Steel Cut Oat Bread

Background first on how I cook my oats:

I make steel-cut oats (SCO) as follows

3 cups SCO
12 cups of water
1 stick Butter
1 1/2 tsp. salt

I brown the oats in the butter first.  Then I cook it for about 30 minutes or so and enjoy.  My boys didn't like the extra nutty taste at first but they have since learned it is really good.  I make a HUGE batch and keep it in the refrigerator.  They are creamier reheated and I don't have to wait for it to cook.  To reheat I chop it up with a wooden spoon and add hot water.  Heat until hot. Another plus about browning it,  the butter keeps the oats from boiling all over my stove.  Moving on....

This bread recipe uses the oats how I cooked it above. You can cook them with out browning them but add the fat, EVOO or butter to the dough.

2 cups Cooked SCO room temperature
1/2 cups Black-strap Molasses
Butter or EVOO (see above) 1-2 Tab.
2 cups warm water
4 cups unbleached white flour
4 cups graham flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 Tab lecithin granules
1/8 tsp vitamin C powder
1 tab and 2 tsp yeast or 2 packets

This may be a tricky dough, depending on how wet your SCO are, so you may need to add additional flour.  This can be halved.  The amounts listed above made 5 pounds of dough.  Kneed 10 minutes.  Let rise till doubled, punch down form into loaves, let rise till doubled.  Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.  I weigh my bread dough.  I have 1 pound and 1.5 pound pans depending on your pan size is why the time varies.  Bake until golden brown and when tapped with the back of your finger nail you get that hollow sound.

This is my new favorite whole grain bread.  It is not very sweet, if you like your bread sweeter than I would add some sucanat.

Let me know your thoughts.

Ker-Thwack!

Back to that last posting....we were walking hand in hand and it was a FANTASTIC night.  Dinner was great, it was the perfect temp. outside just plain wonderful.  (We had no idea that my Mom's house had been broken into the day before.)  We had not a care in the world!!!

We were walking.....Dan looked down and said look at that!  I screamed then the night was ruined!  ;)  He took his size 16 feet and smashed the biggest roach I had ever seen!  It was one of those hissing roaches.  It grossed me out!!!!  To top it off....all the rooms have doors that are on the outside, unlike a hotel where they are inside the building.  The doors don't seal at the bottom and I worried all night that we would be taking home roaches.  The next day, as we sat outside of our building on this little bench and enjoyed the view of the gulf;  something caught my eye; and there stuck to the wall, rather close to my head was a green gecko!  Once I got over the shock he was rather cute. 

It was a wonderful trip.  I have been truly blessed two wonderful boys and a God fearing husband.  I had said earlier...times have been REALLY hard.  Our savings has been drained but never fail there is always food on the table and the mortgage has been met.  The bakery put tires on the car this winter.  God heard our cry and dropped the idea of the bakery and we ran with it.  Talk about a God thing!  "Someone" put extra money in the box with a note saying this was extra for us to help out with bills and the like,  it was so fun to take it and give it back to the Lord that next Sunday.  AMAZING

A good part of being tested is we have shared the money or lack-there-of with the kids.  Nothing is hidden and at their young ages they understand many concepts that adults struggle with on a daily basis.  We went out to dinner this past week-end.  We dined family style at an "Amish" restaurant.  I asked our server if we could take the leftover food home.  She was like nope sorry.  Benjamin was stunned!  So much so, that he confronted her (a huge step for him)  about how sad it was to waste food,  how expensive it was, what a bad idea to just throw it away.  I was so proud of him!

I hope that when you're tested and look back you have found something good has come from it,  life shaping soul changing growth!

Happy New Year!!!

‎1st ever contest!!!




I got this idea off of a yarn blog that my niece Heather likes, and thought what great idea. I will give you free _______ ; if you send 7 friends over to the Bakery and Garden Cart Facebook page. What they have to do is click "like" and say (insert your name) sent me.



