When I was married before I had a husband who made beautiful bread.  When he was home he would crank out about 5 or 6 loaves a few times a week and it would all get eaten.  He was really good at it and the kids practically inhaled it.  He would make the kitchen table dance across the kitchen floor when he was kneading it.  He also made a huge mess, which I got to clean up, but I wasn't complaining because his bread was excellent and it was worth the price of cleaning up!



 I have never made good bread.  I am not sure why.   I gave up trying a long time ago, but lately I have been wanting to try again and have been searching for just the right recipe.  I do have a bread maker, which I could use, but I have been wanting to bake a loaf from scratch with my own two hands.  Just moi and nobody else.


I found a recipe the other day on the Brown Eyed Baker Blog called My Favourite White Bread.  It looked really good.  She got the recipe from someone's Grandmother. She doesn't say who, but she did say that it was such a good recipe that she was baking it a couple of times a week.


She was tempting me with her praise for this recipe. I went back and looked at the recipe a few times over the past few weeks, and then finally today, I printed it out and decided I was going to have a go at it!


I confess I did not follow her instructions exactly.  I did everything by hand.  Totally by hand.  I popped the LDS Music channel on and sat at the table and mixed and kneaded it all by hand.  It was very cathartic.


I kneaded it and I thought  . . .  I thought and I kneaded . . .  I listened to the dulcet tones of good music, and all the while I was channeling my mother earth insides . . .


I felt almost like Ma Ingalls . . .  seriously.  It rose like a dream with the first rising . . .  and then it rose like a dream with its second rising.  I didn't know whether I dared hope I would have some success or not  . . . I did cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us and I don't have enough room in my freezer for a loaf of bread  . . .


Colour me pleasantly surprised because I had tremendous success!  The loaf turned out perfect.  It is beautiful bread with a lovely taste and texture.  I was so happy!  I just might make it my goal to bake a loaf every week.  Todd was quite enthusastic about the results and we are both looking forward to sitting down tonight to a slice of fresh white bread with butter and strawberry jam for our supper.  Diabetes be damned!



3 TBS melted butter, for brushing


Dissolve the yeast in the 178ml (3/4 cup) of warm water, stirring.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Add the remaining water, sugar, salt, room temperature butter and 625g (5 cups) of the flour, stirring to combine.  Using a wooden spoon stir in the remainder of the flour a little bit at a time until the dough is soft and tacky, but not sticky.  Continue to knead until a soft ball of dough forms that clears the side of the bowl. This will take about 10 minutes.  Not a problem. Just put some music on that you love listening to and lose yourself in the music as you knead.  Shape into a smooth ball and place in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm draft free place for  45 minutes to 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.  I finger inserted into the dough should leave a hole that doesn't fill back in.  Tip out onto a lightly floured surface.  Gently press all over to remove any air pockets.  Divide the dough into two.  Pat each half into a 9 by 12 inch rectangle.   Working from the short edge, roll tightly into a cylinder.  Pinch any seams shut and tuck in the ends.  Generously grease two  9 by 5 inch loaf tins.  Place the cylinders of dough into them seam side down.  Cover loosely and place into a draft free place to rise, once again until doubled in size.  30 to 45 minutes.
Brush the loaves with some melted butter.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating it halfway through the bake time until the loaves are golden brown all over and the bottom sounds hollow when lightly tapped.  Let stand for 10 minutes, tip out onto a wire rack and turn right side up, brush with the remaining melted butter and allow to cool completely before slicing.  Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.  Alternately it can be frozen for up to one month.

If you are looking for a really good bread recipe that is simple to make then look no further.  This one is a winner!  If I can have success with it, then anyone can!  Bon Appetit!

 

We had the Missionaries for tea today. There are two sets of two each here in Chester, now . . . but you are only allowed to feed two at a time. One set has a car and the other doesn't. Today we had the car-less ones and next week we'll have the other pair.

 

 We've only ever had girl missionaries once . . . I liked to spoil them too . . . and it was fun to share recipes with them . . . but that was only once for a few months.  They were nice girls, well . . . young women really.  They helped to pack up our books for us when we were moving back up here to Chester from Brenchley in Kent.

 

Girls add a special touch to everything they do . . . the nicest thing was when I was unpacking the books and found a little note from one of them.  She had drawn a little picture and left a message and tucked it in amongst the books.  It was so nice to see . . . and helped me to feel a bit less bereft . . .
Boys/men . . . not quite the same, but special in their own unique ways.  I do like to spoil them all . . . and part of how I do that is feeding them whenever I can.

 

Today I did my special oven baked pork chops for the lads.  They went down a real treat along with mash and carrots . . . salad (girls like salad, boys not so much), crusty rolls . . . and for dessert some scrummy Fluffer Nutter Brownies (Look for them tomorrow) and a little taste of home . . . pistachio pudding.

 

I managed to get one photo of the chops plated, but that is all.  Todd doesn't like me photographing the food when they are here.  He's afraid they will think I'm a bit of a nut, I think . . . but that's ok.  I don't mind who thinks I am a nut . . . so I got one photo.

 

The others . . . I took them in the kitchen when I was plating up . . . what the eye don't see the heart don't grieve they say, and Todd was none the wiser . . . 

You want a nice thick pork chops for these . . . old fashioned ones with a bit of fat and bone.  Those are the more tender ones.  It's more of a method than a recipe really . . . very simple and very delicious.  You can adapt it to as many servings as you wish.  They are always very well received.  And today . . . well, today was no exception. ☺

 

*Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops*
These directions are for one chop, but can be multiplied
to as many as you want to serve.
Printable Recipe


This is more of a method than a recipe.  It is the way I have been doing my breaded pork chops for years and years.  They always end up tender and moist.  The crumbs on the bottom don't always stick, but they do meld into the juices to make a luscious sauce and the crumbs on the top always stay put.  All in all they are truly delicious.

1 bone in pork chop per person
salt, pepper, dried sage and garlic powder
2 TBS of fine dry bread crumbs per chop
butter to dot
apple juice

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F.  Line a large shallow baking tray with foil and lightly grease the foil.  Onto the baking sheet place as many chops are you are wanting to serve.  Obviously if you are only cooking one or two you will want a smaller baking tray.  Dust the top surface of each chop with some salt, pepper, sage (rubbed between your fingertips) and garlic powder to taste.  Then sprinkle a tablespoon of bread crumbs evenly over top of each one. Dot with butter.  Pour apple juice into the baking tray evenly around the chops, trying not to disturb the crumbs on top. Place the tray into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, checking to make sure the apple juice does not boil dry in the pan.  Once the crumbs have begun to brown on top, remove the pan from the oven.  Carefully turn each chop over without disturbing the crumb topping and repeat the process for seasoning and crumbing on the underside.  If you need more juice in the pan, once again pour it around the chops.

  Return the pan to the oven and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until nicely browned on top and the juices have thickened into a bit of a sauce.  Check every 10 minutes or so to make sure the pan is not going dry and top up with more juice if need be.  Serve hot with some of the pan juices spooned over top.  Fabulous!