Happy Birthday! Everything looks delicious!

Happy birthday from me too! Gosh, the bread looks so good and inviting - can almost smell it from here. We've not been eating much bread the past few years. Hence, I'm in a rut with my baking. I need to fix that starting the first of the year.

/tricia

The bread looks divine. I will be shopping for all new kitchen appliances tomorrow. Hopefully by January I will be baking bread also!

Teresa

Happy birthday!

I can't decide what looks the most delectable!
It all looks so-o-o-o-o-oo good.

Now I'm hungry.

Again!

Rusty

A very happy birthday to you! Those breads look wonderful! I admire the bagels as I have never made them....'course I don't really like bagels all that much, but still.....

I would be ready for a nap after a full morning of baking!

Teresa

jessy : thank you ! It smells wonderful !!

tricia: thank you ! I look forward to your posts too....would love to see your breads.

teresa : thank you !! I hope you will post pics of your breads too...I would love to see them .

Thankyou Rusty !! I am glad to enjoyed it. c

Happy birthday, trailrunner! Everything looks delicious but that Norwich sourdough looks so beautifully crunchy and crusty, I've been baking soft and squishy bread lately, I need to get back to something with some crunch.

I remember those old waffle makers, it's kind of like the one Grandma had. Do the plates turn over so you can use it as a griddle too?

Annie

What a nice start to your birthday! Looks soooo good too.

*After seeing your post, I asked DH if he would make waffles for breakfast (just to bait him). He said sure, which freezer are they in? Neither, I was talking about homemade. He had a blank look...he thought waffles were like Oreos i.e. you can't make them from scratch.

LOL Cathy, you're so mean to bait him. LOL. ..but it is so easy, eh?

You sure are having a very Happy Birthday C. How could you not with all that good stufff! I started saying mmmmm at the waffle and kept mmmmming all the way through! Thanks for letting us have a treat on your day. Many Happy Returns on the Day youngster. [I'm 64 ;) ]

annie Thank you ! you can find that recipe and more like it at Wild Yeast...Susan has tons of wonderful sourdough recipes and they are all fool-proof..which is why they work for me :) A waffle maker like grandma had LOL...well this grandma loves hers. Yes they flip over to make a griddle. It still works like it did when new. They sometimes show up on Ebay if you want to get one.

Cathy thank you ..that is a hilarious story. I am NOT going to tell my DH ..he thinks that you only get waffles this way :) .

coconut...thank you ! If you were closer I sure would share. I took a loaf to my friend that has a huge garden and came home with broccoli and kale and greens and cilantro ! So I made out good. We do this every week...bread for veggies. c

You had the best birthday, I think.

BTW, do you think you have enough cookbooks? LOL!

dcarch

Happy birthday! Everything looks wonderful. How did you get the shape on top of the sourdough?

Happy Birthday!!! All of your breads look wonderful!!

I wonder if there's anyone who "doesn't" have that Better Homes and Gardens cookbook!

Happy Birthday!! Bread looks great, but it's also not in my diet, even though I love sourdough. Waffles are still on my menu, however, and yours look great! That's an interesting waffle iron - mine will only make small servings at a time.

To answer Jasdip's question - I do not have the BH&G cookbook and never have. I've always used Joy of Cooking instead, which I assume is similar. The Betty Crocker Cookbook outsold both of them, and I've never had that one either.

Hope you have continuing to have a great day! We are now the same age.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 25 best selling cookbooks of all time

dcarch...haha...that is only a fraction of them. I donated the bookcase to my church so am on the lookout for a piesafe to store them. I did have a wonderful day...and DH is making me pasta with our "00" flour so it is going to get better. Thank you !!

jessica : thank you !! I use a sharp blade and cut a straight line on 4 sides, the end of each line doesn't connect with the others. So it lifts like a square hat. I bake in preheated iron pots...500 degrees preheated and then put cold bread in hot pot...spray a bit of water , put on lid and place in oven...turn back to 460 and bake with lid 15 min and w/o lid 15 min . This makes great crumb/crust. The large polenta loaf had 30 w/o lid.

jasdip...they were Momma's. I love to look through and see how to do things the "right" way ! I also have all my old magazines from the early 70's...another source of real cooking ;) Thank you !!

Hey lars and thank you for looking ...glad you can still enjoy waffles ! They are wonderful re-heated in the toaster ;) We always make extra for just that purpose. Great with jam in place of toast too. I love the old cookbooks. I have the 1940 Fannie Farmer , it was Momma's wedding present from her sister. It has the hot milk cake that I make for strawberry short cake. No fat ! It is wonderful and light.

