Caroline... you've got to tell me... the rounded braided bread, do I only need 4 strips laid out the way you showed? I would love to try to make a cinnamon raisan bread like that!

Wonderful Holiday wishes back to all you and to everyone else.

Oh yummy? I know you've shared your challah recipe (and I'm planing on making some soon). Could you post the other recipes?

Also, where do you hang out for more cooking-related questions? My new stove should be operational tomorrow(!!!!) and I'm looking forward to testing its full capabilities.

that should be "Oh yummy !"

Elyse here is the link for the method. I was amazed at how easy it is. The round loaf is supposed to be for Rosh Hashanah. Make sure that you make the 4 snakes longer than you think...LOL. Each loaf that I made is 1 1/2 of a batch of Challah. Holler if you need anything.

pbrisjar: THANK YOU too. I am always available :) just e-mail thru GW. I am so excited for you . How fun to finally be able to cook ! c

Here is a link that might be useful: weaving Challah

Caroline, you had a very fun day! I am envious because we two could never eat all your tantalizing breads. One at a time is all I do;-( My breadmaker quit kneading dough, so my KA mixer is going to get another try. I always had problems with the bread rising; I hope it works! I need to take bread to go with lasagna for a big family dinner on Sabbath. Thanks for the inspiration! You will have all of us here bakers before long.

oh my! I am very impressed! The breads look divine!

Bon appetit and happy holidays!

thank you kandt and Bon appetit to you too !

cotohele: if you follow the Challah recipe exactly it is foolproof in the KA. If you proof the yeast in water that is 110 degrees and a pinch of sugar you will be sure to have success. Also don't rise the bread warmer than 85 or so. A mistake is to preheat the oven too hot for the rising. It is easy to kill yeast if you are not careful. Also over rising on the 1st rise so that nothing is left on the 2nd. If I can help please let me know. I would love to have you have great success for Sabbath. c

Caroline, thanks! I will try your recipe. I have not yet because it takes 7 cups of flour, which was too much for the breadmaker. I used to have a hot pack that fit into the cover of a pyrex dish. I would put the dough and the heated pack wrapped in a towel in the MW (turned off, of course) to rise. It worked very well. Three packs have worn out, and I've not gotten any more. Our house is so cold, I will need to turn up the heat-hehe. Judy

Trail
As always a pleasure viewing your baked with love goods!
Hope those that have it cross their lips understand the love baking -
Even enjoyed your well loved baking sheets -
I may email you for the poppy twists & cheese braids
enjoy

I bought those baking sheets in Chapel Hill NC in 1977 . They were $10 each !! A fortune at that time. They have a few dents and bend at the corners...but so do I !!

Judy I always used to put a bowl of hot water in the oven as I started stirring up the bread. It warms it enough. The Miele has a proofing setting but it is 125 degrees which is too hot and you can't change it. I use defrost and reset the temp to 85. GOOD LUCK>>>>c

I always love to look at your beautiful breads! I hope that when
I am in full swing with the new kitchen I can try to bake some bread,
I have never done it before!

Thank you for your glimpse of holiday food and I wish you a very wonderful
holiday!

vic

They are beautiful and they look soooo yummy!

Thanks for sharing.

Chris

Okay, Caroline. It's almost 2 a.m. E.S.T., and I am in a wrapping marathon fueled by black tea and margaritas (not mixed together, and not terribly Christmasy, but I had the marg stuff in the fridge). So I decide to take a little GW break, and yes, I am a little bit hungry, and now I REALLY want a poppy seed bun. What I want to know is: who eats all this stuff? Do you as "trailrunner" burn thousands of calories a day tearing through the woods or something? Is your entire family out running marathons? Or do you go door to door in your gorgeous neighborhood and bring tidings of good cheer and challah? I can tell from your posts that you are a very generous person, so I am assuming the latter.

Ah, well, this touch of virtual community has inspired me to another hour of wrapping. Thanks for the refreshment, and I really mean that. Gah! Why am I up so late, so behind in my Christmas prep? I know why- because I have been frittering away precious hours on GW! At least I have virtual community to show for it. And I won't be logging off any time soon.

Oh noes! You mean the "proofing" setting on my brand new warming drawer on my brand new stove will be too hot? Is that just for the challah? I'm soooo bummed. That was going to be my excuse for making bread (gotta test it, yanno).

Hey Vic: you are so kind. I will be glad to offer suggestions and support as will a lot of others here. There are quite a few great cooks/bakers here. The great thing that differs from the cooking forum is advice on the appliance use. Not much of that on the cooking side.

