Weekend Fun: Homemade Whole Wheat Bread!

This weekend, I decided to try my hand at something new – making bread! I have wanted to make my own bread for so long, but just never got around to it. After finding a recipe, I decided this would be the weekend! During my bi-weekly grocery trip, I picked up all of my necessary ingredients and made a plan to be executed Saturday afternoon.

Honey, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, rye flour, yeast, unbleached flour

I’d found the recipe on one of my favorite recipe sites, Annie’s Eats, and she got the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. It looked pretty simple, and we love whole wheat bread, so I thought – If this is a success, then goodbye to Nature’s Own! I attached the dough hook to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and got ready to go!

After combining the ingredients, I covered up my mixer bowl with saran wrap and placed it in the pantry so that it could rise while I took care of things around the house. An hour passed, and lo & behold, I squealed when I saw how big my dough had risen! Being a novice to bread baking and using yeast, it didn’t take much to excite me in that moment! I followed the instructions and divided the dough into 2 pieces, sprayed my pans with canola oil, and placed the dough in my bread pans. I covered them with saran wrap again to let the dough rise a 2nd time. After the 30 minutes passed, according to the recipe, I checked the dough, and it was higher, but not as high as I’d have liked. Being new to bread-making, I assumed that it was similar to a cake – it would rise and grow bigger while baking. I was wrong! My bread stayed the same height as it was when I placed the pans into the oven.

Homemade whole wheat loaves!

Freshly sliced

This will make for some very short sandwiches! The only thing I didn’t follow in the recipe was toasting the wheatgerm. I only skipped this step because I didn’t feel like taking the time to do it… although it would have only taken 5-10 minutes. Next time, I will go ahead and toast the wheatgerm.

The bread lacks the softness that I would have hoped it would have. While it is not hard and dense, I would have liked a little more softness to it. I think that I will add a little more honey next time. I also wonder if the recipe would be affected if I added in some ground flax seeds to add some more nutrition!

Yum!

At any rate, here is the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker!

Ingredients:

2-1/3 cups warm water (about 100 degrees)
1½ tablespoons instant yeast
¼ cup honey
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
2½ teaspoons salt
¼ cup (7/8 ounce) rye flour
½ cup toasted wheat germ
3 cups (16½ ounces) whole-wheat flour
2¾ cups (13¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix the water, yeast, honey, butter, and salt with a rubber spatula. Mix in the rye flour, wheat germ, and 1 cup each of the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours.

2. Add the remaining whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, attach the dough hook, and knead at low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead just long enough to make sure that the dough is soft and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough has doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Gently press down the dough and divide into two equal pieces. Gently press each piece into a rectangle about 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side of the dough facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing down to make sure that the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place each cylinder of dough in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, seam-side down and pressing the dough gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover the shaped dough; let rise until almost doubled in volume, 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim reads 205 degrees, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the bread immediately from the baking pans to wire racks; cool to room temperature.

A Sweet Treat: Pecan Bars

I discovered this recipe a few years ago on a show I used to watch on Food Network – 5 Ingredient Fix, a show hosted by Claire Robinson. Her show caught my attention because, as the title states, she makes various recipes (appetizers, drinks, entrees, snacks, etc.) just using 5 ingredients! The bars are so easy to make and have always been a hit every time I have made them. It’s like a pecan pie in bite sized pieces! I usually cut mine afterward with a pizza cutter. It makes it a lot easier versus using a knife to cut the individual bars.

Pecan bars

With that said, here is the recipe, no modifications needed! You can view the recipe on the Food Network website as well – Pecan Bars Recipe.
Crust:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus more for dish
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Filling:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
Pinch salt
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with foil allowing an overhang about 2 inches off the sides. Butter the foil. (Jenn’s notes: very important step!)

In a food processor, blend together flour, sugar, butter and salt until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add 2 tablespoons cold water and mix until the dough just holds together. Press dough into bottom of buttered baking dish and bake in oven until golden in color, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, brown sugar and a pinch of salt and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the corn syrup, flour and pecans and mix until just combined. Spread the filling over the baked crust and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan.

Remove from pan by pulling up the foil sides and putting it on a cutting board. Cut bars in desired size with a sharp knife and arrange them on a serving tray. Can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.

Recipe courtesy Claire Robinson, 2010

Behold!

A Wife’s Submission in the Cosmic Plan of Christ – Desiring God

The Bible defines a wife’s submission to her husband in terms that describe its motive, means, and end as distinctly and uniquely Christian. For my own joy as well, I love to share about the cosmic plan of Christ to be exalted as Head over all things and how this shapes the way I view my submission to my husband.

