It is cold. We woke up to 19F. For Celsius folks, we’re at -7. It was even colder last night. The wind outside is making winter storm noises. It’s a kind of low growling as it whistles past the oaks.
Whenever these numbers come out, there is always a lovely Canadian person who is like it’s -40C where we are. Yes, but your electric grid and houses are built for cold. Our houses are built to maximize the AC benefits and compensate for 6 months of 95-105F degree weather. I have exactly one small area in the house where there is enough light to grow plants, because all other rooms are too shadowy. And last week, we were in shorts.
We built a big old fire in the fireplace. The dogs have positioned themselves in front of it and are refusing to budge. Yesterday, just as the temperatures really started to drop, Gordon and I made a couple of trips to the wood pile with our wagon and hauled the wood inside. As usual, Charlie and Nykie accompanied us, because that’s what dogs do, and Tuna also followed us. Tuna is a very dignified cat. She doesn’t hurry. She strides, surveying her domain.
The first trip went fine. On the second trip, just as we were finishing up, a gust of ice-cold wind hit. Tuna took that hit, spun around, and sprinted. She dashed back to the house, leaping over things, like a small orange tiger. And then, when we made it to the door, she gave us this indignant meow that clearly said, “Took you long enough.”
Predictably the cold caused a run on the grocery stores. We have 2 whole days of freezing temperatures. The apocalypse is nigh. Kid 2 went to pick up a couple of things at H-E-B on Friday.
I call this the “No Meat” picture. Thankfully all of us have stocked up in advance. I made a big roast, which we can slice for sandwiches and right now I’m making bread.
The bread machine Gordon bought for me has become one of my MVP appliances. I’ve made all sorts of bread now, but the recipe I make most often is Pain Ordinaire Au Beurre, which I found in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger.
This bread has a long name, which translates to plain bread with butter, but a very short and easy recipe, and best of all, unlike the other breads I make, this one can be baked by the machine. It comes out great on French bread cycle. Set it and forget it.
1 1/2 Pound Loaf
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons gluten
- 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Throw everything into the machine in the order your machine likes it. For me, it’s water, butter, flour, gluten, salt along the perimeter, make a little hole in the center of the flour, and pour the yeast in. Select French or European bread cycle. Walk away.
This bread is great, low sugar content, soft but firm enough for sandwiches, however, it is best when eaten on the same day. The book has a recipe for 2 lb. loaf as well. The cookbook is excellent, by the way. I have the paperback version, but it is right now available on Kindle Unlimited.
Edit Mod R: Ilona’s bread machine is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread, Stainless Steel/Black.
You can see more about it in this post.
All I know of soap making is that it stinks and my nan stopped making it when I was too young to learn, though she kept on boiling washing for years which also had a distinct odour and I still in my mind refer to as cooking clothes.
That has been the only breadmaker recipe book I have used for the last twenty years, including over the bread machine manufacturer’s recipes. I left it in the U.S. with the rest of my library when I moved to Europe*, and ended up reordering it from the U.S. It is beyond excellent.
Also, last week it hit -16°C with windchill (-10° without) and it was the first time we had to turn the heat on this winter, because the buildings are built to retain all the heat. I understand your situation.
___
*if anyone asks, as my husband did, why I would need a BREADMAKER in AUSTRIA, where there is a bakery on every corner, the answer is “because sometimes we want to eat fresh bread that *isn’t* super dark and bricklike. It’s delicious, yes. But it gets boring after a while.
I am Austrian and I totally agree! Love our well insulated houses, especially this winter!
I make my own bread most of the time because I love to give myself some variety that doesn’t cost as much as some of the special bakery bread. Which tastes fantastic, but I do love to know what’s going in my bread and switching it up with whatever I have at home!
I know I didn’t describe it in a flattering way, but it is delicious. It is also completely unfit for sandwiches — it’s bread for eating by itself.
