7 cups sifted unbleached flour
1 pkg (scant tablespoon) yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 cups warm water

Mix 5 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, salt and water in a large bowl to make a soft dough, then beat hard until smooth and elastic (Rachel prefers to do this by hand, but you could probably use a mixer if desired, esp. if you have a bread hook). Beat one minute, then rest for 5. Repeat process four more times. Place in a warm dry spot for an hour.

Spread pastry cloth on counter (if you use one) and sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour. Punch dough down and place on cloth. Sift another 1/4 cup flour on top. Gently knead in the flour. Dough will be sticky, but keep adding flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough is smooth. Once dough is manageable, knead hard for ten minutes. This gives it its firm, chewy texture. Shape into a loaf and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm, dry spot 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake bread one hour.

A note about appreciating German bread: It is definitely heavier, more closely grained, not the light, fluffy stuff. It is great for open faced sandwiches or just spreading peanut butter (or, to be more German about it, Nutella, which is a delicious chocolately hazelnut spread), liverwurst-type spread, butter and preserves, etc. on it. It is not very satisfactory for making a two-slice "sandwich" as it is very chewy that way - especially the crusts - and you don't end up tasting the filling, or else you put so much in that it's too much to eat and nobody finishes their sandwich. Most Germans have a bread slicer, which is a hand-cranked or electric apparatus something like our meat slicers except with larger "teeth". This makes it very easy to cut nice, even, slim slices perfectly. American bread, even homemade, doesn't slice that well in a bread slicer so most Americans probably don't have a bread slicer on hand. We got two our last tour in Germany one year during "junking", which is another great German tradition.

Notice that this recipe has NO SUGAR AND NO FAT. So it's great for someone on a very restricted diet or when you are counting fat grams.

No Fail Yeast Bread
Ruth
This came out of a student book and was the ONLY whole wheat bread I could make.

1. Blend in glass measuring cup: 1/2 c. warm water, 2 T. yeast, 2 T. honey or sugar, 1 vitamin C tablet, crumbled.

2. In large mixing bowl w/wooden spoon, mix: 4 c. very hot - not boiling - water, 4 tsp. salt, 2/3 c. honey or sugar, 2/3 c. vegetable oil

3. Blend in: 6 c. whole wheat flour

4. Blend in order then turn out on lightly floured surface: Yeast mixture, 6 more cups of flour (white or whole wheat) (seeds may be added - about 1/2 c.)

5. Knead 5 to 10 minutes (great time for prayer!)

6. Place in greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover & let rise 1 1/2 hrs. or until doubles in size. Punch down, cover, and raise 45 minutes.

7. Punch down and grease pans.

8. Divide and shape into loaves.

9. Place in pans. Let rise 30 minutes.

10. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

11. Turn out on sides to cool.

Pancake Mix
Pebbles

12 c. flour
3 c. non-fat dry milk
6 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. salt

Mix well and keep in a dry container. For 15 pancakes you'll need:
3 c. mix
2 large eggs
6 tbs. oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix and cook in hot skillet or griddle.

Yields: 15-16 5" pancakes

Punkin Bread
Cammila

3/4 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin (I used canned)
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp B. Powder
2 tsp Soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice (I substituted 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon and allspice. same thing really)
1 cup nuts (optional, I didn't use any but love walnuts!)
2/3 cup raisins (optional, I didn't use any)

350* 1 hour.

Pumpkin Bread
Fran

2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger or ground cloves
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (I don't put this in. My kids hate raisins lol)

In a large mixer bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, the brown sugar,baking powder,cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger or cloves. Add pumpkin, milk, eggs, and shortening.

Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add remaining flour; beat well. Stir in nuts and raisins.

Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from the pan; cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

Hope you enjoy. Serve with a big dallop of whip cream.

Classic French Bread
Sherry

Choose this crusty, chewy bread to serve with soup, stew, or pasta. To give it an Italian flair, add 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon garlic powder with the flour. Of course, this is optional. Enjoy!

