Glenns' Wheat Bread

Ingredients

2 T yeast dissolved in 1/2 c. lukewarm water

2 c. milk - warmed in microwave - not hot

1/4 c. shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp. salt

1/3 c. molasses

1/2 c. brown sugar

4 c. wheat flour

approx. 3-4 c. white BREAD flour - to correct consistency

Directions

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl and knead by hand or with electric mixer, adding white flour until dough bowls away from bowl and bowl comes clean. Knead in electric mixer about 10 minutes.

Place dough in greased bowl, turn over, and cover. Let rise approximately one hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and divide into three equal parts, shape into loaves, and place in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise until size doubles.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and then bake loaves for approximately 45 minutes.

Kierstin's Notes

1. To stretch your yeast, I never use the full amount of yeast. I use about 1 Tbsp of yeast and find this is plenty. It may just take the dough a little longer to rise.

2. To speed up dough rising, I preheat oven to lowest temperature setting (about 170 degrees), turn off the oven, and place dough in covered bowl in the oven.

3. If I don't have ground wheat flour ready, I throw in cooked cracked wheat cereal and use all white bread flour until dough reaches correct consistency (1 c. water and 1/3 c. cereal, cooked).

4. I have also substituted buttermilk for milk. It gives it a great flavor.

5. Always use a Bosch mixer for best results (ha, ha!).

Russian Punch

Bring to boil: 5 quarts water & 3 cups sugar
Add: 1 (16 oz) can frozen orange concentrate & 1 (6 oz) can frozen lemonade

Make a spice bag (cheesecloth or porous fabric tied with a string) containing 1 tsp whole cloves & 1 tsp cinnamon.

Place spice bag in the punch and bring it to boil. Then lower heat to a simmer and leave spice bag in while it simmers (or while in the refrigerator before heating) for best "seasoning" of the punch. Serve hot.

I had this at a Relief Society meeting the other night and it was very good.

Mushroom Wild Rice

2 1/4 cups water
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef consomme, undiluted
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup, undiluted
3 (4 ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained (I only use two and I chop them up nice and small so the kids don't know they are in there!)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 cup uncooked wild rice

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients; stir well. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until rice is tender.

by Loriann

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is from my KitchenAid recipe book. I've made this bread several times, and we really like it. It is a nice change from wheat but still a little more substantial than plain white. See my NOTES at end of recipe.

1 1/2 C water
1/2 C honey
1/3 C butter or margarine
5 1/2-6 1/2 C flour
1 C quick cooking oats
2 tsp salt
2 packages active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
2 eggs
1 egg white
1 T water
Oatmeal

Place water, honey and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until mixture is very warm.

First place oats, then 5 cups flour, salt and yeast in mixer bowl. Mix. Gradually add warm mixture to flour mixture and mix about 1 minute. Add eggs and mix about 1 minute. Add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Knead about 2 minutes longer.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in two greased 8 1/2X4 1/2X2 1/2 inch baking pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Beat egg white and water together with a fork. Brush top of loaves with mixture. Sprinkle with oatmeal. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

NOTES: I divided the dough into three pieces and used my bread pans that are slightly smaller than the above measurements. I don't brush the dough with egg whites and water. I just butter the top when I take them out of the oven. I baked the bread at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

(photo added by Vanessa)

Gingerbread with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Maria's notes: I made this for the New Years Eve party 2011 at Braswells.

from melskitchencafe.com
*Serves 12

Gingerbread:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup very hot water

Cinnamon Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Add the eggs and molasses and blend again. Sift the dry ingredients together in a mesh strainer directly into the molasses/butter/sugar mixture and mix. Add the hot water and beat until the batter is smooth. It will be fairly thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake or the gingerbread will be dry.

Serve the gingerbread warm or cold with cinnamon whipped cream and sliced bananas, if desired.

For the cinnamon whipped cream:
In a medium bowl, begin beating the whipped cream. After it starts to just slightly thicken, add the sugar and cinnamon and beat until medium-stiff peaks form.