I do love my bread machine, but I'd forgotten how much fun it is to "make it myself". There I was, barefooted in my checked flannel nightshirt, happily dumping and mixing. I used my Polish Bread recipe, the one I use to make rolls, and added several cups of King Arthur White Whole Wheat, which gave the dough a lovely caramel color.
One of the neatest finds I've stumbled onto lately is my dough rising bucket. I originally got it for mixing and storing the artisan bread in five minutes a day dough, but one day I grabbed it to let my roll dough rise. I'm telling you, there's something magical about this bucket. I think the lid helps the rising dough generate some heat of its own, and even on a cold, dark day like today my dough will rise fairly quickly. In the past, especially if there's whole wheat in it, it could take up to four hours for my dough to double in our cool house. Not any more!
I ordered it from King Arthur Flour and would definitely recommend it. If you don't already get their catalog, I'll recommend it, too. It's wonderful and when a new one arrives, I love to sit down with a new cup of something hot and enjoy myself for a while.
And here's a picture of today's final product:
Mmmm....
P.S. Dan was able to fix the bread machine again.
I've gone through three bread machines, including frozen paddle syndrome. The one I have now I bought at a rummage sale. It's great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling about the King Arthur bucket. I'll order one. I'm not bread-making savvy but I'd love to be. And yes, I do get the King Arthur catalog and their email updates.
Oh -- and I love that you're doing this in your nightshirt. A girl after my own heart! I hate to get dressed -- so comfy in my night clothes and robes. I've accomplished great things in my pajamas.
I also love your "Cornflower" bread pans. How long have you had those, may I ask?
ReplyDeleteLooks very good Chris. Hey how bout you do a video here so we can see how you do things. Like put the binding on the table runner you did last month at stitchin with Chris I cannot remember how you did it. I have not had a chance to go back and finish my runners. time passes far to fast.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking time for us.
Kathy, I don't often work in my jammies--I usually get right up and get dressed, but Dan was gone and so I was in a putter-y mood. :-) I probably need to do it more often.
ReplyDeleteAnd in answer to your question about the bread pans, I've had them since I was married, so 40 years. :-) I love them because they're bigger--9x5". I guess they're classics by now.
Marty, I have no idea how to do a video, but I can give you a copy of the binding instructions!
I ordered the dough rising bucket from King Arthur with the free shipping deal they offered the other day. Thanks for mentioning it. I always thought if bread didn't rise in the time allotted, it probably wouldn't rise. I didn't know I'm supposed to wait for it to happen. (I could benefit by a good course on bread making.
ReplyDeleteYes, your bread pans are classics for sure. I note that anything in the "cornflower" line is snatched right up at the rummage sale. I have the 8x8 pan and use it constantly.
Kathy, I used to have a ton of the cornflower stuff, but they didn't matched my dishes or my kitchen so except for the loaf pans and my 8x8 pan, I gave them all away to Amy and her mom a few years ago. I *did* have the snowflake Corelle dishes when we were first married (Dan's suggestion so they'd match the cornflower casseroles we'd received for wedding gifts) but I never did really like them, so they were replaced a few years in. I guess I like a warmer tone to my dishware and anything that goes on the table with them.
ReplyDeleteWell, I wasn't going to say it, but I never cared for the cornflower design, but the cookware was handy. I donated a cornflower casserole to the rummage sale. The lid broke years ago. As you have observed, there's some great stuff out there, and I'd rather have some of that.
ReplyDeleteBut the bread pans are still cool.
Is there anything special about King Arthur flour? I have a soda bread recipe from their website, but I just use whatever ol' flour is in my cupboard.
ReplyDeleteHallie, the only King Arthur flour I use is the white whole wheat because it's not as "whole wheaty" as the usual brands. I like to be healthy, but confess I'm not really fond of whole wheat... Guess I grew up with too much white bread. I do drool over their catalog however!
ReplyDeleteI subscribe to the King Arthur website and also receive the catalog. Albertsons has some King Arthur flour and the other day I treated myself to a package.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Chris! We just can't get into whole wheat, no matter what they say. I try to buy healthy bread, but when I bring home white bread, Mike will say, "This is such good bread!"
Kathy, so true. This bread really doesn't taste whole-wheaty with the KA flour. As a matter of fact, I might say that it's pretty yummy! I think I'll make another batch this week. But it's true--white really does taste the absolute best.
ReplyDelete