Category Archives: Bread

Homemade Artisan Bread

This bread is compatible with the THM way of eating and is an E fuel. We make this yummy bread is using mostly whole wheat flour and it sits for anywhere from 7-24 hours.

We got this recipe from Christine of the Frugal Fit Mom youtube channel. You can check it out and watch how she makes it. Just be sure to use the whole wheat option and let it sit for at least 7 hours.

We make a double batch because our dutch oven is larger than the one Christine uses. Ours is a 6 quart dutch oven.

Start with dissolving the yeast in the warm water.

Meanwhile measure out the flour vital wheat gluten and salt.

Flours ~ Lifeofjoy.me Then add the yeasty water to the flour and combine.

Let it rise for 7-24 hours.

You place the dutch oven in the oven while it preheats to 450º. Remove the heated pot with hot pads, spray the inside with oil, add the dough, replace the lid, and put it back in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes.

We cut our huge loaf in half and then slice each half.

Homemade Artisan Bread

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups white all purpose flour
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat)
  • 2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten

Instructions

  1. Dissolve yeast in water.
  2. Combine dry ingredients.
  3. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine adding only as much of the whole wheat flour as is needed to have a loose/wet dough.
  4. Cover and let rise 7-24 hours on the counter.
  5. Preheat oven to 450º with pot in it.
  6. Spray pot with oil.
  7. Add dough. Put on lid and put in oven.
  8. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes.
https://lifeofjoy.me/homemade-artisan-bread/

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as we do. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Bake It, Make It Day

Last Friday was my first bake/make day this year. I’m out of so many things that my list of things to bake and make was too long for me to handle. I did only spend about few hours making things but I just couldn’t do any more and function the rest of the day/night. ;)

I thought I’d share the few things I made with you today.

I started by making my sourdough pizza dough so that it would be ready for dinner time. From here it went into a slightly greased bowl with a lid on it and put inside my gas oven which keeps at about 90º, so it is nice and warm for it to rise. :)

I wish I’d have taken a picture of the finished pizza because it was soooo delicious!!! I use the recipe from Glenda Goff’s cookbook, Around the Family Table, for the dough and then add toppings as per THM’s Sprouted Pizza Crust directions from  the February 2015 ezine. I use finely shredded part-skim mozzarella, some fat-free cottage cheese, some turkey pepperoni, and veggies (on mine and hubby’s). I also serve it with a side salad to ensure we are not hungry again in 5 minutes. ;)

Here is a version of Glenda’s recipe on her blog, which I may just have to do for Super Bowl Sunday with my extended family . . . love cheese stuffed crust pizza, but it’s not for weekly pizza night and losing weight. ;)

I then fed my sourdough starter in preparation for bread baking day. :) Bread baking didn’t actually happen until yesterday when Tiffany made it. :)


Then I made a batch of Briana’s thick pancake syrup from her second cookbook.

I like thick syrup but this one was a bit too thick for me. I think I’ll decrease the amount of gluccie next time. :)

Next up was the FP Trimmy Thousand Island. I made a double batch, as I usually do.

I wrote about how I make this here. For a simple recipe, it sure does take me a while to make this. :( But I love having it though.

My onion has been very strong the last several times I’ve made this. So I may cut back on the onion next time. At least I like Vidalia onion dressing too. ;)

The final thing I made at that time was a loaf of Swiss bread from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook.

It’s a really easy recipe where the hardest thing to do was separate the eggs. Although I think I may beat the whites in my KitchenAid mixer next time instead of the food processor and then just fold in the remaining ingredients in an effort to get a higher loaf next time.

I used this for a grilled cheese and pepperoni sandwich for lunch the next day.

I also processed into crumbs for a chicken cordon bleu casserole and will use some in a meatloaf skillet tonight. :)

Well, that was my baking day. What do you prep bake/make?

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Homemade Low Carb “Bisquick” Biscuits

This makes a delightful “buttermilk” “biscuit” that is low carb. There is even a version that is also low fat, which I will be trying very soon.

