Baking Bread, Telling People You Love Them

Do you ever think about what it means when you tell someone you love them?? Sometimes it is said so off-handedly that it loses some of it's impact. "Love you" when we hang up the phone or leave the house. I think it's such a habit that we really aren't analyzing WHAT we're saying and the people hearing it are just hearing "bye". But, I have been reading a lot of bread recipes lately and if you have ever heard of Father Dominic (see some of my previous posts for his recipes) you will know that he equates feeding the body with feeding the soul. There is so much truth in that.

I love to bake bread. But, I ask myself, am I baking bread because I love the process or is it the end result? And, which end result am I going for? So, here are some of the end results of a completed loaf of bread: 1) nutrition to round out a meal, 2) nutrition to be the main component in a meal, 3) a snack, 4) the knowledge that mom/wife spent the day (and perhaps part of the previous day) working on something for the family that they will love.

I think that my husband feels all of them but that he appreciates the most #4. He knows that I am constantly trying to increase my skills in the bread-baking area and looking for recipes that will please him. My kids, I think they feel the same way. Then I ask myself would I do this if not for #4? I don't think so. Does it save us money? Yes, but with the Aunt Millie bread store I can get really good prices on "factory-made" bread. Do I really enjoy the process? Yes, but I don't like clean up. Do I enjoy their response? More than anything. When I made the Scali Bread Zoe had at least 4 pieces and I heard, no less than 5 times, "No, really, this is the BEST loaf of bread you have ever made!!" I didn't do it for the praise, I did it because I WANTED it to be the best bread they have ever eaten.

So, if you want to let your family know, without saying the words, how much you love them make them a loaf of homemade bread. It really isn't all that tough and I would be happy to help if you need it!

So, go bake a loaf!

Pumpernickel-Father Dominic

Pumpernickel Bread
Bread Machine Instructions
Yield: 1 round loaf.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups Whole Grain Rye Flour
1 1/4 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Vital Wheat Gluten
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Yellow Corn Meal
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons FLEISCHMANN's Bread Machine Yeast
Cornmeal, for dusting baking sheet

Add water, oil, molasses, vinegar, egg, salt, rye flour, bread flour, wheat gluten, bread crumbs, cornmeal, coffee granules, cocoa powder and yeast to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough/manual cycle.

When cycle is complete, transfer dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. Shape dough into a ball. Place ball on a baking sheet that has been greased and liberally dusted with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until done. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.

Source-Breaking Bread with Father Dominic

Father Dominic Recipe!

Father Dominic's Challah (P, TNT)
Source: "Breaking Bread with Father Dominic"
Serves: 1 large loaf; about 20 to 25 slices

2 packages Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 to 7-1/2 cups bread flour, divided
1-1/2 cups lukewarm water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten, for glaze

Combine yeast, 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon sugar in medium bowl; stir to mix. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy.

Stir in 2 cups of the flour; let stand about 30 minutes to let the yeast develop.

Combine 1-1/2 cups lukewarm water, oil and 3 eggs in a large bowl; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Add the yeast mixture; mix well.

Add the remaining flour, about 1 cup at a time, until you get slightly firm dough. It will be a bit softer than ordinary bread dough because of the eggs. Knead in bowl about 5 minutes. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place about 1-1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly to work out the larger air pockets. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a rope, about 24" long. Braid ropes to form a loaf, tucking the ends underneath. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until nearly doubled in bulk. The loaf will be quite large.

About 15 minutes before loaf has finished rising, preheat oven to 375°F. Brush loaf all over with beaten egg. Bake in oven about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. If your oven doesn't bake evenly, be sure to turn the pan every 10 minutes or so. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on a rack.

Poster's Notes:
A large, braided loaf is one of the traditional forms of challah. One also finds it shaped as a large braid with a smaller braid on top. I generally prefer to make two smaller single braids, as may be necessary if you have a smaller oven.

Posted by Gypsy/Phyllis Wilson

Scali Bread-The Making

So, I started the starter (hee hee) for the Scali bread yesterday. As of this morning it's all bubbly and gooey! Just like it's supposed to be. So, I will mix the rest of it and go through the process. We will see how it goes. I just want to say, though, if you are a baker do yourself a favor and look into King Arthur Flour Company. They have so many fantastic recipes on their website and sell their flour in the grocery store if you don't want to order from the catalog and they are just a great company.

Be back later with more details on how it all went and with pics!

Favorite Bread!

Okay, here is a picture, I was getting bread ready to make grilled cheese!

