It is great to be back in the kitchen!

Christmas week we had a new gas stove installed. That meant we had to have a gas line installed. Since we needed to install a gas line, we decided to continue the line out to the deck and install a valve for a natural gas grill. Never  – ever – having to deal with a propane tank, again, was well worth the cost! If the gods are willing, the new – fully assembled – gas grill will be delivered early New Year’s Eve…

The new stove is awesome. They’ve come a long way since we last bought our kitchen appliances 20 years ago in Pennsylvania. I was making beef stew for dinner, so I thought some fresh bread was in order. Besides… we were running low on sandwich bread…

The new oven has a setting for proofing dough!

That’s kinda cool – especially in winter.

I know I’ll be baking plenty of bread this winter – especially since my brother gave us a 5 gallon bucket of organic hard winter wheat flour! It’s an outrageously flavorful flour!

The new house is slowly coming together. Much of it is already looking like we’ve lived here for years… Most of the pictures are on the walls… Book shelves still need a bit of organizing, and the kitchen is still a work in progress.

It is not easy figuring out where things are going to go when our storage space really has been cut in half. But, we’re getting creative…

It’s actually a lot of fun!

Today’s bread is a take on a white loaf I make now and again. I just played with the flour mixture, a bit…

One of the nice things about this bread is it doesn’t have a long first rise, so it can be on the table in a couple of hours! It also makes great buns or pull-apart rolls!

Basic Wheat Loaves

• 2 pkg yeast (4 1/4 tsp)
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 egg

Stir together 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 packages dry yeast.

Heat over low heat, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, the oil, honey, and salt until warm – about 125°F.

Cool slightly and stir into flour/yeast mixture and mix until smooth – about three minutes.

Beat in 1 egg.

Slowly add remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough.

Let rest about 10 minutes.

Knead until smooth and satiny – about 10 minutes.

Cover and let rest about 20 minutes.

Divide dough in two and form loaves. Place into greased loaf pans and brush tops with oil.

Let rise until doubled – 60 to 75 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes.

Immediately remove from pans and brush tops with melted butter. Cool on racks.

If you make rolls, bake for about 18-20 minutes.

Very simple, very tasty.