Bread Making and a New Cup

The bread I buy says "manufactured on shared equipement that manufacture products containing milk".  So, I've been baking bread.

My last batch came out *really* heavy, because I let it rise too long on the first rise. All the fault of Peanut and Little Bobble. But it showed me that I can just willy-nilly bake bread now.

I've heard of "5 minutes a day" bread, but doubted it. I've read the Alton Brown explanation of what makes bread work, and it made sense to me.  The logic of non-kneaded bread escaped me. But I've hear such good things about it, so I thought I'd give it a try. And when I saw this, she convinced me.

Well, its not exactly sandwich bread, but its close.

First, it doubled in size in 30 minutes (that's *fast* for a first rise). Might be because we only a/c to 80' -- that's still 20' to 25' cooler than outside. Or might be the relatively little flour used.

Second, I let the rise a bit too long for the second rise. And, third, I was in a hurry, and stuck it in the oven when I turned the oven on. That might be why it did rise much in the baking. Or might be the 445'F oven. That will bake the outside rather quickly. Finally, both loaves baked through in about 40 minutes, when it should of taken an hour to an hour and a half.

The bread itself isn't too bad. Its not traditional sandwich bread, for sure. There are large air-bubbles, making it quite holey and the texture is off. Its kinda like wacky cake, also called monkey cake (I think). Its cake you make when you don't have eggs, and uses vinegar and baking soda. It is nice, as it took very little hands on time and very little physical effort (especially compared with kneading a batch for 8 to 10 minutes!)

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the book, and giving some of the recipes a try. I based my making on the ivynest.blogspot.com post.  Ya know, I think I do have copies from a magazine... I should pull those and out try that recipe.

I also figured out a new cup. I looked at Walmart, but nothing struck me as worth it. I knew I wanted a cup with a lid that used a straw. Needs to hold 16 oz. Double walled would be nice, but negotiable. I remembered seeing using mason jars on a website once, and realized that pint jars are 16 oz. So, I grabbed a pint jar, wide mouth, a lid and a screw ring. I punched a hole in the lid for a straw and --wa-la-- a new cup for me!

strawberry, banana and orange smoothie. yum.

I've got lemonade in it now. Its working nicely!