That's All

And a good morning to you! Joseph is relieved that there is not a 2-hour delay this morning. In spite of the fact that everyone is dressed and Cedric has eaten and brushed his teeth, we appear to be moving in slow motion thus far. I think it has to do with no school Friday and then a weekend and then a late start yesterday.

Today even if I do not have class, I will be going to school to meet with my nefarious group. Our power point is supposed to be DONE today and it isn’t. I realize that the day is not over but if it were me, I would have had it done yesterday if it were due today. The girl who is putting the power point together said to start stressing after the due date if it isn’t done. You know the people who say if you aren’t 15 minutes early to church, you’re late? Well, that’s me. I like to be early wherever I go and I like to have my assignments done ahead of time. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that they get done, but I like them to be.

Yesterday saw my accounting homework finished. It isn’t due until Friday. Now I have to wait until Saturday for the test to be available. I will most likely take it Monday because I do not have class due to its being President’s Day. I can sit the boys in front of a movie or set Lego’s in front of them to keep them quiet for a couple of hours easier Monday than I can Saturday so that is most likely what I will do.

Yesterday I also began working on my Marketing Plan. That is going to be fun but is going to take some work because I want to be sure to get it right. It isn’t due until the end of April but of course I’d like to get it done before then so I can take it to the guys in Leominster I went to see before I started writing it. It would be nice to find some funding for the whole soap thing because right now there is no money for anything other than what we really need.

And that’s all I have to report.

Pictures from making bread Saturday:

I got the yeast jar out of the refrigerator only to discover--it was EMPTY!!!
Call out the Coast Guard! We can't proceed without YEAST!!!
Oh well, that is why I buy it in two pound bags and keep the bag in the freezer. It  was soon filled up and we were on our way to having some bread.

All the dry ingredients are here: flour, salt, sugar, yeast.

Now we've got the oil in there as well.

And now the very warm water.

Here it is getting mixed. Still had to add some flour but those pictures didn't look a whole lot different from this one so this is all you get.

In the bowl ready to rise.

After about 40 minutes.

It was rising in the oven above the fireplace. It wasn't warm enough to bake it but it was good enough for rising (actually, it was a little too warm but it did get the job done).

This is what it looks like inside the oven above the fireplace. There were two loaves in there but I forgot about taking pictures until I'd already taken the other one out. I supposed I should maybe have cleaned out the ashes.

All done. Not perfect, but not bad. I hadn't made 100% white bread for over 20 years and only did this time because I was afraid to try grinding wheat because I think I may have fried the motor. I will have to be giving it a try one of these days soon. If I do white again, I need to remember to turn the oven down because I thought it turned out a bit too crusty.

Recipe:

Ingredients

6 to 7 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons yeast (regular or quick-acting)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)

Directions

Mix 3 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast in mixing bowl. Add vegetable oil and warm water. Beat for one minute on low speed, scraping bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed for one minute, scraping bowl as needed. Mix in additional flour, one cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased (or oiled) 2 1/2 quart bowl; turn greased (or oiled) side up. Cover and let rise until double, 40 to 60 minutes. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

Punch down dough and divide into halves. Let rest 5 minutes. Form each half into a loaf and place in a well greased loaf pan. Let rise until double, 35 to 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 425 degrees (I'm going to try 400 next time). Bake until deep golden brown and loaves sound hollow when tapped, 25 to 30  minutes. Remove from pans. Rub with stick of butter if desired and cool on wire rack.

That's all there is to it! Have a great day!