[goodwithagun]

If I plan on using the yogurt for smoothies I don't strain off the whey, except for the cup of it that I keep for the next batch. Whey is protien and calcium which I need anyway! Sometimes I do strain some to replace sour cream, and when it's nice and thick it beats any store-bought Greek yogurt! I double my batch and use one gallon of milk with one cup of starter from my previous batch. I keep the slow cooker times the same.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

Thanks. Here are clickable links:

Bread

Yogurt

[Valpal1]

Recipes for Mary

[InterceptPoint]

Nice. I’m going to try the bread.

[Tax-chick]

I just printed out the yogurt pages. I have been wanted to give my little boys full-fat yogurt, and it’s hard to find.

[MrPiper]

Hmmm, I buy a loaf of WalMart Wheat bread, $1.33. Put it in the freezer and thaw/toast as needed. One loaf lasts me at least 7 days.

Thats less than $0.20/day.

[Hawthorn]

This recipe is WAY too complicated. You don’t need a crock pot or a slow cooker or anything like that. After all, primitive village folk and desert Arabs have been making the stuff for centuries without such modern gadgets.

So with due credit to the villagers and bedouins, here’s the EASY way to make yoghurt:

1. Put any quantity of any kind of milk either (a) in a sauce pan or (b) in a microwave-safe container.

2. Heat the milk, either on an open flame or in your microwave, until it’s so hot that you can’t hold your finger in the milk. If your milk is pasteurized, there’s no need to boil or scald it.

3. Remove the milk from your heat source, and then let the milk cool JUST ENOUGH until you can hold your finger in it until the count of ten.

4. Stir in a tablespoon or so of old yogurt as a starter.

5. Cover or close your container, and wrap it in a blanket or very thick towel.

6. Let the wrapped container sit undisturbed for about eight hours.

7. Bingo! You now have yogurt.

FOOTNOTES:

A. If the yoghurt turns out not to be thick enough for your taste, next time you can mix in a cup or so of dry non-fat milk, or a half-cup of non-dairy creamer.

B. To make sour cream, just substitue heavy whipping cream for milk in the above recipe.

[kalee]

I have been using that recipe for bread for years. We love it!

[FrogMom]

I have their book, have tried it twice, can’t get the liquid right. What you put in the fridge must be much wetter than what you’d expect.

[Errant]

Thanks for the post. Making your own bread is fun, tasty, saves money, healthy and cuts down on the trips to the store.

I disagree with the author when it comes to bread machines. They're great! Many can be had for less than $100, and take most of the work and time out of making bread at home.

You basically dump the ingredients into the pan, set the programmer and push start. In about 2 hours, the wonderful aroma of baking bread fills your entire home! In another hour or so, it's ready to be sliced and buttered.

Below is the machine that I use. It's less than $70 from Amazon. Click on the image to read more about it.

You can make all types of bread (steakhouse, wholewheat, and many, many more), pizza crust, cinnamon rolls and etc.

I've experimented with a number of recipes and this is my favorite white bread recipe below, which I've developed over time. It lasts at least a week in a bread keeper, has a soft texture and taste, nice crust, and is great for sandwiches and toast for meals.

Add these to your machine in the order listed:
1.5 tbsp Gluten Flour (3 if you like a stiffer loaf)
2 tsp Bread Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Flakes
1/4 Cup Cooking Oil
1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1.5 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Cup + 1 tbsp of water

Set your machine for regular white bread, 1.5 Lb loaf and light crust. Hit start!

About three hours later (have knife & butter handy), You've made Bread!

[Daffynition]

This is the bread recipe I swear by; [baking stone required]:

Charles Van Over’s The Best Bread Ever

One 1 1/2 pound loaf

• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• scant 1 1/4 cup filtered water

1. Place the flour, salt, and yeast in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the machine running, pour all but 2 tablespoons of the water through the feed tube. Process for 20 seconds, adding the remaining water if the dough seems crumbly and dry and does not come together into a ball during this time. Continue mixing the dough another 25 seconds, for a total of 45 seconds. Your dough should be in a sticky, shaggy ball.

2. Remove the dough from the processor and place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. This will allow a slow, cool fermentation. The dough may increase in volume somewhat, but not very much.

3. After the fermentation time has passed, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least half an hour. When it has warmed, turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape into a boule. Line a colander with a cotton (not terrycloth) towel and sprinkle with flour. Place the boule seam side up in the colander, lightly sprinkle the exposed dough with flour, cover with the edges of the towel, and let rest for another two hours. This is the final proofing stage, and most likely your dough will almost double in bulk. When your dough is done proofing, it will be softer to the touch than before, and will spring back slightly when touched.

4. One hour before baking, put the oven rack on the second shelf from the bottom and place a baking stone on the rack. Place a small pan (I use a pie plate) with one cup of water on the oven floor. Preheat the oven to 475°F.

5. Uncover the loaf. Place it seam side down on a peel or on the back of a baking sheet that has been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal or flour. Sprinkle the loaf lightly with flour, and slash the top several times with a sharp knife razor blade. I find that slashing a tic-tac-toe pattern works nicely.

6. Carefully pour another cup of warm water into the pan on the oven floor. Slide the loaf onto the baking stone in the oven. Reduce the heat to 450°F.

7. Bake the loaf for 40 to 45 minutes, adding water periodically as needed. When it is done, the crust will be golden brown, and tapping the loaf will result in a hollow sound. Or, insert an instant-read thermometer into the bread, and if the internal temperature is 205°F to 210°F, the bread is done. I get very impatient/hungry, so I prefer to rely on the internal temperature.

8. Remove the bread from the oven and immediately place the loaf on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing or storing.

If you want to make an herb bread, add 2 tablespoons fresh herbs to the dry ingredients at the very beginning (in the food processor). If you want to add something a little more substantial (like olives or sun dried tomatoes), fold them into the dough with a scraper on a lightly floured surface before you put it into a bowl to ferment in the refrigerator.

And that’s it! The majority of the time is spent just waiting; it probably takes longer to read through the directions than it does to perform the steps.

[hattend]

Don’t forget to enter your recipes here

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2694984/posts

[EDINVA]

Thanks. I’m going to try the yogurt. Even if it isn’t cost-effective, would definitely be worth trying.

There’s little better than home-made bread, gonna try that too. I may halve the recipe as I work to reduce carbs, so bread is a fairly rare treat.

[stylecouncilor]

ping

[Marmolade]

bfl

[jetson]

ping

[JDoutrider]

mark

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I just made my first loaf of this bread - I baked at 425 so it took a little longer. The bread is excellent and I think will make a wonderful pizza crust - very crispy! My loaf isn’t beautiful, but the family isn’t complaining about the way it looks. ;^)