Hawaiian Bread

My Grandmother got a loaf of king's Hawaiian bread to serve with Thanksgiving dinner one year when I was a kid and I have loved Hawaiian bread ever since. Of course, the goal of every culinary engineer, both professional and amateur, is to come up with a recipe that improves upon what's already available.

I found a decent Hawaiian bread recipe on the internet about 18 years ago; obviously, by now, I have no idea of which website or the copyright status of the original recipe. However, most bread recipes are pretty similar and I have tinkered with this one enough during the last 1.8 decades that I am confident in referring to it as a Midwest Texan original.

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Hawaiian Bread

8 ounces 100% Pineapple Juice

3/4 tsp Salt

2 tbs Butter, melted

1 Large Egg

3 tbs Sugar

2 tbs Flax Seed Meal

3 cups Bread Flour

1 1/2 tsp Bread Machine Yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine baking pan in the order listed (i.e., wet things first then dry ingredients with the yeast being last). Use a Regular-Light setting to cook.

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This makes a small loaf but the flavor and texture are nice. I am working on modifying it so that I get a large loaf. I'll update this post with modifications as I work them out.

Do not use the timer setting on your bread machine for this one. I am pretty sure that the egg won't keep too well at room temperature.

Oatmeal Bread

Here is the second standard bread that I like to make regularly. It is probably better nutritionally than the Country White Bread recipe is because of the oats and honey. This one rises nicely and makes a good sized loaf that will last my family two or three days, unless someone is on a bread binge. This recipe also comes out of the the booklet that came with my bread machine (Breadmaker Guide & Cookbook, Regal KitchenPro Collection Model #'s K6742 and K6743, page 30). I have made a couple of small modifications based on using the recipe and for personal taste.

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Oatmeal Bread

9 to 11 ounces Water
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbs Honey
1 1/2 tbs Butter, melted
2/3 cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
2 tbs Flax Seed Meal (optional)
3 1/4 cups Bread Flour
2 tsp Bread Machine Yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine baking pan in the order listed (i.e., wet things first then dry ingredients with the yeast being last). Use a Large-Light or Large-Dark setting to cook.

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If your machine does not have a Large Loaf setting try it on a regular setting to see how it works. If you have trouble getting it to work out for you, let me know and I can send you the small loaf version of the recipe.

This recipe will work with a timer setting, if your machine is so equipped.

Also, pay attention to and regulate the moisture content via the amount of water you use. In the winter time, when humidity is nonexistent, I use every bit of 11 ounces. However, in the summer, when its 80% humidity I only use 9 or 10 ounces.

Country White Bread

Because I make most of the bread my family eats, I have many opportunities to experiment and try new recipes. I have some fun ones - chocolate, cinnamon raisin, Hawaiian. However, when it comes to basic bread, something with a good texture for making sandwiches, I have two recipes that I have come to rely on, Country White and Oatmeal. Country White has ended up being the one I make the most often because it is super easy and rises reliably. This recipe comes right out of the the booklet that came with my bread machine (Breadmaker Guide & Cookbook, Regal KitchenPro Collection Model #'s K6742 and K6743, page 36). I have made a couple of small modifications based on using the recipe and for personal taste.

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Country White Bread

7 to 9 ounces Milk
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
1 1/2 tbs Butter, melted
1 tbs Sugar
2 tbs Flax Seed Meal (optional)
4 cups Bread Flour
2 tsp Bread machine Yeast

Place ingredients into the bread machine baking pan in the
order listed (i.e., wet things first then dry ingredients with the yeast
being last). Use the Sweet Bread setting.

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If your machine does not have a Sweet Bread setting, the Regular or Regular-Light setting will probably work. You'll just need to experiment a little bit to get it right.

Do not use this recipe with a timer setting, if your machine is so equipped, because you don't want the milk and egg sitting out at room temperature for an extended time.

Also, pay attention to and regulate the moisture content via the amount of milk you use. In the winter time, when humidity is nonexistent, I use every bit of 9 ounces. However, in the summer, when its 80% humidity I only use 7 or 8 ounces of milk. It will take some practice.

