Yesterday, I had to make a quick grocery run for the basics we always run out of. I was in the sugar and flour aisle, checking my list, and saw "Bread." I happened to be right beside the flour, and I noticed the price of the flour was darn near close to the price of a loaf of bread. Except, a 5-pound bag of flour will give me a whole lot more loaves of bread from it than the one loaf.
Okay, yes, I have to buy yeast, too, and use a few other ingredients from my cupboards, but chances are, those are the ingredients that aren't always getting a workout. And there's the time factor too. I've shied away from making homemade bread for years because I remember my mom making bread and it always seemed like an all-day affair.
But, oh, the taste. The smell. The warm loaves, fresh from the oven that she'd rub down with a little butter. Yumm-O and a half.
I have a bread machine and I've used it many times, but the results have never been like Mom's. Nevertheless, I bought the wheat flour and the yeast and decided to make homemade bread. When I got home, I couldn't find my bread machine book, so I started looking in my other cookbooks and realized that making bread from scratch wasn't all that complicated. A little time-consuming, but I was making a dinner that required a bit of time anyway, so that was no big deal.
The kneading was therapeutic. And hard work :-). But good for me. Worked out a lot of frustrations, that's for sure. All totaled, I made four loaves of bread. Three wheat and one Cheesy Batter Bread that didn't turn out so good, so I won't make it again (it was doughy in the center even after baking it longer than they recommended; not sure what I did wrong).
But the wheat bread...divine. I'm having it for breakfast as we speak. I used the Taste of Home recipe, and the only change I made was to add two tablespoons of milled flax seed (get your fiber, folks :-). I rubbed butter on the loaves when they came out of the oven, just as Mom did. And the scent of fresh-baked bread lingered in my house long after we went to bed. It was worth the effort...every last knead.
Shirley
Shirley
New York Times Bestselling Author
BOARDROOM BRIDE AND GROOM, July 2008, in stores now!
SWEETHEART LOST AND FOUND: Book One, The Wedding Planners, April 2008: Planning perfect weddings...finding happy endings!
Visit: www.shirleyjump
Oh, i love the smell of
Oh, i love the smell of homemade bread baking, yum! I haven't hauled out my breadmaker in probably a year...since my youngest moved out(he inhaled them)....now i'm going to have to pull it out soon and bake a loaf...now that you have me missing the fresh baked bread aroma.
Kathy D
Banana Bread
Hi Shirley,
Just wondering if you've ever fallen over a bread machine recipe for Banana Bread?
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anyone with whom we never laugh." ~ Agnes Repplier
Banana Bread
HI Jayne,
No, I haven't...though, I was just thinking about making Banana Bread yesterday because I have a whole bunch of frozen bananas in my fridge! So if I come across one, I'll try it out and let everyone know how it turns out!
Shirley
Shirley
New York Times Bestselling Author
BOARDROOM BRIDE AND GROOM, July 2008, in stores now!
SWEETHEART LOST AND FOUND: Book One, The Wedding Planners, April 2008: Planning perfect weddings...finding happy endings!
Visit: www.shirleyjump
Beer Bread
This is a quick and easy bread recipe that I found. I made it for Christmas and people thought that I spent all day making it. Its not as good as sourdough with a starter, but its super easy.
1 can of light beer
3 cups of flour (self rising)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp of butter (melted)
Mix all the ingredients together and back for 50 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Easiest recipe ever.
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle
Hi Shirley. I adore my
Hi Shirley.
I adore my bread machine. I haven't been able to make bread by hand for a few years so I was thrilled to get the machine last Christmas.
My favorite recipe so far has been apple granola.
Make a Difference - Read
Missing recipes?
You know I looked around the boards and it seems to me that our old recipe folder didn't make the transition over to the new community. Does anyone feel strongly enough about it's loss that I should start up a new one? Perhaps we could even break it down into categories...desserts/main courses/fish/poultry/meat/ethnic/holidays/vegetarian/low fat etc...Shirley, can/would you help with more categories?
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anyone with whom we never laugh." ~ Agnes Repplier
Found one!
Thanks Shirley,
I checked the Taste of Home website you referenced in your blog post and found a bread machine recipe for banana bread here. I haven't tried it out yet, but it sounds like a good start!
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anyone with whom we never laugh." ~ Agnes Repplier
Hi Jayne, I think it's a
Hi Jayne, I think it's a wonderfull idea to start up a new recipe thread. And with different categories, even better.
Merri posted a blog a bit ago expressing an interest in a recipe thread...and many others agreed...here's the link: http://community.eharlequin.com/content/recipes-heart
There've even been a couple recipes exchanged.
Kathy D
Introducing RECIPES
Here's the newly built recipe folder....it's pretty nekkid right now...who's going to be the first to post a recipe in here?
Jayne
Community Manager
"We cannot really love anyone with whom we never laugh." ~ Agnes Repplier
Cool!
Thanks for the beer bread recipe!
And Jayne, thanks for adding the Recipe section!! I'll be checking that out for sure!
Shirley
Shirley
New York Times Bestselling Author
BOARDROOM BRIDE AND GROOM, July 2008, in stores now!
SWEETHEART LOST AND FOUND: Book One, The Wedding Planners, April 2008: Planning perfect weddings...finding happy endings!
Visit: www.shirleyjump
Beer Bread
You're welcome!
Laughter is an instant vacation- Milton Berle