I made my own bread for years sm
Posted By: Earth Mama on 2008-08-17
In Reply to: Homemade Bread - many questions
I have celiac disease, so no more, but the kids loved it.
I have had a bread machine, but they are not friendly in higher altitudes, so I gave it away. I baked by hand and yes, I was an MT at the time. I used to make 6 to 10 loaves at a time, which is a lot of kneading. I found that kneading it as I did clay when I was throwing on a pottery wheel worked best for my hands. It is a spiral kneading technique, hard to explain. I sit on the floor and knead in a very large steel bowl. The angle of my wrists and hands is much better that way.
Anyway, my favorite bread recipes come out of the original Laurel's Kitchen. I don't like the new anniversary edition and I don't like their bread book. You'd need to look in the library for this, but it is worth it.
While I don't own one (have not found one) I understand that the best and easiest way to knead bread is a bread bucket. You can buy them from a couple of places on line that cater to Amish people. It looks sorta like an old-fashioned ice cream bucket, but you put bread in the bucket and crank.
I stand by something called Hungarian High-Altitude flour. I have used it at high altitude and low altitude, it is equally good. If you can, get bulk yeast from a health food store because those packets are pricey and not as fresh as you need for premium bread. Made by hand, the best bread comes from the best sponge beforehand.
Feel free to email me about anything I have said.
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My aunts always made friendship bread.
Not sure exactly, but they would get a "start" from someone and always had a little left to use to mix up the next loaf, so on and so on.
I made Cinnebons with my bread machine one year.
That was the year I heard the most positive comments back. Loved them! Used disposable 8 x 8 tins and wrapped them up pretty with red and green Saran wrap.
Over the years I have gotten the plastic trays that are shaped like Santa or something like that and made cookies, fudge, made 1 of the slots mixed nuts and mints. Those also went over well, especially the families with kids.
I made my son one a few years ago SM
It was SpongeBob on one side and solid red on the other side. He still loves it. He is starting to outgrow it too, so I may make him a new one this year. My other 2 would probably love one too, but the material is sort of expensive to make them all blankets that are big enough. I'll have to think about it.
Chickadee
I made these a few years ago and they were a big hit...
my grandpa (who is 84) actually said I should go into business---LOL...I think he thought I had sewn them or something so he was quite impressed...they are really fun to make too...
I did years back, but made up with her..and then
SO.....don't waste that emotion *hate* because we don't know when our lives end. My sister was 30 when she died, in the late 1970s. I'm just happy we had made up 6 months prior to that. Her death was a shock to all of us. One of my children was named after her AND even looks like her....
One never knows around the corner........
I did 2 years ago. BEST decision I ever made for myself.
I was 44 when I had the surgery. I went from a 36 DDD/E to a 36 B/C, and I'm ridiculously happy about it. No more aching back. The grooves in my shoulders are almost gone. Clothes fit, and I am much more active, so I generally feel better.
I had my surgery as an outpatient. Surgery was at 8:00 a.m. and by 3:30 I was home. I won't lie to you. It was pretty painful immediately afterwards, but that's what meds are for. These are extensive incisions with layers of stitches and staples. You have to expect pain. I also had an On-Q pump for pain medication. But to be honest, I really don't think that helped all that much. I was part of a study for that, and I know that our hospital has recently stopped using it. I guess the feedback wasn't very positive. Mostly, I took Percocet for about a week. I had drains on both sides, and the pain was MUCH better once those were removed about 3 days after surgery. So the worst of the pain was during the first three postop days. After that, I was usually pretty good during the day with just Tylenol and an occasional Percocet. I did take the Percocet at night. Sleeping was tough for a while because positioning comfortably was difficult. After the drains were removed and then all of the staples and sutures (about a week), I was up and out of the house and doing my normal activities. I just wasn't doing anything high impact. A month after the surgery, I did a slow but steady 8-mile hike with a daypack on and even camped in my tent and slept on the ground for two nights. I was fine. Not absolutely pain-free, but active and happy and looking great.