The Quest for Good Nutrition - Ode to Flax

For those friends of ours who have had or will have a sample of my cooking, it seems fair to warn you that you have been or will be consuming flax seed. Over the last couple of years I have been cooking more and more with flax, or rather ground brown flax seed. I put a tablespoon of it in everything I bake, from cookies, to bread, to pancakes. It does not change the texture, taste, or cooking requirements of these items so its a quick and easy change.

I also use flax seed oil whenever I make salad dressing. The oil smokes at higher temperatures so I do not recommend it for cooking but in salad dressings and other recipes that do not require heat, it is great. The taste, though different from olive oil, is just fine.

Why go the trouble you ask? Well, my patented mommy answer is that it's good for you. However, for those who require a bit more data, I will elaborate.

Brown flax seeds contain high levels of lignans and omega-3 fatty acids. There is a golden or yellow flax seed variety but it does not contain the high levels of good stuff that the brown does, so I don't use it. According to some studies, lignans benefit the heart, possess anti-cancer properties, and, in mouse studies, reduced the growth rate of in some tumor types. Flax seed may also lower cholesterol levels (good for those with a history of heart disease) and helps stabilize blood sugar levels (lessening the severity of diabetes and hypoglycemia). Add to all of this laxative properties due to dietary fiber content and it really hard to find a reason not to add it to our diet a tablespoon full at a time.

For the sake of completeness, I should say that consuming large quantities not necessarily recommended because the high fiber may cause constipation for those that don't drink enough water. I have also read warnings about large amounts of flax interfering with oral medications. By large amounts, I mean replacing your wheat consumption with flax seed meal, not a mere tablespoon or two per loaf of bread. Thus, since I don't use large quantities of the stuff, I am confident that I am cooking beneficially.

I find my ground flax seed meal in the health food section of our local grocery store. Out of the brands the store carries, Bob's Red Mill brand has the best price so far, though I still check the numbers periodically. If you can't find Bob's Red Mill at your local store you can order from them directly via the internet. I get a 1 pound bag at a time and it lasts about 2 months depending on how much baking I do and how pancake mornings my youngest son requests. Store it in a sealed container or in the refrigerator to prevent it from going rancid. Happy cooking!

My First Sale

I have made my first sale from my online shop, Hynek's Handmade. A wonderful woman (she must be wonderful because she liked my product) from Elgin, Illinois purchased a little boy's layette, which I had dubbed 'Weigh Anchor'. She made her purchase via PayPal last Friday afternoon, an event which left me momentarily giddy and had my 4 year old son saying, amidst hugs and kisses, "You did it, Mommy! You did it!" Thus, begins my crash course in the nuances and technical requirements of selling and shipping from a web based store.

I use PayPal so as to entertain credit card purchases. I have used PayPal to make purchases for a couple of years now but this is the first time that the money flow has ever been incoming. I discovered Friday afternoon, after the bank had closed it's books for the week, that you have to be a 'verified' PayPal customer to receive payments. This is a process which requires a test 'handshake' between PayPal and your bank account. Thus, I was not going to be able to claim my payment from my first sale until the handshake posted this morning. Already, I am three days later than I prefer in completing my end of the transaction and shipping the product. Not the most auspicious start; but I figured hey, I am new at this. So I penned a quick thank you note, printed up care instructions, gathered up my packing materials, and staged it all to be ready to go first thing this morning. That's when I discovered that the small flat rate box I was confident that I had was no where to be found. Oops.... Well, at least that is cured with a quick trip to the post office near my house. No great delay.

When I first set up my Etsy shop, I had settled on Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping as my method of choice. My thought was that that most of my products were small enough to fit in the smallest of the flat rate boxes which meant $4.95 to anywhere in the USA, a price that seemed reasonable at the time. However, no matter how I folded my little nautical layette, it would not fit in the small Priority box with out mangling the box, a very unprofessional package to say the least. So I located a box that did fit and, with a quick perusal of the USPS website, found that I could still make that $4.95 shipping payment. However, I also discovered that I can probably figure out a way to ship my products for less with a comparable amount of transit time. Ah, but that is a issue I will have to address another time. I must get my beloved first sale shipped to that wonderful woman in Illinois, who is probably already beginning to wonder where the heck her purchase is and why is this seller being such a slacker. I also have to pick my son up from preschool and get all my errands finished before the forecasted snow storm hits trapping me in my house for the next 24 hours; but these are all trivial details.

