Friday Farm Girls ~ Super Simple Bread Recipe

This is the recipe that started my bread making career way back when I was 12 years old. *grin* If you haven't made bread before it is a wonderful starting point. This bread is made with store bought flour which acts different than home ground wheat. If you want to make bread from freshly ground flour then go HERE.

~Super Simple Bread Recipe~

Soften in a small bowl for a few minutes till frothy.

-1 rounded Tablespoon or one package of active dry yeast

-1/4 cup of warm water ( can test temperature by using a candy thermometer and you want it to be between 105 to 115*F)

- 1 Tablespoon sugar

~Combined in a large bowl:

-2 cups scalded milk ( heat till steamy but do not boil)

-2 Tablespoons sugar

-2 Tablespoons salt

-2 Tablespoons shortening or... margarine or.... butter.

~Cool to lukewarm and add:

-yeast mix

-2 cups of flour

Beat with mixer for 5 minutes. Add enough flour to make a firm ball. Which is about 4 cups flour. Knead until smooth.

-cover with a cloth and let it rise 30 minutes.

-Punch down

-divide dough into 2 pieces.

-Rolls each into a rectangle.

-roll up to a firm smooth loaf.

-place in a buttered bread pan and place into oven at 200 *F for 1 hour ( check at 30 min.) until doubled in size.

-Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes.

( To read other Farm Girls @Heart and/or join in on the fun go visit my friend Lori's blog by clicking on the graphic)

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My Favorite Whole Wheat Bread Recipe and Dough Enhancers

Update:

I will share next week how to make some simple breads using flour bought from the store. They DO act differently than home ground flour.

Using Dough Enhancers When Making "Home Ground" Whole Wheat Bread

Sense last summer I have been figuring out how to make yummy things from grinding my own wheat in our grain grinder. I haven’t been fully happy with my bread till last summer. The change ? It was using dough enhancers. I haven’t bought any pre-made ones because it had things that my 2ds is allergic to. So of course I have been researching on the net. And I found some answers. ((happy dance))

Here is a link to a neat video Dough Enhancer for making Homemade Bread

*******Here is the bread recipe that I used and loved ! It is at BreadExperience .com **********

Tips for using your own everyday items as dough enhancers in WHEAT BREAD: (It’s best to use ALL THREE of these enhancers when making whole wheat bread)

Gluten: use 1/2 T. – 1 T. per cup of flour (this means before you measure a cup of flour place the 1/2 T.-1 T. gluten in the bottom of your cup and then measure flour as usual)

Apple Cider (or white) Vinegar: use the same amount of vinegar that you are using for yeast (i.e. 1 t. yeast – 1 t. vinegar)
I have to say that prefer to use Apple Cider vinegar because it is healthier and more natural but white vinegar works just fine.

Potato Flakes or Potato Startch: use 1/8 to 1/4 C. per loaf of bread you are making, experiment to see what works best in your recipe. (do not substitute in potato pearls, they don’t dissolve as easily and are artificially flavored which you will be able to taste in your bread)

If you are making bread and want to give a extra umph try it and here is some must sees in how to make really good bread videos. I learned soooooooo much from this gal and I have been making bread for 30 years.

***Lately I haven't been using Potato Starch and it does pretty okay. It you make some bread from this recipe I hope you share that you did. I would love to hear how it worked.

Here is a series of videos that REALLY helped me in this learning curve.

1/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

2/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

3/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

4/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

5/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

6/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

7/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

8/8 Making Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Bread

Participating in ....

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Simple Pleasures~ Comfort Foods

In my previous post I was talking about my All In A Frump Day. And of course days like this a person tends to search out comfort foods. What is my comfort food? Cookies... and even better if it is chocolate chip cookies. Well to be exact it was Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I think just going through the motions of mixing and baking the cookies help with easing and sorting out my emotions. Having the simple pleasure of the process of making and enjoying ( a few) cookies on a frump of a day.

.....Simple Pleasures is to remind me to stop, to look, to listen, to slow down and pay closer attention to the simple things in life. And when ever I do, I am never disappointed.

To join click on the Simple Pleasures graphic and see what it is all about.

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Mastering the Art of Yogurt Making

I wanted to share the method that helped me finally master the art of yogurt making. I have tried different ways and had always had runny yogurt. I was about to give up and then I found a way I could master the art of yogurt making.

