Whole Wheat Pancakes

This is my sil's recipe....a fact which convinced my oldest that using all whole wheat flour could still be yummy.

1 Cup whole wheat flour
1 Cup milk
*mix together til there are no lumps, then add:
2 eggs
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup oil
Mix well and cook in frying pan over medium heat.

Cloves on Loaves

This is a simple, but stinky, life saver. This week I started to feel the flu coming on, but I was determined to not let it get me, so I turned to my dad's tried and true method. He has always told me to load up on garlic when I feel the aches and pains coming on, and I do.....I use the sweet little garlic pills, no after taste and no stink....and I still get sick.

This time I was feeling bold so I mashed 5 cloves of garlic on to 2 pieces of toast with butter and chomped them down, and went to bed.

It worked. The next morning I was a little aromatic, but I felt so good; like miracle good. I think the trick is to eat it as soon as you feel yourself getting sick and lay it on! Too much garlic can lead to an upset stomach, so take it a few cloves at a time, and I think a little bread and milk help soothe as it goes down.

As an added bonus, I haven't had any trouble with vampires this week either....

Italian Bread

This recipe takes a long time but is easy to do as the day goes along...if you remember soon enough.

Italian Bread

1 tsp white sugar
1 T active dry yeast
3 C warm water
7 C all-purpose flour, divided
1 T salt, divided
t T cornmeal

Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Sir in 4 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Beat in the salt and then add enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough. Knead until soft. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Once doubled, punch down and divide into 3 pieces. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise.

Once doubled again, punch down and form into 3 fat oval shaped loaves. Grease baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the bread on the sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise.

Preheat oven to 450. Once risen, mist loaves with water and bake in the preheated oven. Mist loaves again with water and turn occasionally while they bake. Bread is done in about 30 minutes (the recipe said 1 hour, but it was definitely done in half that) or until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. (If you tap them and they don't sound hollow, don't be afraid to just throw 'em right back in the oven til they're done)

Lightest 100% Whole Wheat Bread Anywhere!

At least that's the title of the recipe I'm passing along from a compilation my church put out while I was in South Carolina (thanks Bro. Langdon). Unfortunately, I didn't discover it until couple months ago. I have tried so many different whole wheat recipes with no success. Even if they are good when they come out of the oven they taste dry and old the next day. This one stays fresh all week which is how long it takes my family to eat all three loaves that it makes.

To start:
3 T yeast
4 C warm water
4 C whole wheat flour
Mix these ingredients together and let sit until double (usually 15-30 minutes). This step is called a sponge and is very important to allow the yeast to get a head start. If this takes a long time, or doesn't rise at all, your yeast is probably old. You can continue on, but you're bread will be heavy, or you can throw it out now and save yourself wasting the rest of the ingredients.

Add:
1/2 C butter or oil
2/3 C honey or molasses
3 tsp salt
6-8 C whole wheat flour (more for low elevations, less for high..I barely use 6)

Mix this together and knead for 15-20 minutes. Place in oiled bowl, cover, and let rise again until double (about 30 min). Punch down and shape in pant. Cover and let rise again until double (20-30 min). Bake at 350 for 30 min. Oil/butter top of bread for a nice shiny crust.

Just some side notes: The bread rises faster in warm humid conditions. I'm in a cold dry house, so I cover it with a warm moist cloth. If not, it still rises, but it takes longer. Also I have found that if I knead the dough for 15-20 minutes it get way to tough...5-10 minutes works for me...too much muscle I guess..haha.