen" item and a fresh item then ask if he noticed the difference. Then you may be able to reach a compromise if he truly can't tell the difference to have a truly fresh cooked breakfast x number of mornings and the frozen alternative a few mornings.

[Davonne]

We're not big breakfast eaters, but if someone wants breakfast during the week (my daughter eats at her pre-school), we grab cereal, toast, a bagel, or fruit. We save our big breakfasts for the weekend.

Something I do is if someone in my family is really picky about a certain way something is done at home is kindly offer to let them be in charge of that job. One of two things happens every time: 1) They take over the job (this never lasts long!), and then 2) They decide the way I want to do things isn't so bad after all.

Something else I do is I don't mention that I'm going to do something a new way; I just do it and see how it goes, so that nobody has a preconceived opinion. For example, one time I changed to Aldi brand bagels without telling anyone. Nobody even noticed, and when I casually mentioned where it was from, they were surprised and agreed Aldi bagels were a good way to save a few bucks each month. Another time I decided to slip in Aldi Macoroni and Cheese. This change was immediately noticed, and we all agreed that the few extra dollars each month for Kraft were worth it. I was happy to stick with the brand we love because I knew my family truly likes that kind better; it wasn't a preconceived notion. I am suggesting that maybe, instead of telling the family about pre-made meals, just try them out (and possibly one pre-made dish with the rest fresh), and see what happens!

[Ali]

This isn't exactly "fresh-baked," but it is a FAVORITE in my house (and they only take me a few minutes to make): Breakfast Quesadillas
First, I scramble the eggs - usually 1-2 per quesadilla.
Second, I butter or spray one side of each tortilla (we use whole wheat) so that they crisp up when I cook them.
The rest is simple - fill the tortillas (butter side out) with cheese, scrambled eggs and anything else (tomato, onion, bacon, ham etc.) - pan fry them or cook on a griddle.
And there are a lot of ways to make these low fat/low cal - use egg whites only, use part-skim cheese or low-fat cheese, etc.
While not a bakery item - these are a hit in my house - especially with my very hungry husband!

[Sarah]

Hmmm, make their own breakfast?! Just a suggestion :)

[Jenn]

Crystal's baked oatmeal is easy to mix the night before and then cook in the morning, I do that one often.
Waffle and pancake batter keep okay in the fridge too - then you can just cook them fresh.
I have made bread/cinnamon rolls and froze them before the last rising - basically when you shape them then put them in the freezer right away. You can then put them in the oven before you go to bed or between 10 pm and midnight - you might have to play with how long your stuff takes to defrost and rise. Then when you get up you can just turn on the oven - the bread should have defrosted completely and risen - and then cook.
I have also made and froze breakfast burritos and my hubby hasn't noticed a difference. You might try those for your guys and see what they think. I use eggs, potatoes and some assortment of veggies and cheese.

[Karen]

There is a recipe out there for Freezer biscuits that only take 25 min. to bake from the frozen state.

[nancy]

I am learning to use the machines I have. Do you have a bread machine? You can set it to be ready when you wake up. I personally prefer to make dough in the bread machine and bake in the oven. A while ago, I made homemade cinnamon rolls and froze ½ of the batch before they rose. Later, I put the frozen rolls on a baking tray and put it in the oven before bed. I set my oven to start baking about the time we wake up. By the time I was dressed, they were ready to ice and eat.

[Lea Ann]

If my husband went to work at 5:30am, he'd be stopping at Taco Cabana for breakfast tacos. Seriously.

[Carrie]

Ha! That guy would be on his own for breakfast in my house, that's for sure. Actually, my husband is in charge of breakfast even though he doesn't get up until the kids do around 7:30.

But if you really want something fresh baked that early in the morning, there is a very easy solution: Get a bread machine and use the timer to make raisin bread, etc., overnight. I got mine for $4 at Goodwill -- there are usually plenty of them at second hand shops.

[Carole]

I agree that fresh, out of the oven baked goods are incomparable, but I'd be concerned I was putting in baking soda instead of sugar at 4:30 a.m.!!
Therefore, I vote for toasted english muffins with the pre-cooked turkey bacon (or regular bacon!), a scrambled egg, and a slice of cheese. Also, muffin or pancake batter can definitely sit overnight in the fridge (unless you use freshly ground whole wheat flour- the wheat soaks up the liquid and you have a lump on your hands- not fun!)
And may I add that I will never complain about making my hubby's oatmeal at 8:30a.m. again!! :-) (he likes it with a lot of brown sugar and a big glob of peanut butter- says he's not hungry until 2 pm!!)
Hope you get some useful advice!