And the heating is even better when you live in an apartment and your neighbors turn their heat on at the drop of a hat! And most of the Altbau have hallways that stay cool in summer, although I grew up with A/C, and still can’t bear it. I was finally able to afford a couple of good A/C units in 2022, and my life in summer improved tremendously.
These last summers were really hot and weird, a totally different experience from the years before. So A/Cs for private households are still a novelty while companies have been using them for years – but by no means are they standard equipment for buildings!
So I am the complete opposite of you – for me it’s easier to bear the warmth and maybe only use a fan inside the apartment if it’s too humid. With an A/C I am always cold, even though there are of course different settings. Don’t know why, I guess it is just what your body is used to!
Are you living in Vienna? I guess in bigger cities it’s different as well as the natural air flow gets disrupted by close buildings and the heat retained by streets and concrete.
But despite all that I hope you enjoy living in Austria, not only the bread but generally speaking! 🙂
Haha! I can imagine feeling the same way, and agree that European breads are excellent!
Could you please post the bread making machine you are using?
Thanks and stay warm, guys!
Hi Maggie, it’s the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread, Stainless Steel/Black
.
You can see more about it in this post 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/surprise-bread/
Love my Zo!
Amen! It’s worth every penny.
I know someone who makes wonderful soap,and dropped her a link to your technical contact form.
I’m in Alberta and also fear for our electric grid. We got an advisory to reduce usage to help maintain supply. Car did not start this a.m., booster did not help, fun times.
Luckily, Elsa is leaving soon. We’ll get our milder winter by weekend. Til then, need new battery most likely.
Hello fellow Albertan! Stay warm!
It has been incredibly cold this weekend in Alberta, that’s for sure, but I think it’s worse because we have had a very spoiled winter and haven’t had to acclimatize to cold weather.
The alert to stop non essential electricity was a jolt.
PS I would rather have -40C then have scorpions in my house. (Bad shivers at the thought)
+1
That’s just awful. I can’t conceive of -19F.
When the cold hit us a year ago in Atlanta, everyone’s pipes burst. My fingers are crossed for the cold hitting us tomorrow night.
Brrrr! I’m in Atlanta and it is getting cold tomorrow. School is cancelled and we’ll work from home. Our city is not prepared for icy roads. It’s going to be a looooong day.
Icy roads are fun… and scary. Remember, small movements on the steering wheel, large turns and corrections will send you flying. Do not accelerate or decelerate quickly. If you need a reference for this take a car to an empty parking lot and practice. If you know what it feels like when your tires are slipping you’re less likely to panic behind the wheel.
Thanks! I have zero experience with driving on ice or snow.
Turn your taps on to a drizzle. Hot water is best. As long as water is running through the pipes they won’t freeze. Check the water periodically, if it turns icy, run hot water until it warms back up and turn back to drizzle.
If the pipes do freeze, use a space heater or even a hair dryer to thaw the frozen pipe, if you can find the freeze.
Cold is all relative! I’m from Manitoba (Canada) and it’s currently -22C but feels like -35C with wind – not quite -40C! It’s not pleasant but not unexpected in January where I live. The furnace is running all the time even with our house having good insulation, new windows etc… I think we were colder than some places in Nunavut (high arctic) yesterday. I broke out my heavy duty parka and crammed my toddler into her big winter jacket before leaving the house. Many tears this morning, lol.
I think people forget that if you’re living somewhere that houses don’t have the proper insulation for cold weather, even a few degrees below freezing can be a huge deal… especially if it stretches over the course of a few days. Frozen and burst pipes, power outages! I had never thought of this before we had water main breaks all over the city one really cold winter (below -30C for an extended period). They had to rebury the pipes even deeper after that to protect against future extreme cold weather snaps. Guessing that pipes are not buried nearly as deep in the southern states so this could be a real risk for a lot of homes…
Wishing you and everyone feeling the cold a return to warmer weather soon!!
ps. The fresh bread sounds heavenly….
It’s too cold here in Dallas too (for this former Californian – even though I’ve been here since 1982). Hot bread with butter sounds perfect right now!
