SUBSCRIBE BELOW TO GET POSTS BY EMAIL

Enter your email address:

Monday, August 31, 2009

9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #5

Pizza again last night. It was so thrilling I forgot to take pictures. You can check out Dinner #3 to get an idea what the table looked like.

I did however spice things up by making dessert tonight. Peach cobbler...which was so good this was the only picture I managed to snag:

Total per serving cost of dinner + dessert: $2.23


One frozen pizza
One bag frozen broccoli
1/2 bag of spinach
Can of pears
Can of peaches
Milk
Butter, sugar, flour, baking powder (not on "the list")

Sunday, August 30, 2009

9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #4

Last night may very well have been a turning point in my career as a home cook.

I made chicken pot pie from scratch. Well, mostly from scratch.

If my grandmother is reading this she's surely shaking her head that such a thing is considered an accomplishment at all, but hey - the microwave was invented more than 40 years before I was born. I give myself kudos each time dinner does not come out of a box, the freezer or a drive-thru window.

My usual chicken pot pie is a cinch - rotisserie chicken from Publix, can of mixed veggies, can of cream of chicken soup, frozen pie crust. Cut, mix, cover, bake....BOOM! chicken pot pie. It's yummy and simple and hearty. I love to make a hearty meal, it gives me the sense that I'm fulfilling my womanly duties.

But with the Challenge going on, several of the key ingredients for this pot pie were missing. Namely cream of chicken soup and pie crusts. But I had leftover chicken from Dinner #1 and by George I was going to put it to work. It seemed so frugal, so me these days.

So I pulled out my leftover chicken, my can of veggies, some Bisquick, milk and butter, and 45 leisurely minutes later, Dinner #4 came out of the oven.

The recipe goes a little something like this (typed in full below if you could care less about pictures of my hands and stove.)

First you need to get some butter a meltin'. I used about 5 tablespoons, it just felt right.

Add 1/2 cup of Bisquick


...a dash of poultry seasoning, and bring it up to a boil.

(I'm sure any Thanksgiving-esque spices or just some salt & pepper would do just fine.)

Add 1/2 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup skim milk and stir until it's nice and thick.

Now you can dump in the leftover chicken you so frugally saved for this very purpose.

And toss in your mixed vegetables. These came from a can. They were yummy.

Now pile all the goodness into a baking dish - time to make the crust!

Soften some butter and throw it in a pot.
The very same pot if you're like me and hate to hand wash dishes.
The crust won't mind one bit.

Add a few tablespoons hot water to the pot and then stir in 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick.

At this point you'll have a slightly sticky dough

which you can just dollop all over your chicken/veggie mixture.

Pop her in the oven for 40 minutes or so....

then lavish yourself with praise for your culinary expertise while digging in. Yum!
Cost per serving: $1.49


Chicken Pot Pie

You'll need:
1 stick softened butter
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
Poultry seasoning
1 1/2 cups leftover cooked chicken
1 can mixed vegetables

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1. Begin by melting 5 Tbs butter in a saucepan
2. Add to this 1/2 cup Bisquick and several dashes of poultry seasoning, or a good shake of salt & pepper
3. Bring up to a boil, then add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2/3 cup milk. Return to boil.
4. Mix in your leftover chicken and (drained) can of mixed vegetables.
5. Mix well and spread in baking dish
6. Place 3 Tbs softened butter in saucepan and pour 3 Tbs hot water over it, stir to combine.
7. Slowly add in 1 1/2 cup of Bisquick, stirring until a soft dough has formed.
8. Pat dough mixture in a thin layer over your chicken/veggie mixture
9. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes or until the crust has browned nicely.

Enjoy!

My Little Punk

For those of you who have no interest whatsoever in discovering what I make for dinner tonight using 2 heels of bread, half & half and a wrinkly hot pepper....


...allow me to introduce my little punk.

Who says you can't have fun with boys' hair too?

Saturday, August 29, 2009

9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #3

I was feeling rather spoiled after having received a free dinner on only night #2 of the challenge, and consequently felt the need to up the ante on Friday night and invite someone to share in our bounty.

That's right...I made dinner for not two but THREE people. I tell you my generosity knows no bounds.