[Trixie]

Hi Stephanie!

I just wanted to say you are great for wanting to get up so early with your hubby and make him something to eat. There's not many that would do it.

I bet your husband just loves it that you do this!

I grew up in a farm family; we always had "real food" breakfast early each morning. So I'll share some of the tricks my mom used when she didn't have a lot of time.

Eggs & Fried Potatoes

Each night at dinner, she would cook extra potatoes. In the morning she would dice these up (or one of us kids would) and then fried them in grease (you might not want to use grease:)

She would scramble up a bunch of eggs with milk the night before and then heat them up in the morning. You can watch the eggs at the same time you watch the potatoes. It takes 15 minutes from start to finish including dicing the potatoes.

Sometimes I make this for our dinner when I want something really quick.

Take Care,

Trixie

[Jen]

I mix the dry indredients of muffins and other baked goods in my mixing bowl the night before. Then in the morning all I have to add to it is milk, eggs, and oil. I even spray oil in the muffin tin the night before.

[Julie]

Glad to know I'm not the only one whose husband is out the door by 5:30!
Weekday mornings we have something quick such as cold cereal or breakfast bars. Since we all get to sleep a little later on weekends, that's when I make pancakes or waffles or freshly baked something. Even then, though, I mix at least the dry ingredients the night before. Some recipes I've tried making then entire batter and I don't notice a difference.

[angel]

I also dont like frozen muffins etc, but I have found that making them(biscuits, muffins, banana bread etc) the night before and leaving them out on the counter in a ziplock bag, they are still pretty fresh and ready to eat.

[paula]

I would say the crockpot is a great suggestion. I have used this idea many times. on my blogsite there is a website that is using her crockpot everyday and she has tons of recipes. I know that the crockpot makes some great breakfast foods and the hardest part is when you wake up at 3/4 and the smell will not let you go back to sleep!

[Tara]

I personally do not like things frozen and then thawed either. To me it tastes dry or something. The same goes for a loaf of bread that has been thawed. However, I have found that I 'can' freeze pancakes as long as I 'toast' them in the toaster to reheat them. I can taste no difference when I do that. Also, if a thawed loaf of bread is 'toasted' the 'once-frozen' taste is not there. I hope that helps someone!

[Sarah W]

I use a recipe called icebox gingerbread and you have to make it up the night before in order to cook it the next morning. The batter keeps for days too. :) Props to you for working so hard to love on your family!

[Becky]

Can you post the recipe for banana muffins with out sugar and using apple sauce instead of oil. I have done that for years but my banana bread recipe has sugar. Thanks Becky

[Lynn]

My husband does not like frozen waffles or pancakes either. He says it changes them too much. He does eat cold cereal quite a bit though which helps. I have a crockpot grits recipe on my site that we really like. It is easy and you cook it overnight and it is ready in the morning. Also, Recipezar has a recipe for french toast sticks that we all really like. I am tweaking the recipe a little but overall they are really good.

[Frugal.Homemaker.Plus]

I make steel cut oatmeal in my crockpot for my husband. He also leaves the house very early and I am just not awake enough to whip up a batch of muffins at 4 AM! :) (He does not insist on fresh muffins though, so we freeze waffles and pancakes often.)

Crockpots can be used for all kinds of hot breakfasts. An apple crisp is one of my husband's favorite breakfasts. Just spray the crock, cut up apples (eh, about three cups? ) and plop them in the pot. Mix 1 cup of oatmeal with a half cup of flour and cinnamon and sugar if desired. Dump that over the top of the apples, cook all night on low. It makes your house smell wonderful too!

[Mindy]

I will make a double of triple batch of muffin batter and then freeze the batter in foil muffin cups. When the batter is frozen, I put the frozen muffing in a freezer bag. I then can pull out as many frozen muffins as I want to bake at any given time. I bake them and add maybe 5-10 minutes to the baking time. This helps me a lot in the mornings as our family has breakfast together at 6:00am every weekday.

[Rebecca]

I like fresh waffles and pancakes as well. I've found if I put them in the toaster the next morning they still taste really good.