We had -25 Celcius when we were skiing in the Swedish mountains in the beginning of January but now it’s more like -9, but windy so the chill factor makes it feel like -17. During the night we had about 2 decimeters of snow as well.
But in the north of Sweden they went from -42 to +2 last week. And now they have -32 again. It all depends on from which direction the wind blows.
We had a lot of problems during Christmas with trees breaking due to heavy snow on the branches and it caused a lot of power loss
It’s been in the 30’s here – Sacramento California. You are right, homes here aren’t built with the cold weather in mind, either. A few months ago I replaced the weatherstripping around each door. I took action to weather proof these 20+ year old double paned windows, as best I could.
I am making tortellini soup. I ordered wool socks (wool and a cotton blend) from Amazon. My toes are ice cubes.
My kitty is currently in my lap.
Yeah it’s cold!
The Best wool socks, I’ve found, are bought from Walmart, the Sports area; they are Pink, have 86% wool content, can’t recall the brand. They feel better than the ones I’ve gotten off Amazon, have never done the thinning, nubby thing that makes me Hate socks, booty-footy things, that cause pain on the bottom of my feet. I have been a Walker in the past, trying to save on bus fare(don’t drive), and have a habit of wearing a pair of these, the entire fall through winter, as they don’t let feet-cracks happen. My husband usually buys me at least 3 pair a year, so to make up for the cats Throwing down hanging ones, that the dogs chew up, or moths got to. Hope you can get some!
Think these are the ones: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Realtree-Women-s-Merino-Wool-Midweight-Hiking-Crew-Socks-Size-Medium-Pink/379306207?athbdg=L1103&from=/search
My grandmother-in-law was a loyal GVC shopper and she also, in classic grandmother fashion, would give socks for Christmas. About 10 years ago she bought us all these wool compression socks from QVC. They were amazing. My last pair finally got holes last year. I cannot find anything like them anywhere. I have bought several from Amazon that look similar but they are not the same. They not only were amazing in the cold but also when it was hot and you had to wear shoes like a funeral or something. Seriously one of the most useful gifts I have gotten and it was a pack of socks.
I feel like it’s a rite of adulthood to learn to appreciate good socks. And then you do what adults have done for generation and you gift them to kids and break their hearts over what they see as the most disappointing present ever 😂
Fleece lined reading socks are best for sleeping in when it gets cold. Been sleeping in them for the past week, they aren’t as tight on the ankles, no elastic lines and they are extra warm. Also they usually have sticky bottoms, so no slipping on the midnight bathroom breaks.
Haha! So true!
Canadian: I sleep in big thick wool socks for 10 months of the year.
Try it: really cosy. Add a wool blanket on top of the wool duvet, and it is easier to sleep.
I also have a wool throw for knees & feet while at the desk or couch.
Big and baggy socks so that they do not restrict circulation. Just make warm pockets around feet. I bought mens size 13 … still big even after washing …
https://nonia.com/product/vamps-sizing/
or
https://macauslandswoollenmills.com
I feel for you on houses. I was astonished when I visited the Southern US: I am accustomed to warmly-built homes … but then, none of the homes where I grew up had AC … and we thought it was a heat wave if a summer day reached 25 degrees Celcius 😉
Time to break out the Carhartts. I have gone through my winter clothes and am taking a laundry basket’s worth (of the ones I haven’t worn in a year) to the next door neighbors. They have kids of all sizes and I’m pretty sure the clothes will fit at least a couple of them. One pair of insulated coveralls, one heavily insulated and hooded canvas jacket, a couple of wool sweaters that I can no longer wear because hot flashes, assorted hats, pairs of gloves and wool socks. Also a crate they can use for their 4 month old Pyr pup, who is theoretically a livestock guardian, but not yet big enough to stay outside in what’s coming our way. He’ll be inside but is not house trained, so he’s about to get crate trained.
I am one of those Canadians living somewhere that was -46C (which is below -40F) last week. But we will also scream and cry and throw tantrums once it gets to +30 and have real issues if it gets hotter. And we have cities in Canada that shut down if it snows because they never get snow- its all about what you are used to/plan for.
