Out Of Practice Bread

I haven't made bread for quite a while. Largely because Nancie's food has been so good, and so plentiful, that we've been eating mostly leftovers for lunch, not sandwiches. (We have a lot of stew in the freezer; I should see how dinner rolls will go over.)

So Sunday I went back and made the basic Amish White bread. I don't know what happened, but Everything Went Wrong. The bread didn't rise adequately, it started drying out, and when I tried to roll it out and roll it up into a loaf, it wouldn't stay together. Baked, it started falling apart. I don't think I've "lost my touch", but it was a very disappointing experience. The bread has a good taste, but it's very dense. I don't even have pictures; it's too annoying.

Actually, dinner rolls sounds like a great idea; I can use some of the rye flour for them. Do you think I need to make the whole sourdough starter, or can I just mix the bread flour and the rye flour?

God speed, and remember, All sorrows are less with bread.

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The Consistency Of Coarse Meal

I decided to make biscuits this afternoon, and as I was following the recipe, I saw that I needed to mix flour, salt, and baking powder, then cut in shortening (butter is better than mar but marge is what we had). The recipe said to cut the shortening in "to the consistency of coarse meal." Now what the heck is that supposed to mean? I mean, I know what (for example) corn meal looks like; but does the casual baker? How are they supposed to know? It means this. Not that you'd go far wrong with these biscuits, anyway. I mean, it's the Pillsbury cookbook. The only problem I had is that, at some time in the past, I put a note in to myself to use 3 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder instead of the recipe's 2. Well, I'm marking that back down. These are edible, but definitely taste of baking powder. Oh well, live and relearn, I guess. The finished product. Yum! Godspeed, and remember, All things are better with bread .

Banana Bread! Yum!

I was going to make some other kind of bread on Wednesday, but it was pointed out that we had a number of bananas that were ready to go—more than we were going to eat. And we didn't have long to eat them, so could I please do something with them? Four of these—perfect for banana bread. So I looked for a recipe with plenty of bananas, and guess what? Leslie Bilderback came through again! Thanks Leslie! (Note: I think I've described this before? But not with pictures like this.) Banana Bread ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter ¾ cup granulated sugar 3 ripe bananas 1 egg ¼ cup sour cream (I actually used closer to ½) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt (Optional; I don't usually bother) 1 cup chopped walnuts Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C; Gas Mark 4). (Here Leslie gives instructions for prepping a 9" x 5" loaf pan with "pan spray" and parc...

It's Friday!

I may or may not go to get rye flour tonight to make the awesome bread I was talking about the other day. (I don't think I'll be going for long hikes or climbing mountains while waiting for the bread, though. Especially not in near-100 degree heat.) I would like to make sure this is popular with Herself as well, of course. And "raisins and walnuts"—I know we have walnuts, but I'd leave out the raisins; I've never been a fan of raisins in bread. Not even cinnamon bread. The other recipe that got my attention recently was from the same blog, and not even a bread recipe (!): Chilled Peach And Ginger Soup . I've never had a cold soup before; this sounds wonderful. But what bread would go with it? God speed, and remember, All sorrows are less with bread .

Bread Makes The Meal

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