Canning & Breadmaking

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

I posted this in the "old section" as well, but wasn't sure I'd get many responses there so I decided topost it here too.

I would love for you folks to clue me in on how to can homemade soups. Denyelle, you really seem to have a handle on this topic and I would love to hear from you on this. I make different soups and always throw away the leftovers. I have tried to freeze them sometimes but not much freezer space. I have plenty of pantry space though. There are times when Mom or Sis are sick and I would love to send them some of my homemade chicken soup (they both live out of state).

I would also like to know how to go about canning PERIOD. It's something I've always wanted to do but I just don't know how. What do I nee to buy? Do I need bot a pressure canner and a deep pot? Will just any old deep pot do? I have a large Farberware pot that I use to make my soups in but I don't know what size it is. Darn near too big for my biggest stove burner, I can tell you that. Also, how do you prepare those jars? Don't you have to boil the jars and rings and lida right before you use them? Do you always have to use little rubber ringy thingies? I think when Mom and I (mostly Mom) made her blackberry jam, she just had the little jelly jars with the gold flat lids and rings. I don't remember any little rubber thingies though.

Another thing I was wondering about is, do alot of you who don't grow all your own fruits and veges etc., ever buy them from a vege stand or even from the produce dept. at your local grocery stores and then can them (fresh)? The reason I'm asking is because Ilove fresh veges, fruits etc., and would love to feed them to my family, make homemade jams, etc., however, I have two problems. (1.) I hate going to the grocery store so frequently for fresh produce, and (2.) I can't seem to grow ANYTHING myself. (I also only have about an 8 x 10' little plot to try in, which doesn't give me much room for variety.

Keep in mind that it's me, GREENTHUMBELINA, who lives the fast paced city rat race lifestyle and I'm trying to bring some of the things I like to do (or at least I think I would like to do) into my life. I love the ides of being able to give people something I've made myself that they will definately use and that won't cost me a fortune to purchase.

I've been thinking about trying my hand at making bread too. Thought about buying a bread machine but would like everyone's opinion on bread machines vs oven and pan method. What are the pros and cons of each? I hope I didn't srep on anyone' toes about the bread machine. I know most of you probably think they are just another citified gadget that never should have been invented.

Keep in mind that i know NOTHING about canning or breadmaking and whatever advice you give should be extremely simple. After all, I want to enjoy this process NOT add more stress to my life. More stress I DO NOT need.

And by the way Gailann,I would LOVE for you to tell me how to make apple butter in my crockpot. This sounds like something fairly simple that I could actually handle (Although I could be mistaken).

Thank you all for all your help.

Greenthumbelina

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), October 20, 2000

Answers

Greenthumbelina, wish you were my neighbor so you would come to my house and I'd be more than happy to show you how to can & bake bread, 2 things I enjoy doing! You would need a pressure canner to process the soups you want to make, vegetables & other foods that are low in acid. A waterbath canner for those delicious jellies, fruits, pickles & relishes. You could use a deep pot for waterbath canning, as long as the water level is at least 1" above the jars, also would need a lid for the pot. I put the lids in a small pan with boiling water, turn down the flame or burner & let it sit there until needed. The rings really don't need to be in hot water. Now, here is where I know someone will say "I wouldn't do that", and that is I keep the canning jars in a 220 degree oven until needed. I've been doing this for 20 plus years and for me - it works. You could keep your jars in very hot water, on a burner, until needed, I used to do that but our kitchen is very small and the heat build up is terrible. Before we had our homestead, I would purchase vegetables from the farmer's market to can, it's much cheaper than buying it from the supermarket, too expensive. Even with an 8 x 10 plot you could grow lots of stuff, just have to plant closely and replant a new item after harvesting the first. It's a wonderful feeling to give someone a gift from your harvest. Find and purchase the Ball canning book, it has alot of info & recipes. About breadmaking, I really enjoy making bread by kneading it myself, you can get rid of alot of stress that way! Gotta go, today is our youngest son's birthday. If you want, email me privately, I'd enjoy hearing from you.

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), October 20, 2000.

Love to can and love to make my own bread..you do not need to be a rocket scientist or have a farm to do either one. The one thing that you do need is time..the time that you spend doing these things will result in a healthier pantry and a fatter wallet, AND a happier you.I started canning a million years ago when I lived in the city and had 5 kids and worked full time..yuck...same with bread making. I made my own baby food and quilted, etc. etc. etc. I had three raised beds for a garden and was able to get alot of my own veggies out of them. Farmers' Markets and roadside stands are great places to buy goodies! I will e-mail you with details of how to begin..God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@gateway.net), October 20, 2000.

Greenthumbelina, (just took the cake out of the oven & it's now cooling, smells delicious! chocolate always does!!!) I would suggest this to you, ask around, perhaps a friend, neighbor or relative cans & bakes, or they may know someone who does & would be willing to show you. Couldn't hurt. I forgot to put this in the first message, my daughter bought a bread machine several weeks ago & just loves it, it was a bit pricy though, but makes the bread horizontally (as though it went into an oven) instead of vertically. I look at canning and breadmaking as something to be enjoyed instead of as a chore. Read and learn as much as you can from the Ball canning book and decide if that's what you really want to do, same as for breadmaking, read those recipes, visit your library and take out a few books on baking bread, they may even have an updated canning book on a shelf. Hope I was of some help to you, if not, there are others here to lend a hand. Would like that apple butter recipe for the crockpot too!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), October 20, 2000.

I love my bread machine. I get more consistent results with it than by hand. When I want a loaf for sandwiches or plain eating I use a bread machine. When I want to have fun and experiment I do it by hand.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), October 20, 2000.

Regarding making bread - I make mine using only a Kitchen Aid Mixer and my hands. I probably do mine different from anyone else but everyone loves my bread better than any other (store/homemade/machine). And I am ask repeatedly to bring it to this and that. I made 5 loaves today and my family already ate one since 4 pm (it is 6 pm now). They eat will it for desert tonight also.

Yes I have had flops, every honest cook will admit to that. But even the worst looking loaf taste great. I do biscuits and buns the same way just shape different.

#1 I use Olive Oil in all my breads. They come out light and taste a lot better than when I used regular oil. I think they must be healthier also.

#2 After the dough rises for the necessary 2 hours, I divide into balls and roll it between my hands until it looks like a snake then re-ball it up and do it again. Then I shape into a loaf. I think maybe the "snake" give it air and that is why they raise so great and taste so light. I then place in pans sprayed with olive oil (buy a sprayer at store) and allow to rise 1 1/2 hrs. (Recipe says 1 hr, needs that extra 1/2 to make beautiful loaves)

My mother has a machine but she and my father agree it does not make good bread. As a matter of I know no one who still uses theirs after a few years.

If you wany recipe and step by step directions, just e-mail me and I will reply.

Regarding Canning - I can or freeze everything in sight during season. Seems I always have pickles under vinegar or ice water during the summer. Just wait until the tomatoes explode while the lid is off the pot. LOL It is all part of living a "simple" lifestyle.

My mother taught me so I would suggest you contact either a "Woman's Club" or a church ladies society. Ask for help. Lots of older ladies know how but have no need to any longer and would be honored to share what they know and work alongside you while doing it.

-- Viv (kudzu1@webtv.net), October 20, 2000.



Oh girl, are you in for the experience of a lifetime! Set aside one whole day and do as much as you can at one time. At the end of the day, you will be absolutely exhausted, but the jars and jars of canned produce in front of you will give you a feeling like no other. Believe me, it's worth it. There's no sound in the world quiet as satisifying as the sound of jars sealing. Get as many canning books as you can, and study up on your subject. It's really not that hard, just intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, believe me it actually lowers your stress level. As for the bread machine, I highly recommend them. One exception though. I use mine to make dough, and then bake the bread in my oven. I think it tastes better that way. It took a little bit to learn how my machine works, but once there it's great. It turns out a consistant loaf, it's labor saving (i.e. while it's doing all the kneading and working, I can be doing something else) and it saves my poor arthritic hands from a lot of pain. So jump right in, and keep us posted on how it's going. We'll be right there with you. Good luck and God bless.

-- Julie (rjbk@together.net), October 20, 2000.

Greenthumbelina, with a name like that you have to learn how to can! This is a skill I'm still working on, so I can't send any wisdom your way. However, when it comes to making our own bread, I have a few years behind me, though I'm by no means an expert...I'm always learning. I began by making bread by hand years ago, which to me was a good way to begin, but it was labor intensive...so we moved on to a bread maker which we used for 6 years or so. At first I followed all their directions to a "t", but soon I felt more confident and started trying different recipes. However, I found two main drawbacks to the breadmaker. One is that you're limited to one loaf at a time (not enough for my growing family), and it takes a long time to make it. And two, when the breadmaker bakes the loaf of bread, it leaves a sizeable indentation where the small mixing "paddle" is. So if you're planning to slice it for sandwiches, etc, it doesn't look pretty. I want my bread to taste good and look good... So eventually, I began using my breadmaker as a mixer. I put all the ingredients in, and let it mix it, and knead it well, and then I baked it in the oven in a bread pan. But I still had to make one loaf at a time. Recently, we bought a Bosch mixer. In it I can make 7 loaves at a time. By the way, I recommend you use freshly milled flour, which is not as complicated or time consumming to make as it sounds. We have done this for years and it can't be beat. Just last night I made 4 loaves of bread. I went from wheat berries to 4 loaves of bread hot from the oven in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Clean up was a cinch too, the mill parts that needed washing went in the dishwasher, same with the mixer. The bread pans should not be washed with soap and water, but just wiped clean with a paper towel. Whatever you choose to use, have fun, don't give up, and if at first you don't suceed try, try again. It'll be worth the effort.

-- Monica DeCollibus (c.decollibus@ocsnet.net), October 20, 2000.

Here's what I think is a pretty darn good reason to bake your own bread: the SMELL of bread in the oven is the most delicious, enticing smell in the universe! Even if your bread turns out to be less than perfect, it will still smell good in the oven.

-- Leslie A. (lesliea@home.com), October 20, 2000.

My wife makes two loaves of bread twice a week. She has a sour dough recipe that uses a starter you keep in the frig. It takes her about 20 min. total to get it ready to bake. She mixes it at night, turns it out and kneads it the next morning and bakes it a few hours later after it has risen. You could do it on a Friday night, Sat. morning. She makes white and a whole wheat blend. It makes great toast and good sandwich bread. The recipe looks complicated but it isn't once you get the starter made. If you want the recipe email me and I'll get it for you.

As for canning the easiest thing to start with is green beans. Wash, snap, put in the jar add water and can. You can get the Ball canning book at Walmart, if they still have them this late in the season.

Gardening: check at the library for Organic Gardening Magazine or check out their website. They have alot of helpful tips and methods to turn you into a real Greenthumbelina. Its not hard at all! 8X10 is alot of space if you use the intensive method of planting. Good luck.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), October 20, 2000.


Greenthumblina, We have had a bread machine for many years & I use it every week & have since we bought it! It is just my hubby & my self so I can't make just a small batch of bread --it is like makeing pasta to me / I can't cook just a little!!!! So the bread machine is great for us as all we neeed is one loaf at a time! When all the kids were home I baked tons of bread & rolls,etc. In the "Taste of Home" magazine each month there is a recipe that is adapted for your bread machine. They are great!!!!! Plus once you get good at it you can create your own!! If you let the bread cool in the machine/ when it comes out it doesn't have a big place where the paddle was. It smells just like bread being baked in the oven. I use to bake lots!!!!!! But this bread machine is wonderful for just the two of us!!! All the old folks like us enjoy it very much----I also know lots of couples that have no children that bake bread for them in the machine. Learn how to make your own bread as everyone should have that experience. Then if you have a small family I Do recommend a bread machine, you can bake a loaf each day if you want!!! I make my own mixes & store them in zip lock bags & label them / then add the oil/ water & yeast when I use it. I have several herb breads--rasin bread, etc.,etc. I use to can every thing that would hold still long enough! ha --now I can in pints instead of quarts so we don't waste. Some things I can a few quarts--but since there is just two of us know I do in smaller quanties. Also when I do cook a big batch of something--I then freeze it in several small containers for us to use latier. We had a big family & I have a problem just cooking for ywo now/ so some times I still cook like I still had "the herd" & then freeze. Learn how to can & bake your own bread from scratch--then adapt for your size family. Everyone says, my bread out of my bread machine is wonderful-- -but I make my own mixes!!! I love mine & would recommend it for a small family! Go girl & enjoy!!!! Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), October 21, 2000.


I bought a bread machine at a yard sale that had only been used a few times. I like it as it is so easy to use. It also has a timer on it which could be a big benefit to you I would think from your other posts as you seem to have a pretty full plate already. In the morning you could put the ingredients in then set the timer so that as you got home the bread would be done. It might not be as good as true home made bread but I think you will find it a lot better than the sorebought you are using now. Another thing I like is I can pronounce all the ingredients (just can't spell them or much else it seems). As was stated if you are going to have to buy a new one you might go ahead and get the horizontal one verses the vertical would be more like what you would want I would guess. I also think as busy as you are it would be good for you to try to keep things simple as you start and I think a bread machine would be great. If you do get one don't buy the breadmachine yeast get the instant yeast. I got two pounds at sam's club for $2.99 which is less than I could get a jar I think 4oz of bread machine yeast for locally.

I think your family might really like your idea of simplifying your lifes if they come into the house and smell fresh bread baking and the taste too will help win them over. I also really like to bake a loaf of raisin bread.

If this homesteading man can use a bread machine I know you could.

Also the last time I was in a Wal-mart which was my last trip to the VA hosp I saw a kitchen maid mixer for I think $159 I don't know if that is a good price or not.

Can't help you with the canning as I am no expert but many on this forum are and I am sure you will get all that you need. Also check with your local ext agent as they have many things available on baking and canning.

Good luck on your slowing your life down and making it better.

gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), October 21, 2000.


A really valuable resource to use for learning some of these skills is the Cooperative Extension Service. Every Land Grant College/University in the country was set up with this kind of structure. So, for whatever state you live in, there should be a Coorerative University Extension Office. As an example, in the state of Washington, there are several offices, one in downtown Seattle even! This unit is sponsored by Washington State University in Pullman. They publish or have on hand literally thousands of booklets, documents, etc. on tons of subjects...from raising kids,to apples, canning, raising sheep, nutrition in feed, recipes, you name it. It's kind of like an agricultural Home Ec department. At the one office closer to me, there's a livestock advisor, master gardener, master canner even, on hand during certain times of the week.

From discussion on this forum before, some folks have indicated that their extension offices weren't that great, but I have had very good results with mine. So I would suggest you check it out. Your state may have a website and a way to order stuff online. The charges range from free to very nominal.

The other suggestions are great! Women's clubs and church groups and service groups are good ideas, but don't delay. A lot of these skills are kind of dying out and it's getting harder to find someone to teach you.

Good luck! Since I have the woodstove going today, it would be nice to bake some bread. (I like to let the dough rise by the warm fire).

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), October 21, 2000.


I will give a little hint that was given to me about grinding wheat for bread.

I store mine in the basement. It never occured to me that the grain would absorb moisture and several times my bread fell. Someone suggested to dry the grains in the oven on a very low heat first, then grind them. I did just that and my breads didn't fall after that.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), October 21, 2000.


Reading about bread making and canning is more indimidating, than actully doing it. Even though I know how, it scares me to read all those directions and warnings. I have made bread with a machine, a mixer and by hand. If you want to learn how to make different kinds of bread and really want to enjoy it, learn the old fashioned way first. You really need to understand bread dough and what it can do. Those machines are nice, but you don't develop a relationship with the dough. This sounds a little esoteric, I know. It is just that bread dough is alive, and like all life forms, it reacts to the differences that exist. Humidity, temperature, etc. It is also a wonderful way to relive stress and gain self-confidence as you see, smell and taste the result. I have a french bread recipe that I used when I first learned how to make bread. I was an impatient teenager, and this recipe is almost fool proof. It also helped me learn patience as I had to wait to eat the bread!

2 C. warm water 1 pkg. active dry yeats (1 Tlb.) 1 Tlb. sugar 2 tsp. salt Flour, about 5 1/2 cups

Pour water into a large bowl. Sprinkle on yeast and stir until dissolved. Add sugar, salt and 3 c. flour. Stir to mix, then beat until smooth and shiny. Stir in 2 1/2 c flour. Sprinkle a little flour on bread board or pastry cloth. Turn dough out on board and knead until satiny and smooth, 5-7 min. Shape into a smooth ball. Rub bowl lightly with shortening. Press top of dough into bowl, then turn dough over. Cover with waxed paper, then with a clean cloth. Let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Punch down, divide in half and shape into 2 balls. Place on lightly floured board, cover and let stand 5 min. Rub oil on palms of hands. Shape loaves by rolling ball of dough at center and gently working hands towards ends of loaf. Do several times. Place loaves abouth 4 in apart on loghtly greased baking sheet. With sharp knife, make diagonal gashes about 3/4 in deep 1/12 in apart into top of loaves,. Cover, rise (about 3/4 hour), bake at 425 for 30-35 min or until the loaves sound hollow when thumped with fingers. Cool (if you can wait that long)

I still enjoy making this bread. It doesn't require any special equipment, not even bread pans! Plastic wrap works as well as the wxed paper and cloth. I often make this in rolls for sandwiches. The recipe easily doubles, can be frozen and can be made in a bread machine or with a mixer. I have also baked it on a pizza stone, just one big loaf. Good Luck. The beauty of bread making is in the eating.

-- Cheryl Cox (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), October 21, 2000.


Canning doesn't have to take all day! If you start with your soup, make an extra large batch and then can the extra, maybe 2 to 5 qts. The soup only takes about 1hr 25 mins or so (check the Ball Blue book for exact times and pressures for different soups). This means that if you don't mind keeping an eye on the pressure cooker while you're eating and after, the entire process will only take you about 2 to 3 hours. It only makes about 2 or 3 meals extra (depending on your family) but it is a good way to start and it helps when you are pressed for time. It is also a good way to spend time with your kids if they are interested (doesn't take too long and they get something good to eat out of it.) good luck with your adventure! annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), October 22, 2000.


A comment about your 8x10 garden space. It is a perfect size for a starter garden.

Buy or borrow the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It will get you enthused about your area. I did a square foot garden this year and was very pleased.

You say you can't grow anything. Well, plant zucchini if nothing else. I have always found that rarely fails even if ignored.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), October 22, 2000.


In response to your question about apple butter in the crockpot. I live in central arkansas and got this in Branson, Mo a couple of years ago and have had success with it. l gallon tinly sliced apples (I use my food processor) 3 cups sugar divided cinnamon to taste. Peel and slice apples enough to fill crock pot (I have also had luck making 1/2 pot full just divide the recipe. mix in 1 cup sugar and cook high 6 hours. Stir a couple of times. Add 2 cups sugar and cinnamon if desired. Blend into apples with portable mixer (I usually just transfer back to mu processor and blend till smooth) cook another 2 hours in crockpot. Fill jars immediately while hit. Apple Butter will thicken as it cools. Makes 4 pints. I put mine in jelly jars, I also tried baby food jars but only a few sealed. Hope this works for you. Ronya

-- Ronya Hammonds (surenuffbusted@juno.com), October 24, 2000.

Hi! I'm not sure I have a handle on anything most of the time, but I sure do have my fingers in every pie that comes along. Forgive me, I don't get on forum as often as I would like to, but here goes. My first reccomendation would be to get your hands on the Ball Blue Book canning guide and READ EVERYTHING in it. But you should also try to get a copy of "Putting Food By" by Ruth Hertzberg, Beatrice Vaughan and Janet Green. My copy was reprinted in 1984, and I have seen other copies with more recent publishing dates. When I was starting out to can and preserve by myself, I had no near neighbors or phone, so much of what I did was strictly by the book, and this one is invaluable. It covers butchering, drying foods, root cellaring and most other food preservation topics as well. Plus, it gives good guidelines on experimentation. I know, I know, don't experiment with your family's safety, but for example, with canning soups: to safely process your own vegetable soup recipe, you should process for the time of the ingredient requiring the longest processing time. I have always had excellent luck doing this, but I follow all the other guidelines like boiling 10 minutes before tasting, etc. Haven't hurt anyone yet. Check out estate sales, auctions and used book stores for older canning and/or pressure canner cook-booklets. I have a dozen or more, dating from 1915 to the present, and the older guides have must more variety for canning basic foods, from the days when the freezer was not an option. Meat, soups, broths, baked beans and other convenience foods. You have no idea how handy a quart or two of canned spare ribs and a pint of bbq sauce can be! I can anything I can find a processing time for. The Betty Crocker Cookbook ( mine is 1979) has a wonderful Potato Refrigerator roll Dough recipe that I routinely double (works well to substitute some whole grain flour and honey for the plain flour and sugar,) plus it uses a cup of leftover mashed potatoes, The dough will stay fresh a week refrigerated, makes excellent pizza, doughnuts, rolls, loaves, cinnamon rolls, etc, and is handy. Allow an hour or so of rising time and have fresh baked goods daily. Older cookbooks are often better choices for these types of recipes, because they don't all start with "take a can of this and a frozen one of that." I'm just rambling, and I have to go, but e-mail me if I can help with specifics. I was raised around 3 generations doing cooking and canning, but as an adult, I couldn't easily call my mom and ask her what to do when I began to can and cook on my own. As I read these and other books , I could remember the way they did things, and then realized why they did them. Hope this helps! Dede

-- Denyelle Stroup (dedestroup@hotmail.com), October 25, 2000.

canning is easy. you can do water bath canning even in a deep pail over a campfire, as long as you can get those cans in so the water covers by 4 inches and you rig up some kind of rack on the bottom. Just follow the directions is any good canning book. You can soups or any combination of ingredients for stews, etc by finding the ingredients in a canning book and canning the combination for the length of time it takes for the ingredient with the LONGEST time. You can't add flour or anything to thicken though, it gets funny, and go easy on the spices, some lose all flavor, and others get too strong (salt and pepper are OK though). Just combine meat, veggies ingredients, tomato juice or stock, or water, or whatever liquid you use, and can away. Be sure to allow for ingredients that swell, like beans. You can even can rice in a soup; just half cook it, then put in can and process. You DO need a pressure cooker for non-acid items. Although you can find directions for canning using boiling water bath, these directions are quite old and not safe. Look for a canner in the thrift shops. I've got several nice ones that way, also several treadle sewing machines.

-- kathy (mequonmary@altavista.com), October 25, 2000.

Looks like lots of great advice above, but I still have to put in my two cents. First I made bread by hand. It was delicious, but labor and time intensive.

Then I bought a Bosch mixer, and made six loaves at a time. It worked perfectly, the dough would come out satiny smooth, and it would rise beautifully in the bowl until the shaping and final rise. Really lovely, aromatic bread, less labor, but still had to be home for a while to make it work.

The I bought a breadmaker. Oster, from Costco. I think they go for about $60. I had a family to feed then, and made 4 to 6 loaves a week. I would set up 30 packages of dry mix, using ziploc bags, with the rest of the ingredients and cooking directions written on the bag. I used mostly three varieties. It took about five minutes in the evening to set up the bread, and we woke up to that wonderful smell of bread baking. I timed it so it had about an hour to cool in the pan. Then it took about five more minutes to slice it.

After a while, I sold my Bosch and now I'm sad and looking for another one. I decided that while the bread-machine bread was better than store-bought, it was not nearly as good as hand- or mixer-made bread. I have learned through reading that the difference is the rising time.

Apparently, the longer bread rises, without overdoing it, the more flavor develops. So with quick-acting yeast, you are trading flavor for saved time. Most people who make bread by hand or with a mixer seem to let the dough rise twice before shaping the loaves for the third and final rise. With bread machines, unless they have improved quite a bit in the last year, that is not an option. You have to use quick-rise yeast, and the dough rises only twice.

So, if you hear of anyone with an extra Bosch Universal for sale (the one with 600 or 700 watts), and you don't want it, please let me know, and I'll snatch it up!