I gotta tell ya! To be 46 and have perky breasts makes me smile. My scarring isn't bad at all. (Thank you Mederma!) But I never planned to do a layout for Playboy, so a few red lines under my clothes don't bother me at all, especially because I'm able to walk about without a bra, if I really want to. :) The pain is just a distant memory now, and soooo worth it. My plastic surgeon told me that breast reduction surgery receives the most positive feedback from patients, more than any other plastic surgery procedure. I can't remember the exact figure, but something like 95% of women say they are pleased they had the surgery and are happy with the results.
i made that choice for 5 years
and now i really enjoy my meat, esp bison and chicken.
In 35 years of MTing, I've NEVER made
was while being paid hourly as an on-site MT. Now that I'm paid a lousy 8.5cpl, my income is closer to 20K/year.
i made a memorial site for my mom for my sister and my grandmother a few years ago. sm
neither were cremated, but mom wanted a memorial. we took a spot in her back yard and made a rose garden out of it. we planted several rose bushes. i got some of those make your own stones from hobby lobby. it is like cement that you pour into the mold. i then wrote in the cement before it dried their names at the bottom and in loving memory of at the top. decorated the stones up with some heart gems. these are in the middle of the rose flower bed. we also got her a covered canopy bench to sit next to it. everyone in the family loves to go there. just FYI there is a rose that is a red and white mixture rose that is called the love rose and this is the very center of our "memorial". i can't recall the name and it was very hard to locate. this was several years ago and the roses are growing pretty than ever.
My family made home-made mozzarella,
and it was very good. I was pretty small at the time, so I don't remember the exact process, just that it was done pretty quickly, and a lot of milk was used.
I don't know if you'll save a lot of money making your own cheese. The cost of milk is very high, too, and you need a lot of milk to make cheese.
Does anyone have a bread machine?
If so, would you recommend getting one and which brand is good? 
Bread Machine
 Hi - I love bread! I have a Hitachi that is old and works great. I am antsy to get a new one though and think I will get a Zojirushi - they are the best I know of. I mostly use mine to mix dough and then I proof it outside the machine (I proof in my dehydrator, you just take out the shelves and set it on low and shortly thereafter all the rising is finished - I use a big dehydrator from Excalibur so a lot of bread can fit in there! Yummy bread. It also saves a lot of money because bread is now about 2.50 a loaf or more for good bread, but mine is better and is way cheaper! I got one for my daughter and got her the one she wanted (a Panasonic), which is half the price of a Zo and she thinks works just as well. Just get one with the bigger size insert so you can make big bread if you want (you can always make it smaller, just by using the small recipe size if you just mix in your machine and get one that has a setting for adding in add-ins (like raisins or nuts or whatever). Those are the important things in bread. Go to King Arthur Flour website and check out the bread! It is the best place to buy ingredients that you might not find in your own town if you live in a small one. Now I am hungry for bread from all this and think I will go put some Portugese Sweet Bread in there for later! Good luck with your bread! Maybe we could quit transcribing and open a bakery! That might be fun!
bread recipes
Would the kind lady who posted her bread recipes please reply to me, even if it is my private e-mail address, with the recipes that she had for 4 loaves of bread. My hard drive crashed and even though I copied the recipe to my word expander, I was not able to print it out.
Bread at Sams
I know this isn't latte, but my husband and I found a certain organic wheat bread at Sam's Club that we absolutely loved. It was 4 loaves in a bag for around 5 bucks....great price and great bread. It was fresh bread, so 15 minutes in the oven and it was ready!!!! They discontinued it and I called them. The marketing guy said he knew exactly what I was talking about because he and his wife loved it also, but the numbers showed it wasn't selling as well, so they placed it in different places in the store locally, but it still didn't sell well, so they discontinued it. I can't imagine that because every time I went in, there were tons of empty boxes I had to move around to get to the new ones. Did they tell you it wasn't selling well?
Homemade Bread
I'd like to start making my own bread. I can only tolerate easy recipes and not too time consuming. Is making your own bread easy, moderate or difficult? if it's easy, do you have any tried and true recipes?