Scali Bread

Apparently Scali bread is THE bread of the Boston area and the roots are somewhere in Italy. Well, wherever they eat it and wherever it was developed, I think this will be my next try! This looks so good and there is a tutorial on the KAF blogs for making it. The first link is for the recipe and I will attach a second link for the tutorial. Try it and leave me a comment. I am going to try it and will let you know how if works out. BTW, I only have black sesame seeds so this should be REALLY cool looking!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/scali-bread-recipe

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2008/03/26/for-the-love-of-scali-bread/#more-921

Cup of Coffee? I Think I Will!

Wow, I am starting off SLOW today! We had a great day yesterday! I made another batch of bread. I love that recipe. This time I let it WAY over proof. The second proof (rise) went for about 4 1/2 hours before I baked it. I wasn't sure how this would turn out but WOW, it is nice. Very much like store bought white bread but with the great flavor and even better texture of homemade bread.

So, for dinner before we went to the GAME OF THE SEASON I made beef stew. So delicious! Tom was able to find some really great grass-fed, all-natural beef for about $1 per pound!! That stew meat combined with my organic and home grown vegies in a nice thick stew base was phenomenal. So good in fact, that we have only one bowl left from the whole pot! I really love the sense of pleasure and satisfaction I get from making a good meal that is healthful and they REALLY love it.

I think I am going to make a carrot cake today. So, tonight when Tom gets home with the cream cheese I can make the icing. Mmmm, that is one of my favorites! Here is the recipe!

Carrot Cake

2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/2 cup liquid oil
2 Cups Flour
1 tea Salt
2 tea Baking Soda
2 tea Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
3 Cups of Shreaded Carrots

Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 min.
__________________________________________________________

Carrot Cake Frosting

1/2 Cup Stick Oleo
8oz box Cream Cheese (set out at room temp before making the frosting)
1 box Powdered Sugar
1 tea Vanilla Extract

MMMMMMMMM Try it sometime! Just the right spices and flavor!

Have a great day!

Tuesday Tuesday, so much better than Monday! I feel much less stressed today than yesterday, for whatever reason. I almost feel that I may have a handle on my life! Okay, probably not. Today is a day of laundry, dishes and more kitchen work. We did a lot in the kitchen on Sunday and I have more to do! Ughhhhh.

I also have to think about what I will be leaving for dinner! I will be going out to Zeeland for the basketball game tonight which leaves poor Tom here alone (I think he loves it!). I think I still have a black bean chili in the freezer. Maybe I will dig that out and he can have it over rice. He loves chili with rice.

Hmm. Think that's about it for now. May be back later! Have a great one!

Aaahhhh Tuesday!

Manic Monday

I think that's really funny! I don't really have manic Mondays. After the chaos that is my weekend Monday is a peaceful return to MY world! Probably because I don't have a job which is the bad thing!

I've been reading a lot of Dave Ramsey again. It sounds so easy! "If you have more month at the end of the money get another job." Wish that could happen! Wow, the jobs really aren't there! And, apparently I am unqualified for all that are there. I'm really not sure what to do about this. It is definitely not getting better. My student loans were on a forebearance which has now expired. Not enough money to pay what we currently have. What to do about this??

Well, no sense stressing about it! Today is a busy day with a board meeting at 5:30, choir, Abbie has team dinner and practice at 4:00. I'm thinking it might be turkey sammies for dinner and maybe a salad. We'll see!

Have a good day!

Yesterday's Bread!

That is the PERFECT white bread recipe!! I have finally found it. Perfect taste, perfect texture, delicious! Today is gonna be a slow-moving day around here. Not sure about dinner yet (maybe home-made pizza). Gonna do a bit of laundry and start working on clearing off the pool table where I will place plywood to start my seeds for the garden. That is exciting to me!! Woo Hoo!!!

I do have some planning to do for the garden before I can really plant my seeds but my goal is to get the started before February 1st. So, I get out my grid paper and I start working on it. This is going to be a great gardening year, I can just FEEL it!

Bread baking today!! I love baking bread. There is such a sense of "job well done" to a good (or hopefully great) loaf of bread! I will be getting this going and focusing some energy on the kitchen today. Varsity game tonight so not a lot of time this evening!

The soup was not a great hit with the girls last night. They were thinking more along the lines of Chicken Corn Chowder and this was NOTHING like that! Tom and I loved it, though. :o)

Here is the bread recipe I am working with today form King Arthur Flour Company. Great products and recipes! Check them out!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/our-favorite-bread-by-hand-and-by-machine-recipe

So, creamy potato and leek soup. Mmmmm! I am so thankful for Frontier Natural Foods and Serenity and the Co-op!! Wow, they have FABULOUS products and I discovered another today, the chicken-like broth powder! Yes, I said "Chicken-like". It's a vegetarian product and has phenomenal flavor and for $7 for a 1-lb bag it goes a long way and is much more reasonable than "stock-in-a-box".

