Monday, October 26, 2009

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

This is my family's favorite bread recipe (made into rolls). And, it freezes wonderfully--see directions at the end! (This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Beth, who has a slightly different variation on her blog HERE.)

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 T salt
2 packages of regular or quick acting dry yeast
2 1/4 cups warm water (120-130 degrees)
3-4 cups oat flour blend (or AP flour)
Butter/margarine, softened
Oats for sprinkling (optional for loaf)

Mix whole wheat flour, honey, molasses, vegetable oil, salt and yeast.



Add warm water and mix.



Add oat flour blend (or AP flour) 1 cup at a time and mix by hand or a heavy duty spoon until you can knead it on a floured surface. Continue adding flour as you knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. (Or you can skip the whole "by hand" and go straight to the electric mixer to mix and knead with dough hook attachments. You add flour slowly just like normal.)



NOTE ON USING AN ELECTRIC MIXER:
When the dough starts climbing up your regular beaters like this (for me it's right after the first cup of flour):



Then clean them off like this:



And replace them with the dough hook attachments like this:



and proceed as normal. :)



I generally wash the dishes I've dirtied thus far while my mixer is doing all the hard work. Or hug my kiddos or type on my blog or listen to Pandora (LOVE IT!) or...you get the idea. When your dough looks something like this:



then place in an oiled bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover with a clean dish towel and rise in a warm, draft free place for 40-60 minutes until doubled. I LOVE rising my bread in a warm oven that is OFF--I warm it first to the lowest temperature and then turn it off before adding my dough. It works like a charm and then I don't have to find some mystical warm place in my house to rise the dough.

Now, you need to decide if you are making loaves or rolls...have you decided?

LOAVES:
Spray 2 loaf pans with nonstick spray. Punch down dough and divide in half. Place one half in each pan. Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with oats (optional). Let dough rise in a warm, draft free place again for 35-50 minutes or until doubled.

Move oven rack to lowest position. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-40 minutes or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans. Brush with butter to keep from getting a tough crust and cool on a wire rack. Eat.

ROLLS:
Spray cookie sheets or 9X13 pans with nonstick spray. (cookie sheets = little harder rolls; 9X13 pans = softer, tender, yummier rolls...can you tell which I prefer?)

Punch down dough. Roll into balls and place in pans (I do about 4 rows of three rolls = 12 rolls per pan in a 9X13 pan.) Keep rolling and placing onto greased pans. You want your rolls to be a little larger than a golf ball--but I don't ever take the time to make them THAT round.



Rise in a warm, draft free place for 30 minutes or until doubled.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown but not overcooked. Brush with butter. YUM!



Ummmm, something seems to have happened to one of them. I better keep an eye on that problem.

TO FREEZE ROLLS:
After the dough rises for the first time, roll into balls like I explained above. And, then INSTEAD of letting the dough rise again, place the rolls onto a cookie sheet and put in your freezer until hardened. Don't let it completely freeze, but hard enough that you can move them to a freezer bag and they will retain their shape.



Place them in a freezer bag (not touching each other) and seal. Freeze until you are ready for them. Remove from freezer, place in a greased pan, let them thaw on the counter (usually about an hour or so), then let them rise in a warm, draft free place for about 30 minutes, and bake as instructed above. It's really mindless work at this point and you can frequently have fresh, homemade rolls any time you want! (And, you've only had to "make" them once!)



ENJOY!

Ciao,
J

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

"I once was lost but now am found..."

says My Blog. I've been looking for my blog for awhile now and I've finally found it! Hooray!

Or maybe I've just been too busy reading MANY other blogs to find the time to write in mine. OR maybe I've been too busy homeschooling...nah that can't be it. OH! Maybe it's because I've had nothing to say. Okay, stop laughing. Seriously, you can stop now. Really. Stop. :)

On a slightly serious note, I'm not entirely sure why I haven't written much lately...not motivated enough, I guess. But, that could describe my entire life right now. I haven't been motivated to do much lately--kind of in a funk, but that's not a good place to sit in, so I am working on getting out of it.

Our family has dealt with several colds/flu bugs the last couple of weeks and it's been beyond draining for me. I really like to sleep when I don't feel well and as many of you Mama's out there can testify as well, sleep is a non-existent entity sometimes. But, the "lack-of-sleep" excuse doesn't really clean the bathrooms, buy groceries, teach my son how to add or encourage my daughter to use a big girl voice without whining or screaming or throwing a fit or flopping herself in a pathetic pile on the floor refusing to get up or ... Anyone else have a two year old?

I love my kids. And, I really love my husband. He's amazing. Truly. And, that's what puts a smile on my face. Most days. :)