Ingredients 1 1/2 pound loaf
------------------------------------------------------------------------
water 1 1/4 cup
butter or margarine 1 tablespoons
salt 3/4 teaspoon
bread flour 3 1/2 cups
bread machine yeast 2 teaspoons
Cornmeal
Vegetable oil
white from large egg 1
water 1 tablespoon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Add 1¼ cups water, salt, bread flour, and yeast to bread machine pan in the order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough/manual cycle.

When cycle is complete, remove dough from machine to a lightly floured surface. If necessary, knead in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 10x8 inch rectangle.

Beginning at long end, roll up tightly as you do for a jelly roll. Pinch the seams and ends to seal. Taper ends by gently rolling back and forth. Place each loaf, seam side down, on a greased baking or cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Lightly brush each loaf with the vegetable oil. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place until almost doubled in size, about 10 to 15 minutes. With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about ¼ inch deep across the top of each loaf. Lightly beat egg white and 1 tablespoon water; brush some of the egg-white mixture over top of each loaf. This will give it the traditional 'shine' on the Classic French Bread(s). Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Brush again with remaining egg white mixture. Bake 5 to 10 minutes more or until done--bread should sound hollow when tapped. (For even browning when baking two loaves, switch positions of sheets halfway through baking). Remove the bread(s) from the sheet(s); cool on wire rack.

Cycle: Use the dough/manual cycle.

Bisquick mix
Ruth

10 c. flour
1/3 c. baking powder
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. salt
2 c. shortening

Mix with pastry cutter. Makes 12 cups. Store up to six weeks.

I have purchased a couple of cooking with Bisquick type cookbooks at the checkout counter at the grocery store to use with this recipe. I also love the coffee cake recipe on the box (sometimes found in Bisquick cookbooks). There is so much you can do with this stuff!

Bread
Specifically for a Bosch
Jonna

Makes 5 loaves of bread, and I'll put the halved recipe quantities at the bottom for anyone with a smaller mixer. I use this recipe for bread, rolls, pizza dough, calazone dough, anything like that...

12 c wheat berries, ground (about 18 c flour)
6 c hot water, not boiling*
2/3 c olive oil
2/3 c honey
2 TBS sea salt
2 TBS SAF yeast (other yeasts might work, too, though)

Put 1/2 the flour and the rest of the ingredients into the mixer, except the yeast. Start mixing. Add flour until it becomes *almost* the right consistency (the dough will pull from the sides of the bowl). Add the yeast and then add more flour, until it *is* the right consistency. (I'm assuming you know what the right consistency is.)

Mix for 6-8 minutes on high. Dump the dough onto an *oiled* counter or surface. Fold the dough over on itself from each side. (How else do I explain this? Stretch the dough and fold it over. If it doesn't make sense, I'll try to explain better.) This is supposed to "stregthen the grains by crossing them." I don't know if it does or not, I skip it usually.

Pinch off dough, shape and place into pans. Cover and let it rise until doubled.

Place bread into COLD OVEN, and turn it on to 350 for *about* 30 minutes. (Mine usually takes closer to 40 mintues.)

Take it out of the oven (and the pan) and "tap" the bottom of the loaf. It's supposed to sound "hollow." It took me a while to recognize what hollow meant in this case, but now I can hear it. LOL.

Let it cool.

~Smaller portion, makes 2 good sized loaves:

6 c wheat berries (about 9 c flour)
3 c hot water, not boiling*
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c honey
1 TBS sea salt
1 TBS yeast

Same directions as above.

*= I heat 1/2 the water on the stove until there are bubbles on the sides and bottom, but it is NOT boiling. The other 1/2 I just dump in room temp. Seems to work well this way.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Ruth

Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour four 1-pound coffee cans, four mini loaf pans or two 8 by 4-inch loaf pans. In large mixing bowl, stir together white flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Make a well in the center. Add the eggs, oil, pumpkin and water. Beat well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake for about 1 hour or until tests done.

Allow loaves to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack to finish cooling. You may double wrap the loaves when cool and freeze for 2 months.

A simple chocolate glaze is good drizzles on the top of the loaf before giving or serving or a sprinkling of confectioners' sugar.

Blueberry Muffins
Cindy

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps. baking powder
1/3 cup vege oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Mix all then add

1 cup fresh blueberries

Fill 12 standard, lined, muffin cups

Mix together
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cool, butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter mixture. Bake at 400 for 20 min.