I have not found a single product that Frontier sells that is not utterly phenomenal! And, so much of their stuff makes dinner prep so easy.

So, here's the "recipe" (as best as I can remember it).

2 leeks, white part cut into 1/2 circles and rinsed well

3 tablespoons butter

12 to 15 small to medium potatoes peeled and cubed

4 (or up to 6) cups chicken stock (if I had the "stock-in-a-box I would use one box or 2 cans)

1 cup (or so) of 1/2 and 1/2 or 1 can evap milk (this adds the creaminess)

salt and pepper to taste

So, saute the leeks in the butter with salt and pepper until some are browned and all are mostly cooked through, add the stock and potatoes, turn heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil, turn down and continue on a low boil until potatoes are tender. Run a potato masher or immersion blender through the soup to mash some of the taters (about 1/2 to 3/4 should be mashed, this thickens the soup) add the cream or evap milk. Bring to just a simmer (if you boil hard with cream it will separate, I learned this the hard way). Serve with a pinch of cheddar cheese and fresh, chopped green onions or chives over the top.

If you want this even more special then right before serving stir in 1 8-oz pkg of cream cheese and allow to melt. MMMMMM This is great with a fresh muffin, salad or just a spoon! Enjoy!

So, I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to cook. Seems like a trend this week! :o( I think I will make a big pot of potato soup. A nice creamy potato soup with leeks that we will sprinkle cheese and green onions over when we eat it. That way we have it in the fridge for leftovers for a while! I love to do that because it takes care of dinner and a couple lunches!

Hmmm.....I'm off to do that! See ya all! Game tonight, 7:30 ish at The Park!

Ooh ooh ooh! Went to Zoe's concert last night and my MIL (hi Nina) told me that I need to remember to write here! I will try to be more regular! It's hard, I get distracted! So, today was Tom's day off and a 1/2 day for the kids. Tomorrow is another 1/2 day and no school Friday. I have a 7am school board committee meeting tomorrow so will be making some Lemon Poppy seed muffins using the Basic Muffins recipe on King Arthur Flour. Here is a link: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/basic-muffins-with-berry-and-oatmeal-versions-recipe

Then a basketball game at home in the evening. Have gotten some of my housework done this week, lots of laundry and working on the kitchen. Will keep you all posted!

Have a great night!

We got a lot done yesterday!! Woo hoo! Unfortunately the motivation to get it done was a sick dog. It is so hard when they are sick. Like when a baby is sick, they can't tell you what's wrong! However, we did go through the back room and trash A LOT and then scrub and organize what was left. Had Texas Roadhouse for dinner using gift cards we got for Christmas so that worked out very well. Not sure what we will have for dinner tonight. Something with ground beef since Tom brought some home for a GREAT price. Tomorrow will be leftovers. There are leftovers from the restaurant and there are two kinds of soup that are leftover so it should be easy to have something for everyone! Tomorrow is Zoe's concert (not sure why it's so long after Christmas but whatever). Does cause a few logistical issues as there is an away basketball game as well. Ah well, guess I don't go to Sparta for the game!

Today is laundry and keeping an eye on Race (the dog) to make sure he is getting better (and he seems to be). Might be back later to post more! Have a great day!

Motivation!!

So, it's Saturday again! I am finally feeling GREAT no more sniffles or coughing or anything!

Right now I have a chicken carcass simmering for stock and I think it will be chicken and homemade noodles for dinner tonight. Or maybe chicken and dumplings...hmmmm...I am cold today so it will definitely be something like that!

Working on laundry (as usual!) and hoping to get some real progress taken care of this week! Well, I'm off and running. If I determine this weeks menu I will post it!

Have a great Saturday!

Geez Louise!!

It has been a long time since I was on here! So, I am renewing my commitment! Today is Thursday and I have a lot to do. We will be having French Toast and sausage for dinner (mmm) and I think I will be making some cookies to take to the game with us. Another busy Thursday!

Looks like Abbie may have an abdominal sports-related hernia. I have read a couple of articles and apparently this is more common than we know in athletes. Well, if that is what it is the new is good because it is easily treated with a laporscopic surgery and the recovery time is pretty quick.

Well I am off to get some work done! "See" you tomorrow!

