Country Home Baking Blog
baking tips and recipes from my farmhouse to your kitchen
Country Home Baking Blog with Tips & Recipes
My blog offers information to beginners and experienced bakers alike. You'll find posts to help you get started and posts to let you make any baking recipe your own. Blog recipes feature demonstration videos in addition to photos. If you're a visual learner, video is the way to go. In addition to sharing recipes, I want to help you unleash your creative side by guiding you to the best online baking resources.
You don't have to accept the ordinary flavor enhancers found on grocery shelves. Search the internet and you'll find a trove of extracts, crumbles, and sprinkles to give your baked goods pop, zing, and originality. My hands-down favorite source for extracts and syrups is Nature's Flavors located in California. If you can dream it, Nature's Flavors will have it.
King Arthur Baking is a great resource for all thing baking. Their flour has exceptional quality and I love that the company is employeed owned. King Arthur is my favorite source for unbleached flour. It's also a good source if you're looking for gadgets and specialty flours. Bob's Red Mill is my best resource for unusual specialty flours and it is also employee owned. When making yeast breads, you can safely substitute 1/2 cup of any specialty flour for white or whole wheat flour called for in the recipe. Specialty flours might cost a little more, but you'll reap the reward in unique and satisfying flavor. Never skimp on flour quality. It's worth it to buy better brands like King Arthur and Bob's Red Mill.
When you feel ready to create your own bread recipes, look no further than an old baking book called "The Bread Baker's Manual" by Rosalie Cheney Fiske and Joanne Koch Potee, published in 1978. I used their formula to create my Classic White Sandwich Bread featured in a blog post here. In addition to formulas to create your own yeast and quick breads, you'll also find directions for common substitutions for flours plus nuts and seeds, spices, and other ingredients. You'll learn the how and why of creative bread making. You can still purchase this book online at sites like Amazon and Abe Books.