Not Conference Cinnamon Rolls

 

For many years, I have been making cinnamon rolls each General Conference weekend. It all started when someone at church said they did it, and Chad loved the idea. Sometimes the rolls are Pilsbury, but most of the time they are from scratch. I just use the same recipe I use for bread. 

Yesterday, I was making bread for the week. The recipe makes 4 loaves, but we only have 3 bread pans. Most of the time I make rolls or buns with the dough that won't fit on those loaves. Yesterday, I decided to make only 2 loaves and some cinnamon rolls. Then, I had Sean go to the store for frosting. We will eat them today, and I'm excited! I can't say I will do this every time I make bread, but it is kind of a fun treat every once in a while. 

Cookie Fail

With only window air conditioners, I try not to bake more than needed because it is hard to cool down the house afterwards. We are still baking bread each week, but we have scaled back on things like cookies. 

The last few days have been a bit cooler. In fact, we have been able to to just open the windows and run fans without the air conditioners. So, I decided to make cookies after work. When looking through Chad's cookie cookbook, I found a ginger cookie recipe that I made in the past that everyone seemed to like. I was excited to make them and was sure we had everything in the cupboards I needed. I was more than halfway through the recipe when I realized I didn't have enough molasses and decided to make up for what I lacked with light corn syrup thinking the molasses would have a strong enough flavor that it wouldn't make that big of a difference. I was wrong. The cookies are quite bland. (Chad and Noel said that they are good, so it could be imagining that they are bland.) To me that are more sweet than flavorful. I was quite disappointed!

Sesame Bagels

 

A few days ago, I made bagels. The recipe was made with sourdough starter and was very easy to follow, and I’m very happy with how they turned out. 

I remember trying to make bagels very early in my first marriage that turned out so poorly that they basically sat in a container until they molded which only takes a few days since there are no preservatives. I’m not sure what I did wrong back then, but I have a lot more baking experience now. These turned out a lot better. They are even eatable. 

Hoagie Buns

 

I am continuing to do my best to not have to buy bread products, but I have yet to perfect it. Last week, I made hoagie buns for dinner. After making hamburger buns too small a few weeks before, I wanted to make sure these were big enough. I may have over corrected a bit. We ended up with 6 mini loaves. No one complained. They actually let is these over sized buns. They did not appreciate it as much when I accidentally made oversized hamburger buns a few days later that were about half the size of these buns. 

My Weekend

This weekend ended up going not totally as expected. Noel had a friend over and was originally planning for her to stay until she went to school tomorrow, but Noel ended up getting very sick Saturday, so her friend went home. I was still light headed but knew I needed to get things done as I took care of my daughter. I got the kitchen completely clean and worked on my baking projects (sandwich bread , English muffins, and sourdough bread). 

Sunday, I woke up so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done (both bathrooms, laundry, cinnamon rolls, etc.) that I was constantly in tears. Chad helped get a few things done and reminded me that we could relax as we watched General Conference. Thanks to his help, I was able to clam down and take the time to do things properly. I even made near perfect cinnamon rolls that we could eat during the first session of the day. 

I still need to redo the kids’ bathroom (Chad and I cleaned it Friday), clean the sinks in my bathroom, and do another load of dishes, but I feel I put in an honest effort yesterday especially for a day in which my head was still spinning. I even got a lot done on my latest sweater as I watched conference. 

Meet Freida

 

I started a sourdough starter last week on Monday. Growing her has been a learning process. In day 3, I thought things were going great. She was bubbling and seemed happy. Two days later, she went flat, but I didn’t want to give up on her. I just kept discarding and feeding as the instructions told me to, but couldn’t help thinking I was doing something wrong. In Sunday, I found a Facebook group for sourdough beginners and took a deep dive into the tips and tricks for growing the started and making the perfect bread. I followed a few of the tricks (feed with half wheat/half white flour and use filtered water), and she perked right up. In fact, when I ched on her tonight for her 12 hour feeding, she had completely filled the jar and was about to spill out. Chad happily helped take care of her as I worked on the English muffins. I am hoping she stays happy. I really want to make sourdough bread this weekend. Wish Freida and I luck!

Holiday Baking Championship

 

I stream shows while I work, and they often become obsessions for a while. There have been a few that I stopped watching before the end simply because they lost me in one way or another after many seasons, but for the most part, I watch them from the first episode to the last. 

My most recent show is the Holiday Baking Championship from the Food Network. I’m not normally a person that would go for a show like this, but I am loving it. I started watching it a few days ago because I wanted to watch something to bring the Christmas spirit to my day that I could start and stop around my daughter’s schedule for finals. I knew if I started a movie, I would be reluctant to turn it off when I needed to take her or pick her up, and I was potentially going to need to pick her up or drop her off every hour or two because of the crazy schedule she had one day. She ended up being sick and not having a voice they say I was concerned about, but I was hooked before she woke up. (I start work at 6am.) 

I have had fun watching this show. There aren’t many episodes per season which makes it even easier to get sucked in. I am currently in the middle of season 4 and still loving it. It has also made me want to bake again. My family will happily help me eat the things I will make for tomorrow. 

I don’t know if I will keep watching it much longer because it u in s a very seasonal show. I will have to remember to watch it again next year. 

Pfeffernusse

 

When I was growing up, my parents often brought pfeffernusse cookies at Christmas time. It used to be easy to find them thins time of year.   I haven’t been able to find them anywhere for four or five years. My solution is to make them myself  

Today, I made these cookies tonight from a recipe I found online. This was the best recipe I have tried so far. I replaced the shortening and margarine with butter. I really don’t like shortening, so I do this quite often. Next time I make them, I will put the anise in the wet ingredients instead of the dry. It seemed a bit odd.  

Mixed Fruit Galette

 

Chad made a tasty dessert with dinner tonight. It was something he had been talking about making since he got Will it Skillet. He made a mixed berry galette which is kind of like a pie. It was pretty good. I love when he makes stuff like this because I get to enjoy something tasty and don’t have to make it myself. I’m hoping he bakes a lot as we get closer to Christmas like he did the last few years. 

Cinnamon Roll Fail

I work with girls 11-14 at church, and we have activities every Wednesday that as t they choose. Tonight, they wanted to make cinnamon rolls. Of course, I assumed they wanted them from scratch. We only have an hour, so I made the dough in advance with the intention of rolling out the dough and baking them while we were there. We had a slight problem. The ovens at the church turn off after a while. They were on when I put the rolls in, but turned off at some point. When it was time to wrap up the activity, they were not even close to done. I needed up bringing them home with the promise to bring them to the girls on Sunday. They agreed to this solution. I feel bad they won’t have them when they are fresh. Next time, I will just buy the refrigerated kid that only take a 15ish minutes.