{Baking Binge}
Yes, I've been on a baking binge lately. It's kind of in line with my (trying) to go crunchy theme, but it does hinge more on I'm sick of paying $3 for a loaf of bread. Ugh. You can call it frugal or cheap, but you have to call it delicious!
Last week I tried my hand at dinner rolls and hamburger buns. They were the exact same recipe, just divided and shaped differently. They came out so good. I didn't take pictures of those, but trust me they were good!
So this week I decided to try my hand at a few things.
First - pumpkin spice creamer. No, this isn't baking but it did lead to baking so I'm counting it! My niece gave me the idea and I followed the recipe found on Mrs. Happy Homemaker. For the base I used the sweetened condensed milk and (organic) half and half. It tastes so good. But you must remember to shake it every time you use it. My husband also suggests stirring your coffee a lot because it does settle. I say it's super good and much more frugal than a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice. Not that I'm giving those up entirely, but hey - I get to drink a lot more this way! All this to say, I ended up with an almost full can of pumpkin puree, which led to:
Yep, pumpkin bread. And muffins. Because I made four mini-ish loaves and had batter left over. Erik says they are good. Here's another secret - this is the first time I've made pumpkin bread without a box mix. Good thing it all turned out alright!
My Sunday night foray into baking was basic white bread. Yes, we eat white bread in this house. Don't judge! Most of my baking recipes have come right out my good ol' Better Crocker Cookbook. You know the standard red and white checked one? Mine is pink and white, but the recipes are still great.
This recipe I didn't get from that book though. I picked it up online at Daily Dish Recipes. I followed this recipe exactly except for maybe the kneading time. I don't time that part - I just let it go on my stand mixer until the motor got too hot, then I turned it out and kneaded it maybe 10 more times. The end result was awesome!
What I learned about this bread (other than it's sooo good - did I say that already?), is that even when you think it's cooled down all the way, let it sit a little longer. We didn't wait quite long enough before we sliced it and it did crumb a little bit. Honestly I don't know how long we let it cool. I just know that next time when I think it's ready, I'm adding another hour!
Last week I tried my hand at dinner rolls and hamburger buns. They were the exact same recipe, just divided and shaped differently. They came out so good. I didn't take pictures of those, but trust me they were good!
So this week I decided to try my hand at a few things.
First - pumpkin spice creamer. No, this isn't baking but it did lead to baking so I'm counting it! My niece gave me the idea and I followed the recipe found on Mrs. Happy Homemaker. For the base I used the sweetened condensed milk and (organic) half and half. It tastes so good. But you must remember to shake it every time you use it. My husband also suggests stirring your coffee a lot because it does settle. I say it's super good and much more frugal than a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice. Not that I'm giving those up entirely, but hey - I get to drink a lot more this way! All this to say, I ended up with an almost full can of pumpkin puree, which led to:
Yep, pumpkin bread. And muffins. Because I made four mini-ish loaves and had batter left over. Erik says they are good. Here's another secret - this is the first time I've made pumpkin bread without a box mix. Good thing it all turned out alright!
My Sunday night foray into baking was basic white bread. Yes, we eat white bread in this house. Don't judge! Most of my baking recipes have come right out my good ol' Better Crocker Cookbook. You know the standard red and white checked one? Mine is pink and white, but the recipes are still great.
This recipe I didn't get from that book though. I picked it up online at Daily Dish Recipes. I followed this recipe exactly except for maybe the kneading time. I don't time that part - I just let it go on my stand mixer until the motor got too hot, then I turned it out and kneaded it maybe 10 more times. The end result was awesome!
 |
| Two different size pans! |
What I learned about this bread (other than it's sooo good - did I say that already?), is that even when you think it's cooled down all the way, let it sit a little longer. We didn't wait quite long enough before we sliced it and it did crumb a little bit. Honestly I don't know how long we let it cool. I just know that next time when I think it's ready, I'm adding another hour!
Comments
Post a Comment
I love your comments and I read them all. I'm not very good at replying to them though. It's one of my many downfalls. I hope you'll leave some anyway!