Last Post for a While

Tomorrow we will be packing up the computers until we're in SK. I may try to blog whi

Yummmm!

I came across a long lost bread recipe that I concocted a few years ago to utilize all of the wheat that I have in store. The poor and beloved thing was stuck to the bottom of one of my bread pans! I was aghast at how close I got to losing it (it took me countless tries to get the recipe right) so I thought that I would share it online so that I can always find it (unlike the recipe card I have it written on.) when I feel a strong desire to grind wheat and make bread...

Becky's Perfected 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups warm (100-115 degrees) *potato water, divided
1 tsp sugar
2 TBS yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 TBS salt
2 cups wheat flour
4-8 cups whole wheat flour ( amounts can vary depending on the humidity of the air, and water content of the wheat. If you are grinding the wheat right before you use it, you will need to use much more flour.)
2, 9x4x4 inch bread pans (you may find that you have more dough than expected. If that happens, make some rolls with the leftovers and bake them in a cake pan.
Method:
Boil some potatoes and set potatoes aside for another use. Use the leftover water for the above potato water. If you don't quite have 3 cups, just add water to the potato water to make the proper amount. You can also use plain water with only slightly inferior results.
Stir yeast in sugar and 1/2 cup of the water and let set for 10 minutes or until quite frothy.
Whisk remaining 2 1/2 cups water, oil, honey, salt and 2 cups flour till smooth. Whisk yeast mixture in with it until incorporated.
With a wooden spoon, mix in remaining flour one cup at a time until dough forms a ball and is smooth and only very slightly sticky. Knead dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes adding flour as needed to make a smooth but not stiff dough.
Place dough in an oiled bowl turning once. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1-3 hours (depending on ambient temps) or until doubled in size.
Gently deflate the dough and let rest for 5 minutes. Separate dough into two halves then roll each dough half until it's roughly a 9x12 inch rectangle and 1/2 inch thick. (this is when to guage if you have too much dough. If you do, cut the dough to the above dimentions and set asside remaining for rolls!)
Roll the dough jellyroll style into a cylinder shaped loaf and place into bread pan.
Using a very sharp knife, make 2 or 3 diagonal slits into the top of the loaves. cover with a damp cloth and rise again 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or till a beautiful light golden color.

Moving

So we're moving to South Korea! The path to this decision was hedged by many and various hardships that prepared our hearts to accept this change. We are excited! This week we've been moving our things into a storage unit, giving away items that won't do well in long term storage, and working hard to learn how to read and write Korean. Luckily, it's a fairly simple language to learn how to read and write. Speaking will be something entirely different but we'll deal with that when we get to Korea. Never in any crevice of my mind did I ever think that we'd be moving to some place so different than where we are now. I hoped for a few differences but really this is going to be such a cool experience for our family! Of course I will be blogging about it incessantly as we move along so be prepared.

Hopeful

I've been thinking a lot about the big three: Faith, Hope, and Charity. Really I don't believe that any of these attributes can truly exists without the others; however, hope is the one that I have a hard time surrendering to. I think that most times it's because from my flawed and limited vantage point, I simply refuse to hope for things that I can't see or understand. Anyway, I wanted to pass along a poem that's been running through my head as I've been musing; I really like the metaphor.

Hope is the Thing With Feathers
By: Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me