I live on a little 3 acre lot that backs up to a 700+ acre Civil War historical park. Once I began clearing the brush from the woods, (which were impassable when I first moved here), I began to have problems with trespassers metal locating for relics. The latest relic thief has been unbelievably destructive. He apparently sneaks in at night, has left hundreds of holes all over the property and damaged the banks on the creek to the point they are beginning to collapse in places. Here in NW Georgia we had several years of drought conditions until late this summer and his damage to the roots on ferns, dogwoods, wild azalea, etc., weakened or killed many of them. Worst of all was his sneaking right into the yard and flower beds near the house and destroying heirloom plants I had brought from my grandmother's farm and from the property I grew up on. I don't guess in the dark he can tell he is digging in fill dirt and compost as the house is built on 3-5' of fill dirt. I have posted signs, filed reports with the police, left lights in the woods, put up two cameras (which don't do much because the red glow of the infrared lighting is too easy to spot). He always manages to dig where I don't have lights or cameras. I tried using a metal detector before I planted anything but along the edges of the old terraces where I most want to plant there seem to be strands of disintegrated barbed wire that is impossible to totally get rid of (plus too many iron containing "hot rocks"). I even planted some "kitty land mines" by poking a hole, dropping in a bottle cap or bent nail, some really fresh cat poop, then covering the hole back up. (Can you hear how desperate and half crazy this has made me?!) Finally it dawned on me to try laying chicken or hog wire down around where I plant and around existing plantings, then covering it with dirt and mulch. It should block signals of anything else and make it really hard to dig. Crossing my fingers that this will do it. Has anyone else run up against something like this?!

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, we've been out of town for a week and I just got back late this afternoon and am playing catch-up. Glad you had good results with the recipe. I give credit to my friend Mildred in Missouri for sharing the recipe with me. 1. I would add the coarser flour to the sponge. Either will work (as you have discovered), but the sponge gives the sharp bits of bran time to soak up the liquid and soften in the coarse flour. Those sharp bits can cut gluten strands. 2. Bread Machine Yeast is a type of fast-acting yeast like SAF-Instant is. You made a good substitute. SAF-Instant is a "super" yeast, and somewhat different from the other brands of fast-acting yeast products (Bread Machine, Rapid-Rise and Quick-Rise). I consider SAF-Instant a superior choice over the other fast-rising yeast products, but that's a personal choice. I've used all of them at one time or another over the years. 3. Pan sizes... A 9x5-inch pan is actually designed for quick breads and holds about 2-pounds of dough. For over two pounds of dough you would need a Jumbo Pan - 10x4-1/2-inch. I personally don't like these over-size loaves, especially when trying to cut thin slices. Small loaves are easier to cut thin than large loaves. Another personal preference. Standard 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch pan holds up to around 1-1/2-pounds of dough. I have a pair of Norpro pans that are just slightly smaller at 7-3/4x4-1/4-inches that works very well for 2 loaves. 7-1/2x3-1/2-inch pans - up to 1-pound of dough. I often divide the dough equally into three of these small loaves. I will also divide the dough into one 1-1/2-pound loaf and the rest for something like an 8-inch pan of dinner rolls, 6 jumbo pecan cinnamon rolls, 6 hamburger or hot dog buns. The cultured milk products (dried or liquid buttermilk, kefir, yogurt) seem to aid in the sponge. My friend, Mildred, often uses up to 24-hours, with half the time in the refrigerator, similar to what you did. A very forgiving recipe, as you've just proven. I also like to add 1/2-cup of coarsely-ground multi-grain mixture, similar to multi-grain cereal (5-grain, 7-grain, 11-grain, etc.), except I mill my own. I add it towards the end of kneading to keep the sharp bits from cutting the gluten strands. I like the "tooth" it adds to the bread. -Grainlady

Dips, dips and another dip! Years ago i self-appointed to be the designated chef at family gatherings...both families, and full of real, imagined, self-inflicted, moral, or just plain attention seeking dietary needs. (one year my niece and nephew, 6yrs and 12, announced vegan, lol) For game-side i would make dips with every dipper veg available. I ended up getting the list for different diets and made stuff up. Actually ended up being not much different than what we eat with a few adjustments...for example, a humus without beans.... 4 cups peeled & chopped raw zucchini 2 cups roasted califlower, chopped (optional) 3/4 cups tahini (sesame paste) 1/2 cup fresh lemon or lime juice 1/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves of garlic, peeled 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste) 1 Tbl ground cumin tender center with leaves of celery cilantro with stems, to taste -puree in blender A salsa, a bana coda, a goat cheese pesto dip...i use my harvested roasted toms with veggies from the freezer and add lime, cilantro, and red onion when thawed for salsa. I have even included the recipe under the serving bowls, lol. So tired of all the questions of ingredients,...(after a few days when everyone turns kook.) Cooking keeps me out of the chatter for the most part. I make a ton of each, have serving bowls prepped and ready but have back-up quarts for re-filling if needed. (and good left-overs if one dip is not so popular) I like the chicken strips on skewers idea and maybe shrimp. Prepped ahead and popped in the oven if something warm is needed. With a nice Asian nutty sauce. (roasted pumpkin seeds?) A family favorite is tortilla pizza. Low carb, gluten-free, this and that tortilla options in a health food store. Many options for toppings and can be chosen for each diet individually. I prep all ahead in the morning...onions mushrooms simmered, roasted peppers and veg, a variety of cheeses, different meats...a mandoline is key for a thin edge of potato or sweet potato. The tortilla is thin and gets crispy quickly. Not a dough thick pizza...more about the toppings. Seems to please everyone no mater the diet issues. A prosciutto roll up with cheese and veg on parchment is a no crust option. This one is asparagus, mozz, tom and arugula with pesto under the thin potato edge. -my personal favorite is onion, gorgonzola, prosciutto, artichoke heart with an egg, (broken yolk) cracked on top. : )...with a pesto potato edge. This post was edited by sleevendog on Mon, Sep 16, 13 at 1:04

