Baking bread in Lynne’s Kitchen

ingredients for baking bread
Getting all the ingredients together for baking bread!

Here’s a guilty admission of mine. I know – “thou shall not covet,” but covet I did!! I always wanted a KitchenAid mixer, as I love to bake. Every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas, I would dream about getting this high-speed equipment. So, I took the plunge, ordered it and viola! My long-awaited, much-anticipated mixer arrived yesterday! I spent the evening reading the manual (okay, you know I am excited when I read tech manuals!), washed it, and checked the bowl settings so I could use it today. A combo birthday/business investment, as I am wanting to write more about foods and baking, and compile a recipe book.

The performance expectation level I had was pretty high – especially for baking bread.

KitchenAid Mixer
New KitchenAid Mixer!

As long as I have wanted this mixer, I was a little hesitant to use it. I mean, I don’t want to get it all dirty. Haha! The performance expectation level was pretty high – especially for baking bread. Would it live up to all I imagined? Everyone I know who has this mixer loves it. I just had to try it out today! I wondered, “What should I make?” We still have way too many Christmas cookies to justify baking another batch. Plus, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that dough hook!

So, I decided on baking bread.

A wise choice. I wish someone would develop a plug-in app, allowing the aroma of fresh-baked bread to drift through cyberspace, coming through every PC, laptop and device…That would drive my readership up! But I digress.

Mmm! Baking bread
Fresh from the oven!

Well, the KitchenAid Mixer worked like a dream! It was by far the easiest bread baking day I have ever had. I Googled a very simple bread recipe, “Basic Homemade Bread,” found on TasteofHome.com (recipe in the link and pasted below). Everything went into the big bowl, and clean-up was a breeze. I wanted to start out with something fairly easy until I got used to the mixer, but honestly, the learning curve time was not a concern.

So, with this under my belt, I can try other new and great things! Stay tuned! In the mean time, I have a photo-show of the bread-making process. If you have never tried it before, seriously, you must. Yeast breads sound very intimidating, but they aren’t. Just make sure you follow the directions and measure carefully. Whether you have a big, high-speed mixer or not, give it a shot, and tell me about your experience in the comment section!

Photo steps – recipe below!

Mixing it up
Mixing it up!

Mix water and yeast. Add sugar, salt, oil, and about half the flour. Blend well with dough hook. Shut off mixer to scrape sides of the bowl. Add the rest of the flour – about a cup at a time. Mix well.

blob of bread dough
Blob of dough

Turn dough onto floured surface. Kneed until smooth. If using the dough hook, you will only do this about a minute or two. If by hand, kneed longer (8-10 minutes).

bread dough
Smooth surface before first rise

The dough should look smooth like this.

bread dough
Ready to rise

Place into a greased bowl. Turn (so top is greased); cover and let rise until double.

Help dough raise faster
Neat trick! Add a bowl of hot water to help dough raise faster.

My trick: Place dough in oven (do not turn oven on!!!), turn on oven light and place a bowl of hot water in to help the dough rise.

Time to bake
Success! Time for bread baking!

It should double – like this!

punch down the dough
Punch down the dough

Dump dough out of bowl; “punch” down and let rest a minute.

almost ready for baking
Let rise in pan

 Divide dough; and place in greased baking pans. Let rise until double.

ready to bake
Ready to bake!

Like this! Bake in a preheated oven (375 degrees) for 30-40 minutes.

Baking bread - delicious!
Bread is done!

Remove from pans. Cool. Slice and enjoy!

Recipe:

Basic Homemade Bread Recipe

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 20 min. + rising Bake: 30 min. + cooling

 Ingredients

  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 2-1/4 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 6-1/4 to 6-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
  2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
  3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
  4. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

httpsss://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/basic-homemade-bread

Originally published as Homemade Bread in The Taste of Home Cookbook 2006, p452

It must be true. I read it online.

It must be true. I read it online.
It must be true. I read it online.

 “Knowledge is good.” Emil Faber – Faber College – Animal House

This morning, as I was drinking my lemon water (I read online that this is good for you), I started reading all kinds of neat new tricks for every ailment and flaw under the sun. As the last shot of lemon water sent a sour shiver down my spine, I reached for the coffee, and then started my routine of quenching my thirst for knowledge. Continue reading “It must be true. I read it online.”

Soap suds fun in Lynne’s Lab

wpid-2014-08-30-12.58.55.jpg.jpeg“What is elegance? Soap and water!” – Cecil Beaton

Well here I am, back in Lynne’s Lab, playing mad scientist again. My drive for finding natural solutions to chemically-laced products has made me more aware of how simple things can be. Like soap suds.

Continue reading “Soap suds fun in Lynne’s Lab”

My super-awesome Bacon Tomato Tart

Bacon Tomato Tart – a match made in heaven!

