We Finally got it

  We finally got it today, a decent bread. My throat has been reacting to something outside and I still haven't got this stuff shook off, so me and Megan played. We ended with with a good Chocolate Chip Cookie thats Gluten-Free, one that doesn't bite back and you can throw like a Frisbee, use as a Skeet, or load as Buckshot. Better yet, we ended up with a good White Sandwich Bread, aka Lightbread. The loaf is actually light too, that ends the boat anchor days, lol.

  I don't have Celiac Disease, probably spelled that wrong :), but since we've tried this Denise and I have both lost weight. Oddly enough I feel better in a way, despite the throat thing and yeast in my throat and best of all the Acid Reflux has stopped. We don't stay hungry and yet we eat as much as we want and fill up fast. I even like some Pastas, especially if they involve meat and cheese. Ok, I tolerate them. I seem to have a bit more energy considering. I'm a bread person, love bread, and I don't care how healthy or unhealthy something is, if it tastes bad I won't eat it. We've spent a fortune on Flours and I guess it all depends on your tastes as to which one, but we only needed two all this time for bread and two for the cookies. I hate whole wheat and oddly enough it is the one that is easiest to imitate. The chickens have loved this trial and error thing, and I stress the word error. I grew up poor so I don't need a fancy bread. We have tried it yet making Biscuits yet, thats next. So here is what we have.

    Almost Perfect White Sandwich Bread Finally I think I found what we like. We're White Bread eaters here, none of us like Whole Grain Bread. I took parts from 2 Recipes, one for the "Master Mix" as they call it and one from a person who uses the other person's "Master Mix", then added my own twist. I did forget to add the Butter though. With Gluten-Free anything, you tweak until you find what your looking for.

For the Master Mix it goes like this:
3 Cups Brown Rice Flour
3 Cups Corn Starch
2 Cups Sorghum Flour
1 Cup Masa Harina (Found in the Hispanic Section)

Almost Perfect White Sandwich Bread

3 Bowl Mixture taken from 2 Recipes I found on the web with a twist. First is to mix the yeast/Sugar/Water in Wet Bowl 1.

Dry Bowl :
2- 1/2 Cups of Flour Mixture.
4 TBSP of Cane Sugar.
1 TBSP of Salt. (Kosher or Sea Salt
2 TBSP Powdered Buttermilk
2 TBSP of Powdered Milk
2 TSP of Xanthan Gum

Mix these together well and blend.

Wet Bowls: There are 2 wet bowls.

Wet Bowl 1:

1 PKT of Bread Yeast
1 TBSP of Sugar (Cane)
1-1/2 Cups of water at least 110 degrees F.

Mix and this will activate the yeast as it feeds on the sugar and it will look sorta foamy. I think the Yeast can be substituted, but I'm not sure. 

Wet Bowl 2:

3 Eggs
1-1/2 TBSP of Oil (I used Virgin Olive Oil)
TSP of Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix these together to the point of a foamy like stuff. Add these contents to the dry bowl mix and then add the contents of Wet Bowl 1, the yeast/sugar/water mix.

Blend together and increase speed to fast for about 4-5 minutes at the least. Have a bread pan already prepped, I used a spray. Use the Spatula or whatever your comfortable with to put it into the Bread Pan. Wet your Spatula to even out the dough, it's sticky and cover loosely with Cellophane and set in a warm place. I use the Plate Warmer part of the stove and a Bread Wire. Begin to preheat the Oven to 375 degrees F.

Leave the dough covered (but where gas can get out) until it rises to the top or at least doubles in size. It took a hour give or take for it to rise to satisfaction. Now is a good time to bake cookies or do whatever and check back every so often. Ours seemed to set there and when it started it started.

We baked it for 50 minutes, give or take. If the top gets too dark loosely cover the top with Aluminum Foil. Make sure though that with a thermometer, the inside temperature is at least 205.

A good lesson I learned today too. I had heard not to take it out of the bread pan for a while, I did and it fell and shrunk. You can't tell it though in taste and air pockets inside, plus fluffiness from Lightbread made from wheat.

Gluten-Free

  Oh my, I think I need to go back to eating Gluten, I think I'm gaining weight from eating this stuff. I definitely don't bloat anymore and feel better, except for the weight thing, lol. I actually haven't weighed myself, but it feels like I've gained. Denise, Megan, and mom all say they feel better. So today me and Megan went back to baking a loaf of bread again. I just got good at baking regular bread, big difference than store bought, and used a bread machine. We have 2, one from a yard sale and one mom gave me years ago, they don't do Gluten-Free. The thing I found so far is that Pasta is pretty good. I never liked Pasta, thought it flavorless. The Gluten Free Pasta though is actually pretty good. Now I'm trying to figure out how weight loss with this diet happens.

