Choosing Voluntary Simplicity » Bread Making

Whole Wheat Banana Nut Bread

Shirley — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:07:35 +0000

My family asks me to make this whole wheat banana nut bread every year for Thanksgiving. It's a light, cake-like bread with a great banana flavor... it is very easy and quick to make because all the mixing can be done by hand.

How To Shape Crescent Rolls

Shirley — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:14:24 +0000

To shape crescent rolls, roll the dough into a circle that measures approximately twelve inches in diameter and one-quarter inch thick. Spread softened butter over the dough. Cut the circle in half, then in fourths, etc., continuing as you would cut a pie until there are sixteen wedge-shaped pieces.

My Husband’s Favorite Sticky Buns

Shirley — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:06:24 +0000

I usually turn cinnamon buns into sticky buns with a delicious brown sugar and nut topping. We all like extra thick topping, so I almost always double the topping ingredients. Be careful though... when the sugar in the topping melts, it becomes terrifically hot, so when you turn these sticky buns out of the pan, don't let any of the topping drip onto your fingers.

Bread Maker Honey Wheat Bread

Shirley — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:13:36 +0000

I'm really liking the new bread maker... a lot! I like that that it makes horizontal loaves and I like having all the breads come out with a perfect shape and with perfect texture. I have been diligently following the instructions to check the dough ball during the first few minutes of the initial mixing cycle... and letting the dough ball tell me if I need to make any necessary adjustments. Usually I need to add less than a tablespoon of additional liquid. I would guess that this would change when the humidity levels do.

Banana Nut Bread Made With Organic White Whole Wheat Flour

Shirley — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:03:27 +0000

Did you ever open a brand new bag of whole wheat flour and find that the flour inside was full of dead bugs? That happened to me yesterday morning as I was starting to make a whole wheat banana bread for a special event. We had just purchased the flour the day before, and I always keep the whole wheat flour in the freezer. The bugs must have been alive in the flour when we bought it and the freezing killed them. It was pretty disgusting.

By Request — My Oatmeal Bread Recipe

Shirley — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:01:38 +0000

Several people have written to ask for the oatmeal bread recipe I mentioned in some of my breadmaking posts. I have been making this bread for a long time and it is one of our favorites. I would guess that this recipe originally came from the back of a bag of Quaker Oats... although I am not sure. The recipe as it was given to me is simply a list of the ingredients... there are no instructions given... but here is how I make this bread.

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Tips for Baking Better Bread at Higher Altitudes

Shirley — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:09:43 +0000

Reader question... "We recently moved to a location that has a higher altitude and all of a sudden I can't make a good loaf of bread any more even though I'm still using the same recipe I always use. What happens is the bread rises well but falls while it is baking and ends out as a very dense and low loaf. I'm fairly certain that the higher altitude is the problem but I don't know how to fix it. Do you have any ideas about what I can do to make good bread again?" --Karen H.

How To Make Teddy Bear Rolls

Shirley — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:10:47 +0000

If your kids like to help you cook, they will love making these teddy bear rolls. Any yeast dough works great for making bears. With a sweet roll dough, try decorating the bears with pieces of raisins for eyes and a ribbon made out of icing. Or use your regular bread dough and make bears without any decoration at all.

When Homemade Bread Tastes Too Yeasty

Shirley — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:41:33 +0000

Reader question: "I'm not having very good results with making my own bread. It tastes too yeasty and has almost a sour flavor. The texture is also very coarse with big holes. Do you have any ideas about what I might be doing wrong?" --Jenni W.

How I Make Hamburger & Hot Dog Buns

Shirley — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:14:56 +0000

One of the most difficult things about living with a food allergy (aside from the allergic reactions themselves) is not being able to eat a lot of the foods that other people take for granted. For example, what about a cookout, where everybody is eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. If you're lucky enough to have found (or made) wheat meat hot dogs or hot dogs without added soy, what happens when... because of the soy allergy... you can't eat the hot dog bun? A hot dog or a hamburger eaten alone or on a slice of bread just doesn't seem like cookout food.