Feeling productive

I know this sounds really strange, but there is something about baking, and particularly about using up flour and sugar that makes me feel like I am really accomplishing something. I love emptying my canisters as I bake, and then refilling them, then buying more flour & sugar. I love consuming ingredients for baking. I'm weird, aren't I? When I bake something (that turns out) that can be enjoyed by others, I feel productive. I feel like I am blessing others with homemade goodness & that seems to be such a rarity anymore. I love that my girls volunteer me to make brownies, cookies, or other treats for school or church because they want to make sure they get something homemade.

A couple of months ago, as I was paging through a cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas, I ran across a bread recipe that I wanted to try. I have been a long time supporter of Great Harvest Bread Company, but I really think this recipe rivals their wheat bread, & it is definitely a lot less money! I have made this recipe over & over again to eat and to give away since I've discovered it. The best thing about the recipe is that it is for your bread machine. With an investment of about 10 minutes (this includes clean up time!), I end up with a loaf of bread like the one here. So dust off those bread machines & give this recipe a try - you won't be sorry! My favorite thing to do is put the ingredients in my bread maker before I go to bed then set it so that the bread is ready at about 7:00 am. My family will eat 1/2 the warm loaf for breakfast.



bread maker wheat bread with milk & honey

• 1 1/8 cup water
• 1 Tbsp. dry milk
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 tsp yeast