Bread Making

Today we were supposed to go on a field trip to a local bakery with our homeschool group. But, frankly, KitMama and I have been so over-loaded with the "other stuff" going on in our family's lives, we just did not have the gumption to pack all six kids into the car and drive an hour (one way) to see how bread is made. Especially since we already make bread at home. So, we skipped the tour, stayed home, and Michael made some bread, mostly on his own with a little direction from me.

Carefully measuring out the flour using the "scoop and scrape" method.

Mixing the wet and the dry.

Kneading the dough.

Rolling out pieces for....

...the twist (ready to bake).

The rest of the dough went into "twisty-topped loaf".

Michael used a very basic, very easy bread recipe that I'd gotten from our larger homeschool group a few years ago. It's pretty much one of those can't-miss recipes, as you can see. And very, very yummy! Nope. No leftovers ;)

Ready For Camping

Now that we’ve taken the plunge and committed to meeting up with my family in Oregon in July, and now that Papa Bear has plotted out a panoramic tour of the National Parks, we’re now taking a look at the practicalities of this type of vacation. Papa Bear had been looking at various camping trailers and such to see if there is something suitable to rent for the three weeks, and has found a few options. But, they’re a little pricey for “just” a rental. Since we’re likely to be using a pull-behind rig frequently, we thought it might be worthwhile in the long run to just buy one, if we could find a good deal. Which my genius brother, JoBro, did. From California. Believe it or not, he located a nice little pop-trailer right here in town being sold by an RV dealer who is going out of business next Friday. They need to liquidate their remaining inventory. So, we went and took a look, and put down a deposit to hold it. A few hours later they called to say the financing came through, so we’re scheduled to pick it up on Saturday. After a 1 ½ hour orientation on how to work the thing. My other genius brother, C-Bro, has already sent us a list of accessories we should consider getting. Camping is in our family's blood, and my bros are pros.

In the meantime, BooBoo is ready to camp. He’s been hounding me for weeks to help him set up a tent in the front yard so he can camp out there. He doesn’t seem to be the least intimidated by the 20 degree nights we’ve been having, or even the slushy snow we had the other day (he was insisting we set up the tent in the snow). He finally got the better of me today, we located our small tent, I helped him set it up, and he’s determined to sleep in it tonight. And tomorrow night. The night after, he’ll be sleeping in the pop-up in the driveway. He’s got his sleeping bag and pad, PJ’s, a lamp, and two fresh baked biscuits he swiped off the cooling rack. He explained that he can’t survive two days without food, so he’s got one biscuit for each day he plans to be out there. Thinking ahead, that one.

The Tent

The Determined Occupant(s)

For my part, I took a stab at baking fresh bread in the electric roaster. It may be foolishly optimistic for me to even consider making fresh bread while camping, but we’ve got plenty of time to figure out whether or not it will be worthwhile. My baking stone had cracked in half last time I used it for pizza, so the two pieces set on the rack in the bottom just fit. I grabbed some dough from the fridge and made some biscuit-sized bits, popped them in, poured in the water, and they turned out just as fabulous as the oven variety. Maybe even better, if you can believe it.

My Cracked Stone in The Roaster. No comments, please.

I swear, I made more than two biscuits...


Ah, the missing biscuits...in the tent.

So, another day of homeschooling. I’ll have to figure out how to classify RV shopping and tent set-up on my attendance form. As with appliance dismantling and kitchen faucet installation, I’ll probably just put it down as “essential life skills.”

And, tomorrow is another day…

Artisan Bread

I made that. Really. And, it was FABULOUS. The Five Bears wolfed it down in about ten minutes along with some left-over party dip and Fresh Avocado Salsa. And it was EASY. WAAAAAY easy. With almost no mess. About 20 minutes of active effort, and I've still got enough dough for three more loaves. If you love great bread, you have GOT to try this.

Only four ingredients...flour, yeast, water and salt...which works for vegans and dairy allergies. About 10 minutes to mix the dough. Rise and refrigerate. About 30 seconds to form a loaf. Rest and bake. Perfect.

You may need to get a couple of new kitchen gizmos...basically a baking stone and pizza peel, both of which I found at BB&B. But, it's worth the small investment (if you don't already have these items) just to bake this bread yourself. Oh, and you probably want to pick the book that tells you how to do it. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Thanks, Mimi, for lending me your copy ;)

The Children Have Taken Over the Kitchen (TJed)

Tom (9) wants to be a professional chef. This week. Next week, it is sure to change. Yes, he’s in Lol Phase. This week, when I asked him “What do you want to learn about this week?” his response was something akin to “Can we just cook all week?”. “Okay”, I said. I attempted to begin a conversation about meal planning, ensuring we had all the ingredients necessary, etc., but he kind of wandered off in pursuit of a stray thought relating to LEGOs. We’re still working on the “focus” thing.

Now, just for clarification, we have “family study time” each weekday in which I do my best to pull off something resembling “KidSchool” and I read aloud our “family book”; usually a classic the kids have chosen out of my pre-selected selections. In addition to this, Tom and I have an hour each day set aside when I’m available to help him with whatever else he wants to learn. I won’t go into my own expectations about this, but let’s just say that most of what he wants to learn is a bit over my head. Like skydiving, rock climbing, and adobe brick making. (I think I might be able to pull off the adobe brick making; we do live in Georgia, the Land Of Red Clay, after all). So, when he says “cooking”, I’m all over it. That, I can do.

So, on Monday I taught Tom how to make bread. He made a wonderful loaf of bread, and some mighty fine cinnamon rolls, which we all enjoyed.

Today is Tuesday, and he decided to make more bread; twisty bread to go with his Secret Ingredient Chicken Noodle Soup (which he’s been developing for a few weeks now), and Monkey Balls (I think it’s actually called Monkey Bread, but I call it Monkey Balls for sentimental family reasons…but that’s another story). Okay, one child in the kitchen I can pretty much handle. But, while I was “multi-tasking”, addressing a few e-mails on the computer, Tom quietly enlisted his two younger brothers into the dinner-making adventure. The result was a pretty tasty dinner, and this…..

I tried to explain the concept of “clean up as you go”, but it doesn’t seem to have sunk in. And, yes, those are LEGO creations sitting at the far end of the counter....I think they were somehow involved in the dinner making process, but I'm not sure how. Of course, the rule in our home has always been “The cook doesn’t have to clean up.” Let’s see….all three boy were involved in cooking, we only have three children, so clean-up is left to…..hmmmmm.

Please excuse me while I go clean up the kitchen…