Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Homemade Bread- The Recipe

Homemade Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

I have had tons of views on my homemade bread post, but I never shared the recipe. I've been making two loafs every week or so since then- no more store bread for us. At last, I have made the recipe "mine" with the texture an taste we want. So for those searching for a recipe, here it is.
(remember bread can change in different climates/areas...so if you don't live in north Texas you may need to tweak it for yourself)

Ingredients:
2 packs active yeast
1/4 c. warm water (105-115)
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. butter
3 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. very warm water (120-130)
5 c. whole wheat flour
2-3 c. all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water using small bowl, set aside
2. In mixer bowl, combine butter, molasses, salt, and very warm water (hint- pour water into 1/4c measuring cup you used for the molasses to rinse out the molasses that is stuck). Let cool for about 5 minutes
3. Beat in first 3 c. of whole wheat flour on low speed for 3 min. Scrape sides to mix well.
4. Best in remaining whole wheat flour and the dissolved yeast.
5. With a wood spoon, add as much of the all-purpose flour as you can (save about 1/2 cup or more for kneading)
6. Place dough on flat surface and knead the rest of the flour in for 5-10 minutes.
7. Grease a bowl and place dough in bowl to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and then a towel. Place bowl in warm place like the oven (do not turn the oven on!)
8.Let rise 45 minutes or until double in size.
9. Once it rises, split the dough in two equal parts (I use a gram scale and weigh them, but you can estimate). Roll each part into a 8 inx18ish rectangle. Roll the rectangle into a "loaf" shape pinching the dough with each roll (for no air bubbles). You can roll it all the way from one end to the other, but I like to roll both ends and meet in the center. Pinch at the end. This page had great tips.
10. Place bread loafs in greased pans and cover with plastic wrap and towel again. Let rise 45 minutes or until double.
11. Heat oven to 375.
12.Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 350 and keep baking about 10 more minutes (or less). The bread will sound hallow when you tap it if it is done.
13. Put on cooling rack and let cool for at least an hour.
14. Enjoy.


Monday, March 26, 2012

Web Design

Yet another blog fast, but this time it was due to spring break followed by amazing weather. Weather is still amazing, but blogging must happen sometime.

So as a quick blog for today, just wanted to share my first ever full website design for a fundraiser benefiting a child advocacy center in Texas. I have always wanted to try web design, but never had anything "real" to design. Yes, I used iWeb, but I did not use a template and added some HTML code for some stuff. Someday, maybe I can own a real design program an even make money managing sites, but for now, I think this is a good start!

See the site here: www.runforthechildrentx.org




Friday, March 02, 2012

DIY Aviation Decor

I've been meaning to try a few pinterest crafts for our office decor and I finally tried out the "met.engaged.married" maps and I sort of cheated. We have an aviation theme in our office, so I used some high resolution digital files and just cropped them to the right size for our frames. My hubbie loved them because he loves all airplane related stuff. They took about 10 minutes total...a super-easy project that added a custom touch to our office. The best part...you can find the maps on the FAA website for free!

Then I stumbled across a pinterest aviation theme idea with the phonetic alphabet ...and made my own version. It is my first-even attempt at graphic art for our own personal decor (I've made cards,stationary, t-shirt designs, websites, but I've never attempted "art" for the wall). I used our office colors (blue and orange) and printed it on a full sheet of paper (using boderless printing).

The print I designed on Photoshop
The finished products are not that exciting in the photo (I didn't want to hang them up yet and the glare from the glass was a pain). I may update with a photo later if I can capture then glare free, but even with the glare, it looks like "real" art. Not bad for a Monday night project.

Finished frames that need to be hung someday