I have to say, I wasn’t sure about trying this recipe from Nana’s Little Kitchen because I had to mix up a batch of the “Bisquick” and I wasn’t sure I’d like it. But it can be used for waffles and biscuits and several other things she had directions for on her site.

So, follow along as I show you how simple and quick these are to make.

Start by melting some butter in a ramekin, in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

I seldom use my microwave but have kept it for quick things like this from time to time. A quick 30 seconds and the butter is melted.

Swirl the butter around the ramekin and the pour into the other one to coat, pouring the last of the butter into a small mixing bowl.

Add the baking mix

Add egg and Greek yogurt

And remaining ingredients (baking soda, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and cream–I used coconut cream because I had some that needed to be used) and stir to combine.

Divide between the two ramekins and bake individually. I let mine go for a minute or just a tad less. I stand there and watch as it cooks and remove when I think it is done.

Yeah, its’ a bit messy. I think I need ramekins that are just a tiny bit larger. :D

Turn out onto a rack to ensure they are not wet.

It has a nice crumb!!!

And here I used it in a breakfast sandwich.

So, head on over to Nana’s Little Kitchen and make this one. She has included a recipe for a single batch of her “bisquick” so that you can try it out (just scroll to the end of her post for FP pancakes).

Nana’s Little Kitchen Bisquick style low carb THM-S biscuits!

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Christmas 2019 Baking

Wow! Yesterday was a busy day. Today we will have Christmas 1. :) It’s so exciting! Brian, Lauren, and Liam will be here shortly and we’ll open presents! :p Then we’ll spend some time with my sister and her family (and we may even pop in and see my parents for a few minutes on our way home).

Yesterday Tiffany and I did a slew of baking. It started off with pies . . . our regular Apple Crumble Pie for the family, followed by an apple pie that is considered a crossover by Trim Healthy Mama eating plan. Then she also made the pecan pie from Cookie Keto with Kristie. And rounded out the pie category with Pumpkin Pecan Slab Pie–this is the third time I’ve made this since Thanksgiving and we love it.

I made the Cinnamon Butter Bundt cake again, along with the smaller one that is nut and flax free for Tiffany.

The breakfast wraps really worked well for Thanksgiving and were delicious, so I’m going to make those again for tomorrow morning. :) I have to make my sourdough pizza dough tonight yet, and put it in the refrigerator for tomorrow’s pizza dinner with family. :) We voted for Christmas dinner and pizza won but if tacos would have been declared up front, it just may have won out. ;)

We’ll be having hamburgers and fries at my sister’s later today. I bought sweet potato fries and some thin burgers and cheese slices. It’ll be a crossover meal but hey, it’s Christmas time and at least it is mostly on-plan. ;) (Unfortunately as I write this, I haven’t yet made the buns to go with this meal . . . so tired . . . mostly because I worked out last night and my shoulder muscles are sore :D . . . and I must get them done before I go to bed.)

Let’s see, I also made four batches of Pay Off Day Candies. I put it all into a 9×13 pan and will cut it into pieces and bag some up to give as gifts. :) People love those candies!

Well, it’s an exciting day around here. I hope you are having fun times this week. :)

Until next time, Merry Christmas Eve,

Michele ºÜº

Cornbread Muffins in a Jiffy

It’s soup season and with soup I like some kind of bread. Cornbread is nice with chili and Gwen, of Gwen’s Nest, has a tasty low carb, low fat version that I’m going to share with you today.

She shares a single serving but I’m making enough for four. Also, my daughter has a sensitivity right now to flax meal, so I’m following her alternative baking blend version today.

So you start with Greek yogurt. (Tiffany tells me that she’s used regular yogurt on accident before and they turned out okay.)

Add water and egg whites.

Add dry ingredients.

The key is the masa flour that has been treated with lime. Be sure to read that part of Gwen’s post on the recipe page link below. I have found a small package of the masa flour at Dollar Tree, which is nice so that you don’t have so much sitting around, especially if you only make the single serving. Even making a quadruple batch, I have had the package around for a long time! Do yourself a favor and get the small bag from Dollar Tree.