I hope it isn’t too rough or too long for you folks.
You’re probably talking about Vancouver. Yes it snowed last week and the buses could not get up the hills. The sidewalks got icy and people were sliding around. But our houses are built to stay warm. I can’t imagine how to heat Texas houses! They’re big, airy spaces meant to cool you down after being under the sun. I’m glad House Andrews has a nice warm fireplace and lots of wood! Stay warm!
I’m in Vancouver too. Snow day today and the schools are closed!
We don’t have (or usually need) the army of snow plows that more snowy cities have, and that makes a difference.
stay warm!
I’ve had that bread machine book for years. It’s the best!
However, I took classes on no knead breads. It is amazing. Mix it up, let it sit for 12-24 hrs, punch it down, shape and bake! Lots of recipes on youtube. Look for the ones with Steve Gamelin.
I have a cat that is a feral rescue and is insistent on going out every day. However when I opened the door (reluctantly) at 12 deg and very windy the 2 cats waiting spun around and said no thank you. So I can clearly see Tuna streaking to the door! What my cats love is that I brought out a little space heater to keep my feet warm. They park in front of my feet. The feral cat has decided to park on my chest & watch the bird feeder. Not getting any house work done, I’d rather read!
In Austin under a blanket by the fire reading. It is chilly today.
When I moved from Kansas to the Corpus Christi area (just in time for that last really cold snap a few years ago, where the grid did NOT hold), I was amazed my pipes outside were not insulated. I mean, who doesn’t insulate their pipes?!? And that’s when I also learned my windows were not great. And my wall insulation was not great. And ….
But yes – houses down there are definitely not built for that type of weather. The *city’s* water pipes froze. Not the homes, but the actual city. We had to wait for the pipes to thaw on the city’s end before we could find out if our own pipes were okay or not.
Hoping all holds, and this cold snap disappears quickly for you!
pipes freezing and bursting in winter city variety and home variety happened often in DC and adjacent areas. tho cold spells do happen there many houses are not completely built for it. I’m currently in Florida parts of which do get frost and snow (hello northern fla). and I heard there was a wind chill advisory for Wed am to pm. I nearly died laughing…wear a coat gloves and hat. lows will be about 37 to 47 for south fla and inland A bit cooler. I broke out my velvet floor length duster w hood my hot pockets for my feet and down quilt. I put space heater in my room and I wear my athletic leggings double cotton socks and athletic long sleeve top all designed to keep me toasty. my other weapon is my heated carpet pad under the area rug. cats are all parked on it currently. I like sitting on it too! and I put heat to 60 so the heat pump doesn’t work too much. 😑 but seriously we moan here but it’s not bad it will pass quickly…only issue might be rolling blackouts from over demand..
Heated carpet pad?!?! Such a thing exists?? I had no idea. Can I ask where you got it?
I’ll look it up. and post for you. great invention tho. no more cold feet floor greeting upon rising in early am
okay sheildlife Thera mat is one tho more like heated carpet excellent for lounging on I used in my bed as heated mattress pad…IR heat that penetrates lovely 😍 the other product is Klimax that goes under carpet and ontop of a carpet pad. both cost me but I used them in no. va then to florida stored for the 10 cold days. best products love them 💕
Hi. My sister has a friend that makes and sells his own soaps in the Austin area. I have texted him to see if he is interested in getting in touch, but I’m not sure where an email address for our revered mod r is. His business is Woodhoek Wild, Red Rock Tx. He has a website.
Ilona meant the contact form on the website 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/contact/
Thank you so much for helping!
Always glad to help my favorite authors!
I’m in southern Ontario, Canada, and although I’m used the the -20 C (with wind chill factor), it’s nowhere near as cold in the winters as it used to be for sustained periods of time, as when I was growing up. We used to have tons of snow as well– not anymore. We use oil coil heaters in our family room for extra heat, because this room is drafty with large windows. The heater heats the oil and the oil runs through the coils. There are very safe, even if they get tipped over. (No oil can run out.) It wouldn’t be much help when the electricity is out, but to supplement a gas furnace, it’s good.
