Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Homemade Bread

I love making homemade bread!!!  I just wish I had more time to make it more often.  I'll get there.  It is so nice to know what is in there, lately I've been buying my bread and I want to cringe when I realize its been in there for a week and still looks and smells great.  ( thought of you Linda!)  So heres my recipe.  It's not that hard it just takes time, but wait until you bite into the first piece!!!

Makes 2 loaves
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 cups very warm water
6 cups flour (remember not to use bleached flour, Your eating bleach, really you are)
2/3 cup dry milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (remember to get aluminum free, health food stores carry it)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil

1. combine yeast and water, in small bowl, let the yeast set on top and set aside
2. In a very large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, mix well
3. Add oil to yeast and water mix slowly, than add to dry mixture
4. Mix well with hands ( Make sure your hands are clean!  LOL)
5. After you have some sort of a ball in the bowl, put some flour on your working area, take ball out of         bowl and continue mixing on surface.  Push out with palms of your hand than fold sides to middle and  repeat.  This takes sometime to get used to, but you need to work it until you don't feel any bumps, You don't want to work it to much though.
6. put in bowl and let rise for 45 min.
7. take out of bowl and knead on surface (put flour down so it doesn't stick) Only kneed about 15 to 20 times.
8. separate into 2 loaves put in lightly oiled bread pans. Let rise about 45 min. or when it is sticking up above your pan.
9. Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 min. or until nice and brown on top.  Bread will be a medium brown.
10. Enjoy!!!

If this doesn't make sense, I'm sorry.  Had a 5 year old needing everything but the kitchen sink.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Will it ever stop?

These last two weeks have been so hard.  Levi's sensory issues have gone through the roof!  It seems like everything I try, makes him madder.  He wants a squeeze but says it hurts.  Wants a soft back rub and screams I'm hurting him.  Won't eat certain foods, gags on drinking water, changes his clothes 3 to 4 times a day because they hurt him, is back to banging his head and rubbing it on the floor.  Wants to be alone, but doesn't want me far away.  I feel like our world has been turned upside down and inside out.  I'm trying to stay calm and telling myself this usually lasts 2 to 4 weeks than it gets better again for awhile.  But I am so tired.  It's starting to really effect the other two boys.  Gavin (our youngest) is starting to do some of these things now.  He doesn't have SPD, he just sees his older brother do it so he thinks its normal.  Right now the big question is if Levi should have his own room.  It's tearing me up though, because that means Caleb will have to go down stairs or Gavin will have to go into Caleb's room.  Oh, I wish things were different.  I never thought my family would go through this.  I really could go into a hole and sleep awhile.