Hi yes I have used the Bread Machine Yeast in the Challah. They call it rapid rise but it is more like Acitve Dry. Yeast is SO confusing !! This will make 3 braids. There are lots of great YouTube videos of braids. Your DD will love looking at some of them for ideas :) Challah is the perfect bread for grilled cheese sandwiches...never will you find better ! It is also wonderful for French toast and croutons when it gets stale. Bread pudding also. Can't go wrong with Challah. I do have a good whole wheat . I will get it out and type it in. You really need to get your starter going and then make SD with a soaker...that means you take the whole grains and soak them overnight. It accomplishes several things. The most important is that the grains are way more digestible and also you get so much more nutrition from the flours and grains when they interact with the enzymes in the SD and you retard the loaves overnight for the bake the next day. The price for Bob's Red Mill on Amazon is great ! You can also sign up for the regular shipments to save even more. They have the bulk yeast too and all is free shipping. Walmart has the best buttermilk. It is called Bulgarian Buttermilk and has more good bacteria in it . Very thick and wonderful. You can use the powdered or just add vinegar or lemon to milk but it isn't nearly as tasty or thick. I have some great rye breads. Will add those too. Please take a look at Wild Yeast Blog..she has a lot of breads that aren't sourdough also . c

ohiomom - Not having made the recipe you posted, but comparing it to the Pillsbury recipe, I'd certainly try it at a lower temperature. You might lower it by 25°F and check the results, then lower it another 25°F the next time, etc., until you get the results you want. I probably wouldn't lower it below 350°F. You'd also want to test the loaf for doneness by using an instant read thermometer - between 190-200°F. The loaves in the Pillsbury book look like traditional, high-rising, domed top loaves. Your loaf looks like it has a nice crumb, but it also looks like it didn't rise properly or deflated from over-proofing, perhaps due to the adjustment of the salt. In your recipe, I think I'd use at least 2 to 2-1/2 t. of salt for that amount of flour/yeast. I believe the minimum "average" amount of salt in yeast breads is 1/3 t. per 1 cup of flour. When you divide that much sodium per serving, it's actually very little sodium per 1-ounce slice of bread. Salt adds a lot of flavor, but if you're like me, I've eliminated a lot of dietary sodium, so less is best for my tastebuds. "Old" recipes do tend call for more salt than I typically use, and I adjust them according to my tastebuds. The rule of thumb is, when you adjust the salt in a yeast bread recipe, adjust the yeast by an equal amount. For instance, if you reduce the salt by 50%, then adjust the yeast by that much as well. But as with all "rules" concerning breadmaking, there is always a way to break the rules and breadmaking is all about contridictions. There are many ways and techniques to make bread, and bread is quite individual. How many of us have made a loaf of bread and accidently left the salt out of it entirely, and still got a loaf of bread.... Salt has these functions in yeast breads, so if you reduce or increase salt, you may affect these things from the science perspective. 1. tightens gluten 2. enhances flavor 3. slows yeast activity 4. controls bacterial growth For those of you who lack a pilot light to warm your oven for proofing dough, check the temperature of your oven with a thermometer (with the door closed, light on, and 20 minutes to warm up). I've noted in my oven it stays a perfect 80-85°F - in the farthest corner away from the light. It's too warm close to the light or in the middle of the oven. But to contradict bread "rules" again, dough rises just fine at much colder temperatures, it just takes longer than when using an optimum temperature and optimum humidity. Cold rises actually contribute a lot of flavor to bread. -Grainlady

egganddart: Cottage Garden Forum....you look under Garden Forums. The recipes are in the Conversation section. You are probably looking in the Home Forums. My son and DIL are chefs and are at a local restaurant owned by a friend. If you are interested it is YellowHammerRestaurant.com in Waverly AL. I have heard his stories about the huge Hobarts they had in the Marines when he was in the service. He uses a KA now since he doesn't have to cook for 800 anymore LOL> I agree that refined carbs are pretty bad. Like you the complex ones are the ones that fire my engine. Amy I know there are Rails to Trails up there and we have them too here. They are really catching on everywhere. There is a magazine that comes out and all it has in it is R2T all over the US and Canada. Great magazine. I have a great selection of trails from 15 min to 1 1/2 hrs to choose from. Here goes: Bartram Trail - Tuskegee Nat'l forest Pine Mountain Trail - Pine Mt Ga McIntosh County Park - Carrollton Ga Sweetwater State Park - Georgia Cheaha St. Park - Alabama Oak Mt State Park- Alabama Chewacla State Park- Alabama I think that is a pretty complete list. I go to the Bartram trail the most as it has several different sections. Upper which is 4 miles out / 4 back. Lower which is 9 mi out/9 back, Pleasant Hill which is rolling and combines dirt road and trail for 4 out/4 back. The Horse Trail which is 14 continuous and can be made into loops with upper Bartram if you know the way. I mostly go alone these days . My best friend moved to Carrollton ga and he and I try to run together 1x a week sometimes 2. We are planning a road trip the end of March and will combine running trails in Fl with mt biking and Blue Grass music at Live Oak. I have to make my fun where I can as there are no "play pals" around that want to do this kind of rougher stuff. They all want to be on roads and watch their GPS for the number of miles and how fast they go. I got away from that years ago and now do it 'cause I can and 'cause I work on stuff in my head while I run. I have done 24 UltraMarathons, from 50K to 100 milers. I loved that but it got so expensive to travel and so I just do what I can now. If you Google "Maryland Trail Running" there is a bunch of stuff. One in Towson and another one I didn't recognize. There is also an Adventure group in Catonsville, where we used to live in 1973!! If you tell me what town I can find more specific stuff. Usually state parks are the best. Also UltraRunning Magazine list all the races by state and the race directors all know the best trails and you can hook up through them. Let me know if you want help or more info. Caroline

Guess this was the one day wonder and I missed it the first time around.