Silly Saturday! part 2

Well, it appears that "enter" is not the way to get to the body of the message!! :o)

Got up this morning and went to Wyoming Park to see some of the 3rd through 6th grade boys basketball tourney (Zoe's classmates). Then going to the Grace Bible College women's game at 1 pm. In between loaded and ran the dishwasher and got my "Family Bread" going. The family bread makes four loaves so is a really good one to make! Lasts a while. That will have it's first rise while we are gone. Then when the game is over to Meijer for milk, eggs and some vegies and then to Costco for more bread flour (20 lbs for $5!!). Then home to roast a couple chickens for dinner tonight. Obviously we won't eat them both but that will make enough for sandwiches and stuff for the rest of the week! Love cooking once for eating twice or more.

Guess that's it for now. Sorry no posts for a few days but I will try to get back at it. Woke up yesterday with no voice and a bit of a cough. Don't really feel sick just sound really bad! Could be all the yelling at the basketball games! ;o)

Have a great Sunny Saturday all!

Silly Saturday!

Wicked Wicked Wednesday!!

Well, today is our "day off" Tom is off on Wednesdays so he and I treat it kinda like a Saturday. So, we did some price checking at Costco, a little shopping at Aldi and then back to Costco to do some buying with a trip to Delski's in between for a 10 pound bag of ground beef. So, tonight for dinner is a very large pot of spaghetti sauce with enough fixin's left to make one more very large pot. This I will do after dinner tonight and all the leftovers will go in the freezer. Is there anything better than having homemade spaghetti sauce all cooked and in the freezer ready to be heated and poured over pasta?? I don't really think so and the truth is that if I served spaghetti twice a week there would be no complaints around here! And it is TASTY!!

So, that's all the fun I have time to report right now! Might be back later tonight otherwise sometime tomorrow. Committee meeting at 7am then coffee with Pam and lunch with Amy and Tarri then game at Hamilton. Should be a VERY busy day. I will make a goal to get at least SOMETHING done tomorrow!! We will see how it goes. God Speed!

Abbie Dabbie Dooooooooo

Well, looks like we are going to see and orthopedist. *sigh* As the Dr. said, this is a really tough muscle to heal (top of the thigh right on the front of the hip in the hollow) because we use it ALL THE TIME. So, we go to the ortho where he may do a) and injection b) intense sports/physical therapy c) both.

She, however, just wants to play basketball! Poor kid! At least it's JV and not varsity! We are hopeful that she may be able to play in February but, realistically, I have to say that I doubt it. I'm not telling her that, though, cuz she freaks out on me!!

In other news, our neighbors, Chad and Michelle, just had baby number 5 yesterday and the poor little mite was 7 weeks early. He weighed in at 4 lb 10 oz and is breathing on his own so far. I will be praying for them, if you could add your prayers that would be wonderful. I am really concerned about Michelle because I remember how hard it was going home without my babies and she hasn't ever had that. The other 4 all came home with her so this is gonna be tough.

Thanks for your prayers!

French Onion Soup-Deux!!

If you love soup, and I do, this one should make you very happy. I have some failed whole wheat bread that I made that I think I will use in place of the French bread in the recipe but otherwise, this is on the menu this week! The kids were just asking for French Onion Soup the other day!!

French Onion Soup
Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups low sodium beef broth, divided
1/2 cup dry white wine (or use white grape juice with a splash of cider vinegar)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon thyme
6 slices French bread
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces low-fat Swiss cheese, grated

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onion slices; reduce heat, cover and allow the onions to sweat for about 10 minutes.

Uncover; add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Raise heat to medium-high and brown onions; transfer browned onions to aslow cooker.

Add half of the beef broth to the skillet and scrape up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add skillet liquid, remaining beef broth, wine (or juice/vinegar), water and thyme to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting for about 6 hours.

About 25 to 30 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place bread slices on a cookie sheet; drizzle with olive oil and bake till golden.

Place one slice of baked bread in each soup bowl; sprinkle with cheese. Ladle soup over bread and allow bowls to sit for about 3 minutes before serving.

Per Serving: 447 Calories; 12g Fat; 20g Protein; 23gCarbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 62mg Cholesterol; 383mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat. Points: 11

French Onion Soup

Tuesday 1-5-10

Another day, another dollar short!! Paid utilities yesterday. Gas, water, electric. Wow, my MIL passed on (we owe her) her old Sun Cloud electric heater. What a HUGE difference!! This would have been worth a $500 investment! We run it constantly, it has a thermostat that we set to 70 and we can never get this monstrosity of a house up to 70, it costs about $1 a day on the electric bill and, by my estimate, saved us $150-200!!!!!!! Now, if I had a small, one-level house I don't know if my furnace would kick on AT ALL!! This thing is so awesome. Paid my gas bill and for the months of Dec AND Nov it was $280. This is what it costs us PER MONTH at a minimum in the typical winter. Woo Hoo!!