Combine and put in oil sprayed silicone muffin liners and bake. I chose to bake in the oven rather than the microwave. ;)

So, here’s the link to Gwen’s wonderful recipe. I hope you enjoy these too.

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Sourdough French Toast

This is something Tiffany has been eating a lot of lately. She just pours a little of this and a little of that into her bowl and soaks her bread in it.

First we slice two pieces of sourdough bread. My poor bread is still very short, maybe one day it will rise and bake properly. :)

Ours is still a bit frozen. :D But this knife does the trick.

Pour some cashew milk (probably about a 1/4 cup) into a container that will hold your bread flat and keep it in contact with the liquid.

(This is the second time she’s made this today, so you can see there is already some of the mixture in the container. ;) )

Next add about two egg whites (about 1/4 cup from a carton of whites). Yes sometimes I need the simplicity of the carton over the frugality of the eggs and separating them myself.

Then a sprinkling of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla.

Then just combine with a fork to ensure the egg whites are broken up a bit and blend with the milk and cinnamon.

Soak the bread in the mixture, flipping to soak both sides.

The put in a heated skillet over medium to medium high heat.

Since our bread was still somewhat frozen, it didn’t absorb as well, so we pour a little more of the mixture on top as it cooks, so that each piece gets its fair share. ;)

Flip and cook on the other side.

Then serve with desired toppings. I usually use a bit of on plan syrup and/or a bit of sugar free jelly. Tiffany likes to add some sugar free chocolate chips and sugar free syrup. :)

Yet Another Bread!

The bread I’m sharing today is a single serving (but there’s also the recipe for a whole loaf too). This is the bread I shared for the beef and cheddar sandwich last week.

It’s so quick to throw together. Just put the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add the egg whites and water.

Combine well.

Now, I have this small gravy pot that is a perfect size. I spray it with olive oil spray and add the swiss bread batter.

I bake this in my toaster oven for about 10 minutes

This is a great bun. :) I really like it with a lot of filling.

So if you are wanting to try this bread, head on over to Trim Healthy Mama’s summer e-zine.

I hope you like this too,

Michele ºÜº

My Sourdough Bread Adventure

Friday a week ago, I left off saying that I needed to go feed my sourdough starter and I did. I was preparing to make Glenda’s Honey Oat Sourdough Bread from her cookbook, Around the Family Table: Food, Fun, and Fellowship, which makes five loaves. Yes you read that right, FIVE loaves. However, I only decided to do this because I’d made her single loaf version from her website and it was gone very quickly and loved by the four of us.

Now, we generally go through 1-2 loaves of store-bought sourdough (THM plan approved) bread each week. Hubby takes a sandwich daily for his lunch and has a piece with his breakfast each morning. Son has at least one piece each morning and then the rest fluctuates. Consequently, I knew we needed at least 2 loaves a week and my options were either one loaf made using my KitchenAid mixer or two loaves by hand.

If I was going to have to do it by hand anyway, I might as well make the large batch and freeze three loaves until needed. That way I wouldn’t have to make bread every week. So five loaves it was. Trouble was, I didn’t have a bowl big enough to hold the amount of dough that I was going to end up with for five loaves of bread.

I pulled out my largest bowls and asked my family which they thought would work. Here were the bowls to choose from.I used to think my stainless steel bowl was big. :D but as you can see, it is the smallest one on the table by comparison. I was mixing the dough up in the orange-red bowl and it was already 2/3 – 3/4 full, so I knew neither of those two were going to be big enough for it all to rise in.

The red plastic bowl is one I bought for artisan bread in 5 minutes to sit in the refrigerator, several years ago, but even it didn’t seem like it’d be large enough. And although the punch bowl has a nice large top, its optimum capacity would probably be lacking.

I was beginning to think I might need to divide the dough into a couple different bowls because the cake saver lid just didn’t seem to be the right thing to use and I doubted that the lovely wooden Honduras salad bowl would work.

Then on top of all of this, I needed to cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap which meant to me that it wouldn’t be able to rise over the bowl’s rim. =)) The family voted that the cake saver lid was the best option in spite of the place where the handle is connected on the inside. I took some trusty packing tape and covered it up.