We (here in the Willamette Valley of Or.) have also had snow/ice since Friday evening. Now they are saying that we will have an ice storm tonight through Wed. Our Highway dept. says that they have no money so they have NOT been sanding or plowing. I live on a highway and we still have 2 sets of ruts instead of 5 lanes and 2 bike lanes
We had 17 this morning in North Bexar County. The next two nights will be colder. The worst part was the ice which most Texans have no clue how to deal with. Best to stay hunkered down.
Go Tuna! Hehehehe
Yep, had to laugh about the empty shelves. Of course the memories of the snowpocalypse are still quite green, so I really can’t laugh too hard. I’m still debating installing a generator and my brother decided to go for it this year. The electric grid in Texas has significantly failed at keeping up with the population and industrial growth. And that’s being kind.
Maggie news!! I was just debating if it was kosher to ask how things were going there.
Greetings from Red Rock in Bastrop County. I make handcrafted soap in my cottage business, Woodhoek Wild. I am happy to assist if I can.
Thank you so much for your kindness, David- the expert has been found at present, but I will save your contact details in case of need! 🙂
Even apartments aren’t cold weather proofed. Of all the things to happen over the holiday (MLK Day) weekend is my furnace went out. It went out right after I moved into the apartment. The maintenance guy fixed it, and it was fine until now. I went out yesterday to see if I could find a temporary heater until another one I bought online gets here. Went to Walmart…no heaters. They were wiped out. Went to Lowes. They had the radiator kind of heater, and it was the only kind they had in stock. So, I bought one thinking it was better than not having something. My downstairs is warm. The upstairs, where the bedrooms are, is cold. The thermostat is hovering between 55 – 57 (F). I’m letting the furnace run to circulate the air around the apartment. At least it’s warmer than the outside.
I have the faucets dripping, and the cabinets open even though I’m in an apartment right in the middle of the building. I’m staying warm with a Dyson hot/cold fan, shearling lined slippers, flannel pants, a t-shirt, a warm sweater, and a blanket over my legs in my office upstairs.
It even snowed in Fort Worth this morning. I’m glad I work from home. 🙂
It’s been about 40 degrees here in SoCal which is pretty cold for here. We actually enjoy using the wood stove in our family room to heat the main living areas. It is very efficient and calming to look at. But there is a no burn for wood stoves today because of air quality. We will be using it anyway as we have some very nice hard wood at the moment.
Our Boxer has her sweater on.
heh. I’m in michigan. I just got out my big coat. it’s funny because I am fine with the cold outside but can’t stand chilly inside. I think you Texans are furnaces with your indoor air conditioning temps!
tack up some blankets/sheets over the entry in your “warm” room. I know you want some air draw for the fire but for the most part you’d like to encourage the warm air to stay put with you.
I also laughed at the run on meat. where I grew up the stores would run out of bread, milk, and sometimes eggs. so we’re making French toast and you’re barbecuing for the neighborhood😀
Best of luck! I’ve been thinking of you and my friends and family in Texas. We’re in Northern Virginia, where we did get some snow, and it’s freaking cold, but our houses are built for it.
Stay warm!
Stay warm guys! I have a few friends and 1 sister in TX all complaining that NJ was warmer the TX this weekend. Seems our temps will drop later today with a bit of snow overnight. I really hate the cold but family is here so here we live right now.
However this is my 10 years olds first snow (if we get decent accumulation) So he is the only one super excited. My 21 year old has told him how fun shoveling the driveway can be and the kid believed his big brother. Middle child is 17 and does odd jobs for pay and she told him he can do the shoveling. I started to interrupt but hubby said lets see how it plays out in the morning.
I expect early morning winter shenanigans.
What brand/model
breadmaker do you have?
It’s the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread, Stainless Steel/Black
.