A few summers ago, our garden was blessed with a beautiful bounty of tomatoes. In the spring, I had purchased a Goliath tomato plant at our local Farmer’s Market, and we couldn’t believe how enormously huge this plant grew. It was about a foot tall when we planted it, and it grew and grew – like a “tomato tree,” and was over 13 feet in height and probably four or five feet wide. We had way more than six dozen tomatoes from this plant!

So, what on earth did I do with all those tomatoes, especially when I don’t know how to can? (Gee, I wish I had learned from my grandmother!!) Well, first, we gave some away. And we had a lot of fresh slices in salads, on burgers and such. I made marina sauce as well as salsa – which was delicious! (That will be a subject for another post).

But I wanted to get really creative – and so I did. I made a Bacon Tomato Tart – and it was just wonderful. Fresh tomatoes along with freshly picked basil and oregano – yes, we grew herbs, too – made for a perfect showcase from our garden. Plus who doesn’t love bacon? There were no leftovers – even my teenagers loved it!

Continue reading “My super-awesome Bacon Tomato Tart”

Junk? Trash? No! Hands off my stash!

“To invent, you need you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” Thomas Edison

rose in bud vase

The organizational bug hit me the other day, so I began fall cleaning a little early. Starting a little at a time, I tackled my dresser drawers, the night stand and my food pantry. Amazing how much junk one can collect. Some of it is so easy to pitch! Other items, not so much.

I came across a pile of greeting cards, which gave me a well-deserved cleaning break. Sorting through the anniversary, birthday, thank-you and Mother’s Day cards, I found some real gems, especially the handmade cards from my brood.

card

One of the best things I found was a construction paper card filled with coupons. It was made by my now 18-year-old son. Lucky for me, he was unaware of expiration dates at the ripe old age of ten, so I promptly presented him with the, “1 Free Room Clean Up (without groans)” coupon. I held onto the original, so I can present it again later this week when he needs to borrow the car…

Moving into the kitchen, I pitched boxes of cereal that had less than one serving remaining, stale crackers and cookies, and a bottle of dry creamer that I forgot was even there. I don’t even know why it was in the cupboard. Dumping all the contents into the trash, and crushing boxes for the recycle bin, I held onto the empty plastic creamer bottle.

“Surely there will be a good use for this,” I thought, as I washed the container.

A chill ran down my spine. I was turning into my grandmother!

My maternal grandmother, a product of the Great Depression, kept everything. I mean, everything! Newspapers, cat food cans, scraps of foil, boxes of all shapes and sizes, plastic bags – the list is endless.

She was a firm believer in reuse, reduce, recycle long before it was a popular catch phrase. And as much as I used to roll my eyes when she insisted I pull something out of the trash, I now get it.

Believe me when I say I have my own collection. Sparkling water bottles make great containers for my chocolate and lemon cellos. I wash and re-use spice containers for the herbs I am growing in my garden, which are now drying in bunches in my kitchen. Since I make my own deodorant and tooth paste, I use containers from all kinds of leftovers, looking for that perfect package. My homemade laundry detergent is in an old sherbet container. Gallon-size plastic tea jugs are lined up, waiting for me when I start making the liquid detergent again. Old Ball and Mason jars are shoved in a cabinet for when I figure out how to can tomatoes, which better be soon as I have at least 100 Romas ready to turn red. I have used pasta jars for displaying wildflowers and dandelion bunches. And oh, to prove I am not completely crazy, the photo at the top of this post shows that small sparkling water bottles make great bud vases!

containers

Good heavens – I am addicted to glass jars and plastic containers!

But I have it under control – believe me, I do! Once a year a take an inventory, and what I can’t use, I throw into the recycle bin. Or I figure a way to use the container in order to justify keeping it on hand.

chives

Yes, there is a method to my madness! That little, itty-bitty pimento container? My dried chives will be a perfect match! The dried mint will look beautiful in my antique spice jars. The sage, (which tasted awesome and smelled divine while roasting in last Thanksgiving’s turkey) will fit perfectly in the gelato container. The cellos – I can now double the recipe for these delicious drinks.

But darn it, I have yet to find something to fill that creamer container.

Oh, Grandma, I miss you! You would be so proud of me, recycling and learning to garden. I wish I had watched you, as you lined up jar after jar of fresh, delicious veggies from your garden and delectable fruit from your trees, carefully canning and preserving each item. I am really sorry that I rolled my eyes; you were ahead of your time in so many ways!

Plus, dang it, I know darn well you’d figure out something I could do with that Cremora bottle…

© Lynne Cobb – 2013

Do you have a hard time parting with items that could one day be useful? Share in the comments below.

 

 

Homemade Applesauce with Cinnamon

When the fall weather is crisp and sunny, as it was yesterday, we usually try to grill outside, as we know our days of doing such are numbered during this fickle change of seasons.