Should I buy a bread machine? What can you tell me about bread machines and their ability to pop out good tasting bread, also, with bread machines, do you have to use a pre bought packet or can you stick your own ingredients in there and bake?
Homemade bread
Well, I'm old-fashioned. I've never used a bread machine in my life. But I do make four loaves of bread at least every week and my family can't live without it (I say in all modesty). I've won blue ribbons at the County Fair for it. This is how I do it - This may seem very long and involved, but it's because I'm trying to describe it really thoroughly. Don't let the length of the instructions put you off. Do try it!
The initial makinag and kneading of the dough only takes about twenty minutes - the rest is waiting time, mostly.
I start with dry yeast, one package in a half a cup of hot tap water, stir it up and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. While it's sitting, I put three cups of hot water in a big mixing bowl with two teaspoons of salt, two tablespoons of sugar, and a quarter stick of margarine (or butter if you prefer). I heat that in the microwave for three minutes.
Then I add two cups of flour to the ater/salt/sugar/ butter and stir it up. You'll need a strong spoon because it'll get pretty thick later on. I have a favorite wooden spoon that I use. Once that's mixed in (it doesn't have to be completely smooth) add the yeast, then add another half cup of hot water to rinse the rest of the yeast out of the cup and into the dough. Stir that up, and then start adding your flour. I start with a total of ten cups, usually get close to twelve. You can do that all at once or two cups at a time. After it gets too hard to stir, it's time to put some of the last two cups of flour on the table and dump the dough mixture out onto the table. Then comes the fun, especially if you're stressed. Start kneading the dough, adding more flour when it gets sticky. Depending on how humid it is, you may need another cup or two cups. I usually add about half a cup at a time gradually each time it gets sticky. If you put in too much all at once, it may turn out too heavy. At eleven or twelve cups, you will hit the point when your hands don't stick to the dough anymore. Then just knead it for another several minutes until it's smooth "as a baby's bottom" was how I was taught.
Then I wash out the bowl and dry it with a clean dish towel, spray the inside with cooking spray, put the dough in, then thoroughly wet the towel (not dripping, but don't wring it out all the way either), and cover the bowel. That'll keep the dough from drying out while it's rising. Set in in a warm place to rise. In the summer I set it on my stove with the light on over it. In the winter, I'll put a pan of warm water in the oven on the bottom shelf and put the bowl on the top shelf.
Let it rise to double its original size, about an hour. Can be more. Dough is very forgiving if you let it rise too much. Then fold it in on itself, recover it and let it rise again. I usually let it rise at least two or three times. The more often you let it rise, the lighter it will be.
After the last rising, I spray my four loaf pans with cooking spray, then take the dough out, put in on the table and divide it into four parts with a large knife. Then, fold it in and under to form a loaf and put it in the loaf pan. Set that to rise to double. At about 45 minutes, start preheating the oven to 375 degrees. When the dough is the height you want (it will rise a little more in the oven), stick it in the oven for 30 minutes. It should be golden brown on top when it's done. Take the loaves out of the pans immediately and put them on a cooling rack so moisture doesn't accumulate under them.
The family will attack the first loaf of bread immediately, be forewarned! The other three, when they are almost cool, put them in regular bread bags you have saved from store-bought bread. I freeze mine, because this has no preservatives and does get stale quickly. It's best eaten within a day or two of making it or thawing it. That's never a problem in my house.
I hope you try it. It's a great feeling, getting all the accolades from your family and friends. PS - if you're lactose intolerant, like me, there are no milk products in it. I never eat store-bought bread anymore. It also makes the best toast in the world, and French toast?!? Wonderful!
homemade bread
She's absoloutely correct! I love making my own bread. My kids are gone now, so I don't make as much, but give it away. It doesn't last long if it sticks around here and there is such a good feeling when you've done it yourself. No preservatives and junk included. That being said, I do have a bread machine as well, have rarely used it, but when I do, it does a gresat job and I can make more types of bread because I can just throw everything in and let the machine do the rest. It really does turn out good and I am freed up to do other stuff, like work!!
homemade bread
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I lost my bread book in a flood here in Florida when there was 8 inches of water in my house and my recipes were on the bottom shelf of my cabinet (among other recipes) and have not made any bread since. My mother bought me an "earthenware bowl" that she paid a lot for to rise the dough which retains the temperature. I only have 3 loaf pans but will buy another. I bought a breadmaker machine but did not use it much. I used it for rye bread which is hard to knead because it is more coarse. My family loved my bread and I pretty much loved to have my hands in that dough. I know it is somewhat exhausting, but I find it almost therapeutic and stress reducing. I am going to try your recipe.
