Seed Packets

I forgot to mention, I have lots of seeds available for sale or trade. If you see something you want just get in touch with me and I'll try to get you some. I will still be listing seed giveaways all winter though! So if you rather just try to win some... go for it!

Right now I do have packets of beans, corn, hibiscus (white dwarf variety only this year), gerber daisies, white icicle radish, a few types of lettuce, some cabbage, foxglove (lavender), yellow coneflower (I may have purple left), red rocks penstemon, and so much more! Again, grown organically and $3 per pack + $0.50 to mail, if you don't have a trade.

Taking The Base Bread Dough, and Makin' Bagels!

Ok, here's a little walk through of the bagel thing!

First you have the balls I let get to room temp and rise again for about 40 minutes. Then I put holes in them and dropped them in boiling water. As you seen, the boiling water (with sugar and baking soda added) has made them rise more to nearly double size. You see I over floured them before I baked them and the flour caked on the crust... not all that great. However, a nice butter and slice and they were fantastic!

 

 

 

 

Quite simply you want to roll out some dough so its flat like with a rolling pin. Sprinkle with 1/4 sugar and cinnamon mix. Hand full of raises with that. Then Jelly roll the dough, then make a large BALL of dough. Cut out 3 oz balls from then, place aside and let rise another 40 minutes. Prehear your oven at 425 for 30 minutes with a broiler tray on the bottom rack and pizza stone on the top rack for your bagels. (I just used a cookie sheet, I can not find my pizza stone to save my life!) Now, that the 40 minute rest period has past, boil your water with 1 tbsp baking soda and 1/4 sugar or more sugar if you'd like.

When it gets to a rolling boil, turn it down to a simmer (med to med-high). Poke holes in your bagel balls and stretch them to look bagel like. Drop a few in the water at a time, you want them to float and not touch. Boil 2 minutes, then flip them over for an additional 1-2 minutes. Take out with a slatted spoon onto a towel LIGHTLY dusted with flour (I screwed this up, with WAY too much flour) and allow to start drying while you finish boiling the rest of your bagels.

When done, and mostly dry place on your pizza stone (or cookie sheet) to bake for 20-25 minutes. Add 1 cup of hot water to broiler pan to STEAM your bagels as they bake. Now close up the oven and leave them alone until they are DONE! Crusty outside, soft and moist inside. YUM!

I hope yours end up prettier then mine, but ours were still tasty.

5 Minutes a Day for Healthy Bread

Now, this is part of a book called "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day". I do not have the book, but they have a website and have had a few articles with bits and pieces shared from the book. The articles I'm going from are found in Mother Earth News Magazine.

From their December/January Issue They have 6 pages on "Healthy No-Knead Bread Recipes" from the authors of the above book.

Everything in this issue revolves around a 'Master Dough" recipe for all these different breads. So last night I created the master dough:

5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (I did not use this, I used 1/4 cup crushed corn flakes...don't ask why)
4 cups lukewarm water (If you want herb flavor add the dried or fresh herbs to the water!)
[I added 1/2 milk with 3 1/2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp honey, it helps soften the wheat in the bread, but that's just a personal option]
Cornmeal or parchment paper (I use a silicone mat)
1-2 cups seed or nuts mixed

Mix dry ingredents, then add wet to your mixer with a paddle attachement. When the outside is slightly sticky and all the water has been absorbed cover the bowl loosely with a towel, unsealed cover or plastic wrap. DO NOT KNEAD. Let rise and fall for about 2-3 hours. DO NOT PUNCH DOWN DOUGH. Refridgerate for at least 3 hours so the dough is easier to shape and work with. (This dough will keep refridgerated for up to 2 weeks, it will become more sourdough like over time.)

When you are ready to bake take a piece of dough out you want to use, as much or as little as you want. Shape and set aside to come to room temp for 45-90 minutes depending on bread size and shape (example: 1lb loaf vs 12 small rolls).

Preheat oven (for loaf) at 450 for 30 minutes with a pizza stone on top rack and broiler pan on the bottom rack, empty.

After its ready, use a pastry brush wet to brush the bread, sprinkle on seed if wanted, and put 1 cup hot water into broiler pan. You can slide your bread directly on the stone, or onto parchment, or with a silicone mat. I used a silicone mat and put it on top of a baking sheet... my pizza stone is missing. It came out just fine.

Today.... I am making the bagels I saw a recipe for using the same dough base.

I will post that part of the recipe later, with pictures!!! 

article

For The birds...

...yet we've got none yet?! Its been out there hanging for at least a month now.

Just sharing a pretty photo I just took from the back porch.

No Winter Visitors

Maybe the Reason is...

In the Kitchen Baking: Chocolate Orange Mini Cupcakes

So today the whims of a 3 year old were met by her mother...

No matter how much I fought she would not leave me be until I made CUPCAKES!!!

So what did I come up with?

Orange and Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting.

             Cupcakes: 

             
              1/2 cup milk 

              3 large egg whites(do not discard yolks, you'll need them for frosting) 

             
              1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

• Zest of ` fresh orange (or 1 Tbsp dried zest)
  
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
  
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
  
• 
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 
  Butter Cream Frosting:
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (or orange extract for more citrus flavor)
• 1 egg yolk
  
• a few drops of food color, whatever you want
• 
  
• Preheat oven 350
• 
  
• Mix milk, egg whites, zest and extract set aside 
• Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add butter while mixing on low one tbsp at a time. Mixture should be crumbly looking.
• Add milk mixture slowly and mix on low for a minute and a half until mousse like.
• Pour into cupcake/muffin tins with liners. Bake 18-22 minutes. (Until toothpick comes out clean.)
• While cupcakes cool mix together all frosting ingredients until whipped nicely. Put on cupcakes when completely cool and serve.
  

Current Bakespace Newsletter/Blog installment

My very first article! Enjoy, and I hope you follow bakespace's blog as well as mine!

"The Garden Plan

Gardening — By Shannon on January 2, 2009 at 7:52 pm 



Now that it’s January, gardening may be the last thing on your mind. Of course it depends on where you live — while our friends south of the equator enjoy long days and warm temperatures, I can tell you it’s cold here North Carolina...."
http://bakespace.com/news/2009/01/planning-a-garden/ 

2 Days to Expected Delivery Date!

Yep, its 2010 and with a new year comes new little fuzzy butts! Our chicken eggs we've been following are coming up on their hatch date. Due Jan 4th, I started with 12 eggs, 6 lavender/split silkie eggs and 6 unknown standard mix chickens. We are down to 8 eggs total, 5 silkies 3 mixed. The other eggs never developed... either they got mixed in shipment or weren't fertile. Which ever, they were not meant to be....

But I wait anxiously on the rest!