[Emily]

4:30 a.m.??? Really??? Thank goodness my husband is satisfied with grabbing a granola bar on his way out the door, and he would probably look at me like I was crazy if tried to cook him breakfast that early in the morning! Good for you, girl, but give yourself a break every once in awhile!

[kim]

here is a link for breakfast ideas using a crockpot.
http://crockpot.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/89/

[Shannon]

Martha White muffin mixes bake in 15 minutes and only take about four to mix up. We also do scrambled egg sandwiches, which can be made in a matter of minutes. On Saturdays we have pancakes, homemade. Sundays are reserved for Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, as we go to early service and are always rushing out the door.

[Jill]

I make this all of the time when I have stale bread. It can be assembled the night before no problem. Its from Cooking Light.

Berry French Toast

This dish is great for lazy mornings when you don't feel like standing at the stove. Egg-rich French toast bakes atop a mixture of sweetened berries.

2 cups frozen blueberries
1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
1 cup fat-free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 (8-ounce) loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a 13 x 9- inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine milk, vanilla, egg whites, and egg in a large, shallow baking dish, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, turning to coat. Let stand 5 minutes, turning bread occasionally. Arrange bread in a single layer over berries. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar.

Yield: 6 servings

CALORIES 374 (6% from fat); FAT 2.7g (sat 0.6g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.7g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 36mg; CALCIUM 114mg; CARBOHYDRATE 80.4g; SODIUM 300mg; PROTEIN 9.2g; FIBER 7.4g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2004

[Heather]

Like others said, I often bake muffins the night before. They aren't warm in the morning but they are still fresh, and I love muffins with fruit salad! Yum! Kudos to you for even considering getting up at 4:30. If my husband was out the door at 5:30, he'd get a goodbye kiss from bed before I went back to sleep.

[Family Focused Fun]

You might already do this but scrambled eggs are super easy and fast to make in the microwave! Just scramble them in a bowl you can microwave. One egg takes about 45 seconds or so. Adjust according to the # of eggs needed! You could probably even scramble them the night before and have them waiting with a note for how long to micro!

[Christy]

Have you tried Sue Gregg's Blender Batter waffles and muffins? She advocates blending the whole grains in your blender with kefir the night before, then letting it sit on the counter overnight (this breaks down the grain so you can benefit from the nutrients better). Wake up and cook the next morning!
http://www.suegregg.com/recipes/breakfasts/blenderbatterwaffles/blenderbatterwafflesA.htm

[Daielle]

I am a nurse and I work part-time. My husband gets up @ 5:30 am, he's on his own for breakfast. The kids get up @ 7:30 am they are offered cereal, yogurt, toast, fruit and/or a granola bar. We have breakfast for dinner about once a week and I make a big breakfast on Sat or Sun morning.

[Danielle]

I have refrigerated pancake batter (made from scratch) overnight. IMO, it lost a lot of the airy-ness & bubbles that made the pancakes so fluffy to begin with....

It's always worth a try though!

[Katharine]

How are you reheating the prebaked frozen items?? microwaves do make it taste different (to me).
Another option is to defrost overnight then pop it in the TOASTER OVEN for a few minutes in the morning. That tastes just as good as fresh (to us!) It has something to do with the outer crust.
For biscuits, rolls, etc. you can try baking it just until cooked, not browned. Then freeze. You will reheat that in the toaster oven too, completing the baking at that time.

Also, as suggested above, throw some leftovers (rice, pasta, potato) and chopped veggies (onion, green pepper) in a skillet with a few eggs and cheese. Its a nice quick breakfast.

[Need A Nap2]

I have noticed a slight taste change in pancakes but muffins were fine after being frozen. I would highly suggest Crystal's baked oatmeal recipe. It would be perfect if you've NEVER made it before. :) Cook it the night before then heat single serving portion in microwave, add milk, and brown sugar and serve. Since they've never had it fresh, they won't know a difference!

[Amy @ Goo Goo Buy Buy]

Here's a quick treat that I like to make for breakfast some mornings - stuffed croissants.

1) Take a package of crescent rolls. Unroll and divide into cresents.

2) Put a slice of ham (or bacon or Canadian bacon) and a slice of cheese at the long end of each crescent roll.

3) Roll up and bake according to package directions.

These take only 12 minutes to cook. And you can prepare them in the time it takes for the oven to preheat. My husband loves when I send him out the door with these, as most mornings he only has time for cereal or instant oatmeal.

