Challa

I am not Jewish, but this recipe was just too good not to share with y'all! I don't know much about the traditional bread except that it is an enriched dough (meaning it has eggs in it) and is usually breaded. My Recipe comes from Leah. Her first Challa video shows the actual bread recipe. She has three others showing different shaping methods which can be found on YouTube. And the recipe can be found here.

I used mostly fresh ground flour for this recipe and it turned out wonderful. This is definitely a must try recipe!

We cut the recipe in half and made a large braided loaf with 12 large rolls. Here are some pictures of our Challa.

These were from our first batch.

These were from our second batch.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

2 days {plus a recipe}

2 days

2 days

2 days

We only had 2 days for fall break. Welcome to college...

Officially fall break was from October 11-14. From Saturday to Tuesday.

In my opinion, Saturdays and Sundays shouldn't count for "breaks." And we should get a whole week off instead of 2 days. That is my opinion, but nobody asked me.

On to the recipe:

Over fall break I made HOMEMADE CROISSANTS! I was so proud of myself. There are a lot of recipes out on the internet, so choosing one was difficult. But I ended up making the one from this video:

I felt like he explained the process very well. And here are my croissants. I hope you make some for yourself! If you do make them, tell me how they turned out. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Or do you have your own croissant recipe? If you do, I love getting new recipes! (especially old family recipes!!!) Please share in the comments below. : )

I even put some white chocolate in the leftover dough. It tasted SO good!



Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Sourdough Bread

Here it is! The sourdough recipe! Finally!
(You can find the sourdough starter recipe here)

Sourdough Bread:
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup starter
1 1/2 cup warm water
6 cup flour

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to a larger and greased bowl; turn over to coat. Cover tightly with foil and let rise overnight. (do not refrigerate) In the morning, punch down and knead a little. Divide in 2, knead 8 to 10 times, then place into grease loaf pans and let rise about 5 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

First rising

Second rising

Finished bread

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Sourdough Starter...

Hey y'all! It's cold! Yes, yes, I know it is January and it is still winter. It is just too cold for me!! I am totally a summer girl. 90 degree weather and flip flops are my kind of things! At least it was sunny on this 32 degree day! Maybe some homemade bread will help take the bite out of winter.  ; )   Hmmmmmmm..... Homemade...SOURDOUGH!

F.Y.I. You can't have sourdough without some sourdough starter. And if you weren't handed a jar of starter (like I was) you will have to make your own. This is the same starter that I use. It was given to me by one of my mom's friends.

Sourdough Starter:
1 package of yeast
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
2 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Keep at room temperature for 24 hours then refrigerate three to five days. Feed with the following...

Starter Feed:
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoon instant potato flakes
1 cup warm water

Add ingredients to starter jar and shake well. Set at room temperature for 5 to 12 hours. At the end of the waiting time, take out one cup of starter and return to the refrigerator. If not using for bread, just throw away the one cup of starter.

Sourdough bread recipe is coming soon!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

English Muffins {and a SUPER easy breakfast}

Ever dream about the fabulous breakfast you could be eating if you only had the time.You know...eggs, bacon, toast, milk and juice, etc. In this day and age many Americans are constantly on the go. Many skip meals because of the "lack of time". That is NOT a good thing!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Lucky Charms, McDonald's sausage biscuits, and coffee won't give the body what it needs to start the day. So start you day right with an English muffin sandwich!
*Disclaimer* This recipe will take some time due to rising bread dough. DON"T try to make the entire recipe 5 minutes before you have to walk out the door!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c luke warm water
3 T honey
2 T yeast
2 T olive oil or melted butter
2 t salt
4 c flour (more may be needed)

Mix water, honey, yeast, oil, and salt and let it rest for about 10 minutes or until it starts to bubble.

Blend in flour until you have a soft dough. Knead for 8 minutes, and then cover and let rise for about 45 minutes.

Or until doubled in bulk.

Roll out to 1/2 inch thick and cut into 3 inch circles. Let rest for 15.

Bake muffins in an ungreased electric skillet for about 10 minutes on each side, turning once.

YUM!!! Split them with a fork and you're ready to go!

Topping them is the fun part. I like to put scrambled eggs and a cheese slice on the split muffin then broil them in the oven. You can also top them with sliced tomatoes, breakfast meats, etc, or just eat them plain with some butter!

