Finally warming up enough to pull out the pool.....
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Making Bread
Nearly a year ago we learned this great recipe for making bread--from start to finish in less than an hour. I've been wanting to try it since then, but didn't want to without a KitchenAid or a Bosch. That's what makes it so fast, having a machine to do the mixing. So, I recently got a KitchenAid and I've been making bread like crazy since. Not only does it make great bread (white or wheat), but you can make a zillion other things with it. Anything you would do with a bread dough, this works perfectly for. Cinnamon Rolls, Dinner and Desert Braids, Rolls, Hamburber Buns, etc. Last week I even made some large wheat rolls and we had BBQ Pork Sandwhiches on them. Tomorrow I'm going to make a batch of breadsticks to go with dinner.
So here is the website, Pantry Secrets, where you can buy supplies or get more information. I borrowed the DVD from a friend and would have to say it's worth the $20. Especially if you don't live close enough to go to a class.
I'll share the recipe on here as well. This recipe makes 4 loafs. I cut it in half though because that much won't fit in my KitchenAid, and we wouldn't eat 4 loafs before they went stale.
10 1/2 cups of white Bread Flour (don't use all purpose)
1/2 cup of Sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Rounded Tablespoons Saf-instant yeast
3 Tablespoons of Liquid Lecithin (This is a natural soy/vegtable based product found at your local health food store. It's too sticky to measure, so you guestimate. A Tablespoon is a puddle about the size of a quarter.)
4 cups hot tap water.
Mix dry incredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, dd more water. If dough is too moist, add more flour. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let raise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe but add one cup of applesauce as part of the hot tap water. Mix for 10 minutes.
The DVD teaches you how to do the basic bread, and then how to make a whole bunch of other things. You can use this dough for pizza, breadsticks, tortillas, calzones, scones and really a ton of other things. One Sunday I made 12 cinnamon rolls with what would be 1 loaf of bread for breakfast, and then made dinner rolls with the other loaf. Amazing.
We've decided that we like the wheat bread the best, but the white bread is still really good. I'll have to find my camera and add pictures of the wheat rolls. They were so yummy! I did acidently put in 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 cup (I was making 1/2 the recipe) so they were probably a little sweeter than usual, but they were really so good.
So here is the website, Pantry Secrets, where you can buy supplies or get more information. I borrowed the DVD from a friend and would have to say it's worth the $20. Especially if you don't live close enough to go to a class.
I'll share the recipe on here as well. This recipe makes 4 loafs. I cut it in half though because that much won't fit in my KitchenAid, and we wouldn't eat 4 loafs before they went stale.
10 1/2 cups of white Bread Flour (don't use all purpose)
1/2 cup of Sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 Rounded Tablespoons Saf-instant yeast
3 Tablespoons of Liquid Lecithin (This is a natural soy/vegtable based product found at your local health food store. It's too sticky to measure, so you guestimate. A Tablespoon is a puddle about the size of a quarter.)
4 cups hot tap water.
Mix dry incredients. Add lecithin and water. Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, dd more water. If dough is too moist, add more flour. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add water or flour to the dough after it has finished mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. Let raise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe but add one cup of applesauce as part of the hot tap water. Mix for 10 minutes.
The DVD teaches you how to do the basic bread, and then how to make a whole bunch of other things. You can use this dough for pizza, breadsticks, tortillas, calzones, scones and really a ton of other things. One Sunday I made 12 cinnamon rolls with what would be 1 loaf of bread for breakfast, and then made dinner rolls with the other loaf. Amazing.
We've decided that we like the wheat bread the best, but the white bread is still really good. I'll have to find my camera and add pictures of the wheat rolls. They were so yummy! I did acidently put in 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 1/4 cup (I was making 1/2 the recipe) so they were probably a little sweeter than usual, but they were really so good.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Handy Man
The garbage disposal hasn't been working for the past week. Some glass got down in there and it got turned on before all the glass was out. The first suggestion was to take the disposal out and shake the glass loose. After working for HOURS trying to get the disposal off, we both got frustrated and went and did other things for awhile. Morgan called for something else and I asked him what he thought. He told us to use a Hex wrench and turn the blade backwards to loosen whatever was stuck. We ended up going to visit and borrowed their wrench. Once we got home and got the damage we had created reversed.....put the whole thing back together again.....it only took a few minutes and the disposal was working.
Luke gets a little frustrated because he doesn't feel like he can fix things. But he also doesn't give up. I get frustrated because I can't do it the first time. It feels good to actually fix something ourselves without calling someone to come and rescue us. I'm just glad that Luke's willing to try and work at it until we figure it out.
Luke gets a little frustrated because he doesn't feel like he can fix things. But he also doesn't give up. I get frustrated because I can't do it the first time. It feels good to actually fix something ourselves without calling someone to come and rescue us. I'm just glad that Luke's willing to try and work at it until we figure it out.
New Gadget....
A friend built this new little gadget to put on the blog. It's a drop down menu/list for blogs and favorite sites. It takes up a lot less room on the side, and now I don't feel like my blog list is forever long. So, check it out!
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