I was baking

I did some baking this weekend. Yes I did! I was happy and we spread happiness with the baked goods!

We were invited to a dinner on Saturday and I offered to bake some bread.  I cannot go empty handed.  So I made two loaves of buttermilk bread and just to be safe, a lemon-meringue pie.  Dinner was fabulous!  We had the best brisket, a crisp salad full of good vegetables, baked potatoes, beans and bread.  For dessert you had choices – pumpkin roll, chocolate cake and/or lemon meringue.  Great friends, food, drinks and conversation – the night could not have been any better!

Sunday we had two children over and the girls decorated cookies for Valentine’s day although I am sure by Thursday, the cookies will be gone. The girls decorated while the boys played inside and out. Here are some of these heavily frosted cookies.

They look delicious, don't they?  

Believe me, they are.

I sent plates of Carson's cookies home for her family to enjoy.  Everyone likes homemade cookies!

I have wanted to try a new recipe for cheese crackers since I’d like to stop buying Cheez-It crackers.  So I did. I mixed the ingredients together and made them.  The recipe failed to say how thin or thick to roll the dough out so I rolled it out quite thin. I was surprised to see how they puffed up in the oven. (That could have been due to the flour I used.  I’ll make note of that.) Cute!  Staying in the theme of things, I cut these crackers using a mini heart cookie cutter. 

Homemade Goldfish crackers

8 ounces (weight) Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 Tbsp. butter, cut into cubes

1 cup flour

¾ tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. cold water

First I had to shred the block of cheese.

 Oh sweet cheddar...

Pulse the cheese, butter, flour and salt together in a food processor until it resembles coarse sand.  Pulse in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time. 

Remove dough from the processor, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. 

Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes.    

Note: I did not flour the surface and all went well.

You can use a toothpick to poke the shapes (I did not do this so perhaps this is why they puffed). 

Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy. (I did not have any parchment paper so went with just the tray).

Makes approximately 7 dozen crackers.  (I had 9 dozen crackers with the cookie cutter I used.)

I failed to take photos of the baked cracker. I'll have to do that and add to this.

They are quite good. I'll need to bake these again.

I might even add some red pepper flakes next time, at least to some of the dough.

Basics: Bread Making

I love making bread and this time of year, I usually make a loaf each weekend.  When I mention it to friends, I am always stunned when they seem amazed.   

Wow, you made bread?  Do you have a bread machine?

No, I make it by hand.  

Isn’t it hard? 

No it is not hard to make bread.

Last Thursday I saw a professor at work and he asked me what I had been baking. I told him bread. He said he is afraid to make bread. (We always talk food!).  It seems to me that many are afraid to make bread, specifically yeast breads.

Fear no more. Here are step by step instructions.  You’ll be amazed at how EASY it is to make a loaf of yeast bread. Really! I’m not joking here. Put your fears aside and get out those ingredients (Ellen, ready?) because you can make bread. Just remember to read through the entire recipe. There are some bread recipes that refrigerate the dough 2 - 24 hours.  Bread takes time to make because of the time needed for rising. 

I took these photos months ago and by the looks of what I see in the photos, I must have been making buttermilk bread.  Yum! This delicious bread will go with any dinner. Whether you are having a roast, casserole or soup, this bread will be great.  It is light and airy.  Make rolls if you don’t want a loaf.  It is also very tasty toasted with jam or honey in the morning.

Buttermilk Bread

6-6 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 pkgs. RapidRise yeast

2 ½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup water

1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces

In large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, and baking soda.  Heat buttermilk, water, and butter until very warm (120˚-130˚F); butter does not have to melt.  (Mixture will appear curdled.)

Here the milk, water and butter are at 130˚F!

Stir into dry ingredients.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. 

Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Thank you Elliott for taking these photos of me kneading the dough.

 This dough is ready for the bowl and the first rise.

Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.

If you do not use RapidRise yeast (I don’t) place dough in a lightly greased glass bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm oven for 45 -60 minutes.  (I turn my oven on while I am kneading the dough just to get it warm– not too warm though!)

Place dough in bowl, swirl it to get it greasy, then flip and swirl again.  

You do not want the bowl too greasy. 

 Cover and place in the oven to rise!

Set timer for specific time - here I set it for an hour.

Just peeking - see how nice it is rising.

Here I am punching the dough down - just one punch!

Divide dough in half.  Roll each half into a 12 x 7-inch rectangle. Roll up tightly starting at the 7-inch side.  Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in 2 greased 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pans.  

Here I made rolls!

Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes. 

Bake at 375˚F for 30-35 minutes or until done.  Remove from pans; let cool on wire racks.

If you leave the bread or rolls in the pan, they will get soggy from the heat so it is important to remove them from the baking pan so it can cool properly.

There is nothing like the smell of bread baking.  And if you can wait until the bread is cool to cut and eat, you are doing it wrong. Enjoy the bread warm, not hot, with lots of butter.

So, tell me this, are you ready to make some bread?