Bread recipe
When you say you put yeast in hot water, do you mean just warm water?? I thought hot water would make the yeast not work.
Never could get the bread machines
to work really well using fresh ingredients, the boxed mixes worked good but are more expensive than a loaf of bread. I have a few recipes for the oven that turn out great though.
Bread help appreciated sm
The bread came out just "okay" with King Arthur Flour, it was a great experience though and I can't wait to get to the market to get the actual "bread flour;" hopefully will be within a few days. We have a Christmas Tree Shop in the next town and will try to get there to get the flour cheaper. We are also close to (excuse this) Wal-Mart. The aroma alone was great and I was amazed at how it kneaded itself, etc., as this is the part I was dreading when making bread. The Oster does it all for $59 with a $10 coupon good next week at Kohl's. I can't say it was that good this a.m., I did cut a thin slice and toasted it. Our Golden Retriever was salivating but we're watching his diet. I will be looking for bargains and enjoying having the aroma in the house. We have cold winters in NE so the smell of bread and crock pot meal or mac and cheese is a good thing! I feel like Martha! (I could pack on the pounds with this.) The crust was crunchy and the inside well cooked. I may try pizza dough in it one night as well. I could become addicted to this experimenting with bread over $4 to $7 a loaf around here. Thanks for the input.
I have a bread machine but....
how do you bake without using the pan they provide? I have an Oster and the pan has the mixer built right in.
Love white bread. nm
x
Definitely good bread - something dark or rye, or
s
Skip the bread, which is where the carbs are -
Make the rest into a salad to eat with the soup! :-)
bread; soft fruit
nm
NYMT - bread recipe
Just reading over your recipe. What kind of flour do you use? Bread flour or AP?
Half a loaf of bread better than none
My husband (who is union) and I have talked about this and he definitely said he would take pay cut in order to keep his job if need be.
You could use them to make Monkey Bread. sm
You stack and layer them in a tube pan, let them rise as normal. Then take a mixture of melted butter, cinnamon, white and brown sugar and poor over the bread. Bake at 400 for about 40-45 minutes. Delicious for breakfast!
Does anyone every use a KitchenAid mixer for kneading their bread?
I have never made bread before but the mixer has a bread hook attachment, wondering if this works well or not?
People love my bread stuffing sm
I use Pepperidge Farm seasoned bread stuffing, don't know what other brands are out there, this is put out by a bread company. Then instead of water, use orange juice. I once tried chicken broth but too greasy. I add freshly chopped onions, celery and sometimes raisins and small amt. of chopped cranberries. I never stuff the turkey but bake it separately in a casserole. If it looks too dry, I may add a teaspoon or more of the final turkey drippings just over the top. This is one time I use butter. I have tried rubbing the bird with mayonnaise and that works well. Like to experiment but always the turkey comes out just fine at 20 minutes per lb. and use a thermometer. They always ask for more stuffing.
Eat your bread crust and it will make your hair curly! nm
`
The spinach dip in a hollowed bread? Veggies and dip? Sweet
s
I use crackers, oatmeal, bread, or croutons - whatever is on hand.
nm
Baking bread from scratch is hard work, sm
especially for people like us who abuse their hands working. Kneading bread is exhausting!
I have a bread machine and love it. It allows for both bread mixes and scratch ingredients. The bread tastes delicious, too.
bread with spagetti sauce and cheese, over the fire
nm
That's New England - cold winter, warm bread! nm
...
Prime rib, some fresh veggies, good bread....
and a fabulous hubby in a cabin in the mountains with no phone or TV!