I guess there have to be some... rules, so here they are:

* Michigan law says I can't send my goods in the mail. So pick up only

* you have to be 18, I guess, the legal stuff kind of eludes me but it seems appropriate, sorry minors

* Even if you get 150 people to like the page I can only give you one baked good, but I really appreciate it & think you have amazing networking skills!

* We'll run the contest until the end of January



How does that sound?

From the Bakery

After several requests for different baked goods and hours of thinking how that looks in my life as a wife and mother this is what I have come up with.

Honey Whole Wheat --Large (1 pound 15 ounce) $2.75--- Freezes Well.  This is a blend of white and wheat (WW) flours, eggs and milk. Lighter than 100% WW but more dense than pure white.

Cinnamon Rolls--- Large Pan 9 Rolls (2 pounds)  $6.50--- A blend of white and WW eggs and milk.  Iced with a thin drizzle of icing. 
Cinnamon Rolls--- Small Pan 4 Rolls (1 1/4 pounds) $5.00 --- A blend of white and WW eggs and milk. Iced with a thin drizzle of icing.

Hamburger Buns---6 per bag (1 pound) $2.00 a Bag--- Freeze Well.  All white topped with a thin egg white wash.  Sesame, Onion or Plain

Shooting Star Potato Bagels---6 per bag (1 1/2 pounds) $3.50 a bag---Freeze well.  White Flour,  potato, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), agave nectar.  Topped with sesame, poppy, onion, or plain.  A very chewy but not tough bagel.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread---1 pound $4.00--- White flour, EVOO.  Great dipped in EVOO.  Herb choice can be made by you.  ei: rosemary, oregano, Italian herb blend (may be dried herbs depending on my herb garden)

Olive Oil Pita Bread---11-15 ounce $1.50 a bag---White with semolina flour (nutty taste), EVOO.  Soft and tender.

This just a sampling of items and price.  Items with EVOO, and other expensive ingredients, and things that take more work will cost more.  I want you to be satisfied with your order.  An example; a standing order customer liked the bread I had mad made but it was rather dense for their liking.  She paid for the order and has decided to keep the bread and together we have decided that her next order will be at a discount.  If she had decided it was just bad I would have given her a refund.

Some items I may make for my family, AKA Guinea Pigs, to eat and am willing to give you a sample to see if it is something you would like.  I am thinking this would work like this; a posting saying...I have made Salsa Corn Meal Bread.  If you're interested I will have samples available from ?-? on Wednesday.  Come over and try it.

I have many bread, rolls, and bun recipes.  If your looking for something let me know.  I can do dinner rolls with bread dough, pure white bread, rye breads, pizza crusts, beer bread.... different sweeteners like Agave Nectar, Brown Rice Syrup and Honey or regular sugar. If that isn't enough I have breads that I can hide vegetables in like zucchini, pumpkin, or squash.  I also have done non yeast healthy sweet breads and pumpkin rolls.

I also have cinnamon oatmeal pancake mix made with whole wheat flour, regular (non quick) oatmeal, and dry milk.  These are protein packed for staying power( the morning that I make pancakes, I can save one for you to taste) these freeze well for an easy school day breakfast;  dill dip, taco seasoning mix, bacon dip, hot chocolate, pudding mixes, cappuccino.  (all made by me)

I also have taught canning classes.  I will bring my "stuff", you buy what you want to can, and together I will show you what to do, you get to keep the jars.  I pressure can as well and will show you that that it is nothing to fear.  We can do this at your house or mine.  $50 for a 3-4 hour hands on lesson.  I will also do group lessons.  Contact me for the cost.  4 people maximum.

Since I am apart of the Cottage Food Industry there are some things that I can not do. Please look at this PDF for the State of MI  for a more clear definition.

Call me at 269-751-7011, email at JulieABauman@gmail dot com, facbook message, or comment here.

Brownies

1 box of brownie mix
1 can of black beans

Rinse and drain the beans, put them in a bowl add 1 cup of water and blend till smooth. Add mix, stir. Bake in cup cake tins at 350 till done. These are rather dense so the tins work the best.

Low fat and high protein not to mention CHOCOLATE!!