Cheap and Easy French Bread Recipe

[bluelacedredhead]

First off I must say that for 30 years I've faithfully made Julia Childs' French Bread recipe.

But today, because a snowstorm was raging outside and we were rationing milk, instead of having to crawl down the highway to a store, I looked online for an inexpensive substitute.

Well Move Over Julia!! This recipe only makes 2 loaves instead of the 3 that her beloved recipe makes, but it's every bit as good in my estimation. (But Don't worry Ms. Mentor...I will always prepare a leg of lamb the way you taught me on tv).

allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Bread/Detail.aspx

And oh yeah, the pot of cabbage rolls I made weren't too shabby either.

Great Fare for a Sunday evening following a trudge through the snow in search of a Christmas tree...

We walked, we walked
And then I felt my sock,
Creeping down my foot inside my boot.
We walked, to a very large rock,
Where I sat to retrieve my sock,
And continue on our journey for The Tree ;D

[flowerpower]

Thats pretty, Wen! Alas, I trudged through the ice & snow to get goat chow. So I grabbed the makins for Chili. Tasted good after only a few hrs. It will be much better after I put it in the crockpot all day.

I will probably hunt down a tree next monday. I always get a Charlie Brown Tree if I have to cut it down. If I can dig one up in the wetlands, I take a nice one I can replant later on near the house.

[bluelacedredhead]

We saw a couple of beautiful teensy weensy white pines that have sprung up in the pet graveyard. I want to leave one to spend eternity with my dogs, but that's a good thought about bringing one up to the house.
We are leaning towards a nice young cedar. What we thought was a good sized cedar tree, turned out instead to be a 6 headed cedar clump. But with careful trimming, we could have an attractive Charlie Brown Cedar Christmas and leave a 4 headed clump for next year and the next.

[flowerpower]

I wish there was more cedar here. Mostly white pines. I talked with my neighbor from across the rd. He is seldom here. Haven't seen him since the second day of hunting season, when he killed bambi. He is going with me to hunt down a tree up in his back woods. They need to be thinned there too.

[doccat5]

Oh, that looks yummy. But I cheat with my bread machine. My hands don't like doing the kneading anymore, LOL.

[bunkie]

we thin our fence line every year for a Christmas tree! love the Charlie Brown ones, too! i remember my mom making my dad drill little holes in the trunk and sticking in branches to make the tree fuller! it really worked well then!)

got a secret for the 'falling down in your shoes' socks. by mistake, i bought a pair that was one size too large, and voila, problem solved!)

i was making my 100% whole wheat bread the other day and the recipe mentioned you could use milk or water in the recipe. it said that water brings out the flavor of the wheat, but milk made it more nutritious. wonder if that's for all breads?

[bluelacedredhead]

Bunkie,
I have a 4 loaf general purpose bread recipe that gives the option of water, potato water or milk as the liquid in the mix.

The only thing it recommends is that the milk be scalded first, then cooled down to 'baby bottle temperature' before using. It says there is an enzyme in milk that is unfriendly to yeast and that scalding the milk sends the bad enzyme packing