I and the kids went with him this morning
to finish it up. I cut in while he rolled.
Not the greatest pics as I gave the
camera to the kids to take pictures.
Picked up some McDonald's afterwards
and took it to the airport to watch
planes. The rest of the day we spent
cleaning house, what fun!
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7:30PM
Tonight I am finally getting around to making
English Muffin Bread.
My recipe is from an old magazine but I was able
to locate the recipe at AllRecipes.
The only directions I didn't quite get was the
part that said to spoon batter into pans.
There wasn't nothing to spoon as it was a
thickened dough!
I used 3 meatloaf pans to put the dough in.
If you use bulk yeast like I do then
1 packet of yeast equals 2 1/4 teaspoons
of yeast.
Soooo we will see how this turns out.
It still has 10 minutes of rising time to go
before being able to bake.
7:50PM Breads going into oven.
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When cleaning house today we noticed we are
getting an animal smell. You know those
wet dog smells and smells from cat boxes.
I put about 6 Tablespoons of ground coffee into
a plastic tray and sat it in each of the rooms
with animal smells. The coffee somehow absorbs
the odors. It seems to be working because
I can't smell the odors anymore.
Think about it, drug smugglers use coffee
to transport marijuana in to throw off
drug sniffing dogs, so I don't see why this
wouldn't work.
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For a long time I didn't use my bread machine.
I thought it was too much trouble. I did make
and bake a couple loaves of bread in it but didn't like
how it turned out.
I figured out I can use the machine
to mix and knead the dough for me then remove
the dough and not use it to bake in.
I can roll, wrap, shape and make whatever I want,
then use my oven to make things in.
My bread machine does not come out every
once in awhile now. It now has a spot
on my counter where it sits all the time.
I'm thinking about making bagels now.
I bought bagels the other day at the store
and got to thinking that I could make my own.
No need to spend almost $2.50 to $3.00
for a package of bagels with preservatives
and God only knows what in them.
I love being able to bake my own breads
because I know exactly what goes in them.
I can cut down on sugar by using Splenda
and use salt substitutes to make it healthier.
I could also use wheat flour and oatmeal.
I found this recipe from Madeline's Adaptions Blog.
Bread Machine Bagels
"The bread machine makes it so easy. You just throw all of the ingredients in the machine, press a button and essentially, there you have it, homemade bagels. Did I mention they are utterly delicious? Plus, you can make any flavor you like. My favorites are everything bagels, which are dehydrated onion (reconstituted in warm water,) poppy seeds, sesame seeds and I like to add a little sprinkling of garlic salt and I also love sesame bagels. What are your favorites?"
Recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes:
3 cups bread flour
1 cup warm water (my bread machine requires a little more water so I use about 1 1/4 cup)
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
Place all ingredients in your machine according to instructions. For mine that means, water then flour, sugar and salt and lastly the yeast. Set your machine on "dough" setting. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment (the parchment is optional.) Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Take one of the pieces of dough and roll into a strand that is 1" thick (the piece will probably be about 9" long.) Continue rolling the dough with the remaining pieces. Form a circle with the strands and pinch the dough together at the ends to form a circle. When all of the dough has been formed into circles, cover the bagels with a clean damp cloth or a large piece of parchment and allow to rise for 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, place 1 or 2 bagels into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds on one side, flip the bagels and boil the other side for 30 seconds. Remove the bagels with tongs or a slotted spatula and allow to drain on paper towel for a few seconds. Continue boiling the rest of the bagels. Once all of the bagels have boiled and drained, place them back on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the bagels with egg white. Sprinkle the top of the bagels with your favorite topping or leave plain. Place the bagels in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and allow the bagels to cool on a rack.
