Strong Man

Jeremy and I are considering changing the little rascal's name to Magnus as he can push a full grown man on his "Tow Mater" push cart - sweet! Actually, that is not true and it might be considered a wee bit cruel as he was trying really hard to push it but it wouldn't budge.


Alas, I baked bread today for the very first time. Why have I waited so long?! It was incredibly easy and freaking AMAZING! While I was washing the dishes, O was apparently busy emptying my drawers of hot pads and towels and climbed right in! Well hello! Aren't you proud of yourself!


When I first moved to the Little Apple I was befriended by Julie. She introduced us to several people, helped me find an OB, and made us feel extremely welcome. One day she surprised me with spicy Thai noodles (with the hope of jump starting labor) and a loaf of fresh bread! IT WAS AMAZING. I think I ate all of the bread and shared NONE of it with Jeremy. He wasn't carrying a baby so I really didn't see the point.


Anyfood, Julie graciously shared the recipe with me and has agreed to allow me to share it with you! Right before we moved out to the Little Apple, J's cousin was about ready to throw out her bread maker because she never used it. I snatched it up, and FINALLY put it to good use today!

Julie's Bread
Makes One Loaf of Deliciousness

Ingredients
9 oz warm water
3 ¼ cups bread flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast (I used rapid rise yeast because I had it and it was fine)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
Add ingredients in this order into your bread machine. Just use warm tap water (not hot, not cold), then add flour (Julie recommends King Arthur and declares that it seriously makes it so much better. I don't have King Arthur currently, I will be checking out the store shortly), sugar, and salt. Then make a little indentation on the top of the pile and add the yeast in the indentation. Pour the olive oil into the corners.

Turn your bread machine on the "dough setting." After about 10 minutes, take a rubber spatula and get the crumbs out of the corners and add them into the

dough. After the machine is done, place the dough in a regular bread pan, coated with Pam. Place a cloth napkin or thin dishtowel over the dough and let it rise while the oven heats up. Bake for about 28 minutes at 350*. Let it cool for a minute in the pan, the move it to a wire rack to cool.

Variations

You can substitute one cup of whole wheat flour for white flour or 1/4 cup graham flour for 1/4 cup white flour if you want to be healthier. (I opted for the whole wheat variation this time and it was SO GOOD.) Julie also uses the same recipe for dinner rolls and cinnamon buns: just roll out the dough and spread butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on top. Roll it up, cut it and bake for 25 minutes. (I will be making these for my man this weekend!)