Paulasbread.com
Perfecting Your Bread: January 2012
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Welcome to Paula's Bread
Dear Fellow Breadlovers,

Well, our new year 2012 has begun.  If you are like me, you are up to the gills with rich food and looking for some great soups and hearty bread to take you through the cold January month. 

I have some great recipes included here and will feature more throughout the month on Paula's Bread blog and/or Paula's Bread facebook.

Wishing you a great new year!

God bless you,
paula :)

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www.paulasbread.com

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Blender Potato Soup! 

Blender Potato Soup 

It is time for soothing soup which really hit the spot for our family who have had way too much rich food. 

 

This soup is so easy... yes, there is that word again!  This is my middle name when it comes to cooking, "easy!"  I guess this is my mantra for life as I also have the standard for any dish that comes into our home, "if it doesn't go in the dishwasher, it doesn't stay in my home!"  Okay, I have digressed from my post about yummy Potato Soup. 

 

6 large baked potatoes (bake these ahead; peel)

3 medium onions chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped (about 10 green onions)
1 stick butter
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups 1/2 and 1/2

 

Bake the potatoes and cool/peel.  Saute onion/green onions in butter.  Add chicken broth and nutmeg.  Add cut cooked potatoes. Blend liquid ingredients in your Bosch Blender.  

Potato Soup Blending 


Return to the stock pot.  Add 1/2 and 1/2 gradually and re-heat.  It can easily burn so you are only needing to heat the soup.

Garnish with shredded cheese and a dab of sour cream. 

  

Perfecting Your Bread!  
 Bread making is really an easy task when using the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer (Click Here!).  However, some are still wondering what the perfect loaf looks like, feels like.  So here you go with some tips to help you over the hump to a beautiful loaf of whole wheat bread!

Water Temperature 
If you have watched my Bread Making DVD (Click here!), I tell you to have your water temp from 110 to 120 degrees.  When you put your water in the bowl, the bowl will absorb or cool the water slightly; so, I tell you to have hot water, a little warmer than the temperature of your hand.  You want the yeast in warm water to activate it.  If the water is too cool, the yeast won't activate, and if too hot, it will be killed.  A good test to make sure your yeast is good:  put a tsp of yeast in a small bowl of warm water.  It should bubble.  If the water stays murky, the yeast is dead.  Activating the yeast is the first step towards great bread.

FlourFlour
Do you know that most recipes have 15% to 20% more flour than it needs; and then you flour the board to knead the bread?  The results?  Heavy dense loaf of bread.  Let me tell you a secret...I never measure my flour when making bread!  I scoop the freshly ground flour into my Bosch bowl while the dough hooks are turning. When the dough begins to pull away from the sides I stop adding flour.  This allows me to accommodate for weather change and not adding just the right amount.  So what makes your bread heavy, crumbly and/or dense: too much flour; or flour that has been ground coarsely.  Simply back off on the flour in your recipe and you will have lighter bread.  I am also a fan of Montana Wheat.  This is a high protein wheat that will produce great bread.

Sinkers and cracks on the side
Sinkers happen when you have let your bread rise too much outside the oven.  The bread will go in the oven looking wonderful only to fall during the baking process.

Cracks on the side: the bread didn't rise enough and makes a 'stretch mark' crack on the side of the loaf. 

Tip:  slightly touch the side of the bread and when it stays indented, the bread is ready to go in the oven.


Dough Enhancerdough enhancer
This helps in the texture of your bread not necessarily in rising.  It does a great job in helping make the perfect loaf. Click Here

Oil
I never flour the counter surface nor hands when working with my bread dough.  I simply lightly oil the counter surface to knead or oil my hands to form my bread dough.

Glazing
There are many different options for glazing which add shine and/or color to your loaf of bread.   A quickie list of garnishes for your bread:

egg: give a shiny, glossy crust.  Egg white only gives the shiny w/o color.

milk: the milk caramelizes browning the crust.

Garnishing
Sprinkle various seeds, rolled or finely cracked grains, cheese, red onions.  over the freshly glazed bread.  The glazing is the 'glue' that makes the toppings stick.  Garnishes are great when you have made a specialty bread.  For instance: cheese onion loaf garnish with red onion rings and shredded cheese; oat bread garnish with rolled oats.

I will write more on glazing and garnishes for your breads in next month's e-newsletter....stay tuned! :)  Garnished Oat Bread
 
Great Bread Recipes for Soups

Whole Wheat PopoversWhole Wheat Popovers
from Soups & Muffins by Sue Gregg (Click here)
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients in your Bosch Blender.  Pour batter into your stainless steel muffin pan (Click here).  Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. 