Okay so it was only pizza. But that pizza was 1/14 of all the food left in the house. I hope my sister in law enjoyed it. In fact, I know she did.

Total cost per dinner: $1.23

(Both pizza and veggies were buy one get one free...get on the coupon bus folks, it's a party.)

Ingredients used:
One frozen pizza
One bag frozen vegetables


Friday, August 28, 2009

9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #2

We're only on Day 3 of the Great Dinner Experiment and are already the recipients of a pity dinner.

My sweet mother generously brought us a fabulous dinner last night. Initially I was reluctant to accept the offer...it did feel a bit like cheating. But after insisting she would only bring leftovers and would also watch my child while I lay around eating bon bons, I relented.*



This is typical of B Daddy's dinner plate. Heaven forbid his foods should touch one another.



Since dinner was free and I have no fancy Dollar Per Diner statistics to throw at you - I should share what I did for lunch with you.


Uh huh. I can see you drooling right now.
And the cost? $0.00

Our local Chick-fil-A was offering FREE Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches yesterday during lunchtime! So being the frugal gal I am I thought I would drive on over and partake of their generosity. I figured the line would be ginormously long and I'd end up foregoing the whole idea because I didn't have 30 minutes to wait in line for a $4.00 sandwich.

But leave it to the wonderful folks at Chick-fil-A to have me through the line with my warm bag of deliciousness in only 4 minutes. Bravo guys...you have really helped a gal out this week.


*I jest! There are no bon bons in the pantry.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

9 Days 11 Dollars: Dinner #1

Yesterday was Day 1 of 9 Days, 11 Dollars and I decided to start out with the most obvious dinner: Roast chicken.

I may regret this decision later, but I thought that starting out by roasting the chicken would give me several meals in one that I can use over the next nine days.

Ingredients used:

1/2 Young Chicken (we only ate the legs and wings)
1/2 bag of spinach
Artisan Bread (not on the original list since I can make more without spending my $$)

Total cost per dinner: $1.71

I saved the chicken breasts for a chicken pot pie I am planning later on in the week. I also saved the carcass with all the yummy chicken bits still stuck on it. This is going to get cooked down and into a delicious chicken stock for chicken tortilla soup one night.

So far so good....feeling pretty confident (cocky??) I'm going to make it.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

When the Envelope's Empty but the Month Ain't Over: AKA 9 Days, 11 Dollars





This is all that remains of my monthly grocery budget. I know I told y'all we were on the Dave Ramsey plan, but I don't think I went into detail about these devilish little envelopes.

At the beginning of each month, B Daddy and I sit down and make a budget based on the coming month's income. This has been HUGELY HELPFUL in keeping us on track because each month is different. Before, when we tried to create a generic budget that worked for every month, unusual expenses would pop up and throw us completely off track. Genius Dave, genius.

Once we parcel out our theoretical dollars into each budget category - Groceries, Gifts, Clothing, Dakota, etc., we head to the ATM to pull out cash. This is my favorite part of the month. It's terribly exciting to have several hundred dollars in my hot little hands all at once. I fantasize about going to the spa and casually dropping my Benjamins on a facial...and then I come to and realize this cash has to last 31 days and includes my monthly allotment for toilet paper. Ah, the plebeian life.

So because our bills are paid online and our saving and giving is done by check or electronic transfer...we just use cash for our day-to-day expenses. Using the debit card is supposed to be a no-no. (Unless we're buying gas. I refuse to walk into the gas station to pay for gas. That is like SO 1990.)

Which brings me to my dilemma today. The Leipprandt Family fiscal month ends on September 4th. September 4th y'all. That is 9 days away by my count. My Grocery envelope currently has $11.00 in it.

Take a minute and groan with me now - 11 dollars.

Now I'm not trying to throw a pity party for myself or get any dinner invitations out of this - although they are certainly welcome and we are free on Saturday night - instead I am choosing to look upon my $11.00 as a challenge.

I will feed this family on $11 plus the contents of my fridge and pantry. I will live like no one else so that later on I can live like no else.* I am the master of this kitchen and I am a couponer gosh darnit! I will do this and so could you.

Here's what I have in the house as good "bones" for dinners, lunches and breakfasts this week.