The penal substitutionary death of Jesus Christ, his resurrection from the dead, and his subsequent exaltation above every name changes how we view our roles in marriage because, indeed, it changes everything. Neither wives nor husbands can understand our respective callings to submission and leadership in Ephesians 5:21–24 without first submitting to the cosmos-ruling Christ of Ephesians 1:9–10, and 1:20–23.

Continue reading -  A Wife’s Submission in the Cosmic Plan of Christ – Desiring God.

Marriage in the Cosmic Plan of God – Desiring God

How easy is it to detach our marriages from the finished work of Christ?

Very easy.

Tragically easy.

This may be due to living in a society where marriage is ever pressed into molds defined by the increasing unbelief around us, rather than biblical revelation. The very definition of marriage in our day has increasingly taken the feel of Play-Doh, all squishy and moldable in political debates and water-cooler conversations.

But no redefinition of marriage can touch the ultimate reality of God’s design. God has chosen to weave marriages — our marriages — into the most profound theological realities this universe has ever seen. To enter into a Christian marriage is to enter into the drama of Christ’s cosmos-altering victory.

But do our marriages reflect this? Does my own marriage reflect this?

Continue reading -  Marriage in the Cosmic Plan of God – Desiring God.

How Much Should a Pastor Tell His Wife? – The Gospel Coalition Blog

My beloved husband shared this with me today, and for any other wives of pastors (or potential pastors), this may serve to be helpful!

The Gospel Coalition: How Much Should a Pastor Tell His Wife? – The Gospel Coalition Blog.

Pastors know privileged information not simply because of their positions but because of their influence. Trust has been established. Help has been previously offered and accepted. The sheep find in the shepherd a safe place to share deep, personal information. But this relationship becomes complicated when pastors receive personal information in confidence but need to seek additional help to know how to extend wise care and counsel.

The pastor’s wife further complicates confidentiality. After all, she is the pastor’s helpmate and support. She cares for him on a daily basis. When he comes home for dinner, she sees the burdens weighing on him. She bears the brunt of his distracted mind. She deals with his clipped responses. And she naturally wants to know, “What is wrong?”

So how much does a pastor share with his wife? Should a pastor keep some things from his wife? Let me turn for a balanced perspective to my wife—a pastor’s wife…

Click the link above to continue reading.

Stuffed Peppers: A Meatless Monday Success!

Starting on the 1st Monday of this year, my husband I decided to incorporate a change into our weekly diet – Meatless Mondays! What was boring in the beginning (sauteed veggies and brown rice) has evolved week by week, becoming a time of trial and error!

With our increasing desire to be healthier, I have started following a few Instagram pages that have proved inspirational, especially @mealsfullofcolor. Thanks to her page, I was introduced to a new recipe – Southwestern Stuffed Peppers & decided that this would be a new one to try this week! It came out to be a success!

Here is the recipe with my substitutions for Meatless Monday.

Getting them ready to be stuffed

•     olive oil
•     1 package of Grounds by Quorn
•     1 cup chopped onions
•     1 heaping tbsp of less sodium taco seasoning by McCormick
•     2 cups of cooked brown rice
•     5 bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
•     1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
•     ½ cup of  frozen corn
•     1 15 /16 ounce jar of salsa
•     shredded cheddar cheese

My ‘ground meat’!

Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked thru. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.

In a bowl add the taco seasoning, meat (or “meat” lol), chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.

Everything’s all mixed together!

Carefully spoon the mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish.

Ready for the oven!

Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way thru. Before removing from the oven sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.

For her original recipe, just follow the link above.

These came out so well, and we didn’t even miss the meat. I did have quite a bit of stuffing left over, enough to fill another 10 halves, so guess what’s for dinner! Looks like I have a new staple, go-to  recipe for my arsenal!

mm… stuffed peppers!

Looking forward to sharing more Meatless Monday fun next week!

Big Momma, Church Hats and the Glory of God

I recently had a conversation with a dear brother in the Lord and I was sharing my heart about my concerns for the African American church – one of which is the general lack of expositional teaching. What he said to me was something I didn’t expect to hear. He said, “David, just about every week, I hear stories of African-American men pursuing pastoral ministry who grieve over the lack of solid exposition in the pulpit. But the biggest problem you’ll face in the African-American church culture is an acceptance of complementarianism.”

That answer caused me to significantly reconsider my approach concerning my desires for the African-American church culture. One of the greatest tragedies, due to sin, in the African-American culture is the lack of fathers in the home. Statistics have been recorded about how the African-American community has been and is affected by the absence of strong male leadership and the church is not immune. It is because of this very reason that women have had to step up to be the “momma” and the “daddy” of their homes and in the culture. So we can see how this gets messy in matters of the church. While we applaud the women and Big Mommas in our culture for taking necessary responsibility, we must understand that God’s way is better and His way is for men to lovingly lead their families for the stability of society and ultimately for the glory of God.

Continue reading: Urban Resurgence.