My favorite meal! Cracked crab as much as you can eat, bread, salad! nm
Sweet sourdough bread starter recipe needed
This is sourdough but it is a sweet bread, not typical sourdough. Anyone have a recipe for the starter?
Sparse tonight - 2 pieces of bread w/butter & a Diet Coke. (nm)
:(
Breads. All kinds. Raisin. Yeast. Wheat. Any kind of bread!!! nm
,
Anyone who can make bread for 35 cents/loaf is a wizard in my book, deenibeeni! nm
x
French toast using texas test bar-b-que bread. Yummy. Potato casserole is sm
the best, too!
southern style potatoes frozen (ore-ida)
1 can cream of chicken soap
8 ounces sour cream
1 stick butter
1 package mild cheddar cheest
mix all ingredients and bake for 45 minutes
Then if you want to add a meat such as ham or bacon you can do that.
Boneless chicken breast in a lemon cream sauce served on fettucini with salad and garlic bread.
x
My husband is 7.5 years younger. Been together almost 20 happy years...nm
nm
My feelings; people shacking up together for years and years
and then all of a sudden deciding to get married don't need a thing, obviously. A shower should not even be given. I lived with my now husband a while (nowadays who doesn't!) before we married and I also had been married before years ago but he was not....so of course HIS mom wanted a shower. I told her absolutely not unless it was just the immediate family, his mom, sisters, etc, more like a celebration/get together. And so that's what we did. Showers are tacky, period. Unless it's a couple of young kids getting married straight out of the house and that doesn't happen much anymore.
Been with a man 13 years older, now with a man 4 years younger.
Younger is better, at least in my case ;)
Sorry, meant 75 cents. Still, that was years and years ago.
xx
I studied to be a scopist years and years ago
Back in the early 1990s I took a course called Note reader Scopist. They read court reporter notes (those long skinny papers that looks like a cash receipt) and types them into documents. I had found the course through something called At Home Professions but just didn't finish it because it was too expensive for me. But I am familiar with them and even found my book from the first course I took. Looking back I think it would have been a blast if I had kept up with it.
It is definitely legitimate. A lot has changed since the early 90s, so I'm not too familiar with the industry now. I do remember what was really weird was it didn't take a lot for me to learn it. For instance I could look at a line of court notes and see something that looked like: NV p srn - and I seemed to know exactly what it said. Just weird. My DH used to say that I understood it because I was an alien and my ship crashed in Roswell. HA HA HA Anyway...that's what I know about it. But if you Google note reader scopist or at home professions i'm sure you could probably find a lot of info.
I have been vegetarian on/off for 35 years, was vegan for about 5 years sm
not that hard. Right now, I am having so many issues with food allergies and celiac disease, having to give up nightshade veggies...nothing left to eat. I am eating some meat now, but not when the gastroparesis sets in!
Being vegan is not hard...unless you are a celiac. This is how I figured out the celiac part because so many of the meat analogs and vegan packaged foods use gluten for the protein and I got really sick from it. I gave up all the premade things and the whole grains with gluten and I was fine.
There is vegan and then there is VE-GAN. By definition, vegans don't wear, use or consume anything that is derived of animals...no leather shoes, most shampoos and toothpastes are off the list, as are deodorants. No wool or silk. Anything with soap usually has animal byproducts. It is very involved and rather difficult to do.
Giving up meat, eggs and dairy is no big deal, except for cheese. You hear that ad about "comfort proteins" in a baby formula and there is such a thing. Mother's milk, be it human, cow, goat, whatever...contains a chemical that triggers the release of endorphins in the brain so that feeding feels good in more ways than one. The purpose of this is ensure that the nursed young want to nurse and thrive. Human milk has a lot of these, so does cow's milk and cow juice triggers the same reaction in the adult human brain. Cheese is concentrated milk and therefore these chemicals are also concentrated. As a result, cheese is an addictive substance. This is the hardest thing to give up when going vegan. Vegan cheese substitutes are nasty and they don't melt. If a dairy-free cheese melts, it contains casein, an animal protein and not vegan.
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