Enjoy!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Crusty Bread

After a long day at work, I decided to bring you a recipe that I have been needing to share for a while. The recipe comes from Janet @ Simply So Good and will probably be the easiest bread recipe you will ever try. No kneading involved. (Really!) Three ingredients. (Yes, only three!) I told you it was easy. The hardest part of the recipe is waiting. After you mix up the dough, it has to sit on the counter for 12 to 18 hours. (talk about fix it and forget it!) With that said, here is the recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, and salt. 

Stir in about 1 1/2 cups warm water. 

Mix until a soft dough forms.

Place in a large, greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 12 to 18 hours on the counter. 

That's it, for now. Come back later. 

And now we're back. Long time, no see! Anyway... Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place you dutch oven in the oven to preheat for at least 30 minutes. 

Dump the dough onto a heavily floured surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Place the dough into the preheated dutch oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes.

Take out of the oven and ENJOY! This bread also makes great french toast!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Whole Wheat Bread

Here is my mom's no fail Whole Wheat Bread recipe. It is super simple. I use a standing mixer, but if you don't have one you can just knead the dough by hand. Enjoy! This recipe makes one loaf of bread. You can easily double or triple the recipe to make more loaves or other things like pizza and cinnamon rolls.

*Note* This bread will not have the same texture as store bought bread. Don't make this recipe thinking that you will produce Bunny Bread. Lecithin and wheat gluten can be added to this recipe for a lighter bread. They help with the rising and elasticity of the loaves. The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp. each of lecithin and gluten.

*Because this bread can have a heavier texture, it is wonderful when used for french toast or in a breakfast casserole.*

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp. yeast

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. oil

1 cup warm water

Mix together the flour, yeast, and salt.

The water needs to be between 120 and 130 degrees F. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the water is too cool, it won't activate the yeast. Both situations will result in flat, dense bread.

Add the water, oil, and honey to the dry ingredients.

If it is too sticky, add more flour a little at a time until it forms a soft dough .

Knead for 8 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic.

Like this.

Place the dough onto a clean, floured surface like a counter or a cutting board. If you are using an standing mixer, you might want to knead it by hand a little to get the proper texture. Shape into a loaf to fit your bread pan.

Place into the pan, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in bulk in a warm spot such as an oven. This step can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

Uncover and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Then drop the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes. If the bread starts to brown too quickly, you can place a sheet of aluminum foil over it.

Take it out of the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. For best results, let it cool completely before cutting. (Our bread never makes it that far!) In the picture above, you can see that the bread sunk a little. This is because I moved it too much after it had risen, causing it to deflate.



Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Gingerbread House and Recipe!

Usually I decorate a gingerbread house each year before Christmas. You know those Wilton gingerbread house kits. This year we ran out of time before Christmas so I decided to do it after Christmas. And I also used homemade gingerbread pieces. They were so much fun to make! Here is the recipe:

Construction Gingerbread:
(This recipe makes a sturdier cookie used to make houses and other 3-D creations.)
5 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 7 tbsp. margarine (I used butter)
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. whole milk

1. Stir flour, spices, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has completely melted and the mixture is the consistency of thick syrup.
3. Remove from the heat and stir into the center of the dry ingredients until smooth and free of lumps. The dough will be shiny and somewhat sticky.
4. Divide the dough into two portions, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm enough to roll.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Using one disk at a time, roll onto a lightly floured surface about 1/4 inch thick but no less than 1/8 inch. Use cookie cutters or templates to create the desired shapes.
7. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes for small (2 1/2 to 3 inch) cookies and closer to 15 minutes for larger (5 to 6 inch) cookies. (my house pieces had to bake for almost 20 minutes) When done, they should be firm to the touch and well browned.
8. Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before using.

 Construction begins...

 Eleanor was helping.

 The finished house.

 After the construction was complete, it began to snow in Gingerville.

 How lovely...

 Gingy and Ginger with their new house.

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )

Red Velvet Cupcakes!

For her birthday Eleanor wanted red velvet cupcakes! They were so fun to make, and they tasted so good! We got the recipe from Christy Jordan at Southern Plate. They were a good ending to the Papa John's pizza that Eleanor wanted for supper.(Oh yeah! We now have a Papa John's! We are moving up in the world!) Enjoy the recipe!

 Aren't they RED!!!

 Eleanor's TEN! Her fingers are red from the food dye in the batter.

 Happy Birthday El!

Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )