homemade sourdough rounds

hoping to make myself another batch tomorrow - so much fun to make. i really love to clip the tops to be able to yank off bits to dip into something delicious like artichoke dip.

sourdough french toast

i love french toast. anyone who knows me well, knows that i must try every french toast i come across. oh, and then re-try it. because i love it.

my favorite way of making french toast is very simple, and often you get to use up the last couple pieces of bread that otherwise might get thrown away...in my case, I used the sourdough bread I make several times a week.

eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg
all wisked up in a low bowl - dip or soak your bread in it.

the longer you soak, the tastier the french toast will be, but your bread may fall apart if it is too full of mixture, and might take a long time to fully cook through. try it out, you will find the right amount for you. i set them in for a few minutes on each side, then they hop in to a preheated pan or griddle for cooking. i like medium heat for french toast because i don't like burnt outsides.

i like cutting my french toast up into bite size pieces, toss in some powdered sugar and my bramble berry preserves that i made last fall from my berry bushes.

since it is sugaring season, its only fair to use boatloads of fresh maple syrup if you can get it!
i'm lucky to have some very sweet neighbors in the business for many generations - if you have not hit a sugaring house, you are missing out.

now again this french toast recipe could be changed to kahlua, or chocolate chip & coconut - or apples & cinnamon....you get the drift. mix it up, i do all the time, i love french toast. especially on sunday mornings.

amish friendship bread

today was my first baking day of amish friendship bread - there is a 10-day cycle it goes through - see the recipe cards I made for you to download & print out if you wish...

I really enjoy recipes that give latitude - keep the basic bones of this, but flair it up as you wish. our friends joe & luci who passed us our first amish friendship bread starter add gorgeous fruits and spice or nut blends that will drop your jaw. vanilla pudding mix makes a nice addition too! with all the care you give to your bread, you will find the best part is the comradeship you feel. it is nice to know that 10 days from now, each friend I passed a starter of this bread, will be making theirs as I am making mine... and luci & joe will be too!

the time and work going into your amish friendship bread is positively worth it, and of course, you get to connect with a couple friends a week in so many ways - which, can't we all use a little more of?

PS - everyone remind drew that he needs to make me some big ole glass bowls! lets just say my glass blender was involved in this recipe, as there is only one non metal bowl in my house - and taking up residence is our sourdough bread starter! I happily liken this to another case of the glassmaker's wife, similar to the shoemaker's children... :)

sunderland sourdough

water, flour, glass jar and a little bit of patience. add some commercial yeast to make life easier.
the key to successful sourdough is the care of your starter! like anything else, needs to be fed and cared for. our current starter is a month or so old, and we have made a few great sourdoughs, and plan to keep up our starter for many more!




absolutely everyone who makes sourdough does something different in one way or another - my advice is to google a bit on sourdough starters, but really, just try it out - trial and error sometimes brings out better results than following someone else's directions to a T - every sourdough starter is one of a kind.