If you have the extra $300 or can scrape it up I highly urge you to look into this heater. What a difference!!

Anywho.....on to today. Doctor appointment at 11:15 for Abbie to check out that hip again. She told me yesterday that she would just as soon have surgery. Whatever!! Apparently she has no concept of how long she would be out if that happened! Maybe the Dr. will have a miracle cure but I am sure he will tell her just what I have been telling her...Rest it, ice it, anti-inflammatories, and when the pain is gone start working it slowly...

Last night for dinner I made a brown rice pilaf with little bits of ham, onion, dried cranberries, and pecans seasoned with balsamic vinegar, s&p, and olive oil to go along with pan-fried trout fillets, and broccoli. Amazingly, Tom loved the brown rice (which he hates). So, this is a recipe I will be using again.

Today will be roasted red pepper and tomato soup and ham and cheese sammies on homemade bread. Since it's game night this is something we can eat early and still have a snack when we get home and not feel like we over ate.

Yesterdays bread (Family Bread from hillbillyhousewife.com) came out great. I used 4 cups of spring wheat flour and the rest unbleached white and it was awesome. Great toast this morning with home-made blackberry jam. Today will be laundry and kitchen work until we have to leave for WPHS for games. Will be a busy one when I get back from her appointment!

Wishes for a great day for all! See ya later!

Monday, Monday, Monday

Good morning!! Well, I started my new "bedtime" last night. Lights out by midnight. One problem...I only really sleep about 7 hours (or less) so at 7am I was up and away. Hmmm

That's okay, though, since I have lots to do today. I have to start by getting a batch of bread dough going. Yup, again. The Honey Whole Wheat, which was delicious on Saturday when I made it is now a very effective door stop. That is something that I cannot stand about ww bread it is just too heavy. So, today I will make the Family Bread from www.hillbillyhousewife.com. The recipe makes four loaves so I have decided to make two and make rolls and other things with the rest of the dough.

Today is also laundry day so I will be getting (hopefully) about 6 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away. We will be having trout, rice and broccoli for dinner and I will be having a roll with a slice of ham on it for lunch (leftover from dinner last night).

Tomorrow promises to be one of our challenge days. Abbie has a basketball game (at home) and we all will need to have a meal so we can stay away from concessions. It is easier this year, however, since she plays junior varsity and can come home after school before her game. I think we will have the Roasted Red Pepper Tomato soup (my brother gave us two boxes of it) with grilled ham and cheese sammies. MMMMMM Great meal for a cold winter day and enough to stick with us while at the game. So often we have resorted to fast food on game days and I just don't want to do that anymore. So terribly unhealthy and not just because of fat and sodium. Watch Food, Inc. and Super-Size Me two movies that will change how you view what you put into your body and most especially what you are giving to your kids!

Well, I am off. I should be back sometime today. Have a great and productive Monday!

Planning, Planning, Planning

So, today I got started on the January menu. Wow. This seems like it should be relatively easy. IT IS NOT!! As soon as I thought I had it all set..Whammo...It didn't save...Oh well, I should really be doing this with Tom anyway. He will grumble but I think he likes being involved in the planning. So far I have decided that since I really don't like the idea of a bunch of cleaning on Saturday I will reserve that day for baking. Today will be Honey Whole Wheat bread and Brioche. This will get us through the week (hopefully) and then next Saturday I will make something for the following week.

I really like the idea of making our breads and rolls so I have control over the ingredients. We all know the crud that manufacturers put in the food we buy and after watching Food, Inc. at my brothers I am even more determined than ever to make the good stuff for my family. Wow, that movie is really scary and I am going to work that much harder at making changes in how we eat.

So, I must go and get my soup and breads started. Have a great day!! Talk to you tomorrow (or later if I have anything to report!).

Here We Go!!

So...The new year...2010...Here we go!

Today we inventoried one of the freezers. Yes, I said "one" of the freezers. Cleaned, inventoried, created the spread sheet. Now I spend the evening planning meals. Funny how everyone complains when I talk about planning the meals but when it comes to using the menus they are thrilled to know what we are having and even get excited for the nights they are really looking forward to!

Tomorrow will be inventorying another freezer and working on a daily plan. I have the start of a really good one that is in Excel already so will use that and tweak it to fit my life. I am really excited about this and know that my weakness is in sticking with something to completion so hopefully this will help keep me accountable!

So, Here We GO!!!!!!!