FLsandytoes- Proofing the yeast was an interesting "new" twist to making fluffy bread in a bread machine, and one I've never come across. I think there are probably much better methods, but one just never knows..... I had a friend who used fresh yeast in his bread machine and it had to be proofed, so there are some applications for this process in a bread machine. I have a recipe for white sandwich bread that uses 1 cup of white cake mix, as another interesting example for making "fluffy" white bread, due to the soft wheat flour in the cake mix. FYI -- Two tablespoons of non-fat powdered milk, reconstituted, equals 1/2 c. of milk - which is a reasonable amount of milk in a bread recipe without causing crumb and crust problems. Much more than that and you will need to scald the milk first to avoid the textural problems caused by too much milk (from the milk whey protein). Heating the milk denatures the problematic protein. Try the recipe with 1/2 c. of milk and the remaining liquid water and see if you get different results. You will STILL need to adjust the dough for correct hydration (soft sticky ball) while it's starting to knead. --To improve 100% whole wheat bread, add an acidic ingredient, such as ascorbic acid. Some yeast products add ascorbic acid to the yeast. Yeast works better and longer in a slightly acidic atmosphere. There is a substance in wheat germ called Glutathione which breaks down the gluten - and is why we have trouble getting high-rising, fluffy, loaves of whole wheat bread without lightening the loaf by adding bleached/unbleached flour. By adding ascorbic acid it will help counteract the negative effects of Glutathione and will help repair broken gluten bonds (which is the cause of short, compact, squatty loaves). Add 1/8 t. of ascorbic acid (Fruit Fresh will work - it's a mix of ascorbic and citric acid) per 3-cups of flour. You may also find some recipes for 100% whole wheat bread that add lemon juice or vinegar for the same acidic effect, but it takes a lot more lemon juice or vinegar than it does ascorbic acid. You would have to use 6-times as much lemon juice to be as effective as ascorbic acid. -- Another way to lighten 100% whole wheat bread is to do a sponge with a portion of the flour for at least 1-1/2 hours, and as long as overnight. When I incorporated this method I got high-rising loaves of 100% whole wheat bread that were equal to any light-wheat and white breads I made. Soaking whole wheat flour helps lighten the loaf by softening the bran (bran cuts the gluten) and it gives the gluten time to absorb moisture, which creates strong gluten bonds without manipulation (kneading). I always use a sponge method for 100% whole wheat bread made in the bread machine. -- When adding 10-Grain Cereal Mixture, add it towards the end of kneading at the add-in beep. This goes for anything that may have a sharp edge, like nuts, dried fruit, etc. Adding dried fruit (raisins) early in the process and the kneading will pulverize them. If you add this coarse grind of grains/seeds/beans early in the dough making process it will cut the gluten strands as the dough kneads and you'll end up with a short squatty loaf because of the cut gluten. I prefer adding a dry mixture at the add-in beep because I like the "toothy" nuggets from the cereal mixture. If you don't want that much texture, you may want to soak the mixture first, but still wait to add it at the add-in beep towards the end of kneading. -- Another way to improve 100% whole wheat bread is to wait to add the salt and fat after the dough is kneading and the gluten is well developed. Once you add salt, the gluten tightens and kneading is more difficult - with a bread machine or by hand. Adding the fat early in the mixing/kneading "shortens" the gluten strands and development for a finer textured loaf. You can make the exact same recipe, and by adding the fat early or adding the fat late, it will alter the crumb and size of the loaf. Adding fat early for a close crumb (bread used for sandwiches), add it late for a more open crumb (bread used for toasting). These options are neither right or wrong - but are options to help control the crumb of the bread. --The same bread making rules and techniques that apply to making bread without the bread machine also apply to making bread IN a bread machine - such as when to add salt and fat. Bread machines are designed to make bread quick and easy and doesn't always take into considerations these rules and techniques. -- Check the dough for proper hydration while it's kneading, not after it's rising, while you still have time for the ingredients to be mixed into the dough. -- I only use the bread machine for mixing and kneading dough. As soon as it has completed the kneading I stop the bread machine and remove the dough and place it in a dough-rising bucket. I don't want a machine with a timed rise to determine when the dough has "doubled", which is actually determined by the strength of the yeast, moisture and ambient temperature, not a clock. If I have 1-quart of dough patted into the bottom of the dough-rising bucket, I know it has doubled when it gets to the 2-quart line -- whether it takes 25-minutes or 1-hour. In fact, it's better to only allow dough to rise to just UNDER double because our flour no longer has the extensibility it did as when it was bromated, and whole wheat flour was never bromated. The reasons not to use milk for proofing: 1. Water is more reliable than milk. 2. When proofing yeast in milk use 4-times the amount of milk as yeast. Yeast also tends to clump in milk and not proof as well. If you have to stir the milk/yeast mixture, you will end up killing some of the yeast. 3. Yeast works best with sucrose (table sugar) over lactose (milk sugar). 4. Yeast granules can become coated with milk fat (much like fat coats flour when making pastry) which can restrict water from entering and dissolving the yeast. -Grainlady