Irish Soda Bread

March 19, 2007

...my comrade in arms decided to post as representative of the best of quick breads. For years I’ve been making a much better whole wheat-ish quick bread (which he seems to have forgotten) and this is how it goes: Irish Brown Soda Bread 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour 1 3/4 c. whole wheat flower 3 T. toasted wheat bran 3 T. toasted wheat germ 2 T. old fashioned oats (note: change up or skip these nuggety bits as necessary–they just add texture) 2 T packe...

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Baking Bread in a Casserole Oven vs. a Combo Cooker

Mr. Homegrown

May 5, 2015

Bread, Food

6 Comments

...zed by Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread recipe is using a Dutch oven to bake the bread. The Dutch oven harnesses the moisture in the dough to create a steamy environment. This allows the dough to rise rather than toast immediately. Commercial bread ovens (and some high-end home ovens) have steam injection systems that serve the same purpose. A Dutch oven is a lot cheaper, of course. The trick is to get a loose and wet dough into a 500ºF Dutch oven witho...

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German Rye Bread Recipe

Mr. Homegrown

March 10, 2016

Bread, Food

5 Comments

...a Morgan for testing and revision. Thanks to Dana I have now revised and re-posted that recipe here. If you’re into sourdough, this is an easy loaf to bake. There’s not much in the way of shaping and you don’t even have to slash the loaf before it goes in the oven. And unlike the white bread that passes for rye in the US, this loaf is actually made out of mostly rye. It does have some white flour in it, but just enough to allow making a hearth loa...

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Is the Urban Homesteading Trend Over?

Mr. Homegrown

December 14, 2015

Thoughtstylings

26 Comments

...re, they can just buy it at the store. She is correct that interest in DIY homesteading books wane during good economic times. But I was curious to see whether Google search trends for DIY topics would back up Sack’s hunch. Above is the result for “bread recipe” searches and you can definitely see a slight decline over the last two years. “Jam Recipe” searches “Jam recipe” shows a similar decline as well as seasonal spikes that coincide with canni...

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Is Urban Homesteading Over With?

Mr. Homegrown

March 22, 2013

Animals, Bread, Chickens, Food, Gardening, Thoughtstylings, Transportation

23 Comments

...hat people are actually doing. Here’s what I found: Backyard Chickens Many urban homesteading activities are seasonal–in spring people start searching for information on chickens and vegetable gardens, so you’ll see upward spikes towards the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Judging from the results on “backyard chickens,” it looks like that it’s a trend that is growing in popularity. Some of this activity may be related to legalization ef...

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