Leni's Bread Recipe - Baking in Bulk

Is there any smell better than that of freshly baked bread? Not in my book (although fresh ground coffee is a close second!) 

This is a recipe I developed over the years when we were only eating home-baked bread. There was so much garbage in all of the store brands that I gave up trying to find one that didn't make my kids crazy. 

I ended up investing in a Bosch mixer after burning up numerous stand mixers, and all these years later, I can still say it's the best appliance investment ever. As I started to have more limitations from fibromyalgia and arthritis, I needed to have a reliable machine that could do the heavy kneading for me. This recipe makes 8 loaves of wheat bread, and doesn't even begin to bog down the motor. Makes this mamma one happy camper!

Now that the kids are grown, I rarely have a reason to make 8 loaves of bread at a time, but when I do, it looks something like this...

This time around, I divided it up into 2 loaves of bread, 3 dozen cinnamon rolls, 2 dozen dinner rolls and 2 pizza crusts.

Leni's Notes:
~Scale the recipe back if you don't have a heavy duty mixer.
~If you scale it back to 2 loaves, you can put this in a bread machine on the dough setting, and then remove from machine and bake in two bread pans in your oven.
~A gallon ziploc will hold 2 loaves of dough and it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. You might have to check it for the first couple of hours to make sure it's not continuing to rise, and breaking out of the bag!
~Dough is good for bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, pizza, calzones, bread braids (sweet or savory) and bread sticks.
~You can replace up to 1/4 of the flour with another grain like whole wheat or oats. I used to get this great 7 grain mix that I used, made for a great texture.
~The wheat gluten is optional, but really does add a nice touch to the bread, better texture and flavor.
~I make this bread mostly from memory, so I apologize in advance if the instructions are incomplete. If anything seems to be missing from the instructions, leave a comment and I will fix it up until it makes sense! ;)

Ingredients:

5 Cups water or milk, warmed (about 80 degrees)

3/4 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup oil or softened butter

1 tsp salt

16 Cups white flour, more as needed

1/4 C wheat gluten, optional

3 T. dry yeast

Instructions:
~Fit attachment for dough making onto your mixer.
~Layer ingredients in the mixing bowl in the order listed, starting with water or milk, ending with yeast.
~Put top on the bowl and pulse the ingredients to start to gently incorporate them without making flour fly everywhere.
~Once combined, set the machine on the setting that kneads well without bogging down. (For my Bosch, that's the "2" setting.)
~Knead for 8 minutes, then let rest until doubled in size.
Note: The Bosch mixer is very efficient, and does not require a second rising. If you are using a different mixer, or working by hand, let your dough rise a second time.
~Pulse again to knock down the dough, then remove from bowl and divide up for use.
~Shape into loaves (or whatever else you are making) and let rise until doubled in size.
~Bake at 350 for 20 min, then remove from pan and place on wire racks to cool completely before packaging.

Blessings from my family bakery to yours,
Leni

Crock Pot Apple Crisp

Ahhh, more apples! I'm not sure what I love most about fall, the cooler weather, the return to school routines, or the fresh produce. Specifically the apples. Growing up, my family didn't really garden or put up a lot of food. Mom was (and is) an awesome cook, we just didn't cook ahead much. Except for applesauce. She and dad and I would peel and core them, and mom would cook them down. I still adore the smell of cooking apples. Takes me right back. 

Then I got married, and I have to tell you, my mother-in-law makes the best apple pie ever. She makes one for my birthday every year, and then for my mom's birthday, too. More happy memories. These days, I like making applesauce the easy way, with the Victorio strainer. Even though it speeds up the process, it's still a family event. Lots of fun. And always, that great smell of cooking apples.

Today's recipe is one that's easy to throw together quickly. I call it Crock Pot Apple Crisp, or Oatmeal for People Who Hate the Texture of Oatmeal. Some of us cannot stand that slimy texture of cooked oatmeal. (I would be the only one in my house who feels that way.)

This serves up nicely as a dessert or a breakfast. 

Leni's Notes:

~This one is all about personal tastes. Make it as sweet as you like. More fluid will give you a more traditional oatmeal texture, less will give you more of an apple crisp.I'm going to list it like I made it this time, but I play with the measurements each time I make it.

