**We now use our Nutrimill to grind our wheat.**

There are so many fun things you can do with bread dough! Man, the possibilities are endless! Let’s explore the world of breadsticks today. These are delicious! They make the house smell like Olive Garden. They make your hips expand involuntarily. But man oh man, are they worth it. Let’s bake!

We’ll need yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, bread flour, egg white, water, and sesame seed (poppy seeds or coarse salt can be used instead). You could use fresh Parmesan if you had it but I only had the canned stuff. The fresh version is expensive for my blood, so it’s an occasional treat. [Read more…]

This begins my 5 day series on yeast breads. Today we’ll cover Light Bread. Why is it called that? I guess because it’s light in color……or light in texture. Who knows? All I know is that my mama calls it Light Bread, so I call it that. It’s delicious, so who cares what it’s called. You can call it Dirt Bread for all I care as long as I get to eat it with butter.

This recipe doesn’t take complicated ingredients. You’ll need bread flour, salt, yeast, warm water, sugar, and shortening. Yes, bread flour. Don’t substitute this time.

Before I found this recipe from Pioneer Woman, I wasn’t the type of person that would get overly excited about cornbread. Now, however, I have seen the light! This is the way cornbread should be – moist on the inside and nice and crispy on the outside. What really makes GOOD cornbread is a cast iron skillet. That combined with the stove-top method of this recipe results in a cornbread that will make your eyes roll back in your head. A cast iron skillet is the only way to go if you want awesome cornbread. Otherwise, just settle for mediocrity.

Whoever invented pancakes was a complete genius. I love you, inventor of pancakes! Making your own from scratch is so easy, you’ll wonder why you ever bought Bisquick. Not that there is anything wrong with Bisquick. I use it often…..I keep a stash. Anyway, who needs to buy the frozen variety of pancakes? Unless of course you shop like me and get them super cheap for those occasions when you only have time for the microwave. I love you, inventor of microwaves! Let’s make some pancakes, shall we?

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes. When I first saw this recipe, I knew I HAD to make it. It haunted me in my sleep. Cinnamon Bun Pancakes? Glory!!!!!!!! This recipe is so amazing that it will make a man propose to you. If you’re already married, he might offer to take you to Hawaii. Yes, it’s THAT good. Barry groaned with glee all the way through breakfast. I licked my plate. Who cares if I lick it regularly? I was trying to get every bit of cinnamon bun goodness off of there. Don’t deny it! You do it too.

Biscuits. Biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and jam. Biscuits, bacon, and eggs. Biscuits and BUTTER!  I’m about to take you to a land of ecstasy. I’m going to teach you to make biscuits. Yes, you can do it! It’s really not hard. It’ll make your whole family love you and shower you with gifts. Serve them biscuits and gravy and you’ve got them wrapped around your finger. Biscuits can bring world peace! Let’s go!

Day two and we’re making muffins! Ya know; muffins are just cupcakes we eat at breakfast. We call them muffins so we don’t feel bad about eating cake for breakfast. Guess what? You don’t have to feel bad about eating cake at breakfast! Make some muffins and feel healthy! These muffins even have apples in them, so they gotta be good for you! Fruit! An apple muffin a day keeps the doctor away. You heard it here first.

To make Apple Pie Muffins you need brown sugar, all purpose flour, butter, cinnamon, oil, an egg, vanilla, buttermilk, baking soda, salt, and diced, peeled apples. You’ll notice that I didn’t get bulk apples. I saw these marked down and they were wayyyyyyyyyyyy cheaper than getting them whole. I knew I was going to use them the same day, so I chose these. I love mark downs! Also, I didn’t have any buttermilk in the house, so I used my buttermilk mix instead. You could also make your own buttermilk. See this post.

*UPDATE – See this post about our new eating habits.(7/10/11)

Today begins my week of writing about quick breads. I love quick breads! They’re so…….quick. Not to mention easy, delicious, and quick. Did I mention quick? There are about a million different varieties of quick “breads.” This week I’m going to focus on sweet breads (today), muffins, pancakes, biscuits, and cornbread.

We’re going to make Zucchini Bread today! I just love zucchini. You can do so much with it. It’s very nutritious. So that makes this sweet bread nutritious, right? Yes, right. When our family is overrun with zucchini during the summer, I make everything I can think of with zucchini in it. This just happens to be my favorite way to use it. It’s a Betty Crocker recipe. Betty is such a good cook. She really knows what she’s doing…..and she does it quick.

WARNING!!!! If you have no self restraint when it comes to bread or eating, then please walk away from your computer. Right now. Leave. You’re still here aren’t you? Oh well. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Today, we’re talking croutons! I love making my own croutons. They’re so delicious! I eat so many of them, I forget it’s salad that is supposed to be the main attraction. Last night I had salad and I kept going back to add more of these croutons. When I have bread that is starting to get hard or stale, then I know it’s time to make some of these babies. [Read more…]