November 19, 2011

Baking & Sewing

Today was one of those very strange days where I crossed off everything from my to-do list and still had some time to spare! The planets must've lined up just right for me. So, I decided to bake a couple things and start a little sewing project with my extra time.

First, I made these Cranberry Corn Muffins from Snack Girl. They turned out really good, especially for not having any oil or butter! I'm planning on making them again but when I do, I will not use the paper muffin liners, they stuck like crazy to them! Hopefully if I generously spray the muffin pan they will come out easier (yeah, I know that would add a bit of oil, but it would be worth it). I ended up just putting all the wet ingredients in the blender along with the cranberries, that helped them get chopped up nice & small. I also added some orange zest like one of the commenters suggested. They didn't rise up super high but they weren't too dense, really just the consistency of a corn muffin but with a sweeter flavor and a little cranberry zing.




Yep, I used up the rest of my Halloween muffin papers.







Next, I baked some bread. I wanted to use this 7-grain cereal that I've had in the freezer for a while. It's a mix of wheat, rye, barley, flax, oats, corn & millet. We bought it on vacation last year at one of my favorite places, War Eagle Mill.






But, I couldn't find a good recipe. So, I just soaked the cereal and substituted them for the oats that were called for in one of my favorite bread recipes. I wasn't sure if it would work but it did! And the dough came out so soft and it rose so nicely, even with the expired yeast I used.



Here's the recipe-

7-Grain Bread
1/4 cup 7-grain cereal (soaked in warm water for an hour or so)

Combine:
1 cup warm water
2 T brown sugar
2 T oil
1 pkg yeast

Dissolve the sugar & yeast and let it sit till foamy. Then add the soaked cereal.

Place in bread machine:
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 t salt

Then add the wet ingredients.

My bread machine has been acting funny lately, it always flops when it gets to baking time. So, I let it do the mixing, kneading and let it rise once. Then I take the dough out, knead it myself and put it in a bread pan. Let it rise for 30 minutes then bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I really like the rectangular loafy shape better than the wonky tubular bread machine shaped 'loaf'. It seems a bit more home made. Plus, I have a little helper who loves to punch down the dough and knead it too :)

I don't think there is anything better than freshly baked bread with butter & honey!







And my sewing project...I've been wanting to make a special bag to take to the library that would be just for books. I bought some adorable apple twill fabric at Joann's yesterday. It was in the remnant bin, I got a great deal on it, almost a yard for like 1.97. I got a good start on it tonight. It's a bit bigger than I planned it to be, but better too big than too small! You can never have too many books.




Here's hoping the planets align for me again very soon....

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