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How to Master The Art of Yogurt Making

First warm your oven to about 350* for 4 minuets and then turn off oven and leave on the oven light. While I had done this I heated up my half gallon of milk on medium heat on the stove to 180* . ( it took me about 30 minutes ) I monitored this with my candy thermometer. I turned off the burner and set the pan on the table on a hot pad to cool near me where I was knitting. I let it cool down to about 115* to 120*. I took out one cup of the warm milk and wisked 4 Tablespoons of yogurt with active bacteria ( my starter). I then poured it back into the pan and wisked it a bit more. After you have mixed it then pour into clean quart jars and place on a cookie sheet in the warm oven. Leave the oven light on and let the yogurt set between 4-8 hours till thickened. If you let it go beyond 8 hours it will be more sour.

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I calculated by making your own yogurt you can spend 1/4 th the cost of what it would cost you in the store.

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To Make It Even More Tightwad’ish…

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One way to make this even more of tightwad’ish tip is to take your store bought yogurt (…your starter) and pour and freeze in ice cube trays. After frozen transfer future yogurt cubes into a zip-lock bag and place in freezer till you need them. Two ice cubes equals 4 Tablespoons. When you need your starter defrost 2 ice cubes and bring them to room temperature and use.

. You can also piggyback starters by using some of the yogurt from your batches of yogurt up to 3 or 4 times (piggy backing). And then you need to defrost another 2 yogurt ice cubes to start over again. If you try to piggy back over 4 times you are more than likely get tarter yogurt. This makes it so it is just pennies in your cost of yogurt starter.

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Extra Hints

…if your starter is tart you will probably get tart yogurt.

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Only make enough yogurt that you will use up in 5 days and then make another batch.

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I found if I wanted a thicker yogurt I used 2 % or whole milk. Or after you make your yogurt with 1% milk or skim you can strain on a coffee filter or cloth like a pillow case in a colander to make a more Greek style yogurt. ( save whey to use in bread or soup ).

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PS: I found this neat fact( from here)...

Flu Fighter #2: Yogurt

Yogurt contains probiotics — good bacteria that line our intestines and defend our body against invading germs. Buy plain yogurt to get fewer calories and less added sugar than you do from fruit-flavored versions, and add your own sweetness with a teaspoon of honey (which may also be an immune booster, because it feeds good bacteria in our gut). To make sure your yogurt contains probiotics, look on the container for the National Yogurt Association's "Live and Active Cultures" seal, which means there are at least two types of healthy bacteria and 100 million bacteria per gram.

To see more Farm Girls @ Heart or want to join in on the fun go see my friend Lori's blog by clicking the graphic.

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Making Rose Hip Syrup

I am really enjoying making Rose Hip Syrup and It is a wonderful way to be frugal too. I love that it is organic and I know there is no chemicals and additives in it. It is wholesome goodness.

Update:

I forgot to mention that rose hip syrup is a real good source for vitamin C. It has a lot more vitamin C than a orange.

Making Rose Hip Syurp

Ingredients

• 7 cups of water
• 1-2 cups of sugar
• 4 cups of rose hips topped and tailed

Method

- Semi-Roughly chop rose hips in food processor

- Bring 6 cups of water to boils

-put chopped rose hips into boiling water

-bring back to boil and then take off burner

-let it steep for 15 minutes

-strain through a cheese cloth or sterilized jelly bag or what I use is a sterilized curtain sheer

- Then boil the last cup and a half and put the rose hip paste back into water

-bring back to boil and take off burner again and let it steep for 15 minutes

-Pour back into clean pan add sugar and boil rapidly for 5 minutes

-Pour into sterilized bottles or jars and seal

-give it a hot water bath for 5 minutes in canner

Things I learned making it...

1. Pick rose hips after first heavy frost and don't wait for it to snow.
2. cut rose hips off the rose bush with rubberized garden gloves and scissors
3. add sugar to taste...try half a cup of sugar till you like the taste. After the first hard frost it makes the rose hips sweeter and you may not need as much sugar or at all. ( depends on taste)

I hope if you try this you will let me know how it went for you. I would love to know. Ohhh I almost forgot to say that you take a Tablespoon a day for good health.

( to join in on the fun click the graphic and visit my sweet friend Lori)

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