My daughter has connected her migrane headaches to processed foods. We are having a family dinner tomorrow so I pulled out an old recipe for which my memories are fond but I'd forgotten how it tastes. This is Frieda Crane's oatmeal bread which I made this evening. I've now had a slice of this freshly made bread and let me tell you it was pure delectable pleasure! This one needs to be put back on our annual holiday tradition list!! FYI: I don't have a bread machine.
Frieda and my mother were friends. We were also neighbors. She's probably among the dearly departed at this point. But her bread lives on!
I don't have time to bake bread, but I love the farmers' market when it's in season because I can buy all local, fresh, unprocessed food and it feels so satisfying. Even in the off season I shop Wilson Farm every week for fresh produce and meat. Of course I still use processed foods -- don't have the time or inclination to make EVERYTHING from scratch -- but I do prefer simple meals of low fat meat and veggies and rice/potatoes to anything "fancy."
If eating store bought bread gave you a killer, photophobic, destroy your entire day kind of head ache, you'd consider rearranging some priorities. For bought breads, Panera's are good. .......
My cranberry orange and coffee cake bread both start with a Krustez mix. They are delicious. I don't know how well I'd do with a from scratch recipe on these. We have a from scratch pumpkin bread that is a family favorite and I have a zuchinni bread which is a long time favorite of mine but the rest of the family hasn't cought on yet.
I rarely cook with any packaged foods and all my bakery things are scratch. It's not really any more difficult than using packaged stuff once you get used to grabbing the recipe book rather than a box... but that's assuming you have time to cook/bake in the first place. I do it because that's the way I've always done it and also because of my allergy issues. I can't imagine going to a store and picking up ready cooked stuff, not knowing how it would affect me... and eating out in restaurants pose a similar challenge since I can't have onions and so much of what is cooked is cooked with them.
Ruffles, I hope your food all turns out well this evening, which I'm sure it will. Have a good time with the family :)
The dinner was good! We had a chuck in marinara stew which cooked in the oven while we all went to hear the kids play at the Festival of Trees. I tried Emeril Legasse's GMA recipe for bacon braised green beans which is a definite keeper. They were delicious. For one of our desserts I made 4 inch tart shells and then had bowls of berries on the table with some whip. Everyone made their own fresh fruit pie.
So......Here's the recipe for the oatmeal bread. It makes a pair of loaves. We had one loaf cut and served on the table and the whole thing disappeared!
2 1/2 cups water 2 Tbs shortening 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 Tbs salt 2 cups oats 5 12 - 6 cups flour 1 cake yeast
Mix together liquid, sugar, salt shortening. Stir in yeast until dissolved. Add oats. Add flour 1/2 at a time 'til easy to handle. Knead 'til smooth. Place in greased bowl and let rise 'til double (1 1/2 - 2 hrs). Punch down dough and divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place in lightly greased pans + cover with damp cloth. Let rise til double (1 hr). Bake 30 - 40 min @ 400*
PS: My 'new' oven dial worked extremely well! Yay!