Thank you all ! c

Happy Birthday! It is my (and my twin sister's) 61st birthday today!

All your breads look yummy! I use to make bagels. Lots of work but worth it compared to what you can buy at the store. I should make some again. Is your wild yeast starter a sourdough starter? Where did you get the wild yeast?

Those waffles look good. So nice of your DH. We are having my celebration this weekend. DH just doesn't have the time with his long 10+ hr. work days.

I also have 2 floor to ceiling bookcases filled with cookbooks. My mom use to collect them too. I love the really old ones.

Have a great rest-of-your-birthday day!
Clare

Happy Birthday!!
Every one of your breads look wonderful!!
Linda

Hey Clare...the waffles take about 5 minutes to stir up...flour and baking powder/salt/baking soda and enough buttermilk to make it very thick. That is it...really really easy. ( I can post for you if you like ??? )

The Wild Yeast aka sour dough ...is from the Fresh Loaf tutorial..will link for you below. It is very easy. The yeast comes from the rye flour. It has more yeast than any other flour. It is fool proof. Mine is 4 yrs old. It rises bread almost as fast as regular commercial yeast.

Thank you Lynda ! They taste wonderful..I make it every week.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sourdough ( Wild Yeast) 101

Happy Birthday! And you did have a great day, doing what you love.

Truly, that is the best looking bread I have seen on this forum.

Peppi

Clare, happy birthday to you and your twin too! Twice as much birthday cake, how can that be bad?

trailrunner, I don't need a waffle iron, but if I did, I'd sure be tempted. I remember making grilled cheese on one of those.

Annie

Happy Birthday Clare !! and sister !! Got carried away with talk of wild things :) Hope you guys have a wonderful festive time this weekend. The bagel recipe is on Wild Yeast...these are 100 % sourdough too. If you get a chance take a look at her blog. Please post your bagels if you make some.

Peppi..thank you ! Very sweet of you to say so...there are so beautiful food posted here all the time. I love looking.

Annie it does make great grilled cheese although for just DH and I we use the iron skillet...really low heat and long long time..caramelizes the bread/butter..mmmhhh..post pics the next time you make one :) c

Happy Belated Birthday Trailrunner and Clare! I'm always a little late.

Cathy (Mustangs) you are too funny. I think Steve would respond just like Ray. Huh, waffles?

Karen

Whoa, Happy belated Birthday Clare!!!! (and sis)

You should put your birthday in your preferences then we can all wish you a wonderful day!

Thank you Karen !! It was a great day ! Finished the bagels...2 dozen of them and they are cooling. I am done for a while now :) c

trailrunner - I will have to have waffles for the Sunday breakfast. Seeing yours got me in the mood. DH leaves for work at 5AM, I try to sleep in till 6AM when I have to take out the dog so we only have the weekends for special breakfasts. I stay on my diet all week then get to go crazy on the weekend! I will check out the Wild Yeast link. I have sourdough in the refrigerator that I have used for the last several years. I keep refreshing it and it keeps going strong.

Everyone - Thanks for the birthday wishes. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Just thought it was kind of cool that someone on the Cooking Forum had the same birthday and close to the same age.

Clare

Clare no hijack at all !! I am so glad to know we share the same date !! I hear you about being so busy. I remember the days when DH and I were working and it was only on the weekends that we too could indulge.

Here is DH's waffle recipe :

2c self rising flour ( we really like White Lily )
2 eggs
2c buttermilk
2T sugar
1/4 c oil ( we use peanut)
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix up and let set for 10 minutes. Leave really large lumps in it and it should be very very thick. Cook for 5 1/2 minutes to desired brown/crispness.

I hope you will post your sourdough bakes. Wild Yeast ( Susan) has so many formulas and every single one I have used has been a success. I can't say the same about some of the books I have tried. The errors get past the editors and I don't have time to try and look up the errata and make mistakes. She has really proven to be very careful in her editing. Good Luck...I look forward to seeing more of you ;) c

Thanks for sharing those great baking photos and recipes. I'll have to try your waffle recipe one of these days. BF and I like them on Sundays. I do love those breads too! Someday in my dreams I get to make my own sourdough.

lpink..let me know when you want to do the wild yeast sourdough and we will get to it ! Thank you for looking ...c

ps..you will love the waffles.