Oh, also, don't repeat my impatient mistake. When the recipe says to let the dough rest, just let it rest. Really. It makes a lot of difference (incredible as it may seem) in the way it handles.

Good luck with the bread!

-- Laura Jesnen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), October 26, 2000.


Hi Thumbelina! You can't lose by trying bread WITHOUT the machine. It seems to me that you'd miss out on the whole gestault of breadmaking by using a machine. I believe breadmaking binds one to the past and imparts a feeling of power and calm, all at the same time--you'll have to try it yourself to know what I mean. The taste alone isn't what keeps me "into it"--I'm truly addicted. As for learning to make bread, well, my daughters quote me when they're trying to convince their friends to try making it (I said this along with generations past and long before Beard and all the "biggies"...), "Bread is very forgiving...". Breadmaking can be a very "healing" experience--for anything that ails you (including stress). I've learned to plan my time (even while working outside the home, raising a family, having a 1 acre garden, etc.)--there are ways to work with your refrigerator on steps and keeping bread ready- to-bake. As for machine made bread, there's a "natural" additive in the flour used in the machine--the same used in commercial bakeries so, in my opinion, you're getting the same product. I can taste this additive and the difference. In fact, my family and I can detect it in many restaurants that advertise the fact that they make their own breads. Granted, if it's the only way you're going to get into "homemade", it's a step in the right direction. The great taste people like in machine bread, I believe, is from the fact that it is simply fresher than commercial bread. If you do try or get into breadmaking, without the machine, make sure you don't buy flour that is formulated for one. You don't need any special purpose varieties but do read about the effects of different grains before you try them. There are "bread flours" (with more gluten) and there are bread flours "for machine". We've had a very transient lifestyle so never got into serious canning. Our next move may be our last so it's in the plans for our future. When it's about breadmaking, feel free to E-mail me anytime. A good general source with elementary, as well as in-depth, info is the best way to go. I recommend the perennial "Joy of Cooking" by Rombauer and Becker (you can always get the newest edition anywhere). Good Luck!

-- Pat (zumende@aol.com), October 27, 2000.

Hi Greenthumbelina,

Putting Food By is a great book. I also have really appreciated my Ball Blue Book-especially the section where it tells you approximately how many quarts to expect from a bushel(etc.)of produce.

Soups:I love homemade chicken soup and have canned it complete with the veggies,but the veggies need much less processing time than the chicken and hence end up a little too soft imho.So,if I can some this year,I'll probably do the chicken in a pint jar and the veggies in a quart jar(in strained broth)and just combine them when needed.

Bread:WOW!I've never heard of anything that can mix up 7 loaves worth at once!I grind my own grain and sometimes use some white flour(bad, I know:my husband is an unrepentant white bread fanatic!).Sometimes I knead;sometimes my bread machine does(alright...mostly my bread machine does!It is such a convenience with little ones about!).Regardless,there is no better smell than homemade bread baking!!![I think I will make some today!]

Stress:Honestly,I find canning season stressful.If you have any friend who'd love to help or try to can with you,I'd make a date of it!It is FUN when you have help and company;it can be tedious alone!

God Bless and good "luck",

~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), October 27, 2000.


Canning - get 2 or 3 books (Ball's Blue Book is a must) and read them then start simple. Make sure they're recent (80's or later) because the cautions keep getting worse.

My first year I just did tomatoes and salsa - no pressure canner. This year I did blackberry jam, peaches, pickles, corn, soups, and soup stock. Next year I'll do even more.

Breadmaking - I hate bread machines, but I'm not big on machines is general. Try "Laurel's Kitchen." They have a GREAT section on breadmaking.

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), October 27, 2000.


Hello again to everyone. I had been trying to reply and thank everyone personally with an email but I got so many responses that I haven't been able to keep up. So I wanted EVERYONE who posted a response to my Canning & Breadmaking questions to know that I appreciate ALL of your responses soooo much and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please accept my apologies for not sending each of you a "personal" Thank You via email. I have saved this thread and all the wonderful advice in my favorites so I can refer to it often.

Many thanks again to each & every one of you. You all are the BEST!!

Greenthumbelina

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), November 03, 2000.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