You can see more about it in this post 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/surprise-bread/
It SO depends on where you live and what your area is used to! I’m in the midwest. My boss opened a new office in Atlanta. His first winter there, they got a little dusting, less than an inch of snow, a little sleet, nothing much, would not have even brought out the plows here. It was snowmageddon there. Cars spinning out, in the ditch, groceries gone, news screaming about lines going down. He was all, what is wrong with these people??!! LOL
I agree with your boss. Even a friend of mine who lives in Atlanta told me people can’t drive there even on good days. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Hahaha yup … we lived in Atlanta for four years. They used rocks instead of sand/ salt on the roads… drove my sweet VW Jetta to work listening to rocks hit it on the highway… we saw people trying to defrost their cars with all kinds of crazy things. One lady was bashing her windshield with a broom handle… rather than give it time …
My sister-in-law was in Atlanta for work some time in the 1990’s when they had some minor snow accumulation. No one on the roads but her. “I own Atlanta” was her mantra for a couple weeks.
I use that cookbook at least 2-3 times every week! I’ve been using it for almost ten years now. The spine is creased to my most-used pages.
glad you still have electricity. thanks for sharing your bread recipe recommendation. in Seattle vegetables sell out before the meat does 🤣🤣🤣🤣
A friend of mine posted this today, and I just had to share: “When it’s bitterly cold outside, I think of all the mosquitoes that are dying, and it makes me feel warm inside. 😂” –Nancy Walton
Hang in there, you guys! I hope the weather changes for the better very soon.
i think of all of the 4″ long cockroaches that won’t survive. i picture them in little snow boots and scarves, shivering. it almost helps.
Yes! This cold is awful! Where I am in Oregon it turned into an ice storm. We are all frozen solid with downed branches and trees. The freezing rain created a crust on top of the snow and everything is very slick ! I feel luck to have power! My friend has been out of power since Saturday and may well have to wait for several more days to get power. She is one of 11,000 in her town without power.
Hope everyone stays safe!
i love reading these comments, and I love that you make bread… but am I the only person who makes bread regularly without a bread machine? I make white bread weekly, we don’t buy bread. my bread recipe has 5 ingredients and it’s super simple.
flour, sugar, yeast, salt, sunflower lecithin. and water. I make 2 loaves at a time, and freeze the one we aren’t eating, so it can last. it’s awesome. warm, fresh bread is something I think more people should enjoy more regularly.
Last week I did the rolls made with oatmeal that’s been hydrated with boiling water for 10 minutes. America’s Test Kitchen fluffy Thanksgiving rolls. I had to substitute part of the ingredients since I didn’t have whole wheat flour, bread flour or molasses in the house. They were o.k. I’ll make them again because they went together faster. Stay warm everybody.
I used to, but I don’t have the spare energy these days, so I mix and knead the bread in my Magimix so I just have to shape and cook it.
Best of luck with the weather, and with the critters by the fire. I haven’t cranked up my bread machine in a while due to gluten problems, but my preferred recipe back then was a dill-onion bread.
Our temps dropped into the negatives with nasty wind chills the last three days. I purchased a survival stove that uses inside-safe cans that can be used for cooking and heat just in case but haven’t needed it. So far we haven’t had any bad storms with loss of electric yet but other places have. We sold out of room heaters on Friday at work. Winter here, so far, has been pretty mild but it is January so cold is expected. Stay safe.
My friend shared that she got to pump $0.30 of gas before the pump froze (wind chills have been around -20F all day today along the Front Range in Colorado).
What is cold or hot is definitively relative to whatever you’re used to but this was ridiculous! 😂
It should not be warmer in Massachusetts (31 F) than it is Texas. That is just crazy. Glad you’re all hanging in there so far.
