Pinterest Vacation - Day 2

Well, today didn't seem as productive as yesterday.  My two projects for today:  bread in the crockpot and soap.

I began the bread yesterday and let it sit for 24 hours on the counter.  (Oops!  Didn't internalize the instructions very well - again!)  I took it out of the bowl and tried to form a loaf.  It was VERY sticky.  I put olive oil on my hands and lots of flour on the dough and my hands.  I had cut a piece of parchment paper prior to trying to form the dough and that was sitting in the crockpot.  I didn't "grease" the parchment paper.  I turned the crockpot on "high".  I finally said "the heck with it" and put my misshapened loaf in the crockpot and let it cook for an hour.  (It was probably more like an hour and a quarter.)  I turned the broiler on and placed the rack in the middle (yes, I know, it should have been the other way around).  I put the bread and the parchment paper in the oven once it had heated up (I think it was heated all the way) and let it broil for about 5 minutes.  (I was more worried about the parchment paper catching fire than the bread getting too brown, or is that black.)  Anyway, this is how it turned out.

 Just out of the oven.

Cut.  And it tastes good!

Oh, I found the instructions for the bread in the crockpot on artisanbreadinfive.com.  But the recipe is actually from simplysogood.blogspot.com. 

My other project was making Castile soap.  Oh my!  I really need to change the name of my blog to Tweaker.  This time I had all the ingredients, but the tool I needed, a stick blender which I especially bought for this project, was not as it was suppose to be.  When I opened the box the blender part was missing.  All I had was the motor and a wire whip.  UGH!!! 

The ingredients and supplies for making soap on the back deck

Anyway, Castile soap in theory is easy to make - water (I should have used distilled water - or maybe I did), lye (ouch!), and olive oil (with the modern version, incorporating some coconut oil).  These need to be at approximately the same temperature when mixed.  When mixing, one is looking for "trace" - still not sure what that is, but it suppose to indicate that the correct chemical reaction is occurring.   Well, I followed the recipe and the instructions TO THE LETTER on this one (see www.frugalberry.com - the best instructions I found plus a video), because I didn't want any chemical mishaps happening when Gordon wasn't here to play HAZMAT.  That is, until I got to the part about mixing the lye water and the oils.  I didn't have the stick blender - so what was I going to do?  I had watched another video where someone had "cooked" the mixture in a crockpot - but I wasn't going to do that.  Then I reflected on how our pioneer ancestors must have made soap and thought that they just kept stirring (just kept stirring, just kept stirring).  Well, I stirred and I stirred (one video said at least 5 minutes with the stick blender).  It seemed to be mixing well and I could smell the olive oil.  So I let it sit to begin setting up.  I went off to make the bread and do other things and I came back and there was liquid on the top of the mixture.  (Somewhere, sometime I had read about soap making and I vaguely remember that the liquid is probably not what I wanted.)  So I popped the mixture in the microwave for 45 seconds on high and stirred some more.  I again let it sit for awhile.  I came back to it and there was liquid again on top (but not quite as much) and the mixture was a bit thicker.  So I popped in the microwave again for 45 seconds on high and stirred some more (probably 3 minutes).  Off, I go again to work on something else, come back, and there is still some (clearer) liquid on top.  In the microwave it goes and stirring some more - this time the consistency is more like pudding and I believe I have arrived at the correct consistency for soap to set up.  (An FYI, the temp of the mixture after being in the microwave was between 120 and 150 degrees F.)

The soap setting up - FINALLY!

Well, and here it is.  It now has to sit for at least 48 hours to neutralize and then I can cut it.  (I know I was suppose to put it into some type of mold, but I thought "What the heck!  I wasn't sure it was going to work and I'll be cutting it anyway if I use a different mold.")  Then it has to "cure" for 6 to 8 weeks.  This is suppose to make 7 bars of soap.

I'm here to tell you, you CAN make soap without a stick blender and extra pans.  (At least, Castile soap.)

So, even a Pinterest vacation has the mishaps of a regular vacation - something gets lost or forgotten and one has to make do.

Stay tuned!

Easiest Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

I have the easiest bread recipe in the world. It's so easy, my children can make it. I've tried this on 8 year old girls just hand kneading it and it works. So here's the recipe:


1 3/4 c warm water
1 heaping T yeast
1 T sugar
1/3 c oil (I prefer olive oil)
1/3 c vital gluten (optional)
4 c + whole wheat flour (sometimes I combine with other flours, such as quinoa or kamut - then the vital gluten might be essential rather than optional)
1 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degress. Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar together first. Add the oil and vital gluten. Add 3 cups of the flour. Then add salt. Change your mixing blade to kneading hook or begin hand kneading at this point and add approximately 1 more cup of flour to your dough. If you're using a mixer like a Kitchen Aid, your bowl should be "clean" on the sides. Knead for 3 minutes, whether hand or machine kneading. Take your dough and SLAM it 12 times on your counter. Place dough in greased bread pan. TURN OFF oven and place bread in the warm oven for about 30 minutes (the dough will have risen over the top of the pan). TURN ON the oven again (without removing the bread) to 350 degrees and bake 30-45 minutes. (I usually bake for 40 minutes.) Take the bread out of the oven and put on cooling rack. I like to let my bread cool for awhile before cutting it, but if you like it hot, just make sure you cut a really thick slice or it will fall apart until cooled.