I walked in to the post office for the second time today, once more giddy with delight at the thought of completing the process of my first sale. The post mistress was great and a font of good information, I wish I could download her brain into my computer. It turns out that Priority Mail does not include package tracking. This is an extra service which costs additional money, beyond the $4.95 that I allotted for shipping. This is the point where I slap my forehead as though I should have had a V-8 and realize that, as a SAHM, I have been away from the business environment too long. OK, so I have had an inept and naive last few days, but I am going to remedy the situation with the shipping comparison spreadsheet that I am building tonight. I am determined to optimize things a bit and make the chaos of today improbable in the future.

The important thing is that the precious little 'Weigh Anchor' set is now on its way to Elgin, Illinois. I hope it gets there alright. I hope my wonderful first customer likes it. I hope it withstands the drool and spit-up to which it will soon be subjected. I hope I measured it right when I sized it.

Note: As of 07/26/2010, a copy of this article is also located at the Hynek's Handmade blog site.

Tending My Knitting

I have been knitting since I was in the 5th grade. I give credit for this to two wonderful women, neither of whom knew how to knit - my mom and my grandmother.

I surprised Mom when I expressed an interest and I remember the look on her face when she told me that it was something that she couldn't teach me. As a parent myself, I now understand what that look meant - "I really wish I could help you, darling, but I just can't. I feel helpless on this one." Seeing my disappointment, Mom suggested what my parents have always done when they did not know something, getting a book. She and I made a special trip to the library and we found a how-to-guide to knitting. Then she dug out her mom's (Grandma Emily's) double pointed sock knitting needles and some old rug yarn which had both been living at the bottom of her sewing box for 25 years or more so that I could practice the stitches pictured in the library book.

A couple of weeks later, I was visiting my grandmother in Houston. She saw me sitting quietly with the library book in my lap practicing my knitting and asked me about it. After I explained what I was up to, she observed that I was running out of yarn. She called a good friend of hers, who knitted, and asked where to shop for such things and got the name of a needle arts store not too far away. I remember walking into that store and being amazed at all the different yarns in the bins that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Then there were the all the different types and sizes of knitting needles and crochet hooks hanging from the floor displays. I was in heaven.

Grandmother explained to the shop keeper what I was doing and I showed the woman my sampler. She made a suggestion for a real first project, a garter stitch afghan in two colors. She wrote down the instructions, set us up with yarn and a pair of knitting needles. I spent my entire two week summer visit with Grandmother working on my afghan. Grandmother was very proud and told all her friends about my project. I still have it to this day tucked away in the bottom of our blanket storage. It is a study in learning to knit. You can see in the stitches where I finally learned the nuances of yarn tension and consistency.

Until I reached my 30's, I had always been shy about my knitting. I made a sweater for Mom, a couple of scarfs for cousins, and a sweater for a college boyfriend (which took a ton of courage). But for the most part, my projects were for personal use and the frequency of my knitting became few and far between. Then our friends started having babies and I picked up my knitting needles again to discover that I liked knitting baby clothes. The projects are small, relatively quick, and satisfying to complete. The compliments on the handmade layettes I have given away have done much to bolster my confidence.

Now I am a stay-at-home-mom seeking a way to feel as though she can provide something to our financial bottom line. After reading some encouraging articles about other women who have made successful businesses with their knitting, I have illusions (or maybe delusions) of grandeur for my own knitting potential, never mind the fact that such businesses have a much lower success rate than even restaurants. But, I have put together a simple business plan, have been chanting the mantra, "Start simple and small and work up", and have picked up my needles again. In the weeks that it has taken me to organize and build a small inventory, I have learned some new techniques/skills and have experimented with different yarn. I have all kinds of product line ideas and I love the creativity that is flowing. So we will see what happens. In the meantime, you can check out my new online store, Hynek's Handmade, on Etsy.

Note: As of 07/26/2010, a copy of this article has been migrated to the Hynek's Handmade blog site.