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Tag: bread

  • My 6 MOST USED Kitchen Appliances!

    I spent a lot of time in the kitchen and make a lot of the food we eat. I love finding appliances that make that easier for me (and getting rid of the ones that don’t!).

    Today I am sharing the appliances that get the most use!

    Zojirushi Bread Machine

    I use my bread machine 5-7 times a week. I often am using it every day and sometimes I will use it more than once. I make bread in it at least 5 times a week (my kids and husband love bread and can go through a loaf very quickly) and I also use it to mix up the dough for things like pizza dough, dinner rolls, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, fry donuts, and scones.

    I have a Zojirushi bread machine. I love being able to set the times for kneading, etc. and have always gotten great results from it. I buy mine used on eBay. My mother-in-law (who recommended this bread machine to me) has tried other bread machines but they never worked as well for her bread recipe (which I also use!).

    I set my bread machine settings so that it preheats for 10 minutes, kneads the dough for 30 minutes, and then raises for an hour. I use this setting for other dough as well (pizza dough, donut dough, etc.).

    Hot Chocolate Maker


    I’ve never been a coffee drinker or big on tea, but in the last couple of years, our family has loved starting the day with protein hot chocolate. Because of that, I use my hot chocolate maker pretty much every morning (exceptions would be if we’re fasting for church, traveling, or have to leave really early for some reason).

    Air Fryer

    We use our air fryer several times a week. We have a small one and would like to upgrade to a bigger one since we use it so often (let me know if you have a bigger one you love!). We use it to grill vegetables (our favorite is wedged zucchini!), cook meat (chicken, chicken wings, steak, hamburger patties), and fry donuts. I also love using it to reheat leftovers that get soggy if heated up in other ways (especially leftover pizza) or to crisp up things like frozen French fries (we’ll heat them up in the oven and then stick them in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes).

    Ice Cream Maker

    We have the Cuisine Art ice cream maker and love it! We use it 2 to 3 times a week, plus on special occasions. My husband and I love to make our homemade ice cream after the kids are in bed. Then we stick the leftovers in the freezer to enjoy each night until it’s gone and then we make a new batch! We also make ice cream for birthdays or if we have people over for dessert.

    Blender

    We wanted a budget blender, but I also wanted one that blended really well (our previous blender did not, and it drove me crazy). The one we have now works great for blending and was pretty inexpensive. We use our blender the most for smoothies with the kids, but we also use it for ice cream (we blend it up in the blender before pouring into our ice cream machine) and the occasional other recipe.

    Crockpot

    My mom got us this crockpot for Christmas and we love it! It has a lot of great setting options, but the one we use the most is the connected thermometer. You set the desired temperature and it automatically turns off once it reaches that temp. It really helps me not dry out my chicken or roast, which is something I always struggled with before. We use it 3-4 Sundays of the month for dinner and then occasionally throughout the week.

    I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and these appliances are used so often! We love them. What do you use in the kitchen all the time? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!

  • Homemade Wheat Bread in a Bread Machine!

    One of my favorite things to do is make bread for my family! It was one of the first things I learned to make when I was first married and I’ve continued making it ever since. I always use my bread machine to mix up the dough and then form it into a loaf pan myself (though when I was first married, I let the machine do it all from beginning to end). The machine makes it super easy!

    I use freshly ground wheat flour. I now have a stone wheat grinder which I love, but when I was first married, I used an electric one and it worked great for bread. I usually do half hard white and half hard red wheat to give it that yummy wheat flavor. I buy my wheat online here, though Costco often has buckets of white wheat in store for a good price. I buy my wheat gluten in bulk online here. I don’t currently use dough enhancer. We buy our honey in bulk locally; if you don’t have honey, you can substitute sugar across 1:1.

    Here is the recipe I use and love:

    Whole Wheat Bread Recipe 

    1 ⅓ cup water 

    1 tsp salt 

    1 tbsp coconut oil OR 3 tbsp butter 

    1 heaping tbsp honey 

    3 to 3 ½ cups fresh ground wheat flour (level) 

    2 tbsp vital wheat gluten 

    1 tsp dough enhancer (optional)

    1 tsp SAF instant yeast 

    Put ingredients in bread machine in order listed. You want the flour to cover the water so the yeast doesn’t get wet until it starts mixing. Once it starts mixing, you want the dough to be sticky to the touch but formed into a ball.

    I have a Zojirushi bread machine (I’ve found this brand of bread machine works best for this bread recipe). When I buy a new one or a new bread pan for it, I usually go to eBay, though my mom has gotten them at a good price at Kohl’s before. I set my bread machine settings so that it preheats for 10 minutes, kneads the dough for 30 minutes, and then raises for an hour. If you let the machine bake it, you’d want to let it raise again for an additional 30 minutes and then bake for 30 minutes.

    Form into a loaf and let raise 20-30 minutes until the loaf raises over the top of the bread pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

    It is a super easy and yummy recipe! We love eating it straight out of the oven or for breakfast the next day if it lasts that long. I’m often making bread every day to keep up with my kids.

    Do you make homemade bread? What is your favorite bread recipe? Let me know in the comments section!