Baguette Bread

I posted on Facebook Sunday that I was out of bread and needed to make some for our dinners this week.  I had a request for the recipe.  I thought I would share how I make my bread.  

I have been using the French Bread in the Kitchenaid booklet.  

I warm my bowl by running hot water on the outside of the bowl.  I add 2 1/2 cups warm water with 2 packages or 4 1/2 teaspons of yeast.  To this I also add 1 teaspoon of sugar, using a whisk to dissolve.  I let this  sit for about 5 minutes or until it is bubbly.  While this is happening, I put in a small dish 1 tablespoon kosher salt and melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter.  I premeasure 7 cups of unbleached flour in a seprate bnowl.  

I add about half the flour to the mixing bowl with the yeast in it.  I then add my salt and butter.  I start my mixer at the lowest speed and mix until it is coming off the side of the bowl.  Then I start adding a little flour to the bowl and continue mixing.  Most days, I end up using all the 7 cups of flour.  It depends on the weather and humidity. I then time my mixing for about 5 minutes.  

Take the dough out of the bowl and work in a little flour if the dough is sticky.  I knead for a minute or so, shaping into a ball.

Place it in a greased bowl and spray some oil on the top of the dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 60 minutes.

After the dough has risen for 60 minutes, take out of bowl and punch down.

  Since I am making baguettes, I divide the dough in 1 pound portions.  

Start flattening out the one of the dough balls.  I prefer not to flour my counter so the bread will sort of stick and shape better.  I flatten and shape just using my fingers.

I place my loaf pan in front of me so I know how long to make the loaf.  Start rolling up the dough starting at the edge.  I roll the dough with my fingers and roll outward to get the length I need.

Place the shaped loaves in the pans.  I found these pans on Amazon.  I love them.  No greasing, flouring or transferring to another pan.   Score your loaves with a shallow diagonal slits.

Cover and let rise 60 additional minutes.  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Bake for 25 minutes.  About 5-6 minutes before the end of the baking, brush eash loaf with one eggwhite with a little water (whisked).

  

Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Note:

Just to let you know that you do not need a mixer to make this bread.  Mix ingredients with a spoon or dough whisk.  Knead on floured counter for about 5 minutes.  I find it easier to place a cople of fat phone books on the floor and stand on them while I knead.  If you don't have these pans you can place risen loaves on a pizza board sprinkled with a little corn meal.  Transfer to a preheated stone sprinkled with a little corn meal.  

I love making bread.  It is one of my most favorite items in baking.  I have been making all types of bread for at least 30 years.  At first they weren't very good.  But as the years go by, I've gotten better.  Practice makes perfect.


Make sure you at least get one slice before it cools.  Baker's choice, you know.  Enjoy.

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Barn Hop

A Little Christmas Baking

A couple of weeks ago, I started marinating 6 cups dried fruit in brandy.  Instead of using the candied fruit sold for fruitcake, I used dried papaya, cranberries, cherries, dates, and raisins.  I poured enough brandy in to cover the fruit.  I rotated the bag everyday to get all the fruit soaked.

Today, I mixed up the batter.  For the cake, I used 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons vanilla in my kitchenaid blender.  After it was all incorporated, scraping down the sides, I added 4 eggs, one at a time.

Stir in the 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 cup orange juice, alternating.

Drain fruit and stir in 2 cups nuts.

I prepared my pans with cooking spray and then lined with parchment paper.  What a chore that was.  I didn't line my 2 loaf pans.  We'll see how it turns out.  Fill each pan about 3/4 full and bake at 325 for 60 minutes.

Check with toothpick to see if the centers come out clean.  Place on cooling rack then remove from pans.  Brush with brandy.  Wrap and let rest at least 24 hours or up to a month, brushing with brany weekly,  I made this fruitcake last year and brushed with brandy every other day.  I was delicious,

This is the best fruitcake I've ever had.
I got this recipe from CJ who's blog in not working.  

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Blog Hop

One Homemade Christmas Gift Made

We don't do much for the holidays.  There is just my son, significant other and myself here.  So I cook Thanksgiving because I love to cook and bake.  Plus the leftovers are awesome.  Same with Christmas, just the three of us.  I usually only gift to my son, one neighbor, a co-worker of my man's and my maillady.  This year I decided to make Kahula, mainly for me but though my maillady would like some.

I start with 4 cups coffee (recipe says Yuban, which I used but I shopped for price) in a kettle with 1 1/2  quarts plus 1 cup water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.  Let cool and strain.  I strain mine twice so I don't get a lot of fine coffee grounds.  I strained through a double layer of cheesecloth.  Once strained, add 3 quarts water with 7 cups sugar and bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  Completely cool.  Then add 2 ounces pure vanilla, 250 ml vodka and a fifth     Everclear or Clear Spring. ( I used Clear Spring).

cool completely

add vodka, vanilla and Clear Spring

add all of it

then pour into bottles.  Save those bottles.  You can use at least one from this batch (Clear Spring)

I ended up with 6 fifths plus a little in another bottle.  Hopefully I'll get my bottles back.  It took a while to accummulate these.

Store the bottle in a dark, cool spot for about 3 weeks.  Just in time for gifting. 

This post is being linked to Homestead Revival Blog Hop

Homemade Laundry Soap

I just made some laundry soap.  I've had all the indgredients to make this for a long time. I just needed to exhaust my supply of store bought soap.  Today was the day. 

I grated a bar of Fels-Naptha and set aside 1 1/3 cup for another batch. I used my food processor for this. I add this to a kettle on the stove to 4 cups water.  Heat to dissolve the soap.  Meanwhile, measure out 1/2 cup each of soda and borax.  

Add 4 cups hot water to a storage container.  Add melted mixture to the storage container plus 1 gallon and 6 cups water.  Mix.  

This container is huge.  I will more than likely put it in a smaller container plus I have a milk jug I will put some into for daily use.

The information below I got from another blog.  She also had a video tutorial, if anyone is interested.  I didn't keep tract of my prices.  Next time I will and give you an update.

Price comparisons
All calculations are based on the national avg. of 400 loads of laundry per family per year, or 7.69 loads per week

Tide $12.99/64 loads .20/load=$80/yr   
Gain $5.99/32 loads .19/load=$76/yr
All $4.29/32 loads .13/load=$52/yr
Trend $2.49/38 loads .7/load=$28/yr
(generic brand)

Fels Naptha soap $1.19/bar
Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda $2.99/55oz box
20 Mule Team Borax $4.49/76 oz box
One box of the washing soda will make just under 7 batches of soap, and the borax will make exactly 19 batches. 

One batch of soap calculates out to:
$1.19/Fels Naptha 
.49/Washing soda
.24/Borax
$1.92 per 10 gallons

10 gal (64oz) divided by 2 oz./load=320 loads/batch=.006/load

Final cost per year=$2.40!!!!!!!!!!

Now that's a great bottom line!  Please post a comment and let me know if you try this and what you think.