You are most welcome Chris !

Morton : guess who else is up ???! Can't sleep...
I do give some away and we have a lot of company coming today. I am always either running on trails or biking or something so I do eat a lot :) DH says "woman stop baking!!" so I guess today will see the end. I wish you could drop by. Second best will be if you want to try your hand and make some stuff. I will be glad to offer help .

pbris: not sure about the warming drawer settings. It is advisable to rise most things at 85 degrees. But the French and Itl breads like cooler rises...70-75. It usually says what to use in the recipe. I have never had a warming drawer so can't help but I bet others can. c

The bread dough is rising! in an insulated bowl, surrounded by warm water, in the sink, covered with a towel-the candy thermometer reads 85F.

So, step-mother called and wants pizza for Christmas supper. I'm bringing everything for sauce, crust, cheese... Can I make the dough tonight, freeze, and pack it in a cooler to travel? Or should I take ingredients for the crust and make it there? DS and I will make the sauce and assemble the pizzas before we are ready to bake. I am also taking my baking stone.

Oh, my gosh. I just opened the album from Mrs. Claus's southern kitchen. You know, you guys who do this are remarkable. I'm looking at several baked gifts from the kitchens of friends, but none of their counters looked quite like that.

I confess, I made ONE thing this Christmas in my kitchen-- the easiest and quickest recipe I have that everyone always likes. To say Happy Holidays to all other nonbakers who could use such a recipe, and bakers who've lost it, here it is:

German Oatmeal Lace Cookies

* 2/3 cup QUICK-COOKING rolled oats
* 1/4 cup flour
* 1/4 teaspoon cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 tablespoons whipping cream (a must)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients in small frying pan and cook, stirring over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble. Remove from heat and mix well.

Drop by 1/2+ teaspoons (for flat cookies) to level teaspoons for shaped ones. Bake 5 to 7 minutes until lightly browned. Remove and let cookies stand briefly until firm enough to lift with spatula for shaped cookies or slightly longer for flat ones and finish cooling on wire rack (if left too long on the baking sheet and they stick, put back in oven briefly to soften).

If you wish shaped cookies, wrap around a cone 1/2" in diameter or larger or drape over a broomstick (this recipe predates Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table). Makes about 3 dozen.

Happy cooking everyone!

Judy ! You are so amazing ! We must be sisters....I am making 8 pizza crusts at this minute !! We are having all the family here tonight and doing a pizza party. I make the crusts ahead. They do great. I then preheat the stone again ( to heck with the energy use ) and top the pizzas or as we are doing let everyone make their own , and then stick them back on the 500 degree stone. Takes about 6 min per pizza. Hope this helps. Have FUN!!!

rosie...you are a treat !! Mrs Claus' Southern Kitchen...I like that sound ! Those cookies sound great. I will get DD to do them while she is here.

Caroline, I'll claim you! I am an only child. :)

I'll make the crusts ahead if I have time. I am singing in an 11p service tonight and have lots to do before we leave early tomorrow. DH will appreciate taking food ready to serve rather than carting all my cooking stuff with us.

I found that 7 cups of flour is too much for my KA mixer. I divided it in two pieces, kneaded one in the mixer and one by hand about 4 minutes, then switched. This is most of the dough. I saved enough for 5 rolls for supper. Thanks, Caroline!

OK sis !! You done good. You and Elyse are both 2008 A+ bread baker grads. No go forth and recruit new bakers !!! I am SO impressed. Have a wonderful pizza party and we can all post pics on the morrow. c

Thanks! Have fun tonight.

Pizza crust recipe please!! I just froze a HUGE batch of sauce and I think home made pizzas will be just the thing for our next band night after the Holidays are over. The "band boys" look foward to my home cooking on Tuesday nights... even though they "say" I don't have to do it and they don't want me to work that hard after coming home from work. Last time I made pizzas I bought the dough at Publix. Works well... but I'd love to be able to do it all home made.

trailrunner,

That is some of the most beautiful food I have ever seen. Wondering if you share your recipes???? Pasta and sauces and oh so much more? You should write a cookbook. It all looks so yummy!