Pork chops were on the menu, and they would be wood-fired on the grill to perfection by the BBQ King – who, by the way, was recently overseas and “wowed” his fellow service members with his now world-famous ribs! Hail to the International BBQ King!

What will round out this delicious fall meal? Warm, homemade applesauce, simmered with cinnamon, plus freshly steamed broccoli.

The applesauce is beyond simple to make. In fact, it is so easy, you may never buy a jar of it again.

Enjoy!

Homemade Applesauce with Cinnamon

Peel and slice 10-12 apples (I usually use macs, and these were from our local Farmer’s Market).

Place slices in a pan with about 1/3 cup of water.

Give a generous sprinkle of cinnamon (don’t go overboard, as too much cinnamon  can taste bitter) and add two or three generous tablespoons of brown sugar.

Bring to a gentle boil, stir, then turn heat to low and cook until thickened. (Just add water or a little apple juice if you prefer a thinner sauce.) This step will take 30-45 minutes, depending on your preference for a thick or thin sauce. At this time, take a taste so you can adjust the cinnamon and brown sugar in your applesauce.

Most of the apples will cook down, but there will be a few pieces of apple that you can leave as chunks, or mash it all down with a wooden spoon if you prefer.

Serve warm or cold.

That’s it – simply perfect for a simple autumn meal.

© 2012 – Lynne Cobb

My super awesome granola

 

I am totally taking bragging rights on my granola.

Here’s the scoop. Last summer, I made my very first batch of the toasted-oat, yummy goodness. You may wonder why would I go through all that trouble when I could just walk to the store and buy a box? Well, I couldn’t justify the amount of money to pay for the commercial stuff, because, frankly, it isn’t all that good. And if you grab a box with raisins, yuck! I am not disrespecting the raisin, but let’s face it: the raisins found in a box of granola are so hard to chew, it feels like they are pulling the fillings right out of my teeth.

I glanced at a recipe that was on joyofbaking.com, which looked really simple, and I modified it to my liking.

The benefit of this basic recipe is that you can add what ever you like: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, etc. It is great plain, with milk or on top of yogurt.

It is so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t made it before…

Super Awesome Granola

3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup of coconut
1 cup of sliced almonds
¼ cup of wheat germ
½ tablespoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (melted)
¼ cup of maple syrup
¼ cup of honey
1 cup of dried fruit (I usually use cherries or cranberries)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together oats, coconut, almonds, wheat germ, cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, mix together oil, syrup and honey.

Pour the liquid over dry ingredients, and mix to coat. Spread into prepared pan, and bake 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Stir every 10-15 minutes. The more it browns, the crunchier it will be. Cool on a wire rack. It will crisp up as it dries, so break up any large clumps while mixture is warm. Add dried fruit and mix well. Place in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator.

Have you attempted to make granola before? If so, how did it turn out?

© 2012 – Lynne Cobb

Inspired to write by a chewy granola bar…

“Marge, it’s 3 a.m. Shouldn’t you be baking?” – Homer Simpson

I have a huge announcement to make that will come as no big surprise…some days I just can’t get it into gear.

Like today. I have a few writing projects I was working on, which seemed to be going nowhere – and fast. And when re-reading my work, both pieces sounded flat and boring and I was getting a wee bit agitated. Staring into space, with no direction, or organization and wondering what to do next, I witnessed the laundry pile growing higher – right before my very eyes. Lugging the ever-expanding basket down the steps, I threw a load in the machine. Turning around, I glanced at the pantry shelf.

Big mistake. I turned my head. I looked away. It didn’t work. Game over. The can of sweetened condensed milk won.

I had bought it a few weeks ago to try out a recipe I clipped at out of a magazine eleven months ago. (On a sorting binge, I found it again last week!) Thinking I have adult ADHD, I raced up the steps, can in hand, and stopped everything I was doing to make granola bars. Nevermind the cleanser drying to a hard finish in the tub, or the mounds of laundry sitting, in damp eagerness, waiting for my return to the basement. Forget the sticky notes and voicemails and 17 windows open all at once on the laptop. I stopped it all and baked. I was energized and motivated and multi-tasking and modifying and measuring and making an enormous mess.

Whew! Although it looked like a tornado blew through the kitchen, apparently, I needed a creative break to re-engage my brain. It all hit me as the cinnamony-aroma of the sweet smell of success enveloped the kitchen and wafted towards me. My a-ha moment revealed that I wasn’t multi-tasking at all! I was tackling a project that I knew I could finish. It took my mind off of all my other incomplete projects, giving me the chance to feel creatively complete. While the granola bars baked, I mixed up a batch of granola, switched laundry and finished a few other mundane chores.  Talk about a win-win: I benefitted from freeing my mind so that I could get back to writing; my family benefitted from a yummy snack, and you, you very lucky readers, you get to benefit from my modified recipe that turned out super scrumptious.

