The Quest for Bread

It seems that everyone decided to use the COVID quarantine as a time to master the art of bread making.  I, on the other hand, have been trying to master it for years with little success.  

When Ashton was a young teen she learned to make sourdough bread from her grandmother.  Starter and all!  It is arguably the BEST bread out there.  Seriously.  People would pay her to make it for them.  But eventually we learned she had a severe wheat sensitivity and the days of her supplying us with weekly bread ended.

Oh, I know, I could have taken her place, but I am telling you, that bread is HARD to make and I do not have the skill or the patience that she and her grandmother have.  

So I tried many different, "easier", recipes.  With no luck.  Most were either too complicated or had a crust as hard as a brick.  My boys like soft crust bread they can use for sandwiches.  They would have made bad french men!  Hard crusty bread is just NOT their thing.

There just so happened to be one recipe I had been carrying around for a few months and was determined to try when the virus hit.  Wouldn't you know it- just the same time that yeast became a hot commodity, right up there with toilet paper.

Luckily, Ashton found a way to get her hands on some (yeast, that is) and I got brave enough to try one more recipe.

WINNER!  Like, the perfect loaf of bread.

 

And not just an anomaly!  Perfect every single time. 

 And my boys LOVE it because it has a soft crust and is perfect for sandwiches.

 

And toast.

And french toast.

And snack.

You get the idea!

Hey, we all need to have times and things to celebrate!  This is my Covid celebration!

Now, off to find more yeast!

Blessings,

 

Fun Fridays- Muffin Madness!

When I first started blogging last year, I mentioned here about my family eating muffins for Friday morning breakfasts with a dear friend and her family.  We still do muffins almost every Friday at our house, without that friend to share with sadly (boo hiss, military!), but each time we mix them up it makes me smile at the memories we have sharing muffins with someone each week.  Warm muffins in the morning are yummy.  Warm muffins in the morning made by or for a friend are delightful!

So this month, Fun Fridays are all about MUFFINS!

First one up is a recipe I have been using for over 18 years!  No kidding!  When I was first substitute teaching, before our first was born, a preschool director introduced these to me.  She made them as bread in coffee cans.  We loved them and they are a staple in our house.  You can use whatever fruit you choose, I seem to remember her using strawberries, but we either use pumpkin or applesauce. 

I love this simple recipe.  It is one of those just pour it all in a bowl, mix and put in the muffin cups.  One bowl to clean, no fancy steps to remember.

Quick note- this is NOT a "healthy" recipe.  If you are looking for low cal or just good for you ingredients, better close your eyes real quick and change blogs for this one.  I do try to make up for it by using our own milled flour and usually substitute honey granules for the sugar.  I say usually, because I am currently out and have not reordered them.  So, white sugar it is....shhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell.  Hey, I gave up diet cokes this month, I deserve a little white sugar, right? ;)


Fruit Bread

3 cups flour (we use whole wheat)
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. sugar (or 1 1/2 honey granules)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup oil
2 1/2 c. fruit (applesauce, pumpkin, strawberries)

Mix all ingredients together and fill muffin pans 2/3 full.  Bale at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen, so there are plenty to share with a friend or freeze half for the following week's breakfast.  Or snacks!

 

Enjoy and Happy Friday, friends!