Well, it's not Wednesday, nor is it Friday. It's monday again. I guess I'm just going to have to stop saying when I'll post on here, just so I don't make a liar out of myself. :) The days just get so busy around here, that by the time I have time to write, I'd rather go to sleep, instead.
Last Wednesday was a busy day. We did a little bit of school, and then we baked cookies for my daughters' youth group's St. Patrick's Day party. I made sugar cookies and rolled them in sparkly, green sugar. The girls loved rolling the cookie dough in that stuff. :) I think they tasted along the way, but I can't promise. lol It must have been more humid outside than I thought, because the cookie dough was too dry. I kept having to add liquid to it. That kind of thing has never happened to me before, when it comes to cookies. But, they tasted fine, and I'm told they looked perfect. I don't believe that, but it's nice to hear.
My mom had bought me a new cookie sheet for my birthday, back in January, and I was excited to be using it for the first time. I rolled out the cookies, rolled them in the green sugar and placed them on the cookie sheet. I opened the oven, slid out the rack and set the sheet on it. I started to push in the rack, but a "bump" stopped me. Ha! That crazy cookie sheet would not fit in my oven! I turned it long ways, but no such luck. That pan was not going in there. lol So, i set the cookie sheet back on the table and waited until the first batch had cooled enough to reuse the pan. :) I knew my oven was smaller than normal, but I never dreamed it was that small. :)
I also made bread last week. It was french bread, and it turned out so yummy this time. I've changed a few things over the years from when I first began making it, and the bread only seems to get better as time goes by.
I've started adding my salt after the first few cups of flour. I read somewhere that salt does something to the yeast to keep it from working properly, so after about 3 cups of flour, I add the salt.
Also, instead of white, granulated sugar, I've started using honey. It seems to make the bread softer, and it changes the crum. I didn't realize it would do this. With sugar, the inside of the bread is more firm, more together. It tastes great, though. But, with honey, the inside of the bread is a little more airy, if that makes any sense. It seems to change the taste of the bread, too, but without having both kinds at the same time, I can't really tell what is different about it.
The other thing I've changed about making french bread, and white bread, too, is I beat an egg white and brush the tops of the loaves before baking. I brush on the egg white, let them sit for a minute or so, then sprits them with water and plop them in the oven. The water keeps the air in the oven moist, so the bread doesn't dry out, and the egg gives it a nice, golden color that my oven can't because of its age.
This last time, I had some help making the bread. My 6-year-old brushed a loaf of her choosing with egg white and spritsed it, as well. She was so proud of herself, and the funny thing was, her loaf turned out prettier than mine. :) She kept saying, "Mine looks better than Mommy's!"
I bought some meat and cheese from the deli yesterday, and I can't wait to make more bread, so I can slice it long ways and make hoagies out of it. Yum! And, rather healthy, too, if one isn't worried about carbs.
Well, it's almost school time, my coffee is getting cold, and my Reeses Puffs are almost gone. And, if you can believe it, I've run out of things to say. So, until next time, keep smiling and keep praying. It's the only thing that's gonna git us through.
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Friday, November 4, 2011
Got Any Dough?
I am finally baking again! :) I tell you, just to press my hands in to that warm dough, yesterday, did something for me that is hard to explain. I made some french bread to take to my local writer's group's NaNoWriMo kick off party, and today I'm thinking of baking a quick batch of cookies. I have the stuff all laid out. After I write this post, I'm going to try to whip them up. But, back to yesterday.
I began, like any busy mom, by washing up several dishes. Then, while the water was running hot, I put 2 cups of it in a bowl and sprinkled in 2 tsps of active dry yeast. I let it sit for 10 mins while washing up some more dishes and putting a few away. Then, I measured out 2 tbsps of honey and stirred it in. I had never used honey in place of sugar, so this was a first for me. I mixed in 3 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour, one cup at a time. Then, I added 2 tsps of salt. After that, I mixed in another cup of flour with the spoon, before abandoning said spoon in place of my trusty hands. The lady who taught me to make bread used an electric mixer, but I'm glad I practiced with my hands, because now I know how it is supposed to feel.
When the fifth cup of flour turned out to be not enough, I added about a half a cup more, and kept on mixing. After several seconds, I plopped the mass on to my floured board and went to kneading. I kneaded and sweated, all the while talking to my girls. They asked questions like, "What shape are you going to make it? Who will get to eat it? How much longer before we can taste it? Can I help?" :)
When my dough felt smooth and silky, I placed it in an oiled bowl, covered it and washed more dishes. Then, I took a break. lol
During my break, I drank some hot tea, played on FaceBook, and ate a slice of pizza...and did more dishes.
An hour after placing a towel over my dough to keep in the warmth, I pulled the towel off and tried to separate it in to 3 loaves, as I was taught to do. But, I'm not a good divider, so I ended up with 5 loaves. All we needed now, I remember telling my girls, was a couple of fish and we'd have a dinner like Jesus served to the folks who came to hear him teach. So, as you can imagine, while I rolled out each ball of dough in to a circle-like shape, I told them the story of the 2 fish and 5 loaves that Jesus fed to the 5,000 men plus women and children.