I’ve had some trouble with some pain in my right wrist in the last year or so and was concerned about the stirring of that much dough and the kneading of the dough for nearly ten minutes. Family to the rescue! They were actually quite proactive during the whole process.

Michael helped combine the ingredients with my dough whisk, which I also got for that artisan bread I mentioned earlier. Then after I’d kneaded the dough for about five minutes, I showed Sean how to do it and he spelled me for a bit. I finished it off the last minute. Then oiled the cake saver lid and put the dough inside, turning it over to get a bit of oil on the top and bottom of the dough (exactly for what reason, I do not know ;) ). Then I sprayed the bottom of the cake saver with oil and attached it.

This is what it looked like five hours later. :)

Look at those gorgeous bubbles. When I ordered my cookbook I requested the mature starter from Glenda that she so graciously offers.

It didn’t even touch the “lid”. So I guess it was a perfect fit. :)

I got out all my loaf pans. I have two of the stainless steel ones that Jane recommended, a very old dark and small one, and two glass ones of different sizes.

I stood there looking at it for several minutes trying to figure out how to get it portioned into five loaves. I finally dumped it out onto a mat and used my handy dandy dough knife. Worked like a charm!

Here they are ready to rise for about an hour or so before baking.

Unfortunately I let them rise too long and didn’t do the slits across the tops of the loaves quite right but they are still very good. Oh, and I also forgot to take more pictures.

Here is what is left some 5 days later . . .

It is a great recipe and I was even successful with it. I’ll definitely do it again. I just hope it isn’t next week. ;)

I’m sorry this bread story got so long. I promise to share a recipe with you next week. Well, technically I did share a recipe with you today because I gave you the link to Glenda’s single loaf recipe on her site. It’s what I started with before moving on to the five loaf recipe.

Have you made sourdough from scratch?

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

Low Carb Rolls (psyllium)

This is a recipe I got over from AllDayIDreamAboutFood. :) It is a low carb, all purpose bread that can be made into rolls, buns, or even a loaf of bread. I use this one so frequently that I have not one, not two, but three copies of the recipe printed out. Apparently I didn’t think I’d printed it and/or couldn’t find it several times. :)

I usually make hot dog buns, hamburger buns, or rolls with it. This time I made rolls out of the dough. Here is how I did it.

I started by weighing out Trim Healthy Mama psyllium husk and then grinding it into a powder with my clean, dry coffee grinder.

Then I measure the dry ingredients into my KitchenAid mixer bowl and whisk it.

Then add in the wet ingredients, generally including the higher amount of water in the directions. (I don’t dump it all in at once but have found that I usually need the larger amount.)

I do not use the dough attachment, just the regular beater attachment.

After letting the dough sit the required time, I divide it into fourths and then into 3 to form a total of 12 rolls.

I bake them for the full hour to ensure that they are fluffy and not gooey inside at all.

This night we had them with baked pizza meatballs.

So, head on over to Carolyn Ketchum’s blog and get the recipe.

Until next time,

Michele ºÜº

Breadsticks ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Sprouted Spelt Bread Sticks

Last month I shared how to make sprouted spelt drop biscuits, sprouted spelt drop biscuits, which my family loves. Well, I took the same dough and flattened it out. Then cut it into strips.

sprouted spelt dough ~ Lifeofjoy.me Then I sprinkled it with a bit of garlic powder and then some salt.

Sprouted spelt bread sticks ~ lifeofjoy.meDrop biscuits have a rougher texture on the outside whereas these bread sticks have a smoother texture. They are quite good.

Sprouted Spelt Bread Sticks ~ Lifeofjoy.me

Sprouted Spelt Bread Sticks

Ingredients

  • 3 cups sprouted spelt flour
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 cups non-fat plain yogurt
  • Garlic powder
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425º.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Fold in the yogurt.
  4. Roll out onto parchment paper, cut into breadsticks.
  5. Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. 🙂
https://lifeofjoy.me/sprouted-spelt-bread-sticks/

Look at the link to see the pictorial directions. :)

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº