baking bread.

the scent of bread is still lingering around our home. it's intoxicating and i think one of my all time favorite smells.

every other wednesday, i work with 8-11 year old girls in our church in a range of different activities, anything from service projects, to outdoor games, to homemaking skills, and tonight...bread baking. i am no expert bread-maker, but i love doing it. i love knowing each ingredient going into the food that i'm feeding my family, and there is something so homey and comforting about fresh-out-of-the-oven-bread. my go-to recipe, is one adapted from one of my favorite baking blogs, confessions of a bakeaholic. i've used this recipe time and time again, and even i can't mess it up.

for this particular project, since i only have the girls for an hour, i had to be creative with how i demonstrated the bread-making process. luckily, this recipe is super fast and easy, but does require two doses of rising-time. to display this i baked a couple different batches, showing the bread being made, the bread rising and the bread baking. this left me with loaves and loaves of bread. i'm not complaining, but my stomach that is holding the brick that was once half a loaf of bread (eaten with butter and homemade raspberry jam - recipe coming soon!) is. nevertheless, it will be all forgotten by the morning, and i'll be once again, ready to eat some project-leftovers for breakfast.

all in the name of service, my friends.

favorite honey whole wheat bread
adapted from confessions of a bakeaholic
makes two loaves
ingredients
3 cups warm water
1 T yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 honey (i used Texas honey...the very best)
1 T salt
5-6 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (i used King Arthur brand)
directions
disolve yeast in lukewarm water. add oil, then honey (it slips out measuring cup easier this way) then salt. slowly add flour until beater bar scrapes the sides of the bowl clean. let dough mix for 10 minutes. let dough rise in bowl for 30 minutes. punch and divide dough into 2 loaves, shape and place in greased bread pans. let loaves rise for another 30 minutes. bake at 350 for 25 minutes.


delicious eaten warm out of the oven with real butter and homemade jam.

happy thursday. xo.