  I spent weeks prepping for this and still feel like I'm filling the Grand Canyon, one rock at a time with all the information of mixing and baking it. So today we went back to baking again and this one turned out great. First one tasteless from a book recipe. Second one pretty good but lacking what we liked based on the white bread I learned to make. Tweaked that recipe to get the flavor preferred. I probably just took a healthy recipe and destroyed it, lol. I mixed a lot of the flour up from the book and this stuff ain't cheap, so I didn't want it to go to waste. Since this bread turned out like we liked and my handwriting looks bad I need to put it somewhere. Plus a friend or two asked. So here goes.

 The flour mixture I had a lot mixed up of that I thought didn't have a taste: (Not sure I'd make that again) Blended (mixed) together.

(I think the picture will get larger by clicking on it)

Mixed from the Book

1 1/2 cups of Sorghum Flour
1 1/2 Cups of Potato Flour (or starch)
1 Cup Tapioca Flour

For the bread today that we liked it goes as follows:

Dry Mixture

1 1/4 cup (above mixture)
3/4    cup of White Rice Flour
1       cup of Brown Rice Flour
2 Tablespoons of Flax Flour (actually a rough type)
2 Tablespoons of Sugar (white)
2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Yeast
1 Tablespoon of course Sea Salt. 
        Mix together to be one blend

 Separate Wet Mix

3    whole large eggs (Use Fresh eggs, we have chickens)

1    very warm cup of Buttermilk

1/4 cup of Butter (We used Amish Butter) melted

1    Tablespoon of White Sugar

1/4 cup of Virgin Olive Oil

         Mix together to be one blend

Mix the two together, dry and wet. 

As it mixes add about 1/4 cup of Honey. 

This stuff mixes for a few (about 5) minutes. 

We have a plate warmer type thing on our stove. We covered it with Aluminum Foil lightly. It needs to be about 80 degrees. Let it sit for an hour. 

Take the Spatula and punch it, deflating it from the rise. Put into the Bread Pan, which I lightly dust with White Rice Flour. Level it out and even it us as best you can. This stuff is sticky so drip your Spatula in water as needed.

Place foil or cellophane over it and wait until it rises even with the top of the pan. (Usually 5-20 minutes). Remove the Cellophane.

Have the oven preheated for 350 F for 1 hour. Make sure though it has gotten at least 205 F before taking it out, may have to wait additional time. 

If it starts getting too brown toss the foil back over the top. I take it out of the pan immediately, worked so far. :) I think it's suppose to cool before you cut it, but it never makes it that long.     

09-11-2012

  Still down again tonight. This is the 2nd night in a row I've had to use Nitro, I hate that stuff, leaves a horrible taste. I think it's the yeast in my throat reducing the intake of O2 so I've sat and poked on the web the last 2 or 3 hours with the O2 hooked up. Then again I've gotten pretty heavy lately so who knows. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pain... I've seen two of the three years ago which led to all three. God willing this January 31st will make 7 years since my heart attack. I think too the seasons changing and lack of rest. When I stop I hurt so I don't sleep well. Still with the bronchial infection too and today I mowed a very little around one of the gardens, briefly considering mowing the yard at Misty's old home.

  On the positive note tonight was the 2nd Gluten Free meal we ate. Denise is well ahead of me on the curve, which is nothing unusual. I research and collect data, and dread making bread, afraid I'll mess it up. Brandon's new doctor put him on a strict diet of no MSG or Gluten to help with his Autism. There are other things restricted too but these two I know some on. I've almost taught Denise how to read the labels on food, I'm the idiot reading the labels on everything. It's amazing though how good food tastes without all the wheat products in them, including Gluten. We had Chicken Alfredo last night and usually I don't eat all the pasta, and what I do I eat again and again plus bloat. I ate too much and for the first time had too much cheese on it. The pasta had great flavor without it coming a blizzard of cheese. Not as much blood in the stools either. Tonight, Meatloaf and our Peanut Beans, usually meatloaf does me like that too.