Elyse I would be glad to give you the pizza crust recipe. I posted pics of the party on another thread. They had so much fin decorating and pre baking of the crusts made it go very quickly. I am going to get another stone though before I do another party. It makes it even better as far as timing goes.

mpeg: you are so sweet ! I love sharing recipes. Which are you most interested in? I mostly use cookbooks and then add my own twists to the recipe. I try to remember to write down the changes next to the recipe but often forget...sigh. Makes it always and adventure. Let me know or send me and e-mail and I can give you any that you like. Some have already been posted so I can look them up for you. THANK YOU ,Caroline

trailrunner,

I would love some of your pasta recipes. how about mamas marinara, roasted veggies and pesto pasta , the beautiful pasta salad, and the pasta with fresh basil that you show with the chicken breasts. It all looks wonderful and you are very generous to share. You are obviously a wonderful cook. No hurry just whenever you have time and are able to share...........Oh and the pretty poppy seed pin wheels. Your bread is to die for, it is so beautiful. I do bake bread. It's just not a pretty as yours.

Thank you so much! Looking forward to trying something new.

mpeg: here is a link to the recipes that Cameron on the Cottage Garden Forum has compiled. We have a nice recipe collection of tried and true with pictures. This is the 22 I have sent her. I can't think what the chicken and basil is so I will look back at the pics....I should write these down LOL. Have fun with these to get started. I didn't see an e-mail address for you so if you use my GW address for any other questions I will be glad to answer. Caroline

Here is a link that might be useful: Cottage Garden Recipe Collection

Caroline,

Thank you! I love tried and true recipes! I wasn't aware that there is a way to leave our email address on this forum. I will have to look into that. I am fairly new here.

Thank you so much for the recipe link!! I'll email if I have questions. I really need to check out the cooking forum too. I would really enjoy picking up some recipes tips and sharing the fun with you guys....thank you again!

Peggy

Hey Peggy, just log on and go to your page and edit the info to include a willingness to get e-mails. easy - peasy ! Anytime you want to compare recipes let me know. c

Rosie: I am making your tonight! (I am on the O blood type diet 4 years: and I cheat: especially holiday!) But: I can eat this anytime: (can I switch butter out with apple sause?) Floor 1/4 cut not a big deal to me: I could switch with rice floor. Switch sugar for raw or brown sugar.

Thanks so much:
/Bread picture look amazing: Yummy! I am wheat free diet: though I cheat sometimes!

Happy Holiday!

Hi, Petra. I just glanced in and was absorbed in Trailrunner's fantastic recipes. Who knows what'll grab you--I love candied ginger and just discovered I have to make some. :)

A friend thinks she can serve a couple of these cookies to her type 1 diabetic grandson now and then because they have so little actual substance per cookie. I can't say about the butter/applesauce but suspect you'll end up with something different--perhaps good. There is a chemistry set up that results in the carmelized-sugar lace of the cookie. If you try it like what you end up with, please let me know and I'll pass it on to my friend.

I'm so jealous you guys! What beautiful pictures! The bread looks so so yummy!

Would love to have the pizza dough recipe!!! Please!

Caroline, you both inspire me and make me jealous! I love yeast baking and always do Caramel Pecan Cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast. I decided this year I just couldn't manage doing that in this apartment so I made Monkey Bread with store-bought frozen bread dough! They tasted good but there was absolutely no satisfaction factor!

Next year . . . next year . . .

I'm saving your recipes . . .

Arlene

Thank you all. I am working on another post with tips on bread baking. I will post it and the pizza dough recipe today. I will get to the tutorial on Challah after the New Year since we have bread out of the wazoo at the moment :)

Arlene I know what you mean. There is great satisfaction in making things from scratch. Just wait till you have your full kitchen....you will be posting pics all the time !!

Rosie, Petra and Schaklee....you are very kind to respond. Thank you. c

Trailrunner,
Thank you for sharing all your recipes on the blog. Can't wait to try some.

What do you have for a stove? What beautiful breads!

shakleemom: I have a Caldera 36" gas cooktop and a Miele built in deep fat fryer. I have the 1400 cfm Tradewind remote blower roof mounted. I have 30" double Miele Perfect Clean ovens. My kitchen was all about appliances. The next thing was space to work and as I was able I fitted in design to be "pretty".

I love the Caldera. a number of GW folks got it after I talked on and on about how great it is. My son and DIL are chefs trained at the NECI. The school uses this brand also as it is from Vermont. It is CHEAP and it works great. It was $850. plus 50 for shipping. You can't go wrong. Also the Miele technology is worth everything.

THANK YOU ...I love sharing with others who also enjoy the cooking experience. c

Sorry this is so late! The family enjoyed the challah. Thanks for the recipe.