26 Nov

Daring Bakers: Tender Potato Bread

Posted by Chelle as Daring Bakers, Yeast Breads & Baked Goods | 0 Comments

I suppose that my beginner’s luck in Daring Bakers was bound to run out at some point, and with my third challenge under my belt I am now batting .667. I really didn’t think that I’d hit a wall with bread, either. Somewhat disappointing, to be completely honest! The recipe this month was Tender Potato Bread, chosen by the wonderful Tanna at My Kitchen In Half Cups.

Since I didn’t make the bread until the weekend before Thanksgiving, I had already heard about some of the difficulties that other Daring Bakers had working with this dough. Having been very successful in the bread-making department (and perhaps too cocky?) I wasn’t worried when I began making this bread. However, I quickly realized that I was not immune to a bread-baking disaster as I tried and tried to make the softest, most lifeless dough work for me. Calling this a “soft” dough is a major understatement. It was very difficult for me to knead and I ended up having to use an insane amount of flour.

We were given the option of making this recipe into any variation of loaves, focaccia, or rolls. Since I was attempting this the weekend before Thanksgiving, my plan was to make all rolls and take them to my mom’s for dinner. The bread universe had other plans, apparently. When I went to shape the-most-difficult-dough-ever into rolls I had a very hard time. The dough continued to be lifeless and soft, as well as very sticky. As a result, I kept adding more flour, which most likely caused the horrid results. I was pretty convinced at this point that these may not turn out all that great.

Twenty minutes later, I took my rolls out of the oven and held my breath. They just flat out were not good. They were incredibly dense, and didn’t have much flavor. We pitched them and, hanging my head in shame, I had to report to my mom that my rolls were a bust and would not be gracing the Thanksgiving table. I did take a couple of pictures of the rolls before they met their grave - here is the result:

Ah, such is the life of a Daring Baker! They can’t all be successes, or else we wouldn’t be learning! Check out everyone else’s Potato Bread at the Daring Bakers’ Blogroll. I can’t wait to see what December brings!

03 Nov

Gone to the Dogs

Posted by Chelle as Dog Treats | 17 Comments

I usually groan every time  goI to PetSmart and look at the price of the “good” dog treats. I mean, buying the “cheap” ones isn’t an option because my dog is a little king and is spoiled rotten. He should get the Snickers of doggie goodies, right? However, I thought it might be fun to try to make some homemade dog treats to see how Einstein likes them. I mean, why should my baking serve just the humans in the house? Einy should reap some benefits as well!

I was going to make some beef-flavored treats, but I thought that Einstein would enjoy peanut butter better since he DOES go crazy for some good PB. These were incredibly easy to make and even more fun since I found a dog-bone shaped cookie cutter in my big set! I ended up with almost 30 treats.

Peanut Butter Doggie Bones

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup low-fat milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk. Add wet mixture to dry, and mix well.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

The judge’s verdict:
“Can I PLEASE eat them ALL???”