  If I could stay on that diet, get over this respiratory infection, and now eye, I'd feel better. The weight thing would take care of itself. Denise has lost 10 lbs in a couple of weeks cutting back on Gluten, and eats the same amount. Unbelievable. Probably wouldn't hurt to cut back or drop the Mt Dews, I think I have the mountain part now, lol. The eye, if it don't clear up soon I'll made some Colloidal Silver and put a drop or two in it. Works like a charm every time. The hardest part will be finding my silver wires and junk to hook up and make it. Push come to shove just the silver, a 9 volt battery and two clip leads.     

09-09-2012

  We went after the med for the yeast in my throat and they've started closing on Sundays. Denise asked if I wanted to go to the big box pharmacies, but I figured I'd just wait until tomorrow. Minnis Drug has been good so far and private owned. I went to mom's and she has something going on in her attic and her light went out. I replaced the light and the switch, even a plug. Power until a load hits it then it dies. I'm thinking a junction box is somewhere before that one, but I don't know how they wired it, maybe tomorrow.

  So me and Denise headed back to Lowes to get more shelves for her Pantry Cabinet, got them, came back home and it's finished and stocked. I baked 2 loaves of bread while we watched the Great Barrier Reef. Took one to om and kept one for us. Checked on Bailey and fed Rex. I'm still 2 days down on email, but it's bedtime. I hoped that I could research more on Gluten Free baking, oh well, maybe tomorrow. Denise enjoyed her drinks, Zevia Cola, I tried their Mt Dew version... It'd puke a vulture off a gut wagon. I'll stick with the real thing. And thats why I need to make sure I can make food that tastes good without Gluten, cause we won't eat it. :) Healthy don't have to taste that bad.   

9-8-2012

  I'm worn out. Tammy & Jerry brought 40 more rolls of hay, Jerry is sick too, bronchitis. Rain all day today, so Denise figured we'd shop, she needed her drink and since Shades Of The Past was in Pigeon Forge, we decided to head to Earthfare in Knoxville. From there we went everywhere, lol. It was an enjoyable day, even though I talk Denise to death sometimes, I do get her to laugh.

  At one point we ended up at Victoria's Secret. Denise found the one she liked and was looking through her size, pulling out a couple she liked. This one lady asked if she could hep her and Denise said she knew what she was and wanted. One color though in the next size she loved, so the lady asked if she'd like to try it on. This lady hovered about us like a worried bee, lol. She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and recoded what Denise took in, 2 bras. Now I've held a many a purse, and I ain't real comfortable with that, but like most husbands I do what I'm told. So here I stand with ladies and couple walking in holding 2 bras, by my self yet! Meanwhile the lady is trying to not look obvious watching me, then finally she asked. "How many bras do you have?" Holding her paper. I couldn't pass it up, she was just too nervous and overly serious. "Oh me? This is my first two. When you get my age you get wheat belly and man boobs, and I wanted something good that fit to hold them up." Not a smile came off her, but her eyes and face... priceless, lol.

   Denise finally came out and the lady was right on her, lol. One she could wear and wanted and the other not. The lady grabbed the one she didn't want and headed towards where I was, cautiously, but she came anyway. A clear bust of a bottom of a lady with thongs on was right between us. I again couldn't help it, lol. I said without a smile, "Bet those ain't comfortable. My drawers do that sometimes and I pick them out, those won't come out. I call 'em Indian drawers, the kind that creeps up on ya." I even got tickled the last few words. She was serious as a heart attack. The girl at the checkout thought it was funny though.

  Tomorrow we go get the stuff for the yeast in my throat again. But today... priceless.    

So Long Jack 9-7-2012

  

Well I sold Jack today, I'll miss him. I took 10 bucks less than I paid when I first got him but I think this guy will give him a good home. All Jack will need to get alone with is a horse, the man, and his wife. I think it shocked Megan and Denise that I sold him and while I loved him killing goats and sheep was getting too much. He provided a stress relief until he started that and then caused stress. I don't think it was his fault, testosterone levels seems to escalate in him from time to time and he was like a Bull Shark with everything except us and the other donkeys. Bailey though was the last straw. I'm still not sure if she will live through this one, but she's a fighter. It looks as though Jack broke bones in her face from the swelling, but she's still eating, just hard time breathing. She is a pain in the butt, times I'd like to kill her myself, lol, but she is sweet.

