I need a comfort cooking day

[BamaGirl]

I live like 15 miles or so from Geneva Al. I won't go into all that; it's on the GD board. I'm gonna cook/bake tomorrow. For some reason that sort of thing seems to help. I've never been successful with bread. I've seen y'all post about bread and I even bought yeast, but my previous efforts were such disasters. Anyone have some foolproof recipe? Anything at all. Bread, casseroles, cookies. LOL. I'd really love tho, I won't lie, to make a nice loaf of bread lol! I do great cornbread (if I do say so myself lol), why not bread lol!? Tips? Advice? Anything?

[Lucinda]

1. I was just reading about that. So awful!

I have made this before, it makes a nice white loaf, and is easy. You can also sub part of the flour with whole wheat. I cut the recipe in half, and didn't make mine into regular sandwich style loaf, I made a round loaf and baked it covered.

http://www.breadworld.com/Recipe.aspx?id=235

There are also several threads about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day No-Knead bread in this section. (Ain5 bread) It's a lot of fun to do, and makes a more rustic artisan bread than the link above.

And that bread at mother earth:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx

[BamaGirl]

2. These look awesome Lucinda!

I got a strange question and I think maybe you're one of the regulars around here who can answer it. I have a canister of a flour that I thought was all purpose flour, but I'm thinking maybe is self rising flour. Is there any way to figure out for sure? It would be kinda weird cuz I don't remember ever buying it. Maybe it just goes bad? I did let my girls try all my cookie recipes over the Cmas holidays and their cookies were, um, flat lol. I also let them try to make my fudge and that was an interesting experiment lol. Maybe the flour wasn't the problem after all come to think of it lol! Is there anyway to figure it out? I've got some flour unopened, but still a lot in this canister. I hate to waste it. :|

[Lucinda]

3. You could add a little vinegar to some and see if you get a bubbling reaction

if its self rising the vinegar should react with the soda...
Or maybe taste the flour and see if it tastes a little salty.

[hippywife]

4. If it's been sitting there since Christmas

I'd pitch it and start with fresh.

[LaydeeBug]

5. Girrrrrrrl!!!! Make some Baked Penne

LOTS of it. You can buy the aluminum containers at Costco (lids too!) Make your pasta, add sauce and bake. If you wanna be fancy, you could make a bolognese to add to it. Stir in some cheese, top with mozz and feed an army. I feel so much for you all right now. I will post any recipe you might want, if you need me to.

Carbs satisfy during stressful situations though. Hope that helps.