I bake bread for my family every week. Home baking is not that hard, not that time consuming, and certainly cheap! You don't need a bread machine or a lot of fancy equipment. This blog features a tutorial on home bread baking, tips on equipment and ingredients, and recipes for real home cooking.
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Published Monday, January 14, 2008 by Susan Och.
Whole wheat bread
Contents: white whole wheat flour,
white flour, water, sugar,
shortening, yeast, salt. Home Baking by Susan Och 51 S French Road Lake Leelanau, MI 256-8876 http://homebaking.blogspot.com
I was interviewed in the Travere City Record Eagle today about bake sales, a topic that I touched on last year. There are a few things I forget to say, so I'll cover them here.
In 4-H, we are required to get permission before we do any fundraiser. We have to fill out the fundraising request form, which includes such questions as: Who will keep track of the money? What will you do if you raise more than you need? How will you handle it if some members do more work on the fundraiser than others? It is good to ask these questions before the fundraiser so as to avoid hard feelings later.
I also think I didn't say enough about labeling, especially of bread. Above is a facsimile of the label I use for whole wheat bread. I just print them out on the computer, cut them apart, and then slip a label into each loaf.
Here's a recipe that needs no label. Cooking with cocoa makes it economical
Brownies
1 stick butter
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in a double boiler. Add cocoa and oil, mix well. Set this mixture aside and let it cool to room temperature.
Beat eggs and salt until light in color and foamy. There is no other leavening in this recipe, so don't cut corners here.
Gradually add sugar and continue beating. Add vanilla
With a few swift strokes, fold in the cocoa mixture. Do this by hand, so as not to break down the beaten eggs. Before mixture is uniformly blended, fold in flour, again by hand.
If you want to add 1/2 cup chopped nuts, do it now.
Pour batter into a greased 13 by 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cut when cool.
There's more to food than just nutrition, otherwise we would all be eating custom-formulated kibble.
I didn't exactly learn to bake from my grandmother, but my ancestors, even the ones I never met, have informed and influenced
my lifelong exploration of cooking and food. Want to read more? Check out this entry from my home blog, French Road Connections