We’ve had snow, rain, snow squall, sun, and now tomorrow freezing rain for the morning commute. Fun times. All the seasons in a matter of days. We were at a truck stop today … random stop for snacks and clean bathroom… I noticed some Knick knacks for sale.. next to the fairy statues were skeletons doing various things. One was sitting on a toilet. I stood there staring because my brain got stuck on who that figurine was marketed towards… I said to my husband “if you came home with that and were like, ‘here I got this for the mantelpiece…’” … lol there’s something for everyone I guess. I still wonder about the people who would find those skeletons perfect …maybe a tough biker guy but he loves his collection of resin plastic skulls and it wasn’t complete until he got the toilet one to remember the very clean bathrooms at the Connecticut truck stop? I don’t know.
Stay warm and here’s hoping the grid holds!!!
Hello
Love your books!
I am Canadian in Montreal, in fact.
It’s actually -7 C here right now. It’s F***** cold. Hate it.
The fact that’s it’s the same in Texas boggles my mind. January 2024!!
Advice for cold weather? Layers. Two pairs of socks. Hoodies.
Hopefully you’re back to shorts soon!!
Layers is right. I used to live in NE Ohio a few decades ago and have my cold training to use here in Gulf Coast Texas. Better than the inland areas. Still have my good cold weather clothing. Prepped for tomorrow if work is open.
When the apocalypse is nigh in Australia everyone stock piles toilet paper!
Brrrr! I’m in Atlanta and it is getting cold tomorrow. School is cancelled and we’ll work from home. Our city is not prepared for icy roads. It’s going to be a looooong day.
If you have time to share…What type of bread machine/maker do you have? I have no room for more appliances but have been tempted to add one for about a year now and have been doing research…#curious
Ack ignore this! Just saw the answer above!
Warm thoughts your way. Hoping to be spared more damage from flooding later this week on the West Coast.
I keep wanting to make bread, but am baffled by yeast. Maybe I will bake some banana bread tonight. Mmmm, banana bread, hot from the oven!
I use rapid rise yeast and proof it in a glass measuring cup. Use about a fourth cup of very warm water and a tablespoon of sugar. When it starts foaming and growing it proves it is good. Use a basic white bread recipe to start with. The banana bread sounds lovely! I ‘ll have to see if I have the ingredients for quick bread tomorrow. Maybe muffins! Thanks for the idea!
You’re right, I’m in Canada & we have the polar vortex planted firmly over us right now. Grim going all last week & this one. My cats insisted on going outside tonight while I took out garbage, they made it 3 feet onto the deck, turned and gave me the stinkeye because, of course, I did this cold business & I should stop it right now.
That’s my favorite bread machine cookbook. The bread I usually make is the Semolina Country Bread. I love the sesame seeds and I use toasted sesame olive oil. Scrumptious!
Oh man I can smell that roast! Glad you guys are prepared. Glad I am in LA. Stay safe and sane. I once worked in North Dakota and a white-out blizzard kept me inside and I almost lost it.
I have that cookbook too! My favorite recipe may be the sciaciatta – or is it the hot cross buns? – but I really like the white whole wheat bread for sandwiches.
Hope your fingers and toes stay toasty!
I love the Hensberger book. It was my only bread machine-based book for years, and I still often turn to it. One of the best recipes (IMHO) is for House Bread, which is primarily bread flour, but has a couple of spoonfuls of several other types. I’ll use whatever I have on hand for the latter (rye, wheat, potato, wheat germ, etc.) and it never disappoints.
I’m one of those Canadians and it is miserable if you’re not accustomed to it. I have a ridiculous amount of hats, gloves, scarves, mitts, boot socks etc… I also have a long winter coat, a cold weather parka and mild weather parka.
Some observations/advice:
1. Wool. Nothing beats wool. For a few days of the year, it may not be worth getting many wool garments but I highly recommend socks.
2. Layers. As many as you need, even indoors.
3. Mitts are warmer than gloves.
4. You might need to have the taps on drip so they don’t freeze and burst. My parents retired to the country after decades in the suburbs and had to do this.
5. Tuna is a very smart kitty!
Hang in there.
Sending warm thoughts and virtual hugs to you and my fellow Canadians in Alberta (from Ontario). Hoping that your power grid holds out!!!