Let me know if you give these a try. I found the original recipe in the USA Weekend magazine. Eleven months ago.

Ooey, Gooey, Chewy Granola Bars

2 cups of rolled oats

1/4 cup of wheat germ

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

3/4 cup of dried cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice)

1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk

cinnamon sugar

(Note: 1 cup of almonds were part of the original recipe)

Adjust oven rack to a lower-middle position and pre-heat oven to 325. Grease a 9″ square pan (I used an 8″ pan and baked a little longer.) I then lined the pan with greased foil (so I could use foil to lift bars from pan) and set pan aside.

Mix all ingredients (except cinnamon sugar) and pat down into prepared, foil-lined pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 30 minutes (35-40 if using 8″ pan). Cool to room temperature, then place pan into freezer until firm.

To cut easier, I placed a piece of parchment paper on my wooden cutting board, removed foil and using a sharp knife, carefully cut into 8 bars. You can make them smaller, but I have teenagers and they don’t care much for “fun size” goodies 🙂

I wrapped them individually, but you can store them in an air-tight container. They should last a week without refrigeration or freezing, but I am betting my stash will be gone in three days.

Enjoy!

© 2012 – Lynne Cobb

A sticky lesson from Lynne’s Lab

“The secret of my success is my hairspray.” – Richard Gere

Most of my readers are aware that I’ve been switching to greener and less toxic items for my family, especially with cleaning and personal care products. My heightened awareness came about when I was researching Alzheimer’s disease after my dad’s diagnosis. Using less chemicals seemed to make more sense to me, whether experts link disease with these items or not.

It has been a period of lab testing since the last edition of “Lynne’s Lab.” For the most part, I have been pleased with the results of my “make-your-own” products.

I made three gallons of liquid laundry detergent on May 30, and I gave a gallon to my oldest daughter to try. I still have about a half-gallon left and we’re all still happy with the results – both in the cleaning and the budget departments!

My hubby and I are still enjoying the results of the toothpaste, and trust me when I tell you that the deodorant has been given a workout in this record-breaking heat and its performance is fantastic. (I added the links below.)

The dishwasher powder and shampoo formulas need to be tweaked for better results before I post them…

But wait! There’s more! I made…drum-roll please…hair spray! Yes, indeed, a hairspray that not only works, but one that doesn’t reek of chemicals and fumigate my house.  Three simple ingredients and I admit that I totally doubted this would work. It would cost me very little to try this – other than time to re-wash my hair – so, game on:

I heated one cup of water to almost boiling, and removed it from the heat. Then I added four teaspoons of sugar, and stirred until it was completely dissolved. Once it cooled, I added a few drops of my favorite essential oil – lavender – and then funnelled the liquid into a spray bottle. I shook it gently before using, and allowed it to dry (it takes a “hair” bit longer to set than commercial spray.) Viola! It worked: a great spray, cheap, not stinky and it really made my hair shine. The true test came this past week with in 100 degree heat, and this stuff really held up.

Let me know if any of my experiments have worked for you! Stay tuned – more formulas to come!

© 2012 – Lynne Cobb

Mixing it up again in Lynne’s Lab

Yes, making my own household cleaning and personal care items continues in my kitchen. So far, the results of the deodorant, laundry detergent and liquid hand soap have been favorable. They have also inspired others to give it a try… like my mother, who thought I had either too much time on my hands or went all-out hippie. (Okay, so I do make my own granola and have made yogurt. Does that make me a hippie?) I digress.

A few Sundays ago, I made my monthly stock of deodorant, and figured that now was as good as time as any to try making toothpaste. My granddaughters were fascinated. I assume most kids watch their Mema make cookies. They helped me count and seemed to enjoy watching their favorite mad-scientist in action.

The toothpaste was super simple to make. I found it on Crunchy Betty’s blog, and modified it – of course! My concoction: 3 Tbsp of baking soda, 3 Tbsp of coconut oil and 25 drops of peppermint essential oil (I used more peppermint, but omitted the stevia and glycerin, as I don’t care for sweetened toothpaste.) Soften the coconut oil a bit, and mix everything together.  I found little travel containers at Wal-Mart to put the paste in (one for me, one for hubby) and stored the rest of it in a small container to use as a refill. The batch cost about 38 cents to make, and  it looks like it will last two weeks for two people.

After hearing our rave reviews, my mom made her own toothpaste as well, and she is also enjoying the results. If you are not used to the baking soda taste, it is kind of salty/grainy at first, but it took me only two brushings to get used to the taste and texture. My mouth and teeth feel so much cleaner, and I think they look whiter, too.

Have you been inspired to try any of my “lab-tested” stuff? Let me know in the comment section below.

© 2012 – Lynne Cobb