Bread Making 101

 

Today I finally made homemade bread again after a three-year hiatus.  And it felt good.  And it smelled great.  And it tasted delicious.  Here is the step-by-step process that used to come second nature to me as I did this several days every week for two straight years.  It takes some time, but nothing in the stores or even farmers' markets can compare to the bread you mix, knead, and bake yourself in your kitchen.

White Bread

 

Stir one package (1 Tablespoon) of dry yeast into 1/2 cup warm water and add 1/2 teaspoon of honey.  Let sit and get foamy.  Make sure the water is not too hot and not cold.

 

In a large bowl, add 4 cups hot water, 3 Tablespoons of shortening/lard/butter (you decide), 1 Tablespoon salt, and 3 Tablespoons honey.  Stir until honey is dissolved and your fat source has melted.  

 

Add 5 cups of unbleached flour and stir with large wooden spoon.  Once the mixture cools to a lukewarm temperature, add the yeast mixture.  Beat well.  Add 5 more cups of flour, one at a time and mixing well after each.

 

Once the dough is no longer sticky, flour your counter well, and turn out the dough onto the floured counter.  Also, flour your hands so the dough doesn't stick to you.

 

Begin kneading the dough.

 

Add more flour to the counter as needed.  I used some buckwheat flour because I ran out of the white.

 

And keep on kneading until the dough feels elastic and springy.

 

Keep kneading for about 10 minutes.  A willing helper is a definite asset.

 

Wash your mixing bowl and then generously grease the inside with oil or butter.

 

Plop your dough ball in the bowl and roll it around so it's coated with the oil.

 

Then cover it with a warm, damp cloth, dish towel, or a child's apron like I used here.  Place it in a warm, sunny area to let the dough rise.

 

It takes several hours for the dough to rise.  You get to leave the kitchen for awhile and do something else!

 

Once the dough has risen to about twice or thrice its original size and has air bubbles in it, you get to take out all of your frustrations in life on that bread dough.

 

Punch, punch, punch until all those air bubbles are gone.

 

I usually have several little people volunteering to participate in this part of the process.

Now you need to grease your bread pans, separate the dough into two or three balls, and put them in the pans.  Mine look a little lumpy because I didn't take the time to shape nice smooth loaves, but you might want to do that.  This recipe makes enough dough for 2 long loaf pans or 3 normal sized ones.

 

Cover them with that warm, damp cloth again and let them rise some more for another hour or so. 

 

Then bake them in a 400 degree oven.  The smaller loaves bake for about 30 minutes until they're slightly golden brown, and you tap on the tops, and they sound hollow.  I like to spread a little butter across the tops.

 

The large loaves bake a little longer.  35-40 minutes should suffice.  Let them cool for a few minutes before you turn them out on a cutting board.  Let them cool a little bit more before cutting, and if you turn them on their sides, they get less mangled when slicing. 

Ten minutes after pulling them out of the oven, one of the smaller loaves was devoured by my crew.  Mouths literally water around here when homemade bread is baking.  Give it a try this weekend.  Your family won't be disappointed.

 

The Downtown Shops of Bedford, PA

 

We had the pleasure of meeting up with my sister's family in Bedford, PA this past weekend.  I was amazed at how much the downtown has changed over the past decade.  There are so many unique shops and eateries, cafes and holistic medicine establishments, and wineries and antique stores.  This doesn't even touch on the numerous historic sites from the Revolutionary War or any of the interesting places to visit surrounding the borough.  My children's favorite shop was Bedford Candies.  Their store is full of their own handmade chocolates plus ice cream, other non-chocolate treats, and a gazillion different flavors of gourmet popcorn that they also make themselves.  I behaved myself and only purchased 5 very small chocolate truffles of various flavors.

 

There were many stores we didn't get to patronize due to heavy downpours off and on throughout the afternoon, but the Briar Valley Winery and Cove Creek Outfitters were two shops I really wanted to visit. 

 

We girls did spend quite a bit of time in this 1758 Co. Fair Trade

store.  There was so much to look at, and I was amazed to find this shop in a town so small.  Since our grandson's nursery is filled with elephants, I had to go home with something from there because the place was filled with African pieces of art.  Every purchase helps those developing nations, and the artistic items are made from recycled materials or natural resources (believe it or not, elephant dung was one of those resources.)

 

I chose the wooden mama elephant and her baby for the nursery.  It's actually a puzzle and a keepsake box made from wood in Africa by an African artisan.  The cinnamon popcorn was one of many purchases from the Bedford Candies shop mentioned earlier.

 

We spent a lot of time inside and outside of Founders Crossing because it is so big.  Filled with antiques, home decor, products made by local artisans, and plenty of things to eat, we easily could have spent a couple of hours in there looking at everything.  

 

But some of us simply chose to hang out on the sidewalk and people watch.

 

And nibble on the treats from the candy shop.

 

And shoot the breeze.

 

We were really just getting started when the sky got darker, and as we looked back at the mountain, we could see ominous sheets of rain coming.  A few of us got in one more store.  Juli's Wearable Art had the most beautiful artisan handcrafted jewelry along with clothing and all kinds of upscale accessories.  They had a big sale on quite a bit of Vera Bradley bags and other products the day we were there.

 

So I bought our daughter the above quilted plaid lunch bag for starting her new high school this fall.  I'm a sucker for plaid, you know, and I just might use it myself on the days I substitute teach.

We hurried and walked briskly back to the hotel as we left behind the teenagers in HeBrews Coffee Company because our daughter "needed" a frappuccino.  I tried to take a picture, but by then I was running past the establishment and my photo was blurry.  We got to the parking lot as the rains came gushing down on six of us with only one umbrella.