You could add anything you and your family like to your stuffed croissants - spinach, broccoli, turkey, pepperoni and pasta sauce. My toddler just happens to be picky, so we stick with ham and cheese.

[Lana]

My family doesn't like premade frozen stuff either. I just stick the weekend for those things and I don't feel guilty about it. You have to reach a place where it is okay not to be super mom/wife.

[Trina]

If you are interested in freshly baked food in the morning, I have to agree with those who mention a bread machine. You can get them nearly brand new for very little money at a thrift store. You just put the ingredients in the night before and by the time you wake up it is either done baking or ready to be put into the oven depending on how you chose to do it. There are a ton or recipes online. If you have a crockpot, I have heard that you can use it to bake bread as well. My crockpot turns itself to warm when it is done cooking. It is a lifesaver! However, if I had to cook at 4:30 am, my husband would be eating poptarts.

[Natalie]

I make my muffin batter and pour it into the paper cups in the muffin tin. I put the whole thing in the freezer and once the batter is frozen, I place the paper cups of frozen batter into a freezer bag.

Whenever we want fresh muffins, I pop the desired number into the muffin tin (still frozen!) and cook the muffins for about ten minutes longer than usual. Quick, easy, and sooo good!

[clarice]

I talk a lot about baking muffins, scones, ect. off frozen from the freezer. I make huge batches of muffins and keep them unbaked in my freezer. They only take 5 minutes or so longer. Clarice-who can taste the freezer taste from baked goods defrosted to !!!!

[Melissa]

I loke making a big batch of waffle or pancake batter on the weekends. but my little guys really don't eat that much yet. I put the leftover batter in the fridge, and I am able to make fresh waffles or pancakes during the week. It is a huge timesaver, and I feel so very domestic to serve fresh waffles to my boys! :)

[Kelly]

Seriously? My husband would be making his own breakfast. In our house, breakfast is cereal, fruit, oatmeal or frozen waffles. A fresh cooked breakfast is lovely, but that is a weekend thing.

[Finance Girl]

Wow, you've got to be kidding me! I mean, that's cool if you want to make breakfast, but even my 9-year-old has been fixing his own breakfast since kindergarten! We only do stuff like this on the weekends.

[Honey]

I love crockpot oatmeal. You use steel cut oats (very important) and the next morning you have a steaming hot pot of oatmeal! There is a recipe online at "About.com busy cooks: slow cooker oatmeal". Another thought is boiled eggs. Boil the the night before, peel them and then you can either make egg salad then or the next morning. Serve on freah toast. And eggs can be cooked in the microwave. I found the key to be to use a shallower dish, heat in small increments, and stir frequently. Top with cheese, salsa(maybe not at 5am), or whatever you like. Carnation instant breakfast or a smoothy are quick. One other thought is quiche. If you make a crustless quiche, then it doesn't taste any better the day of. Even if you use a pie crust, it microwaves pretty well. Serve that with melon or berries and juice.

[Cherilyn]

It is wonderful of you to want to please your husband in this way. For my kids, we have a "get what you get and don't throw a fit" rule - and they are 9 and 13! My husband too, is a very picky eater - I sympathize.

I have made 6-week Bran Muffins before. They are really good! The batter keeps in the fridge for 6 weeks - if it lasts that long. Here is the link: http://www.recipezaar.com/37575

[Kaylea]

If you have a toaster oven, you might try heating your baked goods up in it for just a few minutes after they're defrosted -- I find that microwaving makes baked items rather tough, and just defrosting in the fridge or on the counter seems to make them soggy.

[Julie C]

If you have an electric oven with a time bake feature, you can prepare a 9 x 13 breakfast casserole that is supposed to set over night in the fridge but you let the 9 x 13 set in the oven in a 10x 15 baking dish with a small layer of ice cubes underneath.

It will keep the casserole chilled and the ice slowly melts overnight; the water creates a hot water bath and it steams a bit while baking to keep the casserole extra moist.

Do not put too many ice cubes in the lower baking dish or ice cubes will slowly melt into the egg casserole as I found out one morning--oops!

Love the idea of doing a taste test to see which item was fresh baked and which was reheated. Maybe reheated in the oven for a couple minutes would be better? I'd set my oven on timed baked again so it was preheated by the time I got to the kitchen.

We set up our coffee maker the night before, too.

Microwave scrambled eggs work in a pinch.