So Proud of Myself! :o)

Sooooooo I finally got BF convinced that I would be more willing to cook different things if I had more than a crappy baking sheet and pizza sheet....Well it worked because he got me an all new set of non stick baking sheet things, muffin pan, 2 cookie sheets, pizza sheet, 2 round pans, 2 square pans and a bread pan!!!

I love to cook and will do it with the proper utensils..Im wishing for more counter space too but that will be determined on Sat after we view a property for sale. Anyyywayyyssssss I look up recipes all the time just to add some spice to stuff I already know how to make like chicken and pork chops. Well I decided that I wanted to try and make bread. I had a bread machine a couple years ago but it got dropped out of a moving truck while unloading it so I had to go about finding a recipe to make it the old fashioned way. That alone was a hassle since everybody and their brother seems to only post recipes for bread machines...LOL...After almost blowing up my hand mixer (Note to self do not use next time) This is what came out of my oven......



TADA

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Im so goshdarned proud of myself....I couldnt even make bread in a bread machine before and now look at me Ma...Im a big girl and did it with my own two hands!!! Woooohooo!! I couldnt be more happy....Tomorrow agenda is to finish off the cinnamon rolls I made this morning..*Def trying a new recipe wasnt to fond of the one without yeast* and then Im going to try to make a cinnamon sugar biscotti for BF to dip in his coffee and its a toss up between rolled sugar cookes or milk chocolate chip cookies....numnumnumnumnumnumnumnum......

I hope you have fun baking. I've liked bread machine bread... it doesn't taste right.

They're very heavy, but for pizza I prefer to use stoneware. You can get cheaper ones or Pampered Chef that has a whole line of stoneware baking dishes. They don't work for cookies, though, because the stoneware stays hot too long.

Oh thats on my dream kitchen list to have all Pamper Chef stoneware. My mom has it all and heaven forbid one day her kitchen might get raided!!!! I also have one of those giant kitchenaide mixers on my wish list...........ohhhh the things I would make if I had my dream kitchen....Currently I think my spending inside my head is like a million dollars so completely NOT gonna happen but someday Im hoping to get close to my dream kitchen...Id be happy though with some more counter space and a knock off mixer instead of just the 6 dollar walmart hand mixer I have now..LOL

That's beautiful - I'm so impressed!!! Your sweetie is a very lucky person!

LOL.....He knows how lucky he is but I know how lucky I am....Hes did buy those pans for me! I hate doing dishes with a passion but Ive figured out a routine while baking and cooking that doesnt make me want to burn my kitchen down when I look at the dishes!!!!! I think hes reconsidering buying me those pans now though because all the stuff I plan on baking now he thinks hes going to gain a million pounds!! Haha little does he know I plan on making him work it off too LOL!!!!!!!

BTW: the bread is super yummy..Im gonna reheat some homemade chicken corn soup for dinner and slice up a couple pieces of the bread to have with it!! numnumnumnumnumnum......

Yum, homemade bread is great! And I'd help with the cinnamon rolls if I lived next door.. Congrats on making it from scratch with your new big bad bakeware!

I'm going to kind of hijack here and say that my pitas I made from scratch this afternoon for a falafel dinner tonight came out really good too! First time I tried it, and they are waaaaay better than store-bought!

Seen here on my cheap baking pan :
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You GO girl! My mom made fresh bread (no bread machine) every once in a while and it was soooo yummy.

I firmly believe in the power of fresh bread! Dear heavens, is anything else as delicious as a slice of freshly baked bread?? Yum!

You did a great job with your bread! Keep at it! How did your cinnamon rolls turn out?

You would never, ever regret buying a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have two of them, one is the old Artisan 5-quart that I use for cookie doughs; I've probably had that one since the mid-80s or so. DH gave me the new 6-quart 610 Professional for Christmas in 2009 and I love that thing. It makes great bread dough and I don't have to knead as much as I did because the mixer does most of the work....I do knead my breads from time to time, though, simply because I love kneading yeast doughs.

As for Pampered Chef, I like their stoneware and have a lot of it. But my best pizza pan is an old stoneware pan that I've had for about 30 years. It's huge and I put it in the oven to heat at 450 degrees for about an hour before I ever put the pizza on it. I use my wooden pizza peel to move the pizza to the hot stoneware.....the hot stoneware gives the crust a gorgeous brown. If you learn to make your own pizza dough, you'll never go back to take-out. We make grilled pizza in the summer; it's delicious.

Dark Mavis, those pitas look delicious! I've never tried to make pitas. I've made English muffins and all kinds of breads and rolls. Not pitas. They really look gorgeous. Did you ever make bagels? They're on my list of "must try".

Excellent job both of you!

Those Pitas look yummy..........hmm do we have a recipe exchange thread started at all that can be bumped?? Im gonna have to look. Im making biscotti this morning since Bf has a thing for dunking stuff in his coffee. I dont have a double boiler so Im going to try and gently melt some chocolate to dip half in and the other half will be cinnamon sugar for him...nummmm....

The cinnamon rolls were ok but Im gonna try a new recipe with yeast the next time I make them. Kneading dough is a good way to get rid of anger...I was mad at my hand mixer when it got time to knead the dough so I got to beat it up and man did it feel good....Im debating if Im just going to stop buying bread all the time and just make it myself, its more fun and taste better homemade.........Well Im off to make my biscotti....Ill post some pics when its done.

Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

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well done! There is something so very satisfying about making your own bread.

Originally Posted by DarkMavis

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Ooh, those look great! I'd love to have a recipe for pita. I tried to make my own naan once, but they didn't turn out that good - too doughy.

I'm a huge fan of breadmaking! Next on my list to try is brioche, which is delicious but a bit of work so I've always been put off.
Seeing as we're posting pics of the bread we've made, here's a loaf of braided challah I made last week!

I love bread! I haven't made any in so long. Your post has inspired me to bake some soon. Good job! Was BF surprised and happy?

BF was very surprised and happy and go flipping figure in the middle of making cookie dough my hand mixer blew up!! Granted it was only a 7 dollar one from Wal-Mart but still I only used the thing mayyyyyyybeeeeeeeee 4 or 5 times. Ive only had it since the end of january. I was so bummed but I found a new one I like Im going to go with a black and decker 6 speed 250 watt one that comes with a wisk and dough hook. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ndingMethod=rr

It has some really good reviews on it so tomorrow after we go look at the property in Trevorton we are going to stop at WalMart out there since they have one. The store closer to me doesnt have any in stock. Hopefully someday Ill get a stand mixer. I want a really good one so thats gonna take some saving up for....someday...I hope...

BTW: After mixing the dough by hand the cookies turned out amazing......nummmmmyyyyy hersheys milk chocolate chip cookies...