I'm Baaaaaack!

I know, I know, I disappeared for a long time, like every other forgotten blog that thousands of people start and never finish.  Don't you worry, I'll never leave you forever.  Much has changed since I last posted.  I live in Portland now.  Wow, right?  I'm going to school again to become an EMT.  Fingers crossed.  I have adopted another bunny (Charlie needed a friend, right?).  And of course, I've been baking.  I even got a kitchen aid for christmas!

The most recent thing I baked was Amish White Bread.  I've made a vow to bake more bread, you know, to cut back on money.  I must warn you though, before giving you the recipe, that I modified it a bit.  I've cut back on the sugar, as well as the flour.  Use your best judgement.  The recipe is:

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. 
   
   
   
   Next on my list of breads to make?  Tortillas and Sour Dough Bread.  Recipes?

Sea Foam Candy

I have recently gotten into baking.  Today was a rainy downer of a day (What's new in Washington State?) so I decided what better to try and make some Sea Foam Candy.  My mom and Grandpa LOVE Sea Foam Candy... I didn't think it'd be too hard, so I figured why not and try.  I think they turned out pretty good.  If you're interested I used this recipe:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,187,154167-245199,00.html

So awful out.  Disappointing.

It was getting realllly hot.  I was getting nervous and couldn't hold the thermometer anymore because the steam was hurting too badly.

When you add the baking soda the whole pot just starts to boil and foam like an animal with rabies. 

Breaking everything up was really messy, but sort of fun.  I just took a knife to it... if you end up making Sea Foam I would suggest looking for a better method.

Mmmmmm, I love LOVE love chocolate <3  They are currently hardening, so I haven't tried the finished project, but I've got high hopes.

And to end it a picture of The Boyfriend with Charlie.  He wouldn't wake up and Charlie wanted to play.  Rude.