Three frozen pizzas
One bag spinach
Rice
7 bagels
chicken broth
ONE egg
Deli turkey
Deli ham
Sharp cheddar cheese
7 slices of bread (including the heels)
5 hot dogs
3 bags frozen veggies
2 cans of mixed vegetables
1 can of green beans
One young chicken – this is what I am hanging all hope of success on!
Peanut butter
Half and half
Bisquick
Ritz crackers
Brownie mix
4 cans of fruit
1 can of olives
1 can of kidney beans
Spaghetti noodles
Half of a container plain yogurt

I'll share my shopping trip to spend the rest of my $11.00 and also the 9 days of menus with you. Wish me luck! Pray for me! Here goes nuthin'...


*Dave-ism

To read how Day #1 went...click HERE.

An Extra Set of Hands

I've got my baby on one hip and my cell phone at my ear...now quick! tell me how I can get Big Brown inside the house before she attacks the neighbor kid who shouldn't be charging through our yard on their stupid Razor scooter anyway?

Mommies everywhere must run into this dilemma half a dozen times a day. Or maybe that was just my luck today. But I really could use an extra set of hands around this place.

This is the only way I've found to get clean laundry and the Squirt back inside the house (laundry room is in the garage - sigh - ) at the same time.

I've also been known to prop him up in his stroller while I get a load started and set his Bumbo seat on the bathroom counter while I put make up on in the morning.

How do you make it through your day with the only set of hands you've got?

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Happy Birthday Sister!

My beautiful big sister turned another year older today. I won't tell you how old she is, because we're both getting to the point where it's just not that interesting. She's older than me, which is the point here. 


Anna is the quintessential big sister. She's tested every road I've ever walked down, both paved and unpaved. I started playing volleyball in middle school because she did. I took Spanish in high school because she did. I chose to attend a big college down south because...well you get the point. 

She invited me to play in a soccer scrimmage with her high school team when I was just an eighth grader so I wouldn't be intimidated when I got there. She continually let me hang out with her back when 2 years really was a big age difference, which in hindsight was probably due to the fact that we moved around so much. If she wanted to have a friend before school started in the next town, I was a pretty attractive candidate.

But for all the times she could have, Anna never told me I was too little, rarely left me out and never left me behind.

Somehow I earned the reputation as the adventurous one, the child who was more outgoing, the risk-taker.  But Anna broke virgin ground for me most of the way, all I had to do was take a few small steps past her.

We went to the same college, married within a year of each other and left less than a year between each of our eight babies.  I'm sure there's material for psychoanalysis in that sentence, apparently I'm still scared of being left behind.

We've had our share of fights - over the light in the hallway, over whose shoes were the ones with the scuff marks - and we occasionally still tee the other off, but there's no one I'd rather have by my side through this stage of life. 


Happy Birthday Sister! I love you more than a Hallmark card can say. I owe more than I care to admit to you...so consider this an admittance.


Other posts featuring my one and only sister Anna:
Muddy Buddy Champs
RE/PROM
Why I'm Not a Nurse
Bringing Christmas Cheer


Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I Miss You Mr. Philips


It's Tuesday night and I'm really wishing I could turn on the TV. But we're on day 4 of Unplugging for a While...sigh.

It's pathetic isn't it? Day 4.

Maybe it's because I don't head to the office each morning nowadays, but this house starts to close in on me around 8 o'clock each night. Turning on the TV has become a welcome change of scenery I suppose.

So I spent tonight gallivanting around the Internet searching for a purpose...I caught up with all my near and dear Facebook friends, checked my e-mail three times, checked out some fabulous pillows at Z Gallerie and read each and every blog entry on my Google Reader list.

And now, without further ado...I'm heading to bed. Denying myself TV only led me to fill the void with the Internet tonight.

Alas, there's always tomorrow.

Monday, August 17, 2009

On Becoming a Couponer

Ever since Dave entered our lives I've started cutting coupons.

Yes - I am officially that woman at the grocery store. The one you got behind because she only had one little basket. You saw my stack of coupons too late and now someone's come behind you and hemmed you in. Well you go right ahead and roll your eyes. Then watch me pay for my entire basket of nourishment with a five dollar bill. Uh huh. Who's laughing at who now?!

