Magical Bread :: Rolls

Find my original "Magical Bread" recipe and post here!

So... I did try to modify my Magical Bread recipe from loaves to rolls. And guess what? I was successful!

I made the recipe as normal (doubled for two loaves) and then split each loaf worth of bread dough into six. In total, two loaves worth made twelve rolls. Then I let them rise for the second time.

I could only fit four rolls in my 5-quart Dutch oven at a time. Now, to Trevor's dismay, I think I need another Dutch oven to make twice as much magic in a shorter amount of time.

Bake covered at 475 degrees for only 25 minutes. To give your rolls a crispy shell, uncover and bake an additional 3-5 minutes.

Go ahead and give your bread a try as rolls. We used our fresh baked rolls along with soup last night and as egg salad sandwich rolls this afternoon. Delicious!

Around the House

We are supposedly getting some rain tonight. Supposedly. We were also supposed to get rain yesterday and the day before and last week and last month. You know what? Haven't seen a drop.

I'm thinking of making my "Magical Bread" recipe into dinner rolls instead of a loaf tomorrow. I'll post a picture of how that turns out. Cross your fingers and wish my bread rolls luck.

It has been 20 degrees at 8 o'clock every morning for the last week. This means that every morning I have filled up a steel bucket with hot water in my bathtub before heading out to the animals. First I submerge the rabbit water bottles in the hot water while I feed my long eared friends. Once all three angoras have their morning pellets and fresh hay, I replace each of the unthawed water bottles. Then the chickens get the remaining warm water dumped into their water jug. On the way back to the house I fill my arms with firewood and build a fire waiting for the little one to wake up.

On a side note, although I suppose these are all side notes, I have gotten really efficient at building a strong hot fire. Also, the chickens laid a whopping five eggs today! The most we have gotten in one day was four eggs so this is pretty exciting. Go hens!

Egg Count :: December 2011

Mid-December kicked off egg production here at the Frühlingskabine and we were proud to receive such flavorful eggs from Myrtle and Honey.

Takin' Care of Business

I just finished grooming all the rabbits and let me tell you, it is quite the job! There may only be three of them, but now that their coats are really starting to grow out it has become a thrice weekly task. Thistle's wool is at about 2 inches long so he definitely requires grooming three times every week. Dandelion is coming in at 1 1/2 inches and Clementine is only at 1 inch. The rabbits' wool coats should get to be 3-5 inches long before they start to shed or "blow" their coats.

The two girls are naturally cleaner and so, naturally, I enjoy grooming them. Thistle on the other hand is a boy. And like all boys, he is stinky and messy. Ewww. I cleaned him up as much as I could on my own and tomorrow I'll have Trevor hold him so I can just clip his whole underside. Or as I like to say: his undercarriage. I think trimming him up will help keep his "messes" to a minimum. Hopefully.

Bees... In Winter?

Really, Trevor and I haven't written about our bees in awhile because there isn't supposed to be anything going on at the hive. It is winter after all. A time when most bees would be huddled around the queen trying to stave off the cold. The only reason they should leave is for "cleansing" flights (read: bee pee-pee-dance).

However, it has not been as cold as it should be around here. We literally have not had a decent cloudy day or even rain in two months which is weird, to say the least. As I type this, it is 60 degrees outside. The same as it's been for the last few weeks. The same as it's been since September.

But it's not September... it is January. Where is our snow?

I digress, back to the bees. So, our bees have obviously been out and about with the warmer temperatures and have been finding lots of pollen. This time of year there are quite a few daffodils to forage on. If you watch this video Trevor took yesterday afternoon, you will see four to five bees with huge amounts of pollen collected on their legs. It makes you wonder how they fly with all that weight.

Looks like we can look forward to a late-spring honey harvest!

Happy New Year!

2012 is upon us! It will probably take me until March to stop writing "2011" on any paperwork... as usual.

What did we do here at the Frühlingskabine last night? We slept. I won't sugar coat it or make excuses. No parties for us. We had chores to do early this morning, just like every morning, and we are glad for it. When we awoke, Trevor got up and let the chickens out into their run and fed the rabbits. Then eggs were collected for the perfect breakfast-- two fried eggs, two pieces of toast from home baked bread, and iced peach tea. What a great way to live on the first day of the year.

Rabbit rabbit rabbit! (if you just said 'huh?' then look it up)

Magical Bread :: Update

If you haven't seen my post on "magical bread" and the recipe... look here. You'll want to try it for yourself.

In this house, we eat quite a bit of bread and more so since I started baking fresh bread using this recipe. I don't think I can emphasize enough how much I hate baking/cooking/building things that are not quick and easy. This bread overall is not quick, but it is easy. The three steps take only a few minutes each over the course of about 10-14 hours. I know that may sound like a long time, but if you simply take two minutes to mix your dough before bed, by the time you wake up... the wait is over!

This by far the best bread recipe I have ever tried and better yet-- it only requires flour, yeast, water, and salt! When people eat your home baked bread they will think you are a miracle worker. It's that good.

Here's what I've discovered:
If it's super cold at night when your bread should be rising (like it is here), just let it rise in the oven with the oven light on. Alternatively, you could put it near the fire to keep warm.

If it's cold and isn't rising well the second time, increase the yeast to 1 teaspoon per loaf. You probably won't have any rising problems when spring comes.

It is easier to bake a double batch (two loaves) every 2-3 days than just one loaf every day. They keep fresh just fine in a large ziplock bag and I've needed that extra loaf to take to dinner parties for the host. It makes the perfect dinner gift. You will hear no complaints about this bread at the table!

One 5-pound bag of flour easily makes four to five loaves of bread. I always buy two 5-pound bags at a time so that I get an even ten loaves. It just seems to work that way for me.

Lastly, the more you fold your dough before the second rising, the more air pockets you will have. If you don't fold it you will end up with a denser bread much like potato bread.