Life, is intended to have bread in it.  Bread every day if possible. (I know…calories, carbs, bad bad bad, but you are missing out!)  Even more importantly than eating bread, everyone should learn how to MAKE bread.  It is one of the most simple, uncomplicated things I can think of to make that will drive the memories of home into the minds of your spouse and children.  They will always find their way back home (now, I know that becomes a problem at some point when it’s time to leave the nest, but we’ll think of something else for that later).

Bread can be as simple as 4 ingredients or as complicated as one wants to make it.  But even better,  bread can become just about anything you want it to be.  Case in point, you can make a simple soft yeast dinner rolls  for dinner or cinnamon rolls for dessert.  Bread with lots of fruit (I’m not a fan of this type of bread) is popular around the holidays, but plain wheat bread straight from the oven is good any day!  You can stuff it, break it or just slather it with butter.  Doesn’t really matter what you do with it, it is just plain ol’e good!

Here’s a recipe I absolutely love and is so easy to make.   It is by far my most favorite whole wheat bread recipe ever. 

Whole Wheat Bread

1 tsp       Salt
1 tbs       Powdered milk
3 cups   Whole Wheat Flour (King Arthur is my brand of choice)
9 oz        Water (warm)
1 tsp       Active Dry Yeast (NOT INSTANT/QUICK ACTING)
2 tbs      Honey
1 tbs       Butter (softened)

Directions

1. In the bowl of your mixer, fitted with a dough hook, mix warm water, yeast, and honey. Add 1 cup, from the 3 cups of whole wheat flour, and stir to combine. Let set until it is puffed up (about 5 -10 minutes)
2. On low speed, mix in remaining whole wheat flour, salt and powdered milk.
3. Add the softened butter as flour is being incorporated. (If the dough looks too dry add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time, making sure it’s completely incorporated before adding more, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl into a ball around dough hook.  The dough should not be sticky to the touch. If the dough gets too wet, add a dusting of flour over the top of the dough and mix until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.)
4. Turn mixer to meduim speed for 5 – 7 minutes
5. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel and let it  rise in a warm place until doubled.
6. Punch down (literally – punch it several times).  Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it so the top is nice and smooth and will fit into a loaf pan.  Place in a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pan by one inch.  (For fun you can take a serated knife and quickly cut the top of the loaves down the middle. Then quickly put it into the oven)
7. Bake at 350 degrees F until internal temperature of bread reaches 190 degrees F, (or 25 to 30 minutes) do not overbake. Lightly brush the top of the loaf with a tablespoon of melted butter or margarine when done to prevent the crust from getting hard. Cool completely (or break in and slather with butter immediately)

Try some today.  Enjoy!

It’s been exactly two weeks since I said good-bye to culinary school and my self-imposed vacation is over. I told the kids and John that for two weeks after I graduated I was going to do NOTHING but relax.  Truthfully though, I just wanted to do what I “wanted” to do!  Now that time is over and it’s back to business.  But does a mother of four, wife of one and daughter of an aging mother really ever do nothing??  I didn’t even get to eat the Bon Bon’s I told John I was going to nosh on every day.

Ok, lets get started with The Pantry Project!

We all love to have a pantry but who in their right mind likes to clean and reorganize them?  Well, this task has been calling me for over a year now and I finally hiked up my sweats, tied my hair back and got it done.  Did it take me longer than anticipated?  Of course!  But the end result is awe inspiring.  So much so that I sat at my kitchen counter and admired my days work while eating a cake pop.

To begin, I pulled everything out and put it all on any flat surface I could find.  This is when you locate things you have forgotten, lost or someone else hid for a late night snack (JOHN!!).

Looky here, Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Bark, unopened from last Christmas.

How did that happen?  I must have been too tired to notice for the past year. Christmas gift anyone?

After recovering from the shock of finding unopened chocolate,  I cleaned off the shelves that I hadn’t seen in years with soap and water.  Yucky, but there was no strange substances to clean, just dirty fingerprints and dust.

Next was to sweep the floor and sponge mop it.

Talk about a clean smelling pantry – much different than some of the other smells that have come out of there from time to time.  Now is when I assessed whether I should cover the shelves with paper or leave them as is.  I decided to cover them because when the paper/plastic liner gets dirty and ragged looking, I can replace it easily.  Cover them up I say!   …no one will ever know what lies beneath them.

On to organizing!  I went through all my items and placed like-items together.  Cereal with breakfast items, vinegars with bottled items, cans with cans and so on.  Oh, and I threw things out!!!  Yes, this is the time to get rid of those opened jell-o packets that you once used a portion of and put back on the shelf because some day you were going to use it again.  If it is still sitting there, throw it out.  If your half-eatin’ marshmallow bag is all sticky and the mallows are stuck together in one big blob, throw…it…out.  Also, check expiration dates on all your food.  Normal shelf life for opened bottles of oil, balsamic vinegar, syrup, etc. , is about 90- days or so.  But that is only a “rule of thumb”, not gospel.  (what is a rule of thumb?)  Next, be sure to put all opened bags like pasta, dried beans or rice in a bigger zip lock bag or see-through containers so you can see them when you need them.

Now you’re ready for the fun part.  Putting everything back into the pantry in a neat and organized way.  My advice at this point is to assess what type of organizational items will actually help you keep the pantry clean over time.  For me I needed three wire baskets for the shelf  (found at Lowe’s on clearance for $4), three hanging baskets, two large floor baskets (also from Lowe’s) and two pull-out drawers from Walmart.  Then I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to find two lazy susan’s that work fabulously for my bottled items.  I already had a Longaberger basket that I use for kids snacks and things, a stacking rack for my cans and two wire shelves.

All in all, the end result is a well-organized pantry that I don’t have anxiety over anymore.

 It’s Fall so turn the oven on to self-clean and get busy on your pantry project.  That’s killing two birds with one stone – what an awful  metaphor – you’ll be thrilled with the results.