I NEVER envisioned myself as a couponer - I also never envisioned myself married, with a baby and a quaint home in the suburbs before I turned 30...but that is another story for another day. My experience with coupons prior to last year consisted of cutting out a coupon, sticking it in my purse, finding it 6 months later and throwing it away because it had expired. Sound familiar?

Couponers are crazy old women with too much time on their hands bent over the Sunday paper all afternoon with a pair of scissors - right?

Well nowadays it's just so darn easy. I spend 10-15 minutes planning my grocery trip each week and on average I save 40% off my bill...on a good week, I'll save a lot more.

A few folks (aka my mother) have asked me to explain how I do it - so here goes.

1. Buy the Sunday paper (if you're a lucky ATL resident who gets a free "Evening Edge" copy of the AJC delivered on Thursdays, don't buy the Sunday paper...the coupon inserts you need are in here) - this is where all the coupons hide out.

2. Pull out the Red Plum and SmartSource coupon inserts (and occasionally the General Mills or Procter & Gamble packets) write the date on the front and save them.

That's it. Now just wait until you need to head to the grocery store.

My pile of inserts sits between dog food and painters rags in the garage - thought you'd want to know.

Ready to get shopping? Here's what you do:

1. Go to one of two GREAT sites, CouponMom.com (Couponmom.com requires a log-in, but NO fee to use) or SouthernSavers.com (if you live in the South.) There may be others, in fact I'm quite sure there are...but I use these two sites and I'm doing just fine.

2. Search for what's on sale at the grocery store you plan to head to. Or, if you go to a few different stores, see which has the best sales.
(I personally can't fathom the thought of going to one store for milk and another for bread, but truly devoted couponers do....the choice is yours.)

3. Create your grocery list based around foods that are on sale at your favorite store that week. This is where the real savings add up - don't automatically buy chicken breasts each week out of habit, maybe ground turkey or pork loin is on sale - spice up your dinners and save moola at the same time people!

4. The amazing coupon websites do the hard work for you and match up sale items with any current coupons for those items.

For example if Jif peanut butter is on sale and a coupon came out several months back that is still valid, these sites will tell you which insert that coupon is in.

5. Go through the inserts you've stored away, clip the coupons you need all at once - voila! you're officially a couponer.


So what are you waiting for?! The fun part is seeing the little note at the bottom of your receipt that shows how much money you're saving. I am still trying to convince B Daddy that all of my savings should go directly into my shoe fund - I'll keep you posted on how that argument is coming.


Editor's Note: It takes probably 2-3 months of saving your inserts until you have a good shot at having all of the coupons that are current.

Editor's Note #2: Southernsavers has a GREAT "getting started" guide if any of this is remotely interesting to you!

Editor's Note #3: If you start doing this, people will roll their eyes at you in line. Stay strong and laugh at their naivete and wasteful spending in your head. Or out loud. I'm a coward so I laugh in my head.

Editor's Note #4: If you have any questions or can't figure out the sites I mentioned, post a comment or email me and I'll try to help!

My New Obsession

Is this sleeping baby.

In a bed.


On a boat.



With a dog.


Or a daddy.


Night time.


Nap time.

Absolutely anytime.


Thursday, August 13, 2009

Unplugging for a while

So B Daddy and I are embarking on a new initiative. No TV for a month.



Last night we watched the same news program we watch nearly every evening. As we turned it off and headed to bed we were struck by just how much is going on in our country and the world right now. Healthcare. The economy. The housing market. Two wars that aren't getting a whole lot of airtime anymore. Iran. Israel. China.

It's a lot to take in and we were both struck by how ill-informed we are on so many of these issues. Do you know what "monetizing our debt" means? We certainly did not. We spent about 30 minutes last night figuring it out.

So rather than tuning in each night to listen to someone else's opinion of things or see how Jon & Kate are faring these days, we decided to unplug for a month and educate ourselves. I'm heading to the library this afternoon to pick up some history books and am planning to download some classics to my Kindle that we can both share.

Besides, it's summer and there's really nothing on TV anyway.

And weekends don't count as part of the initiative.

