Thursday, September 22, 2011

Oatmeal Bread

1 comment:
I just love baking bread. I used to use my bread machine about once a week, but it’s been put away for over two years now. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to pull it out of hiding!
PhotobucketI found this oatmeal bread recipe in Better Homes and Gardens’ “Bread Machine Recipes,” and I thought it sounded like just the perfect thing for the fall weather we are having here!

I made a 1-1/2 pound loaf. (Though I am wishing I had made a 2 pound loaf!) The instructions here are for the 1-1/2 pound loaf; the printable recipe card below has both sizes.

First, toast 1 cup of quick-cooking rolled oats in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, until they are brown (stir occasionally). This brings out a really great nutty smell and flavor.

oats smThen fill up your bread machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For my Toastmaster, I added 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup milk, warmed to around 80 degrees, and 1 tablespoon of butter, cut into pieces.

milk and butter smNext I added 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar and 3/4 teaspoon salt. I layered 2-1/2 cups of bread flour and the toasted oats on top of the liquids.

The cookbook instructions are to add the oats with the flour. I added half the flour, then the oats, then the rest of the flour.

flour and oatmeal sm{It is important to use bread flour in bread recipes, not just all-purpose flour. Bread flour has a higher gluten (a kind of protein) content than AP flour. The gluten traps the carbon dioxide that is formed by the yeast, which helps the dough to rise. AP flour just doesn’t have the same gluten content, and may not hold up to all the kneading that goes on in bread-making. Save yourself some headaches, and make an extra trip to the grocery store for bread flour.}

Finally, I added 1 teaspoon of Red Star Quick Rise Yeast in a little pile right in the middle.

yeast smI loaded everything right into the bread machine, and set it for the whole wheat cycle, and a medium crust color. I love just a hint of crunch on the crust, while the inside of the bread is nice and soft – the medium crust color setting hits this perfectly for me! (If you don’t have a whole wheat or whole grain setting on your machine, just use the basic white bread option.)

bread machine smFour hours later, and ta da – it seems like no work at all! (And isn’t that the best thing about bread machines?!)

finished loaf smThis bread was so good warm with butter right out of the bread machine…

slices sm But it was also great lightly toasted with egg salad, fresh garden tomatoes, and homemade pickles! (The good thing about putting in a garden late, is that we still have fresh off the vine tomatoes in September!)

egg salad smThis will be a huge favorite of mine coming into the fall and winter. Something about the oats just gives this bread a great texture. We will be eating this with soups and stews, with big hearty sandwiches, and just warm with a bunch of butter. Can’t beat that. :)

The printable recipe card…

oatmeal bread recipe card
(Thank you to Red Star Yeast for a coupon for the yeast.)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Love on Leontein

2 comments:

One of our Real Farmwives is having some trouble. Leontein, from Four Leaf Clover Tales, has been through the cancer battle before, and won. She just found out that she has to fight it all over again.

I met Leontein through the Real Farmwives, and am really just getting to know her. I do know that she has a great sense of humor, and is one seriously strong chickie. It’s not just everyone that comes to the US from the Netherlands to start up a dairy farm from scratch!

One of the things I love about Leontein is that she is not afraid to talk about her underwear. She has these skull panties that she wears to every doctor’s appointment – they are her “Power Panties.” Everyone needs a little good luck charm, and these are Leontein’s!

It looks like she is going to need some extra pairs for the coming months, so if anyone knows where she can find them, please let her know!

Please stop by the Facebook page we set up for her, Love for Leontein, and leave an encouraging message. Or stop by her blog and leave some love there, too.

We’re all behind you, Leontein. Kick cancer’s butt!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

NOW I feel like a farmwife!

8 comments:

I’ve been a farmwife for two years. But I’ve been driving this…altima sm …and it’s just hard to feel like a farmwife when you’re driving an Altima named “Chip.” Don’t get me wrong. That car has surely done it’s duty. I bought it in 2002 with 18,0000 miles, and now it has 165,000 miles. It has gone the distance, and been very loyal.

But it was time for an upgrade.

So we did.

And now I drive this…expedition smYippie! This week we bought a Ford Expedition! This is quite a bit different than the Altima, and I love it so much!

It has a sunroof (which I open every chance I get).sunroof smThere’s a rear entertainment center. Which won’t do me much good when I’m driving by myself. But someone has already asked if they could watch dirty movies in the back. My answer was NO.dvd player smNot only does it have heated leather seats, it has air-conditioned leather seats! Who knew that you needed air-conditioned seats? I never knew it, but I totally need them!air conditioned seats smThe third row seat is actually quite roomy, and there is plenty of room for storage with the seats up.rear seats sm And the third row seats fold flat (with just the push of a button!) for a ton of storage! The second row also folds flat, just in case you need to haul a boat. Or a house.rear storage smIt has a trailer hitch, too, so that might be the better way to haul the boat. But it would fit inside!

Good bye, Chip… I will miss you. You have done well, and I will always remember you.

It will make me a little sad to sell you, but just a little.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Gooseberry Patch winner!

1 comment:

I am so pleased to announce the winner of Gooseberry Patch’s Autumn with Family & Friends!

autumnfamilyfriends

There were 89 comments on the giveaway post on Blogger, and 2 comments on the giveaway post on WordPress. So I added the two WP comments, and did a random drawing of 91 entries.

(Part of the problem of maintaining two sites… but I had some die-hards who started with me on WordPress, and it has been hard to convince them to move over to Blogger. Cause I love you, I stick with both!)

The winner is…

random winnerNumber 28 from the Blogger site… hondagal!

Please email me to claim your prize - alarmclockwars-at-gmail-dot-com, or use the “Talk to the Clock” link on the sidebar.

Congratulations!

Special thanks to Gooseberry Patch for providing me with this great cookbook to try and share with you. If you would like to purchase this or other cookbooks, please visit their store. If you would like to see other great recipes, check out www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com.

Real Time Web Analytics