bread and pie - by request

This is the bread recipe that I have been making lately – I love it and it has a lot of variations which is also nice! I grew up on whole wheat bread and switched to white as soon as I moved out on my own but I’ve rediscovered my love for whole wheat, whole grains, taste and texture. Today I added ½ cup sunflower seeds, ½ cup flax seeds and a handful of oatmeal to make it more of a whole grain. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Molasses Wheat Bread

4 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups white flour 2 pkgs dry yeast 1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups of milk (or water, or buttermilk or whatever you've got)
1/4 cup oil (whatever sort you have, or you substitute mashed squash or pumpkin)
1/4 cup molasses (or sorghum, or honey, or sugar (but add some extra liquid) 1 egg, beaten

Stir together 2 cups of flour (doesn't really matter which), the salt, and yeast. Combine the milk, oil and molasses in a saucepan or solar oven and heat until just warm - stick your finger in to test. Add the warm liquid and the egg to the flour mixture. Beat for 3 minutes with a whisk or wooden spoon. Gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is soft but elastic. Knead for 2 minutes (knead means to smoosh it flat, fold it over, smoosh it some more and generally whack it around for a while).

Place the dough in a bowl in a warm place, covered by a slightly damp cloth (the cloth shouldn't touch the dough - it is merely to provide humidity), and let it double - 1-2 hours (we actually generally do the above the night before and leave it sitting around on the kitchen counter until morning. It does just fine. That way, we get fresh bread in the am without bothering with a breadmaker.)

When it has risen (or when you are awake enough to contemplate it), divide the dough into two portions and turn it into something vaguely loaf shaped. Let rise for an hour or so somewhere warm. Bake at 350 for 40 -45 minutes, until the bread is nice and brown and sounds a little hollow.

This bread keeps quite well for days, and freezes extremely well.

Also by request is my Chicken Pot Pie recipe – which is super yummy but a little different everytime I make it, depending on what I throw in.

Chicken Pot Pie

1) Prepare a pie crust (I use the tenderflake recipe, on the container – it makes 6 crusts or 3 pies)

2) Sauté or roast 1 chicken breast with pepper, salt and garlic (or use leftover chicken); chop

3) Boil veggies (potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, - whatever you like) until tender; drain.

4) In a pot, mix 2 tbsp margarine,

2 tbsp flour.

5) Slowly add ½ cup milk, mixing constantly and allowing to thicken over medium heat. Once thick, add garlic powder, onion powder, seasoning salt, dill, pepper, chicken oxo (I just sprinkle these on to taste – I don’t have amounts)

6) Mix together chicken, veggies and sauce. Put in crust. Top with second crust

7) Bake 1 hr at 350.

I often double the amount of sauce (step 5) – this recipe is great for company because it makes two or three pies – depending on how many veggies you cook. I assume you could also freeze it tho it never lasts that long at our house!