 

But it was all good because the best part of the whole day was that I got to spend time with my younger (and much more svelte) sister.  We're thinking of going back again for a weekend and staying at the renovated Bedford Springs Hotel---now known as the Omni Bedford Springs Resort.

 

A New Chapter of Life Begins: Grandparenthood

 

Last Friday our first grandchild was born, and a new chapter of our life has begun.  It's been a surreal experience for me, and I still don't feel that I can clearly articulate how I feel.  It seems like it was just last week that I was coming home from the hospital with my own babies in my arms, so I can't possibly be old enough to be a grandmother.  But the reality is that I am nearing 50, and I most definitely am old enough to be a grandma.  How did the time pass by so quickly that we have grown children having their own babies, and our house is now filled with teenagers, preteens, and only one younger child?  The high chair, bassinet, pack & play, and changing table in the attic can now be used by our grandchildren when they come to visit.  After decades of my life being devoted to carrying babies, birthing babies, nursing babies, and raising babies, it's now my time to get to hold and love the grandbabies without having to do all the hard stuff.  I get to snuggle and adore this tiny grandson, but I don't have to get up with him at night or worry about his every cry or stress out about feeding him in a public place.  I said to my husband last night that grandparenthood is getting to fall head over heels in love with a baby again without all the anxiety.  It's really a sweet deal.  It's fantastic, actually.  The only hard part so far is giving him back to his mom and dad and having to wait days to get to see and hold him again.  Oh, and taking turns sharing him with his grandfather and his numerous aunts and uncles who all want a turn to cuddle this adorable little boy.

I think this is going to be a great chapter.

Tons of Fun for Everyone in Erie (Part 2)

 

Continuing with our Erie vacation, many of the fun family activities can be found on Presque Isle.  We spent a lot of time there, and there was plenty we never got to do because we ran out of time.  We had wanted to go on one of the pontoon boat tours of a lagoon, but it was too windy that day, so the tours were canceled.  We also never got around to hiking on the numerous trails that wind their way through wooded areas.  That's definitely on the list of things to do next time.

 

We did manage to swim at one of the many beaches on a calm, sunny day.  Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea, and the sand quickly filled up with umbrellas, towels, and lots of people.

 

Many of the days we were there, the waves were too high and the undertow too strong that swimming was unsafe, and the beaches were closed.  I'm sure this contributed to the crowds showing up on a Sunday to swamp the beach for the afternoon.  It was also Roar on the Shore, so there were bikers everywhere.  Even so, our younger children had a great time in the clear waters of Lake Erie.

 

Two hours of 90 degrees in the sand and sun were enough for us grownups and the teenagers though.  Much to our younger children's dismay, we packed up and headed elsewhere for the remainder of the day.  

 

Sunday evenings are Family Night at Presque Isle Downs & Casino.  You can't take the kiddos into the casino, but they are welcome out back at the race tracks.  Admission is free, and there's food and beverages, and lots of horses to admire and bet on.  

 

We're not a gambling kind of family, so we just watched the races and tried to guess which horse would win each race.

 

And it's good we don't gamble because each of us would have lost every single race, except for the kids' MeeMaw who predicted the winner twice.

 

It was fun for awhile, but most of my children lost interest after the first two races.  Only our horse-loving daughter wanted to stay.  But if you like horses, this would be a good place to come with your family to have dinner and watch the races.

 

Probably one of my most favorite places we visited was the Presque Isle lighthouse.  This was an actual working lighthouse for many years, and families lived in the attached building.

 

It is open to the public and you can have a tour guide share its history and walk you up the winding staircase to the very top of the lighthouse.  Once you're up there, the view is spectacular.  It's narrow though, and the railing at your back is kind of low.  On the windy day that we were there, it whipped your hair around and sometimes made you feel like you could be blown right off the ledge.

 

But like I said, the views of Lake Erie are amazing from up there.

 

Another great place for views of Presque Isle is the Tom Ridge Environmental Center.

 

Admission is free, and there are two floors of local nature/ecological/science-related exhibits.

 

Some of it is a little odd in a Ripley's Believe It or Not kind of way.

 

But most of it gives a decent introduction to the wildlife and habitats of the area.  They currently feature information on fishing in Lake Erie.

 

You can either take the stairs or the elevator to the top of the tower, and you get a great view of the roller coasters and water slides at nearby Waldameer Park.  This is both an amusement park and a water park.  This is another place we didn't go to on this trip.  There's also a Splash Lagoon in Erie that our kids love.  

 

On our last night in Erie, we went to a Seawolves baseball game.  For some of our children, this was their first time to watch baseball.  In fact, it was only the second game I've ever been to.

 

It was "Buck Night" so sodas, popcorn, hotdogs, and the cheaper beer (yuck!) were only a dollar.  We took advantage of that and ate dinner there before the game started.  And we all donned Seawolves baseball caps to get in the spirit of things.

 

This is probably the only time you will catch my husband and me in baseball caps.  They're just not our thing, and I spent the whole evening adjusting mine because it felt so uncomfortable.  I don't know how so many people go through the whole day with these on their heads.  It drove me crazy.

 

We cheered and we clapped and we ate popcorn and cotton candy.

 

And we thanked their grandparents for procuring the tickets.

 

But in the end, the Seawolves lost the game, I am sorry to say.

 

Those were the activities we packed into about five days in Erie, PA.  We had such a good time that some of us weren't ready to come home.  But it's good we did because a few days later our family had an event that none of us would want to miss.

More about that news later in the week...