Jealous much??

Okay, this post is directed at Misty. I made focaccia bread yesterday! It was so yummy!!! I made it the same as at the farmers market, with tomatoes, goat mozz, and fresh basil. My basil came out a bit crispy though. I think they may have sauteed theirs. I also added some fresh rosemary to the actual bread. OOh, it is good. For dinner last night, and I admit, for breakfast this morning, we had cheese raviolis, with tomato sauce, fresh mozz, and fresh basil with the focaccia bread. Good, Good, Good.

Baking

I baked and baked and baked some more today. I baked 3 loaves of bread today. One whole wheat, the other 2 white with oatmeal. The oatmeal bread is the boys favorite, of course it is not as good for them.

Here is the recipe:

3 cups bread flour
1 cup rolled oats
2T butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3T honey
1 packet active dry yeast
1 1/4C lukewarm milk (goats milk of course)

In a large mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough. I knead dough by hand 10 minutes till it's smooth. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and rest it for 1 hour.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface, and shape it into a log. Place the log in a lightly greased 9x5 in loaf pan, cover the pan with greased plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, til it's crested 1 to 2 inches over the rim of the pan.

Bake the bread in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, until a thermometer in the center reads 190 degrees.

It is really yummy. I don't have the whole wheat down to perfection yet. It is very good with goat cheese for breakfast though. I will post that recipe when I get it down better.

I also made two batches of tortillas for fajitas tomorrow night. One batch was made with goats milk and vegetable oil and one batch with whey from cheese making and shortening. There isn't much of a difference in how they taste at all. The second batch was easier to work with, but I let that dough rest longer than the first and I think that made a big difference. Still trying to find the perfect tortilla recipe for whole wheat tortillas.

I made the beginnings of mozzarella cheese yesterday. Today I tried to finish it but it wasn't quite ready yet. I will try again tomorrow.

I also made spanish rice for fajitas tomorrow. I would usually get Rice a Roni rice, but not any more! It smells super good!

While I did all of my baking and cooking I watched the Design Star that my mom taped for me. I was able to watch the entire series in one setting.

Fresh, Homemade Bread

I made fresh wheat bread today. It is really yummy! I just used a recipe from my favorite Betty Crocker Cookbook, except I used whey from my cheese making in place of the water in the recipe. The whey adds protein to the bread. The only problem (you knew there would be a problem) is it didn't seem to rise enough while in the oven. I'm not sure what to do to correct this, but will try again. I need another bread pan, I only have one.