~This recipe will usually give us dessert for 4 (with a scoop of ice cream) and breakfast for 3 the next morning (with a little more fluid added, and rewarmed.)

~About the Oats. I hate it when I'm making a recipe and need one kind of oats, but only have the other. For this recipe, you can use either. If you use whole oats, give it the longer cooking time, and some extra fluid. If you use quick oats, it will cook faster and you can cut back on the fluid that's added at the very end.

~The amount of sugar you use will depend on how sweet you like your oatmeal and how sweet your apples are. Even if you always use the same type of apple, the sweetness changes with how ripe they are, so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients

4 Quart Crock Pot

3 large Cortland apples, peeled, cored and sliced thick

Approximately 2 Cups Whole or cut oats  

Approximately 1 C Raw Sugar

Approximately 1 tsp Cinnamon

1 stick of butter

Approximately 1 C water or apple cider

Instructions

~Grease the inside of the crock.

~Place the slices from one apple into the bottom of the crock.

~Cover with about 1/2 C of oats. 

Seriously, I throw this in by the handful, so I don't measure. It should not completely bury the apples.

~Sprinkle on raw sugar, 1/4 C or less. 

This is where your personal taste really comes in. You can always add more at the end.

~Add a light dusting of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp, give or take.

~Slice 1/3 of a stick of butter into pats, and place on top of the layer.

~Repeat this process for two more layers.

~Add water or cider.

Again, this is to personal taste. For a drier product, add about 1/2 C. For a traditional oatmeal, add about 1 C. You can add more at the end if you like it soupier.

~Cover, cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 5-6.

~For Crisp: Do not stir. When done cooking, remove lid and let cool for 30 mintues before serving.

~For oatmeal, stir towards the end to break up the apples. Serve immediately.

Blessings from my apple-scented home to yours,

Leni

Apple-Honey Oatmeal Muffins

We interrupt the Thanksgiving onslaught to bring you this yummy treat that will keep the masses away from your holiday preparations. This is the most wonderful, healthy muffin recipe! I got the original recipe  from the Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook, page 575. Really terrific cookbook. I found it at the library, at a time when I was trying to convert a bunch of my recipes to use honey and fruit instead of cane sugar. Rodale had already done that! I borrowed the book from the library so many times that my husband finally bought me my own copy. I got the original Rodale's Basic Natural Foods Cookbook. It's the holy grail of natural cooking!

Back to the muffins...my family loves these with chocolate chips, but you could add fresh or dry fruit also. Play with the recipe. They mix up easily, bake quickly and disappear faster than you can imagine. I made two dozen last night, and this morning had to snag the dozen that were left so I could get a picture.

This recipe has passed a lot of tests. My family loves them. I took them to a church breakfast, they loved them. Most critical, I sent them to a Search and Rescue weekend for a horde of teenagers. Loved them. Thank you, Rodale!

Leni's Notes:

~I use a silicone pan, so no liners, but if you're not using silicone or liners, do grease the pan very well.

~My kids love these with cream cheese.

~Don't over bake. My new oven seems to be running a bit high on the temperature, and it made for a dry batch of muffins. They are normally very moist.

~Yes, I used my own homemade applesauce. It means nothing to the recipe, but I thought it was very homestead-ish of me, and wanted credit. 

~Rodale Cookbook is worth the price, and it doubles as a work out plan. It's HUGE.

~Unless you live alone, double the recipe. ;o)

Ingredients:

1 C whole wheat flour
1 C old fashioned oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 large egg
1 C unsweetened applesauce
1/2 C milk
1/4 C honey
2 T butter, melted
1/2 C Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

~Preheat oven to 375.

~Generously butter muffin tins. (Silicone was fine w/o greasing)

~Whisk together dry ingredients.
 ~In a small bowl, combine wet ingredients.
~Make a well in dry ingredients, pour in wet.
~Mix with a fork just til moistened.
~Stir in Chocolate Chips.
~Fill 12 muffin cups 2/3 full.

~Bake 20-25 minutes.

~Serve warm with butter or cream cheese.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,

Leni