Experiment: Can I make yummy homemade bread?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 04.15.09

Materials Needed: Please see Dine & Dish for the full instructions. I followed the instructions exactly. I did have to add about 1/4 cup extra flour because the dough was a little too sticky.

Results: I was excited to try this recipe for “Honey, I’m Home Bread” because it looked so delicious and I could use my bread machine to make it. I layered in all of the ingredients and turned on my bread machine to do the work. When I peeked at the dough, it looked like it needed a little more flour so I worked that into the loaf.

As you can see, the bread rose beautifully. It rose so high, in fact, that when it baked it hit the top of my oven and got a little dip in the center (thus, the off-center pictures here). The bread looked golden and smelled delicious.

Unfortunately, it got very brown on the outside after 35 minutes of baking, but when I cut into it, it was still dough in the center. I am not sure if it was because I use stoneware versus a glass loaf pan, but the inside of the loaf did not come out the way I hoped.

Regardless, I am going to try this recipe again and maybe just cook it in the bread machine instead or try a different loaf pan. We did eat around the dough parts because we can’t let good bread like that go to waste. It was absolutely deliciously sweet from the honey and a perfect balance of flavors.

I refuse to give up though which is why this is not a failed experiment in my book!

Conclusion: Thanks to Dine & Dish for giving me a recipe that I can’t wait to attempt again!

Related Links:

Getting to Know Your Bread Machine

Adventures in Bread Making: Artisan Bread in 5

Storing Homemade Bread & Bread Ingredients

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Experiment: Can I make waffles that are as light as air?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.25.09

Materials Needed: Please see Serious Eats for the full instructions.

Results: I loved all your feedback last week on my failed pretzel experience. I thought it was important to share that I can totally flop in the kitchen just like anyone else. I have had many failed experiments over the years, but I probably do not share those as often as I should. I try to only showcase the tried and true recipes, but there are those days where the cooking isn’t very stellar in this house and I want to share that with you too!

That failed experiment though did not stop me from attempting another recipe in the notebook. As soon as I saw this recipe for waffles, I knew that I wanted to try it. I love my waffles, but often wish that they were not so dense so that is why I was intrigued by this recipe. I decided to make a double batch, hoping they would turn out and make a fun breakfast for the kids out of the leftovers.

There were several things that made this recipe different from others I have tried. There was no vanilla in it, no sugar even, and it required you to separate the yolks and whites in the egg, whipping the whites until they were at the stiff peak stage. After mixing the batter together, you then fold in the egg whites which created a lot of volume and airiness to the batter.

This combination of ingredients was absolutely perfect and folding in the egg whites helped to create the perfect balance of crispness and airiness that I have been looking for in a waffle recipe. The lack of sugar in the recipe also made it so the waffles were not so sweet and could be heavily coated in homemade pancake syrup without making them too heavy.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 egg whites
Procedure

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center.

2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil.

3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).

4. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up).

5. Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, Do not overmix.

6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it.

7. Serve with real maple syrup and unsalted butter.

Side Note– I doubled this recipe for my family of four and we had enough for three extra Belgian waffles


Conclusion: I will make these waffles again and again because they were absolutely perfect. They truly were the best waffles ever and I look forward to serving these again for a fun brunch or weeknight meal!

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Wednesday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!