When the circle-like shapes were ready, I rolled them up, pinched the edges and placed them on a piece of parchment paper that was lining my bread pan. I attempted to cut small slits in them to resemble french bread, but I didn't do a very good job. :)
I reached for a bowl to crack an egg in to, but instead of one bowl coming down, 3 bowls came down. I was not prepared, and they fell on to the counter, where 2 broke. One almost in half, the other had a crack in it, but still, I had to worry about cleaning up glass shards.
When that mess was finally cleaned up, I cracked an egg in to a bowl with no cracks in it, and separated the yoke from the white. Let me say here, that Faith is a big help during this kind of separation. lol I took a fork and beat that egg white before brushing it on to my prepared loaves. By now the oven was preheating to 350. Forgot to mention that part. Sorry. :)
I baked the bread at 350 for about 20 minutes. Since my oven is old and doesn't brown things well, I like using the egg white. Folks see a golden color and they have no idea that without that egg white, my bread would be as pale as the dough it came from. Ha!
So, last night at the NaNoWriMo party, my bread went well with the yummy soup that my friend Peggy brought. The bread was crumblier than it usually is, but I do not know if that is because I used honey or if I had too much flour in the dough. Could have ben the weather, too. You wouldn't think barometric pressure, temps outside and whether the wind is blowing or not would have anything to do with bread, but it does.
As for the party, it was fun. We ate dinner together, drank some yummy sweet tea and wrote on our works in progress. I wrote only about 792 words, but I was tired. Still tired this morning and thinking about a second cup of coffee. I shouldn't, but I might anyway.
Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend, and i hope you'll come back and see me on Monday.
I began, like any busy mom, by washing up several dishes. Then, while the water was running hot, I put 2 cups of it in a bowl and sprinkled in 2 tsps of active dry yeast. I let it sit for 10 mins while washing up some more dishes and putting a few away. Then, I measured out 2 tbsps of honey and stirred it in. I had never used honey in place of sugar, so this was a first for me. I mixed in 3 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour, one cup at a time. Then, I added 2 tsps of salt. After that, I mixed in another cup of flour with the spoon, before abandoning said spoon in place of my trusty hands. The lady who taught me to make bread used an electric mixer, but I'm glad I practiced with my hands, because now I know how it is supposed to feel.
When the fifth cup of flour turned out to be not enough, I added about a half a cup more, and kept on mixing. After several seconds, I plopped the mass on to my floured board and went to kneading. I kneaded and sweated, all the while talking to my girls. They asked questions like, "What shape are you going to make it? Who will get to eat it? How much longer before we can taste it? Can I help?" :)
When my dough felt smooth and silky, I placed it in an oiled bowl, covered it and washed more dishes. Then, I took a break. lol
During my break, I drank some hot tea, played on FaceBook, and ate a slice of pizza...and did more dishes.
An hour after placing a towel over my dough to keep in the warmth, I pulled the towel off and tried to separate it in to 3 loaves, as I was taught to do. But, I'm not a good divider, so I ended up with 5 loaves. All we needed now, I remember telling my girls, was a couple of fish and we'd have a dinner like Jesus served to the folks who came to hear him teach. So, as you can imagine, while I rolled out each ball of dough in to a circle-like shape, I told them the story of the 2 fish and 5 loaves that Jesus fed to the 5,000 men plus women and children.
When the circle-like shapes were ready, I rolled them up, pinched the edges and placed them on a piece of parchment paper that was lining my bread pan. I attempted to cut small slits in them to resemble french bread, but I didn't do a very good job. :)
I reached for a bowl to crack an egg in to, but instead of one bowl coming down, 3 bowls came down. I was not prepared, and they fell on to the counter, where 2 broke. One almost in half, the other had a crack in it, but still, I had to worry about cleaning up glass shards.
When that mess was finally cleaned up, I cracked an egg in to a bowl with no cracks in it, and separated the yoke from the white. Let me say here, that Faith is a big help during this kind of separation. lol I took a fork and beat that egg white before brushing it on to my prepared loaves. By now the oven was preheating to 350. Forgot to mention that part. Sorry. :)
I baked the bread at 350 for about 20 minutes. Since my oven is old and doesn't brown things well, I like using the egg white. Folks see a golden color and they have no idea that without that egg white, my bread would be as pale as the dough it came from. Ha!
So, last night at the NaNoWriMo party, my bread went well with the yummy soup that my friend Peggy brought. The bread was crumblier than it usually is, but I do not know if that is because I used honey or if I had too much flour in the dough. Could have ben the weather, too. You wouldn't think barometric pressure, temps outside and whether the wind is blowing or not would have anything to do with bread, but it does.
As for the party, it was fun. We ate dinner together, drank some yummy sweet tea and wrote on our works in progress. I wrote only about 792 words, but I was tired. Still tired this morning and thinking about a second cup of coffee. I shouldn't, but I might anyway.
Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend, and i hope you'll come back and see me on Monday.
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