And I can still watch my Tivo'd shows during the day.

We're not Luddites for crying out loud.

But seriously, I think this has the potential to be really really good for us. Ask me how it's going and keep me honest. I'll keep you posted!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Really? Really.


He is WEARING A DIAPER.
How exactly does this happen? "Everything" was pointed down, promise.

Monday, August 10, 2009

You Probably Don't Want to See This


I warned you.


Hair. It's everywhere. It's on the floor and on the couch. I find it in my car and at the bottom of our laundry baskets. I find it on Little E and feel like a neglectful mother. I sweep my floors daily. DAILY mind you. And it continues to pile up.

Big Brown and I...we're shedding like snakes. We're molting like birds...or is it molting like snakes? B Daddy seems to be immune from the plague that is passing over our home - praise the Lord.

Someone send help. Soon.


Friday, August 7, 2009

Thanks Dave

I mentioned this yesterday on Facebook, but in case you didn't hear - we just bought a new HVAC system! It's shiny. It's new. It's....QUIET!

If you've never been to our home, you're probably thinking this is not such a big deal. AC = boring. But if you have ever been over peacefully watching a television program when our air conditioning kicked on...then you understand the excitement.

For the past year, maybe longer, I can't even remember when it started, we have had to turn up the TV volume at least 8 or 9 little notches when the AC fan kicked on. It was like a 747 taxiing through the living room.

Our home is a smidge over 1600 square feet and the unit is located smack dab in the middle of it. The Squirt didn't need a white noise machine - the AC unit lulled us all to sleep with its incessant whirr all night long. In the past month, the whirr upgraded itself to a buzz and clank and actually shook the walls (the WALLS folks) enough to vibrate hanging pictures and light fixtures...which kept B Daddy up night after night.

And yes, when they were replacing the furnace unit and yelled out, "Whoa! Has this thing ever been in a fire?" I had to reply, "Um, maybe a little one once or twice." (We've had a few incidents with the pilot light...I think my father-in-law is still missing some arm hair.)

So you see it was a very good thing indeed that we replaced it. And even better, we were able to pay CASH for it. Cold, hard, cash. Well actually I wrote a check. A big, fat, check.

So thank you Dave Ramsey, thank you Coolray Heating & Air and thank you Lord for the perfect and absolute silence in my 74 degree home right now!!!


Thursday, August 6, 2009

Having Fun With the Little One


He's 3 months old today...he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment.



Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Me and Billy

I have to confess that mere weeks after E came along I started pitying how much his journey into this world changed me. I cried about lost sleep and the fact that B Daddy and I couldn't eat dinner together in peace anymore, I cried about the constant nursing and the inability to get one thing done during the day - I truly cried each and every day of Little E's first 6 weeks, and bless his heart B Daddy still came home each night. (But like I said before, I'm over the crying and I've got this parenting thing down now. Haha!)

Now that the Squirt sleeps through the night and flashes adorable smiles my way just for being me, my new source of tears is how much the whole pregnancy experience changed me physically.

To perk myself up I started having a fling on the side. With an old flame. You probably know who he is, maybe you've even hung out a time or two - I've heard he gets around.

It's a love/hate relationship. I don't want to sacrifice any family time for him, so we see each other only early in the morning. After B Daddy has gone to work and before E has woken up. It's ridiculously hard to drag myself out of bed, but I know he's waiting for me. Waiting with his words of encouragement and those moves that make me sweat...

Oh Billy!

Yes, Billy Blanks and I have begun seeing each other on an almost regular basis now. Dragging my butt out of bed no less than 3 mornings in the past week has been painful but good for my psyche.

Hopefully it will eventually be good for my butt as well.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes: Part 2

Rise and shine!

Time to finish up this yummy bread. Okay, so it's actually 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but Elijah is just now taking a good nap and I had to decide between bread and laundry. Decisions decisions.

Pull the bread dough out that's been anxiously awaiting your oven.

Pull up a chunk of dough that is about the size of a grapefruit and either cut with a serrated knife or tear it off.