  Me and Jack made up and I loved on him until the man come, but Jack knew when he got in that trailer it was the last time we'd see each other. He was pissed. I put him a treat we all called a Jack Treat in there with him, hugged him and said bye. The guy wanted to buy the other 3 but I told him no. He seemed though like a good guy, a cop in Greenville and an officer that worked with the Humane Society on animal cruelty, I think Jack will be ok. Jack hooves needed trimming and come first frost his semiannual worming.

  Megan doesn't understand how I could get rid of him. I love Jack and he loves(d) me, loved it here and I loved him being here. But Jack didn't love the others that live in the field and it wasn't fair to them to live in fear. It wasn't fair to Jack to end up at a bad home, why I took so cheap for him to the right guy. She wanted to know if I'd miss him and think about him the next days. I think Jack is in the past now, and I was blessed to meet him. Remembering the past is good, sometimes it calms the waters when things get rough. Sometimes it brings a smile. Planning ahead is good, like looking at the past, but today is the day we live for. We don't dwell on either one, past or future, for today is what matters. We don't dwell looking back, we're not headed that way. We have no idea if tomorrow will come or what it brings. Today though is what we have to build a good past memory on and a good footing to tomorrow.

  Other than that, I still can't shake this thing. It doesn't seem to be any worse, maybe a little better congestion wise. Breathing and fatigue wise, worse. I'm guessing it's a wash. I think maybe next week seeing Doc Schindler if it isn't better. Me and Denise went and got a Pantry Cabinet for the Kitchen tonight at Lowe's, she is out of cabinet space. It's inside but not installed yet. I've still been researching little by little on getting the Gluten out of our diet. It's gotta taste good though or we will never stick to it. I had no idea there were that many flours out there, and I still keep misspelling it with flowers, lol. I've felt a little rough for a week or two so I've slowed down in physical things which has provided more time researching recipes. I think getting rid of Gluten and in my case Mt Dews too will help me health wise. It's a little on the late side for me health wise but for Denise and Megan it's not. The whole trick is to stay ahead, playing catch-up doesn't work too well. My motivation is that I pray they will never have to go through what I have. They were here for me and I will be there for them by trying to help all I can, that means making it taste good, selection, and the hardest part, being neat with it. :)

  I don't like wasting so we will start after I use the flour I have, maybe 4 or 5 more loaves of bread. Mom wants some tomorrow and we need a loaf. If Misty and the kids come over they will need a loaf, they ate the last one in a day, lol. Then I have about 5 loaves of premixed bread yet too. I like baking it and finally got good at it, now I'll have to start all over again learning.

  Rex got hung in the fence this morning and Megan and Ed got him out. He hasn't gotten out since. Me and Megan went Yardsaling today, didn't find much. Yesterday though me and Denise bought some old blue Ball Canning Jars, and some even rarer for a decent price. Denise wants to go to Knoxville tomorrow maybe, or Sevierville either one, to get the all natural soft drinks she likes. We got a few things to buy at Earthfare in Knoxville, though they're a little high. Need a few tools for the grinding, but we don't have enough spare money for that yet, we'll save up some. Mom has to take her ceiling light back to Lowe's and get another one, that one was a dud. I'll have to wire it in and set it up. Then finish attaching this thing to the wall. I'm seriously debating growing Buckwheat where the garlic is once we pull the garlic up an plant it there.

  But to my buddy Jack, I love you.

 

09-06-2012

  Still been down, can't seem to get back up like I should. Yesterday Jack was killing Bailey and I went after him, that didn't help so I got my truck. Even that he outgunned. The shotgun in the butt, he wasn't as fast as he thought he was. I felt so bad and was so mad I done it twice more. Burnt that butt for him, so now he is for sale. I love him but I'm getting rid of him, he ain't gonna stop.

  I've been researching om Gluten. That would explain the bloating after eating, blood in the bowels, fatigue, and acid reflux. I'm not sure I;m smart enough but I am going to try to make things Gluten Free and favorable.I sent Misty and the kids home with a loaf of Whole Wheat, then I find that ain't good for someone to eat, especially with Autism. It is nothing short of a miracle that we both hit at the same time. Maybe we ca work it out to where I can bake some for them. The kicker is that it's in everything these days. Misty was told to get Brandon on a Gluten Free Diet.I know me and Megan will feel better and I believe that she will too. So while I'm down I'm reading. When it calls for vegetable oil I'll use coconut oil instead.

  I don't know when they started adding that stuff to Ketchup and soup and just about everything else. Almost everything we buy in the store, even ice cream has it. I pray that I can share what I find and do with Misty for Brandon. His doctor wants him off Gluten and MSG.