Week #1 - Farm Loaf

So, this bread is what I refer to as my farm loaf. I use it for my sandwiches, and when we need a hearty loaf to go with dinner.  I got it off the blog Chickens in the Road, there it is called Grandmother Bread.

Grandmother Bread Recipe

This recipe makes enough dough for 2 loaves. Today I used half of it for sandwiches, we had sheperd's pie for dinner last night and had left over ground beef. I made this dough, and let it rise while we went to the store to buy my new pantry shelves (yay!)

After I punched the dough down I cut the dough in half and started ripping small, slightly bigger then golf ball sized, pieces and flattened them out like biscuits on a cookie sheet. Then I scooped the beef filling, which I had reheated, into the center and flattened another ball of dough, placing it on top and making sure to pinch the sides, ensuring there were no leaks.

When I had finished all six sandwiches, I turned my oven on, to preheat at 350, letting the sandwiches rise in the mean time.

ready to start the second rise

 Once the buns were risen , and the oven was ready, these little guys went into the oven. Bake them for about 20 minutes or until they sound hollow and look golden brown.

With the other half of the dough I baked a lovely loaf, I don't know if it is destined for dinner or lunches for week. For now though, I've got a few bunches of bananas that are browning and begging to be made into bread and muffins!

Welcome to my journey

Welcome to my little corner of the internet.

This year I have decided that instead of trying to change anything about myself. That the best thing for me, right now, is to grow. Grow animals, my children, plants, and experiences. One of my life goals is to be as self sufficient as possible, and the easiest place to start, is our dining room table.

Bread is an art, it is hard to master, and one of the things that I have yet to gain a satisfactory command of. With this blog, I intend to document a year in bread. As a homeschooling mom of four, I have decided that a weekly post is a lot more realistic then a daily one.

Occasionally there might be a story or picture of my helpers, Bean (she is the eldes,t 8), Buddy ( oldest boy, 6), Bubba (youngest boy who is almost three) and Bubbles, (although, I suspect she won't be much help until she gets older, she is currently 4.5 months old )

I will at least start out, pilfering recipes off the internet (with proper credit of course), and then tweaking them to fit my needs and tastes.

My first adventure, the perfect loaf of sandwich bread, with four kids, we devour at least half a loaf in a single meal.

Hope you enjoy the adventure!