Bake 450 degrees for 15 minutes THEN lower oven temp to 350 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.

Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Makes 12.

Note from Paula:  These are great to eat with your soups and stews and fun because they puff up.  They are light and fluffy!  Serve them immediately for best results as they begin to fall with time.

Parmesan Garlic Dinner RollsParmesian Cheese Garlic Rolls

Basic Bread Recipe
(Click here)





Many have heard of Monkey Bread but there is another twist to this same method of Monkey Bread (pull aparts) by using garlic and Parmesan cheese.


Step One:
Make the bread dough into golf ball size dough balls.

Step Two:
Roll the dough balls into melted butter. Next, roll the buttered dough ball in a Parmesan cheese and garlic powder.

Step Three:
Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. This is excellent dinner roll for any soup, stew or Italian meal!
(Click here for step by step pics and directions!)

Issue: 30
Your source for fine kitchen equipment from Bosch, L'Equip, and more...
In This Issue
Blender Potato Soup
Perfecting Your Bread
Great Bread Recipes for Soups
Customer Corner
Tips for the Harried Woman
Customer Corner


Bosch Universal Plus Mixer 

I received my new Bosch mixer and have been using it a lot. I LOVE IT!!!!!  It is everything I hoped for and then some. I may be adding to it as well with a spare mixing bowl too. I have to wait on that a bit though. I love the bowl scraper for my Bosch and have told several friends who all have the same mixer about it. They now too will be ordering the bowl scraper attachment.

Blessing to you and your Family,
Peg P.


My husband bought me several stainless steel baking pans from you last year for Christmas and I just LOVE them. They work great, and look as wonderful as they did a year ago!

Becki!

Have a customer comment you'd like to share? Email me!
Tips for the Harried Woman

Many attempt New Year's Resolutions, which in themselves are good start but if they are only resolutions with no inspiration, they will fall by the wayside within days if not weeks.

So what does inspiration look like?  Inspiration comes from the heart; resolutions are only a intellectual decision from the mind. Inspirations have a laid out plan, perhaps even a scheduled time line to accomplish those tasks.  I can say I need to lose 10# but if I am not inspired with conviction from within and a plan of action/commitment, the words will fall by the wayside.

If I want to achieve a goal for my vanity, it quickly loses its glamor and I lose my motivation.  I have to have a higher motivation to finish the course of my task.  Lasting changes come from the heart...the soul.  May I be so bold as to say motivation should have its core to please God...to glorify Him?

I think back on one of my desires years ago that had the wrong motivating force behind it.  I wanted to have obedient children.  Not a bad thing, but I wanted it so I would look good and people would be 'wowed' that my kids were so well-behaved.  Way WRONG motivation.  God convicted me of my pride.  I made a new commitment/inspiration that  I would train my children to obey to please Jesus, not worry about how it reflected on me. My desire for their obedience changed.  I now wanted them to be blessed because of the benefits obedience brought to their lives and that it pleased God.  It was no longer about me.

So what is this year's resolution/inspiration look like for me this year?  To daily seek God and to not repeat the pitfalls/mistakes of 2011.  To learn from the 'history' of 2011 and not repeat the failures and to embrace/repeat the victories. To make the 365 days of 2012 bring  glory to God.  Humm...will I make it?  I hope so...I am inspired to do it.

I have some more thoughts postings on the subject but that will be for other days. Stay tune to my blog or facebook.

If you have encouragement you would like to share, feel free to comment on the blog or facebook.  Let us embrace 2012 with new zeal for life!

Click here to read more postings on "Tips for the Harried Woman"

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 Encouraging Thoughts:
by "Set your minds on the Things Above" 

"
There was a time when (my daughters) celebrated my daily arrival.  Jenna was five years old, Andrea three.  Denalyn would alert them, and they would scamper to the window...Seeing me, they squealed.  My, how they jumped and clapped.  You'd think someone had switched their M&M's for coffee beans...As I opened the door, they tackled my knees and flooded the entryway with tsunami-size joy.  Their father was home.

It's been too long since I searched for God that way...Let's do better...How about regular ladle dips into the well of God's grace?  Drink deeply, my friend.  Drink daily
."

Note from Paula:  Perhaps this caption for encouragement hit my heart heavy this new beginning year of 2012 as I want to keep Christ in the forefront of my thoughts not just weekly BUT daily!

!!New Year Specials!!
Bosch Universal Mixer
& L'Equip Nutri Grain Mill

only $669.98


Check out the Stainless Steel Bakeware!
 
Use this coupon code (stainless steel) for the month of January and save on your stainless steel purchase!