Dust the surface of your dough chunk with a little flour and pull the sides under while giving it 1/4 turns until it is ball-esque in shape. The top of your dough should be fairly uniform while the underside will look like a bunch of balled up ends. (This whole process should take 30-60 seconds. I would have a picture, but my hands were covered in dough.)


Toss the formed dough onto a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal and let rise for 40 minutes. (Longer won't hurt at all...this is a VERY forgiving recipe.) Toward the end of your rise, slash the top of your bread in an "X" or another creative manner to achieve your artisan effect! 

Set your baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and place a broiler pan underneath it on a lower rack. Pre-heat the oven for 20 minutes (20 minutes into your 40 minute rise) at 450 degrees.

Once the oven is ready, slide the dough off your pizza peel and onto the baking stone with a quick jerk. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler pan and quickly close the oven door so that the steam is trapped.

30 minutes later - perfection! (See how the X made these gorgeous gorges?)

Enjoy and let me know how it turns out!


Baking Day Instructions:

Prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling generously with cornmeal to prevent the loaf from sticking when you slide it into the oven.

Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off (with a serrated knife) a piece of dough about the size of a grapefruit. Hold the dough in your turns and gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the dough as you go. The bottom of the loaf should be a collection of bunched ends, but it will flatten out during resting and baking. This whole process should take 30-60 seconds.

Rest the loaf and let rise for 40 minutes.

20 minutes before baking, preheat the oven with pizza stone inside to 450 degrees F.  Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any shelf that won't interfere with baking.

Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, and slash a cross, a tic-tac-toe pattern or other mark on the top of the loaf with serrated knife.

Slide the loaf quickly into the oven and quickly but carefully pour 1 cup of cold water into the broiler tray, close the oven door to trap steam.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely for best flavor, texture and slicing.


Read Part 1 of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes HERE 

Monday, August 3, 2009

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes

I love having fresh bread with dinner, but as a general rule I forget how long it takes to make. So I initiate my efforts when I start making dinner and am still slaving away when midnight rolls around. Suffice it to say, we don't have fresh bread very often.

When my sweet friend Lauren came to town a few weeks back, her husband brought along two beautiful loaves of homemade bread for the eatin' part of our visit. He must have known there is no better way to butter me up than to bring me some home-baked deliciousness. I instantly decided he was a good catch.

When Derek told me his recipe only took 5 minutes to make I knew I would have to try it out for myself. And lo and behold, he was telling the truth. Thanks to Derek and this Artisan Bread recipe, the Leipprandts enjoyed some freshly baked bread with our lasagna (it's the last one I swear) this week.

Here's what you need:
Water, salt, yeast, flour, cornmeal, a pizza peel and a baking stone 

Mixing this bread up is where the "5 minutes" part comes in. It really could not be any easier.

Throw your yeast in the bowl (do you see the black spot in this picture? Where do I get my camera lens cleaned?!?)

Add some salt 

Add your slightly warmed water

Dump in the flour all at once, don't bother stirring in between cups (I LOVE this recipe!)

Now start stirring... and don't stop until it looks like this.



Now cover your dough with plastic wrap, but don't make it airtight.

Let the dough rise for 2 hours. After 2 hours, you can start baking! Or...if you started at 8pm like I did, it's time for bed. Pop your bowl in the fridge (where it can stay for up to 14 days) and we'll start baking tomorrow. If you just can't wait, check out the baking day process HERE.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes - Makes 4 1 lb loaves (recipe is easily doubled or halved)

3 cups lukewarm water
1.5 Tbsp yeast
1.5 Tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Add yeast and salt to the lukewarm water in a large non-metallic bowl. Stir to dissolve and then add flour gradually, stirring until fully incorporated. You may need to use your hands to be sure all the flour gets mixed in.

Cover bowl with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours. After two hours you can refrigerate until you are ready to bake or begin baking.

If you want to bake right away the dough will be sticky and difficult to handle, so the first time you attempt the recipe it is best to use dough that has been refrigerated overnight (or at least 3 hours) before shaping a loaf.


Editor's Note: I have since made this bread countless times and am happy to report it holds up if you substitute whole wheat flour for some of the white flour. So far I have used 2 cups whole wheat and 4.5 cups white flour...but I'll be gradually stepping it up to see how far I can take it!
 
site design by designer blogs